Contrary to Gydrid’s expectations, Analise had not decamped for home after her disastrous meeting with the king. Malcor was her destination, or it had been until the news of Malcor’s fall reached them on the road north. It had been surprisingly easy to persuade Captain Ballard to escort her. Not that she would have taken no for an answer, but his arguments had lacked conviction and were easily countered. That was not at all like the man, and it worried her. Every morning of the trip north, she had expected him to snap out of his funk and make her turn east for home, but he hadn’t, and it was far too late now.
The road had long turned to mud when Analise, riding at the head of her column, came upon the first signs of the war. It wasn’t in the form of guardsmen marching or riding to battle the way many stories began, instead it began by sighting abandoned villages. Analise bid her men to ride on through without stopping, and they did so happily. The empty buildings made them all uneasy. The next day they began seeing increased traffic on the road, but the nature and direction of it surprised her.
“It is to be expected,” Captain Ballard said, rousing from his distraction enough to answer her comment. “Battlefields attract vultures.”
“Vultures?”
“Camp followers.”
Analise looked doubtfully upon the carts ahead of them. “Strange looking camp followers.”
Ballard shrugged. “It takes all kinds, and they’re not all bad. These are probably from local farms, hoping to sell their produce to the army. They will too, and get a good price for it. Armies eat a lot, my lady.”
“I can see where that is true.”
“Yes, our baggage is more than two thirds food for the men and mounts. An army can strip the land bare in days. Without good supply by river and road, our army would wither to nothing.”
Analise nodded, remembering Gydrid’s worry about just that kind of thing. She wondered if he had departed Devarr yet. It seemed likely that he had, and the King with him. Thoughts of the King she did not want. Her humiliation at the hands of Gylaren still angered her, and it had not lessened by placing distance between them.
“Way there! Make way!” Ballard bellowed. The farmers looked around, and then eased their carts as far to the right of the road as they could.
Ballard led the column safely past.
A short time later, the scouts returned with nothing to report except more mud and empty villages ahead. Analise listened attentively, but relied upon Ballard to make the right choices. That was, after all, why he was here. He questioned the scouts closely about the state of the roads, obviously concerned about their baggage train. A washed out road, or a mudslide could lose them days as they backtracked, looking for another route around the obstruction. The weather had not been kind to them on this part of the journey. The further north they travelled, the more it seemed to rain. Ballard thought it unusual for this time of year, but the storms had not slowed them unduly.
Ballard dismissed the men, and another group left the column to scout the last part of their journey as they descended into the Vistal River valley that Lord Gelain held as his own.
It was good land and prosperous, or it had been before the war. Wardenvale was famous for its wines; its vineyards were its lifeblood and the source of Lord Gelain’s wealth. Analise had never met Gelain, nor his consort Lady Direlle. She wondered how they were fairing now that Lord Jihan had decided to fall back and defend the valley. The thought of his vineyards trampled under an army’s boots must be awful for him to contemplate.
“Would you have done it this way, would my father?”
“What, defend Wardenvale do you mean?”
Analise nodded.
Ballard snorted. “No I would not! I doubt Lord Garth would have either. Jihan has given away a huge advantage. Malcor is the biggest and strongest fortress in Waipara. He could have held out against the Hasians for seasons without straining his supplies. What has he gained by retreating? Nothing as far as I can see.”
Analise frowned, remembering how much Gydrid admired Jihan. “There must be a reason for his choice. By all accounts, Jihan is an excellent fighter.”
“Being good with a sword means nothing here. You don’t think General Navarien does his own fighting, do you? Of course not. What makes him a great general is his ability to plan winning strategies and inspire his men. Jihan is young, not that much older than you are. He has never fought a war.”
Analise nodded, but not many of Deva’s lords had done so. The four great fortresses of Deva had the only fighting men with experience of real war, but Malcor had not joined Athione and the others to throw back the Hasians last time. Collectively, those battles were called Julia’s War. It wasn’t Jihan’s fault that Malcor had failed to defend the realm back then. The story of how he had ridden to warn Lord Keverin of betrayal at Malcor was well known. Later, Jihan had challenged his father and duelled with him for Malcor’s lordship.
“Have you visited Wardenvale before? I don’t remember Father ever mentioning it.”
Ballard nodded. “A long time ago.”
