Official Business

  I believe that there is much more to it than this. What causes the auroras to shine in the night sky and the clouds to obscure the sun in the Sunlit Cycle? What causes our regular days, when Sol herself makes her rounds only once per month? Such things are so normal that most do not even question them, but all these things . . . these too are magic.

  — From Secrets of Mani, by Sor the Lark

  (Firvaen 11, 997—Night Season)

  King Fenwel bid us farewell from his castle, where he was bound by his duty to his people. Kaen, Mydia, Rhidea, and the four other girls and I set out from Randhorn Castle for Nytaea, followed by Lieutenant Christoff’s battalion. Since his soldiers were on foot and we were on horses, we lost them pretty soon, but they would catch up within a week. They would be going a more roundabout way as well, taking a detour to the north so as to cross as little Storklancian territory as possible. (Seeing as our neighbors had been so accommodating to us.)

  Cort and Syneria had decided to stay on in Randhorn for a while. Rhidea begrudgingly allowed it, conceding that the Randhorn school was an excellent place to study as a sort of break from the Nytaean Academy.

  Rhidea continued to teach me Coaction each night. We had our own little tutoring sessions. Mydia would usually be in on it as well, and sometimes Kaen would come over to watch us as we sat away from the fire, practicing spells or learning dry pieces of knowledge about Coaction in general—in fact, this was most of it. Learning the nuances of the art. Since Coaction was a two-way exchange, it had many rules to follow. If not, the art could be very dangerous. Coaction essentially meant sparking a change in the surrounding atmosphere, prompting the magical makeup of nature to respond in turn via the Wellspring’s power, which then produced the desired effect.

  Authority, which I could not perform yet, was the higher art of exerting one’s will upon the surrounding elements, commanding the elements to do one’s bidding. It was much more powerful as well as reliable—if one had the necessary requirements for it. Rhidea still kept these requirements in the dark, probably so that I would not go out and try to command nature as I wanted.

  (Firvaen 18, 997—Night Season)

  We arrived in Nytaea within the week. Sol was hidden well beyond the western horizon, for it was the Night Season, so the auroras were our light, the stars our guide. In another week, dawn would break and the Sunlit Cycle would begin. As confusing as it can be, the term ‘day’ means two different things on Mani, as it applies to the times of the four-week Sol Cycle—otherwise known as a month—as well as each individual day.

  We met up with Bart and Gaela and Marshal Lanthar upon arrival in the white city, relaying what was going on over a splendid lunch put on by the Palace staff. It was good to eat familiar Nytaean cuisine after the good but foreign fare of Randhorn.

  It was at this point that we were informed of the arrival of an imperial emissary from Ti’Vaeth, who had deposited a threatening letter from the Archlord himself. This was something we had been expecting, of course.

  “What did it say?” asked Mydia tentatively.

  Gaela unfolded the letter. “There’s a lot of pomp and nonsense here, but the important part reads: ‘I am giving a period of thirty days for Nytaea to give up all pretense of rebellion and surrender to her Lord. After that, there will be neither parley nor quarter, and a full invasion of Nytaea shall commence, until every man, woman and child is subject once more to the throne of Ti’Vaeth or lies dead in the streets. You choose.’”

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  The noblewoman closed up the letter and handed it to Rhidea, who was already reaching for it with a frown.

  “But . . . we’ve got some hope now,” Mydia said uncertainly. And she began to relate what we’d been arranging with King Fenwel. We caught them up on all the details of the alliance, which was very positive so far, and told them of the troops Fenwel had sent with Christoff, and then briefed them on the journey which we must soon embark on to Ti’Vaeth. Rhidea left out a few of the details on that part, saying that it was somewhat of a secret mission.

  We got a short reprieve from our travels, resting well that night, but I knew that we had to depart on the morrow. I was given a guest bed at the Palace—a guest bed!—upon which I laid, staring blankly at the ceiling, trying to sleep. What would Ti’Vaeth be like? Greater than Nytaea or Randhorn, if Rhidea’s stories were true. The Veiled City, the birthplace of magic. I was both nervous and excited.

