An Empire Without Order

By Jonathan Edward Feinstein

Master Wayfarer Raff Cawlens and his companions may be all that stands between a unified Ken Nation and complete anarchy. However, failure to rescue the Kenlienta will also rebound on him and the entire Guild of Wayfarers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jun 26, 2016
• ISBN: 9781365219627

Book preview

An Empire Without Order

Stories by Jonathan Edward Feinstein

Gaenor’s Quest

The Red Light of Dawn

The Black Clouds of Noon

The Rainbow of Dusk

The Cold Clear Skies of Midnight

Gaenor’s Prophecy

Signs of Change

Corrected Visions (Forthcoming)

The Maiyim Stories:

The Maiyim Tetralogy

World of Water

Men of the Earth

Island of Fire

Gods of the Air

Three Stories of Maiyim

A Deadly Union

An Interesting Title

A Shattered Family

Ars Nova Magica (and related side stories)

The Maiyim Bourne

The Staff of Aritos

A Promising Career

A Fine Adventure

The Tears of Methis

Freshman Orientation

The Book of Candle

Dry Dock

Ars Scientiaque Magicae

Unexpected Reactions

Hypothetical Notions

Theoretical Bases

   Lift Off!

Required Components

Experimental Proofs

Desired Results

The Terralano Venture

Agree to Disagree

By the Light of the Silvery Moons

There Goes the Neighborhood

Down Time, Ltd.

Down Time

Taking Time

Time Out

Show Time!

Double Time

A Plethora of Deities

Downhill All the Way

In the Sky with Diamonds

The Seed

The Tree

Tempting the Fates

Teasing the Furies

Inspiring the Muses

Dancing with the Sphinx :Waltz

Dancing with the Sphinx :Tango

Dancing with the Sphinx :Foxtrot

Chasing Rainbows

The Care and Feeding of Your Elder God (Forthcoming)

The Wayfarers

A Land without Borders

A World without a Name

A Nation without Maps

A Country without Unity

A Continent without Form

An Ocean without Charts

An Empire without Order

An Island without a Shore (Forthcoming)

The Pirates of Pangaea

An Accidental Alliance

The Unscheduled Mission

A Planned Improvisation

The Forced Alternative

Other Stories

Elf Alert!

A Study in Ethnology

Off on a Tangent

Author’s Foreword

Does anyone ever pick up a book to read the author’s foreword? I don’t think so, at least not for that reason first. I think most readers will look at forewords more as a courtesy to the author than any other reason. No, this is that section where so many authors give free rein to their egos, convinced that their readers are going to hang on their every word. Listening to audiobooks often as I do, I find myself listening to such forewords and afterwords because I listen while driving and fast forwarding on an MPG player while driving is no safer than texting while driving and I have come to some conclusions about forewords.

First of all, if an author has to explain his story in advance, there is something basic very wrong with the story. A story really ought to stand by itself without the author telling you anything about it. Any necessary explanations should be in the main text. This is also true in a sequel in front of which some authors seem to want to give a summary of what has happened so far. The author should offer such recaps if needed in the main text.

Secondly, it is not necessary for the author to tell you everything that has been going on in his or her life since the last time they published a book. Maybe a quick anecdote if it somehow inspired the story or if it perhaps paralleled something in the story while it was being written by sheer coincidence. That might be interesting, but probably is not.

Finally, I think a foreword should be written to be as meaningful when read after the story as it might be when read before it. If you haven’t anything to say, then please do not say it. Yes, I’ve been guilty of violating all those, but I’ll try to do better in the future.

Anyway, this story concludes the arc that began several books ago in A Continent without Form. There will be only one more volume in the series, which will tie up the few loose ends left in this one. There aren’t many, but I may as well make it all nice and neat. As always, if you’ve read this far or even if you skipped past the foreword, I hope you enjoy the story.

