Empire - 03 - Mistress Of The Empire

by Raymond E. Feist

  Saric loved his Ruling Lady and appreciated her brilliance in changing the only society he had ever known, but he regretted the disbanding of the Warlord's office and the power of the High Council, for at least then events could be interpreted according to centuries of precedents set by the forms of the Great Game. Now, while the old ways were still followed by the houses of the Empire, the rules were forced into change.

  Speculation was becoming too uncertain, Saric decided with a grimace of disgust. He left the deserted hall, heading for those quarters he had chosen when Mara had come to occupy the former Minwanabi estate. En route to his suite of rooms, he sent Mara's runner to fetch a scribe to attend him. When the man arrived with his satchel of ink and pens, the Acoma First Adviser's instructions were clipped and short: 'Prepare notice for our factors and agents. If Arakasi makes his presence known anywhere in the Nations, inform him he is to return home at once.' The scribe sat upon the floor without comment, but he looked troubled as he placed a wooden lapboard upon his knee. Quickly putting pen to parchment, he started to compose the first document.

  'Add this, and use the number seven cipher,' Saric concluded, pacing the floor in an agitation that had no other outlet. 'Our Lady is in deadly danger.'

  * * *

  The chime sounded, and a puff of disturbed air winnowed the silken hangings that walled the great gathering hall in the City of the Magicians. Shadows cast by the flickering flames of the oil lamps wavered as a magician appeared upon the pattern in the center of the floor. He stepped off briskly. Hard on his heels, two colleagues appeared in rapid succession. These were followed by others, until a crowd of black-robed figures congregated on the benches surrounding the walls. The huge, leather-hinged doors creaked wide to admit others that chose not to convey their bodies to the meeting by arcane means.

  The Hall of the Assembly filled swiftly and quietly.

  The delegates converged from all walks of the City of the Magicians, a complex of buildings and covered terraces, towers, and galleries that made a maze-like warren of an entire island. Located in the midst of a great lake in the foothills of the High Wall, the northern mountains of the Empire, the City of the Magicians was unapproachable by any means but magic. Black Robes in distant provinces teleported to the site, responding to the call to Assembly sent out that morning. Gathered together in sufficient number to form a quorum, the magicians constituted the most powerful body in Tsuranuanni, for they existed outside the law. No one, not even the Emperor, dared gainsay their command, which had carried absolute privilege for thousands of years of history.

  Within minutes the benches were packed to capacity. Hodiku, a thin, hook-nosed man of middle years who by preference spent most of his time in study within the Holy City, walked to the First Speaker's position, at the center of the patterned tile floor. His voice extended across the cavernous hall seemingly without effort. 'We are called together today so that I may speak for the Good of the Empire.' The routine greeting was met with silence, for all matters requiring convocation of the Assembly of Great Ones related to the state of the Empire. 'Today, the Red Seal upon the inner sanctum of the Temple of Jastur was broken!'

  The announcement caused a shocked stir, for only when formal warfare was announced between houses or clans, were the arched doors to the central chamber of the Temple of the War God thrown open to allow public entry. Hodiku raised his arms to encourage a return to order. 'Mara of the Acoma, as Lady of her House and Warchief of Clan Hadama does pronounce war upon Lord Jiro of the Anasati!'

  Astonished exclamations swept the chamber. While a cadre of the younger magicians stayed abreast of current events, they were not among the majority. These newly sworn had joined the Assembly during the upheavals caused by the force known as the Enemy that had endangered both their own world of Kelewan and that of Midkemia, beyond the rift. The massive threat to two civilizations had necessitated a move by the Magicians to aid the Emperor Ichindar to seize absolute rule of the Nations, that internal bickering not weaken the land in time of larger crisis. The newest of the mages might be enamored of using their powers to influence the sway of events. But to the elders of the Assembly, who were set in their individual ways and courses of scholarly study, intervention in Tsurani politics was looked on as bad form; a bothersome chore only performed at dire need.

  To a still-smaller faction, headed up by Hochopepa and Shimone, once close acquaintances of the barbarian magician Milamber, the recent departures from traditional rule were of interest for deeper reasons. Exposure to Midkemian thought had prompted them to view the affairs of Tsuranuanni in a changed light, and since the Lady Mara was currently the linchpin of Ichindar's support, these war tidings were of particular concern.

