Guild Mage: Apprentice

Triss frowned. "Come after Julianne? What do you mean?"

"Not here, Liv," Wren said. "Come on. Let's walk down to the beach or something, where we have a bit of privacy."

Liv nodded, and rose from her seat. Together, the three women walked down the road and into town, with Triss commenting on her favorite shops from her time as a student, or occasionally on what had changed.

"There used to be a fish stand there," Triss said, pointing to a cobbler's shop. "When Matthew and I first got to Coral Bay, we'd go for fried clams and beer-battered fish. It was always so tasty, I can't believe that it's closed."

"I can just picture him stuffing his face," Liv said, and grinned in spite of herself. "It's good to see you again, Triss. I've missed you."

Triss slipped an arm around Liv's waist and squeezed. "I missed you too. I wish we'd gotten more time together after the wedding. I never had a little sister before."

"She says little even though I'm older than her," Liv complained to Wren. By that time, they'd reached the beach, and turned north from the waystone. With no king tide imminent, and no danger of an eruption in the near future, the long strip of sand was peaceful. Liv saw a pack of bronzed children splashing about in the warm waves. They were either too young to be working, or perhaps they'd snuck off from their lessons for the day.

Once the three women had made it far enough north that they were well out of anyone's earshot, Liv found a place to sit on the sand. "I suppose it's all coming out now," she said. "Before I left, you remember how Julianne took me up Deer Peak?"

Triss sat on the sand next to Liv, while Wren wandered along the water's edge, collecting stones that caught her eye, and then throwing them out to skip across the waves: once, twice, three times.

"I vaguely recall that," Triss said. "But it was the day after the wedding, and I wasn't really paying attention."

Liv couldn't help but feel her cheeks heat up at that. "Right. Of course not. Anyway, she took me up there to teach me Luc."

"The royal word?" Triss demanded. "Blood and shadows. Why?"

"Because I'm going to need it," Liv said. "Only the problem is, I had to use it when Ractia's forces attacked the rift here, and now Genevieve Arundell and Benedict's spymaster are asking questions. She's already told me that if they can prove I know it, they're going to execute both of us - Julianne and I."

"I'd like to see her try," Triss growled. "You should see the pass south into Courland now, Liv. She hired a whole crew of my father's masons - the ones who keep our walls in one piece. They've been fortifying the road into the Aspen Valley for the past year."

"The point is," Liv said, "she's got some crystal she claims can tell if someone's lying or not. Says she bought it from your family years ago."

Triss nodded. "My mother makes them, sometimes, for extra coin," she admitted. "But they're only reliable for people who aren't mages. Anyone who's trained their authority can fight off the effect, because it isn't very strong. That's why more people don't use them. Under the law, using them's got no standing - especially because a good enchanter, with the right words, could make a fake that just shows whatever they want."

"I didn't know that," Liv said. "She just made me hold it, and started badgering me with questions. If I can prove that I don't have the word –"

"How are you going to prove something that isn't true?" Triss asked.

Liv touched the Elden-made comb in her hair. "This is enchanted to hide the imprint of Luc. Archmagus Loredan can tell by examining me. So, if she can't use the orb, and if he gives testimony I don't know the word, that should be it. They won't be able to come after Julianne at that point."

"And what if they tell you to take the comb out?" Wren asked, turning toward the two of them from where she stood near the surf. "It's a big risk, Liv. She had enough people in that room that I'm not sure you could fight your way out. Arundell may not be an archmage, but she's no slouch."

"If I have to fight them, I've already lost," Liv said. "At that point, they've got plenty of excuse to come after anyone close to me. No, the only way to protect everyone is to make certain they can't prove I've done anything wrong." For a moment, she regretted ever learning the word from Julianne: if Liv had never imprinted Luc, this wouldn't be a problem. But without lightning to break open Karis' chest armor, she might also have died during the fight at the reef.

"I hate that they do this," Liv said. "Magic isn't meant to be owned. Learning shouldn't be punished like a crime."

"It's power," Triss said. "And people with power don't like to share it. Anyway, take me up to meet your friends. I'm staying long enough to speak at the conclave tonight, but after that I need to get back to Valegard."

☙

As promised, Liv treated Semila to dinner that evening at the Crab and Gull. The tables were packed with court mages and even a few culling parties, and they had to wait for an opening. Triss and Wren joined them, of course, along with Sidonie, Tephania, Arjun and Rosamund. Thora had been left behind at High Hall, with quiet instructions from Liv to pack all of their things. If she could weather Genevieve Arundell's accusations, there would be nothing stopping them from going to Valegard to help, and Liv wanted to be ready to leave at a moment's notice.

Triss, Rose and Sidonie knew each other, of course, but for the others Liv felt an odd thrill at introducing her sister-in-law. Just saying the words felt bizarre, but with Beatrice and Matthew's marriage, and Liv's formal adoption, it was the legal truth. From a childhood with a family of only two - perhaps three, if one counted Gretta as an adoptive grandmother - Liv now had parents, grandparents, a brother and a sister. She might even have a niece or nephew soon. The thought was equal parts strange and pleasant.

