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queensthiefWe know that Kamet was never told about the navy massing, or that it was being hidden in the strait north of the tiny port of Hemet in the province of Hemsha. But what about his master?
If this has been canvassed before, I apologize.
I see three options:
1) Nahuseresh didn’t know, and so asking for the governorship of dinky, distant Hemsha was indeed his humble acknowledgment that after his failure in Attolia not even being the Emperor’s nephew and Heir’s brother could make him worthy of a post of more responsibility—on the other hand, nepotism ensured he could hardly be given less. So having even that minor post be denied him was a slap in the face.
2) Nahuseresh DID know that part of the Heir his brother’s (not the Emperor’s!) cunning plan, and asking for the governorship of the apparently-unimportant province that was really key was his way of demanding in on the new plans to conquer the Little Peninsula. Probably with more avidity since this was now also a matter of personal revenge to him. In which case, he was overreaching again, as Kamet commented he was prone to do. And the denial was a deserved slap in the face, from the Emperor’s point of view, for Nahuseresh’s presumption in trying to meddle again in the exact matter he’d already grossly messed up once.
3) Nahuseresh didn’t know when he made the application for the governorship of Hemsha, but was told when his application was denied why it must be denied. From a purely pragmatic point of view, the one city Nahuseresh must not move to is Hemet, the one position he must not obtain is Hemsha. Even if the Emperor or his Heir trust Nahuseresh to be competent enough to be an integral part of the naval preparations, the Heir had made sure that Attolia knew of the proposed invasion but was ignorant of the fleet’s location, and all their existing spies had been maimed and ejected. But… merchants travel between empires, and they gossip. And new spies can be sent, and will be sent, and will be sent first to hot spots according to merchants’ gossip. Nahuseresh is Attolis’s bitter personal enemy; any position that Nahuseresh is given will receive Attolis’s immediate attention. And if attention is turned prematurely to Hemsha and to Hemet, the ships will be discovered.
For the first possibility, we have Kamet’s judgment: that’s what he thought at the time was going on. Against it, we also have Kamet’s judgment: he professed himself relieved (and somewhat surprised) that his master should NOT this one time have overreached.
For the second possibility we have Kamet’s judgment that it’s very typical of his master to overreach—also that Nahuseresh had been tying his fortunes more and more to his brother the Heir as other “friends” denied him after the Attolian debacle. Also, there’s a psychological ring of truth in the thought that Nahuseresh beat Kamet so savagely for “presumption” when he’d just been punished by the Emperor for being guilty of the same. Against it, we have the fact that Kamet had not a clue that asking for Hemsha was NOT being humble on his master’s part; we know that Kamet was fully in his master’s confidence before this in political matters as in domestic (Kamet knows all about the agents who are in place to betray Cymorene, and helped his master burn that correspondence), and we don’t know of a reason why he shouldn’t be in Nahuseresh’s confidence either now, or in this one matter.
For the third possibility, the real argument against it is that the obvious thing for the Emperor or his Heir to do in that circumstance, would be to give Nahuseresh a comparable post, of equal honor and responsibility (or lack thereof), equally far from the outraged wife and the sneering capital, at the other end of the Empire. The governorship of Shenenish, say, or of Setra.
Of course perhaps those weren’t open, or openable. Perhaps it was a freak chance that the current governor of Hemsha died JUST when the Emperor’s Heir suddenly needed someone competent, cunning, and utterly discreet in that seemingly unimportant position.
Thoughts?
If this has been canvassed before, I apologize.
I see three options:
1) Nahuseresh didn’t know, and so asking for the governorship of dinky, distant Hemsha was indeed his humble acknowledgment that after his failure in Attolia not even being the Emperor’s nephew and Heir’s brother could make him worthy of a post of more responsibility—on the other hand, nepotism ensured he could hardly be given less. So having even that minor post be denied him was a slap in the face.
2) Nahuseresh DID know that part of the Heir his brother’s (not the Emperor’s!) cunning plan, and asking for the governorship of the apparently-unimportant province that was really key was his way of demanding in on the new plans to conquer the Little Peninsula. Probably with more avidity since this was now also a matter of personal revenge to him. In which case, he was overreaching again, as Kamet commented he was prone to do. And the denial was a deserved slap in the face, from the Emperor’s point of view, for Nahuseresh’s presumption in trying to meddle again in the exact matter he’d already grossly messed up once.
