The Unconquered Mage

by McShane, Melissa

  “Thank you, Sai Amaleten,” Cederic said. “In our journey to the Balaenic capital city of Venetry, we encountered the main body of the Balaenic Army. Commander General Mattiak Tarallan”—he indicated Mattiak, who managed not to look startled at being suddenly included in a conversation he couldn’t understand—“when presented with our purpose, agreed to support our cause. When we confronted Renatha Torenz in Venetry, he chose to break with his country and throw his lot in with ours. Since the Castaviran Army is once more controlled by the former God-Empress—”

  “What happened to General Regates?” the woman whose name I didn’t know said. She sounded really upset.

  “She was convinced by Renatha Torenz that she would benefit greatly by rejoining her side,” Cederic said. “I am sorry, Lelaena.”

  “I can’t believe Gael would do such a thing,” Osther (I didn’t remember for a bit that her surname is Osther, but I knew Lelaena was the first name of the Queen of Endellavir, so I’m putting that in now) said, but in a shocked way rather than denial.

  “What, because she’s Endellaviran and therefore above suspicion?” Lerongis said. I liked him less with every word that came out of his mouth.

  “Because most of this was her idea, Dugan,” Osther shot back. “Because she has been my friend for more than twenty years. I refuse to believe she would betray us.”

  “I believe the General felt her life was in danger should she refuse Renatha Torenz’s order,” Cederic said, but the way he said, too smoothly and rapidly, told me he wasn’t convinced. But they seemed to satisfy Osther, or at least help her calm down. “At any rate,” he continued, “General Tarallan is committed to the cause of bringing our countries together peacefully, and has offered the services of the Balaenic Army toward that end.”

  “So we’re supposed to put our faith in someone who betrayed his own King?” Lerongis said. “Someone like that will probably turn on us when he decides that’s in his best interests.”

  “General Tarallan is no traitor,” I said, sitting forward in my seat and startling everyone. “Garran Clendessar betrayed his country and his responsibility as King when he threw in his lot with the God—with the former Empress. He is the traitor.”

  “What did you say, Sesskia?” Mattiak asked.

  “That you’re a great man and Balaen’s King is a traitor,” I said, turning to look at him.

  He grinned. “I don’t know about the first, but by the sound of your voice, you’re definitely someone whose good side I want to be on,” he said.

  “Wife of the Kilios or no, you don’t have a right to speak to me that way,” Lerongis sputtered.

  “Sesskia has every right to correct our misapprehensions about her countrymen,” Cederic said, “as she is the only one of us with any first-hand knowledge of Balaen’s King. The General would find no welcome from Garran Clendessar were he to decide, as you put it, to turn on us. He has quite thoroughly and publicly burned his bridges. And he has my complete confidence.”

  “Well, speaking of confidence, it seems like we’re back where we started two months ago,” Lerongis said. “We agreed then that putting the King of Balaen on the throne of a unified country was the best solution to prevent civil war. Now he’s no longer an option. What’s next? More wrangling over which of us should take that role?”

  “We’re all reasonable people,” Osther said. “We should be able to come to a decision.”

  “Like we did last time?” Lerongis said.

  “Relax, Dugan,” Taissatus said. “We all want to avoid civil war. Some of us will just have to concede personal power to reach that goal.”

  “‘Some of us’ meaning not you, Moerton?” Lerongis said.

  “Enough,” Cederic said, and of course they subsided. “I think you may have forgotten it is I as most high priest who will choose our new Emperor or Empress. And I have made my choice.”

  That got them all murmuring, even the placid Sai Amaleten. “Well, which of us is it?” Lerongis demanded.

  Cederic looked at each of them in turn, waiting for silence. “I have decided I am the best choice to rule a united Castavir and Balaen,” he said.

  Lerongis leaped to his feet, shoving his chair back several inches. “What?” he shouted.

  “Power grab, Kilios?” Osther said, trying and failing not to sound furious.

  “That’s impossible,” Taissatus said. “You’re ineligible. You might be the most perfect man in the world and I still wouldn’t support you in this idiocy.”

