There was an alternate ending to “Truthfinder” that had two sets of responses
One was that it was setting things up for a sequel. The other was that it was depressing.
The real reason I wrote it was because Tessa was the last major character in the book that hadn’t had her actions justified with some level of backstory, and the more I thought about it, the more difficult it became to fit a completely altruistic do-gooder kind of motivation to it, given her Machievallian actions in the first book.
Then I thought … what if she was actually a black hat instead of a white hat, and it all dropped in place.
With respect to it being depressing … Gur and company have persevered against extreme odds before. No reason to think they wouldn’t here as well.
So, for those interested, here’s the alternate ending
Epilogue Two
Tessa arrived at the Sambhal temple in a carriage. The coachman jumped down to open the door for her. When she stepped out, he went down on one knee, looking down at the street. She gently put a hand on his head. He trembled at the touch and looked up at her.
“There is no need for that,” she said.
“My lady,” said the driver, then stopped with his mouth open, whatever words he had been about to utter lost at the sight of her.
She smiled gently at him. “Go now, good sir. I thank you for the ride.” She turned and walked up the broad staircase to the temple. There was no sound behind her. The coachman wouldn’t move until she was out of sight. With her glamor up, the more mundane individuals of Kethem tended to react that way. Many of the less mundane as well.
The temple had three entrances, one for men, one for women, and one for couples. She chose the men’s entrance as it was closest to her room. Her innate sense of what was happening at the temple let her know there were no clients there who might be offended by the breach in protocol. If there had been, they would have forgiven her, not because she was the Chikal, the head of the temple, and the Precenter Di, the head of the order, but because people would forgive her anything that wasn’t too egregious.
Inside there was a grand entryway with a cathedral ceiling and crystal chandeliers lit by soft yellow glow disks floating in the center. Behind a walnut reception desk placed between two grand staircases stood three women in the gauzy, tight-fitting blue silk dresses of Sambhal acolytes. Two of the women were striking because of their beauty. The third was more wholesome than alluring. She had an air of innocence and youth the other two were missing.
As Tessa entered, all three women clasped their hands in front of their hearts and bowed. They had wide leather belts with gold thread work through them in various levels of complexity. The younger woman’s only had two strands.
The woman with the most ornate pattern said, “Welcome, Chikal. There are seven messages waiting for you, none urgent. The Maj Di is requesting an audience concerning the budget for musical instruments this quarter. The meeting of Elders has been moved out three days at your request. All have been notified.”
Tessa nodded. “Very good, Ruelle. Have my assistant find a time for the Maj Di tomorrow.”
“Yes, Chikal. Is there anything else I can provide for you?”
“Yes. The Regent and Taite are going to dine with the Elvish ambassador this evening. Have a runner sent to Taite. Based on her preference, send Aster to the palace to assist with the meal, or have the Chandler room readied for them here.”
“A runner to be sent to Taite, Aster to assist there or here in the Chandler room at Taite’s pleasure. Understood, Chikal, it will be done.”
Tessa looked at the youngest of the three women. “Novice. What is your name?”
The woman said, “Seraphine, Chikal,” not taking her eyes off the floor.
Tessa walked over to her. She cupped the novice’s chin in her hand and pulled her head up until the two of them made eye contact. The novice trembled under Tessa’s touch. Her pupils were dilated so far the irises were nothing but a thin blue line around them. Tessa didn’t need to look to know Ruelle and the other priestess were mesmerized as well. They had much more experience with Tessa’s glamor than Seraphine, but when Tessa had it amped up, it didn’t matter much whether the moth knew the flame would burn them or not.
“What time is your shift over, Seraphine?” Tessa asked.
“Eleven this evening, Chikal,” the girl breathed out.
“Good. Come to my quarters afterwards for private instruction.”
“I will, Chikal. Thank you, Chikal.”
Tessa tipped her head to the three women and walked up the staircase, feeling their eyes tracking her until she was out of sight. She made her way to her quarters, doors opening and closing behind her in the labyrinth of the temple.
Two clergy stood guard at her door, a man and a woman. “I am not to be disturbed under any circumstances until novice Seraphine arrives at eleven,” Tessa said.
“No one to be allowed in until the novice arrives,” said the man. “Understood, Chikal.”
Tessa entered her suite, closing the door behind her. She walked over to the ornate dresser near her bed. She touched the shoulders of her dress, and it slid off her like water off a stone. She put it on top of the dresser, then added her undergarments. There was a full-length mirror beside the dresser. She stood in front of it naked, turned a little right, a little left. She smiled.
