The harsh light of guttering torches splashes across the interior of the dim confines of the tent, silhouetting an armored figure seated before a low table. Peering up from the scattering of maps and reports strewn before him, the lone occupant shifts in his seat... waiting.

Pausing just inside the flap, the newcomer -- a tall man clad in a hauberk of hammered mail beneath a silver-trimmed, sable surcoat -- himself pauses, long enough to study his commander. Near two score years they had been brothers. A relationship, one taken with melodrama might claim, forged in the misery of shared pain and the exultation of shared success. The years have left their mark, the aging Janizar thought to himself then added with no small amount of pride-edged respect, but they've not yet robbed him of his vitality. Nodding once in deference to the black clad man's rank and experience, the messenger grins. "It's done, Sirdar. They've ended it."

A flash of something perhaps best described as long-endured frustration colors the seated man's eyes as he speaks. "You know better than to refer to me by that, Asoka." A shaking of his head accompanies the soft chuckle that follows. "We've been through far too much together for that."

"As you say... Sirdar," the man called Asoka responds with a smile. "As you say..."

Snorting once, the seated man motions the other in. "Come. Enough of this idle banter." Straightening, his strong voice now laced with mock-severity, he concludes with an order. "Report, Janizar."

The game in full swing, Asoka snaps to attention, his salute crisp. "Sirdar! The Empyreans have capitulated. They've accepted the terms of the armistice."

This announcement punctuated with another salute to signify its conclusion is met with silence. Not, however, the stunned sort of silence commonplace when one hears surprising news for the first time. For, only a naïve fool could have convinced himself that the war was going well for the Praetorians. Rather, this was more of the pensive, what happens next kind of silence commonplace when a difficult decision must be rendered.

"Well... my rafiq," the seated man breathes, "It appears as if we're going to be in the market for new careers sooner than we thought." A mirthless, thin-lipped smile accompanies this odd statement.

"We mustn't worry about that, Gadiel... and you know it." Asoka reprimands as he, too, sits. "What will be will be."

Smiling once more, Gadiel nods. "You misunderstand me, old friend." Settling back as his companion pours them both a short ration of raki, he continues, "I simply wonder where we shall end up next..."

As his Kaimakam speaks, Asoka can't help but smile. So much had they been through. And so much had they overcome. It never ceased to amaze just what they'd accomplished as they walked in this man's shadow... a path any of them would kill to walk.

"...so much has changed." Gadiel continues, his dark eyes taking on the faraway look of a man who's seeing many things which have yet to come to pass. "Our Rimposhe has proven, once and for all, that he is far from mortal. Even those who quietly dissent must know consider the error of their ways." Taking a slightly different tack, he adds, "And the Munafiqun... the Empyreans. Has their time come to pass? Are we to blindly trust our ascendancy and credit it to the God-King?"

"Difficult questions, Gadiel." Asoka grunts. "I find it best to simply soldier on and let you and yours stumble about with matters of policy."

Angry shouts -- a staccato outburst of sound -- punctuate the night, interrupting the two men. Pausing to listen for more, Gadiel finally responds as his ears meet with silence. "I wish it were that simple, old friend. I truly do. But I can no longer hide from those questions newly born as could a wyvern ignore today's meal." Large hands in motion now, he continues, his voice animated, "For instance... how do we now view the Munafiqun? As defeated foes? As potential threats? Should we pity them their downfall? Or regard it as a lesson well learned?"

Asoka's snort explosively silences his Kaimakam. "The candala? They're to be blamed for their fate... we simply were the method of their downfall... and a well-deserved downfall, at that. They are, after all, the antithesis of all we stand for." Self-satisfied, he sits back, awaiting his companion's inevitable response.

Years of friendship have served them well in the past, and this is time no exception. The expected retort comes quickly, if without rancor. "You can't be so foolish as to believe that Asoka!" Gadiel responds. "True, we Varati proved the superiority of our military and faith... but we did nothing else. The Empyreans have been the enemy, true. But there is much to be learned from them." Pausing, he raised a cup to lips. "We know what happens when one people subjugates another. The Empyreans showed us that plainly enough. We must not follow their example."

Curious, Asoka inquires. "Oh, how do you mean?"

Taking his cue, Gadiel continues. "The Empyreans are below contempt for many reasons... they are munafiqun and kafir... but they are not stupid. In addition, although they are, as a people, lower than ganika, individually they have achieved much. That must never be forgotten."

"You speak in circles, good friend. Are they to be considered candala, or not?" Asoka complains. "Explain yourself."

Shaking his head, Gadiel stands. Hands clasped behinds his back, he begins a circuit of the tent, speaking as he goes. "The Empyreans are to be respected as individuals. Plain and simple. Take each on their merit. But..." he adds, one finger rising to punctuate his point, "always remain wary of them as a people."

"Wary?" the seated man inquires. "But they're beaten... driven before our victorious forces. What have we to be wary of?"

"We have their hunger..." Gadiel replies ominously. "They've tasted success. And, as we well know, success is as addictive as any drug. They will not forget. Should we be the harsh, obnoxious overlords that they were... their resentment will grow... just as our complacency does."

"I agree we must remain vigilant... but must we coddle them as well?" asks Asoka, smiling now as his friend picks up steam. This game they play, an important one as it stimulates the mind of his Kaimakam. And one not without a small measure of enjoyment.

"Coddle... no. Respect... yes. Treat them with respect and their resentment will require more time to fester... to grow. But grow it will, have no fear." Smiling, the taller man pauses again, thinking. "Have you any other questions, my friend?"

"No... although, I wish I had been there to see Him in all his Glory. I hear it was awe-inspiring," Asoka breathes.

"I doubt that not at all. He and he alone, is the agent of our ascendancy. Guard him and his we must, for should he fall... so too, shall we." Blinking, Gadiel pauses, for those words, although spoken from his mouth, sound little like the words of a veteran Agni-Haidar.

The two men regard each other coolly for what seems an eternity, only stirring from their silence as official news of the armistice hits the camp. Drowned in the roar of the assembled troops about them, Gadiel's final words are lost, "We are ascendant... and rightfully so. Let us hope that we don't fall into the trap so many others have tripped... let us learn from those mistakes we've been fortunate enough to survive."

FIN  

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