Ah. Well, then, how would you structure a play in which it was utterly essential that the audience empathize with the Thaalani?
Honestly?
Honestly.
Id write about the years in which they were tortured like criminals because they wouldnt serve the Emperor by reading other peoples minds for him. Because they couldnt, without going insane, and driving everyone they knew and loved insane in the process.
Sanabaliss eyes shaded to orange. In Dragon eyes, this meant irritation. Red was anger, and in general, if you saw red Dragon eyes, it was probably the last thing you would ever see.
Kaylin, Severn said.
It would work, she told him, an edge to the words. People could sympathize with that.
I believe it would cast the Emperor in an unflattering light.
She said nothing. Loudly. But it didnt last. Im sorry, Sanabalis.
Generally one apologizes for behavior one means to curb, he replied stiffly. But his eyes shaded back to burnished gold.
It worked for me, she told him quietly. Knowing thatknowing what they sufferedit changed the way I felt about them. LookI understand why people are afraid of the Thaalani. I know why I was. It never occurred to me that they wanted to be left alone. That they never ever wanted to read our minds. And the experiments conducted on the Thaalaniit changed the way I felt about them. Forever.
He nodded. You understand, however, why that information could not be part of a public entertainment.
She nodded slowly. Its just that it would work, thats all. She looked at Severn. Did you ever fear them?
Yes. But my understanding of the Thaalani was different.
She had the grace to say, You wanted to understand them.
Yes.
I wanted to hide from them.
He nodded again. Its natural. Kaylin, Im five years older than you are. Five years ago
Its not your age, she said, swatting the words away. Willing to be this truthful. Its you.
Perhaps. But I have often found understanding my enemies gives me an edge when confronting them. He paused and then added, The first Thaalani I met was Ybelline herself.
You met her first?
I was under consideration for the Shadows, he told her. Ybelline could read everything of note, and still remain detached. There are very few others who could. She was summoned. And it is very, very hard to fear Ybelline.
Kaylin smiled at this. It was a small smile, but it acknowledged the truth: it was hard to fear her. Even though she could ferret all truth, all secrets, from a human mind. Because in spite of it, one had the sense that Ybelline could know everything and like you anyway.
Maybe that was something they could work with.
CHAPTER 2
Kaylins first impression of Richard Rennick could be summed up in two words: Oh, god.
She wasnt fussy about which god, either. She was pretty sure she couldnt name half of the ones that figured in official religions, and of the half she could name, the spelling or accents would be off. One of the things that living in the fiefs taught you was that it didnt particularly matter which god you prayed tonone of them listened, anyway.
Rennick looked like an Arcanist might look if he had been kept from sleep for a week, and kept from the other amenities that came with sleeplike, say, shaving utensilsfor at least as long, if not longer. His hair made her hair look tidy. It wasnt long, but it couldnt be called short either, and it seemed to fray every which way the light caught it. He didnt have a beard, and he didnt have much of a chin, either. It was buried beneath what might, in a few long weeks, be a beardbut messier.
His clothing, on the other hand, was very expensive and had it been on any other person, would have gone past the border of ostentatious; on him it looked lived in. She thought he might be forty. Or thirty. It was hard to tell.
What wasnt hard to tell: he was having a bad day. And he wasnt averse to sharing.
He didnt have manners, either. When Sanabalis entered the room, he looked up from his deskwell, from the very, very long dining table at which he was seatedand grunted in annoyance.
The table itself was what one would expect in the Palaceit was dark, large, obviously well oiled. But the surface was covered in bits and pieces of paper, some of it crumpled in balls that had obviously been thrown some distance. Not all of those were on the table; the carpets had their fair share too.
Mr. Rennick, Lord Sanabalis said, bowing. Forgive me for intruding.
Another grunt. Sanabalis didnt even blink an eye.
I would like to introduce you to Corporal Handred and Private Neya. These are the people Ybelline Rabonalani spoke of when we last discussed the importance of your work.
He looked up at that, and managed to lose some slouch. I hope you last longer than my previous assistants.
You had other assistants for this?
Oh, not for this project. In general, the office of Official Imperial Playwright comes with assistants. The sneer that he put in the words managed to remain off his face. Barely.
They wont, however, allow me to hire my own assistants, and the ones theyve sent me must have been dredged from the bottom of the filing pool.
Kaylin gave Sanabalis what she hoped was a smile. She moved her lips in the right direction.
We dont intend to interfere in any way, she began.
Oh, please. Take a number and stand in line. If you somehowby some small miraclemanage not to interfere, youll be the only people in this godsforsaken Palace who havent tried to tell me how to do my job.
Sanabalis offered Kaylin a smile that was at least as genuine as hers had been.
On the other hand, if the Emperor hadnt eaten Rennick, things obviously werent as formal as all that, and Kaylin felt a surprisingly strong relief; she was almost happy to have met him. Or would have been, if it were all in the past.
This is not like filing, he added, clearly warming up. He even vacated his seat and shoved his hands into pockets that lined the seams of his robes. This is not an exact bloody science. Do you have any idea what theyve asked of me?
She had a fairly good idea, but said, No.
Something in her tone caused his eyes to narrow and Severns foot to stray slightly closer to hers. But she offered what she hoped was a sympathetic grimace; it was all she was up for.
No, you probably dont. But Ill tell you.
Of this, no one could be in any doubt.
They want me to write a play that makes the Thaalani human.
There was certainly a sneer in his expression now, and Kaylin had to actively work to keep her hands from becoming fists. Youve said worse, she told herself. Youve said a lot worse.