  Finally, I fell asleep.

  (Firvaen 19, 997—Night Season)

  I awoke with the feeling that someone was missing. That girl—what was her name again? White? No, that was my own nickname for her. If she had a name, I didn’t know it. Had I caught a glimpse of her in the night?

  I shook my head, climbing out of my comfortable bed and changing into more formal attire given me by Mydia. It was a light grey dress with a cross-laced back—such a pain—mid-length skirts, and a blue sash around the waist. A comely thing, and fairly comfortable as well. The two qualities did not usually come together. My hair I braided down my back.

  Looking out through the window of my guest room, I saw that a fair drizzle was trickling down from hazy, low-hanging clouds, which obscured much of the day’s light from the auroras and stars. A pity that we had to travel in this weather.

  Downstairs, I found Phoebe and Mandrie in the dining hall, already getting breakfast. In fact, they were helping the maids to prepare it, like good girls. Kaen wandered in shortly thereafter, looking as bleary and disheveled as on those long-ago mornings at the orphanage. Mydia still wouldn’t be up for a while. . . . Queen Regent though she may be, she was still a princess. Her duties demanded much more of her, but it was a hard adjustment for the dainty young woman.

  After we had all eaten, we set about preparing for the journey to Ti’Vaeth. Afterward Rhidea, Kaen, Mydia and I would depart for Ti’Vaeth, leaving Phoebe to look after Mandrie. Phoebe would have been fine on the journey—she was tough—but we couldn’t risk Mandrie. Phoebe also had that orphanage she wanted to start. Mydia was pretty frail as they went, but she also possessed magic, such as healing. That set her apart. We would need all the specialized party members that we could get. However, Julia and Teli would be staying at the Palace, since this journey was considered too pressing—and too dangerous—to bring unnecessary companions.

  For this reason—and because her advisors wouldn’t let her go without them—we took along Mydia’s newly-appointed Queensguard, which consisted of a mage soldier named Kath and two swordsmen, Inno and Ruel. Kaen was happy to have some men along for a change. He grumbled left and right about being surrounded by women, and honestly . . . I didn’t blame him. It was a shame that the world was the way it was, with roughly three girls being born to each manchild. This is what had eventually led to women being inducted into the ranks of the mage soldiers, and even on rarer occasion the spear soldiers and swordsmen as well, although women were not naturally inclined toward that. They were simply considered, well . . . expendable.

  Ethas Gandel, Mydia’s long-lost cousin, did indeed agree to act on her behalf while she was away. A cunning man a bit too tall and thin to be a nobleman, he seemed more responsible than most. Frankly, he seemed to look down on most humans, but he treated Mydia with respect. Our trip would be a long one, so hopefully he didn’t run the country too badly—and didn’t try to hold onto his power when it was requested of him. . . . If he proved a good ruler, Mydia planned to make him the next king in her place.

  We set out from the East Gate that afternoon. We were traveling by horse once more, fortunately (and unfortunately, said my sore backside). We got about three leagues from the city before stopping to rest for the day.

  Kath and I bonded fairly quickly. He was a fellow fire synergist, so we had that in common. Kath was middle-aged and agreeable, but apparently just short enough that a lot of jokes went over his head. He claimed to not have much coactive talent, but he had years of experience and his skills were far higher than mine. (And yes, Rhidea still called him ‘child.’)

  Inno and Ruel, veteran soldiers formerly stationed on the Yan’Vala border, sparred with Kaen every night after we stopped to make camp on the roadside. They were specialists in the sword, Kaen’s weapon of choice, and both acknowledged his raw talent with the blade. That didn’t mean they went easy on him, however.

  Despite having less of my friends along to talk to, the Queensguard made traveling quite enjoyable—which was good, because we were in for a long trip.