Valkyrie's Shadow

Chapter 10

“Then what of Demihumans?” Alessia jumped to a different topic – she seemed to be constantly looking for trouble to find, “We have not seen a single one so far…”

“They just don’t live here,” the driver shrugged. “Beyond the places where they normally make their homes, the largest numbers of ‘em can be found in the Demihuman Quarter in E-Rantel. A few merchants from beyond the Empire have been showing up to investigate what’s to be had as well.”

“But they eat Humans,” Alessia was aghast. “How is this allowed if it is mostly Humans living here?”

“It’s not,” the driver replied. “Eating citizens and foreign visitors entering through the appropriate channels is illegal. It’s not as if they all eat meat anyways. Those that do will be dining on something else here.”

Marcus’ experience with Demihumans made him dubious of the man’s statement. One tended to tell them that they couldn’t do something using the business end of a poleaxe, and one usually needed to repeat oneself until they were dead. He wanted to ask the driver to elaborate on what he had just said, but the man turned his attention away from the conversation and peered up the slope to the north. In the distance ahead, a group of figures could be seen through the shimmering heat of the day.

“Looks like they’re all the way here already,” the driver said.

“Who are they?” Alessia asked.

“The crews working on expanding the highway,” the driver answered. “They started from the crossroads below E-Rantel last month; did the streets in Corelyn Harbour too. There’s a few more bridges between here and there as well, including the big one over the Katze River. I’ve been working down south for the last few weeks: last I saw them they were just finishing the bridge coming out of the harbour town.”

“Is that fast, Brother Marcus?” Alessia looked at him.

“A good bridge over a major river can take many years to finish,” Marcus replied, and looked back at the driver. “You make it sound like it took mere weeks: how was this done?”

“The Sorcerous Kingdom’s made good with the Dwarves recently,” the driver told them. “A lot of architects and engineers have been hired from there to help with construction. The way they build things…I’ve never seen the like. Combined with the labour provided by the Sorcerous Kingdom, roads and buildings appear in a matter of days. They work around the clock on shifts, too – both them and the Undead can see in the dark, so it’s no problem. I heard from a buddy of mine that’s been to the Dwarf Kingdom recently that all their cities are entirely under the mountains. Day and night don’t mean much to them.”

The wagon slowed as they approached the construction crew. There were at least two dozen stout, bearded figures overseeing three times as many Skeletons. They did not have the look of Hill Dwarves or the notoriously evil Dark Dwarves from the Abelion Wilderness, but they were still similar enough in appearance. Pieces of heavy equipment were being handled by Iron Golems that towered above the much shorter Dwarves.

The procession diverted onto the grass to go around the construction, slowing down markedly and allowing the Paladins to have a good look at their work. Constant activity covered the entire stretch, with the Dwarves directing groups of Skeletons as they removed the old road, laid new layers of earthworks and fitted new paving stones onto the surface. A line of wagons drawn by Soul Eaters followed the construction, each filled with different materials for the highway. Small carts were filled and moved around by another set of Undead labourers.

After they passed the worksite, the driver eased their wagon onto the new road, and the sound of rumbling wheels diminished to nearly nothing compared to before. Marcus looked over the edge of the wagon to the smooth surface below. The solid line of stone, enough to comfortably accommodate three of their wagons side by side, stretched uninterrupted to the north to disappear over the valley ridge.

“What kind of road is this?” He asked.

“Honestly, I have no idea,” the driver said. “I haven’t seen anything like this until the Dwarves came, so it must be their work. The Dwarves are masters of earth and stone: I don’t think I’ve been to any place that can match their construction. The highway’s going to be rebuilt all the way to the Theocracy border…don’t think the Theocracy hired them to do their side, though. That’s a shame for anyone spoiled by these new roads.”

“They are nice,” Marcus was still getting over the eerie feeling of such a smooth road, “but are they really necessary?”

“Certainly helps with wear and tear, but you’re right – this type of road wasn’t just ordered for plain old wagons: it’s for the Soul Eaters.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, simply put, the old wagons can’t survive the speed that Soul Eaters can run at on the old roads for very long. House Wagner’s been working to engineer wagons more suited to their use. Between those and the Dwarven roads, travel within the Sorcerous Kingdom’s going to become much faster than before.”

"How fast are we talking about here?”

