Chapter 40; Echoes of things to come, part 2

Characters of the chapter

Julius Argentus, Magister of the Tevinter Imperium, commander of the 1st expeditionary legion of Tevinter

Tiraen Tasvius, Magister of the Tevinter Imperium, ambassador to Meereen, commander of the 5th expeditionary legion of Tevinter, formerly apprentice to Magister Cato Argos

As soon as the meeting was over she went to make herself ready. With Selia once again left to look after her home, she was helped by two slaves Lavena had loaned her, as well as Naelyria. She was determined to give her very best effort to this, so it took most of the day. She was truly relieved this had been a quiet campaign on land. A disruption of a sudden attack would certainly be unwelcome now. Though for once if something did happen no one expected her or Julius to do any fighting. It would be handled by others, preferably as far away from their encampment as reasonably possible. War was war, but within its limitations everyone was doing what they could to ensure this special moment would not be spoiled by anything.

To tell the truth she had never pictured herself getting married in a military encampment. Her ideal wedding would have occurred in the countryside manor her family had outside Minrathous. The ceremony would have taken place in the garden grounds, provided the weather allowed it, amongst bright, lively flowers and green grass. But life was funny that way, like sailing in a thick mist. You steered yourself as best you could see, but rare was the opportunity to truly decide one's course. And now and then you found yourself in places you did not at all anticipate ending up in.

Then again, in some ways marriage here would probably be better. Back home ceremonies like this were always laden with nobility playing their games of power. Incriminating gossip, veiled insults, political maneuverings, all the bullshit the pretentious powerful hid behind smiles and politeness. At the most extreme levels it could devolve into duels and assassination attempts, and the best you could hope for was that you were not the target. She had even heard of a handful of cases of all out assaults to wipe out a rival family taking place at such public gatherings.

Many of Tevinter's nobility enjoyed such intrigue, lived for it. But she had come to see how it distracted everyone from what truly mattered, how selfish the players were, placing their own petty interests before the needs of the Imperium. Petty interests that amounted to nothing, since the game went on anyway while their nation withered. In the end that life was one of a parasite, lived without conscience or basic decency. She had no more stomach for it. At least here she would be married before honest folk that had journeyed to this faraway land to truly attend to the restoration of their homeland instead of just paying lip service to the notion.

She was now ready, wearing a wedding dress of the purest white, even more so than her usual choice in clothing. Spells like those in her typical clothes protected this one as well, ensuring no dust or dirt could sully it. Pearls and silver weaves would make the dress shine and sparkle as it caught the light. Her hair had been done in elaborate braids, covered by a hair net studded with crystals enchanted to glow in every color one could imagine. A translucent veil of the finest silk covered her face. She had been thoroughly cleaned, scented oil dabbed on her skin. Makeup had been applied with great care, to emphasize her features in just the right ways. The goal had been to project an image of beauty and wealth without sacrificing good taste. As she examined herself in the mirror, she had to say she was more than pleased with the results.

As she stepped outside the final touch was applied in the form of a heavy cape draped across her shoulders. It was long enough that six handpicked soldiers were required to help her carry it. Naelyria, already dressed for the occasion, went on her way. Tiraen took a moment to inspect each of the soldiers in case there were Faceless Men (damn the safety measures, but she could not neglect them even at such a time). After that their procession departed for the site of the ceremony, outside the encampment.

In typical Tevinter wedding it was tradition for the father or another close male relative to give away the bride. But there were none here she considered suitable, so she would be making this walk on her own. Cato would have been the closest thing for such a relative, but he of course was not here. But no matter. She had long since gotten used to doing things independently. She could give herself away just fine. And she would gladly confront any who questioned that or thought less of her for it. Still, she did wish her father could have been here to give her away. She wished her parents could have been here to see this. How proud they would have been.

Outside the wooden walls of the encampment there was a flat plain of low grass. Several infantry regiments of the legions had been called there in full parade armor, all cleaned and polished for the occasion. They waited in perfectly ordered ranks, an aisle left in the middle for her to walk down. There was complete silence, aside from the soft winds and the sounds of her footsteps and those accompanying her.

At this time of the year there had been frequent rains, the air often humid, as opposed to the oppressive dryness of the summer seasons. Particularly this close to the ocean. But today the skies were clear, not even a single cloud to be seen. Now at sundown there was still a pleasant warmth lingering in the air, the setting sun painting the skies on potent colors of red. All in all, in terms of weather for her wedding, everything she could have asked for. A rather auspicious sign she thought. Perhaps the Elder One was watching over the occasion, though she was uncertain if weathers of the world were his domain as of yet.

The walk was a long one, adding to the dignity of the event. At its end she approached a wooden platform. Julius was waiting there, in a ceremonial robe of such a deep blue it was almost black, runic patterns made in gold lining the edges of his sleeves and collar. He was clean shaved, his hair neatly combed. At first glance it was clear that he had put as much effort into this as she had. Such a handsome sight she was drinking him with her eyes the moment she gazed upon him. And from the look of him he was struck speechless in awe by the mere sight of her. Given how much time the two of them had already spent together she would have thought that quite impossible, but there it was. Guess she had done good work in her preparations. His rather intense gaze was enough to make her blush. Thankfully the veil she was wearing hid that from view.

