Shall We Play A Game?

Doyennes, plural. Taylor wanted to ask how many doyennes, which ones, when will they be here, and why will they come. Alice wouldn't have all the answers, so he went directly next door to the larger house where Anisca had installed herself.

"Exactly how many doyennes are coming?"

"And good morning to you, too. Yalda from Pashtuk, of course, Aygerim from Saluja, and Azhand from Bitter Spring. You will dress for the occasion. I have acquired suitable cloth."

"Why? Are they here, I mean?"

"To speak to us. To spend time with you. They want to verify you are not power-hungry or insane before they give you khartang."

"But I am power hungry," he quipped with a smile, "just not in the way they're probably worried about."

She offered up one of her rewarding smiles. "Very nice. Just remember to be courteous, while being yourself. When they arrive I'd like you to be practicing music."

"Why? If you want a performance, I can do that."

"I don't want a concert. I want you in a good mood, and you've been very uptight lately. You're much nicer to be around when you've been practicing. And, it'll be good for them to see you're more than a glorified sword. That's important, if you want to be in charge of fighting Kashmar. We must emphasize your good disposition and long-term thinking this evening."

Anisca lifted up the top of a thick rectangular box and removed a map from inside. "They will be here after the heat loosens its grip. We should talk about the Monforte situation while we have the place to ourselves. Would you mind?"

Taylor set up a privacy barrier while Anisca rolled out the map from Prelates and set down pawns. Edos in Gallia, Leila in Hyskos, Ma'Tocha just entering the desert, Minty at Sand Castle, Darius's cadre in Satoma, and Thallia's in Dace. Then, a thick cluster of disciples and apprentices at Red Tower.

"Here is our current deployment, as I understand it," she began as Taylor settled himself across from her. "Lavradio is offering tangible support in our fight against Enclave. They're not in a position to send much in the way of people, as you know, but their food situation is stable thanks to Nexus, and they have plenty of charcoal and other goods to send. They will also be sending the youngest Monforte with the first shipment."

Taylor had already spoken to Gonzo in thoughtspace and warned him about being the subject of a dispute with the king. Gonzo thought there was nothing to worry about, it was all Jorgo being Jorgo in his mind, but Taylor had cautioned him anyway. He'd also warned the boy about taking any titles or oaths that bound him permanently to the king. Above all, he should retain the right to make his future decisions.

That Gonzo was coming to Red Tower was a huge relief.

"You only have him for six months or until the Kashmar situation is settled," warned Anisca, "but that will let you train him properly and he can lend Farr a hand during the war. He's overworked and will be glad of the help. Afterward, Gonzo will split his time equally between Nexus and Lavradio. That will allow his training to continue while exporting the benefits to Lavradio continuously. When he reaches his majority, he can do as he wishes."

"That's," Taylor fumbled for words. "Well done, Anisca. Really."

She allowed a small but self-satisfied smile. "Save your praise, Eldest Brother, because that is only the beginning. Lavradio is now attempting to create an alliance with Gallia and Ullidia, in favor of Nexus and against Enclave. As far as we know, Enclave has recalled all its disciples and tried to charge enormous sums to field them again."

"I'd say it's more like they defrocked all their fielded disciples and haven't fielded anyone new," Taylor countered, "but go on."

"Lavradio's concern is their northern border with Moldonia. The First Families control ocean-bound cargo in and out of Dace and Kashmar, it's a major source of income for them, but the ships are built in Moldonia."

"They have a strong connection. Leo's concerned Enclave might pressure Moldonia to try something. And his northern territory is a mess after the war. We could move Edos north, and give him a full cadre to command." Taylor started moving pieces. "We should be able to deploy some of Lavradio's former healers to join him. Then we need at least one new cadre to watch over Ullidia and Gallia. Two would be better." The pile in Red Tower grew smaller and dispersed eastward. "They'll need paying."

"Lavradio has agreed to one crevist and four large silver per cadre-month, plus whatever donations they receive. Other countries will be happy to pay the same, considering the alternative." It was within the range the admin group wanted: enough to keep a cadre well-supplied, even after a tithe to Red Tower.

Taylor surveyed the changed map with an emotion bordering on awe. "What did you say to them to cause all this?"

"Hardly anything at all. Countries are a little like ordinary people: they can get into ruts. Lavradio's been waiting for Enclave to weaken for ages. All I did was encourage my brother to talk about why it would be in Lavradio's best interest for Enclave to lose, and he did all of this on his own. The Monforte resolution was partly personal; He wants to set things right with you. But the rest of this," she swept her closed fan over the board, "is Lavradio looking out for itself. There won't be a better opportunity in time."

