| Deity | Shrine Name | Current High Priestess | Deity Attributes | Colors | Priestess & Priest titles | Area of Civil Authority | Location |
| Tiki | Crystal | Foyuna | life, light, fire, time | blue, yellow | skymage | calendar, independent mage oversight | Southeast of Queenstown |
| Mugash | Healing | Lisaykos | healing, medicine | grey, white, black | healer | healing, public health | Aybhas |
| Landa | White | Fassex | magic | purple, black | adept | punishment, magic tools, charms | Yant |
| Gertzpul | Hospitable | Sutsusum | death, roads, bridges, | dark blue, white | wayfarer | roads, bridges, travel | Two ferry Island |
| Galt | Fated | Kamagishi | knowledge, fate | red white | librarian, recorder, judge | judiciary, history, scholarship | Is¡¯syal |
| Surd | Restful | Rakkalbos | family, home, doors | tan, sap green | guardian | Vital records, wills | Surdos |
| Mueb | Bountiful | Ashansalt | harvest, nature | orange black | ranger, forester, tiller | farming | Ark¡¯kos |
| Sassoo | Singing | Senlyosart | wind, music, hunt | red ochre gray | windshaper, voice | post, news | Black Falls |
| Erhonsay | Peaceful | Irralray | war, peace, wisdom | dark green, red | defender | police (guards), military | Kas |
| Vassu | Shrouded | Moxsef | water, weather | teal, rose pink | watermage | irrigation, water systems | Weirgos |
| Giltak | Building | Raoleer | craft, commerce | yellow ochre, plum | artificer | craft guilds | Omexkel |
| The last six kings | Relationships |
| Imnestal | Fassex¡¯s great great grandfather; Senlyosart¡¯s great great great grandfather |
| Imyexalos | |
| Imdeseop | |
| Imhoyep | Lisaykos¡¯ uncle |
| Imnokos | Irralray¡¯s brother, Foyuna¡¯s uncle; note: Irralray is Foyuna''s mother |
| Imstay | Foyuna¡¯s cousin, Katsa¡¯s and Usruldes¡¯ second cousin |
Mix five parts by weight of phenol plus four parts and a tenth of phthalic anhydride made from naphthalene, grinding them if necessary. Place the mixed solids in a vessel. Then add one part by weight of concentrated sulfuric acid. Heat the vessel in a boiling water bath and stir until the contents liquefy. Remove from heat and allow contents to cool. Filter through a very fine cloth or paper. Take the filtrate and put it back in the vessel. Add water and place back into a water bath. Since phenol has a melting temperature of 40.5 ¡ãC and phthalic anhydride has a melting temperature of 131 ¡ãC, on a scale where water freezes at zero ¡ãC and boils at 100 ¡ãC, both will go into the liquid phase, leaving the phenolphthalein behind. Decant the solution and discard. Again, add water to the phenolphthalein in the vessel and place it in the heated water bath. Decant the solution and discard. Do this at least twice to wash and purify the phenolphthalein.I looked around the table and spotted the other supplementary instructions. Sulfuric acid was the most complete, starting with either copperas or chalcanthite and ending with electrolysis to precipitate metals and gasses out of the solution. I knew that copperas and pyrites were closely associated since England used to have factories dedicated to processing copperas to make dyestuffs. I had no clue what chalcanthite was. Emily''s notes included making chlorine gas, which also used electrolysis, in this case with saltwater. The naphthalene had to be reacted to the chlorine to make naphthalene tetrachloride. That compound was then reacted with nitric acid to make phthalic acid. Phthalic anhydride is made simply by heating the phthalic acid to dehydrate it. She had also written out instructions for making nitric acid by reacting sulfuric acid and saltpeter. Looking at all these instructions on making chemicals, I got to thinking about how much knowledge was living inside Emily''s head. "Emily?" She looked up at me. "Are you remembering all of this science from your previous life?" She grabbed another tablet, wrote on it, and held it out for me to take. She wrote: "No, there is more in my head now than there was ever before. I have total recall right now for things I used to look up in references. I was not like this in my previous life. If this were an isekai novel, this would be my cheat." "What''s an isekai novel? I''ve never heard of such a thing." Was it one of those odd American things, I wondered. Emily did a facepalm on herself. She then wrote: "They were a genre of Japanese literature where the protagonists were reincarnated or sent back in time with all the knowledge of their previous lives and were usually placed in fantasy settings. They became popular in the 2010s." I sat down on the lounge next to Asgotl in shock. The 2010s? I