She Who Has No Name (The Legacy Trilogy) (30 page)

‘Peaceful?  Why would someone so peaceful come with warriors in their midst?’

‘Warriors?  I do not know what you mean.’

‘Your men.  They are trained killers and not the simple servants you make out.’

‘No,’ she said.  ‘You are mistaken.  They tend to me
,
that is all.  They are my servants.’

‘If you believe that, it is you who are mistaken.’

He could see the ladies edging nearer from behind and
,
somehow, she sensed it
,
too
,
and stood stiffly, silently.

‘That is all,’ she said, again in her croaking voice and she turned about in a flurry of tassels as the ladies scurried in beside her.  They whispered into her ear and Lady Leaf and River whisked her away, while Lady Wind stayed  behind
momentarily
.

‘You have been honoured, Magician,’ she stated, scrutinising him up and down, before turning and striding away, leaving Samuel shaking his head in frustration.

Sir Ferse was strutting along the parapet looking quite annoyed and, with the strange conversations he had already had, Samuel thought there was no reason why he should not see what it was that was
disturbing
the man.

‘Come see this, Samuel,’ he said upon
e
spying Samuel’s approach.  His voice was full of urgency.  When Samuel arrived at his side, Sir Ferse started gesturing over the wall, down to the lower levels of the fortress.  ‘Do you see those men?’

Samuel peered over and noticed a group of the Ghant defenders.  They appeared to be on guard, standing together side by side with their backs to the citadel wall.

‘Yes?’

‘What does it look like they are doing to you?’ Sir Ferse asked.

Samuel took another peek.  ‘They seem to be doing what soldiers do.  Standing around.  Holding weapons.  Are they on guard, perhaps?’

‘Near enough.  Now look up there, and over there,’ and he gestured to other squads of men at different heights along the citadel, all seemingly doing normal soldier
ly
things.  ‘These men should be thrown into the chasm for all they’re worth.  Better yet, General Mar should be.  These men have forgotten what the Turian Empire stands for!  The Empire was founded on precision and preparation, efficiency and obedience.  Look what has happened!  This is intolerable!’  The man was really quite flustered.

‘Calm now, Sir Ferse.  It doesn’t seem quite so bad to me.  They really don’t look any different to the soldiers in Cintar.’

Ferse took a deep breath and seemed to calm himself.  ‘Of course.  What would a magician know,’ he said quite factually.  ‘The legions of Turia nearly managed to conquer the entire continent on several occasions, but each time—’ and he sighed, ‘—we failed because of some tiny oversight.  You would never believe the incredible complexity of managing an empire
,
of directing armies of men across vast distances.  The logistics are inconceivable.  And
,
with every extra man
,
the complexity grows twofold.  If you have reliable commanders beneath you, it eases the burden, but such men are hard to find.  There are just too many fools, or too many
who
fall into laziness, without someone watching their backs.  Take General Mar, for example.  He has been guarding this pass for about twenty years now and I have never seen things in such a state.’

‘You have been here before, then?’

‘Many times over the years.  The responsibilities of Turia had us marching to all corners of the Empire and beyond, making inspections and attending formal occasions.  Ah, but it doesn’t matter now.  It’s funny.  Never in my entire life did I ever question what I was doing.  Every moment of my
existence
was for the Empire, but now, it just seems so pointless, as if I was working so feverishly that I was blind to what was true in the world.’

‘I find that is a common occurrence with Turians, Sir Ferse.’  Immediately, he regretted the words that had slipped from his mouth, for Sir Ferse scowled at him.  He then attempted to cover his mistake with some subtle flattery.  ‘Oh, don’t misunderstand me.  Turians are the most noble of people but
,
as a Marlen, I can see that sometimes there are other things to value in life above the Empire.’

Sir Ferse gave a slow nod and looked to the mountaintops across the chasm, where the wind was blowing up enormous spirals of mist from the peaks.  ‘You are right, Magician.  Again, that is something I would never have considered.  Perhaps, that is why the Empress was so treasured by our late Emperor over all his other wives.  She was not of Turian blood and did not blindly follow her husband’s words without at least arguing with him first.  Do you know, in more years than anyone could remember, the Emperor had never heard the simple word
“
no
”
?  They say
,
the first time she said it to him, he flew into a rage and tore half the palace to shreds, but she stood firmly and would not be dissuaded.  When the Emperor finally calmed down, he had the sense to realise that she had been right.  Not one of the advisers or accountants or politicians of the court
had
ever had the spine to say what they really thought and it had created this shroud of ignorance around the Emperor—a miasma of misinformation.  Still, he could not have learnt all his lessons that day, for the Emperor made many more mistakes after that.’

At that, Samuel almost choked and had to pound himself in the chest.  To hear such a statement from a Turian was almost unheard of.

‘You sound as if you knew them well.’

‘Who?’ Sir Ferse responded, turning his back to the mountains and looking
at
Samuel as if he was surprised the magician was still there.

‘The Emperor and the Empress.’

