But Shaor’s men had not come to fight. That had come to give him a gift: the head of their former god. Or, at least, her hair. The lead madman had tossed the golden wig at Raoden’s feet, its follicles stained with dark, stagnant Elantrian blood.
Despite searching, his people never found Shaor’s body.
Then, the fleece of their fallen goddess lying in the slime before them, the wildmen had bowed their faces to the ground in supplication. They now did exactly as Raoden said in all things. In turn, he had rewarded them with morsels of food, just as one would a favored pet.
It disturbed him, using men like beasts. He made other efforts to restore their rational minds, but even after just two days he knew that it was a futile hope. These men had surrendered their intellect—and, regardless of whether psychology or the Dor was to blame, it would never return.
They were remarkably well behaved—docile, even. The pain didn’t seem to affect them, and they performed any duty, no matter how menial or laborious. If Raoden told them to push on a building until it fell over, he would return days later to find them still standing against the same wall, their palms pressed against the belligerent stone. Yet, despite their apparent obedience, Raoden didn’t trust them. They had murdered Saolin; they had even killed their former master. They were calm only because their god currently demanded it.
“Kayana,” Galladon declared, joining him.
“There’s not much left, is there?” Karata agreed.
The Kayana was Galladon’s name for them. It meant the “Insane.”
“Poor souls,” Raoden whispered.
Galladon nodded. “You sent for us, sule?”
“Yes, I did. Come with me.”
_______
The increased manpower of the Kayana had given Mareshe and his workers the means to reconstruct some stone furniture, thereby conserving their already dwindling wood resources. Raoden’s new table inside the chapel was the same one that he had used to make Taan remember his stonecarving days. A large crack—patched with mortar—ran down the middle, but other than that it was remarkably intact, the carvings worn but distinct.
The table held several books. The recent restoration of New Elantris required Raoden’s leadership, making it difficult for him to sneak away to the hidden library, so he had brought out several volumes. The people were accustomed to seeing him with books, and hadn’t thought to question him—even though these tomes still had leather covers on them.
He studied AonDor with increasing urgency. The pain had grown. Sometimes, it struck with such ferocity that Raoden collapsed, struggling against the agony. It was still manageable, if only barely, but it was growing worse. It had been a month and a half since he entered Elantris, and he doubted he would see another month come and go.
“I don’t see why you insist on sharing every AonDor detail with us, sule,” Galladon said, sighing as Raoden approached an open tome. “I barely understand half of what you tell us.”
“Galladon, you must force yourself to remember these things,” Raoden said. “No matter what you claim, I know you have the intellect for it.”
“Perhaps,” Galladon admitted, “but that doesn’t mean I enjoy it. AonDor is your hobby, not mine.”
“Listen, my friend,” Raoden said, “I know AonDor holds the secret to our curse. In time, with study, we can find the clues we need. But,” he continued, holding up a finger, “if something should happen to me, then there has to be someone to continue my work.”
Galladon snorted. “You’re about as close to becoming a Hoed as I am to being a Fjordell.”
I hide it well. “That doesn’t matter,” Raoden said. “It is foolish not to have a backup. I’ll write these things down, but I want you two to hear what I have to say.”
Galladon sighed. “All right, sule, what have you discovered? Another modifier to increase the range of an Aon?”
Raoden smiled. “No, this is far more interesting. I know why Elantris is covered with slime.”
Karata and Galladon perked up. “Really?” Karata asked, looking down at the open book. “Does it explain that here?”
“No, it’s a combination of several things,” Raoden said. “The key element, however, is right here.” He pointed to an illustration.
“Aon Ashe?” Galladon asked.
“Correct,” Raoden said. “You know that Elantrian skin was so silvery that some people claimed it glowed.”
“It did,” Galladon said. “Not brightly, but when my father walked into a dark room, you could see his outline.”
