Joel Shepherd - Haven

“Yes,” Carlito said drily, “well, if we win here, in this glorious campaign, I shall never understand because they'll all be dead. Eventually.”

“The Regent may stop at the Ipshaal after all,” Alfriedo said quietly.

Carlito took a long swig of his wine. “You are not such a boy that you believe this thing.” Alfriedo said nothing.

Tent flaps parted and King Koenyg emerged with some other men. He farewelled them, then walked to where Carlito and Alfriedo waited. All present climbed to their feet.

“Duke Carlito,” said Koenyg. Carlito was taller, yet Koenyg was powerful. His square face and chiselled jaw were, at this range, impressive. “Lord Alfriedo. Good of you to come.”

“As instructed,” said Carlito, drily. “What matter concerns you?”

“Serrin,” said Koenyg. “It has been brought to my attention that your Pazira men have come into the possession of some serrin prisoners. I understand that they may have information that could prove valuable. I require you to hand them over for interrogation.”

“No,” said Carlito, quite calmly.

Koenyg frowned. “Then my interrogators will come to your camp and conduct the interrogation there.”

Carlito thought about it for a moment, quite unhurried. Then he shook his head. “No,” he repeated.

Koenyg's face hardened. “Explain yourself.”

“I have seen your tent, up here.” Carlito indicated the tent upriver, holding the prisoners. “We do not do that in Pazira. It is not our way.”

“Duke Carlito, we are at war.”

“And war is the place for honourable things. This is not our honour.”

“The Regent Arrosh has placed me in command of this formation. I command you to hand the prisoners over.”

Carlito scratched his scruffy hair. “My father taught me that if I did such a thing, I would go to the hells. Perhaps you do not fear the hells because you are already there.”

Koenyg did not look impressed, but neither did he lose his temper. He did not seem particularly surprised, as though he had been warned to expect such behaviour from this lanky Torovan. “I understand that you did not see much action today.”

“Your Highness did not see fit to bestow upon us such an honour,” Carlito agreed.

“And you will see little tomorrow. This men's business of warfare is clearly beyond you.”

“Real men kill men who fight back,” said Carlito. “My father taught me that, too. He said it was a popular notion, amongst the common men of Lenayin.”

Koenyg dismissed him with disgust. Carlito bowed, summoned his men, and left. Koenyg looked at Alfriedo.

“Torovans,” said Alfriedo, as though that explained everything.

Koenyg smiled. “Indeed. In fact, that is what I wished to speak with you about.”

“Oh yes?”

Koenyg put a hand on the boy's shoulder and steered him toward the tent. “As you are aware, Lenayin has access to only one great sea port.”

“Petrodor,” said Alfriedo with a nod.

“Exactly. And that is some journey from Lenayin. Petrodor, you will no doubt note, is full of Torovans.”

“Quite.”

“Now, not all Torovans are as troublesome as our Pazira friends, yet there is a new king in Petrodor, and we do not know yet what relations shall bring. I should like to know a lot more of Tracato, as I've heard that its trade is nearly the rival of Petrodor's, yet it has so little trade from Lenayin. In the future, I would think that it would be of great benefit to both our peoples should this absence be addressed, don't you agree?”

Sasha galloped from the eastern wall and into the dark valley. Her party rejoined the road, lit by a solitary scout ahead, while she trailed behind. The road passed fields and farmhouses, and clusters of trees as yet undamaged by war. Beyond Koenyg's initial advance down the valley, there had been little further fighting.

Ahead she could see the massed fires of the enemy camp, with several great bonfires forming a perimeter. Guards lit those fires partly in fear of a stealthy serrin approach, and partly in the hope of disrupting sensitive serrin night vision. It was a sensible move, and effective…if serrin wished to try anything so obvious.

The scout stopped short of some horsemen in the middle of the road. Errollyn reined up at Sasha's side, and stood in his stirrups to scan the fields and trees ahead.

“Nothing,” he said. “But I'll watch that low wall to the left, that's the only possible location.”

Sasha pressed her new horse to a walk and Damon moved up on her right. Behind them, four more riders, two of them talmaad. The scout with the torch peeled off as they approached, confident as Errollyn was that no ambush awaited.

On horseback opposite them sat Koenyg and Myklas, before a number of senior northern Lenay lords. Amongst them, Sasha recognised Great Lord Heryd of Hadryn, a longtime foe. There were no flags of truce raised. In Lenayin they were often disdained-a man's word was supposed to be enough.

“You're losing,” said Koenyg, without preamble. “Give up.”

“My Ilduuris scored at better than ten for every loss today,” said Sasha. “The Army of Lenayin did perhaps even better, and with far worse positioning, while you sat here for most of the day and drank tea. You have an interesting notion of ‘losing.’”

“ Your Ilduuris,” Koenyg said flatly. He hadn't heard, Sasha realised.

“My Ilduuris. The Ilduuri Steel, the one you thought would not come. They hold the ridges above the valley mouth, and slaughter the Regent's men who try to displace them.”

“They do not hold it any longer. We have eyes.” The far side of the valley was high, and would afford them a view. Koenyg may not be in direct communication with the Regent, but he could see what happened up at the valley's western end. “The Rhodaani Steel charged the Regent's artillery. Their losses looked severe. Now the Army of Lenayin and the Ilduuri Steel are all that stand between Jahnd and overwhelming force on that side. Your position is hopeless. And believe it or not, I would rather not kill either of you.”

“Feeling's not mutual,” said Damon. “I challenge. This dawn, with blades.”

Koenyg smirked. “Nice. Offer a challenge you know I cannot accept for tactical reasons, to make me look cowardly when I refuse. You're desperate. No one here cares for your silly plots. And no one here believes you could beat me even were there five of you. I lose no face because I have nothing to prove to you, little brother. Nothing.”

“Nothing save honour,” said Damon.

Koenyg stared. Damon stared back. Hold firm, Sasha willed Damon. Damon had truly stood up to Koenyg just once, in all his life, when he had led what remained of the Army of Lenayin away from the northerners and nobles remaining loyal to Koenyg. But Koenyg had won that contest of swords also, and Damon had only survived by Koenyg's mercy.

“Be careful what you wish for, little brother,” Koenyg murmured.

“ Tymorain is a stupid tradition anyhow,” Damon replied. “Swords at dawn is no way to select a leader of nations. The men I lead required me to challenge, for formality's sake. But when deciding the leader of nations, outcomes of leadership matter more.”

“You're leading your army to its death. The cream of pagan Lenayin shall die with it. Verenthane Lenayin shall emerge victorious, and our strength in Lenayin shall be doubled when we return with our Verenthane allies.”

“You'd lead a new Verenthane invasion of Lenayin?” Sasha asked in disbelief. “Hold the Goeren-yai at swordpoint? Convert or die?”

“I didn't want to do it this way, Sasha, but this is what you have forced me to. The faith is the future of humanity in Rhodia, and your pagan ways shall fade, as pagan ways always do, Lenayin's and the serrin's.”