The Fall of Icarus by Jacob Peter Gowy

The Counter-Plot

Dramatis Personae

  • Prince Jaidev Madadi Zedi — an Elvin male aged 143. Tall for an elf at 16 hands with black hair, bronze skin, and grave features. A windlord and a Prince Master of the Callers, one of the five Caller consistors. Considered a voice of sober reason.
  • Master Minoru Ozan Ohadar, the Charger — a Mannar male aged 65. A short and broad human standing under 16 hands with a thin blond mustache and a round brown face. A presbyter and a Chaplain Master of the Chargers. A ranking member of the College of Tajness. Known to be a shrewd thinker and a wit.
  • Master Kunah Satu Atahan, the Kingfisher — an Elvin female aged 91. Stands about 14 hands tall with narrow, blade-like features, pearly skin, and silver-white hair streaked with blue. A presbyter and a Chaplain Master of the Kingfishers. Also the scrivener of the College of Tajness and a ranking member of the College of Dharalis. Seen as a reserved admirer and a helping hand.
  • Prince Miy Zinta Karamond — a Mannar female aged 75. Short and thin with a wide face, standing just over 15 hands tall and having short coiled black hair and dark brown skin. A warder and a Prince Magus of the Anchorites, chancellor of the Deep Water Academy and thereby member of the Magisterial Synod. A compassionate person with a graceful demeanor.
  • Master Toprak Chandar Mandey, the Anchorite — an Elvin male aged 104. When standing he is roughly 15 hands tall with short gold-blond hair, silver-grey skin, and he has a placid face. A cleric and a Chaplain Master of the Anchorites, member of the Synod of the Gaff. A ranking member of both the College of Tajness and the Priesthood of Andon. Thought of as thoughtful and considerate, and accordingly polite.
  • Master Irmak Chandar Tiryak, the Joiner — an Orling female aged 71. She is somewhat short for an orc at under 17 hands tall and she has earth-green skin and dark reddish hair and a husky frame. A paladin and a Knight Master of the Joiners. Also a ranking member of the Priesthood of Andon. A member of the Tiryak family of southern bashaws. Reputed as passionate and highly informed.

“You should think about adding magic into the routine,” said Prince Miy Z.K. to Master Kunah S.A. “A flare at the right moment, or a lift of wind to carry you into the air. I would like to see that.”

“Go to Kobarobada for their harvest festival,” said Master Toprak C.M. “They put on a stunning magical dance.”

“It’s not a bad idea,” said Kunah, “but I’ve always had a preference for the pure beauty of movement. That is the sort of thing which the College should be focused on in dance.”

“But it would be exciting,” Toprak said, agreeing with Miy.

The door to the room slid apart, oaken panels opening to show two people beyond. One was a metic, a servant employed by the College of Tajness which housed this meeting room. The other was a guardian: Master Minoru O.O., the Charger. Minoru thanked the metic and then swung off his cloak so he could hand it to the servant. Minoru scrubbed his thinning hair with a hand and then took a seat at the table. The doors slid shit.

“Sorry I’m late,” Minoru said the Charger. “Hold-up at the teleport.”

The others nodded. All six of them were there. Miy looked up at the closed doors.

“That kind of excitement is cheap,” said Kunah. “I don’t mean to be offensive. It’s just that artistry will always win out in the end.”

“Hear, hear,” said Master Irmak C.T. “I want to see how you truly move.”

“Is magic not the truth?” Miy asked, staring sharply at Irmak. Few people made Irmak feel junior as quickly as Prince Miy. Only four years of age separated them but Miy had been a master of the order for over ten and Irmak less than two.

“No offense meant, prince,” said Irmak the Joiner.

“None taken,” Miy said. “I asked you a question.”

“I think what she meant to say–” began Prince Jaidev M.Z., but Miy cut him off:

“Let her speak.”

Irmak’s face burned.

“What I meant is that they are two different skills,” Irmak said. “In the dance, I want to see the dancers dancing. I don’t want anything outside of the skill of dancing itself. If we add magic, we must be masking over some of that dancing skill, even if we’re using skill to perform more.”

