Sparhawk had noticed that the Domi seldom spoke at these
meetings. Kring was not really comfortable indoors, and the
subtleties of politics which so delighted Ehlana and Sarabian
quite obviously bored him. Peloi politics were straightforward
and simple – and usually involved bloodshed.
“it was the consensus of their deliberations that they might
find – for a price – willing helpers in the imperial government
itself,’ Xanetia replied.
‘They were right about that,’ Sarabian said sourly. ‘if what we
saw yesterday is any indication, my ministers were standing in
line to betray me.’
“it wasn’t really personal, my Emperor,’ Oscagne assured him.
‘We were betraying each other, not you.’
‘Did anyone ever approach you?’
‘several, actually. They couldn’t offer me anything I really
wanted, though.’
‘Truth in politics, Oscagne?’ his brother asked in feigned
astonishment. ‘Aren’t you setti’ng a bad precedent?’
‘Grow up, Itagne,’ Oscagne told him. ‘Haven’t you learned
by now that you can’t deceive Sarabian? He claims to be a genius,
and he’s probably very close to being right – or will be as soon
as we peel away his remaining illusions.’
‘isn’t that a blunt sort of thing to say, Oscagne?’ Sarabian
asked pointedly. ‘i’m right here, you know.’
‘Why – so you are, your Majesty,’ Oscagne replied with exaggerated
astonishment. ‘isn’t that amazing?’
Sarabian laughed. ‘What can I do?’ he said to Ehlana. “I need
him too much to even object. Why didn’t you tell me about this,
Oscagne?’
“it happened when you were still feigning stupidity, your Majesty.
I didn’t want to wake you. I may have met this Ynak you’ve
been talking about, Anarae. One of the men who approached
me was Styric, and I’ve never met a more disagreeable man.
I’ve come across goats who smelled better, and the fellow was
absolutely hideous. His eyes looked off in different directions,
and his teeth were broken and rotting, and they all seemed to
stick straight out. He looked like a man with a mouthful of
brown icicles.’
‘Thy description doth closely match Zalasta’s memories of
him.’
‘That one shouldn’t be too orful hord t’ find, Stragen,’
Caalador drawled. “I kin send word t’ Verel, iffn y’ want. This
yore Why-mack ain’t likely t’ be missed much iffn he’s as onpleasant
as the Furrin Minister sez.’
Xanetia looked puzzled.
“it’s a pose that amuses my colleague, Anarae,’ Stragen apologized.
‘He likes to put on the airs of a yokel. He says it’s for the
purposes of concealment, but I think he does it just to irritate
me.’
‘Thine Elenes are droll and frolicsome, Sephrenia of Ylara,’
Xanetia said.
“I know, Anarae,’ Sephrenia sighed. “it’s one of the burdens
I bear.’
‘Sephrenia!’ Stragen Protested mildly.
‘How did you put this fellow off without getting a knife in
your back, your Excellency?’ Talen asked Oscagne. ‘Declining
that sort of offer is usually fatal.’
“I told him that the price wasn’t right.’ Oscagne shrugged. “I
said that if he could come up with a better offer, I might be
interested. ‘
‘Very good, your Excellency,’ Caalador said admiringly. ‘What
kind of reason did he give you for making the offer in the first
place?’
‘He was a bit vague about it. He hinted about some kind of
large-scale smuggling operation, and said that he could use the
help of the foreign service to smooth the way in various kingdoms
outside Tamuli. He hinted that he’d already bought off
the Interior Ministry and the customs branch of the Chancellory
of the Exchequer.’
‘He was lying, your Excellency,’ Stragen told him. ‘There isn’t
that much money to be made in smuggling. It’s a big risk for
short pay.’
“I rather thought so myself.’ Oscagne leaned back, stroking
his chin thoughtfully. ‘This group of Styrics down in Verel may
think they’re very worldly, but they’re like children when compared
to real criminals and international businessmen. They
cooked up a story that wasn’t really very convincing. What they
actually wanted was access to the government and the power
of the various ministries in order to use that power to overthrow
the government itself. The government had to be on the brink
of collapse in order to get me to run off to Eosia to beg Prince
Sparhawk to come here and save us.’
“it worked, didn’t it?’ Itagne said bluntly.
