Gasps spread through the crowd. Bayan’s gaze flicked to Sint Esme’s Second Tree. A limb extended and grasped the flailing boy by his ankle, suspending him ten strides in the air, upside down and yelping.
“How are you doing that?” Kiwani breathed.
Other duelists’ magics tried to free Tammo from the tree’s embrace, to no avail. “You must let him go, Bayan,” Langlaren demanded. “Release that vile magic, and we will see that Ignaas is properly incarcerated.”
“I agree. In fact, I demand that it be so. Do it now, and I’ll release him.”
“What?”
“Potioneer the traitor right now, and I’ll let him go. It’s the only way to guarantee that he won’t be able to harm anyone with his magic. I have to think of the emperor’s safety, after all. He’s standing right here, and witten Oost has publicly declared his desire to rule the empire.”
“We cannot make a potioneer of Ignaas right here, Bayan,” Langlaren said. “The facilities are not even on campus.”
“‘Facilities.’ All you need is a knife and some steel from the wall in the Hall of Seals.” Bayan pointed.
The emperor and First Singer looked shocked, but Langlaren merely blustered and stammered.
Bayan tipped his head. “I’m waiting. Or would you rather I march him over there and have him potioneer himself?”
Langlaren’s eyes bugged at the very notion. He spun and strode into the Hall of Seals, returning a short while later with a small knife, something small clutched in a corner of his tunic, and a look of extreme distaste on his face.
“Ignaas,” Bayan directed, “perform the Elemental Invocation.” Ignaas did so, with a grace borne from decades of practice. Bayan saw tears on the false master’s cheeks. “Now, kneel and be still. Langlaren?”
“Are you sure that right here is the proper—? Er, yes.” Langlaren swallowed hard, then stepped behind Ignaas and slipped the knife blade along the back of his neck. He slid the small steel fragment he’d liberated into the wound and pushed it out of sight under Ignaas’ skin. He stepped back and looked at his bloody hand with disgust. Diantha healed the cut on Ignaas’ neck without prompting.
Bayan released his anima magic, letting go of the bright orange entity that was Ignaas. The man jerked and took a deep breath, staring up at the darkening, cloudy sky. His face crumpled. He bowed forward onto the frosty grass, buried his face in his hands, and wept in despair.
Untempered
As two of the teachers helped a sobbing Ignaas toward the Hall of Seals, the emperor spoke to Bayan. “That leaves us with you. From Ignaas’ account of your battle, I believe that you used all six of your avatars and even managed to meld with Taban.”
Bayan nodded, not sure why that was relevant.
“Then I hereby award you, Bayan Lualhati, the rank and title of Avatar Duelist. I thank you for your service to the Waarden Empire, for your dedication to its preservation, your concern for your fellow hexmates and students… and for your sacrifice on their behalf.” The emperor’s last words were hard. Bayan raised his chin.
“Because you have sacrificed,” Jaap continued. “I see in your eyes that you know it to be true. Anima magic is forbidden within my borders for exactly the reason you have demonstrated. It is a horrible crime to possess another person without their permission. I cannot excuse your actions simply because of their outcome. The end does not, in this instance, justify the means whatsoever.”
“But if you could just understand how anima really—” Bayan began.
“And perhaps, with time,” Jaap said, overriding him, “we will understand. But right now, you know we cannot. The empire cannot afford to forgive you. And for our lack of understanding, our lack of forgiveness, you must pay the price.” He turned to the First Singer. “I believe Singers are contracted to transport exiles, are they not?”
“Exile? What?” Kiwani blurted, even as the First Singer gave a sober nod. “You can’t!”
“I can, and more, I must. Would you rather I let Bayan endure the same punishment as his enemy?” The emperor pointed after Ignaas. “A lifetime locked in a steel dungeon? As I have been given to understand, most duelists consider it unfair when both parties, aggressor and aggrieved, suffer the same fate.”
Kiwani bit her lip and shook her head. Bayan guessed she was thinking of Odjin and his ill-fated duel with Braam. He knew he was.
