Tristan quietly looked around the table. The War of Attrition is indeed aeons old, he realized. And after all this time, things are about to change radically. Vespasian will be the catalyst of this seismic shift in the craft, and it falls to me to try to stop him.
“There can be but one way that you are so well informed,” Wigg suggested. After taking another sip of umake he set the cup back on the table, then placed his hands into opposite robe sleeves.
“You’ve placed a spy in their midst, haven’t you?” he asked. “Given the quality of your information, this must be a person of some importance in Rustannica. And brave, too, considering the heinous things we have heard about the place. You have my compliments. Inserting a spy into the upper reaches of the Rustannican power elite was surely no easy feat. I suspect that doing so took a very long time, and that this asset is of immense value to you.”
“You are correct,” Haru replied. “Her name is Julia Idaeus. Not only is she the reigning Femiculi, she is also a member of the League of Whispers. The League is a secret society in Rustannica made up entirely of Shashidan mystics who feign loyalty to the empire and adopt Rustannican names. Unknown to thePon Q’tar, two of the Priory’s many Sisters are League members. After gaining the post of Femiculi, Julia was able to influence thePon Q’tar into unknowingly accepting another League woman into the sisterhood. Her name is Agrippina Sertorius.”
“How did the League come about?” Tyranny asked.
“During the early days of the war, the Borderlands did not exist, and it was far easier to enter Rustannica than now,” Midori answered. “We asked for volunteers of right-leaning endowed blood to go and live in Rustannica with the understanding that they could never return home. Tens of thousands of loyal Shashidan men and women offered to join the newly forming League. The selection process was rigorous. So as to constantly disguise his or her blood, each volunteer had to be an expert mystic. In the end, more than two thousand were chosen.” Renjiro took another sip of umake and looked around the table.
“After being trained in certain specialized gifts, they were secretly inserted into Rustannica by way of azure portals,” he added. “To avoid being seen, they were sent to sparsely populated areas, then told to make their way to the cities and begin Rustannican lives. Because they had endowed blood and large sums of gold were transported with them, they soon became well-respected krithians. This part of the ruse was needed because only krithians can rise to positions of power in Rustannica. Most are acquainted with at least some of their fellow League members. If not, they can identify one another by way of whispered code phrases that have remained largely unchanged for aeons. Despite their wealth and status, their lives are difficult, and they live in constant fear of being found out. Each member carries a death forestallment in his or her blood that allows for instantaneous suicide without need of a physical weapon. We could not grant them time enchantments for fear of drawing undue attention their way. To avoid the adulteration of their right-leaning blood and to maintain the survival of the League, they can only marry other League members. Finding a mate is often difficult, but they manage. To help in that regard, many marriages are secretly arranged at childhood.”
“Do you mean to say that the League members now living in Rustannica were all born there?” Tristan asked. “They must have been, because so much time has passed. It would also follow that your spies are many generations removed from the people you first sent there, and that those first League members are long dead, and that your current spies have never seen home.”
“That’s right,” Mashiro answered. “When children of right-leaning blood are born to two League members, they are raised by them. On reaching a responsible age they are secretly taught our customs and beliefs as well as those of Rustannica. In this way it was hoped that some of them might reach stations of prominence in the Rustannican hierarchy. Because League children are born there, their Rustannican heritage is not questioned, and there is no limit to how high they might rise. Long ago one League member rose to the rank of Heretic, but he was unknowingly killed in battle by our troops.”
“But now there is Julia Idaeus, the Priory Femiculi,” Renjiro said. “Julia rose from humble beginnings and never took a husband or lover so that she might keep her virginity and apply for Priory membership. To our delight she was accepted, then worked hard and sacrificed much to become the reigning Femiculi. She is the first and only League member to become a voting member of the Suffragat, and her loyalty to Shashida is unshakable. Vespasian unwittingly made a great mistake when he ordered that Julia be a member of the committee responsible for devising the war plan. Julia is not only conversant with the entire scheme, but she also travels with the legions to perform the auspiciums. Because of her membership in the Suffragat, she must be informed of any changes to the battle plan. She communes with us when she can to supply us with vital information. She is also the lone Suffragat member to whom the citizens may come bearing their supplications. As such, she is well informed regarding the mood of the Rustannican citizenry. I daresay that she is more in touch with the common people than is Gracchus or Vespasian, which is yet another advantage to her position. We cannot overemphasize her importance to our cause.”
