Read The Phoenix Guards Online
Authors: Steven Brust
The Phoenix Guards (3 page)
“A most remarkable flower it must be,” said Hrivaan. “But come, it can not be the only unusual feature of this region. What else grows or lives here that is worthy of mention?”
This led them off to a discussion of the history and character of Sorannah, which occupied the rest of that day’s journey, and continued well into the next day. During the subsequent hours, while they spoke together of many things, as good travelers ought, they never came back to the subject of the candlebud, nor did Hrivaan or Nylissit ever speak of their own history.
In Which, Upon Arriving in Dragaera City
,
We are Introduced To a Notable Personage
In the Imperial Guard
,
We are Introduced To a Notable Personage
In the Imperial Guard
T
HE ACTUAL ARRIVAL OF KHAAVREN, Aerich, and Tazendra in Dragaera City, which occurred early in the morning, was uneventful. They gave courteous farewells to their traveling companions, who, notwithstanding that they seemed to be in a great hurry to be about their business, returned the compliments nearly as well as the Issola they pretended to be.
HE ACTUAL ARRIVAL OF KHAAVREN, Aerich, and Tazendra in Dragaera City, which occurred early in the morning, was uneventful. They gave courteous farewells to their traveling companions, who, notwithstanding that they seemed to be in a great hurry to be about their business, returned the compliments nearly as well as the Issola they pretended to be.
The coach stopped on a narrow street, and was surrounded by urchins of the House of the Teckla who begged driver and passengers for coins. On this occasion they were disappointed, as the driver chased them away before any of the travelers could bring forth whatever alms they might have wished. When the urchins and the supposed Issola were gone, Tazendra and Khaavren took a careful look around. On one side of the street were small structures of wood and stone, most of which appeared to be homes for two or three families, save for one that displayed the Nut and Raisin emblem of the grocer. On the other side the buildings were taller and darker, and made of brick, and one of these claimed to be an inn.
“The Imperial Palace,” said Aerich, “is this way.”
“Good,” said Khaavren. “Let us adjourn thither, for I tell you plainly that arriving thus, a full week sooner, due to your courtesy, than I had thought to, has only increased my desire to enter the Guard as quickly as possible.”
Without another word, then, they set off, taking up most of the middle of the street, Khaavren with his arms linked with Aerich to his right and Tazendra to his left. They were nearly marching as they stepped through the long, winding street. On either side of them, inns, shops, and houses appeared, though Khaavren noticed at once a lack of any facilities for horses, which, as he subsequently learned, were forbidden to be stabled near the Imperial Palace, because of the odors they produced and the pests they attracted.
Most of the structures in this area had been built while the Idyllic School of the House of the Vallista was in fashion, as one could see from the semicircular archways, the wide, enclosed courtyards, and the impossibility of determining what was a carefully hidden support as opposed to a decoration. Furthermore, as they came closer to the areas of the city dominated
by the Imperial Palace, they began to notice that there were no wooden buildings to be seen, but rather, everything was of carefully wrought stone. Khaavren looked around in wonder until, while passing a large, white building which proclaimed itself The Campaigner, he felt his arm grasped by Aerich, which he took as a signal to halt, and which signal he simultaneously passed on to Tazendra.
by the Imperial Palace, they began to notice that there were no wooden buildings to be seen, but rather, everything was of carefully wrought stone. Khaavren looked around in wonder until, while passing a large, white building which proclaimed itself The Campaigner, he felt his arm grasped by Aerich, which he took as a signal to halt, and which signal he simultaneously passed on to Tazendra.
“Yes?” he said to Aerich.
The Lyorn made a gesture, then asked Tazendra, “Is that he?”
She leaned forward. “Kieron’s Boots, I think it is.”
“Who?” asked Khaavren. “The small fellow holding a gold cloak, and speaking to the Chreotha?”
“The very one,” said Tazendra.
“Well?” asked Aerich.
“Let us hail him,” said Tazendra.
“Yes, indeed,” said Khaavren.
“Very well,” said Aerich.
They quickly approached him. But, as they came near, he happened to turn away, so he didn’t see them. When they were close by, they could hear him speaking in a firm but pleasant voice. “My dear lady,” he was saying to the Chreotha, “regulation cut is all very well, to be sure, but I have no doubt that you perceive that a half-cloak, coming only to the tops of my thighs, would but ill suit my physique. Now, I beg of you, make it only a little longer, and I promise you that no harm will come of it. On the contrary, my Captain will be delighted that his Guard is looking well, for it is certainly a poor reflection on him for one of his regiment to stand out unpleasantly. You see my logic, do you not?”
