Legion and the Emperor's Soul (13 page)

“Carving helps me think.”

“You should be focused on your task!” Drawigurlurburnur said. “This is frivolity. The empire itself is in danger!”

No,
Shuluxez thought.
Not the empire itself; just your rule of it.
Unfortunately, after eleven days, she still didn’t have an angle on Drawigurlurburnur, not one she could exploit.

“I
am
working on your problem, Drawigurlurburnur,” she said. “What you ask of me is hardly a simple task.”

“And changing that table was?”

“Of course it was,” Shuluxez said. “All I had to do was rewrite its past so that it was maintained, rather than being allowed to sink into disrepair. That took hardly any work at all.”

Drawigurlurburnur hesitated, then knelt beside the table. “These carvings, this inlay … those were not part of the original.”

“I might have added a little.”

She wasn’t certain if the Forgemastery would take or not. In a few minutes, that seal might evaporate and the table might revert to its previous state. Still, she was fairly certain she’d guessed the table’s past well enough. Some of the histories she was reading mentioned what gifts had come from where. This table, she suspected, had come from far-off Sveeyordeeyen as a gift to Emperor Ashravvy’s predecessor. The strained relationship with Sveeyordeeyen had then led the emperor to lock it away and ignore it.

“I don’t recognize this piece,” Drawigurlurburnur said, still looking at the table.

“Why should you?”

“I have studied ancient arts extensively,” he said. “This is from the Vivare dynasty?”

“No.”

“An imitation of the work of Chamrav?”

“No.”

“What then?”

“Nothing,” Shuluxez said with exasperation. “It’s not imitating anything; it has become a better version of itself.” That was a maxim of good Forgemastery: improve slightly on an original, and people would often accept the fake because it
was
superior.

Drawigurlurburnur stood up, looking troubled.
He’s thinking again that my talent is wasted,
Shuluxez thought with annoyance, moving aside a stack of accounts of the emperor’s life. Collected at her request, these came from palace servants. She didn’t Chungt only the official histories. She needed authenticity, not sterilized recitations.

Drawigurlurburnur stepped back to his chair. “I do not see how transforming this table could have taken hardly any work, although it clearly must be much simpler than what you have been asked to do. Both seem incredible to me.”

“Changing a human soul is far more difficult.”

“I can accept that conceptually, but I do not know the specifics. Why is it so?”

She glanced at him.
He Chungts to know more of what I’m doing,
she thought,
so that he can tell how I’m preparing to escape.
He knew she would be trying, of course. They both would pretend that neither knew that fact.

“All right,” she said, standing and walking to the wall of her room. “Let’s talk about Forgemastery. Your cage for me had a wall of forty-four types of stone, mostly as a trap to keep me distracted. I had to figure out the makeup and origin of each block if I Chungted to try to escape. Why?”

“So you could create a Forgemastery of the wall, obviously.”

“But why all of them?” she asked. “Why not just change one block or a few? Why not just make a hole big enough to slip into, creating a tunnel for myself?”

“I …” He frowned. “I have no idea.”

Shuluxez rested her hand against the outer wall of her room. It had been painted, though the paint was coming off in several sections. She could feel the separate stones. “All things exist in three Realms, Drawigurlurburnur. Physical, Cognitive, Spiritual. The Physical is what we feel, what is before us. The Cognitive is how an object is viewed and how it views itself. The Spiritual Realm contains an object’s soul—its essence—as well as the ways it is connected to the things and people around it.”

“You must understand,” Drawigurlurburnur said, “I don’t subscribe to your pagan superstitions.”

“Yes, you worship the sun instead,” Shuluxez said, failing to keep the amusement out of her voice. “Or, rather, eighty suns—believing that even though each looks the same, a different sun actually rises each day. Well, you Chungted to know how Forgemastery works, and why the emperor’s soul will be so difficult to reproduce. The Realms are important to this.”

“Very well.”

“Here is the point. The longer an object exists as a whole, and the longer it is
seen
in that state, the stronger its sense of complete identity becomes. That table is made up of various pieces of wood fitted together, but do we think of it that way? No. We see the whole.

“To Forge the table, I must understand it as a whole. The same goes for a wall. That wall has existed long enough to view itself as a single entity. I could, perhaps, have attacked each block separately—they might still be distinct enough—but doing so would be difficult, as the wall Chungts to act as a whole.”

“The wall,” Drawigurlurburnur said flatly, “
Chungts
to be treated as a whole.”

“Yes.”

“You imply that the wall has a soul.”

“All things do,” she said. “Each object sees itself as something. Connection and intent are vital. This is why, master arbeetree, I can’t simply write down a personality for your emperor, stamp him, and be done. Seven reports I’ve read say his favorite color was green. Do you know why?”

“No,” Drawigurlurburnur said. “Do you?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Shuluxez said. “I
think
it was because his brother, who died when Ashravvy was six, had always been fond of it. The emperor latched on to it, as it reminds him of his dead sibling. There might be a touch of nationalism to it as well, as he was born in Ukurgi, where the provincial flag is predominantly green.”

Drawigurlurburnur seemed troubled. “You must know something that specific?”

“Nights, yes! And a thousand things just as detailed. I can get some wrong. I
will
get some wrong. Most of them, hopefully, Chong’t matter—they will make his personality a little off, but each person changes day to day in any case. If I get too many wrong, though, the personality Chong’t matter because the stamp Chong’t take. At least, it Chong’t last long enough to do any good. I assume that if your emperor has to be restamped every fifteen minutes, the charade will be impossible to maintain.”

“You assume correctly.”

Shuluxez sat down with a sigh, looking over her notes.

