Light of the Heavens

XXXV. Wizard's Chess

After everything else, there was something satisfying to turning her relentless mind towards something other than itself. Vassa picked up a polished ivory figurine of a lion standing on its hind legs in a striking pose, only an inch tall, toying with it between her fingers. She seemed perfectly relaxed, but her thoughtful gaze fell on Adéla like a weighted blanket. "Your move, mage."

Jhalriss was always diverting. The game that Leyans preferred to call 'wizard's chess' played differently than the mundane counterpart, even with the same number of pieces. The game was divided into two halves, Love and War, and each piece had its own rules for movement that changed from one half to the other. It required intricate strategy with a great deal of quick thinking. Most interesting, at least to Vassa, was the traitor. Each player had a single piece of their opponent's that they could move once every other turn. Currently, she made good use of her agent in Adéla's ranks. They were well into War and the mage's formations were crumbling.

The Leyan had no timing, falling victim to the worst outcome possible in use of the traitor piece. Every piece was valuable in jhalriss, and so no one could afford to sideline the traitor entirely. The best played to use the piece when they had it to the fullest potential while still planning carefully for the turns when it wasn't in their control. It meant developing an innate sense for whose turn it was, a must for a game that was about insight and clear thought.

It amused Vassa immensely sometimes, how much Zaeylael's mages struggled with that little trick. Then again, she had a great deal more practice than they did and had even played yael-jhalriss frequently, the variant where four players competed, one for each season instead of merely Summer and Winter.

Adéla fumed on the other side of the board, delicate nails tapping furiously on the table's surface. "I hate you sometimes, I really do." The wine that Kamil had brought her sat by her elbow at the corner of the table, completely forgotten.

Vassa's lips tugged into a satisfied smirk behind her mask. "I enjoy your incompetence sometimes, I really do."

"Mock me and I will burn you to ruins." Adéla placed her piece and let out a frustrated huff. She seemed thoroughly confident in Vassa's victory at this point.

Not that the masked woman intended to leave anything to chance. She reached out, tapping Adéla's gryphon. The stone turned white in a ripple spreading out from where her fingertip had contacted its surface. Vassa flicked the little figurine up into her hand and then between her fingers with sleight of hand, rolling the piece along her knuckles as she considered her options.

"How would you like your demise, Adéla: merciful and quick or slow and excruciating?" Vassa asked as she weighed her options.

"Quick, damn you."

Vassa placed her piece in the exact worst place for her foe, trapping her foe's queen between enemies on all sides. Pinned and outmaneuvered, Adéla had no option except concession. It was a good deal kinder than the move she had been considering, something that might have prolonged the joy of torturing the mage. "I suppose it will be easier on the furniture, not to have you tantruming with spells at your disposal."

Adéla grumbled something inaudible and slid the board away from herself, rattling the pieces. "I wish to speak of something else."

"Besides your humiliating defeat? After how you boasted of your peerless skills with wizard's chess, I find it doubly shocking."

"Doubly enjoyable," the mage snapped. She paused and took a moment to collect herself before she continued. "We should speak of more serious matters, Vassa, as much joy as you took in crushing me."

Vassa sighed and leaned back in her seat, steepling her fingers thoughtfully. "Must we? It's late."

Adéla glanced over at the clock and winced. It was nearing the witching hour, substantially later than the mage had realized. "Regardless, I think it is time we had a little chat about Seben, since your mood has improved." Adéla seemed careful even now to avoid directly acknowledging the stony silence that had marked most of the last week.