Stealing Sorcery (61 page)

“That is not your concern right now.” Rialla tightened her jaw. “Did you have Nedelya Theas killed?”

Torian reopened his eyes, taking a deep breath. “A half dozen years without seeing me, and the first thing you do is spout accusations? I’m disappointed in you, Rialla. I taught you better than that.”

“You also taught me to be direct. Answer the question.”

Torian turned his gaze to the side – indicating he had not been caught by Rialla’s deception sorcery, if she was utilizing it at all – and spoke into the air. “Not in the direct sense, but I suppose the answer you’re looking for is ‘yes’. I convinced her to end her own life.”

I suddenly feel as if I should have a sound sorcerer with me to make a record of his voice somehow. Is there a sound equivalent to my mirrors? If not, I should devise one.

“Why?”

The older man slumped his shoulders, putting his head in his hands. “It’s complicated. Is this really what you want to be discussing with me?”

“It’s the first thing.”

“Very well.” He leaned back in his bed, turning his head toward the ceiling. “It was necessary. Necessary for the salvation of this world.”

Rialla’s hands tightened. “You don’t get to shield your actions behind vague prophecies.”

“There was nothing vague about it, child, nor did I act solely on faith. Have you heard of the Shrouded One?”

Rialla nodded curtly.

“And have you seen what he is capable of? No, I suppose not, or you would not be asking me this. He would have already set you upon a different path. This,” he waved his hands above him, “is just one potential existence. The Shrouded One sees many possibilities, and guides us down a razor-thin trail toward a chance at our world’s survival.”

The sorceress shook her head. “And this Shrouded One decided that you needed to have Nedelya Theas killed for our world to survive?”

“No, I admit the Shrouded One’s command was not that detailed. ‘Edrick Theas must know great and terrible despair.’ I was among those entrusted with this knowledge, and I chose to fulfill this command myself.”

“Why? Even if that’s true, why would you choose to be the one to do it? And why would you want to hurt someone else just to get to him?”

Torian smiled softly. “Because, child, that is precisely what he did to me.”

The Rethri man sat up, straightened his shirt, and then stood and turned away from his daughter. “Do you remember Ellarae?”

“Of course I remember my mother. I wasn’t an infant when she died.”

Torian shook his head. “No, but you were a child. Too young to understand what had happened. Too young to understand the tragedy of what—”

“I grieved for mother, just as you did. Do not presume your sadness outweighed mine.”

Torian turned, clenching his jaw. “Sadness? Is that what you expected? Grief? It was shame, daughter. Shame that my wife – my joy, my love – had brought another man’s child into the world. A half-breed. An abomination. And that creature, that monster, took her life.”

Rialla drew in a sharp breath. “I… You can’t know that.”

The sorceress’ father shook his head. “It is a kindness that we do not explain to children why some Rethri are born as ‘uvar’. It is a simple thing, when you consider it – they are not Rethri at all. They are born of a human father and a Rethri mother.”

Rialla stepped back, shaking her head vehemently. “No. No. I have studied
uvar
for years, father. This cannot be true – not always true, in every case, at the least. I have met both parents of
uvar
children.”

“It is certain that some parents would wish to conceal their shame, or even deny the obvious. But that creature was not my son.”

“He was still my brother!” Rialla stepped forward, balling a hand into a fist, but she did not strike.

If she’s too loud, she may wake others. Guess I might need to be ready to handle a mess.

Torian nodded. “I understand that now. And for what it’s worth, I have prayed day after day to the gods to send you back to me, and to let you forgive me. I see now that they have listened.”

“Perhaps to the first part.” Rialla narrowed her eyes. “I will never forgive you.”

“We are family, Rialla. You will give me your trust again, given time. I understand now that I made a mistake – I should have done everything in my power to try to save the child, as much as it pained me. I did not expect to lose you over it.”

Rialla turned her head upward, focusing her eyes on her father’s. “You should be sorry for wanting to kill a child, father, not sorry for yourself for losing me as a consequence of your own actions.”

