Five Hundred Years After

by Steven Brust

  "So does Your Highness believe," said Aerich toward the end of the repast, "that His Majesty will attack today?"

  "It is not unlikely," said Adron. "It is what I would do. The longer he delays, the more horses we will be able to move into position, and the faster and more efficiently we will be able to strike. Rollondar cannot be unaware of this. In all honesty, I am surprised that the attack did not come during the night, although we would certainly have had the advantage in any battle in darkness."

  Sethra looked at him sharply. "Your Highness cannot, even with all of your skills and all of your forces, expect to defeat the Imperial Army in open battle."

  "I do not fight in order to lose battles," said Adron quietly.

  "Your Highness must perceive," said the Lyorn, "that, once battle is joined, I cannot support it—however much I revere Your Highness, I cannot countenance rebellion."

  "It is not rebellion if the cycle has turned, my dear Lyorn."

  "On the contrary," said Aerich. "Rebellion is exactly rebellion, until it succeeds, which is how one knows the cycle has turned."

  "A pretty dilemma," agreed the Prince.

  His daughter shrugged. "It is all well and good to discuss such matters of theory, but soon enough the battle will be joined and such arguments will no longer matter, being replaced by arguments of a more convincing sort."

  "And you," remarked Sethra dryly, "are so impatient for the slaughter to begin that you can barely contain yourself."

  "Well," said Aliera sharply. "And do you condemn me for this?"

  "I have seen too much blood, too many battles, to take any joy in them."

  "I," said Aliera, "have not."

  "With the Favor, you never will."

  "If you can find an honorable way to prevent this battle, my dear Sethra; you are welcome to do so—moreover, I will even help you."

  "Will you? Well, I have been considering exactly this question."

  "Have you then?"

  "Indeed I have."

  "And?"

  "It may be that I know a way."

  Aerich studied her, but said nothing. Adron leaned forward in his chair. Aliera said, "Well, let us hear it, for I am convinced it must be a good one. And, moreover, a quick one, for I do not doubt that the Warlord is, even now, advancing with all of his forces."

  "It is unlikely," Sethra pronounced.

  "Unlikely?" said father and daughter with one voice.

  "You are, neither of you, as aware as I am of the state of the Imperial forces. Rollondar will not be able to attack before to-morrow's dawn at the soonest, unless he chooses to launch an attack in which, he will be outnumbered in both men and horses, and I promise you he will not do so."

  "The Imperial Army is not gathered?" said Adron.

  "Not in the least."

  "And yet, Jurabin and His Majesty must both have realized—"

  "Jurabin," said Sethra with a smile and a covert glance at Aliera, "has been distracted these past few days, and is not thinking clearly. And as for His Majesty, well, the reins of government are too new in his hands for him to yet feel the subtleties."

  "Yet the Warlord—"

  "Will not have called for a general arming and preparation without explicit orders. It is never a wise move, and after several hundred years of a Phoenix Reign, with the Dragon over the horizon, no Warlord would risk giving such advice unless asked in the most explicit of terms."

  "That is true," said Adron.

  "Well then," said Aliera. "Let us hear this famous plan. And if I think it a good one, well, I will subscribe to it as I promised."

  "Then listen," said Sethra.

  "We are listening," said the others.

  Sethra quickly described her plan, while the others listened attentively. When she had finished, Adron blinked and said, "That is it?"

  Aliera said, "That is your plan?"

  Aerich said nothing.

  "That is my plan," said Sethra.

  "You will be arrested," said Adron.

  "You will be killed," said Aliera.

  Aerich said nothing.

  "I will be neither killed nor arrested," said Sethra.

  "His Majesty—"

  "Knows that I am Captain of the Lavodes. He will not like it, but he will take no action against me. And if he does—"

  "Yes," said Adron. "If he does?"

  "He will discover that he is unable to move against me."

  "Well," said Aliera, "that may be true, but your plan cannot succeed."

  "I will not dispute with you," said Sethra. "Yet, nevertheless, I will make the attempt, for it is the only way to avert civil war—and that on a scale that I am not ashamed to say frightens me, who have seen such wars come and go for more years than you, Aliera e'Kieron, can imagine."

  Aliera seemed about to object, but evidently thought better of it. Adron, for his part, nodded slowly. "It would, indeed, solve the problem, although I cannot believe it will work. Still, if it did, think of all the bloodshed we would avoid."

  "So will you support me in this attempt?"

  "With all my heart," said Adron, "though I think you are doomed to fail."

  "And you will agree to your role in the plan?"

  "Entirely, my friend, and without a second thought."

  Sethra nodded, then turned to Aerich, saying, "And you, my good Lyorn?"

  "I believe with His Highness that it cannot succeed, yet it is worth the attempt—none of us knows all the subtleties of the Orb, or of His Majesty's character."

  "And you, Aliera?"

  "If you try, well, I will accompany you as I agreed."

  "You? Never in life. The risks which I do not run, you most certainly will."

  "And what of that? Do you think I care a thimble for what His Majesty might think to do to me?"

  "And yet, I cannot protect you."

