me.
“I’m sure you could startle me out of my shoes, if you chose to,’
he replied. ‘What can I do for you?’
‘I’m just seeking information, your Majesty,’ I assured him.
You’re building highways in Sendaria.’
‘I’m building highways almost everywhere, Lady Polgara.’
‘Yes, I know. I have a certain interest in Sendaria, though. Is this
construction a prelude to annexation?’
He laughed. ‘Why on earth would I want to annex Sendaria?’ he
said. ‘I’m sure it’s a nice enough country, but I don’t really want to
own it. Those highways I’m building up there are just a way to
keep the Chereks out of my purse. They’ll provide a route to Boktor
that bypasses the need to transport goods through that whirlpool
in the Cherek Bore. Those bearded pirates in the north charge
outrageous fees to carry Tolnedran cargoes from Kotu through the Bore,
and that’s cutting into my tax revenues.’
‘It’s all strictly commercial, then?’
‘Of course. if I want farm produce, I can buy it right here in
Tolnedra. I don’t have to go all the way to Sendaria for beans and
turnips. The only thing that interests me about that place is its
location.’
The glimmer of an idea flickered through my mind. ‘Then stability
in Sendaria would be to your advantage, wouldn’t it, your Majesty?’
‘Naturally, but that’s what the legions are for.’
‘But legions are expensive, aren’t they, Ran Horb?’
He shuddered. ‘You wouldn’t believe how expensive.’
‘I might.’ I squinted at the ornate ceiling. ‘Sendaria hasn’t really
had a central government since I ruled there around the turn of the
millennium,, I mused. ‘That lack of a government has invited all
sorts of incursions from the outside. If there were a king and a
government and an army – the people would be secure from
outside adventurers, and you wouldn’t have to keep ten or so legions
stationed there to maintain order.’
‘Ah,’ he said, ‘that’s what the “Polgara” business was all about.
You want to be the Queen of Sendaria.’
‘Most definitely not, your Majesty. I’m far too busy for any more
Of that nonsense – nothing personal intended there, of course.’
‘No offense taken, your Grace.’ Then he leaned back in his chair.
‘You know,’ he said, ‘that’s the one thing that’s always made me
skeptical when I hear stories about you and your father. If
Belgarath’s as powerful as they say he is, he could rule the world, couldn’t
he?’
‘He wouldn’t be very good at it, your Majesty. My father
absolutely hates responsibility. It interferes with his entertainments.’
‘Now you’ve got me baffled, my Lady. If you don’t want to rule
Sendaria, who do you want me to put on the throne? – some lover,
perhaps?’
I gave him an icy look.
‘Sorry,’ he apologized. ‘I’ll agree that a formal government in
Sendaria would be to everyone’s advantage, but which Sendarian
do we saddle with the throne?’
‘We’re talking about a nation of turnip-farmers, your Majesty,’
Khanar noted. ‘Some of them may have titles, but they’re still out
in their fields at the crack of dawn just like their neighbors.’
‘I think you’re underestimating them, Prince Khanar,’ I told him.
‘A successful farmer has many more administrative skills than you
might imagine, and he’s probably far more practical than some
spoiled noble brat who’s been raised on Arendish epics where
nobody ever eats or takes a bath. At least a farmer knows how to
pay attention to details.’
‘Now, that’s deflating, isn’t it, your Majesty?’ Khanar said to the
emperor. ‘I absolutely devoured Arendish epics when I was a boy,
and to be shrugged off as a “spoiled noble brat” bites sort of close
to the bone.’
‘This would be in the nature of an experiment, then, wouldn’t it?’
Ran Horb suggested. ‘Do I appoint a king?’
‘I wouldn’t do it that way, your Majesty,’ I replied. ‘Appointing
a ruler would just be another form of outside intervention, and it’d
immediately spawn a fervent opposition. You’d have a revolution
up there within a decade, and then you’d have to send fifty legions
instead of ten.’
He winced at that.
‘How do we select a kin then?’
‘I could devise a test, your Majesty,’ Khanar offered, ‘and we
could confer the crown on whichever Sendar scores the highest
grade.’
