Mordant's Need

by Stephen R. Donaldson

  ‘Geraden.’ Queen Madin’s tone conveyed the immediate impression that she knew how to make up her mind. ‘This is quite a surprise. But a good one – so far.’ She didn’t sound harsh, and certainly not cold; she only sounded quick to choose. Decisiveness was a power she wielded without noticing it. ‘I am glad to see a friendly face from home. And I will be glad to hear your news, whatever it is.’ A moment later, she added, ‘But if that old fool Joyse sent you here to plead his case, you can forget about it and go back. I will not have it.’

  ‘My lady Queen,’ repeated Geraden. He bowed again, this time to cover a smile. ‘This is the lady Terisa of Morgan.’

  ‘Ah.’ Queen Madin turned toward Terisa, but Terisa still couldn’t see her face; dark against the glow from the house, her features were undecipherable. ‘The lady Terisa. My father mentioned you, after his return from Orison.

  ‘My lady – Geraden – you are welcome in Vale House. Please enter.’

  She turned and walked back into the light.

  Geraden touched Terisa’s shoulder, nudged her toward the steps and the porch. The light shone on his face, and she was filled for a moment with the unexpected conviction that they had done the right thing by coming here. He had never looked taller; his gaze had never seemed keener. This was the way he might have appeared when he stood in front of King Joyse – if his King hadn’t been so studiously dedicated to breaking his loyalty.

  She slipped her arm through his and hugged it so that they went up to the porch and entered the high doorway of Vale House together.

  They followed the Queen’s back and a bowing servant along an entryway hall with tapestries and portraits on the walls, several doors on each side, and a wide stair at the end. Queen Madin chose a door on the left; the servant held it open for Terisa and Geraden, and they found themselves in what looked like a large sitting room. A blazing fireplace dominated the outer wall, and two deep couches and four or five plush armchairs were semicircled before the hearth with their backs to the paneling in the rest of the room. Queen Madin sent the servant for some wine, then gestured her guests toward the chairs; but she remained standing beside the fireplace.

  Neither Terisa nor Geraden sat. He may have stayed upright out of courtesy, but her thoughts were elsewhere. At last, she could see Queen Madin clearly, and what she saw kept her on her feet.

  Until that moment, she hadn’t realized how much she was expecting the Queen to resemble Elega. From Terisa’s point of view, Myste favored her father: Myste’s laugh was so much like King Joyse’s smile that the resemblance seemed more important than any differences. Simply on that basis, because the contrast between Myste and Elega was so pronounced, Terisa had assumed that Queen Madin would prove to be the parent Elega favored.

  It was clear now, however, in the light of the fire and the bright chandelier and the surrounding lamps, that Terisa’s assumptions were mistaken. One good look at the Queen made it plain that both Elega and Myste in fact resembled their father. Madin was still a luminous woman, despite her years; her gaze was strong, and the years hadn’t cost her manner any discernible loss of firmness. But her features were at once too blunt and too forthright to be the model for Myste’s and Elega’s faces.

  What kept Terisa on her feet, however, wasn’t the Queen’s appearance, but rather her bearing: she stood the way a queen should stand, as if not just her authority but her wise use of it as well came to her so naturally that both were beyond question. She was the Fayle’s daughter in more ways than one; she even conveyed a suggestion of the same sorrow which harried the old lord. Nevertheless, perhaps because her frame was more solidly constructed than his, she projected more force of personality, more of both the ability and the willingness to make other people do what she wanted.

  Her failure to make King Joyse put down his passivity and become a decent ruler for Mordant again must have been more galling to her than any other wound she had suffered in her life.

  But she was obviously not a woman who felt much self-pity, and she wasn’t feeling sorry for herself at the moment. She was studying both Terisa and Geraden with keen interest. And she seemed to find him especially intriguing, even though Terisa was the one who had come to Mordant from an alien world. After a moment, she explained her attention by saying, ‘Geraden, you have changed.’

  Terisa’s immediate reaction was, No, he hasn’t. From her perspective, he had come back to his essential self from iron and despair. Queen Madin’s observation made her think again, however. In fact, he had changed. He hadn’t simply lost his clumsiness: he had lost his puppyish look, his appearance of being a boy hidden inside a man. His back was straight and strong, and she had a hard time imagining him making a mistake.

