Chapter 20

Friends of Emperor Kilthane Rychart would not have recognized the man who sat draped over the throne in the Great Hall of the Imperial Palace. He had a haunted look in his eye. He had ordered his throne to be brought here from the room where he usually held audiences.

His gaze during the audiences he granted was locked on the spot where the Imperial table had been during the anniversary celebration, the spot where his bride had died. He had ordered that a griffin feather be laid there. Some muttered at this breach of protocol. Griffin feathers were buried with the body, to help speed the soul into the afterlife. Seeing that she was a member of the Imperial family, several such feathers had been buried with her, to ensure an even swifter flight. But the grim reminder, in the new audience chamber, served to discomfit some who came to speak with the Emperor.

He barely listened to those who came before him. He failed to properly acknowledge the President of the Senate when he came to present bills for signature, a grave breach of etiquette. The Emperor was expected to give proper respect to even the lowest citizen of the Empire. Kilthane had always observed this formality. Failing to acknowledge the second most powerful man in the Empire properly spoke of a deep change in his character.

Liam Donal was taken aback by what he saw when he returned from his failed campaign in Kolam Robak. He waited his turn in line to speak. He didn’t chafe at this for two reasons. First, all citizens were equal, regardless of rank, thus they were seen on a first come, first seen basis. Second, he did not relish what he had to report.

The Emperor took one of his now rare glances up the line of supplicants and spotted Liam. “Commander Donal,” he called, interrupting the woman who was speaking to him. “Come forward and report.”

Murmuring swept the hall and a variety of concerned glances were exchanged. Liam was momentarily frozen, unsure what to do. But then his sense of duty asserted himself and he stepped out of line with an apologetic look to those who were before him. He hurried forward and took the unprecedented step of dropping to one knee before Kilthane.

“Your Majesty, I am yours to command.”

“How did the campaign go, Commander? Have you crushed those desert scum beneath your bootheel?”

Liam looked pained at his Emperor’s words. The image conjured up by the question didn’t sit well with him. “I am sorry, Your Majesty. I have failed you.”

“What!?” the Emperor roared. “You were defeated? How is this possible?”

Liam looked up into his lord’s now blazing eyes. If reports among the servants were to be believed, this was the most life he’d shown in over a week. “No, Your Majesty. There was no defeat. You see, there was no battle.”

“No battle?! I know you dislike violence, Donal, but I never figured you to back down from a fight where it was necessary.”

Liam’s spine stiffened at the implied insult, but he did nothing. He merely responded. “There was no fight to back down from, Your Majesty. We were unable to locate the City of Magic. Our maps are outdated and I believe the magicians used some trick—“

“I won’t hear of your excuses, Donal!” the Emperor snapped. “You should have beaten any message by a good four days! If you’re too incompetent to do the job, perhaps I shall have you replaced!”

If Liam’s spine had been stiff before it was now made of iron. His jaw clenched and he fought to retain his cool. The Emperor has been through a lot, he repeated in his mind. He is not himself. “If that is Your Majesty’s wish. I serve at your pleasure.”

“Bah! My pleasure is to have these vermin punished! Well, there should be no magicians in Yometh Robak! We know where Debobat is! Men trade there constantly! If you can successfully prosecute a war there, you can keep your command! Now be gone!”

Liam rose stiffly and bowed low, his hand sweeping across the tiled floor. “As Your Majesty commands.” He turned and, standing rigidly erect, he stepped out of the hall with as much dignity as he could muster.

The woman who had been interrupted continued her plea and the Emperor’s eyes returned to the feather in the middle of the floor as if nothing had happened.

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