The Evermen Saga 01 - Enchantress (10 page)

A ragged woman came up to them, ignoring the legionnaires. She tugged on Miro’s clothing. "Please, young sir, I have no job, no money, my daughter is ill."

Miro didn’t know how to respond. "What of your family?"

"My family is dead, killed by the imperials. For speaking out, for nothing!" She spat at the closest of the legionnaires.

"Get gone, hag!" the legionnaire growled, kicking her savagely.

She scurried away.

They passed through spice markets and gem markets, and a section of money changers. For four blocks they passed only carpet sellers. Then it was tinkers, selling pots and pans, tools and knives. A vendor held up an old enchanted knife; Miro could tell it had once been a valuable piece, but it was scratched and the runes were fading.

"Please, only two deens!" the vendor called after them.

"Not so pretty after a while, is it?" Tuok said.

A litter jostled past, borne by eight swarthy men. Through the gauze of the litter Miro could make out a female silhouette. She spoke to an attendant, who at her request brought back items for her to inspect. When one took her fancy, the attendant handed over gilden without even haggling. The market vendors bowed and scraped as the litter swept past.

"Seranthia, Capital of the World," said Tuok.

"It’s a beautiful city, but why are there so many begging? Isn’t there enough food?"

"There’s enough food, but you have to pay for it. If you’ve got money you can buy anything in Seranthia. Anything. Trust me — you don’t want to know some of the things for sale here. On the other hand, if you’ve got no money, you’re out. The Emperor routinely rounds up anyone on the street and throws them over the walls." He looked at Miro with meaning. "It’s a long way down. But still people keep coming, looking for something, I’m not sure what. It’s often I’m glad to be an Alturan."

Hearing music, Miro turned.

A woman danced on top of a small stage. Men stood around, clapping and cheering, drinking and laughing.

She was the most beautiful woman Miro had ever seen, with long flowing hair the colour of gold and eyes bluer than the sky. She smiled as she danced, her body curving and writhing with her movements.

She wore a small skirt, ending high above her knees, almost at the tops of her thighs. A tiny piece of silk was crossed in front of her breasts, and as Miro watched, she removed the silk, throwing it out into the crowd.

The men yelled raucously as her breasts were revealed, heavy and crowned with rosy nipples.

She began to play with the material of her skirt.

Then Miro noticed she never moved far from a particular part of the stage she was dancing on. Looking down, he saw her ankle was chained to the stage, a heavy manacle around her delicate foot.

"Tuok! Lord of the Sky! Look..."

Miro started to run towards the stage.

Tuok grabbed Miro and dragged him away. They both had to move quickly to push through the crowd and rejoin the delegation. Fortunately Captain Sloan hadn’t noticed their absence. Some of the soldiers smirked.

"Take care, Miro," Tuok said. "You are a stranger here, do nothing except what you are told." He roughly pushed Miro away from him, his one-eye blazing. Miro had never seen him so angry.

Miro resolved to stay quiet for the remainder of their journey.

Finally the group entered the district of market houses, the financial centre of the Tingaran Empire. Each
raj
had its own market house: great square structures where the goods manufactured by the
raja
were bought and sold. Services could also be bought — for the right price even elementalists could be hired.

Tuok’s good humour returned. "Want to buy a magic sword, build a big glowing fortress, blow it up with prismatic orbs, and have little wooden men put it back together? This is where you come."

It was also well known that the market houses were the diplomatic centres for the
raja
, where information was worth good gilden. They had all been told to be on the lookout for spies.

Some said that the origin of the term ‘house’ being used for the
raja
came from these buildings.

Miro saw the Torakon
raj hada
on the huge building they were currently passing. Then it was the
raj hada
for the artificers of Loua Louna. The Veznan market house was on the other side of the street. Then, next to the animators’ building, they came to the Alturan market house.

The delegation from Altura had arrived.

~

T
HE
men were quickly settled in their new lodgings. Miro, Tuok, and two others were sharing a room in the east wing. They had barely been there for five minutes when Captain Sloan called the soldiers out.

