The Curse of the Brand

Knowledge

That night, Maian slept without fear or worries. She had told Liane everything except Lehran's story. Liane was very relieved to hear that Maian was not in danger, but outraged when she heard the part about the branded and the lie concern­ing them.

Although Maian still took her guards along the following morning, she felt safe again.

Lehran greeted her with a smile which she replied. Again, she sat down at the window, this place had become hers during the last days.

As Lehran had predicted, staying indoors gradually became easier, but it also de­pended strongly on how the other senators behaved.

Maian guessed that Lehran watched her closely, because he called for a break as soon as she was feeling tired again.

As Maian was sitting on the window sill, Lehran brought her a goblet of wine and a piece of cake.

"Thank you."

He smiled briefly. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better. This certainly helps."

She nodded in the direction of the window.

"I had hoped it would. Say, are you in any hurry to get home after the meeting?"

"Not particularly, why do you ask?"

"There is someone I want you to meet."

"Who is that?"

"Ah, I am not going to tell you. It is a surprise."

"Am I going to like it?", she asked doubtfully.

"I hope so. But why should you not?"
 

Maian followed Lehran through the corridors of Mainal Cathedral. The longer they walked, the more Maian started to feel lost.

"This is like a maze", she complained. "How do you manage to find your way? I am completely lost by now."

He smiled. "I had enough time to find out how not to get lost in here. Besides, you can always ask a servant to show you the way."

Lehran stopped in front of a large double door, knocked and entered. Maian fol­lowed, looking curiously around.

Servants and maids left the room, bowing to Lehran and Maian as they passed.

"Sephiran!"

A small three-year-old child with lilac hair and big yellow eyes ran forward to greet him, but stopped dead when she noticed Maian.

"Who is that?", she asked, gnawing her lip.

"Sanaki, this Senator Maian, Second Duchess of Idras, a good friend of mine."

The girl didn't look convinced.

Maian gave Lehran a questioning look.

"This is Princess Sanaki, our future empress."

Maian's eyes widened, then she turned her attention back to the girl. She had no idea if there existed any rules about how to behave in the presence of a future em­press, so Maian tried to do something to put the child at ease.

She crouched down so they were almost at eye level.

"Good afternoon, princess", she said, smiling at her.

Maian had pretty soon realized that she could influence other people's moods or make them sense her own emotions. And calming a child down shouldn't be too difficult.

Sanaki's eyes widened, then she stepped forward and took the hand Maian had offered her.

"You – you are just like Sephiran! You have the same aura... And your hands – they are just like his. So thin, and so white... I like you, Maian."

Maian's smile widened. The next moment, the girl flung herself into Maian's arms.

"Do you have time to play with me?", Sanaki asked, looking from Maian to Lehran.

"Of course, Sanaki. That's why we came to visit you."
 

One hour later they left the princess to the care of her servants.

"That went better than I had hoped. She really likes you."

"Is that so unusual?"

"Yes. Sanaki – is a difficult child. I have raised her ever since her mother has died shortly after giving birth to her. And as you know, her father had died even before she was born. Sanaki would often cry and only stop when I was near her. I have always acted like a father to her - "

"Which is exactly what you are", Maian muttered.

"But for some time I had felt that she might need a mother as well", Lehran conti­nued as if he hadn't heard her.

"And you want me to be that?"

"Yes. Sanaki does not like people easily, but she likes you. And I believe that you would be ideal for the task – you are a very compassionate and caring person. Be­sides, you have no children of your own – I thought, maybe you would like to have a daughter."

"Yes, I would like that", Maian replied quietly. "I will help you raising your daughter."

"Good. But that means you will have to sacrifice most of your free time to Sanaki – and the rest to me."

"That does not matter, my free time usually bores me. But what do you have in mind?"

"Oh, I just thought I could teach you a thing or two."
 

"So, what is it that you want to teach me?"

"Well, that would be a lot. First of all – would you like to become a mage?"

"I do not know – I have never considered that an option."

"Most of the senators are magicians, because they consider wielding weapons as beneath them. In your case I fear that your body would not be able to handle a weapon, so magic would be the only way you could defend yourself. And I would strongly recommend you learn how to do that."

"I see your point. What kind of magic could you teach me to use?"

"Light magic. And I am absolutely sure you possess healing powers as well."

Maian nodded. "Agreed."

"Very good. To use magic you will have to learn the Ancient Tongue. It is not necessary for a mage to be able to speak it, but he needs to know the words he is using for his spells. But since you have enough time, I could teach you how to write, speak and read the Old Tongue."

Again, she nodded.

Lehran smiled. "One last thing – I am not sure whether you will be able to learn that, but you might be able to use Galdr Magic."

Maian stared at him. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, I am. But we would have to try."

"Then, what are we waiting for? It seems to be a lot of work ahead of us, so better get started now than later."

He shook his head, clearly amused. "You astonish me. Where does that enthusi­asm come from?"

"Knowledge is power. That is why I want to learn as much as possible. Besides, I have realized something..."

"And what would that be?"

"Knowledge can prevent catastrophes from happening. If the people of Begnion had known the Serenes could not fight or kill, they would have never fallen for that lie."

"I see. You are very wise, Maian."

"You think so?"

"Yes. And as for your training – for now, I want to teach you how to shield your mind and read others efficiently, not just the surfacing thoughts."

