Into an increasingly stunned atmosphere, first Hirad, then Denser and Ilkar outlined the events on Calaius and Herendeneth and their suspicions and certainties concerning Xeteskian involvement and motivations. Blackthorne didn't touch his wine or food, just stared back at whoever was talking to him. He asked no questions, merely nodded his head to indicate he'd understood. And despite the fire in the grate Hirad fancied he felt the room chill. Not just due to Blackthorne's shock, but because to hear it all again brought the enormity of the situation home to The Raven.
'You've got to get word to Heryst and Vuldaroq,' said Blackthorne into the yawning silence that followed, his voice oddly quiet. 'Xetesk must not be allowed to take possession of either research or artefact.'
'That's why we need your help,' said The Unknown. 'Our clear priority is to recover the thumb fragment. Going to Lystern or Dordover is days out of our way. You're a respected statesman and a supporter of magic. This sort of news might be better coming from you. We're not exactly friends of Vuldaroq's these days.'
Blackthorne rubbed his hands over his face and drained his glass in one long swallow, refilling it himself having dismissed all his servants.
'The situation is very tense. Lystern has formed an alliance of sorts with Dordover, but Dordover, or more specifically Vuldaroq, is the more active partner. As far as I know, Heryst still has a diplomatic team in Xetesk but details are sketchy. He's a man of reason as you know but he's not in a strong position. He's gone the only way he can, blockading lands and defending Julatsa, but it's put him in thrall to Vuldaroq whether he likes it or not. There's no doubt that knowing what you've just told me about Calaius and the elves would be enough to bring Lystern firmly into the war on Dordover's side. But I'm not sure that'll help you, considering in all probability you'll need to get inside Xetesk.'
'On the other hand, as soon as the elves encounter Dordovan or Lysternan forces, the story will be out and we'll have had no chance to mitigate the message,' said The Unknown.
'Indeed,' said Blackthorne. 'Well there's really only one course of action we can take as far as I can see. I reckon it's time I sent a trade delegation to Lystern. Quickly.' He smiled. 'I might even go myself, perhaps try and find time to have an informal talk with Heryst. You lot, on the other hand, need to get towards Xetesk as quietly and as quickly as you can. I think I can spare some horses and trail food though having an elven archer might help you down something a little more appetising.'
'My Lord, I hadn't considered you travelling there yourself,' said The Unknown. 'You're powerful enough to request Heryst communes with your senior mage.'
'Face to face is the only way,' said Blackthorne. 'This is too important for third-party communication.'
'Just make sure you take a mage we can contact,' urged Ilkar. 'If events overtake us, you need to know before you get too close to it all.'
'I'll do that,' said Blackthorne. 'We'll discuss the finer points of travel later but there is something else I need to apprise you of if you're travelling direct to Xetesk.'
'Wouldn't have anything to do with Selik, would it?' asked Hirad.
'Your friend and mine,' said Blackthorne, nodding. 'He paid me an unexpected visit a few days ago. Unexpected and odious. He's getting cocky. Very cocky. And with some reason. He's got considerable support. Desperation does that to people and he's a master at playing on people's fears.'
'But they'll be old men, young boys and farmers,' said Hirad. 'Not exactly battle-hardened.'
'But there will be lots of them. Thousands,' said Blackthorne. He leaned forward. 'This is a warning, Hirad. Don't underestimate him. He's powerful now and most of the mages are too scared to come outside their college walls. He's someone else that needs stopping.'
'Well you're talking to the right man,' said Hirad.
'Later, Hirad, all right?' said The Unknown. 'Let's get this thumb back to the elves first.'
Blackthorne pushed himself to his feet. 'Right, Raven, I'm going to organise you some beds and horses, then we are going to talk further. If we want Balaia back, we've got to do this right.'
Chapter 37
Erienne couldn't sleep. The state room she shared with Denser was airy and large, the bed beautifully comfortable. Denser lay quietly beside her but she was unsettled from having spent so much of her time over the last few days exhausted from the continuous training the Al-Drechar had given her.
It had gone on day and night during the sea journey but they'd left her alone for the walk to Blackthorne. They'd known she needed her energy and said they'd be back to help her sleep, but she'd heard nothing and now she felt fearful because without the touch of those she despised to keep her safe she wasn't sure she could control the power that had awakened within her.
She felt gorged with energy and thought of waking Denser before she realised she couldn't channel it physically. It was there in her mind. So instead she lay quietly, trying to still her thoughts as Cleress had taught her, and visualised her mind as a plug that fitted precisely over the well of energy surging in the One entity. But every time she tried to force the plug into place, flares of deep brown mana energy escaped. Not dangerous but very uncomfortable, the mana energy sniped at her consciousness and fed on her doubt. She felt as if she were alone with a wild animal, trapped in the cage of her own skull. And then fear swept her. How could she hope to control what she couldn't even understand? The pain grew again, thudding and reverberating.
'Oh, Lyanna,' she whispered, seeing for the first time the edges of the torment that must have gripped her innocent little child.
Yet saying her name brought Erienne renewed determination. Fail now and fail Lyanna. She repeated the words as she fought to calm herself, to see through the fear, and in doing so realised her mistake. She had been seeing the One as a force wholly like mana, the random fuel of magic. But it was something much greater. It drew on everything around it, on the air and the earth as well as mana itself, like it was an integral part of the world, bound into its fabric.
She would have to adjust the way she thought, for while the One could be moulded as mana could, it could not be contained in the same way. It was not inert until channelled, like mana; it was already focussed because it reflected the land and elemental forces around it. That meant its focus would shift wherever she went so her mind would have to do the same to retain control. It would be like continually starting from scratch.
Deciding sleep would be a long time coming, Erienne settled back and tried to examine the One magic that already seethed within her, barely checked but not yet even fully awakened. Tuning her eyes further into the mana spectrum to give her a clearer view, she could see the deep brown of the One, delicate strands upsetting the random flow of the mana around it. Where mana normally flowed through everything, it was repelled by the One yet drawn to it at the same time. Unchecked, she could well imagine the devastation a full awakening of the One would wreak on a defenceless mind and in the world around because as it drew and expelled the mana it gained in intensity.
Watching the gossamer strands gradually thickening gave her an idea. She traced them down to their source within her consciousness, to the dark pulsating entity she thought of as the heart of the One. Forcing the strands back with her mind as she had been trying wouldn't work, she could see that now. Instead, Erienne wove a pattern with the mana around them, using the attractive and repulsive elements to funnel the strands back on themselves, making loops that fed back directly into the pulsing core.
Almost at once its energy lessened as it was forced into relative dormancy, feeding only on itself. At the same time Erienne felt a wave of tiredness travel through her. She could partition her mind to maintain the simple mana shape that blocked the One strands but it would drain her slowly.