‘What are you talking about then?’ Isak snapped, barely remembering to keep his voice low.
The wind, a mournful moan overhead that rattled the roof of the stable, had been building throughout the day until now, past midnight, it was whipping at the city. There had been a light flurry of snow earlier that week, and Isak was sure he had felt the cold deepen as those first flakes fell.
‘I’m talking about you,’ Mihn said patiently. ‘You don’t joke as much as you used to. It’s almost as if you have forgotten that you once used laughter to draw others to you—’
‘I’m Lord of the Farlan,’ Isak broke in, ‘I shouldn’t need laughter to make them obey me.’
‘That’s not what I mean; you used to do it as naturally as breathing. Being Lord of the Farlan does not mean they will thoughtlessly follow you, only that they will obey your orders.’
‘Your point?’
‘That you appear haunted. I’ve seen you glance over your shoulder, even when you’re eating and your back is to the wall - and you move your chair further back than anyone else’s. Yes, I noticed.’
Isak looked down at the stable floor below. ‘What would you have me say?’
‘That I am your bondsman and you trust me with your secrets.’
‘Of course I trust you.’
‘Then let me help,’ Mihn said calmly. ‘I am yours to command, whether I know the purpose behind your order or not.’
‘And that’ll help, will it?’ Isak said sourly.
‘You’re a white-eye, my Lord. Your nature is not to accept things meekly. That you look so unsettled leads me to believe you have not yet found a way to fight it. When you do that, you’ll find purpose relieves much of your anxiety.’
Isak gave a soft, hollow laugh. ‘You could be right, but I have a few problems I can see no solutions to.’
‘Name them.’
He looked at Mihn, almost expecting the man to be joking, but he was deadly serious.
‘Okay, since you ask: first, this religious fervour that’s driving everyone to madness, demanding idiocy in the place of policy. Next, since the fall of Scree I have dreamt of nothing but death, and it grows insistent.’ He scowled and scratched his cheek. ‘And there are no traces of those of Azaer’s disciples who survived Scree, we still have little clue as to what the shadow’s motives are, and I’m at a loss where to even begin.
‘So do you have solutions for me now?’
‘No, my Lord,’ Mihn replied gravely, ‘but I have advice, whatever small use it might be. You must always play to your strengths. A blacksmith will lay out those tools he possesses before starting work, and so must you.’
‘Have all my suzerains stand in a line?’ Isak asked, a brief grin lightening his face.
‘No, Isak, the tools of the man, not the duke.’
‘They’re few enough,’ he said grimly, noting Mihn’s use of his first name, not something he did often. ‘I’m a white-eye, which means I’ve as many bad qualities as good.’
‘You’ve never hidden from those before,’ Mihn pointed out. ‘I’ve seen the look on your face whenever anyone mentions the battle on the Chir Plains - it’s one of determination rather than embarrassment.’
Isak raised a hand to stop him as they heard footsteps outside the stable door. There was a rattle as the door was pushed open and a face appeared in the gap. Vesna looked all around the stable before catching sight of Isak in the hay loft.
‘Go on, quickly,’ Isak said to Mihn, pushing himself to his feet.
‘Take the religious matter: this is an unsavoury element of society as a whole. Consider your temper, it remains volatile even now; what did you do about it?’
There was a frown on Isak’s face as he stood, towering over Mihn, then he said, ‘I accepted that it was part of me, it was never going to go away so it needed to be shackled.’ He started carefully down the creaking ladder.
‘Exactly; you brought it within and channelled it to a more useful end. It was either that or be eternally at war with yourself.’
‘You might have a point there.’ Isak smiled weakly. ‘And the other problem? My dreams of death? It seems foolish to just accept death - and something that’s rather difficult to work around! Aryn Bwr tried it and look what happened to him! I’d prefer to be completely dead than a broken passenger in another’s mind, even if I had the skill to achieve that.’
Mihn nodded soberly. ‘Of course, but even there perhaps the principle remains sound? Your life is bound by prophecy and the forces driving that - without those on your heels you might not be so haunted by your own existence. There are tales of men tricking Death himself; might that free you from these burdens?’ He gave a sigh and gestured to the stable floor. ‘On the other hand, you told me yourself that Lord Bahl’s dreams were used as a weapon against him; this may be nothing more than a mage’s artifice directing you down a certain path.
