Midkemia Page 6

  Within a day we were in lands that were clearly pacified for generations, heavy forests having been cleared leaving only light woodlands where the local nobles could hunt. There were large stretches of apple orchards where once primeval forests had choked the land, and woods with small herds of deer to our south, and the many streams we forded or crossed were abundant with fish.

  The weather was cold, but not bitter, with rain plaguing us regularly. A day before reaching Salador, a City Guard patrol approached and offered greetings to the Duke and volunteered to escort him to the city. He replied he thought thirty Krondorian Lancers were sufficient protection, then was gracious in praising the Salador City Guards in keeping the area free of brigands.

  We rode on.

  Entering Salador, I at last understood how rustic Crydee was, even how provincial Krondor appeared to those of the Eastern Realm. Salador was thronged with citizens and travelers, despite the overcast and chilly weather. Many gawked at us as we passed, for we clearly were westerners by my lord Duke’s tabard and the Krondorian’s attire. Some watchers cheered us, as if they were witnessing a parade. Yet a few muttered to each other, evidencing disappointment at our demeanor and dress, as if we of the West should somehow be more fearsome or barbaric in countenance.

  It took even longer to reach the palace than it had in Krondor, given how much bigger Salador was, but eventually we got there, tired and damp. Our mounts were spirited away by efficient lackeys, and we were led through the entrance to the palace, through a seeming maze of rooms and I realized Duke Kerus’s palace was larger than the Prince’s in Krondor!

  The architecture was so different, for if in ancient times there had been a citadel here protecting the city, it had long been transformed into something far more graceful, luxurious, and less martial. No high stone walls surmounted by palisades or high towers with arrow ports here. Now it was all large halls and galleries, nests of richly appointed apartments for guests, quarters for dozens of servants and a full garrison. We followed a man with a captain’s badge, and he led us into Duke Kerus’s antechamber.

  Lord Borric apologized for any inconvenience but stated the need for quick passage to Rillanon, to see the King. After gently putting aside Lord Kerus’s desire to have us stay for a short while, Duke Borric persuaded his host of the urgency of our journey.

  They spoke as we walked to the Duke’s audience hall. We passed through halls that were decorated in what I would come to know years later as the “Fashion of Roldem,” large glass windows beneath vaulted ceilings, several fireplaces placed around the room rather than a single, massive one, and all fashion of tapestry, painting, and fine furniture for the Duke’s pleasure, should he wish to entertain one person or one hundred or more.

  Kerus’s response to Lord Borric’s news, shared while we sat at a side table big enough for ten people, was unexpected. While I gorged myself on fresh fruit and sweet wine, I listened to the Dukes discuss the state of politics in the Kingdom.

  In my youth I fear I mistook this discussion as merely some issue of standing or rank or some other aspect of politics beyond my understanding, certain to be put aside once Duke Borric informed the King of the gravity of the threat. I look back after years of dealing with bitter Kingdom politics, and the even, literally, bloodier politics of the Empire of Tsuranuanni and can scarcely believe how much faith I put in the basic goodness of those in power.

  THIS MAP OF THE CENTRAL KINGDOM, or the Eastern Realm, was a gift to me from King Lyam, for Prince Arutha told him of my fondness for maps. It not only details those ancient lands of the Isles, but also shows the heraldry of the more prominent nobility of the East.

  Lord Borric, I found years after this journey, was an exceptional man in so many ways, and then I assumed all rulers must be like him. So much yet to learn, and I was blissfully ignorant of that fact. I discovered the real sources of conflict between Lord Borric and his friend from their early days in court, Guy du Bas-Tyra, and the motivation behind each man in their service to the Kingdom. Both men loved the same woman, Borric’s wife Catherine, and that, not politics, was the root of their differences.

  After our brief visit with Lord Kerus, we departed for Rillanon. The winds were unfavorable, so the journey took nearly three weeks, instead of the usual two, much to Duke Borric’s annoyance. He feared for the well-being of his duchy, and his eldest son, Prince Lyam, and the possibility of a hostile action by the Tsurani.