From Arjun, Triss wanted to hear stories of Lendh ka Dakruim. With Tephania, she exchanged the latest news from Courland, where Teph's father continued to serve Duke Thomas as a knight. She bumped Rosamund's hip with her own, mentioned some obscure fencing manual from Carinthia, and the two were immediately thick as thieves, picking right back up again with a conversation they must have left off in Freeport. Liv was a bit jealous of how easily Triss' confidence and charisma put the people around her at ease.

"She's going to make a wonderful duchess," Liv commented to Rose. Triss had drawn the first year out of her shell, and now Semila was telling everyone about her family's holdings at the edge of a mangrove forest not far from Coral Bay. "Matthew can be a bit of an idiot sometimes, but she's just about the best decision he ever made."

"I guess picking the correct person to spend the rest of your life with is one to get right," Rosamund replied, her voice low.

"The Eld don't do that, you know?" Liv mused. "Not always, anyway. You can agree to be together long enough to raise a child, and then go your own way with no hard feelings."

"I'm not sure I could do that," Rose admitted.

"I think it's different when you live for centuries. I mean, even with both of them using magic, Matthew and Triss will have what, fifty years together? A bit more?" Liv shrugged. "My grandfather was something like twelve hundred years old. I can't imagine many loves last that long."

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"If it's real love, it would," Rose insisted.

"Maybe." Liv shrugged. "I guess I wouldn't know."

They made their way back up to the campus with plenty of time to spare before the second night of the conclave began. Semila, not yet a member of the guild, waved goodbye and crossed the courtyard for High Hall, while Wren took up her station outside the great hall, where she could wait. Liv noticed that she wasn't even the only bodyguard: half a dozen rough looking men and women loitered about, and a few had even brought sets of dice to pass the time. Once again, Liv and her friends took seats together, this time with Triss.

Again, the professors took their seats, and again, Genevieve Arundell held herself apart, off to one side, with her coterie of court mages and students. Liv wasn't certain whether to be grateful that Galleron Erskine wasn't permitted to be present, or worried about what Benedict's spymaster might get up to while he was out of sight. Once Caspian Loredan had banged the butt of his staff against the floor, and Jurian had shouted for silence, things began.

"There has been a rumor circulating campus throughout the day," Archmagus Loredan said, turning to address Genevieve. "Perhaps you would like to clarify that rumor, at this time, Court Mage Arundell?"

Liv clenched her hands until her knuckles were white. Had Merek Sherard, or Anson Fane, or Arianell Seton, already begun telling people about the accusations? She felt Rose's hand placed over her own, but the contact was thin comfort.

Genevieve Arundell stood and addressed the crowd. "Of course, Archmagus. The rumors are true. It has now been thirty-two years since my culling team discovered Cei, the word of dreams, at Godsgrave. Caution with a new word was warranted, but it has been long enough. As my first act as guildmistress, I formalize that Cei will now be imprinted at the rank of journeyman, just as Aluth is when an individual becomes an apprentice."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd, and Sidonie leaned over to murmur, "It's a bribe for support. If she's not guildmistress, the word stays restricted."

"It's so obvious," Liv complained. "People can't actually be that short-sighted, can they? And I notice she's said no more about dissolving the charter, after what Archmagus Loredan said."

"This conclave has not yet come to a decision on the subject of a guild master or guild mistress," Caspian Loredan said. "That is precisely why we are meeting."

"And we've always been led by archmages," Professor Blackwood said, rising from his seat at the high table. "Ever since my ancestors founded this guild. I see no reason to change that now."

"Are you saying, Professor Blackwood," Genevieve responded, "that if I were an archmage, you would withdraw your objections?"

Blackwood looked uncomfortable, as if he sensed a trap. "It would certainly help," he said, finally.

"Test me, then," Genevieve said. A dozen conversations around the hall erupted at once, and Liv saw a handful of mages leap to their feet in excitement, calling out in support or in anger.

"Am I to understand," Caspian Loredan shouted, over the chaos, "that you are requesting to be tested for the rank of archmage here and now? Are you certain you are ready, Court Mage Arundell?"

"I have been ready for some time," the woman replied. "Until now, I saw no need. However, if making a demonstration of my own power will keep this guild - this guild that I love - from committing political suicide by defying our lawful monarch, then I will do it."

Jurian leapt to his feet, staff clenched in his hand. "She could have done this at any time before now," he argued. "This is all politics."

One of the court mages at Genevieve's side rose and shouted back: "There are plenty of master mages here. What reason do you have to deny her?"

"She planned this," Liv realized, with a sudden flash of insight. "Maybe not that it would come from Blackwood, but that someone would raise the objection."

"Well?" Genevieve Arundell called to the high table, rising from her seat and striding out into the center of the room. "Can you give any good reason not to test me here and now?"

"Proceed," Archmagus Loredan said, after a long moment. "Is your spell safe to cast here in the hall?"

"It is." Genevieve turned about, looking over the crowd, as if to be certain that she had everyone's attention. Then, she raised her staff and began to mutter an incantation. It was difficult for Liv to catch the precise phrasing, over the noise of the gathered mages, but she caught both the words Aluth and Vefta.

