“I really should have taken you traveling with me more often,” Limuelle said, absently rubbing his finger around the rim of his cup again. “I’ve lamented that for a while now. In the Zolian Empire, the Ohan province is no more than a petty frontier. And thanks to our amicable relationship with Lona, you’ve led a rather sheltered life. I’m afraid it’s dulled your intellect in some ways.”
Disgust rose in Hohsalle’s throat as he stared harshly at his grandfather.
“Are you aware that they’ve already begun choosing the next chief priest-doctor?” Limuelle asked.
“Yes.”
“Who do you think is the most likely candidate?”
“I have no idea,” Hohsalle answered sullenly.
“I don’t suppose you do. Even the Inner Circle couldn’t find that out. I had to tell them.” Limuelle’s finger stopped circling the edge of his cup. “The next chief will most likely be Tsugana.”
Hohsalle’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Tsugana was extremely orthodox, a priest-doctor who was quick to denounce Otawalle medicine as heretical and defiled, even in front of the emperor. Hohsalle knew he was eager for fame, but most of the court priest-doctors were from distinguished families. It had not even occurred to him that Tsugana, who came from humble origins, might become the chief.
“While the elite vied for power, he emerged as a wild card,” Limuelle continued. “Of course, his granddaughter being the favored concubine of a certain prince elector who’s been aggressively promoting Tsugana’s rise helped. But that’s the way things go sometimes.” Limuelle sighed. “If that fanatic takes over, everything will get much more complicated. And he’s still only in his fifties, younger than the emperor.”
Hohsalle pursed his lips. Ice seemed to flow through his chest, and his skin grew clammy. The anxiety that he knew his grandfather felt, too, weighed upon him, vivid and real. The current emperor, Natalu, respected Limuelle for saving his wife and trusted the medical skill of the Otawalle. However, there was no guarantee that the next emperor would share these sentiments. Before Natalu took the throne, Otawalle physicians had been shunned as wielders of heretical magic. For many years, they were forced to practice in obscurity. Now that they’d come out into the open, they exposed themselves to potential backlash. If the emperor’s successor was more dogmatic than Natalu and a man like Tsugana led the priest-doctors, Otawalle physicians could be arrested and purged.
“I’ve worked hard,” Limuelle said quietly, “to securely root the medical science of Otawalle within this empire. I spared no effort, spending my wealth freely, and building strong connections with Zolian nobles by saving their lives.”
He stared at the polished surface of the desk before him. “The emperor and many other Zolians have come to rely on our medicine, including powerful prince electors like Governor Ohan. So even if Tsugana ascends, I doubt that we’ll face immediate persecution. But it’s certainly going to be a big step backward.”
He raised his head with a sigh. “Medicine is linked to everything.”
Hohsalle gazed at Limuelle silently. He’d heard his grandfather say this many times. Medicine did not just save lives. It was connected to every aspect of society and influenced the state of the world, as well as people’s definition and perception of life.
“You once compared the medicine of the Pure Heart Creed to a giant globe,” Limuelle said. “That was an apt description. The priest-doctors have shut everything up inside their beliefs. As long as they stay locked within, there’s no hope of spreading our medical science.” A dull gleam lit his gaze. “There’s only one way to force them to step outside it.”
“By holding their eyes to the abyss of death?” Hohsalle whispered.
Limuelle nodded. “Like Emperor Natalu and Governor Ohan. If we could turn back time and you were to assure the governor that you could save his son, I’m sure he would’ve let you treat him.”
Hohsalle recalled the expression on the governor’s face as he watched his eldest son die. Fear. Fear of perishing or losing a loved one—for the physicians of Otawalle, that terror was a formidable weapon.
Limuelle’s eyes shone. “It’s human nature to make up reasons after the fact. There are bound to be people who, if they’re desperate to save another, will reinterpret the teachings and bend the precepts of the Pure Heart Creed to excuse Otawalle medicine.”
Hohsalle said nothing, but in his heart, he had to agree. Limuelle was right. If that happened, Otawalle’s medical science would thrive and prosper, even within the empire. And even if they incorporated a view of life and death incompatible with the Pure Heart Creed, Otawalle medicine would eventually circulate throughout the empire, like blood in the human body. Or rather, more like bacteria, Hohsalle realized—a life form that inhabited and multiplied within the body of Zol, supporting its existence while infecting other countries, proliferating and supporting yet more nations.
His grandfather’s words were profound. But while Hohsalle recognized the breadth and depth of his vision, something about his reasoning sat ill with him.
“What does that have to do with sending Shikan to the east?” he asked. “Do you plan to force the Zolians to the brink of death by spreading the disease through ticks and causing an epidemic?”
Limuelle wrinkled his nose as though at an unpleasant odor. “Don’t be absurd,” he snapped. “The means for controlling the disease is in sight, but it’s not in our grasp yet. Taking such a dangerous gamble without a cure would be foolish.”
Limuelle shook his head slowly. “I’ve explained this far, and you still don’t see where this leads? That’s not like you.”
Hohsalle stared at him. If the goal isn’t to increase the number of infected ticks, then what is it? Why would his grandfather have gone to such great trouble and risked so much to send Shikan to the east? Especially now, when security is tight because of the Emperor’s Eyes return journey to Zol.
With that thought, Hohsalle recalled the members of the party accompanying the Emperor’s Eyes. So that’s it. The prince elector with Tsugana’s granddaughter as a concubine…
“Are you planning to use the Kinma dogs to attack the governor of Oah?” Hohsalle pressed, his voice strained.
Limuelle returned his grandson’s gaze impassively.