Lord of Lies

one of the doubters, too?'

'Well, what does it really mean to be a Maitreya?' He asked me, giving voice to the question I most wanted answered. 'I can tell you that if any Valari deserves to be Maitreya, then surely it is you.'

'Thank you,' I said. 'One of my reasons for journeying here was to cast more light on this matter.'

'Of course — you hope to unite our people. If you accomplish this, you will prove yourself to be the Maitreya.'

I bowed my head to him and said, 'You are very perceptive, King Waray. But it's also my hope to search inside the Brotherhood school. There might be knowledge there that could settle this question.'

'The school has been closed,' he told me. 'Your Master Juwain has seen to that.'

'We were hoping you might be persuaded to reopen it.' 'Perrhaps some day I might be.'

The light of the late sun glinted off the helm of a passing knight, and I suddenly realized something: He does not want me to be the Maitreya. He does not want any Valari to be this Shining One. 'What would it take; then, to persuade you, King Waray?'

'That is still to be determined. You see, the Brotherhood has gath-ered much knowledge that is difficult to interpret or is actually misleading. And this is a time where we Valari must not be misled.' 'Truly, we mustn't. And that is why the Maitreya must be found.'

'Of course, he must be found, if it that is possible,' he said. 'But what if it should happen that Valashu Elahad is not the Maitreya? What if none of the Valari is? Even so, the Valari must find a way to unite.'

King Wara's black eyes were bright with dreams, and I suddenly realized something else: He truly desires a Valari alliance — but with himself as its leader.

'The way to unite is simple,' I said to him. 'Each king has only to pledge his support to every other, should Morjin threaten to march against any of our kingdoms. And then to meet in conclave in Tria.'

'Of course, it is simple to say this, but much more difficult to accomplish. King Mohan, for one, cares little for Morjin's threats.'

'That is because he knows little of Morjin.'

'He knows enough to determine that Morjin has problems of his own. Since you made off with the Lightstone, it's said that some of the Dragon Kings have plotted against Morjin and have tried to assassinate him.'

'And how has this news come to you?'

'A king always has his sources,' he said mysteriously. 'I've always striven for peace, always tried to understand the true concerns of those around me. To achieve this, one must know a great many things.'

'Does King Mohan favor a Valari alliance?'

'That is difficult to say. He certainly favors anything that would promote Athar's gaining glory, particularly if that occurred to the detriment of Lagash and King Kurshan.'

'The old dispute,' I said, shaking my head.

Long ago, in the Age of Swords, King Saruth the Great, whom King Mohan claimed as a distant ancestor, had made a bid for empire and had conquered parts of Taron and Lagash — and even Delu. The old tales told that King Saruth had captured and murdered King Thanasu of Lagash, and had forcibly taken his daughter as his wife to strengthen his line. The Lagashuns had never forgiven the Atharians for this ignominy. More recently, thirty years ago in one of the endless wars between these ancient enemies, both sides claimed the other had broken the rules of formal battle: Lagash accused Athar of commencing the fight before giving Lagash a chance to negotiate, while Athar held Lagash guilty of slaying captives out of hand.

'Of course, I've tried to reason with both King Mohan and King Kurshan,' King Waray said. 'King Kurshan speaks of sailing to the stars even as he builds a great fleet of ships. Who could blame King Mohan for fearing that King Kurshan will use this fleet to strengthen Lagash against Athar? Well, King Mohan is hotheaded and has an evil temper, and so I suppose we can all blame him for that. And so I've tried to find words to cool his heart. I count it as one of my greatest victories that during my reign, war between Athar and Lagash has thrice been

averted.'

As I listened to King Waray's sweetly deceptive voice I had a strange sense that his words had actually inflamed King Mohan's fear of King Kurshan — and perhaps King Kurshan's dread of King Mohan. I sensed that King Waray liked to fan the flames of such fires and then inter-vene with his talk of peace to put them out. In this way did he disarm the kings around him even as he gained their gratitude. In this way did he gain prestige and power.

We began walking again down the rows of the Taron tents Knights dressed in fine tunics for the coming feast passed by us on their way to visit with friends or perhaps take in a game of dice before sitting down to table. Out of respect, they gave us wide berth — all the while straining their ears toward us and stealing glances at me as if hoping for a glimpse of the Lightstone.

And then King Waray lowered his voice as he said to me, 'It may indeed be difficult to win King Mohan to the idea of alliance, for he has grievances against many kingdoms, and Mesh not the least. However, King Talanu is a different question. As always, he will favor anything that Mesh does.'

King Talanu Solaru of Kaash, my grandfather, had been unable to journey to the tournament because of his failing health. But he had sent his son, Lord Viromar, in his place. Although my uncle's friendship was much more with my father than with me, he could certainly be counted on to speak for a Valari alliance, for Kaash and Mesh themselves were ancient allies and supported each other in almost all matters.

'Of course,' King Waray continued, 'King Talanu's unconditional advocacy of this alliance is itself a strike against it.'

'Because of Waas?'

'Exactly. Anything the Kaashans support, King Sandarkan will oppose on first impulse. The Waashians remain too bitter.'

For three hundred years, the Waashians had made war against Kaash in an attempt to recover a large chunk of territory lost in one of their formal battles. But the Kaashans' ferocity and their long swords — with the aid of Mesh — had defeated the numerically superior Waashians again and again.

'Bitter they might be,' I said. 'But they will never regain the Arjan Land through war.'

A little light flared in King Waray's eyes just then, but he kept his cool demeanor. His voice rolled up from his throat through his mouth and long nose: 'There speaks Meshian pride. Is it any wonder that King Sandarkan would speak against this alliance?'

I found that my hand had fallen upon the hilt of my sword. Too many of my friends, I remembered, had died beneath the Waashians' spears only a few years before. Even so, I commanded my fingers to relax. The war with Waas, I reminded myself, had been won. And if an alliance was to be achieved, Mesh and Waas must never make war again.

'King Sandarkan,' I said, 'would then speak against the very thing that preserves his kingdom.'

'Preserves it against Morjin, do you mean?'

'No, against the Valari. My father showed great restraint in not adding Waashian territory to his realm. But the other kings surrounding Waas would not be so kind. King Mohan looks always to the south, doesn't he? Even King Hadaru might be tempted to break truce with Waas if he saw the eagles gathering to rend her apart. Even yourself. King Waray.'

He shrugged his shoulders at this and told me, 'I've said many times that Taron seeks to gain no new territories. I've assured King Sandarkan of this. I believe I have his trust, and 1 also believe that I can persuade him of the necessity of an alliance.'

At what price, I wondered? Would he promise King Sandarkan the return of the Arjan Land in exchange for his support?

'If you could soften King Sandarkan's heart, that would be a great thing,' I told him.

'Of course — I would like to help you in any way I can.'

I realized then another thing about King Waray: that if he failed to gain the leadership of the alliance because I proved myself as the Maitreya, he would try to control me by making himself indispensable.

'King Sandarkan,' he said, 'journeys to Nar often. In time, I'm sure he'll see the sense of things.'

'We have little time, King Waray. The tournament begins tomorrow and lasts only a week.'

'Well, we mustn't rush things — this isn't quite the moment for the alliance you seek.'