Vance, Jack - Elder Isles 3 - Madouc

VIP免费
2024-12-04 0 0 758.89KB 256 页 5.9玖币
侵权投诉
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20Vance/Vance,%20Jack%20-%20Elder%20Isles%203%20-%20Madouc.txt
CHAPTER ONE
South of Cornwall, north of Iberia, across the Cantabrian Gulf from Aquitaine were the Elder
Isles, ranging in size from Gwyg’s Fang, a jag of black rock most often awash under Atlantic
breakers, to Hybras, the ‘Hy-Brasill’ of early Irish chroniclers: an island as large as Ireland
itself.
On Hybras were three notable cities: Avallon, Lyonesse Town and ancient Ys,* along with many
walled towns, old gray villages, castles of many turrets and manor houses in pleasant gardens.
*In primaeval times a land bridge briefly connected the Elder Isles to Old Europe.
According to myth, the first nomad hunters to arrive on Hybras, when they crossed the
Teach tac Teach and looked down along the Atlantic foreshore, discovered the city Ys
already in existence.
The landscapes of Hybras were varied. The Teach tac Teach, a mountain range of high peaks and
upland moors, paralleled the length of the Atlantic foreshore. Elsewhere the landscape was more
gentle, with vistas over sunny downs, wooded knolls, meadows and rivers. A wild woods shrouded the
entire center of Hybras. This was the Forest of Tantrevalles, itself the source of a thousand
fables, where few folk ventured for fear of en chantment. The few who did so, woodcutters and the
like, walked with cautious steps, stopping often to listen. The breathless silence, broken,
perhaps, by a far sweet bird call, was not reassuring in itself and soon they would stop to listen
again.
In the depths of the forest, colors became richer and more intense; shadows were tinged with
indigo or maroon; and who knows what might be watching from across the glade, or perched at the
top of yonder stump?
The Elder Isles had known the coming and going of many peoples: Pharesmians, blue-eyed Evadnioi,
Pelasgians with their maenad priestesses, Danaans, Lydians, Phoenicians, Etruscans, Greeks, Celts
from Gaul, Ska from Norway by way of Ireland, Romans, Celts from Ireland and a few Sea Goths. The
wash of so many peoples had left behind a complex detritus: ruined strongholds; graves and tombs;
steles carved with cryptic glyphs: songs, dances, turns of speech, fragments of dialect,
placenames; ceremonies of purport now forgotten, but with lingering flavor. There were dozens of
cults and religions, diverse except that in every case a caste of priests interceded between laity
and divinity. At Ys, steps cut into the stone led down into the ocean to the temple of Atlante;
each month in the dark of the moon priests descended the steps by midnight, to emerge at dawn
wearing garlands of sea flowers. On Dascinet, certain tribes were guided in their rites by cracks
in sacred stones, which none but the priests could read. On Scola, the adjacent island,
worshippers of the god Nyrene poured flasks of their own blood into each of four sacred rivers;
the truly devout sometimes bled themselves pale. On Troicinet, the rituals of life and death were
conducted in temples dedicated to the earth-goddess Gaea. Celts had wandered everywhere across the
Elder Isles, leaving behind not only place names, but Druid sacrifices in sacred groves, and the
‘March of the Trees’ during Beltane. Etruscan priests consecrated their an rogynous divinity
Votumna with ceremonies repulsive and often horrid, while the Danaans introduced the more
wholesome Aryan pantheon. With the Romans came Mithraism, Christianity, Parsh, the worship of
Zoroaster, and a dozen other similar sects. In due course, Irish monks founded a Christian
monastery* on Whanish Isle, near Dahaut below Avallon, which ultimately suffered the same fate as
Lindisfarne far to the north, off the coast of Britain.
*Somewhat later, King Phristan of Lyonesse allowed a Christian bishopric at
Bulmer Skeme, on the east coast of Lyonesse, insisting only that no wealth be
exported to Rome. Perhaps for this reason, the church received little support
from abroad, and the bishop exercised no great influence, either at Bulmer Skeme
or at Rome.
For many years the Elder Isles were ruled from Castle Haidion at Lyonesse Town, until Olam III,
son of Fafhion Long Nose, removed the seat of government to Falu Ffail at Avallon, taking with him
the sacred throne Evandig and the great table Cairbra an Meadhan, ‘the Board of Notables’ ,** and
the source of a whole cycle of legends.
**In years to come Cairbra an Meadhan would serve as model for the Round Table which
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20Vance/Vance,%20Jack%20-%20Elder%20Isles%203%20-%20Madouc.txt (1 of 256) [1/17/03 8:02:26 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20Vance/Vance,%20Jack%20-%20Elder%20Isles%203%20-%20Madouc.txt
graced King Arthur’s court at Camelot.
Upon the death of Olam III, the Elder Isles entered upon a time of troubles. The Ska, having been
expelled from Ireland, settled on the island Skaghane, where they rebuffed all attempts to
dislodge them. Goths ravaged the coast of Dahaut; sacking the Christian monastery on Whanish Isle,
sailing their longboats up the Cambermouth as far as Cogstone Head, from which they briefly
menaced Avallon itself. A dozen princelings vied for power, shedding much blood, wreaking much
grief and bereavement, exhausting the land, and in the end achieving nothing, so that the Elder
Isles became a patchwork of eleven kingdoms, each at odds with all the rest.
Audry I, King of Dahaut, never abandoned his claim to sovereignty over all the Elder Isles, citing
his custody of the throne Evandig as basis for his assertion. His claim was angrily challenged,
especially by King Phristan of Lyonesse, who insisted that Evandig and Cairbra an Meadhan were his
own rightful property, wrongfully sequestered by Olam III. He named Audry I traitor and caitiff;
