The gathered audience watched with quiet shock as I strode in front of Trace’s desk, passed the Chairman’s podium, and crossed all the way to Thanin’s desk. I handed Arilas Aldus Hooak the single sheet.
Then I turned back and said, “Gentleman, I hereby exercise my option to bring a motion to the floor. I propose that Arilas Aldus Hooak of Thanin be elected Chairman of this Council.”
The room erupted.
Bendent’s gavel cracked while Hooak read through my list of motions. The domos began to descend with canes and began to beat those who spoke out of turn. One domo eyed me, but I stood as still and silent as stone.
“You are mad,” Aldus whispered as the domos began to rap upon the desks of other members who continued to yell.
“All of them,” I replied. “I make you chairman, and that is the day’s docket. You may vote as you will, but you will bring the entire list for a vote.”
“Don’t you dare,” Bendent called down toward his long-standing ally.
Aldus’ eyes blazed as he read, and he had to take a deep breath. His voice boomed like thunder. “The Hooak of Thanin seconds the motion!”
The chamber fell to a stunned silence. None knew who to look to or what to do. Parsatayn was gone. Bendent’s published and predictable docket was strewn uselessly around the podium and desks alike. The Chairman had gone off script to make a motion for Enhedu’s vote to be restored, and here was another motion legally brought and seconded. Bendent could not prevent it.
I waved on Arilas Vlek, Regent-Arilas Oklas, and Arilas Kiel.
“Trace votes, eyy.”
“Heneur votes, eyy.”
“The Arilas of Aneth votes, eyy.”
Aldus Hooak and I did the same and then Aderan and Kuet. Both were allies of Parsatayn and eager to unseat Bendent.
Seven. One more vote was all we needed.
“Urmand votes, no,” Bendent said and pointed his gavel at the rest like a sword.
They chimed in quickly: Eril, Berm, Khrim, and Abodeen. The royal Roto Arilas of Yudyith did not surprise me by voting no, either.
This left Havish and Dahar. We needed only one of them. They were long time enemies of the Hooak as well as the Yentif. I did not know their motives or desires. The chamber stood in silence while the eastern arilas looked from Bendent to Aldus as if judging who would give them the better deal. Bendent’s smile promised gold and slaves. Aldus could not keep from sneering, and I nearly cuffed him.
“Dahar votes, no.”
The Arilas of Havish opened his mouth to do the same.
“Royal Ludoq,” Selt shouted across the chamber, “How do you vote?”
The domos rushed my reeve with their canes and beat him savagely for his outburst. But the brilliant word had been spoken. A magical word for the man from Havish whose recent war had been won by a man claiming to be an heir of the Ludoq’s vanquished royal line. Selt had added recognition of the Ludoq into the mix.
I bowed to this wretched eastern slaver, and Hooak managed to do the same. Arilas Vlek and Arilas Kiel followed suit.
“The Royal Ludoq of Havish votes, eyy!” cried the Arilas of Havish.
All decorum was lost as men cheered or bemoaned the success of the motion. Bendent’s gavel clattered upon the podium before it fell soundlessly upon the carpeted floor. The domos were flung about like landsmen upon a writhing deck. Positions around the circle needed to be rearranged. The new docket held in Aldus’ hand needed to be copied and distributed. Order needed to be restored.
Aldus pointed me to my spot, and I crossed while he rapped his knuckles loudly upon his desk.
“Order, gentlemen. Order,” he said. “The docket for my first session as chairman will be brief. I will read the motions aloud, so please pay attention.”
The frantic domos managed to enforce quiet. Selt was only just recovering from his beating, and the domos seemed eager to inflict the same upon anyone else. I helped Selt into a chair.
Chairman Aldus Hooak stepped toward the podium, and scribes all around the circle wet stones and prepared brushes. Selt got his bearings and struggled to do the same.
Bendent had not moved. He stood in Aldus’ way like a prince wearing the wrong dress for a parade. He was forced to retreat and hurry all the way around to Urmand’s desk.
Arilas Hooak did not wait for him, and he kept his word. He went down the list of our motions, one after the other, and so efficiently that only the most skilled of scribes could keep pace with him. Most men would be bored to tears by the series of votes. To me, it was a masterpiece.
1st of Autumn, 1196
* * *
Docket of the Morning Session of the Council of Lords, brought by the Council’s duly elected Chairman, Arilas Aldus Hooak of Thanin
* * *
Motion 1:
In any matter of bylaw, tenant, rule, or law that would apply to any merchant seeking to practice a recognized trade in any province, the Council affirms its primacy over the Capital Territory of the Kaaryon, and claims the right to judge and be heard on all such matters past or present.
* * *
Motion passed unanimously
* * *
Motion 2:
In any matter of right-of-way, debt, or commerce that pertains to a road, canal, or river that traverses a province of Zoviya, the Council affirms its primacy over the Capital Territory of the Kaaryon, and claims the right to judge and be heard on all such matters past or present.
* * *
Motion passed unanimously
* * *
Motion 3:
In any matter of monetary policy that pertains to currencies or bank notes that are recognized by the Council, the Council affirms its primacy over the Capital Territory of the Kaaryon, and claims the right to judge and be heard on all such matters past or present.
