The Fractured Empire: Book Seven of the Disinherited Prince Series

by Guy Antibes

  “A force from Tishiko approaches from the north. You were right. How did you know?”

  Pol smiled. “The way the captured scout talked. I’m beginning to get a better feel for a misdirection uttered under a truth spell. Barian knew what to say, as well.”

  “Would you be able to lie?”

  Pol had to think. “I’m not sure that a truth spell would affect me. Mind-control spells don’t. I have no idea why, other than my Demron heritage.”

  ~

  The commanders converged as Val just finished drawing up a map.

  “Here is the southern force, and this is where the northern force is.”

  Pol could see they would arrive at the two battlefields almost a day apart.

  “Is this the best battlefield?” Pol asked.

  The Fanira nodded. “I’m sure you took Shira to see the bowl up ahead. If we could move the southern force that far we could bottle them up.”

  Pol saw that as a viable alternative, but then he started evaluating previous battles and his own understanding of the dynamics of the Shinkyans and thought it too risky.

  “What do you think, Val?”

  “I’d rather fight two battles. Both armies have traveled faster than we have, so we will not be as fatigued. I’m sure you can figure a way to confuse the northern force when they show up.”

  Pol agreed. “I think Val is right, but let’s harry the Southern army starting here.” Pol pointed to a spot a mile from the battleground. We run our archers out along here and begin to get them to bleed a bit before they arrive. We keep two armies on the other side of the hill separating this field and the bowl, to defend in case the Northern army significantly picks up the pace. That way we have three edges to bruise our opponents.”

  “You didn’t call them enemies,” Ako said.

  “Are they your enemies? I look at them as fellow countrymen. However, they will need some softening.”

  “We will parley with them when they reach the southern edge of the battlefield. We will engage immediately after they reject our offer to join us.”

  “What will you do if they accept?” Fanira said.

  “We will keep them out of the conflict with the Northern army. If the Southern army truly joins us, we muster out all the remaining Shinkyan troops and train on the march to the Empire,” Pol said, “after we march through the streets of Tishiko. We need to focus on the Southern army first. Let’s get the troops in order.”

  Pol had nothing to do for a few hours. He sat with Shira underneath a wall-less command tent on a hill above the battleground. Shira had tested the rune books and wrist bands of the leaders to make sure everyone could contact each other.

  “There is a message from Yastan,” Shira said, shuffling through her rune book. “It’s from Malden. Kell and Loa are happy parents of a baby girl. Akil took Deftnis, Zasosian, and Orkal soldiers through the north and defeated Duke Lawster, eliminating any eastern threat to Yastan. Those forces have joined up with Landon’s forces and are preparing to invade Daftine. The other southern Dukedom armies have assumed defensive positions from the southern edge of the Spines all the way to the sea. The Winnowers are bottled up.”

  Pol thought about the geography. “Could you send a message to Deftnis to make sure ships blockade the Daftine ports to keep any Winnowers from leaving Daftine to circumvent their defensive line?”

  “You don’t trust them?” Shira said.

  “We shouldn’t leave anything to chance,” Pol said. “I am thrilled for Kell.”

  “As am I for Loa,” Shira said, smiling.

  Pol thought of Daftine. “The Winnower strategy is still in play, but instead of three fronts, it looks like there will be one massive eastern front for the Winnowers. Now that the Empire isn’t so fractured, it’s time to fracture the Winnow Society.” Pol hoped he could get the Shinkyans to the field in time to help.

  His thoughts turned to the coming battle. He wished he knew how much he would have to bloody the Southern army before they surrendered. A parley had a better chance of succeeding on the Northern army. He ordered the harrying forces to leave immediately.

  Night had caught the Southern army before they had a chance to reach the battlefield. The harriers continued to pepper the entire breadth of the army. When units went out to stop the archers, Pol ordered a retreat, so the Southern units returned empty-handed.

