The Habit of the Emperor

by J J Moriarty

“Have you suffered many casualties?” Hyzou asked.

  “The Pharaoh had set up some strong defences for us in the north, before the war even started. They were tough, but once we broke through those, we had a free run. Even then, the defensive lines only had half the men they needed”, Sparrow said.

  “A straightforward victory then”, Hyzou said.

  “Not yet”, Sparrow said.

  “Lamybla won’t fall easily”, Hyzou said.

  “They fear for their lives”, Sparrow said. “Whatever about those Nobles, the ordinary folk will fight to the death to keep safe.”

  “Until they break”, Hyzou said.

  “Why are the Lamyblan Nobles so calm about your invasion?” Sparrow said.

  “Queen Tyti and Kyrios Tumutu didn’t make many friends when she took the throne. She’s not popular. For them, I’m just a regime change, swapping Queen Tyti for King Hyzou, and their little court intrigues will keep going on”, Hyzou said.

  “Then they don’t know you”, Sparrow said.

  “They don’t”, Hyzou said.

  “SAFIAAAAAAAAAAA”, the scream came.

  A figure was running towards them. Shaved head, the dress of a pupil, it was a child of maybe ten or eleven years of age.

  Then Hyzou recognised her.

  “Marrea”, Safia exclaimed.

  Marrea sprinted and leaped into Safia’s embrace. The two sisters held each other closely.

  “Marrea is my pupil nowadays. And she should know better than interrupting a matter of state like that”, Sparrow said.

  Marrea, who had been buried in Safia’s chest, looked up now. At first, she looked worried, but then she saw that Sparrow was smiling.

  “Sorry, sir”, Marrea said.

  “Family reunions can be an exception to that rule”, Sparrow said.

  Marrea turned back to Safia.

  “I was so worried. For so long there everyone was saying that Piquea was about to fall. It was definitely going to fall. I thought… I thought I’d never see you again”, Marrea said.

  “Well I made it through, didn’t I?” Safia said.

  “One day everybody was talking about how we were doomed, then the next day all of a sudden it looks like we’re the winners”, Marrea said.

  “Everybody talking about how we were doomed?” Hyzou said to Sparrow.

  “With any other leader, we would have been”, Sparrow said.

  “I can’t wait for you to meet your nieces.” Safia said.

  “Oh, where are they? Where are they?” Marrea said.

  She began to look around, then spotted Hyzou. Even though he had been standing beside her for the whole interaction, it was like this was the first time she had seen him. Her eyes widened.

  “Your Majesty”, Marrea said.

  Marrea bowed.

  “Arise, Marrea. You’re the sister of the Queen, there’s no need for you to be so formal. We’re family”, Hyzou said.

  Marrea arose.

  “How’s your training going?” Hyzou asked.

  “Very well, sir. Sparrow says I’m progressing”, Marrea said.

  “Well, if Sparrow will let you, perhaps Safia could introduce you to the twins?” Hyzou said.

  He looked at Safia and she smiled.

  “Can I?” Marrea asked.

  “Go. But return immediately”, Sparrow said.

  Marrea squealed with excitement.

  “Up on the horse then”, Safia said. “They’re eight miles back in the baggage train.”

  Hyzou and Sparrow watched the two sisters ride off.

  “I should be off too”, Hyzou said.

  “Already?” Sparrow said.

  “I eat with the whole council tonight, you should come”, Hyzou said.

  “Sounds good”, Sparrow said.

  Hyzou embraced his former master then departed.

  ***

  That evening it was still as bright as it had been in the afternoon. The height of the summer meant there were no early nights, and mosquitos danced above Hyzou’s pavilion as his guests arrived.

  “You all know your stations”, Hyzou said. “There’s no need for formalities. Sit.”

  The entire council was here, bar Gardem. He’d hear the news soon enough.

  “There was no reply from the Lamyblans, they ignored the message I sent earlier”, Hyzou said.

  Child slaves under the watchful gaze of Gemenfkon filled their cups with beer.