“My lord,” she said, “you argue most convincingly. But I assure you that I have been told, and in the strictest terms, to—” She stopped then, not from seeing the approach of the three friends, but because of the sound of coins clinking on the table in front of her where she sat before the building she shared with several other merchants, artisans, and mendicants who served the Imperial Palace in varying capacities.
The worthy Chreotha stopped, as we have said, and cleared her throat. “Well, after all,” she said, “if you can promise me—” This time she did, in fact, stop because she had caught sight of the three friends approaching her. Seeing her glance over his shoulder, the other turned around, and Khaavren saw a young man who, while small, appeared to be perfectly proportioned. His face, in addition, was regular and handsome, with wide-set blue eyes and a well-formed nose. He was dressed in a marvelous tailored silk doublet of white, with lacing around his small, delicate hands. He wore hose and pantaloons of black, and tall, shiny white boots with pointed toes. His doublet was embroidered with black and red abstract designs. He bore a sword of medium length and weight, with the bell guard that has been called the “dueler’s grip,” and a ruby set into the hilt.
He bowed to Khaavren, Aerich, and Tazendra, showing no sign of embarrassment. His bow, moreover, was graceful, left foot forward and right hand nearly touching the ground while his eyes remained on the faces of the companions. While he did not, as we have said, show any embarrassment, the Chreotha more than made up for this lack by flushing and stuttering enough for several court functionaries.
“A good day to you,” said the Guardsman. “I believe I have seen two of you before, in the village of Newmarket, have I not?”
They nodded. “I am Aerich, and this is the lady Tazendra, and the Marquis of Khaavren.” They bowed in turn, and he acknowledged.
“I am Pel,” he said. Khaavren had, by this time, learned to watch Aerich whenever an introduction was made. He was rewarded in his vigilance by seeing the tiniest furrow cross the Lyorn’s brow. Pel continued, “What brings you to the city?”
“Why, the same thing that brings you,” said Tazendra carelessly.
“You must excuse me if I fail to understand your meaning,” said Pel. Khaavren was certain there was a tension apparent in Pel’s face and voice as he said this.
“Why,” said the Dzurlord, “to join the Guard.”
“Ah!” said Pel, his expression clearing. Khaavren glanced at Aerich. They caught each other’s eyes for a moment, and Khaavren knew that Pel’s reaction had not been missed by the sharp-eyed Lyorn. “That falls out well enough,” said Pel. “For I am fortunate enough to be on tolerably good terms with G’aereth, who is a captain, and is just now looking for recruits to fill his posts. I should be happy to introduce you. Now, two of you,” he indicated Aerich and Tazendra, “I know to be excellent companions, from having seen you at play but two days ago. And as for you,” he nodded to Khaavren, “I must say that your face pleases me. So if it is agreeable to join the regiment in which I have the honor to serve, it is as good as settled.”
They quickly agreed to this, whereupon Pel smiled and turned back to the Chreotha, who had recovered and was patiently awaiting the end of the conversation. “Come, now,” said the Guardsman. “I will return for this cloak two hours after noon. I think you can have it ready by then, can you not? I’m certain I can have still more business for you, if you do.”
For a moment, the Chreotha flushed with embarrassment, but the thought of preparing uniforms for three more Guards apparently decided her and she agreed.
“Come then,” said Pel, “and I’ll lead you to the captain.” So saying, he began walking down the street. The three companions followed. Tazendra caught up to him, and they began talking as they walked. Khaavren dropped back and made a sign for Aerich to do the same. When the latter did, Khaavren spoke to him in a low voice.
“I could not help but notice, my friend, that you started when our friend gave us his name.”
“Well,” said Aerich. “And if I did?”
“I should be happy to know why.”
Aerich shrugged. “I am a Lyorn, and we are taught all that we need to know of the lines of the Houses. Now, I know very well that there is no ‘Pel’ belonging to the House of the Yendi. Therefore, he did not give us his true name.”
“Ah,” said Khaavren. “But what then? He is a Yendi.”
Aerich had no answer to this, so they continued in silence toward the Imperial Palace.
The Imperial Palace was begun shortly before the reign of Emperor Jamiss I, and the earliest version was completed toward the end of his reign, which encompassed, in its nine hundred years, the entirety of the reign of the House of the Vallista in the First Cycle. The story has come down to us that the Tsalmoth Emperor who preceded him, Faarith I, took possession of the Palace before it was habitable, and that he was killed by falling masonry as he directed the installation of the throne. That the Imperial Orb, which was even then beginning to show its marvelous attributes, didn’t save him, was taken as a sign by Jamiss, the engineer who was directing the building. He thereupon claimed the throne and the Orb for his own. While this tale smacks of the apocryphal, we cannot deny that it has a certain charm.
