The Habit of the Emperor

by J J Moriarty

  “I know. It took me by surprise too”, Hyzou said.

  “Why? Why would they do that?” Safia asked. “You’re winning the war. You are Nuyin!”

  “It’s not about that”, Hyzou said.

  “Then what is it about?” Safia said.

  “We’ve conquered so much territory. What do you think happens to it?” Hyzou said.

  “Like you said, the land is being divided among Piquean peasants, Lamyblan ones too. Maybe some of that slave army you’re developing will get some too”, Safia said.

  “They don’t agree with that”, Hyzou said.

  “They don’t?” Safia said. “Why not?”

  “You remember your father, what drove him?” Hyzou said.

  “I try not to remember him”, Safia said.

  “The Nobles in Piquea see thousands of acres without an owner. They see an army ready to back them while claim it as their own. And they see me, standing in the way of that fortune”, Hyzou said.

  “Greed. Greed!” Safia said.

  “They’ve the chance to become the wealthiest men in Sira Su, and I’m the only one standing in their way”, Hyzou said.

  “The Piquean Nobles. These were the people who led that south Piquean encampment, under the lead of Phatmose, while Piquea was under the control of Pharaoh Ganymedes. Those Piquean Nobles?” Safia asked.

  “That’s them”, Hyzou said.

  “They were barely able to get themselves enough food or water, were living off dust and disease, before you overthrew the Lamyblans. They would never have liberated Piquea, let alone invade Lamybla, without you. And now they want to kill you?” Safia asked.

  “Loyalty matters little to them. Especially when money is the other option. They’ll kill me”, Hyzou said.

  “And Tsy. Tsy is a Servant of Qi. He would assassinate his own Protakyrios?” Iset asked.

  “He means to, yes”, Hyzou said.

  “You saved Gardem. Gardem was due to be murdered by the Supreme Commander. How can’t you trust these people? They’d all be dead but for you”, Safia said.

  “I’m sure they’re very grateful, they just want to be rich too”, Hyzou said. “They see me as a rabble rouser.”

  “Rabble rouser?” Safia asked.

  “I’m doing this for political reasons. They can’t see, but the dynamics of Kheme society have changed in the war. They think everything will go back to the way it was, but there’s so many more slaves and refugees than there were before the war. What’s more, a lot of them have been trained as soldiers. If I don’t give enough of them a reason to join the empire, to have a stake in the empire, they’ll turn on the empire and the war will begin again”, Hyzou said. “This land has changed. And the Nobles can’t see it.”

  “What are they planning?” Safia said. “They’ll kill you soon after you’ve delivered Lamybla to them?”

  Hyzou swallowed.

  “They will”, Hyzou said. “And worse.”

  Safia frowned.

  “What?” Safia asked.

  “Maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance they think they can assassinate me and make it look like an accident. They’d have the chance to rule until Hetep came to age. They could shape the state in their image. We both know they won’t succeed, they don’t understand the world the way we do. The empire can’t be run the same way Lamybla was”, Hyzou said.

  “That’s the worst outcome? They try and rule your empire after you’re dead?” Safia asked.

  “No, you don’t understand. That’s the best possible outcome”, Hyzou said.

  “What’s the worst?” Safia said.

  “They know they won’t be able to kill me and keep it a secret, so that will cause a civil war, because I still have allies. To stop that war, they’ll execute anyone who shares a bond with me, either political or familial”, Hyzou said.

  “No, Hyzou. Say it isn’t so”, Safia said.

  “I’m sorry. That’s what I’d do if I was planning this coup”, Hyzou said.

  “No, they can’t”, Safia said.

  “You’ll need to die too”, Hyzou said.

  “Please, don’t say it”, Safia said.

  “They’ll kill the children too”, Hyzou said.

  A gasp escaped Safia’s mouth.

  “How can we stop them?” Safia said.

  “I’m working on it”, Hyzou said.

  “WHY AREN’T YOU DOING SOMETHING?” Safia screamed.

  “What do you want me to do? Start a civil war?” Hyzou said. “I don’t know how deep this goes, and can’t move until I’ve secured victory over Lamybla anyway.”

