A Conspiracy of Virtue
“When last we spoke, I mentioned a certain matter.”
“Yes, Nameless Ravine’s journey to the south. You suggested that you might go along. Further, you suggested that I should join the expedition. I said that I would give the matter some thought.”
“And have you?”
“Yes, though I have reached no decisions.”
“How uncharacteristic of you, Amilar Agathon. You have made a reputation for yourself as one who renders just and wise decisions at an astounding speed.”
“Flattering a magistrate, Soho? In my tribunals, I do not look kindly on such words.” The monk merely smiled and shrugged his shoulders. Soho was not a tall man; Agathon stood fully a head taller than him. Nor was he aged; the water-aspected officer, young though he was, was easily Soho’s senior. And yet the monk had an alarmingly direct manner that always caught Agathon off-guard. Years of experience with navigating Lookshy’s treacherous political environments had left him quite unprepared for a man of plainspoken words.
They walked for a time, through the streets of Gods Crossing, until the imposing public edifices and sprawling rows of market stalls gave way to the open plains of the northern Marukan. They sat down on a rough wooden bench outside of a half-completed watchtower, and admired the horizon. This far out from the main plaza, there were none to overhear what they had to say. For if any citizen of Gods Crossing would overhear, they knew they would both face charges of treason.
(“What have we here,” wonders Leaf Shakes the Wind from atop the bare timber roof of the half-built tower. “An Immaculate Monk and an officer of Lookshy’s magistrate-advocate directorate. An odd enough couple, even without the guilty looks on their faces.”)
Soho gestured to the plains, brilliant green and gold in the sunset. “I’ve admired these plains many times from afar, and I have committed this beautiful view to memory, but I have never saddled a horse and rode upon them. What do I really know about the plains?”
Agathon nodded. “I think I understand. I’ve been biding my time here, serving as an Acting-Magistrate, trying to understand these Solars by seeing their laws and governance in action. But I’ve never spoken with them directly. The laws here are elegant and inspiring, with deep principles and a light touch. This speaks greatly to the Solars’ virtues. But I have many dark things as well… mostly rumor and slander, but with enough truth mixed in to give me pause.”
“And I have studied Nameless Ravine’s sutras and wisdom-writings, and for my part I am greatly impressed. But before I come to any conclusions, I want to see his judgment in the field, in the moment, as a champion and a warrior. I wonder if he can truly live up to the principles he sets for himself. I know that on at least three occasions he has abandoned the teachings of his sutras, and called upon some terrible demon-power to defeat his foes. Each time, it ended poorly for him.”
“Three? I have heard of his duel with your sifu Goruk, what were the other two?”
(“Do tell, little monk. Do tell.”)
“The second was at Takahara, when he invoked the demon-hand to drive off an army of the dead… but with his might untempered by mercy, sixty noble children were slain by the dead. The third was at a place called Fenghuang Temple, where he came face-to-face with Octavian. He vanquished the Living Tower with eyes unclouded, but it exhausted his essence, and he called upon the demon power to save him after the temple collapsed on top of him. When next he was seen in public, at Lady Marta’s wedding to your… brother?”
“Distant half-cousin, actually. The Gens Amilar family tree is… complicated. But what of the wedding?”
“At the wedding, those who knew him said he seemed diminished, somehow. He spoke as a man who was in a great deal of pain.”
“I know you are not lying… how did you come to learn this?”
“Lu Fei was present at the both events; he told Shai Mei, who in turn told me.”
(“Ah,” pondered the silent voice. “So that’s where these stories have been leaking out. I would have expected Lu Fei to show greater discretion… but then again, he and Shai Mei are comrades. Regardless, the monk does not know the truth of the Catharsis; how can he know that he is jumping at shadows?”)
Both were silent for a time. At last, Agathon spoke. “If he is one of only three beings in the history of Creation to defeat Octavian in single combat, do you really think we can take him?”
“I have no idea. Perhaps not. But I certainly can’t face him alone.”
“More to the point, do you really think it will be necessary?”
“Truthfully, I don’t think it will come to that. It would seem he only calls upon the demon-power when he is pressed to the point of defeat by a terrible foe. It is likely that we would encounter nothing of the sort in the south.”
(The voice on the roof silently recited the names of the Mask of Winters’ remaining Abyssal servants.)
“And if we do meet such a foe?”
“If we do, then I believe there will be a briefest moment of time when he is pushed to his limit, but before the demon-power springs forth. That is when we must act. This will require utmost precision and judgement.”
“That’s why you want me to come. I can see through any falsehood…”
“…and you know the discipline of Death Between Heartbeats.”
“But if it comes to that, if we meet some being who can defeat the Nameless Ravine, and we cut the solar down before he can assume the demon-power… that leaves us facing this foe alone. What then?”
(“I can’t wait to hear this…”)
“If we meet such a foe, and if Ravine succumbs to the demon-power, and if we are forced to act, and if we are successful in our bloody deed, and the foe stands before us…” Soho shrugged. “We run away. Very, very quickly.”
