“For War,” Jala replied.
Vaze nodded with a smile. “That’s what all of the Divines as well as the Aspects are like, Jala. That’s why I left you at the temple rather than bringing you home with me. It took me a while to convince Lutheron to leave you be, but eventually I did. The nightmares I had as a child, they weren’t random. They were induced. We are divine blooded, Jala. Our prayers are worth more than a thousand mortals. Each time you awaken from sleep in a cold sweat you are praying to him. Every time you pick a fight you are praying to War. Every time you kill, you whisper praise to Death and so on. I convinced him to let you be feared by thousands rather than know fear yourself. I convinced him you would rise as a Merrodin and all who thought your line dead would know fear. I put you in the wretched place you are right now because I was trying to help you. You see, I no longer knew fear at that point. I had the shadows and my own formidable skills by that time. I was no longer useful in that aspect to him, but you were.” Vaze trailed off and then looked to Valor and locked eyes with him. “So you see, Valor, I’m here to help because I have a very guilty conscience. I thought I was spinning a tale for Lutheron. I thought at best she would attend the Academy and marry well. I thought the only way she could find out who she truly was, required asking the Fionaveir. I never even considered Anthe. As Fiona said, I am an egomaniac and I thought I had the perfect plan. I never truly believed Merrodin would rise again.” Vaze sighed and rubbed his face then looked to Jala and nodded respectfully. “This is one of the few times I will say this and likely the only time you will ever hear it yourself from me. I was wrong and I am sorry.”
“I suppose, given the fact that you are here to help that I should forgive you,” Jala sighed, trying not to think of how she had pleaded with Victory and Havoc to take her with them. If not for Vaze’s plan they most likely would have.
“Jala, what did you fear most of all,” Vaze prodded gently.
“Losing Finn,” Valor cut in, his voice thick with anger.
Jala’s gaze snapped up to Vaze and her mouth fell open slightly. “Why? Are you saying I was feeding too much to Lutheron so someone eliminated my fear?” she asked.
“Jala what do you fear most now?” Vaze asked, ignoring her question.
“Failing at this quest,” Jala answered quietly, unsure where he was leading her.
“Lutheron didn’t want me to retrieve you from here. He was adamant about it. This might confuse you because when you bring Finn back you will fear losing him again, right?” Vaze asked.
“I know I will. If I lose him again there is no way I could ever get him back. Death will not be robbed twice,” Jala said, her voice filled with misery. “I am so bloody sick of manipulations. I would like to think there is at least one aspect of my life that isn’t a plot of some kind.” Rubbing her face, she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. She wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to hear what else Vaze had to say.
“Do you know what happens when you are forced to confront your fears too often?” Vaze asked.
“You become apathetic to them,” Valor answered for her.
“Tell me Finn Sovaesh has learned his lesson here. Tell me that when you bring him back he will live a sedate life and retire as a swordsman.” Vaze looked to both of them.
“I can’t say that. I don’t think Finn would.” Jala said quietly.
“So you are saying she is going to lose him again?” Valor asked with a glare.
“I’m saying the possibility is so high that Lutheron wasn’t willing to gamble. If you do lose him, Jala, are you going to curl into a ball and cry yourself into oblivion or are you relentlessly going to go after whoever killed him?” Vaze asked.
“So I would be feeding War and Death but not Fear,” Jala surmised with a faint nod. Everything was clicking into place and she could see the manipulations War had hinted at, but hadn’t actually mentioned.
Vaze nodded slightly and clicked his tongue. “You got it, kid. It’s a balancing match between them. And you are a risky bet for Lutheron right now. Better to let you die here than risk your feeding War. He has been starving the hell out of War for years. A skirmish here or there is natural of course, but what’s coming…” Vaze paused and shook his head at both of them. “No, Myth got him good with this one. Lutheron wanted the threat of war. He wanted everyone scared, but he thought he could nip it in the bud before it bloomed. Then Myth hit him with the coup de grace of the Blights,” Vaze smiled bitterly. “The best part is, Lutheron helped raise Symphony for bloodless revolution. He has been planning this for years and Myth bent him over the table in one quick move.”
“Myth is in league with War then?” Jala asked cautiously. She wasn’t sure if she fully understood all of the strings being pulled yet, and if she was going to avoid being a puppet in the future she needed to know who was on what side.
“Nope, Myth has a little theory going and I think she is trying to test it.” Vaze began and turned the meat once more. “You see Myth believes that the Barrier surrounding this world is so strong because it feeds off all of us. We essentially power it by our existence. So if you kill us all off…” He trailed off and looked up at both of them.
“The Barrier falls and Myth is no longer a prisoner,” Valor finished, shaking his head slightly. “And I thought House Politics were complicated.”