Chapter 16
“Enlightenment? Very subjective!”
~ A magician’s pet phrase, according to Tattle
Valaris
Dawn broke through the veil of night when Taranis
mentioned it.
Cristi
lay sleeping beside Samson and he shook her awake. Aven snored with his head on
his pack and Averroes snuggled behind him; Rayne shook them out of slumber.
Aven sat up stiffly to massage his ankle; Saska dressed it for him and it felt
better, but a dull ache plagued.
Belun
dragged his massive hindquarters from the cold ground and rose with a groan. He
said, “You want to get into it now when I can barely keep my eyes open?”
Without awaiting a rebuttal, he stalked off into the Forest.
Llettynn
remarked, “A Centuar has a mighty bladder.” He too rose to vanish into the
trees.
“Kylan,”
Taranis said, and the sleepy Herbmaster blinked at him. “Have you anything to
gift energy?”
“He
does,” Kisha muttered. “I’ll get him organised.”
Rayne
gave Taranis a lowered look. “Why now?”
“Now
we are not so afraid of it.”
“Are we afraid of it?”
Taranis
shrugged. “I know the tale, you know it.”
Rayne
murmured, “Half are too weary for this.” He clambered to his feet, yawned,
stretched, and walked away slapping his legs to get blood flowing.
Saska
followed him with her eyes, drawn to him and liking it not. “He’s right,” she
said to Taranis after dragging her gaze back to the embers.
“The
night gave us insights we would otherwise miss,” Taranis returned. “And when
one is tired, one forces one’s brain to work, and often other insights wait
right there.”
“One
also makes mistakes,” Glint grumbled.
“My
tea will perk you up,” Kylan said. “Used to study with this brew; kept me
sleepless for five days once.”
“Not
sure I like the sound of that,” Glint muttered. “Anyway, I’m off to the, um,
trees. I’ve got to get that Centuar to change form,” he grunted in an aside as
he wandered off. “His hooves poked holes in my backside all night.”
Saska
giggled, and rested her head on Taranis’ shoulder. “Promise we get full
dreamland tonight.”
“I’ll
have to make sure you’re not on watch then,” he grinned, and briefly rested his
head on top of hers.
“Watch?
Oh, that’s not nice …” she murmured, her eyes closing.
Taranis
chuckled and jostled her. “Wake up, Saska … not that I don’t like your head
there.”
Giggling,
she used his shoulder to stand and ambled off.
An
hour later they gathered in a close circle about the fire. The strong herbal
aroma of Kylan’s tea permeated the air.
Taranis
and Rayne again sat opposite each other. Throughout the night they glanced
across, sometimes with a meeting of eyes, sometimes watching when the other’s
attention was elsewhere.
Rayne
earlier noticed Saska’s protective attitude over Taranis, and having seen them
interact, he now wondered what lay between them, especially as she again took a
place beside Taranis. It was none of his business, yet he was intrigued. He
sensed her looking at him, met her gaze and found he could not look away.
She
broke the contact.
Rayne
extracted the Ruby and laid it on the grass. The idle murmurs of conversation
died away. Aven, beside him, whispered, “Well, my boy, and what say you now?
First the Medaillon, now the Ruby? Both to you, directly.” Rayne shot him a
venomous look, but Aven merely smiled.
Glint
spoke into the silence. “It occurs to me fourteen facets equal fourteen steps
to Enlightenment equals fourteen tasks.”
“Agreed,”
Taranis said.
“Then
that leaves us with the problem of finding what they are. I thought on this and
realised we’re all mind aware - the key to unlocking its secrets. Belun,
Llettynn and Saska, Taranis, Rayne, Aven and McSee and I are sorcerers, Mordan
has knowledge of the Oracles and Averroes has the Medaillon. Kylan, a
Herbmaster is far more than a collector of herbs. You need diagnose illness,
often only by looking at the patient. That makes you mind aware.”
Kylan
grinned and nodded.