  “It’s been like that since we’ve arrived. Messengers are either ignored, or return with the strangest replies”, Tsy said. “I’ve never had wartime negotiations like it.”

  “That’s because these aren’t wartime negotiations. The Lamyblans aren’t negotiating with us”, Iset said.

  Everyone looked at Iset. Even Viceroy Vanev, who Hyzou had noticed had, up until that very point, been looking anywhere but at her.

  “The Royal Court has split right down the middle. There are those who want to seek a deal like Yobo and Drascia received, and for our army to leave”, Iset said.

  Anchev shifted in his seat.

  “Hang on, you’re not going to give them that, are you?” Anchev asked.

  “No. I’ll only accept unconditional surrender”, Hyzou said.

  Anchev nodded, pleased with the answer.

  “No one in the Court is speaking about an unconditional surrender. They know Lamybla, as it was designed by Ganymedes, is built to be impenetrable. They think you’re desperate to avoid a costly storming of the city”, Iset said.

  “They do a lot of my thinking for me”, Hyzou said.

  “They do, but that is the way with Nobility. They only speak with other Nobles. The idea that you didn’t want to risk taking the city spread among the Nobles until it became a fact”, Iset said. “Mandarins who point out that you’ve already taken many costly and risky manoeuvres in this war find themselves out of a job quickly.”

  “What do the other Nobles think? The ones that oppose making this deal”, Hyzou said.

  “They want to ignore you and drift into a siege. They imagine you’ll fail to take the city”, Iset said.

  Hyzou was nonplussed. He was about to reply, before Gemenfkon came out with the slaves carrying their food. It was as good a meal as one could expect on a battlefield. Rice, curried fowl, and cheap spices. Hyzou made sure to thank Gemenfkon for the fare.

  “They really think this?” Hyzou asked. “They think they’ll hold out permanently?”

  “Yes, and the faction that wishes to become your vassal, they believe the other faction is too loose with the lives of the city’s poor. They agree that they might survive the siege, but that the city’s supply levels mean they might not be able to feed all the urchins and lepers and so on”, Iset said.

  “They think starvation is the worst that can happen to them?” Hyzou said, incredulous.

  Iset shrugged.

  “Queen Tyti is desperately trying to keep her throne, so she’s not disagreeing with anyone no matter what they say. All those messages she sends to us then, they’re not for us. They’re for the Nobles, and each of the messages she sends is ambiguous enough not to annoy either side”, Iset said. “And so she lives another day.”

  “Madness”, Hyzou said.

  “They’ll learn how wrong they are, won’t they, sir?” Tsy asked.

  “You’ve brought us this far. Have you a plan to take down the city?” Phatmose said.

  Hyzou raised his hands.

  “Tomorrow. Starting in the morning we will sit together and finalise the plan, even if it takes us a week”, Hyzou said.

  “So this is a social gathering?” Tsy asked.

  “No”, Safia said.

  She merely murmured it, but it cut through the pavilion. All turned to her, as their second course, rabbit in honey and salt, came out.

  “There’s a purpose”, Safia said.

  “We have something to say”, Hyzou said.

  Say this, and there’s no turning back. Hyzou thought.

  He didn’
t care.

  “This war. It’s nearly won”, Hyzou said.

  Tsy cheered at that.

  “It’s nearly a victory” Hyzou said. “Lamybla will fall soon.”

  Tsy cheered again, and Anchev began to knock on the table.

  “I’ll lead the force into the city. Lead them to the Sun Tower”, Hyzou said.

  Everyone cheered that.

  They think it’s just a motivational speech. Hyzou thought.

  All except for Iset, that was. Hyzou’s cousin was leaning forwards, trying to catch Hyzou’s words.

  “Until the bitter end. I’ll lead and leave my body and life on the line. But then there’ll be no more”, Hyzou said. “Then things will have to change.”

  “What things?” Yan asked.

