Veiled Restraint
30 days of Fantasy Prompts 28, an extra scene for 'In the Shadow of Ribbons' from Within Thalenra. Meliath attends a meeting with the Director of the Corruption Control Division
Written for Prompt 28 of the 30 Days of Fantasy challenge, hosted by Luna Asli Kolcu. Come through the door.
While a separate entry, this takes place during events of the novel, a day after Scene 11. To read the novel, all previous scenes are saved Within Thalenra. Or go direct to scene one here.
Meliath smoothed out the note, crumpled after his first reading, and glared at it. Unsurprisingly, it hadn’t changed. He had expected the meeting with the director of the Corruption Control Division to go poorly, given what he had to cover. For Delsin Thasell to choose Yvel-Saelin to hold it, meant she expected the same, and wanted to keep Meliath in his place. Meliath was ready for her. She had yet to win one of their frequent confrontations in any meaningful way, and Meliath had no intention of this being the first. Sending an unnecessary thread of Thaum through his already impeccable clothes, he stepped through the ornate doors of Circle Stand; the administrative heart of the Thaymian Council’s Circle Hall.
Meliath crossed the foyer, not paying any attention to the polished marble pillars, inlaid with High Thaymian stitch marks, and embossed with the thread-paths of the most complex Strandforms known in Thaymia. Likewise he ignored the seven long, obsidian-plum banners hanging between them, over the passages leading deeper into Circle Stand. Each was emblazoned with the silver-threaded ring of the Bound Circle that had represented Thaymia since its founding. On each banner the seven discipline symbols joined to the ring, glowed with the colours of Thaumic threads, an oscillating rainbow of light that both illuminated the large space, and detected every use of Thaumcraft within the vicinity, ready to negate it with the single thought of any one of the guards that stood alert along the walls.
Meliath had seen it all before, and no longer let the pressure of that much Thaum affect him. He instead focused on the unassuming door he had reached, just to the left of the second passageway, in which a single guard stood. With a short greeting for the guard, he took out his Vell card, and flashed it at a cube beside him, which after a second opened the door. Meliath internally sighed with relief. It had never misread a card, to his knowledge, but there was always a first time.
He entered the small room, and as the door closed - sealing him into a space barely large enough to hold three people - he created the stitch marks indicated on the paper; Yvel, for restraint, and Saelin for veiled presence. He linked them to his Vell card, using the threads of pure Thaum affixed to the side of the room, and after a too-long second the room juddered slightly, and began to move downwards. The low light flickered as the movement stopped, and the door opened on to a corridor, which bore no resemblance to the opulence above, but was just as covered in complex Strandforms across its floor and ceiling.
Meliath entered Yvel-Saelin, where the CCD observed the interrogation of those deemed too dangerous for the public trials. The miscreants that stood in the audience chambers of Circle Stand merely faced Vell penalties, role reassignment, or at worse Thaum-suppression. Those within the Yvel cells would live out their days in them, questioned as required, and punished as dictated by the Council. Few lived for long under the ministrations of the interrogators.
The presence of the CCD was required for every interrogation that took place, both to receive information gained first-hand, and ensure that acts deemed horrific were witnessed, even as they remained hidden - corruption grows slower when it is observed, or so the Council believed. Meliath had endured his fair share of monitoring sessions in the Saelin corridor, and felt there was little truth to the saying. Instead, he’d gained more knowledge than he liked about which interrogators enjoyed their work, and a wariness of those CCD agents who volunteered for shifts in here.
Meliath headed along the glass-walled corridor, passing the observation rooms that lined each side. Glass on all sides - while Yvel-Saelin was hidden, nothing within it was allowed to be - the fourth wall of each room slanted, giving a one-way view of the cell it observed, its occupant always in sight, held within a ritual circle, tailored to both maintain and restrain the prisoner. Most of the observation rooms were dark, the prisoners below in a stasis circle, held still, and most kept unconscious. A couple were being interrogated, the observation room occupied by an agent, monitoring through both Thaumic-mirrors and physically, the actions of the interrogators. Meliath made a point of not looking, grateful that the glass allowed no sound to reach this corridor.
Meliath reached room 2-35, and his eyes narrowed. The Director was inside, as he expected, facing the cell below. The cell held no prisoner though, only two interrogators preparing the circle. It was unusual to begin a monitoring session before the prisoner was in place. What game are you playing? Meliath wondered. Anticipating that he was going to recognise whatever prisoner was brought in, Meliath smoothed his expression and slid the door open.
“Good morning, Magister Thesall. I trust you are well.” Meliath closed the door behind him, and proceeded to one of the seats overlooking the viewing platform, not waiting for Delsin’s response. “It appears you gave me the wrong time however. Did you perhaps mean 11?”
Delsin barely contained her instinctual scowl, before turning to face Meliath. As always she hid her annoyance, as he trod the line between respect for her rank, and disdain for her personally, and took the seat next to him, as if she had sat first.
