"I do hope Lord Sasan is all right," said Polnaz, standing on deck with an expression of concern as Sunzar and a couple of other men loaded another one of the spiritbane bolts into the launching mechanism on Valri's ship. "Do you think he needs us to go inside?" Polnaz threw the question at Sunzar who promptly just shrugged.
"He will be," replied Kairm. "Besides, we'd be fighting Sasan mages. We wouldn't be much help. Mapping the estate and coordinating with the prince sounds like a sounder plan."
"Setzya's been dreading this day for a while now…"
Prince Valri joined the conversation.
"Imperial Highness!"
He was dressed magnificently with a regal feathered tricorne, a bronze and gold brigandine, and his wood-green mantle.
The three men bowed along with everyone in sight of the deck. The Prince graciously bade them to stop.
"Indeed he has, my prince," said Polnaz. "What does he say to you?"
"He caught wind of Ul-Sasan's investigations into the death of the seeress," replied the prince. "He heard he was sending agents to ask around in the Capital. And if his grandfather has figured it out, he'll time his plan to strike around a full-moon. Which, coincidentally, also lines with Nuriya's birthday. Setzya worried that they'd use celebrating her day as the pretext to corner her."
"What's so special about the moon?" asked Kairm. "I mean if His Highness can forgive our ignorance."
"Nah nah–it's fine. There's actually two answers to that: one is that divination and the powers of seers are actually heightened and tied to the existence of the Everlasting Moon, which as you know–is always there. Would you like me to go on?"
"!!!!"
One of the spiritbane bolts was fired into Sasan Manor to a thunderous whistle.
"Of course, Your Highness," said Kairm.
"Ah, very well," Valri smiled and continued. "That first moon? Which hangs in the sky unchanged and ever-present is thought to "see" everything come day or night. Think of it as an eye that's always open. However, if a divination is performed during a full-moon? It's said to be akin to the Heavens having two eyes open. Are you guys following me here?"
Everyone nodded, and the prince continued:
"Gramps, I mean …The Old Master, Ul-Sasan, isn't a seer by training, so he'll need it if he's to perform a similar task. The second? Well, it's an old mage superstition. A simple tradition, of sorts. Any great deed–of foul or noble nature–that a mage performs is best done under a full moon. Magic, after all, has been long seen as an occult art. And they've traditionally come to request the aid of rather dark gods and spirits."
"You sound so knowledgeable, Your Highness!" said Polnaz. "As expected of having a mage for a prince!"
Valri laughed. "Too kind, gentlemen. Too kind. But, no, I am one, but I'm not much of one. Not compared to Niya or any of the Sasan members, at least."
"It's still incredible," said Kairm as Sunzar nodded.
Valri grinned and crossed his arms.
"Have you known Lord Sasan long, Highness?" asked Polnaz.
"Since we were children," replied the prince. "Setzya was like the older brother I never had."
"He must think of Your Highness greatly too," said Kairm. "To tell you about his hidden abilities."
"...."
Valri fell silent.
"Highness? Is something wrong?"
"No….Just that….I was there to see when he first started manifesting his abilities. He complained about nightmares, headaches, and weird dreams and sensations, and of people he's never met speaking as if they knew him…For a while, I even thought he was going crazy–he definitely thought he was. But he did his best to hide it from everyone for a good long time. Then, around fifteen years old? He said he's settled them down. And that he can explain what they are now. He also began practicing magic in secret. Using magic through a system which has a power source I can't identify whose toll on the mind and body I can't explain."
"Still, so our lord wasn't ungifted, huh?"
"No…Setzya is, indeed, ungifted."
Everyone wore a puzzled look. "But, he's doing magic, right? What else could you call that?" said Kairm as he scratched his chin.
"At least according to our understanding of it. What he's doing isn't spirit control or command. Like I said, his magic is of a completely alien nature to the ones we can recognize: we can recognize spirit control, or divine, or demonic magic. But Setzya? Invokes no higher powers or aid, has no need to maintain a host of spirits, and I have no idea how it works."
"Really? So Lord Sasan hasn't told you at all in the years you've known hi–"
"It's possible he didn't even know himself until one of his memories explained it to him. Honestly, aside from his harqa status? There's still a lot of stuff he could probably tell us."
"Still…" asked Polnaz who looked at the bolt launcher being loaded and fired into the Sasan Manor again. "Isn't this bad, Your Highness? Wouldn't you get in trouble for this?"
"Oh definitely," smiled Valri. "But Niya's life was at stake. Setzya was insistent."
The Prince's eyes gleamed with determination and resolve.
"And I do love my fiancee…For her sake? This is nothing."
"...So you're aware of the supposed error in Lady Nuriya's birthstars?"
"Yes…Since four years ago. Though I don't know what the specifics of the vision were. Just that it wasn't what we knew it was…and that Nuriya could be seriously killed for it–especially if it was made public. Then he confessed about what happened to Mitraz Panza. And I agreed to share the burden around the time I agreed to marry her."
"What about Master Zaratzam?" asked Kairm. "Did Our Lord tell him too?"
"He did."
"We never noticed..." Polnaz remarked.
"Tziram Panza is great at keeping secrets."
So a lot of people were already in the know…" said Polraz.
"Just people Setzya knew he could trust," said Valri. "Like you three. Let me guess…You guys don't have warm feelings for the way the Ursan Empire is set up, do you?"
"Y-Your Highn–"
"It's all right. Be honest. I won't get mad."
All three nodded in the affirmative.
Valri then continued: "And I'm sure our Setzya went through great lengths to be able to get you under his employ?"
There was a brief pause.
A moment of recollection.
All three of Isetzar's men firmly nodded.
Valri chuckled.
"Apparently, once upon a time?" said the prince with a kind expression. "We all knew each other."