Gunpowder God

by John F. Carr

  Kalvan shook his head. Religious wars were the worst; if Styphon’s House wasn’t careful this war might depopulate the entire eastern seaboard.

  “I saved the best news for last. Archpriest Roxthar, who goes by the name of Holy Investigator, was found disemboweled and his head is now on a pike at the front gates of Varthon Town.”

  “This is wonderful news!” Kalvan exclaimed.

  Everyone there greeted the news with a chorus of “Down Styphon!”

  “We need to shout it from the rooftops,” Kalvan shouted. “When I return to Tarr-Thagnor, I’ll declare a day of kingdom-wide celebration! ‘Ding Dong! The Investigator is dead. The Wicked One! Ding Dong! The Wicked Priest is dead,’” Kalvan improvised, singing and dancing in circles.

  Everyone looked at him as if he’d just grown horns.

  “Excuse me, it’s a song from my homeland. A song of joy, celebrating the death of monsters in human guise.”

  After the impromptu celebration ended, Kalvan asked, “Oh, I almost forgot! How is the Captain-General? Is he going to stay in Hos-Agrys to manage the war against Styphon’s House?”

  Vinaldos smiled. “He’s returning home. He and his troops should be arriving within a moon quarter. They were still arranging ship transport when this message was sent by courier ship.”

  “Good. I’m glad he survived, I was a little worried.” He didn’t have that many talented generals left and Hestophes was one of the best. Besides, he genuinely liked him; Hestophes didn’t have the overweening arrogance that he so often encountered among the Zarthani nobility and gentry. Maybe it was his humble origins; but Kalvan liked to think it was due to his good character.

  “The bad news is he’ll only be bringing home about half of the troops he left with.”

  Kalvan visibly winced. Rylla wasn’t going to be happy when she heard this news; she’d already correctly determined that he’d sent many of his most vocal opponents to fight against Styphon’s House in Hos-Agrys.

  “Most of them were lost in a pitched battle in the center against Styphon’s Own Guard,” Vinaldos reported. “The Captain-General had a lot of good things to say about his men. There aren’t many soldiers in the Five Kingdoms who can stand up to the Temple Guardsmen and defeat them.”

  “Does he say why they’re leaving now?” Kalvan asked.

  Vinaldos nodded. “The League’s army is too few to fight against Soton’s Host and, when Hestophes suggested a war of attrition, as you suggested, the princes were not receptive to his words. The Captain-General believes they have no other choice. It appears that many of them were returning to their princedoms to protect their lands.”

  “Yes, where they will be defeated in detail,” Kalvan replied. “Although, in truth, the princes are between a rock and a hard place. If they stay together to fight the Host, they will be slaughtered collectively; on the other hand, if they fight in their own territory, they will lose one princedom at a time.”

  FIFTY-THREE

  I

  Anaxthenes sat in his over-stuffed chair in the inner sanctum of his private audience chamber where so many previous Supreme Priests had taken their solace. The room was filled with treasures and beautiful objects: a Thunderbird buffalo skull with turquoise inlay on the horns and the skull covered with gold, a pair of ornate battleaxes with hammered golden blades, a bejeweled crown with multi-colored plumes, a man-sized, pure-gold statue of the first priest who discovered the Fireseed Trinity, a rainbow-colored feather tapestry of a plumed serpent from the Empire of the Mexicotál, a silver death-mask of some forgotten Supreme Priest, and chests overflowing with precious gems and golden jewelry—more wealth than any man could spend in ten lifetimes.

  The Temple’s power was at its peak. He had just finished reading the latest dispatch from Grand Master Soton, the rune-filled parchment rested on the table before him. The Grand Master was adding new triumphs and conquests to his name; the Host of Styphon’s Deliverance was moving from one Hos-Agrysi princedom to the next in victory. Soton proclaimed that he would have the entire kingdom conquered by mid-summer. At the time of his letter, his army had been in the Princedom of Eubros, laying siege to Tarr-Eubros. The League’s Army had broken into fragments as each prince withdrew to protect his own holdings and, other than sporadic attacks upon the Host by bands of rebels, the war was proceeding on schedule.

