L. Modesitt - Mage-Guard of Hamor

"Where to, sers?"

"Mage-Guard Headquarters. East entrance."

"Yes, ser. We'll be on the way once you're settled."

Taryl gestured for Rahl to enter the coach first, then followed. No sooner had the older mage-guard closed the door than the driver flicked the leads, and the coach began to move.

"This is the Northern Boulevard," Taryl said, once the hired carriage headed away from the mounting blocks in the rotunda concourse and across another avenue that ran north and south. "The avenue we just crossed was the River Road. The Northern Boulevard runs due west from the river piers and eventually becomes the west highway. Some twenty kays beyond the city, it becomes a minor road, paved but narrow. Oh, roads and avenues run north and south, and boulevards and streets go east and west. Lanes and ways go where they will."

Rahl tried to take everything in, but not to gawk as he did. If Nylan were the black city, then Cigoerne was a city of white stone, but not of stark white, as some said Fairhaven was, but a warmer white, perhaps because of the reddish light reflected from all the bright tile roofs and the brightly colored awnings. The other thing that he noticed was that while he could smell various odors and scents, none of them were unpleasant, and in that respect, the city was much like Nylan.

At one intersection of an avenue and a boulevard, Rahl made out five different eateries, all with awnings or overhanging roofs, but otherwise open to the light breezes that swirled around the city-and all were nearly deserted. In Land's End or Nylan, so late in the afternoon, there would have been some patrons. Clearly, people in Cigoerne ate far later.

Warm as it was, Rahl was more than glad that the side curtains of the coach windows and door were tied back.

"What did you notice?" Taryl asked.

"The red-haired mage-guard with Cyphryt is very close to him, perhaps a lover, or one who would be. Two of the wealthier men-they looked to be merchants-do not like him at all, and their consorts share that dislike. Two women who were some sort of Imperial functionaries that I did not recognize noted you and made some comments. Oh… and everyone is wary and respectful of mage-guards."

"That is acceptable. The two you noted are actually landowners as well as holding the controlling interests in several factorages with facilities in most of the major cities in Hamor. They are reputed to owe some of their success to Cyphryt's indirect influence. Undercaptain Craelyt was a distant cousin of Cyphryt, by the way."

"Is it possible-"

"It's more than probable that Craelyt's involvement in the events in Swartheld and his relationship to Cyphryt are less than coincidental," Taryl said dryly. "It would have been interesting to see which trading houses in Swartheld might have been spared from the Jeranyi attempts to burn them, but the cost of discovering that would have been far too high."

"You know this? Don't others?" asked Rahl.

"I suspect it, but there is no proof, and one cannot act on suspicion alone." Taryl laughed ironically. "If the Emperor and the Triad did, a score of senior mage-guards would be dead, you and I among them, as well as most of the wealthy landowners and factors in Cigoerne. That is how those such as Cyphryt survive and prosper. There is never any proof, and the advantages accrue to those who have no interest in pursuing matters to develop such proof."

"But…" Rahl wasn't quite sure what to say. "Cannot the mage-guards find such proof?"

"Only if it exists. Often it does not, not by the time it comes to anyone's attention."

"You make it sound…"

"Hopeless?" Taryl shook his head. "The mage-guards, particularly those of the order persuasion, have one advantage, and that is that all schemes are chaotic at heart, and thereby hold weakness. Consider this. If a plan, whether in administering or in commerce, benefits all, and creates profit, there is little need to scheme. Whoever begins may need secrecy before he or she implements such a plan, but once implemented, such a plan does not have to be kept secret. Since something that must be kept secret has weaknesses, and since effort must be spent to keep it secret, sooner or later, the weaknesses will do in such plotting. The one problem is that, often, such weaknesses appear so late that great damage is done."

"Like this rebellion?"

Taryl nodded.

"You're not saying that the rebellion would fail even if the Emperor did nothing, are you?"

"No. I'm saying that in the end, little would change for most people-those who survived. Even if the revolt succeeded, there would be an emperor, and sooner or later, he would be succeeded by another. If the new emperor did not retain the systems now in place, or devise others that accomplished the same ends, he would fail and be overthrown. The reason the revolt needs to be put down quickly is that both a revolt and a bad emperor create more chaos and more suffering, and Golyat will be a bad emperor."

While what Taryl said made sense on the surface, Rahl needed to think about that. The same argument could be made about Recluce, and that suggested that his own personal revolt against bad magisters like Puvort was useless and meaningless, because he could do nothing to change the system.

"We've been traveling some time," Rahl ventured after another period of silence.

"The Mage-Guard Headquarters is on a low hill on the western side of the city. The Imperial Palace is in the center of Cigoerne. Both the early emperors and the early Triads felt that some separation was desirable."

"I suppose the High Command is well to the north?"

"A good five kays to the south, along the river. They have their docks, their own steam transports, and their garrisons there." After a moment, Taryl added, "Our engineers design their equipment and train their mechanics."

Rahl considered Taryl's last comment. While delivered offhandedly, the older mage-guard never spoke or acted without consideration. Finally, Rahl replied, "That's your way of assuring some control over the… military?"

"Call it our form of balance. The people need a single figure to respect and to hold accountable-that is the emperor. Hamor needs a single decision-maker as well. His power is balanced partly because the mage-guards screen out the most unsuitable heirs. The High Command is balanced because the number of troops in arms in Hamor is limited. Ships and crews are not, but the draft of most vessels is too deep to reach Cigoerne. The mage-guards are limited by their traditions and by the fact that there are never that many mages-and that people never truly trust mages." Taryl took a deep breath. "The limited number of troops has now become a liability in dealing with Prince Golyat's rebellion. The Triad has acceded to expanding the army, temporarily, but it will take seasons before some of the new recruits are truly ready for battle, and we do not have seasons if we are to prevent total disruption."

As the carriage drew up to a halt, Rahl peered outside. The building was of the same white limestone as most structures in Cigoerne, but was only two stories tall.

Taryl stepped out of the carriage, kit bag in hand, and tendered four coppers to the driver.

"Thank you, ser."

As the hack departed, the older mage-guard looked at Rahl. "What do you think?"

"It's… rather modest."

"What would you expect? It's very simple in layout," Taryl said. "The building is a rectangle of four wings around a central garden courtyard. The front wing is for the Mage-Guard Triad and his staff and clerks. The west wing is for the Mage-Guard Overcommander and his staff and support. The east wing is the quarters wing, and the rear wing holds the kitchens, and the dining and banquet areas. Each wing has an outside entry, and there is no internal entry from the other wings to either the Triad's wing or that of the Mage-Guard Overcommander." He motioned toward the square archway up three low stone steps from the mounting blocks.