Ascendant

by Florian Armas

  Dochia fixed Ingrid with that feverish look people have when they see death coming for them. Ingrid’s eyes were clear, and she relaxed. She doesn’t know... Dochia sighed with relief.

  “It seems that I passed your test,” Ingrid said, and placed her palm over her hand. “Ada’s letter to me was long. The best way to destroy a Maletera, she wrote, is to submerge it in water.”

  “Meriaduk sent another one to Salvina. He revealed that to me in our last talk in Frankis. When they arrive here, you need to find and destroy it.”

  “How is it that he has so many Talant artifacts? We have very few, and none of them is a Maletera or anything similar.”

  “I can’t tell. Maybe there are places where things were buried by war, or intentionally, to preserve them.”

  “You will need this.” Ingrid pushed a silver box across the desk. “This thing keeps the Maletera contained. Don’t ask me why, I have no idea what that means, just that two metallic walls are needed. It was easier to make it from silver. Keep the Maletera inside.”

  “Thank you,” Dochia said, without knowing what for.

  Dochia allowed herself and her guards three days of rest, and they left early in the morning, under a blue sky of the kind only high mountains could produce.

  At noon, to Irina’s delight, they took a break on the border of Kostenz Lake, its large surface almost covering the horizon, and Dochia decided to camp there for the night. There was something that she could not grasp. It was not a vision, just an annoying inner fever that did not leave her alone. Just before dusk, she moved the camp to a hill nearby. They had already eaten, and she did not allow another fire.

  She took the silver box from its bag and moved away into the forest. “Watch me,” she said to Mira and Irina, “but stay hidden. If something happens to me, take the Maletera with a piece of cloth and put it in the box. Don’t touch it. If ... something really bad happens, tomorrow throw the Maletera in the lake.”

  “Don’t,” Irina whispered.

  “I have to,” Dochia said gently. “Now hide behind some trees.”

  She opened the box and, breathing deeply, took the Maletera in her hand, gripping it nervously. It became warm and pleasant, until Meriaduk filled her mind.

  “Dochia,” he said. “Why did it take you so long to contact me?”

  “I was delayed, Master.”

  “Did you see Salvina?”

  “She is dead. They killed her, and a letter was sent to all Hives, telling them about the Maletera. I did not dare to use it in the Hive.”

  “That’s unfortunate. You must come here, to Nerval. I need you as adviser.”

  “Is it necessary?”

  “Don’t question me again.”

  “What’s the purpose of an adviser, if they can’t question things?”

  “Hmm,” Meriaduk said, and she imagined him rubbing his chin. She almost smiled, but suppressed her reaction, fearing that it might be transferred to him. “Sometimes you may be right. Do it rarely and only when we are alone.”

  “Yes, Master.”

  “On your road east, you will meet three men. You will meet them tomorrow; they are not far from you. They carry the Maletera which was meant for Salvina. Join them and come here.”

  “How do you know...?

  “I see you on the map. You are on the border of Kostenz Lake. They will reach the lake tomorrow at noon.”

  Despite her training, Dochia threw the Maletera away, and her first impulse was to run. Mira and Irina appeared from behind their trees. She gestured them to stay hidden. How could he see me? For one minute, she controlled her breath until she calmed herself enough to take the Maletera again. Her hand was still trembling.

  “I am sorry, Master,” she said when the link was made again. “I was just...”

  “Scared, I know,” Meriaduk bragged.

  “How can you see me?” She waved her left hand, trying to test his vision.

  “I don’t really see you. It’s just that your Maletera was activated and appeared on my map. Usually, I see it all the time, but yours vanished when you were still in your Hive.”

  “My Maletera fell during the fight. Maybe it was slightly damaged. How do I recognize the men I have to join?”

  “They are different, smaller in size. Men of the steppes with a flat face and thin eyes, like slits. Their hair is half shaved and half tied in a ponytail. All of them have moustaches and they carry round shields and bows. You will know a man of the steppes when you see one.”

  “Yes, Master. What should I tell them?”

