“Poros is still a large enough power to halt Sho’Curlas’ westward expansion, at least for those lands north of Squire’s Knot. Oregal rose with the invention of the first cavalry of the West, and the Sho’Curlas Alliance rose with the same invention in the northeast. Greyholden I, member of an estranged offshoot of the Sviedan line, used his powerbase in the Borden Isles to bring the Six Clans and the Three Kingdoms together formally as one nation under the Sviedan name, making himself King. He prepared the Swords as symbols of leadership, blended the republican and feudal forms of government together in a written constitution, and established the current laws of succession to prevent any one province in Svieda from having power over the others. His dream was for Svieda to be strong enough to stand up to any of the other major powers. He set up the laws requiring nobility to train a member of each generation in the art of magecraft. Almost none of this is in these books, however, even though the same books from the Royal Library mention all of it.”
Maelgyn grinned wryly. “The most egregious thing is that these books indicate we were founded as a ‘neutral place’ for Porosian traditions to continue until the civil war ended, mentioning a treaty which I have never heard of before. We’re supposed to ‘rejoin Poros when the civil war ends,’ according to this nonexistent treaty, no matter the outcome – something I am sure would have been in Greyholden I’s papers if it were true. Having read them, I can attest that there is no mention of any treaty with Poros in Greyholden’s papers.”
“It sounds like someone in Poros is attempting a slow conquest by subterfuge,” Valfarn said. “Yet apparently they’ve only hit here, in Sopan. Would anyone like to venture a guess as to why?”
“Not yet,” Maelgyn answered. “But perhaps we could get some ideas from someone who might have actually been alive when Svieda was founded. It’s late, but first thing tomorrow we talk to Wangdu.”
“Very well,” Valfarn agreed. “Tomorrow morning. I’ll make the arrangements.”
Gherald coughed. “Aren’t we all forgetting something? Like the invasion? Sho’Curlas? That is more important than a few changes to our history books, right?”
“No reason we can’t investigate this matter while dealing with that one,” Maelgyn replied. “I think I’d like to put you in charge of establishing the mages draft, Gherald. Valfarn, you know our forces better than I do. With our new treaties, the soldiers protecting the borders of Mar’Tok and Caseificio can be withdrawn. That should provide sufficient additional manpower to assign at least one combat veteran to each city, village, and township to help drill and train militia forces. I would like you to collect enough of Gherald’s drafted mages to ensure one is paired with each of those veterans. Once those defensive measures are established, we’ll have a better idea of what we have to work with when we go on the offensive. In the meantime, I can investigate this Porosian issue, myself.”
Maelgyn hung up the silk divider to give Euleilla privacy as she changed across the room from him. For the first time since leaving the inn at Elm Knoll she was able to find comfortable nightclothes to wear. She’d packed some when she started the journey, but they had been ruined during their travels. The Dwarves had no such amenities even for their own kind, much less for Humans, so she had been greatly relieved when the Court Seamstress was able to produce a wonderfully tailored nightgown between the time that they had arrived at the castle that morning and the end of dinner that night. It was a bit risqué, considering she had company, but it was appropriate for a married woman to wear around her husband.
Though they had yet to do more than kiss, she and Maelgyn had been sleeping in the same bed (or tent and bedroll, or pallet, or whatever else they were forced to sleep on during their journey) for several weeks, now. At first, it was merely a somewhat awkward, but pleasant, traveling convenience. As that awkwardness vanished, he found himself enjoying it more... even with the sheet between them in the traditional practice of bundling. He still wanted to have at least one more conversation with Euleilla before he suggested removing that sheet, however.
It still felt odd when she walked in on him changing, even though he knew she couldn’t see him. What made it worse was that Euleilla found his reactions intensely amusing, and provoked them from him whenever she could. He had been half expecting her to try and catch him changing that night, but it sounded to him as if she were simply readying herself for bed at an unusually slow pace. He wondered if it was the unfamiliar room or something else that was delaying her.
