“Wait. Is this why you had to leave the church?” I asked with a sudden insight.
“How perceptive of you. Yes, this is exactly why I had to leave the church. You see, I love a good story. And rumors of the church’s secret libraries became a bit of an obsession of mine while I was studying to become a healer and working in the brewery. Unfortunately for me, I was persistent and found a way into these libraries. I tried to cover my tracks, but, the walls have ears and eyes they say. So when it was discovered I had been trespassing in these libraries, I had to beat a hasty retreat.”
“Oh… Why fear these old stories?” I asked.
“Fear is the wrong word, kid. But there is something you have to understand. Knowledge is power. While, yes, that is a bit of a cliché, it is also absolutely true. If you control knowledge, you can shape the thoughts of the people who learn it. It’s not enough to tell people to believe something, you need to indoctrinate them into it. So when you control all the schools, all the libraries and the like, you can raise kids believing your version of history. Your version of facts. You can make yourself the hero after the fact and in a few generations no one will be the wiser.”
“I don’t get it. Isn’t that fear?” I asked.
“No, it’s not fear. The church controls the military and local police. But it is a lot easier when people follow you because they believe your stories. If you can write a compelling enough history and make everyone believe it, the populace will believe you have the right to run the country and will accept your rule. That frees up a lot of resources for other projects.”
“Oh I see, so if you make yourself the hero, and everyone believes you, you get to actually be the hero and run things.” I said.
“Exactly. True power comes from when the people believe you have the right to rule. They will follow you willingly instead of under threat. This also helps keep people from fomenting rebellion.”
“Huh… I have never heard that before.”
“You are going to find that a great many things depend on your perception of them. And one of the greatest lenses through which we view the world is our perception of history and how we believe we came to be in the positions we are now.”
“So, the church controls us through controlling our understanding of history?” I asked.
“Partly. The other half of the equation is still force. But it is largely unnecessary since most people have accepted the church’s view of the world,” he said.
“I see. So when did they gain this control? You said there were wizards running things back before the Holy Empire?” I asked.
“Yes, as I was saying, the church became dominant politically in the growing cities as more and more pilgrims came up from the south and settled. This started to disrupt the power structure that existed at the time. This would not have been an issue, if there hadn’t been a large crop failure around this time.”
“How does a crop failure lead to revolution?” I asked.
“Well, when the crops failed, the cities had to rely on their emergency stores. This also meant that the tithes the cities sent on to the mages shrank precipitously. When the mages dropped by the cities with their armies to demand their share of the goods, the church refused to starve its people to feed the mages and this brought on war.”
“But, that doesn’t sound evil. In fact, stopping people from starving sounds like a fairly noble thing.” I said.
“It is and it was. Another thing to realize about life is that the world doesn’t fall neatly into ‘good’ and ‘evil’ like it does in stories. The church really did stand up for the populace, and the mages really did fight a war over resources knowing that some would starve as a result.”
“But the church won in the end?” I asked.
“Yes, but it was not a sure thing by any means. The first communities to rebel were crushed and their food stores raided. The bigger cities took longer. They were put under siege and their fields were raided. Some cities capitulated and others fought the good fight. Still, the situation was looking dire that winter before the first true high priest took charge of the defenses. He pulled the faithful back to the three western cities and used the time that earned him to organize a real army to defend the cities instead of the militia and levies that they had been relying on.”
“Sounds like a smart move.” I replied.
“It was quite controversial at the time. He abandoned Nordshire and Sudchester to the mages’ armies so that he could more effectively defend the center of his power. The result was that mountains that separate the eastern and western halves of the empire became an unofficial line demarking where the mages’ power ended and the church’s began,” Said Ross.
“Wait, I thought there were mages controlling all the towns.” I said.
“They were, but in the face of the church’s followers flooding into the west, they retreated to the East to regroup,” said Ross.
“Oh, so when the church regrouped, so did the mages?” I asked.
“Yes, it likely seemed like a good idea at the time. Create an army to match the might of the church and plan a spring campaign. But the problem was, while the church was managed by the first high priest, the mages were still a bunch of recluses not used to sharing power with each other. So while the church was consolidating power, infighting among the mages is believed to have foiled some of their plans. So when they finally did cross the mountains to begin the war, it was not as one large army, but as two smaller ones. Still, the tactic was effective. They were able to lay siege to Tannerton and Caer Tanis in the north and Dunesburg and Caer Oceanus in the south,” Said Ross.
