Ойкумена / Oikumena: Глава 10

Chapter 10

Camrad_RIP 07.10.24 в 12:45

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Camrad_RIP 07.10.24 в 12:45

Shotan, Curzio, and Duke Wartensleben listened quietly, without attracting attention, to the soft voices coming through the ajar door of the Blue Palace library. Although, dozens of beautiful rooms and halls in the house, the library had spontaneously become Emperor Ottovio's classroom. And, it must be said, the lord of the world gave himself to the study of the sciences with great zeal. Biel Wartensleben adhered to the concept of practical training without taking time away from pressing problems. So now the Marquess was discussing with Ottovio a difficult task - the legal aspects of convening the future Senate and tax projects. Thus, the young emperor was getting not abstract knowledge, but actual understanding - how the legal system of the Empire, which was confusingly complicated, was organized.

Camrad_RIP 08.10.24 в 17:16

The current problem was that any attempts to introduce new taxes were easily parried by the appeal “this is not in the old ways, our fathers and grandfathers did not know such taxes!”. That is, it was not enough just to unroll scrolls with placards. To approve them with the consent of all estates it was necessary to formalize the new levies as the old ones, only slightly modified. The most promising way was the way of “collecting gifts”, that is, from a purely legal point of view, not the taxable population paid the statutory to the imperial treasury, and grateful subjects collecting for gifts personally to the lord of Ecumene. It was already right, “in the old way” and in accordance with the millennial tradition. And the fact that the gifts were fixed and regular, well, it happened, it happens. After all, why shouldn't the emperor use his personal savings for public needs? But here lurked the next problem. It was necessary to somehow formalize class control over the expenditure of those very “gifts”, and in an impeccably tactful and correct form. So that the procedure in no way looked like an impudent search of the lord's personal coffer (being such a search in its actual content).

Camrad_RIP 11.10.24 в 19:24

Curzio smiled faintly, imagining what it looked like from the outside. The three noble persons eavesdropping under the door like insignificant servants. No, of course, there was nothing special or even more shameful here, the Court had seen such things, because to be near a high-born person at the right moment was a great art and a great luck. But still... funny.

Camrad_RIP 09.10.24 в 17:14

Meanwhile, the conversation between mentor and pupil had taken a bizarre turn to a topic that had not originally been part of the lesson, and Ottovio suddenly asked, “What was a nobleman to the people of the mainland? What is the essence of nobility? The question sounded silly, but it was not silly. The island boy had touched upon a very painful topic that had plagued the Bonoms for many decades.

Camrad_RIP 10.10.24 в 18:35

On Saltoluchard it was simple: there was a single Family, within which everything was organized and regulated, everyone had a place, and everyone was in his or her place. In the rest of the Oikumene, however, things were more complicated. As the world recovered from the collapse and social relations multiplied, the competition between the nobility of the “sword” and “inkwell” intensified. But more importantly, a conceptual question opened up here. If, say, a true baron and an anoble baron are formally equal, if yesterday's merchant can claim identity with a nobleman, whose family can be traced back to the times of the Old Empire, is not someone else equal to a born aristocrat? A shop foreman, for example. A respected townsman. A peasant, finally! Is a diploma with a seal really the only thing that distinguishes a true man of honor from a low-born wretch with a tight purse?

Camrad_RIP 10.10.24 в 18:37

Shotan pressed his lips together, wondering how Wartensleben's eldest daughter would answer a difficult question that had plagued the real aristocracy for at least a century. However, the duke showed signs that it was better to leave, and the count tacitly agreed. Indeed, let all sorts of mutts guard the door, real nobles do not belong to it. You should live in such a way that the monarchs themselves call you.

Camrad_RIP 10.10.24 в 18:38

" So,” Curzio poured the pink wine into the glasses.

Camrad_RIP 10.10.24 в 18:40

The Blue Palace did not have an overabundance of servants, and the wing was cleared of all intruders during study hours. Ottovio had not yet developed the useful habit of concentrating on mental work, and he found himself distracted, so his self-proclaimed mentors decided that no occasion meant no distraction.

