He was about to depart his chambers when Wigg, Tyranny, and Jessamay appeared to tell him that the Chikara Inkai urgently requested their presence. Like Tristan, they were dressed in Shashidan garb. Leaving Tristan’s rooms, they hurried to the meeting chamber. That had been only moments ago, and as he again gazed into Mashiro’s ancient eyes, he knew that the next few hours would shape Shashida’s future for centuries to come.
“So your assumptions were right,” Wigg said to Mashiro. “Banned forestallments have in fact been lurking in Vespasian’s blood.”
Mashiro nodded. “Yes,” he answered. “And at long last he has chosen to use them. We cannot say why this has not occurred before now, because Julia is not privy to that information. But one thing remains crystal clear. Vespasian’s next goal will be to secure our gold deposits. If he takes and holds the area, he might then lay waste to the lower reaches of Shashida and then finally to the nation as a whole.”
“There is something about Rustannica’s violation of the Borderlands Treaty that confuses me,” Wigg said. “Each time the Borderlands are summoned by the Pon Q’tar, their environment is made toxic, so as to kill anyone trapped there. It would seem that the only way to do that would be to use one or more of the banned forestallments. And if that’s true, then the Pon Q’tar has already violated the Borderlands Treaty untold times.”
“Given your limited understanding of the treaty, that would be true,” Kaemon said. “When the treaty was ratified, it included a provision saying that because the Borderlands are Rustannican territory, the Pon Q’tar is free to use the banned spells there—but only there. We objected, of course, but the Rustannicans remained firm. In the end we were forced to grant the concession or there would have been no treaty at all.”
“If Vespasian’s gifts are as powerful as you suspect, how does the Pon Q’tar hope to control him?” Tristan asked.
“They don’t need to control him,” Hoshi answered. “They only need to unleash him.”
“But Shashida is vast,” Tristan said. “It seems impossible that even Vespasian’s gifts could destroy the entire nation.”
“We tend to agree,” Midori replied from across the table, “but we cannot be sure. If he alone can crush one major objective after another, his legions will be free to leave his side and then attack lesser targets at will. Julia reported that Vespasian destroyed all of Kagoya in less than one hour! Because of this, he might decide that only a few of his legions need accompany him from here on. He could then delegate command of the others to Lucius Marius, his First Tribune and closest friend. Lucius’ task would be to overwhelm the smaller targets traditionally while Vespasian uses his new gifts to destroy the larger ones. In this way, the Rustannican war machine could cover great expanses of Shashida quickly and spread our forces thin.”
After thinking for a moment, Tristan looked at Mashiro. “Do the Rustannicans know that I am here?” he asked.
Mashiro sighed. “Julia tells us that they worry about your arrival, but that they cannot confirm it. Because you escaped Khristos at the edge of the Azure Sea, they of course know that you were trying to come here. They are not fools and they will take your possible arrival into their planning. Only one thing remains certain, Jin’Sai. If Shashida is to be saved, we must grant you our versions of the banned forestallments soon—today, if you will permit it. During yesterday’s emergency session, our governing body ratified our request to do so, and to allow you to then confront Vespasian. Once the spells have been imbued into your blood, you and our armies will be rushed by azure portals to meet him head-on. We humbly ask your forgiveness for throwing you into the fray so abruptly, but the hour is late and there is no other choice. Because of Vespasian’s far superior training in the craft, it is doubtful that you can defeat him outright. But if you can counter his ability to employ the banned forestallments with your own, he might halt his advance and order his legions home. We Shashidans would view Vespasian’s retreat as a victory.”
“But I know nothing about your military and your tactics,” Tristan countered, “not to mention my complete lack of familiarity with Vespasian’s forces. How can I be expected to lead Shashida against an enemy about whom I know so little?”
