A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I decided to do a few more Numair POV cause I like doing them and you guys like reading them (or say you do). It was brought to my attention by someone reviewing another of my stories that Numair figures out he loves Daine in the beginning of ROTG. And I agree, but his love could be building all the while in Carthak. I don't think we'll ever know for sure, which is the reason for all these fics you see about it.
Insomniac-Reader – Thanks!
Wild Magelet – haha, if only. Thank you!
Rose8 – here it is, more. Although I don't know how much I am going to do.
Narm's Briton 44 - grins......thanksthanksthanksthanks!
CrAzYhOrSeGiRl88 – I'm glad you approve! Doesn't the reason behind Numair being so distrustful of Kaddar make so much more sense when Ozzy has something to do with it? Not just Numair is being overprotective?
Goddess Of The Moon – I agree, Numairs prospective is very interesting! Thanks for the reminder about the love timing issue; I hope it's all right that I kind of bend what she's given us for the purpose of my stories.
This is not the scene directly after the previous chapter.
In the darkness, sixteen-year-old Ozorne held up a torch, throwing the handsome features on his face into relief. He smiled and turned to his best friend, Arram Draper, just one year younger than Ozorne. "Here it is, the temple of Jihuk. God of deep desert winds and demons."
Arram nodded slightly in recognition of the name. Recently in their studies at the Imperial University they had discussed this god. He was a great god, along with Mithros and the Mother Goddess, but didn't get as much publicity. He liked to work quietly.
"It's huge." Arram murmured.
"Yes," Ozorne answered as he started climbing the first steps. "The Ancients felt they needed to bribe him to keep his desert demons away from their cities." When he was at the entry way he turned to Arram. "Come on."
Arram, still hesitant about being here, slowly climbed the steps. When he joined Ozorne at the doorway he nodded, signifying that he was ready. "They tried to bribe a god?"
"They were foolish." The two youths entered the temple wherein the temperature dropped considerably. "Then they realized that trying to bribe him with a large temple, even on his own grounds out here in the desert, was not enough."
They continued walking through the temple, scanning the ancient writings on the walls with their eyes. "This is in Old Thak," said Arram. "They're prayers."
"To Jihuk, asking him to keep away the winds that could cover up their city. Over here is a writing that is curious." He held the torch up to light upon a large door on which there was precise writing, different from the other prayers. "An old man came here one night to pray for his families safety from demons. He was carrying out the proper ceremony when a great windstorm hit inside the temple. The old man was knocked out when his head hit one of the walls. But when he came to he saw this door that had never been there before. And this writing was on the door." Ozorne gave Arram a moment to digest the story and try to decipher the writing before continuing.
"It says that Jihuk demands blood. Every full moon they must leave someone from the city behind this door to be sacrificed for the good of all." Ozorne smiled evilly. "The first sacrifice was the old man."
Arram felt a chill go through him. "The other gods didn't do anything about it? They allowed him to do this?"
"What could they do? He was completely within his rights to demand their lives. The other gods do it. They command thousands to go to war, Jihuk commands one man a month to die for him. Besides, why would they do anything? It sounds like a good idea to me."
Arram looked at Ozorne. "What?"
"The people chose someone in the village to be sacrificed who was not particularly liked, or who caused trouble. It's a way of cleaning out the filth."
Arram remained quiet, trying hard not to remember that one day Ozorne would be Emperor.
Ozorne reached out towards the door. "Let's go in"
Arram hesitated. "Is that wise, going into the sacrificial chamber?"
"Sacrificial chamber from thousands of years ago." Ozorne pushed on the door hard, and it slowly opened. He walked in and immediately the torch went out with a gust of wind. There were no windows to the outside.
"That may have been thousands of years ago, but I think Jihuk is still around. If I'm not mistaken, this god takes disrespect seriously."
