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Chapter 38

The Asura’s Mirror informed Rada that the great enemy had been neutralized when the image that represented the demonic menace, which had appeared upon the map of northern Lok stopped flashing an angry red and went away.

As the tiny glowing demon faded away, Rada knew that they were victorious.

The alert had come early that morning while she had been holding court in the Astronomers’ hold, hearing the petitions of the arbiters and deciding matters of Law. She alone had heard the whispered warning, had stopped mid-sentence, and abruptly walked away from the men of status without another word. Rada had then spent the remainder of the day watching symbols she did not fully understand move about on a map made of black steel.

One of the symbols the Mirror had assigned to the forces assembled in Vadal was a crown. When that crown winked from existence, Rada began to cry, because she knew it meant her husband was gone.

A moment later, the symbol of the mask also disappeared, and she knew that Devedas had not died in vain.

Rada dried her eyes, composed herself, decided what had to be done, and returned to the court.

The judges had continued their debates in her absence. By this point her pregnancy could no longer be hidden, yet it remained politely unrecognized in her court, for should it become widely known among the rest of the first caste the detractors of Devedas might use her condition against her. It had angered her that a thing which should have been celebrated was instead hidden. She had become far too used to the snide insinuations and clever games of the political animals. They would claim that surely a mother-to-be’s attention would be divided, that the chief administrator of the Law could not afford to be distracted or physically weakened, and that she would need to concentrate on giving their beloved Maharaja a healthy heir. Then they would use all that as an excuse to shove her aside and take power for themselves. Once the baby was born there would surely be some new excuse to remove her entirely. A new nest of vipers would be installed, bearing all the same petty corruptions of the old next, and all of Devedas’ efforts to reform the government would have been for nothing.

That, Rada would not allow.

There were fifty men of great status assembled in the temporary chamber. Between them they represented most of the Orders and every great house. They would be her witnesses.

Curious, they watched Rada walk with intense purpose to the front of the humble room that had replaced their opulent Chamber of Argument of the Capitol. The judge who stood behind the lectern stopped his speech, bowed his head deferentially, and then offered her the speaker’s staff. Her tireless work in supporting the war effort and keeping the Law had earned the respect of many, that one included.

Rada did not bother taking the staff, for she required no symbol declaring who was in charge here. Instead, she lifted the Asura’s Mirror for all to see. There were gasps as it was recognized for what it was, because their Maharani bearing her own black steel artifact had been a matter of rumor and speculation, and such a dangerous implement was not the sort of thing casually bandied about in a polite court.

“The demons are defeated. Devedas has won.”

At first they were incredulous, for such a dream seemed impossible. They were too used to bad news to easily accept any good. These men had been here, despondent, yet carrying on ever since the Capitol had fallen. Having seen what the demons could do, they had all but given up hope. But then her husband’s supporters began to smile, for they knew Rada would never lie to them. Even Devedas’ enemies despised demons far more than their political foes, so they too wanted to believe.

“Send for your wizards and they’ll confirm it soon enough. Your Maharaja is victorious. The demons are no more. Grand Inquisitor Omand, who shed the blood of noble warriors and threatened my life in this very building, is no more.”

They shared nervous glances, for since the night Omand had demonstrated he could take his revenge against any of them with impunity, everyone who had not bent the knee to his tyranny had lived in fear.

“The demons are gone. The tyrant is dead. Long live the Maharaja.”

“Long live the Maharaja!” many of the judges shouted in response.

It took everything Rada had to hold back the tears, but she could be human later. Now she had to be strong to ensure the legacy of Devedas lived on. Just as Harta Vadal had taught her, a leader did whatever was necessary for the good of their house, and her house now was all of Lok. She was certain those messages sent by magic would confirm their victory, but it would also let them know their king was dead. Rada refused to let his house fall apart without him.

“We will return to the Capitol immediately.”

The important men hesitated. “Immediately, Maharani?” one of them squeaked.

“As soon as I have finished speaking and leave this room, I will gather my cloak and ride to the Capitol myself. Whoever among you is honorable will follow me. We will ride through the darkness and tomorrow we will watch the sun rise over the Capitol renewed. We have hidden here too long. I will not hide a moment more. Our obligations need us. Our Orders need us. Our people need us.”

Rada counted the nods of determination. Hopefully those would be enough.

“That dawn will represent the beginning of a new era for the Capitol. For too many generations, too many of members of our caste have sat in aloof comfort, lording our wealth and status over the masses we were supposed to have been serving. The Law was created to bring order and prosperity, but our caste let it turn into a weapon to be exploited by the vilest among us. Our responsibilities were forgotten as the Capitol grew out of control. There were far too many branches to this tree and most of them have been barren of fruit. Demons trimmed the tree. Now we have the opportunity to start anew, free of wickedness, corruption, and lies. You who have remained fulfilling your obligations in exile have proven that you are the select of our caste. You are the honorable few who put duty over safety. You will become the respected foundation of the Maharaja’s new government.”