  “Why not abandon your plans and promise them the land? It’s worth more than your life”, Safia said. “Than the life of our children.”

  “It’ll mean my life anyway”, Hyzou said. “The Empire of Nuyin will fall unless I can prevent millions rebelling. Not to mention that they’d sense the weakness. The Nobles will come back for more, and they’ll be richer and more powerful with all that land. They’ll overthrow me soon enough. No, all that decision would do is delay the coup.”

  “We can’t be trapped like this, we’re winning Hyzou. We’re winning the war”, Safia said.

  “Winning the war”, Hyzou said. “Not the peace.”

  Safia was about to say something, then she stopped. Silence fell.

  “What?” Hyzou said.

  She was lost in thought.

  “What is it Safia?” Hyzou asked.

  “You said you’d change, haven’t you said that? You said it was the war and the fighting and ruling that was breaking you. That was why we’re fighting so much. Didn’t you say that?” Safia asked.

  “What? What’s that got to do with anything?” Hyzou said.

  “The war has ruined us, it’s ruined our marriage”, Safia said. “But it can be fixed, can’t it?”

  “Yes, but I don’t know what that’s got to do with anything”, Hyzou said.

  “I want you back, I want us to live together as a family. I want that dream to come through for you - we could live in a small house somewhere in the countryside”, Safia said.

  Hyzou smiled.

  “I’d like that too”, Hyzou said.

  “It’s still there, there’s an answer”, Safia said.

  “An answer to what?” Hyzou asked.

  “To everything. To your problems with the Nobles, to the problems between us”, Safia said. “It all has one solution.”

  “If it does I’d love to hear it”, Hyzou said.

  “Abdicate”, Safia said.

  “What?” Hyzou said.

  “Abdicate. Tell them all that once the war is over you’ll abdicate. That you’ll abandon the throne”, Safia said.

  “What? Why would I do that?” Hyzou asked.

  “It’s the answer. Leave them to their politics. You’ve done your duty, in liberating Piquea. You’ve won the war and overthrown the Pharaoh”, Safia said.

  “And what, just take a post in the army?” Hyzou asked.

  “No. Hyzou no. Let’s go together. North! We could go north, to Uqing. Live together among the Servants and raise our children. You could live a life like Sparrow, teaching pupils, raising our children”, Safia said.

  Hyzou was about to respond with anger. He wanted to tell her that he had worked so hard to build this empire. That the River Cities needed him to maintain the peace. He was about to tell her that he wasn’t about to let Gardem and Tsy win. That he wouldn’t slink away like a wounded dog the first time someone threatened his life.

  But he said none of it. Because peace entered his chest. Much to his surprise, peace entered his chest.

  In Uqing, during the winter, snowstorms would regularly block out any light from the sun. This left long hours of the day looking just like the dark of the night.

  Storms ended though, and eventually the sun returned. Sometimes, when Hyzou was out, he’d get to see that first ray of light, breaking through the dark grey of his surroundings.

  That was how it felt now.
For weeks now, for months even, his stomach had been filled by a dark worry, a cold dread. He hadn’t had a single moment of happiness in so long.

  But it came now. Happiness, relief, calm and joy. All rushed into his stomach like that single ray of sunlight. They came along with the thought of abandoning it all. That image of a house in Uqing or one of the outlying villages, raising Hetep and the twins. Taking on pupils and serving Uqing.

  The thought seemed impossible to realise at first. Kings couldn’t just abandon their crowns and return to a normal life. The throne was for life.

  But why? Abdicate, there’s no reason you can’t. Hyzou thought.

  “Hyzou? What are you thinking?” Safia said.

  “Yes”, Hyzou said.

  He said it before he’d even worked out what he wanted to say.

  “What?” Safia asked.

  “Yes. Let’s do this. It’s the answer”, Hyzou said.

  “Do you mean that?” Safia said.

  Hyzou took a second, thought about it, then spoke with much more authority than he had before.

  “I do. All I want in life is you and our children. Fuck the empire, fuck everything. A life with you is what will make me happy, I don’t want to lose you again. I couldn’t be happy again if I lost you”, Hyzou said.

