A Guile of Dragons (44 page)

The period of Chariot (the largest moon, whose rising and setting marks the seasons) is 187.5 days. (So a season is 93.75 days.) The period of Horseman is 50 days.

The period of Trumpeter is 15 days. A half-cycle of Trumpeter is a “call.” Calls are either “bright” or “dark” depending on whether Trumpeter is aloft or not. (Usage: “He doesn't expect to be back until next bright call.”)

The seasons are not irregular, as on Earth. But the moons' motion is not uniform through the sky: motion is faster near the horizons, slowest at zenith. Astronomical objects are brighter in the west, dimmer in the east.

The three moons and the sun rise in the west and set in the east. The stars have a different motion entirely, rotating NWSE around a celestial pole. The pole points at a different constellation among a group of seven (the polar constellations) each year. (Hence, a different group of nonpolar constellations is visible near the horizons each year.) This seven-year cycle (the Ring) is the basis for dating, with individual years within it named for their particular polar constellations.

The polar constellations are: the Reaper, the Ship, the Hunter, the Door, the Kneeling Man, the River, the Wolf.

There is an intrapolar constellation, the Hands, within the space inscribed by the motion of the pole.

In the Wardlands, years are dated from the founding of New Moorhope, the center of learning. According to Professor Gabriel McNally, the “year of fire” when the Guile of Masters invaded the Wardlands was New Moorhope 2748, Year of the Hunter, in Ring 394—a “bright year.” The year following was N.M. 2749, Year of the Door, Ring 394, a “dark year.” I have generally followed Dr. McNally's reconstructions of Ambrosian legend, including dates, in composing the text above.

But the reader should know that Dr. McNally's views have been disputed, especially by Julian Emrys, grandson of the eminent Ambrosian scholar H. N. Emrys. Julian Emrys' own early reputation as a scholar was gradually obliterated by his bizarre claims to be one of “those-who-know” and (in his own words) “the last descendant of the ancient Ambrosian kings on Earth.” But, as Dr. McNally conceded, in his fair-minded if blistering review of Emrys'
New Evidence of the Old Ambrosians
, “the fact that Mr. Emrys is crazy does not necessarily imply he is in error.”

In any case, settling on a definite date for these events is a little like trying to decide in what year young Sigurd slew his dragon or old Beowulf faced his.

2. A “bright year” and a “dark year”

Bright:

1. Cymbals.

New Year. Winter begins.

1st: Chariot & Trumpeter set. Horseman rises.

8th & 23rd: Trumpeter rises.

2. Jaric.

1st: Horseman sets. 13th: Trumpeter rises.

3. Brenting.

1st: Horseman rises. 3rd & 18th: Trumpeter rises.

4. Drums.

1st: Horseman sets. 8th & 23rd: Trumpeter rises.

Midnight of 94th day of the year (19 Drums):

Chariot rises. Spring begins.

5. Rain.

1st: Horseman rises. 13th: Trumpeter rises.

6. Marrying.

1st: Horseman sets. 3rd & 18th: Trumpeter rises.

7. Ambrose.

1st: Horseman rises. 8th and 23rd: Trumpeter rises.

8. Harps.

1st: Horseman sets. 13th: Trumpeter rises.

Evening of the 188th day of year (19 Harps):

Chariot sets; Midyear—summer begins.

9. Tohrt.

1st: Horseman rises. 3rd & 18th: Trumpeter rises.

10. Remembering.

1st: Horseman sets. 8th & 23rd: Trumpeter rises.

11. Victory.

1st: Horseman rises. 13th: Trumpeter rises.

12. Harvesting.

1st: Horseman sets. 3rd & 18th: Trumpeter rises.

6th: Chariot rises, noon of 281st day of year. Fall begins.

13. Mother and Maiden.

1st: Horseman rises. 8th & 23rd: Trumpeter rises.

14. Bayring.

1st: Horseman sets. 13th: Trumpeter rises.

15. Borderer.

1st: Horseman rises. 3rd & 18th: Trumpeter rises.

Dark:

1. Cymbals.

New Year. Winter begins.

1st: Chariot, Horseman & Trumpeter all set.

8th & 23rd: Trumpeter rises.

