The Complete Elenium Trilogy: The Diamond Throne, The Ruby Knight, The Sapphire Rose. David Eddings

I’ll listen.’

      ‘I always enjoy seeing a hunger for knowledge in the young,’ Dolmant observed blandly.

      And so Talen’s education began as they rode on to Demos. At first he was quite sullen about it, but after a few hours of listening to Berit, he began to be caught up in the story. ‘Can I ask questions?’ he said finally.

      ‘Of course,’ Berit replied.

      ‘You said that there weren’t any kingdoms in those days – just a lot of duchies and the like?’

      Berit nodded.

      ‘Then how did this Abrech of Deira gain control of the whole country in the fifteenth century? Didn’t the other nobles fight him?’

      ‘Abrech had control of the iron mines in central Deira. His warriors had steel weapons and armour. The people facing him were armed with bronze – or even flint.’

      ‘That would make a difference, I guess.’

      ‘After he had consolidated his hold on Deira, he turned south into what’s now Elenia. It didn’t take him very long to conquer the entire region. Then he moved down into Arcium and repeated the process there. After that, he turned towards central Eosia, Cammoria, Lamorkand, and Pelosia.’

      ‘Did he conquer all of Eosia?’

      ‘No. It was about that time that the Eshandist Heresy arose in Rendor, and Abrech was persuaded by the Church to give himself over to its suppression.’

      ‘I’ve heard about the Eshandists,’ Talen said, ‘but I could never get the straight of what they really believe.’

      ‘Eshand was antihierarchical.’

      ‘What does that mean?’

      ‘The Hierarchy is composed of higher church officials – primates, patriarchs and the Archprelate. Eshand believed that individual priests should decide matters of theology for their congregations and that the Hierocracy of the Church should be disbanded.’

      ‘I can see why high churchmen disliked him then.’

      ‘At any rate, Abrech gathered a huge army from western and central Eosia to move against Rendor. His eyes were fixed on heaven and so when the earls and dukes of the lands he had conquered asked for steel weapons – the better to fight the heretics, they said – he gave his consent without considering the implications. There were a few battles, but then Abrech’s empire suddenly disintegrated. Now that they had the advanced technology that the Deirans had kept secret before, the nobles of west and central Eosia no longer felt obliged to pay homage to Abrech. Elenia and Arcium declared their independence, and Cammoria, Lamorkand, and Pelosia all coalesced into strong kingdoms. Abrech himself was killed in a battle with the Eshandists in southern Cammoria.’

      ‘What’s all this got to do with Zemoch?’

      ‘I’ll get to that in due time.’

      Talen looked over at Kurik. ‘You know,’ he said, ‘this is a good story. Why didn’t they tell it in that school you put me in?’

      ‘Probably because you didn’t stay long enough to give them the chance.’

      ‘That’s possible, I suppose.’

      ‘How much farther is it to Demos?’ Kalten asked, squinting at the late afternoon sun to gauge the time.

      ‘About twelve leagues,’ Kurik replied.

      ‘We’ll never make that before nightfall. Is there an inn or a tavern hereabouts?’

      ‘There’s a village away up ahead. They have an inn.’

      ‘What do you think, Sparhawk?’ Kalten asked.

      ‘I suppose we might as well,’ the big man agreed. ‘We wouldn’t do the horses any good by riding them all night in the cold.’

      The sun was going down as they rode up a long hill towards the village. Since it was behind them, it projected their shadows far out to the front. The village was small, with thatch-roofed stone houses clustered together on either side of the road. The inn at the far end was hardly more than a taproom with a sleeping loft on the upper floor. The supper they were provided with, however, was far better than the poor fare they had been offered the previous night.

      ‘Are we going to the motherhouse when we get to Demos?’ Kalten asked Sparhawk after they had eaten in the low, torchlit common room.

      Sparhawk considered it. ‘It’s probably being watched,’ he said. ‘Escorting the Patriarch back to Chyrellos gives us an excuse to be passing through Demos, but I’d rather not have anyone see his Grace and me go into the cloister to talk with Arissa. If Annias gets any clues about what we’ve got planned, he’ll try to counter us. Kurik, have you got any spare room at your house?’

      ‘There’s an attic – and a hay loft.’

      ‘Good. We’ll be visiting you.’

      ‘Aslade will be delighted.’ Kurik’s eyes grew troubled. ‘Can I talk with you for a moment, Sparhawk?’

      Sparhawk pushed back his stool and followed his squire to the far side of the flagstone-floored room.

      ‘You weren’t really serious about leaving Talen with Aslade, were you?’ Kurik asked quietly.

      ‘No,’ Sparhawk replied, ‘probably not. You were right when you said that she might be very unhappy if she finds out about your indiscretion, and Talen has a busy mouth. He could let things slip.’

      ‘What are we going to do with him, then?’

      ‘I haven’t decided yet. Berit’s looking after him and keeping him out of trouble.’

      Kurik smiled. ‘I expect it’s the first time in his life that Talen’s come up against somebody who won’t tolerate his clever mouth. That lesson may be more important than all the history he’s picking up.’

      ‘The same thought had occurred to me.’ Sparhawk glanced over at the novice, who was talking respectfully with Sephrenia. ‘I’ve got a feeling that Berit’s going to make a very good Pandion,’ he said. ‘He’s got character and intelligence, and he was very good in that fight down in Arcium.’

      ‘He was fighting on foot,’ Kurik said. ‘We’ll know better when we see how he handles a lance.’

      ‘Kurik, you’ve got the soul of a drill sergeant.’

      ‘Somebody’s got to do it, Sparhawk.’

      It was cold again the following morning, and the horses’ breath steamed in the frosty air as they set out. After they had gone about a mile, Berit resumed his instruction. ‘All right,’ he said to Talen, ‘tell me what you learned yesterday.’

      Talen was tightly wrapped in a patched old grey cloak that had once belonged to Kurik and he was shivering, but he glibly recited back what Berit had told him the day before. So far as Sparhawk could tell, the boy repeated Berit’s words verbatim.

      ‘You have a very good memory, Talen,’ Berit congratulated him.

      ‘It’s a trick,’ Talen replied with uncharacteristic modesty. ‘Sometimes I carry messages for Platime, so I’ve learned how to memorize things.’

      ‘Who’s Platime?’

      ‘The best thief in Cimmura – at least he was before he got so fat.’

      ‘Do you consort with thieves?’

      ‘I’m a thief myself, Berit. It’s an ancient and honourable profession.’

      ‘Hardly honourable.’

      ‘That depends on your point of view. All right, what happened after King Abrech got killed?’

      ‘The war with the Eshandists settled down into a stalemate,’ Berit took up the account. There were raids back and