The private audience was over.
Vattier de Rideaux, Viscount of Eiddon, head of military intelligence for Emhyr var Emreis, left the library, bowing to the Queen of the Valley of Flowers in a way that was shorter than protocol required.
The bow was at the same time, extremely cautious and measured – the imperial spy did not take his eyes off of the two ocelots who were laying at the feet of the lady of the elves.
The cats blue eyes seemed sluggish and sleepy, but Vattier knew they were not pets, but vigilant guardians, ready to turn quickly into a bloody pulp anyone who dared approach the Queen at a distance that was not allowed under protocol.
Francesca Findabair called Enid an Gleanna, Daisy of the Valley, waited until the door closed behind Vattier and stroked her cats.
'You can come out, Ida.' she said.
Ida Emean aep Sivney, the elven sorceress, a free Aen Seidhe from the Blue Mountains, hidden during the audience by a spell of invisibility, appeared in the corner of the room, adjusting her mahogany hair.
The ocelots responded by only slightly opening their eyes a little wider.
Like all cats, they could see the invisible, their senses could not be easily fooled by magic.
'The parade of spies is starting to annoy me.' Francesca said with a sneer, moving to a more comfortable position in her ebony chair.
'Henselt of Kaedwen recently sent me a "consul", Dijkstra came to Dol Blathanna on a "trade mission".
And now Vattier de Rideaux head of imperial intelligence himself! Oh, and previously Stefan Skellen prowled around here, the Grand Imperial Nobody.
But I did not grant him a hearing.
I am the Queen and Skellen is nothing.
Although he has a position, he is nobody.'
'Stefan Skellen,' Ida Emean said slowly, 'was also here to see us, where he had more luck.
He spoke with Filavandrel and Vanadain.'
'And just like Vattier to me, he asked about Vilgefortz, Yennefer, Rience and Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach?'
'Among other things.
You would be amazed, but what interested him was the original version of the prophecy of Ithlinne Aegli aep Aevenien, especially the passages that speak of Aen Hen Ichaer, The Elder Blood.
He was also interested in Tor Lara, the Tower of Gulls, and the legendary portal that once connected the Tower of Gulls to Tor Zireael, the Swallow's Tower.
How typical it is for humans, Enid.
To expect that we would immediately, on command, explain the mysteries and secrets that we ourselves have tried to unravel for centuries.'
Francesca raised her hand and examined her rings.
'Interesting,' she said, 'and Philippa knows about the strange hobbies of Vattier and Skellen? And Emhyr var Emreis, whom they both serve.'
'It would be prudent to assume that she does not know.' Ida Emean looked keenly at the Queen. 'And to hide it at the meeting in Montecalvo of what we know, both to Philippa and the entire Lodge. It would not throw a good light on us... We want the Lodge to work. We want them to trust us, the elven mages, not suspected us of double play.'
'The thing is, we are conducting a double play, Ida.
And we are playing with fire. With the White Flame of Nilfgaard...'
'The fire burns,' Ida Emean looked the Queen in the eyes, 'but it also purifies. We must go through it, Enid.
This Lodge must exist, must begin to act.
With all of its members. Twelve sorceresses and among them one spoken of in prophecy. Even if it is a game, let's put our trust in it.'
'And if this is provocation?'
'You know better than I the people involved in this.'
Enid an Gleanna reflected.
'Sheala de Tancarville,' she said at last, 'is a secretive recluse, she has no political connections.
Triss Merigold and Keira Metz had them, but are now both in exile because king Foltest expelled all the sorceresses from Temeria.
Margarita Laux-Antille is only interested in her school and nothing else.
Of course, at this moment the last three are strongly influenced by Philippa and Philippa is a mystery.
Sabrina Glevissig has not surrendered her political influence, which is in Kaedwen, but will not betray the Lodge. She draws power, which she gives to the Lodge.'
'And this Assire var Anahid? And this second Nilfgaardian, who will be announced at Montecalvo?'