  As if to demonstrate the change, he smiled almost without embarrassment. ‘It’s Terisa’s influence, my lady Queen. She made me stop apologizing.’

  ‘No,’ Queen Madin replied firmly. ‘The difference is that you are more at peace within yourself.’ She was sure of her own judgment. ‘You have become an Imager.’

  In response, he shrugged self-deprecatingly; but he held her gaze. ‘I didn’t know it shows.’

  ‘Oh, it shows, Geraden,’ the Queen affirmed, ‘it shows. No one would mistake you now for the oldest failed Apt ever to serve the Congery.

  ‘As for you, my lady,’ she went on, turning to Terisa, ‘you are less clear to me. Your surprises are better concealed, I think. You both have a great deal to tell me.’

  ‘That’s true, my lady Queen,’ Geraden said at once. His awareness of how hard that job would be showed in the way he asked, ‘But what of yourself? Won’t you first tell us how you are? And Torrent?’

  The Queen shook her head. ‘What I tell you of myself will depend entirely on whether you were sent here by that old dodderer the King. I have asked you that once, but you did not answer clearly.’

  For a moment, Geraden measured his reply. Then he said flatly, ‘King Joyse didn’t send us. I think he would be astonished if he knew we were here.’

  Queen Madin appeared to receive this information as if it inflicted a deep hurt which she had no intention of showing. As she spoke, however, she couldn’t muffle the roughness in her voice. ‘In that case, Geraden – Torrent and I are well. But not as well as we would be if our family were whole again. The King’s aberrations exact a price from us all.

  ‘Will you not be seated?’ she continued, shaking herself out of her thoughts. ‘Here is wine.’ The servant had reentered the room carrying a silver tray. ‘And Torrent will be with us soon, I am sure.

  ‘Ah,’ the Queen concluded as the door opened again, ‘here she is now.’

  Terisa turned in time to see King Joyse and Queen Madin’s second daughter close the door behind her and approach the fire.

  Torrent’s carriage and downcast eyes and demure gown conveyed two impressions almost simultaneously: first, she was so shy that she made Myste and Elega seem as extroverted as mountebanks; and second, despite her shyness, she was nearly the image of her mother. She could have been Queen Madin’s shadow: they were as alike as reflections of each other. Only her mother’s decisiveness was missing, her mother’s assurance.

  ‘Torrent,’ the Queen said, ‘here are Geraden and the lady Terisa of Morgan. They have a great deal to tell us. She has done something all the Masters of the Congery together could not do. She has made him an Imager.’

  Torrent paused among the chairs. The gaze which she raised beneath her lashes was at once so hesitant and so full of wonder that Terisa blushed involuntarily.

  ‘Under the circumstances,’ Geraden muttered humorously – perhaps for Torrent’s benefit, perhaps for Terisa’s – ‘I don’t think that’s much of a compliment. The only benefit I’ve gotten from the change is that now people want to kill me.

  ‘My lady Torrent,’ he went on, ‘I’m glad to see you. When you and the Queen left Orison, I didn’t think I’d ever have that privilege again.’

  ‘Oh, “privilege,” Geraden.’ Torrent spoke as if
she, too, were blushing; yet her cheeks remained pale, untouched. ‘You’re making fun of me.’

  Before he could reply – perhaps so that he wouldn’t have a chance to reply – she came abruptly toward Terisa. Facing Terisa as if holding her chin up were an act of courage, she said, ‘I’m sure Mother has made you welcome, my lady, but let me welcome you also. Grandfather – the Fayle – told us everything he knew about you, but it only made us more curious. I’m afraid we’ll exhaust you with questions.’

  ‘Please.’ Terisa had no idea why she was blushing. She made a special effort to speak calmly, comfortably, to put Torrent at ease. ‘Call me Terisa. Both Myste and Elega do.’

  That brought a smile to Torrent’s face, a lift of self-confidence. ‘Do you know Myste and Elega? I suppose you must, since you’ve been in Orison. Are you friends? How are they?’ After an instant of hesitation, a quick glance at Queen Madin, she asked, ‘And Father? How is he?’

  ‘Torrent,’ the Queen said both kindly and firmly, ‘we must sit down. If we do not, Geraden and the lady Terisa will remain standing all night.’

