Rex Regis

by Jr. L. E. Modesitt

  The officers seated around the long oblong table rose.

  Quaeryt could see that two places had been left vacant, the one at the head of the conference table, and the seat adjoining it at the left side. Deucalon stood at the first chair on the right side.

  “As you were,” said Bhayar. “Please be seated.”

  Quaeryt only knew a handful of the commanders and subcommanders by both face and name, including Subcommander Ernyld, who had been Deucalon’s chief of staff from before the battles at Ferravyl. Quaeryt was intrigued to see Pulaskyr, because he’d thought Pulaskyr would have been with Myskyl at Rivages. The only other commander he recognized by both name and face was Dafaul. There were only two other subcommanders besides Ernyld present. That did not surprise Quaeryt because the majority of regiments headed by subcommanders had been assigned to Skarpa’s Southern Army. Quaeryt assumed the others were with Northern Army, and that suggested that the commanders present had not wished to brave winter in northern Bovaria, and that Deucalon had accommodated them.

  Quaeryt took the vacant seat and waited.

  Bhayar did not sit, but waited a moment before beginning. “I had you all summoned because Commander Quaeryt has returned with some news that I find … momentous, if unexpected. I’ve asked him to provide a short factual summary of events that led to the situation he will present.” Bhayar nodded to Quaeryt and seated himself.

  Quaeryt rose and stepped back from the table just slightly. “The news is simple enough. Lord Bhayar is now ruler of Antiago, and the High Council of Khel is considering terms presented to them from Lord Bhayar.” He waited for several moments to let the import sink in before continuing.

  “The mission assigned to Southern Army was to obtain the allegiance of the High Holders of southern Bovaria and to assure that the Autarch Aliaro did not continue hostilities against the lands held by Lord Bhayar. Lady Vaelora and I were dispatched to accompany Southern Army and then to depart from Ephra to present terms to the High Council of Khel, which has been reconstituted in a form similar to that which ruled Khel before the attacks and depredations of Rex Kharst…” From there Quaeryt gave a summary of the events that occurred, following Bhayar’s instructions to limit himself to the military events and the results. He concluded by saying, “Once we rebuilt the piers at Kephria and created a working trooper compound, we set out on the return to Variana.”

  Quaeryt then turned to Bhayar.

  Bhayar merely nodded.

  “Might the commander answer a few questions?” asked Deucalon.

  “I’m sure the commander can answer a few questions,” replied Bhayar. “So long as they deal with the matters at hand.”

  “Did you not consider sending a dispatch rider to inform Lord Bhayar more quickly?” asked Deucalon.

  “I did. Lady Vaelora and I considered it. We decided against it because we had determined to take the shorter route up the Phraan River. If we had sent a dispatch rider, because we have no dispatch stations established, the only place he would have been able to be assured of remounts would have been in Laaryn, and that route is much longer. If we had sent enough riders to assure his safety, he would not have arrived much sooner, if as soon as we did. Once we were close enough to assure that safety we did in fact send a dispatch rider.”

  “Surely … Bovaria is not that dangerous. There are no armies or marauding armsmen roaming the land.”

  “Marshal,” Quaeryt said firmly but quietly, projecting absolute assurance, “once one leaves the towpath of the Great Canal, the roads range from passable to abysmal. On the way to Ephra we repaired roads as we could. One of our tasks on the return, and one which took little time, was to use imagers to repair bridges and the causeway on the stretch of road from Eluthyn to Daaren. That will speed travel considerably in the future.”

  “But surely…”

  “I believe the commander has answered your question, Marshal,” said Bhayar quietly. “Are there other questions?”

  “Success is often best not questioned, Commander, especially in war,” said Pulaskyr, “but could you say why you or Submarshal Skarpa felt you had a chance of defeating the Antiagons?”