had always assumed that we had lived on Earth at around the same time, but now it looked like I was wrong about that. "Emily, when were you born and when did you die?" She wrote: "born 1950 in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Died 2021 in Missoula, Montana. Married twice, no children. Bachelors in Mineralogical Engineering, 1972, Columbia University. Masters in Chemical Engineering, 1974, Stanford University." I realized I had misread Emily all along. She was much more knowledgeable than I imagined and she had twice the life experience that I had. There was an old brain inside that 14 or 15-year-old body. "You look like a fish, gaping like that," Lisaykos walked into the study with Wolkayrs a step behind her. "Did you know, dearest, that when Emily died, she was 71?" "Is that the reason for the fish face?" Lisaykos studied Emily as if seeing her for the first time. "That explains many things, like her self-sufficiency despite her current age. How very interesting. By the way, we have found one of the two starting materials for Emily''s revelation." She picked up a cloth bag from off her work table and handed it to me. It had a unique smell. "Lisaykos, this is just mothsbane." "Exactly," Lisaykos sat down at her table. "Mothsbane is an ingredient in Emily''s recipe? It''s such a common plant." The smell of mothsbane was the same as the mothballs my mother used to buy in Coventry for storing our winter woolens. "If mothsbane was the source of one ingredient, could there be another plant with the other starting ingredient?" "That''s what Emily thought. She''s been searching books about plants for several days now." "No luck?" "Not yet," Lisaykos replied. "What a twisted god," I groaned. "It was so kind of him not to mention mothsbane. Emily, does phenol have its own smell?" She took just a few seconds to write down her reply, which stated: "Both tarry and sweet at the same time." "Huh," I tried to think of any plants which might smell like that but couldn''t come up with any. On the other hand, I didn''t know much about plants outside of those used in healing potions. I finally broached what I needed to discuss: "Emily, where do you want to spend between now and planting next year? The king''s agents have already gone through the rubble at your cave and taken everything salvageable. There''s now a ward of watching around the cave. It''s a good ward and it won''t decay for several months. I would make a case for not returning there in the short term. "You have options. You could stay here until planting, with or without trying to fix the speech problem. You could also stay at the Crystal Shrine of Tiki. As a blessed revelator, you''re entitled to your own quarters there. You could also stay at the Coyn quarters at my villa. I would argue that might be the best place since you would have room to make things if you wanted. "You could even go your own way if you were set on doing that. My point is that you do have options." Emily was making the most amazing face which was both dubious and frowning at the same time. "You also do not need to make a decision right now. Take your time and think about it." Emily grabbed that last fresh tablet and wrote: "I want to check on my magnetite, which is not at the cave. It''s several miles to the northeast." "Magnetite is just a mineral, yes? Why do you need to check up on some minerals? It won''t get up and walk off by itself." Emily wrote in reply: "Making magnets. Magnetite + lightning = magnet." "Alright, but why do you need magnets?" I felt like I was missing something here. Emily wrote: "Magnet + rotation inside metal ring = direct current for electrolysis." "So that''s why," I finally got it. "It''s too late in the day to cross the lava plains today, but could we go tomorrow?" "Oh, joy, another trip across those stinky volcanoes," the griffin muttered just loud enough for everyone to hear him. --- 18. Bobbo goes to Aybhas General Bobbo, Is''syal Bobbo arrived in Is''syal to discover the city talking about the Coyn blessed by Tiki and what it could mean. Despite this, no one knew for sure where this Coyn could be. Some even doubted that there was a blessed Coyn; that it was a trick for the Shrine of Tiki to get more resources out of the kingdom. A vocal minority, including the King''s uncles, remarked they would never get down on their knees to a Coyn, no matter how blessed she might be. The Queen was not at the palace nor did she tell anyone where she was going, which was typical of the woman. She had gone her own way since the last big fight she had with Imstay, about 10 years ago. She could