in the end the two realms went to war. At the climactic battle of Orm Hill the two sides succeeded
only in exhausting each other. Both Phristan and Audry I were killed, and finally the remnants of
the two great armies straggled sadly away from the bloody field.
Audry II became king of Dahaut and Casmir I was the new king of Lyonesse. Neither abandoned the
ancient claims, and peace between the two realms was thereafter fragile and tentative.
So went the years, with tranquillity only a memory. In the Forest of Tantrevalles halflings,
trolls, ogres and others less easily defined, bestirred themselves and performed evil deeds which
no one dared punish; magicians no longer troubled to mask their identities, and were solicited by
rulers for aid in the conduct of temporal policy.
The magicians devoted ever more time to sly struggles and baneful intrigue, to the effect that a
goodly number had already been expunged. The sorcerer Sartzanek was one of the chief offenders; he
had destroyed the magician Coddefut by means of a purulence, and Widdefut through the Spell of
Total Enlightenment. In retaliation, a cabal of Sartzanek’s enemies compressed him into an iron
post which they emplaced at the summit of Mount Agon. Sartzanek’s scion Tamurello took refuge at
his manse Faroli, deep within the Forest of Tantrevalles and there protected himself by dint of
careful magic.
That further events of this sort might be avoided, Murgen, most potent of the magicians, issued
his famous edict, forbidding magicians employment in the service of temporal rulers, inasmuch as
such activity must inevitably bring magicians into new conflicts with each other, to the danger of
all.
Two magicians, Snodbeth the Gay, so-called for his jingling bells, ribbons and merry quips, and
Grundle of Shaddarlost, were brash enough to ignore the edict, and each suffered a severe penalty
for his presumption. Snodbeth was nailed into a tub to be devoured by a million small black
insects; Grundle awoke from his sleep to find himself in a dismal region at the back of the star
Achemar, among geysers of molten sulphur and clouds of blue fume; he too failed to survive.
Although the magicians were persuaded to restraint, travail and dissension elsewhere were rife.
Celts who had been placidly settled in the Daut province Fer Aquila became inflamed by bands of
Goidels from Ireland; they slaughtered all the Dauts they could find, elevated a burly cattle
thief named Meorghan the Bald to the kingship and renamed the land Godelia, and the Dauts were
unable to recapture their lost province.
Years passed. One day, almost by chance, Murgen made a startling discovery, which caused him such
vast consternation that for days he sat immobile, staring into space. By degrees his resolution
returned and at last he set himself to a program which, if successful, would slow and finally halt
the momentum of an evil destiny.
The effort preoccupied Murgen’s energies and all but eliminated the joy in his life. The better
to guard his privacy, Murgen set out barriers of dissuasion along the approaches to Swer Smod,
and, further, appointed a pair of demoniac gatekeepers, the better to turn back obstinate
visitors; Swer Smod thereupon became a place of silence and gloom.
Murgen at last felt the need for some sort of alleviation. For this reason he brought into
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20Vance/Vance,%20Jack%20-%20Elder%20Isles%203%20-%20Madouc.txt (2 of 256) [1/17/03 8:02:26 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20Vance/Vance,%20Jack%20-%20Elder%20Isles%203%20-%20Madouc.txt
existence a scion, so that he might, in effect, live two existences in tandem. The scion,
Shimrod, was created with great care, and was by no means a replica of Murgen, either in
appearance or in temperament. Perhaps the differences were larger than Murgen had intended, since
Shimrod’s disposition was at times a trifle too easy, so that it verged on the frivolous: a
condition which was at discord with current conditions at Swer Smod. Murgen, nevertheless,
cherished his scion and trained him in the skills of life and the arts of magic.
In the end Shimrod became restless and with Murgen’s blessing he departed Swer Smod in all good
cheer. For a period Shimrod wandered the Elder Isles as a vagabond, sometimes posing as a peasant,
more often as a peregrine 'knight' in search of romantic adventure.
Shimrod at last settled into the manse Trilda on Lally Meadow, a few miles into the Forest of
Tantrevalles. In due course the Ska of Skaghane perfected their military apparatus and invaded
North and South Ulfiand, only to be de feated by Aillas, the gallant young King of Troicinet, who
there upon became King of both North and South Ulfiand, to the grievous distress of Casmir, King
of Lyonesse.
Less than a dozen magicians remained extant throughout the Elder Isles. Some of these were
Baibalides of Lamneth Isle; Noumique; Myolander; Triptomologius the Necromancer; Condoit of Conde;
Severin Starfinder; Tif of the Troagh; and a few more, including some who were little more than
apprentices, or tyros. A goodly number of others had recently passed from existence — a fact
suggesting that magic might be a dangerous profession. The witch Desmei for reasons unknown had
dissolved herself during the creation of Faude Carfilhiot and Melancthe. Tamurello also had acted
imprudently; now, in the semblance of a weasel skeleton he hung constricted within a small glass
globe in Murgen’s Great Hall at Swer Smod. The weasel skeleton crouched in a tight curl, skull
thrust forward between the crotch formed by the upraised haunches, with two small black eyes
glaring from the glass, conveying an almost palpable will to work evil upon anyone who chanced to
glance at the bottle.
II
The most remote province of Dahaut was the March, governed by Claractus, Duke of the March and Fer
Aquila — a title somewhat hollow, since the old Duchy of Fer Aquila had long been occupied by the
