Chapter 22 - Petty Victories
"The Republic of Itria was formed approximately forty years ago, after King Tobin III’s brutal overthrow. He had been known as an honourable and just king, but this did not stop a clique led by Awa Esanji, a merchant of no great talent, from seizing power in the name of ‘the People’. This murderous group rapidly moved to consolidate power, initially replacing King Tobin’s reign with two councils. One of nobles and one of commoners. These two councils were led by a Central Committee with Esanji at its head. This ‘innovative’ system of government rapidly showed its flaws with the Republic falling into chaos and proving itself ungovernable without the firm hand of a monarch. In response, the Central Committee executed King Tobin after a pretense of a trial and initiated a purge of the nobility. Many innocent Itrian nobleborn faced the gallows and still more were forced out of the Republic and into exile to save their lives from the Central Committee’s ‘justice’.”
Two Thousand Years of Empire by Jahangir Amini
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Velxe could not say that he was enjoying his time with Ester. She was becoming increasingly prickly as time went on and she had hardly been soft and open when they first left Vass Karan.
It was not just their conversations either. The last few nights she had been insisting on putting together her own tent and helping the servants with organising things each time they made camp. He suspected that it was an attempt at impressing him, or potentially asserting her independence. Either way, it was rather tedious. She was a Mage, her independence was unquestionable. As for impressing him, well she seemed competent enough, but he knew of at least two people in his own family who could have done the same things. Mages were also frequent visitors to House Rutane. Frankly more impressive ones too.
With a shake of his head he reminded himself that just because helping to set up the camp with magic was not that great an achievement, it did not mean that it was the extent of her ability.
If she could just be a bit less grumpy the whole time, he was sure they would be able to get on better. When she was not sulking she was like a sponge for knowledge, something he recognised from his own youth. He just needed to find a way to get past her thorny exterior.
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Ester looked back at the small group of wagons heading the other way down the rough trail, back towards Vass Karan, feeling more than a little disgruntled. Other than the occasional farm they passed, those had been the only people they’d encountered in the last two days. However, the wagoneers hadn’t seemed at all interested in stopping and talking. In fact, as they passed she could have cut through the tension with a knife. Whatever Velxe thought, she wasn’t stupid, so she’d kept quiet. They were certainly too far away to hear anything she might say now though.
“What was that about then?”
“What do you mean?” Velxe blinked at her. There was a certain owlishness about him when he was confused. In someone else she might have found it cute, in him it was irritating.
“Those people. They avoided making eye contact and I could see the guards all had their hands on their weapons when they passed. Even you seemed nervous.”
“You noticed that?” He coughed and looked down as anger spiked in her again. He really was full of himself! “I mean, well done for noticing that. It was not obvious.” Ester forced her anger down. He could at least try to be less patronising! In lieu of snapping at him she just raised her eyebrows.
“Yes, but why.”
“They were almost certainly smugglers from the Republic. They would have been worried that we were there to arrest them and we had to be concerned that they might try to attack us to avoid being caught.”
“That seems like a legitimate worry though. If you knew they were smugglers, why did you not order their arrest?” She already pretty much knew the answer anyway, but it wasn’t going to stop her asking.
“We are hardly the Watch or a guards patrol, we have our own reasons to be out here and policing the border certainly is not one of them.” Of course he would say something like that, but she wasn’t going to just let something like that stand.
“It is every noble’s patriotic duty to enforce the law.” Ester smoothly quoted from Philosophy of Empire.
Velxe coughed lightly. “Sometimes duty must give way to practicality.”
“Does that not just turn into an excuse not to do one’s duty?” Velxe frowned, had that one hit home?
“Without balance a man cannot do his duty, for humanity is imperfect.”
Ester thought for a second, she knew that one. “Soheil Chavoshi’s on the Nature of Man?” Velxe nodded. “A man who allows imperfection to dictate his behaviour deserves no rewards.”
Velxe frowned at that. “The nobility’s interests are those of the Empire.”
Ester didn’t know who had said that, but she certainly wasn’t going to admit it. Especially when it was such a ridiculous sentiment. Despite herself she felt a small smile growing at their contest.
“A man who confuses self-interest with duty is one step from treason.” Back to Philosophy of Empire.
“I wish you would not quote that book, the world is not black and white. You need to understand that.”
Ester’s smile grew, he was irritating, but she’d managed to crack his aloof facade. Of course she knew the world wasn’t black and white, that had been rubbed in her face repeatedly over the last few months. “Alright, maybe a different one. Shades of grey are most useful to someone who lives in the darkness.”
To her slightly guilty satisfaction Velxe scowled. “Another overly simplistic hack writing platitudes to indoctrinate people.” That wasn’t at all fair! “Those who cannot think for themselves, might as well not think at all. Sasan Teymoori’s The True Mind.”
“Those who casually dismiss the wisdom of others likely have little wisdom of their own.” Ester snapped.
Velxe opened his mouth, blinked and hesitated. “Where is that from?”
“I just made it up.” Ester couldn’t help but sound smug.
Velxe stared at her for a second and then muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like a curse before kicking his heels in and riding away to the front of the group.
