[2006/01] Reprisals

[Ziv]

[turbine]

http://ac.turbine.com/index.php?page_id=436

Queen Elysa entered the royal Map Room to find a man in well-worn chain and leather armor standing by the table. He was old enough to be Elysa's own father, but he had the spare, leanly muscled build of a veteran who has survived innumerable battles. With his fearsome scars and an intense yet distant gaze, the soldier was a discomfiting presence.

As soon as she entered the room, the old man snapped to attention and bowed at a precisely correct angle. She nodded in response and sat at the head of the table. He took his signal to sit, and waited politely for her to speak first.

"Forgive my late arrival, Captain Tharnoch. I was delayed by another argument with the young Prince." She smiled as graciously as she could.

"That is frankly none of my business, Your Majesty," Tharnoch said, after a slight pause.

Elysa blinked, momentarily confused at the captain's stiffly correct rebuke. Then she recovered her composure and decided to get to business. "Captain, I have read a very brief report on the circumstances that led you from the Bellenesse lands on Ispar to the wilds outside of Silyun here, but I would like to speak in further detail about your experiences."

"As you wish, Your Majesty," he said.

"So let us start from the beginning. Please tell me what you and your soldiers were doing so deep in Viamontian territory."

"We had received information hinting at the rift between the House of Bellenesse and the royal house. I was given broad freedom in my command, and I figured that properly planned and targeted attacks on the borders between Bellenesse lands and loyalist houses would create the appearance of rebellion, forcing the Viamontians to bring at least some of their army home to deal with the problem."

"So you were, essentially, creating an appearance of civil war in order to start a civil war."

For the first time since she had met him, Captain Tharnoch smiled. "Yes, Your Majesty. I thought it was very poetic that we were killing Viamontians to make Viamontians kill each other."

Elysa nodded. "I see. And then... Prince Renlen's murder... We heard reports of all that from new arrivals..."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Bellenesse was already planning his own insurrection, and his daughter's murder of the younger Prince at that tournament provoked a true civil war. In a sense, Duke Bellenesse unknowingly accomplished our goals."

"So how did you come to Dereth?"

"The royal armies were recalled from Aluvia and Gharu'n, and swept through the Bellenesse lands. We did our part to bleed them as they went, but we were slowly driven toward the Duke's castle, hiding from both sides. We finally went to ground in an abandoned farmhouse near the castle, with the royal armies closing the circle around Bellenesse. We were preparing to, ah, sell our lives dearly in a last stand, Your Majesty, when a portal appeared in the barn."

"A portal that led you to the Halaetan Islands, along with all the Viamontians."

"That is correct, Your Majesty."

"So how did you survive all those years in isolation, without a way off the islands?"

"My soldiers were all highly trained for just that sort of situation, Your Majesty. I will not pretend that it was easy. Prince – er, excuse me, King Varicci's forces infested the islands. I had seen many terrible things in war before, but what we encountered in those long years in the wilderness..." He paused and met the Queen's eyes for just a second. In that moment of contact, Elysa somehow got a keen understanding of the kind of horrors that Tharnoch had been through, isolated in an unknown world, hounded across wild and desolate islands by Varicci's monstrous forces.

"Captain, I must tell you that all of the veterans of Isparian wars who served with you have only the highest praise for your dedication, courage, and skill. You bring with you a formidable reputation. And still I find myself amazed that you managed to survive that long, especially without lifestone protection..."

"As I said, Your Majesty, it was... very difficult. I lost half of the soldiers under my command. Brave and loyal Aluvians, every man and woman of them. All of us still alive were... changed by what we went through. But we did manage to survive, get off those islands, and finally make contact with your people. As for the lifestones..." The captain's gaze wandered, and he shivered. "I still have trouble accepting that such things could be possible."

Elysa nodded knowingly. "In a just world, Captain, I would be able to offer you honors, titles, a grant of rich land, and a comfortable retirement to reward you for your service. But in this strange world, I am afraid I can only offer you more of the same: war against Varicci. You and your soldiers have so much knowledge and expertise, I am afraid we are going to have to press you into service with little rest. We have another unorthodox war to fight."

