way in is well guarded, sir. It's a long tradition.'
Ryllans bowed in acknowledgement.
'Must you always have such dark thoughts?’ Arwain said to him when the official had left. ‘I've never seen anything like it, and you fuss on about assassins.'
This time it was Ryllans who offered the reproach. ‘I never have dark thoughts,’ he said, smiling a little to show the lie. ‘It is indeed a rare sight. Beautiful, remarkable, intriguing, full of questions …
Arwain had no reply. He reverted to their interview with Haynar.
'What did you make of the Maeran?’ he asked, settling back in his seat and watching the Councillors arriving.
Ryllans shrugged. ‘Hard to say,’ he answered. ‘Just being Maeran of Whendrak means he's a shrewd, devious, ruthless individual, to say the least. And he's a horse trader. Says as much between his words as he does with them. He told you he knew a lot about you and that you knew nothing about him in his very first sentence.'
Arwain nodded. ‘How did I manage?’ he asked.
'Very well, I'd say,’ Ryllans replied. ‘Your straightforward approach was probably the best response against someone like him. And you certainly won us a hearing, perhaps more, by not losing your temper when he provoked you. We must listen very carefully to what's going on here.'
Arwain looked around and frowned. ‘Listening's one thing, hearing's another,’ he said.
The remark was prompted by the growing noise in the Council Chamber which was now filling rapidly. Much of it consisted of noisy greetings and banter, the latter brought about mainly by the apparently early hour of the meeting.
There was, however, a general air of concern and anxiety about the place, which gradually began to deepen as the Chamber filled.
Little here that he hadn't seen in many a Sened meeting before over some storm in a wine glass, Arwain mused, but, abruptly, the atmosphere changed, becoming suddenly tense and watchful as a group of men entered and, without offering any greeting to anyone, or even looking around, marched directly to their places.
They were dressed identically in grey uniforms and, to a man, their demeanour was arrogant and their expressions emotionless.
'No debate about where they look to find their “sovereign remedy',’ Arwain said, using Haynar's words.
Any further discussion about the newcomers was forestalled, however, by the entrance of Haynar and several others on to the raised platform at the front of the Chamber.
The Chamber fell silent almost immediately, but a formally dressed guard on the platform raised his pike and dutifully struck its butt three times on the wooden floor.
The sound rose into the air and then echoed back down from the branches overhead, greatly magnified. As the sound died away, Haynar rose to speak.
He made little preamble.
'My friends. May I first apologize for the short notice given for this meeting and for its ungodly hour. May I also thank you for your attendance.’ Arwain noticed immediately that his voice was carried evenly across the hall by some quality in the strange ceiling.
Haynar took a document from his gown and laid it respectfully on the lectern in front of him.
'I have here a letter that I received yesterday. I called this meeting as I felt that you should all be made aware of its contents and be given an opportunity to discuss it fully as soon as possible.’ He looked down at the document. ‘It bears a signature that I can't decipher, but the seal is authentically that of the Bethlarii Council of Five, the Handira.'
A murmur rose from the Councillors, but Arwain could not detect the dominant mood in it. He cast a discreet glance at the stern group that had just arrived. They were all sitting bolt upright, as if to lean back would represent some display of weakness or disrespect, confirming his initial impression that they were representatives of those Whendreachi who looked to Bethlar for the answer to such ills as their city suffered. They were all staring fixedly at Haynar.
’”Vassals,” the letter begins,’ Haynar read. He put no inflection into the word, but the murmur rose again, unequivocally angry. He ignored it and continued.
’”It has been made known to us that our citizens living within your bounds are being ill used by your people. They are being deprived of their livelihoods, homes, liberty, right of access to your courts, and, above all, the right to pursue their religious observations. You will cease this persecution immediately and make full reparation of all hurts before the solstice. You will also commence dismantling the new fortifications and defences that you have built about your city. If these instructions are not implemented immediately, then a military governor will be appointed in your stead.''
There was a brief pause after Haynar finished, then uproar broke out. Sitting motionless amid the cries of outrage and anger, Arwain found himself back in Serenstad, standing behind his father as the Bethlarii envoy had approached him in a similar vein.
Haynar did not move or make any attempt to stop the noise for some time, then he nodded to the guard standing nearby.
Once again the guard banged his pike on the floor. The sound rose above the din and echoed down from the tangled branches overhead. It had little effect initially, but at a further nod from Haynar, the guard repeated the action with greater force, and the Chamber fell suddenly silent as the brief tattoo boomed out overhead like thunder.
Arwain and Ryllans exchanged appreciative glances. The Whendreachi Councillors were markedly more disciplined than either the Sened or the Gythrin-Dy.
As the sound faded, a flurry of hands rose into the air, but Haynar ignored them.
'Allow me the first word, my friends,’ he said. ‘I'll be brief.’ He tapped the Bethlarii document. ‘I'll gloss over the tone of this missive, which, frankly, defies me. Let us consider just two facts. One: is it true that any of our citizens are being persecuted? Answer, no. Rather it is that certain factions which seek to take us under Bethlar's grey sway have provoked violence against the persons and properties of those it sees as enemies to its cause; namely those whom they cannot defeat in debate here, in this Chamber. And they have brought to their aid those criminal and deranged elements which plague any community and who care nothing for any cause save violence and destruction. Two: the fortifications we have undertaken were at the agreed will of the great majority here. We are a neutral city under the Treaty between Bethlar and Serenstad and, in this particular, while we do not ally ourselves with either, we may do as we wish.'
Haynar's manner throughout this short speech was calm but resolute, though a snarl of defiance permeated his final sentence. It captured the mood of his listeners and there was a loud burst of applause and cheering.
Haynar waited for it to subside. ‘My friends,’ he began again. ‘It has long been the wish of our people that we should never again be caught between these two great cities and their endless wars. And to this end we have striven to become strong enough to be independent of them both.’ He leaned forward on to the lectern. ‘And we have succeeded, my friends,’ he said slowly but with great power. ‘We have succeeded. We seek nothing but friendliness and trade with all the peoples of this land, be they allied to Bethlar or Serenstad, but we will destroy utterly anyone who turns his sword against us, from within or without.'
More applause greeted this affirmation, but as it faded, a lone voice emerged. It was one of the grey- uniformed group. He was waving his fist angrily.
'Haynar, you lie,’ he shouted. ‘You lie, and you lead this city to perdition with your ambition and folly.'
Cries of protest greeted this outburst.
'No, I will be heard,’ the man went on, shouting louder, his voice echoing raucously from the strange ceiling.
'You'll be heard more clearly if you speak a little more quietly, Garren,’ Haynar said ironically, sitting down and casually extending a hand towards him.
The comment caused some laughter, which did little to improve the man's temper. He raised his fist again. ‘You accuse us of violence against our opponents, but we have only armed ourselves because of the violence that was offered to us in the first place. When we are allowed to meet and worship in peace then we will no longer need this protection. You say we wish to bring the city under the protection of Bethlar. This is another of your lies. Rather
