Silver Mage (Book 2) (5 page)

CHAPTER V

The rumors continued to spread, but to Bren’s amazement, it didn’t seem to have much of a negative effect on Sae-Thae. Most of the residents took the news as expected, making Bren wonder just what the vathari had done to earn such a menacing reputation. Even though the rumors didn’t seem to cause many problems and solved more than a few, the decision to let them go unchallenged still twisted in his stomach.

The snows had already started falling, though right now it was so light that the thin blanket of white only lasted a day before it melted under the heat of the sun. To pass the time, Bren took the chance to catch up on his paperwork. Within only three days of hard work, he had most of the papers sorted and signed. Oddly, most of them were expense reports and communications from other kingdoms giving out the normal greetings to a new ruler. Most of the letters were very light and short, meaning that they didn’t know how much power he held within the Kingdom and were probably testing the waters to see if he, or the tower held the real power.

It was a tricky situation to be sure. If he declared that he had absolute power, it could cause more trouble with the tower. On the other hand, if he didn’t exert his authority, then the tower would surely take it from him. It would be slow at first, but like a dam with a hole, it would increase with time. Before he knew it, his position would be no more than an empty title. The situation made answering the letters from the other monarchs tricky and meant that he had to spend a lot of time choosing the correct wording for each response.

It was during one of his long sessions of penning a letter that a heavy knock came at his door. It was still early in the day so he didn’t think that it would be Cass, as the man knew that he was busy with important responses. If it was Lillian, she would have simply let herself in no matter how many times he begged her to knock.

As he stood from his chair, small tendrils of pain rushed up his legs. He looked at the offending chair and made a mental note to get something a bit more comfortable when he found the time.

As he turned the handle to his door, it burst open and Bren had to jump back to keep from being hit by the door. “Bren, it’s horrible!” Faye said, running into his room, her face flustered and her breathing shallow as if she had ran all the way from the tower.

“What’s terrible?” Bren asked, as he tried to make sense of the situation.

“The mages are all saying that Master Sae-Thae started the war with you,” Faye said in an excited high pitched voice. “Everyone is saying that Sae-Thae is the one who authorized everything and made sure that you were kept in the dark. That is why you didn’t find out about everything until he had left and they didn’t try to arrest you until after Sae-Thae had returned.” When Bren didn’t respond to what Faye had said, she stomped her foot and gave him a scathing glare. “What are you going to do about this?”

“Honestly, I don’t know what I can do,” Bren admitted.

“But they are making master Sae-Thae out to be the bad guy when he did everything in his power to curb the council’s ambitions.”

“I know, they have been spreading the same kind of rumors in the non-human district,” Bren replied, his brow furrowed in thought.

“And you haven’t done anything about it!” Faye exclaimed. “I thought that master Sae-Thae was your friend.”

“He is, but there is little I can do without causing more problems,” Bren said apologetically. “But, I think it is time to talk to master Sae-Thae himself. Maybe he will have an idea about what to do in this situation.”

Faye didn’t seem to be happy with his reply, but she didn’t respond, she simply kept glaring at him as he left his room and headed down the stairs to the main hall where Cass and the others waited. Everyone was gathered around the long table talking and enjoying the relaxed atmosphere that tended to come with winter. All the other seasons were busy times of the year with everything from planting, harvesting and preparing for the cold that herald the end of the year. It was almost as if winter had been created for people to recover from the trials of the previous months, though it could also be deadly for those who had not prepared for it.

“I don’t like that look on your face,” Cass said with a worried frown.

“Don’t worry, I don’t plan to cause any trouble today. I just need to visit the tower,” Bren replied, heading for the front door of the palace.

“If you’re not planning on causing trouble, why are you headed to the tower?”

“To talk to Sae-Thae,” Bren answered, not slowing down, forcing the rest to hurry and grab their gear to keep up with him.

Unlike the last visit to the tower, no one stopped them, but Bren still had his guard wait for him in the lower levels of the tower. The lack of harassment might have been a sign that attitudes were changing toward him among the mages of the tower, but it might also have been a test to see how he would react. Bren had no doubt that he was being watched carefully.

“I don’t see any of the tower guards,” Cass said, his eyes darting about.

“I would guess that the council has been notified of our pending arrival, and have most of the guards guarding the masters in case we decided to do anything rash,” Bren suggested.

“I don’t like it,” Cass said, his fingers nervously tapping on the hilt of his sword. “I much prefer when enemies are within sight, and not having to fear them hiding around every corner.”

“I don’t think you should consider the tower guards enemies,” Faye said hesitantly.

“I consider anyone with a sword, and anyone I don’t know, an enemy my lord,” Cass replied in a dismissive tone.

“That is the price of bearing responsibility. People you don’t know will consider you a threat and move to eliminate you,” Bren told Faye with a weak smile.

“Sounds lonely to me,” Faye replied with a downcast look.

When they reached the top floor of the tower, they found that guards were posted two at every door. Every eye watched them closely as they walked down the hall. Bren’s heart jumped nervously in his chest as they approached Sae-Thae’s study, where four guards were posted.

“Sir, may I ask to the reason for your visit?” One of the guards asked, stepping between Bren and Sae-Thae’s door.

“I am here to see the head master,” Bren said confidently.

“I am sorry your majesty, but I cannot allow you to see the head master at this time,” The guard replied, looking at Bren’s sword nervously.

“Just tell the head master that we are here to see him. I am sure that he won’t refuse us admittance,” Bren said, his voice sounding slightly agitated.

“As you wish your majesty,” The guard said unconvinced, before disappearing through the master’s door.