  The other was the victory of the League of Dralm over the army of the Union of Styphon’s Friends.

  Soton claimed not to be worried over the League’s success, writing that winning the battle had resulted in a crippling loss of military manpower. “The League’s Army has never been strong enough to face the Host of Styphon’s Deliverance in open battle and in the future, due to a loss of almost a third of their forces, the League will be even less inclined.” That made sense, but what new devilment might the League cause?

  Anaxthenes wiped his forehead. Nothing that will concern me, he decided. Let Prince-Regent Grythos worry about that. That was his job now that Soton had written:

  The Order forces will be returning to Tarr-Ceros once we have finished conquering all the Agrysi princedoms and eliminating their armies. I will leave it to Archpriest Grythos to replace the princes, both Union and League, who have been cast down.

  Yet, despite Soton’s victories, new dangers to the Temple’s hegemony were cropping up, the latest in the form of Prince Phidestros who had become the new Great King of Hos-Zygros. Phidestros was a dangerous man, both a great strategist and a true leader of men. He had even garnered Grand Master Soton’s attention, as noted in his latest scroll:

  Now that the Usurper Kalvan has been exiled, I am more worried about the newly enthroned Great King Phidestros. Whereas Kalvan was restrained in his actions by his love of his subjects, Phidestros knows no superior except his own ambition. At this point, he commands more soldiers than any two Great Kings combined and, when joined with his lackey, Great King Geblon, maybe more men than even the Temple can muster. Woe be it to Styphon’s House should Phidestros desire to enlarge his holdings at the Temple’s expense.

  He wished the Grand Master were here so he could question him further. Did Soton mean that Phidestros could raise an army better or stronger than the Temple could? Or was he saying that the resulting war would bring down both the Temple and Great King Phidestros? There was much to ponder; unfortunately, it would be difficult to put together another large army after the Host of Styphon’s Deliverance was disbanded—as Soton clearly intended to do once the war in Hos-Agrys was over.

  After five years of commanding the Temple’s armies, Anaxthenes doubted that even he, as Styphon’s Own Voice, could command Soton to keep the Host of Styphon’s Deliverance together, or even send it against Hos-Zygros. Soton’s become so successful and powerful that he now balks at orders and makes his own demands. Unfortunately, none of Styphon’s House’s other commanders have had any great success in the field, except Grand Commander Aristocles who is beholden to Soton. Otherwise, I might be tempted to remove the Grand Master permanently.

  The worst part was Kalvan that was still alive and waiting in the wings. His participation in the Hos-Agrys conquest showed that he still had interests in the Five Kingdoms. Unfortunately, the Grand Host of Styphon’s House had been unable to sack Thagnor City or force Kalvan to battle. Now, the Usurper had the advantage; he could raise a new army and attack from the west.

  If I were Kalvan, who would I attack first? A most interesting question. If Kalvan wanted his old Kingdom of Hos-Hostigos back, he’d have to advance into Great King Geblon’s territory. This would pull Great King Phidestros into the fight and Kalvan would find himself fighting on two fronts, three if Soton could be convinced to strike at the heart of Nos-Hostigos while Kalvan was gone. After Phidestros defeated the distracted Kalvan, Grand Master Soton could move in to pick up the pieces and all three could be sent to Regwarn’s Caverns.

  For the first time that day, Anaxthenes smiled. I’m not the only one who’s got problems. Now, the big question was
how could he maneuver Kalvan into making such a precipitous move?

  Of course, all this depended upon how much animus Great King Phidestros held for Styphon’s House. Anaxthenes would have to make an attempt to re-establish relations with the Bastard King. Phidestros will let bygones be bygones, if I can convince him it’s in his best interest. After all, they had both earned Kalvan’s undying ire and Phidestros, if nothing else, was a realist.

  II

  Grand Master Soton watched from a nearby hilltop as Meligos City burned. Even he had to admit the sacking of Meligos had gotten out of hand. The entire city was engulfed in flames and billows of greasy black smoke filled the sky, turning the sun into a fiery red disc. The wind was blowing from the northeast and dense clouds of black and gray-ribbed smoke completely obscured the Agrys River. Above the crackling and hissing of the fire, he could hear the screams of the dying.

