It won’t go the same way.
“I have no need to,” I tell Eraya calmly, coming to a stop a few spans away from her.
The entire courtyard is watching us.
“And yet, here you are, arriving to interrupt—”
“It is you who turned to speak to me,” I point out. “Though I do notice the courtyard is somewhat darker now. Does my presence intimidate you, Sage Eraya?”
You may be afraid of the sage, but the sage is afraid of me, is what I want our spectators to hear, with an addition of,And if you hadn’t noticed, she was working magic on you.
I don’t have to work magic via katas to use my wrath.
Didn’t I learn that at the town meeting? My words can convey my clarity, too.
I don’t have to be flashy to destroy Compassion’s influence.
Spectacle and drama have their uses—I know that well, and I’m making use of it, given our audience.
But Eraya chose the wrong field.
She believes that she can best me through small moments of compassion.
And she would be right, if she were more secure in her power.
But she hasn’t allowed herself to learn the true meaning of compassion, and it holds her back.
Maybe I didn’t give Nomi enough credit after all.
I thinkshe’sthe one who chose this field, and convinced Eraya to walk onto it.
I glance at her, and behind Eraya’s shoulder she raises her eyebrows at me as if to say, What took you so long?
Ha. I knew I liked her.
Oblivious to my thoughts, the Sage of Compassion says, “Of course I would be concerned by how your presence here would make people feel pressured into being less receptive, Yora.”
“Oh yes, as the person without the entire apparatus of the Order behind me,I’mclearly the source of pressure,” I drawl.
“You know you are, and so do they, or else you wouldn’t be here,” Eraya says calmly. “People deserve to know that there will be consequences to what they’re considering. So I thank you forshowing up to remind them that if they work with you, they will always be subject to your judgment.”
A good effort.
But this time I’m not letting her control the narrative.
“I saw that Crystal Hollow had a need for ice, and I can help them fulfill it. Giving people what they need, and helping them get it for themselves, is, in fact, compassion, is it not?” I reply just as calmly. “It’s interesting that you of all people would try to keep that from them.”
“It’s not compassion when there are strings attached—”
I burst out laughing in her face.
Eraya gasps. “Surely you don’t mean to suggest that keeping people’s connections to the gods open is a constraint?”
Good effort, but not good enough.
“I think the fact that those connections have to pass through intermediaries that charge them tithes for the access is a constraint, yes,” I say dryly. “The only reason that limiting the Order’s influence in their lives might close those connections is ifyouhave created this problem. Sages come from the same people as we all do.”
I can practically feel the crowd looking between Teren at my back and the action in front of him.
