Page 132 of The Sundered Realms

Vhannor crossed into the room to stand at Liris’ side.

“No doubt she has been telling you tales, Lord of Embhullor,” Ambassador Shaisse said. “Of her treatment, of Serenthuar’s character. You can see why she was not judged capable of speaking for Serenthuar.”

“A pity,” Vhannor said.

Before the ambassador could react to that, Liris purred, “Oh, no, you misunderstand me, ambassador, I know perfectly well I can’t bestir you to ethics on Serenthuar’s behalf. You’ve only ever cared about yourself and the security of your position, never about what was actually best for Serenthuar. I understand that all too well.”

“You would accuse me of this?“ Ambassador Shaisse raised her eyebrows, adjusting the angle of her head so she was obviously, intentionally looking down on Liris. “You, who have never appreciated what Serenthuar is, who never believed Serenthuar was worth defending? And yet you moaned year after year, how could Serenthuar keep you away from its most important business? Of course we would not give you scope for your selfishness.”

“By which of course you mean you,“ Liris said calmly. “You personally advocated to keep me locked away, where I couldn’t disrupt anything for you but you could still use the fruits of my labor. Did you not?”

“Do you think I’d deny it?” Ambassador Shaisse returned coolly. “Naturally I did, and now more than ever you prove I was right to do so. I am not ashamed of my judgment, Former Candidate. Quite the reverse.”

Liris had maneuvered her into this on purpose, so it seemed unfair that it should still have the power to hurt her.

It did not, however, have the power to stop her.

Not anymore.

Not ever, in fact, despite the ambassador’s best efforts.

“Your judgment,” Liris said, and now she did, in a blatant disregard of etiquette, reach over to pour herself a cup of tea. She poured one for Vhannor, too, and then called, “Chancellor, would you like a cup as well? I’m quite shocked by the ambassador’s manners in not offering hospitality to Serenthuar’s closest ally.”

Chancellor Ariurn smirked, but waved her off. “No, no, do not concern yourself. I find myself in such good spirits, regardless of the manners on display.”

Now Ambassador Shaisse looked narrowly at her as Liris took a sip of her tea.

“In your judgment,” Liris said, “Serenthuar is some untouchable entity that can do no wrong. Do you deny that? So Serenthuar—that ineffable third party—has made deals with demon servants -– no no, don’t bother, consider your protestation of Serenthuar’s innocence heard and summarily disregarded. You surely cannot convince me it did not happen, as I reported when Elder Omaqil called me to personally wait upon the demon servant Jadrhun and commanded I assist in his endeavors. Perhaps you even recommended me for the honor. What a neat way to deal with the problem of my existence, indeed! No, don’t answer that either—it hardly matters now.

“What matters is that you will stand here defending Serenthuar’s right to make such decisions until your last breath, no matter what demons will mean for people—Serenthuar’s people—whose opinions on the matter you will neither solicit nor hear. And this, you will say to me, is evidence of your judgment. Do I have that quite right, Ambassador?”

Ambassador Shaisse’s look was cold. “If you are asking me to affirm that I will honor my sacred oaths to serve Serenthuar, in whatever capacity it demands of me, then certainly, Former Candidate. That you failed endlessly to understand this as a fundamental act of love is precisely why, despite all your learning and accomplishments, you could never truly be inside Serenthuar’s heart.”

“That,” Vhannor finally spoke again, “is a very strange definition of love and even service, and I am impossibly glad Liris succeeded in not learning it. Or in throwing it off, despite your best efforts.”

Liris appreciated the sentiment, not least because his words gave her a moment to notice what Shaisse had let slip there, put other pieces together.

“Indeed,” she said. “Ambassador Shaisse knows well what I’m capable of, don’t you? I’m sure she wouldn’t be surprised at how successfully I’ve taken, with the Lord of Embhullor’s personal instruction, to the study of spellcraft. Would you, Ambassador?”

Ambassador Shaisse’s gaze on her turned cooler, disinterested: from her, practically an admission.

She didn’t want Liris knowing she cared what Liris said and wanted her to feel inadequate besides, so she’d leave it alone, rather than goading her into revealing the truth. Too late.

Softly Liris said, “I’m the only ambassadorial candidate who wasn’t taught spellcraft. Aren’t I?”

How thoroughly she, personally, had been kept from any spellcraft. Elder Omaqil’s suspicion as she enticed Jadrhun with the value of her spell language. Candidates trained to identify patterns and expected to bring back new knowledge.

Ambassador Shaisse looked down at her. “Don’t be ridiculous. Serenthuar ambassadors cannot be casters.”

It was all extremely obvious, in retrospect. Not that she’d never suspected, of course, but a conspiracy that deep and thorough? Unlikely, in the abstract. For Serenthuar, though, and what Liris had come to understand of its own character and biases: eminently possible.

“Ah, but that’s only a problem if anyone knows, isn’t it? And Serenthuar ambassadors certainly are trained in discretion. Chancellor Ariurn, I do hope your people are continually screening these rooms for spellcraft.”

“Oh, we certainly will be now,” he drawled. Got him. “Quite a violation of every treaty Serenthuar has made, don’t you think, Ambassador?”

Ambassador Shaisse rose to her feet. “You are a traitor,” she said to Liris. “To make Serenthuar’s work harder by suggesting such things. My greatest error in judgment was allowing you the opportunity to serve at all.”

“Ambassador, I would bid you desist,” Vhannor said, and cut her off quietly before she could continue. “I am the top field caster in the Sundered Realms, and as you can never practice openly, I promise you will not be faster than me.”

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