BY SCHISM RENT ASUNDER – snippet 121:
It had not, Prince Nahrmahn reflected as he gazed out of the window of his family's sumptuous suite at the clouds welling up above the Styvyn Mountains to the west, lit with the crimson and gold fire of sunset, been the sort of day he'd once looked forward to spending in Tellesberg. In one way, it was a great relief. He'd come out of the conflict with a crown still on his head, even if its authority had been rather severely diminished, and with a close familial relationship with what bade fair to become one of the most — if not the most — powerful dynasties in the history of Safehold. On the other hand, it was probably at least as likely that the dynasty in question, to which his and his family's fortune was now inescapably tied, would find itself exterminated by a vengeful Church. And, he acknowledged to himself, there was also that other minor bit about who he'd expected to be swearing fealty to whom.
"I think I rather like them, actually," a voice said from behind him, and he turned from the window to face Ohlyvya.
"I presume you're referring to our new sovereign lord and lady?" he said, with a slightly crooked smile, and she snorted.
"Actually, I was referring to the second and third under cooks!" she said, and he laughed.
"I never really disliked Cayleb or his father, my dear. They were adversaries, and I'll admit — if only to you — that I found their persistence in surviving everything Hektor or I attempted rather trying, upon occasion. But it was never personal for me the way it was for Hektor. Although, to be totally fair," his smile faded slightly, "given my involvement in efforts to eliminate both of them, I'm astonished that Cayleb appears to cherish so little animosity."
"I don't think either of them do 'cherish' much animosity," she said seriously.
One of Nahrmahn's eyebrows rose, but he only waited for her to complete her thought. Ohlyvya Baytz was a very intelligent woman. More than that, she was the one person in the entire world Nahrmahn trusted without any reservation. Like Cayleb's and Sharleyan;s, theirs had been an arranged marriage of state, but it had become far more than that over the years, and Nahrmahn had often wished it had been possible to name Ohlyvya to his official Royal Council. That, unfortunately, had been out of the question, but that hadn't prevented him from listening very carefully to her on the infrequent occasions when she'd offered an opinion.
And, he thought, now that we have an Empress who's also a queen in her own right, naming a woman to a mere prince's council probably just got a lot more possible, didn't it?
"I'm not saying either of them exactly loves you yet, dear," she continued now, with a ghost of the smile, and reached up to lay one hand against his cheek. "I'm sure that once they get to know all the sterling qualities hiding under that shy and modest exterior of yours they'll come to love you, but in the meantime, there are those minor matters of assassination attempts and wars."
"Assassination attempts?" Nahrmahn did his very best to look totally innocent . . . with a notable lack of success.
"Oh, don't be silly, Nahrmahn!" Ohlyvya scolded. "Despite your best efforts to 'protect me' from the sordid realities, I have heard all the rumors about that assassination attempt on Cayleb, you know. And, even though I love you as both my husband and the father of my children, I've never cherished any illusions about the seriousness with which you played 'the great game,' I think you've called it."
This time Nahrmahn's eyes widened in genuine surprise. Ohlyvya had seldom expressed herself quite so bluntly. And she was right about at least one thing. He truly had attempted to shield her from the frequently distasteful and unpleasant decisions he'd found himself compelled to make as a player of the game.
Let's be honest with ourselves here, Nahrmahn, he told himself. Yes, you were 'compelled' to make some of those decisions, but the real reason you played the game was because you enjoyed it so much. Unfortunately, you didn't end up winning it . . . although I suppose I could also argue that I haven't exactly lost it yet, either.
Something of his thoughts must have shown in his expression, because his wife shook her head.
"I'm not complaining, Nahrmahn. There have been times I've been tempted to complain, that's true. In fact, there have been more than a few times when I wanted to kick you smartly in the posterior. On the whole, though, I've been able to tell myself — honestly, I think — that most of the things you've done, including the ones that have caused me the greatest concern for the state of your soul, came about as a result of the situations you faced. Conflict between Emerald and Charis, for example, was probably inevitable, whatever you wanted, just because of geography.
