Tempered by the Will

12 - Rules

Felix placed open a large, thick volume in front of Vica and pointed at the tangled genealogy map inked onto the pages before sitting back down.

"The Order's numbers are never stable. Women are encouraged to birth as many gifted children as possible in the Noble Houses, both those of high and low rank. Any child that displays more than a rudimentary streak for magic is automatically inducted into their House, and the climb the ranks by being better than their peers. Some Houses use brutal methods to weed out the weak and put the strong on top, while others focus on nurturing every child, trusting in numbers. There is no universal law to regulate this - ultimate authority over any life in each House rests with the Head, who can use Blood magic through the Charter marks to enforce that."

"Blood magic?" repeated Vica. "So the Capital allows..."

"Dark magic? Is that what were you about to say? There's no such thing as outlawed magic in the Capital, so forget all the ritual dogma my grandfather taught you. There are many who disavow what they consider dark, but in the eyes of what little law we have, almost no manifestation of magic is outright forbidden."

"But you said my magic was taboo, or something like that."

"Grave magic? Yes. Yours is a special case. It's not even seen once in a generation, but rather once in several, if that. It's not common enough to be forbidden. Why make rules for something that most will never see, just as their parents and grandparents never saw? Grave magic is taboo because it's so rare that no one knows how to counter it. Custom says one must hide its practice, but out of sight...We'd assume healing magic would counter its nature, but healers don't often fight, do they. And mind you, taboo, not illegal. Custom says you ought to hide its use, but no one can petition to have you sealed for it if you don't abuse it."

"That's why it's taboo?" she demanded. "Because no one knows how to fight it, not because it kills?"

Felix's mouth twisted up in a dry smile. "In the Capital, a great deal many kinds of magic is used to kill. Just because yours kills by nature doesn't mean that it's all that distinct from the magic you'll find in the Court. Fire burns and boils flesh, after all, and water drowns. The way the Order wields its power, all magic might as well be from the grave."

That bothered her. That bothered her a lot. She knew her prejudices were colored deeply by the beliefs Philio had instilled in her from childhood on, but even so - it was common sense that some natures were inherently more insidious than others. After all, fire could warm, water could quench. There was nothing evil about that. But what could came of death and pestilence?

"So blood magic lets the Head of a House control everyone else in it," she mused. "And it's acceptable to use it that way."

"Careful. Blood magic isn't puppetry, it's punishment. It can be used to cause pain or to kill, and depending on the strength of the subordinate, it can still be fought. It's a birthright ability passed down from Head to Head and ratified by the Charter that runs in our veins, which is why the Order tries to keep bloodlines as pure as possible. The weaker the mage, the weaker the ability, and the whole House can run rampant since a weak Head can enforce nothing at all. The Charter marks that bind us together may as well be frayed thread, and instead of the Order being able to control the whole House through one person, now they must rein in all of them individually. If that happens, they have to go through the entire ritual again, and hopefully with a better candidate. A headache all around."

"Was your grandfather the Head of the Aventine family at any point?" Vica folded her hands over the table and stared at Felix, searching his elegant face carefully for any sign that would betray a nugget of truth. "But now you're the Head. What happened between then and now?"

"He lost the Headship after he escaped death and went into exile. Once that authority was rescinded, it came to me."

"Not to your father or someone older? You can't have been older than -"

"I was six, and that was almost twenty five years ago."

She narrowed her eyes. "I thought you said weak Heads were useless to the Order. Why would they choose you?"

"Because I wasn't weak." He leaned back in his chair, holding her stare with a level gaze. "I had fearsome potential, and even back then I was already displaying signs that I would surpass the rest of my House within just a few years. The Order looks at the long term, which makes them all the more dangerous."

Six years old...unbelievable. Six year olds couldn't even strap their sandals on correctly. What kind of...

"Don't underestimate the Capital," he murmured. "We grow up fast here. We have to. If we're told we suddenly need to control those who used to be our elders and mentors, we do it without argument if we want to survive."

She looked down at the book and found herself grimacing at the scribbled diagrams and trees of the genealogy map on the open pages. All these people who lived the system. She didn't know whether to curse them or feel sorry for them when it was becoming clearer by the second that most of them must have been indoctrinated from before they knew how to spell.

"So what would they do with me?" she asked suddenly. "If some in the Order want to ally with me like you said earlier, what would that mean? It's not like I can just join any old House if the slap a Mark on me. That's family, right? Grandparents, parents, children, cousins. I don't have any family here. Who would I Charter with, or does blood relation even matter?"

"A House can be made up of the family and its vassals, who would comprise the branch Houses," he corrected. "But mages stronger than those of the main family could never be inducted into the Charter as a vassal. Remember, the Charter is governed by old magic. There are ingrained rules in nature that govern these things, and if that ever happened, authority would shift in the direction of greater power. It's Right of Magic."

