The Ragged Man (38 page)
Authors: Tom Lloyd
Lost in his thoughts, Vesna was an island the wary mortals skirted as they went about their lives. Only a handful looked in his direction, and none for long — unlike that day twenty years ago. Then, they had all noted his face, and the special attention Vesna had received — it had been his first taste of the burden a reputation could build.
In the public trials Vesna had been the only one to knock down the Swordmaster facing him, but it had been mostly thanks to a slip and it worked against him in the end. Shab had told him that every man entered the Ghosts on his arse, and Vesna was no exception; Swordmaster Herotay himself had seen to that. The bruises from his wooden swords took a week longer than anyone else’s to fade, but he’d given a good account of himself, and laid a clear marker.
Vesna shook the thought from his mind. He’d spent enough time thinking during the last few weeks to last any soldier a lifetime. Slipping from his horse, he beckoned over a groom and headed towards the main wing where General Lahk was waiting for him.
Before he reached the building a still figure caught his eye: a young man in the white robes of a chaplain, who was growing increasingly pale as he watched the returning Ghosts ride in. The cobalt-blue hem of his robe had a band of white running through it and the legion crest sewn over his heart was that of the Ghosts itself.
‘Legion Chaplain?’ Vesna ventured as he approached the young man.
The chaplain jumped, startled. ‘Ah, yes sir, Chaplain Cerrat,’ he said when he recovered his composure.
Vesna extended his hand, feeling a pang of sympathy for the youth. ‘I’ve heard your name mentioned. Lord Bahl himself ordered your appointment, no?’
Cerrat’s face flushed with nervous relief as he gripped Vesna’s forearm. ‘He did, sir, yes.’
‘Stop that,’ Vesna said sharply. ‘I don’t care how young you might be — you must remember your position, Legion Chaplain Cerrat. You are on Colonel Carasay’s command staff now; your military rank is equivalent to mine, even if a chaplain can’t issue orders.’ He turned his head so Cerrat could clearly see the two gold earrings in his left ear.
‘Take it for granted and they’ll make your life a misery,’ Vesna continued, ‘but put it aside to avoid throwing your weight around and they’ll never respect you. Without respect a chaplain’s just an angry priest, and the Gods know we’ve had enough of those.’
Cerrat swallowed and bobbed his head. ‘You’re right, sorry. I’ve only been here a few days; this is all a bit of a shock, both the position and the influence I’m told I have within the cult. I arrived here as a novice.’ The new legion chaplain had a boy’s face but a soldier’s build; he was bigger than Vesna had been when he first arrived, and he was unlikely to have stopped growing yet.
Vesna forced a smile and clapped his black-iron-clad hand on Cerrat’s shoulder. ‘As did I, as did we all.’
At the contact Cerrat’s eyes widened. He wasn’t a battle-mage, but he was an ordained priest of Nartis now, and he would be able to feel something of Karkarn’s spirit within Vesna, even if he could not yet put a name to it.
‘Some of us arrive with greater expectation on our shoulders than the rest,’ Vesna assured him with a smile, ‘men we’ve revered saying we’ll surpass them, but you look strong enough to bear that weight. Only those who ask great things of themselves achieve them; just don’t be in any rush.’
Cerrat nodded in understanding. The chaplains were the heartbeat of the regiments; the fiercest and most uncompromising among them; he had much to learn from his flock to be able to fill the position he’d been given.
‘Enough of that,’ Verna said. ‘Do you know where I can find Lord Fernal and the Chief Steward?’
‘They’re in the main wing — meeting an envoy from Merlat who arrived a few hours ago.’
‘Thank you.’ Vesna looked back at the crowd of soldiers behind them. ‘This evening, when they’re all settled, go and find Sergeant Kishen and get drunk with him. That’ll be the first lesson in your education in dealing with the Ghosts.’
Having dropped the new legion chaplain squarely into the middle of the lake, Vesna collected General Lahk and together they made their way through the Great Hall to the quieter private areas beyond. Just before the wide, ornately decorated main staircase was the ducal audience chamber. A pair of guards suggested Lord Fernal’s presence within.
