The trip to Tavina took nearly a week, as the men had to hunt down the most remote of farming hovels and buy water for the trip. They traveled by night and were lucky to get a cask in which they could submerge Muharib’s head in oil. It wasn’t a perfect means of preservation, but it did the job until we were able to pull it out for the town steward. That old man nearly fainted at the grisly sight, but he paid out quickly.

For a few days, we dined like kings, because we had nothing to do but wait. And so, a day came when we sat together along the side of Dead King’s Park. Adjoining the oasis pool which formed the heart of the city, hardy grass blanketed the ground right up to the edge of the water. An almost silly tradition of the city had successfully left the mausoleum at the park’s heart untouched by consensus. As long as that ancient grave remained, the park had to remain, and no greedy merchant could gobble up the one spot of green the city had.

With a plate of syruppy dates laid between us, I asked my pupil, “So what have you learned?” and stuck another of the fruits between my lips.

“Well, if nothing else I should know what my enemy is capable of before breaking my hard won illusion.”

“Very good, that’s certainly something to value. You nearly had a mess on your hands when he didn’t keel over on the spot. You showed good improvisation however, so my training hasn’t been for nothing. What else?”

He plucked one of the dates and popped it into his mouth. After looking across the roads, the milling people with their heads down like the temple towers might glare at them too fiercely, he said, “most people just believe what they’re told to believe. Fifty bandits and what? A handful were impulsive idiots, a couple had the ability to lead, and the rest fell in line.”

I nodded. “Very good indeed. To lead is a very heavy burden for the mind. Most people you see want nothing to do with it. It’s too hard for them to even lead themselves. That’s how you get kings. Even when they’re bloodthirsty tyrants, the fear of having to be responsible for themselves can still overpower the lowly will to power. Humans are like sheep. Often enough, the only thing they care about is what the group consensus is. If everyone is going along with the lie, then it is the truth.”

“Still, Master… you’re asking me to tell a very big lie.”

“The biggest that ever was told. Well, second or third at least. The temples of Lumius will probably keep the title of biggest liars, but still. The grander the lie, the easier it will be.”

My pupil grimaced. “If you say so.”

“I do.”

“You’re not going to break my nose again, are you?”

“Oh, no, no I have a better plan than that. I’ve brought in an expert this time. Much more refined than Leomund bashing you in the face. Ah, there she is now,” I said, gesturing to the absolutely stunning woman walking down the cobblestone road towards us. Tall, mature, golden of skin and black of hair, dressed in silks and with vertical slit pupils.

My pupil almost fell out of his chair, grabbing for his sword, before I told him to stop, and let Vita of Ennia’s Crossing join us at the table. “How are you finding the city?”

She crossed one leg over the other, stole a date from us, and said, “A near incomprehensible maze. There’s so many people. There’s people packed into people, I swear. Don’t they realize they can just build more walls? Do they really need to pile on top of one another like one giant orgy of commerce?”

I said, “It seems to be the natural evolution of human affairs.”

“It’s disgusting. I can’t get the smell of sweat out of my nose. Even when I go to the spice merchants!”

“Did you find a merchant for your needs?”

“To furnish my city? No, not yet. I had my hopes for a family called the Cantas. People spoke well of them, but it seems they’ve already been contracted.”

I grinned and folded my hands together on the cafe table. “Indeed they have. Most of Giordana has been conquered by the people of the west, Vassermark. Any merchant could tell you that the best deals are all being offered by the men with an army at their back. The locals are a tad scared to go against them, lest the Vassish march over here and put them to the sword. These conquerors would love nothing more than a reason to seize all their assets.”

She sneered. “Makes it very hard to counter offer.”

I laughed. “Give it time. The Vassish are prepping an expedition to the southern continent and taking most of their resources with them. They’re going to leave behind a nominal force at best, and far too much resentment. Did you see the young Vassish commander meeting with the Cantas?”

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The young blond? The one that couldn’t wait to throw himself into the gambling den?”

“That’s the one.”

“What about him?”

I hooked a thumb at my pupil. “Sieg is no more. Sieg played his part and now it’s time for a new identity. Give the actor his new role and I’ll give you a hand with Ennia’s Crossing, yes?”

“An expert? This is what you call an expert?” my pupil demanded, gesturing at the emissary that had nearly killed him, or at least as close as his undying body could go.

Vita ignored his quip and reached out to put her hand to his face. She rubbed the bits of baby fat and felt his cheekbone. “Yes, I am an expert at this. I’m an artist. Can’t you tell from how beautiful I am?”

“Your hand is cold, like your blood,” the boy said, staring into her eyes as she ran her thumb over his lips.

