It had been such an ordinary conversation. The warrior questioned the boy on his studies and humored him with a brief lesson in the use of the bladed club. In the dream, she had felt a fondness for the boy, and it was clear that the boy admired the warrior. There was a certain slow and creeping horror to that, she thought. For all that the warrior clearly cared for the boy, would not stay his hand, or cause him to show mercy. In the dream, she knew that the boy--Nemar Jhan was to be sacrificed in a rite intended to empower the warrior.
The spirits said: “sacrifice the chosen one to empower the Holy Warrior who has been chosen to defeat the demon.” And the priests of the Black Jaguar God conferred and cast divinations to find the one chosen to empower the warrior. They were led to an orphan child, who they took in and taught dark knowledge and vile rites, preparing him for the conferral of power. To fight evil with evil action is still evil, so the false priests damned themselves by their actions.
The once-innocent child was sacrificed by the Holy Warrior and the Holy Warrior journeyed to the far end of the kingdom to kill the Demon--but the Jaguar priests and the Holy Warrior were deceived by the spirits they worshipped. However powerful the child had been, it was not enough to aid the Warrior in destroying the Demon of Plagues. The Demon destroyed the Warrior, body and soul, and the spirits punished the people saying, “you have failed, but what will come will be worse than any punishment we could invent.”
The false priests cried out in anguish, saying, “we did as you commanded,” but the spirits were without compassion or mercy.
“You must wait longer now for the one who can destroy the Demon.”
Teren shivers, recalling the myth of the fall of the civilization that preceded the Assembly. In preparation for her marriage, she had delved into the pagan mythology of the Assembly and its history. She had not felt entirely safe doing so, not spiritually, but her priest had suggested it. What she found had been disturbing--the act of "conferring" the power of the final act of will on another person, animal, plant, or unblessed object was anathema to the Sarmateon faith. It strengthened the influence of Ashten and was a corrupting influence on the mind, body, and soul of the person blessed or cursed by the conferral. The only non-sinful conferral was to strengthen the holy wards intended to protect against the agents of Ashten.
She sits up in bed and then goes through the routine that had formed during her stay at the Tower. First, she calls the servants to help her with washing, dressing, and moving to the sitting room. After her hair is braided, she recites her morning prayers and reads until a servant arrives with breakfast. Today, her mother arrives with the servants. She is carrying two envelopes. "We've received letters from the Lord Warden and your brother," Lady Linnel says. "These ones are for you." She sets the letters down on the table.
The letters are sealed with wax and do not look as if they've been tampered with at first glance. "I did not think I would be allowed correspondence, or that the Lord Warden would want to send me a letter," Teren says without reaching for them.
"The only reason I brought them was because they couldn't be opened by the court mages," Linnel says. "The letter your father and I received indicates only you can open and read these two." Her mother sits down at the table and pushes the letters closer. "Your brother did not see fit to send us a letter."
"What did the letter the Lord Warden send to you say?" Teren asks. She doesn't have much hope of getting an answer. Her mother just gives her a flat look, indifferent to her question. Whatever the letter said couldn't be very good, or her mother was annoyed that she couldn't read Caris' letter. Or perhaps both. Since it was clear that Linnel was simply going to wait her out until she obeyed, Teren reaches for the letter from Caris. The paper has an odd texture and weight to it, slick and strangely rigid as if it were encased in glass. (It had not sounded like glass when the letter had been set down.) Teren can break the seal and open the letter.
Teren is not at all surprised when Linnel snatches the letter from her hands to read it. She just as quickly drops it back on the table with a hiss of pain and a curse, as if the letter had burned her hands. The lettering on the page is a tangled, unreadable knot. It's almost funny, but Teren doesn't dare laugh. "Perhaps I can read it aloud to you, Mother," Teren suggests, attempting to sound diffident and filial.
Linnel gives her an annoyed look but says, "Fine. Make the attempt."
Teren takes up the letter again, but it is no more readable than when on the table. It's not in any script that Teren recognizes, and it almost seems to be a different one every time she takes her gaze away from the page. It occurs to her that the letter seems very determined not to be read. Teren thinks about that for a moment. "Mother, I think this letter must be read privately."
