It doesnt really fit, Keselo disagreed. The Amarite church might want to come here to the Land of Dhrall to harvest gold and slaves, but theyd need to know exactly how to get through all that floating ice, and Gunda and Padan have the only maps.
Thats true, I suppose, Veltan conceded, but Narasan told me that he could field a hundred thousand soldiers. Itd only take one opportunist to blow away any chance of secrecy. I think thats the answer to the origins of that second invasion in your little boys dream, Dahlaine.
It would explain it, I guess, I agreed. Then I looked at Keselo again. Just exactly what are slaves? I asked him. I dont believe Ive ever heard that word before.
Youve been very lucky, then. It was a fairly standard custom back in the early days of the Empire for the Imperial armies to capture people of more primitive cultures and then sell them to the landowners of the Empire itself, almost as if they were cattle. Then the landowners would hire men with whips to drive the unfortunates to do the actual farming. The practice fell into disuse a hundred or so years ago, but a few decades back the Church realized the shed been passing up a wonderful opportunity to make money, so the slavers are back in business again, and at least half of them are members of the clergy.
Veltans face went dead white. If those monsters even come close to the shores of my Domain, Ill destroy them!
No, Veltan, I told him quite firmly, you wont. Killing anything is absolutely forbidden, and you know it. If you tried something like that, youd be banished forever, and it wouldnt be to the moon this time. Youd spend the rest of eternity in a place of absolute darkness where the only sounds youd hear would be your own screams of endless despair. Im sure well be able to find some suitable alternatives, but if you even try to kill anything, Ill tie you up in a knot so tight that itll take you about four cycles just to unlace your fingers from your toes.
So thats why you people had to rush around hiring armies! Keselo exclaimed. Ive never really understood why you didnt just obliterate the enemies with a wave of your hand. It was because youre not permitted to kill anything, isnt it?
I want you to forget what you just heard, young man, I told him firmly. Do you understand me?
Why, yes, I believe I do.
Good. I looked over at my brother, Youd better tell Narasan to start moving his fleet, Veltan, I suggested. Weve finished everything here in Zelanas Domain, so its time to move on. Ashads dream wasnt too specific about time. That seems to be one of the characteristics of these dreams. Our Dreamers can give us all kinds of details about whats going to happen, but when always seems a little vague.
Did Ashad happen to mention where the main battles likely to take place? Veltan asked.
He said that it would be in the general vicinity of the Falls of Vash, little brother. He wasnt too specific, and I didnt want to push him.
Veltan winced. Thats very rugged country up there, big brother. I dont think the Trogites will like the idea of fighting on ground like that.
It cant be much worse than the ravine above Lattash was, can it? Zelana asked.
It makes that ravine look like a gentle meadow, sister mine, Veltan replied glumly. It wasnt even there at the end of my last cycle. When I woke up, the man-things of my Domain seemed to be very excited about it. Im not sure exactly why Vash created the falls, but they are spectacular to look at. Looking is one thing, but walking around up theres something entirely different. I wouldnt be at all surprised if Yaltars twin volcanos are an outgrowth of what hed done when his name was Vash. The river that tumbles over the falls originates in a geyser that spouts up about a hundred feet into the air, and thats got a fairly strong odor of earthquakes and eruptions. Theres a fault line just south of that geyser, and it left a sheer face about two hundred feet high a mile or so downstream from the geyser. With all that water tumbling over the edge, its impossible to climb up that cliff, so anybody who wants to get up there has to take a different route. Veltan stopped and suddenly snapped his fingers. I should have known that this was coming! he exclaimed. Last spring Omago told me that some strangers had been asking questions about the Falls of Vash. I had my mind on other things at the time, so I didnt pursue it. Evidently, the Vlaghs been sending scouts out into our Domains for quite a while now.
Whos Omago? Zelana asked.
Hes a very solid, dependable fellow with an extensive orchard near my house. He knows more about farming than anybody else in my Domain does, and hes a very good listener. Other farmers come to him for advice, and they tell him about any unusual things that are happening. Then he passes them onto me.
Hes the chief, then? Longbow asked.
I wouldnt go quite that far, Longbow. He gives advice, not orders.
It sort of amounts to the same thing, wouldnt you say? A good chief does things that way. Only bad chieftains order their men around. Fortunately, they dont usually last very long.
Hes got a point there, Veltan, I agreed. You might want to consider getting word to this Omago fellow. Let him know whats in the wind, and have him pass the word along. Your people should know that the creatures of the Wasteland are coming, and they need to start getting ready for war.
Thats absurd, Dahlaine, Veltan scoffed. My people dont even know what the word war means. Thats why I had to hire Narasans army. Omago can probably make certain that the hired soldiers get plenty to eat, but thats likely to be his only contribution during the war. He smiled faintly. Of course, if we can persuade Ara to do the cooking, we might have some trouble persuading the outlanders to go home after the wars over.
Whos Ara? Zelana asked.
Omagos wife. Shes a beautiful lady and quite probably the best cook in the world. The smells that come from her kitchen even tempt me sometimes.
Oh, incidentally, Veltan, I cut in, Aracia and Id like to bring the commanders of the armies weve been hiring down to your Domain to observe. Im sure theyll be coming up against the servants of the Vlagh sometime soon, and it might not be a bad idea for them to see what theyll encounter.
No problem, big brother, Veltan said with an impudent sort of grin. Ill go tell Narasan and Sorgan that its time to go South, and then Ill have my pet take me home so that I can have a talk with Omago. For right now, thats about as far as we can go. Everythings sort of up in the air at this point, so we might have to make things up as we go along.
What else is new and different? I said sourly. Looking back, Id say that weve been doing that since the very beginning.
Of this war, you mean? Zelana suggested.
I wouldnt limit it to that, my sister. Weve been making things up as we went along since the beginning of time, havent we?
What else is new and different? I said sourly. Looking back, Id say that weve been doing that since the very beginning.
Of this war, you mean? Zelana suggested.
I wouldnt limit it to that, my sister. Weve been making things up as we went along since the beginning of time, havent we?
It makes life much more interesting, big brother, she said with an impish sort of grin. Things always seem to get so boring if you know exactly whats going to happen, dont they?
I chose not to answer that particular question.