As we crossed the farmlands, Faryn filled us in on events since we’d left the guild.
“Hamon is still with the Radiant Dragon,” she said. “Kept alive by Master Xilarion’s magic.”
Hamon Wysaro, heir to Lord Jiven Wysaro, had been one of the leading figures in his father’s attack on the Radiant Dragon Guild. I’d kicked his ass in a tournament bout and defeated him in combat, only for Jiven to fill him with a raging fire magic and turn him into a being of fantastic destructive force. The technique had almost consumed Hamon, a price Jiven was apparently willing to pay for an advantage over the Radiant Dragon. It was only Guildmaster Xilarion’s intervention that had saved Hamon from a horrible death.
“And they’re letting him go back to his studies?” I asked. “After everything he did?”
“If only that were possible.” Faryn shook her head. “The fire is still eating away at Hamon, constantly devouring his body. He’s kept alive by a powerful magic scroll Xilarion received from the Emperor.”
“Why would he waste something so powerful on Hamon?”
“Because he is the product of his father. Hamon is not truly dishonorable like Jiven. There is something that can be redeemed in him. And those of Radiant Dragon need Augmenters.”
“Not Augmenters who betrayed the guild,” Vesma spat.
Faryn tutted, a little too much like a teacher addressing a student. “Hamon is . . . changed. He is not the person he once was. Besides, he is so very far from ever being a danger to anyone. He can’t leave the room they’re keeping him in without starting to fall apart, can’t pick up a book or pen and scroll without that bursting into flames. He’s trapped by his own body.”
“Good,” Vesma said savagely.
I was inclined to agree with her. Hamon had been a stuck-up prick from the moment I’d met him, certain of his own superiority and constantly determined to prove it. The prince of the Wysaro Clan had turned on the guild that had housed and trained him. He’d betrayed his tutors and his fellow students. The resulting battle had been devastating.
I’d have found something far worse for the bastard than simple imprisonment.
“What about the rest of the Wysaro clan?” I asked.
“All the clan’s members and a few of their friends took part in the attack on the guild, so they have all been expelled.”
“Then, why keep Hamon? Shouldn’t saving him be someone else’s business? His father’s, for instance? ”
“Lord Wysaro has laid the failure of their attack at Hamon’s feet. Whether he believes it or not, he’s shifting the blame and the shame onto Hamon.” Faryn sighed. “Master Xilarion believes that Lord Wysaro would kill Hamon if he were to return to the clan rather than have that shame become part of his reputation once more. From what we know of Jiven, I’m inclined to agree. The man’s greed and ambition far outshadow any love he has in his heart.”
Faryn’s voice trembled, and I wondered if she knew more about Jiven Wysaro than she was telling me. Or whether she was simply reacting to what she’d seen in Wysaro’s conflict with the guild.
“Has the Wysaro Clan made any more moves against us?” I asked.
“Almost the opposite,” Faryn said. “They’ve retreated completely into the Wysaro Fortress. There are rumors that they’ve started training their own Augmenters now they don’t have access to the Radiant Dragon.” The elf slid her fingers over a sheaf of rice as she spoke.”People have speculated that they might set up their own guild, but right now, we don’t really know anything of what’s going on in there.”
“Has the Emperor responded to the attack?” Vesma asked.
Faryn shook her head. “Master Xilarion wrote a letter that informed him of the attack. He also reminded Emperor Talekon of the old bond between them. We had high hopes that the Emperor would send troops to discipline the Wysaro Clan, but, instead, he’s ordered us to stay quiet about what happened.”
I missed a step and almost tripped. “What?”
“He’s worried about social unrest and the security of the border. The province has returned to normal on the surface. Everyone is pretending that we didn’t go to war with ourselves.” Faryn smiled sadly. “It’s the nature of a political struggle, Ethan. Gone like dry leaves in a gust of wind.”
We passed a series of ponds that had been dug in the terraced ground. White and orange fish flitted through calm waters and poked their heads out to catch insects.
“How did you get here so much quicker than us?” Vesma asked shortly. “You had to travel just as far.”
Faryn smiled at her. “I am at one with the woods. I found a way.”
“Tolin doesn’t look like he’s at one with the woods.” Kegohr laughed.
“As I said, we found a way.”
“And you followed us just to catch us up on gossip?” Vesma asked.
“No, but there are parallels between the problems back home and your current task,” Faryn said as we crossed a narrow log bridge in a single file.
The elf halted and rummaged in her bag until she found a scroll. “Tolin says I’m terrible with details, so he had me write down a small report. Very impertinent of him, but I fear that he might be right.” Faryn unrolled the parchment and cleared her throat before she began to read.
“Just like back home, there are tensions here between a clan and a guild, two organizations with overlapping authority. The Qihin Clan has dominated the Diamond Coast for centuries. It was brought into the empire six generations ago but retained its own monarch, currently King Beqai. The Qihin are a proud and powerful people who remember that their ancestors once ruled themselves. They’re intensely loyal to their rulers, but they also serve the Emperor well, and Beqai was once one of his generals.
“The Resplendent Tears Guild was founded two decades after the Emperor ascended to his throne. It’s a water guild that decided the