A faint glow of emerald light grew around Ozornes hand. They both froze at what they saw before them. Shelves were lined up on the walls going as far as the light reached. The ceiling was too high up to see by the light, and so the room seemed like it went on forever into the dark abyss of night. In rows on each of the shelves were human skulls, their empty eye sockets staring down at the young men, luring them in closer. In the center of the wide room was a table on which lay a young woman, or the rotting remains of one.
Arram was too disturbed to speak, although Ozorne seemed to have found his voice after the initial shock. Quietly he said, "I thought these practices were long dead. Apparently not." He said it with a fascination, as though it were a mere intellectual discovery, not a room filled with the stench of thousands of years worth of death. "I –"
The door behind them slammed shut rather quickly for a door of its size. The two spun around, realizing immediately that there was no way out.
Numair sat up in bed shaking. He had had his dream again. The one when he and Ozorne as teens had visited the forbidden temple of Jihuk and had almost been trapped before they realized that the door was glowing grey, the color of Lindhall Reed's magical gift. Lindhall had tried to scare the boys out of visiting there again. It worked for Numair, he knew when he was wanted and when to leave a place alone. But Ozorne seemed to be thrilled by the idea that his father, the Emperor of Carthak, had continued on the secret rituals just as all other rulers of Carthak had before him. Numair wondered if Ozorne still kept this tradition going. Then realized that Ozorne probably continued it and sacrificed whole families at a time with zeal.
A sigh next to him shook him from his thoughts. He looked over to see Varice Kingsford delicately spread out under the blanket. His thoughts turned to the night before, the pleasure she had given him, it reminded him of when he had lived in Carthak. She was still beautiful, but he realized with some regret that he no longer loved her; he hardly liked her now that he thought about it. The truth was that he had changed. While Varice still enjoyed petty things, he had come to understand life, and what it really was to love. He loved the Royal family, he loved Onua, Alanna. He loved Tortall. He loved Daine. (A/N: not THAT kind of love.....still friends!)
He looked outside his window and saw that it was time for him to get up and talk to Daine. She had requested and audience with him when they were on the boat and said that it was important. In his mind, talking to Daine was a higher priority than securing a former lover in the morning. Quickly he cleaned the floor of his clothes that had been so carelessly strewn about the night before. He changed into a fresh shirt and breeches then left the sleeping Varice to awaken to an empty bed.
Numair stormed down the elegant corridor, more angry and afraid than he had been in a long time. His attempts to find Daine had been fruitless, and knew that there could only be one reason, Ozorne. He briskly walked towards the aviary where a personal slave of Ozorne had directed him. Getting the whereabouts had taken longer than usual, having to resort to using and reading crude sign language, considering that all of Ozorne's personal slaves were mute.
If Ozorne had taken Daine it would be near impossible to get her back, he could keep her hidden from anyone seeking to release her. Numair knew that there were rooms underneath the palace that canceled out any magical gift from the inside or out. An acute voice at the back of Numair's brain wondered if these rooms would cancel out her wild magic, but was quickly silenced with the thought of Daine being under Ozornes control.
The rational part of Numair considered the fact that she might just be in the aviary with Ozorne, in which case Numair would remove her immediately.
Numair practically ran into the aviary where he immediately saw Ozorne, calm and collected, feeding his birds, and no Daine. Had the situation not been so dire, Numair would have found it amusing that the vain Emperor of Carthak was being flocked about by little birds, completely looking the fool. Ozorne appeared not to notice Numair enter.
"Where is Daine?" Numair knew he sounded harsh and couldn't care less. As far as he was concerned, this man had taken his magelet and was no more fit to be Emperor than the lions in his menagerie.
Ozorne looked surprised to see Numair. "Arram, what an unpleasant surprise. Or is it Numair now?"
Numair ignored this and asked again. "Is Daine here with you, or have you locked her up?" At this second question, Numair's voice held a touch of sarcasm, mocking Ozorne's tendencies to lock up anyone who bothered him.
Ozorne held the slightest look of concern. "Why would we do this? She has pleased us. Is Veralidaine not with you?"
