The Emperor's Soul

by Brandon Sanderson

After Zu closed the door, the figure removed his hood, revealing a face with milky white skin and red eyes.

“And you call what I do an abomination?” Gaotona ignored her, standing up from his chair to rega...

She glared at Gaotona. “A Bloodsealer. You invited a Bloodsealer into your palace?”

There are . . . times when one must accept the aid of darkness in order to contain a greater darkness.”

His “pets” would also be bone, Forgeries of human life crafted from the skeletons of the dead. The Bloodsealer looked to her.

Zu took her by the arms. Nights, but he was strong. She panicked. Her Essence Marks! She needed her Essence Marks! With those, she could fight, escape, run . . .

When he withdrew his hand, he left a glowing red seal in the wood. It was shaped like an eye. The moment he marked the seal, Shai felt a sharp pain in her arm, where she’d been cut.

Never had any person dared do such a thing to her. Almost better that she had been executed! Almost better that—

Control yourself, she told herself forcibly. Become someone who can deal with this. She took a deep breath and let herself become someone else. An imitation of herself who was calm, even in a situation like this. It wa...

“You know what will happen if you flee?” Shai glared at Gaotona. “You now realize how desperate we are,” he said softly, lacing his fingers before him.

“If you do run, we will give you to the Bloodsealer. Your bones will become his next pet. This promise was all he requested in payment. You may begin your work, Forger. Do it well, and you will escape this fate.”

Few people understood how much Forgery was about study and research. It was an art any man or woman could learn; it required only a steady hand and an eye for detail.

That and a willingness to spend weeks, months, even years preparing the ideal soulstamp. Shai didn’t have years.

Unfortunately, she had to make a good show of it while she planned her escape.

They didn’t let her leave the room. She used a chamber pot when nature called, and for baths she was allowed a tub of warm water and cloths. She was under supervision at all times, even when bathing.

That Bloodsealer came each morning to renew his mark on the door. Each time, the act required a little blood from Shai. Her arm...

The ancient arbiter studied her as she read, watching with those eyes that judged . ....

As she formulated her plans, she decided one thing: getting free would probably require manipu...

A soulstamp left a seal you could feel, regardless of the material.

She twisted the stamp a half turn—this did not blur the ink, though she did not know why. One of her mentors had taught that it was because by this point the seal was touching the object’s soul and not its physical presence.

When she pulled the stamp back, it left a bright red seal in the wood as if carved there. Transformation ...

Shai rested her fingers on the new table; it was now smooth to the touch. The sides and legs were finely carved, inlaid here and there with silver.

Gaotona sat upright, lowering the book he’d been reading. Zu shuffled in discomfort at seeing the Forgery.

“This is what you’ve been doing?” “Carving helps me think.” “You should be focused on your task!” Gaotona said. “This is frivolity. The empire itself is in danger!”

No, Shai thought. Not the empire itself; just your rule of it. Unfortunately, after eleven days, she still didn’t have an angle on Gaotona, not one she could exploit.

“What you ask of me is hardly a simple task.” “And changing that table was?” “Of c...

Gaotona hesitated, then knelt beside the table. “These carvings, this inlay . . . those were not part of the original.” “I might have added a little.” She wasn’t certain if the Forgery would take or not.

“This is from the Vivare dynasty?” “No.” “An imitation of the work of Chamrav?” “No.” “What then?” “Nothing,” Shai said with exasperation. “It’s not imitating anything; it has become a better version of itself.”

“Changing a human soul is far more difficult.” “I can accept that conceptually, but I do not know the specifics. Why is it so?” She glanced at him. He wants to know more of what I’m doing, she thought, so that he can tell how I’m preparing to escape.

“All things exist in three Realms, Gaotona. Physical, Cognitive, Spiritual. The Physical is what we feel, what is before us. The Cognitive is how an object is viewed and how it views itself. The Spiritual Realm contains an object’s soul—its essence—as well as the ways it is connected to the things and people around it.”

“I don’t subscribe to your pagan superstitions.” “Yes, you worship the sun instead,” Shai said, failing to keep the amusement out of her voice.

“Or, rather, eighty suns—believing that even though each looks the same, a different su...

The Realms are important to this.” “Very well.”

The longer an object exists as a whole, and the longer it is seen in that state, the stronger its sense of complete identity becomes.

as the wall wants to act as a whole.” “The wall,” Gaotona said flatly, “wants to be treated as a whole.” “Yes.” “You imply that the wall has a soul.”

“All things do,” she said. “Each object sees itself as something. Connection and intent are vital.

Seven reports I’ve read say his favorite color was green. Do you know why?” “No,” Gaotona said. “Do you?” “I’m not sure yet,” Shai said.

“I think it was because his brother, who died when Ashravan was six, had always been fond of it. The emperor latched on to it, as it reminds him of his dead sibling.

And a thousand things just as detailed. I can get some wrong. I will get some wrong. Most of them, hopefully, won’t matter—they will make his personality a little off, but each person changes day to day in any case.

I assume that if your emperor has to be restamped every fifteen minutes, the charade will be impossible to maintain.”

“You said you could do this,” Gaotona said. “Yes.” “You’ve done it before, with your own soul.” “I know my own soul,” she said.

Now I not only have to do this for another person, but the transformation must be far more extensive. And I have ninety days left to do it.” Gaotona nodded slowly.

“Three meals are sent to the emperor’s quarters each day. They return to the palace kitchens eaten, though he is, of course, secretly being fed broth. He drinks it when prompted, but stares ahead, as if both deaf and mute.”

“I will see that it happens, though I don’t like the idea of someone else entering his quarters. Too many have a chance to discover what has happened to him.” “Pick someone you trust, then,” Shai said.

Do what I suggest. The more layers of security, the better. If what has happened to the emperor gets out, I have no doubt that I’ll end up back in that cell waiting for execution.”

It wouldn’t help. The empire was not a republic, and the only ones who would have a say in anointing a new emperor would be the arbiters of the various factions. Shai turned her attention away from the celebrations, and continued to read from the emperor’s journal.

I have decided, at long last, to agree to the demands of my faction, the book read. I will offer myself for the position of emperor, as Gaotona has so often encouraged. Emperor Yazad grows weak with his disease, and a new choice will be made soon.

i gasped because i read Yazed as Sazed ……

Emperor Ashravan’s personal journal fascinated her. He had written it with his own hand, and had included instructions for it to be destroyed upon his death.

He hadn’t died. His body still lived. Therefore, it was just fine for them not to burn his writings.

They didn’t understand the purpose of this journal. Why write, they wondered, if not for posterity? Why put your thoughts to paper if not for the purpose of having others read them?