The Laughing Gods

by Wilbur Arron

  “You get no say in this, mage!” Laodamus called out harshly. “What you did during the battle was treason as I see it. You helped the Zilar sink one of my trierse and caused the death of over thirty people. I should order your trial as a traitor, and I will one day.”

  “I have said this before,” I spoke out. “Mages should not get involved in everyday politics other than as advisors. However, when left with no choice, you do what you have to do to survive. The Zilar have made it plain they will enslave all of us. We have to fight.”

  “No, I say,” Pentheus went on. “In fact, as of this moment as the senior living mage, I order the condemnation of Master Mage Alexio Sopholus. I order him expelled from our Brotherhood and order his arrest.”

  “On what charge?” Xanphos yelled, standing up. “For not being a complete anoitios like you, for saving this vasíleio, or your own lives. For such a wise man, you have no idea how the real world operates.”

  Carenos slowly got up and faced Pentheus. “I am sorry Mage Council Member Pentheus, but you have no authority to do this. Only the full Mage Council can make such a judgment. By our laws, a full council consists of the Megas Mage and four council members, or all six council members without the Megas Mage. The Megas Mage is dead and so is at least one council member. In any case, even if we had all six council members here, I doubt if you could get the four votes to convict Master Mage Sopholus. I know this Mage Council member will not vote for it.”

  Pentheus looked stunned before he shrieked out, “You traitor. I will condemn you also. I order all other mages not to listen to this nonsense.”

  “I am sorry, but you are wrong,” Theodores said, rising to his feet.

  “I agree,” one of the mages that came with us across Lantis said rising.

  “I also agree,” another Master Mage said rising.

  Before long, half the mages were standing. Pentheus by now looked like he was going to have a seizure. His face was as red as his hood. Finally, he was able to get words out. “I condemn you all,” he screamed, “And I am leaving. All loyal mages come with me,”

  With that, the old man got up and walked away in a huff. Ten mages, two of them master mages, and about a third of the acolytes went with him. The rest remained.

  I thought hard for a moment. I knew what I had to say, and I knew it would not help in this situation, but the others had to know what they were signing on for. Once the dissidents were gone, I rose up.

  “I do not want to encourage any of you to go or stay, but all of you who stay must know something. What Megas Archon Pallas says is correct. We do not have the forces in Argina to beat the Zilar and the army from Lantia. Our best chance is to strike and strike hard before the Zilar are ready. That will happen in a little over a year. Any that stay here may have to use magik to help out. I do not like using magik to do this, but I am not going to let the Zilar slaughter every man, woman, and child in Argina as they did in Dysiasty. I will do what I have to, but when we finish with the Zilar, I am also going to set up that new mage school south of Korpolis. Once there I will adopt the same Mage Code as we did before. I agree with Pentheus on one thing, mages cannot be used as a regular part of the army, or I fear we will condemn this world to utter destruction.”

  I turned to face the rulers. “Do either the Master Mages or Megas Archons disagree with what I have just said?”

  “No,” Pallas said plainly.

  “I agree,” Laodamus said.

  There were no comments from the mages.

  That made me happy. “Very well, let us prepare ourselves for the hard road ahead.”

  I realized at that moment that I had just accomplished what no other mage had ever done.

  I had split the Brotherhood of Mages.

  Off in the distance, once again, I could hear the gods laughing.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN: PREPARATIONS

  After our meeting, things broke up quickly. Laodamus and his staff stayed in Aegae to watch over his small fleet. Pallas wrote to his father and had builders come to Aegae to learn the design of both the Zilar and Lantian ships. There was a lot of timber nearby, and Sysgros was no fool. If they were not getting Lantian ships, our ethnarch knew he had to make his own. Sysgros also emptied the dungeons and sent slaves from around Argina to Cos to start teaching them the basics on how to row. Our former prisoner rowers, both Zilar and Lantian, were all promised their freedom by teaching the other rowers. All in all, it was the start of a small but powerful fleet.

