The Greatest Sin

The Order of the Legacy of the Twin Hearts, the Order of the Saints of Flowing Blood, the Order of the Lifeshield, of Healing Saints, of the Woundbearers, of Hartmann’s Chosen and of I-Em-Hetep’s Apostles stood arranged two miles from Olympiada. Allasaria looked down at them as the clouds cleared around the mountain.

Six thousand men, six thousand men and counting. The apostles of Hippokrat were inbound from Atny’s port. Three more ships were waiting to be provided entry to dock, projections from her advisors suggested twelve thousand men will conglomerate on that field by the end of the week.

Orders going on parade did not bother her. Especially not Kavaa’s Orders. They weren’t weak men by any means, but when compared to the Seekers? Or to Maisara’s and Fortia’s Orders? The hierarchy had been set in the Great War and the tradition had continued; Kavaa’s Orders were auxiliary support and healers, they weren’t front line fighters. But they had brought their armouries and vehicles. Over a hundred helicopters were parked in a square, and twenty of Kavaa’s personal air-fleet. Planes which were used to transport the wounded and ill away from disasters and her Clerics into them.

Kavaa stepped the balcony. Allasaria did not need to look to check, a millennia of dealing with these fools had taught her to recognize them by footstep. Kavaa’s were a light march, rigid and even but filled with a careful trepidation. “You called for me.” She said.

“What is this?” Allasaria asked.

“I do not believe that Maisara and Fortia won’t make a move.” Allasaria rolled her eyes. Was it a lie? It could be, but then she herself expected those two to be up to something during Leona’s next Olephia trip.

“So you brought an army?”

“Maisara has an army on the mountain.” Kavaa said coldly. “I at least keep mine off it.” Allasaria sighed.

Sometimes, she wished she had not bound herself with moralistic legalisms.

Arascus watched two maids clean the rest of his office. They cleaned every day, he hated coming across even a speck of dust, it simply was not right for a man destined to be Emperor of all Arda to have dust in his abode. It was two pretty girls in outfits modest, they had served under Iliyal for a decade before Arascus had joined. The General had recommended them himself. Neither of them asked questions and both were smart enough to know when to they did not see something and did not hear anything. “If we’re going to be dealing with sorcerers, then I’d recommend wine.” Raika said.

And they weren’t scared of him. That was as rare a skill as the previous two. “Daganhoff said they’re children.” Raika looked up from her brush and looked at the God. A short girl, dirty blonde with quick eyes and a fascination with Mikhail’s creation. Her own room was practically an armoury.

“I had wine here and there when I was young.” She said and got back to sweeping. “A cup won’t hurt.”

“Bring wine and water, something to eat too.” Arascus said.

“Biscuits? Cakes?” Arascus leaned back as he waited for Daganhoff to bring these new sorcerers. It was a total breach of protocol, Leona was still alive and these two weren’t trained to deal with the omnipresence of Lady Luck. But… but… but he was sure her end was coming soon and, more importantly, these two were apparently his daughter’s own creations. Chosen to serve as the first sorcerers of the modern world. She had trusted them enough to go and help Fer, he was sure she was proud of them, and he wanted to partake in that pride.

“Your choice Raika.” Arascus replied. “What do you think they’ll be like?”

“Sorcerers?” The girl gave one final sweep of her brush and stood straight, her black dress immaculate. “I’ve seen mages on TV and they’re not so impressive.” She said. The other maid, Alee, nodded along as she finished rearranging the bottles in a cabinet. She was older than Raika by nine years and worked as the Mistress of the Maids in the headquarters.

“During the Tuyyah Earthquake, they sent mages to contain the flooding and it overwhelmed them. I’d like to see them myself.” Maids were curious a millennia ago, maids were curious now, some things never changed. “One’s a young boy apparently.”

“Of course you’d know that.” Raika said.

“A boy and a girl, nearing the age of twenty.” Arascus confirmed.

“Whiskey then.” Alee said.

“Whiskey?” Arascus asked.

“Children like being treated as adults. Whiskey and a meeting with me.” She said, saw Raika’s blushing face and laughed. “And we can send the girl off to Iliyal, he’s quite the charmer, isn’t he?”

“I’m sure she’ll fall in love.” Arascus said dryly and the maids cackled. There was some who looked down from maids, but these two girls gave him the greatest of all: a respite from managing the war effort. A knock on the door interrupted their giggles, they fell silent immediately. It was one thing to engage in small-talk with their Lord, it was another to thoroughly embarrass him.

“Duchess Daganhoff.” The voice from outside said. The maids looked at each other, then at Arascus.

“Seems like we’re too late with the drinks.” Alee said.

“Seems like it.” Arascus replied before straightening his back and cracking his neck. “Let them in, prepare their rooms.”

