Grand Vizier of Krar

by W. John Tucker

  He was not personally engaged in making or lifting bricks or beams, although he would have been happy to do so to help his fellow Akrinans if that had been necessary. His high rank had been respected by the Proequans. However, it was hot work running up and down the ridge at Western Point, directing his work parties from one place to another.

  Telkooay envied the Proequans. They had stood up to Black Knight and he wished that he could have done the same. Black Knight was not the Proequans’ overlord, so there was no legal reason for them to submit to him. Unlike Telkooay’s principality of Akrin, Proequa never had a treaty with the Kingdom of Krar, so it was not obliged to give assistance in time of war. Breaking the ancient treaty between Akrin and Krar would have required the most extraordinary justification. Unfortunately, evil motive on the part of Krar did not amount to justification; nobody had considered the possibility of such a thing when the treaty had been made centuries ago.

  He laughed ironically to himself. He could have taken Nantport with his own squadron of twelve quimals and six thousand experienced mariners. He would have sneaked in by night in canoes via Eastern Passage. He would soon have taken Gateway Island and then permitted the navy to enter Western Passage in force. He never mentioned this plan to Black Knight, who he despised almost as much as the wicked Queen.

  Members of Telkooay’s family had been brutally murdered in the Massacre of the Nobles in which the last Grand Vizier, Pelundlis, had been killed and the constitution overthrown. As far as Telkooay knew, the line of the Grand Viziers had expired when the successor to Pelundlis had been declared lost and presumed dead, and the constitution had therefore become effectively unenforceable. That all happened many years ago, yet it was still remembered, especially in Akrin. According to Telkooay’s grandfather, Queen Rega had later given everyone reason for hope when she slew her evil parents and abolished the Order of Chains. However, she soon slipped into evil ways herself. She reinstated the Order of Chains and charged them with the training of her younger brother, Black Knight.

  When the call to arms reached him over a year ago, Telkooay brought as few of his compatriots with him as he could get away with under the treaty. He resolved to do as little as possible to help Black Knight without bringing retribution on his homeland.

  Telkooay saw that his people were flagging in the heat. He felt tired himself. He called out for a ten minute rest and ordered men to fetch more water. He wiped his brow and took a swig of water from his flagon. It was a bright day and the sun was dazzling.

  As he lowered his flagon he saw several of his men staring up the ridge in wonder. He shielded his eyes from the morning sun and peered up in the same direction.

  A horse and rider had appeared at the top of the ridge. It was not one of the Proequans. This one was hooded and cloaked in white, which made it all the more difficult to see who it was in the bright surroundings. The rider then threw back the hood of the cloak.

  For a moment Telkooay thought the sun had descended and exploded before his eyes. The rider’s golden hair blazed forth and was lifted by a breeze which seemed to appear for that purpose. The rider dismounted and came straight for Telkooay.

  He could now see that the rider was a young woman. His first thought was that he had never seen anyone so beautiful. Her sky blue eyes seemed to pierce his soul as they aimed at his face like arrows ready to fire. She seemed to be about twenty years of age, not much younger than him, but she exuded the confidence and poise of a mature woman of command.

  *

  It was easy for Blan to identify the young man she had been told about. At one fathome and eight fingers he was by far the tallest man within sight. And he bore himself as one accustomed to high command, despite his youth. As she came within arm’s reach she threw back her white cloak, the only one that Arnapa could offer her which was big enough.

  In the last seven weeks Blan had changed in subtle ways. Her parents might have noticed that she had grown ever so slightly taller. Those who watched her carefully would still have seen the vestiges of childhood innocence in her face. Her physical appearance had not changed very much, and yet those who knew her had difficulty now remembering that she was just seventeen. Strangers would never guess.

