Life here on Acorus is still most fragile, despite outward appearances. We must be most careful. That was one reason why we did not wish to send a full Myrmidon company or even a full squad to Dramur."

"I had wondered," Dainyl said politely.

"As you have doubtless seen, over the past year, the life-force mass here is slow to respond, and that is something that we have had some difficulty conveying to the high alec-tors who serve the Archon in Ifryn. Using the Tables for messages is most difficult, because recorders at each Table must hold the link open simultaneously, then read and write down what appears."

That was something Dainyl did not know.

"The only alternative is to send a courier, and that tends to be hard on the couriers." After a moment, Zelyert went on. "We have tried to point out the fragility of the life structure on Acorus, and how we are caught between two difficult alternatives. Because of the rapidly deteriorating conditions on Ifryn, the Archon and the Duarchs have directed the high alectors here on Acorus to manage the life-force growth for maximum gain. This requires strict controls on the landers and indigens. They resent it, and there are uprisings and disobedience. The ensuing violence and the greater use of pteridons and skylances reduces growth as well. You saw this in Dramur. The recent events in Catyr and Coren are other examples.

If we are less strict, then we do not face so many uprisings, but lifeforce growth is slower, and that is not acceptable to the Archon and the Duarchs." Zelyert offered a sigh. "This problem is also why we have permitted so few alector births. Oh, I understand that you and the most honorable Lystrana will be expecting a child?"

"Yes, we are," replied Dainyl. "We are most grateful.""As you should be, but I can think of no couple who more deserves a child." Another smile crossed the face of the Highest. "In addition, Marshal Shastylt and I have decided that you are worthy of being not only submarshal, but designated, unofficially, of course, as the next Marshal of Myrmidons."

"That is quite an honor and responsibility," Dainyl replied.

"After you brief the Duarch of Elcien-and that may be a good week or so, if not longer, for he has a crowded schedule, I also have a small task for you. I would like you to travel to Alustre-by Table, of course-and consult with Submarshal Alcyna. I would like you to find out if she knows more about the disappearances of the pteridons near Scien than we have heard.

You are, I believe, far better suited to such a task than anyone else."

Dainyl nodded. "By then, I will be more conversant with what occurred in my absence."

"I am most certain you will." Zelyert stood. "I congratulate you on your handling of a most delicate situation, and, of course, upon your child. I am confident that we can continue to rely upon your judgment and discretion, and that you will provide an instructive briefing to the Duarch on the events that transpired in Dramur."

Dainyl stood, more slowly, and inclined his head. "I hope that I will prove adept in conveying to the Duarch not only our successes in Dramur, but also the difficulties of relying upon landers and indigens to build lifeforce when resources for supervision are as limited as they have been."

"You do that, Submarshal," replied Zelyert, "and you will have our gratitude. I fear he has heard that too often from us. He needs to hear it from one who has just returned from the field. As for the matter of the pteridons and the ancients... I would suggest that you also note that we are working to develop a contingency plan, should it appear necessary, but that the details have not all been worked out."

Dainyl nodded again. "I can see the wisdom in that."

"I thought you would. Give my best to Lystrana, and do not strain yourself too much until you are more recovered."

Dainyl maintained a pleasant smile on his face until he was well awayfrom the Hall of Justice.

109.

Mykel had barely finished stabling the chestnut and hauling his gear to his room in the officers' quarters in the Cadmian headquarters compound in Elcien when he turned to find a senior squad leader standing at the door.

"Captain Mykel, sir?"

"Yes?"

"Colonel Herolt would like to see you, sir. At your earliest convenience."

Mykel set down his gear. He might as well see what the colonel wanted.

It had been a long day, already, after five days at sea, and a tedious unloading of all the mounts and men remaining from Third Battalion, although far shorter, unfortunately, than the loading out had been when they had left Elcien more than two seasons before.

"If you'd follow me, sir."

Mykel followed the senior squad leader across the courtyard and into the headquarters building, then to the door of the colonel's study, which had been left open.

"Captain Mykel, reporting as requested, sir."

Colonel Herolt, with his iron gray hair and black eyes, looked up. "Come in and close the door, Captain." He motioned for Mykel to seat himself.

"Captain-or should I say, Majer?-I have a report here from the Submarshal of Myrmidons, with an endorsement from the High Alector of Justice."

"Yes, sir?" Mykel allowed himself to look puzzled.

"Do you know the Submarshal of Myrmidons?"

"Submarshal Dainyl, sir? Yes, sir. He took command of all operations in Dramur, sir.""How well do you know him?"

"Not well at all, sir. I saw him preside over a court-martial, and I briefed him on Fifteenth Company operations-it couldn't have been more than three or four times. I could check on that, but that's what I recall. He was injured in the last battle in Dramur, and Fifteenth Company recovered him and provided cover."

"You and Majer Dohark most clearly impressed him." The colonel stared at Mykel.

Mykel met the colonel's eyes. After dealing with the submarshal, the colonel seemed far less intimidating.