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It took the best part of a week to reach the battle site. Lars, the Adept leading the Rutane guards and servants, called a halt as they approached the foot of yet another rolling hill.
“My lord, my lady,” he bowed towards them from the saddle, “we’re approaching the battlefield now. The top of this hill ahead of us is where the Empire’s forces initially deployed. From the top you’ll be able to see down into the valley where the battle actually took place. We can proceed to the top, where I’d suggest we make camp for the night, but I’d ask you to be careful with what you’re doing and, begging your pardons, not to touch anything. The battle was brutal and there was more magic used there than most places see in a century. There are likely to be some dangerous remnants out there. I wouldn’t want to explain to the Count why a young charge of mine got hurt.”
Velxe glanced nervously at Ester, half expecting an angry scowl from her at the instructions. She really was ever so sensitive about her status, he could not imagine her taking being instructed by an Adept very well. He of course had more sense than that.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The tall, greying man continued. “I’m sure there will be some interesting things to see, but while we’re there, begging your pardons, I must ask that you stay close to me too. Is that clear?”
Ester immediately nodded. “Crystal clear Adept Lars. I will listen carefully.”
Velxe had to swallow his surprise and give his own assent too. “Of course Lars.”
The old knight looked at them both for another long moment and then smiled. “Thank you my lady, my lord. Let’s continue.”
As they urged their horses back into a trot and started to climb the hill, Velxe tried to restrain himself, but eventually curiosity overcame propriety. Or perhaps good sense. His grandmother always did say that he did not know when to stop speaking.
“Lady Ester, you had not struck me as…” he chose his words carefully, “being open to instructions from those that are below you.”
She shot him an unimpressed look. At least he had expected that one. “Do you think safety precautions care about rank? I might know more about magic than Lars, but in his area of expertise I would be even more of a fool than you seem to think I am to ignore his warnings.”
“I do not think you are a fool my lady!” Naive, obnoxiously grumpy and a bit stuck up, certainly, but he would not say that.
“Hmph.” The infuriating woman steered her horse away from him.
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Despite her general disgruntlement with her situation, Ester couldn’t help but feel butterflies of excitement in her stomach as they reached the top of the hill. This would have been where the Empire’s commanders would have looked out at the battlefield. Where they’d have seen the Republic’s forces massing against them. She’d only been a young child then, not even having any inkling of her future, but she could still remember when news of the Empire’s victory had reached Trevayn. The sound of bells and horns had erupted over the city and the Undying Queen had declared a special day of rest and celebration for every person in the city, with food and drink provided by the royal coffers. At the time she hadn’t really understood the significance of it all, but it had still been hugely exciting even as a child.
Without needing to discuss it, they all reined in their horses at the crest of the hill. Ester couldn’t help but stare at the impressive vista laid out below them. In front of them the land gently descended into a very wide valley, it must have been several miles across, with a small river running down the middle of it. The verdant grassland almost seemed to shine in the afternoon light. On the far side another hill rose, a match for their own. It was all beautiful, but it wasn’t really what caught her eye. Instead her gaze was inexorably drawn towards a huge blackened swathe of land. A scar ripped out of the greenery which, even ten years after the battle, hadn’t been reclaimed by the grass.
Lars followed Ester’s gaze down. “Ah.” He looked up, staring into the distance. “That was the decisive blow of the battle. Well one of two of them really I suppose. I didn’t see the other, but that one… You couldn’t miss it. Battlefields are chaos my lady. Blood, death, screaming, shouting… Just chaos. But that… There was silence afterwards. Only for a few seconds, but just dead silence. The world seemed to stop.”
Ester couldn’t tear her eyes off the scar in the land. There was something about it that called to her, even at that distance. “What happened?” She murmured the words absently.
“Archmages Naser and Arte. Don’t ask me what they did, but they’d been working on it through the whole battle. Whatever it was, it went through the Republic’s witches’ defences as if they weren’t there. Hundreds of defensive wards and spells were just brushed aside like nothing. A flash of magic that they must have felt for tens of miles around and then just light, blinding light. When it faded, almost half the Republic’s army was gone. They must have killed fifteen thousand men in seconds…” He trailed off, still staring into the distance and then gave himself a shake. “They had their fu… bloody cannons, begging your pardon my lady, but they weren’t reckoning on our Archmages and they paid for that. Oh yes they did.” His lips twitched into a grim smile.
Ester stared down, it was horrible to think about. So many men dead. Just the thought of the men she’d killed made her feel ill. Blowing away thousands… It didn’t bear thinking about. So many terrible things had happened because of the Republic. Lars stood beside her in silence, his eyes fixed on the scar too.
“So you said there were two decisive blows Lars, what was the other?” Ester felt a spike of irritation when Velxe broke the silence. It was all very well wanting to learn, but didn’t he realise that some things deserved quiet contemplation?!
If Lars was similarly irritated, he didn’t show it. “Well observed my lord. Directly after that scar had been carved through the Republic’s forces, Archmage Koaum Walked straight to the hill you see in the distance to make a direct attack on the Republic’s commanders. Nothing could stop him.
