Bryce O’Connor - As Iron Falls

862 v.S.

PROLOGUE

There is little to document the rise and fall of the last ef of the Miropan Mahsadn, due in large part to the brevity of his reign. Spanning hardly the breadth of two years, I have had a troublesome time producing credible records of his period presiding over the most vicious and secretive underworld society the South has ever suffered. Outside of what one might traditionally deem credible, however, there is plenty to be learned. Compiling rumors and tales, drawing out of everything from the tattered journals of the Mahsadns lesser officers to stories passed down as fables through generations, I have managed to come to several conclusions. Foremost among these: this last bastion of darkness ruled by more than the standard fare of respect and fear every ef before him had governed the society with. Rather, every recounting and myth I can dredge up from that time speaks of something greater within him, some dark power which he used to hold fast the chains of his lessers in a fist wreathed in white flames.

As Death Rose from the Ashes , by Kohly Grofh

The mans hands trembled slightly as he clung to the fragile parchment of the letter, doing his best to clear his mind long enough to take in the words scrawled in hasty lines across the page. He wondered briefly if the paired couriers before him, kneeling to either side below at the base of the raised dais upon which his throne sat, could sense his trepidation. He doubted it. For one their heads were bowed, half out of respect and half out of fear.

For another, enough deception had been sewn into the ranks of the Mahsadn already to ensure the men were like to interpret his shaking as something altogether more wrathful.

What is it, my love? What news has been brought to you?

The voice, gentle as silk fluttering in a desert wind, dug into the mans ear like a nail. He did not jumpas he had done for the first few months the woman had sat in the smaller seat to his rightbut he couldnt help himself from tensing or his fingers from twitching the slightest bit away when a slim hand reached out to settle on his wrist, the figure beside him leaning closer to read the letter as well.

News from the North, the man said in a strong voice that had taken a long time to steadyit would never do for his subordinates to find more weakness in him than his crippled form already proved, after all. He handed the letter to the woman as she reached for it, then let his grey eyes settle on the two couriers once again. You may go.

The men dipped their head reverently, then scurried away like rats outrunning a flood. He couldnt blame them. Hed dismissed them deliberately, knowing that the contents of the letter would not please the woman at his elbow.

And her anger was always a terrible thing to behold.

Indeed, even as he thought this, the man felt an unpleasant heat begin to radiate from his right, thickening the already-dusk-choked air and chasing away what little coolness the throne room provided. It was early summer, and the cruel gaze of the Sun had begun its ravaging of the South, searing eyes and any flesh that dared expose itself to its hunger. The room, once the receiving hall of a former ef by the name of Imaneal Evony, had been designed to thwartor at least minimizethis oppressive hotness of the summer days. Thin, spiraling columns held up a high, ribbed ceiling that trapped the rising air and funneled it through hatches in the top of each vaulting. Arched windows made up a majority of the walls on every side, their blue-green silk curtains pulled away now to coax in what little breeze made it through the streets of Miropa and the bustle of the main square outside. The floor was fashioned of white quartz, streaked with greys and blacks, and did not sting the bare soles of the feet as one made their way across it.

And yet, despite these measure taken, the heat continued to rise until the man could feel the sear of it on his cheek, radiating as the womans wrath built up with every line read of the letter clutched now in her delicate hands.

Months, she finally hissed. Months I wait for the freeze to end and the paths to clear, and this is all the news I receive?

We know where he is, the man said evenly, not looking at her. A temple in the mountains, north of the great forest. Secluded like that, he wont be able to

I dont give a damn where he is , fool! The woman cut him off with a snap, altogether abandoning the pretense of the calm lover shed portrayed in front of the couriers. I care about where hes been , what hes been doing . Your cousins story grows with every passing moment, and with it the unrest in my city. Almost a year since he made a fool of you and your ef before fleeing, and more than half that since he made a fool of every man we sent to Azbar. And now this . There was the crunch of paper, and he could imagine her clutching at the edges of the parchment.

In single combat, as well, the man said in a musing tone, careful to hide the underhanded delight in his voice. Its my understanding this Kayle must have been something of a formidable opponent, too

It was his little rebellion, his only outlet to shift even the slightest bit out from under the claws of the woman. Being the puppet of her uprising had its uses. In a way he was untouchable, free of the threat her anger posed to so many of the lesser men within the Mahsadn.

At least for the moment.

Look at me, Adrion.

A shiver ran down his spine at the words, and it was a moment before he could obey. Slowly, like a man attempting to delay his fate, Adrion Blaeth turned, his eyes finally meeting the lighting blue irises of the woman beside him. She was a beautiful creature, as hed always thought her. Her hair, which he suspected had once been a pure blonde some time ago, had been bleached to near-white after years in the Sun. Her smooth skin, tanned several shades lighter than the darker complexion of a true Southerner, seemed to glow like gold in the relative shade of the chamber. Even the curious scar, radiating out from her right eye in perpendicular lines to create a perfect X-shape across her face, did little to mar her comeliness, and there had been a time Adrion had felt equal parts pleasure and lust when he looked into those thunderous eyes.

Now, all he felt was nausea and a strange, quavering cold.

Play your games while you can, the woman whispered in a deadly murmur, bringing a hand up to stroke his cheek as something like a smile teased on your lips. Enjoy what freedoms you are allowed. But consider, on the day you serve me no purpose, what things I might learn from your corpse when the time arises.

There was a crackle and a flash, and Adrion barely kept himself from crying out as pain seared up the left side of his face, jerking away. When he felt his cheek, of course, there was nothing, no visible mark, and the pain vanished in an instant, winking out without leaving so much as a hint of its passing. Still, his fingers rubbed at the place hers had lingered over, his mind convinced he could feel the tinge of magic still palpable on his skin.

We know where he is, he repeated angrily, not looking away from the blue eyes that continued to bore into his. Whatever else, that carries value. The North is a great realm, with what cities it has left scattered across its forests and mountains. It took us this long to find him, though, which means you have to act quickly. If word gets out that we know How long do you think it would take us to hunt him down again?

At that, the woman took pause, the heartless smile shifting slowly into a frown of annoyance as she heard the wisdom in his words this time.

Too long, she admitted, straightening and tilting her head back against the throne behind her, fingers stroking at her neck pensively as she thought. He cant be allowed to disappear again. We have trouble enough as it is without the common rabble hearing that he managed to slip through our fingers again .