“Not at all, simply an efficient use of time. You will give me your report, and then we will proceed with monitoring. I think you will find this session most informative.”
Knowing that she was expecting him to ask who was being interrogated, Meliath avoided the question, and instead pulled out three reports, and two memory crystals from within his robes. “Here is my final post-action report, Practitioner Anybia Talow’s evidence summary, and Erian Lindall’s assessment of the freed victim, Marnie Nab. As I mentioned in my last report, we have confirmed that Ilven Rauth is an alias of Telvor Belaine, and Anybia has collated a list of known associates that warrant investigation.
“Recovered in the paperwork from the house was a list of names. Jaxmil Nethers has conducted initial surveillance. Three are missing, and two have been acting suspiciously. I recommend they are brought in and interrogated, and their families checked for possible Order links.”
Delsin took the papers, placing the crystals in her robes. She glanced through them, pausing at the list of names. Much like Meliath had on first seeing them, she grimaced. “I suspected Hayden might be at risk after that raid last year, but our monitoring raised no concerns. I’ll have his sister collected. Patrice Findall and Nelick Hundon...” She glanced up at Meliath, feigning concern. “I trust you will oversee the interrogations? I would understand if you would prefer another took your place.”
Meliath feigned a smile in response. “Of course I will oversee, Magister. I would never let fifteen years of friendship interfere with Council protocol.” At least if he was there when they were checked for weave markings, he could verify they were actually present, and maybe give a small measure of protection.
“Good, now about this Nab woman,” she pulled out the assessment, “explain to me again, what exactly warranted her placement within Xaelin Team’s base, and not the Transition Centre. I fail to see what was gained from this move.”
Meliath spoke with confidence. “Marnie unknowingly holds a great deal of untapped intelligence on Telvor Belaine, which makes her both an untapped asset, and a target for the Order. Her assessment by Erian has established a level of trust for my team through him, and Anybia was able to conduct a thorough interview with her as a result.” He let a little of his disdain for Delsin creep into his tone. “Her placement at the Transition Centre would have resulted in the loss of a mage of high potential, and some promising leads. I doubt the High Council will consider what we have gained a bad result.”
“Of course not. A new mage of high potential is always welcome. But you did not know that when you first placed her in your base. Given the potential that she is a full Order recruit, arrangements could have been made for her to be assessed after she had been transitioned.”
Meliath’s lips thinned, as he held back his irritation. “Considering the previous ‘arrangements’ you put in place involved a raid launched too soon - with none of the intelligence my team would have gathered if we had proceeded as planned - resulted in no prisoners of significance, and several injured unnecessarily; providing our one gained asset with additional protection, seemed like a reasonable precaution.”
“That situation was not one of my choosing, Lindall,” Delsin interjected. “And doesn’t excuse leaving the assessment of a valuable asset to someone like Erian.”
“And by that I assume you mean someone trustworthy enough that his presence was mandatory on a raid he had no business being on?” Meliath’s voice was cold as he responded. “Because ‘on-site assessments would provide much needed insight into the state of recovered victims’, as I believe you put it. An assessment, I’ll remind you, that resulted in him being injured enough to trigger a lethal auto-recovery.”
“His usefulness in that situation has little to do with trust.” Delsin sat back in her chair, and spoke calmly. “It is of course unfortunate he was injured, but it did deliver the insight we were looking for, as you will see shortly. My concern over him performing the assessment still stands.”
Meliath didn’t let her dismissal of his brother rile him - visibly at least. “Your concerns are unwarranted. Erian is one of the main assessors at the Transition Centre, and deals with complex cases through both the Foundation Project, and the Academy. The assessment was observed the entire time by Practitioner Gretham Deelo, and I have included his notes. If the heads of the Centre, Project and Academy, have no qualms over his work, then there should be no need for you to.”
She gave a little nod, as she conceded his point. “Well, I would hardly disagree with such persons, so accepting of your brother’s… peculiarities; given how close they are to High Ritualist Lindall.” She took up Meliath’s report, looking at the recommendations sections. “Likewise, I will agree to your suggestion she be placed as Erian’s ward, as long as she continues to provide assistance in your investigation.”
“Thank you. I will be sure to mention how congenial you were the next time I meet with my father.” It irked Meliath having to rely on that family connection, but there were times like this it was unavoidable. “Speaking of the investigation, I will need you to intervene with the Archivium.”
Delsin raised an eyebrow. “Whatever for?”
“Two of the journals we recovered at the house mentioned Kaela Lindall by name. It appears she may have been on to Telvor Belaine before she was killed. Anybia requested copies of her reports from around that time, and was given some non-responses, suggesting either they’ve lost them or have been ordered to refuse, despite my classification level.”
For the first time, Delsin showed genuine emotion. She had been oddly close to Kaela - considering her Gethian heritage - and her death was one of the few points Delsin and Meliath saw eye to eye on. “Do you think he was involved?”
