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She was tempted to reainst it There is too ood time for conflict with the Faith, especially when they continue to hide so much
“I spent sothe list aside “Even risking death in the mountains to seek evidence of your existence And yet it seems all I had to do ait the tide of history and I would be deluged with more evidence than I could ever wish”
Brother Caenis confined his reply to a cautious nod, his gaze averted as she continued, “ItLying to your brothers for years on end”
“The Faith required it, Highness I had no choice in the matter But yes, it was a hard duty”
“Lord Vaelin tells me you were the most loyal subject my father could ever wish for That your enthusiasht your heart broken when it all caht”
“Aspect Grealin was very precise in the role he wishedhe felt it best ht, my enthusiasm for the as true, infla the future of the Faith For reasons of his own, he didn’t tell me how that security would be achieved, orto be infallible, he never steeredcourse, he never made mistakes”
“Have you heard frohness” Caenis lowered his head, his voice dulling with sorrow “Brother Lernial has a facility for hearing the thoughts of those he has reat distances We know the Aspect had taken refuge in the Urlish with a band of free fighters, the details are vague since Lernial’s gift is li two days later with a great screaed ift tells hihts to be heard frorief, she reached out to clasp his hand “My commiserations, brother”
He stirred in disco a smile Does he fear me? One of the na into the future and she wondered what revelations Caenis e and Wisdom’s words from the first day on theBrother Harlick’s questioning,” she said,back “The Volarian woman we took at Alltor spoke of an Ally Lord Vaelin see”
“Brother Harlick has already told you all we know, Highness It resides in the Beyond and plots our destruction We know not why”
“If it exists in the place beyond death, does not that suppose it was once alive? It was once a hness But as yet no member of any Order has divined how it caency could have twisted it into such evil”
“There in”
“The Third Order has spent centuries gathering the oldest words written by hu considerable sums for scraps of parchment or shards of clay The Ally is there, but only ever as a shadow, unexplained catastrophe or eful spirit Sorting truth from myth is often a fruitless task”
His words stirred her faultlessforth a line from Lord Verniers’ Cantos of Gold and Dust: Truth is the scholar’s greatest weapon, but often also his doom She decided a private audience with the Alpiran chronicler was overdue
“Am I to assume,” she said to Caenis, “that your Order now requires a new Aspect?”
“There are forhness Until such time as a conclave can be convened, my Order remains without an Aspect However, ness to accede to ain “Which brings me to another hness My Order has lost row thin”
“And you would take these others into the Order, against their loud objections? Lord Vaelin has been very clear on their thoughts in this regard They follow him, not you”
“My Order is the shield of the Gifted Without us they would all have perished generations ago”
“And yet, you continued to hide yourselves for decades whilst they faced discovery and death at the hands of the Fourth Order”
“A necessary subterfuge Most of us are discovered at an early age, Gifted children born to Gifted parents and long-tirow to be kind of heart or ireed For all our poe have human souls like any other Before Aspect Tendris’s ascension those Gifted found by the Fourth Order would be judged to see if they were suitable for inclusion within our ranks Whether they joined us or not was their choice”