Beyond the Mists of Katura

Chapter 31

Ystormun tried to ignore their voices while he sorted through clothes, weapons and the texts he could not be without on the trail. His servant was waiting to pack his chosen belongings and load them onto his carriage. But the clamour in Ystormun’s mind was growing louder and it stole his train of thought, making him forget what he was looking for when he pulled open drawer or wardrobe.

There were no words being howled into the centre of his skull, just the deliberately discordant chants of the cadre, growing in intensity, summoning him to the Hexerion. Ystormun leaned heavily on his desk, trying to focus on the parchments he was sorting through, seeking just one that would give him solace and strength when he faced those who had beaten him. The shame still burned within him.

The pressure grew and he slammed his fist on the desk. His servant whimpered and Ystormun spun round to face the wretch.

‘Pack what I have laid out. I will finish this later.’

The Wesman, too frail to be a warrior but possessed of an organised mind, had been a long-surviving servant. His eyes saw Ystormun’s pain and anger but he dared not speak of it. Ystormun didn’t require him to; his expression was sympathy enough and it warmed him unexpectedly.

‘All will be ready for inspection when you return.’

Ystormun, a little unsteady on his feet, managed a curt nod before walking carefully from the room towards the Hexerion. Their knowledge of his approach was signified by a change in the tone of the voices in his mind to a sneering superiority.

Entering the Hexerion, Ystormun was struck by the heat. All the fires were lit including his, despite his not having ordered it, and the smell of smoke hung heavy in the air. It was a petty act. They knew of his preference for cold; it had been that way since his return from the stultifying humidity of Calaius. He stared at them all in turn, caught their contempt and shrugged it off before pulling out his chair and sitting, his fingers knitted together and resting lightly on the table.

They had expected him to leap to his own defence and so he waited for one of them to speak and reveal his own ignorance. Perhaps it would be Weyamun or Pamun; both had trouble holding their tongues. He was a little disappointed when Belphamun spoke first. His voice was measured and calm.

‘We do not appreciate being kept waiting,’ said Belphamun. ‘Your presence, when demanded by the cadre, must be immediate, as it would be for any of us.’

‘I am not in the habit of abandoning a task half complete,’ said Ystormun.

‘Of course we understand that choosing travelling clothes is a task requiring the utmost in peace and concentration,’ said Giriamun.

Belphamun hissed him to silence without taking his eyes from Ystormun.

‘Are we not worthy of your immediate presence?’ he asked.

‘When we are to discuss matters that are open for debate, yes, of course,’ said Ystormun.

He felt the atmosphere tighten. Eyes that had been staring dismissively past his shoulders locked on his face and he felt the pressure of their combined contempt.

‘Your desire to weaken the cadre will always be a matter open to debate,’ said Pamun.

‘Your personal feelings are leading your mind in the weakest of fashions,’ said Weyamun.

‘Your decision may not be taken by you alone,’ said Giriamun.

‘You may not leave this temple without our express consent,’ said Arumun.

‘Your obsession with expunging your shame is truly pathetic,’ said Belphamun.

Ystormun had known it would be this way. He let their anger roll over him and made a show of acknowledging all their criticism. They said much more but the subject matter differed little. He waited until they subsided, satisfied that they were in accord and he was the pariah outside the cadre determined to see it break. Then he spoke.

‘What is most disappointing is that you fail to see that my actions will bring us closer than ever to ultimate victory. Now forgive me, but can we agree that victory, in this instance, is the clearing of the way to Dawnthief, capturing it unhindered and ensuring our dominion over the eons?’

The five gazed at him, baleful and contemptuous. One by one, and almost imperceptibly, they inclined their heads.

‘Yet you, Belphamun, have chosen to make an alliance of questionable gain with our greatest rival and our keenest enemy. Xetesk is simply using us to destroy its own rivals, thereby making it stronger when it eventually turns on us.’

‘Your understanding is typically myopic and flawed,’ said Belphamun. ‘The destruction of the colleges is key to our ambitions, and our alliance with Xetesk until we choose to break it allows us to retain great strength of arms.’

‘And you, Pamun, have utterly failed in your task to bring the Paleon tribes into line. Any reserve strength surely rests in Sentaya’s and Lantruq’s hands, and unless I am misled it is Sentaya who has just challenged us.’

Pamun could say nothing. Ystormun smiled.

‘And do I need to ask how the search for Dawnthief is progressing?’

More silence. Ystormun stood and spread his hands.

‘Auum has brought the remainder of his force into our lands and positioned them somewhere we can destroy them. This is my task, and I will see it done. Their destruction removes their magic and their most capable warriors. It will remove the elves from this conflict, and it is an opportunity that must not be missed. That is why I will travel and you will not stop me.’