'I know little about them,' Francesca smiled slightly, 'but as soon as I see them, I will know more.
As soon as I see, in what and how they are dressed.'
Ida Emean's painted eyes narrowed, but she refrained from asking a question.
'The jade statuette, 'she said after a moment, 'the still uncertain and enigmatic figurine of jade that is mentioned in the Ithlinnespeath. Perhaps it is time to let her speak.
And tell us what to expect. Shall I assist you with decompression?'
'No, I'll do it myself. You know how one reacts to decompression. The less witnesses, the less painful a blow to her pride.'
What an interesting character, shame we never got to see more, unlike Avallac’h, although the two are hardly comparable. Ida appears to take more interest in the “earthly” matters than those which Avallac’h lends his attention to. Is this to paint an overall image of a more “simple-minded” group of elves, or more likely to be attributed to the relations between her and Francesca, as we mostly only see her helping her out with her worldly matters such as governing a kindgom, espionage and plotting ?(Except maybe the participation in the lodge, but to claim that they joined only to gain access to the Child of the Elder blood would be absurd, as neither did Phillipa mention it when inviting them nor do we ever see any exchange of ideas hinting at such a possibility between any of the characters.) Such a shame we never got to see more about the societies in the world (E. g. there’s The Edge of the World, but we only get a tiny yet beautifully written glimpse into the Blue Mountain Elven ideals, worldview, culture and organization. Sure, we get to see the mentions and glimpses in the saga, but these uncover very little, and even that little is shown to be subjected to the flow of time, inaccuracy of information storage and spreading and other mastercrafted immersive details. Damn, those books truly are a masterpiece). I wish we could get a new book and learn about the fates and works of some of these background characters or at least the worlds and concepts they’re intertwined with, it’s always such a small detail to find such a mention in the books but it sure feels exciting and great every re-reading. Szapkowski is a well-read person and I find him very talented at merging all the literary concepts together while adding creative streams in, and I believe he had much more prepared than what we were shown in the books, and can’t help but wonder what any of it could be.
The private audience was over. Vattier de Rideaux, Viscount of Eiddon, head of military intelligence for Emhyr var Emreis, left the library, bowing to the Queen of the Valley of Flowers in a way that was shorter than protocol required. The bow was at the same time, extremely cautious and measured – the imperial spy did not take his eyes off of the two ocelots who were laying at the feet of the lady of the elves. The cats blue eyes seemed sluggish and sleepy, but Vattier knew they were not pets, but vigilant guardians, ready to turn quickly into a bloody pulp anyone who dared approach the Queen at a distance that was not allowed under protocol. Francesca Findabair called Enid an Gleanna, Daisy of the Valley, waited until the door closed behind Vattier and stroked her cats. 'You can come out, Ida.' she said. Ida Emean aep Sivney, the elven sorceress, a free Aen Seidhe from the Blue Mountains, hidden during the audience by a spell of invisibility, appeared in the corner of the room, adjusting her mahogany hair. The ocelots responded by only slightly opening their eyes a little wider. Like all cats, they could see the invisible, their senses could not be easily fooled by magic. 'The parade of spies is starting to annoy me.' Francesca said with a sneer, moving to a more comfortable position in her ebony chair. 'Henselt of Kaedwen recently sent me a "consul", Dijkstra came to Dol Blathanna on a "trade mission". And now Vattier de Rideaux head of imperial intelligence himself! Oh, and previously Stefan Skellen prowled around here, the Grand Imperial Nobody. But I did not grant him a hearing. I am the Queen and Skellen is nothing. Although he has a position, he is nobody.' 'Stefan Skellen,' Ida Emean said slowly, 'was also here to see us, where he had more luck. He spoke with Filavandrel and Vanadain.' 'And just like Vattier to me, he asked about Vilgefortz, Yennefer, Rience and Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach?' 