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and titles in Abivard's pasted list. And as its tail touched them,
they changed. Now they were written in the same style as the words of the
document to which they had been appended.
Once the change of scripts was complete, Bagdasares again caged the mouse. He
turned to Maniakes. "Is this indeed how you wish the final document to appear,
your
Majesty?"
"Well, I'd be happier if it were all black on white instead of half the other
way around," the Avtokrator answered.
Bagdasares snorted. "The reversal shows that part of the text still remaining
mutable. Has it now been changed to your satisfaction?" "Yes," Maniakes said.
"I
hope turning it back into black on white isn't too complicated for you."
"I think I can manage that, your Majesty," Bagdasares said with a smile.
Tongue between his teeth, he made a single sharp clicking sound. All at once,
white letters turned black, black parchment white. "There you are: one long,
bloodthirsty letter, ready to befuddle Romezan."
Maniakes studied the letter. As far as he could tell, it might have come
straight from the chancery of the King of Kings. The only trouble was, he
couldn't tell much.
"We'll let Abivard have a look at it and see what he thinks," Maniakes said.
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Bagdasares nodded. When the Avtokrator stepped out of the wizard's workroom,
Kameas stood waiting for his command. Half of him was surprised to find the
vestiarios there; the other half would have been surprised had Kameas been
anyplace else. "I shall bring him here directly," the eunuch said, almost
before Maniakes could tell him what he wanted.
Bozorg came up the hallway of the imperial residence with Abivard. Maniakes
was glad both of them would be reviewing the document before Romezan set eyes
on it. Abivard looked at it first. He read it through, read it again, and then
read it a third time. Having done that, he delivered his verdict: "Romezan
will have kittens." "May I
see, lord?" Bozorg asked. Abivard passed him the altered letter. He studied it
even
longer than the Makuraner marshal had done. When he was finally finished, he
looked not to Maniakes but to Bagdasares. "This is very fine work," he said,
admiration in his voice.
Bagdasares bowed. "Your servant."
"You must tell me how you achieved such a perfect match of the script between
the original and that which was written afterward," the Makuraner mage said.
"I do not slight my own skill, but I am far from certain I could do the like."
"I'd be delighted," Bagdasares said, preening; he was never shy about
receiving praise. "The method employs "
Maniakes coughed. Bagdasares checked himself. Had he not checked himself,
Maniakes might have trodden on his toes. The Avtokrator said, "It might be
better if the details remain private." That seemed a politer way of putting it
than, If our magic is better than theirs, let's keep it that way, since we've
been at war with them for the last ten years or so.
Abivard coughed in turn. That worried Maniakes. If the Makuraner marshal
insisted that his wizard learn Bagdasares' document-altering technique,
Maniakes would have an awkward time gainsaying him. But Abivard contented
himself with remarking, "We have our secrets, too, which we would be well
advised not to let you
Videssians learn."
"Fair enough," Maniakes said. Abivard was dead right in that, and the Empire
of
Videssos had almost died because Sharbaraz had kept his alliance with the
Kubratoi secret so long.
Bagdasares said, "The document does meet with full approval. then?"
"Oh, yes," Abivard answered. "It will serve in every particular."
Bozorg said, "It is the best forgery I have ever seen." Bagdasares preened
again.
The Makuraner mage went on, "It will make me look at new techniques, it truly
will, for nothing with which I am now familiar could produce such a fine
linkage between two documents. The joining of new parchment to old is also
quite good, but that I
know I can equal."
Bagdasares bristled, offended at the notion any other mage was sure he could
equal him at anything. Maniakes hid a smile. When he'd first met Bagdasares at
the start of the uprising against Genesios, the Vaspurakaner mage had been a
journeyman back in Opsikion, and, though proud of his skill, hadn't reckoned
it extraordinary.
He'd come a long way since. So had Maniakes. Rising with the Avtokrator had
let had sometimes made Bagdasares deal with sorceries more elaborate than
those he would have seen had he stayed in Opsikion. It had also let him
largely discard
Alvinos, the Videssian-sounding name he'd been in the habit of using then. Now
he truly was a sorcerer as good as any in the world and ever so aware of it.
Maniakes sobered. Bagdasares' blind spot was easy enough for him to recognize.
What of his own? He'd noted his habit of moving too soon and too hard in the
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direction he wanted to go. But if he didn't spot his own weaknesses, who would
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