“Who holds the most interest for him?” Remedy asked as he accepted the mug from her and nodded his thanks. He wanted to ask what she had seen Myth do, but he needed to get as much information as he could while he had time. If he managed to ask all of the important questions before Myth’s daily visit to the cell he could go back for details, but for now it was better to have the bones of everything than the full picture on a few things. Raising the cup to his lips he carefully blew on the contents and took a cautious sip. The flavor of mint washed over him and he allowed himself a small smile before nodding his thanks to her again. There was something so soothing about mint that he found himself relaxing despite the fact that he knew the tea wasn’t even real.
Azashy watched him for a moment and took a small sip from her own tea. “It’s amazing how our minds can fill in all of the blanks so perfectly. I know this is not my house and I know this is not really tea, yet I can somehow trick myself into finding comfort in just the memories of it all.” She let out a long slow breath and smiled. “That’s not what we need to be talking about though, so I will get back to the answers you are seeking.” She paused once more as she settled back in the smooth wooden chair and cleared her throat as if she expected it to be a very lengthy conversation. “At first it was the Fionaveir. Given the fact that they were outlaws I assumed he was trying to bring them to justice. I told him what I could of Caspian, Lutheron and Faramir. Vaze was more difficult to gather information on, and you have a horrible tendency to kill any spiders you see. So spying on you was touchy as well.” She smirked at him and he felt himself blush in response to her words. “Then he began asking me about a young girl at the Academy. He even went so far as to have one of his servants deliver spiders to the rooms she stayed in. As it happened she was staying with his son, and it became increasingly obvious that what I told Myth about his son upset him more than the knowledge I gave about the girl. I never understood that.” She shook her head sadly and ran a thumb absently around the rim of her steaming mug. Her eyes rose and she met Remedy’s gaze fully. “Shade Morcaillo was a son any man would have been proud of. He was honorable and compassionate. He strove at his studies as well as his duties to his family with a zealot’s devotion. Everything he did was in an attempt to please his father, and yet all it seemed to do was anger Myth more. Myth called him weak and simple minded, then Myth stopped visiting me for a week or so and when he came again he was different. I was confused at first until I figured that out. I still watched the girl you see, and I had spent so long watching her that I knew those around her fairly well. So I noticed quickly when Oma started acting a bit strangely and it didn’t take much to put the clues together. Myth had become Oma, and something less than him was paying me visits in his guise.”
“So Lex led Myth straight to our stronghold.” Remedy sighed heavily and rubbed his face. “I didn’t know the exact details there. I knew Faramir was different, but I didn’t know if she had always been Myth and was just now showing cards or if Faramir had been replaced and I had truly lost a friend. No one knew very much about Faramir beyond the fact that Caspian trusted her with his life and secrets. No one really knows where she came from or how Caspian found her, so it was possible she could have been Myth all along.” Remedy explained and felt something tighten inside his chest. He had kept himself from dwelling on Faramir, and some part of his mind had decided she had been a traitor all along and so he had pushed away any thoughts of mourning for her. Faramir had been with the Fionaveir long before him, and she had been the one to cleanse his cuts and read him stories as a child. She had nearly been a second mother, and now she was gone. He couldn’t decide which was a more painful thought, losing your mother or knowing she was a traitor and deceiving you all along. He had chosen the latter for the simple fact that it bred more anger than agony, but Azashy’s revelations stole that small bit of solace. Faramir had never been a traitor; she had been betrayed by her own blood. Though Remedy sincerely doubted Lex had any idea what he had done.
“Myth killed Faramir and took her form. It wasn’t too difficult for everyone to believe that Oma had run off and disappeared given how broken her mind was. The only one that might have been confused by that story was Shade, and he conveniently wasn’t there when it happened.” Azashy spoke gently. The look in her eyes told him that she understood the pain he was hiding, but there was no way to soften the truth.
“And with the trust everyone felt for Faramir Myth had an easy time with corrupting our ranks.” Remedy concluded sourly. He leaned forward in his seat and propped his elbows on the table before shaking his head at Azashy. “I don’t understand though. How did he turn Symphony so completely? Not even Lutheron is acting the same and I don’t understand at all. None of them would abide by what is going on if they were thinking clearly. Is Myth a mind mage as well?”
“It’s called conditioning, and as far as I know Myth is not a Mind mage. There are herbs that weaken a mind though and over a long course of time if you are told the same thing over and over you will believe it, especially if it’s something that already concerned you. Symphony worried that she wasn’t fit to rule over all, and with the use of herbs and soothing words Myth convinced her that it was true. Now Symphony will not make a single judgment without consulting Myth, and she doesn’t bother to check on the after effects of her decisions. She trusts every word she hears from Myth and believes the world to be exactly that way without looking for herself. Lutheron was simple to manipulate. He had to see a threat and once Myth showed him one clearly he was distracted from her actions. Caspian…” Azashy trailed off and stared down at the table.