Epilogue: The Pilgrims' Way

Mindelan & New Hope, June 466 HE

Imperial affairs were a slow business, and though letters from the Empress, Keiichi, and Patricine had variously assured Kel that peaceful reduction of former Fujiwara lands was proceeding very satisfactorily, informed her of the marvels the Guild branch was beginning to make commonplace, and spoken delightedly of the shops and businesses founded by the first batch of Empress's Maids, there had been no thought of the promised visit for more than eighteen months. And that had been fine by her, having had quite enough to do on her own account, what with Geraint's commissions for Temples of Sakuyo in Corus and at Queenscove, the College of Weapons attached to the Palace, Lord Arawn's promised visit, and her unexpected Gallan adventure with its aftermath, as well as all the regular and irregular business of a burgeoning and prospering fief the size of a small country. Besides, it wasn't as if what felt like half of Yaman hadn't already turned up at New Hope.

The pilgrim stream she'd anticipated was more like a flood, and the commissioned Guild-built wayhouses punctuating the new road from Mindelan, leased to those who ran them, had necessarily acquired simple but extensive dormitories and larger kitchens than first envisaged, as well as guard barracks. It was, she often thought, fortunate that austerity was piously appropriate, and to Yamanis aesthetic, for it had been very necessary. But a great deal of rice as well as pickles now flowed through Mindelan port, heading inland with shoals of fish, and even with only a small profit on each meal and night's accommodation, she and her Papa each had another sizeable group of prospering liegers and useful income to plough back into the contiguous fiefs.

And then there were the guards, samurai, spidren, ogre, Tortallan, Scanran, and canine. If there was a bandit gang stupid enough to try anything within a hundred miles of the Pilgrims' Way she'd be interested to meet them, but physical security was the least of it. Squads of the oversize Fourth Company of the King's Own were paired with samurai-and-spidren squads, all charged with improving as well as defending the Way and its users, and rotated patrol sections on a schedule that took them along its full length in a year. Samurai found it odd to be expected to help with a stuck cart, but not to labour on a sacred roadway; the Own had quite the opposite reaction, and both learned, while obligatory training and sparring practice led to much thoughtfulness all round. Well and good. The troop of fighting ogres — who had recognised that wars would be in short supply for a while, concluded it would be a good time to see to such things as having children, and decided New Hope was clearly the place to do so — were alternating time on the Way and at New Hope itself, learning Uinse's and Brodhelm's routines. And if it only made sense for her to have a proper Scanran Clanchief's guard, as Ragnar had earnestly insisted, their size and fearsome speed with their axes made them not only impressive but useful sparring partners for everyone, even the ogres. Well and better. What Kel had not foreseen was that Wuodan and the Hunt would without being asked extend their protection to the Way, deeming it a spur of the Great North Road — or so he had told her, tongue lolling but in his cheek just the same. She suspected it had more to do with their being bored while Lord Weiryn was restricted to his own lands, and hadn't argued, but the tendency of such very large hounds to turn up at wayhouse mealtimes, and observe weapons training with occasional commentary, was keeping things lively, to say the least; even if they did have to put out the flames in their eyes when they were wheedling cooks and making ironic observations to soldiers.

Owen had of course come to see as soon as he'd heard about it, bringing an only half-reluctant Wyldon with him. Their route from Cavall had joined the Way, and they'd arrived amid the evening tide of Yamani pilgrims, hats bobbing and heads swivelling as guards politely but firmly directed them off the road south of the fin. More dormitories had been built along it, between base and the outlet sough of the corral moat, and there were instructions in clear if sometimes oddly accented Yamani to settle in, eat, clear their minds of travel and distractions, and not present themselves at the Honesty Gate until dawn, when they might do so in orderly fashion. Wuodan's presence, loping beside Wyldon and greeting Jump with a friendly whuff, hadn't helped, nor her own as she was identified, though natural Yamani politeness had kicked in once they'd seen she was greeting personal guests. It didn't stop the stares, though, and when they'd made it over the stone bridge, and the towering bulk of the fin cut off the buzz of voices, she'd given Wyldon a wry look.

"Sorry about all that. They get a bit excited, not unnaturally, and those rules keep things manageable."

"So Wuodan has been explaining, Keladry. You've put an excellent system in place in very little time."

"Needs must, or we'd be swamped."

"I imagine, though I didn't mean only here. The whole Pilgrims' Way is running smoothly, and the guard arrangements are very sharp, as well as, ah, colourful. Not that I'd expect anything else from you."

"It's mostly just logistics and some common sense, Wyldon, as you know perfectly well." She grinned. "And ridiculous overkill, of course — I shouldn't think there's a bandit within a hundred leagues, by now." Owen nodded his approval. "But with mortals, spidrens, and ogres available pretty much everywhere, most of the time someone who can fix any problem is there swiftly."

Wyldon nodded. "So we saw. And the way they all train and cross-train, morning and evening — also impressive."

"Mmm. Are you going to accept the King's request to join the College of Weapons?"

"Yes, but only as a corresponding member. It's another very good idea of yours, but I want time at Cavall. I will write a treatise of lance-work for them, though. Goldenlake's promised to comment, and I'd be glad if you would too, once I've anything worth commenting on."

"Gladly. They landed me with glaives, of course, including from horseback. There isn't much common ground, except fighting in a mêlée with a broken lance, I suppose. And some legwork, actually, come to think of it."

"You've practiced with a broken lance?"

"Once or twice. Are you telling me you haven't?"

The discussion had carried them all cheerfully to dinner, but Wuodan had reappeared with the fruit and cheese, also from the direction of the kitchens, and commandeered the rest of the evening by telling Wyldon (of whom he clearly approved) and everyone else in the messhall (a rapidly rising number as word spread) the tale of his first Yamani Hunt. It had been fascinating to hear a hound's-eye view — and his eyes saw other than hers, as well as working very closely with his nose — but also thoroughly embarrassing, given his strong approval of her tactics and sharp interest in hunting with stormwings and dragons, not to mention a decidedly earthy turn of phrase. Ebony and Button had decided to contribute illustrations, and the laughter when Jadewing had tail-skittled the Fujiwara compound's samurai guards produced a wheezing toast to her from Uinse with a cheery wave of applause.

