“It happens,” the armsmaster replied with a small shrug. “Then one is in a gray area. Tell me, lady Brea’ahrn, what are your duties?”
“To serve. To heal. To guard and protect. To obey those placed above me,” Brea half-recited.
A grin was her reply. “Exactly,” he confirmed. “You feel it is your duty to do the most you can do, yet you know it is your duty to remain here as Tal instructed.”
“But it is… my duty… both of those are,” Brea said, confused.
“Exactly,” the armsmaster replied. “Duty or duty. A hard choice, with no real wrong answer.” The armsmaster stepped up to her side. “Tell me, Brea, what can one Life Mage do?”
“Nothing,” she said bitterly. “Even if I followed, it would do me no good. I would just be sent back.”
“I would not be so sure of that last, but, nonetheless, the rest is true,” the armsmaster admitted. “On your own, as Wolf Adept Brea’ahrn, there is little you can do.” Brea glanced over at him, and found him watching her with hooded eyes. “The question then is: what can you do that you will not be alone?”
The soldier stood. “I cannot advise you any more, milady,” he said quietly. “Between duty and duty only you can choose. However, do not underestimate what you can achieve.” He bowed to her. “Take care, lady Brea’ahrn.”
With that, the armsmaster calmly walked off to assist in the training, leaving Brea’ahrn to study the field. She looked but saw nothing, lost in her own thoughts.
“Whose side are you on here?” Jil’nart, Earl of Korsish, General of the Armies of the Kingdom of Vishni, bellowed.
“Mine,” Shel’nart, Tal’var master of the Tenth Circle and Colonel commanding the King’s Fifth Lancers, replied. “I am not your pawn to play as you will, my lord father. I am my own man, not yours.”
“You dare defy me?” Jil’nart bellowed.
“My loyalty is to the King,” Shel returned hotly, “if that is what you mean.
“You mean to that gutless Mage!” the Earl spat.
“Gutless?” Shel said sharply. “Hardly. Tal’raen is the Black Lord, and the only one standing between Vishni and our destruction.”
“I have yet to see any proof beyond more of the lies of the Magi for that,” Jil’nart snapped.
“That is because you are a fool,” Shel replied coldly. “The Swarm is coming, father, and if we do not stand together then we shall assuredly hang separately. Assuming the Swarmbeasts don’t just eat us.”
With that, Shel stood.
“Sit back down, young man! I am not done with you yet,” Jil roared.
Shel looked at his father for a moment. “Perhaps not,” he said coldly. “I, however, am done with you.” He inclined his head. “Good day.”
Behind him, his father stared after him, shocked into silence.
Wrapped in his concerns, Shel never saw Brea coming until he literally ran into her. They bounced off each other.
Shel looked up immediately. “I’m sorry, milady,” he said quickly, “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
“Neither was I, I’m afraid, lord Shel’nart.” she admitted.
“Call me Shel, Brea’ahrn,” he told her with a sad smile. “The ‘great and illustrious’ Earl Jil’nart may well be disowning me as we speak.”
“Why?” Brea asked, stopping brushing herself off to look at him.
“I exaggerate, but we argue a lot these days,” Shel laughed, half-mockingly. “He thinks my duty is to follow him wherever he leads. I think my duty lies with the Kingdom and my King.”
“I see,” Brea said softly. “Isn’t there anything you can do?”
“No. He and I have grown too far apart.” Shel asked. “Even if I though him worth the effort, I won’t oppose the King. My loyalty is always to Vishni, above all else.”
“We value your loyalty,” Brea affirmed to him with a nod. “And the courage to speak your mind against your father.”
“Thank you, milady,” Shel replied. “It is… hard to defy my lord and father – but if he is wrong, I see no reason to obey.”
“I must go,” the Princess said softly. “I have much to think on. Take care of yourself, Shel’nart.”
“And yourself, milady.”
Brea sat silently in the garden at Hawke Manse. She knew Tal wouldn’t object to her being here, and she’d needed its peace greatly. She didn’t know what to do.
