Lighting Fires
“I’ve had as much as I can stand of those seditious texts,” said Emperor Ech Ashquane, slamming his wine goblet down on the polished wood of the table in front of him. A few drops slipped over the brim and trickled onto the table. The Emperor appeared not to notice this and glared at Akeyl. “I want you to burn the library.”
It took General Akeyl several seconds to get over his shock and reply. “Are you certain, my Lord Emperor?” He can’t be serious. On the other hand, he is in a fine temper and this is not a good time to cross him.
“Yes!” said the Emperor, scowling. “How can the priests of Keshquen ever bring the stability of a single religion to the entire empire when old tribal beliefs from every nation from here to the north continent fill the library? Not to mention outmoded myths, lies and who knows what!”
“If I may be blunt…” Akeyl waited for the Emperor’s nodded assent before continuing “this library should not be burned. It is priceless in the knowledge it contains, and by burning it you will offend priests of every religion as well as scholars of every people of your empire. You also deprive yourself of the useful knowledge contained in it, some of which is found nowhere else, and much of which has no bearing on religious controversy.” He knows all this already – what can have set him off this time? He has also been drinking too much.
The Emperor shook his head. “We need a fresh start. We cannot do that with all this impedimenta encumbering our every move and every thought. You say the scholars will be against it? Ha! They never do anything but talk. Priests likewise.”
“My Lord Emperor, I wish to register a protest. Please, consider your actions and do not do this without thought. Consider what I have said; consider the reaction of your priests and of the citizenry, many of whom still believe in the old gods.”
“I have considered enough already. You are here to fight my battles for me, not to tell me which ones to fight.” the Emperor said. “You will take your forces to the library tomorrow morning, and you will burn it to the ground. I want nothing moved beforehand, understand? The books are to stay in the library. The custodians may leave, however. I have no wish to burn people.”
The more I argue, the more stubborn he’ll get. And tomorrow is too soon for him for him to have cooled down enough for me to reason with. The other generals will support him just to watch me squirm, not that most of them understand the value of books. I cannot defy him, but I will find a way to stop him. Scholars and priests are not near so toothless as he may think. “Yes, my Lord Emperor.”
“Good,” said Emperor Ech Ashquane. “You may go.”
Akeyl bowed and left.
_______
As he walked down the long wooden hall towards his study, Akeyl reviewed what the Emperor had said. This was a loyalty test. If matters were otherwise, the Emperor would have assigned somebody else to this task. Akeyl’s love of books was too well known for him to have been picked accidentally. Unfortunately, the Emperor also wanted him to go through with it. That much had been obvious from his face and voice. Now, how could this be prevented without directly disobeying the Emperor? He will regret this action. He does not normally behave like this. He’ll have changed his mind a week from now, or as soon as he sees the results.
Akeyl reached his study, entered, and closed the door behind him. He looked around. Unlike the private space of the other leaders he knew here, the walls were covered in books, and the books and papers on the table bore Akeyl’s own handwriting not that of a paid scribe. He loved this place. In many ways it was the only place in this city where he truly felt at home. Akeyl leaned back in the chair and thought.
The Emperor did not wish to burn anyone. Some of those librarians were likely to refuse to leave. Forcibly removing them would make an ugly scene, and a crowd would gather to watch. At least a couple of those librarians were in holy orders. The soldiers would have to lay hands on priests. They might have no objection to burning books, but laying hands on a priest, let alone injuring or burning one, was sacrilege. Granted, Akeyl could find soldiers who would not care, but it would be easier to find ones who would balk at the deed. In fact, the best way to prevent burning the library was to be as literal-minded as possible about obeying his orders.
For this to work it would be necessary that the priestly librarians be on duty that day. And if perhaps they invited a few of their friends to do research there… now how to get the knowledge to them? Any note Akeyl might write would be suspect. I need to speak to Shishkin, my second in command, about the organization for burning down the library. He will be in the stables at this hour. Siqual the stable boy will probably be around also. He will not wish the library burned, not when it means the holy texts of Telemekar would also be burned.