Celts for their kingdom Godelia.
The March was a poor land, sparsely populated, with a single market town, Blantize. A few peasants
tilled barley and herded sheep; in a few tumbled old castles a ragtag gentry lived in little
better case than the peasants, consoled only by their honour and devotion to the doctrines of
chivalry. They ate more gruel than meat; draughts blew through their halls, flickering the flames
in the wall sconces; at night ghosts walked the corridors, mourning old tragedies.
At the far west of the March was a wasteland supporting little but thorn, thistle, brown sedge and
a few spinneys of stunted black cypress. The wasteland, which was known as the Plain of Shadows,
met the outlying fringes of the great forest in the south, skirted the Squigh Mires in the north
and to the west abutted the Long Dann, a scarp generally three hundred feet high and fifty miles
long, with the upland moors of North Ulfiand beyond. The single route from the plain below to the
moors above led through a cleft in the Long Dann. During ancient times a fortress had been built
into the cleft, closing the gap with stone blocks, so that the fortress effectively became part of
the cliff. A sally port opened upon the plain, and high above a line of parapets fronted a
terrace, or walkway. The Danaans had named the fortress ‘Poëlitetz the Invulnerable’; it had never
been taken by frontal assault. King Aillas of Troicinet had attacked from the rear, and so had
dislodged the Ska from what had been their deepest salient into Hybras.
Aillas with his son Dhrun now stood on the parapets, looking out over the Plain of Shadows. The
time was close upon noon;
the sky was clear and blue; today the plain showed none of the fleeting cloud shadows which had
prompted its name. Standing together, Aillas and Dhrun seemed much alike. Both were slender,
square-shouldered, strong and quick by the action of sinew rather than massive muscle. Both stood
at middle stature; both showed clear clean features, gray eyes and light brown hair. Dhrun was
easier and more casual than Aillas, showing in his style the faintest hint of carefully restrained
flamboyance, along with an indefinable light-hearted elegance: qualities which gave charm and
color to his personality.
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20Vance/Vance,%20Jack%20-%20Elder%20Isles%203%20-%20Madouc.txt (3 of 256) [1/17/03 8:02:26 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20Vance/Vance,%20Jack%20-%20Elder%20Isles%203%20-%20Madouc.txt
Aillas, constrained by a hundred heavy responsibilities, was somewhat more still and reflective
than Dhrun. His status required that he mask his natural passion and intensity behind a face of
polite indifference: to such an extent that the trait had become almost habitual. Similarly, he
often used a mildness close upon diffidence to disguise his true boldness, which was almost an
extravagance of bravado. His swordsmanship was superb; his wit danced and flickered with the same
sure delicacy, coming in sudden flashes like sunlight bursting through the clouds. Such occasions
transformed his face so that for a moment he seemed as youthful and jubilant as Dhrun himself.
Many folk, observing Aillas and Dhrun together, thought them to be brothers. When assured
otherwise, they tended to wonder at Aillas’ precocity in the fathering of his child. Dhrun, in
point of fact, had been taken as an infant to Thripsey Shee; he had lived among the fairies—how
many years? Eight, nine, ten? There was no way of knowing. Meanwhile, time in the outer world had
advanced but a single year. For compelling reasons, the circumstances of Dhrun’s childhood had
been kept secret, despite speculation and wonder.
The two stood leaning on the parapets, watching for those they had come to meet. Aillas was moved
to reminisce of earlier times. “I am never comfortable here; despair seems to hang in the air.”
Dhrun looked up and down the terrace, which in the bright sunlight seemed inoffensive enough. “The
place is old. It must be impregnated with misery, which weighs upon the soul.”
“Do you feel it, then?”
“Not to any great extent,” Dhrun admitted. “Perhaps I lack sensitivity.”
Aillas, smiling, shook his head. “The explanation is simple: you were never brought here as a
slave. I have walked these very stones with a chain around my neck. I can feel the weight and hear
the jangle; I could probably trace out where I placed my feet. I was in a state of utter despair.”
Dhrun gave an uneasy laugh. “Now is now; then is then. You should feel exultation in that you have
more than evened the score.”
Aillas laughed again. “I do indeed! Exultation mixed with dread makes for an odd emotion!”
“Hmf,” said Dhrun. “That is hard to imagine.”
Aillas turned to lean again on the parapet. “I often wonder about ‘now’ and ‘then’ and ‘what is to
be’, and how one differs from the other. I have never heard a sensible explanation, and the
thinking makes me more uneasy than ever.” Aillas pointed to a place down upon the plain. “See that
little hillock yonder, with the scrub growing up the slopes? The Ska put me to digging in a
tunnel, which was to extend out to that hillock. When the tunnel was finished, the tunnel gang
would be killed, in order to secure the secret. One night we dug up to the surface and escaped,
and so I am alive today.”
“And the tunnel: was it ever finished?”
“I would expect so. I have never thought to look.”
Dhrun pointed across the Plain of Shadows. “Riders are coming: a troop of knights, to judge by the
glint of metal.”
“They are not punctual,” said Aillas. “Such indications are meaningful.”
The column approached with stately deliberation, and finally revealed itself to be a troop of two
dozen horsemen. In the van, on a high-stepping white horse, rode a herald, clad in half-armour.
His horse was caparisoned in cloths of rose-pink and gray; the herald carried high a gonfalon
