Thick silence hung over the Guild as it slumbered, wrapped in the comfortable dark of a moonlit night. Since the thunderstorm from the early evening had peetered out, chased away by hearty winds blowing in from the north, the sky was mostly clear but dappled with a few dark cloud shapes, accented with pale illumination. Already well past the hour when servants retired, stalwart magicians cleaned up their personal experiments and the most alert of guards drifted into a lull, a single room on the eastern side of the magician's residence of the Guild glowed with a scintillating rainbow of everchanging hues.
Laying on the downy blankets covering her bed, Sonea's eyes bored holes in the grey ceiling several feet above her head. Having encapsulated the globe hovering near her desk in a translucent shield of color, the light had changed from her standard silver to whatever color she imposed upon the shield. Currently, it had shifted from yellow to red but she morphed the red into orange at the last second and rolled over to consider the box of game pieces kept perpetually on her desk. The box was as she'd left it prior to dinner with Takan and their unexpected company, the High Lord and Administrator. Every piece was in its place on the board, one missing from each side. Next to the board sat three rings, their red glass "gems" reflecting hazy prisms under the light of Sonea's globe.
Dinner never felt like such a chore as it did tonight, she reflected, rolling over to stare out her window at the trees in the gardens outside. Only hours ago she had been at the other end of that garden in the High Lord's residence, challenging the two most influential magicians in all of Kyralia over policies that directly affected her and, truthfully, anyone else in Imardin. Since that fateful day months ago when she and Akkarin had defeated the Ichani at the foot of the University steps, Sonea had been bound to the borders of the city, unable to cross beyond them and always under the watchful eye of an escort. She understood the necessity of the escort outside of the Guild gates. It was a way to pacify the population that she would pose no threat to the people in the same way a rogue magician had done centuries ago when the Guild was founded. What upset her most was that the Guild had shown not to trust her within the grounds, forcing an escort on her at all times. Granted, they let her choose her escorts, but she'd soon discovered that she could only spend so much time alone in her room before she desired another place to think by herself. Yet she had none.
Letting out a dissatisfied grunt, Sonea flipped from her side to her stomach, supporting her head with her hands. Sparing a glance for the rings at her desk, her mind wandered back to the conversation she'd had with Takan over desert after Balkan and Osen had left the dinner table. He had proven to be a wonderful source of information yet there were things he could not answer or could only say were rumors or even possibly lies. The one thing that had reassured her was a story that Takan had told her from his time as a slave of Dakova. Closing her eyes, she could almost hear Takan repeating the story to her again...
"Understand, my lady, that I tell you this because I trusted the one who told me. Litan seemed to be a good man who did not deserve his fate, but I will give you his story and let you judge...
Litan was taken from his parents when he was a young boy. His magic potential was unlike any that Illiova had ever seen. When Illiova accidently discovered Litan fetching water from a spring by coaxing it up from the well without a bucket, she did not hesitate to take him. Litan never knew what happened to his family, but he was sure Illiova would not have left his mother and father alive, since they had been magicians themselves. Litan had been told to keep his powers a secret but he was a small boy and their only child and it made his chores easier.
Illiova was not a mother and had no knowledge of children, but she knew that a magician child living in the wastes was an amazing find. She took Litan back to her camp and kept him separated from her other slaves for several days. She told him that each man or woman she kept was evil and that she was keeping them to make sure they never harmed anyone again. That was why she took their power, to keep them powerless and to make sure she was strong enough to hold them against their will. Litan, having only eight summers at the time, believed her to be telling him the truth. He offered her his help and she hugged him to her, telling him that he could best help her by never talking to her prisoners for they were all liars and thieves. He was to watch them and guard her. In return, she would teach him more useful 'tricks' he could do with his powers.
Litan soon grew very powerful under Illiova's tuteledge. He had her knowledge and was allowed to replenish his power from her slaves. As he aged, he realized that Illiova was not as old as she had first appeared and he began to grow attached to her in a way that confused him. Later he would say he loved her, though he never did confess this to her. Many years later, Illiova was caught in a conflict with another Ichani and she destroyed him easily, taking his slaves and his power. It was then that Litan realized exactly what Illiova was. She was one of the evil magicians that his mother had told him stories about as a child! He repudiated her as she returned from battle triumphant, cursed her for deceiving him and attacked her before she could full defend herself.