Camrad_RIP 10.10.24 в 18:41

Shotan sipped his drink, counting the number of rooms separating their small study from the library. The layout was old and enfiladed, so in the event of an attack, the enemy would have to walk through a straight line of chambers under a crossbow and magical fire. Magic was a problem nowadays, but there were plenty of good crossbows. Especially after craftsmen learned to make “puffed” shoulders, as well as to cut out of hard metal gears for rack and pinion mechanisms. As a result, even wealthy citizens could afford powerful and at the same time compact weapons and the “ masters of arrows” from the south lost their monopoly on the refined art of crossbow shooting. Although, of course, whoever has the opportunity to choose will always hire a man with a blue tattoo on his face rather than an ordinary ruthier.

Camrad_RIP 10.10.24 в 18:43

"Well,” Wartensleben said with his usual caution. "I'd say things are going... pretty well so far,” the duke thought for a moment and then admitted. "I thought it would be worse."

Camrad_RIP 10.10.24 в 18:44

"Yes,” agreed Shotan. "I will disclose that I also shared your skepticism. But the measure of every work is its completion and its result. So we still have to wait for the deserved fruits."

Camrad_RIP 10.10.24 в 18:45

The Count sighed, took a sip, and added with unusual sincerity:

Camrad_RIP 10.10.24 в 18:45

"It remains to be seen when success will knock on our doors."

Camrad_RIP 10.10.24 в 19:27

"Well, that'll be easy,” Wartensleben indicated a feeble grin. "There's a very good signal."

Camrad_RIP 11.10.24 в 19:25

"Yes?" Shotan raised an eyebrow.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.24 в 19:25

"That's right,” Curzio interjected. "May I try to guess?" He turned to the Duke.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.24 в 19:25

Wartensleben, staring bilefully into the untouched glass with the look of someone dying of thirst in the middle of the desert, only nodded.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.24 в 19:27

"It will be obvious that we are on the road to success when another petitioner or complainer brings his complaint not to the Council, but to us,” Curzio said very seriously. "When I or one of you gentlemen is handed a scroll with a petition and offered... let us say, a modest thanks for the petition, then it will be clear that we are on the right track. And if it is repeated a dozen times, if middle-class nobles begin to seek our friendship, hoping to be presented to His Majesty... Then we can say that we have succeeded."

Camrad_RIP 11.10.24 в 19:29

Wartensleben silently saluted his glass, recognizing the justice of what he had heard.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.24 в 19:36

"Reasonable,” agreed Shotan. "Then we should continue to work in the agreed direction."

Camrad_RIP 10.10.24 в 19:28

"And your turn will come soon, my good friend,” Curzio raised the vessel on its long stem. "By the way, the matter with this idiot is settled."

Camrad_RIP 11.10.24 в 19:37

"So I don't have to kill him?" Shotan clarified without a trace of pretense.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.24 в 19:37

"No,” Curzio grinned. "He was rewarded and sent away."

Camrad_RIP 10.10.24 в 20:03

"That's good news,” the duke said, touching his lips to the wine, but no more than that. Wartensleben had been suffering from liver cramps for three days, and the wine made the pain worse. The duke did not want to show weakness in front of his fellow conspirators, so he suffered in silence pretending that the wine was not refined enough for his noble person.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.24 в 19:38

"Yes. The Privy Council looks at all this with distrust,” Curzio said. "But for now they will not prevent us. The time seems long at first glance, but the task is great, and not a single day must be wasted."

Camrad_RIP 11.10.24 в 19:39

"Nice,” said Shotan, smiling at a recent memory. "Nice..."

Camrad_RIP 10.10.24 в 20:11

* * *

Camrad_RIP 10.10.24 в 20:03

A few days earlier, the Count had walked leisurely but purposefully to the arena where a very expensive and generous tutor was attempting to teach the Emperor the wisdom of mounted combat.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.24 в 19:39

The Count carried a naked sword of a strange kind in his hands, holding it under its broad hilt, so that the blade rested on his breast and shoulder, almost touching the point of his ear. Behind Shotan were three hasty gendarmes, ready at any moment to carry out the orders of their commander and patron without hesitation or delay. Shotan and the master had already clashed once before in a fierce pique and were separated, one might say, “at the very edges”. This time the Count was going to finish the matter without leaving any ambiguities. He walked under the unusually warm, almost spring sun and, smiling relaxedly, thought how everything would end.