Akeyl stood. For now, he must speak to Shishkin and prepare the organization of the library-burning expedition tomorrow. It must at least look like he was trying to follow his orders. The Emperor was unfortunately smart enough that he might figure out Akeyl had been playing him for a fool, but he might yet forgive so long as Akeyl did not publicly defy his orders.
_______
Shishkin was with the horses in the stables. Siqual was currying a horse across the other side of the stable. Good. “Good evening, Lord General,” Shishkin said. “You are looking for me?”
“Yes. The Lord Emperor has work for us to do tomorrow. He wishes the great library to be burned.”
Shishkin’s eyes went round with horror. “Oh no,” he said. “What are you going to do?”
“Obey my Emperor’s orders,” Akeyl said. “There is nothing else I can do. I want you to order 10th regiment logistics to collect torches, pitch, and wood. I will also need third company of the 10th to be ready one hour after dawn.”
“Yes sir,” Shishkin said, still looking shocked. He hesitated.
“You have your orders, as I have mine. Go and carry them out. I will see you half an hour after dawn tomorrow.” Shishkin bowed, and went back to his horse. Akeyl turned and walked back towards the main palace. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Siqual slip out of the far end of the stables. As Akeyl continued, he saw him head off in the direction of the main library. Akeyl smiled. Two missions accomplished.
Akeyl headed back to his study to think and to plan more precisely just how to keep the library standing while appearing to obey his orders. He slept little that night.
______
Akeyl met Shishkin the following morning outside the stables. He outlined his plans, or at least, that portion of his plans which Shishkin needed to know about. Shishkin was not happy, but tried not to show it. He did inquire as to why they had not left earlier, as the fire in the library would be noticed by more people during the day. Akeyl responded that fires during the day were less likely to cause a panic and were also less likely to kill people if they got out of hand. Shishkin accepted that explanation as they continued planning and collected the men.
Third regiment marched through the streets. They attracted only a moderate amount of attention, as ordered companies coming and going were a common sight in the capital. Akeyl formed them into three columns and they passed without incident.
The library was just about to open to the public, so there was a small queue of people waiting to enter. Some of them looked at the approaching military columns uneasily. When the company drew up and stopped, people started shuffling away a step or two and murmuring. What would one of the emperor’s crack cavalry companies be doing on foot, in front of the library? Some of them were carrying material for lighting fires…
Akeyl stepped out in front and addressed the people. “I regret to announce the library will not be opening today. It has been deemed to contain seditious and heretical literature and we have been ordered to burn it to the ground. All books are to stay in the library, but all people are to leave for their own safety. So I’m afraid you may as well go home.”
“What!” exclaimed a portly man, a wealthy merchant by his clothing. He went first red, and then rather pale as he remembered that this is not how one addressed a general. “I’m sorry to remind my Lord General but surely… There must be some sort of mistake.”
“Yes,” came a comment from someone Akeyl could not see. “You were in there last week yourself, General.” Several people tittered uneasily.
“That is irrelevant,” Akeyl answered. “What is relevant are the Emperor’s orders.” Ignoring the crowd, he ordered a group of soldiers into the library. They didn’t realize it, but they had been carefully chosen. Echish was superstitious, Shersa and Charsich strongly religious, Eshkeh was usually punctilious and proper towards people of higher social station, and Chesa questioned any order he thought was stupid. Not one of them was bookish, but they would serve without, hopefully, making the emperor unduly suspicious. The other soldiers were merely random.
Meanwhile, Akeyl saw to it that the would-be library goers were pushed back to a safe distance. In the unhappy event that he did have to carry through with this, he wanted no one hurt. He then turned to seeing that all doors but the main one were locked. The group of soldiers he had sent in to search out and remove the library’s custodians had not come out yet. They were taking quite a while. Finally, Chesa came out looking extremely worried. He went directly to Akeyl.
“Sir,” he said. “They won’t leave. We asked at first, but they refused to leave and none of the men wanted to touch the priests to make them leave. Isihech tried to move a priest of Terish but he threatened to curse Isihech and now none of the men will lay a hand on him. Several of the secular scholars have chained themselves to the lecterns, and none of them will tell us where the keys are hidden. Could you come in and give us a hand, sir?”
