by Steven Drake
Nia insisted on staying with the others, especially Skarn. Without him, she would have died. Skarn had regained consciousness just in time to see the chimera cut in half. Since then, he and his warriors had lavished Nia with admiration, thanks, and many rough slaps on the back that she would have preferred to avoid, coming as they did from hardened fighters twice her size or more. Indeed, the entire contingent of arena veterans had suffered no casualties and just one serious injury. For the mindless beast, fighting experienced warriors proved quite different than fighting unarmed and shackled prisoners. Nia resolved to speak to the Empress about the barbaric practice of publicly executing prisoners in this way, as well as let her know exactly where the prisoners were coming from. She had a number of feelings to share after experiencing the Golden Coliseum from a prisoners’ perspective. Nevertheless, she set those feelings aside. She had come to Trinium for a reason, and that mission took priority over everything else.
They waited under guard for what seemed to be quite a long time before the Empress herself unexpectedly entered the room. Everyone hurriedly knelt, no one wanting to insult her, except Skarn who still sat rubbing his head in a chair against the far wall.
“You may stand,” the Empress said matter-of-factly. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this kind of obeisance, though we do have to keep up appearances, don’t we?” The Empress nodded to them as they stood, then turned to her guards. “You may go.” They hesitated. “Are you all daft? I said go. If she wanted to kill me, she could have torn through half the arena with her… whatever it was, so just go. I want to talk to this young woman alone.”
“Actually,” Nia lowered her eyes deferentially, “I’d like Skarn to stay with me, if it’s alright.”
“You know each other then?” the Empress asked. Skarn looked up and nodded, the pain still showing on his face. He had hit his head quite hard. “Are you all right? I can have the healers look after you.”
“I will be fine,” Skarn growled. “I made a careless mistake. Nothing hurts worse than my pride at the moment.”
The empress nodded back to Skarn as the guards and the other veteran warriors filed out the door behind her, each saluting as they passed. Nia acknowledged each of them with a smile, trying to make as good an impression as possible.
“There we are.” The Empress pulled two chairs to the center of the room and sat down. “Please sit down.”
Nia quickly sat, almost trembling, thoroughly intimidated and more than a little afraid. Everything she had heard about High Inquisitor Barris suggested the woman was a ruthless and unforgiving leader. She had plotted to take over the Order of the Golden Shield for many years, and now she had succeeded. Nia was not sure exactly what to say, painfully aware that the wrong words could doom the mission on which she had been sent.
“Your majesty… thank you for your hospitality.” Nia bowed her head awkwardly despite the fact she was already sitting. “I’m, um, sorry about killing your chimera. I know it must have been a lot of work, but I got caught up in the heat of battle.” The Empress smiled and held up her hand. Nia quietly looked down.
“Don’t worry about that,” the Empress stated. “One monster won’t determine the outcome of the coming war. It’s barely worth the resources it takes to control the damned thing. It took four master dominators just to get it into the arena without killing anyone, and once it started sustaining actual injuries, they lost control. Obviously, it wouldn’t have been useful in an actual battle. You probably saved us finding that out the hard way. It was meant to be a symbol of our power, nothing more, and now we have something much better, thanks to your little display.”
Despite her best attempts at keeping a straight face, Nia looked away and knew she blushed at the praise. “Th…Thank you, your majesty. I couldn’t have done it without the Star Blade.” Nia unsheathed the sword, which shone bright enough to dim the four oil lamps that lit the room.
“Magnificent.” The Empress looked upon the sword with undisguised wonder. “I can see you found what you set out looking for, and I’m glad, but I admit I didn’t expect you’d bring it back here. Why didn’t you stay in the north with your grandfather?”
“You knew the Archmage had a base in the burning lands?”
“I was the High Inquisitor for a reason. It’s my business to know these things. I knew its general location, but I didn’t consider it all that important. I did not expect Eldrik to succeed in gaining an alliance with the Ebonscale, and I had more important business. So why did you come back?”
