Allies of Antares

Chapter one-1

Chapter one

Ructions in the peace conferenceDuring the second week of the Peace Conference only forty-nine duels were fought, so the delegates realized they were making real progress.

The main sessions took place in a long-disused assembly chamber of the palace of Ruathytu and here day by day the benches filled with vociferous people all determined to have their say about the horrible fate to be meted out to defeated Hamal. The people divided by nation and race, and each faction felt convinced its own solution was not only the perfect one, but the one to be adopted by everyone else.

This led to differences of opinion.

“A gold deldy per person,” shouted a king from the Dawn Lands. In the overheated atmosphere, with the drapes drawn away from the long windows and still the air stifling, his face looked a bronze mask of sweat. He shook his fist. “Nothing less—”

“Less?” A king from a neighboring realm of the Dawn Lands sneered, white lace kerchief to face, not bothering to rise to speak. “Less? Make it two gold deldys.”

“Aye!” called a high-ranking noble, gold-bedecked. “Hamal has the gold. Hamal can pay!” Then, no doubt feeling that although no king he must maintain his dignity, he bellowed: “And make it three gold deldys!”

Stylors wrote busily at long tables positioned near the center of the open space between the ranked seating. They covered reams of paper with what was said, proposals and counterproposals. They recorded very few agreements.

Other delegates joined in the raising of the indemnity, and shouts of “four!” and “five” and “seven” brought the blood flushing to forehead and cheeks, brought a sparkle to eyes, brought feathers ruffling dangerously and fur sparking with static. The punishment rose until there was scarcely gold in all of Paz, let alone merely the empire of Hamal, to pay what would be demanded. Then someone raised the question of saddle flyers being taken in compensation, demanding their fair share of zhyans in preference to lesser birds. This caused fresh outbreaks of acrimony. Another delegate banged his sword on the floor and demanded full restitution plus damages for all the airboats his country had lost.

“Take all the fliers that Hamal has!” he cried. “And—”

“You would fly your own airboats home and claim they were lost!” challenged a puffy-faced king with hair noticeable by its absence, for it had been torn off by a wild animal seasons ago. “The Peace Conference demands a full accounting from you—”

“Aye! And from you, King Nodgen the Bald! We have sure proof you flew undamaged vollers back to your black-hearted kingdom and—”

The ensuing sword-flourishing and blade-whickering was dealt with by the marshals. On this day that task fell by rotation to four-armed Djangs, who had no trouble separating the combatants and escorting them back to their seats. Djangs, aside from being among the most superb fighting men of Kregen, are less in awe of kings and nobles not of Djanduin.

“You are not allowed to fight in the Peace Conference.” The Djang Hikdar in command of the marshal detail carried off his duties with that Djang blend of competent military expertise and wild warrior fanaticism. He made sure the rival kings were both sitting in their seats before he marched his men off. No blood was spilled on that occasion over that particular quarrel in the chamber; blood flowed in the duel that followed. Outside.

All in all, the Peace Conference to decide what to do with Hamal presented a sorry spectacle.

From Vallia, Drak, the Prince Majister, and Kov Seg Segutorio made eloquent appeals for progress. King Jaidur of Hyrklana expressed his contempt for the delegates. His queen, Lildra, hushed him in her queenly way; but the feeling was abroad that the Peace Conference was doomed.

Young King Rogpe of Mandua announced that he did not feel secure enough on his throne to waste time in Hamal. He had only turned up after the battles, his armies being commanded by Kov Konec and Vad Dav Olmes, because his succession to his father had been challenged and the law had, tardily, upheld his claim. If everyone began to go home, Hamal was likely to be plundered without check in revenge for her own sins of the past.

The Kingdom of Djanduin was represented by O. Fellin Coper. As an Obdjang — equipped by nature with a cheerful pert gerbil-like face and only two arms and a keenly incisive brain — he was no fighting man. At his side sat K. Kholin Dom. As a Dwadjang — equipped by nature with a ferocious assemblage of fighting equipment and a brain completely at sea in the arcana of Higher Command — he was a warrior who upheld O. Fellin Coper’s decisions. The aerial assault delivered on the Hamalian capital city of Ruathytu had decided the issue and won the battle. That assault had been a Djanduin affair. The forces commanded by Seg Segutorio had joined in the final assault.

Now that mere mortal kings and princes and kovs sought to put together a Peace Treaty, the actual course of the fighting was conveniently pushed aside. Everyone demanded an equal say. That proved perfectly acceptable, provided common sense prevailed. As the Prince Majister of Vallia said: “Common sense seems to have fled! By Vox! Are we all a pack of ninnies unable to agree on anything?”

Some of the delegates from the Dawn Lands left off arguing and quarreling among themselves long enough to shout answers. Then, they went back to slanging one another.

Seg said, “I suggest we take into consideration the views of those members of the conference—”

Jaidur interrupted. “We take no notice, Uncle Seg! We tell these idiots from the Dawn Lands what we decide!”

Drak — serious, intense, dedicated — leaned forward, frowning. “The Dawn Lands contributed greatly to the success. And to ignore them because we are united and thus stronger is illegal.”

Seg sat back, saying nothing. His blue eyes revealed nothing of his thoughts, and his reckless face was composed.

“Illegal!” Jaidur laughed. He was still a right tearaway despite having come to the throne of Hyrklana, a rich island off the east coast of Havilfar, and with the realm its queen, Lildra. His mother, Delia of Vallia, had great hopes that he would reform and become a dutiful king. Now he roared his enjoyment of the jest. “Illegal, brother! What we decide will settle the fate of Hamal for many seasons to come. We must decide in our favor. If these fools from the Dawn Lands—”

“Gently, Jaidur, gently,” said Seg.