One of the library goers had apparently been close enough to overhear. “Laying hands on a priest! For shame! Sacrilege!” he said. Others behind him started muttering, and some of them repeated the comments, which turned slowly into a chant.
Akeyl carefully avoided smiling. Everything was going according to plan.
The chanting gained in volume, and Akeyl suddenly noticed the size of the crowd. It had grown while he’d been looking at the doors and talking to Chesa. His company was now outnumbered. Maybe he needed to tone things down rather than heat them up…
“Stay back!” he commanded. “No one will be harmed, and I will go myself to see that the priests are being respected.” With some reluctance, he went inside, leaving Shishkin in command with orders to send someone to get him immediately if the crowd became uncontrollable or appeared about to become so. Akeyl was very glad he had Shishkin as a second in command at that point: Shishkin rarely became flustered and could be counted on not to do anything stupid. Of course, that was why he’d picked Shishkin in the first place.
Inside, the library looked much as it always had, ranks upon ranks of bookshelves lit by steady Magelight. Where were the soldiers, the unruly priests, and the librarians chained to their books? Akeyl looked up and down the rows of books before he heard the sound of someone angrily refusing to leave coming from the back-left-hand corner. He walked over to them.
They were bunched into two separate knots. The soldiers on one side of a lectern, and the librarians and priests on the other. Three of the librarians had chained themselves to various objects, one of which was the lectern. “What is this?” Akeyl asked.
Isihech, the priests and several of the librarians all started talking at once. It seemed to be at an impasse. After two minutes of fruitless arguing, Shorash came from the outside and began speaking: “General Akeyl, we need you outside at once. The crowd…” Akeyl turned and went with him. He heard the crowd before he left the building.
It was making growling and muttering sounds, and when Akeyl saw the size to which it had grown he was thoroughly alarmed. He hadn’t imagined that the fate of the library would attract so many people so quickly. Even if half of them were only here to gawk and had never actually entered the library in their lives, the presence of over 300 people was astonishing. If he had wanted to burn the library, he would think twice about doing so now.
He turned to Sorash and said, “Go and get the rest of our people out of the library immediately.” He then turned to the crowd, which had taken a step foreward at the sight of him. A couple of braver souls hurled insults at both him and, far worse, at the Emperor. A piece of brick rubble hit the library wall just to the left of his head. He ignored it, holding up his hand for silence. After a minute or so, he actually got it.
“It occurs to me that I may have misinterpreted my orders. Rather than make a dire mistake, we will now be returning to the palace for clarification.”
An odd a mix of cheers, jeers and laughter greeted this, and Akeyl winced inwardly at the knowledge that he would have a terrible time getting any mob in the capital to take him seriously from now on. Still, if that was the price, it was a better one than his life, a massacre, or the library in smoking ruins. Now if he could just persuade the Emperor to see things in the same light, things might not be so bad.
_______
Akeyl followed the guard into the Emperor’s audience chamber to give his report. The Emperor looked up from the documents scattered all over his desk and stopped dictating to the scribe. “Yes, Akeyl? The library is no more, I take it?” His eyes narrowed slightly. “You do not smell of smoke.”
“I regret to report that we could not successfully carry out our orders this morning,” Akeyl said.
“Explain,” the Emperor demanded.
“Your orders were that the books and the library were to be burned, but no one was to be harmed. It seems that some of the priests and librarians anticipated our actions; perhaps they saw us coming down the street carrying faggots of wood and guessed what we were about. In any case, several of the librarians had chained themselves to objects in the library that were difficult or impossible to move and the priests refused to move and threatened to curse my men when they attempted to remove them. None of them were willing to risk being cursed.
Our actions had also attracted a crowd of over three hundred people that was growing rapidly and threatening to become a mob. Rather than risk a riot, which would almost certainly have broken your orders about not killing anyone, I and my forces have returned to report what has occurred and ask for clarification.”
“I see,” said the Emperor slowly. “So the great, undefeated general Akeyl has finally been beaten – by priests, shopkeepers and librarians. How amusing. I will believe it when horses fly through the skies like swallows. You organized all this yourself didn’t you?” He waved his hand to cut off Akeyl’s denial. “Oh, I know I will never find any evidence because you covered your trail too well. When I give you an order I expect you to obey it, not pretend to obey it and then do what you think best.”
