The magic engineer, p.68
The Magic Engineer, page 68
“Don’t tell me you’re going to let that nobody on Recluce humiliate us?” Anya’s voice takes a harder tone.
“There is a Balance, and we can accept it, or fight it. Everyone who has fought it has lost. The trick is to make it work for you.”
“You sound like you’re weaseling out, Cerryl. We can’t have that.” Anya sits up straight in the chair, but does not rise to her feet.
“Why don’t you listen, for a moment? It won’t hurt.”
“I’m listening.” The words are cold, yet white flames lurk beneath her eyes.
“This smith-wizard builds machines. Those machines must contain chaos-fired steam or water. That means they embody great, great order. If he builds many of his machines, he increases the amount of chaos in the world. That would increase our power more greatly than his, because his order would be locked in those machines.”
“So you would encourage him to build those machines? To attack and destroy our ships? That would certainly increase chaos. How much good it would do us is another question.” Anya rises like a pillar of white flame.
“He won’t do that.” Cerryl gestures at the now-blank mirror. “He could have destroyed the entire fleet with his little black ship. He didn’t. He’s certainly no weak-willed Black idiot either. Weak-willed idiots don’t fight head-on. He destroyed Jeslek and Fydel one on one—Fydel with a staff, not even that ironclad chaos of his.” He steps over to the larger dining table and slips off the amulet he wears, setting it on the table, his back to Anya. He opens the box and removes the painted amulet, concealing a wince as the metal burns his hands. “Besides, you saw his ship. Even if we could board it, what could anyone do? Our White Guards couldn’t even touch half of it with all that black iron.”
Anya steps toward Cerryl’s back. “It’s too bad you’ll follow Sterol, Cerryl dear.”
“I don’t think so.” Cerryl lifts the amulet and turns. “But, here, you wear it. You always wanted to.” With a quick gesture, he drops the gold-painted iron links around her neck.
Anya lifts her hands, then screams as a circle of flame burns away the gold paint and the white cloth beneath it. Her hands reach for the hot iron, but Cerryl grasps her wrists and nods toward the door.
“I’m not quite as dense as I look, dear Anya. And while I’m not as powerful as you, or Sterol, I do occasionally think.”
The three guards who hurry across the white stone floor bear chains of heavy and cold iron in their gloved hands.
“You need me!” the redhead screams as the additional heavy iron chains slip around her.
“Indeed we do. You will make a perfect example for future would-be schemers. You will look ravishing once your image is captured for display. Most fetching.” Cerryl smiles and inclines his head to the guards. “Good day, Anya.” He plunges his hands into the basin of cold water, taking a deep breath as the water cools his burns.
CLXXXIV
Liedral unwinds the black string, letting it drop on the light-green grass of early spring. Dorrin follows with the heavy stakes and the black steel hammer. With short strokes, he pounds in each stake and fastens the string.
In time, they reach the dusty stone road in the middle of the peninsula. Dorrin hammers in another stake on the eastern side of the road, then takes his belt knife and cuts the string, tying it tightly to the stake. After crossing the road he pounds in another stake and ties the string to it. They proceed westward until they stand on the rocky headland overlooking the western shore. Dorrin hammers in a last stake and turns to watch the dark green of the Gulf waters, to drink in the whitecaps that break on the gray stones below.
Liedral stands beside him. After a time, his arm goes around her broad shoulders, and he squeezes.
“Will the string be enough?” She removes the broad-brimmed hat and brushes back the light brown hair.
“It’s only a symbol. That’s where the wall goes that we promised the Council. All our people will live on our side, except for trade or visits to family—and all machines, ships, and the artifacts Oran has worried about for so long will stay behind the walls. Nylan, the Black City of the order-smiths.”
“I prefer the magic engineers.” She shakes her head. “I know, I know. We don’t want to say much about the deplorable machines. You’ve said enough about that.”
“It’s not because the Council deplores them. I agree with them, because too much order in machines can only lead to greater chaos.”
“You think it will?”
“With people like us in the world?” Dorrin grins. “Of course. But not for a long time. Then it will be someone else’s problem.” He kisses her cheek. “In the meantime, we’ll look for other problems.”
“Problems?” asks Liedral, putting her arms around his neck.
