When the mantle of King of Kings had settled upon him, Shahr-Baraz had determined he would spend his reign-be it long or short-in the field, moving, under an open sky. Let these courtiers and ministers attend him! He would not mew himself up in some stifling palace. At one time he had known the name and face of every soldier, groom and ostler in his army. Such familiarity was impossible now, with the host of the King of Kings grown vast beyond counting, and there were the Serpent's allies and pawns to consider as well. Anger welled for a moment, but Shahr-Baraz admitted, at least to himself, the massive triple walls of Constantinople would not have been easily breached, save by the sorcerer's power.
"Does his work leave a foul taste in your mouth, as it does in mine?" Khadames asked softly, looking at his king out of the corner of his eye. "Was it worth it, to pay such a price for victory?"
"We have what we wanted," Shahr-Baraz sighed, rubbing his long face with muscular fingers. "That is what matters. We have broken the Eastern Empire and reclaimed all that Chrosoes had lost…"
Khadames smiled faintly. "And now? What now, oh great king who bestrides the world? O modern Xerxes?"
The Boar made a face at the mocking tone in the general's voice and turned to face Khadames. "We part ways, my friend. This victory must be secured with another-we now hold the Levantine coast from Gazzah to Antioch. Our army here in Constantinople is isolated from the rest of Great Persia by the breadth of Anatolia-provinces still nominally held by Rome-and supplied only by sea. Thanks to the strength of our Arab allies, we enjoy a fleet and the ability to move freely along the Asian coast. The Roman fleet is scattered or captured."
"But this good fortune cannot last," Khadames said, nodding in thought. "Soon they will press us again-with fresh ships from the West-and this ruin will be a trap, if we cannot leave and cannot feed ourselves!"
"Yes." Shahr-Baraz stabbed out his hands, miming the thrust of a blade. "The line of attack has changed, shifted south. To our west, Greece is still recovering from the Avar invasions, to the east, the Anatolian themes are little more than bickering princedoms. With this stroke, the Eastern Empire has been set at naught, but the West-ah, now-the West still has strength. Our seizure of Constantinople, of the Propontis, is a mighty blow. Roman trade and messengers cannot reach their allies in Khazaria, and we stand poised to drive-aided by our Avar friends-into Thrace and Greece. Yet the West still holds a dagger pressed hard against the Levantine coast."
Against our strong arm, he growled to himself, all exposed, extended in the blow…
"Egypt." Khadames said. "Where-if the lord Khalid's spies can be believed-there are no less than six Western Legions encamped, under the command of Prince Aurelian."
"Even so." Shahr-Baraz nodded, a clenched fist against his jaw. "Consider this, Khadames…" The King of Kings sketched a swift diagram of the Mare Internum in the dust on the walkway. The eastern end of the middle sea made a fat U-shape running left-to-right, joined by a second U on the upper arm. At the crown of the second U, he placed a fat black olive. "Here we stand, at Constantinople, looking down upon the Mare Aegeum." He placed two more of the ripe fruits-one opposite the first, at the bottom of the first U-"and here is Egypt, and here Antioch." He placed the third in the upper depths of the first U, making a triangle of the three. "All our supply must either come, swiftly, by sea from Antioch, or slowly over two great mountain ranges and the interior plains of Anatolia. Our army, in turn, may sail back to Antioch in a month, perhaps two, while marching overland will take at least six. In the same time, the Western Legions in Egypt may strike north…" His blunt finger moved up the curve of the first U, towards Antioch, "reaching Antioch, easily, in three months."
Khadames nodded, lips pursed. "There is an Arab force at Gazzah, on the Judean coast, but I believe it numbers no more than five or six thousand horsemen."
"Lightly armored lancers and bowmen," Shahr-Baraz mused. "Against the Western Legions the Arabs could delay and harry and raid, but they will not be able to stop a concerted effort. Indeed, they would be hard-pressed to hold any of the coastal fortresses…" The Boar's finger stabbed in succession along the curve of the U. "…Gazzah, Caesarea, Akko, and then there is Tyre." Shahr-Baraz grinned ruefully. "…which is still held by a Roman garrison."
"Our fleet?" Khadames raised a hopeful eyebrow. "It could strike behind the Roman line of advance, slowing them down?"
Shahr-Baraz shook his head, troubled. "What is our fleet? Arab and Palmyrene crews in captured and refitted ships, a few more than a hundred of them. We have some war galleys, true, taken from the Empire, but our victories at sea-I think-have come with a great helping of luck. When the Western fleet comes at us again, it will be ready for the lady Zoe's sorcery and for all manner of tricks and stratagems."
At the mention of the Palmyrene Queen's name, a shadow flickered across Khadames' face. Shahr-Baraz stopped, a questioning look on his face. "What is it?"
"Nothing, my lord. Nothing worth speaking of here, at any rate."
The Boar essayed a smile, but it did not touch his eyes. "You've marked the change, then? Some subtle difference in her voice, her gait, the way she holds her head?"
Khadames nodded slightly, though he was wary and said nothing aloud.
"Some of our allies," Shahr-Baraz said slowly, looking away, out across the oval space of the forum surrounding the blackened, shattered stump of a great marble column, "are not what we might wish, yet with them has come victory. For the moment, I am content to let these things be."
"And in future?" Khadames ventured, trading on old friendship and a lifetime spent in campaign and battle beside his king. "Will the Peacock Throne be ever shadowed by the Serpent?"
"I cannot say." Shahr-Baraz looked back, meeting Khadames' eyes with a rueful expression. "I cannot divine what will come. Can you?"
"Perhaps," Khadames growled. "I have looked upon Damawand, lord king, and you have not. That foul place-all smokes and fire and the roar of the forges-may be our future. There is a power growing at the lord Dahak's hand, something beyond the reach of kings. Do not think that he is your servant!"
Shahr-Baraz nodded, though his expression was closed, and he looked down upon his crude map and sighed softly. "Our ways will part soon, my friend. I have decided to take the bulk of the army-the diquans, the Huns, the Arabs-south on the fleet, to Caesarea Maritima. I have sent letters, informing the governors of Antioch and Damascus and those further east, to direct our reinforcements to meet me there. You, I leave here, to hold this flank and keep the Romans penned in Thrace and Greece. You shall have a goodly portion of our heavy horse, those Armenian lancers, the whole of the Avars. This should suffice to fend off any Roman raids."
"What about the infantry, the siege engineers?" Worry crept into Khadames' voice.
"They will accompany the treasure train east, as guards. I do not think that there is anything in Egypt needful of their attentions-at last report the Roman fortifications there were lacking-and Dahak has promised he will bring forth his own strength against anything the West can raise."
"How will I hold the city, then?" Khadames bit his thumb, measuring distances on the sketch map with his eyes. The thought of having to hold a position with more barbarians and mercenaries than Persians made his stomach turn queasy. "If the Romans press me, I may be driven back into the ruins. The Avars will be useless for that kind of work-I doubt the plainsmen would enter the city if driven with whips! — and I won't have enough men to cover the whole length of wall."