Rising Vengeance (The Anarian Chronicles Book 1) Read online

“I volunteer the Dragon Hearted,” said Daken quietly. Almost too quietly, it seemed, because only Norrin heard him speak. The giant chuckled softly.

  “What about the Dragon Hearted, Morschcoda Daken?”

  “I volunteer them.” He paused. Daken seemed to tense whenever he knew that he had been heard. His left hand flexed, and instinctively dropped to the worn leather satchel he always wore. “To mediate the border. If two countries each send their elite armies to the same border, an elite force from a third country must also be present to maintain the peace until such time as there is a formal declaration of war. Such is our law.”

  “Well spoken, Morschcoda Daken,” put in Ranny. “But would your men be able to reach the border in time to prevent conflict? Braldish is the closest capital city to the border in question, and even Galzeen is closer than Airachni.”

  “My men could get there in time.”

  Taren spared a glance at Ranny. Her gamble had been subtle, but Taren did not doubt that it would reap its rewards. Attempting to pull in three Morschcoda at once was not one of her newer tricks, but Dalasin’s inclusion at the end was what mattered. Taren had to speak before Ranny could make another attempt. “The Black Guard is already at the border, and the Crystal Sword will move far more quickly than the Dragon Hearted will be able to. Perhaps we should consider the Stone Warriors. Would your men be willing to mediate the border, Morschcoda Norrin?” Taren asked.

  “They can mediate the border, but stone cracks in the cold. The conflict would have to be resolved in one month, at the most.”

  Erygan looked paler than usual at the thought of have an army of Stone Warriors within sight of his border, and especially within sight of his men. Marrdin also looked panicked.

  “Then if the dispute is not settled within one month from the time that the Stone Warriors reach the border, we will dispatch the Dragon Hearted to replace them. If, after another month, it is still not settled, I will send the Brotherhood of the Mordak to settle it, one way or another.”

  That announcement had the effect that Taren had been hoping for. Erygan, pale already, went dead white. Even Marrdin was slightly off-colour at the thought of several thousand of the Brotherhood of the Mordak within sight of his troops. Even one thousand of the Brotherhood could deal with the three thousand Black Guards. Three thousand could deal with almost anything he was willing to commit to the border, and many things that he was not. Erygan, trying to look less scared then he felt, spoke quickly. “I am certain that Morschcoda Marrdin and I could form some sort of agreement before it becomes necessary to involve any other countries, especially one as far away as Drogoda.”

  “Morschcoda Erygan, come to an agreement with Marrdin, now. I think we all want this dealt with before midday.”

  “I will withdraw all but five hundred of the Black Guard, Morschcoda Marrdin.”

  “You will withdraw all of them, or I will let loose the Crystal Sword.”

  Erygan hesitated. “I will withdraw all but two hundred.” He put up a finger to keep Marrdin from interrupting him. “After all, they are my men, within my borders, which I have a right to guard as I see fit.”

  “You will get nothing better, Morschcoda Marrdin,” said Kallin.

  Marrdin’s eyes darted to Kallin’s face. “Keep two hundred at the border if you must. I will keep the Crystal Sword in Agrista.”

  “Now that that is settled,” said Daliana, exhausted, “perhaps we can move on.”

  * * * * *

  Few decisions were made in the council chamber that day, or the next. As The Councils wore on to a full week, without a Guild banquet or Merchant ball to break up the monotony, Taren wondered why neither Daken nor Erygan had brought up the three Dragon Riders. “Daken must know by now that three of his men are missing, and he must know where they were,” he said to Makret as the two walked back to the Drogodan chambers after the day’s session was over. “I wonder what Daliana told him.” His spies seeded throughout the various Morschcodal entourages could only tell him so much, and they were of limited use with what went on in private meetings between their masters.

  “What are you going to do about it though?”

  “There’s really nothing that I can do, but … If nobody says anything by the midday break tomorrow, I will confront Erygan with it. Daken doesn’t have the strength to succeed with an accusation like that, not before the full court of The Councils.”