“Satisfied?” asked Toprak the Anchorite.

“You should choose your words carefully,” said Miy to Irmak, with ice. “An Andonite should know that.”

“Wise words,” said Irmak. “I’ll remember them.”

“It’s a shame that talking about dance brought us such a dispute,” said Kunah.

“Dispute isn’t death,” said Jaidev.

That was when a knock came to the door, and then it slid apart again. The metic, the same one from before, came in bearing a tray of steaming mugs, and a second one came after with a plate carrying two bowls, one of fried rice balls and one of fresh cut star fruit. The smell of barley filled the room. Kunah stood up and thanked the metics. They bowed and withdrew from the room, closing the doors.

No one spoke for a moment. All eyes were on the doors, which did not open again.

“Chairs out, yes?” said Prince Jaidev, already standing up and pushing his chair out. “Miy, if you would seal the door.”

Irmak slid her chair away from the table and stood up. Miy, standing, chanted and gestured in order to lay a magic seal across the door, preventing anyone from passing through. The others pushed their chairs away as well; Toprak grabbed one of the rice balls and ate. Once the chairs had been pushed away, Miy made different gestures, now lifting the table’s top up off of its legs so that it hovered at the height of her ribs. Among the Melzani, no one sat for a meeting of importance.

“Now,” Jaidev began. “We’re all here because of the threat of the Priesthood of Pyrzoun. We’ve recognized it and we may be able to do something about it. But what are we to do? That’s what we have to decide. The Apostle gets more popular day by day. At this point, he’ll meet a mob of supporters if he lands on any eyrie. I hear people talking about expanding these Cross Wars to other lands. Building their own true Priesthoods, as they call them. We’ve all spoken out against the Pyrzounites before and many others have as well, but the League doesn’t seem to heed us. And now… we may not be able to stop the Pyrzounites before much longer. How to push the League forward, how to motivate it to defend itself? That is what we must answer.”

Again, the table was silent as each person grappled with the question. It had been on Irmak’s mind for years, since before the first Cross War. The Consistory and the Ecumenical Synod appeared to be paralyzed in the face of this strange affliction, this new religion.

“Irmak,” said Prince Miy. “Your Joiners are embedded in Kania. What do you know?” Miy stared at Irmak again, but now the razor edge was gone. Her calm intensity remained.

“Everyone in Kania believes that a Second Crusade is going to be called,” said Irmak. “The Midnighters have seen it in a vision, of course. Others have noted badly-disguised scouts and so-called free preachers of the Pyrzounite message roaming deeper into Naqshian and Kobasan.”

“What would be their justification?” asked Toprak the Anchorite.

“Seizing the remaining Midnighters, most likely,” said Minoru the Charger. His usually smiling face was stone serious. “They won’t rest until they’ve demolished the Temple of the Eye.”

“What is the larger threat to us, though?” asked Kunah the Kingfisher. “Isn’t the Cult of Midnight a heretic cult anyway?”

“No, they are heterodox,” said Jaidev.

“What is the difference to us?”

“The difference is that we are not here to discuss that,” said Miy. “The Cult of the Midnight Sun is a lawful cult, by tradition if nothing else.”

“You misunderstand me,” said Kunah. “What I mean is, why should the Kani hold onto these people when it could spark another war? If they gave up the Midnighters, wouldn’t that buy us more time?”

“Why would you do that?” Irmak demanded.

“Not necessarily,” Minoru said, to answer Kunah. Jaidev and Miy looked to him, so everyone else did, too. “The Crusade would give the Pyrzounites the chance to build up their armies further and gain more glory, that is true. However, if the Kani were to give up the Midnight cultists, that would begin to imply the Pyrzounites had power over them. Also, it would diminish the prestige of the Ecumenical, since the Pyrzounites were told to stop persecuting the Midnighters and did so anyway. The result would effectively be the same. Possibly worse.”

