Llylquaendt's decision was nearly instantaneous. "I must go to give warning to Mar -- to P'sn'ghis'thoa. It is not right that the peoples of the World Beyond should suffer so."
The seer's wrinkled face showed no ire, but his eyes revealed firm opposition. "Not once has any changed what has been foretold."
"Even so, I will give this warning. As you have seen, Mar has great power. If there is any that can change his fate, it is he."
Now the seer did frown. "This would be a dangerous journey for you, Magic Father. I will send my nephew and a band of warriors in your stead."
In part to determine if he was indeed a captive or yet still free, Llylquaendt pressed the issue.
"No, it must be me. Your warriors do not understand the World Beyond as do I and would not be able to travel as quickly as I. I can reach the city on the river by foot and then take passage on one of the boats that need no water."
His face turning impassive, The One Who Sees shrugged. "All are free to walk where they wish. This is the first law of the Gheddessii."
Llylquaendt straightened, making ready to rise. "Good. I'll begin my preparations to travel immediately."
"Of course, Magic Father, but just to be safe, before you go --"
"No more wives."
"No, of course not, Magic Father, but even you must see the wisdom in providing for an unfortunate calamity that might deprive your people of the magicians that we are destined to have. The trail over the mountains is difficult and the metal clad warriors of the city beyond the mountains are untrustworthy. I'll not ask much of you. Certainly no more wives, as all of the tribe can see that you have chosen the proper number to preserve your kith and kindred. Just a few handmaidens, no more than ten or fifteen or twenty. You won't have to take them into your household or provide care for them. Our entire tribe will provide for them and their offspring and give them a generous choice of husbands, tents, and herds. Just a few nights' work and you'll be on your way."
Llylquaendt winced.
THIRTEEN
Mar shifted on his throne, trying to find a spot where some hard, carven protuberance or sharp corner did not press uncomfortably upon his hips or back.
He had argued that a comfortable chair would be just as effective as the garish, high-backed, jewel-inlaid, and gold leaf covered Imperial Throne that Mhiskva had commissioned, but the Viceroy of Mhajhkaei had not budged.
"You must consider how those who rule the Sister Cities think, my lord king," Mhiskva had replied calmly. "Even under the Principate, they held an authority that was explicitly subordinate to Mhajhkaei only in matters of trade. While they have an obligation to provide contributions of armsmen and gold upon demand to the Principate Council, it has been at least a century and a half since they last were required to do so. Each prince raises, funds and commanded his own legions and fleets, sets his own duties and taxes, and establishes his own laws and courts. It will not be easy for them to surrender that sovereignty to the Empire. We must impress upon them from the very start that we have not just taken the name of the Glorious Empire of the North but that you are in fact the true heir to its magnificence and power."
Mar had given Mhiskva a dubious look. "And an uncomfortable throne will do that?"
"Over time, your courage and your magic will do that, my lord king. However, the envoys of the Sister Cities who attend this meeting of the Principate Council will be either the, by and large, vainglorious princes themselves or wealthy, aristocratic cronies from their courts. Both will expect a majestic form rather than a practical function. That is, we must present them with overweening opulence, exaggerated pageantry, and a grandiose emperor that will fit their preconceptions. Should we fail to provide a show of sufficient magnitude, the legitimacy of the Empire will be called to question in their eyes."
"At least add some cushions," Mar had proposed.
"That might suggest decadence, my lord king."
And so Mar sat on an entirely tortuous and gaudy monstrosity to oversee a conference that had the announced purpose of acquainting the Sister Cities with their new emperor. In actual fact, the Sister Cities had been summoned to give them an opportunity to make either overt or tacit submission to the Empire.
Only nine invitations had been sent.
Gealollh, because of her complicity in the death of Prince-Commander Ghorn, had been omitted from the list. At some point in future, Mar would recommend her expulsion from the Principate, with the attendant likelihood of a punitive military expedition, but given that there were no armsmen to spare at the moment, the only thing that he could do was to ignore her traitorous prince.
