Stealing Sorcery (27 page)

So, what am I going to say to the things she asked? It sounded like one of them was about why Sterling was interested in joining the paladins – that’s a fairly straightforward one. I’m here because of Landen, who followed Taelien and Lydia down here.

Which is a terrible answer. Shit.

Okay, straightforward doesn’t always mean easy. What have I got? My family has been dedicated to Lissari for generations – that’s a good one. House Jaldin has a good reputation, and I have relevant training as a healer, even if I never picked up the sorcery for it.

“Family tradition” isn’t a great answer by itself. Maybe being inspired by my ancestors and their dedication? That’s a little better at least.

She continued to ponder her options until the door reopened and the young file-bearing man beckoned her inside.

“Thanks,” she said as he held the door open for her. Velas stepped within, following his gesture toward a seat across from the colonel. The younger man closed the door a few moments later, sitting down in the same chair she had seen before.

“Candidate Velas Jaldin,” the colonel said, looking at a paper in front of her. Velas resisted the urge to glance at the contents of the paper, but she suspected it was the same file on her that Taelien had discovered earlier – potentially with more recent notes. “You’ve led a rather interesting life, considering your young age.”

“Thank you, colonel.”

“Let’s get right to it. You get to ask me a single question about anything relating to the exams, and I’ll give you an honest answer. After that, I’ll ask you a series of questions, which you must answer honestly. I will know if you are lying. If you lie, you’ll get a red flag immediately. If you provide me with honest answers that I find compelling, I will give you one of my remaining pins. Do you understand?”

Shit. She can sense the truth? That’s going to make this a bit more of a challenge. She could be bluffing, but it’s not really worth the risk. She’s a Sytiran, and a high ranking one at that. Having some kind of knowledge spell to read me isn’t implausible at all.

“Yes, colonel.”

“You may ask your question first. I’ll give you a minute or two to think about it. Don’t try to run up the clock by delaying until my next meeting, however. I appreciate creative problem solving, but wasting my time would be rude.”

I wouldn’t do something like that. Taelien might, though. He does love trying to game these tests.

“Understood, colonel. I will let you know when I’ve thought of my question.”

In spite of her calm response, Velas’ mind was whirling. There were a multitude of options that immediately came to mind.

She said the exams – that means it doesn’t even have to be about this particular test. I could ask about virtually anything. Knowing my cumulative total up to this point could be good to know how much trouble I’m in, but ultimately it probably wouldn’t be worth using up the question. Maybe I could ask what my biggest mistake has been so far so I can avoid repeating it, but I think I’m better off asking for something that’s going to provide a direct and guaranteed benefit.

I could ask for the best answers to this particular interview, or maybe just ask directly how I could earn a pin from her. One pin isn’t exactly going to make or break this whole competition, though. I could ask for the locations of all of the hidden pins within the city, but Asphodel is already going after them and she already gave me her pin, so I shouldn’t compete with her.

I could ask about one of the tests after this one – something to give me a big edge for one of the future exams. That’s tempting, but it might seem arrogant to assume I’m passing this one.

Maybe I should ask for the answers to every question that the other candidates have already asked – that’s a good one. Unfortunately, only a few people were in front of me, so it wouldn’t necessarily be as useful as if I was one of the later interviews. That’s probably along the right line of thinking…

“All right, I have my question.” Velas clenched her hands in her lap, unexpectedly tense. She wasn’t used to being nervous talking to authority figures, but this particular competition was wreaking havoc on her nerves. She had to win.

“Ask when ready.” The colonel waved with one hand for her to proceed.

“What’s the best advice related to any of the exams you can give me that you have not given to anyone else and do not expect to give to any of the other applicants?”

The colonel’s expression sank for a moment, and then she smiled. “That’s a very good question, Miss Jaldin. I’ll need a moment to think about it.”

Velas nodded silently.

The colonel folded her arms, leaning back slightly in her chair. Velas tried to take deep breaths as subtly as possible while she awaited the answer.

“When the competition started, we told you all that the ‘tradition’ dictates that the arbiters select one person for each branch. This is true, but it is also misleading. Most applicants believe that they must excel in a specific area to appeal to one arbiter or another, thinking of every other applicant as competition for that spot. This leads many to failure.”

Velas quirked an eyebrow, continuing to listen.

The colonel leaned a little bit closer, putting her hands on top of the table. “In truth, there have been years where not a single candidate has been selected. There have been other years – typically after great wars – that dozens of candidates are chosen. The arbiters will pick as many candidates as they deem worthy. The standards of what constitutes ‘worthy’ vary from year to year, however, based on the needs of the organization as a whole. In recent years, we’ve only picked a few paladins per year from these tests. We’re not at war, and the arbiters generally find that paladins who go through the entire process of being a squire are better at teamwork and more loyal to the organization.”

Velas nodded. The logic was sound – the process of spending years as a squire was much more likely to weed out spies, as well as build loyalty and dedication between the squire and the paladins he or she worked with.

“That’s my answer. And now I have a question for you – what led you to ask that particular question?”

That one was relatively easy, at least. “I thought about a lot of different options before I realized that you hadn’t said anything about this interview being a secret. My plan was to try to get information that no one else would have, and then share it with the members of my platoon, unless I’m explicitly instructed not to at some point. Similarly, I can ask my platoon mates what they asked and learn whatever they learned.”

“Good. You mentioned your team members – would you share that information with people outside of your own group?”

A good question, and potentially a trick question.

“I wasn’t planning to, but I probably would if it was someone I trusted, or someone I wanted to pass.”

“And under what conditions would you want someone else to pass the exam?”