  Pol moved up the main force to the enemy camp before dawn, not waiting for them to reach the battlefield. As the day dawned, Pol sat on Demeron facing the Southern army by himself. He wore his conical hat along with the Demeron disguise. The Great Ancestor would greet the Southern Army.

  A contingent of Southern officers approached Pol. All of them appeared to be women.

  “Are you ready to be defeated this morning?” the most ornately-dressed officer said.

  “I presume you speak for all the troops?” Pol said.

  “I do,” she said. “If you think you will talk us into surrender, you won’t succeed.”

  “Why is that?” Pol said. “I am the Great Ancestor and have already united much of Shinkya.”

  “You are Pol Cissert Pastelle, a pretender to the throne.”

  “I won’t sit on the Shinkyan throne,” Pol said. “That is not my destiny. A great army has arisen in the Empire. Once it defeats Yastan, it will set its sight on Shinkya. They have already converted the Imperial Ambassador and four Elders. They placed mind-control on the Queen. I removed it. She is not my enemy.”

  “But you are hers, and those are our orders.”

  Pol wondered. “What faction are you?”

  “Me?” The woman paused. “What does that have to do with it? I am a Lake.”

  Pol moved closer but did not touch his weapons. He tweaked the spell to eliminate mind-control over the officers in front of them. The general and two of the officers swooned in their saddles. “Mind-control. You should be able to remember how it happened.” Pol said. “I mean you no harm and would rather you join us.”

  The evil of the Winnow Society obviously still plagued the army. Pol wondered what would happen if the General was a Fearless. Did Elder Daruna place mind-control on officers?

  “What have you done to me?”

  Pol pursed his lips. “I have removed mind-control. Do you still hate the Great Ancestor?”

  “You?” the woman looked confused. “No, I don’t.”

  “Shall we talk with your officers?”

  Pol moved closer, shields up in case the Royal Guard planned something ugly.

  “What do you intend to do in Tishiko?” the Southern general said.

  “Ride through. Show the Queen that we aren’t out to depose her, but there will be conditions for us not doing that.”

  “What conditions?”

  “Let’s say the Queen’s wings will be clipped a bit.”

  The women looked at Pol, confused.

  “Ah, that is an Imperial term,” Pol said. “Her powers will be limited. The factions will have more say in the government, and that includes the Bureaucracy. They want to make some reforms.”

  “You want us to trade one tyrant for another?”

  Pol smiled. “Did you just call the Queen a tyrant?”

  The general colored and looked at her companions. “Ah, no.”

  “The major reform will be the loosening of the restrictions in regards to Shinkya’s relationship with the Empire. The Bureaucrats would like a treaty to become an ally of the Empire, not a member of it.”

  “What do we get in return?”

  “A number of things. Access to better methods of healing. We can fix young male magicians, so not all will die before they reach maturity.”

  “That’s an impossibility.”

  “Is it? I was nearly fifteen when cured. Do I look sickly to you?”

  “But you are the Great Ancestor.”

  Pol reverted to his normal features. “This is who I am, as close as anyone will ever get to being a Demron. Do you need a demonstration of my powers?” He
tweaked invisibility and materialized. “Is that good enough?”

  The woman worked her lips. “It is. We are not unfamiliar with you. We will talk for a bit.”

  “I’ll give you one hour before we attack. A Northern army approaches and I would rather not fight any other Shinkyans. Join me. If our forces unite, I want our magicians to circulate among you to remove any mind-control that might afflict your troops. We had a bit of a problem, but most of the Lake army has joined us.”

  The Southern General grunted. “We will take less than an hour.”

  Pol flipped through his rune books and checked for any updates while he sat on Demeron’s back. The Northern army had been spotted but would not arrive any sooner than midnight.

  He didn’t wait long.

  The officers dismounted, and Pol did the same. His shields were up.

  “We want a magical duel. Two of our Sisters against you.”

  “I’d be happy to oblige.”

  Pol felt pressure. He was sure they were trying to restrain him, but like mind-control, all their efforts resulted in a slight headache and nothing more. He tweaked a whirlwind around all of them. Dust billowed up and circled, creating a column of air inside. The officers looked terrified.

