Michael cleared his throat. "You speak of the Revolt of the Covenant, my lord?"
"I do indeed. When the Empire conquered Corona, and attempted to introduce the Faith of Aegea as had been done in all the other conquered provinces, the people rose to defend their religion with a fury that they had never displayed in defence of their country. The rebellion came to engulf half the south coast, and it seemed like all Corona would have to be covered in blood to put it down."
"I thought the Empire didn't mind glutting the world with blood, until it screamed for mercy," Jason said.
"It seems Michael and Ameliora have reason to be thankful that I was not born four hundred years ago," Gideon said.
Jason smirked. "Facing an enemy who acknowledged no possibilities but victory or death, who fought with a fanatical devotion to their god and cause, for the Empire it must have been like looking into the dark mirror of its soul."
"Quite possibly, for Prince Demetrius did something unheard of until that point: he capitulated," Gideon said. "He granted freedom of religion throughout the Empire; the rebellion died down shortly after amidst a series of Imperial triumphs on the battlefield."
Michael tried to imagine growing up worshipping any god save Turo, and try as he might just could not do it. It was a part of him, who he was. The tenets of the Turonim were bound up in everything his mother had tried to teach him growing up, everything about the man he tried to be. Without them, he was nothing. "Begging my lord's pardon, but I for one am grateful for the fact."
The corner of Gideon's mouth curled upwards. "Fear not, Michael, I've no objection to the practices of the Turonim. It is, as I understand, a noble religion that teaches its followers to put others before themselves, to hold their duty sacred and to fight with all their strength in defence of nation, god and principle. Those are fine and lofty sentiments, such as a great state can be built around, was built around in fact. The Empire should have allowed the faith of Turo, for it is a faith such as can be easily harnessed to the greater glory of the Empire as a whole, but Novarianism? That is an ill faith, a sick faith, that preaches nothing but selfishness and idle licence, the pursuit of personal ambitions at the expense of the good of community or nation, laxity of morals and the weakening of inhibitions. It is a religion that denies nothing false and tolerates nothing wholesome, a creed which corrupts the souls of men even as it persecutes those faiths which nourish and nurture. A religion founded by selfish and immoral gods which has inevitably begot a selfish and immoral church. And yet that was the faith the people of the Empire turned to when they were granted the opportunity. This faith that has rotted the iron in the Empire's soul, put out the fire in its heart, has driven the faiths of Aegea and the Eldar to the wall and would do the same to Turo if once his faithful ever relax their vigilance in turn. I hold that damnable church responsible for all the waning of our greatness and all the ills that now afflict the Empire: the indolence of the nobility, the grasping voracity of the publicani, the casting aside of our Imperial destiny. Were it up to me I would tear their sacred places down and burn them all. Unfortunately when I suggested the idea I was laughed out of the throne room."
"What an angry and disgruntled fellow you are," Jason said.
"No, your highness, Lord Gideon is merely passionate. It shines through every word of his speeches, hence their quality," Michael said.
"Thank you, Michael," Gideon said. "Now, it is my hope that the rebels will oblige us with an assault today, and hence give us the opportunity to break them once and for all. If they do not, then we may have to consider looking for a way to leave Davidheyr by stealth or mild criminality."
"You mean to abandon all of these people my lord?" Michael said.
"We have done all we can for them Michael, we cannot stay here indefinitely," Gideon said. "We have larger concerns, and Quirian will not wait for us."
"Walking away from all of these people doesn't exactly sit right with me either," Amy said.
"There isn't anything we can do to help them by ourselves," Jason said. "Not to mention if we do remain we risk the fall of the Empire. We cannot sacrifice Eternal Pantheia for Corona."
"You say that because all your friends live in Eternal Pantheia," Amy said.
"And you say otherwise because you come from Corona," Jason said. "There is no other rational choice but to go on, however hard it is."
"There is a third choice," Michael said, expressing a thought that had been growing inside him since he had entered Davidheyr. "My lord, you must lead Amy, Tullia and His Highness into Deucalia province in the morning; I will stay here and fight the Crimson Rose and anyone else who might try to harm the people here."
"Alone?" Jason said.
"If the party is weakened any more then the quest is put at risk," Michael said. "I am the least of the company, so it makes sense that I should be the one to remain behind. You will not miss my sword and meagre strength with you, but it might make a difference here. I will follow when I can, once Wyrrin returns with the Thirty Fifth to put these rebels to flight."
"More likely you'll get yourself killed in short order," Jason said. "These people pay their taxes to maintain the Imperial Army, let the legions earn back their costs. What good do you think you will do on your own?"
"He won't be on his own, I'm staying with him," Amy said.
"What? No!" Michael yelped. That was not what he had planned at all. The idea of Amy facing down the fearful odds of the Crimson Rose was nigh unbearable. "Amy, you must go on."
"You know better than anyone here that the greatest heroes of Corona always came in pairs: David and Jonathon, Simon and Gabriel-"
"Pairs of brothers," Michael said.
"You and me are practically brother and sister, so we're nearly there," Amy said.