“Kisha,
you ‘read’ people, as in body language and facial expression - a subtle and
particular talent, and that is awareness.”
Kisha
smiled and Glint focused on Samson.
“You
predict weather days in advance, and you do it with instinct. That instinct is
a close cousin of magic,” Glint said. “I guess we’ll be calling on you more
than once in the near future. My Siric friend here always says the weather is
another presence in battle, sometimes friend, and sometimes foe.”
Samson
smiled unreservedly. Glint shifted his gaze to Cristi.
“You
have told us little. I can’t say where your talent lies and yet you heard the
Medaillon.” Glint paused and leaned forward. Cristi blushed as soon as she was
singled out. “There’s no shame in admitting to anything in this gathering and
now it is imperative.”
They
all looked at the shy San girl and she felt the invasion keenly. Out of habit,
she began withdrawing to be as unnoticeable as possible. Then, as in the past,
and the reason she preferred to keep her counsel, Cristi heard the others’
thoughts in her mind. She managed to quell the voices by thinking about nothing
at all, never comfortable with another’s thoughts. Knowing that this time she
did not have to fear reaction was quite liberating and intoxicating.
“I
can hear what people think when I’m under pressure,” she said. “You, Belun,
thought Glint draws too much attention to me, that I’m not able to cope and,
Glint, you silently urged me not to be afraid. I have always been afraid of
this.”
“Even
Immortals shy away,” Llettynn said.
Glint
glared at the Siric and said, “Cristi, here you may be yourself.”
“I
don’t like to hear thoughts. It’s too honest, the stuff you hear.”
“Which
is why we shun it,” Llettynn murmured.
“Goddess,
Llettynn, will you shut up,” Taranis growled.
“What
else did you hear?” McSee asked.
“That
won’t be necessary,” Taranis said.
“I
would like to know,” Llettynn stated.
“It’s
all right,” Cristi said. “I prefer to get it out, to separate it from myself.”
Taranis
nodded. “Then tell us.”
“Samson
thought of the weather and Averroes was sympathetic. The others I didn’t get …”
She paused there.
“Except?”
Llettynn prompted.
Cristi
looked at the Siric, sensing he had motive, and the motive was Rayne. “Rayne
thought about the Ruby. He thinks the tasks are perilous …” On the last word,
her eyes swivelled to Rayne.
“We
all think that,” Taranis said. “Thank you, Cristi. Glint, you were making a
point?”
“We
are mind aware, and that leads to this. The Sagorin were down to eighteen in
mortal days and to save our race we chose the Immortality Ritual. We drew a
circle; here we sit in a circle. We bent our minds to one end; here we have
established we are all mind aware. What if we place the Ruby in the centre and
concentrate our powers on it, in unison? Fourteen of us, fourteen tasks,
fourteen facets. It has logic and it leads.”
It was logical. It was also frightening.
Now? Belun asked.
“We
are alert thanks to Kylan,” Taranis said.
“So
much for sleepy insights,” Saska grinned.
“Glint
came up with a good one,” Taranis retorted.
“We
need to change order,” Llettynn pointed out. “Spread magic evenly.”
The
Siric had a point and after some discussion they changed places where
necessary, and also moved from the fire.
Taranis
and Rayne still faced each other and the Ruby would lie between them, the two
singled out by the light being. Aven and Llettynn sat at right angles to them -
Aven being closely linked to Rayne, Llettynn to Taranis. It was placement that
signified the four directions, and the others took points around the compass it
formed.
Taranis
said, “We concentrate our thoughts on one question: What is my task to
Enlightenment? If Glint is correct, each one here should receive a different
message, although what form or verse that would assume I cannot predict. When
ready, think only on that question, send it to the gem, watch it enter, use
your imagination to make it real. Hold it there as long as you feel necessary.
Rayne, we should weave an awakening enchantment.”
The
Ruby lay in the centre of the circle and Rayne pointed at it. “Do we regard
this as animate or inanimate?”
“Both,”
Llettynn stated.
Taranis
said to Rayne, “If anyone knows, it’s Llettynn.”
