Disclaimer – I do not own BMT world, it belongs to Trudi Canavan
A Small Act of Revenge
Balkan ignored Akkarin's greeting, and instead turned to the King. "I must protest at the selection, as your representative, of someone who has been convicted of a most serious crime and expelled from Guild." Balkan's voice was flat and cold, but Sonea could hear the underlying strain as he tried to keep it under control. "This man is no longer a Guild Magician."
The King made no reply, but reached over to his pile of documents and extracted one which he passed to the High Lord, "I believe this pardon solves that problem, Lord Balkan."
Balkan glanced down at the document, then quickly passed it to Osen, "Is this valid?" he asked tersely, pointedly ignoring the King.
The Administrator, read through the document carefully, before answering, "I believe the King has the power to pardon a magician convicted by the Guild," he said slowly shifting uneasily in his seat as Balkan glared at him, "although I cannot recall for the moment when something like this was last done. I would have to check the Guild's records."
"Well" asked the King icily, "are you satisfied I am acting within the law?" His eyes had narrowed and a quickly suppressed expression of anger had crossed his face at Balkan's thoughtless question, but the High Lord had missed the King's displeasure.
Balkan cleared his throat, "It seems you do have this power, Your Majesty," he said in a somewhat patronising tone, "but I strongly urge you to find another to act as your Magician. Akkarin is a controversial figure at best and a divisive destroyer of Guild harmony at worst. I cannot see how his reintroduction will help solve anything. In fact, it will create more problems than it can solve."
The King was about to speak, and from his expression, not too kindly to the High Lord, when he was interrupted.
"I shall not impinge on your authority as High Lord," Akkarin said calmly. "My duties will be as the King directs."
Again, Balkan ignored Akkarin; instead he addressed the King. "What duties will your Magician carry out?"
"It seems to me that the necessity of learning about previously forbidden magic, as originally put forward by Lord Akkarin at his Hearing, has been strongly made. As predicted by him, the Ichani did attack and tried to capture the Guild. They were only defeated though the actions of Lord Akkarin who returned to defend both the Guild and the City."
The King held up his hand as Balkan tried to protest at his description of Akkarin as the saviour of the Guild.
"No, High Lord, we cannot avoid the truth. Your Warriors could not stop the Ichani, despite the heroic little story the Guild took pains to spread in the aftermath. No, it was Akkarin and his companion who succeeded in destroying the Ichani. Only they had the skills that enabled them to fight fire with fire. Only they understood black magic sufficiently well to prevent the destruction of the Guild. You will notice that Lord Akkarin wears black. As this colour is no longer associated with the High Lords after your decision to change to white, I have decided that it shall instead represent a new, if small, Discipline. If the Guild itself won't consider the use of black magic to defend the country, I will. I intend Lord Akkarin to be the King's Black Magician."
Sonea caught a sudden sense of Akkarin's surprise. Whatever he had thought about going back to the Guild, heading a Discipline created and controlled by the King rather than the Higher Magicians was not what he had considered. She pondered the King's plan for a moment. Yes, it could turn out to be a masterstroke. She had always had the impression that Merin was somewhat lacking in confidence and as a result, was widely regarded as being strongly influenced by others. It seemed as if the seven years of Akkarin's absence, together with all the other problems he had had to deal with, had somehow turned Merin into a real King at last.
Balkan's face became even paler as he stared at the King. "You have decided to create a new Discipline?" he asked, his tone conveying his deep shock. "This is unheard of, Your Majesty. It is the magicians who run the Guild, and it is they who decide on the Disciplines."
Merin sighed, "Look Lord Balkan, don't make this any more difficult than it needs to be. Rest assured I have thoroughly investigated what my powers are in relation to the Guild. Despite the fact that my predecessors have not chosen to become deeply involved, nevertheless, the Crown has widespread and significant powers in relation to the Guild, should it be necessary to use them."
