“I would say that perception lay within the mind of the listener. In this case, at least.”
“You debate like a priest, sir.”
“I was taught by them,” Kormak admitted.
“That in no way surprises me,” said the Prince. He shaded his eyes with his hand and stared off into the distance. “I think we shall be in time,” he said.
The city came ever closer. Kormak could see that many buildings lay outside the huge walls and were dwarfed by them. It was often the case in this world he had found. Cities outgrew their ancient defences. In the west there were places where the walls marked the age of certain parts of cities the way the rings of a tree did.
There was no real boundary between the desert and the outer city. At first they merely rode between isolated white-washed mud-brick houses, which became more and more common until they were ragged, half-empty streets and then densely packed ones. People went from being relatively rare on the outskirts to swarming crowds as they got closer to the walls.
Soon they were surrounded by hawkers and water-sellers and jugglers and clowns. Beggars and thieves moved closer as well. About half of the folk were dressed in western style tunics and britches made from light linen fabrics. The others, darker skinned, were garbed in flowing robes of the Desert Tribes. The men in britches tended to wear the Sign of the Sun and walk proudly and aggressively. The desert men wore Lunar symbols and spoke softly.
Prince Luther nodded to one of his men, the same one as had given the package to the hermit and the man produced a purse and tossed a shower of small coins into the crowd. People scrambled to pick them up as the Prince rode through.
Ahead of them a gate surmounted by an Elder Sign loomed ten spans high. It had huge valves of bronze. Armoured men stood on either side. Prince Luther studied the sky. It was starting to get dark. “Good,” he said. “The North Gate is still open. There will be no need to spend time in some Low City Tavern and wait for the dawn.”
“I regret I must take my leave of you, Prince,” said Kormak. “And seek a bed for the night.”
“It would do me great honour if you accepted my hospitality, Guardian. You will lose no time or money and more importantly you will not get your throat slit in some low dive. It does happen here.”
“Men have tried to cut my throat before, Prince. I am still here.”
“I have a library containing many volumes that might interest you. I have scrolls concerning the Ghul and their city in which you might find knowledge valuable on your quest. I have maps too. I am quite the collector in my way.”
Kormak glanced at him sidelong. In that moment he was reminded a little of Lord Tomas who had freed Razhak originally. Luther had a similar intensity. Still the things he offered might prove useful. “That would indeed be useful.”
“Then it is settled. You will accompany me to my mansion and you can consult with my library and I will avail myself of the opportunity to pick your brain of knowledge and bore you with displays of my own erudition.”
“Very well, Prince Luther, I accept your offer. For this night alone.”
“Capital.” They rode through the North Gate. It was like riding into a tunnel, dark and shadowy. It was full of men with donkeys and camels and carts all trying to get passed the guards. Prince Luther was obviously recognised for he was waved through as were all those with him.
The streets of the Old City were very different from those of the new. They were laid out in perfectly straight lines and all of the buildings showed a similarity of architecture, a symmetry of proportion, that marked them as having been built at the same time, in a different age of the world.
“Laid out according to the geomantic principles of the ancient Solari,” said Luther, when he noticed Kormak’s glance. “They built this city in the First Age of Men when the power of the Empire was at its height.”
All of the streets led to a gigantic citadel whose single central tower rose like a spear aimed at the sky. At first glance the buildings were as impressive as all the work of the ancients but when he looked closer he could see everything had been repaired in a patchwork fashion, that many of the mansions were crumbling, that smaller buildings and newer had sprung up between the older ones.
“The city was not always in the hands of the Sunlanders,” Luther said. Once again it was as if he was reading Kormak’s thoughts. “There were centuries of neglect while the Seleneans held Sunhaven. They did so until the Oathsworn reclaimed the Tower of the Sun. Some say it is only a matter of time before they do again. Our hold on this land is still quite precarious. Without aid from the West we can hold out for a generation at most.”
“The Kingdoms of the West have their own problems,” Kormak said. “They are not united as they were in the Time of the Oathswearing.”
“The same problem could be said to exist here,” the Prince said. “There are those who think we should come to an accommodation with the moon-worshippers. Others think we should withdraw before we are over-run.”
“What do you think?” Kormak asked.
“I believe it is inevitable that the city will fall back into the hands of the Seleneans. This is an isolated pocket of Solar worship now. We are surrounded on all sides by lands that are either debated or have been swamped by the moondogs.”
They rode into a wide avenue of walled mansions, all with a clear view of the tower. It was clear they had been spotted for servants were already opening the gates of Prince Luther’s mansion while guards watched from the flanking towers. As they rode into the courtyard it occurred to Kormak that every wealthy man’s house in the city must be a small self-contained fortress.
Now he was trapped within one.
A fountain stood in the courtyard. Solar angels held great amphora above their heads and from them poured water. Orange trees stood in small enclosed walled gardens. Servants came forward to take the horses. Kormak allowed his to be led to the stable.
A majordomo advanced on Prince Luther, bowed and presented him with some scrolls. The Prince broke their seals casually and read them as they walked into the cool interior of the building. A halo of servants trailed them as well as the two bodyguards who had disbursed the Prince’s money to the crowd. The rest of them seemed to have taken entry into the house as a signal that they were dismissed. Clearly there was a routine to this place and everyone knew their part in it.
Luther strolled through corridors lined with beautiful statues and entered a low courtyard opened to the sky. There was seating all around it. On a chair at its edge, a woman sat, reading a book.
“Sister,” Luther said. “We have a guest.”
The woman looked up and assessed Kormak with a cool gaze. There was a definite family resemblance to the Prince. They had the same dark curly hair, very white teeth and compelling dark eyes. She was very lovely. She put the book down on the table beside her, after marking her place with a silk ribbon.
She rose and made a courtly curtsey. Kormak responded with a formal bow. She placed her hand over her heart. “Welcome to our home, Guardian of the Dawn.”
“Olivia is the scholar of the family,” Luther said. “She has studied art, philosophy, history and alchemy. She understood the significance of the way you wear your blade as soon as she saw it.”
“You are a long way from Mount Aethelas,” the woman said.
“Sir Kormak is on a quest. He hunts a demon.”
“There are no shortage of those in the Wastes beyond the Holy Road.”
“He hunts one in particular, a Ghul.”
“I thought those were all gone from the world. Imprisoned by Solareon or exterminated by your Order, Sir Guardian.”
“There is one left,” Kormak said. He felt like he was interrupting a conversation between these two. Prince Luther seemed happy to answer any questions his sister addressed to Kormak.