‘Atana Mirtai became an adult,’ Norkan shrugged. you were there, Lord
Vanion. You saw everything I did. ‘
‘yes, I did. Now I’d like to have it explained. Did a star really fall at
the height of the ceremony? And did the gold circlet really rise from the
altar and settle itself on Mirtai’s head?’
‘yes. Was there a problem with that?’ impossible!’ Zalasta exclaimed. ‘You
could do it, couldn’t you, learned one?’
‘Yes, I suppose so, but I am Styric. ‘And these are Atans?’
‘That’s exactly my poi’nt.’
‘We were also disturbed when we first encountered the phenomenon,’ Norkan
told him. ‘The Atans are our cousins. So, unfortunately, are the Arjuni and
the Tegans. We Tamuls are a secular people, as you undoubtedly know. We
have a pantheon of Gods that we ignore except on holidays. The Atans only
have one, and they won’t even tell us what His name is. They can appeal to
Him in the same way you Styrics appeal to your Gods, and He responds in the
same fashion.’ Zalasta’s face suddenly went white. ‘impossible!’ he said
again in a choked voice. ‘We’d have known. There are Atans at Sarsos. We’d
have felt them using magic.’
‘But they don’t do it at Sarsos, Zalasta,’ Norkan said patiently. ‘They
only use it here in Atan and only during their ceremonies.’
‘That’s absurd!’
‘I wouldn’t tell them you feel that way. They hold you Styrics in some
contempt, you know. They find the notion of turning a God into a servant a
bit impious. Atans have access to a God, and their God can do the same sort
of things other Gods do. They choose not to involve their God in everyday
matters, so they only call on Him during their religious ceremonies weddings,
funerals, Rites of Passage, and a few others. They can’t
understand your willingness to insult your Gods by asking them to do things
you really ought to do for yourselves.’ He looked at Emban then with a sly
sort of grin. ‘It just occurred to me that your Elene God could probably do
exactly the same thing. Have you ever thought of asking Him, your Grace?’
‘Heresy!’ Bevier gasped. ‘Not really, Sir Knight. That word’s used to
describe someone who strays from the teachings of his own faith. I’m not a
member of the Elene faith, so my speculations can’t really be heretical,
can they?’
‘He’s got you there, Bevier,’ Ulath said. ‘His logic’s unassailable.’ . ‘
‘It raises some very interesting questions,’ Vanion mused. ‘It’s entirely
possible that the Church blundered when she founded the Militant Orders. We
may not have had to go outside our own faith for instruction in magic. If
we’d asked Him the right way, our own God might have given us the help we
needed.’ He coughed a bit uncomfortably. ‘I’ll trust you gentlemen not to
tell Sephrenia I came up with that. If I start suggesting that she’s
unnecessary, she might take it the wrong way.’
‘Lord Vanion,’ Emban said quite formally. ‘As the representative of the
Church, I forbid you to continue this speculation. This is dangerous
ground, and I want a ruling from Dolmant before we pursue the matter any
further – and for God’s sake, don’t start experimenting.’
‘Ah – Patriarch Emban,’ Vanion reminded him rather mildly, ‘I think that
you’re forgetting the fact that as the Preceptor of the Pandion Order, my
rank in the Church is the same as yours. Technically speaking, you can’t
forbid me to do anything.’
‘Sparhawk’s the Preceptor now.’
‘Not until he’s been’ confirmed by the Hierocracy, Emban. I’m not trying
to demean your authority, old boy, but let’s observe the proprieties, shall
we? It’s the little things that keep us civilised when we’re far from home.
‘
‘Aren’t Elenes fun?’ Oscagne said to Norkan. ‘I was just about to make the
same observation myself.’
They met with King Androl and Queen Betuana later ‘that morning. Ambassador
Oscagne explained their ,mission in the flowing Tamul tongue. ‘He’s
skirting around your rather unique capabilities, Sparhawk,’ Sephrenia said
quietly. A faint smile touched her lips. ‘The emperor’s officials seem a
little unwilling to admit that they’re powerless and that they had to
appeal for outside help.’ Sparhawk nodded. ‘We’ve been through it before,’
he murmured. ‘Oscagne was very concerned about that when he spoke to us in
Chyrellos. It seems a little shortsighted in this situation, though. The
Atans make up the Tamul army. It doesn’t really make much sense to keep
secrets from them.’
‘Whatever made you think that politics made sense, Sparhawk?’
