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eight
The
cavalcade arrived at the gate of Zeth Abbey at the end of a dreary, overcast
afternoon. The animals and most of the travelers were bone-tired and covered
with grey dust, the latter a legacy of the Wolf's Breath. The periodic bouts of
falling ash had afflicted this region of the kingdom more than the parts
farther south, strewing the ground with pale patches like thin frost, even
after summer thunderstorms and the soft rains of autumn had washed much of it
away. In a fine paradox, the ash greatly enriched the soil; but only when the
Wolf's Breath ceased to dim the sun would folk reap its benefits.
King
Olmigon had roused as the coach covered the final league of the journey,
taking both water and nourishment and declaring that his pain was much
diminished. When they rolled into the abbey, his mind was clear and his spirits
high. Abbas Noachil, a stooped ancient with shrewd, bird-like eyes, stood in
the forecourt with all of the resident Brethren to welcome the royal party.
Supported
by the two lords-in-waiting, Olmigon alighted from the carriage, then settled
into an open chair-litter that would be borne by four of the redcowled
Brothers. The queen and princess flanked him and the Royal Alchymist hovered
behind. Olmigon was dressed in a loose gown of white velvet, having a hood
edged with blue fox fur. As befitted a pilgrim, he wore no crown and no
ornament. A wooden disk with the gammadion's voided cross burnt into it hung
from his neck by a leather thong. His hair and beard were a dingy yellowish
color and sadly sparse, and weight-loss occasioned by the rigors of the trip
had left his face seamed and wrinkled as a withered apple. His eyes were opaque
hazel pebbles sunk in rheumy pits.
"God's
peace and the blessing of Saint Zeth be upon you," Abbas Noachil
said.
"Who are you, and why have you come to this holy place?" The question
was a formality, because the Royal Alchymist had windspoken the progress of the
procession to Noachil every day it was en route. But it was necessary that the
king make his unusual request with his own lips.
"I
am Olmigon Wincantor, High King of Blencathra." His voice was little more
than a whisper, but without tremor or hesitation. "I have come here, where
Bazekoy the Great, Emperor of the World, breathed his last, in order to ask my
one Question and receive a true answer, as is my right. Know that my own body
is failing, and I am prepared to sing my Deathsong at any time, and grant me
prompt audience so that my request may be fulfilled."
"Enter
the Abbey of Zeth," Noachil said, lifting his staff in blessing, "and
follow me to the imperial sepulchre."
The
assembled Brethren began a solemn chant, and the king was carried up a shallow
flight of stairs and into the cloister that led to the emperor's mausoleum,
which was built of native limestone like the rest of the abbey. At the bronze
doors decorated with scenes from Bazekoy's life, a waiting Brother gently
restrained Queen Cataldise and Princess Maudrayne.
"No
lay persons may enter during the questioning," the abbas explained.
"Later, you royal ladies may venerate the emperor's ashes and pray to his
spirit, but for now I ask you to accompany Prior Waringlow to the
guest-hall."
A brief
look of resentment crossed the face of the princess, who had made no secret of
her desire to view the mysterious oracle. But Queen Cataldise said, "Come,
Daughter," taking her elbow, and they went away.
Abbas
Noachil said to the king, "Your Royal Alchymist, Vra-Kilian, may attend
the rite, if you wish."
Olmigon
said, "No! And I command that no man will hear my Question or know the
answer until I deign to reveal it. Not even you, Father Abbas. I pray you
conjure up a spell of couverture to shield me from windwatching during the
consultation?'
"It
shall be done?'
Kilian
opened his mouth as if to protest, then shut it with an audible click of teeth
and spun on his heel to follow the women. He had tried to ascertain the king's
Question many times during the trip, without success.
Noachil
lifted his staff and smote the bronze door three times. It opened of itself,
revealing a vaulted interior lit with scores of candles that burned within
blue
glass vessels hanging from gilt chains. The stone pillars of the shrine were
iridescent black iris-stone from Foraile, and the floor was a complex mosaic of
lustrous gold and white tiles. At the far end of the mausoleum, which might
have been thirty ells square and at least that in ceiling height, rose a dais
with a titanic statue of the emperor, carved from marble and lit by azure
lamps. The brothers carried King Olmigon to the statue's feet, where a marker
was embedded in the floor.
"Beneath
this plaque lie the ashes of Bazekoy's body," said the abbas. "You
may pray for a time, if you desire:'
"Is
it here that I pose my Question?" the king asked, seeming rather disappointed.
"No.
That will be done in the chapel to your right."
"Then
let's get on with it," Olmigon said peevishly. "Time enough for
prayers later. The pain's coming on again, and I don't want to pass out before
getting what I came for:'
Noachil
was not offended. In fact, he smiled. "So might the emperor himself have
said, in your place. He was never known as a patient man."
He made
a sign to the bearers and they carried the king to a dim alcove, shut off from
the main chamber by a wrought-iron gate. Unlocking this, the abbas went to a
low altar that held a domed golden reliquary about two feet high. On either
side were large candlesticks surmounted by blue glass cups with chill flames
burning inside. After the brothers had backed off reverently through the gate
and retreated out of sight, the abbas unlocked the reliquary and swung its
doors wide.