We learnt some time afterwards that he didn’t succeed in killing their general, but he was able to cut a swathe through the Republic’s witches and commanders. It was enough that their nerve broke. It wasn’t long before they were in full retreat. Of the forty thousand men they fielded, we reckon only five thousand ever made it back to the Republic. It was a decisive victory and that’s why the border’s a bit north of here and not at the river Karan or even further into the Empire. Spirits bless our Archmages.”
Ester nodded to herself in satisfaction. The battle must have been horrible, but the Empire had won so peace had returned. Still though, it did leave her with questions. Since Velxe had already broken the silence, she could ask hers too. “Why did the Empire not pursue the Republic’s forces? If we had won such a victory and had devastated the Republic’s army then why were they not hunted down?”
Before Lars could answer Velxe jumped in. “Obviously the Empire’s forces were weakened by the battle too, so they could not just go running off without consideration.”
Lars nodded, but that didn’t all make sense. “But…”
Velxe ploughed on, perhaps encouraged by Lars’ approval. “Then there would have been prisoners to deal with and I suppose the Republic might have had other forces too.”
“Indeed, well done my lord.” Lars seemed content to let Velxe ramble on.
“Wouldn’t…”
“It goes without saying that the Republic would have had more capacity for rapid redeployment of its forces too. Vass Karan is at the periphery of the Empire of course.” More capacity? That didn’t sound right, but he sounded very sure of himself. In fact he was getting louder and more excited as he went on.
“Yes my lord, I believe so.” Ester didn’t even bother trying to interject.
“Of course the Archmages would have been tired after the battle and I suppose the risks of sending them on into the Republic for a fast strike would have been too high. There are so few of them, less now too, and so many threats to the Empire. Even the strongest of Mages have their limits after all.” Velxe shot a smug look at Ester, before returning his gaze to the battlefield before he could see her eyes narrowing.
“Quite right my lord, well done.”
“Of course Lady Ester is the expert on magic here, with all due respect Lars. What do you think my lady? Any questions?” He shot her another smug look.
“Thank you for the explanation my lord. I think you have set everything out very clearly.” Ester couldn’t help the ice in her tone.
Lars twitched slightly at her response before leaping in, his voice as jolly as she’d heard it. “Well that’s good then my lord, my lady. Why don’t we set up camp for the evening? The light’s fading and we can go down to the battlefield tomorrow.”
“Excellent idea Lars. Lady Ester, perhaps you could help set up the camp again, you are ever so good at it.”
Lars twitched as Ester nodded to Velxe, ice cold anger running through her veins. She should have known it would be a mistake to start doing that. Of course he’d turn it into something to mock. “I shall do so.”
She turned her horse back towards the baggage train without another word. What was it with people? Why was everyone so horrible?
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As the servants packed up the camp around them, Velxe looked tiredly down the hill towards the battlefield. This trip truly was not turning out the way he had anticipated. After having met Ester the first time he had thought she would make at least tolerable company, but the more time he spent with her, the more he found himself resenting her presence. Of course the trip had been organised with her in mind in the first place, but he had not had to invent his enthusiasm for it. It was just the sort of thing he liked to learn about and without his grandmother’s wider schemes, his uncle would never have allowed the expenditure just to sate his own interest.
As it was, Ester was infuriating. Stubborn, bad tempered and naive all at the same time. She put her efforts into trying to needle him for no reason and then went off and sulked over nothing. He had had enough and if his grandmother wanted to keep on trying to lure Ester in then she could enlist one of his cousins for it!
As he hauled himself onto his horse, Velxe had to admit to himself that his mood was worsened by lack of sleep. He never normally had a problem sleeping in a tent, he was as much a man as any other true noble. However, last night had been difficult. First he had been sweltering hot, despite the cool night air. So hot that he had been unable to sleep, just lying there sweating. Then just as he felt he had become used to the heat, the night had finally bitten, leaving him freezing cold. The temperature seemed to have flipped a couple more times through the night too. Perhaps he had eaten something that disagreed with him? He very much hoped he was not coming down with a fever. That would be unfortunate, especially so far from the prospect of any proper care.
Lars glanced worriedly between him and Ester before spurring his horse into a trot. Velxe felt a bit sorry for the man. He probably found it awkward having to be so respectful to the stuck-up Mage when she refused to behave. Especially given his own status as an Adept.
Speaking of which, Ester guided her horse up to Velxe.
“Good morning Lord Velxe. I trust you slept well?” Of course she looked perfectly refreshed. She always looked spotless when she rose in the morning, it was yet another irritating characteristic. Even her dark, wavy hair, not at all like the pale, straight hair typical of the northern provinces, looked well coiffed. She did not even have a servant to help her with it!
He forced a smile onto his face. “I did thank you and you Lady Ester?” He certainly was not going to admit anything else to her.
“Very well thank you, but now I am excited to visit the actual battlefield.” She was probably using a glamour of some kind to look good. There was no way she was managing to look like that naturally. If only he had had a bit more of the Talent, maybe he could have had the satisfaction of knowing for sure.