“Well, the Dor was behind it,” Raoden explained. “Every Elantrian’s body is connected constantly to the Dor. The same link existed between Elantris itself and the Dor, though the scholars don’t know why. The Dor infused the entire city, making stone and wood shine as if some quiet flame were burning within.”
“It must have been difficult to sleep,” Karata noted.
“You could cover it up,” Raoden said. “But the effect of the lighted city was so spectacular that many Elantrians just accepted it as natural, learning to sleep even with the glow.”
“Fascinating,” Galladon said indifferently. “So, what does this have to do with slime?”
“There are fungi and molds that live on light, Galladon,” Raoden explained. “The Dor’s illumination was different from regular light, however, and it attracted a different kind of fungus. Apparently, a thin translucent film grew on most things. The Elantrians didn’t bother to clean it off—it was practically imperceptible, and it actually enhanced the radiance. The mold was tough, and it didn’t make much mess. Until it died.”
“The light faded …” Karata said.
“And the fungi rotted,” Raoden said with a nod. “Since the mold once covered the entire city, now the slime does as well.”
“So, what’s the point?” Galladon asked with a yawn.
“This is another string in the web,” Raoden explained, “another clue as to what happened when the Reod struck. We have to work backward, my friend. We are only now starting to learn symptoms of an event that happened ten years ago. Maybe after we understand everything the Reod did, we can begin to guess what might have caused it.”
“The slime explanation makes sense, my prince,” Karata said. “I’ve always known that there was something unnatural about that grime. I’ve stood outside in the rain, watching waves of water pound against a stone wall without cleaning it a speck.”
“The slime is oily,” Raoden said, “and repels water. Have you heard Kahar talk about how difficult it is to scrub away?”
Karata nodded, leafing through the tome. “These books contain much information.”
“They do,” Raoden said. “Though the scholars who wrote them could be frustratingly obscure. It takes a great deal of studying to find answers to specific questions.”
“Such as?” Karata asked.
Raoden frowned. “Well, for one thing, I haven’t found a single book that mentions how to make Seons.”
“None at all?” Karata asked with surprise.
Raoden shook his head. “I always assumed that Seons were created by AonDor, but if so, the books don’t explain how. A lot of them talk about the Passing of famous Seons from one person to another, but that’s about it.”
“Passing?” Karata asked with a frown.
“Giving the Seon to another person,” Raoden said. “If you have one, you can give it to someone else—or you can tell it who it’s supposed to go and serve if you should die.”
“So, a regular person could have a Seon?” she asked. “I thought it was only noblemen.”
Raoden shook his head. “It’s all up to the previous owner.”
“Though a nobleman’s not likely to Pass his Seon to some random peasant,” Galladon said. “Seons, like wealth, tend to say in the family. Kolo?”
Karata frowned. “So … what happens if the owner dies, and hasn’t told the Seon who to move on to?”
Raoden paused, then shrugged, looking to Galladon.
“I don’t know,” Raoden admitted. “I guess it would just choose its next master on its own.”
“And if it didn’t want to?” Karata asked.
“I don’t think it would have a choice,” Raoden said. “There’s … something about Seons and their masters. They’re bonded, somehow. Seons go mad when their masters are taken by the Shaod, for instance. I think they were created to serve—it’s part of their magic.”
Karata nodded.
“My lord Spirit!” called an approaching voice.
Raoden raised an eyebrow, closing the tome.
“My lord,” Dashe said as he rushed through the door. The tall Elantrian looked more confused than worried.
“What is it, Dashe?” Raoden asked.
“It’s the gyorn, my lord,” Dashe said with an excited look. “He’s been healed.”
CHAPTER 35
“A month and a half and you’ve already dethroned the king. Never let it be said that you don’t work quickly, ’Ene.” Her father’s words were jovial, though his glowing face betrayed concern. He knew, as she did, that chaos in the wake of an uprooted government could be dangerous for both peasant and noble.
“Well, it isn’t as if I intended it,” Sarene protested. “Merciful Domi, I tried to save the fool. He shouldn’t have gotten mixed up in the Mysteries.”
