'No one must know, Piro. I don't ask this for me. If it was known that Palatyne's twin Utland Power-workers had killed Mage Tsulamyth, Ostron Isle would no longer be safe. Palatyne would sail his army across the sea and strike. You must not reveal the truth.'
'The Utlanders killed Mage Tsulamyth?'
'They meant to kill Dunstany.' Words poured from him as if a dam had broken. 'I'm sorry I lied to you, Piro. I had assumed Dunstany's identity. This much you guessed. Lord Dunstany was a good friend of my master's. He believed in my master's dream. He died at a nexus point, when King Sefon was murdered. Rather than lose Dunstany's influence in the Merofynian court, my master assumed his identity. And he trained me to do likewise. Sometimes, I played Lord Dunstany, sometimes the master did.
'Two summers ago while both the master and I were in Merofynia, the Utlander and his twin brother laid a cunning trap for Lord Dunstany. They had been fierce rivals ever since Palatyne climbed over the Divide and marched his army into the king's very palace, claiming he was there to pay homage to his king.
'I had a head cold. Lord Dunstany didn't, so my master played him that day. The twin Utlanders ambushed Lord Dunstany and they battled, two against one. Somehow, my master escaped and made his way back to me. I was frantic, he had been missing for hours. I found him dying in the secret passage under the Dunstany town mansion. I couldn't save him.' He sat back, long legs stretched out, and stared past her into the fire. Brooding. 'But for a head cold, I would have been the one who died.'
'I don't understand. How could the Utlanders kill the mighty Tsulamyth, even two against one?'
'They didn't set out to kill Tsulamyth. They wouldn't have dared. They set out to kill Lord Dunstany. The Utlanders were prepared with stolen Affinity.' He saw she did not understand. 'They keep Affinity-slaves. The Utlander's twin had one when we arrived in Rolencia. She escaped when he was killed.' Tyro's top lip lifted in a grimace of distaste. 'They siphon Affinity off the living. It's the opposite of what you do with your foenix. Worse than this, they can steal a person's Affinity when they die. Your mother…' He glanced at her, as if not sure whether to go on.
'I saw the Utlander capture my mother's essence in the stone on the tip of his staff. Is she in there? Does she know — '
'I don't know. I hope not.' He shuddered. 'Upon her death, her Affinity would have returned to the world. The Utlander stole it. And it was just this kind of stolen Affinity that he and his twin had gathered in preparation for the day they ambushed Lord Dunstany. They never realised they had Tsulamyth cornered. I believe he would've fought them off, if not for his heart. It gave out. He was lucky to escape alive. They thought he'd crept off to die. But they never had the chance to gloat.' Tyro's lips parted in a fierce grimace that was not a smile. 'For I assumed Lord Dunstany's disguise and met the Utlanders at court the very next day, hale and hearty, but for a slight head cold. They nearly passed out. After that they were most careful of Lord Dunstany. And now that one of them is dead, the remaining Utlander is doubly careful, for all that he hates me.'
'Fyn was right. You must have nerves of steel.'
Tyro's dark eyes fixed on her. He looked tired and worn, but determined. 'I have been bluffing since my master died two summers ago. Without him I must train myself from the books the previous Mage Tsulamyths collected during their lifetimes. I miss my master's advice, but most of all I miss him.' He glanced across to Piro, defiantly apologetic. 'I was his natural grandson.'
'Oh, Tyro. I'm so sorry,' Piro whispered. She caught herself reaching out to him, hesitated, then tucked her hands in her lap. 'But I thought you said you were born on Dunstany's estate, that your mother sold you to the mage when you were five.'
'She did. Dunstany was my other grandfather, her natural father. She was a serving girl, born the wrong side of the blanket. She fell in love with my father, who should have been the next Tsulamyth, but he was too keen on wenching and acquiring wealth. It's a tawdry tale. He seduced her, left her pregnant and got himself killed before I was born. So I'm a bastard twice over, with too much Affinity to live a normal life.'
No wonder he was angry at the world.
Piro licked her lips. She wanted to reassure him, but was pretty certain he would bridle at the sympathy. So she changed the topic. 'If this charade is so dangerous, why continue?'
'This is not a game, Piro. I continue the original Mage Tsulamyth's great dream. Peace through a balance of power. Why… the first Tsulamyth invented the game of Duelling Kingdoms to teach the warring nobles the value of diplomacy.'
She didn't tell him that the way her father played it involved resolving disputes with strategic battles.
Tyro continued. 'Each mage since has continued his work. My master is the reason you exist. Without his interference, Myrella Kingsdaughter would never have married your father.'
Piro found it hard to imagine. 'So I owe my existence to a meddling mage?'
'To Tsulamyth's dream of peace,' Tyro corrected, and this time he didn't sound pompous.
Piro picked at the hem on her sleeve which had begun to unravel. 'There is one thing… I don't see how the different Tsulamyths could carry out this deception. How did they hide the fact that it was a different man each time the mage died? I mean — '
'Two things worked in our favour, Affinity is hereditary and our line is long-lived. The mage always selected one of his descendants to train as his apprentice, so there was a family likeness. And his descendants never knew about him, unless he came for them. He would test the males of each generation and — '
'So he tested you when you were five and chose you for his apprentice?'
'Just as he had chosen my father. But strength of Affinity does not correlate to strength of character.' Tyro shook his head. 'If I had failed the mage's tests, I would have worked on Dunstany's estate, unaware of my relationship to him.' He sounded as though this might not have been such a bad thing. Piro knew how he felt.
'Even so, how did the different mages hide the switch-over?'
'The mage did not select an apprentice until he was over fifty. He had few close friends. Dunstany was one. The people he dealt with grew old, they saw him perhaps once a year, then not for several years. Basically, they forgot.' He shrugged. 'Besides, people see what they expect to see.'
Piro nodded. She accepted it could be done. 'And I suppose you all trained in the art of illusion.'
'The skill runs strong in my family. My master should have lived another twenty years. When he died in my arms, I vowed to carry on. But things have gone from bad to worse. It all started with Palatyne conquering the other spar warlords. His next step was to ingratiate himself with King Merofyn, by invading Rolencia. I tried to stop him. I told him invading Rolencia would be his death.' Tyro looked bleak. 'But instead of preventing Rolencia's invasion, he set off to kill King Rolen's kin.'
Piro blinked. Tyro was responsible for Palatyne's vendetta against her family? 'But — '
'He would have executed your brothers anyway. He only let Cobalt live because he's a bastard and useful to him. It's all gone from bad to worse.' Tyro sank his head into his hands.
Piro felt sorry for him. He'd tried to curtail Palatyne's ambition and failed. But at least he tried. She was about to slip off the chest and go to him, when he lifted his head.
'Palatyne's next goal is to conquer Ostron Isle. With Rolencia and Merofynia behind him, he has the resources. I can't let this happen. Palatyne hesitates only because the mighty Tsulamyth lives here. That's why you must not tell anyone about me, not even Fyn and Isolt.'
'But we can help you. We can — ' She broke off as Tyro reached under his vest to pull out the amber pendant.