  We sailed into Rillanon harbor on a bright afternoon as the wind drove whitecaps and spindrift in bright sunlight, and I was transfixed. From the bow of the boat I watched as we rounded the headlands and headed north into the bay. Even Salador appeared squat and uninspired next to Rillanon. It was called the Jewel of the Kingdom for a reason. By a combination of accident and design, the stone facing used in the palace at Rillanon was a spectacular colored limestone that gleamed when struck by the sun. King Rodric had decreed that all Rillanon would be redressed in similar fashion and as we sailed into the harbor mouth I could see that a great deal of work in the public areas was under way. Arching bridges and all official buildings had either been completed or construction had been started, and the view was breathtaking.

  I was not privy to all the conversations my lord Borric had on this voyage, or some of those in Salador, and I was still yet a boy with a simple view of things. But I understood enough to know there was a great deal of tension between many of the nobles of the Kingdom, rivalry between the Eastern and Western Realms, and distrust of many of those close to the King by the western lords.

  Yet when we were received, it was warmly by the king’s Chancellor, Lord Caldric, Duke of Rillanon. He and Lord Borric seemed to hold each other in genuine affection. We were presented to His Majesty, Rodric IV, ruler of the Kingdom of the Isles. The tale of my rescue of the Princess had somehow managed to reach the court before we did, and the King bid me come visit with him alone on his private balcony and recount the story.

  I was first struck by how the city glimmered in the noonday sun, seeing it from a completely different perspective than when sailing in. Whatever else the King might have been doing to confound my lord Borric and others over matters I scarcely understood, one thing no one could doubt: he had undertaken to create the most beautiful city on the whole of Midkemia. We spoke of a few things, and he seemed a nice enough man to me. I had difficulty reconciling the harsh things I had overheard while traveling with the Duke.

  We waited for the King to make his decision regarding the Tsurani threat, and I was allowed to visit a small part of the city. I was beginning to understand at last that every city is somehow different from all others, despite them being in the same nation. Krondor was important because of its politics, Salador because of its location, and Rillanon because of its politics, history, and location.

  Rillanon was as busy a place as I had encountered so far. It was both the capital of the Kingdom and a centrally located port on the Sea of Kingdoms. It was three times the size of the only other major shipping point on the Home Islands, as they were known, so it was the busiest port in the Kingdom.

  Pug Arriving at Rillanon

  THIS ELEVATION MAP SHOWS the contours of the island as well as the prominent areas of the city of Rillanon. I found it in the library there and had it copied with the King’s permission.

  Word came the Tsurani had launched offensives into the Free Cities, against Yabon and Crydee, and instantly everything changed. The King became enraged and ordered Lord Borric to return at once to defend the West, placing him under the command of Lord Brucal, Duke of Yabon.

  Suddenly we were again leaving as quickly as possible, and I feared now for all those in Crydee, and I maintained as well my lingering concern for Tomas. Whether I would ever see my best friend was constantly on my mind, ignorant as I was at that time of the great adventure he was just but beginning.

  The war with the Tsurani had come. Since its conclusion, there have been many accounts of that war from participants, scholars, historians, as we
ll as less reliable sources, but suffice it to say while I played a role, perhaps a major one, in that war, most of the time I was absent from its conduct. I was captured early on in that war and lived for most of it in the Tsurani world, first as a slave, then as a student of magic, and finally as a Great One, a member of their Assembly of Magicians.

  Someday perhaps I will write a more personal narrative, but for the time being let me focus on the events of the war, and the importance of that conflict to the Kingdom, and those in Western Realm in particular.

  Pug Meets King Rodric IV

  Entry, the Eighth

  THE FOLLOWING IS MY RECOUNTING OF EVENTS to which I was not a witness. Some of it is the product of long conversations I had with Tomas and Prince Arutha after the events in what is now called the Riftwar or the Tsurani War, and the balance is what I have gleaned from official documents to which I have been privy, and discussions I’ve had with other participants in the war.

