Chapter 29

Mjolnir still worked. He hadn't used it to summon anything but lightning since he'd first sailed to Iceland all those years ago, and it had gathered dust over his fireplace for the millenium and a half when the magic was gone; but now that magic had returned, it would still control the winds. Given the usual weather during the Long Night, even he would not have dared the crossing in winter without that edge. Greenland was disappointing; the colonies he remembered were gone, the first two he'd intended to stop at buried in ice where inland glaciers now extended to the sea. He had rounded the southern tip of the island before he saw one of the machine-boats gliding purposefully along, and followed it in towards a seaside town. It moved faster than his longboat could, even with his command of the winds, but he kept on that course even after it had disappeared over the horizon ahead of him.

The harbor was mostly empty, only a few of the machine-boats present on the water; the one he had followed was quiet now, anchored in the roadstead. The docks at the water's edge looked empty, the spaces made for many more boats than were present, but this left plenty of room for him to tie up. He left the longboat at one of the empty piers and walked up from the waterfront to where the bright unnatural light and the sound of talk and laughter indicated the presence of at least some of the townsfolk. <Danish, I think. It's changed since I last spoke it.> The runes on the side of the building were certainly different than he remembered, round shapes painted on the walls rather than angular ones carved into rock.

The warmth hit him as soon as he had closed the door behind him, even before the conversation guttered out as they all turned to stare at him. In the sudden quiet, he heard the last voice say “I -told- you I saw a Viking boat off of Cape Farewell.”

* * * *

The new American Embassy was not far from Haroun's palace, in what had once been the town house of a noble. Built in a hollow square, with most of the windows and doors facing the inner courtyard, it was defensible and capable of being self-sustaining for a time. Offices and the public reception rooms were along the south side surrounding the entrance gateway; living quarters and what would become the Marine barracks were along the west side, stables along the north, and the east side was arranged with storerooms and workshops.

“It's a magnificent building, Ambassador.” Cabell was meeting with him over dinner, a habit which they had developed over the course of setting up the new building. “I'm just a little concerned that there might be a catch involved.”

Knight chuckled. “Built-in bugs, like the Russians always used to do?”

Cabell nodded. “Wouldn't surprise me. And unlike our old Soviet friends, these bugs would be spells, not electronics. Not nearly as easy for us to find.”

Knight nodded as he took a sip of wine. “True. I have requested that Washington send us someone who can at least look for such things. In the meantime, we'll have to depend on not doing anything interesting. How is the recruitment of local staff going?”

“Surprisingly well. Bringing Sergeant Foster along as our standard-bearer is paying dividends. There are Changelings even here, but the Muslim Arabs treat them very badly. We're getting a lot of them wanting to work for us after seeing us all ride in with Foster in the lead, and they'll work cheap if they can stay here – room and board is all some of them want.”

“I can't help but notice the way you phrased that, Frank. Are you implying that there are non-islamics here?”

Cabell gave a very sharp nod. “I am. And they have a very odd accent to their Arabic. I asked around, and I think that some of the citizens of Ba-yabel slept through most of the last two thousand years. They've never even heard of Mohammed, and they -do- remember the Roman Empire as the power that should be to the north. One of them was asking about our flag – he saw the eagle on the staff, and was asking why stripes and stars instead of SPQR. They don't get all stuffy about alcohol. And they have no objection to the Changelings, not even the canine ones.”

“That is not the Islam we've come to know and love, is it?”

“Not even a little bit, Ambassador. Leads me to believe that our sorceror prince isn't nearly as enamoured of their faith as he makes out to be.”

Knight nodded. “No surprise, if he's been asleep with his old followers for the past however many centuries. So what do you suspect? Most of the people he can recruit here and now are Muslim, so he's playing to his audience?”

“That'd be my guess.” Cabell sighed. “I just wish I knew if that meant he is using the jihadis for his own purposes, or if he's just going to let them burn out and get them out of his hair.”

* * * *

Haroun smiled at his scrying mirror. At the moment, Mahmoud was off on errands, and the sorceror's current companion was a Changeling lioness. “I told Mahmoud they were clever, Bast. Just as well that I did not let him see that.”

The lioness purred at him. “Even such as he might wonder if it were truth, do you think?”

