At Castle Vasara, the hereditary seat of the Lords of the Southlands, a storm of activity raged as the great keep prepared for the royal visit. Servants rushed purposefully to and fro, cleaning and readying the best quarters in the castle with every luxury and necessity available. Foodstuffs had been gathered, animals penned and some slaughtered to prepare for the welcoming feast. The kitchens hummed constantly.

The soldiers were not exempt from the preparations. In the borderland with Arimaspea, discipline was well maintained and training never neglected. Weapons and armor were always kept clean and in good repair, but now all was made as perfect as possible. Even steel chain mail was brushed and polished until it gleamed like bright silver.

Lord Taishakuten strode through his domain, inspecting what was done for flaws, but all was in order. This was hardly the first time Castle Vasara had entertained the king, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. A royal progress to the Southlands occurred at least once a year, and frequently more often. The region was too important to Seresu to ever be neglected by the country's rulers.

He stopped in the Great Hall. As one of the greatest lords in the kingdom, he maintained his own court, with his vassals and lesser nobility in attendance. They now were also busy preparing, managing those tasks that the common-born servants were unfit to handle. Every person in the castle had their duties and performed them seamlessly.

There really wasn't much for him to do. He seemed superfluous.

Taishakuten hated being superfluous.

"My lord!" a young man's voice called.

Taishakuten turned to face his senior wizard, Master Ateas, who was approaching him swiftly.

"My lord, I have been in contact with the king's wizard, Lord Syed."

Wizards were most useful and convenient tools, Taishakuten mused. Using them, one could obtain news almost instantly, rather than having to wait for a messenger to carry it across the distance on horseback. And Ateas, despite his common birth and his relatively young age of barely twenty-eight years, was extremely talented at his art.

"The royal cortege has passed Thunderer's Crag," Ateas reported. "They should arrive within the hour."

"They're making good time," Taishakuten commented. It was yet early afternoon. The morning reports had indicated that the cortege was still some fifteen miles out, but now they were almost to Vasara.

He turned to one of his retainers. "We will ride out to greet the king and provide escort. Ready a troop immediately." He thought briefly about taking more men to emphasize his consequence, but too many might appear threatening rather than merely impressive. It was never a good idea to threaten royalty. He would only take enough to honor the king, display his own strength, and keep trouble at bay.

Not that Taishakuten believed there would be any trouble. His own people were, in general, good, law abiding folk. Certainly there was a criminal element, but those miscreants didn't dare flaunt their activities openly. And while the Southlands were often plagued by the raiders from the south, the Arimaspi had never gotten past Taishakuten's outer defenses and encroached this far inside the territory. Also, aside from one notable raid during deep winter and a few minor, easily quelled skirmishes, the border had been quiet this year. Ashura always traveled with a well-armed troop, and there wasn't any real possibility of danger, but taking a decent honor guard to meet and escort the king would serve well for showing Taishakuten's loyalty and regard.

He looked at Ateas. "You'll accompany me. Make ready."

The retainer and the wizard both bowed and hurried off to accomplish their respective tasks.

Yes, wizards were most useful tools, Taishakuten thought as he watched Ateas depart. Through Ateas's communications with the court wizard Lord Syed D Greenstone, Taishakuten had obtained very accurate reports about Ashura's movements and had been able to plan accordingly. He also had details of the size of Ashura's party, an accounting of which nobles had accompanied the king, and how many servants, soldiers, and animals would need to be housed and fed. Nothing had been left to chance.

Taishakuten had expected a large part of the royal court to accompany the king, but he was somewhat surprised that Ashura had elected to bring his bastard son along. The boy was very young, and the long journey would have been quite arduous for him. Taishakuten thought that was probably why the trip had taken so much longer than usual. Ateas had confirmed that piece of speculation with Lord Syed, and also that the royal cortege had stopped for a week at one of the properties Ashura had settled on his whelp.

Taishakuten knew Fai was intimidated by him. That didn't trouble him. Young children were either frightened of him or fascinated by him—there didn't seem to be any middle ground. The fear made sense; the fascination, though, bewildered him, but he told himself that children weren't often very sensible.