"Right of Magic," she repeated. "I've never heard of it."

"It's as simple as it is eternal. The mightier power wins, and the lesser power submits. A weaker mage cannot subjugate a more powerful one."

She pursed her lips and considered his words. "So, how do you measure strength? I'm fairly good, aren't I?"

"Yes. Unarguably. By raw power alone, I doubt you would fall to anyone of the outer Court. The inner - I wouldn't know. I've never been able to test myself against any of them."

Outer Court? Inner Court? What the hell kind of convoluted system was this? Wasn't the Capital supposed to be lawless country where the mighty ruled? Why so many rules and useless frills?

"You would found a House of your own," he answered. "You would simply be the only person in it. But once you do that, I imagine your 'friends' would then oh-so-generously draft a Charter for you, likely with stipulations written that would mandate you remain allied to them. For obvious reasons, you wouldn't want this, and the last thing you need is any Charter. You're already born of old magic, you don't need a link to connect yourself to it. For someone like you, a Charter would never strengthen your power, only bind and limit you."

She shrugged. "That's fine. I never liked the sound of that anyway. Still don't understand what the point is, but -"

"It enables tandem magic, which you would do well not to underestimate no matter how talented you are -"

"- BUT," she continued in a louder voice as if she hadn't heard him try to scold her just now. "I'm not interested in learning more than one complicated thing per day, especially if it won't be immediately useful. I'm assuming you couldn't glean this from whatever vision Philio sent you, but I have always, always been a terrible student. You won't be able to make me learn everything this way. I need something more practical, I learn better when you make me get up and do something."

Felix sighed and looked at Bren for the first time since the entire conversation had begun, and Vica followed his gaze to stare at the quiet half-elf. She kept forgetting he was there...anywhere. That was happening more and more often these days, and if it weren't for the fact that they had faced down an army together, she would have found it deeply unsettling.

That said, why was the duke looking at him as if waiting for him to say something? He hadn't even asked a question -

"I think instead of history and politics, perhaps Vica will appreciate runework more," said Bren. There was a small, serene smile on his face as he stared back at Felix. "It would be more engaging, I think."

"She like won't take to it well -"

"I'm aware. But she will have to learn the language if she wants to communicate with those in the Court. The proper way, that is. It's the only way they'll respect her."

"I'm right here, gentlemen," she interjected. "By the way, I'm awful at script in general, but looking at runes sounds better than learning family histories. Show me magic. That's what I came here to learn. I'm not putting much stock in the respect bit, though - if they won't respect what I can do already, then knowing a few shapes and charms isn't going to change their minds."

Bren was still smiling, and he glanced at her before returning his gaze to Felix. "I'll take Vica outside. It's a lovely day to go out."

"You aren't doing this indoors?" The duke frowned. "I encourage you to stay as hidden as possible. I can't guarantee that there won't be others sneaking about. I have monitoring wards all around the estate itself, but it doesn't reach as far as the canal. Someone might arrive unexpectedly and catch sight of Vica, and there's not a soul in the Sanctum that wouldn't recognize her."

"Constantine can keep watch," Bren suggested. "He can stay far enough away that we can proceed as needed, and he would still be able to sense any other mages coming from a distance."

"Ten miles," Vica supplied helpfully. "He can stay on the roof or something."

"Still, it's better to stay indoors -"

"I wouldn't suggest it." Bren shook his head. "I think we'll need...open spaces. It'll be safer."

She wondered for a second if she should feel embarrassed or insulted at the obvious apprehension, even if it was couched in polite terms, but she decided to brush it off since it was an excuse to get back outside. She didn't like being in here. Not just this library, but the entire manor itself felt like it was suffocating her with its posh grandeur. She'd never seen so many rugs and tapestries before, and while the porcelain bathtubs were nice, all she could think of was how far from home she was. She hadn't even known that heated plumbing existed until Aventon, and here - magic-fueled technology.

And the Capital hoarded it all to itself.

"Let's go," she announced, and she stood up from her chair with such force that it nearly fell over backwards. "It smells like paper in here."

Bren stood up as well in a far more graceful rise, but before she could rush out of the library and head for the manor's front doors, he caught her with a gentle catch of his fingertips on her forearm. She paused mid-stride and looked up at him in surprise.

"Someone will have to ask Constantine to keep watch for us," he reminded her. "He should be in the opposite wing, but I don't think he would take that request from me very well."

She pursed her lips at him, but all he did was give her a half-apologetic smile and tilt his head. When her eyes darted over to Felix instead, who was still sitting at the table, he ducked his head and began 'sorting' through the volumes and needlessly re-stacking them as if he hadn't heard anything.

Wonderful.

"Meet me outside, then," she said shortly. "In the back? Less eyes?"

Bren nodded, and when she exited the library, it was at the pace of a reluctant trudge.