Magnify by Stefanie Lozinski

Author:Stefanie Lozinski [Stefanie Lozinski]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stefanie Lozinski
Published: 2022-08-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

After what seemed like a long while, the great door to the meeting hall slammed closed a final time. The Septemvirate Elders would go to their lounge where they could discuss him in private and find new ways to pick apart what he had to say. It would be doubly difficult to get them to listen when the meeting continued.

Wes waited, listening as the echoes faded into silence before speaking.

“You made me look like a fool, Dorold,” he said, forcing himself to keep his tone calm.

Dorold’s voice betrayed no hint of his usual gentle demeanor.

“What you are saying is not merely foolish. It is madness.”

“I—”

“Wes Cervos, I have cared for you like a son all these years,” Dorold snapped. “You will not speak over me as though you are my equal.”

Wes let his hands rest behind his back, pressing his fingertips into his palms until they burned.

“Our Kingdom is suffering, son.”

“That’s precisely what I’m trying to explain. I’m trying to tell you all why it’s happening.”

“The destruction is beyond even what you see,” Dorold said, more calmly. “All across this Kingdom, there are reports of strange maladies. Water that has been lifegiving for hundreds of years that is suddenly unfit for drink, as though it has been cursed.”

Wes thought back to the river that ran through the Dread Ruins as Dorold continued.

“Your mother lamented that families in Silverfell were becoming smaller,” Dorold said. Wes nodded. She had always hoped for more children herself, but she had never been able to become pregnant after Wes was born. “Since her death, the rates of birth have completely collapsed. We are not even replacing our population.

“And the problems do not end at our borders! We know that Galeharbor’s crops have been nearly decimated by strange flying insects that have begun to arrive every summer. Both of our Kingdoms now rely heavily on grain imports from Aridmoor. King Radagar Ursa was fair. We now must hope that his son is as magnanimous, or we will risk famine.”

Dorold finally paused for breath. The anger seemed to have left him entirely, his head hanging on his neck like a sail bereft of wind as he reached out to clasp Wes’ shoulder.

“If we lose the protection of the Dracodei, we will have nothing left to ensure our survival. You must understand. Things are already growing dire. We cannot risk making things worse. To even speak these blasphemies imperils the entire Kingdom.”

“But what if it is these offerings to the Dracodei that are bringing down evil upon us?”

“What are you suggesting?” Dorold asked.

Somewhere across the palace, the tower bells chimed the noon hour, their tolling muffled by layers of wood and stone. Despite the stress of the meeting, he was hungry, and longing for a few minutes alone to think.

“I am suggesting that we cease the offerings.”

Dorold opened his mouth to speak, but Wes took a step closer and held up a hand.

“For a start. From there, I plan to find the Codex Veritatis, in full if I can, and figure out how to restore worship to the true God.

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