Oathbreaker, Book 1: The Knight's Tale - Colin McComb

Most of the nobles with whom I met were useless militarily and served mainly as a way
to distinguish themselves before they moved on to fill the court with their plots and gossip. I
dismissed them as foppish dandies then, though I realized the necessity of keeping them, if not
friendly, at least tolerant toward me and my designs.
I am, in hindsight, aware of the irony of judging them for their plots while I engaged in
mine. In my defense, allow me to argue that I worked for the good of the country as I saw it,
struggling to prevent its inevitable downfall, to slow the slide into anarchy. Their plots were for
personal aggrandizement. Mine was to serve something that was worthy of my service. That is
what I told myself then. Perhaps the lies we tell ourselves become truer the more strongly we
believe them.
I had just begun to earn the friendship of Prince Fannon, nephew of the king, when word
came that Fannon III had passed, succumbing at last to the inevitable stroke of age. Though it was
expected that he would die, no one was prepared for it so soon. No sooner had we heard of his
death than the hyenas were upon the corpse and ambition began to tear the army apart. The death
of the king brought us to the Birdsnest Wars, in which the High Houses sought to position
themselves to take advantage of the chaos. They took themselves to the Birdsnest, King Martyn’s
old summer mansion on the hills outside of Terona, and pressed their claims to the throne,
describing the deeds they had done for the Empire and the blessings they had secured for the
many. They outlined their lineage, and described why their lines were closer to the bloodline of
Martyn. They presented their presumptive heirs. The highest officers of the forces turned away
from their sworn service to defend the country and brought their strength to bear for their chosen
House. Whole divisions went to fight for the Westkitts and the Dengs and the Bhumari, and
companies and battalions split for the Lesser Houses.
A few remained standing with Prince Fannon. Fannon III had died childless, and though
his decree should have rendered his nephew the legitimate heir, questions of legality and the
prince’s legitimacy made what should have been an orderly succession a time of blood. I
supported the prince, as did a number of the nobles who were unconvinced that their Houses
deserved the throne. We had the Vukovi, whose judges and heralds outlined Fannon's right, but
who listens to the niceties of the law when such power is at stake? We believed that Fannon had
shown the qualities necessary to lead us, and this was more than belief in his lineage. Men and
women alike believed that the Empire deserved existence more than their own House did, and
though I suspected at least three of our compatriots of passing information to their superiors, my
suspicions were entirely unfounded. I was grateful to be proven wrong.
Colin McComb Oathbreaker, Book 1: The Knight's Tale
19