In time for what, Taylor didn't ask because he knew Anisca couldn't answer. But he could hazard a few excellent guesses. He set up a link and sounding board on the leadership channel and, after a few minutes wait, got Rector Mika, his second Kasryn, and Dean Mataba. They would choose which pieces to move.

She was right about his mood. Taylor reached out to Gonzo, who had heard about his imminent departure from the royals already, and convinced him to carry a sounding board to the palace musicians he used to play with. An impromptu session was put together and, fifteen minutes into practice, he felt the sense of gnawing worries ease away. Music time was music time. The other worries would have to wait their designated turns.

Rafi always pushed him into improv, and that's what the little band of four were doing when the doyennes arrived next door. They were kicking phrases around, changing and expanding them by turns, when Alice let him know the gathering was ready. And, would he bring the sounding board with him?

There was to be a concert after all. A tiny one, but a concert nonetheless. He settled himself on a cushion in the room Anisca had taken for the meeting, wrapped in the softest, whitest coir cloth embroidered along the edges with futobel antlers and stars. His hair was up in a manly turban with a brooch of fire opal on the front. His eyes were rimmed in carmine, and his lips were amber. The women wore colors specific to their gardens, and their arms were lined and dotted gracefully with uttar. Taylor greeted them by their titles, Wise Yalda, Wise Aygerim, and Wise Azhand, knowing who was whom by their markings. He explained the sounding board briefly and played three songs for them. One was poetry they would know, set to music. One was a well-traveled song by Bibi. The last was his most famous song, Champions of Love. Then he thanked the palace musicians and clicked off. Three songs were plenty.

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Azhand was the first to try him, when the clapping was done. "You're full of surprises, Maul Phillip. You may have missed your true calling."

"I'm a better disciple than I am a songwriter. But thank you for the compliment. I don't get to play as often as I used to." You can't provoke me that easily, old lady.

"And you're so beautifully young, too!" Aygerim cackled like a crone. "You should be kissing little girls on garden benches, not leading grown men into deadly battles."

"Your little girls are a little aggressive," Taylor told them with a crooked smile, "I might prefer facing off against men and monsters. It's safer, and I understand them."

The old women laughed uproariously at that. Taylor didn't understand why they loved to tease boys his age so much: it wasn't just Calique crones but all of Tenobre was like this. Jokes were the only good response.

"Don't neglect our young Saluja ladies," Aygerim teased, "or their fathers will think you look down on them!"

"And Bitter Spring girls are not bitter at all, I promise you!" added Azhand. "A few winters from now, I see many negotiations for your services." They wanted children from him, stolen ones, and Taylor felt himself blushing furiously. The doyennes laughed again. Oh yes, they had found a button they could press.

But, Taylor had met with doyennes before. They were only probing him a bit, to find out if he had a temper.

"Fine, fine, you got me." He covered the lower half of his face with his hand to hide some of the color. "I'm a terror on the battlefield, but shy with girls. I'm working on it, okay?"

"Yes! Have mercy on our maul, you three! Even he can't be precocious at everything, can he?"

"Quite true. I've already had my turn at the young man, and he's not easily angered. If you want to know what he's like, ask Uzan."

"Ugh, Uzan." His annoyance at Dagono's doyenne chased away his embarrassment. "I admit I told her exactly what I thought. I'll leave her to you, Anisca. Division of labor, and all that."

"I look forward to it. Now, you all wanted to visit us to learn about Nexus and its goals. I think the best way to do that is to play a game."

She couldn't be talking about Monster Hunt; it wouldn't interest them. She had to be suggesting Prelates. Taylor nearly protested having doyennes play their strategic game, but her idea had merit. It illustrated their goals, and it had layers. They might even enjoy it.

"That's a fascinating idea. I'm game if our wise guests are." Taylor unpacked the map and pieces and set up the game while Anisca explained the method of play. Alice was brought in to extend their numbers, and Milo served them all tea and snacks in little dishes.

"How does one win this game?" asked one of the doyennes.

"Survive. We'll play the short version of the game with fewer events, so you'll only have to endure three calamities." That's what people had taken to calling the final deck of event cards used at the end of the game. Calamities. The name had stuck the moment it was suggested.

The doyennes took to play quickly. They readily grasped the probabilities of success and failure of any action and focused on developing their resources in the early game. They voted for Anisca for hierarch repeatedly, but whether that was because they trusted a woman more or just wanted to see if it would irritate him, Taylor couldn't say. The early game went well enough, with realms sharing resources quite freely. But it all started falling apart in the late mid-game, as expenses and casualties started piling up.

