JULIEN

II

Chapter 38

Cruise

Gradually Julien's dark mood lifted: it was hard not to be affected by Ambar's constant good humour or Dillik's antics. Karik, too, seemed to have recovered from his recent adventures, and although he seemed more mature now, probably as a result of his relationship with Tannder, he was once again the kind and thoughtful boy he had always been.

So when they responded to Lord Tahlil's invitation to take part in the maiden voyage of his new First Trankenn they did so happily, almost like a loving family. Only a few invitations had been issued, and that meant that it was possible for Julien to walk around the vessel without constantly coming face to face with people who would want to talk to him.

The atmosphere on board was almost like that of a pleasure cruise, and although a constant flow of messengers came and went bearing news of what was happening throughout the Nine Worlds Tannder made sure that Julien was only consulted about those matters for which his authorisation was essential. This meant that he only had to sit through a one hour briefing a day to keep up to date with whatever was being done in his name.

The ship lived up to expectations Smaller than the huge monstrosities that were more common on Dvârinn she was really built for speed: the arrangement of sails and the shape of the hull were designed to allow her to sail very close to the wind and to out-race just about every vessel afloat except for the ultra-light boats designed purely for sport. Master Dendjor was clearly delighted to find himself captain of such a magnificent vessel, and Dillik, as his son, was given the immense privilege of being allowed to spend two hours a day at his side, wearing his own naval uniform, to soak up the atmosphere and act as runner for the ship's officers. At times this meant climbing high into the rigging, watched from a distance by an anxious haptir and from much closer by an experienced topman who had been detailed to teach him some of the tricks of the trade.

A number of balls were held, though these were kept fairly low-key and lacking in protocol, and as a result Julien felt justified in staying away from them, although Niil attended them quite happily. There were also visits to a number of islands whose populations greeted them enthusiastically, not least because they generally became richer by entertaining the new Mirror and his guests.

Of course the purpose of the voyage wasn't simply to entertain a lot of idle high-ups. It was partly to make sure that the most powerful people on Dvârinn recognised Lord Tahlil's new status and respected him accordingly, and partly to make a point to the various pirate brotherhoods that there was a new broom around – and it was clear from the speed and power of this vessel that the old ways were coming to a swift end: there would be no more graft, no more little gifts slipped to officials to look the other way. Instead the sea brigands were going to have to think seriously about giving up piracy altogether: they would either have to find legitimate ways to use their talents or face up to the fact that they were now faced with a powerful, implacable opponent. It helped that the imperial civil service had also had it spelled out to them, in graphic terms, what the consequences of accepting bribes might be, and they had quickly recognised that the new Mirror was disconcertingly keen on respecting the rule of law. There was even a rumour going around that the Emperor had presented his Mirror with a sheath of one-way tickets to Tandil to use as he saw fit. There was no truth in that particular rumour, but Julien had been happy to approve its promulgation via the network of Tahlil's agents. Of course, he and Tahlil both recognised that they couldn't hope to extinguish the old ways at a stroke and for all time, but they thought it was well worth spreading the message that things had changed and that lawlessness with impunity was a thing of the past. And the insincere smiles of some of the nobility, whose purses had benefited from piracy in the past, suggested that they were doing the right thing.

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All the same, Julien wasn't fooled by the good mood which seemed to have affected his closest advisers. He was still very worried about the off-world agents who had apparently decided to remain underground instead of turning themselves in: there was clearly good reason to worry about what desperate people, cut off from their base and surely in possession of dangerous weapons, might be planning to do.

So on the eleventh day of the voyage they put together a plan and immediately set it into action. Dennkar was given the responsibility of assembling a unit of men whose only task would be to locate the Dalanni agents who were still at large and either capture or kill them. It was also decided that the unit should be armed appropriately – you don't send archers out against machine-guns, after all – which is why Julien had had once again to open the Der Mang secret weapons depot in order to arm Dennkar's men. He wasn't at all happy about it: he recognised the need, but he hated those who had forced him to open the proverbial box once more.

oo0oo

However, as the voyage went on, now threading its way through the archipelagos of the tropics, Julien was able to relax enough to enjoy what was still more or less a holiday before he undertook the arduous task of recovering the status of Emperor of the Nine Worlds. Every day he wanted that to happen less, but it was clearly something he was destined to suffer.

The most important humans of the Nine Worlds made short courtesy visits to the trankenn. These allowed them to get to know Lord Tahlil and also to pay their respects to the one who they were now starting to see more easily as their Emperor. This was because, while Julien remained his courteous and charming self, he was gradually coming more and more to assume the role of Emperor, and he was able to project the feeling that he was determined to remain the guardian of the laws, rules and customs which allowed the Empire to flourish.

But he also knew how to keep his private domain safe from outside interference, and his large private apartments had become almost a small independent state free of any other authority but his own. Of course he managed never to exert that authority at all: he was happy just to see his little band of friends enjoying themselves.

The few adults who held the position of teachers were, to their surprise, regularly invited by their students to bestow those treasures of knowledge and wisdom which are supposed to come with advancing age. Subadar, for example, had the privilege of spending long hours alone with Julien, instructing him on such esoteric matters as the transfer of the power to open the Gift of the Guides or Healers, or a whole host of other aptitudes and abilities connected with the various guilds of the Major Arts. Obviously it wouldn't be possible for Julien to undertake any practical training until he had recovered the stability that had been temporarily disrupted by the physical changes he was undergoing, but there was an important body of theoretical knowledge that needed to be assimilated.

