CHAPTER TWO: COUNCIL

 He melted through the shadows in the form of a grey, rolling mist. A few commoners looked at the strange mist in surprise, but ignored it, believing it to be a figment of their imagination, for what smoke moved against the wind? Had Alain a corporeal form, he would have chuckled. Amnians were so quick to ignore magic; for they feared its power… they feared that by acknowledging it, they would have to find someway to deal with it.

 So they left the Cowled Wizards to deal with magic, and in doing so handed over all responsibilities and worries to the mysterious spell casters. And that suited Alain fine, for, as a member of the secret sect, he gained much of the power that the wizards possessed. After all, the inner council desired power above all else, and Alain could provide much more power if he controlled Amn than the weak Council of Six, who were interested in gold and nothing else.

 It amused Alain to have himself as a member of the Cowled Wizards, gradually converting more and more of the wizards to the worship of Bhaal, and then bringing them to Spellhold for training. The negligible training the Cowled Wizards offered was laughable, so when Alain offered to those wizards who worshipped his father, a chance to study with archmages and share in the massive library there, none of them refused.

 After all, what was an oath of loyalty if it meant that they had access to the best, most intense magical training in the Sword Coast? Alain smiled. The way to the heart of wizards was power, knowledge and opportunity to use that power and knowledge. Guarding Amn did not give the Cowled Wizards much pleasure… but ruling it for an Emperor… that gave them opportunities to use their power as much as they liked to pursue anything they wished.

 Alain shifted himself through the tiny gap in the door of a derelict building, and then, safe within the building, he allowed the smoke to solidify, to slowly gain corporeality. The edges of his robes were the last to change from mist to cloth, and by the time they had, he was already walking forward, towards the door at the end of the hallway.

 The more powerful Cowled Wizards who were loyal to him were waiting within there, supposedly with a gift that would make him ecstatic. Wizards who were not prone to exaggeration saying such things excited Alain. What did they have that would make him ecstatic?

 He drove thoughts and questions away, and fixed in his mind a powerful nullifying spell, ready to cast it at a moments notice. Making sure he didn't use his hands to open the door- he was always wary of treachery- he strode into the room, his robes shifting like liquid shadow.

 "What is it then," he snapped his tone crisp and impatient. "What have you got that warrants my presence now, when I have many things weighing on me and devouring my time. Speak quickly and concisely, I have no wish to stay here long."

 A wizard in russet robes, his face shrouded by a cowl, bowed. "Master… we have captured someone we thought would interest you… his name is Phaan Colwyvv… and our wizards have exerted much effort in capturing him discreetly. Mind-probing has confirmed that he is a Council member."

 Alain nodded. "You did not need mind-probing for that, just well-placed spies who see the Council of Six without masks… and without clothes. The whores of Athkatla are willing to tell anything, for the right price of course. Let me see… Phaan Colwyvv… he is the Tessarch, which makes him second only to the Meisarch… the leader… this is fortuitous indeed, wizard… bring him here."

 Pulling his black cowl to conceal his face, Alain waited as two wizards moved out of the room. They were gone for a few minutes, before they returned, with a man naked except for a loincloth, his feet and arms bound with chains. He was a wiry, hawk-nosed man, and he looked as if he was accustomed to power… although that was hidden behind fear, and surprise.

 "You… you are Cowled Wizards… how dare you… how dare you kidnap me! I demand to be freed! You will be lucky to escape destruction when I am through with you! I will send the legions against you, I will unleash the forces of the Council… do you hear?"

 Alain stepped before the council member, and chuckled. He tugged roughly on the man's long hair, and pulled it so he faced him directly. "Tessarch Phaan Colwyvv… let me see… you are one of the two surviving Council Members from the original council… you used to work as a spy for the Shadow Thieves, but when you became a ruler of the Empire, you stopped, intent to make your fortune through slaving in the Underdark. You killed your five brothers so you could become the head of your family… and you often call on a girl called Rose after council meetings."

 The Tessarch paled. "How… how do you know such things?"

 The Chosen smiled, although he knew the Council member would not be able to see it. "My dear fellow, I know everything… now… about releasing you… I think I might do that… wait there a moment, and I will take care of it all."

 A few mutters broke out among the wizards, but a pointed cough from Alain silenced them. He muttered a few words, and then touched Phaan's cheek almost tenderly, before releasing the spell in an instant. An agonised shriek echoed through the room, and magical energies lashed out against the Tessarch, flaying him alive, spattering his blood upon the floor as he writhed, shrieking and shrieking for a release that never came.

 Another whispered spell, and then a beam of blue light sped into Alain's hands, as he called the soul of the dead Tessarch towards him with magical syllables. Smiling, Alain pulled from his robes a pure crystal vial, and with another spell, sent the gleaming light of the Tessarch's soul into the vial, where it pulsed vibrantly…

 Alain then looked around the room, and said, "I want complete silence."

 He held the vial that shivered with the soul of the flayed man, and then started to chant quickly and carefully, summoning the powers of the Weave to his side, channelling the energies of the soul into his own bloodstream, where it was devoured hungrily by the blood of his father… he heard the screaming of the soul, as its identity was lost amidst the raging torrent of bloodlust that was Bhaal.

 And then Alain smiled, and he used the power of his divine blood to melt, his face losing all solidity, turning to mist for a moment, before turning into the hawk-nosed, thin man, whose eyes crackled with power… the rest of his body continued to melt away into mist, and then solidified into the form of the Tessarch. There were gasps of awe from the assembled wizards, and he knew they were wondering how he had done it.

 They would never be able to do it.

