The Ember Thief

Chapter Fifteen - Essamplaire

The title of the map read Quintail Essamplaire. The cloth on which it was sewn was spread out across the entire back wall of the council chamber. Every region of land had been carefully stitched, showing borderlines, towns and cities. Huge candlelit bell-jars hung from the ceiling at various heights, behind the map, giving it a subtle glow. Behind the cloth, patches of dark fabric in the shape of house sigils had been woven in the centre of each region. With the light from the back, you could easily see which house controlled each territory, as it cast a dark shadow of their sigil through the cloth. Raide quickly scanned the enormous map. It was clear that the boar head symbol of house Rakkasha dominated many of the regions in the south and west of the continent. The oryx of house Sakari held a number of eastern and northern regions. On the south-east coastal line, the lonely fox sigil of house Asher sat surrounded.

'We were just thinking that you weren't coming, Prince Regent,' the Mother Superior's voice pierced the room. She sat underneath the map slightly elevated from the other Sisters that sat either side of her, in a line.

'Apologies, Mother Superior, walking has become more of a burden for me, in recent years,' Gideon said breathlessly, as he shuffled over the floor. The council room was in the shape of a half-circle. Around the curved edges were cubicles of tiered benches each with its own distinctive animal sigil carved in the wooden canopy above each section. Raide's eyes went instantly to Charm, who sat, looking chastised, on the back row of their seating. Lady Renn sat at the front; her jovial orator was nowhere to be seen. Raide kept his eyes mainly on the floor as the pair took their positions on the front bench, underneath the canopy of the fox carving.

'Firstly, thank you all for coming at such short notice tonight. I know you are all keen to head back to your chapter houses,' the Mother Superior announced, glaring at Raide from across the room. 'It has come to our attention that at midday today an incident occurred, in the Galleons' Reach district of Eventide, involving two Chimeras, and several city dock workers. As you are all aware, house Chimeras using their abilities outside of the Quintail is strictly prohibited, and punishable by tournament sanctions.' She paused to let her point settle as the room became restless with murmuring. 'After our investigations, it became clear that the description of the Chimeras matched the Duchess of Wessfell of house Sakari and the convicted murderer from house Asher.'

Raide tensed and returned the glare at Sister Lucia, as the room descended into shouting and hammering on the wooden frames of their cubicles.

A huge man with thick black platted hair, under the sigil of the raven, leapt up out of his seat waving his fist. 'They cannot be allowed to get away with this, you must bring sanctions to both houses,' he roared in an unusual accent that emphasised the start of every word. Raide peered curiously at the man's face. Vines of what looked like serrated bone had grown out of his chin and mixed with his thick black beard. They worked their way through the hair like brambles, jutting out and curling sharply. His entourage banged the wooden rails in agreement.

'Beard of thorns,' Raide quietly murmured to himself, remembering Corvax's story.

'Jarl Marnus,' Sister Lucia raised a hand to calm the noise. 'That is what we are here for, to investigate and agree on appropriate punishments.'

'The Jarl is correct. Hard Punishments. Land must be taken. Back to prison,' the crippled man wheezed between words. Raide recognised the man, underneath the boar sigil, from the Quintail. The assortment of glass jars above his wheelchair rattled as he thumped the rail in front of him, making the murky liquids slosh around inside. His skin was dry and blotched with sores. Breathing for him, seemed a real effort, and now that he was closer, that nagging feeling of familiarity pulled at him. He had definitely met the Corpse King before.