Jonathan Feinstein

Westport, MA

December 31, 2015

Prologue - Taundon

You do know how to make an impressive entrance, Elder, Master Wayfarer Pauls Forrent commented with no small show of amusement, flying in on the back of the Phoenix of all things. He glanced across the rooftops of the Wayfarer’s Guild Central Hall to where the giant, colorful bird was perched. Two apprentices were attempting to feed it, but in spite of its omnivorous habits, the Phoenix was not tempted by any of their offerings. I doubt anyone in the city is talking about anything else, even in the Palace.

Oh dear, Elder Leraxa worried. I hope your queen will not feel she is due some sort of official visit this time. I do not really have the leisure or the inclination, if you must know. Leraxa had been flying hard all over the Northern and Eastern Continents for weeks and the strain of so much travel was beginning to show. She had hardly enough sleep, even for someone who could replenish herself magically and there were bags under her eyes.

In all the ages, Elder, Paul told her, You are the only Ken who has ever made an official state visit to a reigning monarch of the Green Lands. I doubt she is expecting another social call from the Chief Elder. Pauls was looking similarly tired, although in his case it was as much a matter of old age as it was the stress of acting in the stead of the Guildmaster, Raff Cawlens.

Chief Elder no longer, I fear, Master Forrent, Leraxa informed him. I did not stay in Yakrut long enough to get the official results, but I was facing no less than four votes of no confidence and my private polls showed I had no hope of winning any of them. I am now as I was, simply the local Elder of Yakrut, a title I assure you means far more to me than that of Chief Elder of the Ken Nation. Pauls raised an eyebrow and she relented, Oh, well, I admit I might have been a bit blinded by my own self-importance in the early days, but the blush is off that particular rose and has been for years. The office was merely one I continued to fill because there was no one else at the time I could trust to do it instead.

So what brings you to Taundon, Elder? Pauls asked politely as he guided her  inside the hall and down a long flight of stairs.

Please, Master Forrent, Leraxa replied, my friends just call me Leraxa.

Pauls, the old Wayfarer replied with a nod.

Pauls, Leraxa repeated. I am looking for Raufanax, she finally replied, using the Ken name for the Master of the Wayfarers Guild. No. No. I understand he is not in, but I hoped you might have a better idea as to just where he is than anyone else. They reached the second floor of the Guildhall where Pauls guided her toward a small conference room. The room was richly appointed with comfortable chairs surrounding a long table. He held a chair out politely for Leraxa and then went to the door and shouted down the hallway for food and drink. Finally, he returned to the table and sat down next to Leraxa.

The last I heard from Raff, Pauls replied, he and Emblem were on their way to a small settlement in Lorendo call El Valle del Humo. That is about six thousand miles that way. He gestured in a vaguely westward direction. By now he might be on his way back or else, for all I know, he has decided to circumnavigate the world. This much I will predict; by the time he returns to Taundon he will probably rethink his dictum that all masters spend at least some time in the field." He chuckled and Leraxa added her laugh to his.

When I find him, Leraxa informed Pauls, my business is likely to delay his return still more, but it cannot be helped. The Ken Nation is in great peril of descending into anarchy. We may already have done so, in fact, and only Raufanax has the influence to calm the situation down and, hopefully, restore us to a state of stability.

Two apprentice wayfarers entered the room with trays of food and a large pot of tea. They deposited their loads on the table and then quickly left the room.

My dear, is there anything the Guild of Wayfarers can do? Pauls offered, pouring a cup of tea for Leraxa.

Thank you, Leraxa accepted the tea and took a sip. The Guild remains, officially, one of the Ken Nation’s greatest friends in the Human world of Stabilities, Leraxa replied, but I fear some of your members are involved with our troubles.

No! Pauls replied, shaking his head in disbelief.

Master Samuel Harton hired an assassin to kill me, Leraxa informed him. It did not work, of course, but it was not the extent of his involvement.

Harton? Pauls echoed. I wondered where he had gotten himself off to. He has already been removed from our roster for going absent without notice, but in the light of this disclosure, my dear, I shall have him declared rogue; to be arrested and returned for any and all crimes he has committed.

I appreciate that, Pauls, Leraxa replied, but right now I am more concerned with getting the Ken nation out of the hands of three rogue elders.