  I went back to Korpolis for three days and entertained our friends with tales of our adventures. It also gave me time to relax with my wife. Zila and Gyras went to their new polis that was just now starting construction. Other than Pentheus and his group, all the mages went there to help with the polis. Pentheus and his bunch went to Arginnia, after a stay in Korpolis where neither of us exchanged a single word. I did have time to write a short report to our ethnarch about what happened on our journey and about what happened with Pentheus. I sent it by dispatch rider two days before Pentheus and his group left.

  Melina and I went back to my forest and were happily greeted by all my friends. Cleon had two people watch over our fields while we were gone. They were not in great shape, but good enough so I should still get a harvest. I told my friends of our adventure, leaving out the part about the politics. Cleon also made sure our smokehouse and larder were well stocked. It was a pleasure sleeping in my own bed and with my wife, alone.

  From my friends, I learned nothing had gone on while we were gone. One of the Old Ones was there, and he told me the Zilar never went back to their fort by North Pass, but it was still there and still only lightly guarded. To me, that meant the Zilar had turned their attentions elsewhere. In the next twelve days, Melina and I managed to get all our fields weeded, watered, and set for the autumn harvest. I spent time walking around the forest making sure nothing was wrong, but all looked in the same condition as I left it. Lastly, we dug out the rest of the dirt in the stream to replace the gold I had spent on our trip.

  My wooden calendar showed we were back thirteen days when in the early evening, just before Melina and I were going to quit mining for gold and eat dinner, a strong mental message took shape in my mind.

  “Alex, someone rides from Korpolis,” Alkos told me. “It smells like the man who came before.”

  “Follow him,” I answered, “And let me know when he gets close.”

  “Company,” I told my wife.

  We stopped and washed the dirt off of us, hid the gold washer, and dressed in appropriate clothing. By the time we were ready, Alkos spoke up.

  “He is riding here for sure. He will be here shortly.”

  We waited outside, and sure enough, a familiar face appeared on horseback. It was Nomiki.

  “Ambassador,” he called out.

  “Just Alex now,” I told him. “What brings you here?”

  “Pallas sent me to get you,” he said getting off the horse. “Something is wrong, and he wants to see you in Korpolis tomorrow. I am to escort you.”

  Looking at the orange sun setting, I knew we could not leave tonight. “We will leave at first light. In the meantime, you can stay in the spare bedroom.”

  “Thank you,” he said with a grin. “I have had my fill of sleeping on the ground.”

  “I will show you to your room,” Melina said and led him indoors. I stared out into the forest.

  “Keros, can you hear me?” I called into the forest.

  “I am here,” came the reply in my head.

  “Please bring two horses to my house at dawn tomorrow. Melina and I need to go to Korpolis.”

  “I will,” the big unicorn said.

  We ate a meal of roasted smoked beef and vegetables and drank some well-watered wine. After we finished our meal, I decided to find out more about what was going on.

  “I honestly do not know,” Nomiki said, shaking his head. “Something happened in Aegae several days after you left. Something that made Pallas and everyone excited, but Pall
as, Diomedes, and even Cleon are silent about it. Pallas also sent out fast messengers to his father. Two days ago, Theodoros arrived from Arginnia with Chronos, plus Zila, Carenos, Pentheus and all other Master Mages. Laodamus will be here by tonight.”

  “It has to do with the Brotherhood then,” I said. “By the gods, what happened this time?”

  “I do not know,” Nomiki said.

  “Well, you will not solve this mystery here,” Melina told both of us. “The best you can do is to get a good night’s sleep, and we will leave in the morning. The answers will come soon enough.”

  My wife is a very wise person. That is exactly what we did.

  In the morning two horses appeared next to Nomiki’s mount. Nomiki just shook his head in disbelief. “I would like to know how you do that.”

  “Magik,” I told him as we saddled up and left.

  My friends followed us until we were close to where the farms began for Korpolis and left us to ride in alone. We stopped at the gate. The guards at the gate were doubled to eight, and there were troops from the Ethnarch’s Guard there, as well as more men on the walls than usual. I was surprised neither Iolaos nor Philie were there. When I asked, the head of the guard told me Iolaos was guarding the entrance to the palace.

