once. ‘You mean because he wanted to be the single absolute ruler like Aenarion, and because the princes would not let him be. They chose one of their own to make that point.’
His grandfather seemed gratified by the quickness of his understanding, which pleased Tyrion. He was not used to being appreciated for that. ‘In a way. Malekith wanted more power than Aenarion ever really had. Aenarion was a war leader, accepted as such because in times of danger it is necessary to have a clear line of command. Any ship’s captain can tell you that. Malekith wanted the same power as Aenarion held in war in peacetime, or rather his mother wanted that for him, or so it seemed at first. Our system is as much about preventing that sort of tyranny as it is about the exercise of power. The dark elves have a different system. You can see what it has brought them to.’
‘Surely they have a bad system because they have a bad ruler,’ Tyrion said. ‘What has happened there merely reflects the personality of Malekith.’
‘Or perhaps they have a bad ruler because they have a bad system,’ his grandfather countered. ‘There are no checks on the power of the Witch King. He does what he wants. He rules by fear and terror with a fist of literal iron. He does not need to consult with anybody, or take the interests of anyone except himself into account. I think that sort of power would make anybody mad, and believe me I have had some experience of wielding power in my life.’
‘I do not doubt it,’ said Tyrion.
‘It’s a very seductive thing,’ said Lord Emeraldsea softly. ‘To stand on the command deck and issue orders. To know everyone has to listen to you and obey and that their lives depend on it. Even when you are not on the command deck, it distorts life around you.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Sit at a captain’s table on a ship. Watch his officers and his crew as they eat. They laugh at his jokes, acknowledge his wisdom, burnish his pride. They have to because their own assignment of duties and their own prospects of promotion depend on his assessment of them. Power exercises its own magnetic field. Never doubt that, Prince Tyrion, and remember it if you exercise power yourself.’
‘I will,’ said Tyrion, and he meant it. He was glad of the circumstances that had forced him from his father’s house at times like this. He felt he had a lot to learn from elves like his grandfather and Korhien and Prince Iltharis. He could never have learned it if he had stayed at home.
‘I know you will, which is why I am telling you it.’
‘You were telling me about the election of Finubar,’ Tyrion said. ‘Of how difficult it was and how much it cost.’
‘It was and it did. We needed to convince a large number of the old princes that we were serious. We extended loans to some, bought up the debts of others. Gifts were given to those who could not be pressured. In the end, we still could not have done it, if it had not been Finubar’s time.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘The princes recognised that the world had changed and we needed a new style of leadership, one that engaged us with the younger races and the world beyond Ulthuan. They saw that we needed allies and those allies would need to be made by someone with an understanding of those far lands. That’s one advantage that Finubar had and one advantage that we have. We tend to get the leadership we need when we need it because in the end all of our interests are conjoined. Your idealistic view of the world is not so far from the truth as it may sometimes sound, lad.’
‘Why are you telling me this?’ Tyrion asked.
‘Because I was thinking that the day will come when we might need a leader like you could become, a warrior who thinks.’
‘Who also happens to be a member of your family?’
‘That would be a bonus. You have everything needed, lad. An ancient line, the look of Aenarion, connections. You could go very far.’
Lord Emeraldsea paused to let his words sink in. They did, far and fast. Tyrion understood what his grandfather was offering and why. Right now, he was very far from being a Phoenix King but he had the potential. Once his grandfather was certain Tyrion understood he spoke relentlessly on.