"But," she continued very seriously, looking into his eyes so that he could see the truth in hers, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't rather relieved at the way it finally worked out. I know our parents never expected it, Nahrmahn, but I truly do love you, you know. And I love our children. Knowing Cayleb isn't going to be looking for your head, or seeing the boys as a threat that needs to be . . . dealt with takes an enormous weight off of my mind and heart."
Nahrmahn raised his left hand, cupping its palm over the hand still on his cheek. His right hand reached out to settle on the back of her neck and draw her forward as he leaned to meet her until their foreheads touched. It wasn't often she expressed her feelings for him that clearly, and he closed his eyes for a moment while he savored it.
"It doesn't end here, you know," he told her then, his voice low. "Cayleb was right when he told Trahvys this is only the beginning. By siding with Cayleb, I've sided against the Temple, and Clyntahn's a far more vindictive enemy than Cayleb could ever be. Not to mention the fact that the Church controls many times the resources, wealth, and manpower Cayleb does, even with Chisholm added to this new 'empire' of his."
"Clyntahn is a bigoted, fornicating, self-serving, glutinous, wine-swilling, sanctimonious pig with delusions of godhood and a self-righteous sense of zealotry," Ohlyvya said flatly, with a venom Nahrmahn had never heard from her before.
He blinked in surprise at hearing it now and drew back far enough to look into her eyes once more. She looked back without flinching, and he saw a fire burning behind them. One he'd never suspected might be there . . . which was an oversight he for which would find it hard to forgive himself.
"I'm not exactly blind, you know, dear," she told him tartly. "But my point at the moment is that someone like Clyntahn would have a hard enough time standing up to Cayleb and Sharleyan by themselves. With you added to the mix, that pig in Zion is as overmatched as I'd be trying to arm wrestle that Captain Athrawes of Cayleb's!"
Despite himself, Nahrmahn smiled. She glared at him for a moment, and then she chuckled and leaned forward, resting her cheek against his chest.
"I know you've never thought of yourself as the very image of the dashing warrior prince, love," she said. "Well, neither have I. But I've always thought of you as something rather more important than that — someone who looks at the future and his own responsibilities without flinching and without deluding himself. And, while I'd never want you to get a swelled head over it, you're also one of the smartest man I know."
"If I'm so smart, then why did I just end up swearing fealty to Cayleb, instead of the other way around?" he asked in a half-jesting tone.
"I didn't say you were infallible, dear; just smart. Besides, to use that charming idiom your son has picked up from those dreadful novels of his, you can only play the cards you're dealt. I believe someone's just offered you an entirely new deck, though. And from what I've seen of you this time around, I don't think you're even tempted to try dealing off the bottom."
"Not anymore," he acknowledged, then shook his head, half in wry amusement and half in bemused disbelief. "Even if I were tempted — which, to my own considerable surprise, I'm not — it would be incredibly stupid of me. There aren't any bridges back to Zion now, love, and there's no way I could possibly take over and maintain the core of opposition to the Temple which Cayleb's been able to put together. Trying to betray him at this point would be like deciding to cut the throat of your best helmsman in the middle of a hurricane. And I'm very much afraid," his smile was tart enough to sour milk, "that this voyage is going to be long enough that I'll be completely out of practice before things ever get stabilized enough for me to contemplate any sort of treachery."
"Good." She nestled more firmly against him. "Good," she repeated.
"Do you know," he said softly, bending to kiss the part of her hair,"I believe I agree with you."
Well, this was a nice scene. So, what’s going to come along and muck things up for everyone?
Oh, that’s easy enough – the news of the blockade will do a great job of mucking it all up.
This last would confirm that Nahrmahn will be a straight shooter going forward, especially with Ohlyvya’s insights and attitudes helping him.
TOR gives 512 pages for book. With 20 or so pages for appendices, we’re almost at 80% now (above is pg 384 according to amazon.com). Still lots can happen, but not likely that we’ll get to Corisande in this book.
I’d like to think I’ll start reading from the beginning when I purchase the book in… 10 more days? I doubt I’ll have the willpower, though.
