“That part of the books is very clear,” Bliss said softly. He found that he couldn’t tell what color her eyes were, besides ‘pale.’ “They were lured here. Lured and trapped. For untold thousands of years, the Great Elders have bickered and jockeyed with one another, but in the end they all have the same goal. To be free of this prison.”
Calder looked into the cracked sky. If that were true, all they would have to do is hold the door open, and all the Great Elders would leave. It sounded too good to be true.
But one detail stood out, and he had to ask the question. “They’re trapped here…then who trapped them?”
Bliss sighed. “That,” she said, “is a very good question.”
Only four weeks after their encounter with the Great Elder, The Testament arrived at the Capital. Either luck or the foresight of Ach’magut had been with them, because they’d sailed straight through the center of the Aion Sea with no more trouble than a vanishing island and a stray wormcloud. Not even the most optimistic Navigator would promise a trip from Aurelia to Izyria in one month, but they’d done it.
They were still miles away from the Capital when Calder saw that something was wrong. Ships, Navigator and otherwise, fled from the direction of the mainland like startled birds. Some of them were on fire. A few headed back toward the Capital, but it was a trickle compared to a flood. And not one of them responded to Calder’s request for information.
The Capital was so vast that it practically swallowed the coastline; once land was in sight, everything Calder could see stretching north and south was all part of the city. And all of it hung under a cloud of smoke, as though every chimney everywhere had started belching non-stop. Over the water drifted a constant sound that Calder only identified when they got closer: bells. Hundreds if not thousands of bells, all ringing in constant chaos.
The Testament was even closer before they could see the third sign of disaster. The red flags, bearing their moon-in-sun Imperial Seal, had all been defiled. A legion of Imperial flags always flapped above the Capital, ranging in size from those no bigger than a hand to the ones over the palace, which were broader than The Testament’s sails.
All of them had been scarred with a new addition: a thick black line slashing diagonally down the middle.
Calder’s eyes turned to Andel.
The former Pilgrim removed his hat once more, staring at the shoreline. He pressed the hat over his heart, one final gesture of respect.
“What will it be, Andel?” Calder asked quietly. He couldn’t deny a trembling of his own heart; as much as he’d hoped for this, the Emperor had always seemed constant. Eternal. Even when he’d finally believed that the Emperor would die, there was a difference between knowing it and seeing the evidence.
Andel shook his head. “I’m still trying to make excuses. Maybe the Capital came under attack, maybe there was a rebellion, maybe this is some game by the Elders and we’re still back in Silverreach. But I’m neither a fool nor a coward. I know the Emperor is dead, may his soul fly free.”
That was a first step, but anyone with the knowledge they had would have come to the same conclusion. Calder waited for the rest, but Andel didn’t say anything.
He carefully placed his broad white hat on his head, adjusted it, and walked away.
“Where are you going, Andel?”
“To do my job,” Andel called back. “You all have reasons to be glad the Emperor’s dead. Who says I don’t?”
Not daring to believe it, Calder watched Andel as he climbed up and took the wheel.
“The Capital’s in turmoil, Captain,” he shouted down. “Making port would be a dangerous gamble. I suggest we plot another course.”
That was the first time Andel had ever called him “Captain.”
“Sounds wise to me, Andel.” He stepped away, where he could see the man in white standing over the wheel.
Andel executed a shallow bow. “Then we sail at your command, sir.”
THE END
Of Dawn and Darkness
The Elder Empire, Second Sea
Glossary of Terms
Am’haranai – The ancient order of spies and assassins that would eventually become the Consultant’s Guild. Some formal documents still refer to the Consultant’s Guild in this way.
Architect – One type of Consultant. The Architects mostly stay in one place, ruling over Guild business and deciding general strategy. They include alchemists, surgeons, Readers, strategists, and specialists of all types.
Awaken – A Reader can Awaken an object by bringing out its latent powers of Intent. An Awakened object is very powerful, but it gains a measure of self-awareness. Also, it can never be invested again.
Jarelys Teach, the Head of the Imperial Guard, carries an ancient executioner’s blade that has been Awakened. It now bears the power of all the lives it took, and is lethal even at a distance.
All Soulbound Vessels are Awakened.
Children of the Dead Mother – Elderspawn created by the power of Nakothi out of human corpses.
Consultant – A member of the Consultants Guild, also known as the Am’haranai. Mercenary spies and covert agents that specialize in gathering and manipulating information for their clients.
Consultants come in five basic varieties: Architects, Gardeners, Masons, Miners, and Shepherds.
For more, see the Guild Guide.
Dead Mother, The – See: Nakothi.
Elder – Any member of the various races that ruled the world in ancient days, keeping humanity as slaves. The most powerful among them are known as Great Elders, and their lesser are often called Elderspawn.
Gardener – One type of Consultant. The Gardeners kill people for hire.
Intent – The power of focused will that all humans possess. Whenever you use an object intentionally, for a specific purpose, you are investing your Intent into that object. The power of your Intent builds up in that object over time, making it better at a given task.
Every human being uses their Intent, but most people do so blindly; only Readers can sense what they’re doing.
See also: “Invest,” “Reader.”
Invest – Besides its usual financial implications, to “invest” means to imbue an object with one’s Intent. By intentionally using an object, you invest that object with a measure of your Intent, which makes it better at performing that specific task.
So a pair of scissors used by a barber every day for years become progressively better and better at cutting hair. After a few years, the scissors will cut cleanly through even the thickest strands of tangled hair, slicing through with practically no effort. A razor used by a serial killer will become more and more lethal with time. A razor used by a serial-killing barber will be very confused.
Kameira – A collective term for any natural creature with unexplainable powers. Cloudseeker Hydras can move objects without touching them, Windwatchers can change and detect air currents, and Deepstriders control water. There are many different types of Kameira…though, seemingly, not as many as in the past. The Guild of Greenwardens is dedicated to studying and restoring Kameira populations.