Forged in Fire (Destiny's Crucible Book 4)

by Olan Thorensen

  “Brison supports the idea that all the clans obey decisions made by a group of four men chosen by the hetmen. Those four would plan strategies and tactics to be carried out by the clans. They would work together to decide on those plans. Decisions would be carried out only if three or all four of the men agreed. No major action would be taken if only one of the four supported it.” Culich waited for Stent to ask the obvious question. Stent didn’t disappoint.

  “What if it’s two for and two against?”

  “In that case, there would be a fifth man who would cast the deciding vote. Otherwise, his role would be to advise the other four, and he would have a vote only in cases of tied votes.”

  “I believe I know the answer to the question I am about to ask. Who would the fifth man be?”

  “Yozef Kolsko.”

  Stent nodded. “I was at Moreland City, so I know his role in our victory. My question is, how would you convince all the clans to accept a stranger in such an important position? Not to mention how to get them all to give up independence, if they see hetmen of other clans making these decisions for them?”

  Orosz spoke up. “Taking the second question first—how to convince the hetmen. I don’t think that’s a major problem. There are twenty-one clans. Preddi, Selfcell, and Eywell are already lost to the Narthani—leaving eighteen. Moreland’s ability to fight, after their fiasco at Moreland City, means that they will have to go with whatever the others decide. Bakalacs here assures us that most of the northern clans will agree.”

  “Really?” Stent scoffed. “No offense, Hetman Farkesh, but you and the other northern clans are known to be the prickliest on independence and not known for cooperation.”

  Bakalacs’s lips tweaked a brief grin at the polite skepticism. “Normally, I would agree. However, these are not normal times. Farkesh and Bultecki will strongly support this concept. Swavebroke is weakened by the Narthani attack that burned Shullick and killed their hetman, which was a Narthani mistake. The new hetman leads a clan that was one of the more reluctant to form a coalition against the Narthani and now is one of the most fervent. Similar with Skouks. While their hetman wasn’t loved by all the clan, he was respected. His death, and that of his daughter’s entire family by Narthani assassins, has lit a fire under them. That leaves Nyvaks and Pawell. I expect the Nyvaksians will be as difficult as they usually are and will resist a central command. The Pawellese can be brought around to support the concept . . . eventually. Of course, one of the four leaders will have to be from the northern clans.”

  Orosz continued, “Bevans may hesitate, we aren’t sure yet, but with Adris and Pawell supporting the idea, it’s unlikely they would go against the only two clans that border them. Pewitt will follow your lead. We already know the Five-Clan Alliance will agree both to a central command and to Kolsko as a fifth deciding vote. Hetman Hewell especially has become attached to Yozef and is a firm believer that Yozef is a Septarsh. With the Five-Clan Alliance, and naturally Stent, if we convince you, the northern clans, and the others, that would give us at least fifteen clans for certain, leaving only Seaborn, Nyvaks, and Vandinke. If Bakalacs’s confidence in our persuasive abilities and rational reflections is valid, we need only one more vote to force compliance of the others.”

  “What if the sixteenth vote doesn’t come?” asked Stent.

  “Then the fifteen clans would proceed without the other three and, if necessary, force compliance where needed. This would only be a last resort, and many clans wouldn’t be happy. Unfortunately, this isn’t a time to worry about future consequences.”

  Stent nodded, though he didn’t indicate whether he agreed or he only understood the reasoning. “Agreeing is one thing,” said Stent, “but cooperating is something else.”

  “That is true,” said Culich, “and that is something we will have to discuss.”

  “Let’s say even all the hetmen agree—do they all have enough control over their clans to ensure compliance?” asked Stent.

  Culich sat back in his chair. “Oh, I think we only need worry if all the boyermen of a clan are opposed. I’m sure we’ll have no serious problem.”

  “What Culich doesn’t say outright, Welman, is that several boyermen have been replaced around the different clans,” said Bakalacs. “One of my own boyerman was suspected of having secret contact with Narthani agents. Fortunately, he had a fatal accident and is no longer a problem.”

  No one asked the nature of the accident.