“Is it a big place?”
Ballard shrugged. “Big enough.”
“Bigger than Chaidren Ridge?”
“It’s hard to say. Wardenvale is different. Its not as tall as Chaidren, it’s spread out more, and it has a water-filled moat, not high cliffs to keep it safe.”
“Height is better,” Analise said firmly.
“I agree, but not everyone does. Wardenvale is far richer than your lands, my lady, because of its location down here in the valley.”
Analise nodded. The Vistal River brought all manner of trade to Wardenvale, and provided a quick route out of the Valley for Lord Gelain’s wines. It was little wonder he had prospered. She wondered if the river was high on Lord Jihan’s list of concerns. It should be. The Vistal River was a tributary of the Anselm, a mighty river indeed, and better than any highroad if one wanted to reach Devarr quickly. The Hasians were bound to realise it.
They stopped to rest the horses at midday.
Analise cut her apple into quarters and sheathed her knife at her waist. She ate one quarter, and drank some watered wine, before nibbling on a second piece. The sound of distant thunder made her pause and study the sky. The clouds did not look threatening. The thunder came again, and then again. Analise stood and dusted her dress. She gave the rest of her apple to her horse before wandering away to find Ballard.
Analise found her captain frowning into the distance. “Rain again?”
Ballard shook his head. “Thunder usually heralds it, my lady, but I cannot feel rain in the air.” He wet a finger and raised it. “The wind blows south. If rain there is, we should outpace it.”
Analise nodded and went back to get her horse. The men were already gathering up their things and remounting. They should reach Wardenvale before nightfall.
They heard thunder repeatedly on the final leg of their journey, but no rain came. Strangely, they saw no lightning at all. As the sun slowly lowered in the sky, the horses began to fret, and Ballard issued extra patrols to ward the column.
“A fine time to be attacked by wolves,” Ballard grumbled.
“You think wolf spoor is spooking them?”
Ballard shrugged. “Something did.”
“The thunder perhaps?”
Ballard shrugged again.
Their progress slowed to a crawl a couple of candlemarks later when the road became choked with wagons attempting to reach the army’s quartermasters. Ballard cursed, but there was nothing to be done. They didn’t dare leave the road for fear the wagons would get stuck.
“You could ride ahead with Ernan and some men.”
Analise knew instinctively that was the wrong course to take. “No, it wouldn’t be fair on the men.”
Ballard nodded approvingly. “I’ll send a pair of scouts ahead with word of our arrival.”
“Yes,” Analise said. “Have them request a meeting between myself and Lord Jihan. I want to know where he proposes we camp, and how we are expected to fight a war we cannot reach.”
Ballard grinned.
Thunder rumbled, and flickers of light flashed on the horizon; the horses fretted, side-stepping and stamping their hooves nervously. Analise watch the scouts ride ahead, and enter the town, wondering at the strangeness of the weather hereabouts.
“Lord Jihan has things well organised, I’ll give him that much,” Captain Ballard said later that day.
Analise nodded, watching her men finish setting camp. Jihan had greeted them himself when they presented themselves at the castle. Jihan often used it like a watchtower, it being a convenient high point to observe the battlefield and make his plans. He had been leaving the castle when Analise and Ballard rode up to the gates.
Lord Gelain had offered Analise rooms in the keep, and she had surprised Ballard by accepting the offer. Before taking up residence in Wardenvale’s women’s quarter with Lady Direlle, Lady Ahnao, and she hoped Lady Julia, she had wanted to see Ballard and his men settled. Jihan immediately agreed, and assigned some of his men to escort them to their assigned position in the defences he had planned. He hadn’t seemed surprised when Analise stated her intentions to ride along with the men, nor did he object. That had been a refreshing surprise, though not for Lord Gelain. His expression had been easy to read, and his disapproval obvious. Perhaps Jihan’s close association with Julia was the cause for his modern attitude. Analise hoped so, because Julia was her last hope and the reason she had not left for home after her meeting with the King.
“Do we have everything we need here, Captain? Fresh water, firewood, food for the horses? What about—”
“Lord Jihan has foreseen everything, my lady. His quartermasters are a wonder. We weren’t here a candlemark when the first extra supplies began arriving. Oats for the horses I think.”
Analise nodded. “What do you think of Jihan now that you have seen all this?”