‘Oh, yes.  Of course I knew them.  I have been in the court many years—more than most.  That is why I have come on this journey—to somehow account for the errors of my past.’  He passed his gaze across the others gathered on the parapet, then looked back to Samuel, staring intently with barely a blink of his cool blue eyes.  ‘Did you know, Samuel, that the Emperor did not have even one friend in all his life?  I don’t want to be like that.’

‘He didn’t?’

‘I suppose it was because of the nature of his personality.  He was a perfectionist to a fault and utterly demanding—unforgiving of failure.’

‘And something of a madman, on some counts.’ 

Again, Samuel’s mouth had run away from him, and he half-expected Sir Ferse to go berserk, but the man only smiled.

‘So some say.  But let me ask you a question, Samuel.  What would you do if you could take back the mistakes of your life and start anew?’

‘Are you referring to my last statement?’

‘Perhaps something a little more profound than that.  If you could take back something terrible by doing something utterly wonderful, wouldn’t you leap at the chance?’

Samuel thought immediately of Ash and the day that Leila had been slain by the man’s lackeys, but he would not speak of it.  ‘We all do things we live to regret, but they build us into the men we become.  Fate moulds us and its efforts cannot be undone.’

‘But you succeeded, Samuel!  You did revenge your family and you did kill the magician Ash.  It is a story that now resounds around the city.  Wasn’t that a wonderful feeling?’

‘You seem to know all about me.’

‘Your story has been told and retold by the people of Cintar in many forms now, Samuel, since you became its saviour.  There are the occasional bits and pieces known only to a select few, but you can be sure those secrets will remain safe for the time being.’  The man did seem to know more about Samuel than he was letting on, and he noticed Samuel take a start at his words.  ‘Don’t worry.  You have nothing to fear from me, Samuel.  I have no interest in your story, or the things you have done.’  Then he leaned closer.  ‘In fact, by killing the Emperor, you did me a greater favour than you could ever realise.’

Samuel took a step back, not keen to become involved in any conspiracies the man had in mind.  ‘I’m not at all sure what you are talking about, Sir Ferse.’

Sir Ferse laughed heartily and put his hands
on
the battlement, leaning up against it.  ‘You really have no idea how amusing the world is from my point of view.  Anyway, we will have much to discuss in the future.  We should focus now on defending this pass, for once Master Celios says our task is done, whatever it may be, we can continue on to our mission.’

‘So you have no idea why we must dally here?’

‘Not at all.  Master Celios provides more puzzles with his visions than any questions he may answer.  I have learnt to trust the man’s intuitions, despite his growing eccentricities, but I can never understand him.’

‘You seem confident that we will win here.’

‘Oh, I have no idea.  But Ghant has never been overwhelmed before and I don’t see why it would be now,
and,
in reality
,
I no longer care.  Master Celios has assured me that we will save young Leopold in the end, and that is all that matters.’

‘And his mother—the Empress?’

‘Well, yes, of course I hope we can save her, too.  Every boy needs his mother.  He is, of course, the future Emperor.  Our hopes all rest with him.’

‘You are really something of an enigma, Sir Ferse.  I am not sure I know how to react to you.’

Again, and just as mysteriously, Sir Ferse laughed aloud and stepped back from the edge of the parapet.  He walked past Samuel and slapped him on the shoulder like a good friend.  ‘That’s the best news I’ve heard this whole trip.  Now, I must go see General Mar and scold him for his deficiencies.  I’m sure he will have a fit.’

Samuel rested for the remainder of the day, but
,
as dusk fell
,
he returned to the parapet, for his senses had begun tingling within his skull.  The occasional break in the clouds
afforded
the briefest glimpse of the stars, so bright and clear up here away from the towns and cities.  The comet he had first sighted in the woods around Rampeny was still present and it
,
too
,
pe
e
ked out whenever the clouds parted, its
long
tail stretching behind it like a
faint
scratch of silver. 

It had just ceased raining and the stones were left wet and glimmering in the torchlight.  Fires had been lit all along the citadel walls to lend their light and men gathered around them for warmth. 

There was some excitement now, for it seemed figures had been seen creeping about on the far side of the chasm.  A few missiles were sent whistling across by the great mechanical devices, and the distant shadows could be seen quickly retreating.

‘What’s happening?’ Eric asked, rushing up beside Samuel.  They stood at the wall’s edge, leaning between the battlements and peering out over what seemed like a sea of nothingness between the mountains.

The young Captain Ravenshood was directing the men there.  ‘Magicians,’ he said coming over.  ‘Tell me, what can you see?’

Samuel could easily sense a large number of men gathered out of sight across the chasm.  ‘Their army comes, Captain.  They amass in the valleys out of view and jostle in the paths that approach.’

Just then, a stream of mage-lights shot across the gap like burning arrows and Samuel looked to the heights of Ghant, where the telltale energies of Balten could be seen, pulsing and cavorting as he cast his spells.  The hovering mage-spheres illuminated the far side brightly, clustered in the air.

Grand Master Tudor and Goodfellow came clambering up the stairs onto the parapet.