Her father chuckled. “I should never have sent you over there. You were bad enough when we let you visit our enemies.”
“You didn’t ‘send’ me here, Father,” Sarene said. “This was my idea.”
“I’m glad to know that my opinion counts for so much in my daughter’s eyes,” Eventeo said.
Sarene felt herself soften. “I’m sorry, Father,” she said with a sigh. “I’ve been on edge ever since … you don’t know how horrible it was.”
“Oh, I do—unfortunately. How in Domi’s name could a monstrosity like the Mysteries come from a religion as innocent as Jesker?”
“The same way Shu-Dereth and Shu-Korath could both come from the teachings of one little Jindoeese man,” Sarene replied with a shake of her head.
Eventeo sighed. “So, Iadon is dead?”
“You’ve heard?” Sarene asked with surprise.
“I sent a few new spies into Arelon recently, ’Ene,” her father said. “I’m not going to leave my daughter alone in a country on the edge of destruction without at least keeping an eye on her.”
“Who?” Sarene asked curiously.
“You don’t need to know,” her father said.
“They must have a Seon,” Sarene mused. “Otherwise you wouldn’t know about Iadon—he only hanged himself last night.”
“I’m not going to tell you, ’Ene,” Eventeo said with an amused tone. “If you knew who it was, you would inevitably decide to appropriate him for your own purposes.”
“Fine,” Sarene said. “But when this is all over, you’d better tell me who it was.”
“You don’t know him.”
“Fine,” Sarene repeated, feigning indifference.
Her father laughed. “So, tell me about Iadon. How in Domi’s name did he get a rope?”
“Lord Eondel must have arranged it,” Sarene guessed, resting her elbows on her desk. “The count thinks like a warrior, and this was a very efficient solution. We don’t have to force an abdication, and suicide restored some dignity to the monarchy.”
“Bloodthirsty this afternoon, are we ’Ene?”
Sarene shivered. “You didn’t see it, Father. The king didn’t just murder that girl, he … enjoyed doing it.”
“Ah,” Eventeo said. “My sources say Duke Telrii will probably take the throne.”
“Not if we can help it,” Sarene said. “Telrii is even worse than Iadon. Even if he weren’t a Derethi sympathizer, he’d make a terrible king.”
“’Ene, a civil war will help no one.”
“It won’t come to that, Father,” Sarene promised. “You don’t understand how unmilitaristically minded these people are. They lived for centuries under Elantrian protection—they think the presence of a few overweight guards on the city wall is enough to dissuade invaders. Their only real troops belong to Lord Eondel’s legion, which he’s ordered to gather at Kae. We might just be able to get Roial crowned before anyone’s the wiser.”
“You’ve united behind him, then?”
“He’s the only one rich enough to challenge Telrii,” Sarene explained. “I didn’t have enough time to stamp out Iadon’s foolish monetary-title system. That is what the people are accustomed to, and so we’re going to have to use it, for now.”
A knock at the door was followed by a maid with a lunch tray. Sarene had returned to live in the palace after spending only one night in Roial’s manor, despite her allies’ concerns. The palace was a symbol, and she hoped it would lend her authority. The maid put the tray on the table and departed.
“Was that lunch?” Her father seemed to have a sixth sense regarding food.
“Yes,” Sarene said, cutting herself a piece of cornbread.
“Is it good?”
Sarene smiled. “You shouldn’t ask, Father. You’ll only upset yourself.”
Eventeo sighed. “I know. Your mother has a new fascination—Hraggish weed soup.”
“Is it good?” Sarene asked. Her mother was the daughter of a Teoish diplomat, and had spent most of her growing years in Jindo. As a result, she had picked up some very odd dietary preferences—ones she forced upon the entire palace and its staff.
“It’s horrible.”
“Pity,” Sarene said. “Now, where did I put that butter?”
Her father groaned.
