Bayan blinked in surprise at the emperor’s confiding words. Unable to formulate a reasonable reply, he murmured, “I’m sorry, Your Majesty, about your brother. I know I’d hate to lose mine even once.”
Emperor Jaap simply nodded. “Best you hurry back, Duelist. I understand you have the remainder of your Talent Tournament to perform.”
Bayan looked over his shoulder. His hexmates waited for him in the middle of the square. “Yes, Sire.”
Home
Kiwani watched Bayan return from speaking to the emperor. “I can’t believe he got away with that,” she muttered, though her tone was admiring.
“It’s that smile,” Calder said.
“Nae, it’s because he’s short and friendly. Like a stuffed toy,” Tarin said.
Eward laughed. “Maybe he should have put one on his sigil flag.”
The others laughed with him. Kiwani caught sight of a noble couple approaching with concerned haste from the other direction. “Excuse me. Find me before you leave?”
“Sints watch you.” Tarin put a comforting hand on Kiwani’s arm.
Kiwani silently joined her parents—they’re not my parents!—and led them into an unused scribing room off the square. Kiwani pressed her back against the jamb of the door. As the noble couple stepped in and moved deeper into the room, their passage stirred the air, bringing the scent of vellum and ink to Kiwani’s nose. She pressed her lips into a firm line and met Wateyo’s eyes. “I have half a mind to tell him.”
“Please, don’t.” Iyanu sat on one of the wooden scribing benches. “Kiwani, you don’t understand what happened,” she said, her voice urgent, “and we don’t want you to make things worse by exposing the emperor to pressure from his opponents among the Lord Ministers.”
“Explain it then.” Kiwani crossed her arms.
“Sixteen years ago,” her father began, pacing back and forth, “your mother gave birth to a beautiful little girl. We named her Kiwani. Emperor Hedrick gave her his blessing and became her godfather, a role which Emperor Jaap inherited. But when she was two months old, she died. Your mother was heartbroken. She had her heart set on a dozen children, but after Kiwani died, she was terrified that none would ever survive. And, worse, we’d let the emperor bless a fatally-flawed child. If word of that had gotten out, certain political factions would have used it against both us and him. And they still will, if they learn of it.”
After Kiwani died. Resisting the shudder that threatened to climb up her spine, Kiwani frowned, focusing on the political ramifications of her parents’ choice. Bad luck to have a blessed child do poorly in life. How much worse if she dies right after the emperor blesses her?
“So, where did I come from, then?” Usually, children get this question out of their system when they’re six, not when they’re sixteen. Am I going to have to start my life all over again?
“You remember Ginina and Okatin, back at the Wisnuk Bay estate?” her father asked.
Kiwani nodded. Ginina was a fabulous baker whose tiny pies were worth waking up early for. Okatin managed Wateyo’s business acquisitions in the local towns. “They’re my parents?”
“Ginina and I gave birth the same month,” her mother explained. “She and Okatin were indentureds. They weren’t married yet, and the pregnancy had been hard on Ginina; she didn’t have a lot of strength to perform her duties in the kitchens. So we offered them a deal. We would raise you as our own child, and they would be free of the remaining years of their indenturement, hired on as permanent staff, and given the ability to see you grow. But they had to agree to keep the secret.”
“Well, I’m not sure I’m interested in keeping your secret any longer.”
“Kiwani.” Her father tried to sound both reasonable and authoritative. “It’s your secret too.”
“It’s not my secret. It’s yours. You made it. You kept it. You could have told me at any point before I found out on my own. But you never did. You never said a word! And I’m not sure I want to be like that. You’re liars, and a duelist must always seek the truth.”
Her mother stared at her, shock and hurt writ large across her face. “How can you turn on us like that?”
“I don’t even know you! Who are you, really? Maybe you have other, more dangerous secrets, too! Such a powerful lord and lady, so close to the emperor. And me, his loyal servant. I can’t trust you anymore. Now if you will excuse me, Lord Wateyo, Lady Iyanu. I need to find my hexmates and depart for Muggenhem. There’s something I need to tell them. Something I should have told them days ago.” She turned to go. “I trust that they’ll keep my secret for you; you should too.”
“Kiwani, sweetling.” Her mother jumped up from the bench and wrung her hands. “Write us, still, won’t you? We miss you.”
Kiwani paused in the doorway, stared out at the cleansed square. Most evidence of the battle was gone, erased. As if it had never existed. Like my life. Vanished in an instant.