  * * * * *

  Even as Taren, speaking quietly with Makret, walked back to his rooms, Xari, Daliana, and Ranny were all met together in the Caladean rooms of Pentailia Morschcoda. Daliana looked less than happy to be there, and Xari seemed furious.

  “You told us that you warned Daken that Erygan was in motion against him, Daliana. Why has he not done anything?”

  “Do you really think that Daken has the strength to stand up to Erygan, Xari? I did warn him, but I can hardly prevent the Black Guard from marching straight to Airachni. Why do you think that Erygan arrested those Dragon Riders? It was to prevent Rashti from hearing about the threat against Meclarya so that she wouldn’t intervene.”

  “Daliana has shifted the balance, Xari, so there is no need to be upset. Not with her, at least.” Changing the subject quickly, she said “To have Storinea as an ally after all these long years would be exciting. We should concentrate on that. Otherwise this week has certainly gone well.”

  Xari rolled her eyes at Ranny. The Caladean woman was young and seemed to radiate endless energy, bouncing quickly from one subject to another in no apparent order, her mind working tirelessly to make the connections that made the least sense. It made Xari, only three hundred years her senior, feel old and tired. She could only imagine how Daliana must feel when dealing with Ranny, as the Dothrin woman was nearly seven hundred. It slowly dawned on her that Ranny was trying to get all of them to relax, even and especially herself. “Somebody should tell that to Taren,” laughed Xari, reluctantly. “It has not been a good week for him. Aside from threatening Erygan with the Brotherhood of the Mordak, he has not really done anything this week.”

  Daliana had been dealing with Taren and Erygan longer than the other two women combined, and she answered Xari. “That is not that unusual for Taren though. He is a patient man. At least, for a Drog, he is. He always waits out the first week of The Councils, and then strikes hard against whatever he feels like for no apparent reason. He is far too much like Erygan, though not as aggressive.”

  “I think,” said Ranny, “that Taren may be the only Morschcoda who truly stands alone. He never seems to take advice, or even ask for it, from anyone on the council. He never seems to have meetings after the talks are done for the day. It doesn’t make any sense to me. I have held my seat for one hundred and fifty years, practically, and I have watched as Morschcoda gain or lose power through allegiances to each other. Taren keeps himself separate from the rest of us Morschcoda, so how does he maintain his power?”

  “Allegiances may alter the power balance, but the true powers don’t rely on others. They use their own strength. Taren and Erygan contest each other so forcefully in the council chamber that sometimes I think the walls will fall and the roof collapse from the strength of their mental duelling.”

  “You sound almost … scared, Xari.”

  “You would also, Ranny, so do not seek to throw sand in our eyes by pretending to have courage that we know you lack. As much as it pains me to admit, I fear Taren. As strong as the Flame Weavers of Armanda are I know, when I take the time to think, that they are a poor match for the might of the Brotherhood of the Mordak. All Armandans will laugh in your face if you were to ask them if they fear Drogoda, and then they would tell themselves that of course they do, though they would never admit it.”

  “Perhaps it is time we attempt to win over Taren as an ally.”

  “The Drogs were once a true southern people. Warm, bright, happy, dangerous yes, but they are southerners no longer. Since the rise of House Garrenin, about fourteen thousand years ago, the Drogs have
shifted their sympathies northwards. They have become colder, darker, more openly dangerous, more like raging firestorm, rather than the veiled and seductive danger of a camp fire. And Taren himself is more like one of the north men than most Drogs.”

  “I might find a way to persuade him,” said Daliana. “If he is more like a northerner, he will be more likely to respond to a northerner.”

  “Dothoro is hardly a northern nation, Daliana” snorted Xari.

  “I am still the farthest north among us three,” Daliana shot back coldly.