  The stable boys came and took our horses, and we all walked toward the palace. I saw Iolaos, but no Philie. Chremon was there as head of the Ethnarch’s Guards.

  “What is going on?” I asked both of them.

  “Many people arrived last night with Laodamus,” Iolaos said in a hushed voice. “Most were wearing mage robes. We were not told who they were.”

  “The Megas Archon had put the entire polis on alert,” Chremon added. “We were told to show you right in. There is a meeting about to start. They were waiting for you.”

  “Where is Philie?” I asked.

  Iolaos smiled, “Phillipos the physician told her to stay off her feet until the birth. She is very big, and Phillipos thinks she might be carrying twins.”

  “That is great,” I said and hit my friend on the side.

  “I am also happy for both of you,” Melina said.

  As I walked, I noticed something was amiss. The usually busy market square was empty except for marching guard patrols. The palace was under heavy guard. Melina and I walked into the front. The head of the household saw us, bowed and ushered us along through another patrol of guards. We walked into the throne room and the meeting room that were both open and filled with people. Many of them wore mage robes. Not only that, I saw five red hoods. That meant five council members. I was wondering who the new people were when I heard a voice call my name from the front.

  “Alex,” Cleon shouted. “Please come forward.”

  I left Melina at the rear and walked forward through the crowd. I heard several thanks and had a few pats on my back. The real surprise came when I neared the front, and a figure in a red hood turned and hugged me.

  “Thank you, Alex, your people helped save us.”

  The voice was familiar, and when I looked under the hood, my heart leaped for joy. It was Philocrates.

  “By the gods!” I shouted out. “I thought you were dead in Lantis.”

  The arch-mage shook his head no. “Ten senior mages and I managed to get out of Lantis and into the nearby hills, but old Pytheas came after us. We managed to hide in some caves. The ethnarch was searching and would have found us, but he sent that part of his army looking for us after you instead when your group disappeared. We managed to get away after that.”

  “Let us save that for later, Alex,” Cleon said. “We have other items to discuss.”

  I walked up and took my place next to several Master Mages. Pallas got up and started to speak.

  “I am Megas Archon Pallas, for those of you who do not know me,” he started. “On behalf of my father, the Ethnarch, I welcome you. Master Mage Sopholus has informed my father and me of Ethnarch Pytheas’ efforts in trying to use the Mage Brotherhood in a possible invasion of Argina. We are thankful to all of you who helped get most of the mages out of Lantia.”

  “Our problems are far from over,” he went on. “The Zilar still control Vorepolis, and it looks like they will stay there until next year’s harvest when they will have grown enough food and have sufficient supplies to invade Argina. I expect the Zilar’s main supply base to the west of the Central Mountain will supply Vorepolis with additional troops and arms. So far, the Zilar attempts to invade Argina have failed thanks to Master Mage Sopholus.”

  “Huh!” I heard Pentheus grunt from the middle of the room.

  Both Pallas and Laodamus shot a glare at the old man.

  “Many of you already know this,” Pallas went on. “What none of you know is that thanks to Arch-Mage Philocrates and some of his mages, we have learned very recently that Pytheas has sent an ambassador to the Zilar camp in Vorepolis.”

  There was a collected gasp in the hall and from me. Pytheas could not be that foolish to trust the Zilar. Pallas waited until the commotion died down.

  “An alliance between Lantia and the Zilar would be tragic for us. It would double the size of the invading force threatening us. It is a force we cannot hope to repel without help. There is no other vasíleio that can send us help. We are on our own.” With that, he paused for a moment.

  “He is going to ask us mages to help him out,” Pentheus cried out again. “He is going to turn us into soldiers just like Pytheas would have. He is no different from the others. I say, no!”

  “SILENCE!” Pallas shouted. “Yes, I am going to ask for your help. I have to ask, or we are as good as dead now.”

