Belasco would choose death before he would willingly serve anyone or anything.”
“There’s more,” asked the High Priest, though it wasn’t a question.
“Belasco also would not be a user of this sort of death magic. Here’s the conundrum: whatever else death magic is good for, it’s almost of no use whatever to those of us who are trafficking with demons.”
Pug looked suddenly very interested, as if he wished to say something or ask a question, but instead said, “Go on.”
“Holy Father,” asked Amirantha, “what use is death magic?”
Pug realized the question wasn’t rhetorical, but rather Amirantha asking a question to clarify a point he was about to make.
“It’s an abomination,” said the prelate. “Death magic, necromancy, are misnomers, for really what it becomes is the foulest form of life magic. At the moment of death, that which we call life leaves the empty shell of our bodies—it is what some call the anima, others call soul—and that energy is the fundamental core of being. The body is transitory and will fail, but the life which leaves it is eternal”—he held up a finger for emphasis—“unless something prevents that energy from translating to Our Mistress’s hall.”
Amirantha appeared impatient. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but the heart of the question is, what can you do with that energy if you trap it, bind it, intercept it somehow?”
The High Priest sat silently for a moment, then said, “An excellent question; the answer is beyond my knowledge.
“What little we know of necromancy is due to our having spared no effort to stamp it out; it’s an abomination against the nature of Our Mistress to prevent a soul from returning to her for judgment.” He turned in his chair and shouted, “Gregori!”
A moment later his servant appeared, and he said, “Ask Sister Makela to join us, please.”
The servant bowed, and the High Priest said, “The sister is our Archive Keeper. If she doesn’t know of something, she knows where to look to find out about it.”
“I have already visited the Ishapian Abbey at That Which Was Sarth.”
The old prelate smiled and shook his head. “The Ishapians are a noble order, and we venerate them, but despite their authority and knowledge, they tend to vanity from time to time. Their library is prodigious but hardly exhaustive. There are things that have not found their way into their library.”
“But have into yours?” observed Jim.
Smiling even more broadly, the High Priest said, “We all keep our prerogatives. What we find is ours unless we wish to share with others.” Then his mood turned somber. “And much of the knowledge we do not share is of the sort about which you inquire; some things are best kept secret or at least closely guarded by those who understand them best.” He turned to Amirantha. “While we are waiting, I believe you had other points to make?”
“You are perceptive, Holy Father. Beyond my ignorance of the nature and purpose of this death magic, or as you pointed out, the stolen life force, I have never in my study of the demon realm found any connection.”
Pug said, “A thought I’ve been holding for a few moments is there is something from my past that should be mentioned.” He looked at the three other men and said, “Back when the Emerald Queen’s host sailed across the ocean from Novindus and invaded the Kingdom of the Isles, their leader,the Emerald Queen, had been replaced by a seeming of her, a false guise worn by a demon named Jakan.”
Amirantha tilted his head slightly, as if pondering this.
“What is not known to any but a few of us who were there—” He hesitated a moment, remembering that among those who had been present at the events he was about to describe was his wife, Miranda, and he felt a pang. “I was about to say, this was not about simple conquest, but rather a massive assault to reach the city of Sethanon.”
Jim’s brow furrowed. “Why? Sethanon had been
“There’s more,” asked the High Priest, though it wasn’t a question.
“Belasco also would not be a user of this sort of death magic. Here’s the conundrum: whatever else death magic is good for, it’s almost of no use whatever to those of us who are trafficking with demons.”
Pug looked suddenly very interested, as if he wished to say something or ask a question, but instead said, “Go on.”
“Holy Father,” asked Amirantha, “what use is death magic?”
Pug realized the question wasn’t rhetorical, but rather Amirantha asking a question to clarify a point he was about to make.
“It’s an abomination,” said the prelate. “Death magic, necromancy, are misnomers, for really what it becomes is the foulest form of life magic. At the moment of death, that which we call life leaves the empty shell of our bodies—it is what some call the anima, others call soul—and that energy is the fundamental core of being. The body is transitory and will fail, but the life which leaves it is eternal”—he held up a finger for emphasis—“unless something prevents that energy from translating to Our Mistress’s hall.”
Amirantha appeared impatient. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but the heart of the question is, what can you do with that energy if you trap it, bind it, intercept it somehow?”
The High Priest sat silently for a moment, then said, “An excellent question; the answer is beyond my knowledge.
“What little we know of necromancy is due to our having spared no effort to stamp it out; it’s an abomination against the nature of Our Mistress to prevent a soul from returning to her for judgment.” He turned in his chair and shouted, “Gregori!”
A moment later his servant appeared, and he said, “Ask Sister Makela to join us, please.”
The servant bowed, and the High Priest said, “The sister is our Archive Keeper. If she doesn’t know of something, she knows where to look to find out about it.”
“I have already visited the Ishapian Abbey at That Which Was Sarth.”
The old prelate smiled and shook his head. “The Ishapians are a noble order, and we venerate them, but despite their authority and knowledge, they tend to vanity from time to time. Their library is prodigious but hardly exhaustive. There are things that have not found their way into their library.”
“But have into yours?” observed Jim.
Smiling even more broadly, the High Priest said, “We all keep our prerogatives. What we find is ours unless we wish to share with others.” Then his mood turned somber. “And much of the knowledge we do not share is of the sort about which you inquire; some things are best kept secret or at least closely guarded by those who understand them best.” He turned to Amirantha. “While we are waiting, I believe you had other points to make?”
“You are perceptive, Holy Father. Beyond my ignorance of the nature and purpose of this death magic, or as you pointed out, the stolen life force, I have never in my study of the demon realm found any connection.”
Pug said, “A thought I’ve been holding for a few moments is there is something from my past that should be mentioned.” He looked at the three other men and said, “Back when the Emerald Queen’s host sailed across the ocean from Novindus and invaded the Kingdom of the Isles, their leader,the Emerald Queen, had been replaced by a seeming of her, a false guise worn by a demon named Jakan.”
Amirantha tilted his head slightly, as if pondering this.
“What is not known to any but a few of us who were there—” He hesitated a moment, remembering that among those who had been present at the events he was about to describe was his wife, Miranda, and he felt a pang. “I was about to say, this was not about simple conquest, but rather a massive assault to reach the city of Sethanon.”
Jim’s brow furrowed. “Why? Sethanon had been
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