Haroun laughed. “He is not actually stupid, my dear, merely a slave to his prejudices. But he has been invaluable in teaching me about the current world. The machines and 'electronics' this cycle has come up with are unprecedented, after all. We are heading into the mana times with ten times the population that we have had at the -end- of most cycles.”

The lioness growled. “This has not been all for the good. They have damaged the land like a swarm of locusts.”

Haroun nodded. “True, they have. But it does mean that we can start with much more power than usual. This will be an interesting cycle, I think.”

“Interesting indeed. But it will mean that -everyone- starts the game with more resources. And until the magic comes into its full power, it will be necessary to become friendly with them.” She gestured to the mirror. “Remember what they have done to the Snake and the Kraken.”

“Oh, I do, Bast, I do. And so I will be conciliatory, and pleasant, and use the prejudices of the followers of Mohammed to infiltrate their country. For they will, I think, be tender-hearted at the treatment of my non-human followers by the Muslims and allow them into their nations with little question.” He smiled. “In fact... would you like to be my Ambassador to them? They would consider your appointment a mark of my enlightened rule, after all – appointing a woman and a 'Changeling' to such an important post, as if anything but your competence was at issue.”

The lioness sniffed. “Be careful you don't let Mahmoud's prejudices affect your judgement, either, Haroun. They are more likely to be intelligent about such things than they are to be merely as soft-headed as -that- one believes. He seems to be incapable of respect for his enemies. Did their Ambassador not admit that they have made this Doctor Lowe - the Seeress - one of the chief advisors to their leader?”

Haroun nodded. “You speak truth, milady. And you are right. I should be careful of that. But at the very least, it will flatter them that we agree on such things, and provide an opening. It is up to you, but I think it would be useful.”

Bast nodded. “I shall have to think on this. But my first thought is that you are correct. I believe I will accept the ambassadorship. And even if we do not become friends with this America, they will be useful allies for a time. From all that I have learned about them so far, they have power enough for the Great Game without having the ambition for it.”

* * * *

22 DEC 2013

Bonfires burned deep in a forest in the northern Rocky Mountains. In Hawai'i, lava fountains erupted around a promontory of rock floating in the crater of Haleakala. In Crete, pools of water deep in a cavern glimmered with unnatural light. On the island of Great Britain, an ancient set of standing stones sparkled as the gaps between them showed faraway vistas. In Russia, China, Ireland, Norway, Japan, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Uluru, the Dekkan, and Ba-yabel, similar sights could be found by those who knew where to look.

Cerrenos opened the meeting. “Thank you all for attending. This is now the 19th Cycle since I was born. Haroun, Nimue - you are the new members of our group. There are certain ground rules which have served us well over the years, and it is time you were made aware of them.”

Haroun nodded to the unicorn image in the mirror. “Ground rules, Eldest? What sort of ground rules?”

Cerrenos tossed his mane back out of his eyes. “Rules to keep you alive, mainly. They are not enforced, as such, but those who broke them in the past tended not to survive many Cycles. And the first rule is, we all have our interests, and we all have our spheres of influence. Interfering in another Immortal's territory is a grand way to make enemies. Interfering with the people one of us has chosen to take an interest in makes an enemy not only of their patron, but of that people themselves. And as the Americans have demonstrated twice now, we are not the only ones with power. In this cycle particularly, treating the short-lived ones with disrespect will not be healthy.”

A gray-haired woman of apparently immense age grinned a gap-toothed smile. “And this is why Quetzalcoatl is not at this meeting, is it?”

Coyote grinned from beside the unicorn. “Not just him, but the Kraken as well. Both attacked the Americans without regard for their abilities. Both are now gone, destroyed by the fires of the very atoms themselves.”

The Eldest let the resulting pandemonium go on for s few minutes before whinnying for attention. “Yes, both of them. And yes, the Americans, as a group. There are several potential Immortals in their ranks already, but none of them have much power as of yet, and none were involved more than incidentally. They were taken down by devices utilizing lightning and steam and nuclear fire, built by normal people acting in concert, developed over natural lifetimes while we slept or idled away the centuries without magic. This last cycle was unique, my children. This time, more than ever, younglings, you do not want to demand to rule the mortals simply because you are old or powerful. It would be best to give them a reason, or better, to wait until they request your assistance. Pele? Do you have anything for us?”