But Wuodan's notion of the Hunt extended to the kill, and though Dom had given her a long look she hadn't felt able to ask hound or darkings to conceal anything that had happened. So the tale had wound on to the Sekkinukesaku, and the messhall had grown very quiet indeed; there was a surprise, too, for Wuodan had been back to Heian-Kyó to see what had become known as the Well of Fools, and could convey what he'd seen to the darkings, as Rainbow had. His gaze had been unflinching as he'd padded past saluting samurai guards, down a spiral ramp to a viewing stone before the complex tableau of petrified people.

Tobeis named them truly, he'd concluded. Only chance and the Protector's need made them lawful prey, but the Hunt was righteous, her judgement swift, sure, and stringent. And like the Skullroad, they now serve to deter further offence, which is our purpose. All in all, a most satisfying occasion, and we would be glad to Hunt with you again, Protector, should need arise.

The toast after that had been from Fanche, laconic and well-judged to ease the sombre mood.

"Still proving worth your feed, Lady Kel, even when you're not here."

New Hopers had risen and bowed or curtseyed before they'd drunk, and when she'd wound up with Wyldon in her and Dom's private sitting-room, the now dangerously mobile twins bathed and asleep, and Owen sidetracked to the stables by Tobe and Jump with a rhapsody on Lord Arawn, his eyes on her had been dark.

"How much harm did you take amid all that amazement, Keladry?"

"Nothing thirty-six hours' unmoving sleep didn't put right, Wyldon. And none of the Sekkinukesaku are much trouble to my conscience, even Lady Noriko, though once it might have been enough for someone to give her a slap and a shake. Agreeing to kill Kit doesn't leave any excuses available, in my book. Lord Hidetaki, though … do you know about him?"

"Oh yes. I spent an evening in Corus with Their Majesties when we discussed the College."

"Did Thayet and Roald make better sense than Jonathan and Shinko?"

"Oddly, yes, again. You look sad."

"I am, Wyldon. Cricket has a bad case of pious awe, which is painful in a friend. And" — her heart had lightened — "Lord Sakuyo said Jonathan would have a headache for weeks if he was shown the third kanji. I decided I'd rather not spend a week on a boat with him in that kind of mood, so he didn't get to see it himself. Do you disapprove?"

"I'm not sure I'd dare." His voice had been solemn, his look bone dry, and she'd laughed, waving a hand. "But no, I don't. It sounds perfectly sensible. His Majesty has always needed some managing. And I think I understand what Her Majesty and Prince Roald said, though I can't picture all the artwork they talked about."

In for a groat, in for a bushel, Kel had supposed, and while the darkings showed him, she drew the three kanji cleanly on a sheet of paper, and showed him how they fell in light and colour.

"Ah. Yes. Astonishing. And an amazing building. I'd like to see that with my own eyes." He had been genuinely moved, but he was still Wyldon. "But what of Lord Hidetaki? A warrior who mis-stepped as badly as he did might properly expect to die. Or any royal servant — if he hadn't crossed into open treason he was within a hair's breadth of it, and had clearly been suborned in some measure, if only by playing to his innate prejudices. I'd say he got off lightly, all things considered. Nor was it you who punished him, Keladry, either time. Quite the opposite, in fact — you offered him a depth of grace everyone found humbling, if Her Majesty had it right."

"I know all that in my head. But you didn't hear the sound he made. I don't think I've ever heard more desolation in a man's voice." Then she'd added another niggling truth. "He was old and sincere, for all he was being an idiot. I shouldn't have been so much wiser than him, but I was. He was in the way, struggling, and I set him aside, as one would a child. It was needful, and I don't doubt that, but he haunts me as the Sekkinukesaku don't."

"Ah. Yes, sound can haunt." He had been silent for a while, and her hand had found Dom's. "I may be quite wrong, and presumptuous — it would hardly be the first time — but I wonder if it isn't he who haunts you, but another sincere old idiot you had to set aside, if not quite as one would a child."

She'd been horrified, stopped only by his swiftly upraised hand. "Gods, Wyldon, I didn't mean anything like — "

"No, I know you didn't, Keladry. Nor even think it. You wouldn't. But perhaps you should. Please." He'd insisted on pouring glasses of wine. "I know you're usually abstemious, as I am, but there are times, and this is one. Which doesn't make saying this any easier, but we both know I did you great wrong before I did better, and you forgave me for it. I thank the gods for that, you know, every day. But I also recognise that the rage you can wield so devastatingly has many sources, and I am — or at any rate, the things I did are — among them, rightfully. Hear me out, please. I also know I'm far from the only old male idiot you have cause to pop from his saddle with every satisfaction, though by this stage we must be like a row of sitting ducks, so I wonder if what you feel isn't like my sick feeling when I routinely unhorse some young pup and he falls badly?"

She'd found herself leaking silent tears as she nodded. "Yes, that's it. Hidetaki was like a rabbit that runs the wrong way, right into a hound's jaws. He would have preferred death to that degree of mortification, but there's no undoing it. I almost wish the Emperor hadn't forbidden him to commit seppuku, even though I know the dead can't help."

"Mmm. That's compassion, though, not command, as your tears attest. A living example may be needed. I wonder … If I went to see that painting, to gratify my own curiosity as well as giving my wife and daughter a trip they've been speculating about, loudly, would you like me to seek an interview? We might be of some use to one another, I think."

She'd been speechless for a moment at the wonder of it. "Would you? But Wyldon, do you really mean to visit Yaman? You mustn't go just on my account."

"No, no, Keladry. I was as wrong about the Yamanis as I was about you. Their weapons are very fine, and their horses. They have some wardogs I want to investigate, too. Nor was I joking about my family wanting to go — they were very taken with the delegation that came to your wedding, and the way you look in kimonos." She'd stared and he'd smiled. "Truly. They say they're becoming fashionable, and who am I to argue? I might have come with you all, but Naxen asked me to stay, so a trip is overdue, really."

