Watt-Evans, Lawrence - Annals of the Chosen 01 Read Online Free PDF Page B

Wizard Lord is to keep all the
other wizards under control, and that includes us. And remember that we don't control the Chosen; we can
tell them we want the Wizard
    Lord dead, and why, but if they think our
reasons insufficient, they won't go."
    Breaker blinked in surprise. "You can't make them do it?"
    "The whole point of the Chosen is to
dispose of Wizard Lords gone bad; of course wizards can't control them!"
    Up to that point
Breaker had been convincing himself that the whole system was corrupt, that he
and everyone he knew had been deceived about how Barokan was ruled, th at the Chosen and
the Wizard Lord were just tools of this mysterious Council of Immortals, and
that his mother was right and he should take no part in it, but this suddenly
changed everything ...
    If it was true.
    But if it was true, then in a way the Chosen were the ultimate power in all Barokan.
He wasn't just being offered a ceremonial position that would give him magical
abilities with weapons that he could use to impress girls; in a way, he was
being entrusted with the final authority over... well, over everything. He would be the one to decide whether the Wizard Lord lived or died. Yes,
the Swordsman was supposed to obey the Leader, and listen to the other Chosen,
and apparently to this Council of Immortals that he had never heard of by name
until yesterday, but it was the Swordsman who was ultimately expected to kill
any Wizard Lord who might turn to evil—and he could make up his own mind about
it. He could
decide! He, Breaker of Mad Oak, could determine the course of history.
    "What if the Chosen decided to act
without your Council's urging?"
    The wizard shrugged.
"Then they would act. They have that right, indeed, that obligation, as
part of their role—and sometimes the Seer knows things the rest of us don't;
it's part of his or her magic to know cer tain things about the Wizard Lord without
being told, so it might well happen. If the Seer and the Leader decide the
Wizard Lord must be removed, then the Wizard Lord must be removed."
    "Even if the Council didn't agree?"
    She shrugged again. "We couldn't stop
them. At least, I don't think we could. But why would that happen? If the
    Wizard Lord is bad
enough to make the Chosen risk their lives to slay him, then the Council should
be happy to see him removed, and probably would be urging them on."
    "But what if you weren't? What if the
Wizard Lord subverted your Council somehow?"
    "Well, that's another reason we don't
control the Chosen. Yes, they could act on their own."
    "Then I'll do it," Breaker said,
rising from his chair. "Go ahead and cast your spell."
    The wizard blinked at him, and brushed at the ara feather
she wore in her hair.
    "It's not that simple," she said.
    Breaker sighed. "Nothing ever is,"
he said. "What do I have to do?"
    'Talk to the Swordsman," the wizard told
him. "At least, that's how you begin."
    Breaker tried to coax
more from her without success, and at last, with a bow to the wizard and
another to the ler of the pavilion, he took his leave.
     
     
     

[3]

     
    The world's greatest swordsman, chosen defender of Barokan, was not an
early riser; he did not emerge from Elder Priestess's guest room until the sun
was halfway up the eastern sky. Breaker had been waiting impatiently, eager to
talk over what the wizard had told him—and to find out just what was actually
involved in accepting a role among the Chosen, if not just a wizard's spell. The
wizard had refused to explain, saying it would be better to hear it from the
man who knew it all firsthand.
    Elder
had let him into the house, but then gone about her own business; she knew no
one in Mad Oak would touch anything in her home without her permission. When at last the
Swordsman ambled out into Elder's parlor he found
    Breaker standing
there, almost bouncing with anticipation.
    The man blinked at
the youth, then said, "I take it you've decided to give it a try."
    "I
think so," Breaker said. "It depends." He tried