Linnell looks as if she would like to take both letters and leave, but instead, she says, "You will transcribe both letters." With that, she rises to her feet and heads toward the door. "The servants will bring writing materials when they return to clear away your meal," she says, pausing for a moment at the door. The servants follow Lady Linnel out the door after setting down plates of bread, cheese, sliced fruit, slices of cold roast beef, and a carafe of tea. Once alone, it seemed as if her speculation was correct--it was now possible for her to read Caris' letter. She ate breakfast as she read.
Teren,
You will know by now that my assassination attempt upon Lord Nemar failed. You were right to dissuade me from the act. I had almost persuaded myself not to go through with it, but it also seemed that even if it were not successful, it would have given me time to escape. This was not the case. It takes less than ten minutes for Lord Nemar to revive after having been fatally stabbed. It was not enough time to escape or evade capture. Lord Nemar caught me with embarrassing ease. It was nearly insulting how casual he was about the attempt. Insulting, and disturbing. One should not treat one's death as if it were no worse than a cut finger! (I would wonder if he generally expects his affianced spouses to attack him--but he says this is the first time he has married.) I was subdued but little more was hurt than my pride. My lord had a great deal to say about both the attempt, the impersonation, and our political motives.
I am well and I have not come to harm. My lord and his staff have for the most part treated me with honor. He has currently placed me under the tutelage of his household steward because he is apparently quite serious that I at least do the "job" of a spouse. This has not been a heavy burden or onerous duty, though his apprentices are full of mischief and play pranks. Lord Nemar is not particularly strict with them, and there is little discipline among them--they quarrel like sparrows and ask impertinent questions that would have gotten you or me scolded or slapped as children.
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My lord is apparently quite serious about his argument that he and I are wedded, and the alliance is therefore not broken. Or, conversely, that I acted as your proxy during the wedding, with the same result. He intends to clarify the legal situation and renegotiate the alliance when he arrives--with the first of the agreed-upon forces. This will be four warbands of Wardens. One to serve as an honor guard and the rest to support our forces--and train battle mages.
Lord Simuir will have told our parents of the disgrace of my current position, and I am aware that the court and Father will most likely take this as an act of humiliation. (And I feel they would not be entirely wrong. My lord's staff is not above vengeance--petty or otherwise--though they have attempted not to be outright vindictive. I can acknowledge that their anger is deserved.) However, it seems that Lord Nemar's intentions for you were to act as a sort of advisor and envoy as much as a wife. This was a startling and uncomfortable discovery to make. (For some reason our parents in their wisdom decided not to give either of us this bit of information--unless of course, they did not know either, or discounted it for some reason.) In aid of this, he is having me attend Tuan and has introduced me to his Archons. (I will note he seems very humble in demeanor up until the moment he decides not to be.)
The school has thus far been an interesting--if difficult experience. I was put in a history course and a course on the Joa science of "remediation." I have run into some difficulties with the school staff and the students. Lord Nemar is much admired as both a teacher and a source of living history. (And apparently, inextricably linked to the cosmology of their beliefs. This is of course idolatry, but they also worship their ancestors so this is something that is not surprising. His apprentices refer to him as "Old Uncle" and certain teachers refer to him as "Elder Brother.")
I have made the acquaintance of Sewen expatriates and discovered there is a small temple within the city. I am hoping to visit there soon.
I was questioned by the Archons and from their line of questions and other interactions, they seem to believe that we were somehow "influenced" to decide upon the actions we did. I have been attempting to discover why they are so sure that this influence is a possibility, but my lord tends to talk in circles on the issue. It is clear however that my lord is concerned about the situation, and that there is very little that will dissuade him from the alliance if my assassination attempt could not.
Lord Nemar has indicated that we should have brought our concerns to him, though he understands why we did not. He has thus far been annoyingly reasonable. I would be suspicious of this equanimity if he were not also at times touchy, snide, unkind, and sarcastic. Despite whatever power caused his immortality he is aggravatingly human. (That is, I am no priest or Servant, but I do not see a hint of the Betrayer in his demeanor or actions.)
Teren, my lord says you are the only one who may read these two letters. Be careful of what information you transcribe from them. I am not sure Lord Nemar's suspicions are incorrect--if only because he seems so certain we were influenced. (Of course, it could be argued that his own biases have blinded him. This is something I will have to determine) I am hoping to learn more about these suspicions, which is another reason I have taken up the odd bargain that Lord Nemar presented to me.
With all due affection,
Caris Kelfin, House Dar, Crown Prince of Sewen.
