Free The Dragons of Argonath by Christopher Rowley

Ryotwa believes itself slighted by the greater glory of Marneri, which outshines all the other cities, even Kadein. Oh, Kadein is the big city, the cosmopolis of the empire, but Marneri is the heart of our great enterprise in the Argonath. And let us make no mistake, Ambassador, for I know you are a perceptive man, it is Marneri that carries the banner of the empire. Marneri that has given the most and fought the hardest. Now, that said, Ryotwa too has given in generous measure of her resources. I have sailed in Ryotwan ships, and there are none finer.
    "Still, the glory has shone on Marneri so much in recent times that folk in Ryotwa have succumbed to envy. We are all but mere men and women, making our way through the world as best we can with the guidance of the Mother's Hand. We can do no more than that. Envy is ignoble, but we are weak. We can do no better.
    "But we can try! Damn it all, we can still try! We can ask Ryotwans to confront this feeling in their hearts. We can say, stop for a moment and think of what Marneri has given to our sacred cause. For you and I know, Ambassador, that no other city has given so much from such a small population. They have raised two legions, and built almost as many great ships as Ryotwa! And those legions of theirs have handled more than their share of the fighting."
    Koring had to agree. "True, Your Majesty, I know, but the people have their prejudices."
    "The people can be challenged. Their prejudice is ignoble and beneath their dignity. We shall encourage them to try and rise above it."
    The emperor smiled and folded his arms across his chest.
    "If the people of Aubinas seriously wanted independence, then I would work to give it to them. Let us be clear. The strength of our empire rests on its elasticity. We must rule with flexibility. No great province should remain bound to a city if it feels it would be better off independent. Provinces should love their capital city. The capitals must love the empire. That is the only way we can be different from any other power in the world. That is the only way we can hope to defeat our monstrous enemy in Padmasa.
    "But it is not the people of Aubinas who wish independence. It is the grain magnates. They have whipped up every grievance they could find, and still they have support from no more than one third of the people. The rest are terrified. The grain magnates wish to free themselves from Imperial controls. They would like to hold grain off the market and force up prices. I can have no sympathy for them. In a time of war, with our very existence constantly threatened by the power in Padmasa, we cannot indulge their desire for further augmentation of their wealth."
    "Your Majesty will be pleased to know that in Ryotwa there is a significant group that shares your thinking. The Ship Builders Guild is with you, of course, but so are others with less obvious interests at stake. Opinion can be swayed."
    "Exactly, my dear Ambassador Koring. This progress is long overdue. I think we can reawaken the people's understanding of our real problems. They will see that we love them, that we come among them to show them that we are men, as they are, but men working all their lives in their service. That it is service which is the spirit of the empire. We show them that, and they will turn back the minions of the grain magnates."
    Eventually, however, even Pascal Iturgio Densen Asturi had had enough of political talk. He thanked Koring and sent him back out to ride his horse. Pascal drew the curtains and put his feet up on the farther cushion and went to sleep with a brief prayer.
    Lessis remained silent in the corner. Her thoughts were far away, reviewing what she remembered from a chilling visit to a house in the suburbs of Cunfshon. Ribela had sent her to meet with a prince and princess from the western lands, by name Evander and Serena. They brought a grim warning and spoke a name that had not darkened the air of Ryetelth in many an aeon, the name of