  Aliera rose to her feet, her hand upon the hilt of her sword. "How, did I somehow convey the impression that I desired your protection?"

  "Aliera!" said her father. "Not at breakfast!"

  Aliera bowed and sat once more.

  Sethra shrugged her shoulders. "You may accompany me, if you will permit. I do not think it wise."

  "Nor do I," said Adron.

  "I consider the entire affair unwise. Yet, if Sethra will have it so, I shall accompany her."

  "When will you set out?" said His Highness.

  "At once," said Sethra. "The sooner begun—"

  "Indeed. Then allow me to call for two horses."

  "Very well."

  Adron sent for two of his best horses, which, upon being delivered, were given over to Sethra and Aliera. Sethra mounted at once. Adron stood before Aliera, took both of her hands and looked her in the eyes.

  "Daughter—" he said.

  "I know, father," said Aliera. "I will be careful. And you—"

  "Yes?"

  "Do nothing that you needn't."

  "Of course."

  "Then fare well."

  "Fare well."

  Adron and Aerich watched until the two riders were out of sight, then they returned to Adron's tent. Adron walked over to his mosaic of purple stones, studied it, and sighed. Aerich stood next to him.

  "I do not know what Your Highness is constructing," he said, "yet it frightens me."

  "And well it should," said Adron. "It is now complete, and, should I draw power through it, it would embody the most powerful spell this world has seen since the lost ages of the Jenoine."

  Aerich looked at him. "So much?" he said in a whisper.

  "So much," said the Dragonlord.

  "But what use can you have for a spell so powerful?"

  "I face a powerful foe," said Adron. "The most powerful of my life, or, indeed, the life of any sorcerer."

  "Would Your Highness care to tell his servant of what foe he is speaking?"

  "Who else, my friend? The Orb."

  "Your Highness would set elder sorcery against the Orb itself?"

  "I would."

  "For
pride?"

  Adron turned to the Lyorn sharply. "So it may seem," he said. "Yet it is not so."

  The Lyorn raised his eyebrows and waited. For a while, he thought the Dragonlord had nothing more to say, but then Adron seemed to sigh. "My dear friend, you must consider, first of all, the state of the Empire. Then there is the state of the court. Then there are those signs and portents by which one can, sometimes, receive hints about what the Gods and fate have in store for us. All of these must be taken into account, yet of none of them can we be certain. Therefore, we must allow ourselves every possible option, until the moment of crisis, when our choices are necessarily narrowed, and the only possible action becomes clear."

  "Well," said Aerich, "I understand what Your Highness does me the honor of telling me, yet I do not comprehend—"

  "I will explain, Duke, for I value your friendship, and, even if you think I am choosing wrong, well, I would still wish for your esteem, and thus I would have you informed of my thinking in this matter."

  Aerich bowed and signified that he was listening.

  "I am in rebellion against the Empire," he said.

  "Well, that is true."

  "I have decided that I cannot suffer the insult he has done me, and therefore everything that follows must follow."

  Aerich nodded.

  "Yet, there are several possibilities from which I can choose, and several ways in which events may play themselves out in spite of any choices I may make."

  "Your Highness is as clear as the water of Libedu."

  "In the first place, it is possible that I shall simply win against His Majesty—a military victory brought about by mistakes on the part of the Warlord Rollondar, or on the part of His Majesty, or by circumstances unforeseen. Do you know what this would signify?"

  "That the cycle has turned, and Your Highness is meant to have the Orb."

  "Exactly."

  "Well, I understand."

  "Next, I may be defeated militarily, which would result in either my death or my capture—and, as I am certain you know, capture would mean death, only somewhat delayed and more ignominious, being upon the Executioner's Star rather than on the field of battle. What, then, would this signify?"

  "That the cycle has not turned."

  "We understand each other perfectly."

  "Well?"

  "Well, Duke, I give you my word that, in the latter case, I should accept defeat, and the decrees of fate, and not risk unleashing the powers of elder sorcery against the Orb."

  "How, you would not?"

  "Never in the world."

  "But then, if I may do myself the honor of putting a question to Your Highness—"

  "You may."

  "Why create the spell at all?"

  Adron nodded, as if this question were not unexpected. "To begin, I built it in anger—I have been studying these patterns for more years than I can count, yet the idea that such power could be a weapon even against the Orb only occurred to my thoughts when I learned of the insult His Majesty had offered my daughter. I constructed the spell, and then, as it were, I came to my senses; or my rage cooled, as you would have it; and I realized that, insult or no, I would not use such means to take the throne."

  Aerich bowed. "That seems well thought, Your Highness."

  "I have not finished."

  "Well?"

  "Consider the issues I first mentioned, those being the state of the Empire, the state of the court, and the signs and portents with which one might be acquainted."

  "Yes, I am considering them, Highness. I am, in the first place, not sufficiently familiar with signs and portents."

  "Well, leave them. What next?"

  "The Empire is troubled: The Council of Princes is due to meet, and there is no agreement among any of the Houses about the Imperial Allotment; there are food shortages in the city such that fortunes are being made smuggling grain past the gates, while food sits rotting in the harbors; there is such discontent in the city that the Guard have been alerted to prepare for riots at any time; in the North, the mines—"

  "That is sufficient, Duke. What of the court?"

