The Habit of the Kingmaker

by J J Moriarty

  “Did you hear Gemenfkon? Our new ambassador wants everyone to eat only rice and chickpeas, and all the rest of the embassy’s money is to be spent on feeding the hungry bitter vetch”, Abraxas said.

  Gemenfkon walked to a table at the side of Hyzou’s room, one right by a window that overlooked an empty yard. He placed the tray down.

  “I haven’t even had a chance to meet the man yet, so I don’t know where I would have heard this news from”, Gemenfkon said.

  The old man turned to Hyzou and bowed low.

  “I am pleased to meet you, Archaier. You’re most welcome and know that I’ll be your dutiful servant while you’re here”, Gemenfkon said.

  “Thank you”, Hyzou said.

  “Is Abraxas telling the truth? Am I to only buy rice and chickpeas for the house?” Gemenfkon asked.

  “It’s what most of the River Cities survives on, we’ll be fine on it”, Hyzou said.

  “Agreed, sir, we’ll be fine”, Gemenfkon said. “May I ask, sir, we were told your name, and I’ve heard you go by Hyzou of Nuyin. Is this so?”

  “It is”, Hyzou said.

  “Is it Nuyin in Piquea that is referred to?” Gemenfkon said.

  “It is”, Hyzou said.

  Gemenfkon walked to the door, and ushered Abraxas out into the hall. At the doorway he turned and looked at Hyzou.

  “In that case, Archaier, all I can say is welcome home”, Gemenfkon said.

  “It’s good to be back”, Hyzou said.

  Gemenfkon bowed.

  “Call on me if you need anything”, Gemenfkon said.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  It was good to be back in grey robes, even if these were different from anything he had worn before. These were ceremonial, meant to service Hyzou’s diplomatic role. The shoulders were so starched that the cloth barely fit, and the heavy hood chafed against his neck.

  “Well, I’m very pleased to meet you, ambassador”, he said.

  He was Kyrios Lysimachus, a small, portly man who controlled business within the city. His house, where Hyzou was speaking with him, was a large construction in the city’s fifth level. It was brand new, built upon the ashes of the fire.

  “And I’m pleased to meet you. Uqing may be a lonely place, but it must still engage in commerce if we are to survive”, Hyzou said.

  “Too true, too true. And Uqing has been valuable to me. I’ve yet to meet anyone here who uses iron for weapons and tools like the Servants, but iron jewellery is very much in fashion among the River City’s nobility”, Kyrios Lysimachus said.

  “Iron is limited, and all supplies go to the Servants in the first place”, Hyzou said.

  Kyrios Lysimachus nodded.

  “And I do understand, Uqing is Uqing. But I would like you to tell your Protakyrios that I will pay a fine price for any pure iron pendants”, Kyrios Lysimachus said.

  “Two. There are always two Protakyrios. But yes, I’ll pass on the message”, Hyzou said.

  Kyrios Lysimachus’ eyes lit up with delight.

  “I’ve introduced myself and you already know my associate”, with that Hyzou gestured to Abraxas. “But I’m rather unsure as to who you actually are. What do you do?”

  Kyrios Lysimachus sat back in his ornate chair, tapped his fingers on an arm of his chair. Though he had yet to see him standing, Hyzou would have been surprised if the man was taller than five feet. He was fat and wore long flowing clothes to hide that fact. For such a fat man though, his face was remarkably sharp. His eyes were huge, and they stared out at Hyzou from under the ornate hat he wore on his bald head.

  “I was sent here five years ago”, Lysimachus said.

  Something collided with the shutters on the window of the room. Lysimachus jumped.

  “Just a bird”, Hyzou said.

  Lysimachus shook his head. Then he returned to the conversation.

  “With your remarkable Lamyblan, can I assume that you’ve at least visited the glorious city?” Lysimachus asked.

  Hyzou nodded.

  “I lived there for a year”, Hyzou said.

  “Very good”, Kyrios Lysimachus smiled.

  “Why were you sent here?” Hyzou asked.

  “Once Piquea was burned to the ground and stripped of all wealth I was sent south by Pharaoh Ganymedes to rebuild a city.” Kyrios Lysimachus said.

  “You’re in charge of Piquea?” Hyzou asked.

  Kyrios Lysimachus shook his head.