They battled quickly and fiercely but Litan had drained all of Illiova's slaves near to death as she was returning, with the promise that Litan would free them as soon as their captor was dead. Litan slew Illiova and took her power out of instinct, feeling her essence flow through him. When the euphoria of her immense power flow died out in him, Litan looked down upon his beloved, lifeless on the ground, dead at his hands, and began to weep for what he'd done. He grew angry with himself for judging too hastily and tried to pour his power back into Illiova's dead body but found that while he could get the power to go in and store there, the moment he removed his hands from her, the power would seep back out again.
For several hours, he lay atop her, crying. Around them, the slaves he had drained to take Illiova's life began to call out to him for the help he had promised. Finally, he roused himself enough to fulfill his promise and, one by one, he brought the slaves back from death's door, filling them with every last shread of power he had until he was nearly dead himself. They left him there to die at his request...
And he would have died if Dakova had not found him and dragged him back to his camp where he bound Litan's hands and feet, left him in a tent of his own and put me in charge of him. I tried to offer my power to Litan as Dakova had ordered, to nurse him to health, but he refused. Instead, he told me his story. I knew then that Dakova would not keep him, that Litan was too dangerous. He had killed an Ichani and Dakova must know this for Dakova read the mind of every slave he acquired.
I left Litan to sleep then, knowing what would surely happen to him and felt sorry for his plight when I heard shouting from his tent and ran back to see what was happening. Inside, Litan was staring up at the ceiling of the tent but his eyes were clearly not seeing. He was shouting names, over and over, his face full of fear. He shouted 'Leave me alone!' in between random nonsense but soon fell quiet except for a few whimpers. Afraid that Dakova would punish me for mistreating his captive, I shook Litan until he woke and confronted him about the shouting. A miserable sigh escaped him and he admitted to hearing voices. Not all the time, but when he was on the verge of sleep or asleep, sometimes he even thought he saw Illiova sitting next to him. Having never heard of this before, I could offer him nothing so I left again, unsure of what to do.
In the morning, I was informed that Dakova had killed Litan in the night and drained his powers. One of the other slaves had caught him shouting again, had said Litan had loosed his bonds and was wandering around the camp looking for his dead love. Rather than wait, Dakova had taken care of Litan then and there, worried that his 'illness' would spread to the rest of us...
...That is the story of Litan, my lady. I hope it has not disturbed you, but it was the first thing I thought of when you told me of your plight. Since Litan, I have heard of others with the same problem, but never came into contact with them. I was once told that to cure such ills you could make an 'appeal to Armje's judgement' but I never understood what that meant and dismissed such knowledge as a tale. I have heard of no deity named Armje, nor any person... I am sorry I could not be of more help to you."
Opening her eyes again, Sonea dismissed the rainbow barrier from around her globe light, letting the silvery light free to cast its pale radiance around her meager room. Sitting up from the warmth of her bed, she rose and moved to her desk, one hand reaching out toward the black pieces of the board. Tracing the contours of the largest piece with her finger, she frowned. Takan's story had made her feel better only momentarily. She now knew that such things were at least somewhat common elsewhere, even if the only place that was true was Sachaka. Which meant they were likely tied into black, or higher, magic somehow. What she didn't know was the cause. Granted, it likely meant she was going insane, but if there was a reason behind why she was hearing voices, one in particular most of all, then she could get it to stop. Or continue and lead her to some other conclusion?
But what would that be? she mused to herself, setting the black piece up straight again before moving to consider the three rings next to the board. First Sonea picked up the silver ring, then placed it on her thumb because it was too big to fit any other finger. Next, her gold ring that had never been worn went to her middle finger and, between the silver and first gold, she had a place for the third ring, the ring Akkarin had made for her. A hint of sadness broke through her curiosity, making her pause with the last ring above her index finger. Squeezing her eyes shut tight, she jammed the last ring onto her finger between the others and extended her thoughts toward the rings. What am I missing? she jabbed at the rings, mentally, holding her breath for some sign that would break through the silence and answer her curiosity.
