The ork shook his head emphatically.
"She told me to come to the mountain, to the wayshrine of Ysandre, that's what I'll do. Perhaps she'll be there, or someone will meet me? But I won't go to Zaichaer." Karmordi gave Finn a sidelong look, as though measuring whether to say more, then sighed. If he was planning to hide anything from his friend, he probably should have started weeks ago. "It's the war, you see. It never ended, so we remain sworn to Skar. Zaichaer, it is full of Gelerians, and I am oath-bound to do them harm if I may. Innogen would not appreciate it, I think, if I slew the dogs of Gel'Grandal and drew the alarum of the city's rulers."
It would be even worse if they caught him, after. Then Innogen herself would be bound by the oaths to rescue him, whatever the cost. No, the berserker might be a reckless fellow, but he wasn't stupid. He could see, very well, how badly that could all end for him.
Karmordi wondered, vaguely, how the Great Witch even managed to maintain a residence in Zaichaer. After all, she bore the citizen-markings, she had taken the oaths, so she must be bound by the Tenants of Skar in this matter, too. Obviously she was not out in the streets, murdering; somehow, she must have found a way to wage quiet war. That was not unheard of, but the logic supporting it was a bit more than Karmordi could maintain.
"I heard that Arcas was reborn. How strange that you have met him, and you are now a prince in the land of His ancient enemies..." the ork shrugged, the politics of divinity no more comprehensible to him than ordinary politics, "His return was.... a disappointment, to the Dawnmartyrs. There aren't many left, but they thought he would come and gather them, reforge the Order on Ailos and rebuild the Temple which the Imperium cast down. Well, I think they should just rededicate themselves to Raxen, of course, but they know themselves best."
"I went to Ailos once, as a child. After the invasion. Most of the isle was abandoned because the Imperium filled it with poison and death- the elders there have worked tirelessly for decades to try to clear the taint of them from the land. But during the Eclipse, you could see Dawn Peak from Drathera, when they invoked Ysadrin's protection. Not a single one of the shadow beasts has ever set foot on that sacred soil."
"She told me to come to the mountain, to the wayshrine of Ysandre, that's what I'll do. Perhaps she'll be there, or someone will meet me? But I won't go to Zaichaer." Karmordi gave Finn a sidelong look, as though measuring whether to say more, then sighed. If he was planning to hide anything from his friend, he probably should have started weeks ago. "It's the war, you see. It never ended, so we remain sworn to Skar. Zaichaer, it is full of Gelerians, and I am oath-bound to do them harm if I may. Innogen would not appreciate it, I think, if I slew the dogs of Gel'Grandal and drew the alarum of the city's rulers."
It would be even worse if they caught him, after. Then Innogen herself would be bound by the oaths to rescue him, whatever the cost. No, the berserker might be a reckless fellow, but he wasn't stupid. He could see, very well, how badly that could all end for him.
Karmordi wondered, vaguely, how the Great Witch even managed to maintain a residence in Zaichaer. After all, she bore the citizen-markings, she had taken the oaths, so she must be bound by the Tenants of Skar in this matter, too. Obviously she was not out in the streets, murdering; somehow, she must have found a way to wage quiet war. That was not unheard of, but the logic supporting it was a bit more than Karmordi could maintain.
"I heard that Arcas was reborn. How strange that you have met him, and you are now a prince in the land of His ancient enemies..." the ork shrugged, the politics of divinity no more comprehensible to him than ordinary politics, "His return was.... a disappointment, to the Dawnmartyrs. There aren't many left, but they thought he would come and gather them, reforge the Order on Ailos and rebuild the Temple which the Imperium cast down. Well, I think they should just rededicate themselves to Raxen, of course, but they know themselves best."
"I went to Ailos once, as a child. After the invasion. Most of the isle was abandoned because the Imperium filled it with poison and death- the elders there have worked tirelessly for decades to try to clear the taint of them from the land. But during the Eclipse, you could see Dawn Peak from Drathera, when they invoked Ysadrin's protection. Not a single one of the shadow beasts has ever set foot on that sacred soil."
