The Chesian Wars (A Griffins & Gunpowder Collection) (12 page)

“
I’m honored, Your Grace,” William said. “But who will remain here to advise you?”

“
That is no issue; I have more advisors than I can count. What I need is someone that I trust leading my armies when they are tens of thousands of miles away. We grew up together, we learned from the same teachers; there is no one better qualified.”

“
There are plenty of generals with more experience than me,” William pointed out.

“
Your battlefield experience is the least of my concerns,” Eadric said. He placed a hand on William’s shoulder. “I need someone that I trust intimately and I need someone that my nobles will accept as my surrogate on the other side of the world.”

“
Let me think about it,” William said. He stood.

“
There is one more thing,” Eadric said. “I’m concerned about the nobles in Kerberos.”

“
Your Grace?”

“
I have heard whispers that they are making plans to reassert their independence. If we are going to move our troops across the Straits of Steimor, they will have to march through Kerberos. Should Duke Jarmann truly have plans to revolt against my rule, I think that it is likely he will take advantage of this situation and may attack our armies while they are surrounded by his own.”

The nobles that once called themselves the nation of Kerberos had never been fully trusted in the halls of Aetheston and Founder’s Castle. They had fallen under the control of Ansgar after William the Defender had repulsed their invasion and countered with his own. When Sigurd Jarmann had knelt before William, he had pledged that his lands and those of his nobles would forever swear allegiance to the crown of Ansgar.

Eadric doubted their resolve. He had no firm proof of their plotting, but Eadric had heard whispers from his lesser advisors that those nobles were planning something, something that would put them back in control of their own lands. Alone they were not a threat, but their long-standing relationships with the neighboring nations, nations that shared a common ancestry, were a danger.

They were not of the same blood as the people of Ansgar, who had come across the Vast Sea more than twelve centuries ago. If the Lords of Kerberos were able to convince King Penn of Steimor or Herzog Renwyk of Beldane to join their cause, they could field an army larger than any that Eadric could hope to muster.

The soldiers that would sail across the sea would include the levies sworn by Kerberos and, if after the armies returned to their lands the Lords of Kerberos decided to press their independence, Eadric would have a favor owed by the Kings of Welos and Istivan that would give him additional forces.

“
Magnus is your family,” William reminded his liege. “He married your sister; their children are your blood.”

“
My sister was never a strong soul,” Eadric said. “That’s why I forced her out of the regency when I was sixteen. Her children will be worse. My nephew Roland has only been to Aetheston twice in his life, and I’ve never even seen the other two. They have spent their entire lives with the Kerberosi, reading their accounts of history, listening to them complain about how we’ve had our boots on their necks for a century.”

“
I doubt that Magnus will be foolish enough to mount a rebellion when we have our levies assembled and trained,” William said. “He is a bold man, but he is not stupid.”

“
I want you to draw up plans to deal with the Kerberosi. If Magnus decides to take advantage of our current situation, I want him crushed.”

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Joshua K. Johnson