“My opinions of him have not changed, my lady, but my hopes for this campaign are much higher than they were.”
“That’s good, but if Jihan did not impress you, what changed your thinking?”
“The latrines, my lady.”
“The latrines?”
Ballard smiled. “Disease is an army’s greatest enemy, my lady. Lord Jihan must realise it. His men have pre-dug latrines for us and for the King’s forces when they arrive. He had them placed safely away from our water supply and sleeping areas. That order impresses me, if anything does, about this situation.”
Analise shook her head slowly. If digging holes in the ground impressed him, he must be very impressed indeed. Jihan’s men had not limited themselves to digging latrines. There were all kinds of new construction going on, and all of it seemed to depend upon holes in the ground. There were trenches designed to break cavalry charges everywhere, with mounds of soil thrown up behind them covered in sharp stakes. Here and there wooden towers rose into the air, with men perched atop holding colourful flags. As if this weren’t enough, there were bunkers roofed with logs and sod dotted around in no order she could determine. Analise had no idea what the bunkers were for; she didn’t want to ask for fear of appearing foolish.
“It’s time I rode back to the castle. Lord Gelain is hosting a dinner in my honour. Jihan and Ahnao will be there. Julia too I hope. I need you with me, Captain.”
Ballard nodded. “I assumed you would. Do you want to tell me why we came here?”
“The war—”
“Has nothing to do with why you came, my lady. We both know there is more to it.”
Analise regarded him thoughtfully. He didn’t seem angry about her insistence on coming here and never had. That he had resigned himself to the situation so easily still surprised her.
“And if there is more to it, what will you do about it?”
“Follow orders as always.”
“My orders?”
Ballard inclined his head in a brief bow. “Yes, my lady. Lord Garth was my friend and my lord. Chaidren is my home. I want what is best for it, and that means what is best for you.”
“Many would dispute that,” Analise said bitterly. “The King for one.”
“I do not blame him for that. He does not see that times are changing. He does not see you as I have come to.”
“Oh and how is that?”
“I see that you, like me, love Chaidren and its people more than anything, and you are the daughter of my friend. I need to know nothing further to follow you.”
“I do love Chaidren and her people. I will do anything for them; even marry Llewyd if I have to. That does not mean I want to.”
“I understand, my lady. There is nothing wrong in wanting a little happiness.”
“Tell that to the King.”
“I would, but I doubt he will understand. By all accounts that I have heard, he did not want to be King, my lady. He saw it as his duty to take the throne. He will not be sympathetic with anyone he judges to be doing less than their duty.”
Analise nodded. “Be assured I will do my duty to Chaidren, no matter what that might be, but I will judge when and how best to do so.”
“I never doubted it, my lady.”
She looked at him sharply, expecting mockery, but found none. She nodded slowly. “We should ride for the castle. You’re sure Captain Ernan can manage without you?”
“I’m sure.”
Lord Gelain and his Lady had spared no effort in provided a proper welcome. After taking some time to bathe and change clothes, Analise entered the hall with a hand on Ballard’s arm to find everyone waiting upon her arrival. All eyes were upon her as she curtsied to her host, Lord Gelain.
“You look delightful, my dear,” Gelain said.
“I hope your journey wasn’t too frightful,” Lady Direlle added, giving her a brief hug before stepping back. “Fancy riding all this way alone in such company. I could never do it.”
“I did not find it burdensome,” Analise said reprovingly, feeling that her men’s honour had somehow been questioned. She lightened her tone with a gentle laugh. “Captain Ballard and his men have been very considerate of my needs, and I always enjoyed riding, though I must say the weather hereabouts is most peculiar.”
“Indeed it is,” Gelain said, glowering at Lord Jihan where he stood with his lady near the lavishly laid table. “It’s not right playing with the weather. Not right at all I say!”
“You know there is nothing to be done, Gelain. Let be, at least for one night. Analise has only just arrived.”
Playing with the weather, what did he mean? Were the sorcerers making it rain, why? From the way Gelain had glowered at Jihan, it was obvious he believed Jihan had some hand in it, not the Hasians. Julia then, must be. Analise shook her head gently. She couldn’t think how making it rain so much would benefit anyone. It must be making both sides equally miserable.