She hadn't seen Wyldon since his return, but had had a very long letter, mostly detailing visits to the Temple of Weapons (with some interesting conversations there), the Emperor's stud, some army kennels, and Edo, as well as saying how gracious Their Imperial Majesties had been in welcoming them, but including an account of an afternoon with Lord Hidetaki discussing the value of lessons from the young. The old kamunushi had (he hoped) found it helpful; practical as ever, Wyldon had also thought meditating in isolation overdone, and suggested to Patricine the Guild might draw Hidetaki into consultation about using its new techniques for traditional structures. Kel had known from her surprised but approving sister that that had already happened, but not a detail Wyldon drily remarked, that Yamanis unfailingly referred to the old man as Blessed Hidetaki, apparently without the least irony.

"As well they might, love," had been Dom's only comment, but she had felt a weight ease in her heart. And perhaps that unlikely rehabilitation had been a sign of sorts, for not long afterwards the Emperor had decided things were stable enough to allow his visit to Tortall, and a flood of imperial communication had joined the flood of pilgrims. Quite how logistics and protocol could intertwine and multiply never failed to amaze her, but the net result was that he would come in the first place on private pilgrimage to New Hope and Drachifethe, before heading to Corus in state; and the pleasing consequence was that while she was present at Mindelan when he arrived, with the Yamani ambassador and his wife, she only had to stand there while her parents welcomed him.

The harbour was bright and busy in the June sun, evidence of burgeoning Yamani and Guild trade visible everywhere, including a new temple of Sakuyo, a small but beautiful dome surrounded by a sward of hardy dunegrass between two new warehouses. As Kel had hoped, Mindelan had become a major source of petrified webbing, serving nautical demand as well as the army, and spidrens and basilisks as well as many of her father's liegers and a thick wedge of resident Yamani merchants and factors looked on with interested anticipation as the imperial warship was warped in to the quay. Its lines weren't much different from those of the Tortallan navy ships, but the dragon-head carving at the prow and the bright colours of kimonos were eye-catching, not least because the Empress had also come, with Prince Taikyuu, so the imperial retinue was larger than it might have been. There was also Haarist'aaniar'aan, who had been sufficiently taken with Yaman, and what his younger kin were doing with the Guild, to have decided he ought to have a more thorough look at the mortal realms; the Emperor had rather cleverly recruited him, after a fashion, by offering freedom to go where he would, an escort, and a supply of rock delicacies in return for an evening of imperial conversation once a month, helping inform new understandings of immortals and gods. He would now be staying at New Hope for a while, and touring Tortall. Beside her, Inness whistled softly.

"That is one big basilisk. You did say, Kel, but seeing is something else. Is it like spidrens, growing as they age?"

"I think so. It's just that most of the ones who moved to the mortal realms were of an age, give or take the odd century, so we don't really see. But Tkaa is an inch or two taller than Var'istaan, I've noticed, and he's a bit taller than some at New Hope."

"Interesting. Run me through who they all are?"

She didn't know every face, but pointed out Keiichi, Takemahou-sensei, Hayato-sensei and some others, noticing the absence of Lord Kiyomori and the presence in a Second Kamunushi's robes of Revered Eiji. Or presumably now Lord Eiji, though Blessed would cover it, either way. Explanation to Inness was curtailed as the gangplank was secured and greetings began, with the imperials strikingly informal, and revealing much improved if still accented Tortallan. Neither her Papa nor Anders had said anything when she and Tobe had assumed order of age, putting themselves after Inness, but when the Emperor and Empress came to her he offered a short bow and quirked an eyebrow when she returned it with a deeper one.

"Still so modest, Keladry-chan?"

"As noble subjects should be, Daichi-shushou."

It was the way Yamanis had begun to refer to him, acknowledging a new affection and declaring a great reign, the old imperial title never having been used as an honorific before, and he gave a barking laugh.

"I have been waiting for someone to say that to my face. I should have known."

"Then I should be Reiko-kisai, I suppose." The Empress took Kel's hands, eyes warm in her white face. "You are well, Blessed Keladry-chan?"

"Never better, thank you, my Empress. Dom's minding New Hope and the twins, as well as Their Majesties. Which is the greater burden I'm not sure. But Tobe though Prince Taikyuu might like some company."

"So he would, and has a gift we must talk to you about, when we can."

"Indeed."

The Emperor had a glint in his eye Kel regarded with suspicion, but it had to wait as Jump demanded his own introduction, and a now elderly Nari landed on her shoulder, peeping interest; then the ambassador and his wife were greeted with rather more formality but also warm praise that had them relaxing. Kel gave her own welcomes to Patricine, Toshuro, and her nephew and nieces, and gathered from her parents that an imperially chartered merchantman was due as well as the warship, but still some hours out as it was less handy in the fitful wind. She also discovered from Eiji that he was indeed a Lord, but had declined to leave Edo altogether, so Lord Kiyomori was spending as much time with him there as in Heian-Kyó.

"We do not much like one another, Most Blessed, truth to tell, but unlike Blessed Hidetaki he did not need telling twice, and we rub along."

"Most Blessed?"

"Well, we had to do something, and His Imperial Majesty had already used it. Lots of people are Lord Sakuyo's Blessed these days, but you did rather more than hear him laugh." He gave her a look suspiciously filled with anticipation. "I've managed to forestall a formal shrine, but our dedication day services really can't avoid the example you set us, Most Blessed, and you will I'm afraid be hearing from a sculptor the Mayor of Edo has insisted on commissioning."

Kel took a deep breath and managed, just, not to roll her eyes. "So long as I don't have to look at the result, Eiji." She looked at the jade brooch he wore. "Did everyone get tokens of blessedness?"

"Oh yes. And by means no-one quite understands, it is accepted that those who also saw him wear them on the left" — he tapped his own — "while those who only heard his laughter from outside wear them on the right."

Kel stifled a snort. People were very odd. "Well, I'd be grateful if you dropped the 'Most' here, Eiji — my people really don't need to be given ideas."

