Ardent

by Florian Armas

  Four thousand galbeni should be enough for two months of war, food included. “Armies are expensive toys, though not of your liking. The Circle gave me my marching orders.”

  “Did they ask you to raise an army?” Calin asked.

  “No. That will be my modest contribution,” I smiled.

  “What are you aiming for?”

  “A castle with better defenses. I feel too restricted and almost naked here.” And Saliné.

  In the evening, Pintea announced us that Moros was coming back from his embassy in Severin. Pintea was our scout, Mara’s helper in the Visterie and Secretariat, carrying her errands and correspondence with the people on my land. He did everything with the enthusiasm of a sixteen-years-old moving from a small farm into a story he learned about from some old books. He felt the spark; the danger was still eluding him. It was harder than I anticipated to rule a small domain. Ruling a kingdom was much different, and even in Arenia I did not spent much time in the Chancellery; I was too young. Mara was more suited to run my affairs, and Pintea was learning fast. And Vlad too. Both brothers were practical men with roots running deep into the ground of a farm; a gift from old Gran. I could not guarantee the same about me.

  “Finally, we will know why the Duke is helping Aron,” Calin said, a thin smile on his lips. Because of their long term enmity, and the assassination attempt Aron tried on him in Mehadia, Calin was as eager as I was to learn the secret links between Aron and Duke Stefan.

  When Moros entered the council room, my first impression was that he was tired.

  “Well?” Calin frowned slightly.

  “Well,” Moros shrugged. “I am sorry, but your uncle is dead.”

  “Rest in peace, Piern,” Calin said, his eyes closed. “Uncle, I did not see you for almost thirty years, since I had to run from Severin, but I still remember your face. A much younger version, of course. My uncle was over seventy, so...” he stared at us.

  “He was killed a week before I arrived in Severin,” Moros said. “His house was robbed.”

  “Something else?” Calin asked, and Moros just shook his head. “Go and rest, Moros. You must be tired.” If I wouldn’t count the noise made by Moros’s boots on the hard wood of the floor, silence filled the room until the door closed behind him. “It may be a coincidence and a true robbery, or it may be a political assassination,” Calin sighed, looking distraught. “We may never know which version is true. And we still don’t know about...”

  ***

  Five weeks after the Summer Solstice, the Stove month was close to its end; the weather was still hot. It happened that Valer, Laurent and their men arrived together at my house in Severin; they knew each other.

  My Guard is here with me,” Valer let me know that he had brought his twenty best mercenaries. “And thirty more soldiers, as we agreed. You know most of them, and we are all in your debt for Matei.”

  “Damian will arrive soon,” I said.

  “You snatched him from me. Being the second Chief of the Guard of Long Valley sounds better than being a simple mercenary,” Valer laughed.

  “Since when is it so simple to be a mercenary?” I grinned, and turned to Laurent.

  “I have only ten soldiers, but I may compensate for that with some news. Leyonan will join Devan in Orhei before invading the part of Mehadia that belongs to Mohor. Only after Mehadia falls into in their pocket will they attack Severin. He should leave Leyona three days from now.”

  While almost everybody in Severin was more concerned about the seven-hundred-strong army already gathered at the northern border, three days ride from here, I already knew from Cantemir that Orban would wait for Leyonan and Devan to play the opening gambit. I guessed that Aron and Bucur could be aware of this too, but I was not sure. From Cantemir, I had learned that the Circle wanted to test Bucur. How real that test was I did not know, because Cantemir did not know either – he was no longer the Master Sage, and the Circle’s rules prevented him to reveal the name of the new one to me. And for the Circle it did not matter if Bucur won the battles or if someone else did it for him. A king must be a warrior, or have the right man to command an army. With the Spatar thing I was caught in the middle, and there was no way to escape the trap without sacrificing Jara, Saliné and Vio, and leaving Frankis. I can take then with me. To go where?

  “They will be here in one turn.” Vlad burst in the house, earlier than I was expecting him to return. “I left them close to the crossing on the road to Dorna. Some scouts from Severin spotted us when we left the forest.”

