The story of Saf is, broadly, the story of the Safid Cults of the Eight. Even when Ghar itself lost its grip on the old Safid lands, their governors held the reins of power with few real challenges until nearly a century later. This was the Third Bulu War, at which point historians begin to ntion the na of Salman Ghazali.
So claim that Ghazali bore the soul we now call Spark, others contend he held no soul at all. Whatever his gifts, he convinced the abbots in Khem to endorse him as the mortal echo of the first soul, thereby enshrining in Saf the precedent that living n might be worshiped as divine beings.
Ghazalis purported soul did not allow him to dismiss the internal problems of his fledgling sultanate, but war has ever been the salve which tyrants use to soothe such disturbances. Though Ghazalis initial attempts to claim more-central Gharic lands yielded only moderate success and were largely reversed in the upheavals after his death, he created the template from which all subsequent occupants of the Eight-Petal Throne have molded their rule: that of divine right to power.
Disastrous as this may seem, the progression of Safid governance developed strangely well in the following centuries. The remnants of the Gharic aristocracy settled into a comfortable stalemate with the ascendant clergy. War with Ghar was no longer palatable, and what aggression was required for purposes of state was largely visited upon the Bulu.
Inevitably, however, a structure in which the whims of one man may pass unquestioned is dood to failure. The Abasent of Ghar and subsequent defense of Gharon by the Tenth Star in 442 left the Safid with but one prominent ensouled - Khalid the Blade, bearer of Sever.
Khalid did not rage further against Ghars newly-secure borders; instead, he returned south, induced the Cult of the Sword to slaughter the leaders of the aristocratic faction and engaged in a pacification campaign against the Bulu that would span more than a century. Khalid himself did not live to see the end of it, but his successors did not lose sight of that wars ultimate purpose - to clear the way for what we now term the War. Indeed, it was less than a score of years between the end of the fifth Bulu war and the Safid occupation of Rul.
- Leire Gabarain, Annals of the Sixteenth Star, 691.
Well, damn, Charles said, mopping sweat from his brow. I admit that I underestimated Safid artillery, I had always heard they were rather poor.
They held this territory last week, Clair snarled, pressing a cloth to a wound on Vernons side. Keep the pressure on - there, like that. Its a scratch, even if its a deep one. Youll be fine once it scabs over if you keep it clean.
She straightened up and turned back to Charles, who was leaning against one wall of a half-collapsed barn they had found. Theyve had days to set up their guns, theyve got every inch of the outskirts plotted for fire. The Ardans will pay a heavy price if they try to advance.
Michael nodded, then winced as a detonation echoed close-by. And were sure those were the battalions we were looking for? he asked.
Positive, Vernon grated, keeping his arm clasped tight over his bandage. I caught a few of them talking before that last barrage took out the dical tent, going over casualty numbers. Near-total losses, thanks to the sapper tunnel collapse.
Clair grunted angrily, then kicked at a pile of damp hay. Ghars fucking ashes, she spat. She glared a mont longer at the pile, then turned and sat on it. That camp is a total loss. Those docunts are gone - if they even had them in the first place.
Michael had seen Clair angry before; it seed a regular state of being for her. It made the note of defeat twisting her voice all the more poignant. We still have Severs camp, Michael said. "Emil said the command segnt was there. Theyll have-
We cant, Clair rasped. Charles was right. Were not equipped for this sort of mission. Without Sobriquet, were too exposed.
So lets get Sobriquet, Michael said. If thats what it takes-
No! Clair snapped. You dont understand, we cant risk it. If anything happened - the Ardans would have Sibyl here within a month, and thered be nothing to stop her from writing lists of nas. Theyd have all the safehouses, all the weapons, all the patriots trying to push them out of Daressa. It would be the end for us.
Michael bit back a question that he had made the mistake of asking once before. Would she really? For a mont he saw Sofia at a table with Veras hand on her shoulder, quietly writing nas and addresses on a sheaf of paper - yes, she would. If she thought it was right.
This battle will be the end of Is, Gerard said, looking up from where he sat resting against the barns wall. If we could stop it, if we could get the Ardans out of Daressa like you wanted-
Its an idiotic risk, Clair shot back. We cant involve Sobriquet, not under any circumstances.
It seems as though I should get a vote in such matters, Sobriquets voice said, echoing from the dark corners of their shelter. Clair looked up in horror, her eyes widening.
No, she said. No, no, you were supposed to stay behind. You cant be here!
I must be here, Sobriquet said gently, its apparition materializing out of the shadow. This is too crucial a task to withhold resources.
They will kill you if they find you. Clair stood and stared at the blur, tears beginning to trickle down her cheeks. And then they will kill all of us.
Sobriquet cocked its head to the side. You would have been dead three tis already if I had not co along. It nodded to Gerard, who blinked. With my involvent a raid on Severs camp is a reasonable prospect. I had hoped to avoid this conversation, but it is past ti for niceties. We can end this, Clair. Besides, there is little danger in my presence so long as it is brief. I am here, but that does not an that I am particularly here, as it were.
It is still too dangerous, Clair said.
This is the War, Charles shrugged. Being Daressan is more dangerous than it used to be. Im in favor of taking the chance.
As am I, Gerard said. You said it yourself, we cant do it without the boss.
Clair skewered the artifices with a betrayed look, then turned her gaze to Vernon. The auditor held his hands up. Not about to contradict one of the Eight, he said. Sorry, Clair.
Finally, reluctantly, she turned to Michael. Youre the only one of us here with sothing Sobriquet wants, she said. The apparition pulsed once, quickly, then stilled. Stop this. It will be the end of everything if we fail.
Michael t her eyes for a long mont. There was desperation there, and fear - boundless fear, far more than hed seen when her own life had been threatened in the past.
I cant, he said, watching Clairs face harden with his words. Theres always a choice. If this is Sobriquets will, to intervene here and try to end this piece of the War - I cant stop that.
Idiots, she spat. Fine. Then lets be quick about it, and be off ho. Every day we linger is an unacceptable risk. Clair glared around the barn once more, then stord out towards the road.
After a few more monts to tend to Vernon and gather their supplies, the rest of the group followed. Once more Michael trailed in the back, and once more he saw the telltale shimr of air that heralded Sobriquets presence beside him. This ti, however, the apparition did not speak.
Michael glanced up at Clairs distant form. She loves you, he said. Doesnt she?
There was no response for several paces. Finally, the blur shifted. Do you know what the saddest part in all of this is? it asked. Were all fighting for Daressa, to restore what was taken. Its a lie. The Daressa we rember is gone, swept away under sothing much - greater than it, much more profound. Subsud under what ca after.
There was a shimr, and the voice took on a bitter tone. Just a mory of sothing comfortable and safe that probably never existed to begin with. Daressa is what you see now, and regardless of what we rember - it must proceed from reality. From today.
And you? Michael asked. Whats your reality?
Another pause. Its simple. I am Sobriquet.
The blur vanished, and Michael kept walking forward.
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