Watt-Evans, Lawrence - Annals of the Chosen 01 (46 page)

"Well,
you
saw"
she
said,
startled.
"He
killed
our
guide!"

"No,
besides
that.
How
many
rogue
wizards,
real
or
alleged?"

"Oh!
None."

It
was
Breaker's
turn
to
be
startled.
"None?" "No,
of
course
not."

"But
isn't
it
his
duty
to
kill
rogue
wizards?"
"Yes,
of
course,
but
he
hasn't
found
any
to
kill." "Have
you
asked
him?" "No,
I
...
No."

"Do
you
think
he's
recruited
them?"
the
Archer
asked. "That
they're
working
for
him?"

"Maybe,"
Breaker
said—though
in
fact
he
had
not thought
anything
of
the
sort;
he
hadn't
yet
worked
that
far through
his
ideas.

"I
don't
think
there
were
any,"
the
Seer
said.

"Seer,
how
long
have
you
been
the
Seer?"

"Thirty-two
long,
tiresome
years.
Since
a
little
after
my twentieth
birthday.
Why?"

"How
many
Wizard
Lords
have
you
known?"

"Three.
I
don't
see
why
this
matters."

"The
other
two—how
many
people
did
they
kill?"

"None.
They
weren't
Dark
Lords."

"But
rogue
wizards
...
?"

"There
aren't
...
oh,
I
don't
know."

"There
aren't
any
more
rogue
wizards?"
Breaker
asked. "Is
that
what
you
mean?"

"Maybe.
I
don't
know.
There
haven't
been
any
for
thirty-two
years."

"Longer,"
the
Scholar
said.
'The
last
confirmed
instance of
a
Wizard
Lord
killing
a
rogue
wizard
was
during
the
reign of
the
Wizard
Lord
of
Greensand,
about
three
hundred
years ago.
In
fact,
when
the
Dark
Lord
of
Spider
Marsh
resigned he
cited
the
dearth
of
rogue
wizards
as
one
reason
he
had
attempted
to
alter
the
system."

Breaker
and
the
Archer
exchanged
glances.

"It
seems
to
me
he
had
a
point,"
Breaker
said.

"The
Council
of
Immortals
felt
otherwise,"
the
Scholar said.
"They
said
that
it
was
proof
the
system
was
working just
as
it
was—the
presence
of
the
Wizard
Lord
prevented wizards
from
going
rogue
in
the
first
place."

"The
presence
of
the
Chosen
is
supposed
to
prevent
Wizard
Lords
from
going
dark,
but
how
many
have
there
been since
then?"
Breaker
asked.

"Since
the
Dark
Lord
of
Spider
Marsh?
Just
the
Dark Lord
of
Goln
Vleys,
and
now
the
Dark
Lord
of
the
Galbek Hills."

"So
we've
had
three
Dark
Lords,
and
no
rogue
wizards,
in that
time?"
the
Archer
asked.
"That
sounds
to
me
as
if
the cure
is
worse
than
the
disease."

The
Scholar
shrugged.
"Perhaps.
But
remember,
the
Wizard
Lord
also
regulates
the
weather,
to
ensure
good
crops and
safe
passage,
and
his
presence
deters
bandits
and
other criminals
as
well
as
rogue
wizards."

"Don't
the
priests
bargain
with
the
ler
for
good
crops?" Breaker
asked.
"Ours
certainly
did
in
Mad
Oak."

"Well,
with
earth
ler,
certainly,"
the
Scholar
answered,
disconcerted.
"But
the
wind
and
rain
..."
He
hesitated.
"You know,
I
don't
know
whether
that
can
be
controlled
locally.
I would
think
it
could
be—but
then
why
do
we
have
the
Wizard
Lord
do
it?"