Paul Kemp - Shadowbred

28 Marpenoth, the Year of Lightning Storms

Kendrick Selkirk was in the family tomb, Mirabeta was giddy with power, and Elyril stood alone on the third-story balcony that overlooked one of the stone gardens dotting the grounds of Ravenholme, her aunt's estate. Magical lighting of various hues illuminated unnatural arrangements of rocks and boulders, some of them imported from as far west as Baldur's Gate, as far east as Thay. A manmade rill cascaded through the rocks and collected in a small pool at the garden's far end.

Selune was new, banished from the night sky, a holy time for Shar's servants. Elyril often spent moonless evenings on the balcony staring up at the night, contemplating the majesty of the Lady of Loss, imagining the day when night would shroud Faerun forever. She reached into an inner pocket and retrieved the invisible disc that served as her holy symbol.

Holding the symbol to her breast, she replayed the Lord Sciagraph's words in her head: Follow the Nightseer until the sign is given and the book is made whole. As she had done so often since receiving the vision, she wondered, what sign, what book?

She chided herself for such questions. Shar and the Lord Sciagraph would reveal to her what she needed to know and keep the rest to themselves. Elyril took comfort in the belief that she would know the sign when she saw it, see the book when the time had come.

Still, she wondered when the Lord Sciagraph would contact her again and reveal more of Shar's plan. She resisted the temptation to commit the offense of hope, but recalled fondly Volumvax's touch, the smooth feel of his divine fingers. She felt herself flush.

"I will be the one to free you," she whispered into the sky. She also would be the one to sit at his hand. Together, they would rule in Shar's name.

Elyril did not know how the Lord Sciagraph had been bound to his realm, the Adumbral Calyx, at the heart of the Plane of Shadow. Elyril did not pry into his secrets. She knew only that he could not leave it, not unless Elyril freed him. Until then, she would serve the Nightseer, as Volumvax had instructed her.

She activated her sending ring. When she felt contact with Rivalen, she relayed her news. Nightseer, Mirabeta is installed as temporary Overmistress. Endren Corrinthal is arrested and under guard.

Well done, dark sister, Rivalen answered. Encourage your aunt to aspire to more.

Elyril considered. Any grab at power by Mirabeta would trigger an uproar in Sembia's nobility. She said as much to Rivalen.

Precisely, Rivalen answered.

Elyril suddenly understood the Nightseer's purpose. Civil war, Nightseer?

If the Lady wills it, Rivalen answered. Find comfort in the night, dark sister.

The night shroud you, Prince Rivalen.

The sending ended. Elyril's heart raced. Civil war? Could that be the sign? If so, what of the book?

She resolved to see it done. Her aunt's ambition could be steered, but Mirabeta was no fool. Elyril would need to be subtle.

Elyril spent the hour before dinner in her chamber inhaling minddust and praying to Shar and Volumvax. Kefil warmed himself before the fire and watched her.

"The Nightseer wishes civil war in Sembia," she said to the dog.

To what end? Kefil asked. His tail thumped the floor.

Elyril shook her head. "The Nightseer keeps his own counsel. But he serves Shar, as do I."

You serve the Divine One.

Elyril cocked her head. "The will of Shar and Volumvax is as one."

Kefil yawned and rolled over on his side. Perhaps the Nightseer would not agree.

Elyril glared at the old mastiff. "The Nightseer will not have a chance to disagree because he will never know."

Kefil closed his eyes. Of course, Mistress.

"Are you threatening to reveal my secret to him, Kefil?"

Kefil did not look at her. He dared not. I serve only you, Mistress.

Elyril nodded. "And I serve the Nightseer only until I receive the sign and the book is made whole. Shar has called me through the Divine One to a higher purpose. When Volumvax is freed, even the Nightseer will bend his knee to him."

And to you, Kefil said. He licked his hindquarters. Unless you are mad, that is, and none of this is real.

Elyril considered the dog's words for a moment, dismissed them as nonsense, and returned to her prayers. Later, when it was time to dine, she held her invisible holy symbol in her hand and whispered a spell that would make her words more persuasive. When the spell was complete, she went to the dining hall.

There, she and her aunt enjoyed a meal of stuffed quail and roasted vegetables. Much of Sembia might suffer deprivation, but Mirabeta's fortune allowed for her and Elyril to dine well.

"The huntmaster took the quail yesterday," Mirabeta said. "And the wine is Selgite, from the Uskevren vineyards."

Elyril nodded. Both bird and wine were quite good. This was fortunate, as the lingering effects of the minddust made her taste buds more sensitive than usual. When she thought of Selgaunt, she thought of Zarin Terb, his fat body smoking on the floor of the council chamber. She giggled. Her aunt looked on, bemused.

Two mute serving girls, both the product of Mirabeta's breeding program, lingered at the walls to refill wine chalices and clear away dishes. They had polished the lacquered finish of the dining table to the gloss of a mirror. Elyril smiled at the eyeless, deformed faces that lived in the table. They looked at her from under its surface. She alone could see them-another boon from Shar.

"The nobility should be receiving notice of the moot," Elyril said.

Mirabeta nodded.

Magical missives and official couriers traveling under seal would have dispatched the news to all of the major cities of the realm by the next morning. News of Endren's arrest had no doubt also circulated quickly. Tension lay thick in the capital and would be spreading to the rest of the realm. Despite Endren's claim that he would not turn Ordulin into a battleground, scattered street fights between forces loyal to Endren and forces loyal to Mirabeta had left over three dozen dead.

"The capital borders on chaos," Mirabeta observed. "Too many soldiers and not enough food. The populace is restless."

Elyril sipped her wine, nodded. For years Mirabeta had sounded out her political ideas with Elyril over a meal. The faces that lived in the table told Elyril how to answer her aunt. She looked to them for guidance and they did not disappoint.

"If the safety of the capital is at stake, it is the overmistress's duty to end the threat. Raithspur and the guard answer to you now, aunt."

Mirabeta bit the meat off a quail bone. "Arresting those loyal to Endren could cause a riot."

The faces mouthed a response for Elyril. Her spell made her words compelling to her aunt. "Perhaps just a few of them, then? The key men, the leaders-Abelar Corrinthal, for certain."

"Abelar has fled the city using magical means," Mirabeta said, making a dismissive gesture. "He has probably already returned to Saerb."

Elyril vented her frustration only with a frown. She would have enjoyed arranging for Abelar to die while in custody. She hated the Lathanderian.

"Not Abelar, then, but the others. The guards could take them from their quarters late at night. You could also arrest a few unimportant men who are loyal to you. That way, you would appear to the commoners to be evenhanded."

Mirabeta devoured her quail, nodded thoughtfully. "The streets would be safe tomorrow if the order went out tonight."

"The citizens would thank you for returning the city to normalcy," Elyril said, while silently thanking Shar and the faces in the table. "You could accompany the announcement of the arrests with the announcement of a new food distribution program. Extra grains could be purchased from abroad and ground in the city's mills. You could order the temples to require that their underpriests use spells to create food."