  “The Mountes?” Valer asked, only to tell me that he already knew about my third contingent.

  “Tough men,” Laurent said, thoughtfully. “You are more prepared than we knew. I understand now why you agreed to help Garland. You have the right resources.”

  “There is no way to be sure that I can free his family, but I will try. We can go now.”

  On the road down, I stopped at Cernat’s house, as we had agreed the evening before, when I returned to Severin. The sun shined his face when he left the house, leaving behind the impression that he looked older. The business about Bucur’s nomination had marked him, and the last two months I saw him worried most of the time. Whatever bad thoughts he had, he kept them to himself.

  “A small army,” Cernat gestured at the men waiting outside his boundary wall. “You play your own game,” he stared at me, leaning on the wall, “but I wish you had a stronger hand. It was just a wish,” he shrugged. “Not many Knights can gather so many soldiers for a war. You did well for a Knight of less than one year’s standing, but you should have told us. There were some negotiations when you were away. That’s why I asked you to come here, before going to the castle. Mohor has three hundred men and a hundred mercenaries. I wondered why Valer refused us, but I know now.” He gestured again toward the men gathered outside.

  “I did not know the size of my army until a week ago.” Cernat knew that I had been out of Severin for almost a month. I had to travel, but it was also that my main place was now in Cleuny. “They will be more than you see here,” I added, still wanting to keep a part of my surprise.

  “Aron and Bucur have fifty men and a hundred mercenaries from Peyris,” Cernat continued. “Duke Stefan helped Aron again. We still don’t know why. Rares, and the Knights around him, have another hundred men. That makes you the fourth force. Mohor and Jara already tried to give you a place at the table as part of the alliance, but Aron refused, and it suited Rares too. They consider you a minor Knight, and Bucur wants to be the commander, even though you will lead the army. We could not force it on them. We are too weak. This thing with the new King has clipped Mohor’s wings. He is putting on a brave face and worked hard to get four hundred soldiers.”

  “There will be some renegotiations today.”

  “Please do not force it, we are too weak,” Cernat repeated. “Jara and Mohor will give you a fortress and some more land from their own, when ... when all this ends. Do not endanger them,” he insisted, and mounted his horse. “And who really knows how it will end? I have some bad feelings. From the day I heard about Bucur, most of my nights have been filled with weird things.”

  “I will not endanger them,” I said, feeling a touch of guilt, but he would know everything soon enough.

  “There is something we haven’t talked about, waiting for your return: the fact that you commanded Severin’s army last year. We thought that it would be better to touch on it when you were here, to enhance your position. It may bring some benefits that we did not see coming at the time.” He gestured loosely at my soldiers.

  The rest of the way there, Cernat remained silent, and riding with him did not compel me to disturb his inner thoughts. We were in the first line, Vlad, Valer and Laurent following us, and the rest of the soldiers aligned behind them. At the crossing on the road from Dorna, I stopped. Cernat glanced at me, but said nothing. And he said nothing again when the Mountes and Damian’s soldiers appeared at the brow of the hill. He just stared at me,
a thin smile on his lips. His first smile I had seen in almost three months.

  “From Lena,” Damian proffered me a letter, using the name Dochia was called outside the Wanderers.

  She is alive... With all my efforts I could not find any trace of Dochia in my last travels.

  “It seems that indeed we will have some renegotiations,” Cernat finally said, after both armies united on the road, Boldur and Damian joining the three captains behind me. He eyed the letter in my hand, but remained silent again.

  In the valley, three hundred riders cut off our road to Severin. Mohor, Bucur and Rares stopped their horses, and stared at us with different facial expressions. Mohor was smiling. Bucur was silent and his eyes would have killed me if they could. Rares was uncertain and still ready to fight, not understanding what was happening. He knew Cernat, but none of the others, me included.

  “Welcome back, Codrin,” Mohor said. “We were ready to confront some invaders. Quite sneaky ones. None of our scouts found them until half day ago.”