“Well, I would have stayed but… Traiz betrayed us. Nielas too.” Nia struggled to check her swirling emotions. She needed to appear strong. “My Grandfather was killed.”
“Dammit to the thirteen hells,” Barris cursed bitterly, not at all the reaction Nia had expected. The stern woman stood and paced back and forth about the room. “That means his faction is now led by the most stubborn mule-headed poor excuse for a general I ever had the misfortune to meet.” Nia nodded, knowing without a doubt exactly who Barris was referring to. “Eldrik and I had our differences, mostly concerning the direction of the Order and my opposition to the late Grandmaster, but he was intelligent, and could at least be reasonable. Geoffray, well you’ve seen what he’s like.” Nia nodded again. She had not forgotten the fact that Geoffray had been complicit in her kidnapping, even though Nielas had never intended to follow the Grand Marshal.
“I suppose you’ve also discovered your true heritage at this point,” Barris added. “The summoning of that thing suggests as much.”
“You knew about that too?” Nia gasped.
“I already told you, I was the High Inquisitor for a reason. Besides, your father’s activities were never exactly a secret while he was alive, just not well known. The Inquisition knew he had an elven lover somewhere, but we never knew where, and only a few knew the truth of your parentage. Eldrik took great pains to keep that secret. Of course, I was barely out of training then. I only knew because the last High Inquisitor trained me personally and I overheard many things I would not have known otherwise. Personally, I never considered it all that important. That kind of information can be useful as blackmail, but only as long as it is kept secret, and too many people already knew. Besides, you didn’t show any signs of being particularly gifted at the time.”
“You could have used it to threaten my grandfather.”
“I could have, but I chose not to. I have done many things I’m not proud of for the sake of my dream of a renewed Sarenna, and some I regret.” The Empress paused and looked off for a moment. Nia had never seen this side of Lady Barris. In public, she always appeared so severe, formidable, even aggressive. Nia had understood why her grandfather mistrusted Lady Barris. Now, Nia found her own opinion changing quickly. The Empress sat down in the chair again and bridged her fingers, shutting her eyes in intense thought.
“One seldom comes to power without dirtying one’s hands, but a good leader chooses her battles carefully. Eldrik was a formidable man. Some of the stories of his younger days are impressive. My disagreements with him were not personal, and I didn’t want to give him a reason to make our conflict a personal one. I thought I might need him before it was all over. Traiz argued with me. He tried to convince me to use your heritage against Eldrik, but then Traiz tried to convince me of a lot of things, too often. I thought he was useful, but I was always suspicious of his ambitions. Now that Eldrik is dead, things will be more difficult.”
“I’m sorry,” Nia said. “Nielas surprised us. I never imagined he could betray us.”
“Given the right motivation, most anyone can be pushed to do things that seem unthinkable even to them. Traiz understood that better than anyone. That’s why he was so dangerous. Over the last months before you left, I started to realize just how dangerous.” The Empress sighed deeply and leaned back in her chair. “Of course, I thought he was planning to take my position, or at least try. The real power of the Order never has come from within. It comes from our allia
nces with the free kingdoms. Still, the bureaucrats have enough influence to make life difficult for anyone trying to lead the Order. Traiz gained allies in the Order’s traditional infrastructure while I was building up the necessary alliances with the free kingdoms to declare a unified empire. Please tell me that he’s dead. If he is, I can move against his known supporters quickly.”
Nia managed a lukewarm smile, the memory of what happened still troubled her. It had come as such a shock, and thanks to Traiz, they had lost Darien. “Yes, Traiz is dead,” Nia finally managed to say. “Darien killed him, and Jerris killed Nielas.”
“The elf boy?” The Empress seemed surprised. “I admit he was eloquent, but he didn’t look remotely capable of fighting anyone. Nielas is deadly. Everyone in the Order rightly respected him.”