  “No, no. It’s the Supreme Commander who runs Piquea. He’s the ultimate authority here. See there is no Kyrios who owns Piquea, Pharaoh Ganymedes owns it, it’s his personal possession. His fiefdom”, Kyrios Lysimachus said.

  “What do you do?” Hyzou asked.

  “Working to earn my title. I was just a High Citizen prior to being sent, a particularly rich High Citizen. I was made a Kyrios by the Pharaoh, and in return I promised him that I’d spend a decade of my life ensuring that Piquea became prosperous again”, Kyrios Lysimachus said.

  “A decade is a long time”, Hyzou said.

  “The Pharaoh rewards those who serve him well, and so I will be rewarded”, Kyrios Lysimachus said.

  “How do you feel you’ve done in bringing prosperity to Piquea?” Hyzou asked.

  “This city was dust when I arrived, and now enough rice is grown here to feed all of Lamybla. This is the breadbasket of the Kheme Empire”, Kyrios Lysimachus said.

  “The Kheme Empire?” Hyzou asked.

  “For an ambassador you’re remarkably unaware of recent events. Drascia invaded Yobo two weeks ago, and the Pharaoh has declared himself Imperator in response. It was a horrible idea from the Drascians - they hoped to catch the Pharaoh by surprise, and instead lost forty-thousand men”, Kyrios Lysimachus said.

  Hyzou tried to hide that this was news to him.

  “I presume you aren’t the man to speak to about the Lamyblan military?” Hyzou asked.

  “The Imperial military Hyzou, Lamybla is just the capital of the new empire which will stretch from shore to shore”, Kyrios Lysimachus said. “Lamybla no longer exists.”

  Hyzou sighed.

  “When your borders stretch from shore to shore, where will Uqing sit?” Hyzou said.

  “Where it’s always sat”, Kyrios Lysimachus said.

  “Pharaoh Ganymedes has beaten the Drascian forces, well he’s just had victory after victory, hasn’t he?” Hyzou asked.

  “A lot of the credit must go with those deputies he has, Kyrios Nerikare and Kyrios Nuya”, Kyrios Lysimachus said.

  “I remember Kyrios Nuya well”, Hyzou said.

  “You’ve met?” Kyrios Lysimachus said.

  “A long time ago. When I was living in Lamybla”, Hyzou said.

  “He’s quite the warrior”, Kyrios Lysimachus said.

  “This endless parade of victories, the Pharaoh must be confident that he could conquer even Uqing”, Hyzou said.

  The smile left Kyrios Lysimachus’ face.

  “Absolutely not, it is Imperial policy that the Empire and Uqing remain on the best of terms Two separate states, neither interfering with the other. We consider Uqing an ally, and we will never go to war against one another”, Kyrios Lysimachus said.

  “I don’t believe you”, Hyzou said.

  Abraxas frowned. Kyrios Lysimachus put on a shocked expression.

  “Ambassador, that is most undiplomatic”, Kyrios Lysimachus said.

  “If that is everything?” Hyzou asked.

  “I let it slide, because I thought you were a good fellow, but you should always address me with my title. Name me sir, or My Kyrios, if you will”, Kyrios Lysimachus said.

  Hyzou stood.

  “And you should always refer to me as Archaier, so we’ve both learned something new today”, Hyzou said. “My Kyrios.”

  Kyrios Lysimachus’ face curdled. Hyzou ignored him and walked from the mansion.

  The house was smaller than the mansions in Lamybla, and it was barely the size of a room in one of CaSu’s gigantic estates
, but for Piquea it was the lap of luxury. Kyrios Lysimachus was rich, powerful and well protected, and he wanted the city to know that.

  Hyzou walked through the fifth level’s crowded roads.

  Every so often people would step out of the way and bow, allowing the crowd to take their place on the road. Hyzou had noticed it since he first arrived, it seemed to only happen in the upper levels of the city.

  Hyzou was behind a man and his daughter who stepped off the road three times to bow to passers-by in just a few feet of walking.

  “You shouldn’t have been so aggressive”, Abraxas said.

  Hyzou stared at him until Abraxas withered slightly. Then Hyzou sighed.

  “You’re right. I’m an inexperienced diplomat, to say the least”, Hyzou said.