“What are the ‘auspiciums’?” Wigg asked.
“The auspiciums are yet another of thePon Q’tar ’s carefully crafted fabrications,” a male voice said from across the table.
Tristan looked at theInkai who had been introduced as Jomei of the House of Water Lilies. Like Mashiro, he wore a drooping white mustache, and battle scars crisscrossed his aged face like lines drawn on a wrinkled old war map. His long white hair was pulled behind his head and secured with the traditional gold ornament. Embroidered white lilies adorned his white silk robe. Like Faegan’s eyes, Jomei’s seemed to burrow straight into Tristan’s.
“The auspicium is a ritual during which a host of white birds is released into the air by the reigning Femiculi,” Jomei added. “For propaganda purposes, this is usually done in full view of the populace, and always in view of the Suffragat. It is supposedly a sign of impending good or bad fortune and is performed before an important event. The direction in which the birds fly supposedly indicates whether the venture will succeed. As you might guess, Gracchus uses the craft to influence the birds’ direction of flight and thus help manipulate popular opinion.”
“And Julia understands that the rituals of the azure flame and the auspiciums are clever frauds?” Tristan asked.
“Yes,” Jomei answered, “but thePon Q’tar doesn’t realize that she knows. In many ways Julia’s existence is a great contradiction. She spent her entire life trying to acquire and hold a position that she knows is meaningless, yet it is that same meaninglessness that allows her to serve the highest calling of her right-leaning blood.”
“When will she next commune with you?” Wigg asked.
“When she has important information and can safely do so,” Kaemon answered. “Because of her dangerous situation, the timing must always be hers. Her survival requires that she perform the most delicate of balancing acts-that is, deciding when her information is of enough value to risk performing a communion. It took aeons for a League of Whispers member to rise to such a lofty station as reigning Femiculi, and we can’t afford to lose her.”
“You mentioned that Vespasian might not know that his blood holds the banned forestallments,” Tristan said to Mashiro. “What leads you to that theory?”
“Julia informs us that the emperor has been behaving strangely,” Mashiro answered. “During a recent coliseum spectacle he was taken ill and had to leave. As far as we know, Vespasian has never been sick a day in his life. The banned gifts in his blood might be adversely affecting him. His recent episode is not proof of our theory, but Julia is watching him closely, and she will report any other aberrant behavior that she sees. The other reason is that he made no mention of the banned forestallments when he proposed this unprecedented campaign to the Suffragat. Had he known, he would lik
ely have assured the Suffragat of his willingness to use every power at his disposal. Moreover, one of thePon Q’tar- Gracchus, most likely-would surely have demanded it. This is not Vespasian’s first command. He has led other strikes into Shashida, some of them quite successful. Admittedly, not one of them was the size or scope of this latest one. But if he had known about his gifts during previous campaigns, he would have surely used them.”
“Are you saying that thePon Q’tar might have imbued these forestallments into his blood without telling him?” Tyranny asked. “Why would they do that?”