Euleilla was, in fact, taking her time because she needed to think. It had been a long time since she had been able to take stock of her situation, but now that she was in what was likely to be her permanent residence, she needed to before she could go any further.
Things had been moving much too quickly since she met Maelgyn: Joining Maelgyn on a trip across Mar’Tok, rescuing a member of the Dwarven royalty from a group of bandits, getting ‘accidentally’ married, fighting another battle against foreign invaders, falling ill crossing the mountains, meeting with the Dwarven leadership as a political figure in her own right, fighting yet another battle while still recovering from her illness, and then, most recently, finding herself in the position of having to reveal her lack of eyesight to several strangers just so that she could continue in her new role as the Princess Consort of Sopan Province.
Looking back on it all, it was no wonder she’d never had a chance to lean back and put things in perspective. Now, though, things should be settling down, at least for her. The burden of ruling Sopan (and everything that went with it) would fall on Maelgyn’s shoulders, not her own. She was sure she would be helping him along the way, but for the moment she could think about her own concerns.
There was her marriage to consider. She thought that maybe, just maybe, she was in love with Maelgyn. She didn’t know why – perhaps it was simply his magical aura – but she had fallen in love with him the very day she met him. Clearly some of Maelgyn’s barons were having difficulty accepting her, but she would not be dissuaded from having him as long as he would have her.
She was still a little uncomfortable with the fact that being his wife made her a Princess (or rather a “Princess Consort,” but she wasn’t entirely sure what the difference was). On the long list of things she thought she might be able to achieve in her life, marrying into the royal family was not something she had considered. Marrying a Sword of the Realm... well, that was just so far out of her plans that she wasn’t entirely sure what to think of it.
She enjoyed the way the comfortable silks and fabrics felt on her skin when wearing the gown that evening, but if the ‘job’ of being Maelgyn’s wife required that she dress like that every day she feared she would go insane. She much preferred her leather bustier and lightly armored jeans, accompanied by a nice vest or (in cold weather) jacket. She had specially made those with small iron plates in the lining (or the underarmor, for the pants) to allow her to get dressed easier. The silk gown felt delightful, but she kept thinking she was naked in it without the iron markers letting her ‘see’ them.
The fact that her position as Maelgyn’s wife was also forcing her to show her eyes (or rather, the lack of them) to more and more people also disturbed her. When old Gherald voluntarily left the room before she had to reveal them the last time, she almost kissed him – she didn’t like letting anyone see anything other than a smile on her face. She didn’t even want Maelgyn to see those eyes too often, though she was more willing to let him see her at her most vulnerable than anyone else.
Oddly enough, the war disrupted her life the least out of everything that had happened, and was the thing she felt most prepared for. Despite her blindness, being raised by a military hero like Ruznak had encouraged her to consider a military career. She had been taught something of the art of tactics, she knew how to apply her magic to combat, and – as even Maelgyn would probably be startled to learn – she could handle hand-to-hand combat about as well as any soldier, if absolutely necessary. Ruznak taught her ho
w to fight both unarmed and with a staff, and she had also taught herself some magical combat. Maelgyn’s lessons in counter-magic could readily be adopted into what she already knew, making her quite capable in any fight. Rather surprisingly, she felt more prepared – at least in some ways – to deal with the war than her marriage.
But only if Maelgyn took her with him as he led their armies. If he tried to shield her from the action, and keep her away from those things she was most ready to help him with, then they would have problems. There was also the chance that she would be kept out of all of the decision making even if she were allowed to accompany him. As Princess, or Princess Consort rather, she would be held liable for all of Maelgyn’s decisions. If he kept her away from the decision making process when she would have to take that responsibility, then perhaps she would need to have second thoughts about the whole marriage thing. It looked more and more like the success of their union lay in Maelgyn’s hands.
