Chapter Text
Valoren Greye could see last week as clearly as he could see the ambassador standing in front of him, but acting as if it were last week was beyond him. Seven days ago, he'd been a different man. And more to the point, an entirely different wizard.
He'd been the King's man, the King's wizard. And now --
"And so, on behalf of the signatories of the Treaty of Magics, I am lodging this formal protest against the country of Numis, for introducing a new war-like magic without the consent of the governing body." There was a confused murmur. "I am speaking of the ones you claim are 'visitors from Skrygard'," the ambassador said impatiently.
Valoren was different today, but he was not entirely a fool. The Treaty of Magics, as it was grandly called, had not been in force since the days of the Eastern Empire, and although neither Numis nor its neighbor Aylantur had been part of the Eastern Empire, they'd been within the sphere, as the empire called it.
After the fall of the Eastern Empire, the council had handled a few issues of tariffs for about twenty years, before dissolving for the last time. So this protest was --
A threat, the part of him that could see last week shouted.
An interesting departure from normal diplomacy, the man he was today suggested. Would it be possible to revive the council? Could that be an opportunity for Numis? Perhaps --
"So you're calling intelligent magical beings war-like magic?" Princess Sulys said ironically. She was standing to the side, part of the witnessing entourage, and she had spoken to carry. Nevertheless, the ambassador kept staring forward as if the Princess had not spoken.
Valoren could see the familiar irritation on Princess Sulys's face. "The Princess makes an excellent point," he said. "It has been so long since the Treaty of Magics was applied, but I do recall that the final time it was applied, it was used to confiscate a magical sword. An object, in short. We must send to the archives to examine the Treaty in detail, to see if it applies to the current situation."
Princess Sulys looked like she wanted to say more, probably to tell him that she'd meant something entirely different -- but no, her attention was still on the ambassador. Valoren wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed.
"Aylantur has sent instructions to all of our ambassadors in neighboring countries alerting them to this situation," the ambassador said. "We consider it a threat to the security of our country, and if we do not receive satisfaction under the treaty, we will take action."
"We will send to the archives," Valoren said firmly. "And perhaps, in the meantime, you would like to be introduced to the magical beings in question?"
There, that seemed to have thrown him off balance. "Introduced?"
Maybe this could be settled peacefully, through diplomacy. Maybe if the ambassador saw the visitors, he would begin to see them as Od saw them, as Valoren was beginning to see them.
In the back of his head, last week was laughing at him.
"Introduced," he said. "Our visitors are somewhat shy, but not completely sequestered. It could be easily arranged. I think you might find them ... enlightening."
If the visitors threw the ambassador into a state of confusion to equal the state Valoren was in, so much the better. But even if they just distracted him for a day or two, that would be useful. Time to consult with the king and council, with experts in law, with anyone else who presented themselves.
Time to decide whether they should protect Od's visitors, or send them away again and risk the great wizard's anger, should she hear of it. Time to...
"This changes nothing," the ambassador protested, but the mood of the court had changed around him.
"Come and see the marvel," one young courtier shouted. "Come and be amazed!"
"I hardly think..."
Princess Sulys had joined the party forming around the ambassador. Good. She was part of Valoren's confusion, so perhaps her presence would help resolve it. Now he just had to figure out what to say to her. He'd been delaying for a week, and still nothing had come clear.
He stepped toward her, and she stepped away, seemingly by accident. She whispered something in her aunt's ear, and the older woman nodded and started gathering together the youngest men and women of the court. "We will go ahead and tease them out for you," Princess Sulys told the ambassador with a smile. "Sometimes they're hard to find, but they like dancing..."
Valoren thought that the new practice of going down to the grove behind the menagerie and dancing had more to do with youthful desire than any real preference of the visitors, but Sulys seemed sincere, surrounded by half the younger courtiers in high excitement...
He would never get a word with her under these conditions. It was almost as if, after everything, she was avoiding him now.
But it was hardly his duty to escort the ambassador to a dance party. Now that the official complaint had been addressed, Valoren needed to consult with the king, and perhaps with some of the other wizards.
He stepped back, gesturing for another councilor to take his place. "Just keep him occupied, I will speak with the king," Valoren instructed. "I must ... We must ... This is unprecedented."
"She'll have him believing they're as frivolous as any dancing lady," the woman said, low voiced and smiling conspiratorially. Valoren smiled back automatically.
Was that Sulys's intention?
Was that wise? Even if she could fool the ambassador for a time, she couldn't change the visitors, nor the danger they may or may not pose to Numis, or to Aylantur, or to the rest of the world.
And those of Aylantur didn't need to propitiate the founder of the school of wizardry. Numis needed Od's school. That was why Valoren had agreed to try to understand and welcome the visitors, and he was making progress, of a sort, but...
As he stepped away, he caught Sulys's eye. He knew better than to take that as an invitation into her thoughts. She was a mystery to him, like the visitors, better taken slowly. Their engagement had not been canceled, but preparation had come to a halt since the day Od appeared and everything changed.
The certainties of last week ... he needed to be careful of them. They were so clear and so wrong. He bowed his head, very conscious of the fact that Sulys was still looking at him, far more clear-eyed than he was today. He hurried off to find the king.