John Carr - Kalvan Kingmaker

Note: Have Ermut send over a cask of his best Brandy for the Royal Pantry.

They both rose to greet Xentos as he entered, walking slowly but easily. The rheumatism, which had flared up during the Winter of the Wolves, didn't seem to be troubling him yet despite all the hard travel. But, up close, there were bags under his eyes and hard fatigue lines running through the surface wrinkles that creased his face. It was said that a week's fast travel across the roads of the Great Kingdoms could take a boy right through youth and into middle age.

Seeing the tight-lipped grimace that passed for a smile on Rylla's face, he decided to side-step the issue on everyone's mind and move into neutral territory. "Greetings, Chancellor. Let me show you the first piece of paper ever produced in Hostigos where something can be read after it's written down." He pointed to the curling brown sheet that laid like some precious object on a gilded platform.

Xentos smiled thinly, bent over the table, and read off the roster of mercenary recruits. Then he made a quick circle around the eight-pointed white star emblazoned on his chest. "Let us pray to Dralm that such a host will not be needed this coming spring."

"I will make many such prayers," Rylla said evenly. "And also to Galzar, for the host to be ready, trained and armed, if they are needed."

"As the gods will it," Kalvan joined in, trying to keep the peace. "Don't touch it, yet. The paper is too dark and it turns brittle after a few days, so we still have much work to do. Master Ermut thinks he will have a sizing for the papers to that will not turn brittle by spring."

"Let us hope so," Xentos said. "This is good news, Your Majesty. With paper to spread the word of Dralm's truth to the world, Styphon's House has just lost another battle. I met Brother Mytron-I mean Rector Mytron-in the Great Hall and wondered what had brought him here at night in such a hurry. He smiled and said it was the Great King's secret. He was carrying something in a large saddlebag and he still had the dust of his journey on his cloak."

"Is it another batch of paper for you to examine?"

"Indeed it is, but I have no secrets from you, Xentos." Praise Dralm this stays the truth, and also that Mytron doesn't put his foot in his mouth again. Had the younger priest really decided to change his loyalties from Dralm to Kalvan, or was he simply getting carried away with the thrill of scientific discovery? He'd have a talk with Mytron to find out where his true loyalties rested.

"I am sure of that, Your Majesty, and likewise that Mytron has the wisdom to know how to serve both the Great God and his Great King. May it always be so."

Kalvan murmured a politely pious agreement, mostly to keep Rylla from saying anything. Several moons with his fellow highpriests at the Council had brought out a new side of Xentos personality, one that Kalvan wasn't sure he liked. Rylla's face showed more than her normal dislike of verbal fencing. He put a hand on her shoulder and after a moment felt her relax.

"I do have a complaint about the way you have been feeding Mytron. He appears to have lost weight since my leave taking. Is the kingdom still rationing food to prepare for the winter?"

"No. We had an excellent harvest and have bought additional stores from Hos-Agrys and Ulthor."

At this point Aspasthar returned with the pewter goblets, and they all drank toasts to the papermakers of Hostigos-about as neutral a toast as Kalvan could come up with under the circumstances.

Xentos set his cup down after one swallow and said, "I wish that I could have come to bring good news as well as to hear it. Dralm has willed otherwise. Great King Kaiphranos of Hos-Harphax is dead."

"We know," Kalvan said. "Duke Skranga informed us of Kaiphranos's death a moon quarter ago."

Xentos wrinkled his nose as if he'd just had a whiff of a particularly bad odor.

Kalvan said nothing. He'd exhausted his supply of polite pieties. Rylla poured herself another goblet of wine and took a healthy swig, then grinned. "Kaiphranos was dead long ago, if he ever lived."

"That is unseemly said-" Xentos began, then sighed and sipped his wine. "That is unseemly," he continued, "but it is also true. Kaiphranos had few gifts for kingship, and those few he lost many years ago. When his eldest son died there was not much left of even the man." He circled his breast-star again and seemed lost in thought.

"Prince Selestros is Kaiphranos's only surviving son," Rylla amended. "I don't think Kaiphranos had enough blood in him to get more than two. And who would fight for Selestros? The madams and winesellers, perhaps. They'd have to be loyal to their best customer. But who else?"

Xentos face whitened at Rylla's coarse words and he gave Kalvan a look that said, 'what are you going to do about it.' Kalvan wisely decided not to light that firecracker. Xentos didn't used to be such a fuddy-duddy, perhaps too much time spent with his pious associates in Agrys City. Kalvan wondered what other 'sensitivities' the Chancellor had recently acquired.

"Have the Electors made any decision on Kaiphranos's successor?" he asked, to keep the conversation afloat, it was listing badly.

If Selestros's character outweighed his blood in the eyes of the Elector, Princes, there were only two other candidates, the formidable Grand Duke Lysandros and Prince Soligon of Argros, Kaiphranos's cousin and brother-in-law, who apparently had at least the negative virtues of being neither a fanatic nor a drunk.

"At this time, Prince Soligon is the man whose election would offend the smallest number of those who should not be offended," Xentos finally answered. Kalvan refrained from asking for a list of "those who should not be offended;" Xentos doubtless had it down in such detail that it would take an hour to recite. "Grand Duke Lysandros has taken the title, Prince of Harphax, since Selestros has renounced his claim as both Prince and Great King. It is said that this was in exchange for enough gold from Styphon's House to pay all his debts. With Selestros not in the line of succession, Lysandros is closest by blood to the crown of Harphax. Since Hos-Harphax is now without a Great King, the Electors have appointed a Regency Council to rule Hos-Harphax until the Harphaxi Succession Crisis is resolved.

"The Council of Dralm has recently 'learned', from friends in Harphax City, that the Regency Council has appointed Lysandros as Captain-General of the Royal Army. It is said that the Regency Council is so crippled by the infighting between Lysandros and the other candidates that it dare not to do anything decisive."

That sounds a lot like the Council of Dralm, Kalvan thought to himself. As he shot daggers at Rylla with his eyes to keep her from saying such out loud.

"It is hoped by the Regency Council that re-training and re-organizing the Royal Army will keep Prince Lysandros too busy to do any effective politicking. Styphon's House is supplying him with gold, fireseed and arms to buy the goodwill of the captains of the mercenary companies and the Princely levies."

That was new news and not so good at that. Lysandros had a reputation as a savvy commander and as Captain-General of Hos-Harphax he could place his captains in key leadership positions and pick up good will where it counted the most. The unanswered question was still whether Lysandros was planning a putsch or not?

Xentos doubted it. "The laws of succession bind all candidates for the Iron Throne to avoid intimidating the Electoral Princes. To be sure, laws of such a nature are often the least obeyed, but in this case I think Lysandros will be cautious. He would not care to have those who fear his devotion to Styphon also able to call him a usurper."

Men of Lysandros's character with loyal armies at their back tended not to fear very much of anything, but Kalvan was sure Xentos knew this himself. "If we're able to march against the Harphaxi in the spring, we may be able to take a hand in the succession. Any Prince who pledges not to vote for Lysandros will be treated as a neutral, his lands left unmolested, his fireseed restocked, and so on."