by Andrew Rowe
Which was bad, because Derek was an Emerald-level attuned. Which, if you’re not familiar, is as powerful as it gets. At least as far as we know.
So, with Derek and Orden against us, we promptly ran away. We ran like a lot.
Ultimately, we got caught, though, and had to fight. I gave Sera a magic potion that I’d been saving — one that I thought would make whoever drank it more powerful.
This may have been a slight miscalculation.
It did make her more powerful. Enough to turn the tide in the fight, at least.
We knocked Orden and Derek out cold.
Unfortunately, that potion didn’t work exactly the way I’d hoped, and now Sera’s attunement appears to be broken and she can’t talk.
Oops.
So, yeah, that was all bad.
And then it got worse.
Jin decided to shoot Vera in the back. Like, repeatedly.
This was an immediate strain on our nascent love life.
I tackled him.
We did some wrestling of the decidedly non-romantic variety, until I exploited a weakness in one of the magical items I’d made him earlier and made it explode.
Which, you guessed it, blew up my hand.
Not entirely. Just enough to put some nice shards of metal into it.
It hurt Jin a lot more, though.
They say the shortest way to a man’s heart is through his sternum, after all.
Hm?
Is that not an expression?
I feel like I’ve been lied to.
Anyway, he still probably would have beaten me if Vanniv hadn’t punched him in the face.
Oh, Vanniv? Yeah, you’ll like him. He’s a summoned monster. And he’s adorable.
Anyway, yeah. I cobbled a healing item together with a rock. Not the most conventional form of enchanted item, but I work with what I’ve got.
Magic Rock is the best. Don’t you dare make fun of it.
I used that to get Vera back into stable condition, found some of Katashi’s blood — I imagine that was your work, thanks for that — and then used a thing called the Jaden Box to summon Katashi to our location.
Katashi took Vera and healed me up, but he wasn’t able to heal Sera.
So, he gave me a crazy artifact sword, Ceris, to give her instead. Which is nice, I guess?
I’m still not sure what to think about that.
He sent me to you after that. Then you defeated me in battle with a chicken leg before I had a chance to introduce myself.
I am not ashamed by this. I am exhausted, and absolutely done with fighting people.
So, that’s why I’m here.
Sorry for rambling. I’m tired, I just barely survived someone that I trusted, and I’m not sure if my sister is going to be able to use her attunement again.
It hasn’t been the best day for me.
How have you been, Keras?
***
A bit after explaining that whole story to Keras, I found my way back to Lorian Heights.
Derek offered us all a place to stay for a while, and we accepted.
I had something I needed to do in private after I’d made sure everyone was safe and stable.
I opened Trials of Judgment, my magic book.
And I saw a message inside that wasn’t exactly what I’d been expecting.
Chapter I – Well, That Was Unexpected
I stared blankly at the open book in front of me, rereading the final lines.
And I’ll be especially interested in seeing your next move, little brother.
Survive, and you’ll soon see mine.
-Tristan Cadence
I’d spent the last five years of my life wondering about Tristan’s fate. Had he somehow survived failing the tests? If he had died, could I bargain with the goddess to resurrect him if I reached the top of the tower?
I had my answer now.
Tristan not only survived, he spent the last five years practicing how to sound like the villain from a stage play.
I allowed myself a weak chuckle. But I didn’t feel like my joke was particularly funny.
The situation didn’t feel funny, either. Nor did it feel as joyous as it should have. This wasn’t how our reunion was supposed to happen.
I felt sick.
I let my disbelief influence me for a moment while I wrote a reply.
Dear Voice of the Tower,
If you are Tristan Cadence, I would appreciate some proof.
-Corin
There was no immediate reply, just as I’d expected. I wasn’t even sure the book was capable of sending me additional messages while I was in Derek Hartigan’s manor. I knew the place was supposed to be heavily warded. I didn’t know enough about the specific runes to know if they would block whatever form of enchantment made this book function.
I frowned as I contemplated that. How does this book work?
I hadn’t seen obvious runes within it like on traditional enchanted items. It did glow while I looked at it with my attunement active, however.
I spent a moment searching the book using my attunement, realizing that the part that glowed the most intensely was the inside of the spine, where the pages were attached.
That implied that the runes were underneath the paper. If that was true, I’d have to remove the pages in order to see the runes. Not a bad way of concealing them, since taking out the paper could potentially render the book’s magic inert.
Maybe I could find a Diviner with a spell for seeing through material? That would probably work, but then I’d have to be willing to show the book to someone else...
Or I could make an item with that function. That’d be better, both due to my distrust for others and because I could see an item with that spell being useful for other applications.
I’d succeeded at distracting myself briefly with that line of thought, but Tristan’s declaration snapped me out of my reverie when the moment of interest wore off.
I’d asked the book for proof, but I didn’t need much of it. Katashi had already told me directly that Tristan had been involved with the disappearance of Visage Tenjin. The writing in the book was consistent with that.