“Father,” Sarene chided. “You know you need to lose weight.” While the king was nowhere as large—in either muscle or fat—as his brother Kiin, he was more portly than he was stocky.
“I don’t see why,” Eventeo said. “Did you know that in Duladel they consider fat people attractive? They don’t care about Jindoeese notions of health, and they’re perfectly happy. Besides, where has it been proven that butter makes you fat?”
“You now what the Jindos say, Father,” Sarene said. “If it burns, it isn’t healthy.”
Eventeo sighed. “I haven’t had a cup of wine in ten years.”
“I know, Father. I used to live with you, remember?”
“Yes, but she didn’t make you stay away from alcohol.”
“I’m not overweight,” Sarene pointed out. “Alcohol burns.”
“So does Hraggish weed soup,” Eventeo replied, his voice turning slightly impish. “At least, it does if you dry it out. I tried.”
Sarene laughed. “I doubt Mother responded very well to that little experiment.”
“She just gave me one of her looks—you know how she is.”
“Yes,” Sarene said, recalling her mother’s features. Sarene had spent far too much time on diplomatic missions in the last few years to suffer from homesickness now, but it would be nice to be back in Teod—especially considering the seemingly endless series of surprises and disasters that had filled the last few weeks.
“Well, ’Ene, I have to go hold court,” her father finally said. “I’m glad you occasionally take the time to call your poor old father—especially to let him know when you’ve overthrown an entire nation. Oh, one more thing. As soon as we found out about Iadon’s suicide, Seinalan commandeered one of my fastest ships and set sail for Arelon. He should be arriving within a few days.”
“Seinalan?” Sarene asked with surprise. “What part does the patriarch have in all this?”
“I don’t know—he wouldn’t tell me. But, I really have to go, ’Ene. I love you.”
“I love you too, Father.”
“I’ve never met the patriarch,” Roial confessed from his seat in Kiin’s dining room. “Is he much like Father Omin?”
“No,” Sarene said firmly. “Seinalan is a self-serving egotist with enough pride to make a
Derethi gyorn look humble.”
“Princess!” Eondel said with indignation. “You’re talking about the father of our Church!”
“That doesn’t mean I have to like him,” Sarene said.
Eondel’s face whitened as he reached reflexively for the Aon Omi pendant around his neck.
Sarene scowled. “You don’t have to ward off evil, Eondel. I’m not going to reject Domi just because He put a fool in charge of His Church; fools need to have a chance to serve too.”
Eondel’s eyes turned down toward his hand; then he lowered it with an embarrassed look. Roial, however, was laughing quietly to himself.
“What?” Sarene demanded.
“It’s just that I was considering something, Sarene,” the old man said with a smile. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone, male or female, that’s quite as opinionated as you are.”
“Then you’ve lived a sheltered life, my duke,” Sarene informed. “And where is Lukel, anyway?”
Kiin’s table wasn’t as comfortable as Roial’s study, but for some reason they all felt most at home in Kiin’s dining room. While most people added personal touches to their study or reception room, Kiin’s love was his food, and the dining room the place where he shared his talent. The room’s decorations—mementos from Kiin’s travels including everything from dried vegetables to a large, ornamental axe—were comfortingly familiar. There was never any discussion about it; they all just naturally came to this room when they met.
They had to wait a few more moments before Lukel finally decided to return. Eventually, they heard the door open and close, then her cousin’s amiable face popped in the door. Ahan and Kiin were with him.
“Well?” Sarene asked.
“Telrii definitely intends to take the throne,” Lukel said.
“Not with my legion backing Roial, he won’t,” Eondel said.
“Unfortunately, my dear general,” Ahan said, settling his bulk into a chair, “your legion isn’t here. You have barely a dozen men at your disposal.”
“It’s more than Telrii has,” Sarene pointed out.
“Not anymore, it isn’t,” Ahan said. “The Elantris City Guard left their posts to set up camp outside Telrii’s mansion.”
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