be anywhere. After wandering about the palace talking with people, he left on foot for his own home. His house wasn''t large since it was just him, his cook, his house cleaner, and two Coyn for errands and grounds keeping. Halfway home, he noticed someone was following him. He detoured to the eastside market and ducked into a butcher''s shop. He flipped the counter clerk a silver, "show me the back door." In seconds, he was in an alley and running in the opposite direction of his house. Coming out on a side street, he stepped into a tea shop, sat down, and had a leisurely cup of tea. He pondered who could have set a tail on him. The Queen? She had a small number of agents, all of whom were quite talented at not getting caught. The King? The King had many agents he could use, but why? Did Imstay think he was working for the Queen or a rival family? Bobbo didn''t have a lot of magic, but he was talented with mid- to near-field clairvoyance at the expense of most other magics. He could make a light and cast the charm of warmth, but other than those three things, his magic was not really useful. It was why he worked so hard to educate himself. What he lacked in magic, he made up for in intelligence. He was not born into a noble family; he had worked his way up through the ranks through hard work and a bit of luck. He extended his vision and hearing to scout the area around the tea shop. His tail was either gone or had good enough magic to conceal himself. Bobbo walked home by a winding route. Once home, his house cleaner helped him with dyeing his brown and white hair black. He then dressed in a tunic and trews that had seen better days. Leaving by the delivery door, he made his way to the Big Fish, a tavern where information was bought and sold. He waited across the street until he could tag along with a group entering the tavern. Then he walked to the counter in the back and signaled the barkeep. He slid a small box on the counter, "this is for the lady of the house." The barkeep put a mug of the house beer in front of him and walked through a door to the back end of the tavern. Bobbo finished the beer, put a silver under the mug, and left. Once he was safely home, he washed the dye out of his hair, though the rinse that removed it was nasty. His scalp would be red with irritation for several days. The next morning, a wagon hauling beer pulled up to Bobbo''s delivery gate. The driver tried to give the firkin to the Coyn working in the yard. The Coyn protested, rightfully pointing out he couldn''t even lift it and told the driver to quit being lazy and take it inside. The driver did so but slapped the Coyn on the face twice before leaving. The Coyn dropped and the driver left. The cook came running out after watching the incident through the kitchen window. "Gily?" she shook the Coyn''s shoulder. Then she swore and carried him inside. Once inside, she put him back on his feet. "Good show there, Gily," the cook said to the completely conscious Coyn. "I know it''s fake but I can''t help but think it''s real, you fall down so well." "Well, it does sting a bit," Gily replied, rolling his jaw around to check for soreness. "Got some ice in the icebox if you need it," the cook picked up the firkin like it was nothing. "I just need to take this upstairs to the master." With the firkin safely delivered to his study, Bobbo lifted the fake end piece and removed two pages of parchment. He sat down in his favorite chair to review all the Queen''s movements since the princess and prince were lost in a snow storm. Based on the Queen''s movements, it was more than certain that the maker of fire, now known as the Blessed Emily, was staying at the Healing Shrine of Mugash. As he pondered his next move, an errant thought interrupted him: Emily was a very strange name. It didn''t sound like a Fosk name at all. He wondered where it came from. ---- Usruldes the Wraith, Is''syal I wasn''t surprised that General Bobbo picked up on my following him. I had my street face on, in my guise as a royal courier, walking behind him at a distance of about 200 paces. If he spotted me as the person "following" him, I would just be his neighbor four doors down from where he lived on Brewers'' Row walking home after a day''s work at the palace. No, he didn''t spot me behind him. He went into stealth mode immediately and ducked into the misnamed eastside market, which was on the west side of the palace. Hundreds of years ago, it was on the east edge of the residential neighborhoods and has since kept its name despite its location now on the west side of the city. The General vanished into