More of them were nodding along now. She was no orator, but they knew Rada had wisdom, passion, and her belief was sincere, all things that had become a rarity among their jaded caste.

“Together we will reform this system. Our Law will be just, and administered not just for our benefit, but so that all may prosper, every house, every caste, just as my husband has commanded. Let us go and prepare his great city for his triumphant return.”

One of the judges stood. “We will follow you to the Capitol, Maharani.”

“Excellent. Long live the Maharaja!”

“Long live the Maharaja!” shouted the rest.

After the men of status had rushed off to gather their households, as Rada returned to her quarters to tell her servants to pack her things, she found Vikram Akershan there waiting for her. With the wave of her hand, her Garo bodyguards knew to stop a polite distance away so that she could converse privately with the Historian.

“With this news from the north, does the Asura speak freely now?”

“The direct whispers are seldom, but the paths that were locked before all appear to be open to me now.” Rada held out the mirror to show him that with the flick of a finger, hundreds of pages could be revealed. “It appears the access which has long been denied us all has been granted to me alone, but I can read whatever I want.”

The mirror’s prior custodian was stunned by this revelation. “That might contain all the collected knowledge of the ancients!”

“Maybe. Who knows what was lost? If it isn’t all of it, there’s still an incredible amount of information contained within the mirror, possibly greater than every book in my beloved Capitol Library combined. So far I’ve seen works of mathematics, engineering, medicine, and sciences I don’t even know if we have the words for today.” Despite her grief, she was too much the scholar to not be nearly overcome with excitement at that. This was truly a treasure beyond comprehension.

“The revelations contained within could change everything,” Vikram whispered reverently, and he seemed tempted to reach out and try to touch the mirror, but thankfully did not, because whether sword or mirror, black-steel artifacts were very particular about who was allowed to use them, and she’d hate for Vikram to lose his fingers.

“I’ll find a way to record it all, even if I have to read the entire thing aloud to a room full of scribes until my voice fails or the Capitol runs out of ink.”

He was a Historian. She was an Archivist. They understood the enormity of what this meant. It would take the rest of the world a while to catch up. “So many ideas. What will you do with all that?”

“Whatever I can to ensure our future. My obligation was to facilitate the spread of knowledge. Once before in my life I failed in that obligation. I was afraid, and untold multitudes of casteless died for it. Politics are just an obstacle. Ignorance and lies are my sworn enemies now, Vikram. I’m going to do everything in my power as Maharani to make sure our people don’t make those same mistakes again. The Capitol will become a place of learning. I will rule it as best I can and raise Devedas’ heir to do the same after I am gone.”

You will rule?”

“Only because I suspect Devedas didn’t survive the battle.” She did not suspect. She knew, but she could not yet say that out loud, for to do so hurt too much.

The Historian grimaced. “My condolences. By all accounts Devedas was a good man.”

“He was a great man, for good or ill, and all that entails. I’ll try to rule as I think Devedas would have.” Except even as Rada said that she knew it was untrue, because Devedas’ harsh upbringing had made compassion a difficult thing for him. Hopefully, her comparative gentleness would not leave the Capitol vulnerable. “Or I’ll try to, anyway.”

“You didn’t reveal any of this to the judges…Is this mad dash to the Capitol some kind of ploy?”

“In a way. We both know our history. Whenever a great man dies, the opportunistic always rush to fill the void. I’ll be in the Capitol ready to meet them when the get there. If they wish to challenge me, they will do it in my city, on my terms.”

Vikram nodded. “I’m glad to see that the mirror has been left in capable hands…but if you’ll excuse me, Maharani, I’ve no stomach for politics anymore. I think I’d prefer to stay here and watch the sky.”

“Do that, and should the heavens awake, I’ll make sure the forces of the Law are prepared to meet that challenge as well.”

The Historian bowed and took his leave.

Rada left her guards at the door, went into her chambers, and placed the mirror upon her bed. It was tempting to collapse with grief, but there was no time for that. There was work to do and a throne to claim. She could cry on the ride and let the desert have her tears.

It was then that Rada noticed something had changed upon the surface of the mirror. It still showed a map of the continent, but the symbol of the crown had reappeared.

For a moment her hopes soared, as she thought Devedas had been found alive…Only, the crown was not in Vadal, but farther south, upon the slopes of Mount Metoro where the Astronomers dwelled.

And Rada knew that when she returned to the Capitol, that crown would follow her.


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Framed