The Warrior's Tale (36 page)

'So we assembled our own
battle
fleet, but it didn't come just from our archipelago. There were others in Konya who loathed this new order, and saw it could bring nothing but doom to all mankind. There were nearly a thousand ships that assembled off Isolde. We expected a great
battle
- but there was none to be fought. The rabble had broken. Some fled, some recanted, some chose death by their own hand rather than see order return to the world.

'They carried me from the docks where my flagship had archored straight into the Palace of the Monarchs, where I was crowned by the trembling hand of one of the survivors of the great family that had once ruled. That was nearly thirty years ago.'

The Sarzana sat silent, his eyes hooded, recalling that long-ago triumph. None of us broke the silence.

Then, he said: 'At first, things went well. No one seemed displeased at seeing mob rule discarded. I punished as little as I could, wanting peace with no one having blood to revenge. I tried to rule mercifully, and that spawned my downfall.'

'How,' Corais wanted to know, 'can mercy ever be a base act?'

'Legate, that is hardly a question I'd expect of a warrior. Let me offer an example to clarify things. Would you fell an enemy, then turn your back on him if he still had a dagger at his belt
⁵
'

'Ah,' Corais said.

'Exactl
y. Some of those who'd sent that fleet out, or who conspired to murder the lords and ladies of the old regime I merely exiled to distant lands or even their own estates. Others, more culpable, I imprisoned for a fixed time. There were only a few who had to meet the most severe penalty. And what was the result? The exiles were able to plot beyond my eyes on their lands. Those I'd executed became martyrs. Those in prison wrote passionate documents to stir up an
other rebellion that were secretl
y passed from hand to hand.'

'But all this,' Cholla Yi put in cynically, 'is no more than any strong man must face who seizes power, although I quite agree with you when you said you were too merciful. In my own land, when a man takes the throne, his first act is to slay his brothers and uncles, so there can be none of his blood to rise against him.'

All this was too much for me. 'Sarzana. With all respect, my own city has gone through great changes in the past few years. But there is no hidden conspiracy against the new Magistrates or those Evocators who now speak for the people - at least not one I'm aware of.'

'I suspect, Captain, you come from a more phlegmatic race,' The Sarzana said. 'You remember, I said that we Konyans are hot-blooded and quick to any extreme? People such as we can be ruled in only one way - and that is firmly. Konyans will not cry out against their rulers unless they see the laws enforced without an even hand. But I had an additional problem, one that became the hub of the conspiracy.'

'The nobility you spoke of,' I guessed.

'Just so. At first, the barons could not sing my praises too loudly. But then, I found it necessary to examine their position, and realized they still held all too many of the unjust powers that had been the greatest evil of the old rulers, powers that went back for hundreds of years. Some collected rents on lands they'd never seen, others had entire islands or even the seas around them as their private fiefs. A slave was a slave, until the last generation, with no way to free himself.'

I flinched a little a
t that, since it was only recentl
y that Orissa had righted
that
great wrong herself, a doing of my brother, Amalric.

'Even more, some of them held writs that enabled them to circumvent common law, and imprison or otherwise punish anyone who offended them, with no recourse whatsoever. Great areas of land were held by them, and rack-rents charged, when most Konyans had but a tiny parcel of land to raise their crops. Perhaps I should have moved more slowly. But raw injustice brings rage to my heart, and a sword to my hand. I announced all of those baronial privileges would be examined, and a fresh wind of change would blow across the land.

'That was the spark. It fell on dry tinder because the gods had turned away from Konya. We had had several seasons of great storms, and then hot dry winds sweeping across our fertile lands. The schools of fish that were once so common seemed to find other seas to live in, and there was starvation for the first time in memory. The spark
grew into flame. Some of the outl
ying islands rose against me, and I found it necessary to send out soldiers to suppress the risings. Unfortunately, the captains I chose were brutal men, men who thought the most profound peace was that of the graveyard. My advisors kept the tales of these misdeeds from me, so I thought all was well with my people and my crown.

'Finally, the darkest of sorcery was used. Somehow my enemies tapped into a greater power than mine. I do not know where it came from - whether it was a natural force, some demon-lord, or imported full-blown from a dark world, or what. But all that I turned my hand to, trying as best I could, failed. A screen was drawn between me and the future. No longer did I have any sense of what the morrow would bring.

'Then the revolt came. Men and women rose up in blind rage and panic. The mob ruled Konya yet again. But this time, there were cunning hands behind it. The barons guided this senseless rage against the one who loved them best. And they brought me down, me and those around me, those I'd brought up from many parts of Konya, and given power to because of their talents and their love of their fellow Konyans. It was the greatest destruction our poor shattered lands have ever seen.' Again there was a long silence.

'They should have killed me,' The Sarzana said finally, 'but they were too cruel for that. In secrecy, they sentenced me to death. Even the barons knew most Konyans still held the truth within them, and would quickly remember I was their salvation, not downfall. They sentenced me to die, but in the delight and savouring of their cruelty, they said they would carry out the sentence at a time of their choosing.'

'What of that curse you mentioned?'

'I was secretl
y told the soldiers assigned to me had been promised a great counterspell would be laid over them when my death was ordered. Also, if many hands held the sword, there was no way the death-demons could determine who the actual assassin was. Besides, great amounts of gold and rich estates were promised. I have noticed rewards such as those make men forget about the distant gods and their threats,' The Sarzana said cynically.

'What did the people of this island, Tristan, think, when you were exiled here?' I wanted to know. 'And
...
what happened to them?'