Belphamun’s fists rattled the ancient tabletop, and lines of power spat along the cracks. The remainder of the cadre jerked their elbows or hands from the surface. The smell of burning snapped briefly in the air, dissipating almost immediately.

‘You will not leave this temple,’ he spat, all pretence at calm gone. Ystormun had won the argument but not the prize. ‘We will gather our powers together as we have always done and strike from a position of greater strength through the shamen. That is why we have them.’

‘You will not deny me this victory!’ shouted Ystormun. ‘It is mine and I have earned it.’

‘And should you fall, what then?’ asked Pamun.

Ystormun laughed straight into Pamun’s face. ‘Fall? The strength of my force could defeat an army ten times the size of the one I will face. And when I appear on the battlefield, invulnerable and all-powerful in the eyes of the savages, they will run screeching to their shamen to swear loyalty and I will face a handful of elves.’

Pamun’s glare was tight with malice.

‘Oh yes, Pamun, I will deliver Sentaya at the same time — that’s what this is about, isn’t it? My victory bringing about your shame.’

Pamun stood across the table. ‘No, Ystormun, this is about your petty revenge on some southern barbarians. There is nothing else in your mind. Do not dare to claim otherwise.’

Ystormun crossed his arms over his chest before sweeping them wide open. The six fires blew out, diminishing the light.

‘And I will have no more of this heat. Your protestations are based on the worst of all weaknesses, fear. You fear I will be defeated and our cadre will be left vulnerable to the Xeteskians’ new casting. Your lack of belief will undo you. Xetesk is locked on the other side of the mountains. I will not fall. I will not even be scratched. You would deny me glory because you fear my influence will grow. Fear. I had not thought to see it in you, my brothers.’

Ystormun smiled at the blow he had struck. Arumun managed to hold his gaze.

‘Deny that you seek revenge.’

‘I do not deny it,’ said Ystormun. ‘Why should I deny myself the satisfaction even as I bring this conflict to a close? I will see the terror in Auum and Takaar’s eyes as I kill them. I want to see the knowledge of their failure as their last breaths leave their broken tortured bodies. I want them to know that I will be visiting the same pain on their homeland. I want to tell them so myself as the skin is flayed from their bodies.

‘Your proclivities bring nothing but fleeting arousal, Arumun. Mine bring joy. Indulge in hate, it is beautiful when it is released.’

‘It blinds you and will destroy us all,’ said Belphamun.

‘I am happy to be so pivotal to your survival.’

‘We are six or we are none,’ said Belphamun.

‘Then do not seek to stop me, or whether I live or die, we will be none.’

By any measure Bynaar was well protected. He was a Circle Seven mage, not a position achieved by a lack of attention to detail. Even in his temporary accommodation in Understone, with Xeteskian forces dominating every approach and comprising the garrison, he had not neglected his personal security.

His bodyguard of Protectors ringed the house he occupied. Others patrolled the ground floor, and he had guards positioned outside his rooms on the first floor. His most trusted mages watched the garrison and the lands beyond, and he was perpetually covered by a magical shield should any rival decide to disturb his sleep by attempting to murder him.

Whenever he ate he had his own cooks prepare the food, and the castings he played over it would detect any poison. And when he slept or took to the quiet of his drawing room to rest and read, his familiar was the eyes in the back of his head.

Bynaar was irritable but in the end unconcerned by the escape of some elves into the Blackthorne Mountains. He felt their survival was unlikely and, even if they did reach Wesman lands, their capacity to inflict damage could only help Xetesk’s cause.

But he could not shake off an unwelcome anxiety. His latest contact with Kerela had not gone well. The Julatsans and their cursed elven allies had been irritatingly persistent. She had accused him outright of betrayal and said some unsettling things about the Septern Manse and the movement of the most powerful of the elves. If she was right then he could cause significant problems. He could not afford to have the Wytch Lords move until he was ready.

Bynaar sat with a jug of wine in front of a dying fire as night closed in. He had much to read but had instead spent most of his time staring at the flames as they danced, rose and fell, finding comfort in their patterns.

‘What an interesting creature.’

The words startled him enough to cause him to spill his wine and send his parchments tumbling to the floor. The voice was melodious, rolling the language easily and imbuing it with a unique and compelling rhythm.

Bynaar pushed himself from his chair and turned from the fire, blinking the glamour from his eyes. At least the figure by the balcony doors wasn’t there to kill him or why had he chosen to speak? Bynaar wondered if he had fallen asleep but dismissed the notion the next instant. More pressing concerns raised themselves.

