Untitled

Untitled

Chapter 1 - Convergence of the Circle

Silence drifted through the streets like a thick fog, darkening the lights. The light breeze was gone, the trees hanging limp in their defiance of gravity, as if almost ready to give up. Everyone knew. They just knew. Somehow they had found out, and that knowledge put Jan in great danger.

His heart pounding, he peered around the corner of the dark alcove where he was standing. The way clear, he flitted across an alleyway between buildings, to a doorway, his cape billowing out behind him momentarily. His back to the door, he peered around. Imagined shadows were hinted at behind heavy window draperies. The dark night sky lay heavy with cloud, as it always did.

A sharp tack sound echoed down the street from his right, and he froze. His breath came in shallow gasps.

Fear is the death of reason, he chanted the litany to himself. Accept and embrace the fear, be with the fear, have the fear rather than let it have you. He found himself regaining his calm. Resistance causes persistence, only when you accept your fear will it disappear.

He glanced at the doorway behind him, then peered again at it more closely, the nape hairs of his neck prickling in anticipation of discovery. The mark on the door was unmistakable: a line looping back on itself with both ends crossed, overlaying the same shape mirrored. He reached into the swathing around his chest, and pulled out an amulet hanging around his neck.

A clack and a burr came from down the street. With trembling hand, he lifted the amulet, formed in the same shape as the mark on the door. This was the moment he had fought so long and hard for - the reason his friend and companion had given his life. The amulet exactly covered the mark, and the door sank inward. With a sigh of relief, Jan replaced the amulet within his clothing and entered the hallway to the left, as the door shut behind him into its former position. The hallway immediately turned right, into the building.

"Present identification," said a quiet, steady voice.

Jan looked up at the Clerk as he rounded the corner. As all of their profession, the Clerk was well armed and protected. The request was placed pleasantly enough, but behind those eyes lurked the stirrings of violence. The Clerk did not have to make a move toward a weapon, nor use threatening tone of voice, to threaten. His mere presence was threat enough, and Jan was in no condition to provoke trouble should he so wish. He also knew that his very life hung on his next few words.

"I have none, but I am a guest. May I see the Prefect?"

As expected, the Clerk's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "How did you get in?" Now, the tone was threatening. Jan broke out in a sweat in spite of himself, which he was sure did not help his credibility.

"Nan Katano gave me the key as he lay dying in my arms. He bid me to come here and seek help." If his words had any effect on the Clerk, he would have bet that a team of scientists would not have found a way to measure it.

There was a pause as he waited for the Clerk to respond. "Your name?"

"Jan of Maranth, First Order of Kendarin." Jan hid his surprise - even his name and title did not cause the slightest response in the Clerk, other than the words of the conversation.

"A moment." The Clerk got the faraway look in his eyes as he communicated the request. Not a muscle on his face moved. In fact, now that he thought of it, the only thing Jan had seen move was the mouth as it formed the words of their brief conversation. Jan admired the exact, full control of every muscle, every emotion. "You will wait in a holding cell until the Prefect can see you. This way." A hand succinctly gestured, and Jan walked in front of the Clerk. "Left here." The Clerk was one of efficient movement as well as words, and throughout the entire conversation, his tone had remained calm and level. Jan had seen Clerks fight before with the same calmness - it was unnerving.

The doorway he had turned through actually had no physical door in it. It led to a small rectangular room with no window, and a small cot to lie down on. There was nothing else in the room. As Jan passed the doorway, he felt a prickling sensation down his back side as the security field was activated across the entrance. He spun around, but the hallway beyond was empty. With an inward shrug, Jan sat on the cot and waited.

~ ~ ~

Jan's eyes rolled forward to the normal position as he came out of his ken-ma trance. The ken-ma was an advanced state of meditation that allowed him to disassociate his self from his consciousness. This disassociation provided the ability to sift through a large number of facts, analyze them holistically, and identify relationships that would not otherwise be apparent. Ken-ma had shown him how his secret had been discovered. The emptiness he had felt (kind of like a black hole) in that area around identifying the person responsible for the discovery meant that a key piece of data was missing. Ken-ma allowed him to reconstruct information from the pieces of data, just like if an image is etched on a holographic plate, and the plate shattered, a reference beam striking a piece still reconstructs the original image.

He had come out of the trance, because he sensed that his waiting was at an end. Exactly five hours had passed, and he had not interrupted his trance for the glass of water placed in his cell. He drained the glass - ken-ma was thirsty work. The electrical feeling went away, and at the door was another Clerk, different from the one that had greeted him earlier.

"The Prefect will see you now," he said. Jan arose, and preceded the Clerk as before. He went further down the hallway, up stairs, and entered a large foyer. At the other end were great double-doors that were closed. As he approached, they swung open toward him. The Clerk announced his presence, then left as the doors closed behind Jan.

"My humble apologies for keeping you waiting, Jan of Maranth. We are honored that one of the First Order is before us." Although the Prefect was alone, as one of his station, he always used the royal plural when talking about himself. From what Jan had heard about the Circle, he knew that their leaders considered it an honor and privilege to lead, and that leading meant serving those they led.

"Koboll Rentha, Prefect of The Circle," said Jan as he bowed low. His bow consisted of the customary kneeling and inclination of his head when addressing one of this rank. "It is my honor and luck that I may address you."

