leave Vanguard.'
Prince Midalis, whose own heart was equally tied to this wild and beautiful land, understood. 'You are called to serve, and there could be no better choice.'
'We do not know the outcome,' Agronguerre reminded him.
'But we do,' the Prince insisted. 'Your Church is not so foolish a body as to ignore the obvious. You will become the next father abbot in a month's time, and the world will be a brighter place because of it, though Vanguard will suffer without your wisdom.'
'Somehow, I think that Vanguard will survive,' the abbot remarked dryly. It was his turn to give a congratulatory pat on Midalis' shoulder.
It was true enough. Bruinhelde and the ranger had gone back to Alpinador, and the barbarian leader, though walking with an even more pronounced limp now, had left as a friend of Midalis, their bond forged in battle and in blood-brothering. It seemed obvious to all that the potential for true peace in Vanguard had never been greater. The way was open now for friendships among the people of the two countries, permission granted by respective leaders. A Vanguardsman who saw an Alpinadoran walking the southern roads could invite the man in for a meal and a bed without fear now, and an Alpinadoran who completed a successful hunt could now go south to find trade with the Vanguardsmen. Midalis and Bruinhelde had done all that up on that mountain, in the cave of the spirit shaggoth. They had become as brothers, bonded forever, and by extension, had bonded their kingdoms together.
Of course, the Prince continued to wonder with more than a little trepidation how his brother would receive these tidings, but it was a fear he easily suppressed. Vanguard was his responsibility-Danube had made that point all too clear by sending no help in their struggles against the demon's minions-and thus, it was his province to forge such necessary bonds. He still didn't understand the barbarians and their fierce culture, and didn't pretend that he did. But he did know, beyond doubt, that his beloved Vanguard was more secure, and that his people would live better lives because of the alliance.
'The world has changed much,' Agronguerre remarked.
'For the better,' Midalis replied.
'Perhaps,' said the man who would be father abbot. 'The passage of time will show us the truth. I wonder, though, need it take a war to bring about such change? Are we men creatures of habit, locked into routines and rituals that have long since lost their purpose, that have long since degenerated into worthlessness? '
'That is a proper question for any father abbot to ask,' said Midalis. ' That is the question of a visionary, of one not complacent with that which is but who seeks that which can be.'
' I remember well when Father Abbot Markwart burned Master Jojonah at the stake,' Abbot Agronguerre explained. 'The man's one crime was to disagree with that which was, to seek that which he thought could be.'
'You said that he allowed criminals into St.-Mere-Abelle.'
Agronguerre shrugged. 'Criminals?' he asked skeptically. 'The woman Jilseponie, who has since been declared a hero, who came with Nightbird to rescue the centaur, Bradwarden, one of those who battled and destroyed the demon dactyl.'
'Father Abbot Markwart could not have known that at the time of Master Jojonah's demise,' Midalis reasoned.
'Could not, or would not?' Abbot Agronguerre replied, and he gave a resigned sigh. 'I am not a visionary, I fear; and if they believed that I was, I would not now be considered for the position of father abbot.'
'Then you will show them the truth,' Midalis replied, but Agronguerre gave him a skeptical look, an expression that showed Midalis that the old monk wasn't certain of what that truth might be.
'You will follow your heart always,' the Prince insisted. 'You will do that which is best, not for you, but for your Church and for the world. That is my definition of a man of God, and the very best quality that anyone could ask in a father abbot.'
To those claims, Agronguerre had no response, nor any doubts. He smiled warmly at his friend-this young, but so wise, Prince-and gave the man a hug, then turned for the docks and walked the first steps of the most important journey of all his life.
Chapter 21
The mood was somber that Calember at St.-Mere-Abelle, where all the abbots and masters and many of the immaculate brothers had gathered for their second College of Abbots in recent years. That first College, wherein Markwart had declared Avelyn a heretic and had burned Avelyn's primary follower, Master Jojonah, at the stake, had been marked by excitement and action, with rousing speeches and grand rhetoric. But this one, though the times seemed more peaceful and the future in many ways more promising, was a quiet yet foreboding event. Two noteworthy absences-that of Abbess Delenia of St. Gwendolyn and that of Master Marcalo De'Unnero-had set the grim tone, especially when De'Unnero's messenger, a peasant, had arrived with the news of the tragedy at St. Gwendolyn.
Abbot Braumin and Master Viscenti spent their first hours at the great abbey enjoying a reunion with Brother Dellman, and it didn't take Dellman long to convince them that Abbot Agronguerre was indeed the best choice for the position of father abbot. Dellman spoke mostly of Agronguerre's easy temperament and of the man's handling of Bruinhelde and the other Alpinadorans.
'I have spent several months with the abbot,' Dellman finished, 'and I am certain that he was no lackey of Markwart. No, when Abbot Je'howith told you that Agronguerre was not pleased with the handling of Master Jojonah, he was speaking truthfully.'
Abbot Braumin looked at Viscenti, who was nodding enthusiastically. 'Abbot Agronguerre, then,' he remarked, 'and may God grant him the wisdom to lead us through these difficult days.' Abbot Braumin patted Dellman's shoulder, thanking him for a job well done, and then rose to leave-to confer with Master Francis and then with old Je'howith, who had only arrived an hour earlier, obviously exhausted. 'There is yet another matter we must discuss,' Brother Dellman remarked, his tone grave.
Abbot Braumin turned, studied the man for a moment, then took his seat.
Brother Dellman began this part of his report dramatically, throwing a bright red beret, a powrie's infamous bloody cap, 'on the table before his two companions. 'It concerns Duke Kalas,' he began.
As expected, Abbot Agronguerre of St. Belfour was quickly nominated and elected father abbot. Abbot Braumin and his followers backed him enthusiastically, as did old Je'howith and Master Francis, along with Bouraiy and Glendenhook and several others from St.-Mere-Abelle.
Abbot Olin of St. Bondabruce of Entel was not pleased, but as Abbess Delenia was dead, he could rally no real support for his own cause. Delenia's self-appointed successor, De'Unnero, surprisingly backed Olin in absentia, but that only seemed to hurt the man's chances even more.
So on a cold morning in God's Year 827, on the very first vote of the College, Abbot Fuesa Agronguerre of Vanguard became Father Abbot Agronguerre of the Abellican Church, the second most powerful man in all Honce- the-Bear.
He ascended the podium to offer his acceptance speech to moderate applause. Even his most fervent backers had voted for him only because they believed him to be a peacemaker, a fence-mender, someone who could appease both that group rooted in the traditions of the Church as expressed by Father Abbot Markwart and those followers of Avelyn Desbris, determined to reform what they saw as tragic flaws in the Church.
'As you know, I have spent almost all my long life in Vanguard,' Agronguerre said, measuring his words carefully, after he had completed the formal regards to his hosts and a recitation of the virtues of Abbot Olin, his only competition for the position, that went on for nearly five minutes. 'Many of you might wonder, then, if that experience-or lack of experience-might prove a detriment to me as I seek to lead the Church that is mostly based outside that isolated region. Put those fears in a hole deep and dark, I pray. Vanguard is not so different a place from St.-MereAbelle, and living among the small numbers of people up there has provided me an understanding of