Gentax, Suranax and Durinia? Pauls asked. I did not realize they were still causing you trouble.

They seem to have finished causing me trouble personally, Leraxa replied. Now they have taken control of the Ken Nation and are ruling it as a Triumvirate of sorts, attempting to divide it into three parts with each in charge.

Not exactly a unifying gesture, Pauls observed, How did that get past your Council of Elders?

They used, misused is more accurate, an obscure clause in our Charter to declare an emergency session when only their own supporters were present, Leraxa replied, or at least, that is how it was described to me by one who was still in the city at the time. I was already searching for Raufanax at the time, but the results match what my own people warned me would happen.

Change is Life, Pauls commented, quoting a Ken religious saying.

And Life is Change, Leraxa completed the ritual, but not all changes are for the better. If it were merely a matter of a demotion for me, I could shrug it off as easily as I quote proverbs, but this new government is not sound. It is only a matter of time before the Three have a disagreement that will tear my nation to shreds. There are already dissenters.

Your own party? Pauls asked pointedly.

Mostly by design of the three, Leraxa replied. My party defends the notion that the Ken are a single nation. We tried to emphasize that with a single Chief Elder, but I see now that office only made it tempting for others. A dictatorship may possibly be one of the most efficient forms of government, not that I was dictatorial in any way. I always deferred to the opinion of the Council of Elders, but as we wrote that damned Charter, I could have been. It was argued that having such supreme veto power would allow the Chief Elder to keep divisive movements in check. Raufanax warned me about what happens when a government gets too strong though. He was right, now I believe only the Ken’s greatest hero can reunite us.

If you can find him, Pauls pointed out. Here. Have something to eat. You look half-starved.

I have not really had much time for banquets, Leraxa admitted.

I shall see that you are well-provisioned when you leave here, Pauls promised. Speaking of which, are you planning to follow Raff? If he is, indeed, circling the world, that might be a very long way to fly, even for the Phoenix.

The Phoenix is capable of flying around the world without stopping, Leraxa replied, Two or three times if she so decides. She has not complained yet. I think I shall follow his path, however. Otherwise, I might as well be out in a field turning over rocks in the hope of finding him under one.

Well then, Pauls shrugged, be careful while in Verana. There is a war going on over there right now.

War? Really? Leraxa asked. With whom are they at war?

Her Royal Majesty the Queen, of course, Pauls replied lightly, and especially with her Parliament.

They are in rebellion? Leraxa asked. Still?

Still, Pauls nodded. "It is a most curious war at least from my viewpoint. The colonists are few in number and suffering from waves of the Small Pox. The war itself, which was fairly popular at the start, is now quite unpopular with anyone not actually fighting and to tell the truth, I’m not sure the ones fighting want to be there either. The colonial army is weak and vastly out-numbered and while reports show they are far better trained than they were at the outset, the army and navy they fight outclass them in every way. And yet they keep fighting. Their general seems to think that so long as he has an army to command he is winning, so rather than commit to all-out battle, he frequently runs away or only attacks smaller targets that are probably less important militarily, but perhaps he is right. The longer this goes on, the lower the morale of Her Majesty’s army becomes and the more expensive the prospect of bringing the colonies back into a peaceful state grows. Perhaps he is hoping to show he can be even more stubborn than Her Majesty. That is quite saying something too.

In any case, Pauls went on with a sigh, it has become less of a war and more a contest of wills although the addition of a serious number of Cracian allies, not just a few aspiring officers with only a few credentials to speak of, may change the balance. You might want to avoid humans over there, though, as you never know which will see you and wave ‘Hello,’ and which will shoot first and ask questions later although from what I have heard if the Veranans shoot at you if might simply be that they see your mount as a huge meal on the wing.

The Phoenix has been shot at before, Leraxa told him. A few musket shots are not likely to do more than annoy her. However, I will take your advice and avoid the Grundish colonies. Although I will probably stop in Skethit. It is the only Ken settlement on that side of the Western Continent and it would be a shame not to be able to meet Elder Nearlina. She seems a most remarkable woman to me and I do envy the way in which she became an elder. We have corresponded over the years but have never actually met. This might be my only chance. She finally looked at the food, seeing a selection of meats, vegetables, bread and pastries. She took two slices of bread and placed a few slices of beef on top of one. Over that she layered bits of a fresh salad, complete with a vinaigrette before covering it with the second slice. She then picked up the edible construction and began to eat.

