Unicorn Saga - The Unicorn Peace Part 4

Tokamo was halted by a knock at the door.

"All right if I come in?" Darius of Gwyndryth in- quired. "There was n.o.body to announce me."

"By all means, my lord. Be welcome," Jarrod said, rising. Tokamo followed suit.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Darius said as he advanced,

26 t JOHN LEE

"No, no. Tokamo and I were just discussing this morning's Commission meeting."

"Ah, just what I came to do."

Tokamo fetched another chair. "Wine or ale?" he asked.

"Wine, please."

"What have you heard about this morning's to-do?"

Jarrod asked when they were all seated.

"That Isphardel was a burr under the saddle and that you made your own grab for land."

Jarrod smiled and leaned back. He contemplated the Holdmaster. The man had aged well. His hair had been white when Jarrod first met him some twenty years ago.

He had seemed an old man then, recovering as he was from the terrible wounds he had suffered fighting for the Empire against the Outlanders. He looked better now than he had then. His age had caught up with the color of his hair, but, from Jarrod's vantage point in his mid-thirties, the Holdmaster no longer seemed all

that old to him.

"I must admit," he said, "that I had not expected such precipitate opposition from the Oligarch, though I knew that Isphardel would never agree to the plan."

Darius smiled in his turn. "She's a formidable woman," he agreed. "And I must admit that I like and admire her. Mind you," he added with sly humor, "I am known to be partial to strong women. My old friend Phalastra, I hear, does not share my tastes."

"I think that her suggestion that Umbria cede its sea- coast upset him," Jarrod said judiciously.

"I know," Darius said, suppressing glee. "Otorin told me. I love the old boy dearly, but I wish I'd been there

to see the look on his face."

"He would have disappointed you," Jarrod said. "He got a little red, but his demeanor was impeccable."

"He hasn't survived as Varodias' chief councillor all

THE UNICORN PEACE t 27

these years without learning how to hide his feelings,"

Darius concurred. "He's a remarkable man. I only hope that I'm as spry and as lucid when 1 get to be his age.

Still, he does what the Emperor tells him to and the consequences of this particular move could be grave."

He nodded his head for emphasis and took a drink.

"The solution is simple," Jarrod said.

"Ah, yes. Your international territory. It's a magnif- icent concept, but I'm afraid it's quite unworkable. The Queen is willing to go along with your idea of an en- clave for the Discipline but she's unalterably opposed to the international scheme. Varodias will never agree and Otorin a.s.sured me that Arabella has no interest in it. None of the other powers has the capability to en- force it, except perhaps the Discipline, but the Disci- pline, unfortunately, is perceived as being in decline these days." The words were said gently, but they caused both Magicians to sit up.

"Indeed, my lord?" Jarrod's tone was politely quiz- zical, but there was no mistaking the iron beneath it.

He's certainly grown up, Darius thought. He's a proper Mage of the Discipline and no mistake. "Sim- mer down, my friend," he said easily. "I'm not attack- ing the Discipline, I'm just reporting what is generally thought."

"Have people such a short memory that they have forgotten that it was the Discipline that freed them from the Outlanders?" Tokamo asked with a touch ofbellig- erence.

Jarrod gestured with one hand to quiet him. "Are you sure that you are reporting accurately?" he asked in his turn.

"When was the last time someone tried to touch your robe?" Darius countered.

Jarrod froze and then relaxed. "I take your point,"

28 he said, "and Tokamo tells me that we are having prob- lems collecting the t.i.the."

"There you are then. The main problem remains, however. We must have an equitable part.i.tion and we must have it soon." Darius sat forward, intent on con- vincing. "We have had a goodly taste of peace and most of our citizens have prospered. Trade, the arts, archi- tecture have all blossomed, but there is still a core of discontent. Young men feel that they lack a challenge, that the excitement has gone from life. Discontent can lead to rebellion and rebellion can lead to war. We can- not have that again."

"If you'll forgive my saying so," Tokamo interjected, "while I agree wholeheartedly with your sentiments, I find it somewhat strange to hear them coming from someone who has the reputation of being the greatest warrior of his age."

Darius turned to look at him. "Young man," he said, "old soldiers are the best amba.s.sadors of peace. They have seen the horrors of war at first hand. My body will bear its scars to the grave. I would not see the same marks upon my grandson,"

Tokamo retreated in his chair, abashed by the Hold- master's sincerity.

"We are far from war, I think," Jarrod put in. "The Isphardi government's weapons are economic, not mar- tial." He paused and c.o.c.ked his head slightly. "But you know all this as well as I. I think you had another rea- son for seeking me out today."

Darius relaxed a trifle, produced a smile and then sipped at his wine. "Well, I certainly wanted to enlist your support for a part.i.tion, but I must confess that, for myself, I wanted to inquire after Joscelyn."

Jarrod laughed. "Short of the tides, there is no force on Strand to equal the love of a grandfather for his only grandson. Yours continues to do well. He'll be going to

THE UNICORN PEACE t 29

the Collegium in a month for the start of the summer term."

Darius shook his head. "1 still haven't quite adjusted to having a Magician in the family. Oh, I know that Marianna talked with the unicorn, but then, on that one extraordinary occasion at Bandor, so did I. That's not the same somehow. Marianna was chosen to look for the unicorns precisely because she was Untalented.

No one in the family has ever been Talented."

"Then it must come through the father," Tokamo said- "The boy is strongly gifted."

"The Trellawns have been our va.s.sals for twelve gen- erations and there was never a Magician among them."

Darius said. "As for my former son-in-law, his major a.s.set is his looks."

Tokamo was discreetly silent. Marianna of Gwyn- dryth's sudden marriage and swift divorce had been a much-discussed scandal in their time.

"The Talent crops up unexpectedly," Jarrod said soothingly. "My own family is a case in point. I must admit, though, that I was surprised when I heard that young Joscelyn had crossed the Great Maze."

, He remembered Marianna bringing the boy to him seven years ago. He had been tall for his age, but not outstandingly so. He had his mother's red-gold hair and pale skin, but his eyes were as blue as hers were green.

He was fourteen now and had grown considerably. He lacked the physical awkwardness ofmosE boys that age, but his voice was in the process of breaking, much to his embarra.s.sment. He blushed easily.