Inside
was a sizable crystal urn full of liquid, in which floated a human head.
"God's Teeth!" whispered Olmigon.
Abbas
Noachil made a brief, almost playful obeisance to the altar. "Good day,
Imperial Majesty. I trust you continue to rest in peace. May I present Olmigon
Wincantor, High King of Blencathra, here to ask his alloted Question ere he
sings his Deathsong. If it be God's will, give him answer:' The abbas handed
the king a silver bell, directing him to ring it when he had finished, and
withdrew from the chapel.
Olmigon
felt no awe at this supreme moment, only a quizzical detachment. Could the head
actually be real? It seemed made of wax, with an inhuman translucence to the
flesh. The eyes were closed. Abundant hair, grey and slightly
I
wavy,
floated from beneath an archaic crowned helmet ornamented with rubies and huge
blue pearls. Bazekoy the Great had a neatly trimmed moustache and thick
sensuous lips that almost seemed to smile. Like so many Foraileans, he had a
broad, snub nose.
"But
your body burned in its funeral pyre," the king said softly. "So how
came your head here? If this really is your head ..."
The
eyes opened: very large, very blue like the candleflames in their sapphire
cups.
Is that
your one Question, Olmigon Wincantor?
The
king started like one touched by a burning coal. "No! My God, no!"
A
judicious nod. Then I'll answer gratis, for you're the first to seek my counsel
in three centuries, and I thought I might have been forgotten! . . . A dream of
strange Lights instructed me to render up my life here, on the island where my
great con-quests began. I came to this place, as directed, when it was a mere
hermitage, and my warriors prepared for me the traditional funeral pyre of my
people. But before my body was burned the resident wizard secretly removed my
head and preserved it, so that I might literally fulfil a rash promise made on
my deathbed. That impudent magicker was the one you name Saint Zeth, and I hold
him no ill will, for through his boldness I was able to advise and console many
a Cathran ruler face-to-face .. . until the times changed. Times do change,
Olmigon! And a wise man accommodates himself and doesn't cling to worn-out ways
and customs. A truly great man, on the other hand, not only accommodates, but
uses change to get what he wants.
"So
said my son Conrig." The king winced at a momentary stab of pain in his
guts. "Damned ambitious pup! Wants to be Sovereign of Blenholme—wants
glory, like you had."
Bazekoy
smiled. You're jealous, old man.
"How
dare you speak to me like that!"
Jealous!
Because your son's vision is greater than yours could ever be. Because he
overrode your pissy-arsed objections and forced you to issue the Edict of
Sovereignty. Admit the truth of what I say!
"I—"
It was
a small-minded attempt to exert power that led you to overrule Conrig's plan to
send a well-armed delegation to King Achardus. Sheer bloody-mindedness--or else
malice, wishing his ploy to fail. Do you deny it?
"I
came here hoping to help my son!"
Nonsense.
You came hoping to justify yourself—to Conrig and to history.
Olmigon
took a furious breath, intending to defend himself against the oracle's
insults. But a terrible wave of agony swept over him, making him writhe,
squelching his pride and leaving any notion of defiance in tatters.
You are
dying, the apparition said implacably. Stop deceiving yourself. For most of
your reign, you've been a silly fool, surrounding yourself with councilors such
as your brother-in-law who flattered and manipulated you to their own selfish
ends. When you were finally obliged to admit the Prince Heritor to your Privy
Council, you were frightened by the strength of his character and the boldness
of his plans. And envious! For shame, old man.
"I
thought the Sovereignty scheme was imprudent. So did many of my advisers. It
was both risky and expensive
Ah! Now
we come to the truth of the matter. The merchants and the great lords whose
wealth depends upon them resisted any plan that would raise their
taxes—especially during the Wolf's Breath time, when their profits are already
curtailed. Never mind that unifying the island would make it a stronghold
against southern enemies. And do away with the wasteful small disputes among
the four kingdoms that have cost both money and human lives over the past
hundred years.
'All
kings don't have to be empire-builders." Olmigon's eyes were watering
treacherously.
So.
Would you have your son's great dream of Sovereignty die with you? Do you
intend to forbid the invasion?
"Not
if it has a real chance of success. What do you take me for?" Is that your
one Question?
"No
. . . no."
Then
ask it, old fool.
Olmigon
wiped his eyes with a palsied hand and pulled himself upright in the chair. On
impulse, he had revised his original elaborate query to one that was starkly
simple. "All right, damn you! Here it is . . . Can my son Conrig succeed
in uniting High Blenholme in a Sovereignty?"
There
was a long silence.
"Well?"
Olmigon said. "Are you going to answer? Are you real or only some bloody conjurer's
trick? Will Con be able to do it?"
Only if
you rise from your deathbed to assist him, said Bazekoy's head.
"What?" the king cried. "Are you toying with me? What do you
mean?"
The
Question is answered. Now leave me in peace, Olmigon Wincantor. If you have
other questions, ask them of your son.
The
emperor's gleaming blue eyes closed.
The
king gave a final bellow of impotent rage, then slumped back in mingled despair
and puzzlement, tears coursing down his cheeks. The small silver handbell fell
out of his hand and struck the floor with a sharp chime.
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