  Telkooay had to catch his breath. He felt that he had seen the face before. Then he saw the shining medallion hanging from a silvery chain around the young woman’s neck and he knew instantly why he recognised her. Her face was clearly that of a member of the most revered family of Krar. Many such faces appeared in tapestries all around his castle and the castles of colleagues who honoured the memory of the other Cankrar family, the line of the Grand Viziers. The medallion was without doubt the official insignia of the Grand Vizier, the medallion which could not be replicated except by an art secret to the Grand Viziers themselves. Telkooay had been taught all about it, as were all his forebears.

  “Prince Telkooay Pozakrin at your Excellency’s service,” Telkooay whispered as he dramatically knelt before her, took her hand in his and kissed it lightly. “I thought the Grand Vizier had perished many years before I was born, yet you are clearly a descendant.”

  “I am Blancapaw. I am the granddaughter of Praalis, he who escaped the Massacre of the Nobles and the murder of his father Grand Vizier Pelundlis the Just. Before he died, Pelundlis bestowed his medallion of office on Praalis who has now bestowed it on me. Will you now oppose the illegal wars waged by Black Knight and serve the Grand Vizier?”

  Telkooay replied in a considered tone. “Black Knight is my overlord by ancient treaty between Krar and Akrin. However, his authority is, in my opinion, outranked by that of the Grand Vizier. Only the Queen outranks the Grand Vizier in law, but she no longer gives any overt support to her brother whom she suspects of trying to oust her. Besides, even if the Queen did overrule the Grand Vizier, there are subtle questions of law as to whether she can do that in matters such as the waging of war. We were taught that the Grand Vizier of Krar is not merely an official but a second monarch. Many centuries ago, one twin became the King and the other twin became the Grand Vizier. The Constitution of the kingdom divided the functions of office. Although the King had the higher legal status, he could not interfere with the powers of the Grand Vizier unless authorised by the Council of Nobles which, of course, no longer exists.”

  “Thank you, Prince of Akrin,” Blan said with a laugh. “I’m sure you are a fine person and a great leader, but has anyone told you that you have a slightly pedantic manner?”

  Praalis had already told Blan all about the relationship between the King and the Grand Vizier. She found Telkooay’s manner endearing nonetheless. At least, she mused, he thought seriously about his obligations. He did not just follow the most charismatic leader as many others were inclined to do.

  “They have,” Telkooay admitted with a smile.

  “Then can you please give me a straight answer?” Blan demanded, smiling broadly. “Swear to me that you will now oppose the illegal wars of Black Knight and serve the Grand Vizier.”

  “I swear upon my good name and that of my ancestors, the ruling princes and princesses of Akrin, that I will serve you, Blancapaw, Grand Vizier of Krar, and I will oppose the military and naval operations of Cakrocken Cankrar, also known as Black Knight, and Queen Rega Cankrar to the extent that they have not been authorised by you, pursuant to the ancient Constitution of Krar and its confederates, including Akrin.” Telkooay solemnly declared this with his right hand over his heart and a smile on his lips.

  “Thank you, Prince Telkooay Pozakrin. As Grand Vizier of Krar I accept your allegiance.”

  Blan had been briefed by Praalis on the formalities of accepting allegiance. Praalis had also instructed her on which families in the eastern lands were most likely to change sides. After much questioning of the Proequan officers supervising the prisoners, she was finally pointed in the direction of Telkooay. He was the only one among the prisoners who had matched the names suggested by Praalis. In fact, the Pozakrin name was at the top of his list; Telko
oay’s grandfather had been the nephew of beautiful, tragic Silquooay Pozakrin, first true love and fiancée of Praalis.

  7

  With the permission of the Proequan officers, Blan led Telkooay away to Flowerpecker House, the inn where she had stayed on the night of the Battle of Western Point. Workmen were all around, carrying out refurbishments. Blan and Telkooay found a table in the quietest part of the saloon.

  “Call me Blan.”

  “Call me Telko.”

  Blan then got straight down to business.

  “How many loyal retainers do you have who would follow you across to our cause?”

