Iorich Read Online Free PDF

her?”
    “Heard of her, of course.”
    “Dragons,” I said.
    “Indeed.”
    “Can you explain the laws that apply here?”
    “There isn’t much to explain. Elder Sorcery is forbidden by Imperial Edict.”
    “Yeah, what does that mean?”
    “That it isn’t a Codified Tradition. Codified Traditions are more fun.”
    “Fun?”
    “For an advocate. With a traditional, we can always find interesting ways to reinterpret the tradition, or find an historical context for its creation that has changed, or question how it was codified. That sort of thing is always fun. Me, I work mostly with Edicts.”
    “Oh. Why?”
    “I don’t know. I fell into it, I suppose. It suits me, though. If I were a Dragon, I’d say it was because they’re more of a challenge. In fact, I suppose what I enjoy isn’t the interpretation of the law as much as establishing and arguing about the facts. Most of the law involves detail work and subtleties of interpretation. Edicts are yes or no, did or didn’t.”
    In this case: did,
I thought. “That this was an Edict means what, exactly?”
    “It means it was explicitly declared by an Emperor at somepoint. Like a Statute, only with the force of the Empire behind it. That one in particular is about as old as the Empire.”
    “What does it mean for us? In a practical sense.”
    “It means there’s no way to attack the law itself; the only questions are: did she do it, and if so, how harsh should the sentence be.”
    “Can’t get anywhere on the interpretation?”
    “How can you when the Empress can just consult the Orb and ask?”
    “Oh, right. Death is the maximum sentence?”
    “Yes.”
    “You have to admit, Boss; it would be funny if Aliera ended up on the Star before you did.”
    “Yeah, I’ll just laugh myself sick over that one, Loiosh.”
    “What is the minimum?”
    “The minimum? I suppose the minimum would be the Empress saying, ‘Don’t do that anymore.’ ”
    “I see. And what would you expect?”
    “No way to tell. The Empress knows Aliera, doesn’t she?”
    “Yes.”
    He shook his head. “If they’re friends, it will be harder for the Empress to be lenient.”
    I nodded. Politics.
    He said, “It’s going to be difficult if I can’t get her cooperation, you know.”
    “I know. I think I can get you her cooperation, if I can manage to get in to see her.”
    He brushed his hair back. “I might be able to manage that.”
    “I’m listening.”
    “I’m not saying anything yet. Let me give it some thought.” I was good with that. He could do as much thinking as hewanted. His voice didn’t seem as odd after you’d been listening to it for a while.
    After a moment, he said, as if to himself, “Yes, that should work.”
    “Hmmm?”
    “One option is to petition, in your name, to have her declared incompetent to manage her affairs.”
    I laughed. “Oh, she’ll love that!”
    “No doubt.”
    “I’ll testify, Boss. I’ve been saying for years—”
    “Shut up.”
    “Think they’ll go for it?”
    He frowned. “Go for it?”
    “I mean, will you be able to convince the Empire that she’s incompetent.”
    “Oh, of course not. That isn’t the point. The point is to convince her to accept an advocate. If she won’t in the dispute with the Empire, she might to prove she isn’t mad. If not, it might convince her to be willing to see you, and give you a chance to talk her into accepting counsel.”
    “Ah. Yes, that might work. Or it might just make her more stubborn. She’ll see through it, of course.” I considered. “It’s hard to know how she’ll jump.”
    “Hmmm. There’s another thing I might try first. It would be quicker, at any rate.”
    “If it’s also less likely to get me killed, that would be good, too. What is it?”
    “Procedural complaint to the Empire. If we start out attacking, we can always back off; if we start on the defensive, it’s harder to change direction.” He drummed his fingers on the desktop. Then he nodded.