Rayne
said, “I trust his judgement.”
Aven
interrupted. “I think it wise if Averroes were to remove the Medaillon.”
Averroes
took it from around her neck and laid it on the grass before crossed feet.
Everyone craned to get a look at it; it did not look like much, appearing dull
and lifeless.
“Put
it outside the circle,” Taranis said. “Both you and it will be safer.” He nodded
his appreciation. “What is my task to Enlightenment? We will now do the
awakening spells.” He glanced at Rayne. “You do inanimate; I will do the
other.” Rayne nodded. “What will happen is a barely discernible shift in the
air within our circle, and when you feel it, link hands. Be prepared to send.
Ready?”
Belun
changed shape when they reshuffled, realising his Centuar form was too clumsy
to partake. He now sat cross-legged in the guise of a man.
What
a man! His skin glowed golden and a leather thong temporarily tamed his wild
gold hair. He did not surrender his wings, seeing as the Siric kept his around,
and were folded with silver tips visible over his powerful shoulders. He wore
only breeches and sturdy sandals - sandals from Taranis, breeches from a
grumbling Glint. With his silver eyes and their dark blue centres, he appeared
more otherworldly than he had as Centuar.
He
liked the form, for it gifted him a greater affinity with the forms around him.
Llettynn shook his head in mock horror at the transformation, while the humans
were awed. He could maintain the form indefinitely, an advantage soon to be
employed.
“Ready,”
Belun answered and grinned at the sound of his voice. Another advantage. He
laid his huge hands on his knees in readiness of the linking of hands. The
others followed suit.
Taranis
nodded at Rayne, who took a deep breath.
Simultaneously
the two men lifted their arms. Their hands performed the same gestures. There
came a shift in the air as Taranis predicted, akin to a gentle breeze blowing
against itself in the confined area of the circle.
Then
Rayne’s hand curled into a fist and Taranis’ spread wide. They held it that way
for a few ticking seconds, all the while staring at the Ruby. It did not react,
but as they again lowered their arms, it began to glow.
Swiftly
the circle was enjoined.
A
shaft of sunlight pierced the glade.
“Now!”
Taranis breathed command, and the fourteen sent the singular question at the
gem.
Another
beam of light hit the clearing.
Averroes
and Cristi reeled back, nearly tearing their hands from the linking, Belun and
Llettynn’s wings soared out and flopped untidily down, Saska fell face down
into the circle, but managed to hold on, Aven giggled, Mordan gargled and the
rest were as statues, only their eyes rolling back and forth.
McSee
witnessed the Ruby’s next move. He shook the way the way long grass is apt to
in gusty weather, yet he stared fixedly at the ball …
… it
glowed, first amber, then emerald, then ruby once more, before it became
completely transparent.
Then
it vanished.
McSee’s
mouth worked soundlessly, and at that moment of vanishing, everyone recovered.
Hands
unlinked without thought, and McSee pointed a shaking finger at the empty
space.
Margus’ world
From deep
sleep, the kind where dreams were the most intense, and most forgotten on
waking, something prompted Margus into full consciousness.
Something
of import had happened.
He
was immediately alert, his senses so fine-tuned in the past days he could shake
off the fuzziness of sleep without effort. He checked first on the thread …
… it
glowed luminescent yellow and vibrated
with life.
He
laughed aloud, throwing his head back to crow his pleasure.
Ah, yes, the time is near!
Elsewhere
The one
causing the thread to radiate and pulsate awakened.
The time is near. Finally.
For
him there was no enjoyment.
There
was anticipation, yes.
And
terrible foreboding.
Ardosia
A little
girl with fair hair sat up in her bed. Frightened, her tawny eyes searched for
her father.
She
found him asleep in the armchair nearby, one hand slack on her bed. Feeling
relieved, she tapped that hand.
“Varelie?”
Her
father sounded so tired. She studied him and whispered, “It’s all going to
burn, daddy.”
He paled.
No comments:
Post a Comment