“At once.” Alee said, she snapped her fingers and Raika followed along to the wooden door. “Arascus wishes to meet you.” He saw her wink seductively at someone and walk off into the corridor. A dozen steps her and Raika before they started giggling with each other. Most importantly, they were likable. He had to be likable too, it was the single greatest difference between his rule and the rule of lessers. Daganhoff stepped in first, in a business she had buttoned up to the top and walking like a queen.

On one hand, some pride for the woman was good, on the other, Arascus wondered if giving the woman a noble title had gone to her head. She had called the two youths who followed her children, but one glance said they were anything but. The boy was a tall man, young, his skin soft, but his blue eyes were hard. He met Arascus’ gaze and did not look away. The girl was similar, dark haired and carrying herself as if trying to emulate Daganhoff’s stride. “Edmonton Weaver and Fleur Ambelee.” Sara said and bowed. The two sorcerers simply stood there like statues, Arascus wondered if they were nervous or simply trying to make a show of their characters, most likely a bit of both.

“Thank you Duchess, you can leave us now.” Daganhoff did not let the disappointment onto her face, but she retreated considerably slower than before. “Tell Alee to have someone ready their rooms and bring drinks.” Arascus continued. “Would you like anything?”

The two sorcerers shared a glance. The girl made the tiniest shake of her head as the boy smiled. “A whiskey.” He replied. Arascus decided Alee deserved a reward, the woman could be a spymaster and yet she refused every opportunity at promotion. The girl sighed heavily and looked to Arascus.

“Apologies for his behaviour, it was a poor joke.” She spoke firmly, as if there was going to be no more discussion of the topic. “We’re fine with just water.”

“Tell them to bring a bottle of whiskey, something to eat, water and juice. And glasses.” The girl elbowed her friend as he smiled. “That is all Daganhoff.” Sara saluted and shut the door. “So, sorcerers?” He leaned back and stretched his arms out. “Sit, sit, please, rest your legs.” The two exchanged looks once again, but they did sit on the comfortable cushioned seats Raika and Alee had prepared. “How long have you been sorcerers?”

“Six months about.” Edmonton replied. Arascus nodded, talented then. Past the age of twelve, it was usually deemed too late. Fifteen had been a hard cut-off once. He supposed beggars can’t be choosers though, Anassa had found people she felt had the spark and lit it within them.

“And? How do you about it?”

“It’s like magic.” Edmonton spoke again. “But not. Magic is easier.”

“Magic is a light drizzle, sorcery is a hailstone.” Fleur said. Arascus had it be described as that before.

“Just that?” Arascus asked.

“Well…” Fleur looked down at her knees. Edmonton stepped in.

“When…” He looked around the room. “Sara?”

“Sara.” Arascus confirmed.

“When Sara told us more what we were going to do, we did try to tell her we’re not experts.”

“Are you not? Iliyal praised your performance during the Great Hunt.” They seemed like they needed a little both of confidence to him. Anassa had always been one to tear people down and treat them like fools. Sorcerers needed to be built back up before they could outshine mages. Both of the youths went red. “And Sara told me you worked out who Iliyal was Fleur.”

“It was the only explanation that answered everything.” Fleur replied quietly, still looking away and playing with her hair.

“So you must know who I am then.” Arascus said and both of them nodded. A knock on the door interrupted them. “Will you let them in?” Arascus nodded to Edmonton. “The room is soundproofed.” It wasn’t, but asking someone to do something always eased the tension. The boy opened the door, it was Alee. She gave him a look filled with a thousand promises that Arascus pretended not to notice and carried a tray of snacks and drinks to the table. An old whiskey, three glasses, orange juice, some fruit, a pitcher of water, biscuits and slices of pre-cut cake. The maid left without saying a word as Edmonton sat down, his cheeks going red. “Her name is Alee.” Arascus said. “She’s like that to everyone.”

Edmonton shook his head as the girl scowled again. Arascus gave them another look. Where they together? They very well could be, sorcery called to sorcery just as divinity called to divinity. That could be a problem then. Lovers on a battlefield always went off plan. “Are you two together?” Arascus asked it flatly. Fleur blinked, went crimson and Edmonton chuckled.

“Nyes.” The girl replied.

“Depends on the day.” Edmonton added and he got another elbow in the side.

So it was like that then? How cute. Arascus poured some whiskey for all three of them and held the glass. Edmonton took it eagerly, Fleur followed along after moment. “Cheers.” Arascus said. Edmonton drank half in one go and put it on the table.

“I apologize for this.” He said. “Or I don’t if I should apologize or not. But you are nothing how I expected you to be.” Arascus chuckled.

“Am I not?”

“Not at all.”

“Why is that?” Edmonton got right into it.

“We’ve both seen Elassa at Arcadia. She’s something else entirely. When she speaks, it’s just like, you know you’re speaking to a Divine. You just know. She holds it above your head. And…” He trailed off.

“Anassa I assume?” Arascus said.