An interesting way to eat, Pauls noted. Is that a Ken manner of dining?

Only in that I do it, Leraxa shrugged. I am sorry. Is this considered rude or crude by human convention?

No, my dear, Pauls laughed, I doubt you could be crude in any sense of the word.

You have not encountered my sense of humor, Leraxa laughed. I assure you I can tell a bawdy joke with the best of them. However, this is the most convenient way I have found to eat a balanced meal while in flight, although I do admit that it is a habit I first developed as Chief Elder when I was frequently too busy to stop to eat a more formal meal.

Pauls started layering meat and vegetables between two slices of bread for himself. I think I might do well to emulate your example, he told her. I have missed more meals than I care to count since Raff decided to go gallivanting off to wherever he is. He picked up the hand-holdable meal and raised it toward Leraxa in toast. To you, my dear. Someday busy people everywhere will praise your name! Leraxa laughed delightedly and inclined her head in mocking acknowledgement.

When they had finished, Pauls offered, Perhaps you should stay the night, dear Leraxa. A gentleman should not admit to such observation, but you are looking tired. I could have a room prepared in which no trace of Stability will bother you while you rest. As an elder, and an accomplished one at that, Leraxa had sufficient command of magic to allow one of her kind to enter and survive within the strange Stability field created when humans lived together. The Ken - sometimes called the Wildmen – did not naturally generate a stable field and could not tolerate such conditions just as only trained Wayfarers among the humans could tolerate conditions away from their Stabilities. However, a Master Wayfarer or a Ken Elder could change such conditions temporarily when they needed to.

I might observe, my dear Pauls, Leraxa returned, that you too could do with more rest that you are currently getting.

I should be enjoying my retirement, Pauls admitted, but retirement is a dull state, I suspect, and this job will keep me alive if only so I can live long enough to tell my friend Raff off for sticking me into it. He laughed and Leraxa joined him once more.

I thank you for your hospitality, Leraxa replied at last, but I can sleep while we cross the Dark Ocean.

Several times I should think, Pauls replied, Considering you have at least three thousand miles of it between here and Skethit.

So long as we can avoid the rough weather, Leraxa nodded. A few minutes later she was headed westward into the darkening skies.

Part I – Nillon

One

You must understand, Guildmaster, Pangamese Trademaster and Ambassador Gonsalves insisted as they sat in his small office, that the Nillonese allow very few of us to leave Toreidaazu Pureisu save by sea.

Yes, yes, Raff Cawlens replied impatiently. So you have said, and I have heard it many times before. We can only enter Nillon proper by invitation. How can I obtain an invitation?

You cannot, Gonsalves told him. It just does not happen. The only time I was allowed to enter a Nillonese town it was to witness the execution of a particularly foolish trader who thought he could sneak out to do some private business. The man shuddered, remembering the grisly scene."

Then where is d’Alere? Emblem L’Oranne Cawlens demanded half a beat before her husband could. To their left, their adopted son, Kazani Basan and his friend Chanya Sanai waited patiently to hear the ambassador’s response.

Julien d’Alere arrived here a week or so ago, Gonslaves replied, checking his notes. He escorted two merchants here in the usual manner and then hired a room in a nearby inn. You know the Guild has no official office here, but as a one-time journeyman Wayfarer, I run this embassy as though it was a Guildhall. However, I do not normally invite every passing Wayfarer to stay here in the embassy. You four are the exception.

And we appreciate the hospitality, Emblem cut in, but we went to the inn and d’Alere has not been seen since the day he checked in.

We did check his room, Kaz added, just in case he died or was hiding. You would never know he had ever been there.