  “All right,” said Stent. “Let’s assume, for the sake of this discussion, that I agree to commit Stent to this centralization. Who would be the four leaders?”

  “Supposedly, it would be decided by the hetmen as a group. In reality, it would be the four hetmen at this table.”

  “And if other hetmen have other ideas?”

  “That is unlikely to make any difference. Once all the clans agree, deciding on the four will follow quickly. We don’t see any other clan having enough support to push their hetman into the group.”

  Stent met the eyes of the other four men. “All this seems to fall to myself and my clan to work. If I disagree, then Pewitt will most certainly not agree either, Swavebroke might reconsider, and Vandinke resistance might stiffen.”

  “That’s true, and we assumed you would see that scenario,” said Culich calmly.

  Stent laughed. “Hah! I hate being thought predictable. If you had any serious doubts about my decision, it seems unlikely I would be at this meeting.”

  Orosz spoke. “We are counting on your good sense and your widely known commitment to protect your people.”

  Stent’s expression had gone blank and showed no hint of where he would leap. “What if this group of four turns out to be a mistake?”

  “Then we are all in serious trouble,” said Culich. “I doubt there will be time to replace even one of the four and continue with an effective effort against the Narthani. We can only pray to God that we don’t fail.”

  Stent was silent for most of a minute. The other four waited for more questions or a decision.

  Finally, he said, “I hate the idea. My district chiefs will hate the idea. All my people will hate the idea.” Quiet again. Then, “Unfortunately for them and myself, I see no choice. So I will support you in this. Believe me, if there was any other way I thought we could defeat the Narthani, I wouldn’t agree, so may God’s grace make this work.”

  The other four men visibly relaxed. Though they had believed Stent would support the idea, believing wasn’t certainty.

  “Now all that’s left is convincing the other clans,” said Bakalacs in an ironic tone.

  “I’m afraid it’s not just hetmen who need convincing,” said Culich. “There is one other who is not a clan hetman.”

  “Another?” asked Stent.

  “Yozef,” answered Sistian.

  Bakalacs looked confused. “Why is that a problem?” he said, staring at Culich. “He’s a member of your clan. He should do as he’s told.”

  Stent had had a moment to consider Sistian’s naming Yozef as a possible recalcitrant. “You haven’t met him, Feren, as often as I have. I sense Abbot Beynom may be right. If Yozef is a Septarsh, he might have objectives none of us know about or wouldn’t understand if we did. If God is whispering to him, who knows the mind of God?”

  Bakalacs looked concerned and addressed Culich. “Do you think he might refuse?”

  “No, I don’t. I think he would prefer to stay at Caernford and his shops, at the scholasticum he’s planning, and with his family, although I believe he’ll see the necessity. Abbot Beynom also took Yozef to talk with Rhaedri Brison earlier today.”

  Culich smiled. “Just in case, my daughter Maera has come with us.”

  “Your daughter?” echoed a further confused Farkesh Hetman. “Why would a Keelan daughter have any role in this?”

  “You have not met Maera,” said Stent with a twinkle in his eyes. “She’s Yozef’s wife, and he listens to her. She’s ready to help us with him, if necessary
.”

  Bakalacs threw up his hands. “I bow to whatever it takes—no matter how strange so much of all this seems.”

  The Conclave Begins

  Two days later, the final delegation arrived from all eighteen free clans. There were fifteen hetmen present and two eldest sons of hetmen too elderly or ill to attend. Moreland still had no agreed-on leader, and an abbot represented the clan as a neutral party not connected with the factions vying for control. The eighteen clan representatives sat at rectangular tables forming a rough circle. Advisers sat behind the hetmen on chairs, benches, and stools. To the rear stood those people needing to be present for only part of the proceedings. One hundred and thirty-four men and two women filled the room, the women a first for a clan conclave. Maera Kolsko-Keelan sat as an interpreter for the three Fuomi (Rintala, Kivalian, and Saisannin) and the single Landoliner, Rhanjur Gaya. When the foreign party entered the room, talk subsided, and many heads and eyes turned to the two unusual attendee types—foreigners and women.