  An old practitioner of Tsurani politics of all stripe, Hochopepa raised a chubby hand to his face and closed his dark eyes in forbearance. 'As you predicted,' he murmured to the reed-thin, ascetic Shimone. 'Trouble, when the Nations can least afford the price.'

  Taciturn as ever, Shimone made no reply, but watched with hawk-keen scrutiny as several of the more impulsive magicians surged to their feet, indicating their desire to speak. Hodiku singled out a young Black Robe named Sevean and pointed. The one selected stepped forward onto the central floor while the others sat.

  Barely a year past his initiation to mastery of magic, Sevean was fast on his feet, quick-spoken, and inclined to be impulsive. He would leap to outspoken conclusions where other, more seasoned colleagues would wait to hear the thoughts of less experienced members before revealing their opinions. He raised a voice too loud by half for the sensitive acoustics of the hall. 'It is widely believed that Jiro had his hand in the death of the Good Servant's son.'

  Which was no news at all; Shimone turned his mouth down in a faint curl of disgust, while Hochopepa muttered just loud enough for half the room to hear, 'What, has he been listening in on Isashani's sitting room again, taking in the social gossip?'

  Shimone gave no answer to this; like many of the elder magicians, he considered using powers to look in on the affairs of individual nobles as the lowest level of crass behavior. Sevean was embarrassed by Hochopepa's remark and by the harsh looks from several of the elder members. Left at a loss for words, he curtailed his speech, repeating, 'It is widely believed.'

  More magicians vied for the First Speaker's attention. Hodiku made a choice among them, and as a slow-spoken, ponderously built initiate droned out his irrelevant viewpoint, more experienced magicians spoke quietly among themselves, ignoring all but the gist of his speech.

  A mage two seats to the rear of Hochopepa and Shimone, whose name was Teloro, inclined his head toward the others. 'What is the real issue, Hocho?'

  The plump magician sighed and left off twiddling his thumbs. 'The fate of the Empire, Teloro. The fate of the Empire.'

  Teloro bridled at this vagueness. Then he revised his first impression: the stout magician's bearing might betray no concern, but his tone rang with deep conviction.

  Both Shimone and his stout companion seemed fixed on a discussion the other side of the hall, where several magicians held private counsel. As the current speaker sat, and a round-shouldered man from this whispering cadre stood up, Teloro heard Hochopepa mutter, 'Now we'll begin to see how this round of the game is to be played.'

  Hodiku motioned to the man, who was slender with brown hair trimmed above his ears in the Tsurani fashion called a warrior's cut. The style was an odd affectation for a Black Robe, but by any measures Motecha was a strange magician. He had been friends with the two brothers who had actively supported the old Warlord, but when Elgoran had died and Elgohar had left to serve upon the Midkemian world, Motecha had conspired to maintain an appearance of distance between himself and the two brothers.

  The attention of Shimone and Hochopepa intensified as Motecha opened. 'Is there no end to Lady Mara's ambition? She has called a Clan War, over a personal insult she delivered, as Lady of the Acoma.'

  Hochopepa nodded as if in confirmation of a hunch. 'So, M
otecha has made alliances with the Anasati. Odd. He's not an original thinker. I wonder who put him up to this?'

  Shimone held up his hand. 'Don't distract with chatter. I want to hear this.'

  Motecha waved a ringed hand, as if inviting rebuttal from his colleagues. But he was not as magnanimous in his equivocation as his gesture suggested, since he rushed on to cut off any interruption. 'Obviously not. The Good Servant was not satisfied with flouting tradition by co-opting her former enemy's forces —'

  'Which we conceded was a brilliant move,' interjected Hochopepa, again just loud enough to make the speaker stumble. Teloro and Shimone repressed amusement. The stout magician was a master at embarrassing colleagues that he deemed in need of having their pomposity punctured. As Motecha seemed ready to depart from his prepared remarks, Hochopepa added, 'But please, I didn't mean to interrupt; pray continue.'