“And it is abandonment,” Irmak said. “These are people who lived in peace under our protection. If we abandon them, who will trust us in the future?”

“Agreed,” said Miy, and Toprak rapped his knuckles on the table.

“But that still leaves us with a problem,” said Kunah.

“What exactly is the problem?” Toprak asked. “Is it that the Pyrzounites want to eliminate the Cult or is it that they have an army?”

“It’s both,” said Minoru, “and neither. The real problem is that the Priesthood of Pyrzoun is a tyranny. Each step it takes is a step bringing it closer to its full form.”

“They will destroy the League as we know it if they can,” said Prince Jaidev. “If they get the opportunity.”

“But why?” Toprak said. “I agree, of course, please don’t misunderstand me. But we must find some core to strike at, no? Some central truth which holds them together.”

When no one spoke, Irmak said “Evincarism.”

“What?” said Toprak.

“Ah, what did they call it before?” Miy said, touching her lower lip.

“High guardianship,” said Irmak the Joiner.

“That’s it.”

“It’s a dead idea, at least among the orders, for obvious reasons,” Irmak said. “It probably died around the time of the Maloxian Rebellion, when the Ecumenical chose to come to terms with the Maloxians rather than drive them into the dirt. The League decided not to become the World Empire.”

“Now that’s something I have heard of,” Toprak said. “World Empire. Who was saying that, was it Sar Digor?”

“Some Andonite,” Miy sneered, which made Minoru and Kunah laugh.

“I never claimed to be a scholar,” Toprak said, “Just like I never claimed to be a dancer.”

“But he’s right, it’s all throughout Andon,” said Irmak the Joiner. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard anyone talk about high guardianship directly. I certainly have.”

“Well, they probably assume you know what it is,” Miy said, drawing more laughter.

“Enough,” said Jaidev. He took his hand away from his mouth.

“But why do you say that it’s dead?” Kunah asked Irmak. “It’s alive now, right? Where had it gone?”

“It hasn’t been an open way of thinking,” Prince Jaidev corrected. “There have always been tyrants in the League, but the League has been dedicated to stewardship. Those who may have devoted themselves to high guardianship simply read about it without thinking it would come to pass.”

“Not just that,” Irmak said. “The chaplains all work to prevent people from sympathizing with high guardianship.” Toprak opened his mouth, but Irmak said “You don’t have to think about it. That’s what the teaching directives say, without ever saying it. We all know that we are servants from above, that we guide and protect the people of the surface on behalf of the Ten Victors. These weren’t part of the teaching before the Rebellion.”

“And who called it evincarism?” asked Toprak the Anchorite.

“Those who were against it,” said Irmak.

“Of course,” said Toprak, shaking his head.

“It’s a short-sighted strategy, in my opinion,” said Minoru. “That is probably why it’s been effectively outlawed.”

“What’s the use of becoming kings when we rule the skies, is that the idea?” asked Kunah the Kingfisher.

“That’s it,” said Minoru.

“I’ll never understand the ambitions of those like the Pyrzounites,” Prince Miy said stonily. “Never. To spread destruction, for what? To prove you are in control?”

“It’s surprising to me that it has come back again,” Irmak said. “I thought I could ignore the Pyrzounites until the Crusade happened.”

“Great Gods, who ever thought they would succeed?” Kunah asked.

“Agreed,” said Minoru. “I swore the Ecumenical were hamstringing them but they managed it anyway. Now I don’t know who could ever knock them out of Whun.”

“But this is why the high guardians are back again, isn’t it?” Miy asked. “Even muted as they are?”

“Yes, I think so,” said Irmak. “But if the Pyrzounites can be humbled, I think they’ll fall away again.”

“And that’s what we’re here to organize, isn’t it?” asked Prince Jaidev.

“Yes,” said Minoru.

“So let’s proceed.”

Minoru nodded and drummed his fingers on the table. “Alright. I’m sure we all believe that we need to somehow arrest the Apostle, right? Good. But that’s not our chief concern.”

“What is our chief concern?” asked Irmak.

