The Magic of Recluce - L. E. Modesitt [31]
“I haven’t seen that happen. I haven’t seen any threat of that nature, but I have seen people who were not bad people exiled or punished.”
Cassius smiled sadly, glancing from Krystal, who refused to look up, to Wrynn, who glared at him, and back to me. In the corner, Myrten licked his lips.
“Is living in Recluce a right or a privilege?” Cassius’s question hung in the air like a spell.
“You’re saying it’s a privilege, that we have to meet certain conditions,” I snapped. “That’s fine, except no one ever explains the reasons behind the conditions. Just mind the rules; maintain order and banish chaos; and don’t ask questions that we don’t want to answer.”
“I take it that you don’t find the explanations satisfactory.”
“You’re right. I don’t, and I don’t think most of the people in this room do, either.”
“So…the emperor has no clothes.” Cassius’s voice was lower and softer.
No clothes? What emperor? What clothes?
“This…philosophy…is all very inspiring. But how does this prepare us for dangergeld?” Tamra’s voice was cutting, and she had stood up.
“Sit down, and I’ll tell you. None of you are likely to believe me. But I’ll tell you.”
I shrugged. So did Wrynn. Tamra glared, but she sat back down.
Cassius waited until the murmurs died away.
“It’s really quite simple. Against perfect order, it is almost impossible for chaos-magic to prevail. Recluce is based on maintaining that order. Some people are order-sources; some people are chaos-generators; and some people can be either.
“Most people selected for dangergeld are either uncontrolled order-sources, or could generate either order or chaos without knowing it. The first step in dangergeld is to recognize that all of you have the ability to either allow chaos a foothold in Recluce or to help keep it from Recluce. You have to choose which, and the Brotherhood is not about to let you make that decision unless you’re being watched and checked or unless you’re outside Recluce.
“Since Recluce is not a police state, the best option is to let you see the rest of the world, or some of it, while you learn and decide.”
Police state? That was an odd way of putting it. Only Hamor had police. For a moment, the room was still.
“So…you just throw us out for Hamor or Candar to murder, and everything stays fine with the sheep who remain?” Wrynn’s voice was tight.
“Hardly. The current Emperor of Hamor is the grandson of a dangergelder who preferred the Southern Reaches and who was quite successful in taking over the Province of Merowey. The head assassin for one major power came from Sigil, not all that far from here.” Cassius shook his head. “Believe me, the rest of the world will reward many talents. You’re in the greatest danger if you believe in order and reject the Brotherhood.” His eyes flashed toward me. “That’s because you become a walking order-source in the realms of chaos and a threat to the chaos-masters.”
“You’re saying that because we have talent we have to leave Recluce until we master that talent?” asked Sammel.
“Not until you master it. That could take years. Until you decide within yourself your own course of action.”
I almost bit my tongue. It was even worse than I thought. If I didn’t accept the Brotherhood’s stiff-necked order and rules, then I’d be thrown to the wolves, and, somehow, I didn’t exactly see myself as a chaos-master. Why couldn’t an ethical person use both order and chaos? Life consists of both.
“What about…”
The questions went on, but I didn’t pay much attention. Everyone was just asking the same things with different words. So I was an uncontrolled order-source? Or worse. And no one still was describing what that meant, except that it was dangerous to Recluce.
My stomach growled, but no one heard as they argued with Cassius.
Krystal and I sat there in a quiet island. She looked at the floor, and I looked at everything and saw nothing.
X
THE SUN HUNG like a golden platter over the black stone wall that separated the Brotherhood’s enclave from the seaport—that wall that seemed so low from the Brotherhood side, and