“I understand the situation you found yourselves in, and how it must have made you feel.” She felt a squirming dislike for admitting such a thing, but knew it for truth nonetheless. “But I can’t agree with the choice you made. I can’t forgive you for what you’ve done to me, and to my faith in the nobility of this empire. I had sixteen years of luxury and privilege that weren’t mine to live. I never got to know my real parents as anything other than my servants, for sints’ sake. And I would have ended up at the Academy no matter how my life started out. You should have left well enough alone.”
Kiwani stepped out into the square and turned back to the people inside the room. “I’m not your daughter. I’m a servant of the emperor. It wouldn’t be proper for someone of your high standing to contact me further.” She walked away into the freshening spring breeze.
~~~
The imperial carriage rolled north, carrying Bayan and his hexmates to Muggenhem again.
“It’s finally spring, according to the imperial calendar,” Bayan murmured.
“Odd, how it feels the same as winter did,” Calder said.
“Things change slowly,” Tarin said. “It’s hard to notice the differences sometimes.”
Kiwani shifted her gaze to the countryside out the window. “Not always. Sometimes you get an earthquake.”
Bayan took her hand and squeezed it; she squeezed back.
“We’re the rock that never moves,” he said. “The center, the constant. We’ll always have each other. All of us.”
“Aye, that’s all well and good, Bayan,” Calder said, “but if you try to hold my hand, I’m gonna Bluebolt you.”
Bayan pouted good-humoredly. “And after all I’ve done for you, too.”
Later, the carriage stopped at a depot to switch out the horses for a fresh team. While the depot hands led the tired horses to a nearby barn, the hex got out and stretched their legs. Kiwani approached Bayan as he ate an orange.
“Bayan, do you think I can learn to harness my emotions into my magic like you do?”
Bayan dropped his orange slice in surprise. He stared at Kiwani for a long moment. “How did you know?”
“There were plenty of clues. Like when Braam’s anger potion didn’t affect you at all.” She smiled. “I don’t think Duelist Savants are good at subtle.”
“I—well—um.” He cleared his throat. “I don’t know anything about trying to meld emotion with magic on purpose. You were in the same classes I was. The whole point was to avoid doing exactly that. Why would you want to be like me? It could kill you, trying to become what I am. It nearly killed me, and Eward and Calder and Odjin too, one night.”
“I am no one. I have no real past, no real identity. I don’t even know my real name. I’m lost. I have this formless anger trying to get out. And a sadness trapping me inside myself. I don’t know what to do with either of them, but I know they won’t go away until I can find out who I really am, who the real me wants to be.”
Bayan thought a moment. “Maybe one of the sints on campus will know. I’ll go with you
, if you want, and we can ask about it when we get back home.”
Kiwani raised her eyebrows. “Home?”
Bayan paused, realizing what he had just said. After a moment, he smiled. “Yes. Home. For now.”
Kiwani smiled and took his arm, and together they walked back to the carriage.
~~~
“Letter for you, Bayan.” Head Duelist Hanna leaned over Bayan’s porridge bowl and handed him a slender envelope sealed with wax and stamped with a starburst symbol.
He frowned, not recognizing it. When he cracked open the wax and slid the letter out, his eyebrows shot up.
“Who’s it from?” Calder leaned over and spied on its contents from the other side of the table in the Muggenhem duel den’s common room. “Master Ignaas witten Oost?”
“Really?” Tarin leaned onto the table as well. “What does he say?”
Bayan read the letter aloud.
To Bayan Lualhati, Elemental Duelist,
Praise and greetings from Ignaas witten Oost, Master Duelist, Duelist Academy.
I have learned of your excellent efforts in the defense of His Majesty, Emperor Jaap voorde Helderaard, from the emperor himself. He speaks highly of you and commends your skill and dedication to the empire. It is my wish that, once you return to campus, you and your hexmates begin an extra class with me, to more quickly advance and broaden your skills.
Again, my congratulations on setting into motion the chain of events that is, even now, bringing down the core of the rebellion in the Huku Hills.
I look forward to your return to campus and to instructing you.
“How did he hear about this so quickly?” Bayan felt a doubt wriggling in his gut. “And the Huku Hills? Kipri never told me anything about that. No one else mentioned it, either. How does he know these things?”
“He’s a Master Duelist. Maybe the air told him.” Eward grinned.
“You know he only chooses a few students for his private classes.” Kiwani sat up straight with a pleased look on her face. “This is a great honor, Bayan. For all of us.”
“You should keep that letter forever,” Calder said. “Can I touch it?”
Bayan slapped his questing fingers aside. “No.” His mind churned, but he couldn’t explain why. Master witten Oost hadn’t been any help during the search for the assassin, Kakios. Had that been deliberate? After all, someone had to chop the man up and stuff his remains into Bituin’s pitchers. But the Master Duelist was responsible for training the best duelists in the empire, and his anger at the attack on Kiwani had seemed entirely genuine.