Camrad_RIP 13.10.24 в 19:02

There were many sins attributed to Shotan, and most of the rumors were true in one way or another. Only one accusation, that of his love for murder, remained completely false. In fact, the “soldier count” did not feel anything special about the process of taking a life. Shotan perceived it as an ordinary action, which had a cause and effect and was not too pleasing to Pantocrator, so it had to be done for the sake of achieving some kind of profit. Now the captain of the cavalry company envisioned the possibility that the visiting dandy would decide to test his fate and die as a result. And... that was it. Just one possibility out of many.

Camrad_RIP 16.10.24 в 18:31

As usual, the site, covered with the best river sand, was cordoned off by guards. Prince Guyot knew the matter well and was anxious that Ottovio should be under guard at all times, except on special occasions. The Count, with a careless gesture, ordered his escort to halt at a distance so as not to make the guards nervous. One armed man in close proximity to the regal body would suffice.

Camrad_RIP 13.10.24 в 19:03

It didn't take supernatural insight to realize from afar that the lesson was a failure, just like all the previous ones. It was predictable and logical. Horses and carriages were not in use on Saltoluchard. Bonomes traveled on stretchers, and it was one of the few opportunities to publicly show their wealth to the city and the world, because the labor of porters is expensive, in addition, according to tradition, they should be beautifully and again expensively dressed at the expense of the owner. Knights in their usual form were also rare on the island. A man should show his valor on the deck of a galley, with sword or coin scales, as the case may be. And to ride a horse with a spear is foolishness and pampering, and disproportionately expensive. That's why the island nobles were not good riders.

Camrad_RIP 16.10.24 в 18:32

Shotan himself thought it was simple: at first, it had been too expensive for the islanders to have horses, for the stony land was chronically short of food for humans, and even less so for the voracious creatures. Then, as the centuries passed, forced frugality became a virtue and a carefully preserved tradition. But the Count kept this opinion to himself, believing that not every thought that could be spoken should be spoken.

Camrad_RIP 16.10.24 в 18:33

In general, the young emperor, arriving in the capital, did not know how not only to ride a horse but even properly hold a saddle. This was no secret to his subjects and, of course, did not add to the sympathy of the pillars of society, as well as the noble youth. The problem was recognized and even corrected, but from what Shotan had seen with his own eyes, the cure was more of a poison.

Camrad_RIP 13.10.24 в 19:05

The count nodded and greeted the commander of the infantry battalion, who looked very much like a prince, probably some relative... Though all Highlanders are in one way or another similar in appearance, with their stupid pigtails and no less stupid knots on their bellies. The commander could have been ignored, especially since the knight did not have the slightest respect for the Peshtsy. But the Count believed it was not worth multiplying ill-wishers unnecessarily, so he was polite to the extent that the infantry was not subjected to outright humiliation.

Camrad_RIP 14.10.24 в 09:39

The Count pretended not to notice the slanting glances of the guards sliding on the blade in the nobleman's hands and stepping onto the sand of the arena. He did not go far, however. Shotan was among those who were allowed to approach the Emperor's body not just with weapons, but with a naked blade. However, one could understand the guards, too, considering how Ottovio's predecessor was rumored to have left this world. Hiding an ironic smile at the corners of his lips, Shotan looked on the 'lesson'.

Camrad_RIP 14.10.24 в 09:38

What can one say... the emperor's destrier was magnificent. A marvelous beast of the purest blood, the product of centuries of painstaking crossbreeding. Horse breeding was perhaps the only trade that survived the Cataclysm almost unscathed. Sages and mages swore that today's knights mounted the exact same horses as the great heroes of antiquity, steeped in the memory of the ages. Shotan felt a prick of black envy as he looked at the red-haired beauty. The Count was not poor but could not afford such a beast. It was unlikely that the entire Ecumene would be able to gather a full dozen equal to this destrier. Well, in this case, Saltoluchard had been generous. And the sadder was the picture unfolding around the marvelous horse.

