at any time. Your heart lies in my fist, Salla. Keep that firmly in mind
the next time you feel an urge to insult my Goddess. Now get up and go do
as you’re told. Come along, Zalasta. The smell of selfpity in here
nauseates me.’
‘You’ve grown hard, Sephrenia,’ Zalasta accused when they were back out in
the narrow ,streets of the Styric quarter. ‘I was bluFfing, my old friend,’
she told him. ‘Aphrael would never have responded to the spell.’ She
touched her forearm gingerly. ‘Do you happen to know where I might find a
good physician, Zalasta? I think I’ve just sprained my wrist.’
‘Not very impressive, are they?’ Ulath suggested as he, Tynian and Kring
walked back across the neatlytrimmed grounds of the imperial compound
toward the Elene castle. ‘Truly,’ Kring agreed. ‘They seem to spend all
their time thinking about parades.’ The three of them were returning from
their meeting with the Imperial High Command. ‘They’re all show,’ the Domi
concluded. ‘There’s no substance to them. ‘Uniformed courtiers, ‘ Ulath
dismissed the Tamul general staff. ‘I’ll agree,’ Tynian concurred. ‘The
Atans are the real military force in Tamuli. Decisions are made by the
government, and the general staff simply passes those decisions on to the
Atan commanders. I began to have some doubts about the effectiveness of the
imperial army when they told me that rank is hereditary. I wouldn’t want to
rely on them in the event of an emergency. ‘
‘That’s God’s own truth, friend Tynian,’ Kring said. Their cavalry general
took me to the stables and showed me what they call horses here.’ He
shuddered. ‘Bad?’ Ulath asked. ‘Worse than bad, friend Ulath. Their mounts
wouldn’t even make good plough-horses. I wouldn’t have believed that horses
could get that fat. Anything faster than a walk would kill the poor
beasts.’
‘Are we agreed then?’ Tynian ‘ asked them. ‘The imperial army is totally
useless?’
‘I think you’re flattering them, Tynian,’ Ulath replied. ~ ‘We’ll have to
phrase our report rather carefully,’ the Alsione Knight told his
companions. ‘We probably shouldn’t offend the emperor. Could we say
‘undertrained?” That’s the truth certainly,’ Kring answered. ‘How about
‘unversed in modern tactics and strategY?”
”no argument there,’ Ulath grunted.. ”Poorly equipped?” That’s not
exactly true, friend Tynian,’ Kring disagreed. ‘Their equipment is of very
good quality. It’s probably the best twelfth-century equipment I’ve ever
,.seen.”’all right,’ Tynian laughed, ‘how about ‘archaic
: weaponry? ”
‘I could accept that,’ the Domi conceded. ‘You’d rather not mention ‘fat,
lazy, stupid or inept I gather?’ Ulath asked. ‘That might be just a shade
undiplomatic, Ulath.’
‘True, though,’ Ulath said mournfully. Pondia Subat did not approve. Emban
and Vanion could sense that, although the prime minister’s face and manner
remained diplomatically bland. Emperor Sarahian had, as promised, spoken at
length with his prime minister, and Pondia Subat was going out of his way
to be co-operative and to conceal his true feelings. ‘The details are very
commonplace, my Lords,’ he said deprecatingly, but then, the details of
day-to-day government always are, aren’t they?’
‘Of course, Pondia,’ Emban shrugged, ‘but when
taken in the mass, the accretion of detail conveys the sense of governing
style, wouldn’t you say? From what I’ve seen so far this morning, I’ve
already reached certain conclusions.’
‘Oh?’ Subat’s tone was neutral. ‘The guiding principle here seems to be
the protection of the emperor,’ Emban told him. ‘That principle’s very
familiar to me, since it’s identical to the one that dominates our thinking
in Chyrellos. The government of the Church exists almost entirely to
protect the Archprelate.’
‘Perhaps, your Grace, but you’ll have to admit that
there are differences.’