  To reiterate, I was captured early on in the war and therefore will not attest that every detail here within is accurate, but I believe I have captured the gist of the events under discussion. Not only have I depended on Tomas’s and Prince Arutha’s own recollections on the matter, but on the commentary of others who witnessed their actions.

  From my perspective, the war ended with the first raid through the valley in which the Tsurani had erected their rift machine, a wonder of magic I still study to this day; it was through this device they marshaled an entire invasion force powerful enough to thwart the Kingdom’s every attempt at reclaiming that territory, launch a successful incursion into the Free Cities, and turn the eastern half of Crydee into a no-man’s-land.

  I was captured and for the remainder of the war, nearly twelve years, abided on Kelewan. My life, first as a slave, then as a student of the Assembly of Magicians, then as one of their members, has been detailed elsewhere so I will not reiterate it here.

  I had several meetings with Tomas after the war, visiting him and his family in Elvandar, and with his permission on one occasion I asked if I might bring along a scribe who recorded Tomas’s recollections.

  This is his recollection on the start of the war and aftermath:

  “I’m only willing to do this out of friendship, Pug, but for the most part my role in the war was limited. Let me start at the beginning.

  “When last I saw you, I was trapped behind the wraith in the mines of Mac Mordain Cadal. I fled and managed to elude the creature. Lost in the mines, not knowing that Dolgan was seeking me out, I wandered, but I felt a tugging in a certain direction.

  “It was the great dragon Rhuagh, who used magic of the mind to influence me into finding his home, a vast hall in which treasure unequaled had been secreted. I was reassured, despite his massive size and the reputations of dragons in lore, and learned that at heart he and his kind could be gentle.

  “He also led Dolgan to join us and we witnessed his end, for it is a dragon’s way to know how many days they are numbered and when comes their end. He had been host years before to the Black Sorcerer, Macros the Black, who gave him a parting gift, a wondrous device that for scant moments revisited the dragon’s youth upon him, so that at the moment of his demise he again experienced his youthful glory. It was a sight to behold.

  “The dragon’s gift to Dolgan was to return the legendary Hammer of Tholin, symbol of rulership, granting Dolgan the rank of King of the Dwarves in the West. To me, beyond my life, was given a suit of armor and weapons, which I know now belonged once to the last of his race, the Valheru, or Dragon Lords, a being named Ashen-Shugar.

  “I first became aware of the potential power of the armor when Dolgan and I succeeded in scaring off the wraith that had been following us. Little did I know then the extent of the changes that would occur from that event forward.

  “When we left the mines, winter was full upon us, and there was no means by which I could overtake the Duke’s party or return to Crydee, so I wintered at Village Caldara with Dolgan and his people. More gracious hosts I could not have imagined.

  THIS MAP ONCE BELONGED TO A SCOUT DURING THE RIFTWAR. It details the valley in the Grey Towers occupied by the Tsurani, and where I was captured. It was a gift from Earl Vandros of LaMut after I mentioned this project in passing.

  “It was in the village I began the vision. At first it would be a fleeting glimpse of an image, or a snatch of sound, voices speaking in languages I didn’t know, yet somehow I almost understood. It was the magic in my armor, Pug, asserting itself after ages. Macros later claimed that if not for his arts, it would have overwhelmed me, and true or not, I have no difficulty believing him, for it was powerful magic.

  “Dreams haunted my sleep and slowly I was becoming two beings, myself and the ancient creature Ashen-Shugar. In a way I still am both beings, but a struggle within during the war caused me to confront this being, subdue him, and bring his powers fully under my control. At least so far, such is the case. It is one of the reasons I rarely venture outside of Elvandar, for there I am most easily able to stem his rage and desire for rulership. It is the love of my wife and her people that empower me to stay dominant over the ancient power of the Dragon Lord.

