‘What?’ Pug was incredulous.
‘What you call the Chaos Wars is only a small part of a much vaster conflict, one about which you are now learning, one which has been raging since before the rise of humanity and even the creation of the gods. At the advent of a new epoch, when we who are your gods rose and deploy those forces you think of as the Two Blind Gods of the Beginning, as the Valheru rose against us, all of that… well, to put it bluntly, at that time we… or more to the point, I was on the losing side.’
Pug could only stare at the likeness of Nakor.
‘So I cheated.’
Pug suddenly started to laugh. He could not help himself, but in that instant he realized that no matter how vast and deep this conflict was, no matter how dire the results were for millions of intelligent beings, to this entity, this ‘god’, it was just a game, no more worthy of respect than a game of lin-lan in the back room of an ale-house in Krondor.
Nakor’s face grinned. ‘Ah, you do appreciate a good joke, don’t you?’
‘Joke?’ said Pug, sobering. ‘I’m laughing at the sheer madness of this all. I’m laughing to stop myself from reaching out to strangle you.’
‘I wouldn’t recommend your trying, Pug,’ said Ban-ath, suddenly solemn. ‘Understand, I am the scorpion, and I can no more change my nature than you can become a frog.’
Pug waved away the remark. There was a knock at the door, and suddenly the figure of Nakor was gone. The door opened and Caleb appeared with a young woman behind him, a healer named Mianee.
Pug said to them, ‘I’m fine, really. Bring me some food if you don’t mind, and some ale. Actually, I’m famished.’
Mianee was a no-nonsense type who refused to be put off, so Pug endured a quick examination, after which she pronounced him fit. She left and Caleb returned with food and ale. When the tray was on the table at the bedside, Pug said, ‘I would like some time alone, son. I’ll call you if I need something.’
Caleb appeared about to ask a question, thought better of it, then left, closing the door behind him. Pug looked from the door hick to the tray and found a stranger standing next to it, picking up a piece of cheese. He was of slight build and had curly brown hair and Pug took a moment to recognize him. ‘Jimmy?’
‘Of course not,’ said the figure, nibbling at the cheese. He was now the twin of young Lord James, Jimmy the Hand, when he had first come into Prince Arutha’s service as a squire. ‘This is very good.’
‘Ban-ath,’ said Pug.
‘Of if you prefer Kalkin, Antrhen, Isodur, or any number of other names humanity inflicts on me – Coyote is one of my favourites – but no matter the name, I am myself He gave a theatrical bow which very much reminded Pug of the former thief who had grown up to marry his daughter and become one of the legendary figures of Kingdom history.
Pug sat back and started to eat. After a moment of silence, Ban-ath said, ‘As I was saying: we were losing the war with the ancient powers and the Valheru were doing us no good. Of a hundred lesser aspects and the dozen greater aspects of the godforce only a dozen lesser and four greater endured.
‘You must understand I am giving you a limited perspective, a glimpse of a far greater whole, but a whole which is beyond even your not inconsiderable intellect’s ability to grasp. Yours is, perhaps, the greatest mind in the history of the human race on Midkemia, Pug.’ Pug began to object, but Ban-ath cut him off. ‘Save your modesty, for although it may be considered a pleasant quality by most people, I don’t see it that way. Vain people like Macros are easy to manipulate. There is an axiom, "you can’t cheat an honest man", and an honest man admits his own shortcomings. With you I must approach certain tasks in a different fashion than I did with Macros; I could easily convince him he was the genius behind all his plots and intrigues;. You, on the other hand, are more effective working on behalf of something you believe in, and while telling you the truth is less fun, it is more efficient. Still, I’m willing to be honest – occasionally – since I am a creature of hard facts and probabilities. Best of all, you know what you don’t know and long to learn, which is why you’re a great deal more intelligent than most people.’ Ban-ath waved him out of the bed. ‘Get dressed.’
With a snap of the god’s fingers, Pug was suddenly wearing a clean, fresh robe.
‘The food?’
Another finger snap and Pug was no longer hungry. ‘With rank comes privilege. We can talk while we travel. We have a lot to see.’
Another finger snap and they were somewhere else.