"Could you not simply stop looking into my mind?"

"I could try. But the way your mind works is very interesting, as are your thoughts. And I fear that I might accidentally read something private, something you did not want to share with me. Besides, you might meet someone else who possesses the power to read minds and that person could mean you harm. And, of course, there is the possibility that someone could find out my true identity by reading your mind."

"I see. I will do my best to master this skill as quickly as possible."
 

Learning the first two skills had not been difficult and the next day Lehran had started to teach her the use of magic. Maian greatly enjoyed conjuring light globes that floated through the room.

"They are pretty."

"Yes, but also dangerous. You can practise shaping your magic into different forms at home, but be careful not to hit anyone or anything with it. You have to always control your powers, or else you might accidentally harm someone."

What was really difficult to learn was how to use galdrar.

"A galdr consists of melody and lyrics. One part alone won't work, as well as combi­ning one melody with another lyric. The effect of the galdr depends on how many singers perform it, and the strength of each individual. The strongest galdrar were used by members of the royal family. Since you are only half a heron, you cannot expect your galdrar to be as powerful as those of a heron. That can't be helped. Galdrar are designed to help others, to ease pain, replenish strength or bring back life. The first galdr you are going to learn is the Galdr of Slumber."

Lehran first taught her the melody and had her repeat it until she could memorise it correctly. After that, she learned the lyrics, but not only how to speak and sing them, but also writing them down and translating them into Modern Speech with all their possible meanings.

That took a lot more time and effort. Only after two days of practising Lehran thought it would be safe to try if she could actually use it.

"And how are we going to try it?", Maian asked. "Suppose I used it on you and it worked... you would sleep for some time, correct?"

"Yes, and that would be far from desirable. No, I want you to use it on Sanaki. She knows the song already, I always sang it to her as a lullaby. If it works, she should fall asleep right away. And if it doesn't... well, then we would have to wait until she falls asleep."
 

To Maian's great delight, she was able to use the Galdr of Slumber. Lehran was very proud of her and told her that she would learn to use the other galdrar as well – with one exception: the Galdr of Release. Teaching her that would be futile, be­cause only Lehran's descendants were able to use it.

Learning the Ancient Tongue was very difficult and Maian soon understood why almost every nation had decided to use the Modern Speech instead, which was much easier. The most difficult thing was learning the letters. They were completely different from the alphabet Maian was used to and at first all letters seemed the same to her.

They quickly discovered that Maian was – just like Lehran – able to heal people by touching them, she needed no tomes or staves as catalysts to use her powers, like any other mage.

But educating Sanaki kept both of them very busy. Not only had they to teach her things she had to know if she was to rule the empire someday, but they also wanted her to be a ruler who respected laguz and beorc. Of course, Maian dreamed of the day her kind, too, would be treated as equals, but she and Lehran had agreed they should try to secure the emancipation of the laguz first before attempting to eman­cipate the hybrids.

"Lehran, I have one more question. Why do you always use the word "hybrids"? I have never heard that before."

"That is because it is my invention. I do not like the word the beorc use – branded – nor do I like the one used by the laguz – parentless. Both of them sound so nega­tive, because they were always used in a negative way."

"Yes, it really sounds that way."

"That is another thing I have to tell you. If you should ever meet laguz, be on your guard. Almost all of them will notice that something about you is strange. And some will – like me – instantly figure out what you are. Most laguz are content with ignoring your kind, but there are some that would readily kill you, believing you have no right to exist. The beorc are much easier to fool, but you have to be always on your guard."

"I know. That is why I trust no-one, not even my guards."
 

Maian hurried through the deserted corridors of Mainal Cathedral. She had been chatting with another senator and after that she had paid a visit to her adoptive daughter. Sanaki was growing more and more fond of Maian and had started regar­ding her as her mother.

Maian heard the sound of footsteps, but realized too late that they were not coming from behind her, but from the direction she was headed. Unable to slow down, Maian darted around the corner and collided with something hard.

"Careful!"

Big hands caught and steadied her. Maian gasped, then she looked up at the man she had bumped into.

A pair of green eyes was watching her sternly, but Maian could sense the curiosity lurking beneath the impassive face. His hair was black and short, he wore a crim­son armour and a long dark yellow cloak, and from his belt hung a huge two-hand sword.

Noticing Maian had regained her sense of balance, he let go of her.

"My apologies", the knight said. "That was careless of me."

"No, I should be the one apologizing. After all, I bumped into you..."

He took a step backwards. Maian suppressed a smile when she realized he did this so she had not to crane her neck in order to look at his face. He was a very corpu­lent man – not like some of the older senators who were simply fat, but he was big. And Maian immediately knew he was the opposite to her – a strong warrior who had nothing to fear.

"You must be Senator Maian."

"I am. And you are?"

"My apologies. You must think I am rude not to introduce myself. I am Zelgius, Earl of Kadohl, General of the Begnion Central Army."

"Oh, I have heard stories about you, general! They say there is no other fighter in all of Tellius who could match your power – or overpower you."

"Yes, so they say. But just because I have never been defeated yet does not mean there is no-one who could do that."

"Wisely spoken."

"I was looking for the prime minister. Is he here?"

"No, he went home after the meeting, I trust that is where you will find him."

"Thank you, senator."

Zelgius bowed to her and strode down the corridor. Maian followed him at her usual speed.