Nia smiled, thinking of how she had thought the same thing about Jerris just a few months ago. She knew better now. “Jerris was trained by Darien the Executioner. You should know better.” This time the Empress nodded and smiled. “Before we go any further, there’s a lot of things I need to tell you, everything that’s happened,” Nia added. The Empress nodded and leaned forward, again bridging her fingers, listening intently.
Nia breathed a great sigh, feeling every bruise that she’d been handed the past day and a half, and despite fighting both mental and physical exhaustion, she proceeded to summarize all that had happened since the party had left Trinium months ago. She began with the uneventful early parts of the journey, up to the fight with Alistair, then her subsequent capture and escape from Kalasz, the revelations of her enchantment, even the fact Darien was her brother. She held none of it back. She didn’t have the strength or the wit to lie and play mind games like her grandfather or Darien. She also wanted to begin this alliance with honesty. There had been too little honesty in the Golden Shield for a long time.
She continued to explain the meeting with the Greatmother as Jerris had described it to her, then everything they knew about what happened in the rookery caves. Next, she moved on to her kidnapping at the hands of Nielas and her subsequent escape. Finally, she finished with a summary of the journey south to Trinium, then the awful events of the past day. She finished by angrily naming the tertiary undersecretary of enchantments as a traitor, then finally sighed.
“I see,” the Empress said after a long pause. “So Traiz’s plan was to infiltrate Mandala Fortress?”
“That’s what Nielas told me.” Nia shrugged and wondered how wise it was to trust anything Nielas had said. “I suppose he could be lying.”
“Perhaps. My spy network has told me that the Demon King is preparing a fleet in the Southern Islands. Every piece of information we have suggests an invasion by sea.”
“Perhaps they’ll try to attack from two sides at once.”
“It’s possible, but it will take months for the enchantments on the waters of the Saldean to dissipate enough for a serious attack. Even then, the enchantments aren’t the only defense. The eastern bank of the river is watched. The only place our enemy cross uncontested would be in the craglands, and there’s nothing of any strategic value in that region, nor would it make his invasion much easier, as the passes into and out of the craglands are easily defended.” The Empress shut her eyes and furrowed her brow. “More likely it’s a distraction to divert our attention to the north, occupy a large portion of our forces there and leave us vulnerable. I’ll have to speak to the High King of the Redstone Dwarves about this.”
Nia sighed and leaned back in her chair. She did not understand enough about military tactics to know whether the Empress was right or wrong. Perhaps Jerris would understand this better. Of course, Darien would have understood best of all. Nia felt a wave of exhaustion pass over her, and she blinked her heavy eyelids.
“I can see you’ve been through a lot.” Empress Sarenna said, noting Nia’s weariness. “I’m glad the effort wasn’t wasted.” Empress Sarenna then looked down at the Star Sword, safe in its sheath, once again. “I did not know what to think of Darien the Executioner and his mad quest. Seems he really did tell the truth about his intentions, something I would not have guessed at the time. Men like him conceal their true intentions instinctively, and rarely do they ever really change their ways. I was completely convinced he and Traiz had reached some kind of agreement, but from your tale, it seems Traiz fooled him too. Are you certain you know nothing more about what happened to Darien?” Nia shook her head, she had left nothing out, but the Empress sounded skeptical.
“I swear I told you everything. Jerris didn’t want anyone looking for the Demon’s Blade. Neither did the Greatmother. If we go look for it now, she won’t be happy.”
“I wasn’t suggesting that, I wouldn’t dream of crossing the Ebonscale. They’re too valuable as an ally.”
“Then what is it?”
The Empress smiled rather deviously. “If you would come with me, I’d like to show you something. You’ve been honest with me, and as a pragmatic woman, I think I’ll return the favor.”
“Of course.” Nia looked over to her half dragon defender. “Skarn, do you feel up to coming with us?”
The half dragon looked up and smiled. “Today’s victory belongs to you. I’ll let you enjoy the spoils. You don’t need anyone to take care of you anymore. Your grandfather would be proud of you today.”