“The Second Crusade,” said Minoru the Charger, and Miy nodded. “We have to find a way to prevent it from succeeding. Our best way now is to pressure the Consistory to continue the ban on Crusader recruiting in the protectorates.”

“Why don’t we meet them in force?” asked Kunah. “They have no windlords, no order mages. Couldn’t we recruit some allies, a relatively small group, and just smash the Army of the Cross?”

“If we were the Ecumenical, or even if we were masters of the stable, maybe,” said Miy. “But none of us have the authority to order anything like that. We couldn’t get enough people on our side without going to the Consistory, and they aren’t going to allow us to build a force which is meant only to oppose another sanctioned force.”

“They might not,” said Minoru. “But they might.”

“Let’s stay focused,” said Prince Jaidev. “For now, the Consistory.” The others nodded. “I have my vote and I know there are others who oppose the Pyrzounites, but I don’t think we can overcome the wealth-builders who see a new trade to exploit.”

“Could the Ecumenical lean on them?” Irmak asked.

“Unlikely,” said Minoru the Charger. “The only grandmaster who is firmly against the Pyrzounites is Prince Harshad of the Joiners, is that right?”

Irmak nodded. “They’ve been calling us next-to-heretics,” Irmak said, “for not bringing down the Midnighters before now. They’re tearing Kania apart. It’s our duty to oppose them.”

“But if it wasn’t for that, Grandmaster Harshad would probably be on the side of the Pyrzounites. Is that right?”

“I don’t know about that.”

“But the Ecumenical has been looking for high guardianship in a way for a long time,” Minoru continued. “Or at least, they hate any hint of dissent from the surface. Every century or so, there is some action from the eyries to assault the surface. I believe the Ecumenical sees this as just the latest way to strike fear into the hearts of the surface dwellers.”

“That… is true,” said Irmak the Joiner.

“It is?” Miy asked, her eyebrows high.

“Where did you read that?” Toprak asked.

“You don’t read it, exactly,” Irmak said. “But think about how the protectorates are ruled. Commanders have all the power, villages cannot even choose their own speakers. Priests are appointed by the commander, taxes collected by the commander. Those who don’t follow the Melzan Rule must submit to confession. We don’t like to admit it but the protectorates are run like groups of evincarates.”

“Be careful where you say that,” said Minoru.

“I am,” Irmak said. “It’s important here. This is why we can’t rely on the Ecumenical or even trust them to keep things quiet if we brought it to them.”

“They may be supporting the Pyrzounites until it’s too late,” said Prince Miy. She seemed to roll the thought around in her mouth.

“What we should do,” said Toprak, “is remind the commanders in the protectorates about how much of a headache these Pyrzounites are. These Crusaders. Does anybody really want them running amok?”

“That could work,” said Minoru. “The Crusaders don’t have a good reputation among the commanders, it’s true.”

“But can we get enough of them on side in time?” asked Toprak the Anchorite.

“I think the Magisterial can be convinced to form against them,” Miy said, cutting in. “I’ve heard the other chancellors talk about their dismay at breaking up the Midnighters.”

“And the Kani must bring the case to the Temporal Court,” said Jaidev. “Once there, we can at least testify in support of them.”

“But that won’t happen until the Crusade is declared,” said Irmak. “The Court won’t hear it until some crime has happened.”

“You’re right,” said Jaidev. “Can they help us now in any way?”

“Gird themselves for war,” Minoru said.

Irmak nodded. “We’re already trying to supply weapons as we can,” she said. “Many lords don’t want to believe it, though, or they think that opposing the Pyrzounites without cause will bring the wrath of the League upon them.”

“There’s nothing else?” Prince Jaidev asked.

Minoru shook his head. “As of now, the entire Kan Hegemony is effectively a protectorate of the Pyrzounites. Until the Pyrzounites break the terms of the first settlement, it’s unlikely the Kani will get a hearing from the League in any way.”

“How do you figure that?” Toprak asked. “How have they taken over the entire hegemony?”