The Emperor turned to the guard who had escorted Akeyl in. “Take him to the dungeons,” he said. “He is to stay there until further notice. As for you,” he said, turning to Akeyl “I want you to think about obedience and about the fact that I can have you killed any time I wish – or exiled. Again. Where will you go if the Empire exiles you? You cannot go back to Zerakeyal.” He said that last almost gently, before turning grim again. “I do not want to harm you, but I will not brook your defiance.”
The guard seized Akeyl by the arm. “My Lord Emperor, do you want him tortured?”
“Not presently.” the Emperor said. As Akeyl left with the guard. Three other guards joined them, completely surrounding Akeyl. They took him to a small cell in one of the upper levels of the dungeons and left him there.
______
Akeyl sat in the dungeons and waited. The guards had brought food twelve times now, but he had no other way to tell the passage of time. It was boring, colder than he liked, and smelled of smoke from the torches as well as of other less pleasant things. Still, it could have been much worse. He had not been taken to the lower dungeons, which were not a place anyone in their right mind would want to be.
The door swung open for the thirteenth time. Akeyl looked up from where he sat on the floor. There were four guards this time, and none of them carried food. They wore the Emperor’s livery. Akeyl scrambled to his feet.
“You will come with us,” their leader announced. He looked disdainfully at Akeyl’s bedraggled appearance. “You will be taken to your quarters to freshen up, and then you have an audience with the Emperor to which we will escort you. No questions.”
Akeyl followed them and obeyed their commands, thinking about what this turn of events meant. He did not believe that the Emperor would punish him further. By now, the Emperor’s anger about the library had probably cooled and he might well have decided that he had erred in judgment in the first place. That was especially likely if he had tried to have anyone else burn down the library later in the day. Soon, Akeyl stood before the Emperor’s door.
The door guard announced him, and he was invited in. The Emperor was seated at the table, but the table was clear save for a decanter of wine and two glasses. There was an empty chair across the table, which the Emperor gestured for him to sit in. Akeyl sat, watching the Emperor’s face carefully as a servant poured wine for both of them. The signs were good so far, but Emperor Ech Ashquane could be unpredictable and it was best to pay careful attention.
“How would you like to go and fight northern barbarians?” The Emperor asked.
“I would be delighted,” Akeyl replied. After being ordered to burn down libraries and spending time in your dungeon, almost anything would be an improvement, he thought, but he left that unsaid.
“Good. I’ve come to the conclusion that it would be a better use for you then having you evade my orders to burn cultural artifacts, seditious or not. However, if you have a severe problem with something in my orders, tell me.” The Emperor grimaced, and glanced down at the table for a moment. “I cannot afford to have you disobey me, and if you do so again for other than the direst of reasons I will have to execute you. You are too dangerous to exile, and the only reason I’m letting you off now is because in addition to a history of insubordination you also have a history of being right.”
So the library stands, Akeyl thought, and I live a little longer. “My Lord Emperor, I attempted to refuse your orders this time. Do you mean that I can refuse orders to your face and you will not punish me?”
The Emperor pursed his lips and frowned. “If you do so in private, yes,” he said finally. “Be careful not to abuse this privilege.”
“I will not abuse it,” Akeyl replied. “However, there is one thing that does concern me. When I am on the border fighting the northern barbarians we will seldom meet face to face. There will be times when I receive orders from you that do not take into account the current situation on the front as they will be based on information days or weeks old. What should I do when lives are at stake and there is no time to consult?”
“Use your judgment as you see fit, and hope you can persuade me of its rightness after the fact,” the Emperor replied. “So long as you succeed, I shall not inquire too closely into how, provided of course that your methods are no threat to the Empire or my main goals. You seem to have a great talent for success, provided that you are not trying to fail. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” Akeyl said.
“Good,” the Emperor said and relaxed visibly. He took a sip of his wine. “Now, what I hope to do in the northern regions within the next three years is…”
Akeyl smiled and listened attentively. He had survived, and so had the library. For now, that was enough.