by Guy Antibes
The conveyance stopped in front of Pol and Shira. Attendants helped Queen Anira stand. She had dressed up for the occasion.
“You dare to invade the Palace Grounds?” the Queen said.
“The doors opened, we entered,” Pol said. “I have brought the Shinkyan Army for your inspection.”
“Isn’t this a revolution? Aren’t I being displaced?”
“That can be arranged,” one of the faction generals muttered behind him.
Pol raised his hand. “No. However, we would like to set terms for a new Shinkya. One that includes you as Queen, should you wish to participate.”
“I’ll not have that woman rule Shinkya,” Anira said, pointing at Shira.
“You don’t have to worry, Mother. My place is in Redearth, in South Salvan.”
“Oh, you’ve already married?”
Pol shook his head. “When the war is over. Feel free to visit.”
“I thought you would return to Shinkya as the Emperor!” Anira said archly.
“I think the Great Ancestor is enough for Tishiko, don’t you?”
The Queen’s face looked sorrowful. “I don’t know of anyone else who would be so impudent as to do what you have done. The prophecy said you would return to save Shinkya. I thought it would be from me.”
“Adjustments will have to be made,” Pol said. He nodded to Lini, who joined them facing the Queen.
“The Bureaucracy is behind us, as are most of the factions. Not one has refused our offer.”
“Forced offer,” the Queen snorted. “Very well. I know defeat when I see it. Who will set these provisions to bind me?”
Lini stepped forward. “It is no surprise to you that I am a member of the Bureaucracy.”
“That is no secret, but I trusted you.” Anira’s composure crumbled just a bit.
“You still can. Work with me, through me, and the transition will go smoothly. You might even appreciate the outcome.”
“I have a choice?” she said.
“You have many choices, Mother,” Shira said. “It’s a negotiation, not a fixed set of demands.”
“Don’t lecture me, child.”
Pol raised his hand. “The more you resist, Queen Anira, the harder it will be for you. I don’t harbor the animosity that you have for me, but perhaps over time we might arrive at a truce.”
“You don’t demand that I kneel in front of the Great Ancestor?”
“Just be polite,” Pol said.
“Enough for now. Fight for Shinkya.” Queen Anira puffed up and projected her voice using a tweak. “Fight for Shinkya. If you feel it to Shinkya’s advantage, follow this man. If you don’t, ignore him.” She looked at Pol and Shira and said quietly, “I’ve done enough. You may spend the night at the Imperial Compound since you violently evicted the former Ambassador. I won’t accept anything other than a secure Shinkya.”
“Our goals coincide,” Pol said.
“Shira, you will spend the night in my pagoda. We have things to discuss with Lini among others.”
~
Pol found a bedroom to use other than Barian’s. Val did not have similar qualms and took their bedroom.
“We need to do some work,” General Nokima said. She had two bags and plopped them on the floor in the foyer. “I never did like this building.”
Shira’s sister, Maruko, joined them in the living room. “I know my mother as well as any,” she said. “She sent me here to outline her demands.”
“What about Shira?”
Maruko shivered. “She will be spending an uncomfortable night paying for her time away from the Queen.”
“She’s not in danger?”
“Not physical danger. I am sure Mother will do her best to make Shira feel guilty.”
“Shira isn’t quite the same person who left here. She will give as much as she gets.”
Maruko looked at Pol. “Really? What did she do in South Salvan?”
Pol smiled. “Ako, would you tell Maruko what Shira did?”
When Ako finished, General Nokima whistled. “I’d like to talk to Shira when she gets out.”
Pol smiled. “What demands does the Queen have?”
Maruko looked surprised. “Oh!” She pulled out a document and read it. “She maintains her title and authority over the Royal Compound. She will sit as the head of any council formed by the factions and Bureaucracy. She will not be stripped of her wealth. Her daughters will inherit her position in perpetuity.”
“Is that all?” Pol said.
Val glanced at Pol and nodded.
“It is excessive,” Pol said. “She will not head any council but will have the right to attend meetings. The right of succession lasts only as long as there are heirs, but they will include male heirs as well as female,” Pol said.
“Impossible,” Maruko said.
“The males must rank as a Grand Master or higher and have passed their twentieth birthday. Will that be acceptable?”
Maruko grunted. “So an empty promise?”
“If you say so. I am not the final say, but you can tell the Queen that I will support her demands as I have amended them to whatever council arises after the Winnower war is over.”
“You aren’t going to demand to rule Shinkya?” Maruko said. “The Queen said you’d rip these demands to shreds.”
“I’m not even going to be a member of any ruling council. My role has always been to save Shinkya, not to become king.”
General Nokima looked up from the couch. “You can be the King of Shinkya if you choose. The armies will support you.”
Pol shook his head. “All I am after are normal relations with the Empire. Free trade, cultural and intellectual exchanges, and peace on Eastril.”
Val clapped his hands. “Where is Hazett to hear this from your lips? You sound just like him.”
“I am related to the Emperor, sort of,” Pol said feeling his cheeks burn.