Jihan escorted Ahnao to join them. He inclined his head in greeting to Analise, and to her surprise, Ballard as well. Surprised but pleased by the courtesy shown to her captain, Analise bobbed a curtsy in return, and hugged Ahnao giving her a kiss on the cheek as tradition demanded—Ahnao was, despite her low birth, the consort of a Lord Protector after all. Analise was surprised again when Ahnao responded in kind. Lady Direlle’s brows rose at the display, and Analise congratulated herself for doing something right at last. It seemed likely that Direlle had withheld the kiss from Ahnao when they first met. Ahnao was smiling as she stepped back to Jihan’s side, and Analise felt warmed by it. Perhaps everything would work out after all.
They seated themselves and servants bustled around the table with wine and steaming dishes of food. Lord Gelain’s cook had done a wonderful job, and Analise dug into the food with gusto. After she had taken the edge off her appetite, she drank some wine and started taking an interest in her surroundings again. She noticed a large number of unoccupied places set at the table. It was a shame Julia had not attended. Analise wanted to meet her very badly. She needed to.
“…tried to navigate the river to bypass our lines,” Jihan said between bites of food. “Mazel’s people put a stop to it.”
“Humph,” Gelain shook his head. “No better than savages, the lot of them.”
“Those savages, my lord, are the King’s allies,” Jihan said sharply. “You would do well to remember it.”
Gelain’s face reddened. It took a whispered word from Direlle to calm him enough to speak. “Of course, as you say they are our allies now, but in my father’s day they were a plague along the border.”
Jihan shrugged. “They love to fight. I spent some of my time this year riding with them. They test themselves by raiding us and each other. They mean us no permanent harm, unlike the sorcerers.”
“Yes, well. Perhaps you could tell the farmers who lost everything they owned, or the dead men who tried to stop the clansmen taking their wives and daughters.”
“History should stay in the past where it belongs,” Ahnao said before Jihan could answer. “This wine is splendid, Direlle. Does it come from your own winery?”
Direlle smiled. “Yes. I’m so glad you like it. Gelain’s grandfather paid a huge sum of gold for cuttings that no one believed would grow in our valley. The vines from those cuttings produced the grapes for this wine, bottled nearly forty years ago now. It’s one of our best years.”
“It’s very good,” Analise said. She would purchase a few cases for Chaidren when the war was over.
“Good? It’s a masterpiece!”
Analise smiled. “I’m sure it is. Tell me, have you met Lady Julia yet?”
Direlle’s animation drained away. “Yes, I’m afraid I have.”
“What is she like?”
Conversations trailed to nothing and an uncomfortable silence spread around the table. Jihan frowned at something, but continued eating. Ahnao glanced at him a little sadly.
Analise lowered her glass. “I’m sorry, have I said something wrong?”
“Not wrong exactly,” Ahnao said. “Jihan and Julia argued over his battle plan. Julia has changed a lot since her abduction.”
“Not surprising, surely?” Ballard asked between mouthfuls of the best food he had eaten for many a day. “It would have been an ordeal for anyone.”
Ahnao nodded. “That’s true, Captain, but her abduction is not all to blame for the change. She loved Lord Keverin very much. She would have given anything to save him, even her own life. When he died, she made a vow to kill General Navarien and has been trying ever since.”
“If any woman can do it, she can.”
“You’re right but… it’s hard to explain, Captain.”
Jihan pushed his plate away and sipped some of his wine. “She is so fixated on Navarien’s death that she fails to see the damage she does to those around her. She won’t listen to me…” Ahnao squeezed his hand. “Well, I don’t want to bore you with our argument. Time will prove me right, or it will prove me wrong.”
“I’m not at all bored, Jihan,” Analise said. “Meeting Julia is one of the reasons I came. Where is she now? I had hoped she would be here for dinner.”
“She has an open invitation,” Direlle said, “but she doesn’t often dine with us. She prefers her… friends among the clans.”
“She will come. Lucius promised to make her for me,” Ahnao said. “I want things set right between her and Jihan. When Keverin was alive, we were all such good friends. I want that time back again.”
“We all do,” Jihan said sombrely.
