Page 9 of Ironhold: Trial Five

Aetheria feels as lawless now as itis beautiful, although that beauty is mostly confined to the richer areas, withtheir statues and their white marble houses, their liberal use of magic todecorate their homes. Since this is not one of the holy days on which the gamesoperate in the colosseum, there are not the usual depictions of the favoredgladiators slaying their enemies. Instead, houses are adorned with elaboratesymbols that reflect each family's lineages and magical prowess.

People recognize me as the guardsmarch me through the streets. They know my face in the way that they might notknow those of half the nobles in Aetheria. My face is one that has beendisplayed in those magical images, showing my moments of victory. I have foughtfor their entertainment, they have cheered and booed me.

They stare at me now. Some of themlook on with fear or distaste, but more of them look at me with awe, or withlove. I see a small child standing with her mother, pointing my way and jumpingup and down excitedly.

Some of them look confused by mychains, as if wondering what it is I've done to deserve this. They still don'tunderstand that I don'tneedto have done anything. The emperor can dothis to me at any time, even if this instance was sparked by me failing tofollow his commands.

Fear rises in me at that thought,at the question of what he might command to be done to me for disobeying.

I can feel the eyes of the crowd onme as we move through into progressively more expensive neighborhoods. Thereare no signs of destruction or unrest here. This is not the part of the citywhere people starve, or must fight for every scrap.

The imperial palace lies ahead. Itis grand in a way that makes it clear it was designed primarily to exert theauthority of the empire to every glance, to show anyone looking that this isthe heart of the empire, and thus the world.

Every step towards it is a stepcloser to punishment for me.

Mighty columns hold up its roof.Gilded statues line the way to its doors. Beyond the walls surrounding it,there are gardens, tended with care by gardeners who have magical talentssuited to it. I see one reshaping a tree with a touch, another coaxing a dyingplant back into life with healing magic.

The symbol of the empire iseverywhere: a sword bursting through a purple corona of magical power. It iscarved into the stonework, displayed on banners. It is a reminder of both themilitary might of the empire and the magical power on which the emperors’claims to the throne of Aetheria rest. We gladiators are also an embodiment ofthat power, but are treated with far less honor.

The guards lead me to the palace,taking me through the magnificent gardens tended by gardeners whose magic keepsthe flowers healthy and blooming. There are creatures here, ranging frombutterflies larger than my head to unicorns prancing on one of the lawns andrazor-clawed cats kept in a cage. It is the kind of place that displays thepower and wealth of the emperor because no one else could afford to keep suchthings so close to him. His menagerie displays creatures from across theempire, but also chimeras created by magic, showing both the reach of theAetherian Empire and the power that flows up from beneath the city.

My heart is beating faster withevery step. The emperor is waiting for me in a receiving room that appears tobe open to the garden, but a faint shimmer in the air makes it clear that it isnot. He is a lean man in his fifties, his dark hair thinning, his eyes astrange purple that seems to reflect the color of the robes he wears as hestands at a table, looking over a map.

Without the grandeur of hissurroundings, he would look ordinary, but he is anything but that. He has allthe power of his position, but also deadly, powerful magic.

The emperor waves a hand almostcasually and the faint shimmer in the air fades for a moment or two. Longenough at least for the guards to push me through, standing between them in thereceiving room before the emperor.

I remember just in time that Imeant to kneel in the presence of the emperor, so I fall to my knees, waitingfor him to react to my presence.

“That will be all,” he says to theguards.

They leave, and I'm alone with theemperor. That is a thought that does nothing to quell the sense of fear risingin me. He still doesn't look at me. He has a gilded throne set so he can lookout over the garden but he's not sitting in it for now. He's still busy lookingover the maps at the table.

“Come here,” he commands.

I stand and join him at the table.I'm surprised by the casualness of it, when I have been brought here in chains.Those chains are still around my wrists, so that even if the emperor is beingbriefly friendly, I cannot forget my situation.

“What do you see?” he asks,gesturing to the maps.

I stare down at them. The centralone is a map of the city, but there are others around it, showing differentparts of the empire. There is a large map of the empire as a whole at one side.It is such a small thing to represent such a vast space.

“I see the empire,” I say, notunderstanding.

“Do you know whatIsee whenI look at this?” the emperor asks.

“No, my emperor,” I reply. Iunderstand that there is some purpose to bringing me here, some point to all ofthis, but I cannot see it.

“I see a complex web of thingsfitting together. I see a whole system designed to make this city the greatestone in the world. Goods and people flow in from places so far off you will noteven have heard of them, and yet those places belong to me. In theory I havepower over more of the world than any other man who has ever lived, because myarmy has done its job and expanded the borders. And yet there is only one maphere that matters.”

“The map of the city?” I guess.

He looks my way for an extendedperiod for the first time. “Exactly. Everything else is for the benefit ofAetheria. And yet, it is here that we have problems. If you are here, it'sbecause you tried to see Alaric Blackthorn, correct?”

There is no point in denying it.“Yes.”

“The young nobleman who killedsomeone to save you. He must care deeply about you.” The emperor looks me upand down. “If he weren't willing to give up his life for you I'd assume that hejust wants your body, but a noble man can buy a dozen such as you at anymarket.”

He throws the insult my waycasually. I do my best not to react to it. The emperor seems to delight insmall cruelties, reminding me whenever he can that I am not a citizen and thatI am not free.

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