“Yes. But by our lights, so are you, and you hate it. You should have some sympathy for him.”
She did. But she remembered the godlike Shadow that lay in wait at the base of the Tower of testing, lord and prison for every single Barrani who had failed. Hewasthe test. She wondered what Annarion and Mandoran could, or would, do when confronted with the captives, trapped in eternal hell. She thought Mandoran might be able to walk away, but Nightshade’s younger brother? Never.
“The Tower,” Helen said quietly, “is a test of many things.”
“It’s considered a Test of Name,” Kaylin said.
“And it is that. But I think it is also a test of power. Or perhaps a test of hubris.”
“I don’t thinkhubrisis the right word.”
“You’ve been thinking that Mandoran would be wise enough to accept the power he could not defeat, and escape with his Name and his right to be called Lord.”
“...Yes.”
“But you were also thinking that Annarion couldn’t walk away. He would challenge what he found at the base of the Tower, because he would understand the loss—to the race—of the Names.”
Kaylin fell silent.
“But you arealsothinking that Mandoran and Annarion are not Barrani in the traditional sense, or rather, that their abilities are not confined to the abilities granted them by simple birth and simple training. You are wondering what would happen if all of the twelve—or the remaining members, Teela already having passed—chose to take the test together.”
“Funny,” Mandoran said, grinning, “Annarion’s been wondering that, as well. He hasn’t seen what you’ve seen, of course, and the Lords are forbidden to speak of it. But Sedarias has also said that the tests—and the perceptions of them—are individual.”
“How do you know what I’ve seen?”
“You might have mentioned something to Teela.”
“And Teelashared?”
“Shocking, I know—but she does have that capability.” He grimaced. “Now she’s mad.”
“I’m sorry, dear.” Helen seemed and sounded truly apologetic. “When you think of the Tower of testing, you think, always, of the dead trapped beneath it by the ancient Shadows. You think of the High Lord’s pain, and the Lady’s.”
“Yes, but that’s supposed to be—”
“A secret. Yes. I cannot fathom why. Were I Barrani, I might train and teach my offspring and lead them to war to free my trapped kin.”
“Teela has a thing or two to say,” Mandoran interjected.
“She always does,” Kaylin shot back.
“You don’t need to throw yourself between me and Teela’s anger—but I appreciate the effort.”
Kaylin grimaced. “Share less.”
Mandoran, predictably, laughed. “That’s what Annarion said.”
“And not you?”
Mandoran returned her steady almost glare with a cheeky gaze of his own. “I don’t think his brother’s wrong.” He laughed as her eyebrows rose into her hairline, but the laughter drained abruptly. “Teela’s given us some hint of what you saw. She’s given us some explanation. She saw it herself, when she took, and passed, that test. She has the same burning desire as you have. The same desire, I’m certain, as the High Lord does.
“But she understandswhythe test exists. If the creature can take your Name, if he can bind you, if he cantransformyou, you cannot exist as a soldier in the fight against the Shadows. It’s a test for—for corruptibility. Is that a word?”
“It is now. I understand what you’re trying to say.”
“It’s not a test of anything else. If you can face that creature and walk away with your Name and your self intact, the Shadows will not be able to take you unless you give yourself to them. If you cannot walk away, the Shadows would otherwise devour you. Or worse. The High Lord is surrounded by the High Court. Even his guard is composed of Lords who have taken, and passed, that test.
“He is the focal point of all of our defenses in these benighted lands. He has powers that even the strongest of the Arcanists who grace his Court do not have. If he were to be corrupted, those powers would be turned against us in the worst case. In the best, they would simply cease to be used at all. I understand your desire to save the helpless,” Mandoran added. He grimaced. “I’d have to understand it; at least half our cohort has the same desire. Sedarias surprises me, though. She was always the most martial, the most powerful, of our number.
