The High Halls won’t allow you to harm Yvonne. And your Lady wouldn’t allow it, either.
It was true. Had it not been true, Yvonne might be dead. Given Ynpharion, would be dead.
“An’Tellarus is ferocious in both protection—when she chooses to offer it—and retribution, should those protections fail. In that regard, she is very similar to An’Teela. The reason they are both as safe as Barrani Lords can be—there are desultory attempts to unseat them by the rashly ambitious—isbecause of their history. They are not ambitious in their own right at this point in their lives; they will destroy, utterly, the lines of those who attempt to harm them. Or to harm those they have taken under their protection.”
Kaylin could see, beyond the Avatar, a familiar arch, and a familiar set of descending stairs. She frowned. She remembered ascending stairs as well—and words on the wall, glowing faintly. This was the Tower of Test. This was where, until very recently, Barrani went to prove their strength—or literally die trying.
Those who emerged from the test were considered Lords of the High Court. Those who did not emerge weren’t considered a great loss to their families.
“That is harsh, Lord Kaylin, and it is not accurate. Some of those who chose to enter this Tower did so entirely of their own accord, with their own ambitions; they felt it better to face death than to exist forever in a state of weakness. And many did face death; some did not. Those who emerged had a far greater understanding of what was at stake; they did not speak of the test.”
“And you couldn’t intervene to save them.”
“These are the High Halls, where ambition’s failure oft ends in death. My mandate does not allow intervention in regular Barrani affairs.”
Kaylin wondered if there was wiggle room. But the sentient buildings had True Words at their heart, so maybe there wasn’t; the meaning of those words wasn’t open to interpretation. It’s why Helen had had to effectively cut off a limb or two to be free to make her own choices.
Abel smiled. “The Ancients were mysterious beings; traces of their truths can be found in many religions, light or dark. But they were not alive as we are alive; they were not concerned with simple existence. They did not entirely understandhierarchy; they understood goals. Where goals clashed, they understood both war and compromise—but they are not as we are. They are not as you are.
“Those words at our core define our abilities and our duties clearly. But those duties are not the entirety of what we must be in order to fulfill them. There are some imperatives that I cannot counter, and some I might. Helen made her choice because she had managed to isolate the words that prevented her from choosing as she desired.”
“And you?”
“I am not as Helen was. I do not struggle as she did. I would not make the choice she made; too much would be lost. Were I to make a similar choice, I could not fully predict how that would affect my guardianship of the Lake. The Towers were created to ward and protect against Shadow. I was created to protect the Barrani race.
“You must now choose, Chosen.”
The walls above the stairs were bare; there were no words magically imprinted on them. “Choose what?”
“Ascent or descent?”
“You’re the one who said you wanted me to meet your friend!”
The Avatar smiled.
Terrano appeared beside him, visible for the first time since they’d arrived. He was pinching the bridge of his nose. “He’s teasing you. His humor is like that. Try not to take it personally.”
“Wait, that was supposed to be funny?”
“I think so—sometimes I find it hard to tell until after the fact. But I’m pretty sure.”
“It is perhaps a mild attempt at humor,” Abel conceded. “But it is also meant to be instructive. Choose: will you ascend or descend?”
“How is this supposed to be instructive?”
Terrano snickered. Kaylin considered smacking the back of his head but decided—barely—against.
“There is a reason much of my power and intent was and had to remain focused on this Tower. It is my most secure location. The Shadow—my guest—was not confined, as most of you are, to a simple state of being, a single plane. In order to make certain the Barrani were safe in the age of war, I had to be everywhere at once, in a very restricted domain.
“You ask why I did not save those who chose to take this test.”
She hadn’t, at least not out loud.
“Because in the end, they were offered a choice, and they made it. Understand, Chosen, that choiceispart of my imperative. Should the Barrani choose to be uncharacteristically giving, I would accept that with gratitude and possibly even joy. Were they to become like the Tha’alani, I might then be able to divert some of my attention to creation of art and wonder, not pretty cages and fortresses within the High Halls.
“But that is not the people they are. And I note that Tha’alani were graced with no such guiding sentiences as mine by the Ancients who created all.”
“Ascend,” Kaylin said, putting action into words. “Going down the stairs is easier, and if the Shadow is anything like you, I’m going to be exhausted at the end of the meeting, not the beginning.”