Page 94 of A Conduit of Light

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“TheQueenofHyrithiacontinues to display an obstinanceIhave not the time for.Inher correspondence, which comes fewer and fewer these past months,Ihave found her weakness.

ShekeepsAsh’Arahclose, but her son closer.Shementions him occasionally in an off-handed way, butIsee through it.

Ihave found whatIneed.Viridislet me find it.Justmore proof thatIam on the right path.Iwill do what it takes to bring her here.

Iwill do it forFelgren.Thelives lost will not be in vain.

Ihave not toldRevichbecause he is likely to object.Hehas not had the decades of hardships that come withBaronhood, andIknow that someday he will forgive me.Someday, he will understand that whatIdo is forFelgren.Iwill save it from this blight, andIwill leave that legacy behind for him.

Hewill take up my mantle and he will praise my name to all others that come after him, my heroic deeds will be remembered.”

Despitethe growing fire, chills ran down her spine.She’dbeen right.

Shestared at the page for a moment, the truth settling into her mind like a sore might on her skin, red and angry.

She’drather be wrong.She’drather have been wrong in a thousand arguments withRevichthan learn that the man who had trained her, the man who had takenRevunder his wing, theSaviorofHyrithia…was a monster.

Revhadn’t known.Hewasn’t involved in the massacre of thousands.

Shewas thankful at least for that.

Desperatefor more, she read on.

“ThebooksViridisgave to me about diseases have been helpful, butIneed more.Ineed a way to create something powerful enough to kill the diseased, yet still controllable by my hand.

Icannot risk an infection onAsh’Arah, nor theQueen, and soIcontinue to search for somethingIcan control.

Theboy continues to be my eyes and ears inHyrithia, watchingAsh’Arah.

Hehas not seen her display a single bit of her magic but has confirmed with me that the rhyzolm pulses in his hands when she is near.

Throughother sources,Ihave been able to identify those close to her.Thankfully, there are few, and she will be less likely to desire to leaveFelgrenand go back to them.Shedoes sneak off with one of the guards occasionally.Hopefully, it’s no more than a dalliance.

Allof this information has given me hope.OnceIhave her here, she will make new friends, discover a love ofFelgrenandViridis, and she will wish to stay.Ihave chosen two other channelers to join her.Theirtemperaments will compliment hers andIdo not doubt they will grow in friendship.”

Hehad known everything.

She’dbeen watched, studied, manipulated—all three of them had…andRevich?

Inall of their time together, he had never mentioned he had spied on her forHeimlen.Notonce in those moments of talking about their pasts in whispers in the dead of night did he confess what he had done.

Hadhe planned to keep that a secret forever?

Sheflipped through some more, looking for details on theBlackFever, a rage building with each entry she read, each line of confession by the keeper of this very room.

“Ihave done it.

Thekey was theBlight.Withsome of its thorns,Iwas able to reproduce a more potent, feverish disease detailed in a book fromViridiswhich disappeared as soon asIhad the idea.Icould not find it again, but no matter.

Iwill first create the cure, easy enough to do,Iassume.Iwill then try the disease on myself, ensuring the cure works.

Oncethis is confirmed,Iwill send five of my spies one bottle each.Uponopening them, they will be inflicted, andIwill be able to control the victims from theFortress.

Theywill all have to be channelers.Theonly wayIcan control the diseased is through my rhyzolm.IftheQueenstill refuses to letAsh’Arahgo,Iwill do whatImust and inflict her only child.Hismagic is weak, butIhave felt the pull toward him regardless.

Iknow she will then break.

Sylvawill be of great help, as she has always been.