After they lined up in front of him, he regarded them for a moment, and then assigned various guard duties. "Remember, men, we’re far from home. Keep your wits about you and do not trust anyone."

He signalled Tuok and five other soldiers, ignoring Miro. "We’re on special duty, come with me."

"And Miro?" Tuok ventured.

Captain Sloan regarded Tuok with a level gaze. "If you can find someone who would rather stay here."

Miro wasn’t sure what that meant. He looked over at Tuok, who grinned at him and nodded.

~

T
HE
streets were quieter in the market district, populated with a less lively crowd. The men wore golden rings on their fingers and some had their noses or ears pierced. Many openly displayed an affiliation with a particular house — emerald for the green of Altura, amber for the brown of Halaran, or turquoise for the blue of Loua Louna. Many perhaps prudently wore imperial purple, or showed no affiliation at all.

One of the bladesingers spoke briefly with Captain Sloan, then was followed a moment later by the other nine bladesingers and High Lord Tessolar himself. Lord Marshal Devon said something to High Lord Tessolar, who nodded.

It was the first time Miro had seen the High Lord up close. Lord of the Sky, he was old! His eyes were sunken and what was left of his hair tufted out in wisps. Miro wondered if Lady Katherine’s death had affected him badly.

Tessolar wore a flowing green cloak with an immense collar, the sword and flower
raj hada
woven into the fabric on his chest. The cloak was covered in runes; Miro assumed they gave the cloak similar properties to the armoursilk worn by the bladesingers.

The soldiers fanned out, with the bladesingers occupying the inner circle close to the High Lord.

Miro was surprised to see that it was only a short journey they took, to the market house of Raj Halaran. The Halrana
raj hada
was displayed proudly above the formal entrance — an open hand with an eye in the centre.

The heavy doors opened, and a tall man stood regally in the centre of a crowd, his arms open with welcome. Miro realised this must be Legasa Telmarran, High Lord of Raj Halaran.

The Halrana High Lord wore a brown robe, his
raj hada
on a torque around his neck. So this was the man whose sister had been married to the Emperor, and whose father died in the Rebellion.

High Lord Legasa’s hair was stiffly erect in the formal Halrana style. In contrast, High Lord Tessolar cut a less imposing figure, but seemed wiser in his years.

High Lord Tessolar touched his fingers to his lips and then his forehead in the Alturan manner, and then High Lord Legasa touched his breast and swept back a leg, looking briefly at the ground before meeting High Lord Tessolar’s eyes.

"Raj Halaran welcomes Raj Altura to our House," the Halrana High Lord called loudly. "I, Legasa Telmarran, High Lord of Raj Halaran, give welcome."

In a thinner voice but audible to all, High Lord Tessolar responded. "I, Tessolar Mandragore, High Lord of Raj Altura, accept the welcome of our traditional allies. We thank the Lord of the Sky for bringing us together."

"We thank the Lord of the Earth for bringing us together," said High Lord Legasa.

The Alturan lords and soldiers entered the Halrana market house and were led down a corridor to a reception chamber, decorated with Halrana art — paintings of the land and the harvest, with colours of brown and red. The lords took seats around a stone table, and the heavy chamber door closed with a boom.

A bladesinger stood behind each Alturan lord while the Alturan soldiers lined against the wall. Behind each Halrana lord stood a black figure, polished to a high gloss and standing motionless. Beautifully crafted, perfectly in proportion, Miro realised they must be iron golems. He measured one against his height and realised they were nearly seven feet tall. Symbols covered the golems, the runes glowing red, indicating they had been activated. The constructs were alive.

Halrana in brown robes lined the wall behind the golems. Each wore a torque around his neck and carried a small tablet in his hands. These were the men who could control the golems.

Then Miro forgot everything when High Lord Legasa spoke his first words, staring directly at High Lord Tessolar.

"Our Lexicon has been stolen. We need to know, what do you know of this?"

All in the room tensed.

Miro glanced at the closed door.

8

Do you know what the problem with the world is? Too many houses open their doors to unwelcome guests.

— Emperor Xenovere V, 532 Y.E.

