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“A valid point,” Dalinar said, with a grunt.
“There is more,” Jasnah said. “A reason to want Azir and the surrounding countries secured in the months moving forward.”
“What more?” Dalinar asked. “What are you talking about?”
Jasnah looked to Wit, who nodded, rising. “I’ll fetch them. Don’t belittle anyone while I’m gone, Brightness. You’ll make me feel obsolete.” He slipped out the door.
“He will bring the Heralds,” Jasnah said. “Until he returns, perhaps we can discuss the proposal I showed you before you left for Hearthstone, Uncle.”
Oh dear, Navani thought. Here we go.… Jasnah had been pushing toward a singular law for Alethkar. A dangerous one.
Dalinar stood up and began to pace. Not a good sign. “This isn’t the time, Jasnah. We can’t create social upheaval on this scale during such a terrible moment in our history.”
“Says the man,” Jasnah said, “who wrote a book earlier this year. Upending centuries of established gender norms.”
Dalinar winced.
“Mother,” Jasnah said to Navani, “I thought you said you’d talk to him.”
“There wasn’t a convenient opportunity,” Navani said. “And … to be honest, I share his concerns.”
“I forbid this,” Dalinar said. “You can’t simply free every Alethi slave. It would cause mass chaos.”
“I wasn’t aware,” Jasnah said, “that you could forbid the queen from taking action.”
“You called it a proposal,” Dalinar said.
“Because I am not finished with the wording yet,” Jasnah replied. “I intend to propose it to the highprinces soon and gauge their reactions. I will deal with their concerns as best I can before I make it law. Whether or not I will make it law, however, is not a matter I intend to debate.”
Dalinar continued to pace. “I cannot see reason in this, Jasnah. The chaos this will cause…”
“Our lives are already in chaos,” Jasnah said. “This is precisely the time to make sweeping changes, when people are already adjusting to a new way of life. The historical data supports this idea.”
“But why?” Dalinar asked. “You’re always so pragmatic. This seems the opposite.”
“I seek the line of action that does the most possible good for the most people. This is in keeping with my moral philosophy.”
Dalinar stopped pacing and rubbed his forehead instead. He looked to Navani as if to say, Can you do anything?
“What did you think would happen?” Navani asked. “Putting her on the throne?”
“I thought she’d keep the lighteyes in check,” he said. “And figured she wouldn’t be bullied by their schemes.”
“That is exactly what I’m doing,” Jasnah said. “Though I apologize for needing to count you in the group, Uncle. It is good for you to oppose me. Feel free to do so visibly. Too many saw Elhokar bending knee to you, and that nasty business with a ‘highking’ still lingers as a distasteful scent. By showing we are not united in this, we strengthen my position, proving I am no pawn of the Blackthorn.”
“I wish you’d slow down,” Dalinar said. “I’m not completely opposed to the theory of what you’re doing. It shows compassion. But…”
“If we slow down,” Jasnah said, “the past catches up to us. History is like that, always gobbling up the present.” She smiled fondly at Dalinar. “I respect and admire your strength, Uncle. I always have. Once in a while though, I do think you need to be reminded that not everyone sees the world the way you do.”
“It would be better for us all if they did,” he grumbled. “I wish the world would stop making a mess of itself every time I turn the other direction.”
He got something to drink from the pitcher of wine. Orange, naturally.
“Would this include the ardents, daughter?” Navani asked.
“They’re slaves, aren’t they?”
“Technically, yes. But in this, some might say you’re pursuing a vendetta against the church,” Navani said.
“By freeing the ardents from being owned?” Jasnah asked, amused. “Well, I suppose some will say that. They’ll see an attack in anything I do. Contrastingly, this is for their good. In freeing the ardents, I risk letting the church become a political power in the world again.”
“And … that doesn’t worry you?” Navani asked. Sometimes sorting out this woman’s motivations—which she claimed were always very straightforward—was like trying to read the Dawnchant.
“Of course it worries me,” Jasnah said. “However, I’d prefer ardents actively participating in politics, as opposed to the behind-the-scenes smoke screen they use now. This will give them more opportunity for power, yes, but also expose their actions to increased public scrutiny.”
Jasnah tapped the table with a nail on her freehand. She wore her safehand in a sleeve, eminently proper, though Navani knew Jasnah thought little of social constructs. She followed them anyway. Immaculate makeup. Hair in braids. A beautiful, regal havah.
“This will be for the good of Alethkar in the long run,” Jasnah said. “Economically and morally. Uncle Dalinar’s objections are valuable. I will listen, figure out how to respond to such challenges.…”
She trailed off as Wit returned, bringing two individuals with him. One was a beautiful young woman with long black hair, Makabaki in ethnicity, though her eyes and some of her features looked Shin. The other was a tall stoic man, also Makabaki. He was strong, powerful of build, and had a certain regality about him—at least until you saw the distant expression in his eyes and heard him whispering to himself. He needed to be led into the room by the woman, as if he were simple of mind.
One could not have known from a glance that these two were ancient beings older than recorded history. Shalash and Talenelat, Heralds, immortals born to dozens of lives, worshipped as gods by many religions—and as demigods in Navani’s own. Sadly, they were both insane. The woman could at least function. The man … Navani had never heard anything from him other than mumbles.
Wit treated them with a reverence Navani did not expect from him. He closed the door behind them, then gestured quietly for them to sit at the table. Shalash—Ash, as she preferred to be called—led Talenelat to the seat, but remained standing after he sat.
Navani felt distinctly uncomfortable in their presence. For her entire life, she’d burned glyphwards speaking of these two, praying to the Almighty for their help. She used them in her vows, thought of them in her daily worship. Jasnah had abandoned her faith, and Dalinar … she wasn’t certain what he believed anymore. It was complicated.
But Navani held to her hope for the Heralds and the Almighty. Hope that they had plans mere mortals could not understand. Seeing these two in such a state … it rocked her to the very core. Surely this was part of what the Almighty wanted to happen. Surely there was a reason for everything. Right?
“Two gods,” Wit said, “delivered as requested.”
“Ash,” Jasnah said. “During our last interview, you were telling me what you knew of my uncle’s abilities. The powers of a Bondsmith.”
