“Yes, sir.” Churwyl inclined his head, then turned and left the study.
Charyn could tell he was less than pleased.
Why was it that there was so much about which he knew nothing? Things he likely should have. He’d come to realize that there was too little he knew about, but he’d thought he’d have more time. Was there even an assassins’ guild? Or was its existence only in shadowy rumors that could never be proven?
After pacing up and down in the study, he left in search of Palenya, although finding her was not difficult, since she was still in the music room, seated at the clavecin, but not playing.
“Why did you leave so early this morning?”
“I felt unwell, and unable to sleep. I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“How are you feeling now?”
“Better. I had tea in the kitchen.”
“Do you know why you don’t feel well?”
“Yes.”
“Oh … the time of month.”
“It’s always just before.”
Charyn nodded. “I’m sorry.” He didn’t know what else to say.
“Some things just are.”
“Have you ever heard of an assassins’ guild?”
Palenya offered a puzzled frown.
“Someone mentioned it. I just wondered.”
“It was said that the great musician Heldryk fled L’Excelsis because … because he had become the lover of a wealthy factor’s wife, and the man had declared that if he did not leave, he would set the assassins on Heldryk.” Palenya shrugged. “I don’t know if that is true. But that is what I heard.”
“Did you ever hear anything else about assassins?”
“Besides that? No.”
“How was your lesson with Aloryana?”
“She seemed happier.”
“That’s good.” Charyn paused. “Why don’t you go rest … No. I’ll make it a regial command.” He grinned. “Go rest.”
Palenya smiled back. “I wouldn’t disobey that command.”
Charyn slipped out of the music room and headed up to the study. He needed to dig out Alucar’s report or proposal to deal with river flooding … and try to read through more of the reports he’d stacked so neatly on the desk.
25
By seventh glass on Mardi morning, in addition to having a quick breakfast, Charyn had arranged for the plain coach to be ready at a quint before ninth glass and for Yarselt and one other guard to accompany it—wearing the nondescript coats they had used in accompanying him to the exchange. He’d also met with Norstan and Malyna, and made certain with his mother that Aloryana would be ready before ninth glass.
Then he settled into the study and dug out Aevidyr’s proposal dealing with the river walls near the barge piers. After studying it, he could see why his father had deferred it, given the estimated cost of nearly four thousand golds, and that was for the bare minimum. He read an older proposal from the regional governor Voralch in Solis requesting eight thousand golds to rebuild roads in Solis, Nacliano, and Estisle, and then placed that in the pile of requests to be deferred for more thought.
Then came a legal petition by a Factorius Aquillyt from Ouestan dealing with the diversion of stream waters that left his mill without enough water flow to operate. The factor claimed that his family had established rights to the water prior to the rights of the upstream user, a High Holder Eskobyl, but the regional governor had denied his appeal on the grounds that High Holders always had seniority over others. Sanafryt’s attached opinion noted that such seniority did not exist under the Codex, and had never been established in precedent in the lands that had once been Khel, but that the precedent had unfortunately been established in old Telaryn. Sanafryt’s attachment did recommend a clarification through a change to the Codex Legis, but not what that clarification should be, although the use of the word “unfortunate” did hint that Sanafryt would favor a provision that stated that the seniority of water rights would always be based on the date of initial claims or usage, and not upon any other basis.
Another act that will anger someone, no matter what you do.
Charyn was still considering that when Sturdyn announced, “Chorister Saerlet is here, sir.”
“Have him come in.” Charyn stood and studied Saerlet as the chorister walked toward the desk.
The chorister was neither slender nor corpulent, but a round face suggested he was not particularly muscular, and his dark black hair glistened as if kept in place by oils or wax. His jacket, trousers, and shirt were all the same shade of dark gray, and around his jacket collar was the black and white chorister’s scarf that did not quite reach his belt. He stopped short of the chairs before the desk and inclined his head, saying, “Rex Charyn.” His voice was warm, but somehow just a trace sycophantic.
“Chorister Saerlet.” Charyn smiled and gestured to the chairs, then seated himself behind the goldenwood desk.
“I am sorry to be here on such a less than pleasant matter as the memorial service of a rex who died far too young.” Saerlet offered a sympathetic smile.
Charyn thought the expression was well-practiced, although that was a guess on his part. “His assassination was not something any of us expected.”
“I thought we should discuss the memorial service, just so that you could review the normal order of the service, and decide if that is appropriate … or if you would like any changes, additions, or omissions.” Another smile followed Saerlet’s words. “It would, of course, have been somewhat easier if you had been able to come to the anomen where I could have shown you as well as told you.”
Easier for you. “With your experience, Chorister Saerlet, I am most certain you will be able to accommodate any modest changes we may have.” Charyn nodded. “Please go on.”
“Yes, sir. We will be following the normal order of a memorial service…” Saerlet paused. “Except your mother has requested that the confession be omitted. This is not usual … but I assume…”
His mother had wanted the confession removed? Charyn certainly had no objections to that, but it was interesting that Saerlet had brought it up. “That would have been my father’s wish as well. Go on.”