“You must never underestimate thePon Q’tar ’s legendary paranoia,” Hoshi answered. “Their marked tendencies toward suspicion and distrust-even of others who share their blood lean-were one of the prime causes of the War of Attrition. Although Vespasian is the ultimate product of their depravity, that doesn’t mean that they trust him. Despite the emperor’s supreme command of the Vagaries, the banned spells are so powerful and tempting that if he knew about them, even he might be unable to resist their use. Doing so without the supervision of thePon Q’tar could be disastrous, even to them. Or perhaps Vespasian’s blood or psyche wasn’t mature enough until now to survive the forestallments’ use and so thePon Q’tar did not tell him. It stands to reason that the forestallments were granted to him while he was too young to remember, or while he was in a suppressed mental state induced by thePon Q’tar, or both. With the maturation of his blood, these banned forestallments might be calling out to his mind, begging to be used. This could be the reason for his recent episode and why the empress seemed so eager to rush him away. Now that the Rustannican treasury is at the breaking point, had Vespasian not suggested this campaign, thePon Q’tar would surely have proposed something very much like it. In a way, he played right into their hands. ThePon Q’tar ’s ultimate weapon is ready for use, and his name is Vespasian Augustus.”
“If that’s true, then why don’t they influence Vespasian to use his gifts straightaway?” Wigg asked.
“For thePon Q’tar, one need stands far above the rest,” Kaemon answered. “If Vespasian uses the banned spells first, our gold supplies might be scattered to oblivion. Remember, the research in banned spells that thePon Q’tar has presumably carried out since the Borderlands Treaty likely remains untested. If so, even they cannot fully know what the results might be. Despite their other goals, thePon Q’tar needs our gold to maintain order at home. The gold simply must be secured and sent back to Rustannica before Shashida is decimated. Even thePon Q’tar can’t risk national bankruptcy.”
“But there is a more compelling reason why we believe that Vespasian’s blood carries these special gifts,” Hoshi said. “For research purposes, we once asked for a Shashidan volunteer of highly endowed blood into whom we might impart our own environmental spells. We had no intent to unleash them, but a host was needed to continue our studies. The results were much like what Julia sees in Vespasian, but far worse because of the volunteer’s less powerful blood.”
“What happened to him?” Tristan asked.
Hoshi’s face took on a sad look. “He succumbed to crippling mental terrors and died soon after,” she answered softly. “But he lived long enough for us to recognize the same signs in Vespasian, should Julia report them.”
“There remains another reason why we must believe that Vespasian carries these banned spells in his blood and that thePon Q’tar will soon unleash him on us,” Mashiro said quietly.
“And what is that?” Wigg asked.
“It’s too dangerous not to,” the worried elder answered softly.
For several moments no one spoke. Tristan looked out through the colonnaded far wall into the lush gardens to see that night was approaching. There was still much to learn, he realized. But one supreme mystery still haunted him. It was the same one that had burned in his soul since first discovering the Caves of the Paragon and learning that his and Shailiha’s blood and destiny were special. He was theJin’Sai, but even now he didn’t fully understand what that meant, or who he really was.
“Miriam tried to tell me something just before she died,” he said to Mashiro, “but she never finished the sentence. She said: ‘Your parents weren’t…,’ and then she passed. Can you tell me what she meant?”
“Perhaps,” Mashiro answered. “But it would only be an old man’s guess.”
“Tell me,” Tristan asked.
“Had she lived, Miriam would have probably said that your parents weren’tselected. ”
“Selected?” Tristan asked.
“It has to do with why your and Vespasian’s blood is so special,” Hoshi answered. “The appearance of your supreme blood quality was a very rare but also a natural occurrence. Vespasian’s, however, was engineered by the Heretics and thePon Q’tar. ”
“What do you mean?” Wigg asked.
“Like the Consuls of the Redoubt who serve your Conclave, the Rustannican Heretics serve thePon Q’tar, ” Hoshi said. “Many are legionary officers, second in power only to the eighty tribunes. But others of them once followed another, darker purpose. For aeons it was their task to examine the blood signatures of all newborn endowed Rustannican infants. They searched for one specific female blood signature and one male signature. Many centuries ago they found the female, and they kidnapped her. When she reached her prime childbearing years, she was granted the time enchantment so that she would grow no older. She was imprisoned in luxurious surroundings in Ellistium and zealously guarded by thePon Q’tar as they waited for the needed male signature holder to be found. Fifty Seasons of New Life ago, that male child finally came to light. Thirty years later he reached his sexual peak, then he and the woman were forced to mate under the watchful eyes of thePon Q’tar until she conceived. The result was Vespasian Augustus I. He was taken from his parents and suckled by numerous veiled wet nurses so that no maternal or parental attachments would form in his psyche. From the day of his birth, his only ‘parents’ and mentors have been thePon Q’tar. ”
Tristan shook his head. “It’s monstrous,” he breathed. “Are you saying that he has no knowledge of his true past?”