  “After seeing the pattern of Antiagon tactics, and noting how poorly defended Kephria was, and also seeing how much Aliaro relied on the Bovarian holders of the south to defend his northern borders, it appeared likely that Antiago was ruled by fear of the Autarch and that fear was reinforced by cruel and absolute punishment of those who disobeyed. In addition, Antiago is thinly populated in many areas. There are only three major cities, or four if one counts Westisle as separate from Liantiago, and the Autarch maintained a large fleet. It appeared unlikely that he had that many armsmen and troopers. And we had already destroyed a regiment or more of his troops on the advance up the Aluse to Variana. Because Aliaro had attacked us a number of times already and had given sanctuary to rebel High Holders, Lady Vaelora, Submarshal Skarpa, and I decided that it was best to take the risk and attack when Aliaro did not expect it.”

  Pulaskyr nodded.

  Another commander cleared his throat. “Did you not think the prerogative of declaring war belonged to Lord Bhayar?”

  “In the documents which named Lady Vaelora and me envoys, there is a section which empowered us to take action against any powers or forces either rebelling against the rule of Lord Bhayar or hostile to and threatening his lands. After all that the Autarch did, I don’t believe we exceeded the authority he granted.”

  Deucalon glanced at Bhayar.

  Bhayar smiled. “If I cannot trust my sister and the commander who has been most devoted and most successful, who can I trust?”

  Commander Dafaul asked, “Did you consider the use of force against Khel, rather than against Antiago? After all, by setting up this High Council, Khel is technically in rebellion against Lord Bhayar?”

  Quaeryt knew from where that question had come—Deucalon, no doubt. He nodded. “Your question assumes that Rex Kharst actually held Khel. In fact, he held five port cities and not much more, except Khelgror, and that only briefly. More to the point, Bovarian traders largely held those cities. Once it became clear that Kharst had died and his armies had been destroyed, the Bovarian forces in Khel either fled or were killed piecemeal. That included the Bovarian traders. The toll on Khel was so high that only one in three of those who lived there before the Red Death and Kharst’s invasion are still alive. Nonetheless, there were no Bovarian forces alive anywhere when we landed in Kherseilles. I did not have Southern Army at my beck and call, but one regiment, without mounts, and to make an attack on Khel would have taken at least a year, even with Southern Army. Khel represents no immediate threat. If Lord Bhayar orders an attack on Khel, then I will follow his orders, but the instructions he provided were to persuade the High Council of Khel to consider his terms. They are doing so. If they reject them, then Lord Bhayar will decide as to what shall be done.”

  The remaining questions were far more factual.

  “What range of arms and weapons did the Antiagons use?”

  “How did you escape the effects of Antiagon Fire?”

  “Do you know how much of the Antiagon fleet remains?”

  A half a glass passed before Bhayar rose. “I think we have tried the commander’s patience enough for now. I’m going to have dinner with him and my sister.”

  As he left the conference room with Bhayar, Quaeryt still wondered about Pulaskyr’s presence in Variana. The commander’s question had been designed to allow Quaeryt to provide an answer before a more slanted question could be asked, and precluded a nastier attack in the guise of a question.

  Still … that didn’t address Quaeryt’s concern. Was Myskyl planning something and didn’t want a senior commander as competent and loyal as Pulaskyr around? Had Pulaskyr been left in Variana because he knew Myskyl too well from their years together in Tilbor? Both? Neither?

  Quaeryt had no idea, except Pulaskyr’s presence worried him.

  16

  Dinner with Bhayar
on Vendrei evening was actually pleasant. Bhayar asked very few questions about their efforts, and the remainder of the evening was more than satisfactory, including the luxury of sleeping in a very good bed on clean and soft linens. Even so, Quaeryt woke up concerned, although he didn’t say much about it to Vaelora until after they had finished breakfast, brought to them and served in the sitting room.

  “I’m worried.”

  “Now? You certainly weren’t worried last night, dearest.”

  Quaeryt flushed. “You take my mind off worries.” He swallowed a last sip of tea. “There were too many pointed questions at the briefing yesterday. Deucalon’s usually not that confrontational, unless he’s been prompted by Myskyl, and Myskyl’s hundreds of milles upriver right now.”