Naelyria and the other dignitaries of their army were in place, lining the edges of the platform in their finery. In the corner of her eye she spotted Pet as well. Just like the other soldiers he was here primarily here for ceremonial purposes, though if any assassins showed their face they would have a hell of an obstacle on their way.

Also present was a priest of the Imperial Chantry. Of course the Maker was not a god either of them believed in any longer. But given their army contained plenty of non-Venatori, they were stuck with this one for the sake of appearances. Besides, the Elder One was not really that kind of God. He had no formal priesthood and no ceremonies to his name aside from a few prayers. And those prayers were to show loyalty and respect rather than ask for things. When the Elder One would return to the world he would be a hands on kind of god who would handle issues in person. Very little need to invoke him for rituals like this. This priest would suffice for their purposes. He could declare them married in the name of any god he liked, she and Julius both knew the true one that had united them. Briefly her thoughts turned to the pendant containing the small piece of red lyrium, even now kept hidden under her clothes. The mark of her true allegiance.

She climbed the stairs, stopping before Julius and making a curtsey. He returned the gesture with a nod. Then they both did a curtsey and a bow respectively to the priest. The priest nodded, waited for a moment, and began the ceremony:

"My Lord, My Lady. Honored guests. Citizens of the Empire and friends of our beloved nation. Welcome. Today we are gathered here, under the eyes of the Maker, for the sacred rite of marriage, to join these two souls together for eternity." He said.

"Tiraen of House Tasvius. Do you this day, in the eyes of the Maker, consent to take this man, Julius Argentus, to be your husband, to cherish and stand beside always, in sickness and in health, in peace and war, from this day to the end of your days?" The priest asked of her.

She gave Julius a meaningful look. "I do."

The priest nodded and turned to Julius. "Julius of House Argentus. Do you this day, in the eyes of the Maker, consent to take this woman, Tiraen Tasvius, to be your wife, to cherish and stand beside always, in sickness and in health, in peace and war, from this day to the end of your days?"

"I do." Julius said, all smiles.

"Then may you exchange the tokens of your union, and seal the bond between you." The priest said. He motioned for a pair of slaves bearing two small boxes. From those boxes she and Julius took the rings they had chosen for each other, placing them on their fingers. Then they went for the final touch. They joined hands and began focusing their mana together. They poured as much power as they could into their joint spell as they could, then fired it towards the sky. It was a tradition to do this when those getting married were both mage. The more potent and impressive display of magic they could release jointly at this moment, the better the omens for their married life.

The bolt of blue energy travelled higher and higher until it exploded in a bright flash followed by a sizeable shower of sparks that lingered for several moments before fading away. It was still too early for stars to be out, but with their magical display they created stars of their own in that moment. She could tell the onlooker were more than a little impressed. A most auspicious portent then. A predictable outcome though, with two mages of their strength combining their powers. She supposed that was the point, at least on some level. A test of their strength and thus the potential strength of those who would follow in their bloodline. The addition of the more romantic idea of omens had probably been attached to the ritual to avoid making it seem too clinical. But no matter. She did not mind the more practical implications. Quite the contrary. Let the whole world know that any offspring of theirs would be tremendously potent in the arcane.

With the spectacle fading away the priest nodded with satisfaction, then spread his arms wide. "It is done. I hereby declare you husband and wife, you houses united through you. May honor come to your descendants. In the name of the Make, may it be so." He said.

"You may now kiss the bride." He told Julius.

Reverently Julius lifted her veil, admired her face for several long seconds, then moved to kiss her. At this moment there was something electrifying about that kiss, easily the best she had ever received. As their lips parted they became aware of the cheers around them. The soldiers had broken their silence and were now loudly celebrating this union. The two of the smiled, turned, and waved at the troops, like they were some sort of royalty. And indeed today of all days, she did feel like a Queen.

The ceremony was followed by a feast. While preparing for the wedding they had spent a great deal of effort on this part, only constrained by realities of their encamped circumstances and supply complications caused by enemy activities. Still, they had managed to arrange quite a collection of expensive, high quality foods and drinks to be enjoyed, many of them dishes that brought them memories of home. For their troops they had reserved somewhat cheaper foods and alcohol, but there was plenty of it and doubtless it was well above what they ate day to day. Even here some security measures were taken. Food and drink for the feast was being kept under guard from their stores to the kitchens and all the way to their plates, with a number of food tasters completing the layer of safeguards. It was regrettable that such measures were necessary, but she wasn`t bothered by them overmuch. Such would have been in place even in ceremonies of the nobility back home.

The evening of celebration was one of the best times in her life. The night after they retired was even better than that. The following few days were thankfully uneventful, the army, moving during the day and camping again for the night. Those days flowed by in a happy bliss, enjoying her marriage to the fullest.