A whirlwind of golden wind, streaked with sparks of blue light, surrounded Genevieve Arundell. From her own seat, Triss cast a spell, and her eyes glinted with magical light as she watched what was happening.

Arundell motioned to Arianell Seton and, as if it had been planned well in advance, the girl formed her silver bracelets, necklace, every button and ornament, into a solid slab of silver, which she pushed into the whirlwind of light that surrounded Genevieve.

The shock of half a dozen impacts in rapid succession crashed through the hall, and when Seton withdrew the great piece of silver, Liv and everyone else could see knifes of raw mana piercing it, for a long moment, before they dissolved into motes of gold and blue magic and drifted up toward the great wooden beams above the hall. Arundell allowed her spell to die away.

"A combination of Vefta," she explained, "and Aluth, to accelerate a cloud of mana-blades into a cyclone. Anything that seeks to approach me would be shredded by the blades, and they move too quickly for anyone to even see clearly, nevermind parry or evade."

One after another, if reluctantly, the professors nodded. Liv shook her head; after that, and with the confidence Genevieve was showing, she knew the second test would be a mere formality. The woman wouldn't have made this play if she hadn't trained her Authority. And indeed, Professors Blackwood, Norris, and Annora were unable to penetrate Genevieve's control, just as Liv had anticipated. When it was done, the woman addressed the crowd again, the golden light of her magic still in her eyes.

"Are there any further objections?" she demanded. "There should have been none in the first place, from any loyal subject of your king, but have I now sufficiently demonstrated my own magic? Professor Blackwood demanded that our guild mistress be an archmage, and so I've undergone the tests. Is there anyone here who would still defy the authority of the king?"

Before she could stop herself or think better of it, Liv stood up.

"Journeyman Brodbeck," Caspian Loredan said, and his words were almost a sigh.

For a moment, the feeling of all the eyes on her gave rise to that old, familiar feeling – that urge to shrink in on herself until everyone's attention had moved on, to hide. "It doesn't make him right," Liv said. "The fact that he's said it, the fact that he's king. That doesn't make Benedict right."

"King Benedict," Genevieve broke in.

The interruption sent a burning hot jolt of anger through Liv's chest. "The title doesn't mean he makes good decisions," she argued. "Does anyone here know the law better than Professor Every? And she told us all last evening this wasn't something the king was allowed to do. But your argument is what, just roll over and accept it because you'll give us a new word of power, and if we don't we're traitors? Wanting the king to follow his own laws makes us traitors?"

At the high table, Jurian was shaking his head, but Liv couldn't stop. "I remember you arguing last conclave," she said, addressing Genevieve Arundell directly, "that what happened outside of Lucania wasn't our problem. That we shouldn't worry about Varuna, or Lendh ka Dakruim, or the Eld. Well that's just about the stupidest thing I've ever heard," she said, though angry murmurs were rising around her from the audience.

"We all live in the same world," she continued, raising her voice. "Just because you ignore something doesn't make it so. There's a dead goddess risen in the west, and if you think she's going to ignore Lucania forever, you're a fool. She's attacked the Eld, she's attacked Coral Bay, and now something's happening at the Foundry Rift, too. And any woman who is too blind to see that we all have to work together doesn't deserve to run this guild." She bit her tongue, forcing herself not to add: And Benedict, too.

"What is happening at the Foundry Rift?" Caspian Loredan asked, leaning forward over the high table and fixing Triss in his gaze.

Triss stood up at Liv's side. "We aren't certain," she said, "but there's a lot of activity. The old Antrian machines are doing something, and there's more of them coming at the walls than at any time since the last eruption. Duchess Julianne's sent help from Whitehill, but it isn't enough. We need guild culling teams, and we need them now. Tonight, if we can get them there: tomorrow, if not."

"Activity," Genevieve Arundell said. "But not an eruption?"

"Not an eruption, exactly," Triss admitted. "But it's bad. We can't hold Valegard alone."

"The duty of the mage's guild is to aid in eruptions," Arundell said, with a shrug. "Regular maintenance and guard over the rift is the responsibility of the local baron, with the support of their liege. If Duchess Julianne is not capable of holding her own lands, then perhaps she should appeal to the king to send in his new army."

"This conclave has not decided on the subject of leadership," Caspian Loredan broke in. "A court mage, even court mage to the king, does not make such a decision."

"Call the vote, then," Arundell said. "And let us see whether there is anyone here who is willing to raise their hand and declare themselves a traitor. Raise them nice and high, so that my assistants can take down the names. We wouldn't want to miss anyone."

With his shoulders slumped in defeat, Caspian Loredan spoke. "All those who would keep to the charter of our guild, which makes clear the king does not have this authority, raise your hands now."

Liv thrust her hand up into the air, and at the high table, she saw that Jurian did the same. Triss raised her hand, and Arjun, Sidonie and Rose, all of her friends but Teph, who remained seated and silent, looking down at the floor. A few scattered hands rose around the hall, but not enough.

"The result is clear," Genevieve Arundell said. "I am guildmistress. This conclave is adjourned. Those journeymen seeking to imprint Cei may approach any of the professors. And you, Brodbeck. I will see you upstairs. Now."