  “I’m leaving,” Lerongis said. “Helviran is withdrawing from the Castaviran Empire. I’ve proved I’m a better ruler than Renatha was and I don’t have to endure your slight on my abilities. If you can’t—”

  “Sit down,” Cederic said. Lerongis dropped into his seat, still breathing heavily. “This is not a decision I made lightly. I have never desired political or ecclesiastical power, and my entire life is witness to that truth. But we need an Emperor who will be acceptable to everyone, Balaenic and Castaviran, and of the five of us, I am the only one who fits that description.”

  “You are also a proud man, Cederic,” white-haired Sai Amaleten said, her calmness a stark contrast to everyone else’s outrage. “Prone to think highly of yourself, to believe yourself superior to others because that robe declares you preeminent of the mages of Castavir. Why should we believe your assertion?”

  “I did not make this choice because I believe I am a better person than the rest of you,” Cederic said. “And I discovered recently how much my pride has made me weak. But it is not pride to acknowledge one’s strengths. I led this city out of chaos. I am, and have always been, fair-minded when it comes to resolving conflict—one of the reasons you all agreed I should make this choice. This robe testifies to my ability as a priest-mage of the Castaviran Empire. And while I did not marry for political gain, it is true with Sesskia on the throne beside me as Empress-Consort, I will show Balaen that I—that we—are serious about bringing our countries together as equals.”

  “Do you honestly think anyone will believe you didn’t marry this woman for political reasons?” Lerongis said.

  “We were married before the convergence,” I said, “before anyone knew the former Empress would be deposed and long before any of you got together and decided you were somehow perfect to rule two countries. And I don’t actually give a damn what people believe. Least of all you.”

  “You dare speak—” he began.

  “Oh, shut up, Dugan,” Osther said. “Joena put you up to this, didn’t she? I know she likes the idea of being Empress-Consort. You ought to listen to yourself. Demanding respect you haven’t earned, claiming superiority, speaking rudely to the Kilios’s wife even though she probably ranks higher than you do. You’re embarrassing yourself.”

  Lerongis stood up again. “I don’t have to take this,” he said.

  “No, you don’t,” Cederic said. Lerongis looked startled at this and froze in the act of stepping away from his chair. “You are a capable manager and Helviran has prospered these many years under your leadership. I mean no insult to your abilities when I say I believe myself to be best suited to be Emperor. You know I prize honesty—let me be honest with you. You are easily swayed by the opinions of others and quick to take offense, and those are qualities that are fatal in an Emperor. But that does not mean you cannot serve the Empire as you always have. I need your support as King of Helviran. Please.”

  Lerongis stared him down, breathing heavily. He swallowed. “No,” he said. “Helviran is withdrawing from the Empire.”

  “Don’t be hasty, Dugan,” Taissatus said. “Helviran can’t secede. It’s been part of Castavir for centuries. You’d wreck both our economies, tear families apart—don’t do it.”

  “I demand to be made Emperor,” Lerongis said. “It’s that, or I go.”

  “Don’t you dare try to blackmail us,” Osther said.

  Cederic made a quelling motion with his hand and rose to face Lerongis. “Is that your decision?” he
said quietly. “You would destroy your country to fulfil your need for glory?”

  Lerongis blinked at him. “I want what’s mine by right,” he said, but he sounded shaky.

  “Tell me what your right is,” Cederic said, advancing a few steps so they were almost nose to nose. Lerongis swallowed again and glanced quickly to either side as if looking for support. “I think you have mistaken desire for rightness,” Cederic said. “Renatha Torenz made the same mistake. I will be sorry to see you go, Dugan Lerongis, but I will be damned if I turn this country over to someone just like her.”

  “I’m nothing like her,” Lerongis stammered.

  “Then prove it,” Cederic said in a low voice. “Choose to make this Empire better rather than to exalt yourself. Or walk away.” He turned and sat in his chair. I’m the only one—maybe Mattiak did too—who saw his hand tremble before he stilled it.

  Lerongis continued to breathe as heavily as if he’d just run ten miles without stopping. Then he sat down again. “Helviran will stand by you, Kilios,” he said.

  “Thank you, your Majesty,” Cederic said. “What say the rest of you?”