  In a convincing imitation of a woman with no will of her own, Torrent immediately sat down in the nearest chair.

  Queen Madin took an armchair near the fire. Geraden and Terisa seated themselves on a couch between the Queen and her daughter. Promptly, the servant brought around goblets of wine on a tray, then set the wine down near Torrent and withdrew.

  ‘You are tired from your journey,’ Queen Madin said after she had tasted her wine. ‘We will bathe and feed you shortly. You will be given all the rest you can allow yourselves. But you must understand that we are hungry for news. In Vale House, we do not hear even rumors from Romish, not to mention truth from Orison. How are Elega and Myste?’ Just for an instant, her throat closed. ‘How is the King?’

  Now Geraden hesitated; the change Queen Madin had observed seemed to desert him momentarily. Which made perfect sense to Terisa. Her heart was suddenly thick, and she felt an ache gathering around her. It was possible that the Queen and Torrent would take the news of King Joyse gladly: possible, but very unlikely.

  ‘This is difficult,’ Geraden murmured awkwardly. ‘I can’t really tell you anything without telling you everything – and I don’t know where to start. I can’t think of any way to say this that won’t be hurtful.’

  Torrent studied her hands, but Terisa could see that she was breathing deeply to steady herself. Queen Madin, on the other hand, faced Geraden’s uncertainty without blinking.

  ‘Tell us the truth,’ she said bluntly. ‘Speculation will be more hurtful to us than any news.’

  Still Geraden faltered.

  Grimly, because the only thing worse than knowledge was ignorance, Terisa said, ‘The King knows what he’s doing. He’s doing it on purpose.’

  Torrent didn’t raise her eyes; she seemed to freeze in her seat. ‘“On purpose,”’ Queen Madin echoed slowly. ‘My lady, you must explain that observation.’

  ‘Unfortunately, it’s true,’ Geraden rushed in. ‘Terisa knows more about King Joyse’s reasons and intentions than anybody else. She’s had several talks with him – he answered questions for her. He’s gone out of his way to give her explanations. I think it’s because of the way she came to Orison. An impossible translation – or we all thought it was impossible until I realized I can do it anytime I want. She was so obviously important. She’s involved in the Congery’s augury. We didn’t know what her talent is, but it was obvious she had to have some kind of unprecedented power.’

  Abruptly, he made himself stop. Speaking distinctly, he said, ‘The last we heard, Elega is fine. We don’t know about Myste.’

  ‘It’s a trap, my lady Queen,’ Terisa tried to explain. ‘He’s setting a trap for his enemies, for Mordant’s enemies. They were too powerful – and he didn’t know who they were. And he was afraid that they would keep getting stronger – that they might swallow Alend or Cadwal or both – and leave him alone while they got stronger and stronger, until they were too strong for him, too strong for anyone. He was afraid that if he didn’t find out who his enemies were and stop them he would lose everything.’

  ‘That was true,’ the Queen put in crisply. ‘Any fool could see it.’

  ‘So,’ Terisa went on with an inward groan, ‘he made himself weak.’

  Queen Madin stared at her. ‘I do not believe you. What nonsense! What good is weakness? How is it used against Imagers and armies?’

  She might have said more, but Geraden intervened. The unexpected authority in the way he raised his hand stopped her. ‘Listen to us, my lady Queen,’ he breathed gently. ‘Please listen.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Terisa murmured. ‘It’s the truth. It’s all we have.

  ‘He paralyzed his own strength. He made it impossible for the Congery to do anything effectively. He undercut the Castellan. He abandoned the Perdon without reinforcements. He insulted Prince Kragen – the Fayle probably told you that. He made himself look like a fool. He’ – her voice caught briefly – ‘he did his best to drive his family away.’ She thought she ought to mention the Tor’s son, but she didn’t have the heart for it. ‘He practically punished people like Geraden for being loyal.’

  Queen Madin sat without moving a muscle, listened without any reaction except a slow reddening of her cheeks. Torrent was breathing so hard she was almost panting.

  ‘My lady Queen, he made himself a target. So that his enemies would attack him, instead of chewing Alend and Cadwal and Mordant up slowly until they were too strong to be beaten. It was all a ruse, a trick to make his enemies try to destroy him before they became strong enough to be safe.’

