Michael Manning - The Line of Illeniel

The big warrior chuckled, “It does eh? Prepare yourself then, I’m going to try to kill you. Put up your defenses and show me how impossible it is.” His confidence was unnerving.

I already had a shield around me but I reinforced it just to be sure. As long as he didn’t fling me into any more stone walls it would be very difficult to wound me and if I was using magic against him he would never get the chance to do that again.

“Ready?” he asked. I told him I was.

He went from motionless to blinding speed almost before I realized it, but I was prepared nonetheless, “Shibal,” I said as he came at me. Nothing happened.

Rather than strike me directly he stepped past and his arm came up. He’d put one leg behind me and his arm swept me from my feet with very little force. I hit the ground hard but my shield kept me safe regardless. “That sort of thing isn’t going to be enough,” I snapped at him as I rolled away. He didn’t reply, but I heard a sharp yelp from Penny.

My eyes took in the scene quickly and I felt a fool. He still stood where he had tripped me but his hand held a sharp blade to Penny’s throat. He looked at me without moving the cold steel, “You’re dead.”

I stared, uncertain while my mind worked out what had happened. His attack on me had been a decoy while he got close to her. Finally he removed the knife and stepped away. “Now do you understand? Anath’Meridum are trained, not to protect you, but to protect themselves. Once you form the bond the easiest way to kill you will be her, and there are a thousand ways to do it.”

“Why would any wizard consent to such a thing then? It makes no sense,” I blurted out.

“Because they were going mad… she’s your only hope for sanity. The bond will anchor your mind to hers. Madness drove Jerod Mordan to form a pact with Balinthor and nearly destroyed our world. That is why they agreed to it, to prevent such a thing from ever happening again. The bond will not only ensure your sanity, but will make it impossible for any being to enter either of your minds again. Tell me the truth Mordecai… you’re hearing voices already aren’t you?”

I stared at him blankly. What he said was truth, I’d heard it before, but I hadn’t realized he knew about the voices. “Well… no, not exactly.”

“The bank shook while we stood inside. I don’t know what you told that fat banker, but I’d guess you threatened to destroy the entire place. That’s not the sort of thing a sane man would say. Just an hour ago I saw you muttering to yourself when we came in… talking to things only you could hear. Don’t lie to me; your sanity is hanging by a thread. What will you do when it is gone? Who will you kill? You might even hurt your friends. That is why your ancestors agreed to the bond.”

I listened and even as he spoke I could hear a massive drumbeat beneath us. The earth was alive, even if I was the only one that could feel it. Lies; do not listen, they want to geld you. You cannot trust their words. I closed my eyes, wishing I could shut out that voice but then the voice of the wind began whispering to me again. In my mind I could see the forest beyond the city, where the wind was capering among the trees while the birds kept up an incessant chatter. Maybe I was going insane.

We spent the night at the Lancaster’s house. Cyhan began Penny’s training in earnest while I spent considerable time in the room I had been given. I meditated, hoping to calm my mind and shut out the voices that seemed to swirl around me. Most of them were soft and diffused, like the wind, but one voice seemed much stronger, the one warning me against being bonded. That voice was strong and clear, as if someone stood beside me speaking in my ear. The others, I tried to name them according to where they seemed to come from, the wind, the trees, and the giant beating heart of the earth, those voices were less well defined. They weren’t human and they used a language that couldn’t be understood in words, it was more primal.

The wordless ones calmed me, for they seemed natural and without motive, but the other voice frightened me. It was too human and it had definite opinions. I was afraid that it was a sure sign of my shaky hold on reality.

After dinner we planned our next steps. Marc wanted to travel with us and although I feared his goddess I trusted him. He seemed to genuinely want to help and apparently his goddess agreed with him. Rose still planned to remain behind. I had given her the letter of credit and explained my thoughts concerning the bankers and their motives. She probably understood them much better than I did. She was certainly surprised at the amount of money that would be available to her.

“Who would have thought that Tyndal Illeniel was so rich?” she said. “He never flaunted it or showed any sign while he was alive. Not that I knew him personally, but if anyone knew he had such a fortune I’m sure I would have heard of it before now.”

“The real question is what you’ll do with the money, gold won’t stop an army,” Marc opined.

“As I understand it, Mordecai needs several things, men and weapons, raw materials, supplies and food, and as much of all of them as he can get,” she replied. “I will begin sending wagons with materials and supplies as soon as I start making arrangements. I will follow with the men later.”

I was still unsure. I had never been a political genius but I had read a lot and mercenaries worried me, “Are you sure sell-swords are a good idea? From what I’ve heard they’re as dangerous to their employers as they are to the enemy, perhaps more so.”

Lady Rose’s eyes lit on me, “Actually I need to discuss that with you. Mercenaries are much less trustworthy than men fighting for their homes, that is certainly true. I wonder if you would consider offering them more than gold?”

I wasn’t sure what she meant, “What else do I have to offer?”

“Land,” she stated simply. “Offer them land for farms and homes, with money to build once the fighting is done. There are a large number of men in Lothion who would jump at such an offer: the poor, the unemployed and dispossessed, the younger sons of farmers with nothing to inherit. The chance to become a freeholder with their own land would be a powerful incentive. It would give them a strong reason for fighting to win rather than just to survive long enough to collect their pay.”

That had never occurred to me. In fact most of the Cameron lands were uninhabited, more so now after seventeen years with no lord to maintain them. New freeholds would mean more taxes, more farming, and more men to defend the land in the future, not just today. If Dorian’s remarks about a lord’s power being built upon the strength of his people were correct then I was a relatively weak lord. More people would change that dramatically.

“I think you may have hit upon an excellent idea,” I replied after some thought. No man can own the earth; merely share it for a while. “Shut up!” I shouted at the voice. After a pause I realized everyone was staring at me. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t directed at you Rose.”

Rose studied me for a moment, I could almost hear the gears turning in that keen mind of hers, “The voices are getting stronger aren’t they Mordecai?” Concern was clear on her face.

“Not exactly… maybe, I’m not sure. Please, let’s move on. I’m fine and we have a lot to decide,” I said. The discussion continued but I kept catching my friends giving me worried looks from the corner of their eyes, whenever they thought I wasn’t looking.

You aren’t mad. It only seems so because they can’t accept the truth. Stop denying and accept it, this is what you are. The only insanity is your struggle to deny reality.