  “Never,” Pentheus cried out. “It goes against over three hundred years of social customs and civilized behavior. It goes against our Mage Code. It goes against our very reason for our being; to try to make a better world, not reduce it to ash. I refuse to allow it. Any true mage will reject this out of hand,” he finished and looked directly at me. I got the message.

  I had my own ideas on this topic. “Megas Archon, if I may speak?” I asked.

  Pallas looked frustrated at Pentheus’ wailing and ready to explode. “We will hear from Master Mage Sopholus,” he said, and then gestured me to get up on the daïs.

  I got up, and Pallas sat back down. “My brothers,” I called out, “What Pentheus says is correct. For us to serve as soldiers does violate three hundred years of social custom, laws, and our own Mage Code. What he fails to mention is this. Until now, any conflicts in our lands were fought between the various vasíleia or parts of them. In these conflicts, two things remained constant. The first is that all parties agreed long ago that mages would not be called to serve in the military. Another item of note, warfare in the past did not involve violence against civilians. Only the rulers and their armies fought the wars. While these agreements lasted, what Mage Council Member Pentheus says is correct.”

  I let that sink in for a moment. “The problem with the Zilar is we now have an enemy who does not believe in these agreements. The Zilar will use any means at their disposal to conquer. To them, our agreements not to use mages in combat or to wage war against the innocent are meaningless. We know they have used the mages of Syrina to fight and spy as they see fit. They have no regards for our laws, customs, and Mage Code. As for not harming civilians, the Zilar take no regard of that either. If you do not believe me, ask the corpses of the polis of Dysiasty, if you can. They were all slaughtered. They have done the same to the wild men of the desert and the citizens of Vorpolis. They were going to do the same thing in Erinia. With luck and help from my friends, I was able to stop them for now. They still seek utter domination of the vasíleio and have told me this many times. They believe that those they conquer are slaves to them to obey them or die. The only way to stop them is to fight them.”

  I stopped for another moment for them to take in the message. “Despite what you have heard about me, I have no great wish to kill off a Zilar army or any one of many things I have recently done. I felt compelled
to do so to protect my polis and vasíleio. I feel compelled to fight them again knowing what they still want. Once we destroy this enemy of the vasíleio, I want us to all go back to the ways of our Brotherhood for the last three hundred years. Until that time, we do what we have to.”

  “Until the next crises,” Pentheus cried out. “There will always be a threat, and we will always be called upon to fight. Master Mage Sopholus is hopelessly naive if he thinks this stops with the Zilar.”

  I let him finish before I spoke directly to Pentheus. “You are asking me to see into the future and that, no man can do. What I can see is now; and that tells me if we do not beat the Zilar we will have no future, or at least any future worth living in. Balance within the three vasíleia must be restored, and to do that we must remove the Zilar. The choice for the rest of you is simple. Join us or risk enslavement if we fail.”

  Pallas stood up again, nodding his head in agreement. “I find I must agree with Master Mage Sopholus.”

  “I still say no,” Pentheus repeated. “I repeat what I said before about our so-called Master Mage here. As the senior Mage Council member, I say Master Mage Sopholus is guilty of violations of the Mage Code, murder, and actions no mage should even consider, never mind do. I want him expelled from our Brotherhood and executed for violations of the Mage Code. There are four other Mage Council members here. I say Alexio Sopholus is guilty.”

  “And I say you are wrong,” Theodoros said, raising his voice. “I too was suspicious of Master Mage Sopholus, but time has shown he was more than justified to take the actions he took. Time has also shown him to be right about the Zilar and their goals.”

  “I must also agree,” Philocrates said. “Master Mage Sopholus has done nothing wrong other than to protect the people of this vasíleio.”

  There was a moment’s pause before another strong voice called out. “My opinion is already known,” Carenos said. “I have seen nothing new to change my mind. Master Mage Alexio Sopholus is guiltless of these charges.”

  There was another member of the Mage Council present. He was a mage I did not know. He stood passively and said nothing. It did not matter. Pentheus needed at least three votes to have a majority and maybe as many as four to convict me of the charges. He did not have them.