  The Domne had put his finger on it. King Joyse wanted to save the world. He hurt all the people he loved best because saving the world was more important to him than anything else.

  That was a terrible burden for him to bear.

  On the other hand, it wasn’t exactly easy for the people he loved.

  Without warning – and almost without transition, as if she had been secretly standing all along – Queen Madin swept to her feet. ‘Why?’ she demanded in a voice that made Terisa want to hide under the couch. ‘If this is true, why did he not tell me?’ She didn’t shout, but her tone had the impact of a yell. ‘Did he not trust me? Did he believe that I would not understand? – that I would not approve?’

  Geraden stood to face her. ‘My lady Queen,’ he asked softly, intently, ‘what would you have done if he told you?’

  ‘I would not have come here.’ The Queen might as well have been shouting. ‘I would have stood by him, instead of allowing all the world to think that I have lost my love for him and his ideals and the realm.’

  Geraden gave Terisa a look full of pain and sorrow, a look that brought her to her feet at his side, but he didn’t back down. ‘That’s the problem, my lady Queen. You would have stood by him. And as long as you were there, no one would believe he was collapsing. Not really. Or if they did believe it, they would know you were there to make decisions for him, Queen Madin, daughter of the Fayle, the most formidable woman in Orison. His trap would have failed. No one would fall into it.

  ‘And if he had asked you to leave?’ Geraden went on. ‘If he had explained his trap and asked you to cooperate by abandoning him? Could you have borne it? Could you have sat on your hands here for – what is it, two years now? – while he risked his life and everything you both believe in?’

  He was right: this was hurtful with a vengeance. Nevertheless Terisa was certain these things had to be said. She was just grateful that she wasn’t the one saying them.

  And Queen Madin was hurt: that was unmistakable. She had been dealt a blow which shook her to the bone.

  ‘My lady Queen,’ Geraden concluded in a voice thick with regret, ‘if this policy is to succeed – if there’s any chance to save Mordant – what else could he have done?’

  ‘Oh, Father.’ Torrent was so distressed that she watched Geraden’s face openly, without shyness, wit
hout self-consciousness. ‘What have I done? I should have stayed with you. Like Myste and Elega.’

  ‘No, Torrent.’ Queen Madin tried to speak as if she had no tears spilling down her cheeks, no grief in her chest. ‘We would have broken his heart. It was a hard thing for him to drive us away. It would have been terrible to try to drive us away and fail – and so lose the chance to save his kingdom.’

  ‘But he’s caused all this pain’ – sitting, Torrent looked small and helpless, too little to understand or be consoled – ‘and we left him to endure it alone. I left him. He has no wish to cause pain. His heart is broken already, or he wouldn’t have done something so desperate—’

  Despite her own hurt, the Queen gave her daughter a comforting response. ‘Hush, child. Do not be in a hurry to call him desperate. Your father has always been given to risks. We must not believe the worst until it is proven.’

  Then she wiped her eyes and faced Geraden and Terisa squarely. ‘Now,’ she said in a tone of barely concealed ferocity, ‘you must tell us what the outcome of the King’s weakness has been.’

  Geraden nodded. Terisa murmured, ‘Yes.’

  In pieces back and forth as details and developments occurred to them, they told their story as coherently as they could.

  And while they told it, Queen Madin became another woman before their eyes. She seemed to find sustenance in the events they described, the implications they discussed. She knew, of course, about the disaster of the Congery’s champion, and about Master Eremis’ strange attempt to make an alliance of the lords of the Cares, Prince Kragen, and the Congery: reminders of that information had no effect on her now. But the presence – and the freedom – of the High King’s Monomach in Orison made her straighten her shoulders. King Joyse’s treatment of the Perdon and Prince Kragen seemed to strengthen her bones. Myste’s foolish and gallant pursuit of the champion caused her eyes to glow. And Elega’s plot with Nyle and Prince Kragen to betray Orison – which Geraden explained with considerable difficulty because it, too, must be hurtful – seemed to bring a flush of youth to the Queen’s cheeks. ‘Brave Elega,’ she murmured as if she would have done the same thing in her daughter’s place. But when she heard that Orison was besieged, she snapped like a soldier, ‘Then why are you here? Why are you not there, fighting for King Joyse and Mordant?’