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Nathan explained, “We know because history knows, dear general, just as history knows everything. All was revealed as Kurgan’s empire crumbled. You and Empress Majel weren’t as discreet as you thought with your affair, and this is a terrible story that was told to students for centuries. After conquering much of the Old World, your army marched away from Orogang, ordered by Iron Fang to capture Ildakar. But then you and your armies vanished, as did Ildakar itself. The complete disappearance of such a vast army was a mystery that historians have debated for centuries.”
Utros knotted his hands as he gripped the edge of the rough-hewn table. On one corner rested his imposing helmet, adorned with curved bull horns. “But what about my emperor? And … Majel? What do you think you know? What happened to her? And to the empire?”
Nathan sniffed. “Alas, I’m afraid that without your military to hold it together, Kurgan’s empire crumbled. It didn’t last a decade after you were gone. The man you served, and betrayed, is long dead.”
Nicci spoke into the silence. “There is a new emperor now, a worthy master for you to serve. His name is Richard Rahl, and we are working to consolidate these lands under the rules of fairness and freedom. That’s why Nathan and I came to Ildakar, only to find ourselves caught in this unnecessary conflict. Lord Rahl is a new, worthy master for a great and honorable military leader like yourself. We hope you and your army will agree to serve him.”
“I serve Emperor Kurgan,” Utros insisted.
“And we serve you, General Utros,” said the two sorceresses in strange harmony, shifting on their bench.
He glanced at them. “These are Ava and Ruva, my advisors and powerful sorceresses. We don’t fear any magic Ildakar brings against us.”
“What you seem to fear is the truth,” Nicci said. “Emperor Kurgan is gone, nearly forgotten. Join the D’Haran Empire as one of Lord Rahl’s greatest generals. You no longer need to conquer Ildakar.”
“I need to conquer Ildakar, because I swore to do so,” Utros said stubbornly. “Kurgan is my emperor, not this upstart Lord Rahl, who is nothing more than a name to me.”
“I assure you, Lord Rahl is much more than a name,” Nicci said with a hint of threat in her tone. “And he is alive and powerful, unlike Iron Fang and your murdered lover.”
Incensed, Utros said, “Murdered? How did she … they die? What happened to them?”
“It didn’t end well, I’m afraid.” Nathan continued telling his story. “Iron Fang’s own people rose up and overthrew him. The mobs killed him because of what he did to…” He hesitated. “It’s rather unpleasant, General. Are you sure you want to hear the full details?”
“What did Kurgan do?” Utros demanded. Then the lines on his face softened. “What of Majel?”
“The emperor executed her,” Nicci said, using the words like a barbed lash. “When Kurgan discovered Majel’s love for you, he skinned her alive in public. Then while she slowly died, dripping blood in the city square of Orogang, he placed flesh beetles on her body, and they burrowed inside her. I understand she screamed for days.”
“No!” Utros cried. “Emperor Kurgan wouldn’t…” His words trailed off as he realized that the story sounded all too probable.
“That is the man to whom you swear your loyalty,” Nicci reminded him.
“The story is true, I’m afraid,” Nathan said. “If you knew Emperor Kurgan as you say you do, then you’ll believe me. Was he not violent and mercurial? What do you think he would have done once he found out about Majel’s betrayal? With his bravest general?”
“It wasn’t a betrayal!” Utros cried in a hoarse voice. “She still loved him, but she also loved me. I gave her what her husband could not, and I also gave the emperor what he could not achieve on his own. I loved her, but remained loyal to him.”
“History has already been written, General,” Nathan said. “Both Majel and Kurgan are spirits now, and the veil has been permanently sealed. No spirits can ever return from the underworld.” He explained Richard’s star shift and how he had ended prophecy and healed the breach forever.
Utros bunched his fists into boulders, but he somehow contained his rage. “I don’t believe you.”
“You know in your heart that we’re not lying to you,” Nathan said. “How else do you explain what you see and feel?”
The sorceresses rose from their bench. One of the women said, “Perhaps we’ll hold these two, beloved Utros, and peel the truth from them, just to be sure.”
“You could try.” Nicci returned their glare. “But I wouldn’t recommend it.”
Nathan said, “You promised us safe passage, General. Are the legends not true about your honor?”
“Go from here!” Utros shouted. “Return to your city walls, while I consider how best to tear them down. I will conquer Ildakar, as I swore to do. It doesn’t matter if Emperor Kurgan is gone. I have my mission, and I must succeed. That’s all I need to know.” He pounded a fist on his table hard enough that the fresh wood splintered. His horned helmet slid to the ground. “Go!”
Nicci and Nathan withdrew as First Commander Enoch pushed them out into the open air again. The sudden gust of wind caught Nicci’s long blond hair. Thousands of soldiers framed the way for them to return to the gates of Ildakar.
CHAPTER 14
Grieve observed from the high wall of the Bastion, pleased by the progress.
Captain Kor’s raiding vessels took only four days to reprovision for the raid against Renda Bay, and soon they were ready to launch from the main island, joined by three more serpent ships. Kor’s previous expedition to Ildakar was secretly to identify the vulnerabilities of the great city for possible invasion.
This time, Kor had a more standard Norukai mission, and King Grieve had different expectations. The raiders would sweep into the defiant fishing village, capture as many slaves as they could, and fill their ships with walking meat to be sold at various markets. Captains Kor, Lars, and Yorik would kill any captives that wouldn’t fit on the boats, and then the rest of Rend
a Bay would burn. It would be a profound lesson to the rest of the world.
For the raid, Kor took several hundred seasoned Norukai warriors, scarred muscular men and brutish dangerous women, but they needed the rest of the room on the ships for the captives they would take.
After the misty storm passed, Grieve drew a deep breath on the high open battlements, studying the fanged mouth of the harbor. The six serpent ships were a swirl of activity as the raiders piled aboard. The broad-beamed ships with long oars and distinctive midnight-blue sails would strike fear along the coast. Each ship’s prow bore a ferocious carving of the serpent god, guiding the raiders to victory.
Watching the expedition prepare to depart, Grieve longed to go on a raid again himself. He remembered the ecstatic younger days when King Stern had sent him out to toughen him, to temper him with blood, or let him die on the battlefield if he wasn’t good enough. That was the fate of failures.
Salty wind whipped around the Bastion’s rooftop, but the sky was a bright blue, the waters relatively calm. Though Chalk liked to remain inside by the fire, today’s sunlight was bright enough that the pale-skinned shaman joined him, hopping about and burning energy to keep himself warm.
“Renda Bay, Renda Bay!” he said. “Don’t think about Renda Bay.”
“Why shouldn’t I? Kor will destroy the town, then we never need worry about them again.”
Grieve reached into his yawning mouth, scratched out a morsel of the yaxen meat he’d eaten for his midday meal. Grieve liked the taste much more than tiresome fish or gristly goat. Yet another reason that he needed to conquer Ildakar.
“Renda Bay, Renda Bay!” Chalk rubbed his hands together as he looked over the battlement, gaping down at the six serpent ships tied up to the docks far below. The shaman was so awkward and reckless that he nearly fell over the edge, but he kept himself in place with a scrawny arm. “The war is with Ildakar, my Grieve, King Grieve! They’ll all grieve! Ildakar, not Renda Bay.”