He smiled. "I'll try. Perhaps more congenially, I can also say that while it will take a while to retire all those who saw politics as more important than piety, Kiyomori and I have begun, and are moving up men more of poor Hotaka's stamp. And he joins me in bringing you most heartfelt thanks for alerting us to More Blessed Kitashi-san, who has told his tale of cats and pigeons far and wide, and is doing much to bring other rural kamunushi up to his own high mark."

Kel didn't especially want to hear of her own fame, but was pleased to know the old man was enjoying himself, and unwillingly amused by the 'More Blessed'. Still, she was better pleased when Hayato-sensei joined them to talk of the interesting work the Temple of Weapons had been doing, not least with her nephew and nieces.

"They still grumble about muscle-burn, Most Blessed, but have worked very hard. Akemi-chan has some true promise, and as Lady noh Akaneru tells me she will be staying with you at New Hope for a while now, I would ask that you undertake her instruction, if your duties allow."

"Of course. She's written once or twice, but tell me what's needed?"

Learned discussion of moves and stances, with adjustments Akemi's developing curves and shifting balance were demanding, took them through the streets to the family residence. Kel had to return various greetings from people who remembered her as a child, and from merchants and shopkeepers she or the Guild dealt with, and felt the Yamanis watching with interest the combination of respect and ease.

Getting everyone to appropriate bedrooms left the residence feeling stuffed to the rafters, but in honour of the occasion Kel's Papa had installed a proper teahouse in one of the quietest corners of the garden, and late in the afternoon she found herself there. The three imperials were present, with Keiichi, and her family, but no-one else, though servants and guards lurked. Her Mama brewed tea, smiling at the beautiful petrified-wood set Kel had given her, complete with a spell-heated kettle, and Tobe helped her serve before taking a cushion at Kel's side, Jump thumping down at his feet and the sparrows distributing themselves on various willing shoulders. The visible flowers and branches weren't Yamani at all, and the contrast with the neat tatami matting and niches for the scrolls was striking. But the kanji on the scrolls were jest, tranquility, and healthy child, a decision at which Kel had rolled her eyes to no avail, and after the formalities Daichi-shushou nodded appreciation, staying in Yamani.

"This is very fine, Ilane-sama."

"I've always wanted a proper teahouse, my Emperor, but there's always been something more urgent to do, until now. So I'm delighted you honour us by inaugurating it."

"Ah. We're glad to be useful, then, especially when the results are so beautiful. And these wise sparrows are most charming. Did Keladry-chan not object to the choice of kanji, though?"

"Of course, but we took no notice. It isn't her teahouse. And she's done quite enough with the ones on the Pilgrims' Way by way of rebuke."

"Oh?"

Tobe grinned. "My favourite is the one by Stagdale, my Emperor, where the wagon livestock is bred. It looks over one of the pastures, and the kanji are mules, stubborn, and ridiculous."

"A subject worth much meditation." Kel kept her voice demure amid the laughter. "I've learned a great deal from mules."

"And they from you, I should think, my dear." Her father shook his head, smiling. "But one tribute you're going to have to accept gracefully."

"Yes, indeed. Keiichi-sensei?"

With a perfectly straight face Keiichi produced a simple scroll with a pale monochrome ribbon and the imperial seal. And he was serious, however amused, she realised, and knew what it must be.

"The haiku you are owed, Most Blessed Protector-sensei."

She took it with mixed feelings, wondering what Isao-sensei had come up with. Slipping the ribbon off, she unrolled it and found out.

Wet blossom teaches

wonderful humility.

He is still laughing.

The kanji were as simple as they could be, the brushwork clean, and Keiichi still had an earnest look.

"Isao-sensei wrote it a while ago, Most Blessed, but insisted he speak it aloud in the griffins' presence before it be allowed. It took some time to arrange."

"I imagine it did." Kel had a vision of the old man scrambling up the mountains calling for griffins, and swallowed laughter, realising other immortals must have helped. "Do please convey my thanks to him, sensei, for his great scruple. And tell me, does Lord Sakuyo's Joke work as I hoped?"

The Emperor answered her. "Surely, Keladry-chan. Scrolls of the best haiku are already circulating. The most striking I recall was, Such wealth underneath Blessed Hidetaki's hat. I have seen ghosts smile."

Kel wished she had her shukusen to hide behind, and had to draw hard on the stillness of her lake. "The greyness works in your copy as well, then. It's still potent in the big one. But Blessed Hidetaki's hat is … a strange name in more ways than one."

"I agree, but he found it comforting, oddly. As he did the visit of Lord Wyldon, who was most interesting on the subject of learning from you, Keladry-chan. A very impressive man."

"Yes, he is, Daichi-shushou. I dread to think what he had to say about that, mind, though I've probably heard it."

"Much but not all, I think. He confessed himself still amazed and often baffled by you, but said you had forced him to think about himself and his beliefs more deeply than anyone else, to his great benefit. And that the only large thing he had ever managed to give you was a horse, and even then only when your need for one was urgent, an advantage I do not have. But at Taikyuu's clever insistence, we have dared to bring a horse all the same, a fine young pangare bay colt, for Tobeis-chan."

Kel didn't need to look at Tobe's face to know she was lost, and after cushions were rearranged to let Taikyuu tell him all about it she gave the Emperor a wry look.

"It's extremely kind of you, as well as thoroughly sneaky."

"Emperors have to be, alas. And a princely gift was owed him in his own right, not only for Sekkinukesaku. But I do have one or two things for you I hope you will accept, despite your wary look. First, your naginata blade has seen hard service, and was scored by that crossbow bolt. Hayato-sensei measured its weight and dimensions most carefully, and believes you will be very happy with the one we have crafted as a replacement."

Defeated again, Kel nodded meekly. "Thank you. I've been worrying about that, though it's only a bad scratch."

"Good." He gave a genuine smile. "Lord Wyldon said I must appeal to your passions, not try to address the great worth so obvious to everyone else. Do you have a tearoom showing horses, children, and naginata?"

She had to laugh. "No, but I will. How splendid. Umeboshi, Domitan, and knighthood would also be true, but the jokes would be too rude."