“Precisely,” Jomei answered. “But there is more to this twisted tale. Immediately after Vespasian was born, his mother and father were again locked away in separate prisons. We surmise that they remain alive. Vespasian is unaware of their existence. He and Persephone believe that Vespasian was an orphan, raised and trained by thePon Q’tar out of the ‘goodness’ of their hearts.”
“I can understand why thePon Q’tar wants Vespasian to believe that his parents are dead,” Tyranny mused. “It helps to ensure his loyalty. But why does thePon Q’tar keep Vespasian’s parents alive? Surely their continued existence represents a threat to thePon Q’tar ’s credibility should Vespasian somehow learn the truth. His rage over how they have been treated might be incalculable.”
“Can’t you guess?” Wigg asked the privateer.
“They want to be able to bring another child of Vespasian’s blood into the world, should their first creation fail them,” Tristan breathed. He shot a questioning look at Mashiro.
“That’s it, isn’t it?” he asked. “That’s also what you meant when you said that to save both sides of the craft, Rustannica and thePon Q’tar must first be totally defeated. If Vespasian is killed and thePon Q’tar live, they can do the same monstrous thing again.”
“Yes,” Midori said. “The thirty or so years needed to bring another such abomination to manhood or womanhood is but a blink of an eye in the maze that is the craft. All that thePon Q’tar wants from Vespasian is for him to use his potent blood to help take our gold and then summon the banned forestallments that will reduce Shashida to ashes. To them he is simply a tool of war-a means to an end and nothing more. Persephone was betrothed to him in an arranged marriage in hopes of keeping him from pursuing and impregnating other women. They even went so far as to cast spells over the empress, making it impossible for her to conceive. They add credibility to their supposed com
passion for her plight by giving her useless potions said to enhance her fertility. She is told that the worthless concoctions might help, but in truth thePon Q’tar doesn’t want Vespasian to father children. Being a father would create a needless distraction from his ceaseless training in the craft and might produced an unwanted reluctance in him to risk his life for their cause. When he has served their purposes, they might well kill him. Some sort of terrible accident, no doubt, that can be explained away to a grieving populace. He remains too great a threat to their power for him to live into old age.”
“Who are Vespasian’s parents?” Tyranny asked. “Where did they come from?”
“The girl was found in a peasant village in the Rustannican highlands,” Midori answered. “The boy came from a well-placed krithian family in Ellistium. To maintain secrecy the children’s families were killed by elite legionary assassins, and the murders were blamed on thieves and cutthroats who were never ‘caught.’”
“How can you know all this?” Tristan asked Mashiro. “Julia is too young to have told you these things.”
“Do you remember my saying that one of the League members rose to the rank of Heretic but that he was killed in battle?” Mashiro answered.
Tristan nodded.
“That man found the boy child who would later become Vespasian’s father,” Mashiro answered. “He was also one of the few Heretics who were granted full knowledge and participation in thePon Q’tar ’s plan. Part of his duties included guarding the imprisoned woman who became Vespasian’s mother. As a reward he was granted the time enchantment, and he lived for centuries. Being forced to participate in that travesty for so long nearly drove him to madness, but he persisted and was able to commune with us often. By then Julia had risen to the station of Priory Sister, and she and the League ‘Heretic’ knew each other. It was she who told us of his death, a terrible blow to our cause. Vespasian’s parents still lived at the time of our rebel Heretic’s death. But we have no way of knowing whether that is still the case, for even Julia has not been made privy to that information. Even so, keeping them alive would seem to be in thePon Q’tar ’s best interests, would it not?”
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