2. Unwelcome
Unwelcome
F inley poured hot water over the ceramic strainer that was filled with a heaping spoonful of loose black tea.
His Roll Initiative mug immediately began to steam and a rich, earthy scent rose up from it.
Gemma had found the cup for him in Hope, the Separatist town outside of Tyrael.
One of the things that the Separatists were really good about was finding remnants from the old world that could be saved.
He breathed deep, hoping that the caffeine would seep into his system through his nose and leaned heavily against the kitchen counter.
The Ever Fire stones crackled pleasantly in the hearth that had replaced the stove and warmed his side as much as the sunlight did that streamed through the kitchen window over the sink.
It was a little after ten in the morning, so not too early, but last night’s festivities at the Dawn had run very late, especially after Shonda had gotten there.
She and Aquilan had gotten along like a house on fire.
The Sun had been about to rise when they’d all left to go to their respective homes.
Well, the Sun King and Lord Neres had not gone home.
They had simply moved to some beds upstairs at the Dawn.
“I really do not wish to see my brother quite yet,” Aquilan had confessed with a soft laugh just before the party had broken up.
“He seemed rather upset you didn’t come to him immediately,” Shonda had pointed out. She was curled against Michael’s side. The firelight shone from behind them.
“Yes, well, then he will be more upset when I’m not there until mid-afternoon. He is anxious for me to dive into the politics of ruling,” Aquilan confessed.
“And you’re a much more straightforward sort of fellow,” Michael nodded with approval.
In fact, using the adjective “straightforward” meant that Michael liked the Sun King very much.
“Straightforward? Perhaps. I take little pleasure in political warfare.” Aquilan stared into his wine goblet for a long time. Finally, he said, “But the actual war was not without costs. Ones that I have not yet paid for. Now that I’ve returned and the war is done… Well, I shall have to.”
Shonda and Michael exchanged a brief look. Finley knew that they had communicated more than words ever could.
“We wondered what made you come to Earth’s aid. The Lieran Plane would not have been affected by what happened here,” Shonda said softly. “But you saved us at great cost to your own people.”
“The expansion of evil affects everything and everyone,” Aquilan answered with a certainty that Finley admired. “I came here for no reward myself, but…”
“But you can’t win a war with a single person,” Helgrom added. “Not even our great King Aquilan can do that.”
“No, I cannot.”
Shonda was very still as she said, “I’ve heard from my friend and co-Councillor Sorisana–”
“Sorisana Adric? Ah, you two are friends, Shonda?” Aquilan brightened.
She inclined her head. “Yes, she’s taken me under her wing. I’m very lucky.”
“And so is she if she has your friendship,” Aquilan offered.
Another nod. “She mentioned… she mentioned that the big Houses expected to be awarded territories on Earth for their support of the war.”
Aquilan’s lips flattened for a moment before he answered, “Yes.”
The word hung there like frost in the air. The Sun King ruled an Empire . Of course, the Earth was part of that now and so the land here would be his to dole out to whomever he chose.
“There’s plenty of abandoned land out there,” Finley said with a twist of hopefulness in his voice. “So I suppose–”
“Best land,” Snaglak said as he guzzled another glass of ale, “is always occupied.”
Aquilan lifted his head to regard the orc who had eyes only for his mug. “Yes, that’s true, Snaglak.”
“And the big Houses will want the best land for themselves,” Michael stated rather than asked flatly.
“Yes,” Aquilan again answered simply, but the word was so much larger in terms of its meaning.
His blue eyes lifted to Shonda and Michael.
There was a communication there that caused Michael’s jaw to tighten and Shonda’s forehead to furrow.
The Sun King did not look too happy about it either.
But he also looked resigned as if it was something that had to be done.
But did it? Wasn’t Aquilan king? Couldn’t he just make the rules as he saw fit?
“So what will happen to the people already there on this best land?” Finley asked. “And I assume by people , we all really mean humans. ”
“Accommodations will be made,” Rhalyf finally spoke up.
Finley was so used to his voice as he’d spoken quite a bit that evening telling “amusing” stories and anecdotes that had most people laughing that it had been startling in its long silence.