Resh.
What do I do?
If Tristan really was one of the people organizing this, was I willing to work against him?
He hadn’t been bothered that we’d successfully defeated Orden and turned her over to Katashi, so he clearly had his own angle on this affair. What was it?
Was he the one currently overseeing the production of artificial attuned? Or perhaps the one watching over the visage they held as a prisoner?
Both were possible. Both would put him in immediate danger now that Katashi knew that he was involved.
Vera had described a tall, Emerald-level swordsman who had attacked Visage Tenjin directly. I’d assumed that was Derek, but my brother was the same age and a similar build. Now that I knew Derek wasn’t connected to this whole mess, it was possible that Tristan had been the attacker.
How can I look into this further?
Tristan had clearly been observing me through the book, as well as sending messages to manipulate me into the course of action he wanted me to take. I’d learned that he was a Whisper — one of the secret servants of the visages — and that meant he had the necessary trust to make changes to the tower itself.
That was presumably how he’d managed to place the book somewhere I would find it. It was also probably how he made sure I had a key to open a cell door, and why the cell doors had locks that were meant to be opened by someone taking the test.
The dead teenager I’d found in front of the bars implied that it was possible I hadn’t been Tristan’s first choice.
I didn’t know how deep his abilities to influence the tower went. Was he able to shift the layout of the rooms themselves to make sure I followed a path to that prison?
I had no idea.
One thing I would have to learn more about was how the Whispers worked and their level of influence. Tha
t might help me narrow down whether or not Tristan was currently inside the spire, and if so, how much freedom he had to move around and confound any search.
Another thing I’d have to look into was how the book worked. If Tristan had been using it to spy on me, could I find a way to reverse that process? Was he just writing in a similar book of his own to send me messages, or did he have another method of sending writing to it? How was he viewing me from a distance?
If I could view Tristan from a distance, I’d gain a major advantage in finding him and learning what he was truly up to.
Third, I’d need to look into what Elora Theas was up to. How deeply involved had she been?
Fourth, I’d seen my mother working with Elora Theas in the city council chamber when I’d viewed the contents of a memory crystal. It was the first I’d seen of my mother in years, and I’d discovered that she’d somehow managed to secure an important government position.
Did that imply that mother was working with Elora on this whole affair? Did that further imply that my mother was aware of Tristan’s situation and had chosen not to tell me?
If so, she had a great deal to answer for.
That last line of thought made me realize that I was neglecting something important while I was fixating on solving this newly-arisen puzzle.
I’d been terrible about sharing what I knew with my family.
Telling my mother about this was questionable; it would be a sign of trust, and if she wasn’t involved, I’d be doing her a great kindness.
But if she was involved, telling her I knew about Tristan was playing my hand openly.
...Then again, if she was working directly with Tristan, he could just tell her that himself.
So, I’d tell my mother. Maybe not immediately; it’d be safer to do it in person.
I wrote her a quick letter, one that I’d hand off to a courier in the morning after I’d had a chance to acquire a seal for it.
Dear Mother,
I didn’t heed your warnings, as I’m sure you expected.
Fortunately, I am alive and relatively intact.
I have a considerable amount of information that I believe you would be interested in. In specific, I am aware of Keras Selyrian’s current whereabouts. I also have conclusive evidence that he was not involved in Visage Tenjin’s current situation.
Due to the sensitive nature of this information, I would like to share it with you in person in an area that is warded against observation. I understand that this letter may take some time to reach you, and that you have other responsibilities, but I would like to meet at your earliest convenience.
I hope you are well.
-Corin
She’d last told me that she had urgent business in Dalenos. That was months ago, however, and I hoped she was back from her journey. If I didn’t receive a reply within a week or so, I’d see if I could find a Wayfarer who could send her a message with magic. I wanted to avoid that route for now because it would require giving that Wayfarer all of the information in the letter, which wasn’t a great idea.
For the moment, though, I had other family members to attend to.
My father? Given how he’d treated me, I didn’t feel the world’s strongest urge to be kind to him.
But I couldn’t justify hiding this knowledge forever just because of how he’d treated me.
I planned to tell him as soon as I could safely travel to his estate and figure out what I wanted to say. That would probably be sometime after I finished my first year of classes.
I had another family member that was closer, though, and one who deserved answers as much as I did.
I left my room, taking the book with me, and knocked softly on the door to the guest bedroom where Sera was staying. Fortunately, the Hartigan manor was large enough that she had a room to herself.
“It’s Corin,” I added after a moment.
I heard some shuffling within the room. About thirty seconds passed before she opened the door, her eyes narrowed and her hair hilariously askew. She’d been sleeping.
Honestly, seeing her like that reminded me of how similar we looked when she hadn’t gone through her morning hair-wrestling and general beautification rituals. Her hair was a little longer than mine, but it was the same black with a bit of wave to it, and we had a similar athletic sort of build. Neither of us was as skinny as Marissa, but we were both in good shape.
