Sardec was surprised when the dark servant arrived with a politely worded request that he join his mistress for conversation. He was even more surprised by the opulence within her tent. The floor was scattered with rugs and the air was filled with the smell of incense. A single tripod-mounted glowstone lit the interior and warmed the cold night air. Lady Asea certainly believed in travelling in comfort.
She had removed her silver mask. It lay atop a small chest that doubled as a table; for all intents and purposes it was just a plain silver mask once more. He looked at it feeling a touch of awe. It was another link with the mighty magics of the past.
“Greetings, Prince, and be welcome.”
“I thank you for your hospitality.”
“It is as nothing. Please be seated.” He sat cross-legged on one of the small rugs. She sat opposite him. He was immediately aware of her overwhelming predatory beauty, of the sensuality she wielded like a weapon. Surely she was not bringing it fully to bear on him.
“I see you are admiring my mask. It is another work of art in its way, forged by the smiths of Athaenar in the Mountains of the Mist, in the world we lost.”
“It’s a pity we also lost the knowledge to make such items,” he said.
“We are so much less than we were.”
“You miss the home world. That is understandable…”
“Alas, it is not a matter of mere sentiment, my Prince, it is something more. We are quite literally diminished. To the First, the lack is like the lack of breath you feel when your dragon flies at great height. We are weaker, our senses are less keen. Magic was so wound up in the fabric of our beings that we are physically less capable than we once were. You grew up here, and so are not aware of this, but I can assure you that once you walked the green woods of Al’Terra you would understand instantly what I am saying…”
“I regret that I have never had that experience, Lady Asea, nor am I likely to. The way is closed. There can be no return.”
“Indeed.”
Sardec has the sudden uncomfortable feeling that this whole conversation had been pre-planned by Lady Asea, that the mask had been placed where it was to draw him into it, that his own reaction had been predicted and planned for.
For the life of him, he could not see why. Once again he felt suddenly out of his depth with this ageless beauty and her deep knowledge of things he could never begin to appreciate. And doubtless, he thought sourly, that too was part of her plan.
His ruminations were interrupted by one of her servants. He could not tell which, they were so similar in appearance and bearing. The man bore a bottle of wine. The shape and colour of the bottle marked it as being from the vineyards of the Selari. Since Asea’s clan were famous for their subtly narcotic vintages, he suspected it would prove interesting drinking. He wondered too whether this interruption had been planned. For the first time, he noticed something odd about the servant’s eyes. They reflected the light like a dog’s. Was it possible he was not entirely human, was perhaps some sort of homunculus?
“I am afraid I have little understanding of sorcery, milady.” He said just to see what the response would be.
“That is to be expected given your family heritage.” The wine was poured in goblets of crystal. It made his tongue tingle and almost immediately he started to relax. “The Harkes are more famous for their knowledge of dragons than of magic.”
“Alas, these are not the best of days for dragons either.”
“This is not the best of worlds for dragons. Like ourselves, dragons are intrinsically magical creatures. That is why they are dying off, or returning to wyrmhood.”
“Returning to wyrmhood, madam? I thought they were degenerating into it.” He wondered if she was being subtly insulting, knowing that he was of the youngest generation of Terrarchs and must have often heard disparaging comparisons between his contemporaries and their elders.
“Adaana raised dragons up from wyrms. The lesser breed came first.”
“That is not what most of the lore-books say.”
“That is what Adaana told me.”
Sardec cursed. Of course, she was of the First. She was a famous sorceress even among them. It was perfectly possible she had spoken with the Dragon Angel in person.
“That is an unanswerable argument, my Lady, although it is not one that is common knowledge.”
“A great deal of the truth gets suppressed these days — for political purposes.” Now we come to the meat of it, he thought. He understood what was going on here now. He was being tested to see where his political sympathies lay. He took another sip of the wine and decided to enjoy the process as much as possible. “A great deal of the truth has been suppressed since we came to this world.”
“I feel sure you are going to provide me with more examples.”
“I am not sure you will like the one that most instantly springs to mind.”
“Perhaps I might be the judge of that.”
“Very well. Dragons, those proud symbols of the Terrarch race, are not the only things she raised up. She raised up our people as well.”
“This is hardly news, Lady. The Books tell us that.”
“They do not say what she raised us up from.”
“Why, our ancestral race, of course.”
“And what would that be?” she prompted.
“The Al.”
“And what exactly were the Al?”
“I am starting to feel like I did at my first catechism, Lady, but in honour of your beauty and your status among the First I will answer you. They were people very much like us, but lacking the gift of immortality the Dragon Angel gave us.”
“What if I told you they were people very much like those soldiers out there?”
He laughed outright, the idea was so fantastic. “You might as well claim we are descended from apes.”
She smiled back, amused by his response, and then spoke swiftly. “I could claim that too.”
“You could, Lady, but you won’t. You are far too well-bred and sensible.”
“It is an interesting experience being patronised by one so young.”
“I do not mean to patronise you, Lady. I merely assumed…”
“You merely assume that my thoughts move down the same conventional grooves as everyone else’s.”
“That is not the way I would have chosen to put the idea. You are famously Scarlet. I don’t think I would ever accuse you of being conventional.”
“Thank you.” There was silence for a moment, and Sardec wondered again how closely this interview was going according to her plan. He decided to take the initiative.
“If what you say is true, why did Adaana not tell anybody else? Why were her words not more widely reported?”
“They were, once. We have chosen to forget them. They do not suit our image of ourselves, or the image we chose to present to our so-called inferiors. We have told lies so long that many of us have come to believe them.”
