22. Rohak
Chapter 22
Rohak
T he carriage Alois and I arrived in traveled just as smoothly on the way back to Vespera as it did on our way to Hestin. While I expected Alois’ mood to have changed after our discovery of Ellowyn’s power and the wayward Keeper, he was just as silent and moody as ever. Clearly lost in his own thoughts about what all of it meant.
When Alois approached me about a potential Keeper in Hestin, I could barely contain my apprehension and unease. This was the second Keeper spotted in Hestin within a week—the first was strung up in the square, killed in penance for his lies disguised as futures, or so our Mages reported. But for the second to be kept somewhere in Lord d’Aelius’ house, and for us to not be aware of the unexpected visitor, left me feeling incredibly uneasy.
Where did Hestin’s loyalty lie? With the South and the Last Keeper? With Alois and the Northern Territories? Do they say one thing and act a second way? And how were they able to cover up the Keeper’s whereabouts and their intentions from Alois and I?
My thoughts worried me. We already had enough problems with the territories in the South, the Last Keeper’s rebel army constantly stirring up violence and rebellion in non-allied—and even allied—territories, was strain enough. But it was coupled with an alarming increase in cases of Mage Sickness—the lack of Vessels available and willing to take a Mage left Mages no choice but to overdraft from crystals. It was like an addiction—the more power a Mage pulled from the crystals, the more they needed until the magic in their blood destroyed them from the inside out. While there was a limit to a Vessel’s well, and a Mage could theoretically burn out their Vessel, the well of power was much deeper and the connection between a Mage and a Vessel prevented a Mage from overdrawing and becoming sick.
I shuddered slightly and absently fingered the crystals in my pocket—the pull to draw from them was stronger now, more intoxicating. My power was heady to begin with, and adding crystals to the mix created an even more volatile situation.
It was a clusterfuck of issues, to say the least, and it felt like as soon as we made a move on one, something else came up from a different side, pushing us back to the starting point.
I withdrew my hand from my pocket and scrubbed it down my face with a slight groan, frustrated that nothing made sense right now.
“Your thoughts are as loud as mine,” Alois said from his seat on the other side of the carriage, “perhaps even louder, Rohak.”
I grunted in response, not particularly in the mood for idle chatter, but Alois always got his way, one way or another.
“Talk to me, brother, what is on your mind?”
I didn’t say anything for a moment, which was Alois’ invitation to continue speaking.
“You thought we’d come here and miraculously fix all of our issues, didn’t you?” Despite his words, his tone wasn’t accusatory.
I sighed and tore my eyes away from the window of the carriage where the Elyrian countryside was hurtling past, the trees and farmland a blur. I focused on my friend’s face, noting the worry etched in his brow. Or perhaps that was just age. Both in our early forties—I was forty-two and Alois only six months older than me—we weren’t necessarily young anymore, the weight of our positions and pasts beginning to show in little lines of stress and sun.
“That easy to discern?” I finally said.
Alois laughed. “Respectfully, Rohak, I’ve known you our entire lives—from the time we were street rats stealing whatever we could to feed ourselves, through military training, and now. There is no secret you can keep from me, brother. ”
There was so much history between us that we became a formidable pair—first as a fighting unit in the Elyrian military and now as politicians. We always knew the other’s next move, next step, next thought, and our individual strengths disguised each other’s weaknesses. It’s probably why so many of the Northern Territories flocked to be in an alliance with Alois—there was no perceived weakness.
Except for Alois’ nearly fanatical affixation with the Keepers and their Matriarch.
No one, apart from the company of Mages who accompanied Alois and I on our initial campaign some fifteen years ago, knew the real reason for the strife and animosity between the Keepers and the Northern Allied Territories. Alois disseminated a carefully crafted coverup for our presence in the Valley, claiming that the Keepers housed a dangerous artifact and were planning on using it to wake the gods in a bid to control Elyria. Alois is nothing if not an incredible orator, and the people of Elyria took his word as gospel.
“He is a Truthsayer, after all, and with his abilities, why would he lie?” they reasoned.
And the partial truth wasn’t necessarily far from the real reason we were in the Valley. There was an artifact of the gods held by the Matriarchs, but that was only the beginning of it.
The more Kaos whispered to Alois, the further convinced he became that all the Keepers, not just the remaining Matriarch, needed to be eradicated.
It was the only thing that would provide “balance” and pave the way for Kaos to escape his prison.
The whole thing set me on edge.
