Chapter 13

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It is hard to say whether Taleya is a class or a caste society. Probably caste society, because no merit would allow one to enter the highest stratum of the aristocracy, one can get there only by birthright. At the same time, even a peasant's son has a chance to become a minister (history knows examples), i.e. formally standing above the aristocrats. The same ones with whom outside the service he has no right to speak first.

The nobility was divided into ranks, and the ranks, in turn, were divided into classes, each with its name, rights, duties, color and speech characteristics, signs on clothing, and ways of applying makeup to the face. The proper occupations differed, too, and greatly. A simple hereditary nobleman could personally attend to the affairs of his village, while a nobleman with a title, however inferior, was obliged to hire a steward. Trade was totally excluded, but the work of the captain of a ship, even an ordinary barge, was considered honorable, on the condition that the barge sailed on the sea. The post of secretary to a nobleman of higher status was regarded as a variant of vassal service, and the same position in a bank was the cause of gossip in the establishment.

Entertainment, too, had a class nature. There were, of course, those appropriate to all, like the horse races or the rowing races that took place every spring and were partly religious. But in the same dice, there were games played by the poor and far more elaborate games for the nobility. And playing the latter was allowed only in institutions that had at least two floors, as well as having other features listed in a special ordinance. Theatrical plays, when written, immediately received a kind of rating, which regulated where it was allowed to be put and where it was not. The theaters were divided into eight categories, from the highest to the lowest, and while the latter was open to all (although the nobility never appeared in them), only persons of extremely high status had the right to get to performances in the highest category.

The Grand Theatre Royal was considered the best in the world, though Medea was of a different opinion. The last time she visited it three hundred years ago, she swore publicly that she would never set foot there again, and she has kept her oath ever since. Given her widespread fame and authority among art people, the reputation of the theater was severely damaged. Ordinary mortals, however, continued to attend for the simple reason that every production at the Grand Theatre Royal was a status event, the presence of which spoke of the stability of one or another courtier's position.

Duke Lash had his lodge in the theater, where he was sure to appear when he came to Taleya. He hardly watched the performances, like the vast majority of visitors. He invited the right people to his place, discussed business with them, and in between acts allegedly bumped into people who should not have openly accepted his invitation. In short, Lash was doing what other theater-goers were doing, except for the younger ones, who were just bored.

Of course, when the performance was over, which many perceived as a full-time job, there was a temptation to reward oneself for one's hard work. For this purpose, there were several high-class restaurants located around Theater Square, capable of satisfying the most demanding clientele. They served everything from delicacies brought from the oceans to common meat cooked on an open fire. A special pride of the restaurant owners was the wine list, each restaurant had its own, which included rare varieties from all over the known world. A bottle would cost a customer the price of a small estate, but the local public could afford such expenditures.

The observers were not surprised when, after the performance, Lash did not wish to go home. His carriage made a small circle around the square and stopped near one of the restaurants, where, of course, there was a cozy office for a couple of people for the silent ruler of Lascaris.

In the cabinet, the Duke was waiting.

"Messena Celesta," Lash bowed respectfully to the risen who rose from her chair at his arrival. "Words cannot express the joy I felt at the sight of your letter. The anticipation of seeing the blessed Mistress deprived me of sleep and prevented me from thinking of anything but the slow-moving minutes."

"A great descendant of a glorious family should not doubt that my joy is no less great. It's been a long time since your last visit to Taleya, and I've been looking forward to the next one."

Celesta told the plain truth - there were many issues she had accumulated over time that she wanted to discuss with her strongest ally. The vampires had close ties to Lascaris. Trading houses, effectively run by Gardoman, helped the Duke's servants evade taxes through gray schemes; Lash's vassals provided cover for their partners' machinations in the courts and state institutions; in times of strained relations with Lanaka or Sineva, Celesta's smugglers kept the goods flowing that fed the economic capital and its master from collapsing.

Of course, the Duke and the Mistress met often. Whenever Rikarid came to Taleya, they had something to discuss. The level of trust felt by their partner was evidenced by the fact that they communicated in private, without an obligatory mortal bodyguard.

While Lash quenched his hunger, Celesta sat opposite, sipping wine from a crystal glass, and shared a little gossip. A small bonus to her partner, a trifle to her, and a possible advantage to a man of high society. The Duke listened attentively, sometimes inserted remarks that showed a good understanding of the topic, and could add something himself, correcting the picture of the affair under discussion.

They moved on to serious topics with dessert. To sweeten the bad news, so to speak.

"I must tell you, dear friend, that we have had, or are about to have a major change. The royal authorities have found out who really owns the Southern Water Company, and we are forced to close it down."