“So what did the church do?” I asked.
“Well, because the keep of Caer Oceanus was much better defended, the high priest decided to march his troops north for a fast strike on the besieging army around Caer Tanis and Tannerton. With the defenders behind the walls of Caer Tannis, the high priest was able to attack the supply lines, baggage train and pin the besiegers against the wall where the defenders could rain arrows and destruction upon their enemies.”
“Wait, why was Caer Oceanus better defended than Caer Tanis?” I asked.
“Because it is the southernmost point of the empire, it has always received the lion’s share of the trade. Trade creates tax revenues and tax revenues buy big thick walls and quality troops,” Ross responded.
“Makes sense I guess. There is no such trade to the north?” I asked.
“Not as much, no. It’s a lot easier to grow and make things in the temperate southern climates than it is in the northern taigas. So the southern population is much larger,” said Ross.
“Ok, so what happened to the northern army?”
“Well, between the walls and the attacking army, the mages beat a hasty retreat. But don’t let this make you think it was a complete victory. As the army was retreating, the mages running the northern army stayed with the rear of their army, using deadly magics to defend their retreat. So instead of a rout, it was an orderly withdrawal that inflicted heavy losses on the church’s army. Reports from that era are sketchy but it is said that lightning was falling from the sky amidst the army of the faithful and divisions that came too close had fire hurled at them.”
“If the mages were that powerful, why did they lose?” I asked.
“Magic is like anything else, Tyr. Its use is exhausting to the user. Obviously, these mages were very skilled, but even they did not have unlimited stores of power. That is why they needed armies to fight their battles in the first place. That they took such a risk in showing themselves at all shows you what a desperate state they were in.”
“Wait, why would using your best troops show how desperate you are? Wouldn’t you want them in the front at all times to maximize your chances of winning?” I asked.
“Tyr, real war is not fought with generals and princes leading charges against impossible odds. They aren’t fought with the nobility on the front line either. That only happens in storybooks. In real life, generals and princ
es lead from strongly defended positions, not from the thick of battle. And the mages were the generals in the army. They were leading the army, not part of its troops.”
“Wait, so it wasn’t an army of mages? It was just a regular old army lead by mages?” I asked.
“Yes, sorry, I should have made that more obvious. You see, there were never so many mages that they could defeat an army by themselves. They, like every other ruler, relied on their subjects for the bulk of their power. That they themselves could level buildings and wreak havoc no doubt helped them keep people in line, but there were never enough of them to fill even a regiment, let alone a whole army,” said Ross.
“And that’s why when they joined the fight it was a sign that they were losing. Interesting.” I replied.
“Exactly. They came forward to keep their army from splintering and to keep their troops from breaking formation and running,” said Ross.
“Why would running be so bad? Seems like that is the best way to get out of danger,” I said.
“It might be best way for the individual to escape, but not an army. If an army breaks and runs, its opponents will chase it and kill as many people as it can. This is called a rout, and a rout will result in massive casualties to the routed army.” Said Ross.
“Oh,” I said.
“You get the idea. So the mages’ army retreated back towards the mountains. Once the army was far enough away from the city, the high priest fortified the city and its defenses, helped it reopen its supply lines and then also started a march south. This time his aim was to first resupply at Neucester and Caer Dogmatorum and then head south to liberate Oceanus.”
“Did anyone follow the retreating army to make sure it wouldn’t just turn around and head back?”
“Well, it took a few days for the high priest to make sure the city was safe and then the march south took quite some time too. So they would have seen the army coming back. What they did not see was that the retreating army headed south and joined with the army besieging Dunesburg. This was a costly mistake. Had they dogged the retreating army’s steps, they could have prevented what happened at Dunesburg.”
“I can only guess… It got sacked?” I asked.
“Yes. While the church’s army was regrouping and marching south, the swelled ranks of the army besieging Caer Oceanus and Dunesburg sacked the city. Fortunately, the defenders were able to hold at the keep. But when the church’s army finally got there, the town was a smoldering husk.”
“Ouch, sounds like quite a mistake,” I said.
“It was. Not only did they lose the city, but the ruins gave the army of mages a defensible position and cover from the church’s archers. So instead of events unfolding like they did in the north, the south became a battle of attrition with the high priest besieging the army that was besieging Caer Oceanus,” said Ross.
“So what ended up breaking the siege?”