“The other change is that she wished the hymn after the charge to the congregation to be ‘In Vain a Crown of Gold,’ rather than ‘In the Footsteps of the Nameless.’”
The hymn change was definitely appropriate, although Charyn had no idea whether his father would have wanted that. “That’s the way it will be.”
“You, of course, will speak after that.”
“There will be one other change. I don’t know if my mother mentioned it. The regial party will be standing behind the pulpit from the beginning, and it will include Maitre Alastar and the Senior Imager of the Collegium.”
“That is quite a departure.”
“I assure you that it is quite necessary.” As Charyn saw the confusion or reluctance on Saerlet’s face, he added, “Given the continual physical attacks on the regial family.”
“I would think, in the very anomen…”
“My father was nearly assassinated in that very anomen. You may find it sacred, Chorister, but it is very clear that others do not.”
“I find it hard to believe…”
“There will be no discussion of that point,” Charyn said firmly.
“I can see that.”
“Are there any other matters you wish to discuss?”
“Once you are more settled into your duties, sir, perhaps we could talk at greater length.”
“Perhaps we should,” agreed Charyn amiably, rising from behind the desk. “We will see you a quint or so before first glass on Samedi.”
“I look forward to hearing what you have to say.”
So do I.
As soon as Saerlet had been gone long enough to be out of the chateau, Charyn left the study, then ducked back to his own rooms for a heavy jacket and gloves and made his way down to the main level to see if the unadorned coach was ready. From the rear doorway, h
e could see both imagers, in their grays and mounted, flanking the coach. Yarselt and Kynon stood waiting beside the coach, both in the brown coats that concealed their Chateau Guard uniforms and with plain brown visor caps.
At the sound of steps, Charyn turned to see Malyna and Aloryana walking from the foot of the grand staircase toward him.
He waited until the two were only a few yards away before speaking. “You said good-bye to Mother?”
“Upstairs.” Aloryana’s eyes were bright, but not bloodshot.
“Her clothes?” Charyn asked Malyna.
“Those she can wear at the Collegium are already packed in the case under the rear boot of the coach. Kaylet has kept watch over them.”
“Thank you.”
Charyn gestured toward the courtyard door. “We should go. There’s no point in waiting.”
The guard at the door opened it as Aloryana approached, and a frigid gust of wind swept over the three as they stepped out and down the stone steps to the courtyard. Featureless gray clouds covered what parts of the sky Charyn could see. Once in the coach, Malyna positioned herself and Aloryana on the rear-facing seat, leaving the front-facing seat to Charyn.
“So you can see behind us?” he asked.
The maitre nodded.
In moments, the coach eased forward and then headed down the stone-paved drive to the ring road. Before long, they were on the Avenue D’Rex Ryen, heading east.
“How do you feel?” Charyn asked.
“Excited … a little scared … a little sad.” Aloryana turned to Malyna. “How did you feel?”
“Much like you do.”
Sitting in the coach and looking at Malyna, Charyn was again struck by Malyna’s composure and her youth. She was only three years older than Bhayrn, and yet, within instants of his father’s shooting, she had killed one man, immobilized another, and shielded four others … and then apologized for being unable to immobilize the other assassin.
“Will I wear grays like yours?” asked Aloryana.
“All imagers wear gray, from the day they arrive.” Malyna smiled. “The only time I haven’t was at the chateau. I don’t know of another time when imagers haven’t worn grays.”
Charyn glanced out of the coach as they passed the Anomen D’Rex, where on Samedi, he would have to speak about his father … and he still really hadn’t thought about what he would say.
Before long, the coach was on the West River Road and turning onto the approach lane to the bridge over the western channel of the River Aluse, the bridge that led to Imagisle, all of which belonged to the Collegium Imago.
“Did you first come to the Collegium this way?” asked Aloryana.
“No. I came down the East River Road to the east bridge.”
Charyn watched as the coach crossed the gray-blue waters of the river and then passed a stone sentry box at the eastern end. “A sentry post?”
“They were created at the time of the last High Holder revolt. The High Holders’ brownshirts were shooting at student imagers from hidden places.”
“Did they kill any?”
“Yes. They did. They used poisoned bullets.”
That was something Charyn hadn’t heard. “Did the Collegium find out who was behind it?”
“Several High Holders were found to be quartering or supporting the brownshirts. Almost all of them died in some fashion or another.”
That didn’t surprise Charyn. He turned his attention to studying the grounds and buildings the coach passed. To the south, he could see an anomen, built of stone and brick unlike the other buildings, all of which seemed to be constructed of perfectly cut gray stone. All the streets or roads appeared to be paved with gray stone.
“The large building on the right,” said Malyna as she pointed, “is the administration building. That’s where the senior maitres have studies, and where most of the rooms used for instructionals are. There’s a small library as well, and the archives. Aunt Alyna designed it, and she did most of the imaging to build it.”
Charyn took a good look at the structure, which was a good two stories in height and looked to be almost a hundred yards long and perhaps thirty wide. One woman imager did that?
