The Ambassador's Mission: Book One of th - By Trudi Canavan Page 0,78

it was drastic enough to level the city. Many records from that time were destroyed.” He paused, hoping the king wouldn’t ask why. The event he referred to was the story of Tagin, the Mad Apprentice, which was the story of why the Guild had banned black magic. He could not help feeling reluctant to remind the Sachakan king that most Guild magicians did not learn black magic.

“If this event was great enough to ruin a city it would have destroyed any records within the city as well.”

Dannyl nodded. “But the Guild wasn’t destroyed. I’ve found many references to the library it contained. By all accounts, it was well stocked.”

“Perhaps those books had been moved.”

Dannyl frowned. I guess it’s possible Tagin had the contents of the Guild library brought to the palace. He was only an apprentice, so there must have been gaps in his learning that he was eager to fill. I’d assumed the books were all destroyed deliberately. But if they were destroyed when Tagin died then most of the work had been done already.

“I am surprised Kyralian history is so muddled. But we have gaps in our history as well. Come in here.” The king ushered Dannyl and Achati into a small, round room. The walls and floor were polished stone, as was the ceiling. There was only one entrance. In the centre stood a column about waist high.

“Something important once lay here,” the king said, running a palm over the flat top of the column. “We don’t know what it was, but we do know two things: it was a thing of power, either political or magical, and the Guild stole it.”

Dannyl looked at the king, then back at the column. The storestone that Lorkin found references to? The king’s expression was serious and he watched Dannyl closely.

“I’ve encountered a reference to an artefact taken from this palace,” Dannyl told him. “But I’d not heard about it before coming to Sachaka. That reference also stated that the object had been stolen from the Guild magicians here.”

The king shrugged. “Well, that is what palace folklore says. Our records say nothing more than that something called a “storestone” was stolen by a Guild magician.” He drummed on the column top with both hands. “Not long after it was taken, the wastes appeared. Some believe that the removal of the talisman lifted some sort of magical protection over the land that had kept it fertile and productive.”

“Now that’s a new and interesting idea,” Dannyl said. Lorkin will be intrigued to hear this. “I have been told that attempts have been made to return the wastes to their former state, but they were unsuccessful.”

The king’s eyebrows rose. “Oh, yes. Plenty have tried; all have failed. Even if we knew how to replace the protection that was removed, I suspect it is too big a task for a few magicians. It would take thousands.” He smiled wryly. “And Sachaka no longer has thousands of magicians to call upon. Even if we had, trying to unite magicians is like trying to prevent the sun rising or the tide’s ebb.”

Dannyl nodded. “But there was only one talisman, wasn’t there? Sometimes all it takes is one man and a little knowledge to do great things.”

The king smiled crookedly. “Yes. And sometimes it only takes one man and a little knowledge to do a great deal of harm.” He stepped away from the column and gestured toward the door. “You don’t seem that kind of man, Ambassador Dannyl.”

“I’m glad you feel that way,” Dannyl replied.

The king chuckled. “As am I. Come. It’s time I showed you the library.”

From her seat high at the front of the Guildhall, Sonea watched the room filling up with magicians. A few patches of purple, red and green had formed, which was a recent phenomenon. Magicians from the Houses tended to sit with family members and allies rather than those of their own discipline, and that led to a mix of robe colours. But magicians from outside the Houses tended to form friendships with those of the same discipline, and the collective effect was a patch of the same robe colour in the audience.

As the last stragglers took their seats, she drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. How will they vote today? Will they act out of fear that “lowies” may rebel against the Guild if rules are too restrictive? Will they act out of fear of criminal groups gaining too much influence on magicians and