  “After that display? I think you made the right choice, Cederic,” Taissatus said with a grin. “And I can even admit I might be too easy-going for an Emperor in these times. Maybe if we were entering an era of peace, but…no. I withdraw my claim in favor of Cederic Aleynten.”

  “Thank you, Moerton,” Cederic said, turning to look at Sai Amaleten, seated next to him. She shrugged, still smiling that enigmatic smile.

  “I have known you since you first entered training, Cederic,” she said, “I have seen you grow from boy to man, and I know your weaknesses as well as your strengths. You have a tendency to reach beyond your grasp, and that tendency could bring this Empire to its knees. But you,” and suddenly her attention was on me, “you who want to be Empress-Consort, what do you say?”

  “Ah,” I said, “Sai Amaleten, this isn’t something either of us wanted. Cederic was going to found a thanest, whatever that is, and I was going to learn how to bring Balaenic and Castaviran magic together. That’s what we wanted. But I think it’s true he’s the best choice, and that means we’ll face the challenge together. If that’s what you’re asking.”

  “I am asking,” Sai Amaleten said, “if you believe you are worthy to share that throne.”

  “I hadn’t thought in terms of worthy,” I said, feeling irritated. “I’m Balaenic, which seems to be a criterion of worthiness you all thought up. I’m probably the most powerful mage of Balaen, which makes me Cederic’s equal in that respect. What’s most important is Cederic is going to have the most difficult task in…probably in all of history, bringing these countries together, and he can’t do it alone. And I am his foundation. So I don’t know if that makes me worthy, but it certainly makes me essential.”

  Sai Amaleten’s little smile broadened just a bit. It made me wonder if Cederic learned his smile from her. “Cederic Aleynten, I will support you as Emperor,” she said. “And you will make me most high priestess. This is not blackmail. It is a statement of fact.”

  “I accept what you offer and agree with your statement of fact,” Cederic said with a nod. “Queen Lelaena?”

  Osther had her elbow propped on the arm of her chair and was resting her chin on her fist. “I agree that of the five of us, you are the best candidate for Emperor,” she said. “And I will withdraw my claim.”

  “But?” Cederic said.

  Osther sighed and straightened in her chair. “The loss of the Castaviran Army is a heavy blow,” she said. “I appreciate the service of the Balaenic Army, but it’s a fraction of the size of the one Renatha Torenz commands, and they are still foreigners as far as Castavirans are concerned. The language barrier alone will make it hard to integrate the dispersed Castaviran forces with the Balaenic Army. We’ll be fighting at a tremendous disadvantage. You’ll have the support of the Castaviran people, true, but that won’t give you more troops. It could even mean their deaths, if the former Empress wins this war. I think this is a mistake.”

  “What are you saying, Lelaena?” Cederic said.

  Osther pushed herself up from her chair and bowed. “I am saying Endellavir is going to withdraw from both sides,” she said. “I believe what you’re doing is right, but I can’t put my people at risk when I think it’s unlikely you’ll win. But I won’t support Renatha Torenz either unless it becomes a choice between doing that or seeing Endellavir destroyed. I’m sorry, Cederic.”

  “I wish you would reconsider,” Cederic said, standing to face her, though he didn’t look at all intimidating the way he had when he faced down Lerongis. “Renatha Torenz will see anything short of immediate and total obedience as a betrayal. She will destroy you simply for having plotted her overthrow, even if you recant. Your safety, and that of your country, is at stake.”

  “That’s true,” Osther said, “but it’s a lesser risk than throwing in our lot with you. My people will leave in the morning. Unless you want to force the issue.”

  Cederic shook his head. “We will not try to prevent your leaving,” he said, “and I would wish you well if I believed at all what you are doing is the right choice.”

  “It’s the only choice I can make,” Osther said, and extended her hand to grip Cederic’s. “And I pray I’m wrong.”

  “I understand,” Cederic said. He remained standing as Osther descended the stairs and left the building. Then he said, “We will need to invent a new coronation ceremony. Obviously I cannot crown myself, so we will need a new most high priestess.” He nodded at Sai Amaleten. “It must be soon. General Tarallan tells me we must find a winter home for the Army, and I would like to gather as many of the Castaviran forces as possible before spring comes. But to do that, we need an Emperor.”