"Sweeting!"

Her Mama sounded as scandalised as amused, but Yamanis had no problem with earthy humour, and Reiko's eyes were dancing.

"Indeed, Keladry-chan. All saw your mutual devotion. And I think perhaps the last thing is for Domitan-sama. I do have some kimonos for you, and a teaset, but those are ordinary, and this tale is not. One among those who saw you that night in Sorei was a carver of soapstone reliefs, and he was moved to a fine image of you flanked by griffins, hound, and hyena before dragons and basilisk, with stormwings above. It is now in Lord Sakuyo's temple, where he presented it. But the night after he had done so he dreamed vividly, waking with a great urge to carve. And when he heard our pilgrimage announced he came to the Daidairi, showing his work and asking if he might come to our presence. The guards needed only one look to pass him through, and he asked us if we would bear this to you."

She took up a package she had brought, a small but heavy box, and in the Yamani manner with boxed gifts opened it and removed cotton padding before passing it to Kel, whose breath caught as Nari peeped surprise from her shoulder. It was quite unlike most soapstone work, a relief portrait in one polished face of an irregular piece of red-veined stone, but it showed her laughing the terrible laugh, serene and deadly, and some trick of carving or rock brought it alive. Memory of the moment flared — Fujiwara's sneer, the distorting space that announced dragons, and her merciless amusement laced with unavailing sorrow for fools. But her lake was calm, and the image only truth. Distantly the thought came to her that once this knowledge would have left her horrified at herself, but no longer.

"Lord Sakuyo's hand, and Lord Gainel's, I imagine. And yes, for Dom, not me." She passed it to her Papa, whose face froze, and looked at Reiko. "Did the carver dream its name?"

She nodded. "Oh yes, though he said he didn't think he understood it properly. The Burden."

Kel closed her eyes. "Yes. That's the one."

Time did not allow the Emperor to walk the Pilgrim's Way, as he would genuinely have wished, and in fine weather they easily rode two and sometimes three walking stages a day. Kel and her Papa had had the road built wide enough for wagons to pass, though bridges and fords were still bottlenecks and muletrains had to be manoeuvred around. But with the way basilisks had transformed layered gravel into a smooth surface, slightly angled to shed rain, both foot and wheeled traffic flowed easily. The way pilgrims hastily stepped aside for a fast-moving mounted party bothered her, but it wouldn't happen very often, and gods knew those stepping aside were more pleased than irritated to do so, calling out praise-greetings in Yamani when they saw for whom they made way.

Tobe's new colt was too young to be ridden on such a journey, but trotted beside him happily, already as entranced by his horse magic as he by its beauty. Kel helped him with the grooming, enjoying the animal herself, its classic lines promising a valuable addition to New Hope's breeding stock. Prince Taikyuu was there, as often as not, his and Tobe's conversation a bewildering mix of Yamani and Tortallan, and she came to know him a little better, appreciating his intelligent understanding of the changes that were underway in Yaman, and would profoundly affect his own life, as they were affecting his parents' lives and reigns.

Kel had been genuinely surprised by Reiko's appearance on the first morning in riding leathers and without face paint, but not even Yamani protocol could sensibly insist that a woman riding daily forty-mile stages should be whitely expressionless, and she was taking advantage. Her retinue and maids of necessity followed her lead, but that didn't mean she or any of them found it easy, and Kel and her Mama reckoned progress in a decreasing daily count of shukusen uses. Paint still appeared at evening stops and brief teahouse ceremonies, including one at Stagsford amid the kanji Tobe admired, but that was only to be expected. And as word could not outpace them, they created a rippling wave of shock as pilgrims realised what they were seeing, and converted praise-greetings to more personal acclaimation. Shouts of Reiko-kisai joined those of Daichi-shoshou within a day, and Kel was contemplating complex looks on imperial faces when Keiichi ranged beside her, following her gaze.

"Have I ever told you how happy I am my sister had the great wisdom to befriend you all those years ago?"

"Several times, Keiichi, as you know perfectly well. But those looks are Lord Sakuyo's doing, and their own, not mine."

"All together, Keladry, as you know perfectly well, however you squirm about it. I saw you beguile your King's Council, and all those most bearded Scanrans, so I know when you have done as much to Yaman."

Kel grinned. "You should see the Council of Ten these days. I went up to Hamrkeng a couple of months back for a meeting, and Ragnar Ragnarsson had fixed it for Lord Sakuyo's day. What Scanrans think good jests you really don't want to know."

Keiichi thought about it, and shuddered delicately. "I am very sure I don't. Such an alarming notion. But I shall not succumb to your talent for distraction, Keladry. You were in Yaman barely two weeks, yet you left us deeply beguiled. Despite his excruciating accent, Nealan is quite right you were Lord Sakuyo's favoured partner in three very great jests. It is entirely mortifying, and I am most properly grateful."

"Don't you start. And don't encourage Neal — he was bad enough when the temple at Queenscove was dedicated."

"Ah yes. Yuki-chan wrote me a long letter, thrilled by the High One's blessing."

"I was better pleased it was only blossom, Keiichi. His Nibs must be in a mellow mood, resting after his labours. I hope." She got a sidelong look. "But it's a nice building, a bit grander than the one at Mindelan but just as pleasing. Geraint's getting very good at using line rather than fussy ornaments."

"This I was told also, though in rather more words. And his work is being closely followed." He shook his head. "How is it you bring so many new things?"

"But I don't, Keiichi. The world turned, and they brought themselves. I just try to use them. It's made New Hope one big experiment, where my job is keeping everyone safe, fed, and happy."

