by Blink, Bob
As he extended his arm to make the thrust, he realized in the back of his mind that the Baldari was smiling. He’d been had. The mistake was on purpose, designed to lure him into making the very move he was. There was no time to retract the lunge, and as he watched his blade pass through the space the Baldari had somehow vacated, he felt the blade from the other plunge deep into his side. He suddenly felt weak, and the pain of the strike took all thought of further resistance from him. He felt himself sliding to the floor, the grinning Baldari fighters standing over him. Their satisfaction was short-lived as a blast of pure white energy passed over the fallen Major, burning the two invaders to ash. Diard was aware of this as his last thought before everything turned dark.
Ardra looked down on the fallen Major. He had seemed a good man, if a bit brash. If he’d only waited, his death probably could have been avoided. She turned and headed back to the main room, but more Army soldiers had arrived and the battle here was over. She quickly learned that the battle at the village perimeter was over as well, although at horrible cost.
In the end, they counted two hundred and seventy-one Baldari dead. Five had been captured alive, although two of those were so badly wounded they wouldn’t live more than a glass. The remaining three were healthy enough, but Ardra knew that for unexplained reasons, past Baldari prisoners, even those in good shape, seldom lived long enough to reveal anything of importance. She had serious doubts whether they would have a chance to interrogate them before they too passed away.
More than eighty defending soldiers had been killed or seriously wounded, including the Major. Her friend Asi had died as well as the Caster from the village. While the Baldari hadn’t gained what they came for, the cost of defending the village had been horribly high. There had to be a better way. Once things were better under control, Ardra knew she would have to make a Doorway back to the Guild in Nals and inform her superiors what had taken place here.
Chapter 8
Carif paced angrily around her opulent quarters inside the Guild’s most secure building. The news that Ardra had delivered was disconcerting to say the least. As the kingdom’s most powerful woman, even more powerful than the Queen, although Rosul wouldn’t have easily agreed to the claim, she shouldn’t be forced to concern herself with such details. The fact remained that Rosul had been correct and the threat posed by the Baldari appeared greater than she had anticipated. She would have to speak with the others.
Eight specialists formed the second layer of command within the Guild. They reported directly to her, and as a group they ruled the Guild with an iron fist. Each was a Runemaster in her own right, although none matched the skill level of Carif herself. None would be her eventual successor. That was part of an agreement sealed with a magic that couldn’t be circumvented. The agreement had been important to ensure absolute loyalty within the group and to eliminate any need for Carif to watch her back around the Eight. If she should fall, for any reason, the eight specialists would oversee the election of a replacement Saltique. Three candidates had been chosen, and the most suitable would be advanced should the need arise. The Eight would serve the newly chosen Saltique for a period of three years, at which time she would select her own replacement group of specialists. Carif had retained the former Saltique’s Eight until they had reached an advanced age and either died or became too frail to serve. Then she had replaced them one by one forming the current group. She had never been sorry about the approach she had selected. She knew from past history, however, that former Saltiques had almost always replaced the group entirely. Both approaches had worked, and each had its advantages.
Unlike Queen Rosul, there were no established rules that declared when she should step down for a younger replacement. So long as she was mentally and physically able to command the leadership position, she would retain it. If advancing age or illness weakened her sufficiently, she could elect to step down. That had happened any number of times in the past. Others who feared she lacked the power to be an effective leader could challenge her. That would mean a fight, but the challenger would have to be prepared to take on the Eight as well. Finally, if any one of the Eight felt Carif no longer was viable as Saltique, they could raise the matter with the others. Then they would vote among themselves whether she should be replaced. Whatever the outcome of the vote, the member who had called for replacement would be removed from the Eight. This approach had been implemented only once in recorded history.
Carif was in no danger of being replaced because of age. Although she was a year older than Rosul, like the Queen she was vigorous and retained her full mental capacities. If anything, she felt more in control than in many years past, the years of experience serving her well, and leaving her attuned to subtleties she might have overlooked when younger.
Having made her decision as to what must be done, Carif strode from the library within her quarters to her rooms where she would change before calling a special meeting of the Eight. Her quarters occupied the top floor of the structure reserved for the senior leaders. The members of the Eight had smaller quarters on the floor immediately below, and on the first level were numerous meeting facilities, some reserved exclusively for their internal use, and some used when dealing with outsiders of different ranks. The Saltique’s quarters compared favorably to those of the royal family. The finest materials and workmanship had gone into creating the luxury facilities enjoyed by the Guild’s leadership.
The accommodations enjoyed by the rest of the Guild’s members were not nearly so luxurious, but were far finer than those of most citizens of Sedfair. Only the wealthiest families would have been able to afford quarters so grand. The fact they had ready access to all manner of magic allowed them to create such conditions. That and the fact the Guild had financial resources that rivaled those of the crown.
