Jhoqo spread his arms out wide and stepped back from Taennen. 'Please, don't do this. You have to know that I love you. You are my son,' the urir said. 'I do what's best for you.'
'Like you loved the men and women who have fallen here? Like you did what was best for Loraica? You killed her, didn't you?' Taennen asked.
Jhoqo frowned. 'No, of course not. She was my daughter.'
Taennen stepped back, wary of the man's blade. 'Your love cost Loraica her life.' Jhoqo said nothing. 'Who killed her? Whose blade?' 'Marlke. Marlke did it.'
'Then at least Loraica is avenged,' Taennen said. 'And your Bascou is dead.'
'I wish I could have seen you fight him. I've no doubt I would have been heartbright of your prowess,' Jhoqo said.
Taennen roared and charged the man, lashing out with his weapon, again to no avail. Jhoqo stepped to the side but did not return the attack.
'I love you. You are my son.'
Taennen kept his weapon ready but nodded and said, 'I do not doubt that you do, and I am grateful for the man you helped me become. The man who misses his murdered friend. The man who knows that what you've done is wrong.'
Jhoqo cocked his head to the side and asked, 'Then you intend to kill me yourself? Would Loraica want that?'
'I do not wish your death, but I understand its necessity now,' Taennen said.
A Chondathan man harried by two Maquar stumbled between Taennen and Jhoqo as they spoke. In a flash of brilliant green light, one of the Maquar turned to ash, his sword dropping to the ground with a rattle. The tower glowed and pulsed with the power that it poured down upon its enemies.
Jhoqo's eyes narrowed, ignorant of the interruption. 'Tell me why it must be that way.'
'Tell me why your former friends and soldiers are dying right now! Tell me why that cursed tower is slaughtering them!' Taennen said.
'It shouldn't be happening this way. They shouldn't be dying. But you have given me no choice, so I ask you the same question,' Jhoqo said.
Taennen scowled and said, 'We've been dying since we came here!'
Jhoqo nodded. 'A few deaths, to bring the rest together. Unity has always been my goal,' he said
'More than a few died!' Taennen said.
'It became clear to me that I could not sway as many of you as I had hoped. When Bascou's men came, I saw in the faces of our own soldiers that they would never see the light and truth. I knew then that more had to be done,' Jhoqo said. 'Fear inspires where loyalty cannot. Things needed to escalate.'
'Escalate? Listen to yourselfl You sound so… practical about it all,' Taennen said.
'It is for the glory and benefit of Estagund that I do what I do now! I had hoped you would understand too.'
'So you shut me out of your plans? You kept me in the dark to your true motivations? You killed my best friend? A soldier whom you loved?' Taennen asked. 'That does not sound hopeful to me. But now that I see your plan, I owe you thanks. Before we came here, I probably would have followed you blindly down whatever path you chose. But now I can see your depravity and save myself from your fate.'
Jhoqo stiffened his posture and said, 'You must choose your way as everyone must. The South does not seek unseeing dolts and, as its defender, neither do I. We abound in mindless followers as it is. I wanted you to choose. I wanted to tell you everything. I wanted your help in righting the wrongs. But you are making the wrong choice.'
'Then you've not presented me with one at all,' Taennen said as he began to circle his opponent.
Jhoqo answered the maneuver by moving as well, his head hanging low. 'No. You still have a choice and have had all along.'
'Did you give Loraica a choice?' Taennen asked.
'You see the injustices every day, but you choose to do nothing! I am a freedom fighter. I see the inequities and work to right them,' Jhoqo said, ignoring the question.
'Freedom fighter? Fighting for the wealthy merchants who pay you to make them more coin illegally?' Taennen said. 'For the chakas who can't see past their own purses?'
'For everyone!' Jhoqo shouted. 'For everyone, son. Philosophies are murky, messy things, impossible to interpret, but the Adama is very clear on one thing: All is one. Everything is connected. You believe that, I know you do.'
Taennen did not respond but lowered his khopesh, even as the screams of dying soldiers rolled in waves through the courtyard. More scorching rays from the tower rained down.
'That's all I'm fighting for. If our people are allowed to trade with Mulhorand, then they make more coin. They spend that coin at home where more of our people benefit from that spending. It comes full circle, elevating the wealth of the lesser merchants as they sell to the wealthier, thereby spreading the wealth. All around it, our people will be better for it,' Jhoqo said.
'Until they are crushed by the Mulhorandi's endless war,' Taennen replied. He lifted his khopesh and advanced. 'When you became a Maquar you swore to uphold the rajah's laws. What about those? You're breaking a law.'
Jhoqo retreated a little way.'An unjust law. A law that limits the freedoms of our people, a law that benefits no one other than those countries who are selling Mulhorand their goods without competition from us!' Jhoqo said.
'Sell to them. Sell them the shirt off your back, but not weapons with which they will spill more innocent blood,' Taennen said.
'For a man leading a rebellion against his commanding officer, you are clinging strongly to laws,' Jhoqo said.
Taennen paused a moment before responding, 'I don't care about the law anymore. I care about what's right. Profiting from blood and war is wrong. Stopping you from making that happen is right.'
'War is business, and it will happen with or without us. We should benefit from it!' Jhoqo said.
'You see benefit for our people measured by the coin in their pockets. I see the benefit of a clear conscience, a clean spirit, and bloodless hands, the benefit of other countries expanding their trade with us because of our morals and beliefs, the benefit of trusting our leaders.'
Jhoqo's face twisted, and he lunged forward. Taennen avoided his blade and stumbled back. He gained his feet in time to block another attack with his shield. His slash at Jhoqo's lower arm was likewise thwarted.
Taennen moved faster than he had ever moved before, but it was not enough. Jhoqo's blade sank into a gap in his armor near the bottom of his stomach. Taennen hopped back from the man's reach but ignored the wound.
'This place, this citadel, represents everything the South should be. It is strong, promotes community, and offers opportunity for both trade and security,' Jhoqo said.
'It was built on laws and trust and charged with maintaining them both. It does all those things you said, but it does them openly, not in the dark, behind closed doors, and not by the murder of innocents,' Taennen said.
The noise of battle around them was dwindling. The Maquar, Durpari, and formians outnumbered the Chondathans, and the two separate clashes had become one as the Chondathans converged near the front gate. They formed a tight defensive circle and held their enemies at bay. The dazzling lights from the tower stopped, and a cry of the mage manning the post was heard below as the man fell to his death in the courtyard.
'The tower is ours,' Taennen said.
Jhoqo growled and ran for Neversfall. Taennen's eyes locked with Adeenya's as she was finishing off an opponent. His eyes lingered a moment before he turned and gave chase to Jhoqo. He followed the man through the door and up the stairs, both of them leaping several steps at a time. His body ached and his muscles quivered with fatigue.
Taennen closed the gap between them to only a few steps as they were halfway up the staircase. He reached out with his curved khopesh, entangling Jhoqo's ankle. The older man fell forward, his face slamming into the edge of a step. Jhoqo rolled over quickly, his sword held aloft in defense. Taennen winced to see his mentor's face covered in blood, his nose askew. His stomach did not ache with remorse, but his heart filled with pity.
