Wings Over Talera - Charles Allen Gramlich [32]
“Blue, green, gold, red,” I murmured to myself. I bent closer. “Yes!” Two dots, no larger than freckles, straddled the third orb of the four. And I knew.
“Why don’t you think that one is a mercenary?” Valyan asked over my shoulder.
I did not answer him, but said: “Someone who covets, or who carries a grudge, is launching the attacks on Nyshphal. Who? And what do Bryce and I have to do with it?”
“The target must be Nyshphal,” Graye said. “You and your brother are only pieces on the board.”
“Likely,” I agreed. “But again I ask who?”
“I think Ubai,” Kreeg said.
Valyan glanced at him. “The Pangalan Empire! Why?”
“I do not like them,” Kreeg replied.
Diken Graye chuckled and Kreeg frowned. I let my eyes rest on Graye’s for a moment. He flushed, then looked away.
“I don’t think it could be Ubai,” Valyan continued. “They’re too new at empiring. Got their hands full with the Thorn Nomads to their east. With Delnad and Revenor to the north. They’d be fools to attack a power like Nyshphal.”
“Then who do you name?” Kreeg snapped.
Valyan shrugged.
“What if we’re thinking too recently?” I asked.
The others looked at me blankly.
“Thirty, Thirty-five, years ago,” I said, “most of central and eastern Nyshphal was conquered territory. Half a dozen factions were involved. Hurnan Jystral beat them all. Ran them out. What if today’s attacks have old roots? Revenge. Or simply a renewal of plans deferred.”
Valyan raised an eyebrow.
“Aye,” Kreeg spat. “It must be!”
“Possible,” Diken Graye agreed. But which faction?
“There were six,” I said, speaking from the reading I’d done in Nyshphalian history. My thoughts softened and ached. It had once seemed wise to learn as much as I could about my adopted country. My almost adopted country.
“Delnad and Revenor were two of the six,” Valyan offered.
“Yes,” I agreed, pulling myself back to the moment. “And Menes-Menehse. The Demalion Alliance at Trazull and Quetta. The Northern League....”
“The Northern League,” Graye mused. “Jarn Thevasa’s attempt to unify the Waithian clans. But that collapsed right after Jarn’s death and the clans have been killing each other ever since. They’re not unified enough to pose a threat now.”
“Nor is the Demalion Alliance,” I said. “The pirate alliance as it was called. These raids might seem their style but it’s been thirty years since that coalition self-destructed.”
“Menes-Menehse was swallowed by Ubai,” Valyan added. “And I don’t see how Delnad or Revenor would have the wherewithal. Not with Ubai just waiting for its digestion to clear before it eats them next.”
“You mentioned six factions,” Diken Graye said, looking at me. “I’ve only heard five named.”
“The sixth was different,” I said. “It was a religion. The Priest-Cult of Rampuur.”
“Sorcerers, weren’t they?” Graye asked.
“So it was rumored. Worshippers of a goddess named Vohanna.”
Valyan snarled and I glanced at him in surprise. His lips were thin; his cheek twitched. Then his eyes cooled. “Sorry. It’s only that I haven’t heard that name in a very long time. And I don’t care for it.”
Diken Graye beat me to, “why?”
Valyan considered, spoke: “Vo...hanna was one of the twelve First Gods. Those who made the world.”
“The Asadhie,” I blurted, my thoughts suddenly shocked with recognition. I’d heard Vohanna’s name before (see Swords of Talera) and knew she was one of the so called “First Gods.” But now.... I glanced at the dead Nokarran’s tattoo, and back to Valyan.
“Yes,” Valyan said, nodding. “They are sometimes named that. The...Asadhie created chosen races to serve them, the Llurns, the Koro, and others. My people, the Nakscherii, were given form by the goddess Ivrail,