The coach turned up a stone-paved boulevard, its center a park-like expanse. On each side were neat dwellings, seemingly similar, if not identical, except for the colors of their doors and shutters, each constructed of gray brick or brick-sized cut stones, with a slate tile roof. The brass-bound and oiled oak doors were set in the middle of wide covered front porches.
“These are the cottages for married maitres. Unmarried maitres share cottages. I live with two other women.”
The coach slowed and then came to a stop outside an imposing two-story dwelling with walls of gray granite. It extended a good forty yards across the front and was completely surrounded by a covered porch. Broad stone steps led up to the stone-tiled porch, supported by stone pillars. Wide windows graced both floors, and the brass-bound double front doors held small etched glass windows. The shutters and window trim were painted a luminous light greenish brown.
As Aloryana and Malyna got out of the coach, and Charyn followed, he could see Maitre Alastar and Maitre Alyna standing on the front porch, along with a third figure, a young woman also in imager grays who was almost as tall as Maitre Alastar.
“Welcome to the Collegium, Aloryana,” offered Alyna warmly, adding as she nodded to the young woman beside her, “This is our daughter Lystara. Lystara, this is Aloryana, and the distinguished man beside her is Rex Charyn, who has brought his sister here and is making his first visit to Imagisle.”
Lystara inclined her head. “Rex Charyn, welcome.” Then she smiled at Aloryana. “I hope you like it here.”
“I’m sure I will.”
“All of you, please come in,” said Alyna.
Malyna hung back slightly and looked to Charyn. “There’s one thing I forgot to mention. Young as she is, Lystara is already a junior maitre. If she weren’t so young, she might already be a Maitre D’Structure.”
“She’s more powerful than you are?” asked Charyn in a low voice.
“Not that much more, right now, but it’s likely, if she works, that she could be a Maitre D’Esprit, or even a Maitre D’Image like Uncle Alastar and Aunt Alyna.”
“Are there any imagers that aren’t powerful?” Charyn tried to sound wry.
“Many. There are quite a few that can only image small objects.”
Charyn looked toward the rear of the coach, where the two imagers were unstrapping the case that held the clothes and belongings Aloryana had chosen to bring, according to Malyna’s instructions. Then he walked with Malyna up onto the porch and into the modest foyer.
As Charyn entered the Maitre’s house, he was struck by the solidity of the structure, a solidity that reminded him of the Chateau D’Rex … except that the Maitre’s house seemed more welcoming.
“Lystara will show you your room, Aloryana, and the rest of us will be in the parlor.”
No sooner than had Charyn and Malyna entered the parlor with Alastar and Alyna than Alyna turned to Charyn. “Rex Charyn, if it is to your approval, it might be best if Alastar showed you the Collegium while Malyna, Lystara, and I help Aloryana get settled. Then you could return here and say your farewells.” She smiled. “She’s fortunate to have family close. Most imagers do not.”
Knowing that Alyna’s words were really not a suggestion, Charyn replied, “That would seem to be for the best.” He turned to Alastar. “Shall we begin?”
Alastar nodded. “We’ll walk. It’s not that far, and if we get cold, there are plenty of places where we can duck inside and warm up.”
As he followed the Maitre from the parlor into the foyer and out into the chill gray day, Charyn was glad he’d decided on a heavy coat and gloves.
Once they walked past the coach, Alastar gestured southward. “All of the cottages immediately facing the green and boulevard and the Maitre’s dwelling were imaged into being by the very first ima
gers. Those on the lanes behind them were added later, as it became necessary. The large gray building ahead is the administration building.”
“Malyna said that it was designed and largely imaged by your wife.”
“That’s true. She is far more accomplished in those matters.” The Maitre pointed. “The low gray building—not that they’re not all gray—is the surgery and infirmary, and the one to the south of it is the student dining hall, although maitres and single imagers can eat there as well.”
Charyn nodded.
“The buildings west of the green area behind the administration building are the student quarters.”
“How many students do you have?”
“At the moment, there are about a hundred and ninety here. Ten of them aren’t imagers, but are the children of imagers. There are roughly a hundred imagers who aren’t students, but only thirty who are maitres. Most of those are Maitres D’Aspect. That’s the most junior maitre.”
“Malyna said your daughter is a maitre.”
“She is. That has proved to be a challenge. She’s the youngest woman ever to become a maitre, and less than a handful of men have become maitres that young. Having that much ability that young is extremely dangerous.”
“Then she’s possibly even more capable than that?”
Alastar did not answer for several moments, then said, “Let us just say that with slightly more maturity she will be a Maitre D’Structure, as will Malyna.”
“I take it that kind of ability is rare?”
“Maitres of Structure and higher are considered senior maitres. There are only thirteen in all of Solidar.”
“You mentioned that there are almost two hundred students here. Are there others elsewhere?”
“There are about forty students at the branch of the Collegium in Westisle. At least there were last month. There are perhaps ten in Estisle as well, but Maitre Taurek has only been there a little less than three years. It will be a while before he has created enough buildings and facilities for more students and imagers there.”
When they reached the front of the administration building, Alastar said, “We’ll come back here, and you can see how it’s set up inside. I thought we’d go on to the stables, the forges, and the factorage from here, then circle back around the anomen and the student quarters.”
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