The Lesser Devil

by Christopher Ruocchio

  Crispin drank, and the two men stood awhile without speaking. Presently, Crispin said, “I wish none of this had happened.”

  “We don’t get to make that choice,” the priest replied, taking a sip of the whiskey in his turn. “We certainly don’t get to unmake it. The best we can do is try to live in the Imitation of Christ.”

  “I don’t know what that means,” Crispin said for what felt like the hundredth time. He had grown tired of these villagers’ strange faith. Or perhaps he had just grown tired.

  Laurent laughed a little, and Crispin thought it was a strange sound to hear on a day like that day: low and rough, but not without music. “Say rather the best we can do is try and do what’s right. You’ve looked enough; your captain’s family will thank you for it.”

  “They’ll curse me for it,” Crispin said, thinking again of the unlit candles before the icon of Fury in the Chantry sanctum. He hoped they would stay unlighted.

  “That, too,” Laurent agreed. They were quiet then for another long moment. Then the priest asked, “Would you like me to pray for her?”

  For a moment, Crispin thought the man meant to pray for Lyra Orin-Natali, whose face seemed to float in the darkness behind his eyes, as if the night air had crept in one ear and would not drain away. Then he remembered they were speaking of Kyra. “Do what you like,” he said, not knowing which woman he answered for.

  “Would you like to pray with me?”

  A laugh escaped through Crispin’s nose, “Trying to win converts, priest?”

  “I’m not trying to do anything,” Laurent said shortly, slipping the flask back into a pocket of his robes. “It was good of you to offer what you did to Jean-Louis.”

  Crispin found he could not look at the old centurion. Swallowing, he nodded stiffly, “Proud fool.” He did not want to talk about Jean-Louis at the moment. The man’s rejection still stung him.

  “He is a young man,” the priest said. “All young men are fools. It’s what makes them brave.” He spurned a loose stone with his toe. “But he is a fool all the same. I told him so.” He grinned, and Crispin thought again that he could see a specter of the rough centurion in the priest’s grandfatherly manner. “He’ll take your offer.”

  “What?” Crispin straightened a little in surprise.

  “Assuming, of course, that it is still on offer?” The old man cocked an eyebrow and unscrewed his flask once again. “I told him that whatever he was afraid of mattered far less than the gift you offered. That he could do a lot of good at court.”

  Lord Marlowe hunched his shoulders, “He was afraid his religion would spell trouble for him, for his children.”

  “That may be his cross to bear,” Laurent answered. “Be we Catholics have borne that cross for more than twenty thousand years. Christ Himself was crucified for His teachings. But we have survived Nero and Diocletian, Khalid and Saladin, Marx and the Mericanii. We’ll survive.” Crispin had no notion who any of those people might have been—save the Mericanii, of course—but he did not ask. After a moment, Laurent continued, “Jean is young. He isn’t even married yet. And fear is … not a good reason not to do something. Still, it was well made. Your offer.”

  Crispin found he could not look at the old centurion. Swallowing, he nodded stiffly, “He saved my life. I owe him a debt for that, and being palatine I will repaid that debt the only way I know how.”

  “I’ve known more palatines in my day who would have done nothing for the boy,” Laurent said, “I’ve known few enough like you. What you did for us … turning yourself over to those mercenaries. We won’t forget it.”

  Lord Marlowe shook his head, “I was saving my sister.” He looked round at last and saw Laurent was smiling. They both knew Sabine had been safe in the rectory-station. After an awkward pause, Crispin said, “It’s what my brother would have done if he were here.” Having said the words out loud, he was suddenly not so sure that they were true. “Or … I think it’s what he would have liked to do. Hadrian always saw himself as some sort of … I don’t know … fairy-tale knight?”

  “He sounds amusing,” Laurent said. Was that scorn in the old soldier’s tones?

  “He was,” Crispin agreed, but with old fondness instead of dislike. “You know, I always wanted to be like him. When I was a boy. He was always better than me. A better student, a better fighter, a better everything. He could be an ass …” He laughed a little. “But I loved him—love him, I suppose. I don’t think he’s dead. But it did always seem like I was in his shadow, you know?”

