Book 7, Chapter 25: Coffee And Choices
Arriving at the war room yet again, runners were sent to fetch the various generals, as only three were present. Abtin, waiting to hear about my discussion with the nobles, Sasan, directing the military from here, and Sorstram. I wasn’t sure what he was doing. Mazdak had gone to the wall to help organize the catapults and Dareb had left for his own reasons.
Hell, I wasn’t sure I knew what I was doing. The person – or god, I guess – I called my brother, whom I somehow knew as my brother, was much more accurately someone I’d only met recently. Yet, I was overflowing with morose. The depths of misery at his loss were beyond imaginable. Yet, and yet. I, Cayce, the only I I’ve ever known, really and truly just met the man.
The being before this current “I, Cayce” existence, Loki, would have known the man well. I was, in fact, Created to save the God of War. The mages had somehow trapped him, too, and had been stealing his magic. Looks like I failed. Entirely.
Not many people can claim their existence carries a purpose. Mine now lost, what was I to do? His passing left me with so many questions!
How soon would the Others escape? Or had they? I wondered whether they would continue attacking us if they got out. Maybe they’d just leave. I’d probably go home if I could, if it were me. Or maybe they’d make this place their home. That wouldn’t be pleasant.
With their escape, I wondered if magic would disappear from this world. Talaren, even with his iron bands off, would be normal. Healing magic, if it came from the same source, would be sorely missed.
And what did my brother mean, what did he do to me, when he had me drink his blood?
None of the questions burning holes in my mind had anything to do with my past. Or my divine family, such as it were. The cynical and violent part of me, the part I was nurturing now, whispered deep, deep into my thoughts, ‘One down, many to go.’
“My lady,” Abtin ahemmed and asked, presumably again, “that seemed a rather short meeting with the noble houses. May I ask what you discussed?”
It took a moment to focus before saying, “I didn’t, ah, speak with them. There’s been a new development, and we need to address it urgently.”
“Then where did you go?” Abtin did his best to look curious, but his wide eyes and raised eyebrows made it clear his confusion stemmed from dealing with an unruly child.
“And how did you learn of this new development?” Sasan looked from the table to me. “From whom? Do you have agents in the palace we are unaware of?”
“I’d rather address everyone with this news. Oh!” I just realized who I needed to back up the fantastical story I was about to tell these men. Not a chance they’d believe me, despite having no choice. As I was now their empress, backed by a whole lot of fear, they were soon to be in fun predicament. Continue siding with the crazy combat girl or break ranks and aim for normalcy. I quietly told my bodyguard, “Mest, have someone fetch the wizard. And have someone bring coffee. Lots of it. Thank you!”
She nodded, and two of her fellows left the room, making me think I should have some assistants to do the errands. Not that I really needed bodyguards around. Appearances being what they were and all that. Though it’d be pure comedy to have a bunch of assistants trailing me on the battlefield.
We waited and waited. I stared at the map, absentmindedly tapping on the wood of the table. “Oh, General Abtin, have someone ride out with the parley flag. I want to speak with them.”
He nodded, “My lady,” and an assistant left the room.
We waited a whole lot more awkward silence, a few coughs here or there, assistants shifted their weight against the wall from time to time, shuffling their feet, people taking a few sips of whatever was in their cups, and finally the missing generals arrived. The wizard, as per definition, was taking his time.
Mazdak, upon entering, bowed briefly, saying, “We’ve begun moving the catapults into position. Well, I selected a few places for them and returned. Oddly, the harem balcony is a fine placement for the weapons. The nearby pool of water a benefit, in case of fire.”
“That’s, uh, excellent. With so many soldiers, are the women being moved out?”
Abtin said, “We’ll notify the families to do so immediately.” As usual, an assistant ran out.
“What is so urgent that it couldn’t wait until our next meeting?” asked Dareb. He paused, took a breath, then quickly bowed while saying, “Your Divine Majesty, I’ve begun appropriating any and all soldiers and guards the noble families have. While doing so, I had heard you have yet to speak with their representatives? I was under the impression you were on your way to do so.”
Thick, roasted bitterness wafted through the air as an actual pot of coffee, the kind you boil potatoes in, was brought into the room, complete with its own ladle. I was going to have to explain to these people how a pot of coffee differed from a cooking pot. Didn’t they have teapots? They had taken my first request word for word and repeated it every time.
Ah, well. There’s nothing like ladling yourself a cup, and I enjoyed watching the inky blackness swirl around, steam rising off. “Gentlemen? It’s a stimulant. Uh, it’s good for thinking.”
Abtin said, “I’ll stick with wine.”
“Ale, myself,” said Dareb.
Sorstram and Mazdak both came over to try a cup.
Mazdak made a bit of a face, “It’s quite bitter. This is a ladies’ drink?”
Abtin nodded, “Normally had with sugar and cake.”
“Ah.”
“It’s not, uhm, I don’t think of it as a ladies’ drink. I like the bitterness. I definitely do not need sugar, as I’m sweet enough already.” Not a soul laughed. Maybe an assistant, who quickly covered up his mirth with a cough.