'At first,' he said, 'they didn't know what to think, since they'd been removed from the blood-bath on Isolde. They were pleased at all the new building that was required. Oddly enough, this palace was already half-built. It had been ordered by an eccentric lord, who retired from the world with great riches. But the mansion was but half-finished when he fell off a cliff, while shouting poetry to the gods in a drunken ecstasy. Since the barons who now ruled Konya had ordered my exile to be luxurious until the moment of death, there was a great deal of further gold spent here, in addition to completing this estate. Also, those great warships moored in the harbour kept off slavers or pirates.

'The villagers welcomed the soldiers at first. They had money, and new stories and songs, and the island women were tired of their old swains. That brought the first troubles. The garrison's officers should have stepped in, but they did not, most of them having already commenced their own tawdry affairs. I didn't know what to do, but knew I would not pace my cage, no matter how silken they made it, until they sent in the slaughterer with his maul.

'Fortunately, my Talent was returning. I sensed that whatever had blocked my sight was gone, where I knew not, although I was still handicapped by the long months without my powers.' Gamelan winced at this last. 'I needed allies. And constant use of my Art would restore it to its former strength.'

'The animals,' I said.

'Yes. Untouched by man's evil in their souls, but always and for ever man's victim. I cast general spells of benevolence. When the soldiers held one of their hunts, I sent a knowledge-spell with it, so all the creatures of the island knew what evil their enemy, man, was doing to them.'

'And the beast-men?'

'Those are mine own. Are not they fabulous creatures?'

'It takes a mighty spell to create life itself,' Gamelan said. 'There are those who call it a Dark Work.'

'When one is fighting for one's life, and for the lives of one's people, there is no place for moral judgments. Let those who write the history books make them, from the peaceful libraries the bloody-handed ruler has created. I hold no truck with those who constantly second-guess from some lofty position, what the man who is down in the arena must do in the blood and heat of the moment.'

I, too, felt about to argue the point, and then thought better of it. Why, in the name of whatever god ruled the mouth of fools, were we sitting debating morality in the middle of this man's realm, small though it was? It was hardly politic, nor did what this man had done in the past matter now. Perhaps he had ruled more harshly than I would have, if anyone were stupid enough to offer me a crown and I imbecile enough to accept it. But I
felt,
with every sense, The Sarzana had intended the best for the K
onyans, and been betrayed unjustl
y. As that thought came, along with it came warmth, that I had just gained a great truth - those who wear the crown must not be judged with us commoners.

'These creatures,' The Sarzana said, 'who are better friends than any of the butter-tongued fools who danced attendance on me at court, came from many places. I used the
...
there is no word for it in Konyan nor Orissan nor any speech I know
...
souls would be the approximation if they had been men, but they were but the spiritual presence of animals, killed at sea or on land. I gave them new flesh, and animated them, with powers and strengths they'd never known before. They know it, too, and their gratitude never ceases. One day, when or should I say if I can flee this island, I will set them free, and they will be the rulers of this land, ruling more mercifully than man ever could, keeping common cause with the other creatures on the land and sea.

'But again I've turned from my story. I could feel the moment coming when a ship would slip into harbour, carrying orders for my death. It seemed like the villagers also felt something, because when I was allowed to go down the great stone steps, I heard mutterings against the soldiers, and the fishermen went out of their way to show me small kindnesses. It touched me to my depths, as it has always touched me when those who are under the iron boot do what they can to preserve their humanity. And it reminded me of my own village, so many miles and years gone.

'One day, a courier
did
arrive. I braced for the moment of death, but nothing happened. Life seemed to continue as before, except now I was forbidden to visit the village. One night, I was roughly seized, and held in a locked chamber under this mansion, guarded by a full squad of soldiers. This was the end, I thought. But the sun rose the next day, and I yet lived, and I was set free. Now I could go wherever I wished on the island - because the villagers were gone!'

'How?' That was Corais.

'At nightfall, the soldiers commanded them to collect at the waterfront. They were ordered into their boats, taking nothing with them. Their crowded boats were taken under tow by warships. This I discovered from discreet questioning of the soldiers. It took divination to learn the rest. The boats were towed well out to sea, out of sight of land. The soldiers had been ordered there must be no witnesses to my coming death, and they gladly obeyed this order, feeling perhaps the doom that pursues king-slayers might be fooled. The villagers' boats were rammed by warships, and the poor floundering men, women and children let drown or made sport of by archers and spearmen. Not one soul was allowed to survive.

'I knew then my life's cord was measured in fingerspans. I was desperate. I thought long, and then realized blood is a lever in magic, a great weapon. The villagers - I thought of them as
my
villagers -would not have died in vain. I cast the first of my great spells. It swept in that night, like a sudden winter storm. The soldiers knew nothing, felt nothing. But my animals, my friends and servitors, felt the weight of all the generations they'd been prey to men. And that compact with the gods that frights animals when they see man was broken. They were given free rein to revenge themselves.

'They did just that, in one long night of gore. I must say, I listened to the screams with satisfaction. My spell required my beasts to show no more mercy to the soldiers than they gave the fishermen. Some died easily, in their sleep, some fought back and were butchered, some tried to flee to the ships and were drowned by the seals or my dolphins. By dawn, I was the only human on Tristan.

'I ordered the bodies brought to the end of the plateau, beyond this mansion, and tossed over the cliff, to be carried away by the strong currents. Then, and it was a savage chore, my servants and I went from ship to ship in the harbour, cutting free the moorings, setting full sail so the ship sped out beyond the headlands, to sail and sail with no hand at the helm through desolate seas until the sea grasses and monsters took it down into the depths. Then the next ship, and the next, until the outer harbour was as bare as the inner one had been after the villagers were killed.'