  “I imagine they’re all angry,” said Vaelora.

  “Why? Because we were successful, and they didn’t want us to be?”

  “In a way. They wanted Bhayar to settle down and rule Bovaria, pacify it quickly, and then hand out high holdings to the senior officers … and lands to some of the others. Now they can see that occupying and pacifying three lands is likely going to keep them from what they view as their just rewards.”

  Quaeryt nodded slowly. “I should have thought of that. Only the officers who came from Tilbor have any real understanding of what it takes to establish a new ruler. Some of them are likely tired of fighting, much as they understand, while the ones from old Telaryn thought that they’d win battles, defeat Kharst, and immediately be rewarded.”

  “That can’t happen yet.”

  Quaeryt could see that … and more. “If he hands out holdings now, they’ll think they’re being shuffled off … or that they won’t get the best ones?”

  “They don’t know which ones are the best ones.”

  “We don’t, either,” Quaeryt pointed out. “That makes it chancy. And it’s too early for that. But there are a number of high holdings without holders whose heirs won’t be inheriting … except those are the ones that need work.”

  “They don’t want that. They want to step into a spacious hold house…”

  Quaeryt shook his head in disgust. “They want spoils.”

  Vaelora nodded.

  “Not all of them, I’d think.”

  “Most of them. The difference is that the ones who’ve been with you and Skarpa are likely to be more patient.”

  Quaeryt was still thinking over what Vaelora had said when he arrived at Bhayar’s study just before eighth glass.

  The lord of three lands was pacing back and forth between the writing desk and the conference table. He looked up and gestured brusquely to the table, then walked over and seated himself even before Quaeryt had closed the study door and taken three steps. Quaeryt walked to the table and seated himself.

  Bhayar looked at Quaeryt. “You’ve conquered almost all of Lydar for me. That’s a Namer’s gift. How in the Nameless’s sake am I supposed to rule it without maintaining all these armies for years? They’ll bankrupt me—if another senior officer like Rescalyn doesn’t get ideas first.”

  “I didn’t do it alone. Skarpa, Vaelora, and the imager undercaptains were all necessary.”

  “That may be, but the problem remains. And if I hand out high holdings right now, everything will fall apart. That’s if I even knew what high holdings are available.”

  Quaeryt smiled. “That’s your answer. For a bit, anyway. You need to discover which holdings lost their holders, which have heirs, which don’t, and which merit being seized for the acts of their holders. If you don’t have that information, how can you be fair?”

  “They don’t want fair…”

  “Of course not. But you can point out to Deucalon that if you aren’t reasonably fair, everyone is going to think all the other commanders got better holds. You also need to reward both accomplishment and seniority, and you can’t do that without some evaluation. It will still be haphazard. There’s no way we can find out everything quickly, not with the destruction of most of the tariff records.”

  “I’ve mentioned most of that. Deucalon understands, and he’s not in any hurry to stop being marshal.”

  Quaeryt understood what Bhayar wasn’t saying.

  “Now…” Bhayar squared himself at the small conference table. “What are your plans for me to deal with the imagers?”

  “First, you declare that, over time, the imagers will be constituted into a permanent Collegium here in Variana in order to provide both a safe haven for imagers and to assure that their talents serve the rex and all the people of Lydar.”

  Bhayar nodded. “I did promise that.”

  “Second, you assign the Eleventh and Nineteenth Regiments to the maître of the Collegium permanently … and the Pharsi battalion under Calkoran—”

  “What?”

  “… and then you send messages to all the High Holders, all your regional governors, including the Khellan High Council, and make it known to all factors that the code of laws you are issuing will be followed and that, in the future, dealing with any civil transgressions will transition from the armies of Telaryn to the regional governors you will appoint, who will be supported by the Collegium of imagers and its forces, and as a last resort by your armies. Then you offer some warm words about how you know that the High Holders would prefer to keep their lands and privileges and how you hope that they will act wisely and thus retain those privileges—unlike the High Holders of southern Bovaria who lost everything.…”

  Bhayar’s mouth remained open, as if he could not believe what he heard.