The minor inland cities north and east of Mhevyr toward the curving Eastern Shore -- Chyorletphar, Bzindz, Mklo, Phezg, and Yhmghaegnor -- were already under Phaelle'n occupation or threat of same and attempts to contact their princes had been unsuccessful.
Suhr, the city nearest Mhajhkaei both geographically and diplomatically, held the proxies of the ten minor princedoms of the Inland Mercantile League and had been tasked to represent them all as a unified block.
Kdenmyn, on a small island north and east of Plydyre, had declared for the Brotherhood after the fall of Mhevyr and would also be dealt with in due time.
The six most proficient magician-pilots, Ulor, Mrye, Srye, Trea, Ihlvoh, and Mistress Lysael, had been dispatched in various directions to gather and transport the envoys. Rather than their own weathered and in many cases battle damaged vessels, Mhiskva had sent them in the newest skyships from Master Khlosb'ihs' Monolith yards. All were of a sleeker, more airworthy design and all had numerous functional and decorative enhancements over Berhl and Ulor's original construction, including steel plating over their entire hull. Each had been fully equipped with crew in fine livery, gleaming brass and polished wood polybolos, and the imperial flag flown proudly at the stern.
By careful calculation, Mhiskva had scheduled the departure of each skyship so that all of the envoys would arrive in Mhajhkaei on the day of the conference. Before Mar had entered the refurbished throne room, he had taken a peek outside and had seen that all six indeed hovered in a line near the palace's newly constructed elevated mooring dock. A new, imperially expansive stair of lustrous white marble adorned with fancifully carven balusters of a rare sea-blue stone led down from the platform into the remodeled antechamber. The visitors would be able to disembark and enter the throne room by a short, direct path, but they would also pass no less than twenty flags of the Empire mounted on golden standards and a full section of Imperial legionnaires standing at guard in polished armor.
The first to present themselves were the envoys of Salmoltrah, Gwign, Elblys, and Ci. Walking together in a mutually supportive clump, the four, two of them women and all of them ranking members of important merchant houses whose businesses encompassed the entire Silver Sea, passed through the great doors from the antechamber with a measured, synchronized tread and then approached Mar and his dais-mounted throne down the long sea-blue carpet of the aisle. The four maintained their swift but dignified pace for the entire length of their march.
According to Mhiskva, between them the four princedoms, whose numerous islets were strung in a curling necklace shaped like an ox horn two hundred leagues south-southwest of Mhajhkaei, could barely field a legion and a half of inexperienced armsmen. Their contribution to the war against the Brotherhood would be minimal, but a failure to solicit their support would be impolitic and might be deemed a lack of Imperial recognition of the established conventions of the Principate.
Mar had taken the Viceroy's extensive lectures with good humor, but he had already decided that the inefficient and often clumsy appearing political machinery of the Principate would be eventually discarded and its powers and functions subsumed by those of the Empire. However, since an imperial bureaucracy to manage those functions did not actually yet exist, for now he had little choice but to put up with the existing system.
Clearly having chosen to act in concert, both politically and practically, th
e envoys halted at the foot of the dais, took a knee, and gave the imperial salute.
In obviously practiced unison they declaimed, "Hail Mar, Emperor of the Glorious Empire!"
This was as expected. Mhiskva had already learned from Lady Rhavaelei's intelligence network that the four southern princes had decided on an enthusiastic show of support for the Empire. Simple pragmatism had produced this decision. They were small, the Archipelago and the Brotherhood far away, and Mhajhkaei, bloodied but strengthening, and her new magician-emperor nearby.
Mar levitated to standing position and said with likewise practiced but artificial warmth, "Greetings to you and the loyal princes for whom you speak. I welcome you to this conference."
Sliding in smoothly from the right, Mhiskva, in his new capacity of First Minister of the Empire, departed his selected station alongside the seated audience of Mhajhkaeirii dignitaries -- scholars, senators, merchants, craftsman, and a sprinkling of ordinary folk who Mar had personally invited -- and escorted the four to the waiting chairs on the left side of the aisle.