“By not leading her,” Renjiro answered. “Forgive me, Jin’Sai, but although you have commanded your Minions to victory many times, things are vastly different here. You are right—you cannot be expected to lead forces about which you know little or nothing. Therefore, Hoshi and I will lead them. You will be with us, providing the one weapon that we cannot. When suddenly confronted by your gifts, Vespasian might put a stop this madness and return home. As we speak, hundreds of Shashidan cohorts are being sent by azure portal to a staging area south of where our gold deposits lay. The other Chikara Inkai members will remain here. We will inform them of events by way of mental communion.”
Tristan nodded. “I will do so gladly,” he answered. “But I have some requests of you.”
“What are they?” Hoshi asked.
“I want to take my Minions into battle with me and I want complete control over them,” he said. “I know that you find them crude when compared to your katsugai mosota and perhaps they are. But my Minions are gifted and ruthless killers, and their advantage of flight will be useful. Vespasian might not be expecting that.”
To Tristan’s surprise, Hoshi smiled. “Truth be told, we were about to suggest that very thing,” she replied. “What is your other request?”
“I want my Black Ships to participate in the fight and Tyranny to command them,” Tristan said. “Your portals can easily accommodate them. I, my Minions, and my fellow Conclave members will ride the Black Ships to the battle site. Once there, I will gladly follow your orders.”
Mashiro nodded, and Tristan turned to look at Wigg, Jessamay, and Tyranny. “What say you all?” he asked. “Will you come with us?”
Despite the recent loss of Abbey, Wigg managed a short smile. “I can answer for everyone,” he replied. “You were born to take part in this struggle. It will be an honor to serve by your side.”
After nodding at Wigg, Tristan looked back at Mashiro. “Then it’s settled,” he said. “When will I be granted the banned forestallments?”
“Within hours,” Mashiro answered. “But first there is another concern that deserves our attention. I’m sure it has not escaped your mind.”
Tristan nodded again. “Shailiha,” he said softly. “I’m mad to know her condition and to help her defeat the Viper Lord.”
“To those ends, we have a gift for you,” Kaemon said. “Since the moment you arrived in Shashida, our best craft researchers have been diligently working to perfect some needed spells. We believe that you will find them interesting.”
“What spells are these?” Wigg asked.
“You will see soon enough,” Mashiro answered. The Inkai elder turned to look at Tristan.
“Activate your medallion,” Mashiro told him.
“IS THERE STILL NO NEWS OF KHRISTOS?” SHAILIHA ASKED.
“No, Your Highness,” Traax answered. “Night Witch patrols continue to scan Eutracia’s rivers from the air, but there has been no sign of him or his servants. Mashiro suspects that as long as the enemy remains submerged, Failee’s original spell will provide them with sustenance. If that is true, they have no need to surface until they wish to attack. They lurked beneath the water for three centuries before emerging to take the First Mistress’s revenge. Staying submerged for mere days at a time must be a comparatively simple feat.”
The hour was late and Shailiha was tired. Even so, she demanded that her Conclave members meet again to discuss the ongoing situation. This would be the last briefing of the day, and for that she was glad.
Khristos’ ability to raze Tammerland and to set fire to one of the Black Ships and nearly steal the other had enraged every Conclave member. The loss of the Illendium had been disastrous, and many days would pass before the Cavalon would again be airworthy. With her two Black Ships unavailable and yet m
ore Minions dead, Shailiha’s ability to fight Khristos had been severely compromised.
Moreover, her physical condition still plagued her. Her facial skin was healing, but her body ached badly from the effects of the viper venom, causing her to move like a woman twice her age. The vision in her left eye had improved slightly, but not enough to persuade her that it would ever return to normal. It will take time, Mashiro had told Faegan, and she clung to that belief. Of necessity she still wore the black eye patch, and by now everyone in the palace had grown accustomed to its presence. At least there is that, she thought.
Faegan, Traax, Aeolus, and Adrian sat with her at the mahogany table in the Conclave meeting room, deep in the Redoubt. It was not the first time that the remaining members had gathered since their friends had left for Shashida. Even so, the empty chairs still lent the room a desolate feel, and the chair that had once been Abbey’s seemed the most forlorn of all.
