Gatecrash (The Secretist) by Doug Beyer

Author:Doug Beyer [Beyer, Doug]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780786964567
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Publishing
Published: 2013-02-26T00:00:00+00:00

“I don’t understand,” said Ral. “We divined everything. That mage’s research was the last key to the puzzle. We traveled the route, just like the code said to. But there was nothing. Just an old forum.”

“The Forum of Azor,” said Niv-Mizzet, after swallowing the remains of an underling.

When Ral had entered the aerie at Nivix, the dragon guildmaster had been eating a crunchy-sounding Izzet mage, a new recruit who couldn’t seem to comprehend the dynamic properties of mizzium. Ral was so preoccupied with the failure of the maze that he barely noticed one of his Izzet compatriots being devoured.

“Nothing changed,” said Ral. “The mana braids were stable. The atmospheric energy was strong, but remained constant. I expected fireworks.”

“We expected power,” said the dragon. “But there was none. What does this tell you?”

“We didn’t miss anything.”

“Obviously you did.”

“But what?” Ral remembered how little Niv-Mizzet liked to be questioned, and lowered his head. “Great Firemind, what insight do you possess?”

Niv-Mizzet inhaled deeply, and when he exhaled, flames spread out from his jaws, licking around the scales of his muzzle. Even from where he stood, Ral could feel the heat of the dragonfire.

“I have been thinking of the Implicit Maze as a test,” the dragon said. “And a test indeed it is. But it is not a test for one. It is not simply a puzzle of the mind. Do you know why?”

Ral knitted his fingers. Static electricity leaped between his digits. “Of course. Because we have to walk the route. But I did that.”

“And that accomplished nothing. Look deeper. What is the purpose of the Implicit Maze?”

“It protects great power.”

“Indeed it does.”

“And we have to find out what that power is.”

“Of course, but what it is has everything to do with how it is protected. What is missing across Ravnica right now? What conspicuous absence has come about only in recent times?”

“I don’t know.”

“Think of it this way: What existed between the guilds that no longer binds them?”

“The Guildpact?”

“Precisely! Do you not see? Harmony between the guilds was enforced by the magical contract of the Guildpact. But the Guildpact has been sundered, and the guilds are able to clash again—and not just in words, but in violence. In war. Do you find it a coincidence that the maze has surfaced now?”

“The mana braids,” whispered Ral. “The mana paths through the districts. They had never manifested until recently. And that led us to the code in the stonework, which led us to the path through all the guildgates. But what does all of that have to do with the Guildpact?”

Niv-Mizzet blew jets of smoke. “Come now, Zarek! I’ve laid it all out for you! It’s the purpose of the maze that is paramount. It is not a test of discovery. Why test our ability to discover? What would that accomplish?”

Ral protested. “What do you mean? Discovery is everything!”

“Ah, but do not think as an Izzet. Think as its creators did. We have learned the secrets of the maze, and we have tried many routes.

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