showing three white unicorns on a green field: the royal arms of Dahaut. Three more heralds
followed close, holding aloft other standards. Behind, at a dignified distance, rode three knights
abreast. They wore light armour and flowing cloaks of rich colors: one black, one dark green, one
pale blue. The three were followed by sixteen men at-arms, each holding high a lance from which
fluttered a green pennon.
“They make a brave show, despite their journey,” observed Dhrun.
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20Vance/Vance,%20Jack%20-%20Elder%20Isles%203%20-%20Madouc.txt (4 of 256) [1/17/03 8:02:26 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20Vance/Vance,%20Jack%20-%20Elder%20Isles%203%20-%20Madouc.txt
“So they have planned,” said Aillas. “Again, such indications are significant.”
“Of what?”
“Ah! Such meanings are always more clear in retrospect! As for now, they are late, but they have
troubled to make a fine arrival. These are mixed signs, which someone more subtle than I must
interpret.”
“Are the knights known to you?”
“Red and gray are the colors of Duke Claractus. I know him by reputation. The company would be
riding from Castle Cirroc, which is the seat of Sir Wittes. He is evidently the second knight. As
for the third—” Aillas looked along the terrace and called to his herald Duirdry, standing a few
yards distant. “Who rides in the company?”
“The first standard is that of King Audry: the company comes on royal business. Next, I note the
standards of Claractus, Duke of the March and Fer Aquila. The other two are Sir Wittes of Harne
and Castle Cirroc, and Sir Agwyd of Gyl. All are notables of long lineage and good connection.”
“Go out upon the plain,” said Aillas. “Meet these folk with courtesy and inquire their business.
If the response comes in respectful language, I will receive them at once in the hail. If they are
brusque or minatory, bid them wait, and bring me their message.”
Duirdry departed the parapets. A few moments later he emerged from the sally port with two men-at-
arms for escort. The three rode black horses furnished with simple black harness. Duirdry
displayed Aillas’ royal standard: five white dolphins on a dark blue field. The men-at-arms
carried banners quartered in the arms of Troicinet, Dascinet, North and South Ulfiand. They rode a
hundred yards out upon the plain, then drew up their horses and waited in the bright sunlight,
with the dun scarp and fortress looming behind them.
The Daut column halted at a distance of fifty yards. After a pause of a minute while both parties
sat immobile, the Daut herald rode forward on his white horse. He reined to a halt five yards in
front of Duirdry.
Watching from the parapets, Aillas and Dhrun saw the Daut herald speak the message dictated by
Duke Claractus. Duirdry listened, made a terse response, turned about and rode back into the
fortress. Presently he reappeared on the terrace and made his report.
"Duke Claractus extends his greetings. He speaks with the voice of King Audry, to this effect: ‘In
view of the amicable relations holding between the Kingdoms of Troicinet and of Dahaut, King Audry
desires that King Aillas terminate his encroachment upon the lands of Dahaut with all possible
expedition and withdraw to the recognized borders of Ulfland. By so doing, King Aillas will
eliminate what is now a source of grave concern for King Audry and will reassure him as to the
continuation of the harmony now existent between the realms.’ Duke Claractus, speaking for
himself, desires that you now open the gates to his company that they may occupy the fortress, as
is their duty and their right.”
“Return,” said Aillas. “Inform Duke Claractus that he may enter the fortress, with an escort of
two persons only, and that I will grant him an audience. Then bring him to the low hail.”
Again Duirdry departed. Aillas and Dhrun descended to the low hail: a dim chamber of no great size
cut into the stone of the cliff. A small embrasure overlooked the plain; a doorway gave on a
balcony fifty feet above the mustering yard at the back of the sally port.
Upon instructions from Aillas, Dhrun stationed himself in an anteroom at the front of the hall;
here he awaited the Daut deputation.
Duke Claractus arrived without delay, along with Sir Wittes and Sir Agwyd. Claractus marched
heavily into the chamber, and halted: a man tall and massive, black-haired, with a short black
beard and stern black eyes in a harsh heavy face. Claractus wore a steel war-cap and a cloak of
green velvet over a shirt of mail, with a sword swinging from his belt. Sir Wittes and Sir Agwyd
were accoutered in similar style.
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20Vance/Vance,%20Jack%20-%20Elder%20Isles%203%20-%20Madouc.txt (5 of 256) [1/17/03 8:02:26 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20Vance/Vance,%20Jack%20-%20Elder%20Isles%203%20-%20Madouc.txt
Dhrun spoke: “Your Grace, I am Dhrun, prince of the realm. Your audience with King Aillas will be
informal and therefore is not a suitable occasion for the display of weapons. You may doff your
helmets and place your swords on the table, in accordance with the usual precepts of chivalry.”
Duke Claractus gave his head a curt shake. “We are not here seeking an audience with King Aillas;
that would be appropriate only in his own realms. He now visits a duchy within the Kingdom of
Dahaut, such duchy being govemed by myself. I am paramount here, and the protocol is different. I
deem this occasion to be a field parley. Our attire is appropriate in every respect. Lead us to
the king.”
Dhrun politely shook his head. "In that case I will deliver the message of King Aillas and you may
return to your company without further ado. Listen closely, for these are the words you must
convey to King Audry. “King Aillas points out that the Ska occupied Poëlitetz over a period of