Velas frowned. Sterling’s questions had seemed a lot easier than these. “Really, it probably would depend on if I liked them. I’d like to have a better answer, but you wanted the truth.”

“The truth is what I’m looking for, Miss Jaldin. Now, how about the people within your own platoon? Would you share this information – or other advantages you might gain during the competition – equally with each member of your platoon?”

Ouch. That’s one is a sucker punch.
“No, most likely not. This isn’t because I wish for anyone on my team to fail, nor would I deliberately sabotage anyone on my team – or anyone else. I’d be perfectly happy if everyone passed. But I came into these tests with friends, and I’m going to be biased toward helping them the most.” She paused for a moment, and then added, “Admittedly, I also owe Asphodel a favor, and I will take measures to pay that back.”

The colonel nodded slowly. “Tell me about these friends of yours.”

Velas bit her lip.
What’s she looking for? Is she testing if I’ll sabotage my friends?

“Landen has been a friend of mine for years. We served together in the Queensguard back in Orlyn. We’ve been through a lot of scraps together and always came out on top. I couldn’t ask for a better partner. I’m happy we were put in the same platoon.”

“I understand you had some role in that?”

Velas forced herself not to wince. “I did ask for us to be placed in the same platoon, yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I thought it’d be more fun. And I’d be more comfortable with him around. And we could help each other pass. I didn’t want to compete against him.”

“But you do realize that you’re competing against everyone, regardless of which platoon you’re in?”

Velas shook her head at that. “Yes and no. As long as we’re in the same platoon, we can help each other out in group tests, as well as any other tests where we have a sufficient amount of contact to trade information. That’s better than being stuck in a different barracks. And I’m expecting more contests where teams are pitted directly against each other in the future. Even if we’re being evaluated as individuals, my teamwork with Landen will make us both look better.”

“That seems reasonable. And what about Applicant Salaris?”

What about Sal? What does she want me to say?

“Salaris, um, I haven’t known him as long. But we’ve been training together under Herod, and I’ve enjoyed that. He’s one of the best fighters here, and I think we complement each other well.”

Do we? Is that really why…?

The colonel raised an eyebrow, which made Velas cringe backward in her seat slightly. Velas wondered if the colonel had detected the hint of a lie – and she wondered if she had been lying to herself with that answer, too.

“All right, Velas. What about the other members of your platoon? What’s your evaluation of them?”

Velas took a breath. This was slightly easier, at least. She could be professional.

“Asphodel seems like she’s going to go a long way. Her companions – Kolask and Teshvol – call her an oracle. She has some kind of information gathering sorcery abilities, which she can use subtly without incantations. I’m not sure what the extent of her abilities are yet, but from her listed score from the first test and the fact that she’s still here, I suspect she’s very capable.”

“Go on.”

“Kolask is extraordinarily protective of Asphodel, which is somewhat silly, given that she’s a much better fighter than he is. At first, I assumed that Kolask and Teshvol were her guards. I think most of the platoon still assumes that. I’ve seen them exercise and spar, though, and seen how they treat her. It’s more like Kolask and Teshvol worship her. And Asphodel doesn’t like the attention.”

“Interesting observation. Why do you think they ‘worship’ her, as you say? And do you mean that in the literal sense, that they believe she’s a deity?”

Velas shook her head. After years of living in Orlyn, she had seen enough prayers to false gods to recognize them easily. “Not quite. It’s more like they believe she’s a messenger of the gods or something along those lines. As for which gods, well, I’ve never really figured that much out.”

“And why not? Have you asked them about their religion?”

Velas shrugged. “We’re all here to join an order of religious paladins. I think asking them if they worship Asphodel might come across as a bit of an insult.” After a moment, she hastily added, “And I’m not telling you any of this to make them look bad. They very well might be extremely dedicated to the Tae’os Pantheon for all I know. I’ve seen people look at Tae – I mean Salaris – like he’s some kind of divine messenger, too.”

“Yes, I’m quite familiar with the problems that have arisen from Salaris carrying that sword around. I believe I’ve asked you enough about your platoon for the time being. Let’s talk a bit more about you. Why are you here?”

Finally, a question she had prepared for. “I spent my childhood hearing about the exploits of famous paladins and priests. As you know, I’m a child of House Jaldin – albeit not by blood. I was adopted at a young age. My family treated me very well, but since I’m not of their blood, I didn’t stand to inherit anything. They gave me a better education than I deserved - everything from healing to swordplay. Enough to carve out my own path in life. House Jaldin has traditionally served Lissari, and I learned her prayers when I was young. It’s taken me a while to get here, but I think this was the path I was meant for.”

“You mention prayers to Lissari, but I understand that you served the false gods of Orlyn for some time. Quite directly, in fact, as one of the guards of Queen Regent Tylan. How do you reconcile that?”

Velas was silent for some time, staring down into her lap. For several moments, the only noise was the scratching of the scribe’s quill.

“I wanted to believe that there were new gods – gods that wanted to serve humanity directly. It’s a compelling notion, isn’t it? Even the Tae’os Pantheon were once mortal. It didn’t seem impossible. And if the new gods wanted to help people, I felt like keeping them safe from harm was important.”

“You wanted to protect them?” Colonel Wyndam sounded surprised. It was the first hint of a strong emotion that had slipped into her tone.

Velas nodded. “I don’t believe the gods are invincible, Colonel. Even in the stories of the Tae’os Pantheon, they’ve struggled against threats – other gods like Vae’lien, monsters like Daesmodin and the Xixian Emperor, and even powerful sorcerers. These fledgling ‘gods’ – or false gods, as they turned out to be – were certain to be vulnerable. If they had been true deities, they would have probably been in even greater danger, since the true gods might have sought to destroy them.”