To the north and south of the quarters where the Saltique and her specialists resided were the two matching facilities where the rest of the Guild’s Casters had quarters. The facilities were identical, and quite extensive. Made of the finest marble that Sedfair offered, the buildings offered spacious quarters, most with multiple rooms. In addition to private kitchens in each lodging, multiple public dining rooms were provided in each of the facilities. Each dining room offered a different style of cuisine, representing all the variations common throughout the land. There was even one that offered more exotic dishes; almost anything one could think of. The rooms opened into wide hallways, well lit by the use of magical glowing balls affixed to the walls. Engraved with exquisite care into the walls of the passageways by the best sculptors, were runes and glyphs of power. Most were simply decoration, but those who were senior enough could recognize that among the decorations were runes that added security and protection, and which made the facility as close to invulnerable as their magic was able.
To the east of the Saltique’s quarters was a small, but no less ornate facility which housed the master library and working spaces of the Casters who spent most of their time in Nals. The Guild Headquarters was where the Rune Scholars worked to advance the art of magic, and where senior Guild members met with the commoners with requests they forwarded to the Guild. Below, in the lower levels, were special detainment areas, where even those skilled with magic could be held securely. To the west was the University where those found with the gift were raised to become competent Casters over a period of five years of intensive training and study. Apprentices were invited to attend upon reaching the age of fourteen and having demonstrated ability to one of the Guild’s traveling Finders. Depending on the skills demonstrated during the final year in the University, a student would be offered admittance into the Guild, or graduated as a Commercial Caster who would have to make his living by performing industrial magic for the citizens of Sedfair. A small percentage became Army Casters, a position that placed them somewhere between the commercial Caster and those admitted to the Guild. Approximately a quarter of those admitted to the University eventually were offered a position within the Guild.
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The University was one of the sore points between Carif and the Queen. For many centuries, the University had been a women only facility, as was membership in the Guild. The Queen, with the overwhelming support of the people of Sedfair, had pressured the Guild in opening its facilities and membership to any male who showed the same level of skill. The demand was one of the earliest demonstrations that Rosul wasn’t going to be the docile and obedient leader the Saltique had hoped for when she had been chosen.
With so much public support in favor of offering the same opportunities to the male half of the population, the doors had been cracked open. Carif had been surprised at the result. She was a firm believer that women were meant to lead, and that men should remain focused on more physical pursuits as well as defending the land. She also felt that those with the gift were special, and should only answer to the lesser citizens when it suited their purpose. But remarkably, men had been found who demonstrated surprising ability with magic contrary to what she would have expected. While denied any consideration of attaining the highest levels within the Guild, several reached the level of Runemaster, and some of the most powerful among the Guild’s current Casters were men. A few of the women members ended up with male consorts from the gifted males, herself included. Some years earlier she had arranged the death of her consort when she discovered he was working secretly within the Guild to undermine the foundations that defined the limits the male members could strive for. That situation had reaffirmed her belief that males should be kept from the Guild and the University. Why train those who would try and undermine your position? Once Rosul was gone and a younger, more inexperienced and pliable Queen installed, she would see to the return to an all female organization. She hadn’t yet decided what to do with the men who currently occupied positions within the Guild, but with the growing problems on the western border, a need for Casters to fight Sedfair’s enemies might offer an answer. Casters died on the front lines, as Ardra’s report had just shown.
The matter of the Queen had occupied Carif’s thoughts for some time. She was relieved and pleased that the rule of the troublesome woman was rapidly coming to an end. She couldn’t believe that she had been fooled and had been one of those who agreed that she would be a good choice, and had even voted for her so long ago. She obviously had been less of a judge of character in those long past days. She wouldn’t allow the same mistake to happen again.
The Guild had a unique position in the selection of the Queen. The people really had little say in who was chosen. To begin with, far too many of the general populace were ignorant of what was required to make a good leader. The general public was also easily persuaded by carefully worded promises from potential candidates, or subject to bribery or pressure by interested parties. This was recognized centuries ago when the current system was put into place.
To begin with, by law, a new Queen could only be chosen from one of the Hundred Families. The Hundred Families were the recognized most wealthy and powerful within the land. They had risen to their positions through business acumen, heritage, political maneuvering, and demonstrated financial security. There were also several other requirements to attaining a position on the coveted list, requirements that the Guild had some degree of control over. Every three years the list was re-examined, shortly after the “Leap of Faith” ceremony, and the names on the list juggled up, down or off the list to reflect the current most favored families.
When a new Queen was to be selected, the Guild had the responsibility to select five candidates from the eligible women of the Hundred Families. This gave the Guild a great deal of power in influencing the kind of leader who would rule the land for years to come. The members of the Hundred Families were suspected of using their wealth and position to influence the Guild’s selection, but no formal accusations had ever been filed. Once the five candidates were selected, the women were presented to the public, and within two weeks a vote was held. The voting was restricted to one vote from each of the Hundred Families, and one vote from the mayor of each of the major villages throughout the land. The local Guild representative was responsible for seeing to the validity of the votes from the outlying villages. The Guild verified the voting and announced the winner, who was crowned within a week of the counting of the votes.