The next to appear at the great doors was the Prince of Suhr, Mrycus XVI, and his attendants and honor guards. One of but two princes who had signaled their intention to personally attend the conference, Mrycus was nearly eighty, emaciated, stone deaf, and by all reports plagued by advanced dementia. His eldest child and heir, Princess Bhelis (who by the odd Suhrii'n tradition would assume the masculine pseudonym of Mrycus XVII at her ascension to the throne), herself almost sixty, walked at her father's side, holding unobtrusively to the hem of his exquisite, silver embroidered ebony jacket to guide him along. The Suhrii prince and his entourage also followed Mhiskva's script by mirroring the previous envoys' obeisance, though Mrycus XVI did not kneel with the rest.
As there was significant concern that the aged prince might not be able to rise once more without considerable assistance and the embarrassment attendant to such an occurrence, Mhiskva had made it known that in recognition of the longstanding and staunch loyalty of Mhajhkaei's neighbor, the Emperor had awarded her prince the singular honor of a dispensation from the formality.
When Mar had asked Mhiskva where loyal Suhr had been when Mhajhkaei had been occupied by the Brotherhood, the marine officer had said, "Training armsmen. Suhr would almost certainly been next on the monk's list."
Having memorized his lines, Mar did not miss a beat. "Welcome Prince Mrycus and Princess Bhelis. I am greatly pleased that the stalwart friends of Mhajhkaei and the Empire have graced us with their presence."
Once the party from Suhr had taken their seats, the doors opened to admit the solitary envoy from Praae. Lady Chrynn nh' Bryndt nhi' Lorsi was the tall, regally beautiful sister of Prince Kyort. At that in-between age where women show the glow of maturity without losing the fire of youth and wearing a demure gown of shimmering golden cloth, she glided down the carpet to the foot of the dais with an elegant demeanor that suggested serenity.
While the Phaelle'n had held Mhajhkaei, Praae, along with Jzaegleomyri, had according to reports straddled the fence, cultivating an undeclared neutrality. Whether or not Lady Chrynn intended to now offer her city's allegiance to the Empire had been information that Lady Rhavaelei's spies had not been able to ferret out.
Mar did not expect outright rejection, but a continuance of Praae's self-preserving ambivalence was entirely likely and his prepared response had been crafted as an indirect rebuke that was hopefully circumspect enough to avoid driving Praae openly into the Phaelle'n camp.
Mar would have preferred to fill the air above both cities with skyships, but he had accepted Mhiskva's argument that he could not afford to make any move that would deprive Mhajhkaei of allies, however lukewarm their assistance might be.
In spite of all the work that had been done over the winter to expand and strengthen Imperial forces, the balance of power between the Brotherhood and the fledgling Empire remained massively tilted in the monks' favor. Based on paper estimates alone, the Brotherhood could field more than twenty times as many full strength legions as could Mar. Moreover, with the exception of Number One, which had the twin unique advantages of Mar's own magic and Quaestor Eishtren's bow, the monks' Shrikes could out-fly and handily destroy any skyship in the Imperial fleet. Mar believed that only the pressure of his occasional raids against Bronze had kept the Phaelle'n air fleet from constantly harassing his trade routes.
While Plydyre and a few smaller islands to its immediate south would soon be liberated, the rest of the vast area of the Bronze Archipelago remained firmly in the grip of the Brotherhood. Additionally, with control of Mhevyr and the regions north of it, the Brotherhood had effectively secured its continental flank.
The Empire would need every armsman and resource that the Sister Cities could provide during what could only be a long war, so Mar must play the diplomat, cajoling if possible and coercing only if unavoidable.
As he mentally reviewed the short speech that he and Mhiskva had written for Praae, Lady Chrynn stopped a pace short of the bottom step of the dais. Taking her pause as an indication that she would not offer obeisance, he opened his mouth to begin, but snapped it firmly shut when the Praaerii envoy twitched up the hem of her gown to gain slack in her skirts and knelt.
A stir of surprise passed among the Mhajhkaeirii and the other envoys.
