Revelation (Seeds of Humanity: The Cobalt Heresy) (34 page)

Rekir’s eyebrows lifted slightly and that winning smile flashed into being almost instantly. “Now this,” he said with a meaningful look to his son, “is something I would like to hear in greater detail.”

Pryzius was furious, his breaths forcing their way in and out of his nose audibly at being publicly ostracized by not only his father, but me—his chief rival—with his father’s apparent approval. Still, he managed to keep himself from erupting but I had little doubt that someone would pay for his humiliation shortly after the conclusion of our meeting.

I leaned forward before continuing. “Manipulation of a populace isn’t that difficult,” I said, trying to choose my words carefully without losing too much tempo, “but building a society on a set of fundamental principles, which the vast majority actually value and agree with, seems like the preferable choice.”

Pryzius scoffed audibly, and Rekir’s eyes snapped to his son before returning to me. “But surely,” the Arch Magos began calmly, “you would agree that such a set of values would constitute little more than a form of pseudo-legitimized anarchy?”

I nodded slowly. “That’s actually a term I’ve heard in previous iterations of this particular debate,” I replied, “but I think that an individual will do the best they can, no matter what the people above or below them say or do.”

Pryzius shook his head repeatedly. “Surely you jest?” he scoffed. “By your reasoning, the people of the wilds cannot elevate themselves above their current station, no matter the forces are applied—or supplied—to them by a more advanced, benevolent society such as ours. That,” he jabbed a finger down on the arm of his chair, “is demonstrably false, as the history of our Empire has proven.”

I shrugged my shoulders and felt Rekir’s eyes on me as I turned to Pryzius. “Those ‘forces’ you talk about are a mirage,” I retorted. “Only the antiquated rely on force—positive or negative—to rule a populace. The best way to create a society is with an ideology that is rooted in values so central to an individual’s character that he has no choice but to adopt a compatible attitude.”

Rekir raised a finger which immediately got our attention. “But what of punishment?” he asked. “Even a society built upon the most liberal of ideals must enforce their codes of conduct with some form of restrictive sanctions.” His smile broadened once again as he added, “I do believe that was the initial topic of this conversations, after all.”

I leaned back in my chair and nodded. “Fewer rules and harsher punishments,” I said matter-of-factly. “Give people more actual freedom, but whenever that freedom is abused there is a severe,
public
,” I stressed the word as I looked at Pryzius, “response which satisfies the populace’s thirst for justice and fairness, while at the same time limiting that person’s ability to abuse their freedom in the future.”

Pryzius shook his head. “Cutting the hand from a thief?” he asked incredulously. “I would hope we have advanced beyond such primitive measures.”

“It’s true,” I admitted, “that physical sanctions are barbaric. But a society could always employ a form of exile for those individuals who simply can’t fit in. And for a civilization such as ours, enacting such a policy wouldn’t be any great issue.”

Slow, measured applause came from Arch Magos Rekir, which once again got my attention. “Well done,” he congratulated. “I believe we have solved the entire issue of judicial application in the span of a mere handful of minutes!” His smile was almost hypnotic, and I couldn’t help myself but return the expression.

Pryzius clearly felt that this was far from over, but he remained silent in the wake of his father’s velvet-gloved end to the conversation.

“So, young Jezran,” the Arch Magos said, leaning forward in his chair, “what has kept you so far from Veldyrian for these many months? It must have been something worthy of review,” he mused.

I glanced between Rekir and Pryzius, considering my next move carefully. After a moment’s hesitation I went with my gut. “I would prefer if this was a private conversation between the High Magister and myself,” I said a bit stiffly without shifting my focus from Rekir, “but I will of course defer to your judgment, Arch Magos.”

Rekir’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly before he replied, “Of course, Journeyman.” He turned to his son, “That will be all, Pryzius. I believe the citizens of Veldyrian would appreciate your continued vigilance on their behalf.”

Pryzius’ face flushed again, but he stood quickly in response to his dismissal. “High Magister,” he bit out better than I could have managed, and turned on his heel to leave the room.

