“The king has ordered me to kill all of the oracles,” he replied.
“And you have,” I said. The horrifying events of the night now revealing themselves to me through my master’s thoughts.
“Yes,” Sindri replied, emotionless.
“Now you’ve come to kill me. So, get on with it,” I said, unwilling to display even the slightest hint of fear, even though he’d know exactly how I was feeling.
“You don’t understand, Ketill. I’m not going to kill you. I’m going to hide you.”
“Hide me? Where?”
“In plain sight. In the world of men,” he replied.
“The council were fools,” Sindri said. “Their blind loyalty to the kings of old is what led to their downfall. They sealed their own fate when they turned their back on magic in pursuit of the things of man. Now, with the old council out of the way, and every known oracle dead, King Gunnar is free to name me Head Oracle. Then, once the political dust has settled, I’ll bring you out of hiding and appoint both you and my brother as members of the new council of oracles.”
“Haddi still lives?”
“My brother and I may not always share the same ideology, but I could never kill him,” Sindri said. “I spared my brother, just as I am sparing you. However, unlike him, I can use your gift to hide you away.”
“Not like that,” I said.
“It’s the only way to be sure you can’t be hunted down by means of magic. Any other way will leave a trace of a spell or incantation.”
“You know what I am. You know what kind of life this will condemn me to,” I pled.
“Only for a few short years,” Sindri said. “A couple of decades at the most.”
“Don’t make me forget who I am, Sindri.”
“The only way to keep you hidden is to hide you from even yourself. You’re too powerful an oracle to lose to the king and too precious an apprentice for me to give up. By using the dark ways combined with your gifts, we maintain the power. The new council of oracles will rise, as foretold in the prophecy of the ancients, so it shall be.”
“Ég býð þér að gleyma hver þú ert.
I command you to forget who you are.
Fram að þeim tíma sem ég býð þér að muna.
Until the time I command you to remember.
Ég býð þér að afneita eðli þínu.
I command you to deny your nature.
Fram að þeim tíma sem ég býð þér að muna.
Until the time I command you to remember.
Þú skalt klæða þig með minningum manna.
You shall cloak yourself with the memories of men.
Þú skalt skikkja sjálfan þig.
You shall cloak yourself from yourself.
“You’ll never get away with this.” I said, using every ounce of strength I had to try and raise my hands, but Sindri’s magic was too strong.
“Don’t fight it, Ketill.”
