Author's Note: A while ago I created a map of Carann and the surrounding kingdoms. A larger version of the map, with a few notes, can be found in the first book, Death and the Emperor. I added it to this chapter too so readers can have an idea of where everything happens. (And also so I can refer back to it and not make too many mistakes with the geography.)

Seeing, contrary to popular wisdom, isn't believing. It's where belief stops, because it isn't needed any more. -- Terry Pratchett, Pyramids

The first battle came on a sunny day, unusually warm for the time of year. The Carannish army had expected their enemies to cross into Carann by land. Istogu formed the only land border between the two empires. Guards watched all the mountain passes for any sign of activity. Eight regiments of the army were encamped on the plains beneath the mountains, ready to fend off an attack.

Defending other parts of the empire was given less attention. Several generals made it clear they thought Malish would only invade by land. It was tradition, and they thought tradition was the be-all and end-all of everything. It took Kilan a great deal of trouble and shouting to get them to acknowledge they were wrong.

"Are you forgetting how merchant ships used to travel every day across the Korihiwen Sea[1]?" he demanded. "They can make the trip in twelve hours. If they can do it, so can battleships. I want the navy patrolling the sea. Keep a watch from every lighthouse. And station troops in every port!"

Thankfully the generals obeyed. The navy were much more sensible and had already made plans for what to do in case of an invasion by sea. Yet by and large the generals still stubbornly clung to the idea that the attack would come by land.

It must be said that it was mostly the older generals who thought this. With only a few exceptions they had personally never experienced a real war. All their knowledge was from the old books of tactics and strategies that they had studied and memorised. The younger generals had also never been through a war, but they were less obsessively devoted to the old ways of warfare. Kilan noticed this and quietly arranged for the younger generals and more sensible older ones to be given the most important positions. At the same time he gave the incompetent generals positions that sounded important but were really just to keep them happy, out of trouble, and where they could do no real harm.

Apart from Istogu, the province of Traeron had the most contact with Malish. Its capital Ziushiki was the main trading port between the two empires. If an attack by sea came, its goal would almost certainly be to invade and capture Ziushiki. Kilan ordered a fleet of battleships to defend it, and sent three army regiments to reinforce them. He gave the jade lion[2] to General Zhaoyi, and hoped none of the other commanders would disagree with his choice.

General Zhaoyi had been born and raised in Ziushiki. His family were well-known and well-respected. The city's people knew him and he knew them. His wife was the manageress of a trading company. All those reasons made Zhaoyi an ideal choice. Unfortunately, Kilan knew that jealousy could blind people to the most obvious things. When someone felt they had been unfairly passed over they didn't care how good the reasons for it were. He could only hope and pray that no one in the army was petty or spiteful enough to stir up trouble.

For weeks everything in Ziushiki seemed to go well. The navy patrolled the sea. The army settled into their camp and waited. Airships kept an eye on the situation from above -- a new innovation thought up by some enterprising airship captain, which had provoked much head-shaking and ominous prophecies. So far it had worked so well that it silenced even the worst of the grumbles. A violent disagreement had been spotted and nipped in the bud before it could turn into a riot, thanks to the airships over the city.

That didn't mean everyone was happy. The worst complaints came from the merchants and farmers. The merchants wrung their hands and lamented the shortage of supplies to sell, now that their trade with Malish had been cut off. The farmers grumbled about how the noise of the airships was frightening their livestock.

"I have no more silk to sell!" one merchant wailed to a less-than-impressed Zhaoyi. "How can I keep my shop open?"

"Those blasted machines make my chanshi[3] stampede every time they fly overhead," a farmer wrote to the mayor. "Tell them to stay in the city!"

All these complaints were relayed to Kilan in official reports.

"I don't see what they expect me to do about it," he said to Nadriet after reading a particularly strongly-worded letter from a disgruntled politician. "They seem to think a war can be fought without anyone being inconvenienced."

Everyone would have been much, much happier if a war could be fought without inconvenience -- or worse. But that was an impossibility. A month after the Carannish army arrived in Ziushiki, the Malishese launched their first attack. It did indeed come by sea. One of the airships spotted a group of ships far out at sea, where no ships were supposed to be.

The first the city's people knew of it was when they heard explosions far out across the water. Smoke billowed along the horizon. For hours and hours this went on. The battle lasted far into the night before the Malishese fleet admitted defeat. They left with far fewer ships than they had when they arrived. But not all the losses were on their side. Four Carannish battleships were sunk during the battle. Another one was so badly damaged by fire that, although it was towed into port, it was clearly beyond repair. The exact number of casualties was unknown except by Death.

She visited Kilan in the early hours of the morning, long before news of the battle had reached the palace. He was fast asleep in his bed, wrapped up in his quilt until he looked more like a caterpillar in a cocoon than a living person. Death leant over him and shook him awake.

"Was'app'ning?" he asked sleepily, still tangled up in the quilt.

"Congratulations," Death said. "Carann has won its first victory."