Then what more can I say? Gonsalves asked. Toreidaazu Pureisu is not a large town and there are not a lot of places to hide. If I had to guess, he must have returned to Hillena or else gone on to Corisa. There has been one ship each headed those ways since he arrived. I have a list of known passengers somewhere here. He rifled through the disarray of paper sheets on his desk, Hmm, not according to this. Then he must still be in town.

Unless he broke the law and left on foot, Raff pointed out. Damn the man! This is the one part of the world I cannot track him across. Not only is it illegal and dangerous…

Suicidal if you ask me, Gonsalved interjected.

…but as Guildmaster I cannot be seen breaking any local laws, Raff concluded as though the ambassador had not spoken. The risk is too great and that snake, d’Alere, knows it.

I suppose we could sail to the Dixan colony, Nillonsburgh, Chanya suggested. Catch him there?

And if he comes back here? Raff countered. We could split up, I suppose but if he manages to leave Nillon he will have that much more of a lead on us before we can join forces again.

We cannot just sit here, Raff, Em told him. We have been in Toreidaazu Pureisu for several days already. Julien d’Alere could well have arrived in Nillonsburgh and shipped out already.

He could have, Raff agreed. I wonder if it is possible to track him anyway.

No, Raff, Em stopped him. We do not know this land, but we do know we do not look like the natives. We will stand out as illegal foreigners no matter where we go. As the ambassador said, it is suicidal.

Yes, I suppose you are right, Raff admitted and then turned toward Gonsalves to ask, When is the next ship to Nillonsburgh?

There are never any scheduled voyages there, Guildmaster, Gonsalves told him. That is a Dixan trading colony and we represent Pangam. There is no war at this time between our home countries, but we are in a competitive position against them and there is nothing they have from the Nillonese traders that we cannot get ourselves. However, we may be able to convince an enterprising captain to take you there. I shall have my people ask for you.

Good and thank you, Raff replied. And just in case we have good luck that way, I think we should make sure we are all packed and ready to board ship. One way or the other, though. We cannot afford to stay here.

Upstairs, in the suite of rooms the ambassador had allowed them, Emblem reminded Raff, you know Ambassador Gonsalves really is doing all he can for us, right?

I do, Raff nodded, and I know I was not being particularly gracious about it, but damn it! D’Alere has been too lucky for any dozen scoundrels of his sort. We should have caught up to him in del Humo.

We did, Em reminded him, Only he and his lacky, Sansom Huile, found us first.

That was just plain meanness and stupidity on their parts, Raff argued. If they had not ambushed us, they probably would have both slipped out of town without our knowing about it. At least we got Huile.

Francesca got Huile, Em reminded him, and after he tried to kidnap her, I think Huile got off lucky. Certainly had he tried that with me I would have made sure he suffered before I allowed him to die. And you may recall we caught up with d’Alere again in Moana Pae’aina.

Where he joined up with that bastard, Whitters, to commit crimes so heinous in the eyes of the natives that they went into a frenzy in which they could not tell friends with light skins from foes. Jim Carter died because of those two, Raff sighed. He and Captain James Carter had become fast friends within minutes of meeting.

At least Whitters did not get away, Em reminded him, and we are at least partially aware of a conspiracy against us and the Guild of Wayfarers.

But not everyone involved, Raff shot back. Whitters wrote most everything in coded words. We know the leader of the conspiracy is called ‘Brave…’

Or the Brave Stag, Emblem added.

Yeah, Raff grunted, but that does not help identify him. We know that toady Michael Roarke is involved and that he is currently in charge of a guildhall in Sarlron. Maybe we should go there next and shake some answers out of him. It shouldn’t take much to make him talk. He’s a crafty politician, but no great shakes as a Wayfarer.

Now there is an idea I can support, Em agreed. There was a knock on the door to the suite just then. Come in!

Masters Cawlens? an embassy aide asked as he opened the door. There is a man downstairs who wishes to talk to you, or rather to Master Raff Cawlens, if you please.

Did he give you a name? Raff asked.

No sir, the aide shook his head and added, I know enough not to ask. He is of the Ikkito Clan.

Ah, Raff nodded.

Ikkito? Kaz asked from the next room. We’ve dealt with them before.