‘However, this discussion must be continued another day, my Lord. The dukes await you.’
Three more men had now entered the stable. They looked wary, and stood with their hands on their swords. The Duke of Perlir was flanked by burly hurscals dressed in plain brigandines - sworn soldiers knighted for their prowess, Isak guessed, noting a swirling blue tattoo on the neck of one man. The duke could hardly have been more of a contrast to his guards. He was a slim man with a long waxed moustache, and his clothes of red, brown and gold were fine enough for a formal ball. After a moment scanning the stable he gestured to his guards and the three of them unclipped their scabbards and knelt with sword-hilts pointing towards Isak in formal greeting.
‘Duke Sempes,’ Isak said as warmly as he could manage, ‘thank you for coming. Please, rise.’ Instead of offering his hands upturned Isak gripped the duke’s arm in greeting, receiving a slightly puzzled but appreciative look.
‘I thank you, my Lord. The whole of Perlir grieves for the loss of Lord Bahl; he was a greater man than many gave credit for.’
‘I have considerable shoes to fill, that’s for certain,’ Isak said, but broke off as another trio entered the room, led by a white-eye bigger than General Lahk and followed by a scowling copper-haired woman. A devotee of the Lady, Isak realised, as the Duke of Merlat sidled in after her, his eyes darting around nervously.
Duke Shorin Lokan was a little older than his counterpart from Perlir, and very different physically. He was a waddling, rather large, sickly creature, his thinning hair scraped over his head. Chief Steward Lesarl had already advised Isak that the duke was by no means a fool, but to Isak the man looked as intelligent as a toad in a blue coat.
‘Duke Lokan, a pleasure,’ he said, trying not to focus on that image.
The duke managed to get down so he was kneeling, more or less, and tugged his rapier - plainly just ornamental - vaguely in Isak’s direction.
‘Every inch a lord,’ Lokan muttered nervously, tottering backwards as his bodyguard gave him a hand up. ‘You have Lord Bahl’s bearing, a reassuring sign in one so young.’
‘I thank you. Now, my lords, there’s a back room through here where we can sit and have a cup of wine together. I realise the surroundings are hardly fitting to your rank, but the wine’s excellent, of that I can assure you.’
Without waiting for an answer, he led them past the cow stalls to a doorway set into the back wall. Light spilled through the cracks from a pair of large oil lamps just inside. A plain oak table sat in the centre of the room, four chairs already set around it. Tila waited at one side, holding a tall jug in her hands.
‘You must be Lady Tila then,’ said Lokan as he followed the Duke of Perlir inside.
‘I am, my Lord,’ Tila replied with a startled look and a curtsey.
‘Thought as much.’ Lokan huffed heavily and sank down into the chair Isak had gestured for him to take. ‘My wife was cursing your name only this morning.’
‘Your wife, my Lord? But I believe I have not had the pleasure . . .’
‘Curious, isn’t it? It’s as if you had done something to upset her - but since you have never met, I cannot see how that can be the case,’ Lokan said airily, the hint of a smile on his lips. ‘Of course, she is younger than I, and ten years ago was considered quite a catch - one of the most beautiful women in the entire tribe, don’t you know? No doubt it is just that your beauty rivals her legend, nothing more. After all, it’s not as if you have beaten her in competition for anything, now, is it?’
Tila couldn’t help but glance over to the door where Count Vesna was stationed, now staring determinedly at his feet.
‘Oh, well, no, of course not,’ she said, rallying, and curtseyed again before filling the cup he held out. ‘I thank you for the compliment, though I doubt I could ever rival your wife’s beauty, then or now.’
‘Four chairs?’ said Sempes, taking a seat himself opposite Lokan.
‘Someone will be joining us,’ Isak said. ‘For the moment, perhaps the three of us could share a few words alone?’
Both men looked suspicious, but they nodded all the same and Tila retreated with the bodyguards. When the door banged shut, Isak sat down himself and looked carefully at the dukes.
‘I know only a little of how relations were between you and Lord Bahl,’ he started, ‘but now is a time for a fresh start, whatever the problems of the past.’