ten years. The Ska also controlled the lands along the top of the Long Dann. During this time they
encountered neither protest nor forceful counteraction from King Audry or yourself or from any
other Daut agency. By the tenets of the common law dealing with cases of uncontested settlement,
the Ska by their acts and in default of Daut counteracts gained ownership in full fee and title to
Poëlitetz, and the lands along the top of the Long Dann."
"In due course the Ulfish army, commanded by King Aillas, defeated the Ska, drove them away, and
took their property by force of arms. This property thereby became joined to the Kingdom of North
Ulfiand, with full right and legality. These facts and the precedents of history and common
practice are incontestable."
Claractus stared long and hard at Dhrun. “You crow loudly for such a young cockerel.”
“Your Grace, I merely repeat the words taught me by King Aillas, and I hope that I have not
offended you. There is still another point to be considered.”
“And what is that?”
“The Long Dann is clearly the natural boundary between Dahaut and North Ulfiand. The defensive
strength of Poëlitetz means nothing to Dahaut; however, it is invaluable to the Kingdoms of North
and South Ulfiand, in the case of attack from the east."
Claractus gave a hoarse laugh. “And if the attacking armies were Daut, what then? We would
bitterly regret failing to claim our territory, as we do now.”
“Your claim is denied,” said Dhrun modestly. “I might add that our concern is not for the Daut
armies, valorous though they may be, but for the forces of King Casmir of Lyonesse, who hardly
troubles to conceal his ambitions.”
“If Casmir dares to venture a single step into Dahaut, he will suffer a terrible woe!” declared
Claractus. “We will chase him the length of Old Street, and bring him to bay at Cape Farewell,
where we will cut him and his surviving soldiers into small bits.”
“Those are brave words!” said Dhrun. “I will repeat them to my father, for his reassurance. Our
message to King Audry is this: Poëlitetz and the Long Dann are now part of North Ulfiand. He need
fear no aggression from the west, and therefore may apply his full energies against the Celt
bandits who have caused him so much travail in Wysrod.”
“Bah,” muttered Claractus, unable for the moment to make any remark more cogent.
Dhrun bowed. “You have heard the words of King Aillas. There is no more to be said and you have my
permission to go.”
Duke Claractus glared a single moment, then swung on his heel, gestured to his companions and with
no further words left the chamber.
From the embrasure Aillas and Dhrun watched the column receding across the Plain of Shadows.
“Audry is somewhat languid and even a bit airy,” said Aillas. “He may well decide that in this
case his honour is not truly compromised. So I hope, since we need no more enemies. Nor, for that
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20Vance/Vance,%20Jack%20-%20Elder%20Isles%203%20-%20Madouc.txt (6 of 256) [1/17/03 8:02:26 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20Vance/Vance,%20Jack%20-%20Elder%20Isles%203%20-%20Madouc.txt
matter, does King Audry.”
III
During the Danaan incursions, Avallon had been a fortified market town hard by the estuary of the
Camber, notable only for the many turrets rearing high above the town walls. The Danaan power ran
its course; the tall hazel-eyed warriors who fought naked save for bronze helmets disappeared into
the fog of history. The walls of Avallon decayed; the mouldering turrets protected only bats and
owls, but Avallon remained the ‘City of Tall Towers’.
Before the Time of Troubles, Olam III made Avallon his capital and by dint of vast expenditure
made Falu Ffail the most magnificent palace of the Elder Isles. His successors were not to be
outmatched in this regard, and each vied with his predecessors in the richness and splendor of his
contribution to the fabric of the palace.
When Audry II came to the throne, he applied himself to the perfection of the palace gardens. He
ordained six fountains of nineteen jets, each surrounded by a circular promenade with cushioned
benches; he lined the central pleasance with marble nymphs and fauns to the number of thirty; at
the terminus was an arcaded cupola where musicians played sweetly from dawn till dark, and
sometimes later by moonlight. A garden of white roses flanked a similar expanse of red roses;
lemon trees, clipped to the shape of spheres, bordered the square lawns where King Audry was wont
to stroll with his favorites.
Falu Ffail was notable not only for its gardens but also for the pomp and extravagance of its many
pageants. Masques, fetes, spectacles, frivolities: they followed close one after another, each
more lavish in its delights than the last. Gallant courtiers and beautiful ladies thronged the
halls and galleries, clad in garments of marvellous style and complexity; each appraising the
others with care, wondering as to the effect of his or her image, so carefully contrived.
All the aspects of life were dramatized and exaggerated; every instant was heavy as honey with
significance. Nowhere was conduct more graceful nor manners more exquisite than at Falu Ffail.
The air rustled with murmured conversations; each lady as she passed trailed a waft of scent:
jasmine or floris of orange-clove, or sandalwood, or essence of rose. In dim salons lovers kept
rendezvous: sometimes secret, sometimes illicit; very little, however, escaped notice, and every
Incident: amusing, grotesque, pathetic or all three—provided the grist of gossip.
At Falu Ffail intrigue was the stuff of both life and death. Under the glitter and glisten ran
dark currents, of passion and heartbreak, envy and hate. There were duels by daybreak and murders
by starlight, mysteries and disappearances, and royal banishments when indiscretions became
intolerable.
Audry’s rule was generally benevolent, if only because all his juridical decisions were carefully