  Motecha was nonetheless thrown off stride. He brushed lamely past his hesitation saying, 'She will crush the Anasati — '

  Representing the more seasoned members of the Assembly, Fumita stood. At Hodiku's nod of acknowledgment he said, 'Forgive the interruption, Motecha, but an Anasati defeat is neither assured or even likely. Given the well-documented assessment of the forces available to both sides, it is a given Jiro must counteract with a Call to Clan. Alone, Anasati's war hosts are no match for Lady Mara's, and she has spoken boldly by raising Clan Hadama. This has already cost her politically. She will lose powerful allies — in fact, two will be forced by blood ties to take the field against her on Jiro's behalf — and while the Acoma are awesome in wealth and power, the two clans are closely matched.'

  Hochopepa grinned openly. Motecha's thinly veiled attempt to stir the Assembly on behalf of the Anasati was now crushed. Rather than sit down, Fumita continued. 'There is another issue here, that must be addressed.'

  Motecha jerked his chin and conceded the floor in disgust. As he moved away, and no other Great One stood to claim the floor, Hodiku merely waved at Fumita to continue. 'While matters of honor are deemed inviolate, we must consider: will this clash of clans so weaken the internal structure of the Empire that the stability is set at risk?'

  A murmur stirred the Assembly, but no one thrust to the fore to debate the issue. Clan Ionani and Clan Hadama were large factions, yes, but neither commanded enough followers to upset civil order irretrievably. Hochopepa knew his ally Fumita stalled for time; the underlying concern behind this tactic was wider than the settlement of one House's personal honor over insult. The worst was already halfway realised: that the conflict of the Anasati and the Acoma would create a polarisation of factions who opposed Ichindar. Disorganised dissenters already rallied behind Jiro's cause, forming a traditionalist party that could throw serious opposition against the Empire's new order. Though they were not yet incensed enough to contribute to the bloodshed, were there still a High Council left with power to act, there could be no doubt that if a vote were held at this minute, Lord Jiro would hold enough support to take the Warlordship. There were magicians who had regarded Ichindar's rise to power as an impious expedient: that the balance should be returned to the time before the Enemy, with the Light of Heaven's office restored to the old ways. Hochopepa led a small contingent that welcomed change; he paid scant heed to Fumita's stalling, but instead watched to see where Motecha would gravitate. To his colleague he confided, 'Ah, there's the hand behind Jiro's cause.'

  With a slight nod of his head, he indicated the magician Motecha now spoke with, an athletic-looking man just out of youth, unremarkable save for the red hair that showed around the edges of his black cowl. He had thick brows, an expression that approached a scowl, and the carriage of a man who tended to fidget with excess nerves.

  'Tapek,' Shimone identified. 'He's the one who burned up a building while practicing for his mastery. Came into his talents very early, but took a long time to learn restraint.'

  Hochopepa's mild face furrowed in concern. 'He's no friend of Jiro's. I wonder what his stake in this is?'

  Shimone gave the barest lift of shoulders, as close as he ever came to the enigmatic Tsurani shrug. 'His kind gravitates toward trouble, as floating sticks will draw toward a whirlpool.'

  On the floor, debate continued. Careful to keep his tone neutral lest someone point out his personal tie to Hokanu and Mara's House, Fumita offered up his conclusion. 'I believe that if Clans Ionani and Hadama destroy each other, we shall be faced with both internal and external perils.' He held one finger aloft. 'Can any doubt that whoever survives, that house will be so weakened that others will instantly fall upon it?' He raised a second finger, adding, 'And can any gainsay that enemies outside our border will take advantage of our internal dissension to strike?'

  'My turn to contribute to the general excess of hot air,' Hochopepa muttered, and promptly stood. At the cue, Fumita sat with such abruptness that nobody else could rise to his feet in time to prevent Hodiku's indication that the stout magician had the floor.

