“I cannot send troops on my own authority, you know, nor do I dare do anything to bring the Mu’ugalavyani in openly on the Baron’s side. Arms, a few mercenaries, and some ships to you people. A little rumbling along the Chakan frontier and a medley of negotiations and threats to worry the Red-Hats: these are the only strings I can fit to my bow for now.”
“This will not discourage the Baron, Lord.” The General actually laid a hand upon the Prince’s brawny wrist. These Tsolyani had so little sense of Imperial dignity! “Yan Kor does not need Mu’ugalavya. To Baron Aid the Mu’ugalavyani are Qasu — birds awaiting their chance to scavenge. They yearn to snatch the Chakas if we lose the north, but they won’t risk a fight by themselves-another defeat like the War of 2,020 would ruin them-and the Baron abhors them and gives them no encouragement. Beg your father for permission to attack around the northeastern flank, through the Pass of Skulls! Take Milumanaya-Lord Firaz Zhavendu there is a strutting popinjay- he cannot resist us-and on into Saa Allaqi or up to Tleku Miriya to knock upon the Baron’s back gate!”
“I have already been on my knees before my glorious father at Avanthar a dozen times. I’d kiss the backside of a Ssu to do as you suggest, my Lord, but brother Mridobu only smiles and counsels sweet patience.”
“Foolish,” Kettukal growled, “if I were the Baron-or the High Prince of the Red-Hats-I would do my best to hammer out an alliance and invade Tsolyanu from two sides at once. Aid must be mad to refuse the opportunity! Mu’ugalavya is strong now, and the Baron has unified Yan Kor into a real nation-not the gaggle of miserable city- states it was before he took power. If the Baron and the Red-Hats were to combine, we’d have a war that would make that of 2,020 look like a skirmish! My Lord Prince, it is best that we strike first, now, before either the blockheaded Mu’ugalavyani or the Baron decides to make common cause and serve us defeat for our supper.”
“Lord Taluvaz asks little enough. I need no permission from my glorious father to send a few ships and light a few fires along the borders.”
“Forget not the colonies on the southern continent, mighty Prince,” Taluvaz injected gracefully. “If we take Tsolei, we counter the power of the reptiles of Shenyu in the-southern seas. Even now they dicker with Mu’ugalavya for concessions and alliances there. Accompany us, and Tsolyanu plays a role in settling the unknown lands beyond.”
“And how had you Livyani planned to deal with Shenyu? The reptiles’ ships and warriors may be fewer than yours and they cannot match you in sorcery, but any Shen can slay two humans with a blow!” The Prince refilled his cup and offered more Chumetl to the others with his own hands. Taluvaz thought it prudent to accept. A burning bowel movement in the morning was a very good price to pay for success this afternoon.
“The Shen are divided into egg-groups, mighty Prince, as you know. Each is hostile to the others. We have made alliance with the Shen of Mmatugual and the other little states of their species to our south. They hate Shenyu more than any human can imagine: insensate, instinctive… They will fight for-with-us.”
General Kettukal spat out a Hling- seed and fixed a jaundiced eye upon the girl who had ground the spices for his Chumetl. “Aside from a few ships, a handful of troops, and whatever else we can manage, how can we really help you? Tsolei is too distant, and we can send too little.”
“Busy the Red-Hats and it is sufficient. They then cannot seize our northern provinces. But there is more.” Taluvaz made himself draw a careful breath. “We know that our armies are not, ah, well seasoned and strong, mighty Prince. We depend overmuch upon sorcery: magically, Livyanu is a ‘fertile’ area, where the many skins of reality are thin and easily pierced. The Red-Hats and the Shen do not invade Livyanu for fear of our sorceries. On the other hand, the islands of Tsolei are a ‘barren’ region; it is impossible to draw power from beyond this Plane in such a place. Spells and those devices of the ancients that depend upon such forces do not work there. We must thus rely upon our military prowess, which is, ah, not so great as to make our landing a speedy success. We can therefore make good use of a few Tsolyani officers, some troops from whatever Legion you can spare, some ships from your coastal fleets-unneeded in any war here in the north or the west-and permission to raise mercenaries in your Empire. Military expertise, mighty Prince, and experience-these things we require. The rest we can do ourselves.”
“So, we firm up your Chlen — hide with our iron,” the General said.
Prince Eselne frowned. “I know that the Temple of Thumis has already sent some sort of secret mission to your colonies in the southern continent. My dear Taluvaz, you play not only with me but with the grey-robes-and their new Prince Surundano.”