"One hero in each pair died more oft than not," Michael said. "Gabriel did, and so did Jonathon. No, Amy, I can't let you-"
"Since when have you let me do anything," Amy said. "Why do you get to risk your life in a hopeless cause but I don't?"
"I do not want to do this," Michael said. "Do you think that I want to leave you behind? I have not rejoiced with such sincerity in all my years since you went away. But I must bid you farewell, it is a question of honour."
"If it is honour to throw your life away I am glad to be without it," Tullia said. "Both the greatest chance of survival and success, and the greatest benefit to the greatest number, dictate that we all of us maintain our course against Quirian."
"I know that, but I cannot abandon these good folk without defence," Michael said.
"I understand what it is to care for others," Tullia said. "I understand what it is to want to protect someone, against the whole world, if need be. But we need you, as does your sister. Will you turn your back on them? On us?"
Amy said, "If anyone is staying it should be me: I'm the knight, I'm sworn to the protection of the peasantry, and I've got a better chance of managing alone."
"Lady Silwa asked you to come-"
"And help you," Amy said. "Maybe by staying behind so you could go on, you don't know."
"More likely you were both supposed to go on," Jason said. "Gideon, you can't possibly be in favour of this, say something."
Michael didn't know if his resolve would stand up to one of Lord Gideon's verbal assaults, so he spoke quickly to forestall him. Hoping this painful argument would draw to a close while he still had the courage to say goodbye to them all, he mustered every wit of high-flown language that he could scrape together. "What other path do we have my lord? To depart now and abandon Davidheyr and all its folk to the mercies of the Crimson Rose? We would be shamed in the eyes of gods and men, and scorned throughout for the cowards it would make of us. I know that there are times when even a brave man must shirk battle for the sake of a higher cause, but I do not see that is the case here. Duty and honour alike demand that aid be rendered to these people, and I am the person most fit to render it.
"I have not Tullia's magic, nor Jason's sorcery n
or Amy's immense strength. I am not half the swordsman that you are. I am the least of us, and if our fellowship must break as honour demands it must then I am by every measure the best choice to be our offering to this place. I would regret it lord, for I have been honoured to stand by your side, but I see no other course to be taken with dignity."
Gideon stared into Michael's eyes, those bright orbs boring into the dark recesses of his soul. "Nobody is staying."
"But, my lord-"
"The rest of you, give us leave for private conference," Gideon said. "Now."
"Wait just a moment-" Amy started to speak.
"You're coming too and we both know it," Gideon said "You know that you will not be sated by what little glory you might win here. My words are for Michael now. Go away, do as you like, but do it now."
One by one they all departed into a different street and Michael was left alone with Gideon, who regarded Michael in silence.
"My lord-" Michael began.
"Enough," Gideon held up one hand to stop him. "I have heard the arguments for your staying and I have heard the arguments for your going; and I have come to the conclusion that they are all irrelevant. The only thing that matters is this: I need you, Michael. I cannot do this without you and that is all there is too it."
"My lord," Michael did not know how to reply to that. It was quite possibly the kindest thing that anyone had ever said to him. And to hear it from Gideon, a lord of power and strength, a man who would let nothing stand in his way, meant more than hearing it from anyone else Michael could imagine. "Why? I have no magic, I have no great store of learning..."
"If I wanted a sorcerer or a mage I would have sought one out myself," Gideon said. "I did not ask for Jason, or Tullia or Ameliora. I asked for you."
"But, why my lord? I am but a man, a slave even."
Gideon sighed. "When I first came to Lover's Rock intending to seek you out I thought that you might be of some small use to me for your bloodline, and as an extra blade to throw into the fray. But then I watched you stand alone against an army, for the sake of people who meant nothing to you, refusing to yield no matter what. You impressed me then, and have continued to do so. Not many men born into poverty, raised in squalor and dragged into the slave pits would use words like honour and dignity with such perfect sincerity as you just have."
Michael straightened. "Mother always said that you were never too poor to be virtuous."
"And she was absolutely right," Gideon said. "But it is something the Empire has forgotten. Along with faith, idealism, that unwavering sense of righteousness that you possess; all these are things the Empire has lost sight of, and things it must regain before our former greatness can be restored.
"To be frank, I'm rather glad that you asked to stay here; especially once you admitted you didn't really want to. If you had felt nothing for the plight of these people you would not have been the compassionate and selfless man I believed you to be."
"You are making me blush, my lord," Michael said as his cheeks burned. "And yet I am afraid, terribly afraid, that I am not the man you think I am. I cannot lie to you, my lord, there is a darkness in me that would put all these people to the sword if it would bring Miranda back to me. You saw my anger in the arena lord, and it is ever with me. That I unbar the cage so rarely is solely due to my mother and little Felix. They believed me each to be a good man as you do, they died believing it, and so to honour their memories I strive each day to act as a prince out of the stories of old Corona: with honour and compassion for all, and my darkness kept well leashed. But it does not make me a true hero my lord, any more than my time as a gladiator did, merely a good actor.
"I am a monster, my lord, a creature of anger and bloodlust, but with Turo's help I ape the fashions of a man."
