All that had happened in the year they had been at Fhileraene’s court in Tuarhievel—a year that had actually been only about a week or so for them—and no one had suspected then that Prince Michael could still be alive. No one save Lord Tieran, who had kept that information to himself until Michael had returned safely to Anuire, the better to ensure he could return safely. By then, however, Lord Arwyn had long since reported his death and sent dispatch riders throughout the empire to spread the word and announce his assumption of the regency.
Talinie and Taeghas had formally given their support to him right from the outset, which made Aedan wonder if they had simply judged which way the wind was blowing and acted to safeguard their own interests, or if they had received some advance notification of Lord Arwyn’s plans. Either way, they were the first to grant their recognition. Brosengae followed, but not until Avan had refused, questioning Boeruine’s right to the regency and declaring for Lord Tieran and the empress. The Baron of Diemed had announced support for Lord Tieran and the empress, as well, but not until Kier of Avanil had declared himself. With Avanil across the river from Diemed, Baron Harth Diem had wanted to see which way the more powerful Duke of Avanil would go.
And so it went throughout the empire, each province and each ruling noble waiting for as long as possible to declare allegiance either to Lord Tieran and the empress or to Arwyn of Boeruine, for no one wished to be premature in his formal recognition of either party. They first wanted to see how their neighbors would declare, especially if those neighbors were wealthier and more powerful.
This, however, was precisely what Lord Tieran had gambled on, for he knew it would buy him time—time in which the young emperor might return and assume his rightful place on the Iron Throne of Anuire. And he had needed as much time as he could buy, because he had no way of knowing when Michael and Aedan might return. He knew about the strange way time flowed in the elven realms, and he had also known it was completely unpredictable. For Michael and Aedan, a few days could go by while for him and the rest of the human world, it could be weeks or months or even years.
It had to be incredibly difficult for him, thought Aedan, trying to manipulate the political situation to his best advantage—insofar as he was able—while at the same time knowing the strongest weapon he could use against Lord Arwyn was one he did not dare reveal. If he had announced Michael was still alive and safe within the borders of Tuarhievel, Arwyn and his allies could have taken steps to prevent his return and see to it he never left the Aelvinnwode alive.
It must have been a terrible strain for him, thought Aedan. And it had certainly taken its toll. His father had died a year ago, while Aedan was out on a campaign with the emperor. And those campaigns had been virtually unceasing almost since the time they had returned.
Eight years, he thought. Eight years of almost constant warfare, trying to hold the empire together. Michael was doing a good job of it, however. And with each campaign, he had improved significantly as a general. In the beginning, the campaigns had been planned by Lord Korven, commanding general of the Imperial Army of Anuire, who had been adamantly opposed to the idea of Michael going out into the field with the troops. At the time of the first campaign, Michael had just turned thirteen, and Lord Korven had believed it was much too risky for a mere boy—and the only heir to the imperial throne, at that—to accompany the army into battle. However, Michael had insisted on it, and, to Aedan’s surprise, his father had supported his choice.
“It is true he is young and would expose himself to risk,” Aedan’s father had said to him when he protested. “However, those very things also work for him. The troops shall see the boy emperor riding with them, leading them beneath his standard, and it shall both invigorate and motivate them. If they see that a boy is unafraid to fight for a cause, then they, as grown men, shall take courage from his presence.”
“But what if he should be killed?” Aedan had asked.
His father shrugged slightly. “That is the risk that every true leader must take. If he wants his men to be willing to die for him, then he must also be willing to die with them. A ruler who simply sends his troops out while he remains behind in the safety of his castle will never command the same loyalty and respect as one who leads his armies into battle. More than anything else right now, Michael must gain the respect and loyalty of the troops and of his vassals. And respect and loyalty are never freely given. They must be earned.”
So at the age of thirteen, Michael had led the Imperial Army of Anuire into the field, which sounded much more impressive than it was in fact, since a great deal of the army’s strength at any given time depended on troops sent from the empire’s provinces. And in the beginning, all they had were the troops quartered in the capital and those sent by Kier of Avanil. Messengers had been dispatched to all the other provinces with an imperial command for a troop levy, but while no one had refused outright, neither had anyone except the Duke of Avanil hastened to comply. They all waited to see in which direction the wind would start to blow. And, at least in the beginning, it had blown against Emperor Michael.
When word had been sent out that Prince Michael was alive and well and had returned to Anuire to claim his birthright, Arwyn had responded by accusing Lord Tieran of trying to palm off a pretender on the people of the empire. An entire year had passed, he said, in which there had been no word from the missing emperor and now he had returned? From where? If it were truly the prince, what had he been doing all this time? How had he escaped his goblin abductors? And why had the elves, the old enemies of humankind, chosen to help him? What did Prince Fhileraene have to gain?
What Lord Tieran had to gain was obvious, Arwyn had maintained. He was after power and sought the regency for himself. What other possible reason could there have been for his cowardly flight from Seaharrow with the empress at a time when not only the prince’s fate but that of his own son was uncertain? Arwyn even went so far as to suggest that the high chamberlain had taken the empress from Seaharrow against her will—for what mother would leave when her son was missing?—and was now holding her at the Imperial Cairn in Anuire as hostage for his claim to regency Arwyn manifested considerable outrage over this, despite the fact that it was probably exactly what he had planned himself.
It was a believable claim to many and not really an unexpected move. The Archduke of Boeruine had, after all, declared that Prince Michael was dead. When Michael had returned, Arwyn really had only two choices—back down from his claim to regency, swear fealty to Michael, and hope the new emperor would not hold a grudge, or else declare him an imposter foisted off upon the people by Lord Tieran, aided by the elven magic of Prince Fhileraene. Aedan was not at all surprised when Arwyn chose the latter option.
Since then, it had been one campaign after another, and not always against the forces of Boeruine, which had become considerable. Lord Arwyn had recruited mercenaries and bandits from the Five Peaks region to join his army and he had even gone so far as to openly ally himself with the goblins of Thurazor. His rationale for doing so was astonishingly bold. Lord Tieran, he claimed, had betrayed the empire by allying himself with the elves. And rather than face the possibility of their old enemies overcoming them with the aid of the Anuirean troops, the goblins had decided to throw in their lot with the forces of Boeruine, the rightful regent, in exchange for Arwyn’s support against the elves. What was more, in his dispatches from Seaharrow to the other provinces of the empire, Arwyn had actually bragged of this alliance, invoking the memory of Mount Deismaar and comparing himself to Haelyn, who had made an alliance with the elves against the dark forces of Azrai for the common good. And incredibly, there were many who took him at his word.