Yes, she added, but hes never going to go through what you did to change your bloody mind. Because she was used to arguing with herself, she then thought, And were going to have to do what experience wont. Oh, god.
Yes, she added, but hes never going to go through what you did to change your bloody mind. Because she was used to arguing with herself, she then thought, And were going to have to do what experience wont. Oh, god.
I am willing to face a challenge, he added. Even one as difficult as thisbut the Thaalani themselves dont seem to understand the purpose of the play I did write. They said it wasnt true. I told them I wanted a bigger truth. It wasnt real, but truth isnt always arrived at by the real.
I can see how that would confuse them, she offered.
And now theyve sent you. Have you ever even seen one of my plays?
I havent seen a play that wasnt written for children, she replied.
This didnt seem to surprise him. He seemed to expect it.
Severn, however, said, I have.
Oh, really? A voice shouldnt have legally been able to contain that much sarcasm. And, Kaylin thought, a person shouldnt be subject to as much sarcasm as this twice in a single day. Which one?
Winter, Severn replied.
Rennick opened his mouth, but for the moment, he seemed to have run out of words. His eyes widened, his jaw closed, and his lips turned up in a genuine smile. Thirty, Kaylin thought. Or maybe even younger. That was my second playI wrote it before I won the seat. He paused, and then his eyes narrowed. Where did you see it?
It was staged in the Forum, Severn replied, without missing a beat. Constance Dargo directed it. I believe the actress who played the role of Lament was
Trudy.
Gertrude Ellen.
That would be Trudy. His eyes, however, had lost some of their suspicion. She could be such a bitch. But she made a number of good points about some of the dialogue.
The dialogue was changed?
Good god, yes. Dialogue on the page is always stiffer than spoken dialogueyou cant get a real sense of what it sounds like until actors put it through its paces. The first staging of any play defines the play. What did you think of it?
I thought it very interesting, especially given where it played, and when. It was also unusual in that it didnt feature a relationship as its central motivation.
Starving people seldom have the time to worry about social niceties.
Severn glanced at Kaylin.
But you might be the first person sent me whos actually familiar with my work, Rennick said, picking up the reins where he had dropped them.
And as one such person, I have no intention of guiding your work. You know it. I dont.
And let me tell youyou dont Oh.
But the Emperors dictates are clear, Severn continued, into the very welcome silence. Winter was a work that reached out to people who had everything and reminded them, for a moment, of the fate of the rest of the city. You were chosen to write this for a reason.
I was chosen because they dont have to pay me more.
At that, Kaylin did chuckle. Rennick actually looked in her direction, but the hostility had ebbed. Slightly. As far as Rennick seemed to be concerned, Dragons didnt exist, and he didnt bother to glance at Sanabalis.
Kaylin did. The Dragons eyes were a placid gold. Clearly, he had met Rennick before, and for some reason, he had decided not to kill him then.
Look, Rennick added, running his hands through his hair as if he would like to pull it all out by its roots, Winter wasnt meant to be a message. It wasnt meant to tell the audience anything about the state of the poor or the starving. I loved LamentI wanted to tell her story in a way that would move people. Talia Korvick was the first LamentIll grant that Trudy did a better job, but Trudy wouldnt touch my unknown little play for its first staging.
The idea that Rennick cared about moving anyone in a way that didnt mean out of my sight surprised Kaylin. Almost as much as the fact that he would admit it.
You achieved thatbut you also made people think about what her life entailed, and how her life might have been different.
Yesbut that was incidental. I dont know how to make people think differently. And the Emperor appears to want me to to educate people. With characters that are in no way my own creations. Its dishonest, he added.
Given that he told lies for a living, this struck Kaylin as funny. Sanabalis, however, stepped on her foot.
Lament wasnt a real person but you made her real. The Thaalani are real in the same way that the rest of us areand Lament was human. Severn frowned slightly, his thinking expression. Have you been out in the streets since the storm?
Rennick frowned. Not far, no.
People are afraid. Frightened people are often ugly people. The Thaalani
From all reports, they tried to kill us.
Kaylin didnt care at that moment if Sanabalis stepped on her foot and broke it. By standing in the way of the tidal wave? They would have been the first people hit by the damn thing!
Rennick actually looked at her, possibly for the first time. After a moment, he said, There is that.
Look, I dont know what youve heard, and I dont bloody carethey tried to save the city. And if this is what they get for trying to save it, they should have just let it drown.
And you know this how?
I was there She shut her mouth. Loudly. Im the cultural expert, she told him instead.
You were there?
She was not, Sanabalis said, speaking in his deep rumble. But she is a friend of the Thaalani, and as much as anyone who was not born Thaalani can, she now understands them. Mr. Rennick, I am aware that you find the current assignment somewhat stressful
The Imperial Playwright writes his own work, Rennick snapped. This isthis is political propaganda.
But what you write, and what you stageprovided any of the directors available meet your rather strict criteriawill influence the city for decades to come. It is necessary work, even if you find it distasteful.
In other words, Kaylin added sweetly, The Emperor doesnt care what you think.
Severn glanced at Kaylin, and his expression cleared. Whatever he had been balancing in the back of his mind had settled into a decision. With your leave, Lord Sanabalis, we have duties elsewhere.
What? Rennick glared at Severn. You definitely havent outlasted the previous assistants.
Our presence has been requested by the castelord of the Thaalani, he continued, ignoring Rennickwhich might, to Kaylins mind, be the best policy. And if you think it would be of help to you, you may accompany us.
Hard to believe that only a few weeks ago, Kaylin would have skirted this Quarter of the town as if it had the plague. Fear made things big; her mental map of the Thaalani district had been a huge, gray shadow that would, luck willing, remain completely in the dark.