The older man shook his head. “Sending that child to Vae’lien was the honorable thing to do. It would have simply festered and died, as all uvar do. There was—”

“Elias is alive, father.”

Torian reacted as if struck, stepping backward widening his eyes. “No… But… How?”

“I have dedicated every moment of my life since we fled this place to finding ways to help him. And, though you will never see him, you should know that he is happy, and that he will never know what you tried to do to him.”

“It is… I could not have known. All our studies have shown—”

“Perhaps you should have studied a bit harder before putting a knife to my brother’s heart.”

Torian turned away. “If this is true, I admit that our people’s tradition may have been in error.”

“Still deflecting. Always deflecting. You were wrong. You, personally. But that still hasn’t answered my earlier question – why would you want to do Baron Theas harm, and why through others?”

“I should think that was obvious, but perhaps you are still too young to consider such things. Edrick and your mother were close. Need I spell things out further?”

Rialla shook her head. “No, that is quite sufficient. You assume they slept together, you assume that is the reason your wife is dead, and you assume that is the reason your child was born wrong. Did you even bother to investigate, father? Did you ever ask mother if she had lain with him? Did you ask others? Did you think to confront Edrick himself?”

Torian waved his hands, as if cutting the air with them. “Irrelevant.” He turned back to face his daughter. “He was the only one. The only human she associated with closely, and in the right time frame. They knew each other for years – decades. It was unseemly, but his lifespan was longer than that of an ordinary human, and thus they shared many experiences. I should have cut that bond long before. It is my greatest shame that I did not see the signs sooner.”

“That was not what you missed, father.” She turned his head up to meet his, her eyes shifting from blue to indigo. “Elias was never an abomination. You were.”

“That’s enough, Rialla. You will not speak to your father in such a manner.”

“You’re right. I will simply be dictating commands now.”

“What do you –”

“Be silent.”

Torian’s mouth snapped shut, a look of confusion stretching across his features.

“When I raise my right hand, you will move to your writing desk. You will write a convincing letter to your daughter, Liarra, detailing how you could no longer live with your guilt after being involved in the death of Nedelya Theas.”

Jonan stepped forward, taking in a sharp breath.
Well, this is a dangerous turn of events. I should probably stop her now.

“Now that I consider it,” Rialla continued, “I am going to permit you to speak one last time before I continue with your instructions. Do not call for help. Do not raise your voice above a speaking volume. Do not attempt to turn your eyes away or to flee. Were you involved in the death of Kalsiris Theas in any way? Answer my question directly, and then stop speaking again.”

Torian shook, and Jonan saw a trail of blood beginning to drip from the corner of the Rethri man’s mouth, but he opened his jaw and spoke again. “I hired a man to kill him.”

“And that man was called Sterling? Reply honestly.”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now, no more talking. To continue my instructions, you will leave the letter on your writing desk, and then immediately take your sword – that one, by the bedside,” she gestured to a sheathed weapon, “and stab yourself in the chest with it.”

She stepped closer, keeping her eyes fixed on her father’s, and spoke more quietly. “You will not seek help. You bleed to death slowly, contemplating the actions that caused you to murder a wife and child to wound a father, and knowing that your daughter will never forgive you.”

And, having spoken those final words, Rialla Dianis raised her right hand.

***

Jonan vomited quietly into the streets just outside Southway Manor.

He had not seen Torian Dianis end his own life, but knew that he had witnessed the man’s death and chosen to do nothing to stop it.

He did not feel vindicated, even with the knowledge of Torian’s involvement with the murders at House Theas. He did not feel strong, even knowing that he had helped avenge the death of a child.

He felt dirty, sickened. Sickened at his own inability to choose if the sight he had just witnessed was justice or just another twist of fate’s relentless blade.

He was sick with guilt, guilt over his failure to guess at Torian’s role before Nedelya took her own life.

He was afraid – terrified that Torian’s work had been necessary. Horrified that some entity had believed that one man’s misery was the only way to preserve the world.