I speculated on the Bar that a battle against Corisande would be the climax of this book. Unfortunatly, David Weber shot down that idea. [Frown]
Oh, the idea that “Nahrmahn will be a straight shooter going forward”, IMO he’ll only be a straight shooter in regards to Cayleb and Sharleyan. He will not be a ‘straight shooter’ in regards to the Gof4 and Hektor. [Wink]
I’m sure Merlin has had remote sensors covering Nahrman like a coat of paint. This will make it harder to frame Nahrmahn for some kind of treasonous act, an obvious ploy for the true believers. The church will soon realize that they must break up the alliance befoe it gains enough credibility to bring someone like Siddemark on board or they are sunk. I think I will be able to read the book from the front, but it will be tempting to skip to page X!
You know, this does not bode very well for the group of 4. Nahrman is now the second ranking noble in the kingdom so he will become aware of Senjin Merlins fantastic visions and abilities, if not necessarily the total truth about them… I do blieve when he becomes aware of them, he will come to realize…. well he will be like a kid in a candy store… DW is having way too much fun…
Have a great weekend everybody!!! :-)
Ok. Now that Cayleb has both Bonny Queen Sharley and Charmin’ Nahrmahn firmly on board, one needs to look for the worm in the apple (sorry about the mixed metaphor). My money is still on Sharleyans’ uncle….
Regarding Nahrmahn’s not being a ‘straight shooter’ in regards to the Gof4 and Hektor–that’s a major factor in why Cayleb (with Merlin’s nudging?) decided to bring Emerald into the Empire with Nahrmahn still in control. Nahrmahn’s INTACT intelligence service will now be working on Charis’s behalf, and that will reduce the strain on Owl and the SNARCs as well as providing real-time followup ability.
Lack of HUMINT has always been a major limitation for Merlin–a SNARC can’t “notice” something and decide on the spot to follow up on it, which means a lot of clues get missed or are no longer useful by the time the information is correlated. Think of the effect on the massacre a couple chapters back (can’t remember the name of the port), if an agent-in-place had gotten a hint that the mass detention was planned and the Charisian merchant galleons had gotten enough warning to warp away from dockside (or even pull in their gangplanks) before the soldiers showed up.
Yep… agree with Maggie. A coup in Chisholm would make for a dramatic struggle at the end of the book.
We also have the after effects of the assasination attempt on Hektor. OWL could easily have missed the conversation that he was having with his military commander about their cannon upgrades just before that as well.
I will probably jump to page x to satisfy my couriosity and then re-read the whole book at my leasure. Or at least those parts that I really liked like the revelation of the brotherhood.
With Ohlyvya’s comments on Clyntahn, I’m compelled to wonder if there isn’t another monastery like the “Brotherhood of Saint Zhernau” in Emerald…one that takes in women.
Would not surprise me.
As far as Nahrman’s humint network, I don’t think Emerald will be seen as a viable means of attacking the Empire, though in a sort of offhand fashion, killing Emerald’s Prince would cause some havoc, the opportunity for schism in the Empire is going to be short lived, maybe 1-3 generations. Given the enthusiasm of the general populous, that opportunity will be even shorter. However, we could get a new version of Ireland in parts of Charis/Emerald/Chisholm, where holdouts to the Old Church can spark civil wars for generations to come. Frankly, the way this book is working out, there will likely be some sort of organized rebellion by Loyalists at some point. Emerald is a bit of a wild card atm since its populations haven’t been detailed like Charis’ yet. Still, the good guys usually always win.
I highly doubt Merlin missed the conversation about the cannons. One of the words OWL was ordered to watch for dealt with assasination. So he would have picked up on that. Merlin could then review that SNARC’s info to see full ramifications
Ok, I’m still trying to figure out if this book is going to be available in ebook??
If not,, then I think I’m done doing business with TOR. They screwed up with the ebook pricing for Armageddon’s Reef, and if they aren’t continuing the series release in the same formats,, why should customers bother?
Robert, there is still hope for a deal to offer TOR Ebooks via webscriptions. We know that Baen, TOR and TOR’s owners were discussing it and this is a case of “no news is good news” since Toni (of Baen) would/could have said something if the discussions had completely broken down.
Oh by the way, TOR has been offering free Ebooks. For more info, visit http://www.myspace.com/tordotcom
I dislike TOR’s insistance on one ebook format. I have all the rest of my books in RTF so I can read them 2 pages at a time on my laptop, but mobi only displays one page. will there be the option to buy in rtf still? or perhaps PDF?