  “Tell them to connect with the Maletera. They will protect you on the road back.”

  He wants to be sure that I will not run away. “Yes, Master.”

  “The Serpent be with you,” Meriaduk said, and closed the link.

  Dochia relaxed her grip on the Maletera and placed it back in the silver box. “You may come out now,” she said to her guards. “We take watches, and leave early in the morning. We will meet some strangers sent by Meriaduk.” She took her time describing the steppes men, and she felt uneasy. They were too strange, and her uneasiness transferred to her guards too, mostly to Irina, who was younger.

  “Don’t worry, Irina,” Dochia laughed. “Meriaduk told me that they are small. We all are big girls.”

  The next morning brought some clouds but no rain, and they rode fast until they reached the end of the lake. “We stop there,” Dochia said, pointing to a place where the road coming from Silvania passed through a long defile between two ridges.

  Once they arrived, Dochia sent both her guards up on the ridges, each on a different side of the road. Leaning against a tree, she stayed hidden. Men of the steppes, she thought. I never saw one. Are they so different that it would strike me?

  “You are troubled,” Umbra said, his black eyes fixed on her, the same understanding and worry one could find in a human stare reflected in his eyes.

  “If Meriaduk learns what I want to do...”

  “You think that the Maletera...”

  “How should I know what that bloody tool can do? He knew that we were close to Kostenz Lake.”

  “Then maybe you should not try.”

  “I have to.”

  “Fine. I will fly to find them.” Umbra flapped his wings and flew away. He returned only fifteen minutes later. “They are coming, and they look like well-trained soldiers.”

  When the three men appeared at the end of the gap, Dochia saw what Meriaduk meant. The men were unlike anything she had seen before, and for a while, she just stared at them. Later I will study them from close-up. I need to get accustomed to them, she thought, and let her arrow fly. The first man fell from the saddle. The other two tried to turn, but it was already too late; Mira and Irina took them down.

  When the three Wanderers reached them, the men were already dead, and Dochia took a moment to see how the arrows had put them down. Dochia and Mira went for the neck. Irina’s arrow pierced the heart with a precision that made Dochia feel well defended.

  They soon found the Maletera, and Dochia covered it with her mantle, then Mira put all the men’s possessions – anything that could give them an overview of steppe men’s lives – in one bag that went to Irina. It was a strange bag, with unknown decorations, but they were strange men.

  Dochia took the Maletera, still covered in her mantle, and went to the small river flowing toward the lake. She dumped the thing in the water. There was a hiss, and a shock like a wave passed through the water, which started to boil, vapors rising fast around her, like a thick fog. She stepped back abruptly, out of the fog. Mira and Irina came running to her, but none of them was able to talk. The hiss did not last long, merely a few seconds, but it was enough to see the fish floating dead in the water through the dissipating fog. Dochia found the courage to touch the water with the tip of her finger: it was warm. They moved away from the small river, none daring to speak.

  After a brief thought, Dochia decided to bury the strangers. They were enemies sent by Meria
duk to enslave the Wanderers’ minds, but they were humans, and she did not enjoy the thought of letting the wolves feed on them. They would not do the same to me, she shrugged.

  “Let’s pass through the gap,” Dochia said, and they took the horses by the halter, walking slowly. I need to contact Meriaduk, Dochia thought, and a cold shiver passed through her spine. I must not be far from the place of their death, but I have to wait an hour or two. She finally found the courage when the sun was going down over the mountains.

  “What happened, Dochia?” Meriaduk asked directly after the link was made.

  “The three men you sent here are dead.”

  “Who killed them?”

  “Men who looked like them. Ten men. Our people had no chance.”

  “How come you saw them?”

  “We were not that far away, but it was too late to help them. I am not sure I would have done it even if we were closer. It ended fast, and only one enemy died. The other nine survived. Then something strange happened...”

  “They destroyed the Maletera.”

  “How did you know that?”

  “It vanished from my map.”

  “How can the Maletera be here and on your map at the same time?”