‘Well, yes, I suppose it did, but it was so clumsy. I’d personally
be ashamed to accept such a shoddy victory. It’s a matter of
style, Itagne. Any amateur can blunder into occasional triumph.
The true professional controls things well enough not to have
to trust to luck.’
They adjourned for the night not long after that. Sparhawk
watched Sephrenia and Vanion rather closely as they all filed
out. The two of them exchanged a few tentative glances, but
neither seemed ready to break the ice.
They gathered again the following morning, and Talen and
Kalten seemed to be competing to see which of them could eat
the most for breakfast.
After a bit of casual conversation, they got down to business
again. ‘Right after the attempted coup here in Matherion, Krager
paid me a visit,’ Sparhawk told Xanetia. ‘Was he telling the truth
when he said that Cyrgon’s involved in this?’
She nodded. ‘Cyrgon hath much reason to hate the Styrics
and their Gods,’ she replied. ‘The curse which hath imprisoned
his Cyrgai for ten eons hath enraged him beyond all measure.
The outcast Styrics in Verel did share his hatred, for they too had
been punished.’ She reflected a moment. ‘We all have reason to
hate Zalasta,’ she said, ‘but we cannot question his courage. It
was at peril of his life that he did carry the proposal of the
renegades to the Hidden City of Cyrga to place it before Cyrgon
himself. The proposal was simple. By means of Bhelliom ‘could
the curse be lifted and the Cyrgai loosed once more upon this
world. The Styrics could be crushed, which would please both
Cyrgon and the outcasts, the Cyrgai would come to dominate
the world – with positions of honor and power reserved for
Ogerajin and his friends – and Aphrael would be destroyed
thus giving possession of Sephrenia to Zalasta.’
‘something for everybody,’ Sarabian said dryly.
‘So thought Ogerajin and Zalasta,’ Xanetia agreed. ‘They had,
however, reckoned not upon the nature of Cyrgon. They’ soon
found that he would in no wise consent to the secondary role
they had in mind for him. Cyrgon doth command; he doth not
follow. He did set his high’ priest, one Ekatas, over his new
allies, telling them that Ekatas spoke for him in all things. Zalasta
did secretly laugh at the God’s simplicity, thinking that the High
Priest Ekatas would, like all the Cyrgai, die with the step which
took him over the unseen line in’ the sand. Ekatas, however,
had no need of crossing the line. With Cyrgon’s aid, did he
travel with his mind, not his body, and could he observe and
direct without leaving Cyrga. Truly, the mind of Ekatas can
reach across vast distances, not only to convey the will of Cyrgon,
but to advise the diverse cohorts of what hath occurred
elsewhere. ‘
‘That explains how the word that we were coming got from
one end of Cynesga to the other so fast,’ Bevier said. ‘We sort
of wondered how they were keeping ahead of us.’
‘Now,’ Xanetia pressed on, ‘though they are outcast and
despised, Ogerajin and the others are still Styrics, and the Styrics
are not a war-like people. Their efforts had concentrated on
deception and misdirection previously. Cyrgon, however, is a
war-God, and he did command them to raise armies to confront
the Atans, who are the strong arm of the Empire. Then were
the outcasts of Verel nonplussed, for Cyrgon gave the command,
but no guidance. Zalasta, who had traveled much in Eosia, did
suggest to Ekatas that Cyrgon might deceive the Trolls and bring
them to northern Tamuli, and Cyrgon did readily consent. Still
he demanded more. Ynak of hydros, who doth ever carry that
cloud of dissension with him, could fan the fires of discontent
in all of Tamuli, but so contentious is his nature that none would
willingly follow him. Armies require generals, and Styrics are
not gifted in that profession. I do not say this to give offense,
Sephrenia,’ she added quickly. Both Xanetia and Sephrenia were
being very careful about that.
‘i’m not offended, Xanetia. I like soldiers, mind you . . . ‘ Her
eyes flickered toward Vanion. ‘Some of them, anyway, but I
really think the world might be a nicer place without them.’
‘Bite your tongue,’ Ulath told her. ‘if we couldn’t be soldiers,
we’d all have to go out and find honest work.’
Xanetia smiled. “it was in desperation – for Cyrgon did grow
impatient – that Zalasta did journey to Arjuna to enlist his son
Scarpa in the enterprise. Now Scarpa was unlike his father in
that he did willingly – even eagerly – resort to violence. His