  “All my people will follow us,” he replied, “but I brought as few as were absolutely necessary to meet my country’s treaty commitments. I brought six thousand mariners in twelve quimals. One thousand are with me here as prisoners. I didn’t tell Black Knight that all my people are competent mariners for he would then have divided us between all his ships.”

  “How were you affected by the battle?” Blan enquired. “Were you near the explosion?”

  She now felt awkward. Should she tell him about her part in bringing down the cliff? She felt responsible for the terrible destruction it caused, especially if it had hurt his people. She was relieved to hear his answer.

  “Our quimals were in reserve. We came alongside the landing craft, soon after the cliff collapsed, to replace two quimals that had been destroyed by rocks raining down on them. None of our people were killed. Only a few minor injuries were sustained.”

  “What made you leave your ships and cross over to the landing craft?”

  “I saw our opportunity to get away from Black Knight without him realising that we did so deliberately. I needed to do it in a way that would not cause trouble for the crews of my other ten ships. We filled our two quimals with the badly wounded from the landing craft and told some able bodied Kraran mariners to take them away and come back for us. Of course, we knew that they would not be able to come back. They were happy to get away.”

  “Where are your other ten ships? Will they join us too?”

  “For now they will follow Black Knight’s armada north to Port Fandabbin. However, they all have secret orders to take any plausible opportunity to get away from the Kraran fleet. My concern has always been to protect my people at home. If Arctequa falls and Black Knight knows that Akrin has taken against him, he will attack Akrin just as he has attacked the Free Alliance.”

  “How well defended are you in Akrin?”

  “At home I have a significant army and four dozen quimals, all better built and better equipped than the hastily assembled fleets from Krar and Port Cankrar. My army and navy are nominally engaged in opposing a phoney insurrection which I invented to excuse me from bringing more resources with me to Arctequa.”

  Blan was delighted. Four dozen quimals far across the sea might not be of immediate use to the Free Alliance, but she could see that it might be very useful later. Certainly, the thousand Akrin mariners already at Western Point would go a long way to solving the shortage of mariners available to Azimath and Nargin for the small Proequan fleet now being built at the dockyards on Proequa River.

  “Do you have experienced mountaineers here or people accustomed to jungles?” she asked. She felt that this was pushing her luck, hoping for mariners who had experience with both mountains and jungles; maybe he would laugh at her. He did not.

  “We are all competent mountaineers,” Telko proudly declared. “We live where the mountains meet the sea. As for jungles, some of us are familiar with the wild jungles of Sun Island to the south of our land, although I would not say that we have any jungle experts among us.”

  Blan then spoke to Telko about the plans that Arnapa and Nightsight were making. She withheld little. The mission was too urgent to hold back now. Besides, she already felt that she could trust Telko. She had felt that way from the moment she saw him. The feeling was growing. She even told him about her aspiration to go to Austra County and to rediscover the strange vessel that she had seen there.

  After a while Blan used her status as Countess of Western Point, and her fame from the battle, to persuade the Proequan commander to move all of Telko’s followers to another area. To avoid suspicion or rumour among the other prisoners, the pretext was given that the Akrinans would be employed in a special project in another part of the duchy, which was strictly true, for the time being at least. Telko was then left to brief his people and take new oaths of allegiance from them while Blan set off to share her plan with the War Council.

  To save time Blan used the beacon system to call Azimath, Nargin, Nightsight, Arnapa and Tor to the Custom House in Nantport where she introduced Telko and briefed them all about her plan. Tor was last to arrive; he had engaged in a lengthy discussion with Praalis before he left the citadel. Praalis had convinced him that the Akrinans could be relied upon.

  By nightfall it had been agreed that Arnapa would take Telko and another two hundred Akrinans with her across the mountain pass. Blan and Zeep would go with them, making a land party of two hundred and four.

  “It will give flexibility to the mission against Austra Castle,” Arnapa agreed, “and not merely because the Akrinans can crew any vessels we might capture. They have all passed through Austra Castle, albeit briefly, and are familiar with the layout and surrounding area.”