Lord Keverin’s death had hit people hard. Many had not even known him personally. It had been a hard blow to the throne. The King’s power rested upon the strength of his nobles, and pre-eminent among them were the four Lord Protectors. A leaderless Athione weakened the kingdom and the throne. Gylaren could not allow that state of affairs to continue for long, which lord would he elevate in Keverin’s place? Whomever he chose must be loyal beyond question, but he must also be capable of ruling such an important demesne. He dare not choose someone based purely on friendship, and neither could he give it to Gydrid. That would cause uproar big enough to rival the war! Julia and Keverin were popular figures, especially with the commoners. The shock of his death had been long to fade. Then there were his closest friends, who were obviously still grieving and had felt his death most keenly.
After dinner, they retired to a pleasant little sitting room. It was a more intimate space, lending itself to quiet conversations and games to while away dark evenings. Due to the castle’s alignment with the river, the windows faced northeast, and Analise found the view irresistible. Jihan must have also, for he joined Analise at the windows a short time after the others chose places to sit. Ahnao and Direlle continued with the needlework they had left in the room from previous evenings like this. There were books here, though not as many as Analise enjoyed at home, but she did not feel like reading, or—when Ahnao offered—did she feel like doing needlework. Ballard surprised her by offering to play a game of Sorcerers and Dragons with Lord Gelain. It was hard to say who was more surprised when Gelain accepted with such delight. It soon became apparent that Gelain was a master of the game and enjoyed proving it.
“Why did you evacuate Malcor?” Analise asked, watching the shadows slowly overtaking the land outside.
Jihan sipped his wine silently, and watched as his soldiers lit their campfires. Dozens and then hundreds of little lights began dotting the camps.
“I knew it would be destroyed if we stayed.”
“But it’s the strongest fortress in the world!” Analise blurted.
Gelain snorted, but did not look up from his game.
“Malcor is not even the strongest fortress in Waipara, Analise,” Jihan said gently. “That dubious honour falls to Tanjung Karang. If I had to face a siege, I would prefer Athione. It has a single wall to defend and it’s a shorter span than Karang. Malcor is the biggest fortress in Deva, but that means little when facing magic.”
“And having no walls at all is better?”
Jihan nodded. “Keeping our manoeuvrability is far better. In any case, walls have never guaranteed victory. Relying upon them against a sorcerer’s magic?” Jihan shook his head. “I was at Athione, remember. I know what sorcerers can do. No, we keep our manoeuvrability intact, a line of retreat open, and whittle them down.”
“You think it will come to that, retreat?”
“This will not be a quick war, Analise. Any that tell you different are deluding themselves.”
“We, Deva I mean, have never fought this way before. How can you be so sure your way is the right way?”
Jihan shrugged. “I could pray for a harsh winter to help us as the histories say happened once or twice, I could pray for more men, more mages, more supplies, more anything, but I have what I have. Basing my strategy on a prayer would be foolish. This,” he waved a hand at the scene through the window, “is what I have. It’s the best I can do.”
Analise nodded. “Will it be enough?”
“Who can say? The clans have hurt Navarien with their raids. If nothing else, they have proven my theory can work.”
Analise stared out the window, thinking how trivial her problems seemed when faced with such a war as Jihan planned to fight. They might find themselves fighting a retreat all the way back to Devarr itself. The devastation that would cause would be incalculable. Villages and farms burned, towns sacked, famine… even Chaidren Ridge might fall to such chaos!
Thunder boomed loud enough to rattle the glass in the window, and Analise jumped. She stared through the window as a ball of light floated into the air, its glow lighting the distant woods and ground like a torch, and throwing shadows. It drifted upward in an arc toward the castle, seeming to crawl through the air very slowly, but Analise could tell that was illusion. It grew too quickly in size, and covered the ground faster than a horse could gallop. It started its descent, and hammered into the ground well short of the town and the castle. This time the explosion rattled more than the windows. The floor seemed to jump beneath her feet. Dirt erupted into the air, pattering down all over and leaving a smoking crater in the earth.
“It’s started,” Jihan said grimly. “I have to go.”
Analise watched him hurry to Ahnao. They hugged, and then Jihan left with Ballard and Gelain close behind. Ballard glanced back briefly at Analise before closing the door behind him. No words were necessary. He would do his duty, as would she.
Thunder boomed repeatedly, over and over and over again without lightning to account for it. Through the window, dozens of fireballs drifted lazily into the air and began to fall.
* * *