"It's sad," Lash grimaced. "The route to the free polis was making good profits."

"The fleet will be pulled north anyway, and there will be no one to escort our ships. Medea is now trying to negotiate with the admirals of Blueness, but there is little hope for them. We'll have to pay the pirates."

In exchange for preferential supplies of rigging, provisions, and a bribe to senior naval officers, the Company of the South Seas received special attention to its needs. Its ships did not sail alone; they were always accompanied by the military. In addition, in major ports, the managers of the Company made contracts with privateers, allowing them to put temporary markings on the hulls of their ships, assembled a small caravan, and, under the supervision of military sailors, sailed south. There the cargo was quickly sold off and in a short time, a new caravan was formed for the journey home. Everyone profited: the soldiers who got extra money, the company making extra profit, and small merchants who avoided meeting with pirates this way. Now, after the treaty with the Archipelago, Taleya's fleet no longer had the right to sail further than Cape Smoky Nose, the usual "roof" would soon disappear. They must find another or pay tribute to pirate captains. Either way, the costs will rise.

"The impending decrease in income makes one ask - is there any word from the west? Sattar reports another ambitious chieftain has appeared on the steppe. It would be very unpleasant if trade stopped there as well." Celesta said.

"The usual redistribution of nomads. The last three years had been dry, some tribes had been forced to move their flocks to the pastures of their neighbors, who resented them and began to fight among themselves. One of the tribal alliances was fortunate enough to squeeze out the others. In five years the balance will be restored, but until then, special attention will have to be paid to the frontier. The bad thing is that trade with the far west risks ending completely dead - it is impossible to drive caravans, all the roads are cut."

"You say unpleasant things, Messen Rikarid."

"Forgive me, Messena Celesta. I swear I'm as upset as you are!"

Without allowing a slight hesitation to reflect on her face, Mistress decided to take another step toward the future Holy Crusade. Avoiding voicing the very idea, she began to lead the future figureheads to it.

"I must confess that I have some thoughts about reconnecting with the Far West," she admitted. "I'd like to kill a few birds with one arrow. Trouble is, that would require the participation of the priests, who wouldn't take kindly to any suggestion from your humble servant's lips."

"It would be interesting to hear."

"It's too early to tell," Celesta said with an apologetic smile. "But I promise that the blessed one will be the first one I turn to if I get the chance. Until then, we'll have to watch warily for the dubious antics of vile hypocrites and hope for the highest wisdom."

The wording used by the diminutive risen contained enough instruction that the duke was surprised and intrigued. The Mistress accused the priests of violating the divine oaths. There was no doubt that the innuendo would not be enough, and Lash waited anxiously to hear the details.

Celesta did not disappoint him.

"People have become accustomed to the fact that priests easily violate the provisions of their own faith. You don't have to go far to find an example. The Saints of Fire have recently excavated a shrine to one of the darker aspects of Arcota the Flaming, under Nemmist, and are actively studying it. I'm sure they will find some way to utilize the artifacts they found there, and the knowledge they have gained. But they're also getting involved in politics in a very active way!"

"Not long ago I came into possession of a document, a large money transfer from the Custodian of the Voice of Silence. Guess who the final recipient was?"

"I'm afraid to even guess."

"You are doing the right thing, Messen. A pillar of Goodness from the Triad of Righteousness. There is indeed a long chain with many intermediaries, but I managed to trace it."

"Does the Son of the Sea bribe his opponents?" the Duke suggested.

"No, he doesn't. He doesn't know anything. His servants have begun their investigation, in which we are involved."

"Perhaps the Custodian is up to some game of his own?"

"He certainly did," Celesta nodded in agreement. "But why did he choose Prince Sakir's protégé as a partner? This kind of clandestine contact is dangerous, even to those who are not privy to the realities of Court life."

Lash, who knew a lot, if not everything, about the undercurrents of high society, nodded in agreement. Joint affairs of ideologists of two, in fact, opposing factions cannot but raise suspicions. They should not communicate at all without at least a couple of witnesses. What to say about money?

"If I happen to know anything, I will be sure to notify you, Messena," the Duke promised.

Celesta thanked with a slight bow. The promise should, of course, have been divided by ten, but he would certainly share some of the information if he could find it. It is not customary among aristocrats to lie outright and break promises without a good reason, which does not mean, however, that they always tell the truth and keep their word. So Lash, if he finds out anything, will be sure to share - maybe a tenth of it, maybe half. He won't tell the whole thing for sure.

