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EIGHTEEN

The first storm of autumn had darkened the palace at Miyun. Rain snarled against walls, and rattled like flung gravel against windows and shutters. Gusty winds swatted and whuffed. The wind chimes had been taken in to prevent their blowing away, and servants had lit censers to placate the house gods they persisted in believing in. The emperor, who preferred a free flow of fresh air through the palace, weather permitting, tolerated the censers and the beliefs they reflected. Their fragrance was preferable to unperfumed domestic odors.
Tenzin Geshe hardly noticed. His gomba, his monastery, smelled always of pine and faintly fragrant lamp oil. After holding his bow for an appropriate time, he straightened. “Your Magnificence,” he said, “the Circle and I have just visited the mind of the raven elemental we created. Ravens have found the barbarian you are interested in. The elemental has gone to him, and the three men with him, and shown them to us clearly. The man is a giant, as I’d sensed before, with eyes that are dead and do not see. He sees without them, using wizard powers.”
“Indeed! And where are these men now?”
“In the steppe on the other side of the Altai, traveling northward toward the taiga.”
“Northward? With winter coming? Why?”
“The raven did not have that knowledge, Your Magnificence.”
“Hmh! How was that? You told me it would be able to read the barbarian’s mind.”
“I had not counted on the barbarian’s powers being as strong as they are, Your Magnificence. He seems to protect himself and those with him from being read. But we know where they are now, and as long as the raven retains contact, we’ll continue to know.”
“Ah! Well . . . I am extremely interested in this giant barbarian; he has caught my curiosity strongly. Be sure your bird does retain contact with him.”
The emperor pursed his lips, and his voice became more commanding, losing its mildly interrogative tone. “Now that you’ve succeeded in creating a raven elemental, I have another job for you. I want you to create a yeti elemental to serve as my personal bodyguard. It must be more intelligent and perceptive than any other yeti, and altogether superior in energy and strength.”
Again Tenzin bowed. “’Your Magnificence, my experience in creating elementals of animals is limited to a bird.”
The emperor brushed the comment aside. “This yeti elemental must be dominant over all other yetis and completely devoted to me.” He raised one eyebrow meaningfully. “I would not have it equivocate as some of my human servants do.”
Tenzin Geshe bowed low and held it. “Of course, Your Magnificence.”
“Then do it. Wait here while I call the captain of my yeti guard. I will instruct him to review the entire guard with you, and also the young yetis in training. You may pick whichever one you wish as the receptacle. Keeping its purpose in mind of course.”
He struck a small gong, and almost at once a runner entered. The emperor instructed him, and the runner backed out.
Tenzin carefully avoided thought; screening in the emperor’s presence would be a dangerous affront. But later, in the gomba, he allowed himself to think that things were seldom as simple as His Magnificence seemed to imagine. Manipulating the mental energies of large, intelligent, and sometimes truculent predators was not the same as manipulating those of peaceful birds. Birds which, if more intelligent than other birds, fell well short of yetis.
Still, if he could, he would. It was never a good idea to disappoint the emperor.

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EIGHTEEN

The first storm of autumn had darkened the palace at Miyun. Rain snarled against walls, and rattled like flung gravel against windows and shutters. Gusty winds swatted and whuffed. The wind chimes had been taken in to prevent their blowing away, and servants had lit censers to placate the house gods they persisted in believing in. The emperor, who preferred a free flow of fresh air through the palace, weather permitting, tolerated the censers and the beliefs they reflected. Their fragrance was preferable to unperfumed domestic odors.
Tenzin Geshe hardly noticed. His gomba, his monastery, smelled always of pine and faintly fragrant lamp oil. After holding his bow for an appropriate time, he straightened. “Your Magnificence,” he said, “the Circle and I have just visited the mind of the raven elemental we created. Ravens have found the barbarian you are interested in. The elemental has gone to him, and the three men with him, and shown them to us clearly. The man is a giant, as I’d sensed before, with eyes that are dead and do not see. He sees without them, using wizard powers.”
“Indeed! And where are these men now?”
“In the steppe on the other side of the Altai, traveling northward toward the taiga.”
“Northward? With winter coming? Why?”
“The raven did not have that knowledge, Your Magnificence.”
“Hmh! How was that? You told me it would be able to read the barbarian’s mind.”
“I had not counted on the barbarian’s powers being as strong as they are, Your Magnificence. He seems to protect himself and those with him from being read. But we know where they are now, and as long as the raven retains contact, we’ll continue to know.”
“Ah! Well . . . I am extremely interested in this giant barbarian; he has caught my curiosity strongly. Be sure your bird does retain contact with him.”
The emperor pursed his lips, and his voice became more commanding, losing its mildly interrogative tone. “Now that you’ve succeeded in creating a raven elemental, I have another job for you. I want you to create a yeti elemental to serve as my personal bodyguard. It must be more intelligent and perceptive than any other yeti, and altogether superior in energy and strength.”
Again Tenzin bowed. “’Your Magnificence, my experience in creating elementals of animals is limited to a bird.”
The emperor brushed the comment aside. “This yeti elemental must be dominant over all other yetis and completely devoted to me.” He raised one eyebrow meaningfully. “I would not have it equivocate as some of my human servants do.”
Tenzin Geshe bowed low and held it. “Of course, Your Magnificence.”
“Then do it. Wait here while I call the captain of my yeti guard. I will instruct him to review the entire guard with you, and also the young yetis in training. You may pick whichever one you wish as the receptacle. Keeping its purpose in mind of course.”
He struck a small gong, and almost at once a runner entered. The emperor instructed him, and the runner backed out.
Tenzin carefully avoided thought; screening in the emperor’s presence would be a dangerous affront. But later, in the gomba, he allowed himself to think that things were seldom as simple as His Magnificence seemed to imagine. Manipulating the mental energies of large, intelligent, and sometimes truculent predators was not the same as manipulating those of peaceful birds. Birds which, if more intelligent than other birds, fell well short of yetis.
Still, if he could, he would. It was never a good idea to disappoint the emperor.

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