  * * * * *

  Taren slumped in his chair as he took his seat the next morning. His nightmare was affecting him worse than ever. The Deshika, if that was even what the invaders were, as Makret had forced him to admit, had not even cared about taking Alquendiro this time. They had just burned as much of it as they could, killed everyone they could, and then they marched away, leaving the ruins of once mighty Alquendiro as a testament to the unmatchable power of the Deshika. Though Taren knew it was only a nightmare, it had still cost him almost a whole night of sleep. That morning had made a larger dent in his private supplies than he cared to think about, though he had managed to stop himself halfway through the second flask of whiskey, after two pints of breakfast beer, by directing his thirst towards an Armandan drink called Gafve. Its only downside, in Taren’s opinion, was that it was not some form of alcohol. Still, the night had not been fruitless, however short his sleep had been. Because of his spies, he knew much of what had gone on throughout the palace during the night. He knew that Erygan had met with Dalasin, hoping to win over the new Morschcoda while he was still untouched by the various plots that Taren was not least guilty in weaving. What he could not fathom, however, was why Daliana was staring at him with such interest. She had rarely shown any interest in any of the other Morschcoda, except for Daken and the other two women, as he now knew. His spies had been able to report to him that all three women had met last night. That alone was not unusual. Most of the real meetings took place at night. What was unusual about it was that his spies had been unable to find out what the meeting was about. Servants were rarely kept out of meetings entirely, especially since they were needed to perform the highly important task of refilling wine glasses. That alone was enough to make their meeting last night interesting to him. It also meant he needed to place more spies among Ranny’s entourage. Erygan was speaking about something, but Taren felt suddenly sure that if he waited any longer to confront him, it would only help Erygan’s cause. When the Shadow Lord finally paused to breath, he jumped in.

  “That is an excellent point, Morschcoda, Erygan,” he paused to savour the unsettled looks from several other Morschcoda, including Daliana. “However, I must interject something which has been brought to my attention. You have recently arrested three Dragon Riders. I believe Morschcoda Daken has a right to be informed why messengers from his sister to your wife were detained and charged. I also believe that any arrest of an ambassador is considered an act of war.” When Erygan did not answer, Taren spoke again. “You of course have every right to deny this, though that would serve little purpose, as most of the council seems to know about the arrests already.”

  “I do not have to answer to this council for everything that goes on within my borders, Morschcoda Taren. My country is my own, and I will rule it as I see fit, as you yourself said days ago.”

  “Of course you will, Morschcoda Erygan. However, that still leaves us with the problem of you arresting three Meclaryan Dragon Riders without charge, or at least a messenger to Meclarya to inform their lord that the arrests had been made. You may rule Torridesta as you see fit, Morschcoda Erygan, but you still must rule it according to the laws of this council.”

  Erygan looked around to see if he had any support on the issue. Dalasin looked mildly interested, but he had almost no power to help Erygan, even if the matter had been one that involved him. Daliana only looked confused. Erygan wondered if she had told Taren, or if Taren had just guessed that the marshalling of the Black Guard had not been meant against Rista. While Erygan was lost in thought, Daken believed his time was come, and tried to drive the knife a little deeper into Erygan.

  “Morschcoda Taren, thank you for bringing this to my attention. Surely it slipped Morschcoda Erygan’s mind to inform me of the arrests. I will trust, Morschcoda Erygan, that any other such instances will not be forgotten.”

  At this, Daliana’s lips lifted in a small smile, and then they dropped again just as quickly. ‘It will not do,’ she thought, ‘to appear too attached to this issue. If Erygan suspects my involvement in stopping his army, he may send it towards me.’ It was too late for such thoughts, however, as Erygan’s mind had already turned towards Daliana, marking her as the source of this failing.

  “An explanation, I think, is required for how something potentially important slipped your mind until now, Morschcoda Erygan.”

  Erygan’s lips twisted into a dark and cruel smile. “As I am sure you know, Morschcoda Taren, the three Dragon Riders were spies. I had evidence of this, and I ordered them arrested. There is nothing to explain.”

  Xari leaned forward. “There must be a dozen Riders in Torridesta at any given time, Morschcoda Erygan. How do you pick out those three specifically? The evidence you had likely could have pointed to half of them.”

  “I was informed of three Dragon Riders being seen several times near a training compound for the Black Guard just south of Toredo. When several of the Black Guard went out to meet with them to question them about why they were so close to a Black Guard barracks, the three Riders fled northwards. The three Riders that were arrested were the only Riders within two days of the city, which is the only likely destination along the northward road.”