"I don't like promoting junior officers too soon. I like being ordered to do so even less. On the other hand, both Majer Dohark's reports and the submarshal's indicate that your conduct and your accomplishments were all that stood between a successful revolt and the destruction of the entire battalion."

Mykel waited, sensing that it was best to say nothing.

"I can see a certain calmness and responsibility that was not there a half year ago. It might even be enough to get you through." Herolt sighed.

"You understand that, once Third Battalion is back to full strength and retraining is finished, you will be ordered to handle the most challenging and unpleasant assignments?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do you understand why?"

"Yes, sir. To prove that Third Battalion will receive no special favors or easy assignments, and that any officer who receives early promotion not only earned that promotion, but will have to continue to prove that it was earned."

"Majer... what do you intend to do with your senior squad leader?"

"Make him the battalion senior squad leader, with particular emphasis on training and retraining.""You would not recommend him as an undercaptain?"

"No, sir."

"Are there others who might be considered in the future?"

"Chyndylt, the third squad leader, would make a solid senior squad leader for Fifteenth Company. He might make a good undercaptain, but I'd want to see him with greater responsibility first."

A faint smile appeared on the colonel's face. He extended a small cloth pouch. "Here are your insignia, Majer. For all of our sakes, I wish you well.

You will have to continue in command of Fifteenth Company, as well, for several weeks, until we determine your captains or undercaptains."

"Yes, sir." Mykel took the pouch.

"Majer... I am curious about one thing."

"Sir?"

"Does a guano mine smell as bad as everyone says?"

Mykel laughed.

After a moment, so did the colonel.

110.

For all the towering halls of the Duarch's palace in Elcien, Dainyl was escorted into a comparatively small library, six yards wide and twelve in length. Oak shelves filled with volumes lined all the inside walls, while the outside wall held smaller sections of shelves set between the narrow floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the southern sunken garden.

The Duarch sat behind a desk piled high with books. Even seated, he was a towering presence, with shimmering black hair and deep violet eyes.

Talent radiated from him. As he caught sight of Dainyl, he smiled, but did not stand. When Dainyl bowed, he could feel a warmth issue from the older alector.

"Submarshal, I am pleased that you could come to brief me on what has happened in Dramur. Please sit down. Both the High Alector ofJustice and Marshal Shastylt have spoken in glowing terms about your success there."

"We did what was necessary, Most High." Dainyl took the chair toward which the Duarch had gestured.

"I trust that there was not too great a loss of lifeforce?"

"More than I would have liked," Dainyl admitted. "Over a thousand rebels, and half of the Third Cadmian Battalion."

"That is not good." The Duarch frowned. "Not good at all. We must be making all possible efforts to expand lifeforce so that we will be ready to host the Master Scepter. The Archon must choose Acorus. We have accomplished so very much under the most adverse of conditions, and for that, he must find us the worthy ones, as we are." A broad smile appeared, then vanished. "All is judged on lifeforce mass, yet today's measurement does not always reflect what it will be tomorrow or next year. Nor what a world will be or could be."

Dainyl kept his own expression pleasant and waited.

"The marshal tried to explain why there was a revolt, but I must confess that his explanation lacked a certain... co-hesiveness. There is enough food; there is enough shelter; and there seemed to be enough golds to satisfy the greedier of the landers. We had neither increased levies on the sel-tyrs nor imposed greater controls on them. Ingratitude, while universal, does not provoke rebellion." Another warm smile followed his words. "Could you make it clearer?"

"I will try." Sensing the more pointed feelings concealed by the smile, and the danger of being caught between the Duarch and the High Alector of Justice, Dainyl composed himself. "The landers and indigens are split into two areas, those east of the mountains and those to the west. The guano mine is on the east side of the mountains, and the golds that come from it go to those in the town and some of the eastern seltyrs. For reasons that remain unclear, all the seltyrs decided that they needed weapons-"

"Unclear to whom?"

"To me, Most High. I talked to a number of those close to the seltyrs, and all suggested that they believed that an unarmed seltyr is withouthonor. This is a belief that has existed for some time, but has never been reported. Why, I have not been able to discover."

"Go on."

The seltyrs used golds to persuade smugglers to bring them Cadmian rifles..."

"Who permitted that?" The Duarch's voice turned cold, and a perceptible chill filled the library.

Dainyl could sense a strong Talent force, as strong as that of the High Alector of Justice, if not stronger. "No one, as I understand it. They paid the smugglers to bribe an assistant engineer to divert weapons reported as flawed and scrapped. He was punished and executed, but not before the rifles and ammunition had been shipped to the seltyrs."

"Always the golds. The landers and indigens, they think of nothing but golds, nothing at all. The steers are worse than spoiled children. Acorus would have long since died without us, and they cannot see that. Pardon me, Submar-shal. Please continue." The sense of chill dispersed, although the Duarch did not smile.

Dainyl went on to describe what had happened, in plain terms, with the first attack by Seltyr Ubarjyr, then the sniping at the Cadmians and the uprising by the Jyohans.

"You did not impose discipline?"