The cooling-lava visage smiled. “I have an apprentice. He is heir to the Snake's sphere of influence and I will support his claim to it. Juan?” The view from her portals slewed and the coyote-morph bowed, his eyes glowing with the same furnace heat as his mentor's. “And for now, I am a patron of the Americans. I am pleased with their actions thus far. Never did like Quetzalcoatl that much, and you -know- my opinion of Creya. Anansi?”

The African smiled, folding skinny long-fingered hands together. “You all know where I live. I will be busy, the mortals have made a mess of my domain. Though it appears not as badly as yours have done, Wei Lung.”

The dragon snorted fire at that sally. “Indeed. I will thank you all not to interfere with my efforts to keep my people alive and safe. The Americans... very busy and pushy mortals, but they have some good ideas. I am not their patron – I leave that for Pele and Coyote – but I agree. They should not be underestimated. Koschai?”

“The steppes are full of these Russians. But there is space enough yet for me. They avoid this Chernobyl place. I shall make it mine.” He glanced at the tiger. “Raksha? I believe you are next in seniority.”

“Actually, I do believe Spider is.” The Spider merely shook her head before reverting to her arthropod form. “But apparently neither of us have anything to add. Yaga?”

The ancient female nodded. “The same. Let's get this over with, shall we? I don't see any of Anu's people this time around. Nor any of Osiris' get. Morrigan?”

“Nothing much. Haven't seen Grandfather Raven. Mulungu?”

“Grandmother Lioness is not amused by the humans. They have run wild this last cycle. There is not too much permanent damage, but if things had gone on much longer... Amaterasu?”

The fox just grinned. “My people fought with the Americans and lost, just a mortal lifetime ago. And now they are fast friends. I have met with one of the American Immortals. She will do well, I think. And Haroun? As long as we're both here, if you've got any control of those lunatics who tried to kill her, you need to call them off. If Coyote or the Americans themselves don't deal with them, I will. And if you let the Americans try, it will probably slop over onto you personally. They're a bit vengeful if you get them going. Trust me on that one. Loki?”

The red-furred wolf grinned. “The Alpha rather likes the Americans, as well. And the Diviner is one of his daughters. Just another tip, Haroun. Don't get too ambitious. Circe?”

“Europe is a mess, even worse than Africa. How did they wreck the forests in such a short time, Eldest?”

The unicorn snorted. “Pure bloody-mindedness, I think. That, and too many of them. Mana was weak in the last cycle, and when it ended, there was not much loss; nobody was dependent on magic to live. This is the result.”

The sorceress nodded. “The Minotaur is still with me. He has even more contempt for his current children than the Alpha does, but he still has them. He will assist me, he says.” She looked back at the unicorn's image, nodding to the canid beside him. "Coyote? Anything more to offer?"

“I'm good. Haroun?”

“This has been a very informative meeting, Eldest. I shall take your recommendations to heart. Amaterasu? That was not done on my orders. I seem to have inherited a bunch of lunatics in my lands.” He shook his head. “And I turn it over to the next in seniority, I take it?” At the Eldest's nod, he turned to his last mirror. “Nimue?”

“The standing stones are mostly disrupted, Eldest. And Merlin is nowhere that I can find. What am I supposed to do?”

Cerrenos' voice was soft. “You do not need to do anything you do not wish to, my dear. If you are at a loss, learn the modern tongues and mingle with the mortals for a while. Or if you feel you must help, perhaps Circe will take you on as an assistant until Merlin returns. But be aware that he may not.” He turned to the others. “This is not everyone who has survived, my children. Bear that in mind as well. But for now, it is time for our renewal as the mana returns. Do not forget that you have peers. Do not be arrogant. It never ends well, as even Creya has finally found out. Good luck, and fare thee well.” The fires and fountains and mirrors began to wink out again, all over the world.

Bast smiled as Haroun shut down his mirrors. “There are not many of my generation left, tis true. Those who can live forever with magic have trouble doing so without it. And no one has yet become an Immortal in the lean times. At least with Creya gone, we are not likely to have the vampires returning again.”

Haroun nodded. “I must admit, that prospect is a good one. But now more than ever, I think, you should be our ambassador to the Americans. Maybe they will play the Great Game properly after all.”