Nothing. As she let out the breath she was holding and opened her eyes, she considered the rings on her outstretched fingers. The light they reflected back at her, winked in and out, mocking her.
Letting out a frustrated shout, Sonea clenched her fists and swept the pieces from her desk in one, fierce movement. "Stop givin' me rub!"
Sonea...
The voice, achingly familiar, resounded in her head. She stood from her desk, too upset to be frightened, and took a careful look around. "Hai! What d'you want? I'm tryin' hard to get it, I'm givin' it the best go I can... what else can I do?" Sonea pleaded with the silvery shadows.
Sonea... Dannyl...
Clenching her fist to her chest, her breath caught in her throat and she choked, coughing out her surprise. "Hai, Dannyl? Dannyl? What about Dannyl? He's right-sided an all, but..." she paused, realizing she'd slipped back into the language of dwells with surprising ease. She was worried, worried and talking to herself. Presumably talking to herself, anyway. What could it hurt to ask Dannyl for help after she'd already approached Takan. Certainly Dannyl wouldn't think... but no, he was in Elyne and she couldn't go to Elyne.
Sparing a glance at the ceiling, and one around the room for good measure, Sonea narrowed her eyes and added, cautiously, "You'd better not be gettin' me or Dannyl in some rub here, you get? I don't care if your done already or not. I'll get Cery to do you again, you understand!" Shaking her fist at the ceiling, she sighed and shook her head, looking down at her clenched hand. Somehow she knew they fit into the puzzle but she couldn't be seen wearing those rings outside her room. She couldn't even afford to be seen with them inside her room!
Maybe a jeweler could... was her first thought but then a grin found its way to her lips for the first time in days. She was a magician, of course she didn't need a jeweler to help her. Sitting down again at her desk, apprehension warring with excitement in her heart, she focused her will on the metal surrounding each stone, melting it just so that the stones loosened from their gold and silver grips before plucking all three gems out and setting them gently on the desk. Discarding the useless pieces of metal into the false bottom of the game box, she opened her desk drawer and found what she was looking for - the necklace that Cery had given her just after the memorial service a few months ago. He'd told her it was meant to have stones but rather than presume to add something for her, he'd told her she could choose something fitting in time.
Smiling softly, Sonea half-wondered if Cery knew exactly what she might need such a piece for one day. Rather than speculate, she got to work setting the three red gems into their places and sat back to look at her work. Only one thing looked wrong, she realized. The Higher Magicians would easily recognize the red gems and ask her where she got them from. But she could fix that too. Taking the discarded pieces of metal back out of the box, she melted a small bit of the gold over each gem, making sure to cover the red color so that the glass gems would only poke through the back, touching her skin but not showing at all on the front. Testing the metal to be sure it had cooled, she put the necklace on and leaned over to pick up the silver brush from her dresser.
Even though her reflection was distorted by the brush's curved back, she saw herself smile with satisfaction. It felt right to be wearing the gems again, even if she wasn't sure how they fit into her predicament. Sonea wasn't even sure what her next step would be in all this, but if disembodied voices that sounded peculiarly like Akkarin's were directing her to ask Dannyl, then ask Dannyl she would. Placing her brush back and quickly cleaning up the mess she'd made of the game pieces and metal bits, Sonea felt light-hearted. Hopefully tomorrow would bring more pieces of the puzzle in place.
First, however, she needed sleep. Climbing into bed, she let the silvery light wink out as she stared up at the ceiling again, noting how the shadows swooped in on her room. When she had woken this morning, her life had been filled with despair and guilt. Laying down to sleep now, she finally had some answers to questions that had plagued her for weeks. And somewhere, she felt a part of her rejoicing that she might have some personal freedom along with her fledgling emotional freedom. Only one thing was certain, time was running out and all of this was happening for a reason. If only she knew what that reason was. As she drifted off to sleep, one thought kept floating in and out of her subconscious...
Perhaps Dannyl would give her the answers she needed.
