A tangled web, indeed.

It’s not yet clear just who exactly is conspiring what, and who with. But there can be no denying that Fatima has gotten way more than she bargained for when she decided to pursue this path. Ultimately this is personal for her. That gives her something in common with Töregene – or so it appeared at least. But for many of the players here this is about power. And at the heart of the greatest empire the world has ever known, those are high stakes indeed. We have a sort of game of thrones going on here, and just like with that other one you won’t find many clean pairs of hands.

In the first place, the invasion of the Jin Dynasty is going well. The history books don’t leave much wiggle room on that score. As usual it’s Tolui doing most of the heavy lifting military-wise. When his 40,000 strong army is outnumbered by a massive 150,000-man Jin force, they seem to have no choice to wait for Ögedei to arrive with reinforcements. But Tolui performs a Jadamishi – the ritual using the jada stone to call forth a storm. And a blizzard arrives indeed. The Mongols hunker in the bunker to wait it out while the Jins – already exhausted – are battered and left effectively defenseless. Ögedei arrives only after the battle has been won.

The action back at the Mongol camp is much more interesting. Töregene is very much giving Fatima the cold shoulder, seemingly having lost trust in her. And if that’s the case, she’s certainly justified. Fatima is seemingly very friendly with Boraqchin and of course she’s theoretically still a spy for Sorghaghtani. At least when Shira comes a-calling she passes along a message for her old boss – “Boraqchin a very clever and she can be trusted”. I don’t think anyone here can be trusted, bar perhaps Möge, who may just be exactly what she seems.

So what happens when the Kha’an and his brother arrive back home? A banquet of course, and the usual brown-nosing from Tolui towards Ögedei. But Tolui wants to know who they’re going Borg on next, and Ögedei prefers to build a capital. There’s a fundamental disconnect here, obviously. Ögedei seems to be intent on turning the Mongols into the dominant cultural superpower in addition to their unchallenged military superiority. That night Töregene dismisses Fatima curtly, and later Fatima spots her meeting with the Kha’an. And the next day, Ögedei falls “ill“.

The most obvious interpretation of events is that Töregene poisoned Ögedei using Rahj-al-Ghar. Strictly as an act of revenge and sabotage. And Boraqchin may even be right that she intended to blame it all on Fatima, which would make sense given that it was Fatima who brought her the knowledge of it. But that meeting between Töregene and Boraqchin weighs heavily on my thoughts. What’s the story there? I don’t see a motivation for Boraqchin to poison Ögedei but that doesn’t mean one doesn’t exist. Or – more feasibly – it opens the possibility that Töregene is being used as a scapegoat herself.

In any event, Boraqchin seems very sincere when she and Möge plead with Fatima to save the Kha’an as she saved her. And in doing so, she makes it plain that she suspects Töregene of the crime. Setting aside the dubious science of using bezoar as an antidote for realgar (arsenic) poisoning (hey, if storm-summoning is supposed to be real…) Fatima has the mojo to do the job. But an exorcism is called anyway – if nothing else it wouldn’t look good for foreigners to have cured the Kha’an. And the exorcist calls for a sacrifice, a blood relative. Boraqchin initially volunteers to drink the “evil” water, but it’s Tolui who winds up doing it.

You know who does have a motive for poisoning Ögedei? Sorghaghtani. Again, pure conjecture here, but it’s hinted in no uncertain terms* that Tolui is putting on an act in his supposed loyalty to his brother. Not to mention that its their son that did in Xanadu a stately pleasure dome decree. From my perspective the status quo actually looks pretty good for Tolui – his brother can deal with the annoying details of governing while he continues to snarf down territory – and intellectual capital – for himself. But there’s no accounting for what lust of power will drive a man – or his wife – to. Until I see evidence to the contrary that’s the Occam’s Razor explanation for all this in my book.

*or maybe not (see comments)