Sighing, Faegan placed his forearms on the highly polished table. “We can do little but wait, Princess,” he said. “We should continue to send out Night Witch patrols, but because our enemies can hide in the rivers, the likelihood of finding them before they again emerge is not great.”
Sadly, Shailiha was forced to agree. In Tristan’s absence she ruled Eutracia, but her inability to act was frustrating. She knew that if Tristan were still there, he would be equally stymied, and the advice being offered to him would be identical. Unlike her twin brother, the princess more carefully considered her options before acting. But because those options were so few, she was finding it increasingly difficult to stifle the same kind of impetuousness that characterized the Jin’Sai.
Just then Faegan gave her a strange look, and she realized that he was staring not at her face, but at the gold medallion hanging around her neck. She looked down to see that it was glowing. Tristan! she thought. He’s reaching out to me from Shashida.
Rather than turn over the medallion, Shailiha hesitated. Tristan and the other Conclave members had yet to see her since she was injured. As at the moment when Morganna first saw her injured face, she worried about how they would react—especially her brother. The last thing she wanted from them was their pity. As the medallion continued to glow, she looked into Faegan’s eyes.
The crippled wizard reached out to pat her hand.
“He’s your brother,” he said. “He worries for you, as they all do. It is best that you put this behind you.”
Shailiha nodded, then turned over the medallion so that everyone around the table might see into it. Her first viewing of the Inkai meeting room and the many people there took her breath away.
WHEN TRISTAN SAW HIS SISTER, HE FELT HIS HEART BREAK. He knew that she had been injured, but seeing her that way greatly disturbed him just the same. He knew that there was no use in speaking to her, so he tried to give his best smile of support.
“Has contact been established?” Mashiro asked.
“Yes,” Tristan answered.
“Please remove the medallion and place it on the meeting table,” the Inkai elder said.
Tristan gave Mashiro a questioning look. “It was my understanding that the medallion must be worn by one of endowed blood to do its work,” he said.
Mashiro smiled. “That is no longer altogether true,” he said.
Tristan removed the medallion and placed it face up on the table. At once Mashiro caused the medallion to levitate about two feet above the table. Then the gold disc and its chain started to spin. Faster and faster they went until they became only a blur, then disappeared altogether.
In their place appeared another representation of what Tristan had seen in the medallion, but this time the scene was far larger. The images of the people sitting at the Redoubt table had become life-sized. Amazed, Tristan turned to gape at Mashiro.
“How did you do this?” he breathed.
“We altered the spells that Miriam cast over your medallions before she died,” he answered. “It took our craft researchers some doing, I can assure you.”
Tristan looked back at the scene floating before his eyes. The new image was about two yards broad by one yard high. It was so clear and sharp that Tristan felt he was there in the Redoubt and could actually reach out and touch his sister’s ravaged face. As he looked closer, he saw that the far wider scope of the new image allowed him to see everyone in the Redoubt chamber at once. Every Conclave member’s face wore an equally amazed expression. Because the new image floated above the Inkai meeting table, everyone could see it easily.
“Has their view of us been similarly changed?” Tristan asked.
“Yes,” Mashiro answered. “This was made possible because Shailiha’s medallion is an exact duplicate of yours, created by the craft while she was imprisoned by the Coven of Sorceresses. Because of its origins, an enchanted connection has always existed between them. Miriam simply brought it to life, then we enhanced it. Now when either of you calls the needed spell, your medallions will create enlarged views, and they will not have to leave your bodies to do so.”
Still amazed, Tristan looked over at Mashiro. “I wish to communicate with her,” he said, “but I will need paper and ink to do so. May I be given some?”
Mashiro shook his head. “You won’t need them,” he said.
Wigg’s eyes narrowed and he leaned over the tabletop. “Do you mean to say—”
“That’s exactly what I mean,” Mashiro answered.
