Sovereign Stone (60 page)

He viewed other people as objects, tools to be used in the pursuit of his goals. Over the centuries, he had established himself as the most powerful and prominent of the warlords, but he had never moved to consolidate his power over the entire Isle of Zuhl. That would have been counterproductive.

Over the many years, enemies came and went, many of them dying of old age. Zuhl patiently waited. Century after century, he delivered a message to the people of the Isle of Zuhl. He used every means of telling the story that he could conceive of—from storytellers to the written word to songs.

The message was always the same. All of the suffering, poverty, hardship, and despair felt by the people of Zuhl was the result of the treachery and evil of the Reishi, and one day the Reishi would rise again to murder their children.

The natural harshness of the frigid Isle of Zuhl played to his advantage. It was an inhospitable place that made for hardy and tough people. Their lives were difficult by the simple nature of their environment. But that wasn’t enough for Zuhl to realize his lifelong dream. For that he needed an army. Being a student of history, he knew that a standing army in a secure nation would become soft and complacent. When it came time to wage war, they would be unwilling and ineffective.

Zuhl wanted an army of hardened soldiers who had spent a lifetime fighting and killing. For centuries, while constantly projecting the message that the people’s problems and suffering were the fault of the Reishi, he stirred up trouble between the warlords. He kept them at each other’s throats. He made sure there were always border disputes and wars that flared and faltered, always planting the seeds of the next conflict. Through treachery and deceit, he ensured that the culture of the Isle of Zuhl revolved around war, killing, and death.

By the time the warning spell alerted the people of the Seven Isles that Phane had awakened, every able-bodied man on the entire Isle of Zuhl was a hardened killer, steeped in a culture of violence and warfare. And every single one of them had grown up from the cradle hearing the story that the Reishi were the ancient enemy who had blasted their home into a barren wasteland and that one day the Reishi would rise to do it again.

As predictable as sheep, the warlords who had been fighting and killing their neighbors for centuries all turned to Lord Zuhl and begged him to lead them against the Reishi. He was the natural choice. His family had led the struggle in the Reishi War and he was the most feared and powerful wizard on the entire island. Like a flood, they poured forth to kneel at his feet and swear loyalty to him, if only he would lead them against the ancient enemy who had risen to subjugate them once again. Even though he had planned for this very reaction, he found it almost disappointing that people could be so easily manipulated.

Lord Zuhl stood atop the tower that was his own personal monument to his hatred for the Reishi and smiled. He was dressed in a rich, flowing, white robe made from the pelts of baby snow seals. His robes were enchanted and glowed so brightly that looking directly at him was nearly impossible. He stood like a beacon in an ocean of soldiers all marching through the Reishi Gate. It was open before him and led to a green grassy field in the heart of the Isle of Fellenden. Like a lake behind a broken dam, his soldiers flooded into the heart of Zuhl’s first objective.

Fellenden had a warmer and more productive climate with rich farmland and vast rangeland. Most importantly, Fellenden was the home of the Iron Oak forests. Trees of such hardness it was said that an Iron Oak shield was as good as one made of steel. It was another piece of the puzzle. He would use the Iron Oak to make a navy of such power and reach that Zuhl would rule the entire Seven Isles by dominating the seas that separated them. Phane would control the Gates, but Zuhl would control the oceans. He would be able to land troops where he needed without resistance.

He knew Phane would fight, and he relished the challenge. If the old stories were to be believed, the Reishi Prince was a formidable enemy, but Zuhl was patient. He had planned for this day for seven centuries. He had contingencies and capabilities that Phane could scarcely imagine. Even if Phane managed to survive the war that Zuhl intended to wage against him, he was at a distinct disadvantage.

Lord Zuhl literally had all the time in the world.

Chapter 52

Alexander wasn’t sure what was happening or even where he was. The place had a surreal quality to it. He wasn’t inside a building and he wasn’t outside under the stars. The floor was smooth and black but not made of stone. The round table was solidly made with high-backed, comfortable chairs all around. A soft white light emanated from above, although he couldn’t determine its source.

Malachi Reishi sat at the table with five other men. He stared at Alexander for a long moment before another of the men seated around the table stood and held out his hand toward the empty chair.

“Where am I?” Alexander asked, without moving. He was paying careful attention to his all around sight, but there was nothing behind him except darkness.

The man who offered him the empty chair remained standing.

“That’s a little complicated,” he said. “Your body is where you were when you first touched the Sovereign Stone. Your mind, on the other hand, is inside the Stone in the Reishi Council Chamber. Please sit. We’ll answer all of your questions. My name is Balthazar Reishi. I was the First Reishi Sovereign.”

Alexander blinked in surprise. The last thing he remembered was picking up the Sovereign Stone and now he was standing in a magical space looking at the previous six Reishi Sovereigns. It made no sense.

The Sovereign Stone was tied to the Reishi line.

“Before we begin, I must ask, is your body in a safe place? Are you in potential danger?”

Alexander was suddenly alarmed. He was surrounded by enemies on all sides and had no idea if his friends would be able to defend him. Then the bigger question slammed back into his mind.

How could he be inside the Sovereign Stone?

Malachi Reishi started laughing at Alexander’s sudden look of fear. “I’m sure Phane lured you into retrieving the Stone for him, and any moment now, you’ll become a permanent addition to our little council here. Then he will pay us all a visit.”

“Silence, Malachi,” said another of the men at the table before he turned his attention to Alexander. “I am Demetrius Reishi, the Fifth Sovereign. Malachi is my disappointment of a son. You may command him, or any of us for that matter, and we will be compelled to obey.”