Bayan sighed. He might never find out the full truth. But he couldn’t deny that there was something that set his teeth on edge at the thought of being in one of Master witten Oost’s “special” classes.
Maybe they’ll help me figure out what bothers me about that man.
“You all right?” Eward waved a hand in front of Bayan’s face.
“Sorry. Just thinking about taking those classes.”
“Aye, me too.” Tarin grinned broadly. “I’m so excited! Just think what we’ll learn.”
Bayan kept his thoughts to himself. Shortly, Teos popped in. “Five minutes, duelists. Let’s get this tournament finished. And hopefully without gallivanting off to save any more emperors.”
Bayan and Calder retrieved their sigil flags. As the hex headed down the hallway toward the den arena, Calder snapped his open and said, “I’m more than ready for another chance to save our entire way of life from destruction. Think of the duel den offers we’d get after that adventure!”
Kiwani and Tarin rolled their eyes. Bayan, tying his fresh new battle pennant to the top of his stave, snorted and waggled the gleaming cloth at Calder. “This’ll do plenty.”
“You can help your future placement by beating Bayan into the sand, though.” Eward gave Calder’s shoulder a friendly shove.
“Aye.” Calder nodded. “Baby steps.”
Bayan and Calder strode onto the arena sand, sigil flags held high for all to see, while their other three hexmates slipped into their reserved seats in the first row. Bayan’s new battle pennant flapped against his hand. Calder’s caught the morning light; its silvery threads gleamed in the waving cloth. A low murmur began as the crowd noticed the duelists’ new pennants, rising to an insistent buzz.
Bayan jammed his stave into the cool, damp sand. He took a deep breath and faced Calder. The warmth of the morning and the freshening breeze invited all sorts of Flame and Wind spells. He could practically see the castings he would use, hanging unused in the air, waiting to be activated.
Bayan grinned. This was where he belonged.
Hanna stepped forward from the side of the broad, sandy oval. “Who stands before the Muggenhem arena?”
“Bayan Lualhati, Elemental Duelist.”
“And whom do you defend?”
Bayan looked over at Kiwani, Eward, and Tarin, then back at Calder. He lifted his chin.
“I defend the Waarden Empire.”
Epilogue
A ring of light widened atop the cliff, and a woman in gold-embroidered white robes stepped through it, leaving a stone corridor with artistic swirls in its walls. She carried a pair of short brass rods, each supporting a crystal that vibrated with a different sound. As the tones faded, the ring of light shrunk to a point, then vanished.
“Thus it ends, and ends well. The eunuch, he received your note?” She slid the rods into deep pockets.
The waiting man nodded.
“Why didn’t you act openly? No one would have questioned it.”
He looked across the landscape, toward Akkeraad. “The student is safe, her attacker slain. The fat eunuch thwarted the plot and earned a promotion, and duelists across the empire earned battle pennants by taking on rebel vagaries. With so many achieving success, the empire is stronger than ever.”
She stepped closer; he could feel her body heat. “But you received no acclaim.”
“I’m looking for a different form of success. And with your help, we can both share in it. Together, we can bring about a golden age that will never die.”
Tomorrow, they would plan. Tonight was for pleasure. He lowered his head and kissed her.
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
Akrestoi: a person from Aeolis, Kallichon, or Pallithea
Aleida: an older student in Braam’s hex, she can manifest a Wind avatar she named Zephyr
Amyntas Ithrakis: the Academy’s Shock Instructor, she holds the rank of Avatar Duelist
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 in the class ahead of Bayan’s, friends with Kiwani
Antoon de Hond: a warmaster in the Second Tuathi War. His Natal Day is a midsummer Waarden holiday
Anuq: an Aklaa passing himself off as Shawnash, with a mysterious hold over Lord Eshkin and Lady K’mokamo
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 employed by Wateyo tes’Eshkin for the exclusive care of his daughter Kiwani, Azhni’s throat was injure
d by a childhood disease, leaving her perpetually hoarse and unable to perform song magic
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 Dunfarroghan, referring to their Tuathi ancestry
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: a fifteen-year-old Balanganese boy who discovers, to his chagrin, that he can cast elemental magic
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 young seerwine pitcher plant which Bayan brings with him to the Duelist Academy as a gift
Blessed Ward of the Empire: a godchild of the emperor, representing a bestowment of favor and political alliance upon the child’s family
Rebel Elements (Seals of the Duelists) Page 34