At the Gates of Darkness. Raymond E. Feist

describing his existence on the fringes of Satumbria society, his mother’s role as witch and her being tolerated by the villagers because of her skill with potions and unguents. ‘She was also very beautiful, and as a result, she bore three children by three fathers, none of whom would claim us.’

      He went on to compare his brothers, explaining how the eldest, Sidi, had murdered their mother for pleasure. He painted the next eldest, Belasco, as a man obsessed with surpassing his brothers in any endeavour, spurred into rage by the mere thought of being bested, and as someone who had, for reasons Amirantha only vaguely understood, been trying to kill his younger brother for the last fifty years.

      ‘I can’t even begin to guess which slight, real or imagined, set Belasco on his quest for my death, but it hardly matters.’ He paused to sip some wine to ease his dry throat.

      ‘You possess a most interesting family, certainly,’ the High Priest observed. ‘But I’m failing to see how any of it is connected to Jim’s report.’

      ‘I’m getting there, Holy Father,’ said Amirantha. ‘I recount my history so that you’ll understand fully what it is that I believe to be behind that murderous exercise in Jal-Pur.’ He paused, gathering his thoughts. ‘My eldest brother Sidi, whom you may also know by the name Leso Varen, was mad even as a child, and only got more insane as he grew. By the time he killed our mother he had become a remorseless monster with no sense of humanity. His obsession was death magic.’

      The old priest nodded. ‘I recognize the name Leso Varen; he was a necromancer of prodigious art and from all reports, a font of evil.’

      ‘Whatever you have read would not have done the man justice,’ said Amirantha as Pug nodded his agreement. ‘If there ever existed a shred of humanity in his being, it was extinguished long before he became a player in this monstrous game we find ourselves in.

      ‘But Belasco was different; he was consumed by envy and rage, jealous of any feat completed or skill attained by my brother or I. But unlike either of us, he had real talents, although he often neglected them in order to best our achievements. I can well imagine him dabbling in necromancy or demon lore, but the murderous scene that Jim described is…It’s not something he would normally be party to. Nor is playing servant to a demon, no matter how powerful it is.’

      ‘Why?’ asked Pug.

      Sipping his wine again, Amirantha said, ‘Because Belasco would choose death before he would willingly serve anyone or anything.’

      ‘There’s more,’ said the High Priest, and it wasn’t a question.

      ‘Belasco would also refrain from using this sort of death magic. Here’s the conundrum: death magic is not used by those who consort with demons.’

      Pug suddenly became very interested, and looked as if he wished to say something or ask a question, but instead he said, ‘Go on.’

      ‘Holy Father,’ asked Amirantha, ‘what use has death magic?’

      Pug realized Amirantha had asked the question in order to clarify a point he was about to make.

      ‘It’s an abomination,’ said the prelate. ‘Death magic and necromancy are misnomers, for the foulest form of life magic. At the moment of death, when life leaves the empty shell of our bodies, an energy is released. That energy, called theanima by some, and soul by others, is the fundamental core of being. Our bodies are transitory and will fail eventually, but the life force is eternal.’ He held up a finger for emphasis, ‘Unless…something prevents that energy from translating to Our Mistress’s hall.’

      Amirantha appeared impatient. ‘I’m sorry to interrupt, Holy Father, but the heart of my question is what can be done with that energy if it’s trapped, bound, or intercepted somehow?’

      The High Priest was silent for a moment, then he said, ‘An excellent question, but one beyond my knowledge.

      ‘What little information we have on necromancy had been gathered during our extensive efforts to stamp it out; preventing a soul from returning for judgment is an abomination against our Mistress.’ He turned in his chair and shouted, ‘Gregori!’

      A moment later his servant appeared, and he said, ‘Ask Sister Makela to join us, please.’

      Gregori bowed and left, and the High Priest said, ‘Makela is our Archive Keeper. If she doesn’t know something, she always knows where to find out about it.’

      ‘I have already searched the archives of the Ishapian abbey at That Which Was Sarth.’ Amirantha insisted.

      The old prelate smiled and shook his head. ‘The Ishapians are a noble order, and we venerate them, but despite their authority and knowledge, they tend to vanity from time to time. Their library is prodigious, but hardly exhaustive. Not every tome finds its way into their library.’

      ‘But they have into yours?’ observed Jim.

      Smiling even more broadly, the High Priest said, ‘We all exercise our prerogatives. Our discoveries remain ours unless we choose to share them.’ Then his mood turned sombre. ‘And much of the knowledge we choose not to share surrounds the area of which we now discuss; some matters are best kept secret or at least closely guarded by those who understand it best.’ He turned to Amirantha. ‘While we wait, why don’t you continue with the other points you wished to make?’

      ‘You’re perceptive, Holy Father. Discounting my ignorance of the nature and purpose of death magic, or as you called it, the stealing of life force, I have never found any connection with it and the demon realm in my studies.’

      Pug said, ‘There is something about my past that should be mentioned now.’ He looked at the three other men and said, ‘When the Emerald Queen’s host sailed across the ocean from Novindus to invade the Kingdom of the Isles and sack Krondor many years ago, their regent had been replaced. A demon named Jakan was wearing their queen’s guise.’

      Amirantha tilted his head slightly, pondering Pug’s words.

      ‘What remains unknown to all but the few of us who were there, is—’ He hesitated for a moment as he realized that his late wife, Miranda, had been among those present during the events he was about to describe, and he felt a pang. ‘I was about to say, it was not simply about conquest, but rather a massive assault designed to reach the city of Sethanon.’

      Jim’s brow furrowed. ‘Why? Sethanon had been abandoned since the end of the Great Uprising. There was nothing there.’

      Pug said, ‘Even your Kingdom annals were not privy to what took place at that time, below the old city, after the Battle of Nightmare Ridge.

      ‘During the Chaos Wars, the Dragon Lords fashioned a mighty artifact, called the Lifestone. I never had the opportunity to study it properly, it was deemed too dangerous, so we left it—’ He considered the wisdom of revealing the exact whereabouts of the Oracle of Aal, and decided to not burden his companions with the information, ‘—hidden, in a deep cavern below the city.’ He looked at the High Father and said, ‘But, I believe the Lifestone was constructed from captured life force, as you have described.’

      The High Priest snorted. ‘Ishapians! I knew they were keeping something from us. Long have we been curious about what happened at Sethanon, at the end of the Great Uprising, and why King Lyam never attempted to rebuild that city. The official reason only stated that it was no longer an important trade route stop, and rumour said it was cursed.’ He shook his head and sighed.

      ‘The Ishapians knew only what we told them,’ confessed Pug. ‘And we only knew the Lifestone to be a vessel of great power, one that the demon Jakan was determined to reach.’

      ‘But why?’ asked Amirantha. ‘What use would a demon have for such an artifact, no matter how powerful it is?’

      ‘If we could deduce that,’ said High Priest Marluke, ‘then we might understand why your mad brother is so interested in slaughter and death magic, and what that has to do with this demon he seems to serve.’

      Amirantha