~
Shira looked tired when she walked into the throne room. She wasn’t among the line of Crown Princesses still wearing the silly makeup. Pol looked up at the shadows from a window and hoped the Shinkyan armies and the Bureaucracy were getting ready for the march north. Pol wore his conical hat, but he hoped the Demron disguise would never be used again. It had served its purpose.
The Queen sauntered in and sat on her throne while the talking in the vast throne room faded.
“We have reached an agreement with the Great Ancestor and his allies to establish a new order in Shinkya. The details are yet to be worked out. Two of our beloved Shinkyan institutions will remain in restricted forms. I will remain as Queen, but a few of my onerous duties will be delegated to the Bureaucracy. They will give up a measure of their power to a new Council of Factions. The Bureaucracy will remain unaligned with any faction and will have a seat on the new Council, as will I.”
The audience began to murmur a bit, but Pol could not detect any real opposition. The Queen raised her hand. “Details will be worked out when the Shinkyan armies return victorious from the Empire. We will be getting a new Baccusol Empire ambassador.” The Queen glared at Pol but continued. “Our relations with the Empire will become more open, and I am hopeful that having assisted the Imperials in South Salvan for the past four years and in this current endeavor that some of the superstitions regarding the Shinkyans will be dispelled.”
Pol could not resist a smile, and that earned him another glare. He felt that he had done all he could do, and surprisingly, Val agreed with a solemn nod.
“All factions will provide an Elder to start work on the new organization. All of the current Bureaucratic policies and procedures will remain in place. Wards are again permitted to protect the faction compounds. That is all.”
Everyone remained standing as the Queen retreated. Shira walked up to Pol.
“Wards at the faction compounds?”
“The Queen received visitors last night. There were more demands the factions made that Mother didn’t announce.”
Po
l put his arm around her. “You survived?”
She giggled. “I did because Mother was quite distracted. I’m glad we are done with this. Servants moved my things to the Imperial Compound, along with Amble. We can leave when we wish.”
He took Shira’s hand. “Did your mother say anything about our marriage?”
She smiled and nodded. “She will accept our union as long as she doesn’t have to attend a human ceremony.”
Pol looked into her eyes. “Will you attend a human ceremony?”
“Why not? I’m as human as you are.”
Pol caught the playfulness in her eyes. Pol was less human than others were, but that wasn’t an impediment. “When we have cast off the Winnowers.”
She squeezed his hand. “I’ve always liked the ‘we’ part.”
~
Malden, Ranno, and Hazett all responded over the rune book session that lasted most of the afternoon.
Valiso Gasibli is my acting Imperial Ambassador in Shinkya until I send a replacement, Hazett said. We need a person of unique skills during this time of possible unrest in the Shinkyan capital.
Val’s face darkened, but he nodded and wrote that he agreed to a term not more than one year. He looked at Pol. “Make sure you get this war over as quickly as possible,” he said. “I’m no politician.”
“But you are a master of manipulating patterns, and the Emperor will want to know how Shinkya’s pattern changes in the coming months,” Pol said.
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t do this or that I don’t see the need.”
“What do you want as a reward?”
Val snorted. “I’m not into rewards. Carve me out a little estate in Redearth. Perhaps, I’ll want a hideout in my irresponsible later years.”
“Consider it done,” Pol said.
Val put out his hand. “A handshake and a written promise.”
Pol thought Val joked, but he scribbled out an agreement that Val dictated. He certainly didn’t ask for much.
“Now,” Val said, exhaling, “I have a few demands of the Emperor as the new Imperial Ambassador.”
~~~
Chapter Twenty-Three
~
S hira looked back at Tishiko. They rode towards the front of the army. It had swelled to thirty-five thousand, including support troops. “Val didn’t seem to enjoy being left behind,” she said.
“He has the ability to keep the Queen from doing something stupid. The Scorpion Elder told me that she still had two thousand faction members training in arms in the countryside.”
“Those won’t be the only ones, but most of the soldiers are trained, and the support troops are doing what support troops do,” Pol said. “The biggest issue is how fast can we move?”
“Not very,” General Nokima said. “We should probably split up and travel in two or more groups.”
Pol had contemplated the same thing. “I’ll consult with Yastan first.”
He pulled out his rune book and began a conversation with Malden. It did not take long before General Biloben joined the conversation.
Pol turned to Nokima. “Are you willing to take orders from an Imperial general? I know him, and he is highly recommended. He has great tactical experience, but is a little light on battle time.”
“He is good?”
Pol nodded. “I vouch for him. He can travel faster than we can and will meet you before you get to Galistya. We will be the principal part of the Southern Army. I will go to South Salvan, and you will camp at the border of Shinkya and Finster until he meets with you. The Winnowers have just started to attack Boxall, so you have to be ready to fight from a fixed position.”
“I am on my own until then?”
Pol nodded. “Can you do that?”
She nodded. “I can and will. When will we split up?”
“Sometime tomorrow. We will take a pass into South Salvan. I have maps and can draw others if need be. You probably have Sisters who have traveled in the southern part of the Empire who can help you with sighting. They can also be trained to use rune books,” Pol said.
“I already have the ability to duplicate what you created.”
“I didn’t create them; I just modified them for our use.”
