brackets and mounted on beautifully ornate carved stands. Isak slowed to marvel at the room and take a closer look at the nearest bird, a delicate green creature the length of his finger, crested with the most glorious golden plume.
As he neared it, the bird cocked its head towards him and sang out, a rich liquid warble. The hallway erupted into a cacophony of song as the other birds took their cue and Isak turned in a circle to watch the sudden riot of noise and exotic colours. Tila, hearing the commotion, came after Isak and stopped dead, beaming with delight.
'My chorus seems to have taken a shine to you, Lord Isak. They rarely sing at night. They say the creatures of the forest have astounding abilities of perception – interesting that they do not seem afraid of you, a white-eye no less. When an Alyne cat crept in one night, ah the chaos.'
'You keep them all caged?' asked Tila, seeing how small some of the cages were.
'Certainly not; they spend the day in the trees of the town. We're rather well known in these parts for our exotic birds. When the nights are cold we tempt them into cages of an evening; the tamest do not migrate at all now.' The Seer gave an expansive smile. His manservant glowered from the doorway as Vesna and Mistress Daran craned past him to see better. No doubt Ahden was the one who had to clean the cages.
'Did you know that the King of Narkang has a similar passion? He's
carefully cultivated his gardens to attract the migratory butterflies that go up the coast from Mustet to summer around Narkang. I hear it's quite a sight – the dusted blue is apparently most beautiful.' The Seer stopped abruptly and his brow furrowed. 'But this won't do, we must get on. Please excuse us, dear ladies, dear sirs. Ahden, bring up food and wine to my study when you have served the Lord's companions. He took hold of Isak's arm once more and led him up the wide stairway to a corridor, at the end of which stood a pair of tall decorative doors. The polished wood was a creamy coffee shade, intricately carved with a fantastical pattern of animals and trees, but Isak had no time to study the doors further as his host swept him on into the room.
Piles of books and scrolls were spread across the floor, while jumble brass instruments littered the many shelves, along with bits of pottery and odd stones, all broken and stained with age and dirt. A large open cabinet housed ancient-looking jewellery, and a few amulets and
charms. Isak could tell that they were of very modest magical strength – he recalled the scornful way the mages from the College of Magic had dismissed such things as 'low magics', suitable only for village wisewomen or forest witches.
The Seer flopped into a chair, only to bound up again as he compared his to the other chair in the room and considered Isak's bulk.
'How is it I've not heard of you when you seem to rule this region?' Isak blurted out as he took the seat offered and gingerly eased himself
into it.
The Seer smiled and sat opposite, suddenly calm. He bridged his fingers as he gazed deep into Isak's eyes. 'I certainly do not claim to rule anywhere; I merely offer advice – and only then when it is asked of me. As for having heard of me, well, I'm afraid it has been frequently observed that the Farlan do not take much interest in foreign politics unless conducted by a titled man. I would expect you have been told little more than that these lands are claimed by both Tor Milist and Helrect, but possessed by neither.'
Isak nodded, not offended: he understood the friendly sarcasm. The Farlan were one of the greatest powers in the Land, and they set great store by their traditions and their strong feudal system. A man of noble birth had power and status; anyone who won power would soon receive a title and thus become part of the system. Men such as the Seer were simply not accommodated.
'Let me begin very simply,' the strange old man continued. 'Historically, this region has been either self- governing or conquered and under the thumb of some neighbouring Lord. In the current climate it serves the purpose of both Tor Milist and Helrect to not actually take the territory – first because they would find it no easy task, and second because they would then share a border with long-standing enemies.' 'Can we start with you?' Isak interrupted. 'I don't even know your name.’
‘Me? Ah, of course! Forgive my rudeness. My name is Fedei, Wisten Fedei and folk here call me the Seer.'
Fedei smiled to avoid that sounding a theatrical boast, but Isak just nodded for him to continue.
‘I am a scholar. My history is rather long and complicated, but in brief, I had a modest amount of magical ability and training as a youth, as well as schooling in the more natural arts. Then, when I was twenty-five or so, I started displaying the classic symptoms of becoming a prophet-' he paused, waiting for Isak to interrupt, but this time the white-eye just nodded.
'That's where you are supposed to say, 'surely that's impossible?''
the Seer said dryly.
'It is? Oh, right.' Isak looked bemused.
Fedei chortled like an amused child. 'Well, most people do. If y0u had received any formal schooling in magic you would know that is impossible.'
'Probably,' Isak replied, haughtily. 'Would my formal schooling
have been wrong about everything else too?'
'I- No, not at all. In this case, the theory still bears up to scrutiny, but as many of us find; the reality of the Land is often very different. In any case, as I'm sure you can tell from the lack of frothing and violence, I'm not a prophet. Somehow it was controlled by my magic-' 'Wait a moment, what magic? I can't feel anything.' The Seer bobbed his head in acknowledgement of the objection. 'My abilities were almost entirely stripped in the conflict. I can still produce simple potions, and I can sense magic, but little more. What I can do is gather insights as a prophet, though only regarding the immediate future, and actually explain to others what I see. Think of it as having visions of impending events. They are not entirely clear, but your arrival, for example, was simple enough to understand. The ripples of your passing are profound even for me.'
'So can you do any fortune-telling for me?' Isak hadn't intended it to sound sarcastic, but Fedei stiffened nonetheless.
His voice was frosty. 'Perhaps later. For now, I would like to hear
about you.'
Isak nodded quickly, annoyed with himself for putting the Seer's back up when the man had been so welcoming. 'Of course – though I doubt there is much you don't know.' 'Did you meet Morghien on the road?'
Isak jerked in surprise. He had expected questions about his gifts-Only then did he realise that, unlike most people with any magical ability at all, the Seer had hardly glanced at Eolis. Like Morghien, he actually sounded more interested in Isak.
'I, ah, yes. How did you know that? Did you send him?' 'Send Morghien? Hah! A man such as that isn't sent by the likes ot me. I just knew he was in these parts, and Morghien has always had the habit of casually meeting interesting people. He's a curious one,
that's for sure. I first heard his tale when I was studying as a young man; I’m approaching seventy summers now.' He laughed at Isak's sceptical expression. 'You find that so strange? Those who live unnatural lives often find the effects of time slowed. You yourself will stop outwardly ageing around thirty summers.
'In any event, Morghien visited me less than a fortnight ago. I don't know much about him, but his interests frequently coincide with my own, and he is interested in my enduring well-being. I'll wager he told you only the bare minimum about himself.'
Isak nodded. 'Is there much more to know?'
'I'm not sure myself,' Fedei said, 'but what I do know could endanger others, so this isn't a topic lightly discussed.' 'How? What enemies could you have?'
'The Knights of the Temples, for a start. They dislike academics on principle.' Now Fedei gave his guest a nervous smile, his fingers anxiously working at the trim of his shirt. 'And the dear ladies of the White Circle: they appear to be courting power for reasons I cannot yet understand and I doubt they will be so tolerant of this region if they succeed in taking Tor Milist.'
'No, there's more to it than that,' Isak pressed. 'What are you involved in?'
The Seer sagged visibly. 'I dislike this; we've been so careful for years,' he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.
'Dislike what?' Isak was getting increasingly confused.
