It took two hours to get Miresh from Rattar’s quarters to their home in the city. The streets were packed with an energetic and chaotic crowd. Every three blocks had a town crier shouting a different story about what had happened, while soldiers and mobs of people went door-to-door in search of the missing General.
By the time they were home, Aralim was starving. He ate a good breakfast each day and then a snack during the noon recess of the Third Court, but he had not eaten in hours this day. Miresh and he sat in their dining room and dined on a few loaves of bread. After a few minutes, Miresh finally brought it up. “Were you there? Do you know what happened?” she asked. “One minute we were training and the next Narr and a few Aura were walking right up to Rattar and us, telling us to wait with them in the safety of Rattar’s quarters. Even Rattar didn’t know what was going on.”
“Yes,” Aralim replied. “I saw the whole thing. I saw something stirring in the barracks from my seat and went to investigate. I just barely stayed ahead of the chaos as a result. None of the other Selected saw what I did, I suspect.”
“The Emperor was involved?” she asked.
Aralim nodded somberly. “He was almost solely responsible. The guards only held the crowd back.”
Miresh blinked. “What? Held them back from what? What did he do?”
“The Emperor killed Ovoe in front of thousands of people.”
She froze, and his words hung in the air for a few moments. They didn’t touch the jams, nor the food on their plate. None of the servants were present, though Aralim was certain they would have the story or some rumour before the night was out. Miresh rubbed her forehead. “Whoa. How? Like an execution?”
“Isn’t every death at the hands of the Emperor an execution?” Aralim took a sip of tea—he’d had Ko’nagar purchase some similar to the spiced tea he’d enjoyed with the Emperor.
“Huh, I suppose so…”
Aralim bobbed his head. “The details are not super important. The Emperor asked me not to talk about it until after we meet. Ovoe finally made a big enough move against the First Court that the Emperor finally got involved. Unfortunately, he was less graceful about it than he would have liked.”
“Did Ovoe kill someone else close to him?” she asked. “Or was it more of a political issue?”
Aralim shrugged. “Both? Ovoe kidnapped General Ro.”
With a blink, Miresh asked, “Has the Emperor ever said anything about General Ro’s importance to him?”
“Not to me,” Aralim replied, “but it seems to be the only man that cares about Rema as much as the Emperor and Rattar.”
“Well, I guess I won’t need to worry about Ovoe anymore, then,” Miresh said.
Aralim smirked. “Nope, hopefully his replacement will be more trustworthy.”
“Do…” She trailed off, hesitating about what she was thinking, but then changed her mind again and asked it. “Do you think we need to worry about the Emperor instead?”
“I consider the Emperor a close friend of mine, but deep down inside…” Aralim grimaced, and continued, “There’s a piece of me that worries, yes. He’s not always his best self.” He paused, hearing the sounds of Hayan arriving and speaking with Ko’nagar about the busyness in the avenue outside. Aralim quickly said, “In either case, he’s asked me to speak with him in the morning, about what comes next.”
“I hope it goes well,” Miresh said, taking a drink of water.
Hayan’s breath panted from the hallway opening as he entered the dining hall. “Aralim, someone left this with my stuff at the theatre,” he said, holding up a sealed parchment and looking confused. “It’s for you.”
Aralim blinked. “Thank you,” he said, standing up to take the letter. He paused when he noticed there was a note scrawled on the outside, next to a blank seal. It said ‘For Aralim’s eyes only. Open in private only.’ He inhaled, and looked at his friends for a moment. “I had best read this in the study,” he said, rolling his eyes.
The desk made for an uncomfortable seat, compared to the dining room, but he broke the seal there, in solitude, and unfolded a double-sided note, covered in organized writing.
He read the words in his head, while his lantern staff leaned on the desktop next to him. “Aralim, I would ask you to not speak of this to his Ascendance, but you will decide whatever course will further your Path the most, regardless of my wishes.” He paused, and flipped the letter over to look for a signature. His breath caught—it was signed by Ro.
Aralim quickly turned the page back and kept reading. “I am not certain if you would approve of my deception, but I heard the Emperor’s words on Ovoe’s boat the same as everyone in that crowd, and I know I made the right decision. My days of service are done, and neither you nor his Ascendance will ever see or hear of me again. I offer you the truth, because our conversation was key. The Emperor only believed that I might spill his secrets after that.”
The Emperor’s secrets? Aralim wondered. He had only spoken to General Ro about Rattar’s flawed Crux, and learned nothing of it. Was the flawed Crux a secret of the Emperor? To think that the General had faked his own disappearance to orchestrate the death of his enemy… he had out-schemed all the schemers.
He continued reading. “I also offer you the secret that you asked for, in the hopes that you might honor my request of privacy and secrecy. When I was a much younger man, I was to deliver a letter to the Grand Magician’s hall. It was late, after dinner, but the letter was important.
“I spotted the Emperor there. Grand Mage Rattar and he were together, for lack of an appropriate word. I immediately left, but the Emperor stopped me. He told me that he was Rattar’s Crux, and while he had dabbled with romance of varying interests throughout his many years, his brief time with the Grand Mage was only in interest of the latter’s sorceries (this was, of course, some fifty years ago). Whatever magic you have seen Rattar cast, his abilities are a fraction of the prowess he might exert in the Eternal Emperor’s presence.
“While I’ve been loyal to the Emperor for many years, he never revealed the fate of my wife to me, so I do not care how you use this information. I care only to live out my final years in peace. May fortune find you on the Path, Ro.”
Aralim stared at the letter in near disbelief. It was a secret that entwined both the Emperor and the Grand Mage. No wonder Tag’na had reacted so aggressively—if Ovoe had learned of this, he might have known the easiest tactic to eliminate Rattar. If Tag’na did not react for emotional bonds, he did so to protect himself. Rattar was his greatest and most powerful ally. He read the letter again, then opened the small glass shutter on his lantern and set the corner of the page afire. Ro had been right about the letter; Aralim would respect the resigned General’s sense of honour.
As he watched the small blaze burn inside his lantern, he wondered quietly… where was the Path leading him?