prepared for him by his chan cellor Sir Namias. Nonetheless, sitting on the throne Evandig in his
scarlet robes and wearing his golden crown, Audry seemed the very definition of benign majesty.
His personal attributes enhanced the kingly semblance. He was tall and imposing in stature, if
somewhat heavy of hip and soft in the belly. Glossy black ringlets hung beside his pale cheeks; a
fine black mustache graced his ripe upper lip. Under expressive black eyebrows his brown eyes were
large and moist, if set perhaps too closely beside his long disdainful nose.
Queen Dafnyd, Audry’s spouse, originally a princess of Wales and two years older than Audry, had
borne him three sons and three daughters; now she no longer commanded Audry‘s ardors. Dafnyd cared
not a whit and took no interest in Audry‘s little affairs; her own inclinations were adequately
soothed by a trio of stalwart footmen. King Audry disapproved of the arrangement, and frowned
haughtily upon the footmen when he passed them in the gallery.
During fine weather, Audry often took a leisurely breakfast in a private part of the garden, at
the center of a large square of lawn. The breakfasts were informal, and Audry was usually attended
only by a few cronies. Toward the end of such an occasion, Audry’s seneschal, Sir Tramador,
approached to announce the arrival of Claractus, Duke of the March and Fer Aquila, who desired an
audience at King Audry’s earliest convenience.
Audry listened with a grimace of annoyance; such tidings were seldom the source of good cheer and,
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20Vance/Vance,%20Jack%20-%20Elder%20Isles%203%20-%20Madouc.txt (7 of 256) [1/17/03 8:02:27 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20Vance/Vance,%20Jack%20-%20Elder%20Isles%203%20-%20Madouc.txt
worse, often required that Audry spend hours in tedious consultation.
Sir Tramador waited, smiling the most gentle of smiles to see King Audry wrestling with the need
to exert himself. Audry at last groaned in irritation and jerked his heavy white fingers. “Bring
Claractus here; I will see him at this moment, and be rid of the matter.”
Sir Tramador turned away, mildly surprised to find King Audry so brisk. Five minutes later he
ushered Duke Claractus across the lawn. From the evidence of dusty skin and soiled clothing,
Claractus had only just alighted from his horse.
Claractus bowed before King Audry. “Sire, my excuses! I have ignored punctilio in order that I
might report to you as soon as possible. Last night I slept at Verwiy Underdyke; by dint of early
rising and hard riding I am here now.”
“I commend your zeal,” said Audry. “If I were served everywhere as well I would never cease to
rejoice! Your news, then, would seem to be of moment.”
“That, Sire, is for you to judge. Shall I speak?”
Audry pointed to a chair. “Seat yourself, Claractus! You are acquainted, or so I presume, with Sir
Huynemer, Sir Archem and Sir Rudo.”
Claractus, glancing toward the three, gave a curt nod. “I took note of them on my last visit; they
were enjoying a charade and all three were dressed as harlequins, or clowns, or something of the
sort.”
“I fail to recall the occasion,” said Sir Huynemer stiffly.
“No matter,” said Audry. “Speak your news, which I hope will elevate my spirits.”
Claractus gave a harsh chuckle. “Were this the case, Sire, I would have ridden all night. My news
is not gratifying. I conferred, as instructed, with King Aillas, at the fortress Poëlitetz. I
expressed your views in exact words. He gave his response with courtesy, but yielded no substance.
He will not vacate Poelitetz nor the lands at the top of the Long Dann. He states that he
conquered these places from the Ska, who had taken them by force of arms from the Daut realm and
into their ownership. The Ska, he points out, had maintained this ownership in the absence of
challenge from your royal armies. Thus, so he asserts, title to fortress and lands have devolved
upon the Kingdom of North Ulfiand.”
Audry uttered a sibilant ejaculation. “Sarsicante! Does he hold my favor in such small regard, to
flout me thus? He would seem to scoff both at my dignity and at the might of Daut arms!”
“Not so, Sire! I would be remiss if I gave that impression. His tone was polite and respectful. He
made it clear that he guards Ulfiand not against Dahaut but rather against the possibility of King
Casmir’s aggressive intent, which, so he states, is general knowledge.”
“Bah!” snapped Audry. “That is most farfetched! How could Casmir arrive on the Plain of Shadows
without first defeating the entire armed strength of Dahaut?”
“King Aillas feels that the contingency, while remote, is real. In any event, he relies most
strongly upon his first argument, to wit: that the lands are his by right of conquest.”
Sir Rudo cried out in scorn: “An argument specious and incorrect! Does he take us for lumpkins?
The boundaries of Dahaut are grounded in tradition; they have been immutable for centuries!”
“Precisely true!” declared Sir Archem. “The Ska must be regarded as transient interlopers, no
more!”
King Audry made an impatient gesture. “Obviously it is not so easy! I must give the matter
thought. Meanwhile, Claractus, will you not join us at our breakfast? Your dress is somewhat at
discord, but surely no one with a conscience will cry you shame.”
“Thank you, Sire. I will gladly eat, for I am famished.”
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20Vance/Vance,%20Jack%20-%20Elder%20Isles%203%20-%20Madouc.txt (8 of 256) [1/17/03 8:02:27 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20Vance/Vance,%20Jack%20-%20Elder%20Isles%203%20-%20Madouc.txt
The conversation shifted to topics more agreeable, but the mood of the breakfast had been roiled
and presently Sir Huynemer again condemned the provocative conduct of King Aillas. Sir Rudo and
Sir Archem endorsed his views, each advising a stern rebuff to put the ‘young Troice upstart’ in
