by Kris Schnee
Dominic snapped out of his daydreaming; he had work to do. "I can't say I completely understand what's happening here, Citizen. But for now, I can speak for the State and say that your actions are useful. You seem to have found a... creative way to resolve a fight with the foreigners and maybe another fight with these Velesians."
The Citizen deflated a little. "I'm glad to hear that."
* * *
There'd need to be a follow-up visit to look into this apparent deserter, but that wasn't Dominic's proper job. The State would be reluctant to send anyone off on a chase far from its lands. Dominic instead finished his ordinary inspection business in Torrin, bounced his way through a few nearby villages, and headed southward again toward the capital.
On the way, he took out that replacement bit of amber he'd traded for. The design was curious, more faceted than the rounder style of Baccata. When he concentrated, it lit up with the usual warm glow to light his way. But the color was slightly different, as though not just the physical material but the Weave itself had shifted slightly from green toward gold. In theory that was impossible, so it was some trick of the light, but the spell itself was just a little different in shape. Dominic contemplated it several times on his long, dark nights alone.
8. Shirker's Noose
Dominic headed far south and finally reached the coastal town of Avicenna. Its port bustled and wagons rolled constantly between the farmers' fields and the town itself. He stopped by the Masked Quarter, a little district that catered to the traffic of Servants by providing cheap private rooms and travel supplies stockpiled for their far-flung missions.
While walking the street, he spotted Servant Jasper haggling over turnips with a merchant. Dominic snickered and said, "Are you that hard up for money?"
Jasper turned to spot him. He tossed a coin to the farmer and took his prize. "It's research. How are you, Servant?"
"A little worse for wear, but the latest job worked out well. Caught any more recruits?"
"Indeed. He's running around town now, on the same sort of test that I gave you." Jasper seemed to deflate. "I found him on a visit to Shirker's Noose."
Few people spoke of that island east of Temple Island. It was a producer of metal, mainly. Decades ago there'd been an uprising, so now it had the new name and its way of life was punishment. Dominic said, "I'd like to hear more. Maybe in private?"
Jasper nodded and they retreated to a cafe with many of the private nooks that Servants favored, to justify removing their masks. He ordered drinks, waited for privacy, then spoke. "How was your own trip?"
Dominic said, "Exciting. I lost my mask for a little while."
"Ha; a friend of mine did that once."
Dominic told him guardedly about the mission. "I suspect they're dabbling in the spirit worship of the north tribes, over there. I'm troubled that they're also doing a little smuggling for the sake of keeping legitimate trade going."
"I'm not too surprised. Those used to be our people's ways, before the State."
"And there's a deserter. A Servant."
Jasper blinked. "A Servant?"
"I couldn't catch him. And the rodent-people are real; I got to meet one who'd come that far south." Dominic talked a little about that encounter; Jasper listened with interest. "Now, what about Shirker's Noose?"
"Don't repeat this, but I'm told that the time of punishment is ending. Food won't be as strictly controlled there, and the work quotas won't be as severe."
"Good, I think. So the people can finally become loyal and happy again?"
"I expect them to rise up violently. It's when you release your grip that a beast breaks loose."
Dominic said, "We're talking about people, here."
"The people are a great beast. We do what we can for them, but they need to be ruled and controlled for their own good. I've studied the original uprising, and it was the same damn thing that happened near your village. Citizens hoarding wealth, Bound being impoverished by chance, and then a tax rebellion that forced the State to crack down and kill people. Just on the scale of an entire island province."
Dominic said, "I was told once that sometimes a Servant has to die, even an innocent one, to keep our system working. To keep the 'higher' classes assured that we supervisors aren't just slavemasters."
Jasper nodded. "I'd take the idea one step farther. Systematic abuse of all the castes is central to who we are. It's necessary."
"How can you say that? We help people, Jasper."
"We do, yes. But some of what we Servants and Citizens do is work that the peasants could have done for themselves, if only they'd been allowed to learn. Instead we use force to keep everyone in their place, and only let people join the more powerful classes under careful control." He held up a coin. "I notice you're spending money more freely these days than when I tested you. How much labor by a Bound do you think this represents?"
Dominic began to work out the numbers, but shook his head. "I earned my money through service. And it all belongs to the State anyway."
"Then I ask you, why do we Servants live at a wealthier level than the Bound? Not just our travel expenses, but our books and better food?"
"It's necessary to maintain our work."
"Really? You seem to live frugally yourself; I approve. But can you say every Servant does?"
"Well, no..."
"And so I suggest that much of the time, Servants and Citizens are parasites." Jasper sipped his drink. "Let this be your next riddle. Why does our system keep most of the population poor and dependent?"
Dominic scowled and stood up, taking up his mask. "Enough. I won't hear this kind of talk. You need to watch your mouth and talk to the One if you're so troubled."
Jasper smiled sadly. "I'll say no more heresy, then. Would you mind carrying my report back to the capital? And my new recruit? I have other tasks to do before I return."
* * *
Jasper had told the newcomer to meet at a Masked Quarter inn called the Triad Wheel. Dominic went with Jasper to see "if the boy survived his test".