  Are these the sounds that the damned hear in the deepest bowels of Regwarn? he wondered.

  The siege had started out as so many others had during this campaign; Prince Kyphanes had sent out his ambassadors to parley over the city’s surrender. One of Soton’s terms had been the Prince’s surrender. Kyphanes, the traitor, had deserted the Union of Styphon’s Friends and must be made to pay the price for his treason. Unlike the last two towns, which had surrendered taking whatever terms were offered, Meligos City had held out for almost a moon half.

  Soton had then broadcast the terms of surrender to the city fathers and the populace, figuring that someone in the Meligos City had enough sense to force their prince to surrender. When no word had been forthcoming, Soton had ordered bombardment. The walls were strong and made of stone and it took almost a moon half before they had the first breach. Inside the city, the inhabitants fought his soldiers building by building, taking a surprising number of casualties.

  It wasn’t until the Host was attacked from behind that Soton had lost his head and acted out of anger rather than military judgment.

  Prince Kyphanes had held a reserve force of several thousand troopers outside Meligos City with orders to attack when the Host was committed to taking the city. Of course, such a small force did not have a chance to do more than kill men and divert the course of the siege, but they had accomplished that, and then some. The unexpected attack had cost the Host several thousand casualties.

  As a result, Soton had set the wolves of war free in Meligos City. He’d told his mercenaries and the Holy Warriors of Styphon to sack and loot Meligos to their heart’s content. And they had done so with a vengeance…. At first, they’d been after loot and women, but then when some of the city folk had fought back, it had inflamed their blood lust and desire for revenge. Styphon’s Warriors had killed every man and woman they could find on the streets, sparing no one, while the mercenaries looted and burned all the shops and buildings. Former Archpriest Roxthar would have been proud of their work.

  Soton was not; he felt as if he’d had the mother of all hangovers. And it wasn’t letting up. The pounding in his head was like some Ruthani drumbeat.

  He used his arm to wave over Horse Master Sarmoth, then pointed down at the burning city. From their vantage point it appeared the entire city was engulfed in flames. “Do you see this waste, this blasphemy that I have inspired?”

  Sarmoth nodded, wisely not saying anything.

  “It is because I allowed myself to be overcome with anger: anger because I am where I am not needed, anger because of the harm I have been forced to place upon these people because their leader is a traitor, anger because I’m tired and worn-out. Pay heed to my words so that one day you do not repeat my actions here.”

  “Yes, Grand Master.”

  Soton pointed at the younger man. “You have not sprung from my loins, but in heart and spirit, you are my son.”

  Sarmoth lowered his head. “I am overwhelmed, and flattered. I will try to live up to your teaching, sire.”

  “Good. We have a few more small towns to take here in Meligos, but I do not foresee any difficulties. Word of our actions here will spread far and away. Next, we will move on Orchon and conquer it, from there we will go south to Varthon Town and Eubros Town. When they are ours, it will finalize our suzerainty of Hos-Agrys. From then on, it will be up to Prince-Elect Grythos to hold onto the lands we have purchased with our blood.”

  “Yes, sir. But what about Kelos? Are we going to leave it in Great King Phidestros’ realm?”

  Soton took a deep breath. “It saddens and troubles me to see the Bastard Prince raise himself onto the seat of one of the Five Great Kingdom’s Thrones. I would gain satisfaction from taking the Princedom of Kelos from his hands and delivering it to Grythos. However, Styphon’s Voice gave those lands to Great King Eudocles, regardless of how short his reign was, and they are no longer properly part of the Kingdom of Hos-Agrys. I will leave it to some other captain-general to right this wrong. It is my wish to be clear of the blighted land as soon as the last remaining town in Glarth is sacked or surrendered.”

  III

  It was a beautiful June, or as the locals called it, “Moon of Strawberries,” in Thagnor and Kalvan was busy writing a letter to King Verkan in Greffa City. He had the windows enlarged in his private chamber, at the top of the keep of Tarr-Thagnor, and the sun was streaming into the room. He was still not very accomplished at drawing the Urgothi runes, but he was slowly getting better. They were similar to the runic characters used in Hostigos, but different in number and design. However, stumbling along on his own was better than having a scribe, no matter how trusted, write his letters for him. The locals’ idea of gossip was a lot looser and more forgiving than Kalvan’s.