The emperor addressed the First Singer. “Please escort the exile Bayan past the borders of the empire. His family’s name is hereby stripped from him, and his holiday will be stricken from the record. Once the exile has left our borders,” he turned to look at Bayan again, “he is free to travel unhindered. Should he be found within those borders at any time, his life will be immediately forfeit.”
The First Singer lifted her crystals and sang open a portal. A warm wind that smelled of stone and open sky blew through it.
“Wait! At least let his hexmates say goodbye first. Please.” Calder pushed forward through the crowd, body rigid with tension, eyes locked on the emperor. Bayan’s heart soared and wrenched in the same moment. He hadn’t known friendship could hurt so much.
The emperor relented and waved Calder forward. Eward, Taban, Kiwani, and Tarin were right on his heels. Bayan found himself in the midst of a massive bear hug, complete with sobs and whispers of everything from never forgetting him to setting out the next day to find him.
“I’m so sorry I dinna believe you.” Calder squeezed Bayan’s breath from his chest. “This is all my fault.”
“No it’s not. You’d be getting exiled along with me if you’d believed me.”
“And I’d consider it my rightful place!” Calder insisted, snuffling.
“You daft Dunfarroghan,” Bayan told him. “You need to stay here. Learn everything you can about duelism. Just… not enough to get you exiled, horse killer. In fact, I never, ever, want to see any of you again.” His throat tightened, cutting off the more embarrassing things he wanted to say.
“Aye,” Calder said, squeezing him again. “Bloody muckling. Sloshing your way up from the swamps and changing me into a better person. How dare you.”
The First Singer seemed in no hurry to interrupt the goodbyes. Eward said that he’d hope for Bayan every day. Taban warned him not to get lazy out in the world with no emperors to work for. Aleida thanked him for rescuing her. Tarin promised they’d find a way to contact him. Tala said a short Balanganese prayer for safe travels.
Kiwani slipped her pearl turtle ring into his hand, then kissed him on the cheek, her own cheeks streaked with tears. “Remember me. Remember us. All of us. We believe in you.”
Swallowing the enormous lump in his throat, he nodded. “I will. Always.”
He took a deep breath, memorizing all the kind faces around him. As he turned toward the First Singer’s portal, he caught sight of Gerrolt. “Take care of Bituin for me, Gerrolt?” The gruff groundskeeper nodded.
Bayan looked at the far side of the portal. The top of a dusty cliff lay beyond, supporting clusters of scrub brush and stunted, needle-laden trees. A river snaked below in the winding distance. The distant cliff was nothing like the sheer monstrosities near the Academy. Brown and crumbling, it looked heavily eroded, as if it suffered extremes of weather. The cataract at its foot was neither wide nor sedate. It tore at its bed, dashing and roaring like a mad thing. Despite the warmth of the breeze, the sky was studded with impossibly bright stars.
Bayan looked overhead. Sunset lit the low clouds. How far are they sending me?
The First Singer gestured. “After you, exile.”
Bayan took one final breath of empire air and stepped through. The First Singer followed, then clutched her crystals, snapping her portal shut. Bayan turned to face her, surprised.
Moonlight highlighted her sharp features as she looked down at him. “I know what you’ve done for us, Bayan. And I, too, thank you. I would have done exactly as you did. I tried to, in fact. I tried to kill everyone who had ever aided Ignaas, to wipe his
influence from the face of the empire. But my approach was too harsh, and I hurt those who didn’t deserve it. I’m grateful to those who tempered me when I could not temper myself. I hope that you find someone who will temper you, too.”
She gave him a final nod, then sang another portal. Bayan had one last glimpse of the frosty Academy grounds before her glowing oval closed.
Bayan was alone.
He looked up at the stars. Their patterns were familiar, at least. The wind hissed past, carrying the subtle scents of sage and sulfur. The river’s roar seemed incredibly loud—it wasn’t a distant Academy river or the complacent brown Mambajao near Pangusay. In all directions, the land stretched, flat and silvered, toward the horizon.
Where am I? So far east that I passed over the Huku Hills? Maybe this is what the Corona looks like.