2. Jaric.

1st: Horseman rises. 13th: Trumpeter rises.

3. Brenting.

1st: Horseman sets. 3rd & 18th: Trumpeter rises.

4. Drums.

1st: Horseman rises. 8th & 23rd: Trumpeter rises.

Midnight of 94th day of the year (19 Drums):

Chariot rises. Spring begins.

5. Rain.

1st: Horseman sets. 13th: Trumpeter rises.

6. Marrying.

1st: Horseman rises. 3rd & 18th: Trumpeter rises.

7. Ambrose.

1st: Horseman sets. 8th and 23rd: Trumpeter rises.

8. Harps.

1st: Horseman rises. 13th: Trumpeter rises.

Evening of the 188th day of year (19 Harps):

Chariot sets; Midyear—summer begins.

9. Tohrt.

1st: Horseman sets. 3rd & 18th: Trumpeter rises.

10. Remembering.

1st: Horseman rises. 8th & 23rd: Trumpeter rises.

11. Victory.

1st: Horseman sets. 13th: Trumpeter rises.

12. Harvesting.

1st: Horseman rises. 3rd & 18th: Trumpeter rises.

6th: Chariot rises, noon of 281st day of year. Fall begins.

13. Mother and Maiden.

1st: Horseman sets. 8th & 23rd: Trumpeter rises.

14. Bayring.

1st: Horseman rises. 13th: Trumpeter rises.

15. Borderer.

1st: Horseman sets. 3rd & 18th: Trumpeter rises.

APPENDIX D

T
HE
W
ARDLANDS AND THE
G
RAITH OF
G
UARDIANS

A
ccording to Gabriel McNally's reconstruction (generally accepted by scholars of Ambrosian legend, always excepting Julian Emrys), the Wardlands were an anarchy with no formal government at all. According to legend, the Wardlands had not been a kingdom since the golden age at the beginning of time, when the King (usually identified with the divine aspect known as God Avenger) ruled in person in Laent and elsewhere. Since then it has been considered blasphemous, or at least irrationally presumptuous, for any person to assert a claim to rule the Wardlands. Those who try to do so are exiled or (in extreme cases) killed.

What in other cultures would have been state functions (national defense, dispute resolution, even road building and repair, etc.) were carried on by voluntary cooperatives: the Arbiters of the Peace, the Guild of Silent Men, the League of Rhetors, etc. Most famous in the unguarded lands was the Graith of Guardians, sworn to maintain the Guard.

The Graith had three ranks of Guardian: the lowest and most numerous were the thains, wearing a gray cape of office. They were hardly more than candidates to the Graith proper, and they undertook to obey their seniors in the Graith, even more senior thains.

Vocates, in contrast, were full members of the Graith, privileged to stand and speak at the Graith's councils (known as Stations). Their only obligation was to defend the Guard, and the Guarded, as they saw fit. Their cloak of office was bloodred.

Most senior in the Graith were the Three Summoners. They had no power to command but were generally conceded the authority to lead the vocates of the Graith proper. The Summoner of the City convened and presided over Stations of the Graith. The Summoner of the Outer Lands was charged with watching for threats to the Guard from the unguarded lands. The Summoner of the Inner Lands was charged with watching for internal threats: those who would try to disrupt the fertile anarchy of the Wardlands and establish the sterility of political order.

The greatest danger to the anarchy of the Wardlands was obviously the Graith itself. Members of the Graith were pledged to abide by the First Decree, which forbade any acquisition of power or authority over those under the Guard. Nevertheless, Guardians were exiled more often than the Guarded for political aspirations to government (euphemistically referred to as “impairment of the Guard”). Power corrupts, and the Guardians wielded power more often than their peers among the Guarded.

A
BOUT THE
A
UTHOR

J
AMES
E
NGE
lives in northwest Ohio, where he teaches classics at a medium-sized public university. His short fiction has appeared in
Swords and Dark Magic
(Eos, 2010), in the magazine
Black Gate
, and elsewhere. His previous novels are
Blood of Ambrose
(Pyr, 2009), which was nominated for the World Fantasy Award in 2010;
This Crooked Way
(Pyr, 2009); and
The Wolf Age
(Pyr, 2010).