his place.
Audry leaned heavily back in his chair. “All very well! But I wonder how this chastening of Aillas
is to be accomplished.”
“Aha! If several strong companies were dispatched into the March, with clear indications that we
intended to take back our lands by force, Aillas might well chirp from a different branch!”
King Audry rubbed his chin. “You feel that he would yield to a show of resolution.”
“Would he dare challenge the might of Dahaut?”
“Suppose that, through folly or recklessness, he refused to yield?”
“Then Duke Claractus would strike with his full might, to send young Aillas and his Ulf bantlings
bounding and leaping across the moors like so many hares.”
Claractus held up his hand. “I am chary of so much glory. You have envisioned the campaign; you
shall be in command and lead the charge.”
Sir Huynemer, with raised eyebrows and a cold glance for Claractus, qualified his concepts. “Sire,
I put this scheme forward as an option to be studied, no more.”
Audry turned to Claractus. “Is not Poëlitetz considered impregnable to assault?”
“This is the general belief.”
Sir Rudo gave a skeptical grunt. “This belief has never been tested, though it has cowed folk for
generations.”
Claractus smiled grimly. “How does one attack a cliff?”
“The sally port might be rammed and sundered,”
“Why trouble? The defenders at your request will be pleased to leave the portcullis ajar. When a
goodly number of noble knights—say, a hundred or more—has swarmed into the yard, the portcullis is
dropped and the captives are destroyed at leisure.”
“Then the Long Dann itself must be scaled!”
“It is not easy to climb a cliff while enemies are dropping rocks from above.”
Sir Rudo gave Claractus a haughty inspection. “Sir, can you offer us nothing but gloom and dismal
defeat? The king has stated his requirements; still you decry every proposal intended to achieve
the goal!”
“Your ideas are impractical,” said Claractus. “I cannot take them seriously.”
Sir Archem struck the table with his fist. “Nevertheless, chivalry demands that we respond to this
insulting encroachment!”
Claractus turned to King Audry. “You are fortunate, Sire, in the fiery zeal of your paladins! They
are paragons of ferocity! You should loose them against the Celts in Wysrod, who have been so
noxious a nuisance!”
Sir Huynemer made a growling sound under his breath. “All this is beside the point.”
Audry heaved a sigh, blowing out his black mustaches. “For a fact, our Wysrod campaigns have
brought us little glory and less satisfaction.”
Sir Huynemer spoke earnestly: “Sire, the difficulties in Wysrod are many! The gossoons are like
specters; we chase them over tussock and bog; we bring them to bay; they melt into the Wysrod
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20Vance/Vance,%20Jack%20-%20Elder%20Isles%203%20-%20Madouc.txt (9 of 256) [1/17/03 8:02:27 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20Vance/Vance,%20Jack%20-%20Elder%20Isles%203%20-%20Madouc.txt
mists, and presently attack our backs, with yells and screams and insane Celtic curses, so that
our soldiers become confused.”
Duke Claractus laughed aloud. “You should train your soldiers not for parades but for fighting;
then they might not fear mists and curses.”
Sir Huynemer uttered a curse of his own: “Devilspit and dog-balls! I resent these words! My
service to the king has never been challenged!”
“Nor mine!” declared Sir Rudo. “The Celts are a minor vexation which we will soon abate!”
King Audry pettishly clapped his hands. “Peace, all of you! I wish no further wrangling in my
presence!”
Duke Claractus rose to his feet. “Sire, I have spoken hard truths which otherwise you might not
hear. Now, by your leave, I will retire and refresh myself.”
“Do so, good Claractus! I trust that you will join us as we dine.”
“With pleasure, Sire.”
Claractus departed. Sir Archem watched him stride across the lawn, then turned back with a snort
of disapproval. “There goes a most prickly fellow!”
“No doubt loyal, and as brave as a boar in rut-of this I am sure,” declared Sir Rudo. “But, like
most provincials, he is purblind to wide perspectives.”
“Bah!” said Sir Huynemer in disgust. “Provincial only? I find him uncouth, with his horse-blanket
cloak and blurting style of speech.”
Sir Rudo spoke thoughtfully: “It would seem part and parcel of the same attribute, as if one fault
generated the other.” He put a cautious question to the king: “What are Your Majesty’s views?”
Audry made no direct response. “I will reflect on the matter. Such decisions cannot be formed on
the instant.”
Sir Tramador approached King Audry. He bent and muttered into the royal ear: “Sire, it is time
that you were changing into formal robes.”
“Whatever for?” cried Audry.
“Today, Sire, if you recall, you sit at the assizes.”
Audry turned an aggrieved glance on Sir Tramador. “Are you certain of this?”
“Indeed, Sire! The litigants are already gathering in the Outer Chamber.”
Audry scowled and sighed. “So now I must finick with folly and greed and all what interests me
least! It is tedium piled on obfuscation! Tramador, have you no mercy? Always you trouble me
during my trifling little periods of rest!”
“I regret the need to do so, Your Highness.”
“Ha! I suppose that if I must, I must; there is no escaping it.”
“Unfortunately not, Your Majesty. Will you use the Grand Saloon* or the Old Hall?”
*Also known as the Hall of Heroes, where Evandig the throne and Cairbra an Meadhan the
round table are situated.
Audry considered. “What cases await judgment?”
Sir Tramador tendered a sheet of parchment. “This is the list, with the clerk’s analysis and
comments. You will note a single robber to be hanged and an innkeeper who watered his wine, for a
flogging. Otherwise there seems nothing of large import.”
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20Vance/Vance,%20Jack%20-%20Elder%20Isles%203%20-%20Madouc.txt (10 of 256) [1/17/03 8:02:27 PM]
摘要：

