Read War in Heaven for Free Online

believe that he wishes for revenge."
    Now Lord Nikolos sat as still as stone. Next to him, the Sonderval did not move, nor Kolenya Mor, nor anyone else at their table.
    Then Lord Nikolos asked, "It's not possible, is it, that Bertram Jaspari might have learned the fixed-points of our star?"
    Danlo would rather have cut off his own hand than give away such a secret, and so he smiled in grim amusement and then said, "No, I do not think that it is possible. But it is not only our Order here on Thiells that Bertram Jaspari blames and hates. It is the Order on Neverness. Neverness herself. I believe that the Iviomils would bring their facifah to the Civilized Worlds and destroy the Star of Neverness."
    And they would do this shaida thing, Danlo said, out of reasons other than mere vengeance. Danlo recounted how on Neverness only a few years before, a new religion had arisen to teach that men and women could become gods. They dreamed of following the example of Danlo's own father, Mallory wi Soli Ringess, and thus they called their faith the Way of Ringess. Bertram Jaspari had learned of this new Way. For any Iviomil — in truth for any Architect of the Old Church — the teaching that any human being other than Ede could become a god was the worst of blasphemies. Any person who aspired to such transcendence was called a hakra , and it was the Old Church's duty to cleanse them totally of such hubris; or to annihilate them. This, especially, was the program of the Iviomils, to annihilate the Ringists of Neverness before they spread their poisonous teachings to the rest of the Civilized Worlds and to the stars beyond.
    "I believe that Bertram Jaspari might want to become a power among the Civilized Worlds," Danlo said. He listened to his voice carry out over the tables of the lords and fill the sun-streaked spaces of the hall. "He has a star-killer. He has deep-ships full of missionaries. He has dreams. He has ... much hatred."
    Lord Nikolos stared unblinking at Danlo, and then said, "What you've told us is terrible. But I think we need not fear that these Iviomils could ever find the Star of Neverness. Even though its fixed-points be known, they could never find their way across the Vild. Thirty thousand light years! Even our finest pilots have failed in attempting such a crossing."
    "But some ... have succeeded," Danlo said softly.
    "Only you, Pilot, and it's not — "
    " Not only I," Danlo said. He gripped his bamboo flute. "On Farfara, before we entered the Vild, I met a man. In Mer Tadeo's garden just before the supernova lit the sky. Malaclypse Redring of Qallar — that was his name. A warrior-poet. He ... wore a red ring on each hand. He, too, sought Tannahill. It was his intention to follow our Mission into the Vild."
    "A warrior-poet, by himself?"
    "He was not alone. A ronin pilot had brought him to Farfara. Sivan wi Mawi Sarkissian, in his ship, the Red Dragon. "
    The Sonderval rapped his black diamond ring against the tabletop. "I knew Sivan well before he became a renegade during the Pilots' War. Other than myself, and perhaps Mallory Ringess, he had no equal as a pilot."
    The Sonderval's arrogant observation did not please Aja, or Helena Charbo — or any of the other master pilots sitting by the wall. It did not please Lord Nikolos, who bowed to Danlo and grimly said, "Continue your story."
    Danlo returned his bow and said, "Malaclypse and Sivan followed me into the Solid State Entity. Across the entire Vild. They ... pursued my ship to Tannahill. They became involved with the Architects' war, too."
    "It seems that this was a popular war," Lord Nikolos said drily.
    "Malaclypse Redring allied himself with Bertram Jaspari," Danlo continued. "Truly, it was he who enabled the Iviomils to fight as long as they did."
    "Warrior-poets allied with Architects," Lord Nikolos said, shaking his head. "This is not good."
    "It is Sivan in his Red Dragon who leads the Iviomil ships. Sivan and Malaclypse."
    "This is bad," Lord Nikolos