"I checked the baths, and the gardens, and she is nowhere to be found. If she is here and you are concealing her from me –"
"Be assured, Draper," he said this name mockingly. "She is not here. We had hoped she would be, to see how our birds have improved."
"If they have, then you have no further need of her. We all prefer that you leave her in peace."
"We are inclined to give her grace and favor." Numair shuddered at this thought. Ozornes idea of favor was not always what it seemed. "She has served us well, and we wish to reward her."
"She requires no rewards for your providing, your Imperial Majesty." Numair was so angry now he wasn't quite sure what held him back from blasting Ozorne into a million pieces. "She is well enough as she is."
Ozorne had not looked at Numair this entire conversation, and continued to feed his birds. "Such heat over a girl child, and one without family or connection to recommend her. Why concern yourself in her affairs? You will forget she exists the moment some rare tome of magic comes into your hands, or some arcane toy. That has always been your way. You take up with someone, make them feel you are their sworn friend, then turn on them the moment you have what you wanted from them."
Numair knew Ozorne was referring to the experience that had led to their hatred for each other, and knew that he blew it extremely out of proportion. "How like you to see it in those terms. She is my student. You will never understand that. You never could sustain so profound a tie. Once you gained your throne, you decided you no longer required mere human bonds." Numair was absolutely livid.
Ozorne took a moment to respond, lifting his fingers up to inspect his nails. "Human bonds." Ozorne said quietly. "I am certain you and your lovely student have a most profound bond. Must you share a bed with her animals as well as with her?"
The shock Numair felt at this comment was quickly overcome with irrational anger as he lashed his hand out to hit Ozorne as hard as possible.
Ozorne quickly put up a sheet of emerald mage fire, protecting himself from Numairs hand.
Numair pulled back, rubbing the sting away. "If you interfere with her, if you harm her in any way, it will be a breach of the peace accords." His voice was filled with heated anger, his eyes searing into Ozornes. "All of the Eastern Lands will unite to destroy you." He turned on his heal and left.
His entire body felt as though it were on fire, his mind unable to keep simple thoughts pieced together. Ozorne had hit Numair right where it hurt. Numair still did not know where Daine was, although he believed that Ozorne did not have her.
Numair absent-mindedly continued to rub his sore hand. Ozorne had suggested that Numair used Daine for his own pleasure, like some common court lady that he would have lured into his bed in his younger days. Daine was not common! She was one of a kind; she held a place in his heart that no one else could fill, not Varice, not any lady, not a queen or a goddess, not nobody! Daine was too special to be toyed around with, and Numair would never do what Ozorne had suggested. She was his gods blessed student for Mithros' sake.
Numair was the first into breakfast, for which he was grateful. His cheeks were still burning and he was shaking in anger.
Slowly others entered the main room, groggy from lack of sleep. Apparently he was not the only one having a hard time sleeping in this cursed place. He picked at a few fruits on his plate, still thinking about the conversation in the aviary. When Daine entered, he looked up but said nothing.
"Sorry I'm late, I went to the aviary before dawn and got lost coming back." He couldn't be sure, but Numair thought he saw Daine look pointedly at him as she sat down.
As they all finished eating, Numair stood and said "Daine, you asked to speak to me alone. Let's go to my room."
Alanna heard. "Then I go, too."
"It isn't needful – it's just a magic thing." Daine said.
"If you visit a man's room, you need a chaperon." Alanna shook her head. "Really, Numair, you know Carthakis. They think an unveiled woman is no better than she ought to be. Until we leave here, you can't talk with her unless chaperoned or you can manage it in public."
Numair could feel his face getting hot. Even though the lioness hadn't meant for any insult to be made, this hurt him. With the wound still fresh from Ozorne, Alanna had added a touch of salt. It was upsetting, even if it wasn't true. "A fine thing when I can't talk to my student alone." Numair exasperated. "Let's go then."
As he entered his room, Numair noticed gratefully that Varice was gone, although the room smelled lightly of perfume. Numair's blush deepened. He didn't particularly want Daine knowing of the extent his relationship had taken with the woman.
