Come Twilight

Part III Chimena Prologue

  Text of a letter from the Comites Egnacius of Touloza to Manrigo, Dux of Asturica.

  To my most dear, my most esteemed brother in faith, the high-reputed Manrigo, Dux of Asturica, the greetings of Comites Egnacius of Touloza, for so I style myself in the certain knowledge that my claim to the title will be upheld and I will finally come into the honors and dignity my father sought to bestow upon me at his death. Since you have the respect of me to address me thus, I will uphold my claims in these pages.

  Were it not for this most pressing matter of securing my inheritance that keeps me here, I would bring men to help you in your fight against the perfidious Moors who have everywhere striven to claim these good Christian lands for their own, and have brought suffering and trouble to the world. I am unable to say what distress I feel at this necessary disappointment, but you must doubtless comprehend the reasons for my decision in this matter, for your position is secure, and you have no interloper of a half-brother attempting to claim what is yours. Had my mother lived, her testimony would have ended this whole absurdity at once, but as she has been called to Heaven-the result of poison, administered, no doubt, by my half-brother's agents-she has no voice with which to plead my case. I am unable to trust any of my kin, for they are under the spell of my half-brother, who is said to be a great warrior instead of the coward he has shown himself to be.

  It is the opinion of the holy hermit Meurisse, I must put my case to the Pope if ever I am to resolve it, and so I am committed to go to Roma and put my case before the Vicar of Christ and ask him to settle the matter once and for all. My half-brother might defy Moors and his peers, but he will not lose all by defying the Pope, if the soldiers truly fear the great man's power. I am prepared to fight for what is mine, and I am certain that no one will wonder at my determination to do this, although it does mean I will not be in Touloza again for more than a year, and in that time, I cannot help you as you would like, for which I ask your understanding. Were you in my position, I know you would do no differently than I must do. Our fathers fought side by side, and that is a most worthy thing, and I am aware of the obligation under which such vassalage places me. Yet until my land and my soldiers are truly mine to command, I cannot comply with your request, for I am to set out in nine days' time and already my preparations are underway. I can spare no men from my company to aid you, for they are escorting me.

  Instead I am sending you a most worthy man: he speaks the language of the Moors and has traveled in their lands. He is called Ragoczy Germainus, although he is not German but from mountains far beyond the German lands. He is a learned and useful man, capable of smelting metals for weapons and treating wounds with medicaments of his own making. My men hold him in the highest regard, saying he is more formidable than a Moorish horseman. He journeys with a manservant called Rotiger who is from Gadez, or so he says. Ragoczy Germainus accords this servant great liberty and treats him as if they were comrades and not man and servant. He allows Rotiger to sleep in an antechamber on a bed rather than on a pallet outside his door; the two actually converse from time to time. You should find these two most useful, and capable of aiding you in your fight against the Moors at a time when I cannot. Man and master are devoted to one another, a devotion which you may be able to turn to your advantage, as I have done in the past. If you will look upon these two as indicative of my wish to aid you in your time of need, I will be most thankful, and will tell the Pope that I have done as much as I am able to in my present diminished state to put forth the cause of our people and our faith.

  For bona fides, Ragoczy Germainus will bring with him a wax impression of my sigil, and by that you will know him. I must tell you he was at first reluctant to undertake this journey, but I have persuaded him through diverse means that his gifts would be far more useful to you than they presently are to me, and that his efforts on your behalf will earn my gratitude. Doubtless he has come to understand how crucial it is that he comply with my wishes in this regard, for if he fails to serve you well, he has friends here who will answer for his laxness. I should also tell you that the man plays a number of musical instruments, and will grace your court with songs and tales if you have need of such entertainments. He carries an Egyptian lyre with him; my men have listened to his singing many an evening, and joined in the better choruses. I have been glad of his service, and I am reluctant to sacrifice it, but either I must bring him to Roma with me, or I must send him to you, for if I leave him alone here, he is likely to be the target of my half-brother's malice, who has sworn to kill all those who support me. Be good to him for my sake and you will be amply rewarded. He is more of a treasure than you know, and so you will discover for yourself. Do not think I have done a paltry thing in sending him to you, for nothing could be further from the truth.

  I pray God will guard and protect you and all you hold dear. In these hard times, we must put our trust in the justice of God and the strength of His Son, Who has defeated the Devils in Hell for the sake of those suffering in Hell. I will remark on your fortitude to the Pope and speak well of your deeds everywhere I go, you have my pledged word on it. We both know what it is to have enemies in this world. No doubt you will come to think of them as the means by which God tests our souls and determines our worthiness as Christians, even as we undertake the great tasks the world imposes upon us with purpose. May God defend my claim and reduce Perpontus to beggary and disgrace.

  By the hand of Meiric the scribe,

  Comites Egnacius of Touloza, his mark

  four weeks after the Feast of the Kings, in the Year of Salvation 752