Camrad_RIP 16.10.24 в 18:34

"No, no, no!" said, literally shouted the mentor. "Your position is not the right one!"

Camrad_RIP 10.10.24 в 20:15

The palpable accent and word placement indicated a native of the Southwest generally recognized as the best horseman as well as the master of mounted combat.

Camrad_RIP 14.10.24 в 09:35

Ottovio hunched in his saddle like a peasant on a nag, not the lord of the world on a magnificent horse. The emperor's face was a picture of universal longing and despondency. The horse was breathing heavily and looked tired. On the moving muzzle beneath the gold embroidered headpiece was an expression remarkably similar to Ottovio's grimace. The Count glanced at the nearby keeper of the palace stables, and the two connoisseurs shook their heads sadly, understanding each other without words.

Camrad_RIP 14.10.24 в 09:35

“Only a turn!” the mentor fervently argued. “No leaning! If you bend, you make the horse strain too much, and the animal gets tired much faster. And in battle or in a gallop you can fall out of the saddle. You control the horse by turning the seat and forcing the spine of the horse to bend in the right direction!”

Camrad_RIP 14.10.24 в 09:37

Ottovio tried honestly to follow the instructions but to no avail. The horse blasted the sand uselessly with his hoofs, squinted his dark eyes sadly, and wagged his long tail irritably. It was obvious that the emperor was languishing in anticipation when the torture of riding would finally end, and he could return to reading the old papyrus in the company of Biel ausf Wartensleben.

Camrad_RIP 14.10.24 в 09:34

Marquise Wartensleben ...

Camrad_RIP 10.10.24 в 20:14

What a woman, Shotan thought. How did the old fox from Malersyde do it? His son was a freak, but he had three daughters by different wives, none of them like the others, and all of them beautiful. Maybe it's time for the Count to get married. He wonder what the Duke would say to a request for Biel's hand in marriage?

Camrad_RIP 14.10.24 в 09:31

"Left hand, left hand!" No longer shy, the mentor shouted. "Don't pull! You can't pull the reins like that! You're tearing the animal's lips, it's not a plow!"

Camrad_RIP 14.10.24 в 09:30

Shotan sighed, thinking that the islanders were idiots after all. Yes, they had chests full of gold (though not so full now), and they could make money by turning anything, including hopes, dreams, and other ephemeral entities, into coins. But the degenerates, who pride themselves on their ancient and ridiculous clothes along with equally ridiculous hairstyles, did not have the imperial mindset of a jeweler's grain. For the last few weeks the islanders - the members of the Council of Regents and the emissaries scurrying between the capital and the Island - had seemed to the Count like children who had borrowed a rich toy from their strict parents, but did not know what to do with it. Their actions were generally correct, and the captain could not deny it. The Saltoluchardians were trying to clean up the Court's tangled bookkeeping, to update the lists of lands, name privileges, forest registers, and other property. But they were doing it without due deference and the right attitude, like true merchants.

Camrad_RIP 14.10.24 в 09:28

And now... Yes, the eighth son rides like a sack of rotten rutabagas, but he is the Emperor, and the humiliation is public. Of course, there is no one here but the guards and the Highlanders are strangers in Milvesse, they are not in the mood to talk too much. And yet... They are men who drink in the taverns and, when drunk, boast like all men. Many have constant mistresses with whom their tongues are loosened, some owe moneylenders and pay with snitching. Everything that happens here is bound to spill out in rumors into the quiet offices of the Bonoms, and then onto the dirty streets of Milvess.

Camrad_RIP 14.10.24 в 09:30

The mentor in the meantime, was trying to instill in his mentee the knowledge of how to defend his horse against enemy attacks. Shotan caught the Guard commander's gaze, displeased and even partly guilty. The Highlander was uncomfortable to see a dandy raising his voice at his lord, the Guardsman tried to look away so as not to see the shameful picture, but then he remembered his duty and the need to supervise. Ottovio pined even more, the mentor infuriated at his apprentice's stupidity.

Camrad_RIP 08.10.24 в 20:01