  “You could be a court jester, Morschcoda Erygan, inventing tales the way you do,” laughed Ranny.

  “Enough,” said Taren. “Judgement must be passed on this issue, and because of that, we are required to dismiss both you and Morschcoda Daken from this chamber until we have reached our decision, Morschcoda Erygan.” He paused as both Morschcoda stood, glared at each other and everyone else, and departed the room. “Now, does anyone have anything worth saying, because I don’t want this to take forever.”

  “I think that we all know” began Kallin, “that Rista was not the intended target of the Black Guard.”

  “If Rista was not the target,” Dalasin countered, “why would he marshal the Black Guard against that border?”

  “He only had one other option besides Rista,” broke in Norrin. “And if he had sent them south towards Eschcota, he knows I would not have hesitated to unleash the Stone Warriors. Marrdin is more patient than I am when it comes to war.”

  As the arguments between the various Morschcoda about Erygan’s plans became louder and more violent, Taren suddenly knew that Erygan was not the one at fault. But he also knew that he would have to proceed carefully, because Daken had almost everyone’s support.

  “Well,” he said out loud, when everybody had paused to draw breath, “Daken certainly has done his best to make a believable story for why his Riders were spying on Torridesta.” The silence that greeted his remark was deafening.

  “I must have misheard you, Morschcoda Taren,” said Ranny, a little too hopefully. “It sounded as though you just said that Morschcoda Erygan was telling the truth.”

  “Then I am not surprised you misheard me, Morschcoda Ranny,” her face lifted for a moment, “because what I said was that I believed Daken to be lying. I made no mention of Erygan at all.”

  The chamber erupted. Taren was the only Morschcoda who did not at once begin to yell at the top of his lungs at anyone who so much as moved. All he did was sit there laughing at everything that crossed his mind. When all the other Morschcoda seemed to finally be out of breath, Taren was still laughing.

  “What do you find so funny, Taren?”

  “I find practically everything to be funny, Morschcoda Ranny.” His pointed emphasis on the title Morschcoda
, which Ranny had neglected to use, caused her to shrink back into her throne of pale yellow stone. “Especially the fact that now everyone in Dishmo Kornara, let alone Erygan and Daken, know exactly what is happening in this chamber.”

  “How does this give you a source for amusement?” asked Daliana, shocked.

  “Because, the whole reason this argument about who is lying and who is telling the truth has occurred because neither Morschcoda Erygan nor Morschcoda Daken lied.” Stunned silence and blank stares greeted this statement. “The mustering of the Black Guard” he began before the argument could start up again, “was a distraction to divert the gaze of the northern Morschcoda away from Meclarya while a strong force of ordinary Torridestan soldiers marched through Eschcota. The three Dragon Riders were spies sent by Daken, but they did have another mission, which was to invite Lady Rashti Dalrey to Airachni, because Daken knows as well as any one of us here that Erygan would never give orders for his men to fall back across the border unless someone he cared about might possibly be caught in the confusion.”

  “So what is to be done about this matter, Morschcoda Taren?”

  “Have you no ideas of your own, Morschcoda Kallin?” When the Storinean shook his head, Taren continued on. “Well, the council really cannot do anything about it, since technically, no law was broken. Daken’s use of spies isn’t punishable because it was technically a period of war, and the use of spies is permitted in such instances. Erygan isn’t at fault, because the Black Guard didn’t cross the border, as we already determined. Since only a country’s Elite Force is forbidden from crossing borders without permission from this council, Torridesta’s ordinary army being in Meclarya is not against any law that this council has passed. The only offence, and it is a small one, is Erygan’s failure to report his arrest of the three Meclaryan Dragon Riders, but as we cannot prove that he willfully withheld the information, we can do nothing.”

  “I think we could still try to do something, Morschcoda Taren.” Ranny ensured that she emphasized the title this time. The others looked at her, expecting her to come up with something, but she shook her head. “But I suppose you will have it your own way. Call in Daken and Erygan, and we can be done with this matter.”