 It wasn't a seeming, which was an illusion, and therefore able to be dispelled… Alain was using the divine gifts of his blood to assimilate the identity of the man he had slain. It was one of the abilities being a Chosen of Bhaal granted him, along with immortality and other abilities. To be able to shape shift into the form of his victims, if he assimilated their soul, was a potent and very useful gift.

 "My fellows… it seems that I have just become a member of the Council."

*

 When Phaan entered the Council building the following day, there were comments on how well he looked, for he walked with a greater confidence than before. Nalia de'Arnise, the Meisarch, frowned, suddenly suspicious, and uttered a quick spell that would remove all traces of a seeming.

 Nothing happened, however. Phaan looked at her, and raised an eyebrow. "Is it the place of the Meisarch to check each Council member for… what?"

 Nalia blushed, and bowed her head. "Forgive me, I had a moments doubt. You know who it is we now face, Phaan. The Lord of Brynnlaw has somehow subverted the ogre magi to his cause. They have named him their master, and have turned their Empire to the worship of dark Bhaal. Although they do not move against us yet, I am sure that Alain will not wait. He will either come against us openly, marching at the head of his ogres- for they are his now –or he will work against us in secret, using the Cowled Wizards as his tool."

 There was an exasperated sigh. "Come now, Nalia. You have said all this before. The Cowled Wizards are a tool for no man, Chosen of Bhaal or not. You become almost tiresome with your constant warnings about the wizards. You, as Meisarch, are in charge of the wizards, so you, as Meisarch, should be able to control them. Not to mention the fact that you are the strongest archmage in the Sword Coast… if there was any issue, you could march into the Cowled Wizard stronghold, and defeat them completely."

 Phaan took his place at the Council table as a woman spoke caustically to Nalia. It was interesting to find out that at least one member of the Council did not particularly like de'Arnise… perhaps their rivalries could be manipulated… or better yet, perhaps more of the Council could be converted to his cause. They were after power, just like the wizards, only they wished gold as well. Power and gold could be given to them, if they swore allegiance to him…

 But they would never swear allegiance to him while de'Arnise was leader of the Council. No doubt she had Harper spies placed throughout the city, who would find out in an instant if any of the Council wished to betray her. In that way, Nalia was a tyrant… though she would never admit it to herself.

 "I am waiting for the proof they seem to so easily hide… and that in itself is a warning that Alain is working from within the Cowled Wizards…"

 Inwardly, Phaan- or Alain- smiled. It had taken him years to change the way the wizards did things. Before, they had incriminating evidence everywhere in Amn. Had Nalia acted then, she could have destroyed the wizards utterly… but she hadn't, because then, she hadn't been a Council member… so while she was consolidating her power, Alain was working with the Cowled Wizards to remove all evidence of foul play.

 And now it left her in an awkward position.

 For years, she had been denouncing the Cowled Wizards as evil and power-hungry, yet now, when it came to the crunch, she had no proof of anything. Phaan licked his lips. So another of his plans had been successful… it had fermented disunity within the Council.

 A younger man, who Alain knew was the Dehaunarch Pehluss Tanislove, said, "Enough of this, Nalia… we can deal with the Cowled Wizards when the time comes. I think we must discuss plans for the defence of the north. As you say, Alain will move soon… and with a hundred thousand ogres, orcs and hobgoblins under his command, he can overwhelm us easily."

 Nalia shook her head. "Not easily. Along the frontier, we have seventy thousand legionaries, supported by Harper wizards and priests. Every border fort is strong… we even have another forty thousand soldiers marching south as we speak. If he moves the army north, then he will be defeated with ease, whether or not he is an archmage."

 Pehluss said, "They number far more than a hundred thousand, Nalia. There are another fifty thousand throughout the empire, guarding towns and fortresses, protecting the coast… those ogre magi were no fools, unfortunately. They moved quickly to take the south, and then consolidated their conquests so that we could never take it back even if we wished to."

 Phaan interrupted. "Have we included any considerations for Alain moving troops by ship?"

 The archmage de'Arnise looked at him, and then shook her head. "No… Alain won't do that… he has very few ships… I have seen them docked at Brynnlaw. His control over the pirate town has given him seven ships, which he uses to pillage and loot ships bound from Maztica… it has given him an impressive hoard of gold… he has also raided the Gate and Waterdeep, stealing tomes and magical artefacts… but he does not have the numbers of ships necessary to launch a seaward invasion."

 Again, Phaan said, "My sources say he has ten ships in Murann, and another five docked at a beach north of there… at that to the seven ships at Brynnlaw… and there is enough space to transport the crew of thirty pirates, along with a hundred soldiers…"

 Nalia said, "They cannot be transported in enough numbers to make a difference, and Alain will not do so. I know him well… if he cannot gain instant success from an operation, he does not act at all. For all his subtlety in magic, his intellect leaves a lot to be desired."

 The business of the Council went on, and Phaan sat there, and mused. So another of his plans had worked, to lull the Councillor de'Arnise into a false sense of security. Years of tiny plans and intrigues that had escaped her notice had given him the strong position from which to launch his invasion… years of intrigue had given her the impression- false, of course- that he was a poor planner.

 But she would be proved wrong… for now he knew that the coast of Amn was barely defended. He would send Cowled Wizards to each of the docks where he had ships, and would have them place wards against scrying upon them. Nalia would believe the ships remained in their docks, and so would be taken completely by surprise when an army led by Alain, along with many wizards, cutthroat pirates and powerful ogres, invaded the soft heartlands of Amn.

 Phaan did not smile, though inside, he couldn't wait.