  “Vlad and Pintea are the guilty ones,” I laughed. “They are fine protectors and scouts.” That was the order I gave them, to ride only through the forests. Not to hide from Mohor’s scouts, but from Orban, Leyonan and the Circle behind them. As we had spies in their lands, they had theirs here too, and even worse, Aron’s and Bucur’s men were all spies for my main enemy, the Circle. I was pleased to see Bucur’s long face. They knew now, but whatever couriers they would send to the Circle, I thought I would have enough time to catch Leyonan unguarded.

  I entered last into the council room, together with Cernat. There was one empty chair next to Jara, reserved as usual for Cernat, and several others chairs at the other end of the long table. Aron was in front of Jara, Bucur next to him, then Saliné. I was heading to the other end of the table when Cernat grabbed my arm and nodded to his chair. I hesitated, but he nodded again, and I finally agreed. Jara’s hand briefly gripped mine under the table, and I caressed hers with my thumb, fighting hard not to stare at Saliné. There were some moments of quietness, everybody waiting for Mohor to speak. He remained silent.

  “I think that there are not many things to talk about,” Aron said. “We have finished the plans already. This small distraction,” he gestured at me, “changes nothing.”

  “May I know what plans were made?” I asked.

  “To keep it simple,” Aron feigned some boredom. “We all agreed that Bucur will be the commander of the whole army. We have six hundred and fifty soldiers. There is a treaty for our alliance which deals with what happens after the war, but that is none of your concern.” He mentioned nothing about the Spatar thing, the Circle had imposed on me, and I did not mention it either. It suited both of us, and neither knew the other’s reason for leaving it out.

  “Then?” I asked, as it seemed that he had finished.

  “Then it depends on what news we have about the three armies waiting to invade Severin. Orban’s is already at our borders.”

  “Why do you think that the treaty is none of my concern?” I asked.

  “Because it concerns real Knights with armies. You have some experience in battle, and will lead Mohor’s army.”

  “Codrin has one hundred seventy-five soldiers,” Mohor interjected, and I saw Bucur nodding at Aron, who frowned, avoiding to look at me. “The second force in our army, so we have to amend the treaty.”

  “We can include him in your army,” Rares offered tentatively.

  “There is only one army,” I said. “It belongs to the Seigneur of Severin. And one commander. Me.”

  “You are too self-important, young man,” Rares said, some distaste in his voice. “Bucur is a tested commander. He won several battles last year. What have you won?”

  “The battles you’ve mentioned.”

  “Codrin was the commander of Severin’s army, in all the battles we won.” Mohor glanced briefly at Rares, his eyes slightly amused. “I don’t understand why you are thinking otherwise.”

  Rares gasped, and threw a stare at Aron, who ignored it. His eyes moved on to Cernat, who nodded slightly. Realization came to him, and Rares frowned deeply. “I hope it will not take too long to renegotiate everything.”

  “No,” Mohor said. “We keep the same format. Codrin will be the commander, and based on the size of his forces will have second choice for a fortress, after me, if we gain any, but I will agree to switch places with him.” He stared around, and saw Aron ready to interject. “Bucur will second Codrin,” he added, before Aron could speak. Mohor’s eyes stopped on me, and I nodded, even though I would not enjoy having Bucur as second-in-command, but there was no reason to interfere.

  “Time is pressing, we must leave tomorrow,” I said.

  “May we know where?” Aron asked.

  “You will know after I receive the last report from my scouts in the morning.”

  “Then I see no reason to lose more time here.” Aron stood up, and left the room, followed by Bucur.

  “What was that thing with the commander?” Rares stared at me.

  “It’s how Bucur bought the throne,” Cernat said, as I avoided answering. “Aron lied to everybody and his mother, that Bucur was Severin’s hero last year. Nobody bothered to verify it. I am talking about our Sages from the Circle. Otherwise, I agree that news may travel slowly from the south.” Cernat gestured to include all who were from Severin, “and north,” he pointed at Rares. “Things happen.”