* * *
Motion passed unanimously
* * *
Motion 4:
Neither the Capital Territory of the Kaaryon nor the Council of Lords can impose taxes, tolls, or fees upon any provincial goods, roads, rivers, or canals without the super majority approval of the Council of Lords. The Council also declares that upon this date, the 1st of Autumn, 1196, that all such taxes, tolls, and fees previously imposed stand void and have no force.
* * *
6 no votes recorded: Urmand, Berm, Yudyith, Khrim,
Abodeen, Eril
9 yes votes recorded: Havish, Dahar, Aneth, Thanin, Trace, Enhedu, Heneur, Kuet, Aderan
* * *
Motion passed
* * *
Interrogative:
Arilas Bendent Yentif of Urmand called a motion but was ruled out of order by the presiding major domo.
* * *
Interrogative:
A point of order was raised by the Arilas of Eril, asking the Chairman to yield the floor. Chairman Hooak of Thanin declined to yield.
* * *
Motion 5:
It is the will of the Council that any province that wishes to build a road, canal, or any other means of transportation within its borders is free to raise capital to fund such ventures and decide for itself the manor and methods of construction without approval or interference from the Capital Territory of the Kaaryon or the Council of Lords, be they completed, present, or prospective works.
* * *
5 no votes recorded: Urmand, Berm, Yudyith, Abodeen, Eril
10 yes votes recorded: Havish, Dahar, Aneth, Khrim, Thanin, Trace, Enhedu, Heneur, Kuet, Aderan
* * *
Motion passed
* * *
Interrogative:
The assembly was called to order by the presiding major domo after an outburst by the Arilas of Urmand and Eril. The major domo exercised his privilege to incarcerate one junior member of the Erilion staff for one year and promised the swift imposition of the same for any future offences.
* * *
Interrogative:
Arilas Bendent Yentif of Urmand called a point of order, and ci
ting the conduct of Reeve Selt Sestar of Enhedu, called for an immediate motion of sanction and removal against Arilas Barok Yentif of Enhedu. The motion was ruled orderly by the presiding major domo.
* * *
Motion 6:
Motion of Sanction against the Arilas of Enhedu for conduct unbecoming in the Council chamber, in the amount of 100,000 weights of gold.
* * *
7 yes votes recorded: Urmand, Berm, Yudyith, Abodeen, Eril, Kuet, Aderan
8 no votes recorded: Havish, Dahar, Aneth, Khrim, Thanin, Trace, Enhedu, Heneur
* * *
Motion failed
* * *
Motion 7:
The Council of Lords affirms the right to gather and conduct business beyond the Kaaryon with a quorum of ten members and a super majority of two-thirds (ten votes) required for any motion to pass.
* * *
3 no votes recorded: Urmand, Eril, Yudyith
12 yes votes recorded: Berm, Havish, Dahar, Aneth, Abodeen, Khrim, Thanin, Trace, Enhedu, Heneur, Kuet, Aderan
* * *
Motion passed
The arilas all leaned into their desks, me more than most. We had just gutted century’s worth of laws that made the provinces slaves to the will of the Kaaryon’s Exaltier. The ramification of any one motion was hard to think through, much less the combined set. I worried for the first time that I’d just declared war upon my father.
The Bellion Arilas of Eril was quietly throwing up. Arilas Vlek had tears in his eyes, as did many of the domo. The move of brushes upon vellum was the only sound for a very long time.
Selt was trembling when he set his brush down. He put his hands upon the desk very slowly, as if to prevent a wild cheer from exploding up from within him. I had to do the same. We’d survived a sanction by the skin of our teeth for an earlier outburst of cheering and would rot before we jeopardized the day again.
A sound stabbed me—like the first scream from Clea’s little lungs.
The bell struck again, and all my many churning thoughts came to a halt. I’d never heard the great chime of Bayen’s bells, and the sound did not make sense to me until all the bells around the palace walls were ringing, one overtop the other in a horrible rolling peal.
The meaning of this terrible sound bit me like the snap of an iron trap.
My father was dead.
On the far side of the chamber, Bendent sat back into his chair. He crumpled the sheet he’d been writing upon, looked across at me, and smiled.
77
Geart Goib
The commotion inside the Council chamber was endlessly comical. I found it difficult to take the gathering seriously. The Council had not passed a meaningful motion in years—least ways not on one that had mattered to me. And if they did manage somehow to pass one of Barok’s motions, the Council lacked both the will and the force of arms to enforce it. Well, that last bit had changed, perhaps, but I couldn’t see them managing to agree on the price of shit or even whether it was good for eating.
Barok and Selt had seemed quite enthused, though. I wished them well.
Avin was napping. Ryat couldn’t hold still.
“You should sit down,” I told him, but he continued to pace behind the bench, stopping occasionally to pick at the old paneling on the walls. He’d turned a small splinter into a long crack along a piece of trim. Before long he’d have the thing split in half.
“Ryat, stop.”