  "His Majesty is attempting to rule his own court, but assassinations and conspiracies have deprived him of much of the knowledge he requires to make decisions. Furthermore, he allows the Consort to influence him in matters regarding the welfare of the Empire."

  "Well, we are in agreement regarding the state of the Empire and the state of the court."

  "I am pleased to be in agreement with Your Highness."

  "What can this mean except that the cycle has, indeed, turned, and I must take the throne?"

  "It could mean that we must do our best to rally behind the Emperor in this time of trouble, Your Highness. And it may mean nothing at all."

  Adron sighed. "Both true," he said. "And exactly my point. That is, you perceive, the difficulty: There are too many possibilities. And yet—"

  "Yes? And yet?"

  "One possibility, and one that I cannot overlook, is that everything is just as it seems, no more, no less."

  Aerich stared at the Prince, waiting for him to continue. After a moment he did.

  "The appearances are that the Empire is in a shambles, the court is in confusion, and His Majesty is turning into the worst sort of tyrant—for it is a tyranny built on ignorance and foolishness, rather than selfishness or even malevolence. If things continue as they are there will be famine in the city while food rots in the harbors of the South, there will be war in the East and rebellion in the West, there will be division and strife in all layers of society, the Imperium insulting the noble, while the noble suppresses the bourgeois, and the bourgeois cheats the commoner. That is the direction in which we are heading, and all evidence that the cycle has turned is speculation, and perhaps nothing more than desire turned to belief. Do you understand what I am saying, Duke?"

  "I understand, but—"

  "Then consider what it means that I have the power to prevent all of this—that circumstances have worked so that I can prevent great evil—if evil is to come. Or if catastrophe looms—and, Duke, with the anger of the people, the fear of the bourgeois, and the pride of the noble all mixing in the pot which no hand stirs, can you doubt that catastrophe looms?—might this not be the working-out of fate, that I have the chance to prevent it? Could it not be that I am fate's tool in this?"

  "Has Your Highness considered," said Aerich slowly, "that your efforts to prevent catastrophe may bring it about? For fate, as Your Highness knows, cannot be denied."

  "Fate cannot be denied, but what has ever been accomplished, that is worth the accomplishment, except in spite of or against fate? The struggle is always worthwhile, if the end be worthwhile and the means honorable; foreknowledge of defeat is not sufficient reason to withdraw from the contest. Nevertheless, what you say is true; it may be that the nobler act is to have this power and not use it."

  Aerich said, "I think I understand."

  Adron nodded. "So, to summarize, if the cycle has turned, the spell will never be used, except insofar as it can be used as a threat—which use is not inconsiderable. But if the cycle has not turned, then I shall not use this spell in any case, unless—"

  "Yes, Your Highness? Unless?"

  "Unless matters become so desperate that I must force it to turn, because one man, Emperor or no, cannot be permitted to cause such destruction as I foresee if it can at all be stopped; and, Duke, I apply this rule to myself as much as to His Majesty—more so, in fact."

  "Will Your Highness then allow yourself to be defeated, without using those powers?"

  "I will," said Adron, looking steadily at the Lyorn.

  "Yet Your Highness will keep this spell in readiness against a circumstance scarcely subject to definition, and which, if it occurs, will cause Your Highness to unleash a spell which might risk the existence of the Orb itself?"

  "I will."

  "Will Your Highness deign to explain why? For I do not yet understand."

  "It is because
I fear, Duke. I fear that this Emperor, unable to face the consequences of his actions, and his inactions, will threaten such tyranny that any risk will be justified, and, moreover, he will do so with such strength and determination that great effort will be required to prevent his success. If, at the moment of decision, I have seen no evidence, than I shall not use the spell, even if it means my own death."

  "Do you truly think him so evil?"

  "I fear he is so weak."

  "But who will decide when the petty injustices of a monarch become the evil of a tyrant, or when circumstances have reached the point where such desperate measures are required?"

  "I will," said Adron. "I can trust no one else."

  Aerich looked at the round, neat, glossy purple stones, and said, "Pride."

  Adron looked at him for a long moment, then turned his own eyes to the mosaic. "Perhaps," he said.

  These purple stones were also the subject of a brief discussion between Aliera and Sethra, as they rode, knee to knee, toward the Imperial Palace. They had just left the first post-station when Sethra said, "You are aware of the mosaic of purple stones your father has constructed?"

  "I am indeed."

  "Do you know how they work?"

  "I am not unacquainted with elder sorcery."

  "Do you know what the spell is intended to do?"

  "Yes."

  "Very well."

  "How, that is all you have to say?"

  "Yes. That is all."

  They rode at a good speed to the next post-station, where, after exchanging signs with the officer, they were given fresh horses, and so continued.

  "Ahead of us," remarked Aliera, "is the Flower Road

  , though I've never seen any flowers on it. In any case, it leads to the Gate of the Dragon, and so we are nearly there."

  "You do not know how the road came to be named?"

  "Not the least in the world."

  "If you like, I will tell you."