Page 146 of Cast in Conflict

“Of course she could. But Kaylin, he does not have to be in the grip of that fate, that destiny, to commit everything he has or will ever be to the Academia. He has accepted the chancellorship. Nothing will move him from it. But he risks no insanity; the force of commitment does not skirt the edge of the long fall into darkness. He is flexible, and he will not feel easily threatened by things that are not a threat.”

“You think Tiamaris would?”

“I cannot say. As part of a military flight, I have acted against those whose hoard has chipped away at all sanity; they are a danger that you cannot, from your position, understand.”

“I think I can.”

“Yes, because you are not a Dragon and you have not experienced that madness. Tiamaris is protective. You understand that. You would not raise hand against Tara, regardless. Tiamaris understands that Tara is a living person, and he values her happiness. He has allowed her to make questionable decisions—the lack of portal being one—because that is her desire. And I believe she is happy.”

Kaylin nodded.

“I do not believe he will—or can—fall prey to madness. He could have reasonably denied her the request to dispense with portals. He could have denied the one, localized mirror he has allowed at her request. There are many things he could justify for reasons of security.

“He could deny her her gardens, so unusual even in the fiefs. He could deny her contact with any of the many citizens of the fief who have come to aid in those gardens, to work there. He could, in the end, command that she imprison herself—because again, it would keep her safe.”

Kaylin stared at him. “It would destroy her.”

“Would it?”

“There was a reason Barren almost fell. She could not live like that.”

“Ah.” He turned to her, a hint of a smile on his face, although his eyes carried no trace of amusement. “No. But for those who fall prey to the fear, Tara would cease to be a person. She would be an object of fear and possession.”

“Do any of the others start out sane and reasonable and then...fall?”

“It has happened,” he replied.

“You’ve seen this.”

“Yes. Twice. No, more than twice, but twice it became more personal. These two were my friends, my comrades in arms, people with whom I had shared the rash idealism and optimism of youth. They trained hard. They worked hard—as did I. We were almost inseparable.”

Kaylin waited.

“We are, in general, a far more solitary people than you are. We are more solitary than even the Barrani, who oft appear to live on and for suspicion and murder.”

“That’s a bit harsh.”

“Yes. I assume that you have no desire to hear me be more harsh, and I apologize for the digression. We do not suffer if we are isolated for stretches of time; it gives us room to breathe.”

Kaylin nodded.

“Therefore, our friendship—forged in youth and war—was considered odd. Unusual. One of the elders in that youth—he is long dead—took me aside and offered me advice.”

“Only you?”

“I do not know. If he offered similar advice to my two friends, they did not share—but I did not choose to share, either.”

“The advice was about hoards?”

“It was. It was about the effect that the compulsion can have on the young. Tiamaris is sometimes called ‘young Tiamaris’ by Lord Sanabalis and the chancellor, but he is not young by my reckoning. Younger than I, yes. But old enough that he has had experience and interests that offer grounding.

“Our interest was the war, and our experiences in it. We did not know how to return gracefully from it; we felt diminished. It was a shock to us to see the Arkon—Lannagaros as he was, then—become a...scholar. A Dragon who preferred a desk and books to arts military, arts arcane.”

“He knows a fair bit about the arcane, if I’m any judge.”

“Yes. He does. Much of it subtle, and not meant for war.”

“His was the defining spell in the battle for the High Halls.”

---