The fact that these interviews usually took place on deck under an awning, which gave them all the benefits of a summer's day with a nice cool breeze without risking any damage to Julien's milky skin was seen by the Grand Master of the Circle of Major Arts as a fringe benefit which went a long way towards compensating him for the amount of effort required to concentrate on purely academic subjects. This difficulty in concentrating wasn't helped by Julien's choice of garment: His Lordship had chosen to 'cover himself' with a very thin, almost diaphanous, baggy undergarment which had a tendency to float about as the wind eddied back from the sails. It was actually considerably more erotic than it would have been if Julien had chosen to wear nothing at all, since this appalling garment offered fleeting glimpses of what was already suggested by the way the material tended, in a most disturbing way, to cling to what was beneath it.

Of course it would only have taken a word from Subadar to put a stop to this distraction, but he was naturally reluctant to deprive Julien, who was already overburdened by the worries of an Empire, of the freedom to wear whatever he wanted. And of course Subadar could always tell himself that this way he could check daily for a glimpse – well, all right, a few glimpses – of the evolution of the process which was interfering with Julien's ability to do his duties without having to ask embarrassing questions.

oo0oo

Chapter 39

Nox

Denntar was one of the architectural wonders of Dvârinn. It was on the summit of an island which was almost exactly on the equator, and it consisted of a large park containing an open-air observatory of the type that had existed on Earth at the peak of the Mogul or Mayan civilisations. But, unlike those weather-beaten and decrepit monuments which were now visited only by tourists, the Denntar observatory was still in use, and so was regularly maintained and, indeed, improved. The great green granite blocks, laid out in circular arcs and inlaid with engraved crystal bands, looked freshly polished, and the movable sighting instruments showed not the tiniest sign of rust. And a hundred metres away from the stone observatory was a dome of polished metal which housed an instrument whose technology was in no way inferior to the most up-to-date Earth telescopes, descriptions and photographs of which Julien had seen in popular scientific journals.

“I don't understand, Subadar,” he said. “You have this powerful modern telescope, but you still use the old open-air observatory?”

“You have to understand,” Subadar told him, “that the Science of the Sky is also an Art, and a lot of people take great pleasure in practising it. For a lot of purposes you don't need to use instruments like the Deep Eye. There are even some people who think that you can discover your own destiny by studying the course of the stars.”

“On Earth that's called astrology. My mother says that she doesn't believe in it, but she still read her horoscope in the paper every morning!”

“Well, some of the people who come here do so for precisely that reason. But some just like to observe the stars the way their ancestors did. Others come here for religious reasons. They could simply use the tables and ephemerides published by the observatory, but they're very attached to the idea of seeing the constellations for themselves. In any case it doesn't do any harm, and it's a way of ensuring that the observatory is well-maintained.”

“Can you see the other worlds of the R'hinz with a telescope?”

“We have no idea where they are. We don't even know if they're all in the same galaxy. But it really doesn't matter, because the Guides simply don't see distance like that. Which is a good thing, because it's practically impossible to travel between worlds using any other means.”

“And if the people we met recently are anything to go by I should say that's a jolly good thing. But, still... on Earth we've just started flying to the Moon, and people think it's the start of a huge adventure which will eventually take us to the stars.”

“Well, that's apparently what the Dalannis did. But they realised that they weren't actually going to be able to get very far like that – which is why they developed their no-field generator, of course.”

“So you don't think that space conquest is possible?”

“I don't know. I think you can stumble across interesting things in the process, if you insist on pushing technology further and further. But it's a totally inefficient method of visiting and exploring other worlds. And you only have to look at Emm Talak to see what happens if you push technology too far.”

“That's not exactly reassuring!”

“No, it's not. You could say that's one of the main reasons for having an Emperor of the Nine Worlds.”

“You're not leaving me a lot of choice, are you?”

“You know perfectly well that it isn't my decision. Believe me, Julien, if there was a way to free you from this burden I'd take it like a shot.”

“I do believe you, Subadar, and thank you. But I'd sooner not spoil our visit here by worrying about stuff. I think I'll go and join the others in that pleasure garden place they were talking about.”

“You mean Ob Talaam Garden. It's not very far – just follow the path of pink stone and it'll take you straight there. I think Aïn should go with you, but I'm going to have a chat with the Chief Archivist of the observatory before I join you.”

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The path meandered through relatively sparse vegetation which had been specially chosen to offer the visitor an evolving mixture of colours and scents that turned the walk into a sort of show. Julien kept his hand lightly on Aïn's neck so that he could have a conversation with him while the walked, and at the same time he tried to keep track of Xarax, who was having a lot of fun trying to remain hidden in the background.

Aïn, said Julien, it's really kind of you to accompany me everywhere I go. I feel bad about imposing on you like this. I know you see it as your duty and that you're happy to serve the Empire, but I'm sure you have plenty of other things to do. I could find another Guide if you like...”

No, Julien, for now you'll have to put up with me. I know I might not be the ideal companion, but still...

I didn't mean that at all.

I know. I was just joking. I know I'm utterly charming. But, seriously, until you get your powers back properly I'm not going to let you travel with any other Guide. And now that you're wearing my target-klirk on that chain round your neck I'll be able to follow you wherever you go even if you do suddenly disappear unexpectedly again.

I'm sure that's a good thing. But I don't think you have to worry just yet. Every time we go anywhere I try jumping, but nothing ever happens. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but at least it should mean I don't suddenly vanish again.

I'm not worried. Your Gift will return, I'm sure, and then we can get back to your tr...

The Guide's head disappeared in an explosion of red mist, and at the same time a loud bang echoed through the trees. At once Julien felt the familiar weight of Xarax landing on his shoulder, and that contact immediately set him ready to fight. The universe suddenly seemed to slow down, and he heard Xarax's voice in his head.

Jump! it said. Anywhere, but go!

“Tchok...”

oo0oo

...tseh!”

It was night-time, it was raining, and he was alone

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