  They finished the obligatory preliminaries by mid-morning—introductions of everyone in the room to assign people’s faces and stations. Theophist attendees gave several prayers for God’s grace and guidance, followed by a summary of the Battle of Moreland City, Narthani attacks, the clan raids into Eywell and Preddi, and what news they had of the expected new Narthani army.

  Tomis Orosz called on Jaako Rintala to speak. Although Rintala had worked hard to learn Caedelli, for this occasion precision was important; therefore, Maera served as interpreter. Rintala pointed out locations on an enlarged Anyar map Yozef had ordered to be prepared at the Fuomi’s request. Rintala gave a brief history of what the Fuomi knew about the Narthani, how they rose to power, and the decades-long wars between the Narthon Empire and its neighbors. Question after question followed, Hetman Orosz serving to recognize each man. Rintala understood some of the questions and answered a few on his own—other answers were relayed by Maera.

  When Rintala’s presentation and questions hit the hour mark, several men stood to be recognized when Orosz called a halt. “There are additional important matters to be discussed today. Our Fuomi visitors will be available for further questions during the next several days, so we need to continue to the next topic.”

  Hetman Orosz declared the main question, in general terms without details: “What would the clan response be to a new invasion?” followed by each clan representative giving a brief statement of his clan’s basic intent and thoughts. From these statements, Culich discerned the basic tenor of each clan. Nine clans were committed to a fight to the death. Most of these clans directly bordered the Narthani threat or had been part of the battle in Moreland. Two more clans seemed resigned to the coming fight, two brought up again the question of negotiations with the Narthani, and four clans told Culich they planned, or hoped, to stay out of the coming struggle: Seaborn, Nyvaks, Pawell, and Vandinke. Seaborn, the clan of the northwest islands, was no surprise. With no direct land connection to Caedellium, Seaborn had little part in the history of clan rivalries and conflicts. Nyvaks was also not a surprise. Their province connected to the rest of Caedellium by a narrow isthmus. Their one neighboring province, Pawell, had focused most of its attention on keeping raids from Nyvaks to a minimum and had also not been much of a factor in clan conflicts. The fact that Pawell also seemed less inclined to participate against the Narthani was likely because they saw their main threat as Nyvaks.

  Vandinke surprised Culich. He worried that he detected a deeper resistance than anticipated. They were the least populated province, due to their land being the most mountainous and rugged on Caedellium. With that harsh terrain and being landlocked, they were also the most reclusive and conservative of all of the clans.

  Culich chided himself for not paying more attention to the Vandinke hetman. He probably believes their mountains will prevent any Narthani invasion. If so, he’s only partly right, Culich thought. The Narthani might well leave them for last after subjugating all other provinces. They would enjoy a few months or years of independence before being overwhelmed.

  They took a half-hour break and reconvened. Orosz rose to resume his position as conclave moderator. “There have been five requests from clans with specific plans to propose. As is the custom, the order of speaking was determined by lot and will be Bevans, Keelan, Farkesh, Pewitt, and Moreland.”

  Culich would have preferred to move straight to his proposal, because at least half of the hetmen already knew its substance, but it was always best to follow protocol and not ruffle any more feathers than necessary.

  Zitwyn Bevans spoke first. Culich considered him a reasonably good and respected hetman, despite getting a bit dotty as he aged. Fortunately, Bevans simply emphasized the danger Caedellium faced and called on God’s help. Also fortunately, he didn’t take long. Then Culich rose to speak.

  “Thank you, Hetman Orosz. I think I can assume that most of you realize the imminent peril we are all in.” The slight emphasis on most brought both grim grins and grim frowns—more of the former than the latter. Among the latter were leaders from Seaborn and Nyvaks. Another resisting clan was Vandinke, and their hetman didn’t change expression—making Culich think he hadn’t caught the reference. Hetman Vandinke was reputed to be one of the denser hetmen, and if Culich’s information was correct, his clans’ people couldn’t wait for him to die, because his son and heir was more highly regarded. He sat behind his father and obviously didn’t miss the qualification.