“Euleilla, are you there?” Maelgyn asked abruptly.
She felt startled momentarily. He normally refused to talk with her when either of them might be dressing. “Yes,” she answered, forcing all trace of surprise out of her voice.
“Are you dressed for bed?”
“Maybe,” she teased. Even now, she liked pulling out that little bit of embarrassment still in him. She could feel his eyes rolling.
“Well, when you are, I’d like to get your opinion on something I’m planning for tomorrow. As my wife, you should be given a chance to share in the big decisions, and this could be a big one.”
Perhaps, Euleilla thought, her smile coming more naturally than usual, Maelgyn’s hands are a good place for this marriage to be.
Wangdu frowned as Maelgyn related what he had learned about the changes in the local historical record. As the Elf heard more and more about the changes, and the way the changes were performed, something dark flickered in his eyes.
“This library you speak of, you do,” he finally said when Maelgyn was finished. “Just how old are the books inside it, are they?”
“Well, nothing in it would be older than Sopan Province’s inclusion into Svieda, but a large number of the books look about that old, and most of the library collection is considerably older than I am. Not many new books at all, come to think of it.”
“Hm,” the Elf mused. “Not good, not good at all, it isn’t. You’ve got an Elf working against Sopan Province, you do, but this Elf is not the one we know from Sho’Curlas, he isn’t.”
“Really?” Maelgyn said, surprised. “It sounds a little like what happened with Borden Isle and Abindol. Hrabak is an Elf...”
“It could be any Elf, it could,” Wangdu explained. “This has been done before, it has. To this same province, it was. By an Elf as well, it was. Did you really think that Oregal gave Sopan to Svieda out of the goodness of their hearts, did you?”
“An Elf arranged for Oregal to give us Sopan Province?”
Wangdu shook his head. “It was not exactly that simple, it wasn’t. An Elf spent centuries convincing the Oregal Republic that Sopan Province was indefensible, he did, and that the only way to keep it out of the hands of Sho’Curlas was to cede it into Svieda, it was.”
“What Elf did that?”
Wangdu grinned wryly. “It was me, it was. I have been working to defeat Sho’Curlas for centuries, I have, and I figured strengthening Svieda was a good choice, it was. Svieda was already fairly powerful in its own right, it was, and seemed to be ruled by a succession of fairly decent individuals, it did. Between all the parliaments and councils in Sviedan bureaucracy there are enough checks and balances to withstand a few bad monarchs, there are. But I was merely following a several millennia old plan, I was, which Elves have been using in many wars against other races, they have. We Elves are immortal, we are, so spending hundreds of years slowly seeding propaganda into a nation is not as impractical as it would be for another race, it isn’t.”
“So, this is a traditional Elven tactic,” Maelgyn mused. “And yet you don’t seem to think that Hrabak is behind this. I suppose I buy that, since it seems to be of more benefit to Poros than Sho’Curlas, but can you think of any Elves who would work on Poros’ behalf?”
“Elves are a very scattered race, we are,” Wangdu sighed. “In the past there have been parts of Squire’s Knot which were considered Elven communities, there were, but I have not seen another Elf in that city for twenty years, I haven’t. The Bandi Republic is openly ruled by an Elf, it is, but she refuses to allow other Elves to establish residence in her borders, she does – we may be allowed to travel through her country, we may, but she rightly thinks we’re too dangerous to live there permanently, we are. Some Elves want to hide from politics of the world, they do, and live in the wilderness of the border kingdoms. I’m aware of a few Elven communities in Oregal, I am, but they have very little power, they do. Hrabak is a known madman, he is, and so most Elves steer clear of his holdings, they do. I have not heard of any other Elven stronghold, I haven’t, but I would not be surprised if an Elf had decided to take a position of power among one of the Porosian political factions, I wouldn’t.”
