Pug realized Amirantha had asked the question in order to clarify a point he was about to make.
‘It’s an abomination,’ said the prelate. ‘Death magic and necromancy are misnomers, for the foulest form of life magic. At the moment of death, when life leaves the empty shell of our bodies, an energy is released. That energy, called theanima by some, and soul by others, is the fundamental core of being. Our bodies are transitory and will fail eventually, but the life force is eternal.’ He held up a finger for emphasis, ‘Unless…something prevents that energy from translating to Our Mistress’s hall.’
Amirantha appeared impatient. ‘I’m sorry to interrupt, Holy Father, but the heart of my question is what can be done with that energy if it’s trapped, bound, or intercepted somehow?’
The High Priest was silent for a moment, then he said, ‘An excellent question, but one beyond my knowledge.
‘What little information we have on necromancy had been gathered during our extensive efforts to stamp it out; preventing a soul from returning for judgment is an abomination against our Mistress.’ He turned in his chair and shouted, ‘Gregori!’
A moment later his servant appeared, and he said, ‘Ask Sister Makela to join us, please.’
Gregori bowed and left, and the High Priest said, ‘Makela is our Archive Keeper. If she doesn’t know something, she always knows where to find out about it.’
‘I have already searched the archives of the Ishapian abbey at That Which Was Sarth.’ Amirantha insisted.
The old prelate smiled and shook his head. ‘The Ishapians are a noble order, and we venerate them, but despite their authority and knowledge, they tend to vanity from time to time. Their library is prodigious, but hardly exhaustive. Not every tome finds its way into their library.’
‘But they have into yours?’ observed Jim.
Smiling even more broadly, the High Priest said, ‘We all exercise our prerogatives. Our discoveries remain ours unless we choose to share them.’ Then his mood turned sombre. ‘And much of the knowledge we choose not to share surrounds the area of which we now discuss; some matters are best kept secret or at least closely guarded by those who understand it best.’ He turned to Amirantha. ‘While we wait, why don’t you continue with the other points you wished to make?’
‘You’re perceptive, Holy Father. Discounting my ignorance of the nature and purpose of death magic, or as you called it, the stealing of life force, I have never found any connection with it and the demon realm in my studies.’
Pug said, ‘There is something about my past that should be mentioned now.’ He looked at the three other men and said, ‘When the Emerald Queen’s host sailed across the ocean from Novindus to invade the Kingdom of the Isles and sack Krondor many years ago, their regent had been replaced. A demon named Jakan was wearing their queen’s guise.’
Amirantha tilted his head slightly, pondering Pug’s words.
‘What remains unknown to all but the few of us who were there, is—’ He hesitated for a moment as he realized that his late wife, Miranda, had been among those present during the events he was about to describe, and he felt a pang. ‘I was about to say, it was not simply about conquest, but rather a massive assault designed to reach the city of Sethanon.’
Jim’s brow furrowed. ‘Why? Sethanon had been abandoned since the end of the Great Uprising. There was nothing there.’
Pug said, ‘Even your Kingdom annals were not privy to what took place at that time, below the old city, after the Battle of Nightmare Ridge.
‘During the Chaos Wars, the Dragon Lords fashioned a mighty artifact, called the Lifestone. I never had the opportunity to study it properly, it was deemed too dangerous, so we left it—’ He considered the wisdom of revealing the exact whereabouts of the Oracle of Aal, and decided to not burden his companions with the information, ‘—hidden, in a deep cavern below the city.’ He looked at the High Father and said, ‘But, I believe the Lifestone was constructed from captured life force, as you have described.’
The High Priest snorted. ‘Ishapians! I knew they were keeping something from us. Long have we been curious about what happened at Sethanon, at the end of the Great Uprising, and why King Lyam never attempted to rebuild that city. The official reason only stated that it was no longer an important trade route stop, and rumour said it was cursed.’ He shook his head and sighed.
‘The Ishapians knew only what we told them,’ confessed Pug. ‘And we only knew the Lifestone to be a vessel of great power, one that the demon Jakan was determined to reach.’
‘But why?’ asked Amirantha. ‘What use would a demon have for such an artifact, no matter how powerful it is?’
‘If we could deduce that,’ said High Priest Marluke, ‘then we might understand why your mad brother is so interested in slaughter and death magic, and what that has to do with this demon he seems to serve.’