The Prophets of the Moon Shrine of Kerah
The Keepers of the Autarch's Raptors
The Master of the Sarcophagus of Vushum
The Chiefs of the Brewers of Ash-hanan at Khexi
The Eyes of the Blessed Autarch of Upper Xand
The Eyes of the Blessed Autarch of Lower Xand
The Oracle of the Whispers of Surigali
The Master of the Sacred Bees of Nushash
The Scribe of the Tablet of Destinies
The Wardens of the Gates of the Ocean
The Supplicators of the Waves of Apisur
The Wardens of the Royal Canals
The Keeper of the Sacred Monkeys of Nobu
The Sacred Slave of the Great Tent
The Master of the Seclusion of Nissara
The Chief of Royal Herds and Flocks
The Master of the Granaries of Zishinah
The Priests of the Coming-Forth of Zoaz
The Guardians of the Whip that Scourges Pah-Inu
The Wardens of the Digging-Stick of Ukanion The Priests of the Great Staff of Hernigal
There were other priests, too, many more: Panhyssir, high priest of Nushash and the most powerful religious figure in the land next to the autarch himself, along with priests of Habbili and priests of Sawamat (the great goddess who, truth be told, had far more priestesses than priests, but whose female servants, like the priestesses of the Hive, were subordinated to their male masters and had only a token presence)-priests of every god and goddess who ever lived, it seemed, and of a few that may have existed only in the tales of other deities.
And as many court functionaries crowded the chamber as priests, the Favored of the palace and the whole men of the autarch's army and navy, stable masters and kitchen masters, the clerks of records and the scribes of all the granaries and butteries and storehouses of the gigantic Orchard Palace, not to mention the ambassadors of every tame country that now danced to the autarch's tune: Tuan, Mihan, Zan-Kartuum, Zan-Ahmia, Marash, Sania, arid Iyar, even a few abashed envoys from the northern con¬tinent, representing captive Ulos, Akaris, and Torvio. There were islanders from distant Hakka wearing their skirts of palm fronds, and chieftains of the desert herders, camel masters and sneeringly proud horsemen of the red desert, from whom the autarch's own family had sprung, but who had the sense now to bend their knees beside everyone else. (To be master of the desert and kin to the autarch himself might be a matter of pride, but too much pride in the presence of the Golden One was foolishness; the few fools bred by the sands did not usually live to adulthood.)
Sulepis himself, the Master of the Great Tent, the Golden One, the God-on-Earth, stood before this assembly like the sun in the sky, clad only in a spotless white loin cloth, his arms raised as though he were about to speak. He said nothing, however, but only stood as the Slaves of the Royal Armor, under the direction of the high official known as the Master of the Armor-a position reserved for the closest thing to a friend the autarch had, a plump young man named Muziren Chah, eldest son of a middling noble family; Muziren had shared a wet nurse with the infant Sulepis but had no royal blood himself. Under Muziren's silent (but still obviously anx¬ious) direction, the Slaves of the Royal Armor clothed the autarch first in billowing pants and blouse of red silk embroidered with the Bishakh fal¬con, then pulled on the monarch's boots and belt and emblems of office,
the amulet and the great necklace, both made of gold and fire opal. Then they began to draw on his golden armor, first the breastplate and kill of del icate, tough chain, then the rest, finishing with his gauntlets. They draped his great black cape on which the spread wings of the falcon had been stitched in golden wire, and then lowered the flame-pointed Battle Crown onto his head.
When the priests had perfumed the autarch with incense it was Vash's turn. He carried up the cushion bearing the Mace of Nushash, gold-plated and shaped like a blazing sun. Sulepis looked at it for a long instant, a half-smile on his face, then winked at Pinimmon Vash and lifted the mace high in the air. For a moment the paramount minister felt certain the autarch was about to dash out his brains right here in front of all these gathered no¬tables-not that any one of them would have dared even to murmur in surprise, let alone protest-but instead he turned to face the sea of people and bellowed in his high, strong voice.
"We will not rest until the enemies of Great Xis have been subdued!"
The crowd roared its approval, a noise that started low like a moan of pain, then rose until it seemed as if it would rattle the tiled images of the gods overhead right out of their heaven and bringing them crashing down to earth.
"We will not rest until our empire spreads over the world!"
The roar grew louder, although why any of them should have cared whether Xis stretched its sway one inch, Vash couldn't imagine.
"We will not rest until Nushash is lord over all-the living God on Earth!"
And now the noise really did threaten to dislodge the tiles from the ceil¬ing and even shake the pillars that kept heaven and earth separated.
The autarch turned and said something to Vash, but it was lost in the storm of approval. He turned back and waved his hands for quiet, which came quickly.
"In our absence, the Master of the Armor, Muziren Chah, will care for you as I care for you, like a herdsman his goats, like a father his children. Obey him in all things or I will return and destroy you all."
Wide-eyed, the assembled courtiers nodded their heads and mumbled praise and in general did their best to look as if they could not even imag¬ine what disobedience meant; Vash, though, had to struggle to keep his face expressionless. Muziren? The autarch was leaving the simpleton Master of the Armor on the throne? Surely that was the role of Prusus, the crippled
scotarch, or even of Vash himself as paramount minister what could be the reason for such a bizarre choice? Was it merely that Muziren was no threat to take the throne? It was hard to believe Sulepis could feel that he would become so vulnerable simply by leaving the city, not with a quarter of a million men at his command and the blood of a hundred kings in his veins?
Muziren Chah took the circlet of regency from the autarch and then dropped to his knees to kiss Sulepis' feet. The autarch dismissed the crowd. (None of them were so foolish as to move from the spots where they stood until Sulepis himself had departed.) The autarch turned to Pinimmon Vash. "To the ships," he said, grinning. "Blood is in the air. And other things, too." Vash had no idea what he meant. "But… but what of Prusus, Golden One?" "He is going with me. Surely our beloved scotarch deserves to see a lit¬tle of the world, old friend?"
"Of course, Golden One. It is just that he has never traveled before…" "Then enough talk. I will need my most trusted minister, too. Are you ready?"
"Of course, Master of the Great Tent. Packed and ready to travel, ready to do your bidding, as always."
"Good. We shall have a most interesting adventure." The autarch stepped back into his litter-now that he was dressed in the royal armor, he could not set foot outside the throne room in the normal way, and in fact could not touch ground in Xis until he reached his ship. His brawny slaves lifted him and carried him out of the room, leaving Vash to wonder why it seemed to him as though the world had suddenly spun a little way out of its accustomed orbit.
27
The Players
Fearing for the safety of his new bride Suya, Nushash took her to
Moontusk, the house of his brother Xosh, a great fortress built from the
ivory of the moon (which becomes a tusk each month and then falls from
the sky.) But hear me! Argal, Xergal, and Eftyal learned from Shoshem the
Trickster where she was, and raised a great army to come against it.
— from The Revelations of Nushash, Book One
A
LONE AGAIN. Lost again. Cursed and lost and alone…
Briony wiped hard at her cheeks with the back of her hand, scrubbing away the tears. No. Get up, you stupid girl! What was she doing, weeping like a child? How long had she been sitting here alone at the edge of the forest as the sun began to set? What kind of fool would sit blubbering while the moon rose and the wolves came out?