“I hate this place.”
“Clearly. You’ve had a run in with the bailiffs?”
He tugged hard on the splinter, and the piece of trim split all the way to the floor with a crack. A few eyes came our way but quickly looked elsewhere. Ryat tossed the hunk of wood on the floor.
“My mother and me, in Berm,” he said and stepped on the broken piece absently until it broke. “The bailiffs in Urbooth took us for churlishness after the storm of ‘81 killed my father. She froze to death on the way to Alsonbrey. They sold her body to a man for hog feed. A conservancy priest purchased me and another boy the same day.”
“My father did the same. Bought bodies for feed, I mean. The winter of ‘68 killed so many the bailiffs started dumping them in front of our house at night. Our hogs had never been so fat. We made a small fortune that year.”
“How did you end up Hemari?”
“Father got tired of the hogs. He moved us to Bessradi. Not sure what his plan was. Gambling, I think. He picked a terrible year for it, though. That was the same one that Lord Vall took the throne. The call for recruits to fight the Pqrista went out, and mother convinced me to sign up. She got to see me wearing the blue when we marched toward Heneur. Last time I saw her.”
We kept quiet after that. He eventually gave up on torturing the piece of wood, turned around, and looked out at the crowd.
“They are terrified of you. Can you feel it?”
“Feel? Their eyes, you mean?”
“No, their fear. You can almost see it as though a Hessier was nearby.”
“Hessier, where?” I asked. “You mean me?”
He shrugged. “You said it yourself. Your soul is bound to him now. Look at yourself. You affect the world like one of them now. They’re terrified of you for a reason.”
He was right. I did blemish the earth in the same way as Hessier, and that stain touched all those nearby.
“Huh,” I said. “Interesting.”
“That’s one word for it, I suppose,” Ryat said with a raised eyebrow.
“No, look. Look just at them. You can tell that I am here because of the effect I am having upon them.”
“Could you find Parsatayn the same way? Of course you could,” he said and grabbed hold of my arm. “Sikhek and his couldn’t do it because there were so many Hessier in Bessradi. You could do it now, though, couldn’t you?”
“Shut up. I’m already trying.”
It became easy. In the same way that Hessier marked the world like kinks in a suit of chainmail, the effect of the Ashmari was discernible, though nothing more than a light circle of rust. I reached out across the city and found a spot of the same somewhere off toward the Priests’ Quarter.
“Parsatayn has withdrawn to the Tanayon.”
Ryat was struggling to find him as well. He was giving himself a headache. He said, “I think I see him. Just him, or are there others?”
“Can’t tell. The stain does not seem to have a measure to it,” I said and got a long look at him. “You are almost bound to the Shadow now, too.”
He nodded. “It happened when I tried to heal Leger. I sang the healing song without an object. Nearly used myself up. Soma has mended me again since, but I’m in tatters now—just like you. Cold all the time. I’m looking for a last great magic to perform that will use me up altogether.”
“That would be a happy ending.”
“I’d rather have sung the Song of the Earth, but I’ll settle for killing a few more Hessier.”
“How many are there like you, do you imagine? Skilled singers, I mean.”
“Very few in Bessradi, especially after they purged the conservancy priests. Won’t be long until there are more, though. When the Conservancy was around, we would catch a hundred or more every year. There will be men and women like me all over Zoviya soon enough. You have an idea for how to find and kill them?”
“No, not kill. I would have them join us. The Ashmari will make them into thralls and Hessier, if not.”
A loud tapping startled the room and woke Avin. He looked around and asked, “What is it? Has Geart gone to the Shadow already?”
“Avin,” I protested with a laugh.
“Hush. I’m teasing,” he said. “I’ll know you are lost when I am dead. Do you know what the domo wants?”
Neither of us knew what Avin was talking about. He pointed at the domo by the front doors. The baton the man held bobbed in his hand, and he was looking straight at us. The noise outside began to rival the shouting in the Council chamber. Avin waved the domo over.
&nbs
p; “Pardon me, gentlemen,” the stiff man said with a bow. “Warrants for your arrest have been presented. Could I ask you to exit the foyer?”
Avin took the document away from the man and dismissed him with a wave. The domo stood his ground until he spotted the strip of wood Ryat had torn from the paneling. He glared at us, pointed a bellman at the mess, and departed us as if we carried a plague.
“Sedition,” Avin said as he read. “A summary court has been assembled. The verdict only needs to be read. We must go.”
Ryat was shocked. “Stand against the charge?”
“Yes. Defeating these charges is as important as Barok’s business inside the chamber and your fight with the Hessier. Defeating the charges would make lawful all we have done with the Prelature of Enhedu and give us a free hand to continue.”
The bellman appeared with a broom and bin, and Avin finished examining the charges. He laughed once sharply, separated a few of the sheets from the rest, and dropped them into the bellman’s bin.
Ryat said, “You knew this fight was coming.”
I was proud of my teacher. I said to Avin, “I am with you. I know how to find the Ashmari now, so I can keep Barok safe from them. Let’s go visit your old friends in the Sten’s court.”
Tanayon Born Page 5