“It takes two and a half days for a heavy freight wagon with a full dozen horses to go from the city to the Theocracy border. According to the rumours by the people in our company working on this, the Soul Eaters with their new wagons will take about half a day. They’re actually saying that it can go faster than that, but they’re worried about accidents and such.”

They passed a group of large tents, which Marcus assumed belonged to the road crews, while he considered the implications of what he had seen and heard. If he recalled the map of the duchy correctly, it meant that one of these Soul Eaters could whisk any cargo – be it raw goods, supplies or soldiers – from one end of the Sorcerous Kingdom to the other in about a day with these innovations.

Actually, since Soul Eaters were Undead and thus required no rest, he wasn’t sure what the driver meant by a ‘day’ anymore. Caravans generally travelled during the daylight hours and stopped while there was still light to make camp. In Corelyn County, at least, travellers could journey for longer periods with these towns positioned to provide hospitality to them every evening.

“Aren’t you worried for your livelihood if that’s the case?” He brought up another point.

“Not really,” the driver replied. “These Soul Eaters are rented out to transport companies for work inside the Sorcerous Kingdom. They usually have a driver along for regular business just in case a Human touch is needed, but all the ones you’ve seen so far are for public works. We use ‘em too, but most of House Wagner’s business is out of the country so we still mostly rely on draft animals. Lady Wagner’s just helping out here until things are settled.”

“It seems awfully nice to divert so many of your vehicles like that.”

“Well, we’re still being paid,” the driver shrugged. “Besides, the heads of both houses are good friends.”

“House Wagner isn’t a vassal of House Corelyn, is it?”

“We’re not. Both Wagner and Corelyn are direct vassals of the Sorcerer King.”

That was decidedly strange. No matter where one went, political realities tended to keep such friendships to a minimum. Being long term allies with aligned interests was usually the closest that aristocrats came to one another. ‘Friends’ meant they had gotten too close and would be dragged into whatever problems each of them had. Since they were on the topic, he felt it a good opportunity to get a feel for the political climate of the land.

“Have they always been that way?” He asked.

“Nah,” the man answered, “it’s something that happened when everything was turned upside down. The only close friend House Corelyn had before that was House Zahradnik, and they’ve been on good terms forever.”

Another unfamiliar name, but this one tickled his recognition – at least the sound of it. While Corelyn was a name that spoke of a northern lineage, Zahradnik sounded like a name that hailed from the lands to the south of the Theocracy.

“They are all of similar rank?” He asked.

“Until recently, they were all baronial houses,” the driver answered. “Lady Corelyn received her promotion first, then Lady Wagner; maybe Lady Gagnier’s due soon, too. As for Lady Zahradnik...she’s a border noble, so that can pretty much happen on a whim if she becomes aggressive about it. It’s a mystery why she hasn’t yet.”

“…they’re all women?” Alessia leaned forward with a curious expression.

“Uh, yeah – the Battle of Katze Plains pretty much saw to that. Most of the noble houses here are headed by women now. Only three territories aren’t and two of those lords are kids that were too young to go to war.”

Maybe that was the reason for this closeness. The Human nations surrounding the Theocracy, as well as the Theocracy itself, were patriarchal in structure. Women of noble houses, while they did not generally lead them, still had an active role in weaving the ties that made up the fabric of aristocratic society. That being said, if there was ever a feud between them, life for everyone would probably turn into pure hell. At least men tended to just satisfy their grudges with more direct means that ended in uncomplicated resolutions.

“You mentioned these four nobles in particular,” Marcus said, “is there a reason for this?”

“They’re part of the same group, so people usually lump ‘em together.”

“...group?” Marcus thought the use of the word odd, “You mean faction, no?”

“Well, it’s not an official faction,” the driver explained, “and it doesn’t have the feel of one. Together, they control the south, most of the east, and they’re all active members of the House of Lords.”

“This means there are other factions that counterbalance them, yes?”

“Not really…there are two other counties and a couple of loose baronies in the Duchy, but nothing like that has happened. Corelyn’s group doesn’t throw their weight around at all, and pretty much everyone’s just working to keep up with all the changes, from top to bottom.”

Marcus thought on the driver’s statement. Though not usually involved in open feuds, noble houses were in constant competition with one another. Perhaps this man had mistaken the lack of such open belligerence as an absence of competition. Another possibility was that something else was enforcing this benign state of affairs.