“Yes, well, I will stick with tea,” Sasan looked into his cup. “May we now learn what it is that is so urgent?” The general raised his eyes to mine.
No wizard yet to back me up. Instead of sighing, I buried my feelings in the warm coffee. “Excellent. Clear the room. Generals only.”
Without so much as looking at their generals, the assistants exited the rooms, followed by most of my bodyguards. Going over to Mest, I said, “Remain outside, send the wizard in as soon as he gets here.”
“Ma’am.”
Room emptied except for us, doors closed, I walked over to the table, staring at the maps without seeing their features, and wondering what the hell to say. Perhaps understatement was the way to go. “Gentlemen, we have a larger problem than the military digging in outside our walls. And,” I looked up into each of their faces, one by one, “it’s the reason I am here. Why I have come at this time to take the Laemacian throne.”
“Excuse me, didn’t the, uh, former emperor imprison you?” Sasan set his tea down, “I’d thought you’d well turned the situation to your advantage.”
I sighed. “That’s the proximate reason, yes. I was on my way to the Temple of the Gods. The same temple the enemy army out there started this entire war for.” I could see the looks on their faces, “No, no, I don’t care to own it. Maybe to protect it. Gentlemen,” I opened my hands, “this is all going to be a bit strange.”
Dareb said, “I’d thought you’d come to reclaim your ancestral throne. What relationship do you have to Bracken’s army out there?”
“I did not expressly come here for that.” I shut myself up before saying, ‘Taking Laemacia was more of a side quest,’ and continued, “Yet I need Laemacia. And the empire clearly needs me. And I won’t be giving her up.”
Sasan asked, “Why exactly does Emperor Braken want that temple? Its worshipers are few and mostly among those in the mages’ land, but that’s now fallen. It is on no significant roads and very little trade goes to it. And why do you want it?”
“Ah, how much do you know about magic?”
The men looked at each other before Sasan said, “Only its uses in military operations.”
“Well, it turns out magic comes from the Temple. It’s the source of magic.” I felt my right eye twitching with the lies of omission, “That’s sort . . . of why the enemy is after it. They believe they can make use of . . . the Temple’s magic.” I blinked and blinked, hoping that was the extent of their questions.
“And you believe we should go there to gain control of the Temple first?”
Before I could answer the general, Talaren pushed open the door, entering. “That you have pulled me away from my studies must be important.” He strode up to the table, setting down a large leather satchel on it.
“Welcome, Talaren. Please tell the generals here why we are going to the Temple.”
Holding his arms up, he showed off the gold and charcoal bands, “To remove these.”
“The other reason.”
“Ah, you refer to the horrors that are even now trying to escape their prison?”
“Horrors?” asked Abtin.
I said, “Creatures the mages imprisoned there. Very powerful creatures. Very angry creatures. For these were drained to produce magic. They are nearing escape. And somehow we must prevent that from happening. Though I think . . . we may be rapidly running out of time.”
“Ma’am,” said Mazdak, “where are you getting this information from? You seem to have altered your plans since we last met.”
“Talaren, tell them. Damnit. Tell them who I am.” I waited, not super happy and feeling pretty awkward. The whole situation was strange! And even stranger to me.
“Princess Cayce here-”
“-Empress Cayce,” Mazdak corrected him.
“Right. She is who she says she is. You should probably listen to her about going to the Temple. She,” he gestured at me, “calls them the Others. Because they are other than her. And she is a deity.”
Dareb shifted from one foot to the other. Sorstram was looking at me with something akin to worship. Mazdak merely smiled, Sasan nodded but in appraisal, not approval, and Abtin had an expression like a child getting caught stealing cookies.
“If,” the mage continued, “you all knew what I know, then you, too, would be worried that a goddess who walks amongst you is frightened of those beings escaping.”
Dareb stepped up to the table, “First, you name yourself our god-empress and then you somehow convince your bodyguards to worship you and now you’ve got this man, whom you call a wizard, asserting to us that you are divine?”
“You didn’t see her fight,” said Mazdak. “I didn’t believe it myself, what the women were saying in the harem, that she single-handedly defeated an entire regiment. But out on the battlefield-”
“I saw her fight myself,” said Abtin. “The empress appears to be but a young girl but easily defeated one of our best warriors.”
“I have personally seen her magic,” Sorstram spoke quietly, touching the scars on his face, “and it is terrifying.”
Sasan looked away, then back to me, “That may all well be true, but you didn’t answer Mazdak’s question. How do you know what is going on at this temple so many are willing to fight and die for?”
“Creatures are already manifesting near the Temple and attacking us. The half-women, half-monstrous birds devouring the soldiers as I entered the city are one such example. More will come. To answer you, General, I tasked someone to stop the beings from leaving the Temple. He is now dead and unable to hold them back any further. He told me this before he died.” Looking up from the table, “He wasn’t human. That’s how I know. I don’t know, maybe you could call it a portent or a mystical experience. Call it magic if you want. The information is accurate.”
“Ah.” Sasan let his hands fall to the map, “You sent for a parley because you hope to convince the enemy to stop attacking us.”
I nodded. “Yes. They know what’s in that temple. Their order helped trap those beings. I’m hoping they’ll listen to reason and join our cause.”