“Problems,” he answers before her lips cover his, as the gentle rounding swell of her body against his defines the next problem.
Tor Books by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
Note: Within series, books are best read in listed order.
-----
THE IMAGER PORTFOLIO
The continent of Solidar—once Lydar—is home to a strange and rare breed of magic user. Imagers can bring into being almost anything they can imagine…but their power is dangerous to themselves as well as to others, and their life expectancy is short. Because they are both feared and vulnerable, imagers must live separately from the rest of society. Some are exploited by ordinary people with political and economic power…while others are wise enough to build a future when their powers may put to the service of the common good.
Imager
Imager’s Challenge
Imager’s Intrigue
Scholar
Princeps
Imager’s Battalion
Antiagon Fire
Rex Regis
Madness in Solidar (forthcoming)
THE COREAN CHRONICLES
Corus today is a world of contending countries, of struggling humans, strange animals, and elusive supernatural creatures. It is still a place of magical powers, but only a few people are Talented enough to use them. Alucius is one of those people. With Corus changing again, Alucius and his Talent will have a central role to play.
Legacies
Darknesses
Scepters
Alector’s Choice
Cadmian’s Choice
Soarer’s Choice
The Lord-Protector’s Daughter
Lady-Protector
THE SAGA OF RECLUCE
L. E. Modesitt, Jr.'s bestselling fantasy novels set in the magical world of Recluce are among the most popular in contemporary fantasy. Each tells an independent story that nevertheless reverberates though all the other Recluce novels to deepen and enrich the reading experience.
The Magic of Recluce
The Towers of the Sunset
The Magic Engineer
The Order War
The Death of Chaos
Fall of Angels
The Chaos Balance
The White Order
Colors of Chaos
Magi’i of Cyador
Scion of Cyador
Wellspring of Chaos
Ordermaster
Natural Ordermage
Mage-Guard of Hamor
Arms-Commander
Cyador’s Heirs
Heritage of Cyador (forthcoming)
THE SPELLSONG CYCLE
When Anna Marshall is transported from her boring and frustrating life in Ames, Iowa, to the very different world of Erde, she finds out that for the first time in her life she’s uniquely powerful. In Iowa Anna was a music instructor and small-time opera singer, but on Erde her musical ability makes her a big-time sorceress.
The Soprano Sorceress
The Spellsong War
Darksong Rising
The Shadow Sorceress
Shadowsinger
THE ECOLITAN MATTER
Follow the conflict between the corrupt interstellar Empire and the Ecolitan Institute of the planet Accord. The Institute must fight—first for their independence, and then to prevent the worst disaster in human history.
Empire & Ecolitan (comprising The Ecolitan Operation and The Ecologic Secession)
Ecolitan Prime (comprising The Ecologic Envoy and The Ecolitan Engine)
THE FOREVER HERO TRILOGY
Modesitt’s first major work. In the future, Earth is a desolate ruin, until its degenerate human outcasts kidnap a boy of immense native intelligence and determination—who grows up to become the force behind a plan to make Earth flower again.
The Forever Hero (comprising Dawn for a Distant Earth, The Silent Warrior, and In Endless Twilight)
THE GHOST BOOKS
In this alternate history world, the United States never came into existence, Russia is still ruled by the Romanovs, and ghosts are not mere superstition but have a literal physical reality—and political implications. Your crimes can haunt you, and the ghosts of your crimes are visible to others.
Of Tangible Ghosts
The Ghost of the Revelator
Ghost of the White Nights
Ghosts of Columbia (comprising Of Tangible Ghosts and The Ghost of the Revelator)
OTHER NOVELS
The Hammer of Darkness
The Parafaith War
Adiamante
Gravity Dreams
The Octagonal Raven
Archform: Beauty
The Ethos Effect
Flash
The Eternity Artifact
The Elysium Commission
Viewpoints Critical
Haze
Empress of Eternity
Timegods’ World (comprising Timediver’s Dawn and The Timegod)
The One-Eyed Man
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This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are either fictitious or are used fictitiously.
THE MAGIC ENGINEER
Copyright © 1994 by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
All rights reserved.
Edited by David G. Hartwell
A Tor Book
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ISBN: 978-0-8125-3405-4
Modesitt, L. E., The Magic Engineer