Tal had ordered her – and the Life Magi and Kingsmen – to remain behind. The main target of the order had been her, though – she knew that. He was trying to protect her. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be protected.
When the Battlemagi had faced the Swarm alone, a thousand years ago, they’d barely managed to hold. Since then, the Battlemagi had decreased in numbers while the Swarm had increased. She didn’t know if they alone could carry the day.
Her lover and betrothed faced their enemies alone, yet she knew that he wanted her safe. Despite what she’d wanted, she had become his symbol, his prize. Even now, she was what he fought for.
I would rather die at his side than survive without him. The thought came unbidden. I will not be his prize. I fear if he stands alone, all will be lost.
She couldn’t let Tal lose. She knew too well the likely consequences. Which only left her one real choice in the end.
After all, she thought to herself, better safe than sorry. Then she realized how much she’d reversed the meaning of the saying, and her quiet amusement solidified her decision.
Brea paused outside the door to the hall for a moment, breathing carefully. With the Black Lord and the Battlemagi gone, full meetings of the High Council were impossible, which meant the meeting taking place was unofficial. Theoretically at least.
She hesitated now. The force of her decision had carried her across the city to this point. Once she stepped through those doors, she was committed. There could be no turning back until the Swarm was defeated and they had peace once more.
Princess Brea’ahrn, Wolf Adept of the Order of Life Magi and Princess of the Kingdom of Vishni, took a deep breath and knocked on the massive doors.
As the doors slammed shut behind her, Brea felt her throat close up. She paused, halfway between the entrance and the Council table in the suddenly silent room. She swallowed, and somehow found her voice.
“I claim Mage Right to speak before the High Council,” she said, speaking loudly and clearly, “on a matter of great importance.”
Silence reigned for a moment, then the Lady of Life spoke into it. “You are not yet a Mage, young one,” the woman said coldly. “You cannot claim that right.”
Brea looked at the Lady for half a moment, then replied, “Then I will claim the right by being the King’s daughter,” she told the older Mage, “or the right by being the Black Lord’s betrothed. By whatever right I must claim, I will speak before the Council today.”
“Let her speak,” another voice spoke from the crowd. Brea glanced over to see Shel’nart, in the full formal raiment of a Kings-Colonel, standing at the front of the audience. “I think the people deserve to hear what the Black Lord’s Lady has to say.”
“She has no right,” the Lady of Life repeated.
“Then we will give her one,” the Eldest stated simply. “I move that the Princess Adept Brea’ahrn be allowed to speak before this Council.”
A moment passed, then Kelt’ahrn spoke softly. “Seconded.” Brea met her father’s eyes and nodded her thanks.
“The motion has been moved and seconded,” the King continued. “With two portions of the Council in favor, the motion is conditionally passed. Approach the Council, and speak as you would, Adept.”
Brea stepped forward, somehow controlling the rapid pounding of her heart. She had to say what needed to be said.
“My liege, Magi of the Council, I come before you in dark times,” she told them, her voice quiet but steady now. “The Swarm approaches, the Battlemagi have ridden to meet them, and the very existence of everything we hold dear lies on the
outcome of the battle to come.
“So here we sit and pray, as useless as if we were dead,” she continued flatly. “And mark my words, if the Black Lord falls, dead is what we will be. All the bravery of our Vishnean Knights; all the healing of the Life Magi- all the powers that will stand to shield the Kingdom if the Battlemagi fall will be as nothing before the Swarm.” Brea paused, and her eyes swept the Council. “And the Black Lord will fall.”
Uproar split the chamber. Shouts, screams, defiance and denial, all surged up from the crowd to ricochet around the pillars. It took nearly a minute for them to calm, but Brea simply waited in silence, then continued once the noise had quieted.
“Tal’raen will fail,” she repeated, louder now to be heard over the remaining noise. “Not because he will not do his utmost. Not because the Battlemagi that march with him are fewer than we can send, or will do less than their best. He will fail because the Battlemagi’s best – his best – is simply not enough. The Long War has cost Vishni more than the Swarm. The Battlemagi have dwindled over the last millennium, while the Swarm has grown only stronger. The last time the full Swarm came forth, it took seven hundred Battlemagi to force a draw.
