'But it wasn't—'
'Dammit, Ossacer, it doesn't matter what it was or wasn't!' Hesther slammed her hand down on the arm of her chair and stood up. Her map was flaring. She might have been old but her energy was still that of a much younger woman. 'She had a room full of her faithful and proved what she believes to be an act of heresy right there in front of them. It doesn't even matter that the man was faking. The point is, Cygalius was ready to save him, using means that she deems against the Omniscient.'
Ossacer shrugged. 'I taught him. I will face the charge.'
'Ossie, you are missing the point,' said Arducius. 'That was a way in.'
He broke off. There were footsteps approaching the Chancellery. Guards opened the door and Aurelius entered. Koroyan had chosen not to accompany him. It was a tiny mercy. Everyone rose to their feet but Aurelius waved them back down with a weary hand and sat himself on a high-backed chair. He had a piece of parchment and he held it up.
'I can't deny this,' he said. 'It is put together exactly as the law allows and has been presented in public forum with the requisite number of signatures of the citizenry.'
'What is it?' asked Arducius, though the tone of his voice suggested he already knew.
'I had better read it to you,' said Aurelius. 'It concerns you all and the entire Academy.'
Ossacer put his head in his hands. Finally, he thought he understood. Though it was worse even than his new-found comprehension had suggested.
'"I, Felice Koroyan, Chancellor of the Order of Omniscience and speaker of the faithful citizenry of the Conquord do hereby accuse the under-named, whom I shall group as the Ascendants, of heresy against the Omniscient in two principal counts. In that of using means granted only to God to prolong life that God has deemed complete. And in that of planning to use fire and explosion to destroy innocent citizens of the Conquord on the battlefield, so ending their cycles forever.
'"Furthermore, I accuse the organisation known as the Ascendancy Academy, formerly, the Ascendancy Echelon, of allowing to be born and nurtured, one who would wrest from death those of the faithful rightly gone to the embrace of God, and use them for purposes other than those which God allows. This too, is a heresy against the Omniscient.
'"Furthermore, on proving the above cases, and securing verdicts and punishments commensurate with the crimes, I further accuse the Advocate, Herine Del Aglios, of dereliction of her appointed duty as divine representative of the Omniscient on this earth. The proving of the former condemns the Advocate to guilt in this matter. I will thereupon issue orders for her removal from the office of the Advocacy whenceforth she too will stand trial for heresy.
'"We, the undersigned, do hereby give notice of this intent under the laws of the Omniscient and demand proceedings are begun immediately."
'The list of names is there for you all to read if you have a mind.' Aurelius sighed. 'She further moves that your trial is for the good of the people and cites today's disturbances as reason for your immediate detention in the cells. I refused that demand but I cannot refuse any others. You may all consider yourselves under arrest. No one leaves this building. I am sorry.'
'This is preposterous,' said Ossacer. 'She can't do this. The Advocate will not allow her to get away with it.'
'Ossacer, the Advocate is not here. She is not due back until the forty-sixth genasrise. That's nine days from now.' Aurelius shrugged. 'And in matters of heresy, trials are held at the eatliest instance. You have until dawn on the fortieth, three days from now, to prepare your defence. I will make anyone available to you that you think you need.'
'But she can't,' continued Ossacer, feeling his panic rising, threatening to overwhelm him. He coughed and sensed the sickness within it. 'Surely the Advocate is a witness for us.'
'You're the one so proud of living by the rules. Well, now we're all going to have to suffer that with you.' Arducius's words held painful venom. 'Senator Aurelius
is
the Advocate in the eyes of the law because she has placed him in that position for matters not able to await her return. Like this one. So congratulations. In a few days's time, you might not only have managed to get us all put to death, you might also have managed to remove the most successful dynasty the Conquord has seen at the time it can least afford to lose it.
'With friends like you, eh, Ossie? Gorian will be delighted that you have removed us from his path.'
Arducius got up and strode out of the room.
'I'm sorry,' said Ossacer.
'Sorry gets us nowhere just now,' said Hesther. 'And while you may not be able to burn, I most certainly can and I do not intend to. So let's get to work. We have no Advocate, no Jhered, no Vasselis. Barely any allies at all. Get thinking, Ossacer, and I will calm down Arducius for you.' Hesther came and sat by him, put an arm around his shoulder.
'You only acted for the good of the Ascendancy because that's the way you always act,' she said. 'And Ardu will come to see that. But if we get out of this one, and I have little confidence that we will, you are going to have to start seeing what the world is really like. Man cannot live by high morals alone.'
They all left him alone after that; Hesther, Aurelius and the young Ascendants. Left him to ponder and find a dark corner of his mind in which to dwell.
'Do you believe it, Mother? All this about the Tsardon, the dead and Gorian Westfallen?'
The carriage rattled along the road around Solastro Lake on its way to its namesake port, and a boat south and east along the River Solas. Rain had arrived as it often did in this lush green land surrounded by mountains.
Herine Del Aglios had had little sleep. Messages had been reaching the palace. Little more than rumour really but beacon fires had been lit, flags were flying atop watch towers on high peaks and the Conquord, such as it remained, was in a state of agitation. It was amazing how fast rumours spread. Birds flew, people shouted to each other across valleys, horses galloped until they dropped, and there was the delightful desire of the common citizen to be the first to pass on news to as many as he could.
It meant that little trust could be placed in the words that finally reached her ears. Unless, that is, you had prior knowledge. There was talk of walking dead and of Ascendant treachery. The latter no doubt a lie peddled by the Chancellor but backed by unfortunate truth. Goslanders had reported the movement of a Tsardon force towards their border.
Herine already knew that a significant force was camped on Atreska's border because Megan Hanev had seen it for herself before travelling to Solastro. Rumours hinted it had invaded. Megan felt that unlikely, given General Davarov's position in front of it, but the words in Roberto's letter kept on repeating themselves. No smoke without fire.
