“By Our Lady herself,” said the old priest. “It is rare to have a visitation by the Goddess, but it does occur. Usually it’s a revelation for the faithful and is proclaimed throughout the land, but in this case I was told to help Pug in whatever way I could and to keep my mouth shut.” He laughed. “I may be the only High Priest or Priestess in the history of the temple to have a personal revelation and be unable to boast of it.”

Amirantha said, “Then to understand what I must tell you, I shall have to tell you a story I have already shared with Pug and Jim.”

Amirantha detailed his childhood, describing his existence on the fringes of Satumbria society, his mother’s role as “witch” and her being tolerated by the villagers because of her skill with potions, herbs, and unguents. “She was also very beautiful; as a result, she bore three children by three fathers, none of whom would claim us.”

He went on to contrast his brothers and himself, explaining how the eldest, named Sidi, had murdered their mother for the sheer pleasure of it. Of his next eldest, Belasco, he painted a portrait of a man obsessed with surpassing his brothers in any endeavor, one given to rages at the thought of being bested, and someone who had, for reasons Amirantha only vaguely understood, been trying to kill his younger brother for nearly fifty years.

“I can’t even begin to guess which slight, real or imagined, set Belasco off on his quest to see me dead, but it hardly matters.” He paused to sip some wine as his throat was dry.

The High Priest observed, “An interesting family, certainly, but I’m failing to see how any of this has to do with what Jim reported to us.”

“I’m getting there, Holy Father,” said Amirantha. “I recount my history so you’ll fully understand what I believe is behind that exercise in murder.” He paused, gathering his thoughts. “My eldest brother Sidi—whom you may also know as Leso Varen—was insane by any measure. He was mad when he was a child and only got more so as he grew. By the time he killed our mother he was a remorseless monster with no sense of humanity. His obsession was death magic.”

The old priest nodded. “I recognize the name Leso Varen, and know he was a necromancer of prodigious art and from all reports, a font of evil.”

“Whatever you read would not do the man justice,” said Amirantha as Pug nodded agreement. “If there ever existed a shred of humanity in his being, it was extinguished long before he became a player in this monstrous game we find ourselves in.