  “Although I have already selected my two hundred canoeists, your Akrinans can also operate from canoes once we all reach Austra Castle,” Nightsight added.

  “Count Nargin and I will deploy the other eight hundred Akrinans across our ships and warsloops,” Azimath proposed. “With Telko’s permission, we will place at least one Akrinan officer in each vessel. In the event of an encounter with any of the Akrinan quimals still with the enemy navy, new orders can be passed on from Telko via these credible agents.”

  “That would be sensible,” Telko advised. “My crews have standing orders to return home as soon as they can if I am killed or captured and beyond their power to rescue. They will not take further orders from Black Knight once they know the situation. The treaty allowed us discretion in the matter, so we were entitled to issue such orders whether Black Knight liked it or not. However, while my people are trying to find out what happened to me and, if I am captured and still alive, whether it is feasible to rescue me or enter negotiations for ransom, we should use that time to pass on my new orders to the effect that Akrin has joined the Free Alliance.”

  “Your decision in the matter is absolute?” Tor asked.

  “No, a matter as important as changing sides in a war requires consensus,” Telko replied, “but I have no doubt whatsoever that all my people will be with me on this issue. Once it is explained to them that the Grand Vizier lives and that Black Knight’s war is unconstitutional, they will understand that Akrin was brought into the invasion under false pretences, the treaty was wrongly invoked, and the Free Alliance is therefore entitled to our support.”

  “I am content with that,” Tor said. He seemed happier to know that his new ally had a similar system of government to that of most of the nations of the Free Alliance, including Proequa and Dabbin, a system based on constitutional law and consensus.

  Arnapa, Nightsight, Blan and Telko left for a busy night. The land party to Austra Castle would need to set off that following afternoon. In the meantime, two hundred Akrinans had to be brought to the citadel by carriage, instructed and equipped. It was well that Telko had selected his most able and experienced people.

  8

  Nantport – 25th September

  Coming to the eastern end of Nantport Blan dismounted Plashanette and headed for the boathouse entrance. The mare was now accustomed to Blan’s ways and would not wander far.

  With its silver-grey stonework and marble pillars, the boathouse looked more like a great public office than a place for housing small vessels. It stretched across the end of the promenade and two hundred paces further into the harbour water.

  Dawn was arriving on
the other side of the mountains. Despite the shadow of Mount Equa and the absence of any sign of the moon, there was now enough light in the sky for Blan to see the general form of the buildings and ships along the promenade. She walked through the grand doorway of the boathouse and opened the shutter on the lantern she carried with her, taking care to aim the light away from her eyes.

  The inside of the building was a huge open space. The stone floor sloped very gently down to the water which occupied the front part of the space. The boathouse had been the Customs House. It had been built when international trade was brisk and expanding. However, trade declined and a smaller Customs House had been built, largely from materials stripped out of the old building. The shell of the former Customs House had then been adapted so that small boats could be loaded there in bad weather and put to sea while still inside the building.

  At the front of the chamber Blan could see the shadowy arch through which boats would be sailed or rowed between the harbour and the indoor pool. The deepest part of the pool, nearest the arch, roughly corresponded to the water in the harbour outside. However, the pool extended into the building to provide sloping shallows for drawing small vessels into and out of the water.

  The only small boats in the chamber now were the hundred canoes prepared by Nightsight and his team for the mission to Austra Castle. The canoes were not assembled there because of the weather, but for secrecy. They were divided into twenty groups of five. Arnapa had asked Blan to check that the rations and medical supplies were ready to be loaded by the canoeists when they arrived later that morning.

  Blan was pleased to see that the supplies she sought had already been divided into one hundred portions so that each canoe would carry at least some medicines and each group of five canoes would be self-sufficient in the event of illness or injury. All that remained was for each pair of canoeists to confirm to Nightsight that they carried what their checklist said they should carry.