Michael Foster - She Who Has No Name

‘General Ruardin sent his best men into the streets yesterday,’ High Lord Jacobs stated, patting his short, square-cut hair into place, despite it already looking solidly plastered to his head, ‘gathering up anyone with dark skin or sand on his boots. They will not have spies amongst us for long.’

‘These are enemies that should not be underestimated in any way,’ Gallivan continued, ‘for they have managed to defeat three Lions in the space of one battle; each of us targeted according to our skills. They had sneaked a small, but powerful, ballista into place at the front of the battle and had assembled it-at great cost to their men-all with the purpose offellingme. My fondness for Leaping was evidently known and when the opportunity arose, they launched a great bolt skywards towards me, trailing a rope soaked in extract of Eldinswurt,so as to resist my spells. Itstruckme expertly and brought me to ground amongst them, nearly costing me my life. It was onlydue toluck that I escaped. It shows advanced preparation and a specific desire to remove each of us. Poor Grand Master Orien was asphyxiated with poisons that burned through his defensive vines-they knew his affinity for plants. Grand Master Jurien was stabbed by an assassin’s blade; the mancrept up close to him in disguise,bearing an exact replica ofJurian’s staff. How the firstonewas lost we shall perhaps never know, but it may even have been part of their designs. Grand Master Du perished in the mouth of one of their accursedbeasts-great lizards!Sadly,he was not physically capable of defending himself from such an agilecreature. And how they came to breed such monstrosities, I cannot guess.’

‘But where did they come from? How could we be taken by such surprise?’ Lord Kalbak, olive of skin, asked the room in his gruff voice. ‘Are we so blind to the state of the world?’

Anthem answered. ‘It’s true we have paid little attention to the Paatin wastes beyond the Eastern Reaches, but before this we have never had the need.’ He took a great breath and sighed. ‘From all indications, we thought those lands to be barren, inhabited onlybythe odd nomadic family or primitive settlement. It seems we’ve been proven unquestionably wrong. It seems that somewhere in the midst of those lands there lies a developed civilisation that we have overlooked entirely until now,a civilisationcapable of raising grand armies.’

‘TheEast has been examined on occasion, but was deemed unremarkable and unworthy of the Empire’s attention,’ Grand Master Gallivan said, setting his long,black moustache to waver. ‘The Emperor sent regular scouting parties in the old days, but they all came back with the same news: nothing to see except sand, wind and stone that went on for as far as they could bear. Many were lost attempting to breach those lands, and so the Paatin wastes were deemed unfit for human habitation.’

‘Perhaps these black-skinned barbarians are not human!’ Lord Quimbus piped up, but scathing looks from the gathering had him shutting up just as quickly.

‘I have also visited the fringes of the desert,’ Tudor announced. ‘Likewise Lord Lomar.’ At this, the magician from Kabush nodded in confirmation. ‘We have seen nothing to suggest any of this is possible. Yet, somehow, from within those parched lands have come armies of men.’

‘With the Emperor scouting every far corner for riches and taking it unto his own, I’m not surprised any inhabitants of the deserts thought best to keep their distance,’ Lord Quimbus said with disdain, but his comments caused the Turian stalwarts in the room-Jacobs and Nottingsworth in particular-to frown with distaste.

‘Well, we can’t be rushing to action hastily,’ old Tudor said, ‘but neither can we be sitting on our hands in deliberation. I’m assuming you’ve already spoken with the Empress at length.’

‘We have,’ Anthem responded, ‘but so far with little result. Unfortunately, the Empress isinexperienced in these matters and her advisers have clouded her in a fog of nonsense and bureaucracy. We may need to throw our fists down and bar them from the room while we speak some sense to her. Those simpletons refuse to accept the fact that if there is to be any hope of saving the Empire-in any form at all-we must sacrifice some of the outer territories and consolidate our defences within Turia. Lives will be lost, but the Empire simply cannot afford to spread itself thin. TheOutlands will simply need to fend for themselves.’

‘But that’s abominable!’ Master Quimbus rallied. ‘The invaders are butcheringeveryoneindiscriminately. We cannot abandon anyone. It goes against the very conscience of the Order.’

‘Actually, I believe theveryopposite to be true,’ Anthem said with a measured tongue. ‘It’s evident that any town that yields is spared, so we should send wordto towns in the Outlands todo exactly that. Any settlements that have resisted the desert people’s call to surrender have been wiped from the earth-every man, woman and child slain without exception. The buildings are pillaged and then burnt, all the crops laidtowaste and salted at great expense. They are sending a clear and potent message ahead of them.’

‘It matters little what we do,’ Master Celios called out. All eyes turned to him, for he had been quiet until now, barely seeming to take note of the conversation. Strangely, he seemed to be clenching his fists tight, so that his arms were quivering with the effort.

‘Have you something to add to this, Master Celios? A vision, perhaps?’ Jacobs called out to the balding, bulging-eyed man.

Celios snatched up his goblet and waved it to the servant waiting behind him. It was immediately topped up with water, leaving the attendant to step back into the shadows. Drinking deeply and noisily before smacking his lips, Celios’ actions were clumsy. ‘These armies are not what should be bothering us. We panic like fools at everything that catches our eye, yet we ignore the greater foe that comes to meet us.’

The council room was quiet while each magician summed up the seer’s words. Some looked sidelong to each other and it seemed obvious that most were puzzled.

Jacobs looked down his nose with concern. ‘Please explain, Master Celios.’

Celios lurched to his feet and pointed a shaking finger directly at the High Lord. ‘These wars have been foretold again and again by seers greater and lesser than me. The world is overcome by madness and we shall struggle with each other until we are brought to our knees. This Age is done and the Devil King is returned. He sends this wave of violence before him, to ready us for his taking. It is only a matter of time before he shows himself and claims us for his own.’

With that,he dropped back into his seat, but then seemed unsure of his surroundings. Celios looked around himself with bewilderment, drained of strength. He knocked his cup and water spilled across the table, yet he did not notice at all,as his sleeves began to soak up the spill. The attendant standing behind him nipped forward again and began soaking up the water with a square of cloth, lifting the man’s arms from the mess and cleaning around him,like a father tidying up around a careless child.

‘Master Celios indeed needs his rest and I’m sorry for his outburst,’ Jacobs explained. ‘I’ve had him awake the last few nights applying his skills to our situation and the responsibilities of a seer weigh heavy. He has gained no real insight into the Paatin Desert people, but he has grown increasingly disturbed in the process, which does not bode particularly well for us. I still hope he can gain some information on our new adversaries that will be of useto us, but for now I think the poor man needs some decent rest.’

But Samuel took the chance to speak up. After the ravings of Celios, his words would not seem so outrageous. ‘I have also heard something of these demons. Is there no chance that these warnings should also be considered?’