  “That’s ok, it’s no harm. Show Kyrios Lysimachus a chance to make some money and he’ll be your best friend again”, Abraxas said.

  “And the Supreme Commander, what’s he like?” Hyzou asked.

  “A military man, born and bred. He struggles to adjust to the role of the mandarin. I think he thinks it’s still a war he’s fighting. When it’s not, it’s the peace”, Abraxas said.

  “Who’s more powerful then? Who has more sway over Piquea?” Hyzou asked.

  “The Supreme Commander. Actually, I don’t know what Kyrios Lysimachus is still doing here. He must be making money somehow, otherwise I think he’d be gone. His job is done, he’s only here because he wants to be”, Abraxas said.

  Hyzou stepped past two armed soldiers.

  “There are a lot of soldiers here”, Hyzou said.

  Abraxas nodded.

  “There are, they guard the upper levels, and sometimes take trips to the countryside. Apart from that they’re in charge of making sure rice quotas are met”, Abraxas said. “But you’re right, there’s a very large military presence.”

  “Why? Do they have much trouble to deal with?” Hyzou asked.

  Abraxas nodded.

  “There are riots in the lower levels regularly. They’re quietened down, but up here the people are afraid. They like well-armed soldiers to be walking about the place; gives them a sense of security”, Abraxas said.

  “Why do they…” Hyzou began.

  An incident just ahead of him made him stop.

  The man and his daughter had come face to face with an unusually tall Lamyblan. The man stood aside and bowed, but his daughter didn’t. She tried to walk around the man in front of her. He reacted badly. He grabbed her shoulder, then he slapped her across the face.

  Guards rushed in from everywhere. The girl was bawling, while the Lamyblan was towering over the young girl. The girl’s father began to plead with the Lamyblan who’d slapped her. The guards came and stood in front of the daughter.

  “What’s going on?” Hyzou whispered.

  “They’re Piquean. Piqueans by law are supposed to step out of the way of Lamyblans and allow them the road”, Abraxas said. “She didn’t get out of the way, so she’ll be punished.”

  Hyzou looked at Abraxas, trying to discern if he was joking. It seemed he wasn’t.

  “Wait here”, Hyzou said.

  “Archaier”, Abraxas whispered, but there was nothing he could do.

  Hyzou shouldered his way into the crowd that had gathered around the altercation. The father was begging the guards to have mercy, while the tall Lamyblan who had started this mess was glowering down at the girl who couldn’t stop crying.

  One of the guards reached down to take hold of the child, to force her from the road because she still hadn’t moved. Hyzou reached out and struck the guard’s hand away. The guard looked up in alarm at Hyzou. His compatriot pointed his spear at Hyzou.

  “I’m Piquean too, you know”, Hyzou said, speaking in Lamyblan.

  “This has nothing to do with you, sorcerer”, it was the tall man who spoke.

  Hyzou looked each of the guards in the eye.

  “I’m Piquean, just like this girl. So either you move off the road to let her and me through, or you try and remove the both of us. Go on, try remove us both”, Hyzou said.

  “You must obey the law, sir”, a guard said.

  He was young, and with his accent he could only have come from Lamybla itself.

  “Are you going to try and force me off this street? Ask yourself that, and then you’ll have the only answer that matters”, Hyzou said.

  A crowd was gathering now. The tall Lamyblan was indignant.

  “Do your duty and arrest this ingrate. It’s illegal to threaten a guard. No wonder he’s Piquean, the barbaric fuck”, the tall man said.

  Hyzou just kept staring at the two guards. Finally, their faces broke, and they stepped aside.

  “Continue ahead, sir”, the guard said.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Much later that evening, after a long day’s work preparing reports, Gemenfkon appeared at the door of Hyzou’s study.

  “Archaier, you have a visitor”, Gemenfkon said.

  “Who is it?” Hyzou asked.

  “The Supreme Commander, sir. He’s downstairs, I left him in our meeting room”, Gemenfkon said.

  “Is it common for the Supreme Commander to visit the embassy?” Hyzou asked.

  “No, good sir, but you’re not a normal ambassador. Consider it a compliment”, Gemenfkon said.

  Hyzou sighed.

  “I don’t feel very complimented”, Hyzou said.

  “I’ll tell the Supreme Commander that you’ll be down shortly”, Gemenfkon said.