  “I do,” Laurent said, “but shadows shrink in time.”

  Acknowledgements

  Like each of us who tries to self-publish a book, I had no idea what I was doing. I could not have accomplished this without the help of several people, and would like to take a moment to do so now.

  Firstly, to Dr. & Mrs. Giallo, for their hospitality in allowing me to stay with them in California in the summer of 2018, where I wrote most of this lite novel. To D.J. Butler, Ronnie Virdi, & L.J. Hachmeister, for giving me the idea to try and self-publish this first side story (of many, I hope) on the side and for giving me pointers on how to go about doing this. To Erin for the copyediting, typesetting, and for putting up with my antics. To Victoria, for beta reading (as always), and to my uncle, Peter, for the cover art and design.

  Thank you as well to Fr. Brendon and my Catholic friends online for indirectly inspiring me to visit the strange adorators who live in the mountains above Meidua, and for inspiring a few inside jokes in this lite novel that I hope will amuse them to read as much as they amused me to write.

  With special thanks also to Worldcon 2018 for being the sort of convention that inspired me to stay at my hosts’ home until early afternoon. Never have I completed a project so quickly.

  Thank you all.

  And last—as always—thank you to my wife, Jenna, for everything. Love you, dear.

  Dramatis Personae

  House Marlowe of Delos

  The Sword, Our Orator!

  First elevated from patrician standing in the mid-Eighth Millennium by Duke Tiberius Ormund, House Marlowe has ruled Meidua Prefecture, Delos for thirty-one generations. Prior to that, the Marlowes were military patricians, officers in the Orionid Legions with blood harking back to Avalon and the Kingdom of Windsor-in-Exile. Julian Marlowe was Strategos of the 117th Legion of Orion, and proved instrumental in the defense of Duke Tiberius’ claim to the throne of Delos in the Second Aurigan War, for which he was elevated to the pala- tine caste and accorded the demesne of Meidua, then a fishing village of no consequence on a scrap of rocky upland. It was only later that the region’s uranium deposits were discovered, and House Marlowe’s wealth grew.

  Lord Hadrian’s grandfather, the Archon Lord Timon, was assassinated in ISD 15861 by a homunculus concubine gifted him by Yuen Starcrafts, a starship manufacturer aligned with Delos’ Exsul houses. With the Vicereine away at Forum, young Alistair was thrust into the role of system Executor, and into war with the Exsul houses when they declared poine against the Houses Marlowe and Kephalos. They underestimated Lord Alistair, however, and were crushed at the Battle of Linon in ISD 15863.

  The Marlowe standard is a crimson devil rampant on a black field.

  LORD ALISTAIR DIOMEDES FRIEDRICH MARLOWE, Archon of Meidua Prefecture and Lord of Devil’s Rest, former Lord Executor of Delos System, the Butcher of Linon.

  — His wife, LADY LILIANA KEPHALOS-MARLOWE, a celebrated librettist and filmmaker.

  — Her mother, LADY ELMIRA GWENDOLYN KEPHALOS, Vicereine of Auriga Province, Duchess of Delos, and Archon of Artemia Prefecture.

  — Her daughter and heir, LADY AMALIA KEPHALOS, heir apparent to the Viceroyalty of Auriga and the Duchy of Delos.

  — Her other daughters, CIARAN, RHEA, ALIENOR, ELENA, and TALIA.

  — Their children:

  — HADRIAN ANAXANDER MARLOWE, the eldest. Vanished mysteriously thirty-four years ago.

  — CRISPIN ORESTES MARLOWE, heir apparent
to Meidua Prefecture and Devil’s Rest. Popular through his gladiatorial exploits, a notorious gambler and womanizer.

  — SABINE DORYSSA MARLOWE, the youngest.

  — His parents:

  — {LORD TIMON MARLOWE}, former Archon of Meidua, killed in a plot possibly orchestrated by House Orin as prelude to their rebellion.