“Like we’ve said, that first settlement gave the Pyrzounites the right to occupy Whun, correct?” said Minoru. Toprak nodded. “That’s the Pyrzounites infringing on the sovreignty of the Kani, and the Kani aren’t allowed to retaliate. That means that the Kani are effectively under the Pyrzounites’ power, since they have to avoid upsetting the Pyrzounites at all or lose even more rights.”

“They are being stupid, these Pyrzounites,” said Toprak. “Why even call this Second Crusade?”

“High guardianship,” said Minoru. “They don’t want to just control by influence, they want to destroy the Kan Hegemony and rule in its stead. The Exalter of the Priesthood is to be like a king, the Apostle her viceroy.”

“I’ll have to read more about this,” said Toprak, “if it’s even possible.”

“I’ll point some books out to you, if you like,” said Irmak. Toprak smiled.

“Kunah, how do the Dharalians feel about Pyrzoun?” Jaidev asked.

“Badly, I’d say,” said Kunah the Kingfisher. “The College of Dharalis always seems to have problem operating wherever the Pyrzounites are. Non-Pyrzounites start to distrust every Melzani, and the Pyrzounites don’t want anything to do with anyone outside the Priesthood.”

“Can you use your contacts to start working on the commanders?” Jaidev asked. “Better if you can get the president or another officer on board, too.”

“I will try,” said Kunah.

“As will I,” said Prince Miy. “Many of the magisters in Ursia and Vaishia owe something to me. We should be able to put pressure on Vung and Mum and Sylgu.”

“Thank you,” said Jaidev. “We must also think about how we can disrupt the Second Crusade once it begins.”

“Irmak, have the Joiners thought of making stashes?” asked Minoru the Charger.

“What do you mean?” Irmak asked.

“Small stockpiles of weapons and armor,” said Minoru. “Maybe buried, hidden away in places only you know. You said that many of the lords don’t want to accept your weapons, isn’t that right? Perhaps you can give them the weapons anyway and just inform them when the time comes.”

“I don’t know,” said Irmak. “I haven’t been directly involved in that activity. But I will bring it up. I know the grandmaster is anxious for ways to blunt the next war.”

“Good,” said Minoru. “It’ll also be upon all of us to work within our orders and try to get people on side. We won’t be able to raise a large force, but if we can even get a few windlords and mages who are willing to break rules in order to support the Kani, it will give them a huge advantage over the Crusaders.”

Everyone nodded in agreement with this.

“And we will also need to deal with the Apostle,” said Minoru.

“Yes,” said Prince Miy.

“How?” asked Kunah.

“He can be arrested,” said Jaidev. “It’s very straightforward.”

“But for what?” asked Toprak the Anchorite, and Kunah nodded along. “If he has the ear of the Ecumenical, or close enough, what would we bring him up on that would work?”

“The Ecumenical won’t interfere with the Spiritual Court,” said Jaidev. “If he is censured by the Spiritual Court for high contempt of the Kani, he will no longer be able to leave the eyries. The second decision against him may also convince the Ecumenical that the Pyrzounites are more trouble than they are worth.”

“Wouldn’t they then appoint another Apostle?” Kunah asked.

“Yes, but the next one may not be so capable,” said Minoru. “Right now, we must take advantage of every opportunity to destabilize the Pyrzounites. We can prepare our final strike later.”

“So we are determined to arrest Apostle Karakush,” said Miy.

“I believe so,” said Minoru.

“How will we do it?” Miy asked.

“It will take time,” Prince Jaidev said slowly. “We won’t have an easy opportunity. But there are more of us than in this room. We have our connections. We will need to use our compatriots to form teams which can be ready to receive the Apostle. But then we have to wait, watch, and listen for a chance.”

“Should we do it on the eyries or on the surface?” Toprak asked.

“We won’t know,” Minoru said. He looked at Jaidev who nodded. “We’ll have to prepare for both.”

“That gives us a choice, doesn’t it?” Irmak asked.

“What choice?” asked Minoru.