“Yes. Goddess Anassa.” Arascus smiled at the boy’s attempt at negotiation. Titling his daughter but not a member of the White Pantheon? It was obvious, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t like it. Edmonton must have caught the smile. “She is, if I’m going to be frank, when I speak to her I feel like a child.”

“You mean she treats everyone as if they’re stupid.” Arascus corrected him.

“That puts it less diplomatically, but yes.” Edmonton replied. “She treats us as if we’re idiots. She doesn’t say a word more than needs to be said.” Arascus nodded, he supposed it was good they had come here early then.

“I will require your assistance for a month or two.” Arascus said. “I cannot give a hard date because we ourselves don’t have a date yet. When we get one, we’ll have maybe half a day’s notice to have everything be ready.” He tapped the whiskey glass. “This is the only drink you’ll get until we’re done.”

“And what exactly are we doing?” Fleur asked. “Because the woman would not share. The most she said was that we were going to kill a God.” Another breach of protocol but Arascus would not deduct points from Sara for that. If she succeeded, then she succeeded, that was that.

“Not exactly.” Arascus said. “You will not do any killing yourself. You will bring down a plane.” Edmonton blinked and Fleur drank her glass of whiskey. She coughed and poured herself the juice to was it down with.

“Just that?” Edmonton asked. Arascus loved sorcerers. He especially loved first-generation sorcerers, the strongest of the bunch, specifically picked out by his daughter. No sane man would reply like that to what he had said, but all sorcerers needed a little bit of insanity to them to pass Anassa’s examination. The boy saw Arascus smiling and apologized, waving his hands. “No no, I meant, it’s not… I mean, we were told it was to kill a God, bringing down a plane…” He looked weakly at Arascus. “It’s less…”

“It’s the plane of the Goddess of Luck. Mortals would not even be able to touch her.”

“Would we not?” Fleur asked grimly.

“It’s not a case of whether you can or not. It simply won’t happen.” Arascus said, he leaned and supposed he should tell them about Leona. “Over the course of the Great War as you call it now, back then we called it the War for Arda, we sent an assassin a month, maybe two.”

“And?”

“A man with intent to harm will simply collapse dead. Heart failures, blood clots, strokes. Everything and anything that can incapacitate someone. Over a century, we had only men who managed to even loose an arrow. The wind turned, someone stepped in the way, Leona happened to bend down or lean out of the way. Without her permission, a mortal simply cannot touch her. It will not happen.” Edmonton and Fleur looked at each other. The boy finished his glass, the girl poured herself another.

“You’ll have a headache tomorrow.” Arascus said.

“I’m Rancais, we have wine for breakfast.” She replied. The colour in her cheeks obviously said she did not have wine for breakfast but Arascus let it slide. People learned from mistakes. “You want us to down her?”

“Her powers don’t touch things around her. You are not to even think you want to harm her, she will survive the plane crash, but she’ll be on the ground. Your work is done then.”

“So you have a ground team to finish her?”

“We’re working on it.” Arascus replied honestly. There was no reason to lie. Lies caught up to you sooner or later.

“So one of us can’t be a ground team?” Edmonton asked and Arascus took a drink of the whiskey.

“Do you actually want to kill a Goddess?” He asked. Edmonton did not reply, but his face obviously said he was up for the challenge.

“I would not be against it.”

“We need two planes in the air.” Arascus replied. “I expect one of the two to fail. The more the better, but I only have two sorcerers so we’re using two planes.”

“How will you kill her?” Fleur asked.

“We have ways.” Arascus replied. There was no way he would tell them about the rifles Mikhail had created. Leona was still alive, they could send a message to someone and leak the secret. “But I won’t share out of secrecy.” He thought of a reason that would satisfy them. “We have a team trained specifically to counter her.”

“She needs that?” Arascus kept his face calm, it looked like the reasoning worked.

“Your job is to down the plane, that is all you should worry about.” Arascus said and changed the topic, if they got annoyed with him, they might start thinking of leaving. “While you’re here, you will have skydiving lessons.”

“Excuse me?!” Fleur half-shouted. Two full glasses of whiskey in a conversation? She was obviously drunk by now. “Skydiving?”

“Parachuting.” Arascus said. “Two days from now, you’ll be sent off to handle them. I’ll go with you.”

“Skydiving with a God!” Fleur giggled. “Well would you look at that Ed! We’ve hit the big leagues now!” Edmonton looked at her and at Arascus.

“She’s not usually like this.” He said quietly.

“Don’t worry about it.” Arascus replied. “And I know how my daughter handles students. I will try to make it up to you.” That sobered Fleur up, Edmonton leaned forwards, his eyes hungry. Arascus had no issue with how Anassa had treated them, frankly, she had done nothing wrong. Leona was still at large and any poor move could spill what had happened.

“We really don’t have anything to ask for.” Edmonton said.

“I will train you in the arts of sorcery myself.”