  He stopped the whirlwind and let the dust settle in the gentle breeze.

  “Did I pass? At least two of you are Sisters, and you tried to restrain me. My magic is at a different level than yours.”

  “Are you going to kill us?”

  “For what? I agreed to a duel. Did I win? What else do I need to show you?”

  They looked at each other. “We are convinced. You may send your Sisters over to examine our troops.”

  “I also want two of you to ride in an escort to the Queen’s Reserves coming from the North.” Pol wanted to meet that General, anyway.

  “We agree.”

  Pol wrote the message in the rune book. Val, Shira, and Ako would circulate through the Southern army with a detachment of Lake forces, since they were formerly the most hostile to Pol’s efforts.

  “What is that?”

  “This? I use it to communicate with my armies,” Pol said. “I write my message here, and it instantly appears on a linked page elsewhere.”

  “That gives you an advantage over us.”

  “It’s no longer you and us, but we,” Pol said as Shira, Val, and Ako arrived with a contingent of Lakes.

  They knew the Southern General. Pol let them reunite for a few minutes. “I will help get the mind-control erasure going, and then we can head north.”

  ~

  Pol was able to broadcast the tweak to eliminate mind-control farther than the rest. They did find a few hundred minds infected out of all the Southern troops. Pol rode with three Royal officers, accompanied by Shira in the role of a Princess, but explicitly not a usurper.

  Pol made sure the two armies he had set at the northern end of the battlefield followed them at a discreet distance.

  “One can never be sure,” he said when the Southern officers noticed the trailing dust cloud.

  They met the Northern army just before sunset.

  Pol let the Southern officers talk to the officer of the Queen’s Reserve, which made up the bulk of the Northern army. They returned with twelve officers.

  “You may erase their mind-control,” the Southern General said.

  Pol did so. The Northern General stayed firmly in her saddle, but four of the officers swooned as expected as the general twisted to see them helped from falling off their horses.

  “I see what you mean,” she said to the Southern officers. She turned to Pol and Shira. “I’ve seen you both before, but I’m sure you never noticed me,” the Northern general said. “My name is Nokima, General of the Queen’s Reserve Forces, and you are Pol Cissert Pastelle, the Great Ancestor of Shinkya.” She bowed her head to Shira. “Princess.”

  “As it happens, I am one of the few Fearless that survived Elder Furima’s purge of the army. You might have heard that I am indispensable, but I relinquish that title to you, Pol Cissert Pastelle, if my fellow Royal soldiers fail to be convinced. Queen Anira is very concerned. I am not. Even I can see the change in the Queen’s orders since you visited her in the Palace,” Nokima said. “High-ranking Elders died that same night. Isn’t that curious?”

  Pol grimaced. “They were all members of the Winnow Society, converted when a Winnower magician visited Tishiko.”

  “I knew them as traitors, but now that I know why, their deaths were even more appropriate. Your ambassador, Barian, was always a traitor to the Empire, but I suppose you know that.”

  “So does the Baccusol Emperor.”

  “Your stepfather?”

  Pol nodded. “May Shira and I stroll through your army? We will eliminate the mind-control spell as we review your troops.”

  “I look forward to it. Why don’t you remain here, and I will bring along refreshments. I don’t suppose you’ve eaten for some hours.”

  Pol nodded. “We have been on the road since midday.”

  They moved off the road and dismounted.

  Do you trust Nokima? Pol asked Demeron.

  She seems to be very competent. Self-assured. I have encountered her before. She was the Grand Master who wished me to return to Shinkya.

  “And you refused.” Pol laughed.

  “What? Refused?” Shira said.

  “I’m conversing with Demeron. General Nokima led a detachment to recapture Demeron and his Shinkyan herd. She was not successful.”

  Pol smiled when the General returned with soldiers carrying folding tables and chairs.

  “Demeron tells me you have met Amble, Princess Shira’s horse, and him before.”

