Gav Thorpe - The Crown of the Conqueror

The news from the fleeing tribes also confirmed the king-messiah's suspicions that the Askhan force that had been shadowing and raiding his army for the last twenty-six days was but a small force, also intended to slow the Mekhani advance and delay their attack into the heart of the empire. This too would fail. Annoying as the loss of foraging parties were, as irksome as the flurries of night-time ambushes on the camps, the threat from the Askhans was easy to dismiss.

Once they were over the mountains, circumventing the Askhan forces no doubt gathering at the coldwards border with Anrair, the Mekhani would have the riches of Nalanor to pillage at will. Even in his most pessimistic predictions, Ullsaard would not have considered the Mekhani crossing the mountains where the peaks were highest. In this respect he had not accounted for the Behemodons. Thought sluggish in the cool weather, the massive beasts could carry far more than a whole caravan of abadas, and such was the skill of their riders the treacherous paths and trails of the pass were no obstacle.

Erlaan turned to Asirkhyr and Eriekh, who had not left the king's side since his decision to decline battle after crossing the Nakuus. They had been soft in their admonition for the choice Erlaan had made, and were evidently becoming more aware of their precarious position, cut off from their fellow priests of the Temple and the network of the Brotherhood. Not that this stopped them from reminding Erlaan on occasion that he derived his power from their sorceries.

"The weather will improve once we cross the shoulder," he told the two priests. "The descent will be much swifter. We should be able to attack Aarisk in three days at the most, probably two."

"There is a Brotherhood precinct in that town," said Asirkhyr. "They will send word to the Brotherhood of our attack. It would be better if our passing across the mountains would go unnoticed."

Erlaan shrugged sending a stream of water cascading from his armour.

"There is nothing our foes can do to stop us," said Erlaan. "It would take twenty days for a legion to march around the mountains, thirty if Ullsaard wants to come up from Mekha, by which time we will be hundreds of miles away. I think it might be a wise course to spread the word of our arrival. We can save time and bloodshed if the towns in our path are given the chance to surrender."

"And who would you send on such a delegation?" said Eriekh. "The Mekhani cannot negotiate and you cannot leave the army."

"You will go," said Erlaan, pointing at Eriekh. "You will be my herald, with a bodyguard of, say, a thousand warriors."

"Your herald?" Indignation wrinkled the aged priest's face. "I am a hierophant of the eulanui, not your messenger boy."

"And you will be returning to Mekha," Erlaan told Asirkhyr, ignoring the other's protest. "This is, after all, just the vanguard of my army. At least another fifty thousand warriors will have gathered at Akkamaro. You will lead them against Ullsaard's forces, if they remain in Mekha. If not, a second attack towards Geria will meet little resistance. It would be foolish to think that a single army will win us Askh. I will subjugate Nalanor and Anrair, while you will secure Okhar and Maasra. Ullsaard knew what he was doing, isolating Askhor from the other provinces."

"I do not think he will repeat the mistakes of Lutaar and Nemtun and concede such territories without battle," said Asirkhyr. "I am no military commander, and we cannot trust the shamans to fare any better against the legions. You would throw away thousands of warriors for little gain."

"I do not need you to win battles, simply to fight them," said Erlaan. "Ullsaard cannot fight both us and the Salphors at the same time. If he withdraws his troops from Salphoria, his enemies there will sweep to the border and retake Magilnada, and I cannot see how the usurper will allow that to happen. His entire goal has been the conquest of Salphoria, and his arrogance is such that he will believe he can defeat me whilst maintaining his strength to duskward. He will bring together what legions he can to defeat me, leaving the hotwards and dawnwards provinces ripe for the picking. It is my intent to give him no opportunity but to surrender."

"You think that is likely?" said Eriekh. "He will not relinquish the Crown while he lives, that is the extent of his stubbornness."

"And should he refuse, he will make an enemy of the governors," Erlaan said with a toothy grin. "With certain assurances to their continued power, they will be happy to endorse me as the rightful heir of the Crown and withdraw their support from Ullsaard. He forgets how easy it was for him to turn the provinces against Lutaar, and I shall use the same weapon."

The two said nothing, searching for further arguments but finding none. Eriekh sneered as he spoke.

"Do not fall victim to overconfidence," said the priest. "It is one thing for the governors to accept a renegade like Ullsaard; it is another for them to bow to the rule of the Mekhani."

"That is why I will offer to send the Mekhani back to the desert if the governors recognise my claim," replied Erlaan. "I am monstrous and unnatural, and it will be hard for them to accept me, but I will offer no alternative. As my followers they will see the empire expanded with Mekha, and against such strength Salphoria cannot hold. As Ullsaard did, I will show them that the protection of the king is worthless. If they refuse, I will destroy them, one by one."

Obviously still rankled by his appointment to herald, Eriekh stalked away, sour-faced and grumbling to himself. Asirkhyr remained, distaste at Erlaan's edicts written in his glare.

"What of the Brotherhood?" said the priest. "You cannot reveal to them the secrets you have learned, and they cannot be cowed by your threats."

"Lakhyri controls the Brotherhood, as he has always done. They are the least of our problems."

Erlaan was tired of the priest's protests and turned his back on Asirkhyr. The king called for his council to attend him and as the shamans gathered, he watched Asirkhyr hurrying off to catch up with Eriekh. The king-messiah was sure the priests thought he overstepped his mark with his plans and commands, but he did not care. Their schemes were convoluted and timeconsuming. If Erlaan had learnt anything from his grandfather's faltering and Ullsaard's usurpation, it was that direct action brought the swiftest and surest results.

The army marched on up the pass, the rain unrelenting. Erlaan moved through the column, offering words of counsel and encouragement. Wherever the king-messiah passed, the hearts of the Mekhani were lifted, his presence enough to bolster their resolve.

A windy and wet night followed, during which Erlaan's followers found what shelter they could at the height of the pass. Though food was low, the meltwater and rain provided plenty to drink, and grumbling stomachs were easier to ignore with thoughts of Aarisk's large grain stores and fertile pastures just two days away.

Dawn brought some relief as the mountain storm dropped in severity, reducing to a constant drizzle. As the morning light spread up the pass, Erlaan could feel the hopes of the army rising as well. The path down was steep but widened quickly and the sun continued to strengthen, occasionally breaking through the clouds. By noon, the head of the column had reached the floor of the valley, and word came back that foraging parties had some success, killing deer, goats and birds by the score. They had also found two swift rivers, alive with fish, and with nets and ropes, more was added to the stockpile of food. It would be far from a feast, but little fare was better than none at all.

Erlaan renewed his promises of what was to come, and described the riches that awaited the Mekhani once Askh was theirs, though he knew that they would share little of such plunder. He felt no guilt at using them in this way. The red-skinned tribesmen were still lesser people. Despite everything, Erlaan considered himself still an Askhan; purebred of Askh and the legitimate heir to the Crown of the Blood no less.