A fair number of adults also felt some discomfiture with him even as they admired and fawned over him. He encouraged the varied forms of awe that he engendered in so many. His reputation was important to his future plans. His power was significant, and rested in his strength and success as a warlord, his large army, and his vast landholdings and wealth. Despite all that, he nurtured ambitions to gain even more. He planned to sit on the Council of Nobles, and even one day replace Lord Vainamoinen as its leader, and so he did all he could to enhance his reputation as an indomitable force in Seresu.

His senior wizard also had great ambitions. Ateas coveted the honor of the D title, and Taishakuten had resolved to help him achieve it even though it meant losing Vasara's best wizard. The D-titled wizards were rare, and always permanently attached to the royal court.

However, Ateas was devoted to Taishakuten, and would become more so if Taishakuten promoted his interests. Ateas had a good chance of succeeding in his goals, through the combination of his own growing renown as a war wizard and Taishakuten's sponsorship. Until Taishakuten won a place among the king's closest counselors, it would be a good thing to have a loyal and trustworthy pair of eyes and ears at Luval. Ashura and his advisors were reliable in general, but Taishakuten liked to gain information through his own sources as well as through the official channels.

Additionally, Taishakuten didn't trust the Lord Wizard Suhail D Bhagat; the man was tied too closely to the Völur. It seemed likely that he was their spy at the royal court, as Taishakuten hoped Ateas would one day be his. Taishakuten had always disliked and distrusted the Völur. No one, not even the king, could control them, and they didn't even pretend to humor Taishakuten when he made demands of them.

The kingdom's main factions, the nobility, the magicians, and the religious orders, of which the Völur were the most prominent, maintained a complex, balanced dance of power. It was fortunate, Taishakuten thought, that the magicians of Seresu were content with the status quo. Although they were a tiny minority, they could easily conquer the country if they chose to unite in a common purpose.

Then he snorted. Wizards already controlled the country. Seresu was ruled by a family of wizards. That was the real reason the magicians all accepted the present state of affairs. Their position was assured.

Fortunately, the rulers were traditionally trained from birth not to favor their own kind over the ordinary, non-magical citizens, at least not in obvious ways. The purpose was primarily enlightened self interest, to prevent dissatisfaction in the populace which could lead to insurrection, but overall the Royal House of Vanir did well by Seresu. Whatever their political or personal reasons, they maintained peace and stability within the country's borders, and non-magical noblemen like Taishakuten were trusted to keep and even increase their power, wealth, and consequence.

A servant came to inform him that the escort troop was ready, and Taishakuten strode out to the bailey where his men had formed up. He was displeased to discover that the looming clouds of the morning now shed an annoying, drizzling rain. A pity that no wizard could control the weather. It was rumored that the king could sometimes influence it, but only marginally. Taishakuten wasn't sure if he believed that rumor or not. Surely if Ashura could do anything at all about the weather, he'd make the country warmer.

Of course, Taishakuten thought as he waited beneath the eave of an outbuilding for his mount to be brought to him, there were a great many rumors about the king this year. Such as the one about Fai being Ashura's bastard son. Taishakuten accepted that without question, and he knew he wasn't the only member of the nobility who did so. It explained perfectly the king's otherwise inexplicable fondness for his stray, and the blatant favoritism shown. He did, however, put far less trust in the rumor that Ashura planned to make Fai his heir. The king had made plain at Sunbirth that it wasn't true. The succession was well documented, and it would have been the height of stupidity to expose the vulnerable young child to the kind of danger and intrigue that such a tumultuous change would engender. Taishakuten knew that the king was definitely not stupid.

Although, upon consideration, there was no guarantee about what might happen when Fai was older and able to defend himself. Taishakuten recalled that Ateas had once said that Fai's magical potential was terrifying. Ashura often considered the long future and planned accordingly. There was historical precedent, as well. He wouldn't be the first king to legitimize a favorite but illegitimate son and make him the heir. Ashura might very well secretly intend to change the succession once Fai was of age and wielded his full powers.

Politically speaking, it would be wise to befriend young Lord Fai, Taishakuten thought, or at least do something to reduce the child's fear of him.