This was all too true, but it seemed more politic not to own up to it-not unless it became an issue here.
The new Prince might indeed become a problem. He did seem to worry Prince Eselne; unduly, Taluvaz thought. The Temples of the war-gods ought not to be alarmed by this new counter on the board. Some support would vanish, of course, and some new alignments might result, but Eselne’s backers and those of the Flame-Lord, Vimuhla, should still be able to come to an understanding. Prince Surundano might be an unexpected impediment, but he was too weak, both personally and in his backing, to be more than a minor annoyance.
What an insane system of government this land had! The Seal Emperors of Tsolyanu proclaimed only some of their offspring to be Princes and Princesses as soon as they ascended the Petal Throne; others were given as infants into the keeping of the great temples, the clans, and the highest noble houses to be brought up in secrecy and declared later-like white counters suddenly turning black upon a Den-den board! The Tsolyani said that this guaranteed the throne to the cleverest, strongest, and most resourceful contender. It was better to keep all of the heirs awake and prepared, the theory ran, rather than let the succession pass to a child already spoiled by a surfeit of luxury and power. The Gods alone knew whether the idea had merit or not. Taluvaz doubted it; had not Livyanu existed far longer than the Tsolyani Imperium, and was it not more efficacious to select one’s rulers through the recondite deliberations of the High Council of the Priesthoods of the omniscient Shadow-Gods?
Carefully, Taluvaz said nothing.
“No, Lord Taluvaz, you must know that Tsolei is the smallest thorn upon my Tsural — blossom,” the Prince said. “Even if we aid you, I fear it is too late to halt the Baron’s ‘W'eapon.’ By the time you take Tsolei-or Thumis’ all-too-blatant secret mission reaches its destination-our Skeins will have been unravelled for us by the Yan Koryani. We stand; we fight; we live or we die here at Khirgar or at Chene Ho, as Lord Karakan decrees. What more can we say?”
A noble but perfectly CWen-brained attitude! Failure-or less than wondrous success-loomed as a distinct possibility. Tsamra would not be pleased.
General Kettukal sat down crosslegged upon the figured carpet. “The Baron’s turd-shooting weapon! We had hoped to find-” He stopped.
Prince Eselne grunted and tossed his cup to the slavegirl to be refilled. “Oh, finish it,” he said irritably. “The Livyani have their Vru’uneb everywhere, just as we have the Omnipotent Azure Legion. If Lord Taluvaz does not know the tale, he is as useless to his masters as a clay sword to great Hrugga! He uses us, and we may be able to use him. ‘One Aqpu- beetle dies alone, but six build a nest… ’ ”
“When I was at Paya Gupa, my Lord,” the General continued reluctantly in his deep, hard voice, “I had heard that there might be a counter to the Baron’s toy…”
“Cha, everyone in the Five Empires has heard the story! At Avanthar or Bey Sii secrets are like water in a cracked jug! There was supposed to be some priest of Ketengku-or was it Thumis? — who knew of a device that would halt the Baron’s ‘Weapon Without Answer. ’ It was a great bone of contention between the priesthoods half a year back-do you recall? — before the war with Yan Kor. Then the fellow disappeared. Magically! a veritable Subadim the Sorcerer! Your people knew all this of course, Taluvaz.”
Taken aback, Taluvaz started to shake his head in negation. He changed his mind and nodded instead.
“-Out of the Temple of Eternal Knowing in Bey Sii, as neatly as a virgin spits out a Dlel-ivuit pit!” This from the General. The Tsolyani idiom was unknown to Taluvaz, but the sense of it was clear.
There was no reason now to pretend ignorance. Taluvaz said, “My, ah, friends here told me… Was there not something about the city of Purdimal?”
“As if your people did not join the dance!” Eselne snorted. “Yes, we followed certain of my beloved brother Dhich’une’s ugly henchmen for a time, but the priest vanished into the stews of Purdimal! The Temple of Sarku dangled a pretty little captive priestess over the water, but the fish never rose to the bait. We finally rescued her with an Imperial writ from Avanthar-brother Dhich’une is not the only one with access to my godlike father!” Taluvaz had heard of this also. There had been pressure upon Prince Eselne from the Temple of Hrihayal to free the girl. He imagined he knew what form this pressure had taken. Eselne’s dalliance with Misenla, the High Priestess of Hrihayal in the Empire, was common table-gossip.
“My agents fought Dhich’une’s men-or what he uses for men-and Mridobu’s, and those of at least three