  Hyzou nodded, and Gemenfkon left. Hyzou went to change into his grey robes, because that was what would be expected.

  This afternoon he’d used ekstasis to speak with Uqing.

  He told them about Pharaoh Ganymedes’ war with the Drascians. They already knew that. He told them that he thought Pharaoh Ganymedes would go to war with Uqing. They asked him for evidence and Hyzou said it was just a suspicion. Hyzou could tell they thought he was crazy.

  How long until they write me off up north, think I’ve become one with the natives? Hyzou thought.

  Once he was dressed in his formal grey robes, Hyzou walked downstairs to the meeting room. It was the largest room in the whole embassy. There were two large benches facing one another in the centre of the room, both made with expensive embroidery and covered in pillows. In each corner, smaller benches faced each other. Gemenfkon had brought the Supreme Commander to the largest bench, so Hyzou came down and sat across from him.

  “Get us refreshments, Gemenfkon, if you will”, Hyzou said.

  Gemenfkon bowed.

  Hyzou had never met the Supreme Commander before, but Hyzou knew his face intimately; the man was a permanent fixture in his nightmares.

  “I’m Archaier Hyzou”, Hyzou said.

  “The Supreme Commander of Piquea”, Supreme Commander said.

  They grasped forearms, and Hyzou sat down again.

  “You’re a busy man, so I imagine you must have some reason to come and visit me”, Hyzou said.

  “You’re only here a day, and already you’ve proven yourself to be quite the character. I don’t like it”, Supreme Commander said.

  “Do you need to have your guards here? I’d prefer to speak with you in confidence”, Hyzou said.

  The Supreme Commander frowned. He was an old man, grey hair and a wrinkled face. He was lean, his face was drawn, and his mouth looked like it hadn’t smiled in a generation.

  “I remember you, do you know that? No one else seems to, but I was there that day. I was in Lamybla for the Pharaoh’s birthday. I was in the Stadia watching you fight that Colossus”, Supreme Commander said.

  “You’re in no physical danger Supreme Commander, your guards don’t need to be here. If I were to harm you in any way it would mean open war between Uqing and Lamybla; and that’s not going to happen”, Hyzou said.

  The Supreme Commander turned to his men and nodded. They left the room.

  “Archaier, I don’t know what you’re trying to do here, but I�
��d hope your actions lately have been representative of you being unhinged, as against being the policy of the Archai”, Supreme Commander said.

  “Supreme Commander, is anything I’ve done lately so bad?” Hyzou asked.

  “I’ve no idea why Uqing would make you into an Archaier, you were a runaway slave and by rights I should try and send you north to Lamybla to be crucified, or at least to atone for your sins”, The Supreme Commander said.

  “Remember, Supreme Commander, I help rule Uqing. You’re just a mandarin in thrall to whatever Pharaoh Ganymedes needs of you. I think I’m of the greater standing here, and you ought to show me some respect”, Hyzou said.

  The Supreme Commander angered. Hyzou cut him off before he could speak.

  I wasn’t expecting this much hostility. Hyzou thought.

  “You can’t honestly have thought it respectful to suggest that I should be sent north, to be made a slave again? If you truly think I am nothing but a slave, then please, leave, until you can recognise my title”, Hyzou said.

  “What I was saying was, that I know you. I know you’re a troublemaker”, The Supreme Commander said.

  “A troublemaker? I did what any righteous man would have done in my situation”, Hyzou said.

  The Supreme Commander scoffed.

  “You were a slave, and your duty was to serve the Pharaoh. You absconded like a coward to pastures greener”, The Supreme Commander said.

  “And you serve the Pharaoh too. So you had better start doing your duty”, Hyzou said. “Go and send a message to Pharaoh Ganymedes. Tell him who I am. Then continue doing your fucking job and deal with me as an ambassador.”

  The Supreme Commander didn’t reply.

  “We’re equals, then?” Hyzou asked.

  The Supreme Commander looked like he had just tried bitter vetch for the first time.

  “Archaier, you have my respect”, The Supreme Commander said.

  “Thank you, Supreme Commander”, Hyzou said.

  “Your behaviour though”, The Supreme Commander said. “This city is built upon the rule of law. Anybody else, anyone but you, I’d have arrested and flogged for threatening a guard. Instead, I think I will have to ask you to leave your post.”