file:///F|/rah/Jack%20Vance/Vance,%20Jack%20-%20Elder%20Isles%203%20-%20Madouc.txtCHAPTERONESouthofCornwall,northofIberia,acrosstheCantabrianGulffromAqui aineweretheElderIsles,ranginginsizefromGwyg’sFang,ajagofblackrockmostoftenawashunderAtlanticbreakers,toHybras,the‘Hy-Brasill’ofearlyIrishchroni...

展开>> 收起<<
Vance, Jack - Elder Isles 3 - Madouc.pdf

共256页,预览10页

还剩页未读， 继续阅读

声明：本站为文档C2C交易模式，即用户上传的文档直接被用户下载，本站只是中间服务平台，本站所有文档下载所得的收益归上传人(含作者)所有。玖贝云文库仅提供信息存储空间，仅对用户上传内容的表现方式做保护处理，对上载内容本身不做任何修改或编辑。若文档所含内容侵犯了您的版权或隐私，请立即通知玖贝云文库，我们立即给予删除！

相关推荐

更多
立即下载
分类：外语学习 价格：5.9玖币 属性：256 页 大小：758.89KB 格式：PDF 时间：2024-12-04

开通VIP享超值会员特权

  • 多端同步记录
  • 高速下载文档
  • 免费文档工具
  • 分享文档赚钱
  • 每日登录抽奖
  • 优质衍生服务

作者详情

相关内容

更多

热门标签

人际关系 动力学连接体 力的合成 配电装置 高考理综 全宋诗作者索引 公务员考试
/ 256
评分 收藏
分享
立即下载 VIP免费下载
客服
关注