They parted towards morning when dawn was breaking in the east. Having assured each other of mutual respect and friendship, having solved some of their problems and puzzled their partner with new ones. Personally, Celeste was leaving satisfied. The duke would probably take a minute to parse their conversation today, techniques of memory work had been hammered into him since he was a child. And when he did, he would demand answers from his Bringers of Answers, the very answers to a couple of unpleasant questions. First, what happened under Nemmist and why doesn't he know anything about it? Second, how are the two highest hierarchs of the rival churches connected, and why, again, does he know nothing about it?

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The spies, having been given a scolding, will get to work. In this case, their patron personally, one might say, has a vested interest in getting the result - dirt on his main enemies. Logic dictates that the largest feudal lord of the country must have the most difficulties in his relations with the royal power. Conflicting interests, the emergence of conflict points, and the levels of division of competence inevitably lead to tensions that may well lead to open revolt. However, the appanage ruler of Lascaris and his sovereign could be said to have been friends. Too often they were united against the Chancellor, who relied on the Saints of Fire, and against the side branches of the Dinir dynasty, whose individual members somehow saw themselves as more worthy to sit on the Azure Throne. The Triad of Rightness, it should be recalled, supported such efforts.

With great luck, the spies will find enough to cause a major scandal. If they don't, they'll just divert attention. In any case, no one would think of the vampires; the blood kin would be out of the picture.

There was never any class-representative institution in Taleya. In Lanak there was a Veche and a Council of Princes, in Archipelago the Council of Captains had considerable influence, in Birat the local aristocrats invented a Senate that limited the power of the supreme ruler. With the Taleya, formally, the king himself decided whom to appoint as minister and what laws to pass.

Upon close examination, it became clear that the system of checks and balances not only exists, but it also works, and it works effectively.

The basis of the limitation of royal power was the provincial assemblies of the nobility. The country was divided into fiefdoms, which consisted of provinces, each province, in turn, included four or five counties. Thanks to the turbulent events of four centuries ago, and some decisions of later living sovereigns, the assemblies got a lot of rights that were in no hurry to give. Legally it was difficult to put pressure on them, and trying to act by force was dangerous, so gradually a peculiar practice of representation developed when the top of the provincial nobility sent their second or third sons to the capital, where they occupied the positions of officialdom. It was an evolutionary process, the result of which satisfied both sides. The central government was assured that the provincials would not "rebel" without a very good reason, the barons and earls, who ruled in assemblies, attached relatives in the capital, who secured their interests.

By the time of these events, three of the four middle-ranking officials were firmly connected to non-capital groups. Nepotism? Absolutely. Everyone knew that the second deputy head of the Department of Transportation was a creature of the Counts of Cossa and that the head of the Department for the Welfare of the Poor was exclusively a descendant of the vast family of the Barons of Molinari. Exceptions were rare, though talented and unconnected loners made it to the level of department heads.

Ministers were appointed from the heads of departments. The ministers, in turn, dutifully submitted a list of candidates, from which the Son of the Sea chose a chancellor to lead the entire government.

Could the king appoint a person to the position of a chancellor who was not on the list? Easily. He is, by the letter of the law, an absolute monarch, the possessor of infinite power, given to Him by the gods. That's why he could make anyone his chancellor. However, the new head of the government soon discovered that although the orders given by him are executed with all diligence, for some reason there is no effect. For a while, the cart of government was still rolling by inertia, but slower and slower with each passing month.

After a couple of governance crises that nearly turned into full-fledged civil wars, the kings preferred not to take any more risks. They acted cautiously, if necessary, first pushing people loyal to them personally into ministry, and then resigning the head of government. Thus, a new chancellor was appointed from among candidates suitable for the throne and in full accordance with tradition.

Not long ago Celesta concluded that the current Chancellor did not suit her. Until recently there had been a little complaint against him - he had not sought to interfere in the affairs of the night kin or the structures controlled by the servants of the vampires. Now the situation had changed. Mistress was diligently creating the conditions under which the major religious organizations would be forced to send their representatives west, ideally to slaughter. One of the obstacles to the plan was the Chancellor. So he had to be removed.

Mr. Darth assumed his position at the behest of the previous Son of the Sea over twenty years ago. With Valier's assumption of the attributes of power, the Chancellor's position wobbled somewhat, but the new King did not remove him. Apparently, he felt it was too early. The coalition of provincial nobles, some large trading houses, and religious sects supporting Earl Darth, among which the Saints of the Fire stood out, could have caused serious trouble for the young King, so he decided not to rush into it.

Valier the Second Celesta understood perfectly, his reluctance to act sharply sympathized. But she needed a chancellor who had no strong ties to the Saints. Not willing to support them.