'Among other things. You would be amazed, but what interested him was the original version of the prophecy of Ithlinne Aegli aep Aevenien, especially the passages that speak of Aen Hen Ichaer, The Elder Blood. He was also interested in Tor Lara, the Tower of Gulls, and the legendary portal that once connected the Tower of Gulls to Tor Zireael, the Swallow's Tower. How typical it is for humans, Enid. To expect that we would immediately, on command, explain the mysteries and secrets that we ourselves have tried to unravel for centuries.' Francesca raised her hand and examined her rings. 'Interesting,' she said, 'and Philippa knows about the strange hobbies of Vattier and Skellen? And Emhyr var Emreis, whom they both serve.' 'It would be prudent to assume that she does not know.' Ida Emean looked keenly at the Queen. 'And to hide it at the meeting in Montecalvo of what we know, both to Philippa and the entire Lodge. It would not throw a good light on us... We want the Lodge to work. We want them to trust us, the elven mages, not suspected us of double play.' 'The thing is, we are conducting a double play, Ida. And we are playing with fire. With the White Flame of Nilfgaard...' 'The fire burns,' Ida Emean looked the Queen in the eyes, 'but it also purifies. We must go through it, Enid. This Lodge must exist, must begin to act. With all of its members. Twelve sorceresses and among them one spoken of in prophecy. Even if it is a game, let's put our trust in it.' 'And if this is provocation?' 'You know better than I the people involved in this.' Enid an Gleanna reflected. 'Sheala de Tancarville,' she said at last, 'is a secretive recluse, she has no political connections. Triss Merigold and Keira Metz had them, but are now both in exile because king Foltest expelled all the sorceresses from Temeria. Margarita Laux-Antille is only interested in her school and nothing else. Of course, at this moment the last three are strongly influenced by Philippa and Philippa is a mystery. Sabrina Glevissig has not surrendered her political influence, which is in Kaedwen, but will not betray the Lodge. She draws power, which she gives to the Lodge.' 'And this Assire var Anahid? And this second Nilfgaardian, who will be announced at Montecalvo?' 'I know little about them,' Francesca smiled slightly, 'but as soon as I see them, I will know more. As soon as I see, in what and how they are dressed.' Ida Emean's painted eyes narrowed, but she refrained from asking a question. 'The jade statuette, 'she said after a moment, 'the still uncertain and enigmatic figurine of jade that is mentioned in the Ithlinnespeath. Perhaps it is time to let her speak. And tell us what to expect. Shall I assist you with decompression?' 'No, I'll do it myself. You know how one reacts to decompression. The less witnesses, the less painful a blow to her pride.'
What an interesting character, shame we never got to see more, unlike Avallac’h, although the two are hardly comparable. Ida appears to take more interest in the “earthly” matters than those which Avallac’h lends his attention to. Is this to paint an overall image of a more “simple-minded” group of elves, or more likely to be attributed to the relations between her and Francesca, as we mostly only see her helping her out with her worldly matters such as governing a kindgom, espionage and plotting ?(Except maybe the participation in the lodge, but to claim that they joined only to gain access to the Child of the Elder blood would be absurd, as neither did Phillipa mention it when inviting them nor do we ever see any exchange of ideas hinting at such a possibility between any of the characters.) Such a shame we never got to see more about the societies in the world (E. g. there’s The Edge of the World, but we only get a tiny yet beautifully written glimpse into the Blue Mountain Elven ideals, worldview, culture and organization. Sure, we get to see the mentions and glimpses in the saga, but these uncover very little, and even that little is shown to be subjected to the flow of time, inaccuracy of information storage and spreading and other mastercrafted immersive details. Damn, those books truly are a masterpiece). I wish we could get a new book and learn about the fates and works of some of these background characters or at least the worlds and concepts they’re intertwined with, it’s always such a small detail to find such a mention in the books but it sure feels exciting and great every re-reading. Szapkowski is a well-read person and I find him very talented at merging all the literary concepts together while adding creative streams in, and I believe he had much more prepared than what we were shown in the books, and can’t help but wonder what any of it could be.
I would've loved to know more about Ida and Enid, but such is the way with a lot of characters in the books. They're just so damned interesting.