Gideon smiled softly, and placed a hand on Michael's shoulder. "Your remorse and shame disproves your words, Michael, and shows your family knew, as I know, that you are a better man than you beleive. Take it from one who knows; if you were a true monster you would not shrink so from the worst parts of yourself, nor cower at the thought of what you might do or stand ashamed at things you have done.
"I have seen men kill not from hatred, not from rage, certainly not because they enjoyed it but because it was easier to kill than not. You may indeed be prone to the darker passions, but the true horrors of this world are perpetrated not by those accursed with a black distemper, but by bland and banal spirited men to whom the unthinkable has become commonplace. Let your rage snarl and spit, unending duty and faithful service will be a balm to it in time, and until then, well, thoughts are fleeting; it is deeds which in their permanence define us and demonstrate our truer natures. You stood for the helpless at Lover's Rock, you wish to defend these people, you saved the rebel prisoners while under no obligation to do so. Does that not sound compassionate to you?"
"I told you my lord, my conscience comes from stories, not from myself."
"No, that is where your values come from, your conscience is your own," Gideon said. "Do you think that I came into this world with my morals as fixed as the colour of my eyes, constant as the ravaged Lamp of Day? No, I learnt what is worth holding dear from books, from reading of the history of our great nation. We all must reach the point where we must choose what values to adopt and, having chosen, we all proceed through life acting out our chosen systems, playing the parts in which we have cast ourselves. That is not to say there are no acts which cry out as offences to nature itself- fratricide for instance. But, in the main, only gods are born with an innate knowledge of how to live their lives, and the rest of us must make our way as best we can: learning what we may, deciding what seems to us most just and appealing, and behaving in accordance. What seems most just and appealing to you, Michael?"
"I may have a duty to the people of Corona province, my lord," Michael said. "But even if I could save them now, they would merely die later if Quirian triumphs. And then there is my duty to you as my lord and captain."
"And your duty to the Empire as a whole," Gideon said.
"And, most importantly, to Miranda as her elder brother," Michael said. "Lord Gideon, I am your man. I will follow you without question, from now until the end."
Gideon smiled. "And I could not do it without you, truly. Now, I have some business to attend to of a somewhat dubious nature so I don't want you coming with me. Stay here, don't get into trouble and make sure nobody else does either. In fact it would be best if you all stayed right here, or nearby at least."
"We shall in all respects obedient to your honour, my lord," Michael murmured as Gideon strode away
Michael waited, and gradually the other three returned to the small back-alley they had made their inn.
"Ahem... I shall remain with you," Michael said diffidently, looking down at his feet in embarrassment.
"Well I should think so too," Amy snapped.
"Praise the gods," Jason said.
Tullia nodded. "I am glad that you will be remaining with us."
Michael looked at each of them: Amy's exuberant annoyance, Jason's pleasure, Tullia's quite relief. "You all cared that much whether I stayed or went?"
Amy shouted, "Of course we did. I didn't come all this way to see you just to say goodbye again after a couple of days."
"And I like having you around," Jason said. "Tullia has many fine qualities but she isn't really big enough to hide behind the way you are."
A smile broke out across Michael's face. Nobody had wanted him around this much since Felix had died. "Thank you, all of you. So much."
"What are you talking about?" Amy asked. "You daft fool."
"I think I know what you mean," Jason said. "And you're very welcome. So, what do we do now?"
"Lord Gideon told us to stay nearby and keep out of trouble," Michael said. "Beyond that he left no instructions."
"All right them, I'm going to get back to my meditation," Amy said. "I won't learn water magic otherwise."
"That would be a useful skill,
" Jason said. "There's not a single water mage in the entire human race."
"It would be useful if I could do it," Amy muttered, settling down in front of the bucket of water and glaring at it. "Come on you little bugger, move."
"I am very grateful that I can generate my own lightning," Tullia said quietly.
"Yes, well, don't rub it in," Amy said.
"We'll leave you in peace, our Amy," Michael said.
Amy grunted in reply.
As Jason walked out of the alley, he said, "Do you think that the people might appreciate it if I were to use some of my sorcery to try to help them? I can heal modest injuries, help people get warm, that sort of thing."
"It would be much appreciated, thank you, Your Highness," Michael replied, bowing his head. "And no one in this city will give you up to the church, we are Turo's chosen in this land."
"The Crimson Rose said as much," Jason muttered.
"Aye, Highness, but they have forsaken God," Michael said. "They simply do not realise it yet."
Now that His Highness had brought the subject up, Michael found his feet carrying him towards the walls, up the wooden steps and onto the earth rampart that separated the good folk of Davidheyr from the great host of cutthroats and rebels camped outside.
It was hardly the most sturdy of works to which a man might trust the survival of a great city. The great walls which David had raised for the protection of his people had been torn down by the Empire after the Revolt of the Covenant ended, when they had not wanted Davidheyr too well protected lest they had to storm it again. And then, later, when it was certain that the Empire would not be assaulting Davidheyr again, there had not seemed to be anyone else who would wish to assault the city either. Certainly no one had imagined that the Crimson Rose could raise such a host as this.
Spirit of the Sword: Pride and Fury (The First Sword Chronicles Book 1) Page 28