Isak could see the dukes knew full well he was entirely up to speed with their previous relationship with Lord Bahl; Lesarl would never have let such a meeting happen without carefully briefing his lord beforehand. But they understood the implication.
‘Over the next few years we are going to find ourselves facing unprecedented- well, let’s call them difficulties,’ Isak continued. ‘For that, we will need a united nation, and historically that’s something the Farlan have always found difficult.’
‘May we speak frankly, my Lord?’ Sempes said suddenly. He was sitting bolt-upright in his seat, making Isak wonder if he was wearing some sort of custom-made armour underneath his fine clothes.
‘Of course.’ Isak ignored the unusual bluntness, taking it as caution rather than hostility.
‘You want a show of support, my Lord? I appreciate the courtesy to our positions that you’ve shown thus far - keeping this meeting deniable if necessary, even asking for our support in the first place. I am well aware that you could force us to publicly support you at your investiture ceremony. However, a white-eye taking great pains to show such consideration? I hope you will forgive an older man’s trepidation at this; I find myself wondering what it is you require our support for.’
‘I will,’ Isak said gladly. ‘The situation is simple, but - to speak absolutely plainly - I want you on my side because I believe there’ll soon be no space for anyone but my allies.’ He raised a placating hand. ‘I don’t mean that as a threat, just a statement of fact. I’ll be requiring much of you over the coming years and for the Farlan to remain strong we must all accept sacrifices.’
‘And the support?’
‘I intend to issue an edict regarding the vacant duchy, to appoint the next Duke of Lomin rather than confirming the natural line of succession.’
‘You intend to deny a successor?’ Duke Lokan was hunched forward in his seat, peering intently at Isak, almost as though he could divine the truth by looking hard enough.
‘I do. I’ve brought you here to explain my reasons before publicly asking for your support. If it doesn’t come as a surprise at my investiture, your reactions will send a message to the rest. If the dukes are united, every suzerain not already loyal will fall into line.’
‘A reasonable assessment,’ Sempes nodded, ‘but I do not see why there is a need for the denial. I hear there is some argument over succession, but your intervention should not be required once Disten’s investigation is complete. Your Chief Steward will surely have told you that relations between us are not friendly; some of our conflicts have been public and because of that I will need a good reason to overlook years of hostility.’
Isak nodded, well aware that the disputes between the cities of Tirah, Perlir and Merlat had seen noble deaths on all sides. ‘The denial is necessary because I believe you will not find the rightful duke acceptable.’
‘Oh?’
‘Lesarl takes an interest in such things. He alerted me and I asked Lady Tila to investigate; she spotted it immediately. If Tila only requires a single glimpse, there are others who’ll not take long to follow suit. I asked her to meet with the son of the old duke’s cousin, the man whose family has the best combination of claim and power. His name is Sir Arole Pir, knighted after battle by the previous duke and expected to have a great future ahead of him.
‘Tila reported him to be “a charming and extremely handsome man”.’
‘Hah,’ grunted Lokan, a fat grin spreading across his face, ‘and my wife will do the same, no doubt! The whole tribe knows what sort of man Lady Tila finds attractive.’
Isak grinned. ‘Exactly. While he might surprise us all and prove a fine duke, I suspect many might find it all a bit too convenient.’
‘Accidents have happened for less reason than that,’ Sempes added, ‘and even with our approval, it wouldn’t be accepted by those most likely to already know the truth. The suzerains of Meah have never liked being the lesser cousins to the duke’s family, and shared territories always cause a problem.’
Perlir nodded in agreement. The Farlan laws on territory were strict: each duke ruled one of the four cities, but had only limited land, so they were always contained within a suzerainty. With the wealth of a city behind him, the duke often owned as much land in the suzerainty as its lord, and the Farlan were not people to share power happily.
‘Suzerain Imis would be even less amused by the situation,’ Isak added. ‘His border with the Great Forest is longer than any other, so Tirah influences his decisions far more than he’d like anyway. With a puppet wearing the ducal coronet he’d feel gelded.’
‘Your solution?’
‘Major Belir Ankremer, of the Second Lomin Infantry.’