Rise of Empire (The Riyria Revelations #3-4)

Wesley nodded at them, but added, “Try not to start a war this time. You are to report to me directly after—by your honor, gentlemen.”


Before Thranic could object, they both nodded and offered an “Aye, aye, sir.”





Fan Irlanu lay on a bed beneath a thin white sheet as a young girl patted her forehead with a damp cloth, rinsed repeatedly in a shallow basin. Joqdan remained at her side. His great spear, still covered in Zulron’s blood, stood by the door.

“Is she really all right?” Hadrian asked.

“I be fine,” Fan Irlanu replied. “It was terrible shock. Will take time.”

“I’m sorry,” Royce offered.

“I know,” she told him. Her face was sympathetic to the point of sadness. “I know you are.”

“You saw something?”

“Were I to touch Joqdan’s hand with the tulan smoke in me, I could tell what he ate for his midday meal yesterday and what he eat tomorrow. If I touched Galenti’s hand, I could name the woman he will marry and who will outlive the other. I could also tell the precise events that will surround his death. So clear is my sight that I can see a life in detail, but not you. You are mystery, a cloud. Looking into you is seeing a mountain range in thick fog—I can only see the high points with no means of connecting them. You are kaz in the Ghazel tongue—in your language a mir, yes?—mix of human and elven blood. This gives you long life.” She paused to gather some strength, and Joqdan’s brow furrowed further.

“Imagine looking down road, you see most things well, the trees, the rocks, the leaves. But with you, it is as if standing high in air, staring out at horizon—very few details. My sight can only span so far, and that not include life span of a kaz. There is too much.”

“But you saw something.”

“I saw many things. Too many,” she told him. Her eyes were soft and comforting.

“Tell me,” Royce said. “Please, I know a woman. She’s very much like you, but something troubles her. She won’t speak of it, and I think she has seen things like you have—things that trouble her.”

“She is Tenkin?”

“I’m not sure, but she bears the same mark as you.”

Fan Irlanu nodded. “I sent for you because of what I saw. I will tell you what I know and then I rest. I sleep for long time, and Joqdan will not let any disturb me. So I speak now. Am certain I will not see you again. I saw much but understood little—too much distance, too much time. Most are vague feelings that are hard to put in words, but what I sensed was powerful.”

Royce nodded.

She paused a moment, thinking, then said, “Darkness surrounds you, death is everywhere, it stalks you, hunts you, and you feed upon it—blood begets blood—the darkness consumes you. In this darkness, I saw two lights beside you. One will blow out. The other flickers, but it must not go out. You must protect the flame against the storm.

“I saw a secret—it is, ah … it is hidden. This great treasure is covered. A man hides it, but a woman knows—she alone knows and so she prepares. She speaks in riddles that will be revealed—truth disguised for now. You will remember when the time comes. The path is laid out for you—in the dark.”

Joqdan spoke something in Tenkin, but Fan Irlanu shook her head and pushed on.

“I saw great journey. Ten upon the road. She who wears the light will lead the way. The road goes deep into the earth and into despair. The voice of the dead guide your steps. You walk back in time. The three-thousand-year battle begins again. Cold grips the world, death comes to all, and a choice is before you. Alone stand you in the balance. Your weight will tilt the scales, but to which side is unclear. You must choose between darkness and light, and your choice will affect many.” She paused, shaking her head slowly. “Like trees in a forest, like blades of grass—too many to count. And I fear that in the end you will choose the darkness and turn your back to the light.”

“You said she. Who did you mean? Is it Gwen?” Royce questioned.

“I not know names. They mere feelings, glimpses of a dream.”

“What is this secret?”

“I not know. It is hidden.”

“When you say there are two lights and one blows out, does that mean someone will die?”

She nodded. “Think so—yes, feels that way. I sensed a loss, so great I still feel it.” She reached out and touched Royce’s hand and a tear slipped down her cheek. “Your road is one of great anguish.”

Royce said nothing for a moment and then asked, “What is this great journey?”

She shook her head. “I wish knew more. Your life—whole life been pain and so much more lies ahead. Am sorry, but cannot tell more than that.”

“She rests now,” Joqdan told them. From his firm tone they knew it was time to go.

They walked out of the hut and found Wyatt watching out for them.

“Waiting up?” Hadrian asked.

“Didn’t want you to step into the wrong hut by accident.” He gave a wink.

“The rest bunked down?”

He nodded. “So, you’re an elf,” Wyatt said to Royce. “That explains a lot. What did the lady want?”

“To tell me my future.”

“Good news?”

“It nearly killed her. What do you think?”





CHAPTER 17





THE PALACE OF THE FOUR WINDS





Thranic was furious. Wesley refused to take any action against Royce, and the sentinel railed that under imperial law all elves were subject to arrest. Wesley had little choice but to acknowledge this, but added that given their circumstances, he had neither a prison nor chains. He also pointed out that they were not within the bounds of the New Empire, and until they were, he was the sole judge of the law.

“It is my duty to see this mission to completion,” Wesley told the sentinel. “A bound man will only be a hindrance to this effort, particularly when he is injured and exhibits no desire to flee.”

Royce watched all this with an expression of mild amusement. Thranic went on relentlessly until finally Wesley gave in and approached Royce. “Will you give me your word you will not attempt to escape me or Sentinel Thranic before this mission is over?”

“On my word, sir,” Royce replied. “There is nothing that could make me willingly leave Sentinel Thranic’s side.”

“There you have it,” Wesley concluded, satisfied.

“He’s an elf! What good is the word of an elf?” As Thranic straightened and rose above Wesley, the look on the sentinel’s face caused him to take a step back. “As secretary of Erivan affairs, appointed by the Patriarch, it’s my duty to purge the empire of their foul influence. I demand you place the elf under my authority at once!”