Mar could only watch in ill-concealed dismay as she slipped a comb from her raven hair, dragged its sharp fingers across her left palm to draw blood, and then let the crimson fluid drip to make obscene stains upon the carpet. Though he had heard them so many times that he should have become immune, Mar still felt sorrow and anger as she proclaimed the words of the oath.
"With steel and blood,”
"Bound into the earth,"
"I pledge my life to thee,"
"And name you my king!"
Mar felt a constriction in the ether and knew that once again the walls of his prison had grown stronger.
Lady Chrynn returned the comb to her hair and made the imperial salute with a bloody fist. "Hail Mar, King and Emperor!"
Then she stood and in a clear, victorious voice, said, "My lord king, I am pleased to inform you that certain evil voices that have conspired to lure my princedom into a godsless alliance with the Brotherhood of Phaelle have been silenced. My brother and I and all the people of Praae stand ready to lend all aid to the Empire."
Seething, Mar flew down the dais steps, stopped to face the Praae envoy, and wrapped a bubble of flux around the two of them to muffle what was said between them.
"The Empire does not require that any submit to the Blood Oath," he told her without bothering to conceal his ire.
Her confidence did not waver in the face of his harsh words. "It was necessary that there be no doubt about the loyalty of Praae."
"Did you know that the Blood Oath is magic? A spell that cannot be broken?"
"Yes, I did. I made my choice with full knowledge of the consequences."
Mar let out a slow breath. "What actually happened in Praae?"
"An attempt was made on my brother's life. He is gravely wounded and the surgeons do not know if he will recover. The assassin was a Black Monk and only my brother's skill with the sword kept him at bay until our guards could intervene."
"When did this happen?"
"The day before my departure. My brother had decided to clear the court of Phaelle'n sympathizers. We have kept the news of the attack from general knowledge so that suspected conspirators could be purged."
Based upon the grim look in her eyes, Mar translated her final word as "executed." Then, for just a single unguarded moment, he saw hope replace the ruthlessness.
"It is widely said that some powerful magicians can heal wounds and salve fevers."
Mar grimaced. "Magic may not save your brother."
"His eldest son is only fourteen, but he will fight alongside the Empire."
As Mar contemplated the fierce woman, he realized the Phaelle'n had made a terrible enemy.
"Such
as can be done will be done." He dissolved the flux bubble that had given them privacy.
"High-Captain Mhiskva."
The Gaaelfharenii moved so quickly to Mar's side that it almost seemed as if he had not actually crossed the intervening space.
"After consultation with Lady Chrynn, it seems advisable that I speak directly with Prince Kyort," Mar told him in an offhanded manner. "I would like Ulor and Number One to provide transportation. Lady Chrynn has graciously agreed to deliver my invitation. My expectation is that Prince Kyort will be in Mhajhkaei before morning."
Mhiskva saluted. "Yes, my lord king. Lady Chrynn, if you would accompany me?"
Mar returned to his throne to allow the conference to continue.
None of the remaining envoys attempted to detour from expectations.
Lord Kgelohr, nephew of Prince Wahllndt of Lhinstord and a smallish, high-voiced man, made obeisance to the Empire in a nervous, hurried fashion.
Jzaegleomyri's envoy, Factor Sheldynd, did so with a marked lack of enthusiasm. Reports suggested that he was the most vocal adherent at the court of Princess Tshaelriee of Jzaegleomyri'n neutrality.
The final attendant, Prince Plhoris of Zlhahv, the princedom nearest Mhevyr, was just the opposite. The tall, middle-aged prince's enthusiasm was so pronounced that Mar, ready to instantly intervene, took special care to watch for any sign that Plhoris might be tempted to follow Lady Chrynn's example and also inflict the Blood Oath.
Finally, save for the now Praae-bound Lady Chrynn, the envoys were all in their designated seats and the opening statements began. By longstanding tradition, the Sister Cities spoke in order of the date of their ratification of the Treaty of Plyyst.
Princess Bhelis rose. "As always, the Prince and people of Suhr stand at the right hand of Mhajhkaei in peace and war."
Warrior (The Key to Magic) Page 9