The Calique reflex, when everything started falling apart, was to turtle up. The doyennes stopped sending tithes to Nexus and all but ceased cooperating with others (even each other). With each of them acting alone, the top tier of technologies was out of reach. Meanwhile, Anisca, Alice, and Taylor gave everything they had to obtain the key 'powered flight' and 'underground life support' technologies. The game nearly came to an early end when two consecutive calamities landed on Red Tower, demolishing the only disciple school and research center and knocking Anisca out of the game. Taylor and Alice survived by combining their populations under Alice's prelate, effectively letting Taylor resign the game with honor. Two of the self-isolated doyennes got eaten alive by monsters, while the third became leader of a nation of zombies. That it was a disease and not a curse made little difference to the outcome.

"Alice is the only winner," conceded Yalda, "partially by luck."

"She was the only winner this time. But the game is not quite over." Anisca smiled, as beatific as any saint. "Now we have the after-action report. Taylor can begin."

"Only having one school is a single point of failure, even if we defend it with everything we have. If that had happened even one turn earlier, nobody would have survived. But I'm concerned about having multiple schools: somehow we have to keep quality high, and keep the culture together."

"You can rotate teachers," offered Yalda. "We send our tablas around other gardens, especially those we groom as possible doyennes. The annual gathering at Sand Castle is very popular for the young, and for choosing spouses."

"An annual conclave," Taylor mused. "It's an interesting idea."

"It's not so different from the king's court in Lavradio." Alice's husband was a former palace guard. "All the noble families are required to send someone for a season, every year. It's also why they all know each other. You could do the same for every church region."

"Red Tower is too small, but that's an implementation problem. It's worth bringing this up to the governance committee. That's my turn."

Alice went next. "Does flight have to be so mid-game? You keep saying the principles of flight are well-known, so can't you prioritize it in real life? If we could acquire flight early, it would change everything."

"If we're just moving cadres around, then maybe that's possible. Cadres can use disciples as the power source. If you want mass transit and heavy cargo lifting, then we need a new compact fuel source. That's a much more difficult problem."

"Well, I think you should make fast transport and communications top research priorities. It makes everything else go faster." Alice looked to Azhand.

"Is it my turn now? Very well. You've put a great deal of faith in Nexus inventions, but none at all in the ancients. Your game is deliberately designed to push players into cooperation when the best chance of survival is to use the underground cities."

Yalda winced, just a little. Aygerim stared without blinking. Okay, we're talking about this. So much for taboos.

Taylor surprised all the doyennes further by agreeing with Azhand. "That's true. I'm putting everything on Nexus when maybe I don't have to. If someone were to show me an underground city with functioning life support systems and prove they knew how to refuel, repair, and rebuild the machines as necessary, I would be quite happy to move that card into the early game."

Alice grimaced. "It would make the game too easy, but then we have new problems to think about. What happens to all the surface people? Do they resent the undergrounders? Do the cultures diverge and become enemies?"

Taylor nodded. "We can always make the events harder, and see what happens when we introduce underground prelates. We have to figure out what they would need, though."

Aygerim narrowed her eyes at Taylor and Anisca. "Are you saying that you change the rules of this game whenever you feel like it?"

"All the time. This woman here," Taylor pointed an accusing finger at Anisca, "utterly broke an early version. She showed us that a skilled player who interpreted success in an unfortunate way could doom everyone else. She's the reason we have a hierarch, leadership tokens, and other indicators of success. It gives direction to the ambitious, and makes it easier to punish bad actors who only want to cause chaos."

Anisca had the good grace not to look too proud of the accomplishment. "Prelates is like your circle of tablas in the way it gives structure to thinking about the future. Instead of hard numbers, the questions are about how people might behave and how governance influences people's choices. At first, I thought Taylor had wasted his time inventing it, but the governance committee is constantly coming up with alternate rules to try out. This was only the simplest version."

"And you would be the hierarch of all this at such a young age?" Aygerim gave Taylor a bitter stare. "That's a long time for anyone to have so much power."

"Oh, I'm not going to stay hierach." Taylor laughed. "I plan to ditch the job as soon as I can! The position has a term of five years, and a maximum of two consecutive terms. My plan is to escape after a term or two and wander the countryside doing random good deeds. I'd be doing that right now if it weren't for," he waved his hands to encompass Enclave, Nexus, the world, and the millennial sun cycle, "everything."

"So you don't want to rule the Calique, Kashmar, and then the world?"

"Wise Aygerim, anyone who says that about me doesn't know me at all. When I look at someone with that kind of ambition, I think, 'What a fool! If they get what they want, they either won't be happy with it, or be terrible at running it all.'

"It's a bit of a poison chalice, isn't it? Like the way Kashmar keeps coming down here every twenty years or so to 'unify' Kravikas. They actually succeeded twice, and both times their tyrant died here. And it's just so pointless; The desert doesn't have much that Kashmar can use, so risking tens of thousands of lives on it buys them nothing."

"Pride, young maul," insisted Azhand. "It buys them pride."