The Gates of Memory, стр. 63
Though he couldn’t say why, this room felt different, too. The air lacked the chilly, damp feeling from the tunnels. It felt like a spring day, warm and full of the promise of new life.
How he’d drawn that comparison so far under the stone, Brandt couldn’t say.
The door closed behind him, leaving him alone with the elders.
Brandt searched for the leader, but found no one that stood out. He guessed there were over sixty people in the room, but nothing he could see identified anyone as special among them.
A woman wearing dark robes gestured for Brandt to step toward the center of the room. “Please stand within the center of one of the circles you see.” Her voice was soft, but still it sounded like she stood right next to him.
He followed instructions, finding seven circles near the center of the room. Each possessed the same symbol as the circles the elders stood on. What power was at play in this room?
Unfortunately, he’d come too far to have much choice in the matter. He stepped into the circle, relaxing when nothing happened.
“Thank you for speaking,” a voice said. Again, it was soft, as though spoken directly in front of him. But no one stood within fifteen paces of him. He couldn’t tell who had greeted him.
“I am honored to be here.” Brandt didn’t know much of Falari customs, but politeness was never wasted.
“What is your purpose here?”
Brandt wasn’t sure if they meant him, specifically, or their larger task. He chose to take the question literally. “I’m here to protect Prince Regar on his journey.”
“And what is Prince Regar’s purpose?”
Brandt considered his response carefully. He didn’t dare say their purpose was to acquire the gate for the emperor. Now he understood just how volatile a subject that would be. But he also had no wish to lie. “He seeks your aid in fighting an enemy who threatens all our lands.”
His words carried to every ear in the room. Though he spoke as to someone in front of him, there were no calls for him to raise his voice. The forces in this room unsettled him. He glanced down, seeing the symbols he stood upon flickering in unreadable patterns, just like those underneath the elders.
“What, specifically, does Prince Regar seek?”
He supposed it would always come to this. He hoped for the best. “Prince Regar seeks the gate on behalf of Anders VI.”
“And what would Anders VI do with our gate?”
“Fight the invaders.”
“There have been no Lolani at our borders, and what do we care about the fall of the empire?”
This was the first voice that spoke with emotion. The others had been curious, perhaps, but this one had an agenda.
Ren’s advice had been to speak truthfully. So Brandt spoke as the soldier he’d once been. “If the empire falls, it will only be a matter of time until you do as well.”
“A bold claim. We’ve resisted the empire for this long. Why not a foreign invader?”
“With respect, elders, this is a force unlike any you’ve encountered before. Their warriors are skilled, relentless, and their affinities defy comprehension. I’ve fought both your warriors and the Lolani, and the Lolani frighten me more.”
He feared he’d spoken too freely, but no elder argued his point.
“You know that we do not control our gate, the way Anders VI controls his, and that we consider such control unwise?”
“I do.”
“You know why?”
“You fear such power does not belong to us.”
“What do you reply to that?”
“It is a wise precaution. Great strength requires great control. But the power exists, and our need is great. Who among you would refuse to use a bow if Faldun was invaded? The gates are a tool. A tool of incredible ability. If they can save lives, I believe they must be used.”
There was a pause, long enough for Brandt to worry he’d said too much.
“You speak well. Regar’s Senki displays quality, and some of our own have voiced similar arguments. Answer this, then: why should we not just seize control ourselves and aid your emperor in that way?”
Brandt wished for an enemy with a sword, now more than ever before. “I confess that my answer is but a guess. My own knowledge of the gates is imperfect. But I do not believe such aid will prevail. Anders VI already controls two gates and could not stand directly against the queen. If any Falari attempted to give aid with only one gate, they would fall. One does not send two novice swords against a master. One sends another master.”
Brandt wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. This was not his battlefield.
“You put a great deal of trust in your ruler. Such is commendable for a soldier, but is such trust wise? Should we trust a foreign emperor with such power?”
“I do not know him well,” Brandt admitted, “but in my interactions I have always found him to be a man of honor. I trust him.”
“And yet he oppresses your people with ruthless efficiency.”
Brandt frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“Do you not have many slaves?”
“No.” Brandt was confused. The earlier line of questioning had been difficult enough, but this caught him unaware.
“Do you not have wage-earners?”
“We have those, but they are paid for their work.”
“And if they do not work?”
“The punishment is death.”
“Do these wage-earners have the time and freedom to pursue their own skills and interests?”
Brandt’s own parents had been wage-earners. He remembered nights when they came home exhausted from the menial work of the day. Watching them suffer in silence had been one of his primary reasons for joining the army. His parents had earned enough to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table, but nothing else.
“No.”
“Is