In direct response to Alois’ elevated measures, the descendants of Solace started launching more brazen and deadly attacks against allied territories and cities. There were a few Border Territories in particular that were sustaining heavy losses—both civilian and Mage—just for voting in favor of one of Alois’ policies. They weren’t even a technical allied state, and the Last Keeper’s rebellion had launched what appeared to be a small-scale invasion after what they perceived to be a breach in neutrality.
It was all a complete mess. A clusterfuck of epic proportions.
I was jolted from my musings when Alois kicked my boot lightly with his .
“You disappeared into your thoughts again, Rohak. If I didn’t know you, I’d think you were a Keeper with how often your mind leaves this place.” There was a slight edge to his jest, and I smiled to pacify him.
“You were right, Alois. I was foolishly hoping that this whole trip would somehow fix everything, or at least bring us some sort of clarity. I feel like there are more questions than answers at this point.”
“Yes. Especially about Ellowyn.” He was still fascinated and fixated upon the girl, though gods knew why.
I found her almost unbearable.
Polite almost to a fault, seemingly carefree, and content to let others make decisions for her. The girl had no backbone, and I despised it. No one is that happy all the time, especially taking direction from other people. The way her mother directed her, both physically and verbally, left me stunned.
I speak better to my horses, and they are beasts.
But Ellowyn seemed entirely accepting of her place within her family, dancing with a multitude of men as they came searching for a chance at betrothing themselves to the tall, smiling blonde. She even pulled one of my Mages off the wall and away from his station at one point.
I still must speak with him about leaving his post and becoming distracted on the job .
And the worst part of it all was that she had snared Alois in her web. He was enamored with her, completely fascinated. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the futures surrounding her, or if it was simply her . Either way, it had Alois distracted and territorial.
“I found her wanting,” I said.
“Of course you did, Rohak. If she’s not your True Bond then you want nothing to do with her. But this isn’t about you. It’s about me. It’s about our kingdom and the future of Elyria.” Alois leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees as he spoke.
“You’re infatuated with her. The feeling will pass,” I said.
“Perhaps. Or perhaps she’s more than an infatuation,” he pressed.
“You heard her father; she’s publicly betrothed to that unknown heir from the South. Even you don’t possess the ability to separate that type of agreement. It’d be a serious breach of power and completely unwise to treat an ally in such a way, especially in our current situation.”
He huffed and leaned back again .
“I couldn’t get a read on that Lord d’Eshu,” he spat his name with an extreme amount of vitriol.
“What do you mean, you couldn’t get a read on him?” My tone was sharp.
Please don’t let this be another thing to add to our list of problems .
“That’s just it, Rohak. I couldn’t read him. Nothing that came out of his mouth.” Alois rubbed a hand across his jaw in obvious agitation.
“At all?” I was in complete disbelief.
“At all. And before you ask, no, it’s never happened before. And it puts us at an extreme disadvantage because now we must rely on more traditional and less reliable methods to discern his intentions,” he grumbled.
“Do we really think he’s worth looking into? If he’s just some random lord from the South, is it an effective use of our resources?”
“Yes,” he practically hissed, “it’s an effective use of our resources . He’s tying himself to Hestin! Practically tying himself to me and he’ll use Ellowyn like a puppet on a string.”
I sat with that for a moment. Ellowyn did seem like the type that would allow her husband total control, her interactions with her family proved as much this weekend.
I blew out a breath.
“Fine. I will address it when we get back.” Which would be soon, judging by our speed and the changing landscape. The farmland that dominated the edges of Hestin was slowly giving way to the foothills that comprised the eastern edge of our territory. The ride to the capital was only an hour or two, at most, if we continued at this pace and didn’t encounter any issues.
My response seemed to pacify Alois as he simply grunted in response, retreating into himself once again to brood on the thought of Ellowyn marrying the Southern Lord d’Eshu.
While I was hesitant about Alois’ newfound obsession with Ellowyn, I couldn’t deny that the timing of d’Eshu’s arrival was suspect at best, I just couldn’t figure out the why .
I felt like I had a thousand puzzle pieces and no clue how they fit together. The information was there, I just couldn’t connect it, couldn’t even begin to separate the edges from the middle to begin to construct a frame. It was maddening, especially because I considered myself an intelligent person.
I sat back and continued looking out the window, fiddling with the crystals in my pocket, desperately trying to figure out how everything fit together. But the longer I thought, the more the answers evaded me, and I was no closer to a solution when we arrived at the capital than I was when we left Hestin.