I waited until he had left the study and closed the door before turning my attention back to Rekir, who interrupted me before I could begin.

“That may not have been the most politic course of action, young Jezran,” he warned. “Pryzius will one day take his place in these hallowed chambers—and I can assure you that he has a very, very long memory.”

I really didn’t know how to respond to such a forward statement from the Arch Magos, so I held my tongue until collecting my wits. “I didn’t mean to offend,” I stammered, “but the matter is…sensitive; I wanted to make sure that I had the advice of the High Magister before choosing a course of action.”

The winning smile returned to Rekir’s face. “You are just full of surprises, aren’t you?” he beamed. Without warning, or any visible summons, the door to his study swung open and a well-dressed servant came into the room bearing a familiar-looking bottle of wine and a pair of glasses. After serving the High Magister, the man gave me a glass of my own which was in the shape of some upside-down long-necked bird, and the aroma of its contents was almost overpowering.

I suddenly felt like a fly that had willingly flown into the spider’s web with intentions that were no longer clear, but it was too late to back out. This guy was essentially the leader of the most powerful nation in the known world, and I was having a one-on-one sit-down with him, complete with drinks I would never have been able to afford.

“You know of House Wiegraf’s claim on the northern territory which Magos Antolin applied for and received some months ago?” I began hesitantly. When the Arch Magos nodded, I continued, “I’m curious if that claim has been made official at this point.”

Rekir’s smile returned, but even I could tell that it hid something. “Your claim to the area of,” he furrowed his brow slightly, “’Coldetz,’ was it?” I nodded and the Arch Magos continued. “Yes; I believe that your initial claim’s application was made simultaneously to both the mineralogical and archeological rights sections of the Imperial Expansion Council.” He turned to a stack of books and papers sitting on the table next to him and placed his wine glass down before gathering the top sheaf of papers.

Arch Magos Rekir had clearly prepared for this subject to come up early in the conversation, and I couldn’t help but once again realize that I was in way over my head with this man.

He thumbed through the documents inside the leather-spined papers until he reached somewhere in the middle and began to quote, “House Wiegraf, having satisfied the preliminary requirements set forth by the Expansion Council, is hereby granted total and absolute priority for any mineralogical assets located within the boundary indicated in section twelve…” he trailed off before finding another passage on the next page, “the area of the claim, expressed as the radius of a circle whose center is designated as the castle hereafter referred to as ‘Coldetz,’ shall extend to, but not beyond one standard wing in all geographic directions. Additionally, as is standard for a claim of this nature, the depth of the mineralogical claim has been determined to be two hundred meters, or the maximum provable depth to which the claimant can effectively retrieve assets, whichever is greater.”

I nodded silently, knowing that it was all I could realistically hope for. Antolin had managed to grease enough palms—or whatever he had done prior to joining us at Coldetz—to secure total and complete mineral assets within the castle itself, and within ‘one standard wing,’ which I understood to be just a little over one hundred miles.

“Thank you,” I said graciously, “and the only other question I have about the mineral rights has to do with assay of the mineral wealth located within the area. How is an assayer selected, and when will they be sent?”

The Arch Magos shrugged slightly and set the sheaf of papers down in his lap. “I suppose it would be set in the queue for such claims, which is chronologically determined if there are no extenuating circumstances.” He cocked his head slightly and asked, “Are there such circumstances?”

“I don’t think so,” I lied. “Just how long is it likely to take before our claim is processed?”

Rekir smiled, his short-trimmed full white beard framing his jaw too perfectly. I had the sudden thought that he must manage the thing magically to keep it so perfect. “Veldyrian is expanding faster than ever,” he explained warmly, “and the number of such applications is higher than at any other point in this city’s history. It might be a year before your application is processed,” he said before adding, “without extenuating circumstances, of course.”

I shook my head. “And the archeological claim is of similar language?” I asked, hoping to change the subject without looking too obvious.