Then there was the other rumor, the truly dangerous one that bordered on treason. It was repeated only in the softest, most surreptitious of whispers, and claimed that Ashura had suffered some kind of breakdown during deep winter, and had even attempted suicide. Fractured and incomplete, the story bore unmistakable signs that someone—probably the king's advisors—had tried to smother it. Taishakuten took note of it, but after meeting with the king at Sunbirth he didn't believe it for an instant and put it down to maliciousness on the part of some disgruntled courtiers. Ashura's conversation and behavior had been perfectly normal at the spring festival, aside from his strange encounter with the Völur's magic at the King's Sacrifice. That incident Taishakuten also dismissed, as everyone present at the rite had been overcome by that magic, even him—and he prided himself on possessing an unconquerable will. Ateas had informed him that too many of the sacred sisterhood had attended and generated an immense force of magic that even they hadn't been able to control. Even the D-titled wizards, Ateas had said, had all fallen victim to the Völur's wild, primal spells.

Whatever the reason, it had been the most effective sacrifice in living memory. Already the crops showed signs of being the most abundant in generations. An extraordinarily rich new vein of gold had been discovered at the Borean mine, the herds were increasing with fat, happy animals, and the merchants and tradesmen were doing excellent business. Taishakuten's own coffers were swelling with the increased rents and tax revenues, along with increases in the output of his properties and profits from his business ventures. The growing plenty was not limited to the Southlands: the entire country's prosperity burgeoned everywhere this year.

It seemed a pity that the unusual circumstances of the King's Sacrifice were unlikely to be repeated. He wondered if Ashura could be talked into trying the experiment again.

Taishakuten grinned as he imagined Ashura's probable reaction to that suggestion. The king had been rather displeased about the whole thing. Still, the benefits were well worth the risk of incurring a little royal ire. As king, it was Ashura's sacred duty to ensure Seresu's prosperity, after all...

Ultimately, Taishakuten could not believe that such beneficial results could have arisen from the blood connection of the land to a mentally damaged king. The ancient folk belief, that the king and the land were one, was rooted deep in the soul of the country. Any illness or death wish in Ashura would surely have been imbued into the land along with his blood, and instead of experiencing increased fertility, wealth, and abundance, Seresu would now be declining into chaos, destitution, and eventual destruction. That story about Ashura having a breakdown could not contain any truth at all.

Now that Taishakuten thought seriously on it, the rumor had circulated around the time that Ashura had acquired Fai. Taishakuten wondered if the rumor was related to that curious event. Perhaps the story of mental instability had been put about by dissatisfied courtiers who were not pleased with the king's fondness for his new pet. Perhaps they merely felt envious or neglected due to the way Ashura favored Fai, and the rumor was a petty form of complaint and revenge. If that were the case, they were brave men and women, foolishly so. Taishakuten would have had them put to death had they spread such vile tales about him. Ashura and his advisors were far too lenient.

It was likely, Taishakuten thought, that Vainamoinen and the other councilors had not informed their king of that particular fabrication and had attempted to squelch it on their own. They had not been completely successful in that endeavor, as Taishakuten's own knowledge of it attested, but the rumor was fragmented enough that its veracity was even more doubtful and unreliable than the usual breed of lies that circulated about the Royal House of Vanir.

It wasn't unusual for rumors to swirl around the royal family, but this year's crop was strangely pernicious. It seemed an odd state of affairs, especially in light of the country's flourishing prosperity. However, Taishakuten thought he could put the rumors to good use. His own show of disregard for them would provide a good example to the lesser nobility and gentry, and his excellent behavior was likely to be noticed by the king's advisors. Additional demonstrations of unwavering commitment and support to the royal house in the face of this minor but unpleasant adversity should also help to gain the king's favor.

Incrementally, Taishakuten's influence with the king would grow. It might take some time, but Taishakuten was patient and determined, and willing to constantly revise his long term plans as necessary to achieve the best results. He always got what he wanted, sooner or later.

A groom brought up Taishakuten's blood bay stallion, fully caparisoned and with his shining coat immaculately curried. Taishakuten vaulted into the saddle and rode to the head of his troop.