  Hochopepa coughed to clear his throat. 'My learned brother makes a strong brief,' he said, warming up to a virtuoso speech of confusing pomposity. 'But we must not blind ourselves with rhetoric'

  Shimone's lips twitched at this half-lie. His fat companion paced heavily to and fro, meeting the eyes of all the magicians in the front rows to draw them to attention. 'I would like to point out that such clashes before have not spelled the end of civilisation as we know it!' He nodded for emphasis. 'And we have no intelligence to indicate that those upon our borders are poised to strike. The Thuril are too busy with trade along our eastern frontier to seek struggle so long as we give them no cause. They can be a hard lot, but profit is bound to seem more attractive to them than bloodletting; at least that seems to be the case since the Alliance for War desisted in their attempt to conquer them.' A murmur of disapproval disturbed the shadowy hall, for the attempt to annex the Thuril Highlands as a new province had ended in disgrace for the Empire, and it was considered bad form to recall the defeat. Hochopepa's scruples did not restrain him from using this point to unbalance his opposition. He simply raised his sonorous voice enough to be heard above the noise. 'The desert men of Tsubar have sworn binding treaty with the Xacatecas and Acoma on behalf of the Empire, and we have had no resumption of conflict in Dustari.'

  That this was in part to Lady Mara's credit was not lost on the Assembly. A smile spread across Hochopepa's round face as the tumult died back to respectful stillness. 'By any measure, the Empire is peaceful to the point of boredom.' In a dramatic shift, his smile fled before a scowl, and he shook a finger at the gathering. 'Need I remind my brothers that the Servant of the Empire is counted a member of the Imperial House by adoption? An odd convention, I know, but a tradition.' He waved to single out Motecha, who had sought to discredit Mara. 'Should we be so rash as to do anything on behalf of the Anasati, the Emperor could conceivably consider this an attack upon his family. And, more to the point, Elgohar and I witnessed the last Warlord's execution. At his hanging . . .' He paused for effect, and tapped his temple. 'Let me see if I can recall our Light of Heaven's exact words upon that occasion of a magician acting in conspiracy with council politics. Oh, yes, he said: "If another Black Robe is ever discovered involved in a plot against my house, the status of Great Ones outside the law will end. Even should I be forced to pit all the armies of the Empire against your magic might, even to the utter ruination of the Empire, I will not allow any to challenge the supremacy of the Emperor again. Is that understood?"'

  Sweeping a dire glare over the assembly, Hochopepa said, 'I assure you all, Ichindar was sincere. He is not the sort to threaten violence lightly. Our previous Emperors may have been content to sit by, dividing their time between holy devotions in the temples, and begetting heirs upon their assorted wives and mistresses' — he let his voice rise again — 'but Ichindar is not one! He is a ruler, not some divine puppet wearing the costume of religious office!'

  Lowering his voice, forcing every magician present to strain with undivided atten
tion to hear him, Hochopepa summed up. 'We who attended the Good Servant's son's funeral know full well that Mara's lapse was born of overwhelming grief. Now she must bear up to the consequences of her shame. From the moment she assaulted Jiro with her bare hands, this conflict was inevitable. As our charge is to preserve the Empire, I strongly doubt we can justify pursuing any activity that might find us all' — shaking the hall with a thunderous bellow — 'opposing the armies of the Empire in the field over a matter of personal insult!' Quietly, reasonably, he resumed, 'We should win, of course, but there would be very little Empire left to preserve after that.' He ended with a dismissive wave of his hand. 'That was all I had to say.' And he sat.

  Silence lasted only a moment before Tapek shot to his feet. Hodiku granted him a nod, and his robes swirled to his agitated stride as he stalked onto the floor.

  His face was pale as he surveyed the gathering silently gripped by reflection. 'We have heard enough of Lady Mara. The wronged party, I must point out, is Lord Jiro. He did not initiate hostilities.' Tapek raised his arms. 'I bid you all to consider direct evidence instead of words for a change!' He made a sweeping gesture that carved out a frame upon the air. An incantation left his lips, and in the space before him light gathered. A rainbow play of colors resolved into a sharply defined image of a room lined with books and scrolls. There, clad in a robe elegant in its simplicity, paced Lord Jiro in a rare state of agitation. Seated on a cushion in one corner, barely out of the path of his master's temper, was Chumaka, his leathery face carefully expressionless.

  'How dare the Lady Mara threaten me!' Jiro ranted in injured fury. 'We had nothing to do with the death of her son! The implication that we are a house so honorless as to strike down a boy who shares Anasati blood is preposterous! The evidence planted on that tong assassin is a transparent effort to discredit us, and because of it, we are faced with Clan War!'