Numair spoke a word, sending black flame into the corners, covering the windows and door. He calmed down a bit and sat on his bed. "It's safe now, talk."
Insomniac-Reader – Thanks!
Wild Magelet – haha, if only. Thank you!
Rose8 – here it is, more. Although I don't know how much I am going to do.
Narm's Briton 44 - grins......thanksthanksthanksthanks!
CrAzYhOrSeGiRl88 – I'm glad you approve! Doesn't the reason behind Numair being so distrustful of Kaddar make so much more sense when Ozzy has something to do with it? Not just Numair is being overprotective?
Goddess Of The Moon – I agree, Numairs prospective is very interesting! Thanks for the reminder about the love timing issue; I hope it's all right that I kind of bend what she's given us for the purpose of my stories.
This is not the scene directly after the previous chapter.
In the darkness, sixteen-year-old Ozorne held up a torch, throwing the handsome features on his face into relief. He smiled and turned to his best friend, Arram Draper, just one year younger than Ozorne. "Here it is, the temple of Jihuk. God of deep desert winds and demons."
Arram nodded slightly in recognition of the name. Recently in their studies at the Imperial University they had discussed this god. He was a great god, along with Mithros and the Mother Goddess, but didn't get as much publicity. He liked to work quietly.
"It's huge." Arram murmured.
"Yes," Ozorne answered as he started climbing the first steps. "The Ancients felt they needed to bribe him to keep his desert demons away from their cities." When he was at the entry way he turned to Arram. "Come on."
Arram, still hesitant about being here, slowly climbed the steps. When he joined Ozorne at the doorway he nodded, signifying that he was ready. "They tried to bribe a god?"
"They were foolish." The two youths entered the temple wherein the temperature dropped considerably. "Then they realized that trying to bribe him with a large temple, even on his own grounds out here in the desert, was not enough."
They continued walking through the temple, scanning the ancient writings on the walls with their eyes. "This is in Old Thak," said Arram. "They're prayers."
"To Jihuk, asking him to keep away the winds that could cover up their city. Over here is a writing that is curious." He held the torch up to light upon a large door on which there was precise writing, different from the other prayers. "An old man came here one night to pray for his families safety from demons. He was carrying out the proper ceremony when a great windstorm hit inside the temple. The old man was knocked out when his head hit one of the walls. But when he came to he saw this door that had never been there before. And this writing was on the door." Ozorne gave Arram a moment to digest the story and try to decipher the writing before continuing.
"It says that Jihuk demands blood. Every full moon they must leave someone from the city behind this door to be sacrificed for the good of all." Ozorne smiled evilly. "The first sacrifice was the old man."
Arram felt a chill go through him. "The other gods didn't do anything about it? They allowed him to do this?"
"What could they do? He was completely within his rights to demand their lives. The other gods do it. They command thousands to go to war, Jihuk commands one man a month to die for him. Besides, why would they do anything? It sounds like a good idea to me."
Arram looked at Ozorne. "What?"
"The people chose someone in the village to be sacrificed who was not particularly liked, or who caused trouble. It's a way of cleaning out the filth."
Arram remained quiet, trying hard not to remember that one day Ozorne would be Emperor.
Ozorne reached out towards the door. "Let's go in"
Arram hesitated. "Is that wise, going into the sacrificial chamber?"
"Sacrificial chamber from thousands of years ago." Ozorne pushed on the door hard, and it slowly opened. He walked in and immediately the torch went out with a gust of wind. There were no windows to the outside.
"That may have been thousands of years ago, but I think Jihuk is still around. If I'm not mistaken, this god takes disrespect seriously."
A faint glow of emerald light grew around Ozornes hand. They both froze at what they saw before them. Shelves were lined up on the walls going as far as the light reached. The ceiling was too high up to see by the light, and so the room seemed like it went on forever into the dark abyss of night. In rows on each of the shelves were human skulls, their empty eye sockets staring down at the young men, luring them in closer. In the center of the wide room was a table on which lay a young woman, or the rotting remains of one.