It was a miserable, wet ride out to meet the king's party. Halfway there, the dark clouds opened up and near drowned Taishakuten and his men in a raging downpour. This only lasted a few minutes before lightening back to mere rain. Ateas put a magical shield over the troop to protect them from the sky's deluge, but of course that didn't stop the mud and filthy water thrown up by the horses' hooves from bespattering the riders.

So much for making a grand impression, Taishakuten groused mentally.

He felt much better when the royal cortege came into view, and he realized that he had neglected to take into account that bad weather had no respect for rank and high station. A number of magicians rode with the king and shielded his party from the rain as Ateas did Taishakuten's men, but nothing, it seemed, could defeat the thick mud of the road. Most of the courtiers, servants, and soldiers were liberally splattered and, if not soaked, at least well dampened by the moist air.

It was petty of him, Taishakuten knew, to be pleased that the highest-bred nobility fared no better than he did in the summer rainstorm. He indulged himself in the pettiness, although he took pains to hide his satisfaction. It would do him no good in the eyes of the powerful inner circle he hoped to one day join in ruling the kingdom.

Taishakuten brought his troop to a halt. He started to signal them to dismount and kneel, when an imperious voice carried through the falling rain: "Wait."

Taishakuten frowned, and gestured to his men to stay on their horses.

The king himself rode forward, accompanied by two of his captains.

Even mud-stained and travel-worn, the king was arresting. Taishakuten was struck anew by the man's personal charisma, his dark good looks, and those strange, light brown eyes that appeared to glow when the light hit them at just the right angle.

He repressed a smile at his own foolishness and kept his expression neutral. Ashura's presence always affected him. He should be accustomed by now, but for some reason he was always dazzled briefly whenever he first encountered the king after a period of separation. He bowed his head and lowered his gaze respectfully, while his ever-active mind schemed.

As he had done many times before, he considered that there were many ways to gain power and influence, and some were quite pleasurable. If only King Ashura were so inclined. However, Taishakuten had never seen any indication that the king appreciated the more novel diversions available. Quite the opposite, in fact, to judge by the string of mistresses Ashura had taken over the years since his wife had died.

A pity, but Taishakuten was wise enough to leave well enough alone. He knew very well that his obsession with Ashura was dangerous. If it became known, it could easily derail his own ambitions, or even prove fatal. However frustrating he found the situation, he acknowledged that it was probably safest that Ashura was always so oblivious. And there were more conventional means to develop closer connections to Seresu's king.

He knew Ashura no longer dallied with Lady Eliina, and at present had no other mistress. The timing was a stroke of good luck. Two of Taishakuten's cousins were attractive young women of suitable age, and one was even in residence with his own court at Vasara. He would send for the other as soon as possible. Both were ambitious and quick-witted—excellent family traits. They would recognize the advantages of a royal liaison and be sure to exert themselves to catch the king's eye. Ashura, while indulgent to his mistresses, wasn't exactly famous for bestowing favors on their relatives, but such a dalliance would provide an unexceptional reason for Taishakuten to spend more time at Luval. He was the head of his family and expected to look out for their interests, after all. A brief smile ghosted across his handsome face.

"Your Majesty," he said formally when the king came close enough to hear him. He kept his head and gaze lowered. The rainfall increased again. Taishakuten was grateful that Ateas's shield still protected him from the rain.

"My lord," King Ashura replied. "In light of the inclement weather, I think we can dispense with the formalities until we are under a decent roof. We are all tired, and I, at least, would appreciate the opportunity to dry out."

"Of course, Your Majesty." Taishakuten lifted his head and really looked at the king. Despite being damp and mud spattered, Ashura didn't look like he objected all that much to the wet weather. His expression was as damnably serene as always, but something in his eyes hinted that he actually liked sitting on horseback in the pouring rain.

Luval Castle, Taishakuten recalled forcefully, was located in the Riphean Mountains of the north, far above the trees and always frozen, barren, and blanketed in snow. Rain and relative warmth were luxuries to be found only in the lowlands and the southern parts of the country. Even in the Southlands, the warmer weather only held for a bare handful of months, the brief growing season a pleasant respite from the harsh cold that gripped the land the rest of the year. But in Luval, winter never ended. That was the price of ultimate power in Seresu.

Taishakuten still wanted to join the country's ruling elite, even if it meant spending the better part of his life in eternal ice.