‘Oh, of course, but the fact that Emperor Sarabian’s not as powerful as
Archprelate Dolmant doesn’t really change things.’ Subat’s eyes widened
slightly, but he instantly gained
control of his expression. ‘I realise that the concept is alien to you,
Pondia,’
Emban continued smoothly, but the Archprelate speaks for God, and that
makes him the most powerful man on earth. That’s an Elene perception, of
course, and it may have little or nothing to do with reality. So long as we
all believe it, though, it is true. That’s what those of us in church
government do. We devote a great deal of our effort to making sure that all
Elenes continue to believe that Dolmant speaks for God. So long as they
believe that, the Archprelacy’s safe.’ The fat little churchman considered
it. ‘if you don’t mind an observation, Pondia Subat, your central problem
here in Matherion stems from the fact that you Tamuls have a secular turn
of mind. Your church has been diminished, probably because you can’t bring
yourselves to accept the notion that any authority might equal or exceed
that of the emperor. You’ve erased the element of faith from your national
character. Scepticism is all very well and good, but it tends to get out of
hand. After you’ve applied it to God – or your Gods – it starts to spill
over, and people begin to question other things as well – the rightness of
government, imperial wisdom, the justice of the tax system, that sort of
thing. In the most perfect of worlds, the emperor would be deified, and
church and state would become one.’ He laughed in a self-deprecating little
way. ‘Sorry, Pondia Subat. I didn’t mean to preach. It’s an occupational
compulsion, I suppose. The point is that both Tamuls and Elenes have made
the same mistake. You didn’t make your emperor a God, and we didn’t make
our Archprelate an emperor. We’ve both failed the people by placing an
incomplete authority ‘over them. They deserved better of us. But I can see
that you’re busy, and my stomach’s telling me rather pointedly that it’s
lunch-time. We’ll talk again – soon. Coming, Lord Vanion?’ you don’t
actually believe what you just said, do you, Emban?’ Vanion murmured as the
two Elenes left the office. ‘Probably not,’ Emban shrugged, ‘but we’re
going to have to do something to widen the crack in that stone shell around
Subat’s mind. I’m sure that the emperor’s offer to have his head docked
opened his eyes a bit, but until he starts actually thinking instead of
simply plodding along the well-worn paths of his preconceptions, we’re not
going to get anything out of him. Despite his general disapproval of us,
he’s still the most important man in the government, and I’d rather have
him working for us than against us. Do you suppose we could step right
along, Vanion? I’m definitely getting hungry.’
‘It should be blue, though,’ Danae was saying. She sat with Mmrr in Emperor
Sarabian’s lap, looking directly into his eyes. ‘For an Elene, yes, but -‘
The Emperor sounded dubious. ‘Right,’ she agreed. ‘Tamul skin tone would be
better with -‘
‘But not red-red, though. More scarlet, perhaps even -‘
‘No. Maroon’s too dark. It’s a ball, not a ‘We don’t wear dark clothes at
funerals. We wear -‘
‘Really? That’s a very interesting notion. Why do you – ?’
‘It’s considered insulting to -‘
‘The dead.’
‘they don’t really mind, Sarabian. They’re busy someplace else.’
‘Can you even begin to follow them?’ Ehlana murmured to Sparhawk. ‘Sort
of. They’re both thinking about the ‘same thing, so they don’t have to
finish sentences.’ Emperor Sarabian laughed delightedly. ‘You’re the most
stimulating conversationalist I’ve ever met, your Royal Highness,’ he said
to the little girl in hiS lap. ‘Thank you, your Imperial Majesty,’ she
replied. ‘You’re not so bad yourself, you know.’
‘Danae!’ Ehlana said sharPly. ‘Oh, mother. Sarabian and I are just getting
to know each other.’
‘I don’t suppose -‘ Sarabian’s tone was speculative. ‘i’m afraid not, your
Majesty,’ Danae replied. ‘i’m not being disrespectful, but the crown prince
is much too young for me. People gossip when the wife’s older than the
husband. He’s a sweet-natured baby, though. But I’ve already decided who
I’m going -‘
‘You have? So young?’
‘It avoids confusion later on. Girls get silly when they reach the
marrying age. It’s better to decide those things while you’ve still got
your wits about you – isn’t it, mother?’ Ehlana blushed suddenly. ‘Mother
started setting traps for my father when she was about my age,’ Danae
confided to the Emperor of Tamuli. ‘Did you, Ehlana?’ Sarabian asked. well,
yes, but it’s not nice to talk about it in public.’
He didn’t mind being
trapped, mother,’ Danae said. ‘At least not after he’d got used to the
idea. All in all, they make a fairly good set of parents – except when
mother starts throwing her rank around.’ That will do, Princess Danae,’
Ehlana said in her official tone. ‘you see what I mean?’ Danae grinned at
the Emperor.
‘your daughters going to be a remarkably gifted queen,’ Sarabian
complimented them. ‘Elenia’s going to be a lucky kingdom to have the two of
you on the throne one right after another. The problem with hereditary
succession has always been those lamentable lapses in talent. A great king