His familiar was where he had left it, curled up on the back of his chair in classic feline repose. Of course it should have transformed by now and flown to the attack, but it appeared not to have noticed the intruder. It hadn’t even raised its head. That was quite impossible.

The figure moved from the balcony towards the pair of luxuriously upholstered chairs in front of the fireplace. Bynaar did not move, letting his eyes track and watch the elf, who had an effortless grace and a presence that utterly dominated his. He had a wild look to his eyes but it clashed with an equally frightening intelligence. He radiated power of a sort Bynaar could sense but not penetrate.

‘You must be Takaar,’ he said.

‘Yes,’ said Takaar.

‘You do understand that one word from me and your life is over.’

Takaar muttered something to himself and smiled. ‘That I am in this room should tell you I do not fear that.’

‘What have you done to my. . pet?’

‘Nothing.’ Takaar pointed at a chair. ‘May I?’

‘Apparently I am powerless to stop you. Help yourself to wine.’

Takaar sat but ignored the wine. ‘I had no wish to disturb its sleep so I have created a silence where it may continue to rest. It is not a cat, though, and it has energies that connect with your own. Very interesting.’

Bynaar studied him. There was no way Takaar should be able to detect the bond between a mage and his familiar. He thought for a moment, realising it was unusually quiet in the house and without, even for this time of the night.

‘You’ve created silence for this whole room too, haven’t you?’

Takaar smiled. ‘Was that inference or detection?’

‘I’m not about to reveal that.’

Takaar’s smile vanished and he cocked an ear and tutted.

‘Well I think it’s clever even if you don’t.’

‘You think what is clever?’ asked Bynaar.

Takaar stared at him for a moment. ‘I wasn’t addressing you.’

Bynaar didn’t know how to take that so he ignored it. The elf was probably just thinking out loud. Bynaar clacked his tongue.

‘So, here you are. I’m assuming I am not an assassination target so what is it you want?’

Takaar’s eyes widened and a childish grin came over his face. He leaned forward, his voice barely audible.

‘I want to help you win the war.’

‘That’s not something I expected you to say.’

‘You expected me to threaten your life if you didn’t call your dogs away from Julatsa’s walls?’ said Takaar.

‘Something like that.’ Against his better judgement Bynaar was curious. ‘So how do you propose to accomplish this, and why would you?’

Takaar’s expression changed almost every time he spoke. The impishness had gone and in its place was gravitas. It was most unsettling. Bynaar wondered if Takaar was quite all there.

‘Because the elves desire the death of the Wytch Lords and because you are destroying this land in pursuit of a spell you can never recover. Knowing that, you must cancel your alliance with them and destroy the Wytch Lords now because it will be your only opportunity.’

‘But that leaves us with rivals, and we don’t want rivals,’ said Bynaar.

Takaar’s expression darkened and he stared to his right, nodding his head.

‘You must not condescend to me. I am, as always, just clinging on. Sometimes I slip.’

Bynaar frowned. ‘You’ve lost me completely. What do you mean, slip?’

‘I mean,’ said Takaar, now adopting the expression of a mother instructing a dim child, ‘that those who choose to laugh at me and undermine me are sometimes removed. Auum says I cannot control my anger. I am starting to think he is right.’

The threat that flowed from Takaar was palpable and probably carried on lines of magical energy. Bynaar felt weakened by it.

‘I meant no dishonour or disrespect. But I take it you are aware of Xetesk’s intentions? We will suffer no rivals.’

Takaar’s hands fidgeted in his lap. ‘I don’t have much time and you aren’t listening. You have no rivals for Dawnthief because you will never find Dawnthief.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because Septern still has it.’

This Takaar was nothing if not surprising.

‘And you know this because. .?’

‘I am a better mage.’

Bynaar put his hands on his face and rubbed at the corners of his eyes with his index fingers. He declined the challenge and decided to approach from a different direction.

‘I can accept that. You are clearly extremely talented. So tell me, how do you propose to help me defeat the Wytch Lords?’

Takaar chuckled and the humour remained in his eyes. Bynaar felt relieved and cursed himself for it.

‘Our greatest warrior has travelled to the east to challenge Ystormun. Ystormun will come to the battlefield because he hates Auum with a passion that has stood the test of centuries. It will prove his downfall. I will go to him to provide the strength of magical power needed to tame the beast. You are the college with the means of caging him.’

‘You’re naive if you think Ystormun will leave the cadre to kill one elf. Even if he wanted to, the cadre would not allow it. Together they are a considerable power since the Sundering. With even one gone, they are severely diminished. It would hand us the. .’

Bynaar sat back, suddenly understanding.

‘Now explain to me again why Dawnthief is beyond our grasp.’