A destiny revealed

Vel didn’t need to ask for clarification, Seph clearly wasn’t expecting him to know what that had meant. “Since discovering you, my liege, I have attempted to learn as much as I possibly could about house Andros. I admit, I was not overly familiar with your house, but that has changed. One thing I have found no information about though is the subject of faith. Tell me, my liege, what faith does house Andros hold?” Vel wasn’t sure how this related to explaining that heir stuff, but he went along with it. “Our house nominally holds the official imperial faith, but in truth faith matters very little to my father. My mother maintains the northern version of the faith, but again, she’s not overly religious.” While the empire had an official faith, it also allowed free worship of other religions. Within reason of course, any religions that were subversive or incompatible with imperial rule were swiftly outlawed. In those regions that had been part of the empire for a long time, most of the major faiths were just slightly different takes on the same one. That included the official imperial one. House Hothemer for example maintained the northern version of the imperial faith, or as his uncle called it, the Vashkai faith.

“Then let me tell you a story, my liege. Elements of it may sound familiar, but I am confident you will not have heard this version before.” Seph leaned back in his chair and folded his hands in front of him, like he was preparing to tell a long tale. “A long time ago, such a long time ago that our mortal minds cannot conceive of it, the material world did not exist. There was only the realm of thought. In this realm of thought existed beings that were minds only, pure consciousness. They had no bodies, as matter did not yet exist.” So far this did indeed sound familiar, both the imperial and Vashkai creation myths began a lot like this. “But among these minds, one was greater than the others. It was larger, its power was greater, and its potential seemed limitless. The other minds grew to fear it, although it had given them no reason to do so.” This part was new to Vel, this was not part of any of the versions of creation he had read about. “And so, these other minds, jealous and fearful, hatched a plan to limit this seemingly limitless being. To bind The Unbound.” The old man paused and gave Vel a grave look, possibly for dramatic effect. It kind of worked. “In a world limited by physicality, and with bodies to limit their potential, they thought The Unbound would be a threat no longer. With honeyed words and false intentions, they came, and convinced The Unbound, whose power they would need for this plan, to help them.” For the first time since Seph had begun the story, Vel spoke up. “These treacherous minds, they are the gods, right? Are you claiming the gods made this world as part of some jealous plot?” Seph’s expression hardened. “Precisely.”

That sure was a lot to take in. Normally, Vel wouldn’t have believed this. He didn’t put a lot of stock in the creation myths to begin with, not of any faith. But he couldn’t deny that this resonated with him. He felt the truth of it in his very core. Seph went on “The plan went ahead, this world was created, and the gods took physical forms. It did not take them long to create life, but where most of the gods sought obedient servants, The Unbound created beings with minds that were free to develop and change as they pleased. This again worried and even angered the others. And now, with The Unbound limited by the material world, they took action. A great war ensued, a war that ended with all the gods, including The Unbound, leaving this world. How exactly we do not know, or where exactly they went. That they retain some influence over this world is clear. But The Unbound was ever greater than the others, and a part of their power remains in this world. That power now resides in you, the power of this world’s one true master.”

That was a lot to take in, and left Vel with a lot of new questions. “This was a long time ago, why are these powers manifesting only now?” Seph had clearly been expecting this question. “You are not the first heir, my liege, there have been others over the millennia. The first one we know of swept in over the northern sea, according to legend, on the back of a dragon. With her came a horde of savage warriors, ferocious nightbloods, and terrifying giants. Or so the old writings claim. The savage warriors certainly still remain, or at least their descendants. You are one of them.”

“You’re saying that’s how the Vashkai came to this continent?” Seph nodded. “Exactly, my liege. Every heir the order has found was of Vashkai descent. And before you ask, we were formed in the wake of the first heir’s defeat.” One question with rather dire implications for Vel’s immediate chances of survival needed answering. “What happened to the previous heirs? Seeing how none of them are ruling everything right now, I assume they died.” A slightly sad look came over the old man’s features. “So they did, my liege, so they did. There are many dangers and warning you about them is part of the purpose of this meeting. Heirs do not appear often, and you are the only one in my lifetime, so all I know about previous ones comes from the order’s writings. A common threat that all mindmages face is their own community. If their powers are discovered, they will likely be killed, it is simply human nature to fear us.” This topic seemed to really weigh on Seph, he paused before continuing. “I myself was nearly slain as a child. My father discovered what I was when I was just 12. He would have killed me if not for my mother’s intervention.” Huh, some people had even worse fathers than he did. Vel felt for Seph. “But pity me not, my liege, my mother slew my father and fled with me. She too had figured out what I was, but simply did not care. I was her son and she loved me no matter what. She even willingly let me practice my powers on her. By the time the order found and recruited me, I was already quite skilled, all thanks to her.”

They spent a few moments in silence after that, Seph reminiscing while Vel thought about his own parents and wondered how they’d react to his powers. “Apologies my liege, I am an old man and prone to losing myself in memories. I should not have let it distract me from more important matters. Before you leave here today, you need to know about the other dangers you will face.” The old man seemed to consider something for a moment before continuing. “The Toranian Empire seems to have long since forgotten about our order. Their faith has no mention of The Unbound, and the prophecy of the heir is long forgotten as well. But that does not mean we are completely safe from them. The empire does not suffer mindmages to live. If found, they are invariably killed. If you attempted to research your powers my liege, I am willing to bet you found almost nothing of use. That is because knowledge of our kind is suppressed. As such, avoiding notice is still paramount. At least until you are powerful enough to take on a battlemage.” That was bad news. Battlemages were the absolute elite. Magical gifts were extremely rare in humans, and to be a battlemage you had to not just be skilled with magic but also an excellent fighter. As such, there were only a few dozen imperial battlemages, in an empire with tens of millions of inhabitants! Vel was not sure he would ever be able to handle one of them. “So, battlemages are the greatest threat I’ll face? That’s not exactly heartening.”

The old man’s expression grew very grim. “The greatest threat? No, not even close, my liege. The greatest threat you face comes not from within this empire, nor even from other humans.” Vel had a feeling he knew where this was going. “The elves, my liege, remember. They remember The Unbound and the heir. And they remember that they are servants of the lesser minds, created to obey. By far the greatest threat you will face are the Singers. An elven organization, and the main reason why our order is hidden, decentralized, and spread thin. They hunt us mercilessly. Out of all the heirs that have come before you, my liege, most fell to the Singers.”

“And who exactly are these Singers, beyond elves who want to kill me?” Seph sighed. “I must admit, my liege, we know embarrassingly little about them. They seem to be comprised entirely of elves, but clearly have informants in human lands. Among their number are great warriors and mages both. We call them what we do because, when fighting mindmages, they sing. And for reasons we cannot figure out, their singing interferes with our powers. As such it is important that you heed my warning. Do not show off. Hide your powers from all but your most trusted allies. And, above all, avoid elves at all costs.”