"I have concluded that it is now necessary that I exercise my powers to appoint a King's Magician, and, at the same time, to create a new Discipline to which my Magician will belong. There is still a threat from the Ichani and what happened during the previous attempt proves that Lord Akkarin was right in his assessment, and right in the methods he chose to counter that threat. I wish him to prepare the Guild so that when another attack comes, the Guild as a whole can respond properly."
"My actions also relieve the Guild of having to make a decision about who should or should not learn black magic. I am sure you have realised by now, that without that particular skill, it would be almost impossible to defeat the Ichani. Now you no longer have to worry about that part. You have a fully functioning black magician who can prepare the Guild to face its most dangerous enemy."
There was a pause as Balkan stared at his Administrator. Sonea realised they were discussing matters between them, but she could not pick up any of their mental conversation. After a moment, Balkan again regarded the King, a credible attempt at a smile on his lips.
"Of course, Your Majesty. There has always been total cooperation between the Guild and the Crown throughout the centuries; I was merely surprised by your request, that's all. Lord Akkarin is welcome to return to the Guild, now that he had been officially pardoned."
"There is, of course, my companion to consider," Akkarin said quietly.
"Companion?" Osen queried.
Sonea, come down here, Akkarin sent.
But, the King said……she started to reply, only to be interrupted by Akkarin's order.
Down here now!
She hurried to obey, all but running down the steps and along the corridor. She knocked briefly at the door and entered, putting a stop to the conversation that had obviously been going on.
"My companion," Akkarin announced.
Be kind, he sent with a mental smile, they have had a lot of surprises today.
She advanced into the room, bowing firstly to the King who did not look at all pleased to see her, then, somewhat reluctantly, to the High Lord. As she did so, she remembered her defiance at their last meeting when she had refused to acknowledge Balkan's new status at all. A quick glance at his face, showed that Balkan too was remembering, and from his expression, none too fondly.
"Am I to understand that Your Majesty has appointed two King's Magicians?" Balkan asked sharply.
The King shook his head, "No, Lady Sonea has also been pardoned and therefore regains her membership of the Guild. The question I had to consider was her status. At the time of her Hearing, she had almost completed her noviciate. She had also mastered black magic, therefore it seemed sensible that she be regarded as a qualified magician, and a member of the Discipline headed by my Black Magician, Lord Akkarin." He smiled suddenly, "It will be a small Discipline; it has only two members and is unlikely to grow any larger, certainly for the moment."
Sonea shot him a sharp glance, '…only two members….for the moment'. Did the King intend for the study of black magic to become more widespread in the Guild? She wondered how that would work and who would want to learn what everyone believed was forbidden magic. She was beginning to think that the King had plans he hadn't shared with them.
Again, there was a pause while Balkan and Osen discussed the matter. Sonea noticed that the King had some difficulty concealing his annoyance at the blatant use of mental communication. She knew it was not considered proper behaviour when in the presence of non-magicians and perhaps the fact that Balkan was ignoring the convention indicated his dismay at the King's actions. Such an attitude would not have been part of the old Balkan she remembered from before her Hearing. Things must be going very badly for him for him to lose such control.
"It would seem a sensible decision, Your Majesty," Balkan replied eventually. She could see he didn't like saying it as his mouth looked as if he had tasted something terribly sour.
"Good!" Merin sounded cheerful as he stood up, "I expect you have some matters to discuss with Lord Akkarin. I will leave you to get on with it." He turned to Akkarin, "Come and see me before you leave. I have further instructions for you."
After Merin had left, Sonea slipped into the seat next to Akkarin. She looked across at Balkan and Osen. She could see that the High Lord was still furious over what had happened. His complexion was pale, but there were two angry spots of colour on his cheeks. He shuffled the papers in front of him, while he considered what to say next. Meanwhile Osen was staring across the table at her, as if he couldn't quite believe his eyes. He saw her look at him and unexpectedly he smiled.
"I'm pleased to see you again, Sonea," he said. "I never thought I would have the opportunity again."
She smiled back at him, remembering how he had tried to persuade her to stay rather than follow Akkarin into exile. "It's nice to see you too, Osen."