It would not be until three days later that the message would reach her. It had arrived much earlier than that, but the messenger had been given instructions not to deliver it until a decent amount of time had passed. Cato had enough decorum to not let news like this interfere with the wedding. And given that his first words were to offer an apology, it was likely he had not approved of this. More than likely he had opposed the notion altogether, but had been overruled by the others in the Red Council. Sadly while he was often recognized as the leader of the Red Council in Essos, it was not within his authority to countermand a decision supported by the majority. She was glad her one time mentor had not betrayed her by this action, but it was a cold comfort considering the contents of the letter.

Julius found her alone in the command tent, seated at the table, face buried in her hands, the crumpled letter in front of her.

"Tiraen? What's the matter?" He asked, taken aback by her sudden shift in mood. Not an hour before she had been so happy…

"There were new orders from the Red Council. For me." She said, sounding extremely exhausted.

"Apparently with the death of her parents the Council is concerned of Naelyria's claim not being strong enough to achieve stability in Westeros once it has been conquered. So to prevent trouble they've cooked up a plant to help ensure tight control of that continent when the time comes." She explained.

"What are they planning to do?" Julius asked.

"They…it's…" She tried, then gave up.

"…It's best if you read the letter. See for yourself." She told him.

Julius took the letter, examining it. Then he lowered the piece of paper, his expression horrified. "This… this can't be right!"

"It is. Believe me, I read it often enough to be sure." She replied.

"I do wonder if there is more to this than what the Council is telling us? If there is some ulterior motive in addition to what they claim. Did I spook someone maybe? Have my recent successes made someone feel threatened, so they arranged something like this to quietly get rid of me?" She wondered dryly. "If so they are bloody idiots. My own advancement comes second to serving the Imperium. I have no interest in threatening them unless they betray that purpose."

"Bah! It's useless to cast around blame. There is no proof of any kind of foul play. And it would change nothing if there was. It is what it is. We'll have to live with it." She then decided.

"No, I won't accept that." Julius said. "We have to do something. We have to fight this! I'll write to Cato at once, insist that he find some way to…"

"Don't." She interrupted, firmly but softly. "No good will come of that. If Cato could have stopped this I'm sure he would have. The two of us wouldn't fare any better. They have made their decision. It's not your place or mine to question those rulings."

"We have to at least try! Or if we can't talk sense into them then we should just leave and let them find someone else to do their dirty work. There has to be some safe place we could go to. We'd find it, I'm sure." He insisted.

Julius's suggestion was actually rather tempting right now. As a result she wrangled with herself for quite a while. "I… I can't. I can't do that. I just… can't. I've been one of the Venatori for years. Their cause is mine. I don't have it in me to just walk away from that. Not even over this, I'm sorry." She finally said.

"You can't mean to say you want this! Tiraen, please, you can't let them do this toy you!" He pleaded.

"Oh, this is the last thing I want. Trust me on that." She replied, starting to become teary eyed. "It's so unfair. Just when we are married, when I have everything I want for myself, they just have to come in and tear it all apart like this."

"But… this is my duty. If there is a chance this will help us hold Westeros…" She continued.

"You don't know that it will." He countered.

"No. I do not. Just like you don't know that it won't. But there is a chance it will." She said.

She stood up, trying to adopt the most firm look she could manage. She was not entirely successful. "I have made my decision. I'm going to do my duty, as I always have done. So please, don't make this worse by trying to interfere."

"Damn it, Tiraen! Damn you! I can't believe you'd let them just…" Julius said, pacing the tent, throwing his hands in the air in frustration. Then he gave out a long, defeated sigh, his shoulders slumping.

"How long… how long until they are ready to do this?" He asked quietly.

"…Quite a long time I should think. This is all very hypothetical right now. No one has ever attempted anything like this. It will take a lot more research to sort out the details, and gather all that will be needed. And before they can proceed they need the Dragon Queen in our grasp. Nothing can happen until that has been achieved. And that seems to be a long ways off still. We'll have time." She said, equally as softly.

"Maybe there is still a chance this won't happen. They might discover this is undoable when put into practice. Or the Dragon Queen could get killed or she might evade capture." He said.

"There is a chance for that. But Julius, it might not be wise to get your hopes up." She said.

"I know. But I don't think I can help myself." He said.

Tiraen turned her eyes to the ground, looking ashamed. "I'm so sorry my love. Sorry to put you through this. I didn't want this to happen to you. To marry me, only to lose me like this."

"I'm not going to lose anything. Nothing is going to change." He said.

She blinked. "Julius, what do you mean? Everything is going to change! Once is done I'll…"

"Nothing is going to change." He insisted, stepping closer and taking gentle hold of her shoulders. "You will still be my wife afterwards, and I will still love you. This won't change that."

"You mean… even after… it would not bother you?" She asked uncertainly.

"Well… it will take quite a bit of getting used to. But for you it would be worth it. I'm not going to abandon you. I promise that." He said.

Because of Julius's pledge she was almost too moved to respond. "Thank you… thank you so much!" She finally managed.

"Hold me." She said, and the two hugged each other tightly.