Rekir nodded. “Functionally, these forms are simply copies of each other,” he assured me. “The various departments change the headings and some of the specific terminology, but a nation of laws such as ours quickly learns to apply similar language in all such contracts, whether they apply to mineral rights or livestock ownership.”

I grinned, knowing all-too-well how right he was. “Then I suppose that leaves only one issue for us to discuss,” I said with a long, deliberate pause.

The Arch Magos cocked his head. “What is it, Journeyman?”

I bit my lip and chewed for a moment before replying. I needed to sell this right, or it could backfire and take my head off. I leaned forward and clasped my hands between my knees. “There’s some force at work that is apparently determined to destroy the castle where our claim is located,” I began slowly. “We’ve successfully repelled their attacks to this point, but the cost has been high…” I looked up and met his eyes, and I couldn’t read him at all. I knew the only thing to do was continue if he didn’t bite, and just before I opened my mouth to continue he interrupted.

“Your Master?” he asked with concern in his voice that I doubted was genuine. “You mean to say that Magos Antolin has fallen to these forces?”

I nodded solemnly. “I believe so, yes,” I replied gravely and paused again, hanging my head until it rested on my clasped hands.

I listened without looking up as the Arch Magos considered what I had said. I needed to listen very carefully to what he said next, and probably just as importantly, how he said it.

After a pregnant pause, the Arch Magos spoke. “If a Magos of the Empire has fallen victim to these forces,” he mused quietly, “then it is good you came directly to me with this information. If word were to spread of his defeat, it could cause turmoil at a time when such would serve no one but our enemies.”

The hair on the back of my neck stood up as my mind raced. I hadn’t expected that particular response, so I lifted my head and looked at him quizzically. “Our enemies?” I asked, actually confused by who he meant. “I thought that the last Gods War had eliminated the remaining forces capable of stopping Imperial expansion.”

Rekir’s finger was resting above his top lip, and his thumb was stroking his beard as he chuckled. “That is what we tell the populace, and even those High Wizards who never leave the confines of Veldyrian,” he admitted, “but the truth is that our enemies have become even more difficult to battle in the last few decades, especially after our last true victory those decades ago.”

Now I was intrigued. “Why would that be kept secret from the people?” I blurted, uncertain how to proceed with this unexpected course in the conversation.

Rekir smiled, but this time it was more genuine-looking than the previous ones which looked to have been practiced for a bank of cameras. “Our city was founded with a very specific goal in mind,” he said thoughtfully as he looked up and down the bookshelves lining the room, “and that goal requires that certain events occur in a timely, predictable fashion. Veldyrian’s subjects are a necessary component in achieving that goal, and their compliance…or rather, their participation, is required in order to advance the plan to its next stages.”

The subject was taking a turn for the ominous, with talk about compliance and popular participation sounding like all-too-reasonable alternatives to words like ‘slavery.’

“I’m afraid I don’t understand the connection,” I said after a moment’s consideration. “Why would keeping that information from them interfere with the greater needs of the Empire?”

Rekir’s eyes locked onto mine, and for the first time I saw a glimpse of the man who had bent the entire city of Veldyrian to his will, and it was just as intimidating as I had dreaded it would be.

“The people have their jobs to do,” he said coldly, “just as we have ours. But the time for coddling is over; they must fulfill their role, and if they cannot do so in the face of fear, then the source of that fear must be hidden from them so they can go about their labors.”

I nodded slowly as I processed what he had just said. “Then our enemies haven’t been defeated, but have disappeared into hiding?”

Rekir’s smile returned, but this time there was something malevolent behind it. “You understand better than you suggest,” he said in a tone that sent a chill down my spine. “And now we have a way to find them and put an end to their meddling once and for all.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “How exactly do we do that?”

The Arch Magos waved his hand dismissively. “That is a revelation for later,” he said with finality and stood from his chair abruptly. “You will return here in two days’ time and we shall discuss our…partnership in this affair,” he said in a tone which brooked no argument.

I clenched my jaw and stood from my chair. “Of course,” I said as calmly as I could.