Shadow's Son by Shirley Meier, S.M. Stirling and Karen Wehrstein ...

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a night's sail from Brahvniki's very walls. And they've had ambitions against us for centuries. So yes, I did
float Chevenga a very substantial loan. And I was not the only Brahvnikian who did; I think he raised at
least double that again among prominent citizens who shall remain nameless. I will guarantee you one
thing about him, which will explain at least in part all this. If you meet him, which I suspect you will, you'll
like him, if not on first sight, on first word. Very few are those who don't."
Megan raised her eyebrows quizzically. "That's a rare talent, to say the least—to makeme like you on
sight."
"Oh, I know you better than that,hylashka ," the old man chuckled. "At any rate, I think you will: you'll
see."
Megan got up and paced along the windowed west wall, catching glimpses of the river and Brahvniki out
of the corner of her eye. "Do you know how the Yeolis, in general, treat Zak? I've dealt with one or two,
but one isn't likely to discuss pogrom over coffee."
"There are a number of Zak living in Yeola-e proper, mostly in and around Selina. They mind their own
business, and the Yeolis mind theirs. The curly-hairs tend not to have the sort of atavistic beliefs about
witchcraft that make people want to destroy and drive it out in terror; they'd put it down to some strange
face of the God-in-Ourselves they haven't seen yet, not to demons or Halya-spawn or what-have-you.
It's true that they tend to think of the rest of the world as a slow child that they earnestly and generously
hope will improve enough to come around to their way some day, but underneath that they are fairly
broadminded about spiritual things."
Shkai'ra snorted. "A slow child, hmmph. I've noticed people who favor mob rule tend to be that way.
Not that I've ever seen it carried so far, as an entire race taking avote over an invasion. Which brings me
to a concern I had. The man's been given marching orders by his mob. And says he wants them. But
from what we heard, it sounds like they had to all but pull his toenails out to get it out of him, grudge or
no grudge. Is hereally whole-hearted about this fight?"
"Oh, yes. It's a Yeoli thing. Any method, other than a vote, of deciding on an act so major—and so
much against their customs; they've never done it before— Yeolis would consider unthinkable."
Megan nodded. She had been taught a little Yeoli politics—very little, it being seen as subversive by the
Dragon's Nest—and remembered the main principle, "the people wills," in Yeoli,semana kra , hence
semanakraseye , literally, "the-people-wills-one." Laws were initiated by citizens at large and enacted
through plebiscites of various forms, sometimes complex, involving percentages and such; the
semanakraseye existed only to oversee their administration, and to act quickly in case of war or
emergency. Over the military, though, his power was absolute.
"And they are very jealous of their power; all sorts of ways they have, of clipping asemanakraseye's
wings. Including a forbiddance on his voicing his wishes regarding national policy. They made an
exception this time, wanting to know as you do, Shkai'ra, whether he was whole-hearted."
"But he had to make a show of sticking to the rules," Megan said, "I understand."
"Oh, it was more than show. Chevenga is an adherent of mob rule, to the bone; he was bred that way
from birth. Knowing him, he genuinely squirmed at having to say what he wanted, dreading to interfere
with the vote. I know it's hard to believe. A sad irony, for him: no onewill believe it, they'll think as you
did that it was a show, that he pulled the strings all through, and he'll be pinned with having wreaked
change on his people without their consent, when all he did in truth was act on their wishes. He just