‘I’ve missed you, little mother,’ he laughed. ‘I certainly hope so.’ King
Androl’s face was grave, even stern as Oscagne described what they had
discovered in Astel. Queen Betuana’s expression was somewhat softer largely
because Danae was sitting in her lap. Sparhawk had seen his
daughter do that many times. Whenever there was a potential for tension in
a situation, Danae started looking for laps. People invariably responded to
her unspoken appeals to be held without even thinking about it. ‘She does
that on purpose, doesn’t she?’ he whispered to Sephrenia. ‘That went by a
little fast, Sparhawk.’
‘Aphrael. She climbs into people’s %Androl, and Oscagne retired to the
Elene side of the room to perform the same service. The Tamuls had
perfected the tedious but necessary business of translation to make it as
smooth and unobtrusive as possible. King Androl pondered the matter for a
few moments. Then he smiled at Ehlana and spoke to her in Tamul. His voice
was very soft. ‘Thus says the King,’ Norkan began his translation. ‘Gladly
do we greet Ehlana-Queen once more, for her presence is like the sunshine
come at last after a long winter.’ , ‘Oh, that’s very nice,’ Sephrenia
murmured. ‘We always seem to forget the poetic side of the Atan nature.’
‘Moreover,’ Norkan continued his translation, ‘glad are we to welcome the
fabled warriors of the west and the wise-man of Chyrellos-Church.’ Norkan
was obviously translating verbatim. Emban politely inclined his head.
‘Clearly we see our common concern in the matter at hand, and staunchly
will we join with the West-warriors in such acts as are needful.’ Androl
spoke again, pausing from time to time for translation. ‘Our minds have
been unquiet in seasons past, for we have failed in tasks set for us by our
Matherion-masters. This troubles us, for we are not accustomed to failure.’
His expression was slightly nortified as he made that admission. ‘I am
sure, Ehlana- )Queen, that Oscagne-Emperor-Speaker has told you of ‘))’).
our difficulties in parts of Tamuli beyond our own borders. Shamed are we
that he has spoken truly.’ Queen Betuana said something briefly to her
husband. ‘She told him to get on with it,’ Sephrenia murmured to Sparhawk.
‘It appears that his tendency to be flowery irritates her – at least that
was the impression I got.’ Androl said something to Norkan in an apologetic
tone. ‘That’s a surprise,’ Norkan said, obviously speaking for himself now.
‘The King just admitted that he’s been keeping secrets from me. He doesn’t
usually do that.’ Androl spoke again, and Norkan’s translation became
more colloquial as the Atan king seemed to lay formality aside. ‘He says
that there have been incidents here in Atan itself. It’s an internal
matter, so he technically wasn’t obliged to tell me about it. He says
they’ve encountered creatures he calls ‘the shaggy ones’. As I understand
it, the creatures are even bigger than the tallest Atans.’
‘Long arms?’ Ulath asked intently. ‘Flat noses and big
bones in the face? Pointed teeth?’ Norkan translated into Tamul, and King
Androl looked at Ulath with some surprise. Then he nodded. Trolls!’ Ulath
said. ‘Ask him how many his people have seen at any one time.’
‘Fifty or more,’ came the reply. Ulath shook his head. ‘That’s very
unlikely,’ he said
flatly. ‘You might find a single family of Trolls walking together, but
never fifty all at once.’
‘He wouldn’t lie,’ Norkan insisted. ‘I didn’t say he did, but Trolls have
never behaved
that way before. If they had, they’d have driven us out of Thalesia.’
‘It seems that the rules have changed, Ulath,’ Tynian
noted. ‘Have there been any other incidents, your ExcelLency? Things that
didn’t involve Trolls?’ Norkan spoke to the king and then translated the
reply. ‘They’ve had encounters with warriors in strange armour and with
strange equipment.’
‘Ask him if they might have been Cyrgai,’ Bevier suggested.
‘Horse-hair-crested helmets? Big round shields? Long spears?’ Norkan posed
the question, though his expression was baffled. It was with some amazement
that he translated the reply. ‘They were!’ he exclaimed. ‘They were Cyrgai!
How’s that possible?’
‘We’ll explain later,’ Sparhawk said tersely. ‘Were there any others?’
Norkan asked the questions quickly now, obviously excited by these
revelations. Queen Betuana leaned forward slightly and took over for her
husband. ‘Arjuni,’ Norkan said tersely. ‘They were heavily armed and made
no attempt to hide the way they usually do. And once there was an army of