He had defeated Ignaas witten Oost, master manipulator, but a small voice inside insisted that he himself had paid the bigger price. Perhaps witten Oost had seen the final outcome long ago. Perhaps Bayan had always been destined to choose between failure and exile.
Despite the stunned ache in his chest, the price of his victory was still worthwhile. His friends were safe. The emperor still ruled. The empire Bayan had defended still stood.
Bayan stared at the western horizon. Bhattara, guide me. I’ve never needed you more! What will I do without Calder jostling my elbow at breakfast? Without Tarin’s challenges in Flame class? Without Kiwani’s…The ache in his chest doubled. Just keep them safe. Bhattara na.
Eventually, his thoughts turned to his visit to Sint Koos. I’m out here because I couldn’t stop chasing more knowledge about duelism. Maybe the Corona has some tricks to teach me. I can’t even remember de Rood mentioning Corona magic. Surely they have some.
The Corona—an imperial crown, studded with the shining jewels of its many realms. Bhattara only knew what awaited Bayan in its vast, exotic lands. Maybe the First Singer’s wish for him would come true there. Maybe Bayan would indeed find someone who would temper him.
He turned to the east. Above the scattered sage clusters, a full moon beckoned, lighting his way.
Epilogue
The hex house was packed. Eward studied the ring of faces he’d gathered: Kiwani, Tarin and Kipri, a guilt-wracked Calder, Taban and Aleida—whom the hex had already invited to take Bayan’s place while their former hexmate, Kendesi, joined a different hex—and Tala, who had recently portaled in from the Temple.
Eward cleared his throat and addressed the worry that everyone wore on their faces. “We don’t have much time now. Bayan was one of us. Our hex is forever going to be known as the anima hex, the traitor duelists. They’re going to look at us differently, no matter what amazing things we accomplish. At some point, the Academy will buckle to the pressure and spread us out across the empire.”
“Might as well make a bit of noise first,” Taban said.
Eward pointed to the ancient book that Tala held on her lap. “Exactly. And we have just the tune we need to make that noise. Bayan was right. There’s more to learn than we’re being taught. More by a factor of ten. And we need to learn it. Aleida, your duelist training doesn’t have to be over.”
She grasped Taban’s near arm in shock. “What?”
Eward looked at Kiwani. “And neither does Odjin’s.”
Kiwani gasped. “Sints… ”
Taban disentangled himself from Aleida’s grip. “Tala, can you help me get Treinfhir back home, maybe take me to see him some days?”
While Tala nodded, Eward frowned. “Why is that important?”
“The man will be killed on sight if anyone sees him here, especially after what’s just happened. If we’re to learn more of anima magic, we’ll need a grateful—and living—teacher.” Eward frowned at that, but Taban leaned forward. The light of the fire pit lit his cheeks and shadowed his eyes. “You go on your crusade, hexling, and I’ll go on mine. We’re the empire’s only hope for bringing duelism back to its former glory, and we canna pick and choose about it. That’s what got us into this mess.”
Eward paused. The arrogant Dunfarroghan was right. He nodded finally, a swift jerk of his chin. “Then let us hope for our future, and for the change we want to become.”
A faint fluttering noise crew everyone’s attention to the doorway. A black hexbird landed on the threshold, where he adjusted his wings for a moment before he hopped into the room. Behind him, dozens more hexbirds landed, crowding the doorway, spilling across the floor in a flood of black feathers and beaks. Not a single one made the slightest noise.
The first bird hopped up to the rim of the fire pit while his brothers flooded the hex house floor with a living, feathered carpet. The hexbird bobbed his head as if he’d been part of the secret discussion all along, then fixed a beady eye on Eward.
“Kah! Kah! Kah!”