“Okay, now the next question,” Maelgyn said. “Why Sopan? We share no border with Poros – in fact, the only way to get from here to there is to cross through both Mar’Tok and the Bandi Republic. It’s possible to travel upriver and cross through the border kingdoms, but that would take even longer. What could they gain from us?”
“Svieda shared no border with Sopan, it didn’t, when your nation took it, it did. Why would Svieda do that, would it?”
“Money,” Maelgyn answered quickly. “It’s strategically located to control trade along the Orful River, which is the longest river in the known world. Any traders along that river who wish to conduct business with the outside world must go through Sopan and pay a tribute.”
“That is a simple answer, it is, but accurate. So, why would Poros not want it for the same reason, why not?”
“Mar’Tok has never been hostile to Svieda, and even if it was both Sopan and the larger parts of Svieda have enough coastline to communicate by sea, but Poros does not. Mar’Tok, Bandi, and the border kingdoms are all hostile to Poros, and would band together to fight it,” Maelgyn reasoned. “No, something doesn’t fit here. At least... not if Sopan is the only place targeted. But where else would Poros strike? If it’s a classic Elven strategy, I doubt they could employ a similar strategy in Bandi, where the mad Lady Phalra rules. I also haven’t seen any evidence of such... historical tampering, as you might call it, in Mar’Tok. There are way too many border kingdoms to even contemplate striking out against them all. No, if this does come from Poros it still doesn’t make any sense.”
Wangdu sighed. “Perhaps you’re right, you are. I suggest we ask El’Athras to see what he can turn up, I do. He has considerable resources when it comes to this sort of thing, he does.”
Maelgyn nodded. “Very good. Could you ask him for me? I’ve got to bring this before the Council of Barons. Countering this will require an action only they can take.”
“As you wish, you do,” Wangdu nodded. “But what will you be doing, will you?”
Maelgyn grinned wryly. “I’m fixing the damage.”
Chapter 21
Yergwain stood in front of the council chambers, looking decidedly unhappy. As the head of the Council of Barons, he was the only one of Sopan’s peers who could not avoid this meeting. Maelgyn, waiting for his cue to enter the council chambers, wondered if the man was still upset about their heated discussion the previous day. Regardless, Maelgyn expected that he would be even more upset by what was about to happen. If there was one thing he was starting to learn about Yergwain, it was that he disliked the unexpected. Perhaps, however, Yergwain would be better prepared for his announcement than anyone else. It would definitely test the loyalty of his barons.
“This emergency session of the Council of Barons is called to order,” Yergwain announced. “Sword Prince Maelgyn, Duke of
this province, has asked to address the Council.”
The usual muttering and small talk which happens whenever a large enough group of people were gathered together ended with a suddenness that Maelgyn found surprising. Knowing that this first session with the council would make or break his ability to rule the province as Duke, he took a deep breath to collect his composure. As ready as he was going to get, Maelgyn stepped out into the room and looked out among the nobility of his land.
There was curiosity among the gathering, and perhaps a little bit of resentment emanating from some of the Barons over his marriage. There were also a few hopeful expressions, which Maelgyn felt somewhat reassured by – at least there seemed to be some initial support for him. He just hoped his new announcement wouldn’t destroy that.
“My Lords and Ladies,” Maelgyn began. “Something disturbing has come to my attention, and in order to correct this matter I will need to ask hard things of you all. We have two major problems which we have to deal with, and unfortunately we don’t have much time to correct either of them.
“The first is the one you are probably all aware of by now: The nation of Svieda is at war, the king is dead, and Sho’Curlas has sent a massive army into our kingdom. We are holding them off, thanks to the combined efforts of several of our fellow provinces, but just barely. Our navy in Largo was destroyed. And, this you may not know, I have had reports that there are several dozen trained Black Dragons in the Sho’Curlas army which are yet to be deployed. We, as a nation, are in mortal danger, ladies and gentlemen. We must act quickly if we want our nation to survive.”
In Treachery Forged (The Law of Swords) Page 25