  Safia leaped and tried to jump into his arms. Then she realised they were both transparent, and she laughed.

  “I never thought you’d say yes. I don’t even know why I said it”, Safia said.

  “It makes so much sense”, Hyzou said.

  “You weren’t lying”, Safia said.

  “Lying when?” Hyzou asked.

  “When you said you’d never abandon me”, Safia said.

  “I won’t”, Hyzou said.

  Hyzou felt his reality shift, and Safia’s tent came into focus around him. In front of him, Safia returned to reality too.

  “Hyzou”, she said.

  She was crying. Hyzou realised he was crying too.

  “I want it more than anything, that vision of us in the small house together”, Safia said.

  “It’s everything I’ve ever wanted. The peace I lost when Piquea fell. I can get it back”, Hyzou said.

  Safia grabbed his hand and pulled Hyzou close to her. She placed her forehead against his own, brushed her lips against his own.

  “This doesn’t make everything that happened go away though”, Hyzou said.

  “No, it doesn’t”, Safia murmured. “But we can work on that. We have time, and we have each other.”

  “I missed you so much. I hate not talking to you”, Hyzou said.

  Her cheek was warm against his own.

  “Do you have any business between now and the morning?” Safia asked.

  “No. I’m free”, Hyzou said.

  “I missed you too”, Safia said.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Dust and ash blew in the easy breeze, the wind whipping up a thirst in Hyzou’s throat.

  “Such a shame, I wonder how many people could have been fed by the rice that was burned here”, Hyzou said.

  “Have many plants been burned?” Vak asked.

  “Well Lamybla was hardly built in the middle of a desert. No, when I rode this way so many years ago all the fields surrounding us were alive with rice”, Hyzou said.

  Vak kept looking over his shoulder. Every few seconds he’d check, unable to believe his own eyes.

  “It’s something isn’t it?” Hyzou said.

  “And I thought CaSu was ornate”, Safia said.

  “CaSu has forty buildings better than anything in Lamybla. Anything in Lamybla except for that”, Hyzou said.

  He pointed at the Sun Tower that loomed over them.

  “How do they move up and down inside?” Vak asked.

  “Stairs”, Hyzou said.

  “That must be quite a climb” Vak said.

  “I’ve done it, it takes a long time. Leaves you breathless afterwards too”, Hyzou said.

  “I look forward to climbing it”, Vak said.

  Hyzou looked at him and laughed.

  “What?” Vak asked.

  “We’ve a bit to go until then”, Safia said.

  “I know, storm the city, take it, and so on”, Vak said.

  “That’ll be tough. I know those people, the Lamyblans won’t meekly accept their conquering”, Hyzou said.

  “The men are hungry for it though”, Vak said. “They want Queen Tyti’s…”

  Vak realised that he was speaking to Safia too.

  “…head.”

  Safia sighed.

  “Here they are now”, Hyzou said.

  “How can you tell, we’ve passed ten groupings of Servants already?” Safia said.

  “I can see Iset’s hair”, Hyzou said.

  And sure enough, he could. She was stood talking to a group of Servants, and they were in stitches, laughter echoing out towards Hyzou as he approached.

  “What’s so funny?” Hyzou shouted as he approached.

  They all looked up at Hyzou, Safi and Vak. Hyzou recognised the faces. He saw, in the heart of the group, Tsy.

  Hyzou dismounted from his stallion, and Safia and Vak got down from their steeds too. The ashen ground was littered with rocks, and each step Hyzou took coughed up a cloud of dust into the air.

  The Servants bowed.

  “Your Majesty, you’re late, we were almost going to storm the city without you”, Tsy said.

  Keep calm, he can’t know you know. Hyzou thought.

  He forced himself to smile, then opened his arms wide. Tsy walked forwards and embraced Hyzou. They hugged on the wasteland.

  “And Your Royal Highness, my do you look beautiful”, Tsy said.

  “I wish I could say the same about you. But you look exactly like a man who’s been months in the field”, Safia said.

  Tsy roared his laughter, then grasped Safia’s forearm.

  “I’ve missed you, ma’am”, Tsy said.

  Safia had her blank face on, the one she’d learned from years of living with her father. She didn’t reply.