Glossary
Adrian de Hond: a warmaster in the First Tuathi War
Aklaa: a Raqtaaq realm on the eastern border of the Waarden Empire, conquered in battle some twenty years past
Akrestan Scale: the musical scale used for physical transmutation songs
Akrestan Scale Tower: the dormitory tower where Tala lives at the Temple of Ten Thousand Harmonies. All six of the Temple’s towers are named after different musical scales utilized in song magic
Akrestoi: a person from Aeolis, Kallichon, or Pallithea
Aleida Bogaard: a member ofTaban’s hex, she reaches the end of her training and receives an assignment to her first duel den
Alini: the nearest village to the Temple of Ten Thousand Harmonies, it is nestled at the base of a nearby mountain
Alton: title for a teacher at the Temple of Ten Thousand Harmonies
Alton Bessia: Tala’s instructor at the Temple of Ten Thousand Harmonies. She conducts the Solo classes
Amyntas Ithrakis: the Academy’s Shock Instructor, she holds the rank of Avatar Duelist
Anakna: the Bantayan word for “daughter”
Anima magic: a forbidden magic involving the control of living creatures. The Tuathi employed anima casters in their wars against the Waarden, but anima magic is believed to be untenable within the borders of the empire after so many centuries of elemental spells, as if elemental spell residue builds up and prevents the anima magic from coalescing
Anneke: a noble girl a class ahead of Kiwani
Antoon de Hond: a warmaster in the Second Tuathi War. His Natal Day is a midsummer Waarden holiday
Anuq: an Aklaa rebel who was hunted down after his men failed to assassinate Emperor Jaap
Ashawi: Kiwani’s brother, one of many siblings she didn’t know she had
Autoglyph: a thumbprint in wax, a memento collected from celebrities by their gushlings
Avatar: a magical creation formed from a single element. Once summoned into a form of the duelist’s choosing, the avatar will assume that shape every time it’s summoned. It can cast its own set of avatar spells at a duelist’s direction, more powerful than the elemental spells a duelist can create alone
Avatar Duelist: the second rank at the Duelist Academy, achieved by less than half its students. Avatar Duelists can manifest all six elemental avatars and use them to cast spells, battling other duelists’ avatars instead of fighting directly with their own spells like Elemental Duelists do
Azhni Bikonya: a Shawnash chanter, formerly in the employ of Wateyo tes’Eshkin
Balanganam: Bayan’s homeland, containing mountainous uplands and broad, humid river deltas. Balanganam joined the Waarden Empire seven years ago, in 2005 IC, but most Balanganese still consider themselves independent of the empire.
Balang: common term for a person from Balanganam
Bantayan: a hardy, social culture, spread across two realms: Balanganam and Pinamuyoc. Its people are characterized by their relatively short stature, social ties, love of food, and tenacity. In Bantayan culture, it is considered the act of a rude little child to tease or insult someone in any way
Barbarian: common term for a Dun
farroghan, referring to their Tuathi ancestry
Battle of the Kheerzaal: a failed assassination attempt on Emperor Jaap by Hahliq and his men—including the emperor’s younger brother, Caspar—on Savitu’s orders. Bayan and his hexmates alerted the palace to the impending attack and were instrumental in saving the lives of Emperor Jaap and his family
Battle pennant: a long, thin white cloth given to survivors of a duelism battle to mark them as having seen combat. It is attached above a duelist’s sigil flag on the flag stave
Bayan Lualhati: at sixteen, Bayan is secretly a Duelist Savant. His pursuit of answers on how to handle his unusual magic lead him to further questions about his magic. Duelism’s lost history brings him and his friends both hope and sorrow.
Bayan Lualhati Day: the day of the Battle of the Kheerzaal, formalized into an annual holiday by Emperor Jaap to honor Bayan’s courage and heroism
Bhattara: god of the Bantayan. He lives in the sky and can see all things
Bhattara na: “Bhattara wills”, an expression of acceptance or fatalism
Bituin: a seerwine pitcher plant on the Academy campus, mature enough to produce raw seerwine sap. Bayan brought it from Pangusay as a gift when he arrived
Blessed Ward of the Empire: a godchild of the emperor, representing a bestowment of favor and political alliance upon the child’s family. Kiwani was given this honor by the previous emperor, Hedrick
Traitor Savant (Second Seal of the Duelists) Page 32