,But if you grade the test, Prince Khanar, you’d still start a
revolution,’ I told him. ‘The selection of the King of Sendaria can’t be
made by either Tolnedra or by Drasnia. It’s going to have to come
from within.’
‘A tournament perhaps?’ Ran Horb said dubiously.
‘These are farmers, your Majesty,’ Khanar reminded him. ‘A battle
royal with farm implements could get very messy. I suppose we
could give the crown to the man who raises the biggest turnip.’
‘Why not hold an election?’ I asked them.
,I’ve never had that much faith in elections,’ Ran Horb said
dubiously. ‘An election’s nothing more than a popularity contest, and
popularity’s hardly a measure of any kind of administrative ability.’
‘Ah – your Majesty,’ Khanar said, ‘we’re not talking about a major
power here. Sendaria’s a nice enough place, I suppose, but the
world’s not going to tremble very hard if the King of the Sendars
makes a few mistakes.’ He laughed then, a cynical Drasnian sort of
laugh. ‘Why not just turn the whole thing over to the priesthood
instead? We just pick somebody who doesn’t stumble over his own
feet too often and then instruct the priests to advise the Sendars
that this man’s been chosen to rule by the Sendarian God – which
God do the Sendars worship, by the way?’
‘All seven of them,’ I replied. ‘They don’t know about UL as yet,
but they’ll probably include him in their religion as well, just as
soon as they find out about his existence.’
‘UL?’ Ran Horb said, sounding puzzled.
‘The God of the Ulgos,’ I told him.
‘You mean that place where all the dragons are?’
‘There’s only one dragon, your Majesty, and she doesn’t live in
Ulgoland. I don’t think religion would be a good basis for a
Sendarian monarchy, though. It’d put the priests in command of the
nation, and priests don’t make very good rulers. Cthol Murgos is a
fairly good example of that. I know the Sendars, believe me, and I
think an election might be the best answer just as long as everybody
gets to vote.’
‘Even people who don’t own land?’ Ran Horb asked
incredulously.
‘It’s the best way to avoid rebellion later on,’ I reminded him. ‘if
domestic tranquility’s what we want, we don’t need some large
group of landless non-voters coming up with the idea of
redistributIng the wealth of the kingdom after a few years.’
‘We can give it a try, I suppose,’ the emperor said dubiously. ‘If
it doesn’t work, maybe I will have to annex Sendaria. I wouldn’t
really want the idea of elections to spread, since I’d probably be the
first one voted out of office, but Sendaria’s a special case, I guess.
Nobody really cares who gets the Sendarian throne as long as he
keeps things quiet up there. We definitely don’t need another
Arendia on our hands.’ He made a sour face. ‘The Arends are starting
to make me very tired. I think it’s time for me to come up with a
way to put an end to their perpetual civil war. It’s bad for business.’
Then his eyes brightened. ‘All right,’ he said, ‘now that we’ve solved
all the world’s problems, why don’t you go ahead and prove to me
that you really are Polgara the Sorceress, your Grace.’
‘Oh, dear,’ I sighed.
‘We’ve both been very, very good, my Lady,’ Khanar agreed
eagerly, ‘and since we both behaved ourselves so well, don’t we
deserve some kind of little treat?’
‘Why am I always surrounded by children?’ I demanded, casting
MY eyes toward heaven.
‘Probably because you bring out the little boy lurking in every
one of us, Polgara.’ Ran Horb was grinning openly now.
‘All right,’ I sighed, ‘but only one. I’m not going to wear myself
out just to entertain a pair of naughty little boys who managed to
stay out of mischief for half an hour.’
Then I went owl – in part because it was easier – and in part
because no carnival charlatan could ever hope to duplicate the
feat.
I flew around the room on soft white wings for a few moments,
then settled onto my chair and resumed my own form. ‘Satisfied?’
I asked them.
‘How ever did you manage to do that?’ Ran Horb demanded.
‘It’s fairly simple, your Majesty,’ I replied. ‘All you have to do is
think very hard about the form you want and then command your
being to take that form. Would you like to see something different?
How about a cobra?’
‘Ah no, thank you, Lady Polgara,’ he answered very quickly.
‘That won’t really be necessary. I’m completely convinced – aren’t