I inclined my head in reply and stepped away to allow those behind me a chance to offer their condolences. Baratyn had slipped away, and I finally located the duty coach that had brought me amid the forty or so lined up around the anomen and along the Boulevard D’Council.
Ferlyn was in his study when I finally returned to the Collegium. Every digit of wall space in the tiny room was filled with bookcases, and every shelf was overflowing with either books or papers. There were even books stacked on the single windowsill.
“I heard you were looking for me, sir.”
“I was. I have a few questions where I thought the skill of a pattern-master might help.”
“I think we often raise more questions than resolve any.”
“That’s possible with anyone, but I’d still appreciate your thoughts.” I picked up the books piled on the single chair and stacked them on top of more books on the desk before sitting down. “You know the requirement for a High Holder to be the head of the Executive Council?”
“How could I not? I assume you’re asking how many High Holders already do not meet the requirements set forth in the Council compact.”
“Do you know?”
Ferlyn shook his head. “No one knows for certain, because there’s always been a discrepancy in valuations between those High Holders like Suyrien and Ryel, who have manufactories and industrial facilities, and those like Haestyr and Haebyn, whose wealth lies in land and forests and other agricultural assets. Haestyr has been pressing for a strict interpretation of the original language, in which craft-related assets were valued at half those of land-related assets.”
“Then, there’s something you should know.” I went on to explain about the change in valuations slipped through by Suyrien.
When I finished, for the first time since I’d taken Dichartyn’s position, Ferlyn looked truly surprised. After a silence, he said, “It’s not surprising that he was shot. It might be surprising that he wasn’t shot earlier.”
“Because the change in valuation will mean some High Holders won’t be able to retain their position and rights?”
“There might be as many as fifty, and Quaelyn has calculated that there are presently 1,034 High Holders. Master Poincaryt knew about those calculations, but whether he told Maitre Dyana or Maitre Dichartyn, I don’t know. We did not tell anyone else-except you, now.”
I had wondered about the issue of the number of High Holders for some time, but particularly after learning of Suyrien’s changes to the “reform” proposals. “Do you happen to know how many High Holders there were when the Council was formed?”
“No one knows for certain. They probably didn’t then, either. From the documents we’ve searched, it appears that there were close to two thousand.”
That explained, in some ways, why the High Holders had accepted the thousand holder threshold for the reduction of High Holder power. It had probably been a concession granted because none of them could have envisioned such a reduction in their numbers, even over the hundreds of years since then.
“Does our Naval Command reflect the patterns of the past, or has it changed more toward the Ferran set of patterns?”
Ferlyn blinked, obviously startled by the change in the subject matter of my questions.
I waited.
“We’ve talked in the past about the goals of warfare, and the patterns involved,” he began. “There are two key questions. The first is the overall mission of the Navy, and the second is what force and support structure will best accomplish that mission. Historically, the mission has been a dual one-to assure open and unrestricted trade, and to dominate the oceans in such a fashion that no other land can threaten our merchant and Naval vessels. The problem inherent in such a split mission is that it requires a larger navy than either part of that mission will alone…the Ferran mission is limited to restricting the influence and power of our fleets and ships. That means they attempt to develop vessels and weapons systems designed specifically for use against our warships, while we must also have capabilities they do not. For example, we have Naval marines for boarding, as well as high speed launches and gunboats…”
I continued to wait, knowing that Ferlyn would eventually get to the point.
“…do not have the range of information that you or Dichartyn possess, but from what I have seen, the recent requests from the Naval Command suggest a re-focusing on ships more capable of engaging the Ferran dreadnoughts…”
When I finally left Ferlyn, more than a few thoughts, many of them conflicting, were swirling through my mind.
36
Vendrei morning I actually woke without a headache and with the feeling that, despite all the bruises, some of which were slightly sore to the touch, I might actually be nearing a full recovery. That assumed that I could anticipate troubles before they impacted me personally. Otherwise, I’d end up injured or worse once more. I did do a few more of the morning exercises, and they didn’t hurt all that much.
After seeing Seliora and Diestrya off in the duty coach, I hurried to my study, getting there a quint before seventh glass, because I wanted to look over the recent reports to see if I’d overlooked anything about High Holder Ruelyr. I’d barely finished confirming that there weren’t any recent reports on Ruelyr when Ralyea arrived. He was the only one of the imagers whom I had not yet met since becoming his preceptor.
Ralyea didn’t quite look at me as he came into the study. “Good morning, sir.”
I laughed at the timidity of his presence and speech. Dichartyn’s notes had indicated that both were a problem. He appeared paralyzed at my reaction.
“Ralyea…I don’t bite. I don’t even nip, and I’m not nearly so clever with words or arguments as Master Dichartyn was. What I’m interested in was what he was interested in. I want you to become the best imager that you can. Do you know what one of the first things he said to me was, years ago?”
“No, sir.” His voice still trembled.
“He told me that there were bold imagers and old imagers, but there were no bold old imagers. He was right. But that’s only half the story. The other half is that an excessively cautious imager accomplishes absolutely nothing.”
The young third said nothing.
“Have you ever watched a turtle walk, Ralyea?”
He frowned. “Ah…yes, sir. Not in years, sir, I mean.”
“Tell me. Can a turtle go anywhere by keeping its head inside its shell?”
“No, sir.”
“And what happens if a giant land lizard or a heron comes upon a turtle in the open, even inside its shell?”
“Ah…”
“Yes?”
“It probably flips it over and kills it.”
“On the other hand, what happens if the turtle hurries out of the open into shelter before any predators appear?” I smiled. “What’s the point of talking about turtles? As applied to you?”
He didn’t answer, and I forced myself to wait, just looking at him.
After what seemed a full quint, he finally stammered, “You’re…saying that even with shells…or shields… there’s a time to move…to act.”
“And?”
“Sometimes…doing nothing behind shields…” He looked at me.
“Let me put it simply. Even a turtle has to stick its neck out to get anywhere. An imager who isn’t willing to stick his neck out-cautiously, mind you-won’t get any place and will end up in as much trouble, if not more, than an excessively bold imager. Keep that in mind.”