“Our cause?” asked Dareb. “It seems this is your cause. Ours is to secure the capital city.”
I turned very slowly to face the man. “I will secure this empire. And my kingdom. And the damned Temple! Starting with this city.”
He dropped his gaze, nodding, hands behind his back.
Opening his satchel, the mage pulled out the candelabra, with its five candles surrounded by a dark serpent, setting it on the table. “This artifact appears to do exactly as you said. Descriptions of it claim it can ‘stricken’ beings not from this world. I took the writings to mean this artifact can incapacitate outsiders, including those beings inside the Temple. But I don’t know how you are going to use it.”
“You’re going to use it.”
“Me?”
“Someone has to light it near the mirror. And it can’t be me. At least, I don’t think it can. We should probably test it.” But, I silently added, I am not looking forward to that.
Sasan said, “A candle holder? Forgive me, my lady, and perhaps this is my fault, but I am not understanding what is going on here. What you want us to do. The parley is likely arranged by now and waiting on us.”
Dareb said, “The threat outside our city walls is very real! We have to deal with that before we can capture temples or kingdoms.” He paused, taking a breath, “Do you really believe they will simply join your cause? Why did they attack you during your first parley?”
My turn to look away. I walked to a large window, resting my arm on its large frame. Small fires, some torches, dotted the streets, and people walked to the walls loaded with backpacks, some pulling carts, and others moved away from the walls, empty-handed. It seemed so precarious, this city. In a world full of monsters, the walls kept those within safe. But the monsters were about to get considerably more dangerous.
It seemed so silly that people would war on each other when there were greater, larger concerns. “I’m somehow not getting you all to understand the urgency here.”
Talaren slammed his hand onto the table, drawing all eyes to him, “This girl you are all calling Empress Cayce was imprisoned in the Temple of the Gods so my order could drain her essence to provide the world with magic. She escaped, killed all the mages and melted our stronghold, and has now apparently taken your empire. By doing so, the Temple itself has been weakened and those gods housed within are escaping. Given their long imprisonment and torture, these beings are not emerging with favor towards humanity. Empress Cayce here is either an avatar of a god, or a goddess herself. The difference is academic and I suggest you listen to her. Now, if you don’t need me further, I will return to the library and continue writing the script that will strengthen the Prison.” Talaren bowed, picked up the candelabra, and paused at the door. “Empress, I am close. I will finish the glyph by this time tomorrow. I am, I must admit, still at a loss as to how exactly to place the obsidian to reduce their power upon exit. As soon as the glyph is worked out, I shall solve the problem to the best of my abilities.”
I nodded, silently thanking the man. Ever a curse, to appear so young! Better not tell them how new to the world I really was.
After the door closed, silence echoed and echoed, and no one spoke. Until I did. “Right. So, ah, that’s my main concern. Yes, Dareb, we’ll stop the enemy army. But that alone won’t give us safety. We need, absolutely need to get to the Temple as quickly as possible.”
“If I am understanding you correctly,” Sasan began, “the answer to my question about where you came by this knowledge is, ah, from a divine source?”
It stumbled out of my mouth faster than the speed of thought, “Yes, damnit! My brother, the God of War, told me. He was . . . holding the Others back and could no longer, no longer continue.” I turned away, to the window, holding the sill tightly to not collapse. Forced my breathing to slow. What would I do without him? How would I face Father? And why was I having these thoughts!
Mazdak raised an eyebrow, “Your brother is the God of War?”
All I could manage was to lift my right hand.
I could hear the smile in his voice as Mazdak said, “The God of War is on our side! Why don’t we ride out and defeat our enemies post-haste?”
“You weren’t listening to the story, Mazdak,” said Abtin. “Her brother is dead. No god of war is helping us now. What does that make you, then? The goddess of what?”
Having no cloth handy, I pushed the wetness off my face. I didn’t even know the man! But it seems some part of me did. Forcing myself to relax, feeling my heartbeat slow, I turned to the generals. “It doesn’t, it just doesn’t work that way. Look, two things. First, our immediate situation hasn’t changed. We’re still facing an army twice our size, we have yet to know what happened to our army in the field, and if we don’t get to the Temple, I really don’t know what’s going to happen.” Returning to the table, taking my cup, I drained it, set it down, then clasped my hands together, “Gentlemen, I cannot defeat the Others if they fully escape from their prison. I am one and they are three.”
“If this is all true,” Dareb asked, “then what hope do we have?”
I looked into the man’s eyes, “The desperate kind.”
“And, what’s the second . . . thing?”
“I’d best get to that damn parley and convince those bastards to join our cause. Sasan, Sorstram, you’re with me. Mazdak, continue preparations. I want our catapults and archers ready to engage at a moment’s notice. Abtin, tell the nobles to secure themselves. And Dareb, continue conscripting whatever guards, whatever able-bodied men they have.”
Sasan gave a quick nod. Sorstram bowed his head, closing his eyes. Mazdak tapped his sheathed sword, eyes narrowed and smiling. Abtin and Dareb both briefly nodded, Dareb looking away quickly.
“Gentlemen, if Bracken’s army won’t join us, we attack tonight.”
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