As it turned out, the young man in ragged clothes had an audience. He was sitting at a table and working complicated tricks with the Control Wood spell to flip playing cards around. Five people were playing in a row with him as the dealer, and he seemed to be winning. When he saw the two masked men watching him, he broke off from a steady stream of jokes and paused to look at them.
Jasper said, "If you please, I'd like to take you aside to hear what you've been up to."
"Sorry, everyone; the Servants are making me quit. Last hand, everyone." He finished up the current round and then dealt one more, seeming to draw it out slowly. He pocketed several copper coins, bowed to the disappointed players, and gave the deck of cards back to the inn owner along with a coin for him. He walked with a slight forward hunch and a limp, and his arms seemed too big for the rest of him.
In a private room, Jasper said, "You learned basic magic? Only the clever ones pick it up so quickly."
"I knew how to do it before you found me. I cast spells whenever no one was looking. And I can read." The recruit stuck out his chin defiantly.
Jasper turned toward Dominic and showed off his little cube, the one he used to check for raw magic-sensing power. "He saw marks on four sides, versus your three. What do you think?"
"What did he spend your money on?"
"Mostly food. Understandable, and he earned a profit at that card game. So, should we humble him to our level?"
The recruit said, "You mean you want me to be a Servant too?"
Dominic said, "He has the magic power, and he apparently found something clever to do on his own. Boy, what's your name?"
"Jakob, sir."
"Do you want to be a Servant, or a Citizen?"
Jakob looked confused at the thought of having a choice. But then his expression hardened. "Servant, sir."
"Why?" said Jasper.
"To learn all I can, of course. It's more useful than fighting barbarians."
* * *
Jakob came with Dominic back to the capital, while Jasper left to continue his own work on the mainland. Jakob looked frightened but determined. Aboard ship, Dominic asked him, "So you're from Shirker's Noose?"
"Yes, sir."
"You don't need to call any Servant 'sir' again."
"Right." Jakob gripped the ship's railing tightly, and cold wind blew through his red hair. He looked spindly, younger than his real age, with a haunted look in his eyes. "I thought that the entire State was like my home. In a way it's better to know that life is easier in other places. But... damn it, are the Servants trying to make us hate them and their scar-faced Citizen lackeys?"
"Just to keep the rebellion down. I... think you'll find that life will improve there soon."
Jakob was quiet for a while. "I was tempted to try burning down that town we were in. I wasn't being watched, supervised."
"That would've gone badly."
"Why do you do it? I mean, are you a Servant because you get money and don't have to swing a pick all day?"
That was a strange thing to ask. Dominic had never had much choice beyond pretending he couldn't do magic. Jasper officially shouldn't have even suggested that option.
He said, "At first I just wanted to see the world beyond my village. Now that I have, I look forward to the days when I can learn something or solve a problem."
"Have you killed people yet?"
"A few. Only ones who'd earned it, though."
Jakob breathed the salt air. "I'd like to learn enough to help my home province, if I'm allowed to do that."
"It'll take time, but I think you can."
* * *
Back on Temple Island, Jakob wanted to see everything. Dominic found himself acting as tour guide, starting with a trip to the High Temple to deliver his and Jasper's reports. Dominic taught him what to say and do in the presence of the Boundless One, but couldn't let him into the courtyard to look upon the One, while unmasked.
Jakob said of the temple, "What if it weren't around? Don't just tell me everything would collapse."
Dominic thought of the many bounties and missions that Servants constantly went on, and the many forms of surveillance and maintenance that needed to be coordinated. "People would die," he finally said. "Food and materials and armies wouldn't get where they're needed. We might've lived without the One in the past, but look how complex the State is these days. We need Him, and He needs us to manage things."
Jakob looked skeptical, and a flicker of anger crossed his face. "I want to see how it all works, so we can make it work better."
"It's all right to ask questions. But... Come to me, or to Jasper, before you start proposing any major changes. Please. It's dangerous to complain too loudly."
Dominic gave the new Servant a chance to enter the Nether alone and begin finding his own way. He reclaimed his place in the above-ground dormitories, and his role in the busy life of training and studying and management.
* * *
Time passed. He grew gradually more skillful and had more hypothetical coins in his account ledger. He made a short and uneventful trip to some of the eastern villages. Little else changed.
One day, he was exploring Temple Island while thinking about the Servants' budget paperwork. He found he'd reached a quiet part of the island, where the ground was too swampy for farming or building. Instead the land served as one of the State's odder magical parts: the menagerie.
He walked in to explore the walled garden full of cages and sturdy little buildings. To Dominic's surprise there were a few other people walking around without masks. The place was open for anyone to visit, even Bound with their masters' permission. There were cats and dogs, birds and tortoises, even a dolphin in a tank cleverly supplied with pipes and some sort of cleaning spell. Dominic found the barnyard smell vaguely refreshing after so much time among throngs of people. It was something like home, with more cougars.