"I was ordered to observe only, unless the Cadmians failed..." Dainyl went on to explain the increasingly erratic behavior of Majer Vaclyn as well as the lack of understanding by Majer Herryf. "... Once I assumed command, under the conditions laid down by the marshal, immediate discipline had to wait until the military situation was resolved, because the Cadmians were under attack by more than twenty companies of the seltyrs. Despite being vastly outnumbered, and with only two pteridons, we crushed the revolt. Once that was accomplished, we restructured the Cadmian command in Dramur so that the local commander will be able to control matters in a fashion that will not destroy any more lifeforce."

"That is right." The Duarch nodded, then looked at Dainyl. "Do you think that they truly believed that they could prevail? Against theMyrmidons?" An expression of calculation dominated the Duarch's face, especially the violet eyes that darkened. "You did not mention the lost pteridons."

"Both pteridons were lost. That is true. Two of the ancients appeared just as the pteridons attacked the last of the rebels."

"You did not wish to mention that?" The Duarch's pleasant smile dropped away, and Dainyl could sense a chill coldness.

"I admit that I did not," Dainyl admitted. "I had not realized that the ancients were present so far south, or that they were so powerful, and that was my oversight and failure." At the word "failure," Dainyl could sense the coldness projected by the Duarch vanish, and that mystified him.

The Duarch laughed, once, a sound that mixed rue and humor. "You are the first submarshal-or marshal-ever to enter this study and admit that he failed at something." After a moment of silence, he asked, "Are there other failures you might admit?"

"I am certain that there are aspects of what happened in Dramur that I could have handled better, Most High. Unfortunately. I don't have the range of knowledge that you and the High Alector of Justice have. So I doubt I could identify what those might be."

"You're sounding like Shastylt. Please don't. As for the failure to tell you about the ancients and pteridons, that is something that I will take up with the marshal directly."

Dainyl didn't like that at all.

"Oh... I won't mention you. We've lost too many suddenly, and you couldn't have had anything to do with that. Please continue."

Dainyl decided to risk more directness. "I still don't really know what sparked this revolt. We stopped it, and we've taken steps that I think will preclude it from happening again, but I could be mistaken."

"We all could. For all that, you have not told me everything, Submarshal."

"No, Most High. We would be here for days were I to do that. I will behappy to answer any questions you may have, now or in the future, or to provide more details about anything."

"At least you are more honest than many. What else should I know?"

"I would say that the revolt shows that we face a delicate balance between the need to keep from spending lifeforce and in maintaining order among the landers and indigens. They will easily squander lifeforce as though it meant nothing, because to them it means nothing. They think only of either amassing golds or controlling other landers and indigens. If we do not step in, as we did in Dramur, they could easily destroy more lifeforce than we did. Yet to keep them from doing worse, we also spend more lifeforce than we would prefer, especially with the transfer of the master scepter not that many years away. Yet we cannot explain the importance of lifeforce in a fashion that would mean anything to the landers and indigens, not without revealing our own needs and vulnerabilities."

The Duarch's face twisted, and Dainyl could sense... something... a conflict... but that vanished within a fraction of an instant.

"Yes, that has always been a difficulty, and yet, we must prepare for the transfer, whatever the cost, because if we do not receive the Master Scepter, our future will be in the hands of those on Efra, and they calculate even more than those who claim to serve me. You have told me what I need to know." There was a sense of sadness, followed by another smile and more warmth. "I understand that you and Lystrana are expecting a child."

"Yes, Most High." Dainyl wondered exactly what the Duarch had needed to know, but he wasn't about to ask. He was relieved to have gotten through the briefing.

"A wonderful thing. Wonderful. She will be old enough to behold the transfer of the Master Scepter." The sense of chill returned. "Do be careful in what you believe of Shastylt and Zelyert, Dainyl. They do not see everything, although they think they do. Be most careful." Another smile appeared, with the same warmth as earlier. "You may go. Thank you."

Dainyl stood and bowed. "I am at your command, Most High."

"So you are."Dainyl stepped toward the library door, and it opened. Two alector guards appeared, walking beside him, escorting him back to the entry foyer, with its high-arched dome, as they had escorted him from it. He felt like running, but he kept walking, flanked by the silent guards. The palace, for the first time in all the years he had been in it, felt confining, as though the walls would fall in upon him.

Ill Mykel stood at the edge of the warm-weather dining porch, in the light breeze that reminded him that spring in Faitel was far cooler than winter in Dramur. For a time, he looked at the still-fragile grape leaves, barely unfolded. The lower trunk and the outer canes had yet to leaf out. He let his eyes take in the ancient vine, not really seeing it, just feeling that it was alive, in a way that he had not felt before, not exactly. He was so motionless that a redbird alighted on the far end of the arbor, cocking its head in a perky fashion.

A faint halo of something surrounded the redbird, golden brown. Mykel blinked, and the halo vanished. Yet it had been there, and too real to have been his imagination.

"The grapes aren't out yet," said Olent, crossing the porch toward his son. "It was a wet and cold winter. That usually means they're late leafing out, but, if the summer's warm, we'll have a good crop come harvest."