Corvus appeared in the gravelled yard of the cook’s hall at the Glorianna worksite, it was one of the larger worksites and compared to most, almost luxurious. There were more than a dozen individual cottages along a short section of road and two large dormitories flanking the combined cook’s hall and site offices.

No weeds poked their way out through the gravel, no old farm equipment sat behind the outbuildings gently rusting and everything was clean, the windows clear and sparkling, the walls well maintained and freshly whitewashed under clean thatch.

Walking over to the cook’s hall he pushed the door open and was almost run down by a gangling bundle of arms and legs attached to a young Fae girl.

She bounced off his armoured legs, arms pinwheeling she almost toppled backward. He caught her and putting her back on her feet said, “Hello Dev, is Elsilai here?”

“Hey Corvus! Yeah she’s in the kitchen. I gotta get home for food, bye!” Slipping past him she ran off up the gravelled road.

Shaking his head at her energy, Corvus walked into the gloom inside the cook’s hall. Two long rows of tables and seats stretched the full length of the room, it was dusty and chill in here in the middle of the day. He knew that in the evening it would be packed with workers but now at midday it had an air of abandonment, he could hear humming coming from a doorway that threw a splash of light across the floor of the gloomy room.

An older Fae woman with flour to her elbows was tossing and kneading a large blob of dough, she looked up as he walked in and said, “Oh Corvus. Hello. I’m just making the heftens bread, be with you in a jiffy love. Soon as the dough is set to raise.”

“No hurry. I’ve got nothing better I need to do right now.”

He watched her expertly knead the dough until she was satisfied with it then she dropped it into a bowl and put a cloth over it, before she could pick up the heavy stoneware bowl with the large lump of dough in it he hurried over and picked it up.

Putting it where she indicated near the low burning hearth, she said, “I could have got it lovey, been making bread for an army of hungry people longer than you’ve been alive. But thanks anyway. It’s so nice to see you, I know how busy you are but it always makes my day when you find the time to come see an old lady like me.”

“Old? Maybe you’ve seen a few turnings and maybe you’re not quite as quick as you used to be but you will never be old. Some people get old but you’re not one of them.”

“Flatterer. Now how’s the game going in the tower, did Heled manage to get Greti into bed yet as revenge on Jarly? And what about the grounds-man's vendetta?”

He spent the next short while happily filling Elsilai in on the grand game being played among the Fae of the tower. Until her retirement she’d been the head cook at the Tower and she’d played it herself, keeping the entire staff busily plotting and playing one another. She was also the reason he’d freed Pif and why he’d eventually seen the pain and suffering the Fae Chanar caused, until she’d pointed it out he’d just thought that was the way things were and always would be.

Corvus said, “Now that you’re all caught up. I do have another reason for visiting.”

“Of course you do, I wouldn’t expect anything else.”

“I and some associates intend to remove Valard and his entire race from their rule.”

The animation left her face as an incredibly cold and pure calculating look came over it, she raised an eyebrow and said, “… Well now that I didn’t expect. You know the danger of what you’re asking, it’s been tried many times before and brutally repressed. Don’t get me wrong it’s long long past due but the difficulty you face is… I’m not sure it can be done.”

“Me either but I must think we can succeed and… we have a witch. She believes it can be done.”

“Oh, that does make a difference. If this witch thinks so there must be a chance. It may be small and may take all your luck, all your skill and still cause hardship like you’ve never felt before but there must be a chance.”

“I realised there was a chance when I met this witch purely by accident, or as she believes due to meddling by some outside force. I’m not sure I believe that. But she has killed one of them already and not a weak one.”

Looking surprised Elsilai said, “Killed one already? Count me in for certain.”

“We are only beginning so for now all I ask is that you find who needs to be removed before the worksite will fully support this rebellion.”

She said, “Of course and don’t bother yourself, just let me know when you need them gone and I’ll get it done.”

“I knew I could count on you. I’ll see you in around a tenday.”

“I look forward to it youngster and tell Balen to poison Heshe’s flowerbeds.”

“Ha! Even long gone from the tower you play a great game, that is an absolutely masterful stroke. Until later.”

*******

Corvus appeared at Golden Field, the last night’s dew still sparkled on the grass and the weak rays of the morning sun barely warmed his armour.

He sighed in discouragement, discouraged because over the last three tendays he and Krarrnic had approached all the worksites on the list but two, this one and Lone Pine far to the West. Less than half of the sites were willing to support the rebellion. The rest were spineless curs waiting for someone, anyone, else to take the risks before they’d even think about it. There was at least enough ill-will that they’d made assurances they wouldn’t expose the fledgling rebellion but that was all they were willing to do.

Glorianna was moving ahead well though and Elisilai had already identified those she would have to eliminate, she was just waiting for the word to purge the loyalists. Nasty business killing people you’d lived and worked with for turnings but the grand game always took a toll in lives, so an occasional murder was really nothing new.

He’d also learned over the last three tendays that arriving too late meant he had to chase overseers out into the fields and that was a total drag, so he now arrived before breakfast cursing every moment of the early hour.

Walking into the cook’s hall he could smell porridge cooking and most of the tables were occupied by workers, slumped on their spines and shovelling the food into their mouths with no energy.

The room screamed with tension and a thick undercurrent of anger, helplessness, and fear ran through it. Fertile soil for rebellion, indeed.