Why?

Why would one person’s suffering have so much meaning?

He would find no answers that night.

THE END

Several characters in this novel were inspired by characters played by friends in my pen and paper and live-action role-playing games.

Lydia Hastings was created for Forging Divinity, but later played by Kari Brewer. Kari’s portrayal of the character helped to contribute toward my vision of Lydia and her further development as a character.

Nakane Theas was created by Danielle Collins and used with her permission. Danielle also significantly contributed to the development of House Theas in general, such as defining the characters of Kalsiris Theas and Nedelya Theas and defining their ultimate fates. She currently runs a live-action role-playing game in the same setting as this novel, Rendalir Remembered.

House Jaldin was created by Robert Saunders and used with his permission. Velas Jaldin was inspired by a number of sources, including Rob’s own character (Aleran Jaldin). Other inspirations included Valdis Brynhildr, a character played by Morgan Buck, and D’artangia, a character played by Joslyn Field.

Landen of the Twin Blades was heavily inspired by Larkin, a character played by Robert Telmar.

Asphodel was created by Carly Thomas and used with her permission. The version within the story significantly differs from her player character, but nevertheless, the original served as significant inspiration for the version in this novel.

House Ta’thyriel was created by Michael Corr and used with his permission. He generated much of the early backstory for the house, which has been adapted and expanded for this story. He also created the character of Ulan’dir Ta’thyriel, Aladir’s father. Aladir Ta’thyriel was inspired by Fae’lien Ta’thyriel, played by Chris Ruffell, as well as one of my own old characters.

Dreas Glaid was created by Devin McCarthy and was adapted for this novel with his permission.

Jonathan Sterling was a non-player character in Shades of Venaya and played by Andrew Warren.

Lieutenant Garrick Torrent is a reference to Tavren Torrent, a non-player character portrayed by Alex Arjad.

Thank you all, as well as all my other players and tireless staff members, for helping to contribute so much to my world.

While my good friend Erik has made an admirable effort to classify the Deep Dominions, I fear that research into their interactions within the body has been largely overlooked by my scholarly brethren. The functions and costs of the Prime Dominions are well-classified – indeed, Master Tarren has done much of this work himself, and I credit him for his efforts. Nevertheless, I found the subject intriguing enough to warrant additional research, and here I will present some of my initial findings.

Erik tends to classify dominions based on their manifestations – physical, mental, or energy. I prefer to classify each dominion based on its relevance to the body, which I tend to find more practical. Of the deep dominions, some have clear effects on the body that relate to everyday functions. The most obvious is likely the Dominion of Sight – its utility is obvious from the name alone. I refer to these as “Requisite Dominions”, in that the quality of our daily lives would be drastically reduced without them.

Others serve important functions, but are less obvious. The Dominion of Protection, for example, helps bone and skin growth, which serves to both improve the physical capabilities of the body and provide protection against sorcery. It’s important to note that not all creatures appear to have this dominion in measurable quantities – indeed, humans and our cousins like the Rethri appear to be the only species in which this dominion is present.

This helps to explain why some forms of sorcery are vastly more effective against other creatures than they are against humans – the Dominion of Protection enables our skin to act as a natural filter, preventing external sorcery effects from entering our bodies. This does not grant any sort of immunity, of course; it is merely a layer of inherent defense that other creatures do not appear to have.

Similarly, the Dominion of Spirit – which I have long studied along with my colleague Ulan’dir Ta’thyriel – appears to have an important function in assisting the body in recovering from trauma. I admit that in spite of the egregious number of apostrophes in his name Ulan’dir is presently better versed in this particular subject, and thus I will leave it to him to explain in one of his own future essays.

Dominions such as protection and spirit are thus quite important, but less obvious in their functions. I refer to these as “Beneficial Dominions”.

There are other Deep Dominions that have no obvious role in the body at all – these I call “Esoteric Dominions”. The effects of these dominions on the body are much more difficult to quantify, but I will continue in my efforts to catalogue their functions and side effects in the future.