  “I’ve loved serving and fighting with each one of you. It’s been an honour, and a pleasure, and your loyalty and devotion have truly moved me. I hope you will agree that I have done the best I can to lead you to victory, and that my record as a military leader is enough to grant honour to me and all my descendants. However, though I have shown my mettle in wartime, I am not the right man to lead an Empire through peace. Therefore, I tell you all as friends, I will abdicate my throne upon our winning this battle”, Hyzou said.

  The response was immediate. All but Safia began speaking.

  “We swore allegiance to you!” Anchev shouted.

  “The Piqueans, sir, they worship you”, Phatmose said.

  Sparrow just murmured.

  “Hyzou”, he said.

  Hyzou raised his hands and waited for silence.

  “I’ve told you from respect, and I do not want this to be knowledge among our men. We must take Lamybla. Storming the city which will not be easy. And we will fail unless we unite”, Hyzou said. “We strike before the week is out. Once Lamybla has fallen, we can worry about succession.”

  “Why?” Vorska asked.

  “Yes, Hyzou, why?” Iset asked.

  “I’m not the man to lead the peace. The people have suffered enough, and I won’t be able to deliver them the salvation I promised”, Hyzou said.

  “This coalition”, Sparrow began.

  But the old Servant silenced himself.

  “It’ll fall apart. We serve the Empire of Nuyin”, Iset said.

  There were nods of agreement.

  “Succession will be difficult, but trust me, I am in no shape to lead our people. That is best left to you”, Hyzou said.

  Hyzou glanced around, took in the reaction of all those around him. Safia looked proud, while Iset looked confused. She hadn’t expected this. Sparrow was disappointed and looked like he had aged five years since he sat down. Yan was out of her chair for some reason, and Vorska was hunched over with concern. Phatmose was near tears.

  But of all his deputies, Hyzou found Tsy’s reaction the most telling. The Servant’s face had gone deathly pale, all the blood drained right from it.

  His plans have all died. What now? His co-conspirator is hundreds of miles south of here, and he has no way to speak to him without the ekstasis, what will he do? Who has he promised rewards to? He won’t be the only one trying to take over the throne. Hyzou said.

  “You can’t do this”, Phatmose said.

  “I can, and I will. I’ll go into exile. Leave and go to the mountains to Uqing”, Hyzou said.

  “Who will be your heir?” Vorska asked.

  “That’s not my decision to make. You will decide. You’re the council, aren’t you?” Hyzou asked.

  An uncomfortable silence descended.

  “I’ve thought about this for a while, and decided I had to tell you now. Tell you, because who knows when I’ll get a chance to next. I worried it might affect your focus in the coming siege”, Hyzou said. “Will it?”

  “Sir”, Tsy said. “I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

  “Frankly, it doesn’t matter what you think. Once Lamybla falls, we may dine together once more before I relinquish my role as the Emperor”, Hyzou said. “It’s final.”

  “What about us?” Vanev said.

  “I told everyone here, now, because we all want the same thing, don’t we? The fall of Lamybla. We’re bound by more than vows to the throne. We’re bound by a common goal. The way we will achieve it is by serving together to take the city”, Hyzou said.

  “What about us?” Vanev said.

  “You swore your allegiance to me. You will fulfil your vows. This changes nothing”, Hyzou said.

  “What about…” Yan began.

  “Changes nothing”, Hyzou said.

  They stared at Hyzou. The tension grew with each passing heartbeat.

  “Must you do this?” Sparrow said.

  Hyzou looked at his mentor and nodded.

  “Then I will trust your decision”, Sparrow said.

  Safia arose.

  “This changes nothing, because a brutal battle awaits”, Safia said. “So any who plan to stay, may stay. Any who want to leave now, may leave. But they will have broken their oath to Emperor Hyzou.”

  No one moved.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  They attacked in darkness. Past the darkest hour, when a tinge of starlight turns the dark black sky navy blue in an anticipation of a coming dawn, the Piqueans moved.

  Two days were all that were needed to plan the assault. Two days after Hyzou announced his abdication. Once the sun went down on the second day, soldiers began to shuffle to one of the city’s westernmost points. In anticipation of an attack, the thick Lamyblan walls were manned by sentries who reported movements among Hyzou’s army.