In a week of travel Kel had many such conversations with members of the Yamani party, some prompted by Nari and her flock, performing their usual scouting duties to fascinated astonishment, some by the way the guard system worked, some by the smooth roadway and the elegant, arched bridges Guild teams had built over anything wide or deep enough to be a nuisance, and others by simple curiosity and received rumour. Having to repeat herself so often was tedious, but the exercise served its purpose, shifting inhibiting respect towards practical engagement. Anders and Inness were a great help, an alarmed Vorinna having been left in charge at Mindelan, and the chance to talk with them both was a blessing. And in an odd way the pilgrims helped too, for while pious they were also cheerful with adventure and the sights of a foreign land, and mostly seemed to classify her as just one more marvel among many. At the lunchtime and evening stops they saw her easy interaction with her tenant innkeeps and their families, or with mixed guard troops, listening with her Papa to what was going well and what might need some adjustment, and found themselves being asked for any complaints or suggestions they might have. Footcare was inevitably a concern, but there was at least a hedgewitch at most wayhouses, and sometimes a healer, as well as cobblers and farriers; she did think, though, that some children accompanying parents, and some older pilgrims, were being pushed to their limit, and made a note to see about making some more mules and small wagons available on the stages with steeper climbs.

From Mindelan the Way ran through open land for several days, climbing only gently, but as it angled north towards New Hope the first outliers of the Grimholds made for more rugged terrain, hillsides more wooded, with firs appearing, and the streams a little faster and colder. Besides the wayhouses settlement was still sparse, though one or two new farms occupied valley bottoms, and livestock was pastured on greener and gentler slopes. The old route had gone via Frasrlund and the Vassa Road, so this cross-country angle wasn't yet familiar, and she hadn't quite appreciated how it worked on pilgrims, both in the practicalities of travel and on what she supposed one had to call a spiritual plane. The road, inevitably, was still a raw line through the land, and as the land became wilder, occasional night wolfsong closer and the smells of earth, trees, and water dominant, the sense of a rising progress towards a sacred destination grew steadily. Sightings of the hounds also increased, for though some had ranged as far as Mindelan itself, causing a considerable stir, they preferred the higher ground and trees. During the day there might only be one asleep on some sunny ledge above the road, or glimpsed loping across a hillside, but nights showed her just how skilfully they were wheedling bones and more. Few pilgrims wanted meat, but the innkeeps and their families did, hunting for it with her blessing, and the hounds knew when they'd made a kill. Arriving with Eiji at the wayhouse a day short of the Great North Road, not far south of Mastiff, she found one happily dealing with what looked like most of a haunch of venison, pilgrims in a wide and fascinated circle, and shook her head.

"You're going to get fat, Moradaunt, and then where will we be?"

His tongue lolled in a laugh. You should take us hunting again, then, Protector. And why should I chase deer when these nice mortals do it for me?

"Incorrigible."

Of course I am. Go ahead, little one. This last was to Jump, who settled in happily at the other end of the haunch, crooked tail wagging, as Moradaunt looked at her ironically. You can't say he doesn't earn his food, Protector. Oh, and when you're done with all these guests, you should go and hear that old tale-teller you once met, who specialises in us. He was delighted to meet us, once he got over his fright, so we told him about our Yamani hunt and he has added it to his repertoire. Some details are a bit exaggerated but he's got most of it right, and does tell it well.

"Worse and worse." But it wasn't as if the tale wasn't already in wide circulation, and a reasonably accurate version was as much as she could hope for; besides, she remembered that old man with pleasure, and thought she might indeed look him up, and invite him to visit New Hope. Tobe and Irnai would be interested, too. "I must get on, but my thanks on Jump's behalf and my best to Malandra."

Of course.

Kel headed for the wayhouse proper, Eiji still beside her.

"Who is Malandra, Blessed?"

"His mate."

"Indeed." He hesitated. "It is said you called all the hounds' names that night, but none could remember them."

"The power went with the staff, Eiji, but not the knowledge it had given. And there's at least one book Numair has that names them all rightly, so I don't think it's any secret." She gave him a smile. "Knowing which one you're seeing might be trickier, mind. That is a lingering blessing of the staff, I think."

"Ah. I would be glad of the title, Blessed. Lord Weiryn is a most interesting god, I find. Bowmaker, hunter, wild justicer, and husband to a new goddess of fertility."

"More childbirth, I think. But yes, Weiryn's all of those. Daine has some good stories, but she's picky about when and to whom she tells them."

Reiko, hands massaging her lower back after the day's riding, had come up behind them, listening, and cocked her head.

"The Godborn is at New Hope, Keladry-chan?"

"She is, my Empress. Numair's teaching his magic-blending seminar, and she feels an obligation to the birds she magicked during the war. They find it hard to go back to being ordinary hawks and owls, she says, so she does, well, counselling sessions, I suppose."

"More kindness in wonder. And I do like your Jump and sparrows. I always wished as a child that my cats could speak, and your horse-sergeant on his rounds is a great favourite amid tales of you."

"Peachblossom? Huh. You should tell him so, and he'll slobber proud gratitude. He's getting on, though, and his leg aches, which makes him grumpy. Lord Arawn's visit helped — he was dizzy with excitement after that." So had everyone else been who'd seen the magnificent horse god. "But age is age."

"Truly, as my back is telling me."

"Not far now. And New Hope has a hot bath."

Properly speaking, Kel had been the imperials' host since they had left the duchy of Mindelan for her own western lands, but her parents had continued in the role so far as evening seating and the like were concerned. That would change at New Hope, where her blessed Papa refused to exert any paternal or ducal prerogatives, and as the Way became the Great North Road, entering the Greenwoods valley, they dropped back and she and Tobe rode beside the imperials. The westering sun still lit the face of the fin, but the rich summer fields were already mostly empty, and the cliffs dotted with lights. Ogre terracing gleamed white against darker hillside, and Geraint's glasshouse flared reflections, hiding the young orange and lemon trees within. To Kel the best thing was the sound of children playing, happy with extended bedtimes on long summer evenings, and the sparrows who swirled about as those who had stayed greeted the returners, but she suspected the Emperor was seeing with a more military eye. He and the Empress did look intently at the line of dormitories as well as the corral, and like Wyldon praised the clear instructions for arriving pilgrims; but when they passed the fin and came to the stone bridge, guards saluting, he paused, staring at the gleaming icelights and the great dragon-sign, radiant in the dusk, then looking around, and finally cranking his head back to peer up at the towering height of the fin.

"You were up there, Keladry-chan?"

