Chapter 37
Professor Vael's Warning
Vael called him in for an unscheduled meeting on a Thursday afternoon and had the expression of someone who had recently received information and was deciding how to convey it.
He sat down and waited.
'The Hollow Council,' she said.
It was the first time he'd heard the term. 'What is that?'
She looked at him carefully. 'An organization. Old -- older than the Academy, founded approximately two hundred years ago by a coalition of scholars and officials who became aware of the Seventh's history and believed the Mark would eventually reappear.' She folded her hands. 'Their founding purpose was to prepare for that eventuality. To study the historical record, to develop response protocols, to be positioned to act when the Mark returned.'
'Act how?'
'That's the part that has multiple answers depending on which faction within the Council you're asking.' She held his gaze. 'Some of them believe the Mark's bearer should be supported and guided. Some believe the bearer should be contained. Some have a third position which I'll describe as terminate if necessary, but they would not use those words.'
He sat with that.
'Why are you telling me this now?'
'Because I have a contact who tracks Council activity,' she said. 'The Council has been largely dormant for sixty years -- the Mark hadn't reappeared, there was nothing to respond to. My contact informed me this week that Council members have been active in the Heartlands for the first time in sixty years.' She paused. 'Three separate individuals, arriving in Valdren's Rest over the past month. They haven't contacted the Academy officially. They're observing.'
He thought about the timeline. He'd arrived at the Academy two months ago. He'd been visible -- the duel had made him dramatically more visible -- but even before that, the Runestone result was on record. For anyone watching the right indicators, he'd been findable.
'Are they connected to House Valken?' he asked.
A slight pause. 'I don't know. The connection between the noble houses and the Council has always been ambiguous -- some houses have historically had Council sympathizers, some haven't. House Valken's interest in you specifically is either independent or a different manifestation of the same awareness.'
'What do I do?'
'For now, nothing different.' She met his eyes. 'You continue developing. You continue learning. The faster you understand what you are, the better positioned you are to respond to anything the Council decides to do. An unknown quantity is managed differently than a known one.' She paused. 'But I want you to be careful about what you learn and from whom. The Council has a history of placing people close to Mark-bearers -- their history only covers two confirmed cases before you, but in both cases there were people in the bearer's immediate circle who were Council-affiliated.'
He thought about Fen, and the timing of her arrival, and her aunt's sealed letter.
Then he thought about the consistency of everything Fen had said and done. The accuracy of her self-disclosure. The specific honesty with which she'd told him about her lineage.
He didn't think Fen was Council-affiliated. But the thinking about it was what mattered.
'Dain?' he said.
'I don't know Dain's history well enough to say.' She paused. 'I know mine. I'm not Council. My research has been specifically against their position for twenty years and they know it.' She met his eyes steadily. 'I'm telling you this because you should know I have enemies in this, and those enemies might reach you through me, and you should factor that into what you share with me.'
He looked at her.
'You're telling me to be careful about trusting you,' he said.
'I'm telling you to be careful about trusting everyone,' she said. 'Including me. I believe I'm trustworthy. You should verify that independently rather than taking my word for it.'
He nodded slowly.
'Thank you,' he said.
He meant it.