Meliath nodded. “I’m sure of it, although how much isn’t clear. From what Anybia has read so far, Kaela was getting closer than Belaine liked.”
“I’ll make sure all the reports are with you by the end of the day,” she said, quieter than before. “Keep me updated.”
Meliath was about to reply, when a chime and voice from the cell below interrupted him. “We are ready to proceed, Magister.”
Delsin’s eyes brightened. “Excellent timing. I think you will find this a rewarding conclusion to our meeting, Meliath.” She activated a link. “Bring him through, begin with physical memory extraction.”
Meliath kept his face blank, as he inwardly blanched. Memory extraction was a necessary interrogation technique, involving forcing the prisoner to interact with Thaumic threads that the interrogators could then attach to the required memories and instil in the prepared memory crystals, linked to the Reader Displays placed in the Observation room. While extraction through mindscape was painful if resisted, it left the body unharmed, and was usually quickly recovered from. It was however slow, and prone to issues, reliant on the skill and strength of the interrogators.
Physical memory extraction involved subjecting the prisoner to increasing levels of discomfort and harm while they were questioned on specific areas, forcing them to focus on the desired memories and raising them within reach of the Thaumic threads. It was fast, and resulted in high quality results. But the prisoner rarely survived more than three sessions, and so it required High Council approval, and was usually reserved for the most dangerous prisoners.
“I’m surprised that was deemed necessary for anyone retrieved from the camp.” Meliath kept his voice neutral.
“Only one,” Delsin replied, her voice tinged with anticipation. “He did attack the son of the High Ritualist after all, and even if it was Erian, that still needs an appropriate response.”
A third interrogator entered the room. Followed by two guards, holding up a boy, of no more than 11 years. He hung limp, still dressed in the bloodied clothes from the camp.
“He was of course questioned first, but has been silent throughout.” Delsin looked at Meliath, whose eyes were fixed on the boy below. “He has not attempted to attack anyone else, which I find curious, if that was a weave-inspired act. It would suggest the attack on Erian was not indiscriminate.”
Meliath pulled his eyes away. Perhaps he should be as pleased as Delsin was that his brother’s attacker was about to be tortured. It was hard for him to think that way, knowing exactly how Erian would feel if he saw him like this. “Implying what?”
“We can not say. It could be Erian was an intended target, perhaps alone, or among several others. Or perhaps it is his spiritual energy that brought the boys focus.”
So that’s the best you could come up with? What Delsin suggested was too convoluted for the Order. And to target Erian when they demanded his presence, would be a risk any on the Council would avoid. But minor manipulation after the fact? That Meliath could see Delsin instigating, if it led to Meliath sabotaging his career. Better luck next time, Delsin.
“Surely it’s more likely the boy didn’t have another opportunity. Erian as a target is rather far-fetched, and an empathic target even more so.”
“Possibly, but it can’t be ignored. The memories should provide the insight we need, before the other prisoners like him are questioned.”
The other children. Meliath mentally corrected him. “The interrogators have had no real success analysing the hidden weave instructions in the past. What makes you think this will be different?”
“Their age of course, and the incompleteness of their conditioning. Initial findings suggest they had not completed what passes as training amongst Weavers.”
“Interesting.” Meliath aimed for disinterested, as he got up to leave. “Thank you for informing me, I’ll await the results.”
“Stay Meliath.” Delsin stood, motioning for Meliath to sit. “This observation session was arranged for you. Consider it my apology for the small part I played in your brother’s injury.”
Meliath gritted his teeth. “Thank you for your generosity, but I wouldn’t rob you of your duty.”
“Not at all.” The satisfaction oozed from Delsin’s smile; she knew exactly what Meliath thought of physical extraction. “I have no intention of preventing you from witnessing justice for your brother. I’ll look forward to your report on this session.”
Delsin left the room, leaving Meliath no choice but to remain, now that the interrogation had started. Grimly, he faced the slanted window looking down on the small boy restrained in the centre of the circle, and activated the Crystal reader, his stomach already roiling as he mentally prepared. He would serve as witness to both the acts that would be done to the boy over the course of the day, and the screams that would reverberate through both the cell and observation room. And experience the attack on his brother, as the interrogators made sure they had every detail of it.
Horrific acts were committed for the sake of the Council, but corruption would not grow from them if they were observed - or so the Council claimed. But as the boy spasmed with each new tool applied, Meliath found no comfort in the supposed truth behind those words.
Thanks for reading! The prompt that inspired this called for an elevator, hidden floor, music, tea, and a polite frog. If you (very) loosely interpret music and politeness, I think I nailed it.
In my novel’s first outline I did have a meeting with the director, but left it out, as several pieces of information in it will appear again in scene 12. It was nothing like this version. That director was a friendly guy, almost a mentor to Meliath, and the hidden cells of the Council never entered into it. The Council grow darker by the day, and I love it.