  — {LADY FUCHSIA BELLGROVE-MARLOWE}, dead now some forty years.

  — His brother, {LORD LUCIAN MARLOWE}, killed in a shuttle crash.

  — His household and retainers:

  — SIR FELIX MARTYN, Castellan and Commander of the House Guard. Additionally the Master-at-Arms in charge of instructing the Marlowe children.

  — SIR ARDIAN TULLO, Commander of the house pilot corps.

  — TOR ALCUIN, scholiast and chief advisor.

  — TOR GIBSON, former tutor, exiled from Delos for conspiring in the disappearance of Hadrian Marlowe.

  — ABIATHA, an elderly Chantry priest.

  — KYRA, a captain in the house pilot corps.

  — Her lieutenant, TRACY.

  — LUDWIG, BRAX, EMER, ORED, RAZ, and VAN, all soldiers in the service of House Marlowe.

  — His ancestor, {LORD JULIAN MARLOWE}, awarded the demesne of Meidua Prefecture for services rendered to the now-defunct House Ormund. Began the construction of Devil’s Rest.

  Lexicon

  A Note on Translation

  Galstani, the language spoken in the age of Hadrian Marlowe and his brother, Crispin, is not English, but a distant descendant of English, mingled with other languages, primarily Hindi and German, and as such is altogether unrecognizable to those of us for whom Classical English is a first language. This account then is a translation into English of a story originally written in Galstani. There are several words included in the original that don’t translate well into English, such as the word nerosso, which I have decided to translate as armsman, though it contains shades of meaning and connotations not found in English. In translating such words, I have chosen words mostly from Ancient Greek and Latin, words which sound formal and arcane to the native English speaker, in order to best capture the antique-sounding nature of the language as a native Galstani speaker would hear them, even though Galstani sounds very much unlike either Greek or Latin. My goal in translating this story for you has been capture the feeling of the original.

  I’ve included several proper nouns as well: locations, religions, etc, as well as technical terms and bits of the ancient French still spoken by the Museum Catholic population settled in the Redtine Mountains on the planet Delos.

  Abbé

  The French word for a Catholic priest.

  adorator

  A member of any antique religious cult maintained by the Empire and tolerated by the Chantry.

  Almonhas

  An Imperial colony on the edge of the Sagittarius Arm, right on the Norman frontier.

  archon

  Lowest rank of the Imperial noble hierarchy, ruling over a planetary PREFECTURE. Either a posted or an inherited position.

  armsman

  An individual sworn to the personal service of a lord, lady, or member of a NOBILE (usually a PALATINE) house. Armsmen are usually—but not always—PATRICIANS.

  bit

  Steel coin used among the Imperial peasant classes. 144 bits equals 1 kaspum. Different printed denominations exist.

  Casla

  An Imperial colony in the NORMAN EXPANSE, formerly a freehold annexed by the SOLLAN EMPIRE.

  centurion

  A rank in the Imperial Legions, commands a century (100 men).

  chanter

  The average priest or priestess of the Chantry religion.

  Church

  A temple consecrated in the Museum Catholic tradition. Alternately, refers to the entire MUSEUM CATHOLIC CHURCH.

  Cid Arthurianism

  A syncretic religion combining aspects of Buddhism and Christianity, particularly the chivalric literature surrounding the stories of King Arthur. Originates from the planet Ganges.

  Cielcin

  Spacefaring alien species. Humanoid and carnivorous. The principle enemy of humankind during the CRUSADE.

  Classical English

  The ancient language of both the MERICANII and the early Imperial settlers on Avalon, still used by the SCHOLIASTS.

  Colosso

  A series of sporting events held in a coliseum involving professional gladiators, slave myrmidons, animals, races, and more.

  Crusade

  The Imperial war against the CIELCIN.