Teren read the letter over twice, looking for any sign that it might have been written under duress. There was nothing that jumped out, except for the respectful term of address for Lord Nemar, and Caris' apparent willingness to go along with the "marriage" for the time being. (How he called Lord Nemar “my lord,” stood out in particular.) She desperately wanted to write to him, but she was fairly certain her mother would not allow it. Lady Linnel's reluctance to hand over the letters proved that.
Their mother clearly suspected that they would continue to conspire--and she would not be wrong in thinking that--but what Teren wanted was confirmation that Caris hadn't been harmed and wasn't being coerced. The letter sounded like Caris but she was not sure if he was writing under duress or if the letter was forged somehow. She did not yet know the circumstances of how her brother had come to accept this arrangement--but it was clear that he had decided that he was going to learn as much as he could from the situation. What Caris described was the opposite of what her mother had implied and she still wasn't entirely certain Caris wasn't just trying to reassure her.
She next read the letter from the Lord Warden:
Lady Teren Kelfin Princess of House Dar,
I regret that you did not come to me with your misgivings concerning our nuptials. I was not aware of the extent of your objections to our marriage. If you had told me, we could have debated the value of the marriage and the alliance. We could have come to a better agreement and perhaps even an understanding. I do not however blame you for your actions or the actions your brother took on your behalf. I understand both the political and spiritual reasons behind your objections to the alliance.
This alliance was a new and dangerous idea. And I believe it is a risk your father is choosing to make due to Sewen's ongoing political and religious strife with Aruis. From our conversations, it's clear that he felt an alliance with the Assembly would be less damaging than whatever price Aruis would demand for aid. (The Assembly's envoy said that you ran for Aruis. Frankly, Your Highness, this was foolish. Aruis has been attempting to annex bits of Sewen for decades. Complying with Aruis' demands to limit or cut off trade with the Assembly and Horan benefits only Aruis. In addition, the Sarmateon faith in Aruis is more restrictive and considers your temple to be too lax against heretics and pagans.)
It would have been more strategically sound to go toward Horan. No one would have expected you to go toward Horan. (The Sarmateon community is very small there, but present.) Aruis is not going to suddenly back down from their aggressive posturing to aid Sewen in exchange for cutting off all trade and treaties with the Assembly. (See: Earlier comment about Aruis wanting to annex parts of Sewen and the Aruis Temple's objections to Seweni Sarmateons.) They are instead going to take this as a sign that they can keep pushing, and will eventually get what they want.
I was unhappy to learn of the extent of the pressure you experienced to agree to this marriage. If I had known I would not have agreed to the marriage in the first place. I will make every effort to correct the situation when I arrive to renegotiate the alliance.
Respectfully,
Nemar Jhan, First Speaker of the Assembly of Five Cities, Lord Warden, Lord of the Black Mountain
Teren frowns. She still did not trust the argument concerning Aruis. The Ambassador of Aruis had made it abundantly clear his king was only attempting to press the issue out of religious concern. (She did not doubt that there were ulterior motives, or that Aruis would not snip off bits of Sewen if it could get away with it--but the primary concern was Sewen allying with pagans.) She also did not trust the suggestion that she should have gone to Horan. Horan had a long-standing alliance and friendship with the Assembly--it would have been just as dangerous to be found out in Horan as it allegedly would have been by Aruis. (And could the Sarmateon temple in Horan be trusted to be orthodox when they did nothing about the A-Lao heresy? The Aruis temple was at least orthodox.)
She also would not classify the disputes between the Temples in Sewen and Aruis as strife. The ongoing theological and ethical disputes between the Temples were aggressive but no one was being accused of heresy over them. (Though admittedly certain debates had skirted close to the accusation. Sewen was lax compared to Aruis when it came to the mageborn. Aruis strongly objected to allowing mages born into the faith to attend mage schools in pagan countries among a thousand other little restrictions that Teren privately thought was both unkind and petty.)
Paper, ink, and pen arrive an hour later when a maid arrives to clear the table and bring writing materials. The maid attempts to remain in the room, but the letter was still impossible to read unless she was alone. Teren edits both letters as she transcribes them, leaving out any mention of suspicions of having been "influenced" to assassinate Lord Nemar. (She did not want to give anyone further ammunition against her and Caris. They were in enough trouble, to begin with.) She also did not mention that Caris was attending Tuan or that he was being trained as an envoy. She would first see if Lord Nemar brought it up.
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