Michael Foster - She Who Has No Name

Sir Ferse was strutting along the parapet looking quite annoyed and, with the strange conversations he had already had, Samuel thought there was no reason why he should not see what it was that wasdisturbingthe man.

‘Come see this, Samuel,’ he said uponespying Samuel’s approach. His voice was full of urgency. When Samuel arrived at his side, Sir Ferse started gesturing over the wall, down to the lower levels of the fortress. ‘Do you see those men?’

Samuel peered over and noticed a group of the Ghant defenders. They appeared to be on guard, standing together side by side with their backs to the citadel wall.

‘Yes?’

‘What does it look like they are doing to you?’ Sir Ferse asked.

Samuel took another peek. ‘They seem to be doing what soldiers do. Standing around. Holding weapons. Are they on guard, perhaps?’

‘Near enough. Now look up there, and over there,’ and he gestured to other squads of men at different heights along the citadel, all seemingly doing normal soldierlythings. ‘These men should be thrown into the chasm for all they’re worth. Better yet, General Mar should be. These men have forgotten what the Turian Empire stands for! The Empire was founded on precision and preparation, efficiency and obedience. Look what has happened! This is intolerable!’ The man was really quite flustered.

‘Calm now, Sir Ferse. It doesn’t seem quite so bad to me. They really don’t look any different to the soldiers in Cintar.’

Ferse took a deep breath and seemed to calm himself. ‘Of course. What would a magician know,’ he said quite factually. ‘The legions of Turia nearly managed to conquer the entire continent on several occasions, but each time-’ and he sighed, ‘-we failed because of some tiny oversight. You would never believe the incredible complexity of managing an empire,of directing armies of men across vast distances. The logistics are inconceivable. And,with every extra man,the complexity grows twofold. If you have reliable commanders beneath you, it eases the burden, but such men are hard to find. There are just too many fools, or too manywhofall into laziness, without someone watching their backs. Take General Mar, for example. He has been guarding this pass for about twenty years now and I have never seen things in such a state.’

‘You have been here before, then?’

‘Many times over the years. The responsibilities of Turia had us marching to all corners of the Empire and beyond, making inspections and attending formal occasions. Ah, but it doesn’t matter now. It’s funny. Never in my entire life did I ever question what I was doing. Every moment of myexistencewas for the Empire, but now, it just seems so pointless, as if I was working so feverishly that I was blind to what was true in the world.’

‘I find that is a common occurrence with Turians, Sir Ferse.’ Immediately, he regretted the words that had slipped from his mouth, for Sir Ferse scowled at him. He then attempted to cover his mistake with some subtle flattery. ‘Oh, don’t misunderstand me. Turians are the most noble of people but,as a Marlen, I can see that sometimes there are other things to value in life above the Empire.’

Sir Ferse gave a slow nod and looked to the mountaintops across the chasm, where the wind was blowing up enormous spirals of mist from the peaks. ‘You are right, Magician. Again, that is something I would never have considered. Perhaps, that is why the Empress was so treasured by our late Emperor over all his other wives. She was not of Turian blood and did not blindly follow her husband’s words without at least arguing with him first. Do you know, in more years than anyone could remember, the Emperor had never heard the simple word“ no”? They say,the first time she said it to him, he flew into a rage and tore half the palace to shreds, but she stood firmly and would not be dissuaded. When the Emperor finally calmed down, he had the sense to realise that she had been right. Not one of the advisers or accountants or politicians of the courthadever had the spine to say what they really thought and it had created this shroud of ignorance around the Emperor-a miasma of misinformation. Still, he could not have learnt all his lessons that day, for the Emperor made many more mistakes after that.’

At that, Samuel almost choked and had to pound himself in the chest. To hear such a statement from a Turian was almost unheard of.

‘You sound as if you knew them well.’

‘Who?’ Sir Ferse responded, turning his back to the mountains and lookingatSamuel as if he was surprised the magician was still there.

‘The Emperor and the Empress.’

‘Oh, yes. Of course I knew them. I have been in the court many years-more than most. That is why I have come on this journey-to somehow account for the errors of my past.’ He passed his gaze across the others gathered on the parapet, then looked back to Samuel, staring intently with barely a blink of his cool blue eyes. ‘Did you know, Samuel, that the Emperor did not have even one friend in all his life? I don’t want to be like that.’

‘He didn’t?’

‘I suppose it was because of the nature of his personality. He was a perfectionist to a fault and utterly demanding-unforgiving of failure.’

‘And something of a madman, on some counts.’

Again, Samuel’s mouth had run away from him, and he half-expected Sir Ferse to go berserk, but the man only smiled.

‘So some say. But let me ask you a question, Samuel. What would you do if you could take back the mistakes of your life and start anew?’

‘Are you referring to my last statement?’

‘Perhaps something a little more profound than that. If you could take back something terrible by doing something utterly wonderful, wouldn’t you leap at the chance?’

Samuel thought immediately of Ash and the day that Leila had been slain by the man’s lackeys, but he would not speak of it. ‘We all do things we live to regret, but they build us into the men we become. Fate moulds us and its efforts cannot be undone.’

‘But you succeeded, Samuel! You did revenge your family and you did kill the magician Ash. It is a story that now resounds around the city. Wasn’t that a wonderful feeling?’

‘You seem to know all about me.’

‘Your story has been told and retold by the people of Cintar in many forms now, Samuel, since you became its saviour. There are the occasional bits and pieces known only to a select few, but you can be sure those secrets will remain safe for the time being.’ The man did seem to know more about Samuel than he was letting on, and he noticed Samuel take a start at his words. ‘Don’t worry. You have nothing to fear from me, Samuel. I have no interest in your story, or the things you have done.’ Then he leaned closer. ‘In fact, by killing the Emperor, you did me a greater favour than you could ever realise.’

Samuel took a step back, not keen to become involved in any conspiracies the man had in mind. ‘I’m not at all sure what you are talking about, Sir Ferse.’

Sir Ferse laughed heartily and put his handsonthe battlement, leaning up against it. ‘You really have no idea how amusing the world is from my point of view. Anyway, we will have much to discuss in the future. We should focus now on defending this pass, for once Master Celios says our task is done, whatever it may be, we can continue on to our mission.’

‘So you have no idea why we must dally here?’

‘Not at all. Master Celios provides more puzzles with his visions than any questions he may answer. I have learnt to trust the man’s intuitions, despite his growing eccentricities, but I can never understand him.’

‘You seem confident that we will win here.’

‘Oh, I have no idea. But Ghant has never been overwhelmed before and I don’t see why it would be now,and,in reality,I no longer care. Master Celios has assured me that we will save young Leopold in the end, and that is all that matters.’