“Today, less than five hundred Battlemagi ride with Tal’raen,” she said quietly, throwing the number into her audience’s teeth as a challenge, “and the Swarm is vastly greater than it was. They will do their utmost, but they will fall, and Vishni will fall with them.”
Silence reigned now. Then the High Priest of Lilitha Andrela stood, his white robes draped loosely around his elderly form. “You do not come before us merely to monger doom, daughter of my King,” he told her gently. “You speak these words with a reason – for you are not one to give us merely despair, with no hope for the future.”
Brea nodded. “As I said, the Battlemagi will fall – if they fight alone,” she proclaimed. “Tal’raen made the same mistake Shar’tell made. The Battlemagi are not complete. They are but one side of a coin in magic, but one part in three of the Kingdom itself. If we are to win this battle forever, we must stand as one. Battlemagi, Life Magi, and the swords of the armies of the Kingdom must be together. The Black Lord cannot – must not – stand alone. Only unified, as one nation and one people, can we win this day.”
“The Black Lord has ordered us to remain behind,” Kelt’ahrn said softly.
“Our duty, my father and King, must always be first to our people and our oaths,” Brea told her father, “not to the commands of any man. Men can be mistaken – even if that man is the Black Lord.” She turned to face the chamber. “I will ride to join the Black Lord! Who rides with me?”
She saw Shel’nart step forward almost before she’d finished speaking. “The King’s Fifth ride with the Princess,” he stated loudly, for all to hear.
Another Kings-Colonel stepped forward. “As does the Fourth,” he said, joining with his comrade.
“And the Twelfth!” a third voice shouted.
“The White Magi will not,” a cold voice said, cutting off the surge of volunteers. Every eye, including Brea’s, turned to see the Lady of Life standing at the table. “I refuse to allow this child, who is not even a Mage, to lead the Order to its destruction!”
“Then you are a fool,” the Eldest softly. “I will not allow you to destroy the Kingdom. You are relieved of your authority.”
The crowd stared at the old woman in shock. The authority to relieve the Lady of Life of her control over the Order rested in the Eldest’s hands – but it had never been done.
“The White Magi will ride with you,” the Eldest continued. “It is fitting that we should follow the shek’sali. The Wolf Lady.”
Brea looked at the Eldest in shock. “I am not yet a Mage,” she protested.
The Eldest looked over at the other members of the Council of Life Magi – no longer including the former Lady, who had slumped back into her seat in shock – and they nodded.
“That can be changed,” the Eldest told her. Silence reigned throughout the room as the Eldest stood and walked over to Brea. “Kneel, child.”
Brea knelt. “Recite the oath,” the old Mage ordered.
“I swear to stand between the innocent and destruction,” Brea recited wonderingly, “between Order and Chaos, between innocence and war. I swear I shall not wield life for my own gain. I swear to serve and aid those who cannot aid themselves. I swear to be the strength for those who are weak, the Life for those who are dying. I swear to be the order in the chaos. I am the growth; I am the beginning. I am Life.” The formal words rolled off Brea’s tongue without slowing.
The Eldest nodded. “You have chosen the path of your oaths and duty, over all else,” the old Mage told her. “You have proven your responsibility, your courage, and your heart. You are accepted as a Life Mage of the Order. Rise.”
Brea stood, and faced the Council table once more. “Who rides with me?” she asked again, softly.
Kelt’ahrn stood. “I will not see you ride into battle alone, daughter of mine,” he said finally. “Every lance, every sword, every knight that can be spared will ride with you, to Drago Pass and either our destruction… or the salvation of our people.”
The Eldest stepped forward. “The White Magi ride with the Wolf Lady,” she affirmed again. “To our destruction or Vishni’s salvation – or, perhaps, to both.”