  “How long have you been here?” Hyzou asked.

  “Three weeks. We arrived first. The Yoboans launched a surprise offensive from the east which meant the Lamyblans didn’t have time to burn all their rice out there. The Divine Master decided to wait and gather all those resources first, he means to gift them to you. We were the first ones to arrive and the first ones here for a while. At first, we besieged the city and whenever anyone came out to attack us we retreated. Then, we besieged it again. Finally Phatmose came and we had enough numbers that the Lamyblans had no choice but to lock the gates permanently. The Yoboans and Drascians came then, and then Yan. And now, finally, you”, Tsy said.

  “Always late”, Hyzou said.

  “I didn’t know you were arriving today”, Tsy said.

  “That’s alright. Gemenfkon is overseeing the setting up of my pavilion. He’s also arranging a dinner for tonight. The whole council should come”, Hyzou said.

  “I’ll be there sir”, Tsy said.

  “Good. Now, tell me, how was your campaign?” Hyzou asked.

  “You got off lightly, Your Majesty”, Tsy said. “It was my men that had to force their way through Lamybla’s best soldiers. There’s not many of them left anymore.”

  “Yeah, the last few skirmishes it seemed I was fighting children and women”, Hyzou said.

  “Children and women make up the militias now, yes”, Tsy said.

  “Your force is mostly impact though”, Hyzou said.

  “Yes. And no. The fighting was intense, and a lot of the Servants I was leading are wounded. But deaths, no, we had few enough of them”, Tsy said. “Sir, meet one of my best deputies.”

  “Gyar!” Tsy shouted.

  Hyzou recognised the Servant that looked up at he and Tsy and walked over.

  “I don’t know him that well, he’s a quiet guy. But a fine soldier”, Tsy said.

  “Do you trust him?” Hyzou said.

&nb
sp; “I don’t know him, but yes”, Tsy said.

  Hyzou understood.

  He’s not part of the conspiracy. Hyzou thought.

  Gyar bowed before them.

  “Your Majesty”, Gyar said.

  “I remember you”, Hyzou said.

  Tsy looked from Gyar to Hyzou and back again.

  “You’ve been introduced?” Tsy asked.

  “We spoke through the ekstasis”, Gyar said.

  “Gyar’s a hero”, Tsy said. “Brilliant in combat.”

  “Thank you, sir”, Gyar said.

  “You should be proud. Tsy doesn’t give praise lightly”, Hyzou said.

  “I am, sir”, Gyar said.

  He doesn’t say much, doesn’t give much away. Hyzou thought.

  “I’m going to go, I’ve plenty of people to meet, but I’ll see you at dinner tonight?” Hyzou said.

  “Your Majesty”, Tsy said, nodding

  “Your Majesty”, Gyar said, and he bowed.

  Hyzou mounted his horse and left them behind. Safia and Vak followed him. Over the course of three hours, Hyzou lapped Lamybla in its entirety. He stopped regularly to talk to the leaders he met on the way. He met Vanev and his Yoboan deputies. He met Anchev and the Drascians. He met Yan and her staff. He met Phatmose and his hardened veterans.

  Finally, besieging the northernmost point of Lamybla, Hyzou met a familiar face. When Hyzou hugged this leader, he meant it.

  “Your Majesty”, Sparrow said.

  Hyzou let go, and next it was Safia’s turn to embrace their wizened mentor.

  “You both look so alive. So well”, Sparrow said.

  “I didn’t know you had already besieged the city”, Hyzou said.

  “Well, we thought we’d come south and join in the fun”, Sparrow said.

  “Is Uqing left unprotected?” Hyzou said.

  “Four hundred Servants remain among the pupils and locals. They’ll be able to hold it against any likely enemy”, Sparrow said.

  “Have you seen combat?” Safia asked.

  Sparrow was famous for never sparring with his pupils.

  “I have, but thankfully didn’t need to dip my sword in the red fountain too often”, Sparrow said.

  Hyzou looked at Safia and smiled. The image of the old man fighting was too unusual to comprehend.

  “I was quite the warrior in my day, I’ll have you two know”, Sparrow said.