  “I have to talk with my Knights,” Rares said thoughtfully. “But if that is... Of course I believe you,” he added in haste. “We have known each other for so many years. Even when it’s so hard to believe.” He shook his head in disbelief.

  “Did you see any reaction from Aron when Codrin claimed the post of army commander?” Jara pointed to the obvious.

  Rares wanted to believe, but it was hard to swallow what had really happened. For many, the Circle was still a reputable order, and feared too. “No,” Rares breathed. “I really have to talk with my Knights,” he repeated, and left the room.

  I stood up and moved next to Saliné. Under the table, our hands met, and we stayed like that.

  “What are you planning?” Mohor asked.

  “I did not want Aron or Bucur to know yet. Orban will wait for Leyonan and Devan to attack you first. He may change his mind, of course,” I shrugged, “but we have at least enough time to defeat Leyonan. His army, six hundred strong, will leave Leyona in three days, to join up with Devan in Orhei. They want to take the south of Mehadia. You will send a courier every day to inform me about Orban’s movements. The road from Leyona to Orhei goes first north, toward Severin, before turning east at a point that is less than half a day’s ride from your border. If we leave tomorrow, we will be there before him. We travel light, without carts, each soldier carrying food for a week. The carts will follow us, but if everything goes well, Leyonan’s provisions will feed our army. I have a place in mind to set a trap for him, and we have almost two hundred fifty soldiers more. If Orban moves south, we can return before he is able to take Severin, but we must crush Leyonan first. I will leave enough soldiers here to defend a siege for two months. If needed, we can be back in less than a week.”

  “Aron insisted on keeping his guard, twenty soldiers, here,” Cernat said. “For Severin’s sake, of course. We planned to keep forty guards to protect the town.”

  “Let’s keep fifty. A few may be on the road as couriers, but forty should stay at any time in Severin.”

  “Yes,” Mohor agreed.

  Slowly, I opened Dochia’s letter. There was a brief message for me and another one for Jara, both written on the same paper. “Dochia is back, but she is leaving again. She left again,” I corrected myself; the letter was already old, and I lent the paper to Jara. I wished Dochia could stay here during the summer. She said nothing about that hurry to leave again, but Dochia was never charged with small things. Her message touched briefly the subject about Bucur and the Circle, and it seemed that she did not enjoy his no
mination, but she could not change anything. Does she know that I returned the Wing Talisman? I was not sure that Drusila informed the Wanderers about it. Evan after all that happened in Valeni, I still trusted Dochia.

  “I will destroy the letter,” Jara stared at me and I nodded. That was the agreed rule: we had to burn all the letters from Dochia.

  “I am starving,” Mohor complained suddenly. “Talking about war makes me hungry and angry.” He winked at me and left the room, followed by a smiling Jara and by Cernat who was slightly amused too.

  Left alone with her, I turned toward Saliné and took her hands.

  “I hate wars,” she said. “And I hate that you have to fight.”

  “Sometimes, is the only way to get what you want.”

  “And what do you want?”

  “A large castle to hide you from everybody.”

  “Even a small one will fit,” she smiled thinly. “But I still hate wars. So many people will die. And you will be in danger, but you will come back.” She stared at me with brightness in her eyes – light emeralds, like drops of water on spring leaves and shining as if the sun was behind her. “You may win the war, but for me... For me everything may remain the same. I still am that bloody candidate Queen, who I hate to be. Nobody asked me...”

  “We will find a way, even if I have to kill Bucur.”

  “Don’t talk about death.” Her fingers went over my lips, and I kissed them. “It’s bad omen.”

  “This should be a good one,” I smiled and moved to catch her in my arms. My fingers crept behind her waist, and I pulled Saliné to me, searching for her delicate lips.

  ***

  “We could not find any Leyonan scouts,” Vlad shrugged, “and I sent more than twenty riders on all roads and paths. And even in the high passes.” Slightly confused, he gestured toward the mountains around us. The place I had chosen to ambush Leyonan, the gorge of a small river, was just a thousand paces from me, easily visible from the forest where my army was hidden.