Fear's Union

Chapter Forty-Two

—Keles—

Exactly the same tent, but it now seemed larger. Keles cracked his knuckles. He hoped the conversation would be just as enlightening. He looked at the Consul; his inquisitor.

It seemed stupid, but the old man before him seemed older. Rianja di Jinq had always had an eternal sheen, but something had happened to it. The sheen had cracked. That was foreboding.

"Felip cannot command the combined armies."

Hmm, that was rather large. He didn't know what to say. "Consul?"

"I said that Felip cannot command the combined armies. He is not ready."

Of course, the irony was that he completely agreed. Felip was far too fractious for an effective overall command. Two things rankled though: why was he being told this at all; and why couldn't the Consul have seen this a few days ago, before Kato was cast upon a suicide mission. He flushed and grabbed at the collar of his uniform. That was happening far too frequently these days.

"That will be tough news for him to take."

The old man hummed. Those sapphire blue eyes locked on. He was subservient to the will of this man. He always had been if truth be told.

"Do you know why I am revoking his command?"

It was obvious really. He rolled his shoulders. "I assume it is a consequence of his apparent Mandahoi trust issues."

"Indeed, hmm, yes. In many ways I sympathise of course, but ultimately I must blame myself."

"Oh? How so?"

The gaze locked him tighter, and the High Consul leaned forward ever so slightly. His voice was frosty cold. "This doesn't leave the tent, understand?"

He nodded, and the old man fidgeted. He was uneasy.

"Felip's father was killed when he was six years old. I sent him as an envoy to treat with Gorfinia, and I sent him with four fellow knights and twenty mandahoi. They were ambushed, and the Gorfinians played their hand well. They attacked from distance, in a wide circle, hidden by the forest. The mandahoi, being logical creatures, reacted as they should. They fanned out to meet the threat. But it was a trap. Once they were out of sight, Felip's father was ambushed. He and his four companions were left sprawled on the ground. Their heads were returned to Altunia, dragged behind a horse. Felip's mother was understandably distraught."

An intimate story certainly, but why was he being told this? "That doesn't explain where Felip's Mandahoi distrust comes from."

The light was disturbed by a steadily growing shadow on the cream canvas. Instinctively, the discussion paused. He watched the darkness spreading, fearing that it would turn into the heir of Ahan, but the shadow moved past the tent, and away. Nothing to worry about. The two men were soon alone once more.

The old man coughed. His hands squirmed around each other, keeping busy.

"Felip blames the Mandahoi for his father's death. They abandoned him, after all. He has consequently taken a common conception of the Mandahoi psyche, and blown it into something grossly out of proportion. This distrust has been festering in him since he was six-years-old. It is consuming him."

He stepped tentatively. He didn't like where this was going. "What conception?"

He looked ever so slightly bemused. "That the mandahoi act independently of naturally occurring emotional, ah, standards. The Body believes your kind to be somewhat apart from humanity."