Tharnoch's eyes gleamed. "Your Majesty, I was born in Morain Province, right on the border with Viamont. I have lived almost my entire life fighting Viamontians, in the open or from the shadows, whether the local lord held allegiance to their crown or to ours. All I ask is to be able help carry the fight to this rabid dog who calls himself a King, and the opportunity to meet the end of my days with Viamontian blood on my blade."

"Your end of days may not come for a long, long time here because of the lifestones, Captain. Though there are exceptions..."

Tharnoch nodded solemnly. "I have heard tell of the death of one named Antius Blackmoor, Your Majesty. From what I have heard, it was a noble sacrifice. It was a good death."

She took some time to contain her emotions and said, "Antius was a great man, and he will be sorely missed. He provided good counsel, he was a courageous leader, and not least, he was instructing my son, the Prince Borelean, in the arts of war and diplomacy."

"I am no diplomat, Your Majesty, but there are several soldiers from my command who can educate the Prince in the ways of combat. And in subtler ways of fighting, as well. Ways that he might not have been able learn from a gentleman." The captain allowed himself another smile. "Yes, given what I have learned about the nature of the war you have on your hands, I think we can help you. I pledge myself and my soldiers to your service, my Queen."

"We have much to discuss then, Captain." Elysa looked for a long time across the table at the captain. This conversation had given her a clear sense of the rage that roiled beneath his courtesy and discipline. Not too long ago, the edge of madness that she sensed in him would have worried her. Now, she felt more hopeful than she had felt in a long time, just to have this proud, half-crazed old warrior on her side.

[Ziv]

[turbine]

http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=440

The old Viamontian woman shuffled across the room, cradling a bottle of wine in her hands. She brought the wine to the table and presented it to her guest, a younger Gharu'ndim woman dressed in blue Amuli armor. The younger woman inspected the label and sighed appreciatively.

"I never expected to see another bottle of Bonniduenne in my life," she murmured. "The grace of the Poet be upon you, Grand Mother."

The older woman laughed as she poured out two glasses. "Please, Hashina, you may call me Elgenia. And it is my pleasure to share one of my last bottles with you. I will also give you a bottle to bring back to your gracious Queen. I know that the grapes in this land are an inferior vintage to what we had in Ispar."

Hashina accepted a glass and raised it in toast. "To the success of our shared ventures, both public and private," she said.

Elgenia, the Grand Mother of Silyun, clinked her glass against Hashina's. "A worthy toast," she said, and took a long sip. "Though, speaking of sharing, there is one matter I wished to discuss with you..."

Hashina arched an eyebrow. "I must warn you that I am not empowered to discuss any other terms beyond those which we have already ratified, and the... informal cooperation agreement."

Elgenia nodded amiably. "As I expected. Call it a suggestion, to bring up with your Queen when you speak with her again." Hashina nodded, and she went on. "I think that the name of this realm we will forge together should be changed. I do not think a name like 'New Aluvia' is suitably inclusive of all Her Majesty's subjects, even before my people arrived here. It is, perhaps, best suited to region of riverlands and mountains that the Aluvians themselves claim in Dereth, but not to name the realm as a whole."

Hashina considered that. "Personally, I agree with you. We just never bothered much about names before. After our three nations escaped from the Olthoi enslavement, we were too busy with matters of survival to give it much thought. And those of us of Sho and Gharu'n were too happy to find a secure alliance to quibble much about names. Elysa did much to bring us together in the early days. And then there was all the trouble with the Hopeslayer, and then the Virindi..."

"I understand how that could be so, and I understand that, if there were no, ah, competing kingdom in Dereth, the name would be moot. But you must understand that my people in particular might not be so enthusiastic to join a realm named after a country with which we have warred for centuries. How would you like, for example, to be sworn to the Kingdom of New Milantos?"

"I take your point," Hashina said, grimacing. "Though I hardly think Aluvia and Milantos are comparable nations, I will mention it to the Queen."

"Every comparison has its limits," Elgenia agreed. "But let us move on to other matters," she said. "I know you are eager to share intelligence on Varicci and the movements of his armies."

"Of course, but there are many other things my Queen is curious about. For instance, let us discuss these Fiun creatures and their unique trials..."

[Ziv]

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