At any rate, the aforementioned Vallista reign saw, in addition to the construction of the Imperial Palace, the creation for the first time of forts and fortresses (the distinction, certain comments by the Lord of Snails notwithstanding, having nothing whatsoever to do with the presence of breastworks, nor the size of buttresses) along what was then the Eastern border. The construction of the Great Houses around the Imperial Palace did not begin until the Second Cycle, with the reign of Kieron the Younger, of the House of the Dragon. He ordered the building of the Great House of the Phoenix, opposite the Palace, as a tribute to Empress Zerika II, or possibly as a bribe to persuade her to relinquish the throne—history is unclear on this. The other Houses were built over the course of the Lyorn, Tiassa, and Hawk reigns during this Cycle, and doors were added to the Imperial Palace which looked out on each. Streets were laid on each side of these Houses, so that if one left the Palace by, for instance, the Athyra Door, one would pass the House of Athyra on one’s left.
It is not our intention to weary our readers with a description of each Great House in the Imperial Circle, but we beg leave to make a hasty sketch of the Palace itself.
The Palace was built before the Vallista architects had split into the Idyllic and Realist camps (and therefore, of course, long before the Reunification and subsequent splits), but the seeds of both major styles could be seen quite clearly, as Mistress Lethria has shown so well in her recent treatise. By the time of Emperor Tortaatik—that is, by the time of which we have the honor to write—the Palace had long since reached its final form, and the original building was a mere nucleus within, holding the throne
room, the personal chambers of the Emperor and his family, kitchens, and a few small audience chambers. The larger Palace rose nine stories into the air, contained full courtyards at each door, a separate four-story wing (with associated minister) for each House, dozens of balconies (pillared and plain), hundreds of stairways (circular, curved, twisted, and straight), thousands of windows (round, oblong, triangular, rectangular, octagonal, and square), nine libraries (public and private), four indoor gardens and arboreta, twelve major indoor baths, sixty-five towers, twenty-seven minor domes and three major ones, and was, in the famous words the Empress Undauntra I, “the most bleeding indefensible structure it has ever been my duty to occupy.”
room, the personal chambers of the Emperor and his family, kitchens, and a few small audience chambers. The larger Palace rose nine stories into the air, contained full courtyards at each door, a separate four-story wing (with associated minister) for each House, dozens of balconies (pillared and plain), hundreds of stairways (circular, curved, twisted, and straight), thousands of windows (round, oblong, triangular, rectangular, octagonal, and square), nine libraries (public and private), four indoor gardens and arboreta, twelve major indoor baths, sixty-five towers, twenty-seven minor domes and three major ones, and was, in the famous words the Empress Undauntra I, “the most bleeding indefensible structure it has ever been my duty to occupy.”
In those days, no one familiar with the Imperial Palace spoke of going there. One went to the Dragon Wing, if it was a matter of war, or the lorich Wing, if it was a matter of law, or the Central Palace, if it was an Imperial matter, and so on.
It was to the Dragon Wing that our friends found themselves traveling. Khaavren knew some of this, from having been told of it, but he had no comprehension of it until, walking around the immense complex of buildings, looking for the Street of the Dragon, he realized he was seeing one massive structure.
“It’s amazing!” he cried to his companions.
Pel smiled complacently, but Tazendra touched his arm and said in a low voice, “Come! Not so loud. Everyone will think that you come from the duchies.”
A puzzled look crossed Khaavren’s countenance. “But I do come from the duchies.”
This time, the look of puzzlement crossed Tazendra’s features, while Aerich smiled.
In due course they came to the Street of the Dragon. They walked along it until they came to the gate into the Dragon Courtyard. Eight guards were stationed on the walls of this gate, dressed in the black with silver trim of their House. Each carried a pike and had a sword at his side.
As the companions came near, one of the Guards said, “Who approaches the Gate of the Dragon, and by what right?”
“The Cavalier Pel, Guardsman of the company of G’aereth, with potential recruits, to see the Captain.”
“Enter,” suggested the guard.
They passed beneath the arched gateway, which had not been closed. Khaavren found himself, to his own annoyance, nervous. For the first time, he began to wonder if he could make his mark in an organization filled with such men and women as these. But he resolutely put these thoughts aside.
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