  The situation in the Upper Middle Kingdoms, as he was explaining in the letter, had settled into a stalemate between King Theovacar of Grefftscharr and himself. Vinaldos’ spies reported that Theovacar was busy trying to replace the ships he lost in last year’s battle. He was also trying to build his own fireseed mills, and there he wasn’t doing too well. Gunpowder was dangerous stuff to work with, especially when it came to caking and powdering, and untutored hands were causing a lot of explosions. Also, Theovacar was having problems getting his crossbowmen to make the switch from crossbows to arquebuses. These problems could only be worked out over time and that was to Kalvan’s advantage, if he used that time wisely.

  Although, Theovacar was playing agent provocateur by providing financing and arms to Dorg, inviting them into Lyros in an attempt to weaken Kalvan’s hold on the territories south of Nos-Hostigos. The latest news was that the Order of Zarthani Knights was also involved, sending both troops and foodstuffs into Dorg.

  I’m not happy with the current regime, if you can call that bunch of cutthroats holding power in Lyros a regime, but I certainly prefer them to a puppet state financed by Styphon’s House and supported by Dorg and Grefftscharr. It’s still early enough in the year to send a good-sized force into Lyros and try to stabilize the situation. The problem is my subjects are enjoying their first year of relative peace since my arrival in Hostigos Town and I’d hate to start another war based solely on rumors and troop movements.

  I’ll just have to wait and see how things shake out. I may leave it up to King Chartiphon, who is much closer to the area in contention, and therefore more directly affected by events in Lyros and Dorg. By the way, Chartiphon’s new wife is expecting and should be giving birth any day. We hope that it is a boy so that it will provide a clear line of succession in Rathon should anything happen to Chartiphon. While he is in remarkably good shape for a man his age, he is still approaching sixty winters of age and will not be with us forever.

  On to other matters, Duke Hestophes is still blaming himself for the mess that he left behind in Hos-Agrys, although, in truth, there was little more to be done there. The League of Dralm, despite winters of warnings and other signs of the Temple’s expansionist intentions, did little to prepare for the Host’s invasion. Certainly, they neither possessed the men nor the will to stop the Host of Styphon’s Delive
rance. If Hestophes had stayed, he most certainly would have thrown his troops away for nothing. At this point, the only army with a fighting chance against the Host would be the Army of Nos-Hostigos and I would not surrender the safety of my own realm for those who refused to come to our rescue when the Styphoni were fighting in Hos-Hostigos.

  Grand Master Soton is currently ripping through the opposing League princedoms with fire and sword and leaving nothing but ruins behind him. Any town or castle that refuses terms is torn down to the ground and the defenders killed or taken prisoner. All the League princedoms will soon have new Princes, as will several of the Union princedoms, since some of them were killed or captured at the Battle of Varthon Town.

  I know I should be the better man and forgive the League of Dralm for not coming to Our aid in Hos-Hostigos, but a part of me believes they are receiving their just desserts.

  Still, with Archpriest Roxthar dead and his Investigation at an end, the affected princedoms should recover in a decade or two.

  Not all of the Great Kingdoms were solidly in the gunpowder theocracy’s grip: Hos-Harphax was a complete question mark. The latest news was that Prince Geblon, one of Phidestros’ former captain-generals, had married Great Queen Lavena and was now Great King of Hos-Harphax. Some rumors in Harphax City said the claimant was supported by Prince Phidestros, while others reported that the two men had broken their ties. All in all, a real mare’s nest.

  It was times like this that he wished Duke Skranga would return from Hos-Bletha. Skranga was a bit of a wild man and often strayed off the reservation, but he did deliver excellent intelligence. Well, one thing was certain, Skranga’s teams’ activities in Hos-Bletha had kept the Kingdom almost completely out of the Fireseed Wars and, since the Great King of Hos-Bletha was owned and run by Styphon’s House, that was no bad thing.