whenever he remembered the moment when he had sensed Isak die, as he was cutting a path through the small Byoran Army, but he knew he could not keep it away forever.
The power now surging in his veins had not removed his humanity, though he had feared it might, but other than that, Vesna found himself not so different to a God. His strength was increased, his speed was unnatural, but his mind was still that of the flawed man he had been before.
The awe he saw in every soldier’s face was unnerving in its intensity, but it was just that — intensified, rather than new. Vesna has been a hero of the army for ten years or more, and he had seen it before.
‘Thank you,’ said the mage dully, ‘I am told your circumstances have also changed.’
Vesna looked at the black steel plates attached to his left arm and touched the ruby lodged in the skin of his cheek.
‘I am changed, but I remain a servant of the Farlan,’ he said carefully. Gods, what is Tila going to think when she sees what I’ve become? he wondered privately. No, she will know to expect changes. Thank the Gods I told her about Lord Karkarn’s offer before I left.
‘You’re welcome,’ said a voice inside his mind, prompting Vesna to flinch. ‘I’m happy to claim the credit on behalf of us all.’ Karkarn chuckled. ‘Still skittish about communion with your God, I see? Never mind, it will pass. Just be thankful I don’t have Larat’s appetites.’
The Mortal-Aspect of Karkarn shook his head to try and get the sensation of being ridden like a horse out of his mind. The God of War had shown no compunction about appearing without warning, seeing through his eyes as though he was just an instrument.
And for my sins, maybe I am.
‘That is good to hear,’ the mage repeated, eyes closed, rocking backwards and forwards on his knees. ‘We have need of you here more than ever. Lord Isak’s death has been widely reported, and there have been a dozen new prophets in Tirah alone. The clerics are using it as an excuse to demand greater control over the running of the tribe.’
‘Has there been bloodshed?’ Vesna asked.
‘Only a few small incidents. The clerics are trying to get the population on their side before pressing the matter. High Cardinal Certinse may buy us some time but the fanatics grow restless. It appears the worst did not all travel with the army.’
‘What are your orders?’ Vesna asked, remembering to add, ‘Lord Fernal,’ after a moment.
‘Pull the army back to Farlan territory; have the Quartermaster-General set up camps for them, one on the border, a second near to Tirah. Return to the city yourself with a legion of Ghosts.’
‘Yes, my Lord. Ah, Lord Fernal? The clerical troops were scattered after the battle, those that survived, anyway. I have about seven thousand men under my command; of those only about a division’s worth are clerics.’
‘You think the rest will return here?’
‘Possibly. The Penitent troops took the worst of the casualties, but some escaped the killing ground. There is no way of predicting how they will act now.’
For a while the mage was silent and Vesna assumed Fernal and his companions were discussing matters amongst themselves. He turned to Torl for a wiser man’s thoughts, but he had nothing to offer. The suzerain looked troubled and distracted, presumably at the thought of a non-Farlan as lord of the tribe.
White-eyes were difficult masters, but they were sanctioned by the Gods, and they were predictable to a certain degree. Fernal did not fit into the rigid Farlan structure. He had been presented as the protector of the Witch of Llehden, and had been assumed to be just another Raylin mercenary by the Farlan nobility. That he was a bastard son of their patron God had mattered little to them. The title Demi-God meant Fernal was more mortal than divine, but for the Farlan it made him nothing more than a wandering fighter to be employed or killed.
‘The Penitent armies are a problem for another day. Have your scouts keep a weather eye, but travel for speed, not safety. I need your presence in Tirah, both you and your troops. The clerics will hesitate in the presence of the Mortal-Aspect of Karkarn, and Lady Tila has guaranteed your continuing loyalty.’
That stopped Vesna in his tracks. It had never occurred to him that he might be considered a threat to the nation now. He