King Jaidur sat back in his chair. He put a hand to his lips and Lildra put her hand down on his shoulder. Jaidur leaned back, closing his eyes, and he touched Lildra’s hand. He drew reassurance and strength from the contact. Just so had his father gained reassurance and strength from Jaidur’s mother.

“The problem is the Dawn Lands will not choose a spokesman. They are individuals, and are contrary for the sake of contrariness and drive everyone else into frenzy by their quarrels.”

“True, prince,” said Seg.

“We have complete agreement,” said Ortyg Fellin Coper, brushing his whiskers, being brisk, “between Djanduin, Vallia and Hyrklana. That combination is, indeed, very powerful.”

“Powerful!” shouted across that king from the Dawn Lands who had begun the escalation of the gold indemnity. “But we in the Dawn Lands can put more troops into the field, more vollers, more saddle flyers. Woe to anyone who forgets that.”

Jaidur burst out: “More! Of course! And woe to you for forgetting it as Hamal destroyed you piecemeal!”

Seg moved with the speed of a Bowman of Loh. He stopped in front of Jaidur, half-bending as though talking, and he motioned to Lildra. It was nicely done. The fatuous king was left talking to Kov Seg’s backside, Lildra was smiling at him, and Jaidur was being masked — and, no doubt, having a severe and nostalgic telling-off from his Uncle Seg. Had a duel been fought Jaidur would certainly have won, being a Krozair of Zy; but the deplorable publicity would have done Hyrklana and Vallia no good. Kytun Kholin Dom, clever enough in matters of this nature, rolled over to the Dawn Lands king and, taking him in comradely fashion by the elbow, lifted him away, saying something like: “And I can show you a Jholaix we dug out of the wine cellars you’ve never dreamed existed.”

The Peace Conference survived these bruises; but no one was prepared to say how long such damage could go on.

In all these arguments and statements of opinion and position, no one bothered to think what the Hamalese might say. They had been beaten. Ergo, they must pay up and do as they were told and thank all their gods they were still alive. Yet to claim that no one bothered to think of the Hamalese is to avoid the real issue. Everyone shied away from the central point, the overriding question, the problem that put all the others — including the details of compensation and punishment — into the shade.

All the delegates to the Peace Conference were only too acutely aware that they must think of the Hamalese. And they kept fobbing off that dominant issue.

Who was to rule Hamal now that the old Empress, Empress Thyllis, was dead and buried?

“Dismember the damned place,” was a commonly voiced solution.

“Split it up into kovnates and vadvarates and Stromnates and do not allow a single kingdom. Divide and rule.” This was a solution favored of many. The rulers from the Dawn Lands would feel far more comfortable if north of the River Os lay, instead of a single huge nation, a whole series of little ones in reflection of themselves.

It was left to Drak to point out: “And have continual warfare between the little countries — as you do all the time?”

By Vox! You win a battle and take a city and have a peace conference — and you start to find out where the problems really are!

Seg said, “Little is beautiful, and big is beautiful. Big is unwieldy and little is plain suicidal. We have to find a median way.”

Because the invasion from Vallia had sidestepped the island of Pandahem and gone straight into Hamal, the future held problems there, also. As Drak said, “Now the nations of Pandahem have the dread of the devilish Wizard of Loh, Phu-Si-Yantong, removed, they will rapidly throw out the Hamalese occupation forces. I am sure they will want a say in what is decided for Hamal.”

One of the Dawn Lands rulers — King Nafun of Hambascett, who had begun the auction in increasing gold deldys — snorted his disgust. He reared up in his seat, glaring about, the sweat now appearing to be melting from a wax death mask. “Pandahem? Pandahem? Have they sent troops? Have they aided us? No! They have no right to sit at the table that decides the fate of Hamal. We who fought, we—”

His neighbor-king, wily King Harmburr of Ezionn, bellowed out at that. “Fought? Fought? I saw no troops of Hambascett the Treacherous when I fought the Hamalese mercenaries—”

“And I saw not a swod of Decadent Ezionn when I routed the Hamalese heavy cavalry—”

“By the Veiled Froyvil!” said Seg. He let rip a sigh that was more like a stentor blowing to gain passage for a swifter than a lovesick swain languishing for his lady. “Cannot you two either leave each other alone, fight it out, or just shut up?”

Now a kov does not ordinarily talk to two kings in quite those terms.

Drak sat forward anxiously, and Jaidur looked with swift concern over at Seg. Both Drak and Jaidur — with their brother Zeg — had known and loved Seg Segutorio from the moment they had been aware of his existence.

King Harmburr of Ezionn and King Nafun of Hambascett turned to look at Seg. He continued to sit. He had prevented a confrontation with Jaidur, only to precipitate a worse one on his own head.

Drak said, “We have done enough for the day. Let us depart and reconvene on the morrow when—”

“Softly, Prince of Vallia!” quoth Nafun. He wiped his face with a sodden kerchief. “I have been insulted—”

“You!” snapped King Harmburr. He was a waspish little fellow. “You! The lout insulted me—”

Seg stood up. He moved lazily. He smiled. “I shall not fight either of you, or your hired champions. You two are stupid cretins, and what is more, you know it. Aye!” He drowned out their protestations. “I can see ahead. I can see perhaps things that would not please you. You both know we must deal with Hamal fairly, or there will never be peace. So think. Act like kings. Even if it is difficult to act like men.”