The list of the Hundred Families was due to be updated this summer, an especially important update because the new Queen would come from one of the families that retained a position on the list after the restructuring scheduled to take place in the next few weeks. That situation made being on the list, and hopefully in the upper half from which the selections invariably came, especially important.
It was unlikely that the family of Queen Rosul would fall off the list. They had held a position in the upper half for centuries, and their situation had only improved over the years that Rosul had been Queen. That was one reason each family wished to have one of their members chosen. However, being on the list meant little in this case. All members of Rosul’s family were excluded from any chance of being selected. For the next two generations, they would be ineligible.
Carif smiled each time she thought of the legal restriction that removed them from consideration. There were no loopholes. Soon she would be free of the willful woman who had been such a bother. Of course, given the Guild’s role, and the lack of anyone who could contest their selections, she could have probably manipulated the women chosen to ensure the same result even had they not been restricted from participation. But Rosul was popular with the people, and without the law that forbade her family from consideration, there could have been a movement pressuring for one of her cousins to be selected. That would have meant that Rosul’s influence would have still remained.
Before the top Hundred Families could be re-ordered, the Guild would have to oversee the “Leap of Faith” ceremonies. This was something that the women of the privileged families had ultimately brought on themselves. Roughly five hundred years earlier, one of the Rune Scholars had discovered the activation phrase and function of one of the artifacts from the distant past that had long lay unused in one of the Guild’s museums. The belt, constructed of a very durable leather, was inscribed with a complex set of runes and glyphs. It was feared that its function would never be unraveled, as the activation phrase was thought to be tied to the symbols used, and while the runes might be deciphered, the glyphs posed a unique challenge. The Scholar had discovered that the magical inscription was of the unusual type common on military armor, in that, unlike most complex spells, it could be triggered by a Caster of sufficient level who knew the appropriate phrase. An odd reference in a very old text had led the scholar to the discovery, and had provided the necessary phrase as well.
The artifact was a belt that would protect the wearer against falls. If the wearer were to leap off a high point, instead of falling to her death on the ground below as normal, the drop would be considerably slower and more controlled, and while the landing was jarring, it was not so abrupt as to endanger the user. This was independent of the height from which the wearer leapt, and some brave fool had experimented, leaping from ever higher structures and finally off the cliff outside of Nals.
Somehow, years after the function of the device had been explained, a number of young women in the privileged families had gotten their hands on the artifact, and had begun a game among themselves, seeing who would take the highest jump. They saw it as a test of bravery. One of Carif’s predecessors had seen a means of using the fad as one more means of manipulating the Families.
Now, the contest had come to be far more important. No Family member could be considered for a high position of rule without having passed through the “Leap of Faith” ceremony. In fact, to stay on the list of Hundred Families, at least one member had to successfully complete the ceremony each generation. The ceremony was said to demonstrate the kind of bravery a leader would need to have, as well as faith in the magic which controlled the future of Sedfair. The ceremony took place at the edge of the same pr
ecipitous drop outside of the village where the first women had tested themselves. Of course, they were no longer encouraged to leap off the mountain. That would have been viewed as foolhardy, even given the safety provided by the belt. Instead, a series of walkways, ever narrower and without any handrails extended out over the thousand-foot drop. At the far end, a small platform provided a jumping off point where the participant would be required to leap to a second small platform, positioned several man heights below and almost one distant. Walking the paths could easily be performed by anyone had they been laid out on the ground. Even the leap was nothing that significant, had it not been situated in open air over a frightening drop.
Of course, there really was no danger. If the applicant slipped, or missed the jump, the belt would allow them a slow and safe descent. However, unlike their adventurous counterparts so many years in the past who had experimented with the belt and become confident of its abilities by beginning with relatively safe leaps to see how it worked, the applicants to the formal ceremony never had a chance to test the belt. They had to accept on faith it would protect them. It was one thing to intellectually believe the belt would work, but finding oneself standing above an impossible drop to jagged rocks below with nothing but the belt and faith was more frightening than one might expect. The mind might try and tell the body that everything was fine, but the survival instinct told the mind something else.
A participant was given a single chance at the walk. They could indicate their decision to quit at any time, at which time the Guild representative would use magic to provide handrails and a safe path back to the land. If a contestant slipped and fell, or missed the jump, they were disqualified. It was felt having experienced the belt and how it protected one would have given them an unfair advantage on a second attempt. Of course, just to add a bit of worry, everyone knew the belt had failed one contestant many, many years ago, resulting in a gruesome death on the rocks far below for the unlucky woman. It was long enough in the past that the circumstances were poorly recorded, but despite the Guild’s claim it had never happened, everyone knew otherwise, and each participant had to carry that thought with them as they made their way into the open space above the deadly drop.