The magnitude of the situation began to sink in. His knees went a little weak and he took hold of the back of his chair to steady himself.

It made no sense.

The Sovereign Stone was only supposed to bond with those of Reishi blood. He was Ruathan, yet here he was standing in the Reishi Council Chamber with the men who had ruled the world during the rise and fall of the Reishi Empire.

Alexander looked over at Malachi and fixed him with a glare. “Do not speak unless I command you to do so.” Malachi glared back but said nothing. Alexander sat down at the table and surveyed the men arrayed before him.

Balthazar sat down as well. “Welcome to the Reishi Council. May I ask your name?” he said.

“I am Alexander Ruatha. How can this be? How can I be here?”

Balthazar sat back in his chair with an expression of surprise that quickly turned into understanding. He nodded and sat forward.

“One of the things I kept secret from the world was the origin of the Reishi family line. I was, in fact, born Balthazar Ruatha. My elder brother inherited our family estate, and I left to study in seclusion. It was there, in my secret laboratory, that I discovered the secret of Wizard’s Dust. The truth is, the Reishi line and the Ruathan line are one in the same. When I created the Sovereign Stone, I bound it to my line. I never suspected that doing so would also bind it to my brother’s line, although now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense.”

Demetrius sat forward with a serious expression. “When last Malachi consulted with us, he was waging war on the Seven Isles. Time doesn’t exist for us here so that was only yesterday. May I ask what has transpired and how you came to be in possession of the Sovereign Stone?”

Alexander realized that these giants of history who had ruled the world knew nothing of the current state of affairs. He wanted to explain in detail but he had more pressing concerns.

“I’ll answer all of your questions, but first, how do I get out of here?”

“Simply walk away from the table, but you will not be able to do so for several hours,” Balthazar said. “The bonding process takes some time and cannot be stopped once it has begun, hence my concern for the safety of your body.”

Alexander closed his eyes. He might have just made a fatal mistake. Jataan P’Tal was close and Alexander wasn’t sure if the Rangers and Anatoly could stop him if he attacked.

“The General Commander of the Reishi Protectorate is near and he’s been trying to kill me for several months now by order of Phane Reishi,” Alexander said.

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Demetrius said. “The Reishi Protectorate exists to protect the bearer of the Sovereign Stone before all other things. Perhaps if you explained the state of the world, we would be better able to help you.”

Alexander took a deep breath. As long as he was here, he figured he might as well tell them what he knew. They might have insight or understanding that could help him. He leaned forward and began his story.

He left nothing out. He told of how the Reishi Empire had fallen and how Phane had locked himself away in a magical obelisk to escape Mage Cedric and awaken in the future. He explained the preparations made by the Rebel Mage and how he had been marked as the one to stand against Phane. He told them everything he’d been through over the past several months, starting with the day his brother had been killed, how he had been visited by ghosts, how he had been hunted by creatures from the netherworld, and how he had found the Thinblade.

He told them everything he knew about the state of the other islands and that Phane had already taken command of Karth and Andalia. He told them about Chloe and his bonding and even told them that his wife and sister had been abducted. He spared no detail and dredged his mind for any scrap of information that might be of use. His story ended with him standing in a tower in the Reishi Keep holding the Sovereign Stone with danger all around him.

He had no idea how they would react. For all he knew, they would side with Phane and try to destroy him or trap him within the Stone or any number of other possibilities.

The men around the table traded looks. They all deferred to Balthazar—all except Malachi who looked mad enough to spit but kept his mouth shut as ordered.

“It would seem that much has transpired since the last time we were convened,” Balthazar said. “Allow me to be the first to apologize for the crimes committed against you by my distant progeny and in the Reishi name. I built the Reishi Empire because I saw how uncivilized humanity was and I wanted to change that. When I discovered the secret of Wizard’s Dust, I knew it had the power to change the world and I wanted to ensure that it changed it for the better. That’s why I drafted the Old Law and formally committed the House of Reishi as its protector and champion.

“My plan for the world worked for a time, until Malachi succumbed to his own self-importance and strayed from the path that I had laid out. He turned everything that we’d built to the purpose of tyranny. As is always the case, tyranny cannot be sustained. Unfortunately, it’s the people of the world who are the ultimate victims of the limitless ambition of a tyrant.”

Balthazar looked down at the table sadly. He took a deep breath and fixed Alexander with his glittering golden eyes and held him with a look of such intense passion and need that Alexander felt frozen in time. “May I ask your intention now that you are bound to the Stone?”

Alexander blinked. He hadn’t thought that far ahead. Everything was happening so quickly and he’d only just begun to accept his new reality—but when he faced the question, the answer seemed so clear.

Balthazar was right.

There was terrible suffering in the world and the biggest source of that suffering was government, or more accurately, those who sought power over others. It seemed that petty thugs were the ones who gravitated to the seat of power like flies to dung.

Those who couldn’t be trusted with anything were the ones who craved power over everything. He reviewed the leaders he’d met in the last few months. The only ones he had any faith in either didn’t want the power they had or viewed their power as a means to protect people. In both cases, they were committed to the Old Law and genuinely believed in government by principle rather than government by ambition.

All the rest were petty, self-serving, narcissistic liars who wanted power for the sake of lording it over others.

Alexander thought about all the horrors that government had invented. War, tyranny, slavery, genocide, and the soft slavery of taxation were all creations of government, and they were all committed at the urging of self-important political figures who had something to gain by inflicting harm on others. For two thousand years, the Reishi had imposed limits on the power of the governments of the Seven Isles by demanding that they govern according to the Old Law. The more he thought about it, the more certain he became of his answer.