Atraxos
the Black was impressed with how well Galgana had done when he'd
enthralled King Devin Lyrian. Even now, as Atraxos met with the man,
it was almost impossible to tell where Galgana's spell ended and the
king's true emotions began. Of course, this would make King Lyrian
that much easier for Atraxos to use, and that much easier for him to
mold – in the end, when Atraxos crowned Lyrian emperor of a
reformed Torvaran Empire, it would seem to Lyrian that what
had transpired had been his idea all along.
“Destroying
the Order of Catharzen seems a dangerous prospect,” Lyrian said.
“Theirs are renowned as the best Healers in the known world, and,
now that the Conclave is no more, no one knows more of ancient lore
than they do. Though I've never had any dealings with them, myself,
it is said their monks have perfect memories, and are able to recite
scrolls, and even entire books, after only reading them once.”
“Destroying
them is, indeed, a risk, Your Majesty,” Atraxos said. “However,
not
destroying
them would be an even greater one. They know things that no one but
people like you and I should, things that could topple everything
we've started to build. And, as for their Healers, my
order
is far more skilled. We
are not afraid to look beyond death, Your Majesty. We are not afraid
of anything.”
Lyrian
was silent a moment, studying Atraxos with his emerald gaze – an
emerald gaze that, while calm and calculating, now, Atraxos knew hid
a spark of madness within its depths. “You fear the monks of
Catharzen,” the king said, at last, a touch of amusement in his
voice. “Else you would not be so vehement in your desire to see
them destroyed. And what of the Conclave? Did you not fear them, as
well?”
“If
I did,” Atraxos said, “it was obviously unfounded, as we
destroyed them utterly.”
Lyrian
raised an eyebrow. “Utterly? Didn't one of their Holy Knights
escape? The one you ordered my guards to be on the lookout for?”
Perhaps
Galgana's spell hadn't been as effective as Atraxos thought. That
didn't matter, however. Despite his questions, Atraxos knew the king
would not back out of what they had started. Not now. “One
escaped knight does not mean our destruction of the Conclave failed.
He will be found. And, even if he isn't, he is not a mage, which
means he will never be more than an annoyance to us.”
“Perhaps.
In any case, I take it that you want me to personally oversee the
weeding out and destruction of the Order of Catharzen. Is that
correct?”
Atraxos
nodded. “It is, Your Majesty. Your guards will be needed, as
well.”
“Who
will hunt for the escaped knight, then?”
“My
men can handle that from here.”
“The
people won't like that. Your . . . men
. . . are rather fearsome, to say the least.”
“No
need to worry about that. My men will hardly be noticed.”
Lyrian
sat back, steepling his fingers. “And what of you? Where will you
be? I already suspect you will not be present to see the monks'
destruction.”
“You
are correct, Your Majesty. I will be traveling eastward with some of
my men, over the Ivory Spires to Eltara.”
“To
Eltara?
Why there? It's been a barren wasteland for
centuries.”
To
seize what has always been mine by right,
Atraxos thought. “There are things there older than even the
empire we seek to resurrect, Your Majesty. Things that will allow
us to have dominion over the entire
world.”
“Like
the Eltarans in the old legends? Ruling all the lands east and west
of the Spires?”
Atraxos
smiled. “That, Your Majesty, and more.
Much, much
more.” He lowered his voice until it was only slightly louder than
a whisper, something
which wasn't necessary since they were the only two people in the
room, but which he knew would heighten the effect of what he said
next.
“We would be as
gods.”
Lyrian's
gaze had grown unfocused. “Gods . . .”
Atraxos
left the royal palace a short while later. As he began his solitary
ascent of the path leading to the High Fortress, he felt
supreme
satisfaction at what he had done to King Lyrian. Galgana's
enthrallment spell had been
a promising beginning, and would have been more than enough on its
own, but Atraxos had wanted to go one step further, had wanted to
make Devin Lyrian – the last true king of the last true kingdom
west of the Ivory Spires – a true kinsman to the Order of the
Crimson Serpent. And so he had Twisted the king's soul, which was a
thing Atraxos hadn't done to another person
– another human,
those pathetic beings who always thought of themselves as being so
noble – in more than a thousand years.