The Council slowly dispersed, each leader heading off to gather their followers for the battle to come. Brea’ahrn remained, wavering between shock, fear and exultation. She’d succeeded. What happened now? She wasn’t quite sure.
Footsteps brought her out of her reverie, and she looked up to see the Eldest approach. “Come, Lady Brea’ahrn,” the old Mage said, “We have much to do to prepare for this road you have set our feet upon.”
Brea looked at the old woman. “Did I do the right thing?” she asked softly. “I am… unsure.”
The Eldest smiled at her. “Yes, my child,” she told the Princess. “You did exactly the right thing. Now we must prepare to ride.”
Brea followed the Eldest out of the Hall, lost in her thoughts. Then she saw something that stopped her in her tracks. The Eldest looked back at her. “What is it?” she asked.
“I’ll rejoin in a moment, Eldest,” Brea said, then walked over to where the former Lady stood. “Greetings, Mage,” she said softly to the older woman, realizing that she did not even know the older Mage’s name.
The former Lady looked at her with daggers in her eyes. “Have you come to gloat in my destruction?” she demanded.
“No,” Brea said, horrified at the thought.
“Well, I hope you’ll still be so proud of yourself in a week,” the older Mage snarled, “after your insane crusade has destroyed the Order and left the heart of Vishnean chivalry dead upon the field,” the Mage spat.
“It will depend on whether we win the battle,” Brea said softly.
“You will destroy the Order, fool child,” the older woman predicted. “What gain could possibly be worth that loss?”
“The survival of our people,” Brea replied. “Don’t you understand that? The Magi exist for Vishni, not the Kingdom for the Magi. Our duty is to serve and protect, not allow the Kingdom and its people to be destroyed to save ourselves.”
“The Magi will not survive this battle, child. What is Vishni without us?” the former Lady demanded.
“It is Vishni,” Brea replied softly. “It is what we fought for.” She paused. “Ride with us. We could use your skill and power.”
“No,” the Mage snapped flatly. “Someone must remain to rebuild what you will destroy.”
Brea nodded sadly. “Very well,” she said. “May the Gods protect and keep you.”
“May they keep your foolishness from the undoing of us all,” the older Mage returned, turning even the polite formulas into insults.
Brea rejoined the Eldest confused. “How can she be so blind to what seems so obvious?” she asked.
“Els’nit has… blinkers is the best word, I guess,”
replied the Eldest. “For ten years, it has been her duty to preserve the Life Magi. Unfortunately, it seems she has come to believe that only Life Magi are worth preserving, and that that preservation is the only duty worth performing.”
Brea nodded slowly. “I tried to convince her to ride with us,” she admitted.
“She won’t,” the Eldest said quietly. “To ride with us would be to admit that she is wrong. She is incapable of doing so. It is an occasionally useful trait in a leader, but is dangerous in a politician.” The Eldest shrugged. “However, I have little time to worry over Els right now. Come. I am not going to let you get away with not helping us organize this trip you’ve sent us all on.” The Eldest gave Brea a surprisingly young-looking grin.
Brea returned it. “I thought getting you all out of your chairs and on the road was enough work for one day,” she replied.
The Eldest shook a finger at her. “Far from it child,” she told the new Mage. “We have much to do if we are to leave in time to do Tal any good at all.”
That thought stripped any humor from Brea’s mood, and she nodded grimly. “Yes. Lead the way.”
Brea led her horse out of the city into the morning sunlight, reflected off the armor and weapons of ten thousand armored knights. She gazed out on the massive host her call to arms had mustered and was torn between pride and fear. Pride that these thousands had answered her call, and rode willingly to fight for their people. Fear, that coming to her call would lead them all to their deaths.
As she rode out into the host, she began to realize just how hard it was going to be to find a specific group of people among ten thousand knights and two thousand Magi. Just as she was wondering if she should resort to scrying, she heard a voice shout her name.
She turned to find Shel’nart riding towards her, a party of lancers riding with him. “Lady Brea’ahrn,” he said, pulling up his horse. “It is a pleasure to see you this fine morning.”
Children of Prophecy Page 26
