The Corruption Imperial

“What do you think of him, Sari? Is he telling the truth?”

“It’s not such a simple question, Chief,” Sari said, watching as Brossius paced around the dome, practically shaking with nerves. He’d been fairly calm until Trick left but the outsider had clearly riled him somehow. “He’s different, that’s certain. But he claims he doesn’t understand the ways of the seventh sphere. So why can he speak our language? He seemed fluent in both Casparian and Enochian. More fluent in the latter than I am, to tell you the truth. He also didn’t seem surprised when I switched from one to the other.”

“They say all the spheres speak Enochian so perhaps that’s unsurprising,” Brossius said, running a hand along the slowly shifting plates of the armillary dome. Something he usually lectured visitors about not doing. “Still, it is odd that he speaks Casparian. It’s not that common even on the seventh sphere.”

Sari flicked her fingers absently, trying to distance herself from the creeping feeling she got whenever one of the town elders talked about subjects like this. She knew Harbek was a tiny part of their sphere. The seventh was, in turn, just a fraction of the vast expanse that made up the eighth sphere. The further up you went, the bigger the world became.

That didn’t mean she had to like it.

There was so much she didn’t know about the world, chief Brossius rubbing her nose in it didn’t make things any better. “That could be one of the questions you ask him.”

“I think I would like you to ask him about it, Sari. You are the best qualified in Harbek to pry an answer out of him, after all, being the most illuminated here and a woman of great stature.”

She grimaced. “I’ve told you before, those are two things that work against each other.”

Brossius slapped the brass plate with a sudden bang. “No, Sari, that isn’t something that matters. No man cares if he can’t see your face so long as your stature is correct! Besides, his hair is quite light as well, isn’t it? And he dims himself with the rest of his attire, as anyone would, so you have that in common.”

“Respectfully…” Sari took a deep, soft breath, doing her best not to disturb her veil and thus give away how much the chief’s words hurt her. Brossius was a wise man but he’d never been wise enough to learn kindness. She flicked her left thumb along the bracelet around her right wrist in a soothing ritual she’d learned long ago. “Respectfully, chief, I’m not sure we do.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think…” She shook her head, realizing that wasn’t the right thing to say. “He made a comment I didn’t fully understand about the Star Imperial.”

For the first time since Trick had left the dome Brossius’ full attention was focused within it. He pushed away from the side of the structure and stalked towards Sari, an increasingly suspicious expression on his face. “What do you mean? The Star Imperial is never seen from the seventh sphere. The records only speak of it as a rumor on the lips of those who have passed through the Steel Perilous.”

Sari stood her ground although the chief’s conflicted expression caused her no end of turmoil. “But he said those exact words. I cannot tell you why he chose them, just that he did choose them. And he admits he came to us from the Steel as well.”

“True.” Brossius stepped away, his face turning contemplative. “It’s true, but he may not have meant what we do when he spoke of the Star. He certainly never heard of the Child, and that is who made the Star, the Steel and the Spheres.”

She hadn’t thought of that. “Perhaps he will take us to the place he arrived at and we can investigate it for ourselves. Shall I ask him about that as well?”

“No, I think that is something I can safely question him about. Or perhaps the warden. We’ll discuss it when we next gather.” The chief began pushing small bits of metal around on his work table. “Tell me, brightest, have you noticed anything else about our guest?”

“There’s one other thing we should keep in mind, and it might be connected to the Star as well.”

Brossius paused, a gear in one hand, and raised an eyebrow. “What is that?”

“The sword he carries. It can cut things without the edge touching them or any visible lumi at work and, from what little I’ve seen of it, the entire blade is crystal. It’s like a reservoir for lumi, except it’s transparent.”

“Action at a distance,” Brossius whispered, setting the gear down again. “An invisible power. The hallmarks of Imperial lumi.”

“That was my first thought as well,” Sari agreed. “But the master of formulas told me Imperial lumi is impossible to contain or formulate. There shouldn’t be crystals that can hold it.”

“That is true here, on the seventh sphere,” the chief replied. “It may not be on the tenth.”

“Then I will ask him about that matter-”

“No.” Brossius swept the loose parts on his table into a small tray and carried them over to a cabinet full of narrow storage drawers and began sorting them into the appropriate spots. “You may be the brightest in Harbek, Sari, but that is something even you should leave alone. If someone has harnessed the power of the Star Imperial and brought it here then it is not something we should concern ourselves with. There is no way for us to get more Imperial lumi. Once Trick has exhausted what he has in his reservoir that will be the end of it.”

“Perhaps the master-”

The chief set his tray down with a definitive thud. “Do you know why those that dwell in the eighth sphere come here in such mindless ferocity, Sari?”

Startled, she replied by rote. “The seventh sphere was built as a barrier between them and the Child Eternal, so they hate it?”

“Between them and the Child, whose plaything is the Star.” Brossius gave her a piercing look. “You’ve seen the starsight. The bottomless shadows. The whispers of Apollyon. They are creatures distorted by their endless desire for the illumination of the Star Imperial. What effects do you think such lumi would have on us? Do you think we would fare any better than the denizens of the ninth sphere?”

Images of the terrors he named flitted through Sari’s mind and she shuddered. The elder had a point, as those of his station often did. “No, chief. I suppose we wouldn’t.”

“Then let it be. Perhaps those of the tenth sphere mastered the power of the Star but without the fullness of their ways to judge by we cannot say whether we could survive the same.” Brossius sighed. “Go home for now. Rest. When the watch changes, go and bring Trick here. I’ll meet with him and perhaps the warden and recorder will be there as well. You will be his minder for a time. If you see signs that he is untrustworthy for any reason, but especially because the power of the Star Imperial is warping him, you will tell me immediately. Understand?”

“Yes, chief. I will see you next watch.”

“Very well.”

Sari left the dome in a fast walk, letting relief soak into her. She was always delighted to get away from the town elders but the chief armillamancer was among those she hated most. Unfortunately her relief was short-lived. Once she no longer had Brossius’ scrutiny bearing down on her she had the opportunity to think. Her first thought was a question.

If Imperial lumi had driven the ninth sphere mad, what would happen to the Child Eternal who had played with the source of that lumi since the time it created the spheres?

Would that eventually drive it mad? Mad enough to send people careening back and forth between the spheres?

If so, what would that experience do to the people who crossed the spheres? Nevermind trustworthy, were they even any more sane than the starsight? Unfortunately there was only one way to find out.

She wasn’t looking forward to her next meeting with Patrick Gallagher.