Spotting the overseer he walked up to the table and ignoring the poisonous looks he was receiving said, “Overseer Maci. Once you’re done with your breakfast you will speak with me, outside.”

Glancing up at him the burly Fae man said, “Seneschal. Sure, I’ll be with you in a moment.”

Nodding Corvus walked out of the hall as the overseer started eating faster.

Outside he stood near the wall watching the farmers walk out of the cook’s hall and begin their days, he only had to wait a short while before Maci came out. As the Fae man approached he murmurered quietly to Corvus, “I know why you’re here and you have my full support.”

“Oh, excellent. Once you’ve discovered who is loyal to Valard will you take care of them or should I have someone else do it?”

Maci’s face froze and he was suddenly extremely tense, “Those loyal to Valard? Surely you mean the opposite Seneschal…”

“Oh…” Corvus shook his head as he hurled a bolt of lightning at Maci which scattered across a hastily raised shield of brown and blue energy. “No.”

His own golden shield appeared just before a gout of watery mud hammered into it coating it thickly and blocking his vision. The irresistible impact forced him backward onto a slick surface of ice that hadn't been there a moment before, his arms spread wide and he teetered right on the verge of falling.

He recovered and settled his footing, then smiling happily he drew his sword. The mud slid off his shield and he saw Maci clearly. No skin showed at all through a covering of thick grey stone which flexed unnaturally and Maci’s mage shield of blue-green and brown Earth and Water Realm energy highlighted the small ridges as he moved.

With a crack small arcs of lightning crawled along Corvus’ sword and he attacked moving it in a blurred sweep.

The mage shield around Maci flickered through the colours of a bruise before it faded under the sword’s hit then a loud crunch sounded when the sword hit his upper arm.

Stone chipped slightly but the blow was turned and the sparkling lightning ran down the stony armour, harmlessly.

A ponderous fist sheathed in stone swung toward Corvus who simply stepped aside, even without the boost he’d given himself it would never have connected.

Stone chipped and flew and the smell of lightning hung thick in the air as every sword blow was stopped by the stoney armour and every single punch Maci threw Corvus avoided easily.

A crowd had gathered to watch but no one interfered.

Corvus saw large globules of water condensing out of the air behind Maci, slipping around the punches he stopped attacking with his sword and focused on strengthening his shield. The golden glow around him thickened, reinforced by an extra few layers. Just in time too, as high pressure jets of water squirted from the floating globules and carved through the outer layer.

Hmmm, that could be bad. Time to end this.

He had not been named Seneschal just for his administrative capabilities, without any arrogance he was one of the strongest Fae mages who lived and knew he was a match for some of the Fae Chanar.

But, he didn’t often use two of his four realms of magic because they were almost just as dangerous to him as his targets if he made a mistake.

Death realm magic tore at your soul even as you used it and Life realm magic caused growth, uncontrolled and unconstrained. Life was equally as dangerous as Death.

Making an impatient gesture, two dozen keening bolts of dull grey Death magic slammed into Maci. Leaving him as a drained grey looking corpse.

Gesturing and speaking the words he raised the corpse into the lowest form of undeath and tethered a small weak spirit to it.

Making a deal he felt a tiny portion of his magic drain away, saying “To the writhing wall, work it until it falls apart.” As it shambled off Northward he said to the Fae watching, “Well, that was unfortunate. In case anyone believes this has anything to do with the rumours that have been circulating throughout Valard’s lands, it does not. I was sent to chastise Maci for his behaviour, Valard felt he was less than respectful the last time they spoke. It is very telling he was so willing to attack me, Valard’s representative, isn’t it?”

Paying careful attention to the small crowd he looked for any that thought his bald faced lie was, well, a bald faced lie.

“So sorry to interrupt your day with this unpleasantry and it seems we are I need of a new overseer-” Pointing at one of the Fae who’d had a brief but distinctly sceptical look on their face he said, “-You. The rest of you back to work. You come with me.”

The Fae labourers dispersed to begin their normal daily routine and the chosen Fae followed Corvus back to the cook’s hall. Entering he sat at the table and said, “Right. I hope you’re not actually loyal to Valard or this is going to be very unpleasant and very short.”

“No, I’m not. One of my brothers is at Glorianna, I talked with him a few days ago.”

He looked annoyed as he said, “Unmentioned take it. If someone is spreading that information, I'll need to have a good talk with Elsilai.”

Shaking her head the new overseer said, “There’s no need. He only spoke with me because I was about to move to Glorianna to join your rebellion. Valard had our parents sent to the wall, both of them at once seven turnings ago. As part of a mass purge for something neither had anything to do with, that happened at another site entirely.”

Corvus thought a moment then said, “Seven turnings, mass purge… the Boghole uprising. They killed the overseer and fought Valard’s guards for a few days, he ordered a decimation to make an example. I told him it was pointless and dangerous to punish all Fae on every site for the actions of an already rebellious few but he didn’t listen, as always. For what it’s worth you have my apology.”

Sneering she said, “Your apology is worth nothing, the only thing that will make amends is Valard’s head on a pole. It’s worse then you think, my whole family were hard-line loyalists. Were. After that my brothers and I were always looking for a way to start this ourselves but we didn’t have the power or the positions. Now Valard’s own Seneschal appears speaking rebellion, we will join you gladly.”

Corvus nodded and said, “I’ll leave it with you then, find the loyalists and when the word is given eliminate them.”

“It will be done.”