  “You did ask, didn’t you?”

  “That’s preposterous.”

  “Is it? Do you want a huge standing army that you have to pay? You just told me that you can’t afford that. Without something like the Collegium, you won’t have honest regional governors, and you’ll have to have regional governors to hold all of Lydar together. You’re going to have to build a navy before long to protect all the traders … or you won’t have many traders who will trade with other lands, and the traders from other lands will reap the benefits. You can probably take over the remaining Antiagon warships … if you pay the crews and captains … but I wouldn’t make Nykaal your sea marshal.”

  “Next you’ll be telling me that whatever child you and Vaelora have will be my heir.”

  Quaeryt shook his head. “That can’t be. It would destroy everything you’ve built. Imagers can only survive if they’re seen to serve—honestly, reliably, and without any hint of personal greed. It would be best if you never talk about what the imagers have done … except to carry out your wishes.”

  “Why would I do this?” asked Bhayar, a definite edge in his voice.

  “For one thing, except for two or three of them, every single imager remaining with me has the ability to bring down Chateau Regis, if not more. The only way that you can rule the kind of land you want to rule is with the help of the imagers. But if they’re powerful enough to do that, the only way High Holders will feel safe from them is if they’re clearly under control. Putting them in a few places across Lydar will emphasize that control. The imagers will only stay there if they feel they have a place safe from the fears and whims of those in power. You control me, as well you know. We will work to make sure that the Collegium is always a tool of the rex. Call the Collegium glue. The High Holders always want too much. The factors will always be too greedy. The crafters distrust anyone of wealth and power. A ruler cannot maintain a kingdom just by force, unless that force supports laws that are just. Sooner or later, those in power will realize that the imagers cannot be everywhere and do everything—they can only combat the worst offenses against the law and the rex. But if the laws are just—and great offenses are punished fairly—I have to believe that will allow the land to knit into one great unity.”

  “What else?” Bhayar asked dryly.

  “You need to change the name of your land … I’d suggest Solidar, to express the idea of a unified Lydar—without directly saying so. Variana should also
have a new name, one fitting for the capital of Solidar.”

  “Why don’t you just rule instead of me?”

  “I told you. Because it won’t work. I saw how weak Antiago was because of the way imagers were used. They expressed Aliaro’s will, not a rule of law. Besides … there will never be enough imagers. I wouldn’t be surprised if, right now, I have a twentieth of all the living imagers in all of Solidar.”

  “I haven’t agreed on that name, let alone anything else.” Bhayar did not snap, but his voice betrayed exasperation.

  “No … you haven’t. And I agree that you shouldn’t … not until you’re convinced that either I’m right, or that I’m wrong and you have a better plan. You asked me for my views and plans. I’ve told you. You’re the ruler.”

  “You’re the most powerful force in all Lydar … and you say I’m the ruler? I’m not exactly dense, Quaeryt.”

  “No, you’re not. Let me ask you this. Why are the imagers so powerful?”

  “Because of what you all can do.” Again, Bhayar’s voice took on an exasperated tone.

  “Vaelora told you what happened in Liantiago. You saw what happened here in Variana and what happened in Ferravyl. Just how long would any of us imagers survive—after those battles—without your support? You can disband the imagers. Just let them return to their homes and families … or remove them quietly over time. Then Vaelora and I will be essentially your prisoners, living on your sufferance.”

  “You’re exaggerating.”

  “Am I? Can I remain awake every glass of every day and night? Into what tower would I have to barricade myself to be able to sleep? Every imager living outside the Collegium would face that. Most of the imagers alive today are either schoolboys or younger or not much older, recluses or those hiding their abilities, or those with powerful protectors. What makes the imagers powerful is being able to protect each other. But even in the Collegium, they would be vulnerable. They have wives, and some have children. Some could not protect themselves for long.”