  “We had conducted six or seven raids against the Tsurani, attacking out of the abandoned mines at the south of the valley they used as their staging grounds. We had inflicted serious losses, but suffered them as well. While each dwarf warrior was the equal of any two or three Tsurani soldiers—and they were fearless—they lacked metal armor, which put them at a severe disadvantage. Still, each dwarf loss was a heavy blow to that long-lived race and we mourned more than a few before that war was finished.

  The Rift Machine

  “We communicated with the others facing the Tsurani using messages carried by the Rangers of Natal. They alone could move through the forests controlled by the Tsurani. The elves were holding strong behind the River Boundary, for their magic was effective against invaders, but they had lost control of the outer forest that had been their dominion for ages.

  “Part of Natal was occupied by the Tsurani and they were held in check by a series of natural defenses in the southern territory of the Free Cities, a choke point on the road to Yabon, and had only one assault against Crydee, at the onset of the war. I speculate that part of their concern with Crydee was myself, Dolgan, and our dwarves being at their back should they move against Crydee.”

  I should add that Tomas was ignorant of the bloody Tsurani politics that were in play at that time, with political factions in the Tsurani High Council vying for position and power, and the Warlord’s faction being under political attack by various Houses joining and withdrawing from the war, preventing the Tsurani from any sort of sweeping victory. Had they been able to bring their full weight of arms to bear on this war, it would have been quickly decided in their favor.

  “By late summer that first year, Duke Borric had joined Duke Brucal in leading the forces of the West in Yabon, and Prince Arutha had returned to Crydee. His brother Lyam had sailed from Crydee with what men could be spared, joining some elements from Carse and Tulan that sailed through the Straits of Darkness and up to Yabon. The remaining troops from Carse and Tulan held a solid line to the south, preventing the Tsurani from encircling Crydee.

  “Further difficulty for everyone was created due to the Tsurani incursion displacing large numbers of Moredhel, the Brotherhood of the Dark Path, who along with their goblin allies were attempting to reach safe haven in the North. To say the situation was chaotic in the early stages of the war is to oversimplify. It was beyond chaotic between the lines, both Tsurani and defenders. Occasionally, the Moredhel and Tsurani ran afoul of each other, to our advantage, and one story is told that Martin Longbow and his companion led a full company of Tsurani into a Moredhel encampment.

  “The Tsurani were seasoned campaigners and knew that to stabilize their position they needed to secure their flanks before expansion, so they set about to neutralize them one at a time, beginning with the dwarves raid
ing out of the mines to their south. They set an ambush, which cost Dolgan’s warriors dearly and drove us into the forests to the west.

  “We endured a half-dozen skirmishes as we fought our way north, losing twenty good warriors, through the foothills of the Grey Towers, unable to turn to Crydee or circle back to Village Caldara. In the end we found ourselves striking for Elvandar. We reached the River Boundary just as the Tsurani overtook us and I was struck by a poison arrow.

  “Upon reviving, I discovered I had been unconscious for three days, and I judge it was the armor’s magic that saved me from a painful death. I traveled with three elves, Calin, Galain, and Algavins, to the court of the Elf Queen.

  “I had become smitten with Queen Aglaranna since her visit to Crydee the year before, and as soon as I beheld her again, before her throne, I knew something was changing within me. Never could I have imagined how fate would bring us together, and what a painful process would be involved. Yet, for all that occurred in the coming years, I could not be happier with the outcome.

  Tomas and Dolgan Confront the Wraith

  “As for the rest of the war, we fell into a pattern. We would leave Caldara and travel north, to rally with the elves in Elvandar, for our combined forces could do much that either group alone could not, and each year I became more the warleader of the combined forces. I told you already of the struggle within where I bested Ashen-Shugar, won the hand of my wife, and became what you see before me, so I will not repeat those stories, but when you at last returned to us, and the war ended, my joy was complete.”