Safehold #02 - By Schism Rent Asunder by David Weber

Author:David Weber [Weber, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Adventure, Science Fiction, Fiction, General
ISBN: 9780230760448
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Published: 2008-01-01T23:00:00+00:00

She will be greeted, deferred to, and obeyed as if she had been Charisian born."

The sound of a tumbling pin would have been deafening, Merlin thought, watching the youthful king's words sink home.

"We feel sure that even a little reflection will make clear to all of you the military advantage this brings to us. The impact Queen Sharleyan's willing-ness to stand with us in our denunciation of the corruption of the Council of Vicars must have upon the thinking of other realms and other rulers will also require no explanation, no embellishment, from us. The advantages this will bestow for operations against our common enemies in Corisande must be equally obvious, as must the fashion in which the strength and power of our merchant marine will be reinforced and broadened.

"All of those things are true. Yet we would have you know that in our view, the greatest advantage of all which this marriage will bring to us, to our realm, and to all of Safehold, in days to come, will be the courage, the wis-dom, and the intelligence of our Queen . .. and yours. Never doubt it, My Lords and Ladies. And rest assured that if any of you should doubt, those doubts will vanish quickly in the face of experience."

He paused once more, gazing out at the silent ranks of representatives, nobles, and priests.

"Great and terrible days are upon us all, My Lords and Ladies," he said then, quietly. "Times to test and try the mettle of any man's or woman's soul. Times in which each of us—king, bishop, noble, or commoner—must stand for those things which we hold sacred, those causes for which we will lay down our lives, if God so requires of us. In our hands lies the future of Mother Church, of Safehold, of the lives and souls and freedom of every man, woman, and child in God's vast creation. If we falter, if we fail, then the corruption which has already enveloped the Council of Vicars, already tainted Mother Church with the hunger and secular ambition of the Dark, will con-quer all.

"We, Cayleb Ahrmahk, King of Charis, will die before we see that hap-pen. We would not have brought you any Queen whose determination and courage we feared might prove unworthy of this moment, this time, in this place, and we have no fear that Queen Sharleyan's will. As Charis stands against the Darkness, so will Chisholm. So will Queen Sharleyan. And, as God is our witness, we will not cease, nor pause, nor rest, until those who would unleash warfare, rapine, and destruction upon peaceful realms out of vast and corrupt personal ambition, cloaked in the authority of Mother Church, have been purged forever from this world. To that end, we pledge our life, our fortune, and our sacred honor."

.V.

Earl of Thirsk's Townhouse,

City of Gorath,

Kingdom of Dohlar

So how well did it work?" Lywys Gardynyr, the Earl of Thirsk, asked his guest.

"That depends," that guest replied now.

Admiral Pawal Hahlynd had the unenviable task

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