"I was, yes. Let's get people on their way, my Emperor, and I'll show you."

Maids and servants needed time to unpack, and once the baggage animals and retinue were past, their noise receding, she pointed.

"Trebuchet. Maggur's pavilion. So for the first painting, Daichi-shushou, I was there, on the North Tower, where the stormwing younglings are perched, for the second up on the fin, and for the third just about here, when the sally force came round from the coral. High, higher, and very gratefully back on the ground. And there, right on cue, is Junior, coming to see what the fuss is about."

The Emperor nodded, eyeing the circling griffin kit and the small stormwings who took off to greet him, but his gaze dropped back to New Hope and became hooded.

"And men charged up that roadway. Madness."

"Desperation, and battle-blindness, yes. And the berserkir. Pure force. It might well have worked if I hadn't had the dragonfire, but once they were broken, that was it, with only Maggur himself to mop up."

"A little more than that, I think."

"Not really, my Empress, though the oathtaking went on for ever."

"So your esteemed father said. And that gleaming area is where Takemahou-sensei's mageblasts did their job?"

"Yes. But do you remember I said the haiku naming Blessed Hidetaki's Hat was strange for more than one reason? Well, come and see."

As they rode towards the base of the fin, still accompanied by a swirl of sparrows, she explained about the odd custom New Hopers had developed of touching the fallen outcrop for luck, and the mud tracked onto the roadway and gatehouse, to Uinse's irritation.

"The sough had to be repaired after the outcrop fell, and still tended to leak, so I had that fixed properly, but when I heard you were coming, my Emperor, I had a better idea. We'll need to dismount. Tobe, hold the horses?"

She led them to the flagged path that now ran from road to outcrop, bridging the new sough over a drystone arch the ogres had created for her, and opened a gate to let them through the cutting in the low, grassy bank made of the earth displaced by the outcrop's fall. The sparrows settled on it, but the path continued to its base, forking around curving mossy sides, and on either hand were Yamani stone gardens, fine white gravel lapping around carefully placed rocks chosen for colour, texture, shape, and something beyond all of them she thought of as the rock's grace in its own being. Beaded icelights glowed softly along the borders, hazing some natural shadows while others strengthened as the twilight deepened. She was very pleased with it even without the joke, and she liked the joke a lot.

"Oh!" The Empress clapped her hands softly, eyes wide. "This is splendid."

Kel nodded. "I think so. And the basilisks loved doing it, as did Kit, who likes lighting up the rocks. It was only finished a few days before I had to leave for Mindelan." She switched to Yamani. "The thing is, my Emperor, people had a name for the fallen outcrop that I wasn't happy about, though I saw the humour. I fired the mageblasts, after all, to drop it on Gissa's and Tolon's heads, and they called it Lady Kel's Hat, much as they call the look-out post up on the fin-top my eyrie. It's quite a good joke, really, but it's far too big a hat for me, and if people are going to be touching it for luck, it should be properly dedicated. And you know, it does look like a hat, but not any Tortallan hat I've ever seen." Kel took a breath. "So, my Emperor, I renamed it Lord Sakuyo's Hat, and insist on the proper name. He didn't say anything, but next day those little flowers of his were growing in the moss, as you can see, so he was amused at my answer to his joke with the paintings. But I haven't dared tell Takemahou-sensei yet, and I'd be very grateful if you could do it for me."

She didn't actually think the prickly warmage would mind at all, but asking gently capped so many jokes and tensions. The Emperor looked at his wife and son, drew a deep breath himself, becoming serene, and bowed to the mossy rock.

"But of course, Keladry-chan. And this is perfect. There will be more haiku, though."

She didn't have to count. "There already are." She grinned, squatting to score the kanji in the gravel, and saw him realise. "So long as it doesn't start happening spontaneously anywhere else. But I'm sincerely glad you like it. Time for a bath and some food, though."

They were just back through the cutting when she saw Tobe's new colt rear as Junior skidded in to land rather closer than a horse could think reasonable. Tobe's hand shot out to grasp the hooked beak.

"Junior! Behave! He's new, he's gorgeous, he's mine, and if you scare him again I'll pull out your tail-feathers myself, never mind Ma."

Released, Junior eyed Tobe for a minute before booting at his knee, and almost managed to look contrite.

"Un-huh. I mean it." Tobe swiftly gripped the feathered body tightly, and rose, lifting him within the colt's easy reach. "Here. Tanrei-chan, this is Junior, a young griffin. Junior, this is Tanrei. Now make nice."

Neither party seemed altogether sure of this instruction, but a glare from Tobe had Junior leaning forward to breathe into Tanrei's nostrils, as one should greeting a horse, and inhaling Tanrei's breath in his turn before a wriggle demanded he be set down to boot again at Tobe's knee.

Kel let out a breath of her own. "Now that's a wonder and a half."

She had taken the imperials, royals in tow, north to Dragontown, for Drachifethe and a side-dish of diplomacy, Jorvik Hamrsson and some of the Council of Ten taking the chance to pay respects and put faces to names. She had taken them west to see the first set of gated channels bypassing a run of rapids on the Vassa, and inspect the second, much greater set that were still under construction. She had hosted dinners in the gleaming messhall, for Ennor of Frasrlund, Ferghal haMinch, and some lesser lords to pay their own respects, as well as some senior divines and mages from the City of the Gods. She had introduced them to scores of immortals, from Quenuresh and no less than eight stormwings younger than Amourta to a visiting kudarung and even an unusually bold water-sprite who'd taken up residence in the moat; and sponsored presentations by the Guild and Numair of experiments in progress, including a further extension of the range of the mirror-spell with a way of relaying them by binding two mirrors face to face, which would make Tortallan–Carthaki contact possible and could open a link with Yaman, if king or emperor was prepared to have a boat permanently sailing in circles in the middle of the Emerald Ocean, which it had sounded as if they were. She had conducted a Samradh service with some marriages and namedays, where the Emperor had offered Lord Weiryn formal thanks for the services of the Hunt, and the double shrine had very satisfactorily glowed silver while Wuodan and Frige looked ironically on. She had even, with the help of family and friends, created some quiet times and spaces in which imperials and royals could renew and develop personal ties without godly or political nonsense to set them on edge.