  The Lamyblan army that had invaded Piquea more than a year ago was gone. Many had died, others had turned side along with the Yoboans and Drascians, and those left over deserted when the war became a lost cause.

  Those soldiers had been battle-hardened veterans of many campaigns. Almost all had been part of the recent invasion of Drascia. Most had been part of the army that had sacked Piquea. Some had service that stretched as far back as the Anarchy. They burned the land they abandoned, scorching the earth thoroughly. That was their last act. They reached the gates of Lamybla, those who had survived, some seventeen thousand, and returned to a city where the rulers squabbled as if there was no war they were catastrophically losing.

  They weren’t paid, or even paid much attention. Those in the city treated them as cowards and losers who hadn’t managed to beat a group of uncivilised animals deep to the south. They were the fools that had lost an Empire.

  What’s more, the effectiveness of their scorching had come back to haunt them. Nearly a million refugees fled the densely populated Lamyblan countryside before Hyzou’s advancing army. The most of them went straight to Lamybla itself, hoping to start a new life there. The burned land had reduced the amount of food available and increased the amount of mouths it had to feed. Hunger, squalor and disease ran through the city.

  The veteran soldiers fled.

  Most went to the Mountain Cities, there would be pay for mercenaries among CaSu and her sisters. Some went to the Lake Cities or Drascia, hoping for similar work. Others still turned and went to Hyzou’s army. This was most popular with those soldiers who were from Lamybla itself. They took whatever family they could gather and fled to the army outside, offering information and a spear if their children could each have a bowl of rice.

  Hyzou and his counsel doubted the information from all these turncoats. They told of a city tearing itself apart, one which hardly needed Hyzou to step foot in it. If he left it for a year he could just come in and pick up the broken pieces of the fallen empire. Hyzou imagined that this information was exaggerated somehow, or only spoke to half the truth. However, he and the council took heart that they were winning over so many of the enemy, the less troops they had to fight the better.

  Seventeen thousand battle hardened men, fighting to hold the brilliantly designed Lamybla, could have been very big trouble for Hyzou. He had the manpower, but taking the city would have been costly, and failure
could have reasonably arisen.

  Instead, the political chaos in Lamybla meant Hyzou faced a city held by a militia of just eight thousand men, pulled from the city itself. They were motivated, but for many this was their first battle of their lives; and they were facing Servants.

  Using disguises and slow movement, Hyzou managed to gather thousands and thousands of men near the westernmost entrance to Lamybla. To avoid the sentries they crawled most of the way, and they lay among the darkness, waiting for the signal, making as little noise as possible.

  Iset had struck a bargain with a particularly clever High Citizen in Lamybla. One of the few in the city who seemed to understand the severity of outcome that faced them, this man offered Iset access to the city if, in return, his family would be allowed to keep their lands and wealth.

  Hyzou had agreed.

  A diversionary attack was launched against the eastern wall. Making lots of noise, four thousand Servants launched their blow, making a futile attempt to climb the wall. The alarms were sounded within Lamybla, loud ringing horns split through the quiet night. The militiamen who were asleep were woken and told to rush to the eastern gate, while all those who were manning the walls rushed to the east.

  No more than thirty-five men were left manning the western gate. Panic swept through the city’s walls, and militiamen who were supposed to stay fled to defend the eastern gate. Over the past few days a chronic hysteria had passed through the militia, as they all began to realise that the only way the city could be saved would be if the walls stayed strong. If the walls were breached, the city was doomed, or so the militiamen began to say to each other. They just didn’t have the numbers.

  When they heard the attack was landing against the eastern gate, the men panicked. The only chance they had to defend their cities and their families was to hold the east gate, so they rushed to do just that.

  Iset’s contact, the High Citizen, came down to the western gate along with his most trusted household guard. Using his authority, he managed to convince the militiamen to let him into the control tower.

  The soldier guarding the lever was too late realising the High Citizen had no business being here. He tried to protect the levers but was chopped down by the household guard. The levers were dropped and the gates swung open slowly.