S
TUDENTS
at the Pens were given only a basic class in lore before their abilities in swordsmanship were developed, honed and tested.

Those who proved themselves at the Pens were accepted into bladesinger training. Miro assumed this was where a bladesinger’s knowledge of the runes was taught.

Ella was the real expert. Sometimes Miro felt she knew things he wouldn’t understand if she spent a lifetime trying to explain them.

He pictured her now, her eyes lit up with excitement, explaining to Miro the things only an enchanter knew about Lexicons. He’d found it fascinating.

"Each house has its own lore," Ella had said. "Halrana animators bring golems of wood and bone to life, while Alturan enchanters make the sharpest swords and the toughest armour. Builders from Torakon construct the tallest towers and strongest fortresses. Petryan elementalists can heat the air or draw moisture from it. Louan artificers use their skills to create everything from timepieces to mortars. A Lexicon is the key to all of a house’s lore."

"So everything an enchanter needs to know is in our Lexicon?" Miro had asked. If this was the case, why were there so many books on enchantment?

"No, there’s more to it than that. In the pages of the Lexicon are the perfect representations of the rune structures. Something like an alphabet, combined with a dictionary."

Miro nodded. He hadn’t particularly enjoyed grammar.

"At places like the Academy of Enchanters in Sarostar, new methods and techniques are always being created — ways of arranging runes into matrices for stronger steel, for example — but the runes themselves, drawn by hand by a fallible human, well they can only approximate the perfection of the Lexicon."

"Is that all?"

Ella sighed in exasperation. "No, that’s not all. A Lexicon is a relic of the Evermen — they weren’t created by human hands, and from a Lexicon stems the power that allows the magic to function. Our Lexicon must be protected at all costs, not only for the knowledge, but also so it can be renewed. Just like enchanted items need renewal, so does a Lexicon. Our High Enchantress would not be able to renew our Lexicon if it was lost, which means the runes would fade, and the magic would no longer work."

"All magic?"

"Everything that was made with those rune structures. In our case that means all of our enchantments — zenblades, armoursilk, nightlamps — everything."

"So it needs to be protected."

"That’s right. Each house appoints one individual above all whose responsibility it is to maintain and protect their Lexicon. Unlike the lords, whose position is hereditary, the loremaster is a position that can only be reached with intelligence, skill, and dedication."

Miro had nodded. From what he had heard, even High Lord Tessolar deferred to High Enchantress Evora Guinestor.

~

L
ORD
Marshall Devon was the first to speak. "You have lost your Lexicon? But how?"

Next to him, High Lord Tessolar placed a hand on Devon’s arm. "This is a grave and serious matter. We offer our sympathies, and our full support. This is the first occasion we have had to know about this."

High Lord Legasa nodded, as if confirming something.

The Alturan High Lord continued, "But I have to agree with Lord Devon. This comes as a shock. How did you lose your Lexicon? What of the High Animator? Were there safeguards in place?"

High Lord Legasa motioned with a wave of his hand. There was a creak, and the heavy chamber door opened. A newcomer entered, wearing a brown robe similar to High Lord Legasa’s, but where Legasa’s was plain, his shimmered with runes and the torque around his neck glowed with flickering lights. As he stepped forward he rested his weight on a thin wooden cane, and when he reached the table, he released the cane and placed his hands on the stone, peering at each face in turn, his gaze strangely intense.

Miro gaped in astonishment as the cane sprouted tiny wooden legs and walked into the corner, resting itself against the wall.

"I think I am best suited to answer your questions, High Lord," the newcomer said.

"May I introduce High Animator Gazzio Marcado," said High Lord Legasa.

All of the Alturans in the room stood and touched their fingers to their lips and forehead — even High Lord Tessolar.

"It is an honour, High Animator," said High Lord Tessolar. It was rare for a loremaster to leave his homeland.

"High Lord," said High Animator Gazzio. "Please, sit down. You asked how our Lexicon was stolen from us. My answer is: I do not know. I personally administered the safeguards, the traps and wards. The thief went through them like they did not exist."