I grinned at her disheveled appearance. “Can I come in?”
She waved me inside and closed the door behind us. She went to sit on her bed.
I pulled over a chair from the nearby writing desk. “We need to talk.”
She tilted her head to the side, narrowed her eyes, and pointed at her throat.
I coughed in apology. It was too easy to forget that she couldn’t talk. She still hadn’t recovered from the damage she’d sustained drinking the potion I’d given her in the tower.
I’ll have to figure out a way to help her. It’s my fault she’s in this bad of shape.
I shifted the book to show it to her. “Poor choice of words. I mean I need to tell you something? Or, really, to show you something.”
I handed the book to her. She raised an eyebrow.
“Look at the last few pages that have writing.”
She nodded, flipping through the pages until she reached the end, then going back a bit. I waited patiently while she read.
Her eyes visibly widened when she read the part I’d expected, then she slammed the book shut and handed it back to me.
“Yeah, I’m...”
She raised a hand to quiet me, then moved over to the writing desk and retrieved a pencil and paper. We were lucky that Derek had a pencil and an eraser available; pens were far more common in Valia.
She scribbled a quick message on the paper. “What are the odds that it’s really Tristan?”
I winced. “Unfortunately, rather high. Right before we left the tower, Katashi said something about Tristan being involved with Tenjin’s disappearance. I found that book right when I walked into the tower for my Judgment, and I’ve seen evidence that it can be used as a tracking device.”
I hesitated for a moment before continuing. It was difficult to admit my conclusions out loud. “I think Tristan has been keeping an eye on me and manipulating me this entire time.”
Her next reply was simply writing, “Resh.”
I sighed in assent. “Yeah.”
There was a part of me that was relieved that she didn’t react with joy at hearing that Tristan was alive. On some level, I’d felt like I was fundamentally broken for failing to be happy about the revelation. I was supposed to be overjoyed that he was alive, wasn’t I?
Sera scratched another message on the page. “Don’t do anything drastic. We’ll figure this out.”
I gave her my best effort at a smile in response. It wasn’t a very good one, a half-smile at best, but I tried. “Thanks.”
She put a hand on mine. I tensed at the physical contact, but I didn’t pull away. Sera was trying to comfort me, and maybe she needed a bit of comfort herself.
We hadn’t really talked about how Tristan’s disappearance had affected her in any depth. We were all close as children, but the little bit that she’d told me recently gave me the impression he wasn’t always nice to her.
A part of me wanted to ask her about it, but I wasn’t sure I was ready for the answer. I didn’t think I could handle my opinion of Tristan sinking any further.
I’d idolized him for too long.
I’d fought so hard to try to find a way to bring him back home. To try to fix the bonds that had broken in his absence.
Was that all just childish idealism?
I sighed, closing my eyes. “Thanks, Sera. You’re right. We’ll get this sorted out together.”
I gave her a quick hug, the most contact I could tolerate. She relaxed a little, seeming grateful for the contact.
We were very different in that regard.
Then I took the book and headed
back to my room to try to rid my doubts.
That, of course, only made me think about them even more.
***
A few hours later, I heard a knock at my door. Before I could respond, a voice said, “It’s Patrick! Can I come in?”
I groaned and closed my book. “Yeah, sure.”
Patrick opened the door and stepped in, closing the door behind him. He gave me a conspiratorial “whisper” which was just about as loud as his normal voice. “I heard the news about Tristan! You must be so excited.”
My initial reaction was a combination of horror and frustration that Sera had told him
How could she be the one to break the news to others? Tristan was my brother, after all, not her—
Oh, right.
Even once I’d processed the fact that she probably did have an equal claim to any information about Tristan, I still felt irritated.
I would have waited longer.
Taken some time to verify his identity, figure out a plan.
She could have at least asked me before telling anyone else.
And then it occurred to me that I’d more or less done the same thing to her when I’d made Patrick my retainer without even bothering to consult her about it.
I was still irritated, even knowing that. But at least I knew I was being unfair.
“I’m not sure it’s him,” I replied instinctively.
Patrick nodded, grabbing a chair and sitting down. “Sure, but it sounds like it is! And why would someone bother going to all the trouble to pretend to be your brother? It’s not like either of you is that important.”
I don’t think Patrick realized how insulting that last part sounded.
But I ignored that, processing the answer. “It could be that whoever I’ve been communicating with has figured out who I am and done research to figure out the easiest way to manipulate me.”
“Communicating?” Patrick frowned. “I thought you just heard about Tristan from Katashi.”
I realized I’d made a misstep by assuming Sera had told Patrick everything. “I have a magical item that sends and receives messages from someone in the spire. I found it in my Judgment. The person I’m talking to claims to be Tristan.”
“Wow.” Patrick blinked. “You must be thrilled. I’ve never heard anything about something like that happening before.”