“The protectorates recruitment measure,” said Irmak the Joiner. “If we allowed it to go through, we could be pretty sure that he’ll be in one or more of the protectorates sometime soon.”

“That’s interesting,” Miy said.

“We should keep it in mind,” Minoru said, “but still oppose the measure as much as we can. It’s better if we don’t let them expand their recruitment at all. But this is a sunny side.”

“Could we get the High Inquisitor on board?” asked Toprak.

“No,” Prince Miy said firmly. All eyes went to her. “If there is any evincarist among the surface dwellers, it is the High Inquisitor of Mum. He swaggers about as if he is the emperor of the protectorates.”

“That makes him useful,” Jaidev said.

“It makes him the kind of idiot who would approve of the Crusades,” Miy said. “You must trust me. You have not looked into his eyes. I have. We cannot use him.”

“Does that mean the Apostle is safe in Mum and Sylgu?” Toprak asked.

“The High Inquisitor’s authority does not override our own,” Miy said.

Toprak frowned. “Prince Miy, please be serious. I am.”

Miy scowled, but Minoru the Charger spoke first: “As long as we don’t reveal our plans to the Inquisitor, we shouldn’t need to worry. Even if he would support the Pyrzounites, he won’t make a move if we don’t give him a reason to. We just act as though we’re not after anything until we have the Apostle in hand.”

“And what if he struggles?” Kunah asked. “What if it gets difficult?”

This gave the group pause.

“We’ll have to let him go once, I think,” Minoru said. finally. “We may have to kill him. But the first time, unless we come to another decision first, we won’t try too hard. If he fights, let him go and stay close to him. Then we’ll decide what to do.”

“We should kill him,” Irmak said sternly. “I don’t see why we should wait.”

“We have to weigh the best path towards destroying the Pyrzounites,” said Minoru. Jaidev and Miy nodded. “If we have the Apostle in hand and we try him, we get all the political spoils from that. If we kill him, it might be us that winds up on trial.”

“It seems a small price to pay for striking against these heretics,” Irmak said.

“Heretics?” Toprak the Anchorite asked.

Jaidev nodded. “We inch around it,” he said, “but it is the only conclusion.”

“Are you saying–”

“No,” said Jaidev. “But in the way that the Pyrzounites would call the Midnighters heretics, that is how the Pyrzounites are.”

“So they’re heterodox?” Kunah asked.

“No, it’s more than that,” said Jaidev.

“We are against the evincarates,” said Irmak fiercely, “because the evincars tyrannized the people. The evincars worshipped the Demon King and ruled in his image. That is evincarism. We cannot have evincarism in the Melzan League. We cannot.”

“They’re heretics, in my mind, because what they do is indistinguishable from true heretics,” said Minoru. “They say they are working for the Victors, but if they succeed, they will only breed heresy.”

“I can’t believe that,” Miy said. “That isn’t why I’m here. This isn’t about demon worship. This is about the stability of the League. This… high guardianship will destroy the trust people have in us.”

“That’s my thought, too,” said Kunah the Kingfisher. “They’re guardians, like us. Sworn to the Melzan Orders. We don’t have to associate them with demons.”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Minoru, “as long as we’re all committed to opposing them with everything we have. The gods can sort out what’s in their minds.”

Everyone agreed to that.

“It’s a shame that you could not have tried our barley tea,” Kunah said. “Everything’s cold now.”

Miy lifted her hands and, with a few motions and a few words, vanished the tea from the mugs and vanished the star fruit.

“How good are the dumplings?” Prince Miy asked.

“Oh, excellent,” Kunah said.

Miy looked coolly at Kunah, then slid her eyes over to Toprak.

“It was good,” Toprak said, nodding but his voice just slightly rising. Miy repeated her spell and about half the dumplings disappeared. Kunah scowled but didn’t say anything.

“We have to meet somewhere else next time,” Jaidev said. “Where can we meet?”

“It will have to be somewhere on Anzelon,” said Miy. “Perhaps the Metropolitan Hall?”

“I think so,” Minoru said. “Is there any chance of finding space in Andon or Dharalis?”

