Page 98 of The Cruel Dawn
The gem emits a high-pitched squeak—like a bolt or a wheel in need of grease. The sound pierces the room.
We all shudder.
The gem made that same sound in Fihel as lavender fire consumed it. Was it in pain? Angry? This can’t be just a jewel.
“Celedan Docci awakens,” Agon whispers, “and he knows that his end has come.”
I lean closer for a better view. I glimpse a faint silhouette no bigger than a mosquito, lost in the vibrant color.
The tiny god—Keeper of Knowledge—pulses with light, and his delicate and translucent wings flutter in rapid bursts. The energy that emanates from him is strong and heavy. He twists, curling in the confines of his jeweled prison. His tiny face is a blur, and his voice a faint whisper in my ear. “I rhuirn lud fa hasa.”I should not be here. “I rhuirn lud fa fuiln.”I should not be bound.
I frown and reply, “I cac’ arlnmassa iya’au homo.”I didn’t imprison you here. “You went willingly.” Celedan Docci had been eager to provide wisdom and knowledge to Syrus Wake. For more than fifty seasons, Celedan shared with the young king all that should be known to mortals…but then, he began telling Wake more than he should’ve.
Like all men, Wake craved more: more power, more land, more knowledge.
With his own desire to remain revered, Celedan Docci taught Wake the prayer that hastened Danar Rrivae to Vallendor. Danar hadn’t previously read any of theLibrum Esotericasonanyrealm he’d stolen, but this time, he read Wake’s. That’s when he learned the secrets of breeding animals and—with the Keeper of Knowledge fueled by his own twisted ego—learned the secrets of mating with mortals to create…
I glance over at Jadon.
Syrus Wake then turned to Danar Rrivae for wisdom and power instead of Celedan Docci and theLibrum Esoterica, and both god and book were tucked away in a dusty library down in Castle Wake.
The answers to the realm still exist in this ever-growing book. Elyn’s Onama forebears ensured that Onama learnings were automatically added to pages of already-acquired knowledge within theLibrum Esotericas. From how to properly summon a dragon on Realm Sadaadea and coralopes on the realm Exalter to how to restore worlds like Vallendor.
Now, Jadon shakes his head. “I’ve read this book all my life, and then I read it again after Olivia took it. I don’t remember seeing formulas for otherworldly or lists of special words. I remember bedtime stories and fairy tales, including an awful one about this hairy giant who we all thought…”
Was Kai.Yeah. The tale of Inocri and the two asshole kids that harassed her and forced her into servitude if she wanted to live.
“That’s what Celedanwantedyou to read,” Agon says. “Remember: he is a Keeper of Knowledge, after all.”
“And now,” Elyn says, “this keeper of knowledge must pay for his treason.”
Celedan Docci still struggles within the clamped stone, and the heat of his hate still rolls over me. “Yui heya fadseirran na, Lenirr.”You have betrayed me, Lady.
I take a step back and say, “No—youbetrayedme, Keeper.”
Agon tightens the clamps again, then says, “Adjudicator?”
Standing beside Agon, Elyn glares down at the tiny god and lifts her chin. “I am Elyn Fynal. As Grand Adjudicator of Vallendor and the Nine Realms, Sentinel and Divine Mediator, with the approval of the Council of High Orders and the blessing of Agon Laserie the Kindness and Grand Wisdom of Vallendor, I sentence you, Celedan Docci, Keeper of Knowledge, to death.”
Celedan Docci shrieks. “Yuis rewr esa naelai lrrarr. Yui err wairr naia.”Your laws are meaningless. You all will die.
Agon grabs a mallet with a head made of linionium. Without ceremony, he brings the mallet down upon the jeweled home of Celedan Docci.
A fracture corkscrews across the gem’s body.
Agon brings the mallet down.
Celedan Docci cries out again as the jewel cracks into jagged halves.
Agon strikes a third time.
The gem—and the Keeper of Knowledge within it—shatter into powder.
We hold our breaths, our eyes locked on the glittering surface of the worktable, waiting for something—anything—to happen. The silence stretches on…
But nothing happens on that worktable surface.
Finally, Agon whispers, “Iasca’o.”It is done.