“The same thing that history teaches us breaks almost every siege. Hunger and lack of fresh water. The mages’ army was pinned down and thus they had to rely on the food they had looted from the city and what they brought with them. As spring ran into summer the food started running out in the mages’ army. During this time, the high priest had built a veritable fortress of his own overlooking the town. Moreover, with the army of mages pinned down, Neucester and Tannerton were able to supply the church’s army. So really, it was only a manner of time. The high priest could wait out the besieging army.”
“But what about the defenders in the city? Hadn’t they already been under siege a lot longer?” I asked.
“This is true, but part of making a castle that can withstand a siege is having enough food squirrelled away to feed your defenders. Advancing armies, on the other hand, have to either source their food locally or carry it. This isn’t a problem if they control the area, but the high priest had them pinned down. So they were stuck.”
“So essentially, the besieging army was itself besieged and had no store of food.” I said.
“Pretty much,” said Ross. “And I bet you can guess what happened next?”
“The mages decided to break the siege?”
“Exactly. When their food was almost gone, the mages led their army into a surprise attack on the picket lines of the high priest’s army. In order to break through the lines of the high priest, the mages themselves were in the vanguard. They lead with fire and lightning strikes and sowed panic in the ranks of the church’s army. It looked like the army was going to break and the mages escape. That was, until the high priest himself came down from his command post. According to church doctrine, and even the heretical histories, he prayed to god and god responded by giving him the ability to counter the mages’ magic. Upon reaching the front lines, he sat down and prayed, and where he did, the fire, ice and lightning of the mages could not reach his army. And in this way, the power of the mages was finally broken and their armies vanquished.”
“So the mages were killed?” I asked.
“Officially yes. When the mages tired and their spells started failing, the high priest’s army charged the ruined city and vanquished the power of the mages forever. Unofficially, the army of the mages scattered. While the high priest could defend his center, the flanks were weak and the army of the mages fled in all directions when the priest’s army charged. Regardless, that was the end of the mages’ power. The armies of the high priest regrouped and then pushed west to the western mountains. All of what we now call the Holy Empire of Pandanu fell under the power of the church, and the church has been rooting out magic from the populace ever since.”
“Interesting, but what does all this have to do with me?” I asked.
“Where do you think all the mages went?” Asked Ross.
“Uh, didn’t you say that the church routed them and has been purging them from society?”
“OK, let me try another tack,” said Ross. “What do you think the church does with the people with magic potential it rounds up?”
“Uh, I’m not sure honestly. Kill them?”
“That’s the impression they try to give the citizens of the empire. But that’s not what actually happens, or at least, not all of them are killed. People with magical talent are given a choice, to serve the church or die. Since few want to die, they usually choose serving the church.”
“Was that in the book you were reading?” I asked.
“No, I know that last part because those were the options I was given,” said Ross.
“Oh wait! You were training to be a priest weren’t you?” I asked.
“Yes I was,” said Ross. “And that is how I know about your headaches. As I child I had them as well. I also had the uncanny ability to heal from injuries. The end result was that after I recovered from an injury that should have killed me, the inquisitors were called in and I was enlisted in the clergy.”
“Enlisted?” I asked.
“I was given the choice to either serve the church to make up for the sin of being born with magical talent, or die,” said Ross. “And obviously I’m still around and kicking.”
“How did you end up learning healing?” I asked.
“Usually, you get reported to the church for doing something unnatural. What that unusual act is hints at areas you have natural talents. In my case, since I healed better than those around me, the church assumed correctly that my talents ran in that direction. So, after some basic training in how to control my powers and some additional testing of my abilities, I was assigned to the medical branch of the seminary for further training,” said Ross.
“That makes sense. But again, what does this have to do with me?”
“Do I have to spell it out for you kid? You have magical talent. Your headaches, the fencing dummy, the inquisitors’ interest in you, they all are signs that you have magical talent.”
At this point I was a little dumbfounded. It’s hard to know how to respond to something like that. You would think your response would either be enthusiasm or a horrified denial
. Enthusiasm at having special power not available to others, horror because, like every other citizen of the empire, you were brought up fearing the power of the supernatural. But the reality was I just sat there with a stupid expression on my face staring at him with incredulity.
“You don’t believe me do you?...” Said Ross.
“Uh… I’m not really sure what to think. It would explain why the inquisitors were after me. But if I had magical talent, you would think I would just have used magic to do away with the inquisitors instead of being captured by them,” I said.
“Can you do a handstand?” Asked Ross.
“What?”
“Well, can you?”
01 - The Price of Talent Page 10