“I don’t think so,” Irmak said of Andon, and Toprak shook his head. “Not where we would be left alone without suspicion.”

“Not in the Founding Hall,” said Kunah. “Possibly we could find a place at one of the terminals, but I think six people teleporting to the same terminal on the same day would be noted.”

“We may have to take some risks,” said Prince Jaidev. “But we’ll discuss it further at the next meeting. I expect to hear about the progress you all have made in drawing together more elements of this plan.”

Miy then brought the seal down from the doors. Minoru was the last to arrive but made sure to be the first to leave, only to have to come back and ask Kunah how he could get his cloak back. Toprak went after them. Irmak made to leave as well but Miy touched her arm.

“You have a great deal of anger against the Pyrzounites,” Miy said.

“Yes,” Irmak said. “I didn’t think so before but… nothing about them makes me think they are anything but evil.”

The two of them left the room side-by-side, emerging into the rest of the Founding House of the College of Tajness.

“I agree,” Miy said. “Our disagreements are slight. I know that. I hope you feel that way as well. Whether they associate with demons… you may be right, or I may be. It doesn’t matter. We’ll fight them to the end.”

Irmak nodded and smiled at Miy, and Miy smiled back at her. They separated. They both would travel to the eyrie of Anzelon but that didn’t mean they wanted to travel together. They were allies, not more.


Irmak awoke at a sharp, forceful crack at her door. She was in her room within the Sword Hall of the Order of the Elect Joiners, she recognized that, but just for a second before everything receded from her and she was left in blackness. She reached out and around but found nothing. Her wall remained, her bed remained, but she could not see and could not hear. She tentatively stepped off the bed. She waved her arm to see if she might hit something, then she stood up.

Someone shoved her back down. Irmak blinked but her vision didn’t come back. Then it did, everything seeming to shift back into focus. Three people were in the room with her. One appeared to be an Elvin wielding a sledgehammer. The other, a tall Elvin or perhaps a Mannar, wearing the habit of a magus. Irmak blinked until she recognized the third person, standing in the middle: Master Kunah S.A., the Kingfisher, who stared down at Irmak without emotion.

“You were so very close,” Kunah said. “But you’re a typical Andonite in the end. You have to overanalyze everything. You have to have your theories.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Priesthood of Pyrzoun is not about some nonsense of ‘high guardianship’,” Kunah said. “It is about the true rule of the Ten Victors. You say that the Pyrzounites are heretics? And you defend some rotten surface cult which doesn’t even recognize them?”

“No,” Irmak said. “You–? But how did we not know?”

Kunah laughed. “I believe in the Priesthood’s work, but I never joined,” she said. “There are more of us than you realize. And it’s proven useful, hasn’t it? If I’d been a member of the Priesthood, you never would have invited me to your meeting of traitors.”

“Gods above,” Irmak groaned.

Kunah laughed again. “They aren’t on your side,” Kunah said. “They are sitting in judgement of you and deciding to cast you into the hells.”

“Gods,” Irmak groaned.

“I’ve already got Jaidev and Miy in hand,” Kunah continued. “We’ll have the others soon. This has all been authorized by the Consistory, don’t worry. They were extremely interested to learn about your plots to destroy a legitimate branch of the Melzan League. How you planned to murder the Apostle and frame him as a demon worshipper. Not one even hesitated to throw Jaidev out and demand his arrest.”

“Victors, Gods,” said Irmak.

“But you were right, Irmak,” said Kunah. “You and Master Minoru. We will reshape the Melzan League. The time of demons is coming, you see, and we have to be prepared. The Priesthood of Pyrzoun will be our only salvation by returning us to the true reign. The Victors will be reborn. And from the depths of damnation, you will be a witness to our glory.”

“Gods.”

Kunah shook her head. “Take her,” she said. “The Consistory will decide her punishment. Thrown off the eyrie, I think. Hopefully they won’t think about leniency. I don’t want to have to kill her myself.”


Posted

in

,

by

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *