‘There’s a fascinating idea,’ Patriarch Emban laughed. ‘We could
extrapolate a complete book of divine etiquette from this one single
incident.’
‘To what purpose, your Grace?’ Oscagne asked him. ‘The noblest of
purposes, your Excellency – the greater understanding of God. Isn’t that
why we’re here?’
‘i’m not sure that a dissertation on the table-manners of the Gods would
significantly advance the sum of human knowledge, Emban,’ Vanion observed.
‘Might we prevail on your Majesty to smooth our way into the inner circles
of your government?’
‘Smooth or rough, Lord Vanion,’ Sarabian grinned, I’ll insert you into the
ministries. After I’ve straightened Pondia Subat out, I’ll take on the
other ministers ‘- one by one or row by row. I think it’s time they all
found out just exactly who’s in charge here.’ He suddenly laughed with
delight. ‘i’m so glad you decided to stop by, Ehlana. You and your friends
have made me realise that I’ve been sitting on absolute power for all these
years, and yet it’s never occurred to me to use it. I think it’s time to
pull it out, dust it off and wave it around just a bit.’
‘Oh, dear,’ Oscagne said, his face suddenly filled with chagrin. ‘What
have I done?’.
‘We got this yore problem, Stragen,’ Caalador drawled in Elenic. ‘These
yore yaller brothers o’ our ain’t tooken eth th’ notion o’ steppin’cross no
social boundaries.’
‘Pllease, Caalador,’ Stragen said, ‘spare me the folksy ebie. Get to the
point.’ -‘))~’))taint really natch’ral, Stragen.’
‘do you mind?’
Talen, Stragen and Caalador were meeting in a cell near the waterfront. It
was mid-morning, and the local thieves were beginning to stir. ‘As you’ve
already discovered, the brotherhood here in Matherion’s afflicted with a
caste system,’ Caalador continued. ‘The thieves’ guild doesn’t talk to the
swindlers, and the beggars guild doesn’t talk to the whores – except in the
line of business, of course – and the murderer’s guild is totally outcast.’
‘Now that there’s realnt on-match-mal,’ Talen observed. ‘Don’t do that,
Talen,’ Stragen told him. ‘One of you is bad enough. I couldn’t bear two.
Why are the murderers so despised?’
‘Because they violate one of the basic precepts of Tamul culture,’
Caalador shrugged. ‘They’re paid assassins actually, and they don’t bow and
scrape to their victims before they cut their throats. The concept of
courtesy overwhelms Tamuls. They don’t really object to the notion of
someone murdering noblemen or hire. It’s the rudeness of it all that upsets
them.’ Caalador shook his head. ‘That’s one of the reasons so many Tamul
thieves get caught and beheaded. It’s considered impolite to run away.’
‘Unbelievable,’ Talen murmured. ‘It’s worse than we thought, Stragen. If
these people don’t talk to each other, we’ll never get any information out
of them.’
‘I think I warned you not to expect too much here in Matherion, my
friends,’ Caalador reminded them. ‘Are the rest of the ‘ guilds afraid of
the murderers?’ Stragen asked. ‘Oh, yes,’ Caalador replied. ‘We’ll start
from there then. What’s the general feeling about the emperor?’
‘Awe, generally, and a level of adoration that hovers right on the verge
of outright worship.’
‘Good. Get in touch with the murderers’ guild. When Talen brings you the
word, have the cutthroats round up the heads of the other guilds and bring
them to the palace.’
‘What are we a-fixin’ t’ do here, m’ friend?’
‘I’ll speak with the emperor and see if I can persuade him to make a
speech to our brothers,’ Stragen shrugged. ‘Have you lost your mind?’
‘Of course not. Tamuls are completely controlled by custom, and one of
those customs is that the emperor can suspend customs.’
‘Were you able to follow that?’ Caalador asked Talen. ‘I think he lost me
on that sharp turn right there at the end.’
‘Let’s see if I’ve got this straight,’ Caalador said to the blond
Thalesian. ‘You’re going to violate every known propriety of the criminal
culture here in Matherion by having the murderers kidnap the leaders of the
other guildS.’
‘Yes,’ Stragen admitted. Then you’re going to have them all taken to the
palace compound, where they’re absolutely forbidden to go. ‘
‘yes.’ Then you’re going to ask the emperor to make a speech to a group of
people whose very existence he’s not even supposed to know about.’
‘That’s more or less what I had in mind.’
‘And the emperor’s going to command them to suspend aeons-old custom and
tradition and start cooperating with each other?’ is there some problem
with that?’
‘No, not really. I just wanted to be sure I had it all down straight in my
mind, that’s all.’ , ‘See to it, would you, old boy?’ Stragen asked. ‘i’d
probably better go talk with the emperor.’
~Sephrenia sighed.. ‘You’re being childish, you know,’ -she said. Salla’s
eyes bulged. ‘How dare you?’ he almost screamed. The Styric elder’s face
had gone white. ‘You forget yourself, Elder Salla,’ Zalasta told the
outraged man. ‘Councillor Sephrenia speaks for the Thousand. Will you defy
them? And the Gods they represent?’
‘The Thousand are misguided!’ Salla blustered. ‘There can never be an
accommodation between Styricum and the pig-eaters!’
‘That’s for the Thousand to decide,’ Zalasta told him in a flinty tone.
‘But look at what the Elene barbarians have done to us,’ Salla said, his
voice choked with outrage. ‘You’ve lived out your whole life here in the
Styric quarter in Matherion, Elder Salla,’ Zalasta said. ‘You’ve probably
never even seen an Elene.’
‘I can read, Zalasta.’
‘i’m delighted to hear it. We’re not really here for ‘ discussion,
however. The High Priestess of Aphrael is conveying the instruction of the
Thousand. Like it or not, you’re compelled to obey.’ Salla’s eyes filled
with tears. ‘They’ve murdered us!’ he choked. ‘You seem to be in remarkably
good condition for a man who’s been murdered, Salla,’ Sephrenia told him.
‘Tell me, was it painful?’
‘You know what I mean, PrieSteSS.’
‘Ah, yes,’ she said, ‘that tiresome Styric compulsion to expropriate pain.
Someone on the far side of the world stabs a Styric, and you start to
bleed. You sit here in Matherion in protected luxury feeling sorry for
yourself and secretly consumed with a gnawing envy that you’re being denied
martyrdom. Well, if you want to be a martyr so badly, Salla, I can arrange
it for you.’ Sephrenia was coldly angry with this babbling fool. ‘The
Thousand has made its decision,’ she said flatly. ‘I don’t really have to
explain it to you, but I will – so that you can convey the decision to your
followers – and you will explain it, Salla. You’ll be very convincing about
it, or I’ll replace you.’
‘I hold my position for life,’ he declared defiantly. ‘Precisely my
point.’ Her tone was ominous. He stared at her. ‘You wouldn’t!’ he gasped.
try me.’ Sephrenia had wanted to say that to someone for years. She found
it quite satisfying. ‘It goes like this, Salla – feel free to stop me if I
start going too fast for you. The Elenes are savages who are looking for an
excuse to kill every Styric they see. If we don’t assist them in this
crisis, we’ll be handing them that excuse on a velvet cushion. We’ will
assist them, because if we don’t, they’ll slaughter every Styric on the
Eosian continent. We don’t want them to do that, do we?’
‘But -‘
‘Salla, if you say ‘but’ to me one more time, I’ll obliterate you.’ She
was startled to discover just how enjoyable it was to behave like an Elene.
‘I’ve given you the instruction of the Thousand, and the Thousand speaks
for the Gods. The matter is not open for discussion, so quit trying to
snivel or wriggle your way out of this. You will obey, or you will die.
Those are your options. Choose quickly. I’m in a bit of a hurry.’ Even
Zalasta seemed shocked at that. ‘your Goddess is cruel, councillor
Sephrenia,’ Salla accused. She hit him before she even thought about it,
her hand and arm seeming to move all on their own. She -had spent
Generations with the Pandion Knights, and ‘she knew how to get her shoulder
behind the blow. It ‘ was more than an ineffectual slap. She caught him
sol’lidly on the point of the chin with the heel of her hand, and he reeled
back, his eyes glazed. ‘)Sephrenia began to intone the words of the deadly
incantation, her hands moving quite openly in the accompanying gestures. ‘I
won’t do that, Sephrenia.’ Aphrael’s voice rang sharply in her mind. ‘I
know,’ Sephrenia threw back the thought. ‘i’m just trying to get his
Attention, that’s all.’ Salla gasped as he realised what she was doing.
Then he screamed and fell to his knees, blubbering and begging for mercy.
‘Will you do as I have commanded you to do?’ she snapped.
%’Yes, Priestess yes please don’t kill me!’
‘I have , youF¿ the spell, but I have not cancelled it. I can finish it