  Dark

  Space. In the Chantry religion, a place of desolation and torment.

  datasphere

  Any planetary data network. In the Empire, access is strictly restricted to the PATRICIAN and PALATINE caste.

  decurion

  A rank in the Imperial LEGIONS, commands a decade (10 troops).

  Delos

  Birthplace of Hadrian Marlowe and seat of the Duchy of House Kephalos in the Spur of Orion, a temperate world with wan sunlight, famed for its uranium deposits, which made it extremely wealthy.

  demesne

  An Imperial territory held by a PALATINE. May be passed on at the ruler’s discretion.

  drophid

  A massive, snake-like creature, feathered and scaled. Popular in coliseum matches and in the menageries of the nobility.

  Duke/Duchess

  A title in the Imperial palatine nobility. Rules a planetary DEMESNE. May be passed on through inheritance.

  Durantine Republic

  An interstellar republic of some three thousand worlds. Pays tribute to the Empire.

  Emperor

  The supreme ruler of the SOLLAN EMPIRE, considered a god and the reincarnation of his/her predecessor. Holds absolute power.

  energy lance

  A bladed spear with a high-energy laser built into the shaft. Used as formal weapons by guards, especially in the Imperium.

  Eolderman

  The elected head of a PLEBEIAN community. Typically seen in more rural regions on Imperial planets.

  ephebe

  A young man or woman between the ages of 11 and 21 standard years.

  executor

  An official appointed by a PALATINE lord tasked with the management of that lord’s estate and holdings in their absence.

  Extrasolarian

  Any of the barbarians living outside Imperial control, often possessing illegal praxis.

  foederatus/foederati

  A mercenary.

  Forum

  The capital of the SOLLAN EMPIRE. A gas giant with a breathable atmosphere in whose cloud belt are several flying palace cities that serve as the administrative hub of the Imperium.

  French

  An ancient language dating back to the Golden Age of Earth. Still spoken in certain insular communities, notably among the MUSEUM CATHOLICS.

  fugue

  The state of cryonic suspension induced to ensure humans and other living creatures survive the long journey between suns.

  Galstani

  The common language of the SOLLAN EMPIRE, descended from CLASSICAL ENGLISH, with heavy Hindi and Franco-Germanic influences.

  gladiator

  Professional fighting athlete in the COLOSSO.

  Golden Age

  The mythic epoch leading up to the Exodus, culminating in the Assumption of Earth and the colonization of the Solar System.

  golem

  A mechanical being fashioned in the shape of a man, containing no organic parts.

  High College

  Imperial political office tasked with reviewing PALATINE requests for children and with overseeing the pregnancies of same. Prevents mutations.

  highmatter

  A form of exotic matter produced by alchemists. Used to make the swords of Imperial KNIGHTS, which can cut almost anything.

  hightower

  An elevator for carrying cargo to and from orbit from the surface of a planet.

  Hinduism

  A polyt
heistic ADORATOR cult dating back to the Golden Age of Earth, practiced throughout the Empire in small communities and especially in the Demarchy of Tavros. Held by the scholiasts to be one of the principle influences on the design of the Chantry.

  holograph

  Any three-dimensional light image projected by scanning lasers. Used for entertainment, advertisement, communication, etc.

  Holy Terran Chantry

  State religion of the Empire. Functions as the judicial arm of the state, especially where the use of forbidden technology is involved.

  hoplite

  A shielded foot soldier, heavy infantry.

  Icon/Icona

  In the Chantry religion, a spirit or god embodying an ideal, virtue, or natural law, such as Fortitude, Evolution, or Time.

  Imperium

  See SOLLAN EMPIRE.

  Inquisition

  The judicial branch of the Imperial Chantry, primarily concerned with the use of illegal technologies.

  Inquisitor

  A Chantry official tasked with conducting judicial investigations and overseeing the torture of criminals.

  knight

  Sollan military honor conferred by the nobility for services rendered, usually includes a small fief. May carry HIGHMATTER weapons.

  Legions

  The military branch of the SOLLAN EMPIRE, loyal directly to the EMPEROR and Imperial house, comprising naval and ground forces.