3) Nahuseresh didn’t know when he made the application for the governorship of Hemsha, but was told when his application was denied why it must be denied. From a purely pragmatic point of view, the one city Nahuseresh must not move to is Hemet, the one position he must not obtain is Hemsha. Even if the Emperor or his Heir trust Nahuseresh to be competent enough to be an integral part of the naval preparations, the Heir had made sure that Attolia knew of the proposed invasion but was ignorant of the fleet’s location, and all their existing spies had been maimed and ejected. But… merchants travel between empires, and they gossip. And new spies can be sent, and will be sent, and will be sent first to hot spots according to merchants’ gossip. Nahuseresh is Attolis’s bitter personal enemy; any position that Nahuseresh is given will receive Attolis’s immediate attention. And if attention is turned prematurely to Hemsha and to Hemet, the ships will be discovered.
For the first possibility, we have Kamet’s judgment: that’s what he thought at the time was going on. Against it, we also have Kamet’s judgment: he professed himself relieved (and somewhat surprised) that his master should NOT this one time have overreached.
For the second possibility we have Kamet’s judgment that it’s very typical of his master to overreach—also that Nahuseresh had been tying his fortunes more and more to his brother the Heir as other “friends” denied him after the Attolian debacle. Also, there’s a psychological ring of truth in the thought that Nahuseresh beat Kamet so savagely for “presumption” when he’d just been punished by the Emperor for being guilty of the same. Against it, we have the fact that Kamet had not a clue that asking for Hemsha was NOT being humble on his master’s part; we know that Kamet was fully in his master’s confidence before this in political matters as in domestic (Kamet knows all about the agents who are in place to betray Cymorene, and helped his master burn that correspondence), and we don’t know of a reason why he shouldn’t be in Nahuseresh’s confidence either now, or in this one matter.
For the third possibility, the real argument against it is that the obvious thing for the Emperor or his Heir to do in that circumstance, would be to give Nahuseresh a comparable post, of equal honor and responsibility (or lack thereof), equally far from the outraged wife and the sneering capital, at the other end of the Empire. The governorship of Shenenish, say, or of Setra.
Of course perhaps those weren’t open, or openable. Perhaps it was a freak chance that the current governor of Hemsha died JUST when the Emperor’s Heir suddenly needed someone competent, cunning, and utterly discreet in that seemingly unimportant position.
Thoughts?
no subject
Date: 5/1/18 04:50 am (UTC)I'm pretty sure Nahuseresh knew why Hemsha was significant. Mostly, because of one line in the Envoy. ...the emperor's nephew had insisted that his slave could not know it's (the fleet) location.
This implies that he knew and combined with Nahuseresh's lack of humilty... I think he was informed on Hemsha being the hiding place for the fleet, and he wanted to get involved as a way to get revenge on Attolia.
It's also possible, like you said, that the previous governor conveiently disappeared, and the Emperor's Heir was looking for a confidant to hold the post at Hemsha and keep the cat in the bag.
The governorships may not be family owned, however, and the previous post holder was simply dismissed. Perhaps, he couldn't be trusted to not leak the location of the fleet?
As for Nahuseresh not telling Kamet.. I think the fleet was on a strict need to know basis. Kamet knew about the spies on Cymorene, because he handled his master's letters. It's possible that the location of the fleet either wasn't being written down or was being refered to in code. Thus, Kamet never learned of it.
Another possibilty is that Nahuseresh didn't trust Kamet as far as Kamet thought he did.
no subject
Date: 5/3/18 01:23 am (UTC)Also, I never thought of the overstepping on both their parts. Good catch, there.
blabbing
Date: 5/31/18 03:28 am (UTC)It also occurs to me, upon consideration, that Kamet knew about Cymorene because he handled his master's correspondence, and with them first exiled to the estate in disgrace and now living in the Palace, there hasn't been any correspondence to handle.
If Nahuseresh had been told verbally by his brother where the fleet was massing, and told further not to tell anyone else, not even his trusted secretary, and then went on to direct Kamet's and everyone's attention to Hemsha by apply for that post.... well. He may have been punished himself, by more than just not getting a position he wanted, before he returned to take his temper out on his slave.