She moved away to turn on the bedside lamp. Its cozy orange glow cast sharp, jagged shadows across the room. When Kilan emerged from his cocoon, his hair falling over his face like an untidy curtain, he could have sworn she was only a skeleton for a minute. He looked again, startled wide awake by the shock, and found her appearance was no different from normal. Light was commonly believed to reveal things and to drive away shadows. When it shone on inhabitants of the other world, though, often it only made them more unnerving. He didn't know if she had really been a skeleton or if he had imagined it. This was one of those times when he truly was happier not knowing.

"Did you say--" He broke off to cover his mouth as he yawned, "--something about victory?"

Death sat down on the side of the bed. "Yes. Half an hour ago your navy sent part of Jalakanavu's fleeing back to Malish. Casualties on the Carannish side were more than five hundred on each sunken battleship, and almost half the crew of a ship that caught fire. Several of the survivors are too badly injured to last the night. All told, the navy has lost over two thousand six hundred sailors, including four captains."

Kilan felt a sick, miserable sensation fill his chest. "So many?"

She nodded. There was no trace of compassion, or dismay, or even the faintest sign of surprise on her face. He almost hated her for it.

What do you expect? he asked himself sharply. How could she do her job if she felt miserable every time someone died?

"If it's any consolation," Death continued, "over six thousand Malishese sailors died. You don't have to worry about another attack for a while now. Jalakanavu will tell them to wait before making any more attempts. And she'll continue planning how to assassinate you. With rather more resolve now, I think. This defeat won't look good for her when the Malishese papers get wind of it."

Kilan didn't roll his eyes. But he came close. "What an encouraging thing to hear at--" He looked over at the clock, "--half five in the morning. Should I have my food tested for poison?"

Death smiled grimly. It made her look like a skeleton again. "Not today."

~~~~

Battles between other kingdoms could be won or lost. It didn't matter to Nirne. They remained stubbornly indifferent to the troubles and disputes of the rest of the world. And they had plenty of their own problems to distract them. Rumours of a curse were bad enough when they were confined to the gullible people who believed what they read in newspapers. Now the clergy were starting to believe the rumours too. Where there was a curse, there was someone who cast it. And now the archbishop wanted to declare a day of prayer and fasting to find out who the caster was.

"This is absurd!" Queen Drazenmira shouted, forgetting both her composure and the respect due to such an important clergyman. "There is no curse! I'm not even convinced there was ever a monster!"

The archbishop, a slow and rather stupid man whose only thoughts were of what would make him popular, quailed in the face of this outburst. He opened his mouth to speak. Then he stood there for several minutes with it still open. Partly because he couldn't think of anything to say, but mostly because Losradan just had to get in her two pennies' worth.

"Mother!" the oldest princess exclaimed, looking and sounding as scandalised as if the queen had just committed blasphemy. "Many people saw the monster! Do you doubt their word?"

The queen took a deep breath and tried not to do something undignified, like clenching her fists. If looks could kill, Losradan would have been reduced to a cinder in front of everyone. Of course this would have to happen when the entire royal family and most of the court were all present!

"I know many people say they saw it," Drazenmira said through gritted teeth. "I didn't see anything unusual myself. And I must say that our minds can play tricks on us late at night. Everyone must agree that we never saw this monster before, and it hasn't returned."

If only everyone present did agree with that. Alas, someone present didn't notice the implied order in the queen's last remark.

"It has returned!" a duchess cried, her voice rising in pitch and shrillness with each word. "I saw it only yesterday morning! Outside my window, crawling along a tree branch!"

What a pity it was now frowned upon in these degenerate times to throw things at people. Drazenmira would have very much liked to hurl something at that duchess. Or else to have the duchess herself thrown out. Attempting to say she might have been mistaken wasn't of the slightest use. Nor did it matter that she had suspiciously forgotten to mention this sighting until now. The entire room was in uproar. People whispered to each other and threw up their hands in horror. The situation had reached such a sorry state that the servants were acting with more dignity than the nobles. At least the servants hadn't started gossiping amongst themselves in public. Yet.

Kiroshnoy, unnoticed by everyone, shrank back into a corner and tried to make herself as inconspicuous as possible. She succeeded to some degree. Virtually no one paid any attention to the youngest princess. Not her parents, not the archbishop, not any of the gathered crowd, and not most of her siblings. But there was one person who did notice her.

Losradan watched her little sister retreat into the shadow cast by a tapestry. And a suspicion began to form in her mind.

Chapter Footnotes:

[1] Korihiwen Sea = The body of water between Malish and Carann.

[2] jade lion = When multiple army commanders are working together, an officer or dignitary -- often a member of the royal family, or as in this case the ruler themselves -- of higher rank than any of them declares one of them the official leader. This commander is given a piece of jade carved into the shape of a lion with the imperial seal stamped on it.

[3] chanshi = An animal about the size of a pig, with webbed feet and a very long nose.