“You are lying,” Eraina said. “You lie to us and to yourself. I hear it in your quavering voice. You’ve suspected what he truly is. What we’ve told you doesn’t surprise you at all, does it?”
“Marth is a good man,” Kiris protested, lowering her eyes. “Or he was, once. But you are right, Marshal. I have seen him change since the Day of Mourning, but were it not for him I would be dead or worse. The things we have seen, the horror that Cyre has become, have driven him to desperation. I know he has concealed things from me. His cause is noble, but I have seen the rage that burns inside him. Now, to hear that he might have had a part in these killings …”
“What is his plan?” Eraina demanded.
“He only wishes to finish Ashrem d’Cannith’s work,” Kiris said. “He wishes to complete the Legacy. He returns here from time to time, and I share what I have learned with him. He applies my findings to his work.”
“Why here?” Omax asked.
The wizard sighed. “What do you know of the Draconic Prophecy?” she asked.
Eraina removed her left glove and rolled up her sleeve, exposing the dragonmark on her forearm. The twisting pattern closely resembled the marks on the stones outside. “I know some,” the paladin said. “The Prophecy appears as a series of arcane symbols, like these. It manifests on the earth, the sky, and some say even the dragonmarks that we bear are part of it. The dragons created it as a guide to what is to come, and what has come to be. The writings often carry magical power.”
“Partially right,” Kiris said. “Though I do not believe the dragons truly created the Prophecy. I think they were merely the first to discover it and thus it bears their name. After all, if a dragon wishes to name something after itself, who are we to argue?”
“So where does it come from?” Seren asked.
“I do not know,” Kiris said. “Such questions cannot be answered. Who created the Sovereign Host? Does the Marshal’s inability to answer that question make Boldrei less worthy a goddess?”
“Leave my faith out of this,” Eraina warned.
“I meant no offense,” Kiris said. “I only mean that there is much about this world that none of us understand. We must take some things on faith as we search for answers, and the origin of the Prophecy is one of those things. We can rely only upon that which we know. The Prophecy is ancient. The Prophecy is powerful. The Prophecy-as far as I know-is never wrong.”
“So what do those marks outside say?” Seren asked.
“Many things,” Kiris said. “Most of what I have deciphered speaks of a great battle between dragonkind and the demons of Khyber. It says that the dragons would sever the thread that binds the worlds and rend the very essence of their enemies. That battle came to pass before the dawn of mankind. Now the bones and the Prophecy are all that remain.”
Eraina’s face darkened. “There is more you have not told us,” she said with grave certainty. “What does the Legacy have to do with this?”
“Ashrem,” Kiris said. “He first found this place many years ago. With help, he deciphered many of the writings outside. He learned how the dragons defeated the demons. They created an … anchor, if you will. An artifact that negates magic of all kinds. All arcane energies are forcibly and permanently canceled. All enchantments are destroyed. All gateways to other dimensions permanently closed. The tool the dragons forged to defeat the demons is what inspired the Legacy. Ashrem used the principles he learned here to create it. While Marth searches for Ashrem’s lost journals, I labor here to understand the Prophecy as Ashrem understood it. My skill at artifice is nothing compared to Marth or Ashrem, but I have always had a talent for deciphering language and codes. I have learned much.”
“And what would the Legacy do to creatures of magic?” Omax asked.
“See the results for yourself,” she said, gesturing at the bone samples on the floor. “Magic is a dragon’s lifeblood, and it was stripped from them. The other dragons left their brethren where they fell as a tribute to their sacrifice. The dragons who activated the original Legacy knew what would happen, but to ensure the future of our world they were willing to die.”
“The Legacy destroys all magic?” Seren asked.
“With how heavily the Five Nations rely on magic,” Eraina said, “a thing like that could throw entire cities into chaos.”
“It is not a weapon, it is a tool,” Kiris said. “If used improperly the potential for damage is great; I will not deny that. Why do you think we hide what we do? Marth intends to use the Legacy to tame the wild energies of the Mournland and restore the former grandeur that was our home. He wishes to restore Cyre.”
“Marth has deceived you, Kiris,” Eraina said. “If he truly wished to help Cyre, he would approach the nations of Khorvaire and ask their aid. King Boranel would gladly aid him if only to remove the Cyran refugees from his borders. Marth need not steal and murder to reach his goal. He chooses a path of evil.”
Kiris laughed. “Is that so?” she asked. “Then which nation does your master, Dalan, represent? What good deed will he do when he finds the Legacy?”
“Dalan is not my master,” Eraina said. “I seek only justice.”
“Regardless, if you believe Dalan is any more honorable than Marth, or that the kings of Khorvaire can be entrusted with the Legacy, you are the one who is deluded. The surviving nations pretend to grieve for Cyre and offer its survivors what scraps they deign to spare, but they do not truly wish to see the Mournland restored. As far as they are concerned, the death of Cyre means one less enemy. If any of them gained the power of the Legacy, they would only use it against one another.”
“Better Dalan than Marth,” Seren said. “I saw him kill Jamus Roland with my own eyes.”
“I don’t believe you,” Kiris said, though the hesitation before she spoke betrayed her doubt. “I see your disgust. You think I am a fool, but we have come too far. I cannot allow myself to believe Marth is what you claim he is. I cannot turn against him.”
“You are blind and pathetic,” Eraina said.
“Am I?” Kiris asked, looking at the paladin. “Perhaps I believe he can become the hero he used to be. You embrace a killer who seeks redemption,” she pointed at the warforged. “Yet I do so and I am a fool?”
“If he seeks redemption, shooting us down over Talenta is a curious way to start,” Omax said.
“Then what if you are right?” Kiris asked. “What if Marth is a madman? If I turn against him it would be one more in a long chain of betrayals heaped upon him. What hope would there be for him then?”
“You are a fool defending a murderer,” Eraina said.
Kiris looked at the tip of Eraina’s spear. “I would think that a paladin of Boldrei would recognize the power of faith. Tell Dalan what I have said. I hope he will understand. I cannot help you, but neither will I tell Marth that you have been here.”
“You misunderstand your situation, Overwood,” Eraina said. “I am a Sentinel Marshal. You have confessed to aiding a murder suspect. You will accompany us. I do not offer you a choice.”
“You cannot force me to leave,” Kiris said.
“Is that a threat?” Eraina asked, hefting her spear. “I do not fear your magic, wizard.”
Seren took a step away from Kiris, moving closer to Omax.
“I will not hurt you,” Kiris said. “Neither can you compel me to leave.”
Eraina held the wizard’s gaze for several moments and then lowered the point of her spear. With a swift, deliberate movement, she scratched a gouge across the wards that protected the door. Outside, the shrieking of the creatures that haunted the Boneyard began to build.
“What have you done, Marshal?” Kiris asked in horror.