Forging Divinity Read Online Free PDF Page A

assassins that were discovered in the palace a few months ago?
    Two months before, a group of armed men had been found near the chambers of the crown prince. They had been noticed, but most of the men had managed to evade capture. Rialla, one of the local gods, had personally interrogated the man who had been captured. Whatever she discovered had caused the prince’s coronation to be delayed, and the new date for the crowning ceremony was currently three weeks away.
    Lydia rubbed at her eyes as she approached the door to the meeting room. Gods, I hate mornings. Maybe I should have sent that hugely conspicuous servant to get me some breakfast.
    The Cobalt Room was named after Corrigan Cobalt, one of the city’s founders. While most of the rooms in the palace had colorful names – literally in some cases, figuratively in others – the Cobalt Room was utterly plain in appearance. The nondescript gray walls completely lacked adornment, which Lydia had quickly realized was a security measure. Sorcerers tended to find ways to turn mundane objects into tools, and practically any item could hold hidden danger.
    The lone wooden table in the center showed many years of use, though the chairs around it were plush and comfortable. There were no windows, and the room only had a single entrance.
    “Close up the room, we’re all here,” said Sethridge, one of the three sorcerers seated at the table. Lydia nodded and shut the door behind her as she entered, moving to take her place in the single vacant seat.
    Lydia glanced at her colleagues, noting who was present. Sethridge had spoken first and, if his usual behavior patterns held, he would do his best to speak last. He was senior among all those present, having served the queen regent for more than fifteen years. His face was lined with light wrinkles, not from mirth, but the deep creases of worry.
    While Sethridge wore three pins on his collar just as most of the others did, he unofficially functioned as the group’s leader and primary organizer. This meeting had most likely been his idea; the majority of the other sorcerers tended to avoid each other unless they needed something specific. Aside from coordinating the sorcerers, Sethridge spent most of his time politicking with the city’s nobility. The city’s nobles commanded comparatively less influence to what Lydia had seen in Velthryn and other cities – the queen regent commanded virtually absolute power, at least in theory. This was, at least in part, because Queen Regent Tylan was also considered one of the four local gods.
    To Sethridge’s left sat Veruden, a younger man with skin bronzed by the dawnfire’s rays. With only two pins, he was the lowest ranking of the sorcerers present, but apparently senior enough that whoever organized the meeting wanted him there. Apprentices wore a single pin, and apparently none of them had been invited.
    Veruden was the only one among them who spoke openly of his past, often telling stories about his father’s farm, which he supposedly still visited. Sorcerers from the lower classes were rare, if only because few could afford the education required to hone their skills. Veruden had been fortunate enough to find a wealthy sponsor, though Lydia did not know the details of their arrangement. It must have been a pleasant one, since he wore a smile like a second set of robes.
    Veruden had a series of bandages wrapped around his right hand. They looked pure white, which meant that they must have been freshly applied. Recent injury , Lydia noted, filing the information away for later.
    To Sethridge’s right was Morella, a woman Lydia guessed to be a few years older than herself. She was a genius at Memory Sorcery, one of the most difficult types of sorcery to master. Lydia had long considered Morella for lessons, but they rarely spent any extended time in the same location. Morella’s talents made her incredibly potent at finding criminals and she was frequently utilized for that