wondering whether any of them had done one day’s worth of manual labor in their entire lives. One never finds dirt under a Pon Q’tarcleric’s fingernails, he thought.
Lucius soon finished his talk. After bowing to his emperor, he took his customary seat beside the empress. Wishing to regain control of the proceedings, Vespasian lifted his gold scepter from its nearby holder and banged it against the floor.
Before Vespasian could speak, Gracchus stood. Vespasian noticed that the cleric held a gold diptych in his hands. The emperor’s eyes narrowed. The Oraculum, he realized.
“With all due respect to the emperor, I wish to approach,” Gracchus said.
Vespasian beckoned the lead cleric forward. Gracchus neared and handed the gold diptych to Vespasian. As Vespasian broke the red seal and read the beeswax pages, a wide smile spread across his face. Puzzled, the Suffragat waited in silence.
“Can this be true after all these years?” Vespasian asked of Gracchus. “As you know, I too am familiar with the legend.”
Gracchus nodded. “The Oraculum dares not lie,” he answered. “She knows that her life is in my hands.”
Vespasian was overjoyed. TheJin’Sai would be suddenly preoccupied just as the Rustannican siege of Shashida went forth. It was a huge stroke of luck. He smiled at Gracchus.
“I suggest that you explain the Oraculum’s latest vision to everyone,” he said. “It is news worthy of this fine session.”
Gripping the shoulder folds of his robe, Gracchus turned to face the Suffragat.
“The Oraculum brings excellent news,” he announced. “Our prayers to find a way to continue our fight with theJin’Sai on his side of the world have been answered. It seems that we again owe much to the failed First Mistress of the Coven. After more than three centuries, the Eutracian Viper Lord has risen. He and his servants have already started their rampage. In due course, all resistance in Eutracia might well be eliminated. If the Viper Lord is victorious one can only guess that he will then sail to Parthalon to wreak his mistress’s special brand of vengeance there as well. We might see the death ofall right-leaning blood east of the Tolenkas. This is indeed a glorious day.”
Pausing for a moment, Gracchus looked straight at Lucius Marius, then smiled. “For those military personnel who might be unschooled in the legend, I will provide a brief explanation.”
The Suffragat listened as Gracchus explained at some length the coming of the Viper Lord. Happy expressions surfaced all around. Even Lucius momentarily forgave Gracchus’ thinly veiled insult and went so far as to stand and start the raucous applause. As the ovation gradually subsided, Gracchus returned to his seat.
Vespasian stood and looked toward Julia Idaeus. Despite the affirmative vote on the war plan, one more hurdle remained before the emperor could pronounce the campaign official.
“Are you prepared to perform the auspicium?” he asked.
The Priory Femiculi stood. “I am,” she said. “The sacred birds await us.”
Vespasian nodded. “Very well,” he said. “Let us all adjourn to the courtyard.”
By custom, Persephone was the first to leave her seat and approach the emperor. As the remaining Suffragat members followed her, Vespasian led the group across the floor.
Raising one arm, Vespasian pointed toward one of the many onyx wall pilasters, and it soon glowed with the familiar azure color of the craft. Then the pilaster vanished to show a secret tunnel in the Aedifficium wall. The courtyard beyond was called the Rustica, and it was known only to the Suffragat. Built at the same time as the Aedifficium, it had been constructed in secrecy and at great expense. The sacred ritual of the auspiciums was the Rustica’s sole reason for being.
Taking Persephone by the hand, Vespasian led her into the arched tunnel and out through the far end. When they emerged into the Rustica, dappled sunlight and the pleasant warbling of songbirds greeted them.
The Rustica held marble seats arranged against one of its four walls. Another, far less grandiose throne for Vespasian sat on the floor before them. While the members found their places, Vespasian beckoned Persephone to take her seat. As he settled into his throne, the emperor looked around. Vespasian loved the Rustica, for he always sensed a measure of intimacy here that he found lacking in the Aedifficium.
The closed courtyard was square, measuring twenty meters on each side. As a tribute to the azure glow of the craft, the walls and floor were built of turquoise blocks, polished to a high sheen. There was no roof. Over time, lilac and crinkleberry vines had become so overgrown that the walls could scarcely be seen. The combined scents of the hardy vines wafted pleasantly on the afternoon air. The sky was bright blue and without a hint of cloud.
Vespasian turned to look toward the wall opposite the Suffragat. As Julia had promised, ten white birds sat atop a golden rail. The birds’ feet were tethered to the rail. The auspicium would produce a foretelling of either good or bad fortune and was always performed before a major event such as the trying of an important new craft formula, the implementation of a new law, or the advent of a major military campaign.
During the empire’s earliest days, thePon Q’tar had insisted on performing the ritual themselves. Later, they graciously bequeathed that honor to the reigning Femiculi. It had remained that way ever since. Because her heart was known to be pure, the Femiculi could be relied on to perform the ritual honestly and without prejudice.
How the sacred birds could divine either good or bad fortune was a secret of the craft that only the clerics knew. Even Rustannica’s emperors were never informed. Vespasian did not object to this, because in the entire history of the empire, the birds had never been wrong. By mutual agreement of the Suffragat, an auspicium decreed whether a proposed event should go forward.
If the birds foretold bad fortune, the impending event was quickly canceled. If the decree was good, the event was carried out with confidence. During the early days of the empire, a few quarrelsome military tribunes had refused to believe an auspicium warning of bad fortune. The secret campaign they launched proved disastrous, and Shashidan forces had slaughtered them to the last man. Since then, not one member dared doubt the validity of the ritual.
Vespasian knew that the fate of the campaign to take the Shashidan gold mines rested on what happened here. If the auspicium went badly, his magnificent plans would be canceled. Even he would be unable to change that. If the decree was for good fortune, the campaign would be launched. Once in the field, Vespasian would order yet more auspiciums to help him lead his forces to victory.
Each of the sacred songbirds was pure white, like the gowns and veils of the Priory maidens. The maidens tended the birds carefully, always ready for the day when thePon Q’tar would notify them that another auspicium was needed. Like thePon Q’tar clerics, the birds had been granted time enchantments, and they were thousands of years old. These same ten birds had been used in every auspicium ever conducted.
As Julia waited for Vespasian to summon her, her heart pounded. This would be the most important auspicium of her life-perhaps the most important in all of Rustannican history. As Vespasian turned her way, she felt the weight of his gaze.
“You may begin,” he said simply.
Julia rose from her seat and walked toward the far wall. Save for the soft cooing of the birds, the Rustica was bathed in silence. After stopping before the birds, Julia pointed in their direction. At once the tethers binding the birds’ feet to the golden rail vanished. Even so, the birds knew better than to fly away until their mistress willed it. Julia raised her arms and closed her eyes.
After the Femiculi recited the sacred chant, the birds would be free. They would wing their way home to the Rotunda and enter the building through the oculus. If they turned north first, the decree was favorable. If they turned south before flying for home, the decree dictated ill fortune. Julia took a deep breath and bowed her head.
“O sacred flame of the Vagaries, grant us the wisdom to receive this auspicium, and to be guided by its decree,” she said. “Allow your divine magic to drive the sacred birds skyward to show your servants which path is best. We ask for your guidance in the upcoming campaign. In your name we offer our thanks and our continued servitude.”
With that, Julia opened her eyes and raised her arms higher. Among a quick flurry of white wings, the birds took to the sky.
For several tense moments the birds circled overhead, giving no inkling of their decree. Then suddenly, as though of a single mind, they wheeled around to soar in one direction before finally turning toward the Rotunda. Vespasian held his breath as the birds chose their path.