Violent infighting within the Theocracy was suppressed, as the national military was separated from the aristocracy, who now only functioned in their role as territorial administrators reporting to the legislative branch of the government. The Baharuth Empire was also pursuing this route: the military obligations of its nobility were removed through a long series of reforms, and a standing army had been founded in generations past. Now, Emperor Jircniv was in the process of establishing a new set of administrative standards over the entire nation.

In Re-Estize, however, a noble still had military obligations, administrative authority, rights on taxation and justice, and they were only answerable to their liege. As the laws of Re-Estize had been adopted in the Sorcerous Kingdom, it should also be the case here unless those laws had been reformed.

“Tell me,” he said after considering what he knew, “do the nobles here still handle their own security?”

“In their lands, yes. House Corelyn uses a mix of Human and Undead forces leased from the crown. The Undead are great when you need the raw power, but they’re not very flexible or capable when it comes to the interpretation of the law in regards to different customs and peoples. They’re not exactly stupid…it’s more like they don’t care for anything more than carrying out their orders.”

“All of the Undead we have come across so far have been labourers.”

“Oh, that will change, I assure you. House Corelyn and House Zahradnik were the first to start broadly employing the Undead, so you’ll see plenty once you reach Corelyn Harbour. The other territories under noble management are being much slower about it: probably because of religious differences."

“You mean to say that Corelyn and Zahradnik are followers of The Six, and the rest follow The Four.”

“You got it,” the driver nodded. “The Faith of The Four hates the Undead like nothing else. With people switching back over, though, acceptance is slowly spreading in the territories.”

“But you are with Wagner…” Alessia said, “You have no qualms about the Undead?”

There was a short pause in their conversation as Alessia once again found an awkward topic to broach. In the Theocracy, it would be expected to pursue matters of religion, but Marcus was not sure how far they could push matters of faith in the Sorcerous Kingdom. The driver started slowly, but thankfully he did not appear to be offended.

“It’s a bit complicated…” he said. “To be sure, it was pretty unsettling at first – the entire duchy was paralyzed, really – but I guess you can get used to anything. Because the temples are in charge of some important things, going against their teachings can go pretty badly if you know what I mean. Even if you personally have no issues with the Undead, you still gotta act the part. House Wagner’s a merchant house: we’re well aware of what goes on beyond the borders because we work in the companies or know people that do, so picking up foreign ideas isn’t so strange to us.”

“Then you will return to the worship of The Six?”

“If Lady Wagner does,” the driver said, “then her people will as well. Our fortunes rise and fall with House Wagner, and Lady Wagner has our loyalty.”

Needless to say, House Wagner’s tithes and alms would also go to the Temples of The Six when that happened. With the Faith of The Four already in decline, it would collapse entirely without her support. Their temple staff would probably not be so easy to convert, though…which presented an aspect to the stated shortage of temple staff in the Sorcerous Kingdom Marcus had not considered before.

A ruler had to carefully consider the consequences of conversion. The temples were the source of healing, education and a large portion of the social services in a territory. Arbitrary mass conversion was impossible without subjecting people to all the risks that such a switch would entail.

Plague, moral disorder, illiteracy and spiritual rudderlessness…it was no wonder the Bishop of E-Rantel was so insistent. The faith was not just growing through individual conversions: there were entire territories with thousands of people unable to safely return to the fold because of the shortage in temple staff. The support of the Theocracy was crucial for the rapid reclamation of the north.

He couldn’t imagine the Bishop of E-Rantel not stressing this point, and the High Council of the Theocracy was not composed of fools, either. The words of the Priestess in the border town echoed in his mind – the problems that the Theocracy faced in the present day would be swept away when the tens of millions of lost souls in the northern lands returned to the true faith. Spending a few years to make an accurate assessment before investing in full was a reasonable course given the stakes involved.

Yet, as the Priestess had also mentioned, the Temples of The Six in the Sorcerous Kingdom would not stand idly by if they did not receive assistance from the Theocracy. However, he did not know exactly how many temple staff were already present in the Sorcerous Kingdom, nor how quickly they were being trained here.

If the temples in the Sorcerous Kingdom managed to lift themselves out of their predicament without assistance, the seed of independence and resentment would be sown for the inaction of their brothers and sisters in the south. Marcus hoped, for everyone’s sake, that the Theocracy would send the help that they needed in time.