Finley might have chuckled a bit, too, but really couldn’t they see how careful he was to guide the conversation in the way he wanted it to go?
He was a clever politician even if Aquilan was not.
He made sure to steer clear of unwelcome topics.
He seemed intent on doing that again. But Finley wasn’t going to go with the flow.
“ Accommodations ?” Finley lifted an eyebrow. “What accommodations will there be if the humans want to stay where they are?”
“I am certain many of the Houses will be amenable to that,” Aquilan answered, but his voice sounded as if he wasn’t quite convinced of that.
“Many, but not all!” Finley’s voice came out sharp. He lifted a hand. “I’m sorry, your majesty, but–”
“No apologies are necessary,” Aquilan waved it away. “I came here to hear your thoughts, not my brother or anyone’s filtered ideas of what you think. Tell me. Do not hold back.”
“I hope you mean that, King Aquilan,” Shonda said quietly. “This is a very freighted topic.”
“Whether I hear it or not, it will still be true and out there,” Aquilan said. “Won’t it?”
A nod from her.
“This country has a very ugly past with colonialism and slavery,” Michael explained. “Taking land from the people already on it and parceling it out to wealthy Aravae Houses would be a continuation of that dark legacy. Is that what you want your legacy to be?”
“Forgive me, that may all well be true, but there are not enough humans left, quite frankly, to fill a fraction of the old United States of America. Are you saying we should hold it all as some kind of preserve for humanity should you re-establish yourselves?” Rhalyf scoffed.
He had a wine glass in his hand. He always seemed to have a wine glass in his hand, but rarely seemed drunk.
Finley wondered if he were an alcoholic due to his high tolerance.
But there was nothing of wine in his sharp, incisive gaze.
Maybe wine didn’t affect him like it did others.
Or maybe he simply pretended to drink far more than he actually did.
“We aren’t speaking of all the land, but the best land,” Michael said firmly.
“The already occupied land. But, if we were speaking of all of it, why couldn’t it be held for humanity?
This is our world. While we are diminished in terms of population, we will come back.
One thing that humans have never stop doing is persevering. ”
“I admit I admire your positivity, but the world is not the same as it was. While the Leviathan threat has been pushed back, they will never be altogether gone,” Rhalyf explained.
“And far other– nastier –things will eventually make their way through the rifts to Earth, which humans are even more incapable of fighting against.”
Finley’s jaw tightened. “Unless we have magic?”
Rhalyf turned that incisive gaze upon him. “You want to study magic, I believe?”
“I do. And… also, wield it,” Finley straightened up, preparing to give his speech about humans not being incapable of learning magic.
But Rhalyf didn’t let him. “You’re a bit of a scholar from what I saw in your journals.”
From what you found out after stealing my journals! Finley thought, but didn’t say.
“I am,” he answered instead.
“In all of your research, did you find the term Illumine ?” Rhalyf asked.
“Yes, it is the source of magic within an individual,” Finley answered primly.
Another nod. “Yes, but because all of the magical textbooks are written by beings who are immortal or near to it, I’m betting they never explained something very basic about Illumine .”
“Basic–”
“ Illumine is not just the source of magic, but the source of one’s life .” Rhalyf placed a hand over his heart. “When you cast a spell, you are using your very life to power it.”
Finley’s chest began to feel slightly tight. “Okay, but I don’t see–”
“You will, because you’re very smart,” Rhalyf continued smoothly.
Finley was both stunned by the comment, but stung by the implication that he’d missed something adverse to his understanding of magic.
“For an immortal race, using one’s life is cheap .
” A beautiful ball of purple plasma appeared in his right palm after the snap of his fingers.
He rolled it back and forth almost like a juggler.
It was beautiful and expertly done. “It costs us nothing. I can conjure all day and night long with little adverse effects other than being a little tired. But for a human, whose source of life is finite , a single spell could exhaust it.”
A single spell?
Finley blinked as Rhalyf extinguished the plasma ball as he said it. “But then… but that means…”
“That actually wielding magic–even if a human were capable of doing so–would likely kill them,” Rhalyf answered simply.
“That can’t be right! That can’t be…” Finley’s eyes flickered to Declan who was over behind the bar.