The angel narrowed her eyes. “Most men would be begging to warm my bed.”

I cleared my throat. “The boy’s had a rough life.”

“Living with you, Amurabi? I’d be shocked if he hadn’t. I should have known it was you the moment I saw that bird. You know, there’s probably going to be some other would-be warlord at Ennia’s Crossing, don’t you? In my absence here, someone is going to think they can replace Muharib and turn against me.”

“If you’re asking for a bit of muscle, you’ll owe me more than a glorified makeover.”

She clicked her tongue. “Please, you can spare those barbarians, and if you expect me to make this boy the spitting image of–”

I held up my hand. “I expect you to make him better looking than that garrison commander. You are capable of that, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am. I could change him into a woman able to start wars with a sigh if I wanted to.”

“Master!”

“Best not,” I said. “He needs to lead men, not lure them.”

“Shame. I love working the feminine form.”

“Absolutely not,” the boy said, pulling away from her.

Vita sighed and shrugged. “Too bad, but there is more than one way to be beautiful.”

I ignored his balking shock and said, “Just remember that he also needs to stab people to death. So, give him a warrior’s jawline. He still has to pass as that noble brat though.”

“You’re putting a lot of restrictions on this request,” Vita said, rubbing her own chin as she stared at the boy’s face and imagined what it could be.

“Artist’s thrive under pressure, don’t they?”

The boy looked between both of us, unsure where to find support. “Hold on, I think I’m a rather good looking guy.”

The angel and I both laughed. “You’re just physically fit. That’s only enough for a mundane life. You need to reach for more than mundane. More than any single man ever has before. You’re to be a storybook hero made flesh. Anything less and the illusion won’t hold up. Like I said, the bigger the lie, the easier it will be.”

The boy retreated within himself for a time and only spoke up from the other rim of a wine glass. “This isn’t exactly what I thought you’d be getting me for my eighteenth, you know.”

“Bah,” I said. “You’re already a man. You drink, you kill, you have all the skills needed to be free and independent. What more do you want? Because I’m about to get you power, the right to rule over people and lead them to battle.”

Everyone at the table knew what came to that boy’s head afterward, but he didn’t voice it. If he wasn’t going to voice it out of some form of propriety, then I wasn’t going to go out of my way to get him a woman for his eighteenth. I thought the angel might volunteer herself, but she had made it clear enough that she didn’t care for men.

So, I resolved to indulge a different vice with him. I put the purse of silver down in front of him and said, “You’re going to have to practice your gaming skills, you know? Dice, cards, trireme, you name it. The garrison commander is a well known gambler, even if he does lose more than he makes. Why don’t you see if you can turn that silver to gold before we have to give you a new name?”

“So I’m not Sieg anymore?”

“Of course not. We’re done with those bandits. They’re not even thieves anymore,” I said, with a pointed glance at Vita. She nodded agreement. “And don’t even think of using your bloody birth name. People’d spit on you soon as they heard it. Soon enough you’ll have a proper name. A noble’s name that commands respect. I’ve certainly taught you all the etiquette and posturing you’ll need for it, so look forward to it, yes?”

The boy nodded. “Yes, Master.”

“Good. You can pick a new name for yourself, and use it in the gambling halls until the time is right. We’re going to have to go south to Puerto Faro and wait for just the right moment. King Arandall has thrown gold by the wagon at this expedition that conquered the coast, and so far all I know is that they’re going to the southern continent. Those cannibals will give them more trouble than they can imagine, I suspect, so something will go wrong soon enough. And then we strike.”

Vita nodded. “Are you fine with me changing his face tonight? That won’t cause problems?”

The boy said, “As long as I don’t dress like a nobleman, I won’t be mistaken for one. It’s all in the posture and attitude anyway.”

Vita cocked her head to one side. “What are you? An actor? You bluffed your way right past men who should have known the boy you killed and replaced.”

The boy couldn’t help but smirk. “Something like that.”

“Soon enough,” I said, “the lie will be real, and he won’t be an actor but a nobleman. He will be Lucius von Solhart like that idiot brat could never dream of being.”

The boy would would be Lucius lifted up his wine glass and I lifted mine. Vita at last realized I had prepared one for her, and the three of us made a toast. “Here here,” he said.

We all wetted our throats. “A long time coming, too,” I said.

Vita licked her lips clean. “Just, stay on your own side of the world, please?”

I cackled. “What an interesting choice of words you used. Tell me, what constitutes my side of the world? Because if I get to choose, I’ll take the side of the world that the great god Lumius shines upon,” I said, pointing to the sun overhead and all the lands that it touched.