"You are determined to destroy the Seven Rivers, Mistress," Kalderan remarked as he listened to her calculations. "Such insistence is both surprising and gratifying. Dragons must be crushed while they are still lizards. Ideally, the clergy will get rid of our crazy brothers. If they don't, we will damage the reputation of the largest cults and weaken their influence on politics. For now, we can't deal with Celestial Purity and the Triads, because they have the attention of the Royal Services. Radicals like Marr the Swordsman or the White Masks are not independent in this matter, they will do as the Big Three tell them to do. But nothing prevents us from striking a blow to the Saints, weakening their support at the highest levels of power."

"It's not going to be easy to do. The Chancellor is not so easy to remove."

Murder was out of the question. Vampires avoided committing high-profile murders because they were always followed by raids, persecutions, guards getting a scolding from their superiors, and remembering their duties. What measures mortal will go on, having found a corpse of the representative of the nobility and when the investigation will lead to the children of the night, it is impossible to predict in advance at all. Therefore, if the case concerned the elite, they tried to act delicately.

"I understand," Celesta agreed. "We're not the biggest predator in the woods. Any suggestions?"

"Well, since we are not limited in time," the spy said with a half-questioning intonation, looking at the Mistress who lowered her eyelids accordingly, "and we can't throw Darth off by ourselves, then we can help whoever can throw him off. I'm sure the Son of Seas would like his man in command."

"Absolutely. Now of the fourteen ministers, six are the king's men."

He needs at least two more to get a list of candidates he is satisfied with. The process of replacing ministers can be accelerated. Remember the "Flower Girl case"?

"Of course."

Celesta took her commitments seriously, especially if she accepted them voluntarily. She didn't mind being called an avatar of the dark goddess, so in her mind, she had to fulfill the duties attributed to the deity. In particular, to punish evil and administer justice. It didn't always work, but she tried.

It is not true that vampires controlled all worshippers of the Dark One. There were enough cults that worshipped his most destructive impersonations, acting on their own and in secret. Of course, they were sought out, found, adjusted the charter if possible, and included in the woven structure, if impossible, simply mopped up to a single person. Sometimes, however, things got messy.

Fifteen years ago a series of disappearances of young girls selling flowers on the waterfront rocked the city. The investigation was not very thorough and would have ended in nothing if one of the flower girls had not attracted the attention of a rather influential person who put pressure on the city guards. They began to dig. They traditionally blamed the Night Mistress, whose servants responded by tacitly joining the search. They found a cemetery with a dozen disfigured corpses, and the priests, who examined the bodies, howled when they discovered the symbols of dark cults on the skin.

The investigation has passed into the hands of the "spiders".

It was impossible to catch the top of the cult. Even Celesta, using her resources, could not find out who was in the real leadership. She had her suspicions, of course, but there was no way to verify them. Those she could reach died suddenly, the rest either fled the country or sat so high that they did not dare to press charges. Thus, only the "little fish" suffered, and after their show executions, the case was closed.

Then Heliar Matalest, the second son of the Earl of Ulcon, came under suspicion. He is now in charge of the Department of Service and Personnel.

"A serious position."

The Mistress knew at once what the Elder was referring to. Several key positions in the government offered a tremendous advantage in office games. Matalest held just such a position. He belonged, of course, to the Chancellor, and he complied with the Chancellor's slightest wishes, helping his patron to crush his rivals. To climb up the career ladder, officials are no strangers to dirty tricks.

The Chancellor's position would inevitably be shaken if a stranger were in charge of the personnel department.

Five years ago I managed to place an agent with Matalest," Calderan continued. - He couldn't find anything incriminating. Or rather, there is some dirt, but for the nobility, it is such a trifle that no one will pay attention to it. But he noticed that about once a month Mr. Head of the Department meets with his friends, including several persons who were also involved in the "flower-girls' case". We checked the dates of the meetings - they fit the Konda-Akania scheme. The last time the group met was at the Matalest Golden Glade estate, about a day's drive from town.

"So, they rejuvenate... Basically, you have nothing but speculation."

"Yes, Mistress. All the evidence is circumstantial. So I ask you to send Mr. Vantal to Golden Glade. There is no guardian spirit on the estate."

"Okay, I'll give the order to Latam."

One of the oldest guardsmen, Vantal had a personal ability to communicate with rodents, cats, dogs, bats, and wolves. Foxes understood poorly, though also canine. If something needed to be sniffed out somewhere, and Kalderan's spies couldn't manage it, Vantal was sent. They didn't like him very much for that. The only places a vampire couldn't get into were the houses of ancient families, protected by guardian spirits. There were also difficulties in mansions built with the right rituals, with the right words, with signs embedded in the walls, but at least there you could try.