Vesna didn’t recognise the livery, but it wasn’t much of a surprise: a dark-blue snake coiled around a sheaf of arrows, its head raised toward an occluded moon. They were admitted without a word and entered to find five people standing before the massive ducal throne, the seat of Farlan power.
The throne, hewn from a single piece of dark wood and inlaid with symbols of the Gods, was built for white-eyes. It lacked the intricate detailing found on its equivalent in Narkang. Too heavy for two normal men to lift together and able to resist an axe-blow: everything about it said solidity, strength and permanence — and the blue-skinned Demi-God Fernal suited it perfectly.
At the sight of the new Lord of the Farlan Vesna was reminded of Lord Bahl. Fernal wore plain, loose breeches and a white linen shirt over which spilled his mane of dark cerulean fur. The last time they had met Fernal had been wearing only a tattered cloak, replaced now by one of blood-red, to show he too mourned Isak. But it was the silver circlet on Fernal’s crumpled brow that gave Vesna the biggest start.
He had to move quickly to catch up with General Lahk and kneel before the bastard son of Nartis, barely remembering in time to unclip his sword from his belt and offer it forward. As he did so, Vesna cursed his own stupidity. He’d had weeks to get used to the idea of Fernal being named the Lord of the Farlan, but still the sight of Fernal wearing a ducal circlet had tripped him.
‘General Lahk, Count Vesna, welcome home. Please, rise.’
Fernal still had trouble with the rolling vowels of a dialect unsuited to one with the teeth and tongue of a wolf, but his deep, booming voice was that of a lord all the same.
He looks the part, he sounds the part
, Vesna thought as he returned his sword to its usual place.
Now we just need to find out how much he’s willing to fight for the part.
, Vesna thought as he returned his sword to its usual place.
Now we just need to find out how much he’s willing to fight for the part.
‘Lord Fernal,’ the pair said in response, for the benefit of the envoy as much as tradition.
‘General, I’m sure you have much work to do dealing with your troops,’ Fernal said. ‘If you wish to leave and see to them please do so.’
Lahk bowed and left as smartly as he had arrived. He had no interest in the dealings of politicians.
Vesna glanced at the others in the room. His eyes went first to Tila — it had been all he could do not to seek her out immediately, but he knew the envoy would have been watching and any deviation from tradition would have been noted. When at last their eyes met he felt a weight lift at pleasure which had blossomed on her face.
Tila wore a plain white dress, and her luxuriant dark hair had been swept to one side and wrapped in a red mourning scarf embroidered with a prayer for the dead, one of the few in the Palace to have done so. The period of mourning was technically over, but it was traditional for the army to mourn until it had returned; Vesna guessed Tila was doing the same.
The envoy himself was a knight Vesna didn’t recognise, despite being of a similar age; he too had battlefield honours tattooed on his neck. He bowed respectfully to Vesna while Chief Steward Lesarl, looking older and more fatigued than Vesna had ever seen, gave him just the briefest of nods.
Behind Lesarl were two armed men who looked like neither noblemen nor soldiers; each was carrying a rapier and long dagger, the weapons of a trained duellist, and Vesna guessed them to be agents of the Chief Steward. Curiously enough, they flanked Lesarl rather than Fernal, suggesting they were there to protect him rather than their lord.
‘Count Vesna, your own business will have to wait until we are finished here,’ Fernal said as the door was shut behind Lahk, ‘unless there is anything you wish to say first?’
Vesna shook his head. Fernal was asking whether he still considered himself a subject of the Lord of the Farlan. ‘No, my Lord, I await your pleasure.’
‘In that case, Sir Jachers here was just outlining the position of the Farlan’s westerly dukes.’
‘Both of them?’ Vesna asked sharply, looking at the envoy.
The Dukes Lokan and Sempes rarely agreed on anything since Lokan had poisoned his uncle — Sempes’ distant cousin — to take the dukedom, and their ‘disagreements’ had resulted in one sea engagement and three outright land battles, not to mention an entire dossier of clandestine actions.
‘Both. I am a man of Perlir,’ Sir Jachers clarified, ‘but Duke Lokan contacted my lord when he heard of Lord Isak’s death. Their concerns on the subjects in hand are close enough that they speak with one voice.’