  Nokima’s eyebrows went up. “He’s yours? I am rarely defeated, but your horse bested me in a negotiation I thought I was sure to win.”

  I don’t hold it against you. I hope you won’t, either. Pol heard Demeron’s voice.

  “I don’t.” Nokima smiled. “I am glad we are on the same side this time.”

  After a quick bite, Shira and Pol mounted and rode through the army’s ranks. Pol guessed five percent of the soldiers were controlled and a higher percentage of officers.

  Nokima had ridden behind them. “They were placed in my army ready to foment trouble at an inopportune time.”

  “Indeed. I am fully shielded, but I projected the tweak that eliminated the spell far ahead, so we wouldn’t have to deal with hostile acts,” Pol said. “Now, we will show you and your fellow Southern officers how we communicate.

  Pol grabbed a rune book out of his saddlebag while Shira did the same. He described how rune books worked and gave a demonstration, communicating to Val to get the armies moving northward.

  “What gave you the idea of converging on us from the north and the south?”

  Nokima glanced at the Southern general. “My Southern Sisters sent birds about their progress. I decided I would converge on you from the north and see what you would do. If you were hostile, we’d be fighting now.”

  “How did you decide we weren’t?” Shira asked.

  “Pol brought you along,” Nokima looked at the Southern army officers. “When I could see you weren’t coerced, I knew I had done the right thing.”

  “Want to know what happens next?” Pol said. “We will ride through the streets of Tishiko with Shira and me in front, riding all the way to the palace.”

  “A massive show of force.”

  “The Queen is likely to ignore it, but we will let the people of Tishiko know that we are off to ultimately save Shinkya. Shira’s mother will be unable to stop us. Do you think we will be able to attract more troops?”

  “Trained?” Nokima said. “You’ll have most of those at your disposal, but there will be Shinkyans who will follow as support troops. We will be penetrating into the Empire and will need all the help we can get.”

  Pol nodded. “I’m sure you understand what needs to be done. Now let us give you the details.

  ~~~
>
  Chapter Twenty-Two

  ~

  T he armies of Shinkya, now twenty-five thousand strong, entered Tishiko in a line over a mile long. More than ten thousand Shinkyans walked and rode behind with provisions as healers, cooks, and horse tenders. Pol gave orders to accept anyone willing to help as long as they understood they traveled into danger. Newly-trained Grand Masters disinfected every soldier from mind-control as they passed by.

  Pol had them enter Tishiko with their uniforms clean and in good repair. The factions drew lots for the marching order. Pol had the Queen’s reserves lead the way into the capital, and the rest of the Royal Army brought up the rear. Representatives of each faction rode behind Pol. General Nokima rode next to Shira and Pol. The next rank included faction generals, with Val and Ako riding directly behind Shira and Pol.

  It looked like every citizen of Tishiko came out to watch, and judging by their clothes, there were as many watching the parade after traveling from the countryside

  They filled the main thoroughfare leading to the Palace. Pol heard more cheers than cursing, although he did notice grumbling Shinkyans along the way. Not everyone accepted him, riding as the Great Ancestor, with his Demron face and his conical hat. He rode with his bare Demeron sword resting hilt first on his leg.

  They finally reached the Palace. The doors remained shut, but Pol looked up at fighting on the Palace walls. The gates creaked open. The pockets of conflicts stopped as Pol and the first part of the column rode into the Palace courtyard. The armies had instructions to set up camp north of the city. Pol told them they would not stay in Tishiko for long.

  Pol approached the steps to the Pagoda that held the throne. A woman rushed up and told them the Queen would greet them.

  They dismounted and stood in two rows at Pol’s request. He shielded them from an ambush, although anyone who did that would have to fight the Shinkyan army.

  A contingent of Elders walked through the soldiers to stand behind Pol. He counted eighteen. Pol wondered how many factions were represented.

  The talk went silent as a palanquin appeared between the Queen’s Pagoda and the Throne Pagoda. Pol noticed Lini walking just behind the Queen. Shira’s sister, Maruko, walked at her side.