  “Don’t be stupid, Dochia, the Maletera is not here with me. It’s just that the map knows where the Maletera is.”

  “Is the map alive?”

  “In a way, the map is alive. It knows the position of all the Maleteras and other things.”

  “How?” How many Maleteras do you have?

  “That’s a secret.”

  You don’t know. The Maletera is a Talant artifact. So the map must be too. I think Ada wants me to learn where they found the artifacts. We should not use them. “They threw the Maletera in the river. The water started to boil, and there was fog. I found some dead fish too.”

  “There is great power in the Maletera. It can kill many people. Did any of them die?”

  “No. If the Maletera is no longer on the map... Does that mean that it’s dead?”

  “Yes.”

  “I buried our fallen men. Should I try to find the Maletera and bury it too?”

  “No. Come to Nerval,” Meriaduk snapped and closed the connection.

  Dochia placed her Maletera in the silver box and stayed silent for a while, rubbing her forehead. We should not use such things, she thought again. We should not use them to pervert people’s minds, but we can use them for communication. Some of us would not stop there, though. Drusila’s face came into her mind, and she shook her head. I would trust Ada, but how can we trust someone like Drusila? “Mira, Irina, let’s go. We have a long road in front of us to Silvania.” And an even longer one to Nerval.

  Chapter 6 – Codrin

  The western sky was glorious gold as the sun went down behind the mountain. On top of the hill, Sava stood stiff in the saddle his lower back and legs were aching. I slept only four hours the last two nights, he complained mutely. So did they; he glanced at the thirty riders following him. In front of them lay a land of green hills, flowered plains and small rushing rivers; there was nothing spectacular in Severin County. “Dismount. We wait here,” he ordered. “This is the shorter road to Severin,” Sava pointed at the sinuous road winding at the foot of the hill. “We have to hope that Codrin will come this way. There may be other armies in the area, so we stay here,” he repeated. “Dismount and rest. Stay on the lee side of the hill. I need two volunteers for the first watch.” Despite their tiredness, more than half of the men raised their hands. “You and you,” Sava chose two guards – one from Leyona and one from the Mountes – that looked less tired than the others. It’s all about perception; Sava shook his head. Hard people, the Mountes were less tired than his own men, but he had to split the tasks for the cohesion of the group. Slowly, he dismounted, feeling his legs stiff and weak and, after a few hesitant steps, threw his body on the grass, his back leaning against the trunk of an old tree, and instantly fell asleep.

  It was morning again when Julien, his elder son, woke Sava up after a sleep with no dreams. “A team of scouts passed through the valley, and I think that I recognized Vlad. I already sent three riders to meet them.”

  “You did well,” Sava said. He stood up and walked around for a while, pretending to be busy. His swift eyes moved from one soldier to another, both Leyonans and Mountes. They seemed to recover faster than him. Physically, at least. They are younger, he thought. Ending his tour, Sava sat on the grass again, his back leaning against the same old oak. Mechanically, his hand went into the leather pouch tied around his chest and took out two letters. One carried the seal of Leyona, the other one, even though it was written on the same expensive paper from Leyona’s Secretariat, had only a common seal. This may be even more important than the other one. I wish I was not the one who had to carry them. Eyes closed, he sent his mind back to Leyona. It will not help. He shook his head and stood up abruptly, then began to walk around the camp again. The soldiers felt his inner struggle and no one bothered him. Calm again, Sava went to the ridge and looked at the valley in front of him.

  That’s how Codrin’s scouts found him; two teams arrived at the same time. One from the valley, led by Vlad, who had been warned by the riders sent by Julien, and a second one from the forest, the last three scouts being Valer’s mercenaries.

  “Codrin is a careful man.” Sava smiled, seeing both troops arriving in front of him. Yet, not careful enough. “Where is Codrin?” he asked Vlad, who had the highest rank; he was now the leader of Codrin’s fifteen-strong team of scouts.

  “One hour’s ride from here. News?” He stared at Sava.

