I try to get a word in but Ilryth is speaking too quickly in his excitement.
“She must be delighted that one of her own has returned. She is singing hymns of your joy and—”
“The song didn’t sound joyful, Ilryth. It soundedpainful,” I force in. “It was more like a cry for help than delight.” I brace myself for him dismissing me outright.
But Ilryth hums, considering this. “It’s nearly impossible for mortals to understand words of the gods,” he says finally. “It was centuries in the making to hear the hymns of the old ones in a way that could be recorded for mortal minds. It took half of Duke Renfal’s life to merely commune with Lord Krokan for a few, brief moments. Decades to even begin understanding the anointment. And even now, we are constantly adjusting because of how little we can comprehend.”
“I understand that, but, Ilryth, you must take my word on this. I know what I heard.” I try to think of another angle. A different approach. As much as I want him to believe me, I can also understand why he might not. He is, after all, a product of his world. He can’t see it as objectively as I can. “You said that carving from the Lifetree didn’t happen until recently?”
“Yes, when Lord Krokan began to rage in the past fifty years.”
“Perhapsthatcould be the cause of her pain?” Another thought occurs to me. Something else he mentioned surrounding our trip to the Gray Trench—something I saw coming here, today. “The roots, in the trench, you said they were severed.”
“To try and stop the rot.”
“And who dictated all of this?”
“Duke Renfal.”
It is not lost on me that the man who was in charge when Krokan began raging was the same man who led the carving of spears from tree cuttings. I stare at my hand as the tingling fades away, trying to choose my next words as delicately as possible. I know I’m treading on dangerous ground, but I must ask all the same.
“Was it ever postulated that perhaps Krokan’s rage and the aggressive cutting of the Lifetree could be related?”
Ilryth shakes his head. “The Lifetree was cutin responseto Lord Krokan’s increasing irregularity. Not the other way around.”
I can’t seem to shake this nagging feeling. I do not wish to test the limits of Ilryth’s patience but something continues to stand out to me. “The tree was never cut before Duke Renfal?”
“Yes, and all cutting has been limited since.” Ilryth shifts his weight. “What are you getting at?”
“Does the Duchy of Faith make any money from the creation of the spears?”
He lifts his brows at the question, initially startled, but then they ease back down as a smile slips across his lips. Ilryth slides his arm around me and shakes his head.
“The Eversea is not quite like your world in that way,” he says thoughtfully.
It is good of him to have the sense to know that this matter requires a delicate approach, as it could easily come off as an attack on my home. Though I suppose if he was able to tolerate my inquiries about Krokan and Lellia without growing upset, then I can do the same with my human world and customs.
“Here, not everything revolves around buying and selling and trading. The chorus ensures our world remains in perfect harmony. Sometimes that requires the sacrifice of a few. But in return, we are all looked after by each other. This balance in song has ensured that we all have enough to sustain ourselves in body, mind, and spirit. Moreover, there are some things that we view as too special, too sacred to buy or sell.”
I admitthatnotion is strange to me.
“All this is not to say your world is bad,” he says quickly. “Only that our worlds are different.”
“You don’t need to worry, Ilryth. I understood your intention, and what you said isn’t wrong.” I hope he understands the same of me. That my inquiries aren’t implying anything. Though, I suppose I am…
What did Duke Renfal have to gain from weakening the Lifetree?The question nags me. If the Lifetree was keeping the Eversea safe by holding back the rot and Krokan’s rage…why cut it? He wasn’t profiting off it. Another possible explanation strikes me.
“Did Duke Renfal begin this cutting after his communing?”
“No, though it increased after.”
Perhaps then itwasan order of Lord Krokan. Perhaps the god of death and goddess of life are not lovers at all, but enemies…trapped in an immortal struggle. Commanding the Duke of Faith could be a ploy to kill her on Lord Krokan’s part. Make a blight and then make the solution killing the Lifetree.
Duke Renfal could’ve communed with the god well before he let anyone know, too. Krokan could’ve commanded the start of the cutting; it’s impossible to be sure. His mind became twisted from communing over time, but perhaps it happened faster than anyone imagined. What if he was Lord Krokan’s puppet?
“Victoria, what has your expression so serious?” Ilryth frowns slightly.
“I’m afraid there’s more at play here, Ilryth,” I admit.
