That had been three weeks ago.
The Princes office smelled of mahogany and bees wax. The only sounds the ticking of a long case clock and the scratching of Tasaam's quill as he signed off army dockets proffered by an aide.
Lord Eschin stood stiffly at attention in front of the great desk. Usually he would have taken the time to bathe and change following arrival at the palace but he had bee ushered into the Prince's command room by a nameless aide who refused him time for such luxuries.
After what seemed like an age, Tasaam placed the quill back in it’s silver holder and turned his cold gaze on the young Lord standing before him as if becoming aware of his presence for the first time.
“ I’m waiting Eschin,”
Sozo considered pointing out that in fact he was the one being kept waiting; but the prince was clearly in no mood for games. How on earth did the man even find out about these things?
“My men were exhausted you highness. Deployment of shadow wings was the only thing to do under the circumstances. It was either that or lose twenty men to exposure for the sake of two trolls”.
The Prince held Eschin’s eyes for a moment. He was irritated and allowing it to show. Finally he turned and dismissed the aid, leaving them alone in the room.
“ You fail to comprehend the greater picture Eschin. This is about more than the lives of twenty soldiers. It is about the hundreds who would lose their lives if we were forced to join battle without air support. How many weeks does it take our mages to re cast shadow wings on a horse once it has been deployed. Two, three? Not to mention the risk that some superstitious peasant might have seen you and told all of his inbred clan to stop feeding my army as it harbours sorcery”
Eschin stood at attention and said nothing, his face impassive. He tried to concentrate on the ticking of the clock; mentally picturing the intricate mechanisms within, their tasks unseen, measuring out the moments of his discipline.
“ What would have happened had battle been met with your steed unable to take to the air?” barked the prince. He seemed about to continue but suddenly sighed deeply and sat back in his chair. He closed his eyes an massaged them with the balls of his fingers, as if attempting to rub away the frustration that he was feeling.
Finally he Opened them once more and motioned to Eschin to take the seat in front of his desk.
“I am sorry your highness, it really did appear to be the best course of action available at the time”.
The prince took up the crystal decanter from the desk and filled a glass with water. He sipped a mouthful and swilled the contents of the glass around for a moment. Savouring the mouthful as if it were a fine wine before returning his attention to the young looking lord sitting before him.
“You are a fine leader of men Eschin, your battle instincts are good and your prowess with the blade is already making you a legend amongst the men.
But a lord must have more. You must learn to be a strategist as much as a fighter. You must resign yourself to make the hard decisions at times. I’m afraid that you no longer have the luxury of being able to be liked by all.
Sometimes it is cold mathematics that must decide out fate rather than hot blood hmm?”
The prince poured out another glass and offered it to Eschin who received it gratefully.
“how fares your noble mother fare?”
Eschin found himself studying the pattern of grain on the waxed mahogany table. The surface was so well tended that it provided a perfect reflection of the ledger.
“She remains bedridden, but my father’s physicians have managed to halt the spread of the disease and have given her powerful narcotics to ease her suffering. She remains lucid for the most part and spoke of you with great affection on one occasion prior to our parting”.
The prince sighed.
“They are your physicians now Sozo, you are the Lord Eschin. The responsibility weighs heavy upon you does it not?”.
“Aye, it would be a lie to say that it does not. All of my life I watched my father rule our lands, and now that rule has passed to me, I find myself at war a hundred leagues away “.
“And why are you here my Lord Eschin?” the prince asked.
“It is the hard choice but the best one. Much as the Eschin lands need me, my skills are better employed here if those lands are to remain free and clear of the taint of Chaos”.
“Just so”. The prince rose and gestured that Eschin was dismissed. “Come dine with me tonight, once you have had the opportunity to bathe and change. We will talk some more; of happier days my friend”
Another aide, buried under a mountain of paper, scurried into the office as Eschin left.
No wonder the prince was tired. Feeding an army in a foreign land in winter was a logistical and political nightmare. It was a role which Eschin reflected he was glad not to have as his own.
Walking down from the princes ‘ready room’, Eschin passed back through the huge oak door; opened for him by one of the palace servants.
The bright morning sunlight outside caused him to shield his eyes as he passed the parade ground, already filling with soldiers. Surrounding the ground were the wooden sheds; home to the leather robed battle mages who endlessly bore the stink of their incense burning.
One of those sheds now held his steed; she had been hurried into the dark confines as soon as they arrived at the palace. Wizards swarming around her like bees around a hive. The last he had seen of her before the door closed was a mage muttering some unpronounceable incantation at her head whilst his younger aide daubed sigils and runes along her flanks with some substance that glowed brightly in the darkness.
As Prince Tasaam had said, casting shadow wings capability on a creature as large as the mare could take days or weeks. Sozo bit his lip as he passed through the busy sheds and headed towards his lodgings.
As much as it angered him, he had to reluctantly concede that Tasaam had a point. IF the forces of chaos could find a way to attack their position in the next few says then the army would fare much worse without his air support.
Proferring his woollen cloak to a young page he entered his lodgings.