  “News,” Sava nodded, and both walked away from all others. Bad news. “Go and tell him that we need to speak in private. Just the two of us. We will follow you.”

  “I have orders to wait at the crossroads.” Vlad pointed to the place where two roads met.

  “There is no urgency,” Sava agreed and, involuntarily, his hand touched the leather pouch.

  Both men and horses were now rested, but Sava did not hurry them. There was enough time until Codrin arrived at the cross, and he still did not know how to deliver the news. Half the way down, he saw Codrin’s army, far off on the horizon. It looks smaller. “Vlad,” he turned right, “it looks to me that there are fewer soldiers down there than I expected. Is the army split or was the battle against Devan harder than we expected?”

  “There was no battle; Devan accepted a truce and went back home, but Aron’s men tried to capture Codrin, with help from Duke Stefan. They are dead now, and Eagle’s mercenaries have gone back home. What was left of them.”

  More bad news... “Is Codrin well?”

  “Yes, there was not much of a fight. We laid a trap for them, and they fell into it,” Vlad laughed.

  “And Duke Stefan’s men?”

  “They returned to Peyris. Codrin freed them, and their captain too.”

  Well, at least the links with the Duke are not fully broken. “Leyonan dead, Mohor dead. There are too many deaths in Frankis, and I have the feeling that it will not stop there.”

  “I can’t answer a feeling,” Vlad shrugged, “but Autumn will come soon, and we will have a respite during the Winter. Next year... Who knows?”

  “I hope that Codrin has a good Secretary. He may help in preparing a ... good Spring.”

  “It’s a she,” Vlad smiled, “and Codrin seems to be pleased with her work.”

  “Evaluating a Secretary... That’s not an easy thing. You need experience.”

  “Codrin never speaks about his past, but Lady Jara told me once that his father was a Duke in Arenia.”

  “Well, a Duke’s Secretariat is a place where you may learn things. My understanding is that Codrin is a good learner.” But he has to learn more. A man with qualities. It will be a pity if... He shook his head, ignoring Vlad.

  “You look sour,” Vlad said, his smile fading a little.

  “That’s my natural state of mind. I may be even more s
our than usual right now. The long road and other things,” Sava said, his voice neutral. “It’s a useful trait; people bother you less.” This time he almost laughed, then remained silent while they walked and waited for Codrin.

  “Sir Codrin, I failed you,” Sava said, bitterness filling his voice. “I’ve lost Leyona,” he added before Codrin could ask. “Garland proclaimed himself Grand Seigneur, but I doubt that it was his decision. It happened three days ago. I was allowed to leave with thirty-five soldiers. There was no chance to fight, and I thought them more useful here.”

  “You were right to bring them. Who took the decision? Garland’s wife?” Codrin asked. “I remember that she gave up her place as a Knight’s wife to become a Grand Seigneur’s mistress. She carries Leyonan’s bastard.”

  “Garland loves his wife too much to want to learn what happened between her and her lover. And she loves only power. A clever woman, yet not as clever as Maud, but they worked well together. I swore allegiance to you, and I can’t work with Maud; that’s why I am here with the Mountes, ten guards from Leyona and my two sons. My wife and daughter are on the road to Cleuny with five more guards.”

  “All of you are welcome there, and I thank you for your loyalty. This woman, Maud,” Codrin rubbed his chin. “I was expecting that she would move against me. She acted faster than I expected. I underestimated her, but the only other way was to kill her before leaving Leyona. Suspicion is not a good enough reason to kill someone. Well, what comes easy, goes easy.”

  “What do you want to do?” Sava asked, with a touch of hope in his hope.

  “What I want and what I can do are very different things right now. There is no way to lay siege to Leyona, and I doubt that we can sneak inside the city again. I need to know how the Knights of Leyona would react when they hear the news. Some of them may know already.”

  “I rode as fast as I could.”

  “Yes, Sava, and I thank you for that, but some may have been in touch with Maud from the point when the plot started to unravel, or even earlier, from the day we left Leyona.”