And on this twenty-fourth birthday she'd hosted a farewell ball with a guest-list from which only gods were missing. The food had been spectacular, the laughter loud, and the dancing energetic. Things had wound down at last, and the twins had run themselves into happy exhaustion and been carted off to the nursery, but Diamondflame and Rainbow were still occupying the green, tripping down centuries of memory lane with Quenuresh, Barzha and other stormwings, some ogres, and Haarist'aaniar'aan, and the last time she'd seen them the imperials had been fishing for stories from an unlikely gathering of Uinse, Mikal, Fanche, and a bemused Connac (now running a second, soldier's tavern with his new Goatstrack wife and a light but unwavering hand). They would at least be sensible stories, and probably amusing, but she would inhibit the tellers, so tact and duty coincided nicely and she'd slipped out on the evening round she rarely missed when resident. A balmy night and many people still talking softly in the dark made the alures less than a refuge, and she had welcomed the solitary climb to her eyrie, especially once she was past Jonathan's commissioned panels depicting the siege and there was only the clean rock and the cool air beyond the icelight railings.

The duty guards welcomed her without surprise, and nothing to report. She knew Uinse had arranged a split shift so none would be on duty throughout the festivities, and after asking after one's ailing mother she just looked out over the heart of her fief, breathing deeply and letting her lake calm from the crowded emotions of the evening. She was contemplating the distant lights of Riversedge when she felt time slow, and wasn't surprised to look round and see Lord Sakuyo smiling at her while the guards noticed nothing at all.

"Happy birthday, daughter."

She bowed. "Hello, my lord, and thank you. For that soapstone carving too, and to Lord Gainel if he was involved. Dom adores it." He waved a hand and she frowned slightly. "You're being very discreet."

"It's a talent of mine. No-one will know I am here, except you and older immortals." His eyes were as starry as the thickly spangled sky. "You've managed to calm my Yamanis down again so nicely, and a proper visit would undo all the good work."

She considered him with some suspicion. "That's a new tack."

"Repeating a joke is beneath my dignity." He winked at her. "But yes, it is. I came partly with a message from my brother Weiryn, who agrees his hounds are getting fat despite all the employments you have found for them, and would like to talk to you sometime soon about giving them another proper run. Hush a minute. The staff doesn't have to knock you out like that, nor need lawful prey always die. This business of stormings and the Hunt needs some working out as well. But there's some fathers and husbands with thirsty heads and heavy hands that Sarra's taken a strong dislike to, not unreasonably, so he was wondering if you and Wuodan might kindly scare them into rather better behaviour."

She caught her dropping jaw. "That is … tempting, my lord. And dangerous."

"Protecting children is what you do, Keladry-chan. Among other things, of course. Do the means matter so much?"

"They might, my lord. But I'll talk to Lord Weiryn and Wuodan, certainly."

"Good. Sarra's been wanting to invite you to dinner again anyway, to talk about wanizame peppers, Yukimi's marvellous pickles, and her delightful shrine in Heian-Kyó. Clever of you, that. Diamondflame will be invited too, and will bring you, with Domitan and Tobeis, if they wish."

"Huh." She knew when she was being dragooned by gods, and commandingly wheedled by dragons, but having them working in prearranged tandem was a departure. And she had a nasty suspicion she had only herself to blame. "You said partly with a message, my lord?"

"So I did. I also wanted to tell you I don't mind if my Yamanis make shrines to you — which they are, and will, whatever Eiji thinks — because it only honours me the more. So don't fret about it." Kel rolled her eyes, and he smiled. "And to thank you for my marvellous new hat, of course. The stone gardens are delightful too, blossoming as beautifully as your sense of humour. I'm all pride in my own skill as a teacher, daughter."

She swallowed both alarm and a laugh. "As you should be, sensei. Do I make journeywoman jester, then?"

He laughed, but only as an old man might. "Surely, daughter. You did that at Heian-kyo, when your jest fitted within mine so very well, and mastery awaits you yet. Do you wonder we all watch with bated breath?"

"Piffle, my lord. But I'm glad you liked the hat joke. I meant it, you know, most earnestly."

He laughed again. "Of course you did. It is so very touching. And I cannot recall when any mortal last told any god they spoke piffle. Marvellous."

"Can't you? It's not as if there isn't frequent … occasion." But she was talking to air, and the guards looked round.

"Lady Kel?"

"Just a stray thought. I'll make sure your reliefs don't dawdle."

They thanked her and she slipped back down the spiral to the top of the steps, looking at New Hope, a dense pattern of lights and beings, and even at this height a murmuring buzz of conversation on the night air. Diamondflame glanced up at her for a long second, but didn't speak, and she began a slow, thoughtful descent, wondering at the sheer oddity of the gods, and whatever it was they'd made of her. Shrines to her? It seemed blasphemous as well as absurd, and it was all very well His Nibs telling her not to fret; but if he heard the prayers they received … and what could she do about it, anyway? Command and glory had never been part of her childhood dream and adult determination, let alone worship, any more than dying so stupidly and being sent back, with all that had followed. But she didn't have them instead, she had them as well, because whatever else she did, she protected, the small and anyone else who needed it. And if the Hunt could truly ride in warning rather than vengeance, it wasn't a resource to be wasted.

Dom was waiting in the fin gallery, and she looked a question

"Diamondflame said you'd be glad of some company again, and that His Nibs had dropped by. Trouble?"

"No, though not untroubling, love. Mostly birthday wishes and a thank you for his new hat, but also a message from Lord Weiryn."

"Ah. I might have guessed. Restive hounds?"

"Among other things. I'd rather sneak off to bed, but it seems we should have a word with Diamondflame while he's here. Oh, and I promised the guards I'd chase their reliefs up on time."

"Of course you did." Dom shook his head. "They're already in the gatehouse, love. Arrol sent them word as soon as he saw you heading up there, as all the duty sergeants always do. So it's just dragons before bedtime."

"Oh. Good. On we go, then."