“Then lend me your attention while we ride.”
A few hours later, Pol’s wristband glowed. Fadden wrote from Redearth. The Winnowers had tried to penetrate Redearth but were repulsed. At the same time, the border north of Covial crumbled, and the Winnower Army was on the move towards Covial.
Pol’s stomach lurched. If Covial fell, South Salvan might not recover. He couldn’t let that happen, not when he had only been able to spend a few days at his manor. He felt like the Winnowers were snatching his future from him.
Pol and Shira’s attention turned to the defense of South Salvan. Shira took over discussing troop placement and strategies with Fadden. Redearth could withstand the Winnowers, but that left more to pour in from the eastern edge of the border.
“We will be splitting sooner rather than later?” General Nokima said.
Pol nodded. “Take this rune book after I introduce you to Malden Gastoria. He is second in command to the Emperor’s Instrument. The Instrument—”
Nokima stopped him with her raised a hand. “I was a Sister for five years in Galistya. I know who Ranno Wissingbel is, but not this Gastoria,” she said in very good Eastrilian.
“He was my first magic mentor,” Pol said. “These are the pages that link with Yastan. You can write Eastrilian, then. Malden’s Shinkyan is, uh, deficient.”
Nokima smiled. “We will be fine.”
They finished the day discussing how they would split their force. Two large armies gave the Empire the extra force that they desperately needed.
“Now, how do we split the lodestone?” Nokima finally asked.
“We will take a third. There is lodestone at Redearth. We’ve already been over how to use it.”
“At least twice,” the General said. “Get your army bedded down for a good night’s sleep and then head cross-country to the new pass. I think we will be traveling in the dark for a bit more.” Nokima put out her hand. “We will join up in North Salvan.”
“On our way to Borstall,” Pol said. “Good luck.”
“I’d say the same, but you seem very adept at making your own.” She rode on ahead while Pol, Shira, and Ako sought out the units that would accompany them into South Salvan.
~
The army camped at the base of the mountains leading to the pass. Pol sent out scouts in all directions with instructions to report their positions via rune book. Each scout carried a lodestone rock that could quickly erase all the wards. Pol did not want the enemy to know what they had done.
Ako’s armband lit up. “A scout,” she said. “There is a large force of one to two thousand at the Finster/North Salvan border.”
“Tell the scout to return to Shinkyan boundaries,” Pol said. “We haven’t rested or trained enough to fight.”
“But we outnumber them,” Fanira said.
She had taken Nokima’s place as the senior Shinkyan officer. The Fearless, Scorpion, Bureaucracy, Fox, and the Southern Royal army made up the backbone of Pol’s forces.
“They would like nothing better than for us to engage them, so they would know how many of us travel in this army,” Pol said. “That means more time for them to reach Covial and capture Queen Isa. As I see it, the race was to Covial, not to find Winnowers. The longer that force remains there, the fewer troops are available to fight in South Salvan.”
“I see. That is the pass that Nokima will use,” the Fanira said.
Pol nodded. “Let her handle it. We rest here for six hours, and then we go over the pass in the dark. It’s easy enough.”
Pol looked at the army. He permitted no fires. Wagons still came and went from the back of the long column, carrying supplies and returning empty except for those soldiers who could not make the march. Pol did not mind since units still arrived from other areas arou
nd Shinkya. Rune books were great for gathering up stragglers.
“How are you holding up?” Pol said to Demeron.
I hate going so slow. Why don’t you send a cavalry detachment to Redearth to prepare a place for the army to rest for a day?
Pol grinned. “A great idea. Once we get over the pass, we will do just that. We can take two hundred mounted soldiers with us.”
“Did Demeron say something?” Ako said.
“He suggested that we send an advance unit to Redearth and have a full rest day before moving much faster overland to Covial. General Fanira can lead the troops to Redearth. We have three commanders who have served there before. Shira, what do you think?”
“I think it’s a marvelous idea. Amble would like to move faster.”
“She’s not the only one,” Ako said.
An hour before midday, Pol led a contingent of two hundred thirty mounted Shinkyans down from the pass and onto the flatter soil of South Salvan. They let Demeron set the pace after consulting with the horses.
After resting regularly, the riders split into two groups, one faster than the other. Five Bureaucracy soldiers led the slower group, and Shira ended up leading the others to the manor once they reached the western edge of Redearth.
Fadden had met them before they reached the town close to Pol’s estate. “Where is your army?”
“Marching,” Pol said. “We came early to prepare for a one-day stop at the manor. I suppose the army should arrive by nightfall in two days.”
Fadden nodded. “General Axe will be very interested. We have everyone in the war room ready to bring you up-to-date.”
They rode up the avenue towards Pol’s mansion.
“How is your army holding up?” General Axe said.
“New units were joining us even when we were about to go over the pass. They more than replaced those who couldn’t stand the pace.”
He nodded. “How many will be able to fight?”
“Fifteen thousand, give or take.”
Axe shook his head. “The Emperor rarely fielded an army that size, and you split the Shinkyans in two.”
“They have twenty thousand,” Elder Harona said.
“How fast is the Winnower army moving on Covial?”