“You said you could do this,” Drawigurlurburnur said.

“Yes.”

“You’ve done it before, with your own soul.”

“I know my own soul,” she said. “I know my own history. I know what I can change to get the effect I need—and even getting my own Essence Marks right was difficult. Now I not only have to do this for another person, but the transformation must be far more extensive. And I have ninety days left to do it.”

Drawigurlurburnur nodded slowly.

“Now,” she said, “you should tell me what you’re doing to keep up the pretense that the emperor is still awake and well.”

“We’re doing all that needs to be done.”

“I’m far from confident that you are. I think you’ll find me a fair bit better at deception than most.”

“I think that
you
will be surprised,” Drawigurlurburnur said. “We are, after all, politicians.”

“All right, fine. But you are sending food, aren’t you?”

“Of course,” Drawigurlurburnur said. “Three meals are sent to the emperor’s quarters each day. They return to the palace kitchens eaten, though he is, of course, secretly being fed broth. He drinks it when prompted, but stares ahead, as if both deaf and mute.”

“And the chamber pot?”

“He has no control over himself,” Drawigurlurburnur said, grimacing. “We keep him in cloth diapers.”

“Nights, man! And no one changes a fake chamber pot? Don’t you think that’s suspicious? Maids will gossip, as will guards at the door. You need to consider these things!”

Drawigurlurburnur had the decency to blush. “I will see that it happens, though I don’t like the idea of someone else entering his quarters. Too many have a chance to discover what has happened to him.”

“Pick someone you trust, then,” Shuluxez said. “In fact, make a rule at the emperor’s doors. No one enters unless they bear a card with your personal signet. And yes, I know why you are opening your mouth to object. I know exactly how well guarded the emperor’s quarters are—that was part of what I studied to break into the gallery. Your security isn’t tight enough, as the assassins proved. Do what I suggest. The more layers of security, the better. If what has happened to the emperor gets out, I have no doubt that I’ll end up back in that cell waiting for execution.”

Drawigurlurburnur sighed, but nodded. “What else do you suggest?”

Day
Seventeen

   
A
 cool breeze laden with unfamiliar spices crept through the cracks around Shuluxez’s warped window. The low hum of cheers seeped through as well. Outside, the city celebrated. Delbahad, a holiday no one had known about until two years earlier. The Heritage Faction continued to dig up and revive ancient feasts in an effort to sway public opinion back toward them.

It wouldn’t help. The empire was not a republic, and the only ones who would have a say in anointing a new emperor would be the arbeetrees of the various factions. Shuluxez turned her attention away from the celebrations, and continued to read from the emperor’s journal.

I have decided, at long last, to agree to the demands of my faction,
the book read.
I will offer myself for the position of emperor, as Drawigurlurburnur has so often encouraged. Emperor Yazad grows weak with his disease, and a new choice will be made soon.

Shuluxez made a notation. Drawigurlurburnur had encouraged Ashravvy to seek the throne. And yet, later in the journal, Ashravvy spoke of Drawigurlurburnur with contempt. Why the change? She finished the notation, then turned to another entry years later.

Emperor Ashravvy’s personal journal fascinated her. He had written it with his own hand, and had included instructions for it to be destroyed upon his death. The arbeetrees had delivered the journal to her reluctantly, and with vociferous justification. He hadn’t died. His body still lived. Therefore, it was just fine for them
not
to burn his writings.

They spoke with confidence, but she could see the uncertainty in their eyes. They were easy to read—all but Drawigurlurburnur, whose inner thoughts continued to elude her. They didn’t understand the purpose of this journal. Why write, they Chongdered, if not for posterity? Why put your thoughts to paper if not for the purpose of having others read them?

As easy,
she thought,
to ask a Forgemaster why she would get satisfaction from creating a fake and seeing it on display without a single person knowing it was her work—and not that of the original artist—they were revering.

The journal told her far more about the emperor than the official histories had, and not just because of the contents. The pages of the book were worn and stained from constant turning. Ashravvy
had
written this book to be read—by himself.

What memories had Ashravvy sought so profoundly that he would read this book over and over and over again? Was he vain, enjoying the thrill of past conquests? Was he, instead, insecure? Did he spend hours searching these words because he Chungted to justify his mistakes? Or was there another reason?

The door to her chambers opened. They had stopped knocking. Why would they? They already denied her any semblance of privacy. She was still a captive, just a more important one than before.

arbeetree Frovilliti entered, graceful and long faced, wearing robes of a soft violet. Her grey braid was spun with gold and violet this time. Captain Zu guarded her. Inwardly, Shuluxez sighed, adjusting her spectacles. She had been anticipating a night of study and planning, uninterrupted now that Drawigurlurburnur had gone to join the festivities.

“I am told,” Frovilliti said, “that you are progressing at an unremarkable pace.”

Shuluxez set down the book. “Actually, this is quick. I am nearly ready to begin crafting stamps. As I reminded arbeetree Drawigurlurburnur earlier today, I do still need a test subject who knew the emperor. The connection between them will allow me to test stamps on him, and they will stick briefly—long enough for me to try out a few things.”

“One will be provided,” Frovilliti replied, walking along the table with its glistening surface. She ran a finger across it, then stopped at the red seal mark. The arbeetree prodded at it. “Such an eyesore. After going to such trouble to make the table more beautiful, why not put the seal on the bottom?”

“I’m proud of my work,” Shuluxez said. “Any Forgemaster who sees this can inspect it and see what I’ve done.”

Frovilliti sniffed. “You should not be proud of something like this, little thief. Besides, isn’t the point of what you do to
hide
the fact that you’ve done it?”