And there was talk of plague sweeping Gestern. Katrin Mardov's absence from the Conquord Senate was already a deep concern. This rumour added to it, particularly when mixed with the Karku man Harban's assertions of experimentation just inside the Karku border with Gestern.
'Absolutely, I do,' said Herine. 'You were young when the Ascendants first came to such extraordinary prominence. Your memories are probably a little dim on the subject. But I have lived with them and their development very closely this past decade. They think Gorian is a threat. They believe this walking-dead theory has credence. Your brother is concerned about Tsardon invasion and I am far too long in the tooth to do anything other than respond to his fears.
'But that's not the issue, is it, my love? It's those papers in your hand that we have to deliver to Elise Kastenas and then see if she can make them into some form of coherent defence.'
Tuline was clutching the leather bag containing latest definite legion strengths as if her life was tied to it.
'You know, you could put it down,' said Herine. 'I won't try and steal them, I promise.'
Tuline smiled and laid the bag on the seat beside her. Both of them knew it would be back in her hands soon enough.
'I don't understand,' said Tuline. 'Shouldn't we just be making the decisions here? We aren't going to get back to Estorr for nine or ten days. Won't it be too late?'
'We'd better hope not or we might encounter the enemy before we reach the Hill.' She patted Tuline's hands indulgently. 'No. What you need to understand is the length of time it takes any army to march across a country or cross any sea. You also need to understand what our legions' standing orders iican.'
'Yes, but so many of them aren't even turning up.'
'No.' Herine felt the betrayal bite once more. 'And that is another reason we must be careful. Not only do we have fewer legions for the defence of the Conquord, we also have to watch our backs, I'm afraid. And we need to know where to place our forces once we have beaten back the Tsardon and whatever this menace of the dead really turns out to be.'
'Oh.' Tuline reached out and grabbed the bag again.
'But we're amongst friends at the moment,' said Herine. 'So don't worry. When we get back to Estorr, we'll have all the latest messages and news from the territories and we and the Marshal General can make some informed decisions.'
'Will you be sending the Ascendants out to fight?'
'Wherever Gorian is, they are first on the roster sheet, believe me.'
'And what happens when we beat the Tsardon? We seem to have enemies all around us now. The Conquord was so great and now it's broken.'
Herine picked up her daughter's chin and turned her head so their eyes met. Tuline had tears in her eyes, and a single one dripped down her cheek. Herine wiped it away. There was so much of her in her daughter. Tuline, whom she'd thought would be fit for nothing in government, and yet who had proved herself so passionate and capable. A wonderful daughter to complement two wonderful sons. Roberto would be with Adranis now in Gosland. That border was as secure as it would ever get. She had her best people in all the right places. And Jhered to welcome her with accurate information when she returned home. It was a comforting thought. She smiled.
'We are not so weak. The heart of the Conquord still beats strong and you have to keep on believing that. The Del Aglios way is to remain positive as well as realistic. We have been betrayed by those we thought of as friends but that doesn't mean that whole countries have turned against us. Just individuals. And individuals can be replaced.
'Our loss of Dornos, Tundarra, Phaskar, and the martial law in Bahkir
...
it's all only temporary. People are scared and they have turned away from us rather than turning to us for help. And that is deeply disappointing. But as Atreska discovered, so shall they.
'What belongs to the Conquord is
only
ever mislaid, and never lost. We always find what is ours and we
always,
always keep it. No matter how long it takes.'
Chapter Thirty-Nine
859th cycle of God, 40th day of
Genasrise
The whole trial was to be conducted to the backdrop of anti-Ascendant chants and shouts from beyond the Victory Gates. News of the event had spread to every corner of the city and beyond. Citizens thronged every street, every alley way and every open space on the approaches to the palace complex, waiting for news.
Already, there had been ugly scenes. Pro-Ascendants had staged a counter-demonstration, denouncing the Chancellor. People had died as a result. It had left the mood charged and aggressive. Every palace and Ascendancy guardsman, every Estorean garrison legionary and even every member of the Conquord navy, the Ocetanas, in port had been pressed into service.
Inside the basilica, the noise was deafening as the Ascendants and the Academy hierarchy were brought in to sit in three rows of seats to one side of the throne. Opposite, sat the Chancellor, with the Speakers of Winds and Oceans. In the throne sat Aurelius. To his left, the Speaker of the Earth, to his right the Speaker of Fire.
The trial was under the jurisdiction of the Order of Omniscience, as were all matters of faith and heresy. It was fortunate that Aurelius was a strong man and determined to take his place in the stead of the Advocate, spokesman for the Prime Speaker of the Omniscient in her absence.
Even so, Arducius tasted injustice on the air. The public benches were packed with the great and the good of Estorr. Merchants, Order ministers, senior soldiers, Conquord administrators. But the Chancellor had ensured a good number of ordinary citizens were present to shout their hatred and vent their spleen.
Surrounding them and covering the courtyard, the palace guard were an imposing presence. No chance of summary justice the way Koroyan would doubtless have preferred, but none of escape either. The will of the people would ever be stronger than the fear of the Ascendants. As it should be.
Arducius sat with Ossacer on the front bench. Hesther Naravny, Mother of the Ascendancy, was to his right. Her sister, Meera, Gorian's mother, sat to Ossacer's left. Behind them, the four fit members of the tenth strand. Scared teenagers. And in the third rank, three twelve-year-olds. The eleventh strand. Emerged so very recently and plainly confused by all that surrounded them. They were flanked by two more members of the old Echelon, Gwythen Terol and Andreas Koll. Poor Andreas, one hundred and four. His service to God should not be called into question at this late stage.