Arram was too disturbed to speak, although Ozorne seemed to have found his voice after the initial shock. Quietly he said, "I thought these practices were long dead. Apparently not." He said it with a fascination, as though it were a mere intellectual discovery, not a room filled with the stench of thousands of years worth of death. "I –"
The door behind them slammed shut rather quickly for a door of its size. The two spun around, realizing immediately that there was no way out.
Numair sat up in bed shaking. He had had his dream again. The one when he and Ozorne as teens had visited the forbidden temple of Jihuk and had almost been trapped before they realized that the door was glowing grey, the color of Lindhall Reed's magical gift. Lindhall had tried to scare the boys out of visiting there again. It worked for Numair, he knew when he was wanted and when to leave a place alone. But Ozorne seemed to be thrilled by the idea that his father, the Emperor of Carthak, had continued on the secret rituals just as all other rulers of Carthak had before him. Numair wondered if Ozorne still kept this tradition going. Then realized that Ozorne probably continued it and sacrificed whole families at a time with zeal.
A sigh next to him shook him from his thoughts. He looked over to see Varice Kingsford delicately spread out under the blanket. His thoughts turned to the night before, the pleasure she had given him, it reminded him of when he had lived in Carthak. She was still beautiful, but he realized with some regret that he no longer loved her; he hardly liked her now that he thought about it. The truth was that he had changed. While Varice still enjoyed petty things, he had come to understand life, and what it really was to love. He loved the Royal family, he loved Onua, Alanna. He loved Tortall. He loved Daine. (A/N: not THAT kind of love.....still friends!)
He looked outside his window and saw that it was time for him to get up and talk to Daine. She had requested and audience with him when they were on the boat and said that it was important. In his mind, talking to Daine was a higher priority than securing a former lover in the morning. Quickly he cleaned the floor of his clothes that had been so carelessly strewn about the night before. He changed into a fresh shirt and breeches then left the sleeping Varice to awaken to an empty bed.
Numair stormed down the elegant corridor, more angry and afraid than he had been in a long time. His attempts to find Daine had been fruitless, and knew that there could only be one reason, Ozorne. He briskly walked towards the aviary where a personal slave of Ozorne had directed him. Getting the whereabouts had taken longer than usual, having to resort to using and reading crude sign language, considering that all of Ozorne's personal slaves were mute.
If Ozorne had taken Daine it would be near impossible to get her back, he could keep her hidden from anyone seeking to release her. Numair knew that there were rooms underneath the palace that canceled out any magical gift from the inside or out. An acute voice at the back of Numair's brain wondered if these rooms would cancel out her wild magic, but was quickly silenced with the thought of Daine being under Ozornes control.
The rational part of Numair considered the fact that she might just be in the aviary with Ozorne, in which case Numair would remove her immediately.
Numair practically ran into the aviary where he immediately saw Ozorne, calm and collected, feeding his birds, and no Daine. Had the situation not been so dire, Numair would have found it amusing that the vain Emperor of Carthak was being flocked about by little birds, completely looking the fool. Ozorne appeared not to notice Numair enter.
"Where is Daine?" Numair knew he sounded harsh and couldn't care less. As far as he was concerned, this man had taken his magelet and was no more fit to be Emperor than the lions in his menagerie.
Ozorne looked surprised to see Numair. "Arram, what an unpleasant surprise. Or is it Numair now?"
Numair ignored this and asked again. "Is Daine here with you, or have you locked her up?" At this second question, Numair's voice held a touch of sarcasm, mocking Ozorne's tendencies to lock up anyone who bothered him.
Ozorne held the slightest look of concern. "Why would we do this? She has pleased us. Is Veralidaine not with you?"
"I checked the baths, and the gardens, and she is nowhere to be found. If she is here and you are concealing her from me –"
"Be assured, Draper," he said this name mockingly. "She is not here. We had hoped she would be, to see how our birds have improved."