When the guard returned, he had an annoyed look on his face, but didn’t say anything. He just simply held the door open for Bren, Cass, and Faye.

“I thought you would have come to visit days ago,” Sae-Thae said as soon as they entered his room. “Don’t tell me it has taken you this long to hear the rumors going around.”

“I heard them over a fortnight ago, but couldn’t think of a good way to combat them so I left them alone. Faye here on the other hand, demanded I do something. So, I have come to discuss the matter with you,” Bren replied with a bored sounding voice.

“I see,” Sae-Thae said with a deep laugh. “Looks like Isophena won the bet then. I was sure that you would rush here as soon as you learned of what was happening, and she bet that you would wait it out until you were forced to take action.”

“Are you disappointed?” Bren asked, slightly embarrassed.

“Not at all. In fact, I am quite impressed. It would have ruined all my hard work had you rushed off the second you heard the rumors. I thought about sending you a letter, but I thought it would be more fun to watch your reaction.”

“Your hard work?” Bren asked bewildered.

“Ah, you see, the rumors were my idea,” Sae-Thae admitted.

“But they will end up making you resign from your position as head master,” Bren said, his voice betraying his surprise.

“That was my main bargaining chip with Turneal and his cronies,” Sae-Thae said with a smile. “I had a long talk with Turneal and we came to an agreement. For a mage, he is a very shortsighted man, so he was easy to lead around. He forgot that the head master has the right to choose his successor. I will lose my position in time, but not as soon as you would expect, and Turneal will not be replacing me.”

“I see,” Bren replied, taking a seat across from Sae-Thae. It was a brilliant plan, one that would not only solve the trouble between him and the tower, but also the common people and the tower. It was a small price to pay, but Bren still didn’t like the taste it left in his mouth.

“I still think it would be better to replace the masters with ones that would be more receptacle, than move around them,” Phena said from the corner of the room.

“I agree when Phena,” Faye said angrily. “It’s not fair that Master Sae-Thae has to take the blame for the entire tower.”

“It’s nice to think that everything will work out for the best, but in most cases, that just never happens,” Bren said. “If we removed the council members we don’t like by force, it would breed
resentment within the younger mages of the tower. What we need to do now is to slowly change the views of the younger mages, and to do that we need to show a working relationship between the tower and the palace. Sadly, for that to happen, someone needs to take the blame for the past transgression, and given the Vathari’s reputation, Sae-Thae is the best choice.”

“Correct,” Sae-Thae said proudly. “Right now, it is the best choice we have. I can still hold my position for a few years. I will catch a lot of resentment from the city and younger mages, but that will help solidify Bren’s position as king.”

“I still don’t like it,” Faye said loudly.

“Not many people like what has to be done when it comes down to it,” Sae-Thae said in a refreshing tone. “The ability to do what is best for everyone is what makes a good leader. Sometimes you have to set aside your own feeling and do what is best for the people, and not what is best for you.”

Bren turned his head to keep from having to look at Faye in the eyes. He could tell she was disappointed, but Sae-Thae was right. This was the best course of action. If he could think of anything else that would solve so many problems without bloodshed, he would take it, but nothing came to mind.

“What is your next move Sae-Thae?” Bren asked, hoping to change the direction of the conversation.

“Next, I plan to use the time I am being kept out of the public eye to continue my search for the location of the veil. It is the perfect opportunity for me to distance myself from Isophena and the other students so that none of them are hurt by the backlash of my so called exile. I would also suggest that you don’t visit me for a good while, otherwise it will cast shadows on the rumors and might shift them to people thinking that you and I were in league to take over the tower.”

“I see,” Bren replied. “Then how will we talk, should I or you learn something that might be valuable to the other?”

“That is where master Sae-Thae expects me to come in,” Phena said, her voice ringing with annoyance. “While I will be keeping out of sight, I will still be visiting with master Sae-Thae in secret. Right now, we are spreading around the rumor that I am your half-sister so that it won’t be odd that I visit you in town. While the diction of family doesn’t matter much to the Vathari, in your world it is a very important bound so it will help hide the truth. Over the next year, I am supposed to make it look like we are the best of friends.”

“I see,” Bren said, his face lighting up. “If it looks like we are on good terms, then when Sae-Thae announces you as the next head master, the other council members won’t have any place to complain and they won’t be able to shift blame on you easily because of our known bound. It is a very well thought out plan.”

“Except, I won’t let you run ram shod over the tower,” Phena said angrily.

“I wouldn’t expect you too,” Bren replied. “I only expect you to keep the guilds actions within the bounds of the tower and not try to infringe on my people.”

“Then what about the merchant guild? Will you have the right to set the rates that the tower must abide by?” Phena asked, with a haughty voice.

“How did you know I was planning to talk with the guild?” Bren asked surprised.

“I knew that it would come up sooner or later. The council has tried many times to discuss trade agreements with the guild, but they refused each time. The fact that you haven’t scheduled a talk with the guild yet only means that you are lagging on your duties.”

“To answer your question, the rates I negotiate with the guild will be for the entire kingdom and that includes the tower.”

“And I am guessing that we are not going to see any of the profits from the tax on items that the tower sells to the guild.”

“In a way you will,” Bren replied. “You get the profits from the sale, and you will see the return of the taxes in the stipend that is given to the tower by the palace on regular intervals, or do you think that the gold that the tower gets from my coffers is earned in some other way?”

“Enough,” Sae-Thae said laughing, cutting Phena off from a sharp retort that Bren could tell was sitting tight on the edge of her tongue like a dagger aimed at him.