Of Fire and Night - Kevin J. Anderson [17]
Would her father capitulate and agree to obliterate another race in order to save his own? He would show his true colors by demonstrating whether he stood on principle, or whether his loyalty could be changed with a simple threat. She tried to influence his thoughts with her own, shouting inside her mind. How strong are your convictions, Father? Are you a good person, or is your honor for sale, just like Designate Udru'h's?
A true leader of the Ildiran people must find another way. She had seen into the hydrogue minds. She knew their rigid alien thought patterns and their mighty firepower. Even so, the girl believed that a real Mage-Imperator would stand up to the enemy. Would Jora'h betray Nira?
In another flood of memories the girl saw how her mother had held this man, listened to his promises, responded to his expressions of love. Were those memories a lie? The man Nira had loved would never bow to such a threat, would never consider it for a moment. She thought about Theroc, saw through her mother's joyful past the tall worldtrees, the camaraderie of green priests, the mysteries of the great forest. And then she imagined them all turned to smoking, smashed ruins. Because of Jora'h's weakness.
Standing before the hydrogue emissary, with hundreds of warglobes overhead, the Mage-Imperator wrestled with this impossible choice. Obviously, he saw no way out. Jora'h lowered his eyes and answered in a whisper, "I will do what I must. No matter what it costs."
9
DOBRO DESIGNATE UDRU'H
From his residence outside the fenced-in breeding camps, the Dobro Designate frowned at his unconscious "guest." The disgraced Thor'h was maintained in a comatose state by a crippling dose of shiing.
It was better than the young man deserved for his part in the awful Hyrillka rebellion, Udru'h thought as he regarded the slack face. We all have to endure the echoes of our past indiscretions. But you have an easy way out.
His idealistic protégé Daro'h seemed uneasy in the well-lit room. "Thor'h was the Prime Designate. The Ildiran Empire would have been his." Daro'h looked up at his mentor, whom he would replace as soon as the Designate deemed him ready. "Why would my brother do this? Why would he break from our father's thism and try to destroy the Empire?"
"He did not wish to destroy it, simply to remake it. Some men are misled fanatics who adhere to incorrect ideals and beliefs. Others are selfish and impatient for power. Some are simply fools." He smirked. "The Prime Designate was all of those things."
The young man lay like a corpse on the narrow bed. Udru'h hoped the traitor was swimming in nightmares or smothering in guilt over what he had done, but Thor'h's face showed neither honor nor peace. "Unlike my brother Rusa'h, Thor'h had no excuse for his behavior."
"You can excuse the mad Designate? But you betrayed him yourself and brought down his rebellion! What of all the deaths he caused?"
"The Hyrillka Designate exhibited a clear shift in his personality after his head injury. He had delusions, believed he saw a new route to the Lightsource, and was prepared to pave that path with the blood of any Ildiran who did not join his corrupted thism network. He was insane. Why else would he have flown his ship into Hyrillka's sun?" Udru'h looked down at Thor'h in disgust. "But the Prime Designate knew exactly what he was doing. That is why I despise him. It would have been better if he had died in the conflict. He remains a stain on the Ildiran psyche."
In further expansions of the Saga of Seven Suns, Udru'h realized that the Hyrillka revolt would be chronicled with great care. Rememberer kithmen would show the utmost tact, accurately representing the facts yet shading the