able to endure pain that would kill any normal man, and still have the strength to fight back afterwards. You’ll feel the storm running through your veins-‘ ‘What about the thread of light?’ Isak interrupted again. Bahl frowned, leaning closer to Isak to stare deep into his eyes, a mesmerising, unremitting glare like a cobra staring down a rabbit. ‘I don’t know about a thread of light. You should have been alone with Nartis, becoming part of him.’
Isak shook his head. ‘No, we weren’t alone, I felt others all around us, other minds. There were whispers I couldn’t make out before Nartis drove them away.’
‘That’s all they are,’ Bahl said firmly. Isak blinked. ‘What?’
‘The whispers; that’s all they are, just voices. Spirits holding on to a few memories; they’re attracted by life, by strength, by magic. They’re distractions, nothing more. You’ll learn to ignore them easily enough; As for the light, it’s the same: another entity - stronger perhaps, but not what you were born for. Stay true to your nature and your God.’
This time Isak nodded. Carel had spent many an evening entertaining them all with tales of mythology: the Land’s pantheon of Gods were eternally plotting and feuding. Larat, God of Magic and Manipulation, was particularly famed for stealing the followers of other Gods, and for making reviled traitors out of devoted servants. The pain Isak had felt during the dream must have been a taste of the price of betrayal, and if that was the case, he knew it was not something he ever wanted to experience in full. ‘Could it have been another God like Larat? Trying to cause trouble?’ he asked.
‘That’s possible - Larat lives for discord,’ Bahl said, although he sounded uninterested in pursuing Isak’s theory much further. ‘But don’t think too hard about it, just stay true to what you are. Only Death is stronger than our patron, Nartis. No other God can offer you more than Nartis has promised you by making you my Krann.’
Isak nodded, his eyes dropping as the sting of his chest intruded on his thoughts. His hand instinctively rose to touch the sore area before he forced it back down, unwilling to draw Bahl’s attention there. He wasn’t quite sure why, but he didn’t want to show the scar to anyone yet.
Try not to worry about it now,’ Bahl began, interpreting the movement as nervousness. ‘We can talk again when you’re feeling more yourself. Right now you should compose yourself and report to Swordmaster Kerin; he will need an idea of your abilities before he begins your training. Once that is done, the day is yours. I don’t have time for you today. I have told Kerin to give you a sword that befits your new rank, but I suggest you don’t leave the palace; let Lesarl introduce you to useful men like Suzerain Tebran and the colonel of the Ghosts instead. At some point you should go to the temple and sacrifice to Nartis, but there’s no rush. We’ll send some men with you to give you some space from the curious.
‘Beyond that, your first priority is your weapons training. In a few days Lesarl should have time to formally draw up your ownership of estates, incomes and the like; just remember he is in my service to bully the nobility, so don’t let him do the same to you.’ Isak sat and and stared up at Bahl. He hardly knew what to make of the situation - everything was flying at him so fast. Even after Bahl’s words in the hall the previous night, it didn’t feel real. Estates, a suzerainty, a court rank? Yesterday Isak could have been whipped for looking a knight directly in the eye.
‘What are people supposed to call me now?’ he asked, a little diffidently.
Bahl gave a laugh. Considering the full import of Isak’s elevation, it was an inane question, but he could see why it was important. The boy had been the lowest of the low; now he was at least determined to know what respect he could demand from others. He understood why that would be
Isak shook his head. ‘No, we weren’t alone, I felt others all around us, other minds. There were whispers I couldn’t make out before Nartis drove them away.’
‘That’s all they are,’ Bahl said firmly. Isak blinked. ‘What?’
‘The whispers; that’s all they are, just voices. Spirits holding on to a few memories; they’re attracted by life, by strength, by magic. They’re distractions, nothing more. You’ll learn to ignore them easily enough; As for the light, it’s the same: another entity - stronger perhaps, but not what you were born for. Stay true to your nature and your God.’
This time Isak nodded. Carel had spent many an evening entertaining them all with tales of mythology: the Land’s pantheon of Gods were eternally plotting and feuding. Larat, God of Magic and Manipulation, was particularly famed for stealing the followers of other Gods, and for making reviled traitors out of devoted servants. The pain Isak had felt during the dream must have been a taste of the price of betrayal, and if that was the case, he knew it was not something he ever wanted to experience in full. ‘Could it have been another God like Larat? Trying to cause trouble?’ he asked.
‘That’s possible - Larat lives for discord,’ Bahl said, although he sounded uninterested in pursuing Isak’s theory much further. ‘But don’t think too hard about it, just stay true to what you are. Only Death is stronger than our patron, Nartis. No other God can offer you more than Nartis has promised you by making you my Krann.’
Isak nodded, his eyes dropping as the sting of his chest intruded on his thoughts. His hand instinctively rose to touch the sore area before he forced it back down, unwilling to draw Bahl’s attention there. He wasn’t quite sure why, but he didn’t want to show the scar to anyone yet.
Try not to worry about it now,’ Bahl began, interpreting the movement as nervousness. ‘We can talk again when you’re feeling more yourself. Right now you should compose yourself and report to Swordmaster Kerin; he will need an idea of your abilities before he begins your training. Once that is done, the day is yours. I don’t have time for you today. I have told Kerin to give you a sword that befits your new rank, but I suggest you don’t leave the palace; let Lesarl introduce you to useful men like Suzerain Tebran and the colonel of the Ghosts instead. At some point you should go to the temple and sacrifice to Nartis, but there’s no rush. We’ll send some men with you to give you some space from the curious.
‘Beyond that, your first priority is your weapons training. In a few days Lesarl should have time to formally draw up your ownership of estates, incomes and the like; just remember he is in my service to bully the nobility, so don’t let him do the same to you.’ Isak sat and and stared up at Bahl. He hardly knew what to make of the situation - everything was flying at him so fast. Even after Bahl’s words in the hall the previous night, it didn’t feel real. Estates, a suzerainty, a court rank? Yesterday Isak could have been whipped for looking a knight directly in the eye.
‘What are people supposed to call me now?’ he asked, a little diffidently.
Bahl gave a laugh. Considering the full import of Isak’s elevation, it was an inane question, but he could see why it was important. The boy had been the lowest of the low; now he was at least determined to know what respect he could demand from others. He understood why that would be
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