‘And that would be your voice. What are the subjects being discussed?’
‘Principally: the legality of Lord Fernal’s appointment, Lord Fernal’s intentions regarding this position, the continuing problems with the cults, and Lord Isak’s crusade.’
‘Has Duke Lomin added his voice to this discussion yet?’ Vesna asked, wondering how Lord Isak’s appointment would be reacting to the news.
Lomin had shown the rest of the tribe he was as independent as his peers when he refused to send troops to join Isak’s ‘crusade’, but how he would react now was anyone’s guess. Their information on the man was not complete enough for sensible guesses to be made, he’d proved that much.
Sir Jachers shook his head. ‘The mind of Duke Lomin is not known to my master, they have met but once. Anticipating the wishes of Duke Lokan is somewhat easier. Duke Sempes has sent me here with all possible speed so that swift decisions might be made, if any agreement can be reached. He believes acting before the suzerains do so en masse is the best way to guide their actions.’
‘In that he is correct,’ Lesarl broke in. ‘With your permission, Lord Fernal, might I suggest we bring the discussion to a close for the time being? There is much that needs to be done now the Ghosts have returned and you might wish to consider Sempes and Lokan’s positions before proposing a resolution.’
Fernal nodded. He knew how little of the nation’s politics — Isak had asked him to take this position because he wanted a leader who could be a symbol for all, as well as a warrior. A nose for politics would have been the least of Isak’s requirements.
‘A good idea. I will sleep on it. Now, if you would give me the room? I must speak with Count Vesna before he goes about his duties.’
The others left smartly, Tila ushering Sir Jachers away and Lesarl only too keen to be about his work. Vesna watched her leave, feeling fresh pangs of guilt over leaving Isak on the battlefield. His death would have hurt her badly. Tila was still young, and she had been closer to Isak than to either of her brothers. However much they had infuriated each other, the bond between them had only strengthened with every squabble.
‘Vesna,’ Fernal said softly, ‘what have we done?’
He looked up, startled. ‘My Lord?’
‘Look at us,’ Fernal continued, spreading his arms wide, ‘was this a goal for either of us? You, the Mortal-Aspect of Karkarn? I, Lord of the Farlan? How did we end up this way?’
‘I couldn’t say, my Lord.’
Fernal shook his head sadly. ‘I do not know what to do. Lord Isak hoped my appointment would heal rifts, provide the Farlan with a figure to rally around.’
‘Lord Isak never fully understood his nobility,’ Vesna pointed out, hearing the bewilderment in Fernal’s voice, ‘but the very fact that you claim the title has delayed outright civil war, that I promise you, my Lord.’
‘And now? What do I do now? I keep being asked questions I cannot answer! The dukes claim my appointment is illegal, they are threatening to break away from the nation if I remain.’
‘What do you want?’
Vesna’s question seemed to catch Fernal off-guard. The massive Demi-God peered at him for a while, his mouth open just enough for Vesna to catch a glimpse of pointed teeth.
‘Not this,’ was the eventual answer. ‘Power has never interested me, and the politics of men even less so. If my father chooses a new white-eye for this position tomorrow I will give thanks at his temple for the first time in my life.’
‘You wish to return to Llehden?’
‘Of course, it is my home. But I do not wish for civil war among the Farlan either; I fear leaving now will spark that.’
Vesna didn’t speak. There was nothing he could say. Lesarl would have already told Fernal all he needed to know about the Farlan nobility. Without a ruler, they would fight. It was as simple as that.
‘If it helps,’ he said eventually, ‘I am as adrift as you, my Lord. Lord Karkarn has given me only one order, to ensure the Farlan Army is ready when it is required. At present I am unsure how that will even be possible without killing every argumentative noble in the tribe.’ Vesna gave a tired laugh. ‘And there are a lot of them!’
‘Then for that reason and several others I call you brother,’ Fernal announced with a smile to share the humour. He gave Vesna a dismissive wave. ‘Go, I need to be alone — how you humans think with the noise of a city all around you I cannot understand. Go and greet your intended; life does not stop with the death of any man.’
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