"Please forgive our directness, but time is of the essence. You say Nan is dead, and you bring word from him?"

"Yes. As you know, the mission on which you sent him required a companion from the Kendarin, and the TimeWeave chose me. It is worse than we feared. As the Emperor lies dying, Brador has already placed his agents in the key governmental positions. The Heir is already trapped by her choice of ministers, and thus must submit to Brador's will. She will be Brador's puppet, and in two to three cycle's time, will be removed from the Throne as Brador's plan comes to fruition."

Koboll frowned, his brow furrowed. A side door opened, and his General Buell Henschell entered. "Yes?" Although he hid it, this ability of members of The Circle to communicate silently over short distances was very disconcerting to Jan.

"General, we need you to be part of this conversation."

"As you command."

"General Henschell, Jan of Maranth, First Order of Kendarin." The two nodded toward each other. The Prefect repeated what Jan had told him. The general nodded, apparently confirming his suspicions or field reconnaissance.

"We have long suspected Lord Brador of a plot to position himself for the Throne," said Henschell. "What evidence do you bring of the plot, and how will the Heir be trapped?"

"As we know, the Heir selects the cabinet members. Because Shadora Monathan is a woman, she submitted herself to the Test of Womanhood to prove her worthiness as the Heir Select. I will come back to this. First, we have Minister Garabech. The Minister has many holdings in the Frontier regions, which requires more upkeep to protect. This leaves him open to financial and political leverage, for without the support of the surrounding Protectorates, he is very vulnerable to the Outsiders. Selecting Garabech as a member of the cabinet places a security risk in a key position, and the largest surrounding Protectorate is the Brador Protectorate.

"Next, Minister Henschell (no relation to the General, I understand) would seem a wise choice. He has many political connections, is well thought of, and the Henschell Protectorate has been a solid foundation of the Empire for centuries. However, the Kendarin have long known of a Henschell secret which, when revealed, will topple the Protectorate, leaving the Minister without a Protectorate. According to Kendarin calculations, Brador also knows of this secret.

"Magistrate Farabaq-Luthan also has a reputation and record of service to the Empire, and to the powerful Monathan Protectorate. However, we have also uncovered a connection between the Clan Farabaq-Luthan clan and Clan Brador. The Magistrate's third cousin is married to Lord Brador's son's wife-to-be's mother. This cousin has ties to the Outsiders, and thus provides a legal means of stripping the Magistrate of his position through the support the Magistrate has provided to this cousin.

"With Shadora's three core selections, and her requirement to select from various opposing parties, Lord Brador has the triggers in place to move to control the majority of the Cabinet when he so chooses. We calculate, with a probability of seventy percent, that these moves will be made two years after the Ascension, following the Period of Mourning. The probability jumps to over ninety-eight percent after three years.

"Finally, as part of the Test of Womanhood, Shadara indicated a strong will, which is also an indication of a weakness that could be exploited - pride. My calculations indicate private conversations with Lord Brador were behind the cabinet member selections."

General Henschell and Prefect Rentha had been nodding throughout the explanation. Koboll knew in generalities about the Kendarin's skill called ken-ma, and had a great respect for the uncanny accuracy with which they obtained knowledge and information. He could not fathom how they accomplished this. When they performed their ken-ma trance, they seemed to be able to think with lightning speed, and to piece together seemingly unrelated facts that, once related, seemed obvious.

"And the evidence?" asked Koboll Rentha.

"Our operatives intercepted this message." Jan reached within his inner pouch, and retrieved a data crystal. He inserted it into the receptacle in the communications console at his right. The video screens came to life, and showed the slightly bloated face of Lord Brador, and the sharp-featured beauty of Shadara. In the lord's face, one could see the ravages of an overweening pride and vanity, ambition, and arrogance that so many of the House Lords showed. However, in addition, Brador's lips seemed to curl with a suggestion of cruelty. In the heir's face, a calm, serene expression was offset by eyes that would at times shoot fire of determination, or smoky veils of cunning and plotting.

"My lady," said Brador in a subservient tone, which somehow sounded almost mocking. "It is an honor to again speak with you."

"Lord Brador, I trust you received my messenger?"

"Yes, my lady. Not very wise choices, but who am I to advise one such as yourself?"

"Nevertheless, I know my mind, and as I have shown, can change it as necessary. Take care that you do not cross me, for so shall you regret the day."

"My lady, I am your servant. As such, I humbly beseech you, be advised of my message as well."

Shadara's face trembled, and her eyes flared, but in the end, she lowered her eyes. "May your loyalty to the Empire be well rewarded. Please call on me again soon."

"Taken out of context," said the Prefect, "that would be the normal political wrangling. However, in the light of your revelations, it is obvious that Brador was referring to her choices for the Cabinet, and that what he called 'not very wise' were the ones he wanted her to pick."

"There is also the possibility that Lord Brador will not take the throne for himself, but for his son. I have not yet calculated that probability, but our plan should include this."

"Of course. Now, tell us about Nan's Completion of the Circle." For those of the Circle, the name of the organization reflected the circular nature of life and the universe. The Circle of Life was believed to begin and end upon one's death - after which, the soul is reincarnated into another life for the next lesson. Each life had a certain lesson to teach the soul, and provided a certain opportunity for that soul to contribute its gift to the universe.

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