The King's Justice by Stephen R. Donaldson Read Free Book Online Page A

people as sorcerers. They have the knowledge and the means to draw power from one or the other, bright or dark. And when they draw power from one, they make the other commensurately stronger. They create an imbalance.
    â€œIt is true to say that the elemental energies make life possible, but it is also incomplete. The full truth is more fragile. It isboth the energies themselves and the balance among them that enable life. Individually they are each too mighty to be survived. Any imbalance among them is fatal. It threatens every aspect of the living world.
    â€œSo much you know. Your fathers did if you do not.”
    â€œThen why do you tell us?” asks Father Tenderson. But he speaks softly. He is not impatient for Black’s answer.
    â€œThe balance must be preserved,” Black replies. “This task the King has taken upon himself. When one shaper seeks advantage, or several do, by calling upon bright, the King counters by making use of dark. Or the reverse. Thus he mediates between them.
    â€œCertainly you are old enough to remember the old wars, or to have heard tales.” Black sighs. He remembers too much. “They were terrible in bloodshed. Many good lands were laid waste. And the forces that the shapers called upon grew in ferocity until the King contrived to become the mediator of balance. Until he imposed his peace on the kingdom.
    â€œHe cannot end the evil that lurks in the hearts of our kind, but he can prevent a recurrence of the old wars. He can and does.”
    Under his cloak, Black touches two sigils. He rests one hand in a place among his scarifications. He has not slept, and has eaten little. These invocations refresh his strength.
    Again Father Tenderson asks, “Why do you tell us this?” Unlike Father Whorry, he is neither alarmed nor indignant. He has not tasted his wine. His curiosity is growing.
    Black answers by completing his explanation.
    â€œThe King’s mediation is an arduous task. It requires a more than human vigilance. And his reserves are not limitless. Also those who serve his will are few. Many were lost in the wars. For that reason, he named bright and dark gods, and he commanded temples for their worship. By so doing, he hoped to gain several forms of aid.
    â€œFirst, he sought to make the communities of the kingdom stronger by uniting them in shared beliefs. Second, he desired the priests of his temples to teach respect for forces too great to be controlled. From respect, humility might grow, humility to counter the arrogance that encourages men and women to tamper with their gods. Last, he believed that worship itself might steady bright and dark. It might make them less susceptible to abuse.”
    Black gazes deeply into Father Tenderson. Drinking, Father Whorry avoids Black’s scrutiny.
    â€œI have named you charlatans,” Black concludes, “and so you are. You encourage the folk of Settle’s Crossways in false beliefs. But you are also the King’s best servants here. Indeed, your service as it appears to me is flawless. You, Father Whorry, preach forgiveness, while you, Father Tenderson, demand the King’s Justice. You balance each other. And you are friends. Together you lessen the peril of Bright Eternal and Dark Enduring.”
    Black shows the priests his open hands. Then he knots them together. “Still there is evil among you. Jon Marker’s son was murdered by a shaper.”
    This is too much for Father Whorry. He cannot contain his anger longer. He cries, “Do you upbraid
us
, stranger?” Emptying his goblet, he slaps it upended to the rug so that his hands are free. “Are we accused?” His hands make fists that tremble as he raises them. “There are no shapers among us, none. We do not condone evil.
    â€œWhen you say that they—these sorcerers—that they draw upon Bright Eternal or Dark Enduring for power, do you mean that they pray to their chosen god, and their prayers