Sardec cocked his head to one side, and studied her. As far as he could tell, she was serious, but he realised he was in no great position to judge. All of the First were consummate actors when it suited them.
“You sound almost like a revolutionist, Lady Asea. I had not thought the Scarlet faction had descended to quite that level.”
“Perhaps I sound like a revolutionist to you. To myself, I sound like someone concerned with the truth.” He ignored the implied insult.
“I am sure you did not invite me here to bait me, my Lady. I am sure you have mentioned all this for a purpose.”
“You were asked to watch me, were you not?”
“I am not sure what you mean.”
“Surely my words were clear enough. Would you like me to explain them further?”
“If you wish…”
“You were told to watch me by Colonel Xeno. There is no need to deny it. I know him well enough to know how he thinks. The Greens have the ear of the Queen now. He and his type would have matters stay that way.”
That was probably perfectly true, Sardec thought.
“Your superiors have also no doubt told you that I harbour revolutionary ideas. I merely want you to understand the full extent and nature of them so that there is no misunderstanding between us.”
“I am grateful for your frankness.” Perhaps he was. It was becoming clear to him that Lady Asea was, despite her appearance of youth and beauty, one of those elderly Terrarchs who possessed fixed ideas on certain subjects and had decided to convert the world to those ideas no matter how ludicrous. Surely she did not think he was one of those young nobles who sympathised with such hare-brained philosophising! She smiled at him, almost as if she could read the thoughts swimming across the surface of his mind. “I am not altogether sure it is necessary though.”
“Clarity of understanding is rarely a bad thing and often necessary.” She sounded a little wistful now, and he felt obscurely as if he had failed some test and was lessened in her estimation. It was a feeling he had experienced rather too often recently.
“Forgive me if I seem rude but you have not yet told me why you are telling me this.”
She looked at him again, seemed to measure him, and come to some conclusion. “I am telling you this because I want you to remember what I have said.”
“You flatter me.”
“Not at all. I want someone to remember the words of the Dragon Angel should anything happen to me in these mountains. I have left the knowledge among my papers but who knows what might happen to them if they fall into the hands of the Inquisition.”
“I feel it best to tell you I have no sympathy with your ideas, Lady Asea.”
“I appreciate your candour but that is irrelevant. You will remember the words, and if you do not come to understand them, you may pass them on to someone who does.”
Slowly the significance of the rest of her statement sank in.
“You do not seriously believe anything will happen to you here, my Lady?”
“I think it is possible.”
“The hill-men can be fierce but I doubt they will attack such a strong force.”
“It is not the hill-men I fear.”
“Then what is it?”
“It is past Solace night.”
“True but that does not answer my question.”
“Solace commemorates the day when the Dragon’s Gate was closed. The reason the ritual was performed on that night was because it was the night when the powers of magic were at their strongest even in this benighted world. The night remains so.”
“But it is passed.”
“No. What we call Solace night is celebrated on the same night every year. It is part of our calendar of religious festivals. The true Solace night does not fall thus. It is a time when the stars and planets are all in conjunction when forces flow free. The date on which it falls varies and long ago parted company from the day we call Solace.”
“So what you would call true Solace has yet to come.”
“It falls tomorrow night.”
“And you feel this has some threatening significance?”
“I am certain of it.”
“Would you care to explain why?”
“The last time you were in these mountains you fought and killed a sorcerer.”
“One of my men killed the sorcerer.”
“I believe that it was part of a larger pattern.”
“What do you mean?”
“On hearing your tale I sent a request to the Temple for some ancient books that were in their keeping. Books that were on the Black Index. Proscribed books dealing with the Ultari and their demon god.”
“Yes.”
“My request was denied.”
“They denied access to the books to one of the First?”
“Yes.”
“You should petition the Queen.”
“No need. They told me why my petition was denied.”
“Why?”
“They no longer had the books. They vanished five years ago at about the same time as a young priest, a priest who was under suspicion of studying certain forbidden mysteries. His name was Alzibar.”
“The same name as the sorcerer we found…”
“I would guess the same sorcerer.”
“It’s good we killed him then.”
“Yes. But he was not working alone. Perhaps he was working for someone else. Think about it — where had he been for the past five years? Who sheltered him? Why did he choose this exact time to come back?”
“You think someone sent him?”
“We stand once more on the verge of war. On the very eve of it, sorcerers and demons appear virtually within our borders. They are in league with the hill-tribes. Don’t you find it all a little suspicious?”
Sardec did when it was phrased like that. “Why tell me this now? Why did you not mention this to Colonel Xeno?”
“I did. It’s one reason you are here.”
It certainly had a superficial plausibility, Sardec thought, but of course he was in no position to find out the truth of her allegations, and would not be until they returned from this mission. Once more he felt out of his depth.
“You are saying we can expect to see more of those demons.”
“On the night of True Solstice old dark things have the easiest entrance into our world. I think something will be invited through. That is why I am here myself and in the full war gear of the First.”
“I suppose you mentioned this to Colonel Xeno too.”
“Of course.” What if she had? What if it was not her who was lying here but Colonel Xeno? But why would the Colonel do that to one of his own officers? What could he possibly have to gain? Having fought just one of the Ultari, he shuddered to think what might happen if an army of them suddenly appeared.
“Whatever else might be the case, it would seem best if we could get to the source of this before the night of True Solace”
“On this we are agreed. Time presses. Midnight is the optimal time for summoning.”
“We shall press on with all possible speed.”
Another thought occurred to Sardec. “If what you say is true, the chances are we will find what you seek somewhere within the mine.”
“Such would be my guess.”
Sardec did not like the way this was going at all. It came to him that if there was something in that mine that frightened one of the First, he ought to be very afraid too.