"If they have, then you have no further need of her. We all prefer that you leave her in peace."
"We are inclined to give her grace and favor." Numair shuddered at this thought. Ozornes idea of favor was not always what it seemed. "She has served us well, and we wish to reward her."
"She requires no rewards for your providing, your Imperial Majesty." Numair was so angry now he wasn't quite sure what held him back from blasting Ozorne into a million pieces. "She is well enough as she is."
Ozorne had not looked at Numair this entire conversation, and continued to feed his birds. "Such heat over a girl child, and one without family or connection to recommend her. Why concern yourself in her affairs? You will forget she exists the moment some rare tome of magic comes into your hands, or some arcane toy. That has always been your way. You take up with someone, make them feel you are their sworn friend, then turn on them the moment you have what you wanted from them."
Numair knew Ozorne was referring to the experience that had led to their hatred for each other, and knew that he blew it extremely out of proportion. "How like you to see it in those terms. She is my student. You will never understand that. You never could sustain so profound a tie. Once you gained your throne, you decided you no longer required mere human bonds." Numair was absolutely livid.
Ozorne took a moment to respond, lifting his fingers up to inspect his nails. "Human bonds." Ozorne said quietly. "I am certain you and your lovely student have a most profound bond. Must you share a bed with her animals as well as with her?"
The shock Numair felt at this comment was quickly overcome with irrational anger as he lashed his hand out to hit Ozorne as hard as possible.
Ozorne quickly put up a sheet of emerald mage fire, protecting himself from Numairs hand.
Numair pulled back, rubbing the sting away. "If you interfere with her, if you harm her in any way, it will be a breach of the peace accords." His voice was filled with heated anger, his eyes searing into Ozornes. "All of the Eastern Lands will unite to destroy you." He turned on his heal and left.
His entire body felt as though it were on fire, his mind unable to keep simple thoughts pieced together. Ozorne had hit Numair right where it hurt. Numair still did not know where Daine was, although he believed that Ozorne did not have her.
Numair absent-mindedly continued to rub his sore hand. Ozorne had suggested that Numair used Daine for his own pleasure, like some common court lady that he would have lured into his bed in his younger days. Daine was not common! She was one of a kind; she held a place in his heart that no one else could fill, not Varice, not any lady, not a queen or a goddess, not nobody! Daine was too special to be toyed around with, and Numair would never do what Ozorne had suggested. She was his gods blessed student for Mithros' sake.
Numair was the first into breakfast, for which he was grateful. His cheeks were still burning and he was shaking in anger.
Slowly others entered the main room, groggy from lack of sleep. Apparently he was not the only one having a hard time sleeping in this cursed place. He picked at a few fruits on his plate, still thinking about the conversation in the aviary. When Daine entered, he looked up but said nothing.
"Sorry I'm late, I went to the aviary before dawn and got lost coming back." He couldn't be sure, but Numair thought he saw Daine look pointedly at him as she sat down.
As they all finished eating, Numair stood and said "Daine, you asked to speak to me alone. Let's go to my room."
Alanna heard. "Then I go, too."
"It isn't needful – it's just a magic thing." Daine said.
"If you visit a man's room, you need a chaperon." Alanna shook her head. "Really, Numair, you know Carthakis. They think an unveiled woman is no better than she ought to be. Until we leave here, you can't talk with her unless chaperoned or you can manage it in public."
Numair could feel his face getting hot. Even though the lioness hadn't meant for any insult to be made, this hurt him. With the wound still fresh from Ozorne, Alanna had added a touch of salt. It was upsetting, even if it wasn't true. "A fine thing when I can't talk to my student alone." Numair exasperated. "Let's go then."
As he entered his room, Numair noticed gratefully that Varice was gone, although the room smelled lightly of perfume. Numair's blush deepened. He didn't particularly want Daine knowing of the extent his relationship had taken with the woman.
Numair spoke a word, sending black flame into the corners, covering the windows and door. He calmed down a bit and sat on his bed. "It's safe now, talk."