Nia smiled back, grateful for the half-dragon’s praise, and even more grateful for his help, but for the first time in her life, she felt that she really could take care of herself. She stood, and followed the Empress out the door, where they met their guards once again.
Nia allowed Empress Sarenna to escort her through the city. Behind their heavily armed guards, Nia could see and hear shouts of praise, people chanting her name, Champion Niarie, Chimera Slayer, Star Maiden, and perhaps a dozen others. She caught glimpses of people kneeling as they passed. She felt the stares, heard the chattering of excited children. She heard repeated requests to see the Star Blade, sometimes indulging their curiosity, raising it high and making it shine, and other times apologizing and walking on, taking her cues from the Empress, who seemed to be experienced with this sort of thing. Nia wondered how one practiced for this kind of fame, and suddenly understood a bit of why Jerris seemed so nervous about becoming king of the elves. He must have gotten this a lot in the land of the elves. Though it seemed unimaginably distant, she imagined the two of them standing side by side, shining together, neither eclipsing the other.
The journey took nearly an hour, what with the crowds and the regular stops, but finally they reached their destination, the Shining Hall, headquarters of the inquisition. The guards parted for them, and Empress Sarenna led Nia up to the very apex of the building, beneath the golden dome, where a beautiful mosaic had been arranged on the ceiling, a scene of battle from the past with men in gold and white clashing against the black and indigo clad armies of the demon lords. It was a glorious sight, and at any other time, it might have captured her attention for many minutes, but instead her eyes were drawn to a massive, solid gray slab of stone so large it occupied most of the room, about three feet high, somewhat like a table, perfectly smooth sided but without polish or sheen. Only the top side showed any deviation from its seemingly perfect lines, raised sections that appeared to be mountains, lines of blue that appeared to be rivers, shaded fields of rough light green and mottled dark green that Nia took to be grasslands and forests. It appeared to be a map of nearly the entirety of the known world, but that wasn’t what was most remarkable about it. Tiny lights of every imaginable color were scattered across the map, some blinking quickly, others more slowly, some in strange patterns that Nia guessed were codes. They looked like the indicator lights on homing stones, but there were hundreds, if not thousands of lights. A few people in mage robes were standing around the stone map, some observing the lights that were moving, others making notes in parchment journals at small desks set around the outside of the room.
“What is this?” Nia asked.
“This i
s the secret of the Inquisition.” The Empress smiled and ran a hand across the map, stopping at a cluster of several dozen dots close together, some nearly on top of each other. “This map shows all of the targets the Inquisition follows, every notable mage of any strength that we’ve been able to find.”
“But, you’re tracking all of them, from so far away. How does this work?”
“The previous High Inquisitor, a man who taught me everything I know, thought of tracking magic users after the Inquisition caught a particular thief who had perfected a method to copy the enchantments of other mages and lay his own on top of them, so that he could disable their devices at a moment of his choosing. My predecessor found a better use for the technique, laying hidden tracking enchantments in a mage’s own devices. That technique was kept secret to all but a select few. Of course, we still needed dozens of agents because of the limited range of these tracking enchantments. It became unmanageable, so when I was named High Inquisitor, I found a solution. I searched until I found a way to track everyone from a single location.”
“You track everyone, all over the world?”
“Thanks to the Redstone dwarves and their master enchanters, yes. The dwarves have a technique for tapping directly into the aura of Terralien itself, the soul of the stone, they call it. It took years to find a suitable piece of stone able to accept so much magic power. I owe the Redstone dwarf clan a great debt for excavating and shaping it. After it was brought here, our best enchanters worked alongside the Redstone masters for months to form the enchantments. The range is unlimited, though the map itself does have boundaries. We have discovered that if a target goes beyond the map’s boundaries, their light simply lingers on the edge.” Nia noticed none of the dots were particularly close to the edge at the moment.