"That's taken care of. Do you have any more news, or am I going to argue with Rimnar?"

"Yes, Mistress. First, an observer reports that several priests and guards have left the excavations at Nemmist. At the same time, there are new faces in the vicinity, which I attribute to the activities of Baron Tar, who is actively spreading rumors about the temple. The priests are still silent."

"Too little time had passed for a reaction. Oh, he's so vindictive, isn't he?" Celesta rejoiced at Baron's predictability. "Good luck in his endeavors, as long as they don't tie him to us."

"I'm afraid our contacts are no secret to informed persons," Kalderan shook his head with what seemed to be genuine regret.

"Yes, you can't argue with that. What's the second thing?"

"I think we've found out how the information leaks to the Archipelago, Mistress."

The cheerfulness of the undead ruler was blown away. In the armchair, a snake, crouching before she threw herself, stiffened, peering out at her victim's carelessness. In a moment the obsession was gone, and Celesta relaxed again, leaning back defiantly, with her hands on the armrests and folding he palms in a Gendo gesture.

"Finally! Give me the details."

"Verification, as the blessed lady knows, has been going on for a long time. We gave the suspect information and watched to see where it came up. Gradually all but Captain Datsat and Shepherds Simondo and Paltin were cut off. The captain has major trading partners in the Archipelago, and the shepherd cults have branches there. We acted on a standard pattern and informed them of the ships allegedly carrying new artifacts made by Maitre Hustin. The missing ship was the one Simondo knew about."

"Anything can happen at sea," said Mistress. "I'll check on all three of them."

"A wise decision, if the opinion of the undeserving means anything."

"Don't belittle yourself, Elder. I always listen to you, even when I shouldn't," Celesta snorted. "Have you restored the network to Shaar?"

"Not entirely, Mistress."

Although Kalderan did not allow displeasure to break out in his voice, his companion considered emotion and saw fit to clarify: "The guardsmen will begin working in Lanak from the border with Shaar. I would like them to have a chance to escape in case the prince or one of his cronies decides to break the treaty."

"I have spoken to Hatsu on this subject. He will help if necessary, Mistress."

Celesta nodded and returned to the conversation about the Archipelago. The failure of the spy network in the Highland Principality of Shaar nine years ago was the greatest blow to Kalderan's ego. And this failure was caused solely by the actions of the spy himself. Both did not like to remember it, but it was impossible not to. Then it all began with a mere trifle, with the failure of a minor operation, caused by not quite ordinary circumstances. Later it turned out that the agents had withheld some information in an attempt to whitewash themselves. But Kalderan suspected treason from behind the scenes and took actions that made things even more unstable. Conflicting commands from the center led to clashes between vampire-controlled factions.

The Elder was completely convinced of his suspicions. In an attempt to retain his remaining influence within the principality, he enlisted Hatsu, the second in the Bardi hierarchy, in a hastily devised operation. Grudgingly, he provided the resources he needed.

The situation in Shaar took an unpredictable turn. Panic reigned in the Intelligence Department, the department that dealt with the Farizah Range states was frantically looking for a mole in their ranks. Kalderan, who'd come to believe in the actions of an enemy intelligence service (but whose, most likely Lanak's, was unclear), concluded that the enemy could not have succeeded without help from on high, and accused Hatsu of treason. An irritated Gardoman intervened in the erupting squabble. Whatever complicated relations he had with Hatsu, the banker was not going to give up his assistant. Especially since Shaar was relatively close to Bardi, and the natural revolution taking place there had shaken the stability of the financial center of the web woven by vampires.

It was great luck that at this point Celesta had ordered everyone not to get too excited. Just gave the command to stop any action, the survivors to lay low, and began to thoughtfully understand what was happening. It took her three months, with the help of guardsmen and personal agents to draw an accurate picture of the mess. And what was more, she did not immediately believe her conclusions. For another month she checked. It was then that she began to think that Kalderan's professional deformation had gone too far and something had to be done with him. But what? His position doesn't allow for vacations. Neither, come to think of it, does resignation.

It was very difficult to cool down the frayed passions and reconcile the quarreling top leadership. The only good thing was that the last total inspection brought to light many small sins and even outright violations in the mountain communities. So everyone got a piece of the action. Nevertheless, the story left a residue, and the fact that Kalderan had now contacted Hatsu himself, and the latter had not rejected his support, pleased the Mistress.

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