him in the past. Balten had sent him into exile in Tindal, and there he had met and loved Leila, before she was slain by Ash’s servants. He could not help but feel that Balten’s plotting had somehow contributed to Leila’s death. ‘People may mean nothing to you, but we are not all as heartless and hollow as you. No victory can be worth such deaths. The innocent cannot be sacrificed. No goal is worth it if such losses must be made.’
‘Noble thoughts, Samuel, but nothing that has not been contemplated countless times before and thoughts that I’m sure you will learn to reconsider in the coming future; far wiser minds than yours have pondered these concepts and it’s pleasing that you have at least started to consider them, as misguided as yourconclusionsmay be. Most people are just sheep, Samuel-hollow meat too ignorant to cultivate anything approaching self-awareness, yet alone a soul. I see you don’t agree, but I’m sure we will be discussing this further at length. I know you have things to do, so I will leave you to enjoy the view. I’m sure I smelled some tobacco earlier on and I only hope I can convince the owner to part with some before I go mad.’
With that, Balten strode off, sniffing the air. Samuel was leftstanding on the parapet,his cheeks burning with anger,andthe chill mountain air did little to cool his blood. It was only a few moments laterthathe noticed the Koian ladiesmoving towards him, escorting their god-woman between them, as if she would fall over the moment they released her hands.
‘Our god wishes to speak with you,’ Lady Leaf announced.
‘With me?’ Samuel responded, still with his blood boiling. ‘I thought she did not speak to us mortals.’
‘Not usually but,given the fact you will be acting as our guardian in the coming battle, she wishes to bestow upon you her blessing,according to our customs.’
Samuel had to admit he was interested to hear what the Koian woman had to say to him. ‘Very well,’ he said.
The god-woman shifted her head to look at the attendants beside her, and they took it as a sign to retreat. They did so, releasing her billowing sleeves and bowing before moving away. Young Lady River followed the older two, trailing her gaze onto Samuel. He could not forget what River had said about her god, but he could not bring himself to believe that a single woman was somehow capable ofliterallyconsuming the entire crew of their ship.
‘I am grateful you have kept your word,’ the woman before him hissed. ‘I was not sure if Turians were an honourable people.’
‘I am not Turian. And please, do not speak to me in such a voice. I know you can speak properly.’
The god-woman was thoughtful and looked over her shoulders to see if the others were within earshot. ‘I can,’ she said softly, clearing her throat as if the act of speaking with her own voice pained her.
‘Why have you come here? What do you want in this land?’
She seemed taken aback. ‘I do not want anything, Magician,’ she said softly. ‘We told you why we have come. I must be protected until the time of my rebirth.’
Samuel glanced to the ladies behind, who were looking towards him with concern. He would not have long before they returned. ‘Maybe that is what you believe, but your companions keep secrets from us. That is not the way of those who come with honest intentions.’
‘It is true, Magician. We have kept secrets from you, but nothing that could harm you. They are only our own customs and mannerisms. We have no ill intentions at all. We are a peaceful people. We seek only refuge from the violence that has destroyed our home and to repay you for your kindness.’
‘Peaceful? Why would someone so peaceful come with warriors in their midst?’
‘Warriors? I do not know what you mean.’
‘Your men. They are trained killers and not the simple servants you make out.’
‘No,’ she said. ‘You are mistaken. They tend to me,that is all. They are my servants.’
‘If you believe that, it is you who are mistaken.’
He could see the ladies edging nearer from behind and,somehow, she sensed it,too,and stood stiffly, silently.
‘That is all,’ she said, again in her croaking voice and she turned about in a flurry of tassels as the ladies scurried in beside her. They whispered into her ear and Lady Leaf and River whisked her away, while Lady Wind stayed behindmomentarily.
‘You have been honoured, Magician,’ she stated, scrutinising him up and down, before turning and striding away, leaving Samuel shaking his head in frustration.
Sir Ferse was strutting along the parapet looking quite annoyed and, with the strange conversations he had already had, Samuel thought there was no reason why he should not see what it was that wasdisturbingthe man.
‘Come see this, Samuel,’ he said uponespying Samuel’s approach. His voice was full of urgency. When Samuel arrived at his side, Sir Ferse started gesturing over the wall, down to the lower levels of the fortress. ‘Do you see those men?’
Samuel peered over and noticed a group of the Ghant defenders. They appeared to be on guard, standing together side by side with their backs to the citadel wall.
‘Yes?’
‘What does it look like they are doing to you?’ Sir Ferse asked.
Samuel took another peek. ‘They seem to be doing what soldiers do. Standing around. Holding weapons. Are they on guard, perhaps?’
‘Near enough. Now look up there, and over there,’ and he gestured to other squads of men at different heights along the citadel, all seemingly doing normal soldierlythings. ‘These men should be thrown into the chasm for all they’re worth. Better yet, General Mar should be. These men have forgotten what the Turian Empire stands for! The Empire was founded on precision and preparation, efficiency and obedience. Look what has happened! This is intolerable!’ The man was really quite flustered.
‘Calm now, Sir Ferse. It doesn’t seem quite so bad to me. They really don’t look any different to the soldiers in Cintar.’
Ferse took a deep breath and seemed to calm himself. ‘Of course. What would a magician know,’ he said quite factually. ‘The legions of Turia nearly managed to conquer the entire continent on several occasions, but each time-’ and he sighed, ‘-we failed because of some tiny oversight. You would never believe the incredible complexity of managing an empire,of directing armies of men across vast distances. The logistics are inconceivable. And,with every extra man,the complexity grows twofold. If you have reliable commanders beneath you, it eases the burden, but such men are hard to find. There are just too many fools, or too manywhofall into laziness, without someone watching their backs. Take General Mar, for example. He has been guarding this pass for about twenty years now and I have never seen things in such a state.’
‘You have been here before, then?’
‘Many times over the years. The responsibilities of Turia had us marching to all corners of the Empire and beyond, making inspections and attending formal occasions. Ah, but it doesn’t matter now. It’s funny. Never in my entire life did I ever question what I was doing. Every moment of myexistencewas for the Empire, but now, it just seems so pointless, as if I was working so feverishly that I was blind to what was true in the world.’
‘I find that is a common occurrence with Turians, Sir Ferse.’ Immediately, he regretted the words that had slipped from his mouth, for Sir Ferse scowled at him. He then attempted to cover his mistake with some subtle flattery. ‘Oh, don’t misunderstand me. Turians are the most noble of people but,as a Marlen, I can see that sometimes there are other things to value in life above the Empire.’
Sir Ferse gave a slow nod and looked to the mountaintops across the chasm, where the wind was blowing up enormous spirals of mist from the peaks. ‘You are right, Magician. Again, that is something I would never have considered. Perhaps, that is why the Empress was so treasured by our late Emperor over all his other wives. She was not of Turian blood and did not blindly follow her husband’s words without at least arguing with him first. Do you know, in more years than anyone could remember, the Emperor had never heard the simple word“ no”? They say,the first time she said it to him, he flew into a rage and tore half the palace to shreds, but she stood firmly and would not be dissuaded. When the Emperor finally calmed down, he had the sense to realise that she had been right. Not one of the advisers or accountants or politicians of the courthadever had the spine to say what they really thought and it had created this shroud of ignorance around the Emperor-a miasma of misinformation. Still, he could not have learnt all his lessons that day, for the Emperor made many more mistakes after that.’
At that, Samuel almost choked and had to pound himself in the chest. To hear such a statement from a