We met one Ikkito and he was outside of Nillon, Emblem reminded him. Let’s not go looking for troubles now, yes? However, I think it might be polite if all four of us meet this man. He is downstairs?

Yes, Ma’am, the aide nodded nervously, in the reception room.

They found a man in a midnight blue robe sipping tea calmly as he waited for them to arrive. We got to his feet calmly and gracefully bowed about midway. Raff-sama? he asked.

I am Raff Cawlens, Raff replied, and how shall I address you, sir?

The Ikkito was tall for a man of Nillon, only an inch shorter than Raff, himself and was able to look Raff straight in the eye. My name is Eiji.

Do you have a surname, Eiji-san? Kaz asked, showing off his knowledge of the Nillonese language.

Ikkito, of course, Eiji replied. Only those of my clan are allowed to wear this color in Nillon. Kaz nodded and Raff handled the introductions before suggesting they all sit down and discuss whatever Eiji had in mind over tea. Thank you, Raff-sama, Eiji replied and took a long sip of tea as though toasting the Guildmaster before he continued. Word has arrived in the Kurisansamamu, what you might call the Chrysanthemum Palace, that the Guildmaster Raff Cawlens is in Nillon and His Divine Majesty, Emperor Shizuku-Heika invites you to accept His hospitality for a time. Eiji paused and noted the look on Raff’s face and correctly interpreted it as meaning Raff was looking for a polite way to decline.

Uh, let me speak more plainly, Raff-sama, Eiji went on. This is not an invitation you might reject.

Ah, we are being summoned before His Majesty? Raff interpreted. I thought his name was Kin.

Kin Heika was his father. He entered Heaven after a glorious reign ten years ago and yes, you are summoned, Eiji nodded. Your party is allowed to join you if you so desire.

And may I inquire as to what His Divine Majesty wishes to see me about? Raff pressed.

The business of Shizuku-Heika is not for this lowly one to question, Raff-sama, Eiji responded. I was merely the fortunate one entrusted with the task of guiding you to the Kurisansamamu.

Raff was not fooled for an instant by the humility or politeness of Eiji, but he did understand it was a cultural thing that such demands be phrased in the way this one had been. Furthermore, there was always the chance that his meeting with the emperor might eventually result in the Guild being allowed to do business on the islands that made up Nillon. There was more to lose and nothing to gain from trying to refuse the summons. But Eiji did have one more thing to add, I believe you might find this is, in some way, related to a man of your kind.

Julien d’Alere? Raff asked instantly.

Eiji merely shrugged and replied, I am not allowed to say at this time. You will come?

We will. Should we leave this instant? Raff asked.

It would be a shame not to enjoy such excellent tea, Raff-sama, Eiji responded politely. We need not rush without due grace.

Two

Unsure how they were expected to travel across Nillon, the Wayfarers were mildly surprised to find that Eiji had traveled to Toreidaazu Pureisu in a landau of Dixan design, drawn by two pure white horses. The open carriage was large enough to hold all five of them in the rear, but because Eiji had been his own driver, Raff and Kaz took turns riding with him in the driver’s seat.

I would not have expected a carriage of this particular design, Raff admitted to Eiji as they started away from the Pangamese embassy.

It was a gift to His Divine Majesty, Eiji explained, from the ambassador from Dix. It was thought you would be more comfortable in a vehicle you were familiar with.

Raff chuckled. This landau is finer than any carriage I have ever ridden in. Gold leaf and royal red trim and I take it that flower on the door is the Imperial sigil?

Eiji paused to consider his answer. Sigil? If you mean an artistic emblem, then yes. That is the kamon of the Imperial family, a chrysanthemum. If I understand correctly it is similar in nature to a heraldic device or coat of arms in your country.

Raff leaned over the edge and looked back at the door. It’s a bit stylized, but yes I can see it as a chrysanthemum.

The style of artwork on our mon can be like that, Eiji admitted. Does it seem strange to you?

I have traveled to many places, Raff explained. "Artistic styles vary as much as the people themselves do. This has a pleasing simplicity to