  “I think we can come up with something that will satisfy everyone’s need for pageantry,” Sai Amaleten said, rising from her chair. The other men followed suit. “The palace is uninhabitable; will you stay at the Firtha thanest tonight? Or would you care to join Dugan at Moerton’s home?”

  “You’re welcome to join us,” Taissatus said. Lerongis looked petulant again. I really don’t like him. I wonder what his wife’s like. A real harpy, I imagine.

  “Thank you for the offer, Moerton, but Sesskia was injured in our flight from Venetry and she needs healing,” Cederic said. “We will meet tomorrow to plan our strategy for gaining support. Master Peressten will translate for you and Dugan, Moerton, and Sesskia, you will need to translate for General Tarallan, who will share his insights on making friends with our Balaenic neighbors. They, too, have a stake in this.”

  A thanest turns out to be the actual name for the domed mage buildings. The Firtha thanest is the largest one in Colosse. They’re like the Darssan except with less focus on research and more on offering magical services to the citizens of Colosse. As soon as we got there I was whisked away for healing, which was uncomfortable because I had to be naked from the waist up and two of the Sais were male. But being healed made it worthwhile.

  Then I went back to the camp with the healers to watch them tend to Terrael. I watched the healing with the see-inside pouvra, and then I explained about the see-inside pouvra combined with the mind-moving pouvra, and they were all very excited about that. If I had medical training, I’d be able to do what the healing kathanas do, but by myself instead of with two other people. It got me excited too—the possibility of using those pouvrin to heal instead of to kill relieves my mind considerably.

  Just before I went back to Colosse to spend the night, my mages arrived! They’d had an uneventful journey, and Jeddan found them a few days ago, so they were all together and it was a grand reunion. Now I’m impatient for Terrael to recover so he can alter his translation kathana to give the Castaviran language to the Balaenic mages. I feel guilty about sleeping in a real bed when they’re all still in tents, but if the Empress-Consort can’t have a few advantages, I don’t see what the point of the rank is. Other tha
n having sex with the Emperor, which from my perspective is probably the best advantage of all.

  Chapter Five

  14 Hantar

  I got married today. Married again, I should say, because Cederic and I were married months ago, but Castavirans distinguish between the wedding promise (which is what we did in spending the night together) and the marriage vow, which is spoken before a priest-mage in a special ceremony.

  It was all very abrupt. I was finishing breakfast with Audryn and Sovrin and Terrael—after the healing, he’s well enough to move around on his own, though he has to rest often—and Terrael and I were preparing to join everyone for the strategy planning meeting when Cederic approached at a near-run. That was frightening. He’s usually so calm that when he moves quickly, it means something is really urgent. He took me by the arm and said, “Sesskia, come with me. We have to swear our marriage vows.”

  I was surprised enough by his haste his words didn’t make any sense to me, and I had to ask him to repeat himself. He did, all the time pulling at my arm to make me rise. I resisted, saying, “Why are you in such a hurry?”

  He released me—by this time I was standing—and said, “The Emperor must be joined to his wife by vow of marriage before they are crowned. The coronation is tomorrow. We cannot delay.”

  “Oh,” I said. That was as far as I got before Sovrin and Audryn put themselves between me and Cederic.

  “Sesskia can’t make her marriage vows looking like this, Sai Aleynten,” Sovrin said.

  “What’s wrong with the way I look?” I protested.

  “It’s barely past sunrise,” Audryn said, ignoring me. “You can give her some time to change. This is an important day, Sai Aleynten, and you—neither of you—want to look back on it and regret being so hasty. You ought to change your own clothes, too.”

  Cederic glanced down at himself—he was wearing the Kilios’s robe, which as I’ve written looks scruffy despite being a piece of Castaviran history, and his ankle boots he hasn’t bothered to shine for days, and smiled one of those tiny, self-deprecating smiles. “You have a point, Master Engilles,” he said. “I will ask Sai Amaleten to prepare to accept our vows at noon, if you think that will be sufficient time.”