"If you have finished greeting old friends, Administrator…." Balkan said sharply, "we have things to discuss."
Osen coloured and turned his gaze towards his High Lord, " Of course, High Lord. Firstly, we must arrange accommodation for…err….the King's Magician and his companion."
Sonea smiled inwardly at the difficultly Osen had in saying their names. She supposed there would be many in the Guild who felt the same way.
"Yes, Administrator, the accommodation," Balkan turned his gaze towards Akkarin, "You have married your companion?"
"No."
Sonea saw a hint of a smile appear briefly on Balkan's face, "Then that will affect the accommodation we arrange for both of you. You cannot, of course, share rooms as an unmarried couple. Administrator, ensure you find two separate apartments on different floors of the Magicians' Quarters, we want no scandal. I suggest that Lord Akkarin would be best suited on the top floor, most of it is vacant, I believe, so he will have no one to disturb him. I am sure you will be able to squeeze Lady Sonea in somewhere else."
Despite her anger, Sonea made sure her face remained expressionless, but inside she was seething. So petty, she thought. She wondered if going back to the Guild was going to be as simple as Akkarin and the King thought. They had not, perhaps, given enough consideration to the long-term effects which flowed from the revelations made at their Hearing. For many, they would still be criminals and returning under the King's protection would perhaps reinforce the splits in the Guild, rather than heal them.
"Thank you for your consideration," Akkarin said calmly. "My companion and I are grateful."
Balkan stared at his former leader. Sonea could see that he was nonplussed by Akkarin's reactions and this made him uncertain. She wanted to send an urgent warning to her lover. She was afraid of Balkan. Akkarin probably only thought of him as the former Head of the Warriors, a loyal subordinate, but she had seen another side of him during her time as a prisoner. Balkan had been unpleasant then and now, with things at the Guild not going well for him, his grip on his temper was probably less than certain. He reminded her of a cornered sevli, ready to spit its venom at anyone who ventured within range.
The High Lord got to his feet and stared down at Akkarin, ". I need time to prepare for your reception. You will present yourself at the Guild in two days. I shall make arrangements for someone to meet you and conduct you to the Hall."
Akkarin remained seated, but inclined his head in acknowledgement of the High Lord's order. "We will be there."
"Come, Administrator!" Balkan commanded and the two magicians swept from the room, only the exaggerated rustle of the High Lord's robes betraying a hint of frayed nerves.
"Well," said Sonea, struggling to keep the amusement from her voice, "I've never seen a Higher Magician flounce out like that before, let alone two." However, she quickly sobered, "You must be wary of Balkan, Akkarin. I don't trust him to deal fairly with us."
"He's bound to be upset. The King sending in his own Magician is rather like a weak and feeble student being offered a mentor to improve his learning. He would be a poor High Lord if he didn't resent what he sees as meddling, I would have done."
"You were never a weak High Lord," Sonea said loyally. "The King had no need to worry about your leadership of the Guild."
Akkarin smiled sadly, "You think too well of me as always, Sonea. I made many mistakes during my time. You mustn't remember that the trouble the Guild finds itself in is my fault."
It was an argument they'd had before and she knew that it was pointless trying to turn Akkarin from the view that he was to blame. She turned the conversation instead towards much pleasanter things.
"We have some extra time before we have to leave Justen, more time together, alone, before we are parted."
Akkarin laughed, "You forget, Sonea, the passages which honeycomb the Guild. We will still be able to spend time together despite Balkan's intent!"
She had forgotten! All those secret passages which could take someone familiar with them almost anywhere in the Guild; all those passages which Akkarin knew so well and which she had started to learn! Relief flooded through her. She had been worried about her self-appointed mission to protect Akkarin and how she was to carry it out if they were living some distance from each other. There were other reasons too, she had to acknowledge, why being separated worried her…
"Come," Akkarin said, "we mustn't forget the King wishes to see us."
As they made their way back to the King's Study, Sonea felt herself grow anxious. What new thing had the King come up with and how dangerous would it be?