She went to the bathroom. There was a soaking tub large enough for four people, already full of water. She touched a round disk on the side. The heating rune at the bottom of the tub glowed. She put her hand in the water. It took less than a minute for it to reach her preferred temperature. She added bath salts, then slipped in slowly. She liked the water hot, and it took a moment to adjust to the heat. Then she let herself float on the water, the salts making her buoyant enough that her face didn’t sink below the water level.
She relaxed. Her breathing slowed. Her eyes closed. After a while, the sensation of the water against her skin disappeared. If anyone had been there, it would have been difficult for them to tell if she was still breathing.
Tessa was in a dark place, with nothing to differentiate the floor from the ceiling, if there was a ceiling. She looked down. She was still naked, her perfect body the only thing visible in the equally perfect blackness.
She started walking, her bare feet slapping against a floor she couldn’t see or feel. After a while, she became aware of a dim red glow in front of her. As she approached, it turned into two red spots. Gradually, an outline of something vaguely humanoid became apparent. It towered over Tessa. There was an impression of horns reaching up from the head and hooves where feet should be, but it was just an outline, not fully visible. The red spots were the demon’s eyes.
Tessa went down on one knee, head bowed. “Goddess,” she said.
“Welcome, Tessa,” the demon responded.
“How goes the war, goddess?” asked Tessa, standing again.
The demon shrugged. “As it has for millennia. We are losing to the angels. Which makes it all the more important that we find a new home. What news?”
“All is going well, goddess. Hotherial’s warning is mentioned less and less frequently. Gur has built a third full-sized World Gate in Pranan and is talking about building one in Tawhiem due to the logistical difficulties in shipping artifacts out of Bythe. Taite, his wife, is helping with that. There is even talk of creating another World Gate in southern Kethem. In his rush to convert Kethem to a true democracy, Gur is using the gates to keep his allies and enemies in line. He is dependent on their power.”
“Power he is attempting to give away, is he not?”
“He is giving away governing, and even that will not be as clean or quick as he hopes. It doesn’t matter. He is not giving away control of the World Gates, and that is where the true power lies. His alliances will unravel without them. He is becoming more dependent on the Sambhal clergy to run them as well. As the number of gates grows, he and the others are being stretched thin. Grim and Ziwa in particular are becoming more occupied with their daughters and son.”
“And the clergy are ours?”
“Some of them. Daesal’s powers waned three years ago. Many of the clergy she touched have become interested in helping others and moved on to do more charitable work. Along with that, more clergy is needed for basic operations as the number of World Gates grows. I am feeding them individuals who seem altruistic and innocent but where you have touched the priest or priestess’ core. I will bring you one this evening, a novice. By the time the clergy have learned enough of gate commands to open a door to your universe, there will be some who are fully under your sway, done slowly and subtly to hide their true nature. Or, if we can capture one of the chaos containers, one Gur is using to activate the new gates or the one the elves hold, it will be enough chaos to allow you to breach the walls between our universes. All we need is one or the other.”
The demon nodded. “I am pleased with your progress.”
“I live to serve, goddess.”
The demon laughed. “If that were true, I do not believe you would be standing here.”
Tessa tipped her head and smiled. “It is true that I have certain expectations around serving you.”
“Expectations that will be met.” The demon paused. Finally, it said, “I will admit to being curious. You know the initial breach will be localized. But as time goes on, as I and my kind unravel the web of law that binds chaos in your universe, it will spread. Not just to the planet. Eventually, your universe will be a hell plane.”
“But up until the time it will no longer support life, I will remain as I am today? I will not grow old? I will be able to control others with my power?”
The demon nodded. “Much more so than what I can do in this halfway state. They will fall on their knees and worship you. They will put you ahead of everything else. Ahead of me, ahead of the destruction of their habitat.”
“And that is enough for me,” said Tessa.
“I understand biological creatures procreate. Are you not worried about your offspring?”
Tessa gave the demon a brittle smile. “When I was much younger, a group of drunken young Holders became disorderly. They did things to me. An unintended consequence of their actions is that I am incapable of having children. There were others watching, commoners, two brothers, but they feared the Holders too much to interfere. I have no offspring to worry about.”
“Or other humans.”
“There are some humans I appreciate, but they are not enough to outweigh the dark side of humanity. Where we go, pain, suffering, and death follow. That is the truth I will spread when I rule, that is the truth everyone will understand as they burn, one after the other. Ultimately, they will know what I am, know what I have led them too, know my true name.”
“Which is?” asked the demon.
“Why, isn’t it obvious, goddess? I am the one and only truth that matters. There is only one name that fits.”
“And the name?”
Tessa smiled. “Truthfinder.”