Before Wigg could reply, Mashiro closed his eyes and called the craft. At once the image floating over the table glowed brighter, then blurred for several moments. When the scene came back into focus, Tristan heard an eerily familiar sound that did not originate from the Inkai meeting chamber. He soon realized that it was the crackling of the burning logs in the Redoubt fireplace, far on the other side of the world. Mouth agape, he sat back in his chair.
“I beg the Afterlife!” he breathed. “I can hear them!”
Mashiro nodded. “That’s right, Jin’Sai,” he said, “and they can hear us. Please accept these augmentations to your and your sister’s medallions as humble gifts from the Chikara Inkai.”
When she unexpectedly heard her brother’s voice, Shailiha reacted with a start. Faegan, Aeolus, Traax, and Adrian seemed similarly stunned.
“Tristan…?” Shailiha said.
“I’m here,” he answered. “The Chikara Inkai has augmented our medallions so that we may now also hear each other. I find the effect as amazing as you do.”
Pausing for a moment, Tristan looked sadly into his sister’s eyes. “Are you all right?” he asked quietly.
At first Shailiha didn’t answer. After pausing for a moment she bravely lifted her eye patch for all to see, then she put it back in place. A quick rush of air left Tristan’s lungs, but he did his best to stifle his shock.
“My vision is a bit better,” Shailiha answered. “On behalf of all of us, I wish to offer our condolences on the death of Abbey. We all miss her.”
Shailiha then cast her handicapped gaze about the Inkai chamber and looked at each of the members in turn. “Which of you is Mashiro?” she asked.
Mashiro stood and bowed. “My apologies, Princess,” he said. “I should have made the needed introductions sooner. Please allow me to correct my mistake.”
Mashiro asked the Inkai members to stand one by one. As they did, he introduced them to the Conclave members watching from so far away. When he finished, Shailiha did the same for her followers. Because of the sharpness of the scene and the amazing clarity of the Conclave members’ voices, it was almost as if everyone were seated at one great table.
For the next hour the two groups exchanged information on their respective situations. Shailiha informed the Inkai that there had been no sightings of the Viper Lord or his followers but that Night Witch patrols continued to search them out. She then explained that the Cavalon was under repair, but it would be many days before she would again be airworthy. Traax then provided the Jin’Sai with an updated casualty report.
When Traax finished, Mashiro informed the Eutracian Conclave of everything that he had told Tristan and his fellow travelers during their earlier meetings. He then went on to explain Vespasian’s recent violation of the Borderlands Treaty and the Inkai’s plan to imbue Tristan’s blood with their versions of the banned forestallments. He also described in detail the Inkai’s wish that one day everyone’s blood signature might be altered to the vertical and that a new, unified nation might be born that was devoid of forestallments and dedicated to the ideal of free will. The Conclave members sat in stunned silence, absorbing every word. When Mashiro finished, many quiet moments passed as those in Eutracia considered the astounding news.
His expression stern, Faegan leaned across the Conclave meeting table and looked straight into Wigg’s eyes.
“Tell me, First Wizard,” he asked. “Assuming that the lands west of the Tolenkas can ever again be united, do you agree that all blood signatures should be altered to the vertical and that the Tome and the two Scrolls of the Ancients should be destroyed?”
“I do,” Wigg answered. “The Shashidans are right to feel this way. But before such awesome changes can happen, Rustannica must be defeated for good. Only then can the Inkai turn their attention to the betterment of the craft for the sake of all mankind.”
Faegan sat in silence for some time as he considered Wigg’s words. “Despite how radical the concept seems, I must say that I agree,” he answered. “I envy your being there, old friend. I can only imagine the wonders that you have seen and those that still await you. Abbey would have been proud.”
Wigg’s face darkened for a moment. “Thank you,” he said simply.
“Now then,” Mashiro said. “I must ask the Conclave whether Failee’s grimoire is available.”
“It is,” Aeolus answered. He rose from his chair to walk across the Redoubt meeting chamber to where the red leather-bound book sat atop a pedestal. Bringing it back, he placed it on the table.
Rise of the Blood Royal Page 55