  “I tell you now, and I believe many here have already come to the same conclusion, that there is no way for us to triumph over a Narthani army of this size and experience if we don’t recognize both the severity of the threat and the necessity to make changes in our customs. If we have any chance at all, we will have to fight smart, disciplined, and coordinated. All clans must work together. We must also recognize that this will be what one of my advisers has called ‘total warfare.’ This means that every man, woman, and child—every horse, dog, and pile of manure, if necessary—must go toward driving the Narthani from Caedellium. Anything less, anything that does not make complete efficient use of whatever weapons and tools we have, can only lead to our destruction.”

  Culich paused briefly, gesturing with his left arm to the Fuomi group at the back of the room. “If our own experience and intelligence did not tell us these unpalatable facts, we have the words from our Fuomi friends.” Although friends was a stretch, Culich thought he might as well put the Fuomi in as good a light as possible. “They have fought Narthani armies as large or even larger than the one we face and have held them as equals. They have seen our men and our lack of organization, and Leader Rintala assures us in no uncertain terms that unless we can unite into a single force to oppose the Narthani, they will destroy us and our people. Our customs, our histories, will turn to dust, and future peoples of Anyar might never know we existed.”

  Culich described the basic proposal: four hetmen serving as the central authority to make decisions approved by the majority of the four, along with authorizing who would implement the decisions, and Yozef serving as adviser and having a tie-breaking vote, if necessary. Needless to say, the following discussion was lively.

  The red-faced Nyvaks hetman found one point particular vexing. “What if a hetman decides not to follow these orders?”

  Culich’s expression stayed blank. “That clan would find itself between the Narthani and all the other clans. Does anyone here believe a single clan can stand alone against the Narthani or against all other clans?”

  Hetman Orosz called a halt to further discussion on Culich’s proposal, to let the other three scheduled hetmen speak. Bakalacs followed. The Farkesh hetman was briefer than Culich and gave the same message of doom unless the clans united. Then he surprised most hetmen by saying that Farkesh and two other northern clans, Skouks and Bultecki, would back the plan first proposed by Culich.

  Pewitt was next and, to Culich’s disgust, urged negotiating with the Narthani and even implied perha
ps giving up parts of the island to placate them—everyone knew he meant the entire Moreland Province. While a couple of hetmen seemed to listen with some level of interest, most had dismissive expressions.

  Finally, the Moreland representative rose—a man most of the hetmen didn’t recognize and only knew that he had been selected by a majority of district boyermen to lead the Moreland delegation. Hetman Moreland, both sons, and most other males of the lead family had died in the reckless charge against the Narthani center at the Battle of Moreland City.

  “I am Abbot Abelard Elsworth, of the Abbey of St. Xyllos in Moreland City. I speak here today for all of my clan. Over a third of the province has been destroyed by the Narthani. Two major towns and scores of villages burned to the ground. Thousands of our people were killed, including nearly a third of our best fighting men. Moreover, close to a thousand Morelanders—mainly, women and children—have been taken into slavery by the Narthani, their fates unknown. Many we fear have already been sent by ship back to Narthon. Some of these include members of my own family. Try to imagine how I feel to know we will never see them again. No matter what we decide here, no matter if we manage to drive the Narthani from Caedellium, these captured Morelanders are gone forever. The Fuomi tell us that the usual treatment of conquered peoples who resist the Narthani is that any enslaved men will live short lives in mines and construction gangs. Any young children will be given to Narthani families and raised as Narthani. The women will be common slaves, if they are fortunate, and younger women not so fortunate will provide service in brothels or as chattels to Narthani men.”

  The room was silent. Most faces resembled grim masks as the Morelander recounted what had happened to his clan.

  “I tell you this now. I’m sure you are all aware that Moreland is in needless turmoil over who will be the next hetman. Even with that, by unanimous decision of all Moreland district boyermen, and after meetings throughout Moreland, we will never surrender to the Narthani. We will fight them to the last living Morelander. If our fate is to fall to them, let it never be said that any of us died with our backs to the enemy!”