The Keeper of Familiars spotted him and magically floated a bowl of fruit into one of the cages before coming to greet him. "Are you here for a familiar?" This man had a forehead brand, a peg replacing half his left leg, and a messy vest full of odd toys and whistles and treats. A long grey feather sat behind his right ear.
"Just looking." He introduced himself and apologized for not visiting earlier in his career.
"Oh, you're Dominic? Your recruit Jakob has spoken well of you."
"He was Jasper's find, actually. Has Jakob decided on a familiar, then?" That was the menagerie's main function: supplying familiars to Servants.
"Not yet. He's actually listened to me about how it's not a casual decision. Most Servants or Citizens who come here for an animal, think the process is just like buying a new pair of shoes."
Dominic and the Keeper strolled through the zoo. The Keeper was a Citizen who'd fought well enough (and been hurt enough) to get his choice of assignment after his years of service. He'd picked a life of tending animals instead of ruling a village.
Dominic said, "I've only seen one of us with a big cat like that one over there. Some of the Servants who visited my old village didn't have any familiars at all."
The Keeper shrugged. "They're mainly useful for living on the frontier, helping the armies. The ones in the Nether are the smaller, more easily controlled species. Are you thinking of doing more long-range work?"
"I haven't decided." He walked along the zoo's paths, and felt unnerved by the many-colored eyes watching him. These were utterly dependent creatures that needed supervision, to stop them from eating each other.
He'd started to become a fixture of the Nether, making money through teaching magic and copying books. Staying there would be an easy and pleasant life. He thought of Ben, though, and of the man's desire to be important, to serve the State by changing it. There were improvements to make; Dominic was sure of it. Just not sure of what, specifically, he could change safely. How did you fix the wheels of a cart while it was speeding along?
Dominic spoke aloud, half to himself. "A friend of mine saw himself as a hero in training. I owe it to him to at least try that kind of life before I accept being a scholar forever."
The Keeper walked with him, until a seagull with a silver band on one leg landed on his shoulder and nuzzled his ear. He smiled. "How is the wind today?" he asked the bird. That explained the feather he wore.
"Did you get assigned that bird?" Dominic asked.
"I chose her. That's an aspect of magic that doesn't mesh well with a Citizen's life. Being able to choose our own bonds. I decided to make myself more valuable to the navy by getting a flying scout I could control."
"Sensible."
"But then I learned that she's got her own mind; she's no tool. We grew to respect one another. I don't simply order her around."
They walked together, looking out to sea. The Keeper said, "Even if you do want to be a scholar all your life, it's worth going out and seeing the world, instead of only the inside of a book. Have you learned the familiar spell yet?"
"Bind Familiar? I know the theory, but obviously haven't practiced it fully."
The Keeper smiled. "Others call the spell by its eight-word formal name. Take your pick among these creatures, if you're interested."
Dominic browsed, finding nothing quite to his satisfaction among the badgers and birds and foxes. "I'm not sure I want this sort of responsibility."
"There are benefits too." The Keeper lifted his seagull on one hand and stroked its tail. "Allana here lets me see through her eyes and feel the wind on her wings, which is worth a hundred times the effort I put into our bond. Most familiar-users at least have theirs as loyal pets who can do unusual things. May I share a secret?"
"Yes, of course."
"It's not like purchasing a Bound. My happy customers are those who feel out which animal might be brought to truly like and admire them, with no chains or leashes or training by starvation. Oh, there are harmless spells to get a potential familiar's attention and make a sort of contact, to judge w
hether to go farther. But as for the actual binding, the relationship is best if it's done by mutual respect and choice."
The Keeper had lowered his voice despite the droning hiss of the ocean and the few people wandering the menagerie grounds. Dominic answered, "That's not normally the way of things."
The Keeper nodded. "Think on it."
* * *
Dominic didn't immediately decide. He worked and wrote, studied and taught. He went out on a flurry of short missions and returned, then on a longer but dull trip to the Seaflower area. There was a routine.
There came a day when he volunteered for a mission to oversee Shirker's Noose. Not everyone was authorized to accept such a job, but he seemed to be in especially good standing with the Boundless One. He sailed east, and looked upon an island of desolation.
The Noose was mostly mountains and marsh, and what little good land there was had been organized into a grid of farms and compact towns. The people were thin and hollow-eyed. They wore the dullest and dirtiest clothes in the State. Their main role was to haul broken chunks of ore out from beneath the world -- and Dominic was there to tell the local Citizens that there'd be no change in policy this year, after all. He spoke calmly from behind his mask.
He finished his bureaucratic oversight of the ore export trade, got out of there to a ship headed home, and then locked himself in his tiny cabin and shuddered, resting his face in his hands.
Back at the High Temple, he begged to ask a question of the Boundless One. He crouched before the gleaming crystal and said, "Is their suffering really necessary? Does keeping it going serve the State, or... I saw whipping, public executions of hungry miners. I don't mean to presume, but... Is there no better way?"
He waited for an hour just outside the courtyard, but no answer came. Dominic went home quietly to be with his books, where he knew he wouldn't hurt anyone.