a butcher''s shop and slipped out the back door. I followed him with my clairvoyance, which doesn''t require a line-of-sight like most mages. My clairvoyance is probably the second or third best in the kingdom, though all the other top clairvoyants have no idea I even exist. The trick of not needing a direct line-of-sight without a shrine-grade major crystal is something I learned from my teacher. She lived underneath a swamp many wagon-days away to the west of Foskos and wasn''t even human. My magic was like my teacher: not even human. My clairvoyance was why I was a spy''s spy. I meandered home to my wonderful family, even picking up some flowers for my lovely and understanding wife, all while following Bobbo in my mind as he stopped at a tea shop and then took an indirect route home. The general greatly amused me. He disguised himself, and did quite a good job too, and then visited a bar known for buying and selling information. It was one of my operations. I saw nothing wrong with his request for an accounting of the Queen''s movements over the last year. The information on the Queen''s location as well as that of the maker of fire would make both his life and mine a little easier. I took a stroll after dinner and left instructions for my employees at the bar to provide Bobbo with a complete dossier on the Queen and her movements. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. I suppose I could have made Imstay''s life easier by revealing that I already knew the detailed movements of the maker of fire. I didn''t because he delegated the task to his scouts, which I considered a bunch of bumbling bullies. I think I was a little reluctant too. Something in me wanted that little Coyn to escape Imstay''s grasp. I loved Imstay. He was the saving of me but he wasn''t easy on the Coyn he owned. The maker of fire was so smart and so hard-working and so pathetic. I wanted those kind people at the Shrine of Mugash to keep her safe and far away from Imstay''s less than admirable attitude toward Coyn. I already had an agent employed in the Shrine of Mugash''s garden and one in the kitchen. I also had six agents in a well-heeled house on the west side of Aybhas to keep track of comings and goings at the shrine, mostly through remote-viewing clairvoyance. I was tempted to travel to Aybhas to observe Bobbo''s visit though it presented some danger. The Holy Lisaykos and the Queen were powerful enough to potentially detect me even with my forbidden and unorthodox charms. I would have to decide tonight if I wanted to be onsite before Bobbo arrived. ---- Lisaykos, Healing Shrine of Mugash General Bobbo entered the shrine through the front entrance. He was considerate of the people in line by not cutting it. He was patient with the delay as the line moved slowly. He was humble and polite when asking to speak with me. I know all this since I was watching him from the second-floor walkway in the Atrium. He didn''t put a foot out of place. I''ve never been quite sure whether Bobbo is a good guy who is really a bad guy at heart, or a bad guy who really is a good guy at heart. Everything about him is deliberate, almost as if he practiced his demeanor in a mirror. It always left me wondering what was underneath his facade. A runner from the entry desk caught up to me as I was returning to my study. I gave instructions for Bobbo and his mount, Niefl''flaf, to use the south balcony on the fourth floor. I was seated and working at my table when he knocked on the door jam of my open door. When I looked up, he knelt and saluted me: "May the blessing of the gods be upon you, Holy One." "And also upon you. Please get up and come in, General." I decided to cut straight to the point. "If you''re looking for the Blessed Emily, she not here." I even smiled, to see if I could rattle him. He didn''t miss a beat: "That''s a shame. When will she be here so I may speak with her?" "Probably in the late afternoon, when she and the Queen are done with their errands. Alternatively, you could come tomorrow." "I''ll take my chances on this afternoon," he bowed and turned to go when something caught his eye. He stepped over to Wolkayrs'' work table and examined the manuscript for Emily''s revelation. "This is...seriously, a recipe for a laxative?" "Yes, a revelation to loosen the bowels. Hurts the brain, doesn''t it?" "Tiki is certainly a twisted god. What are all these strange names? Phthalic anhydride? Phenol? Naphthalene tetra...chlor...?" "I don''t understand the instructions in the revelation myself and I don''t know what the names are," I leaned back in my chair. "Strangely enough, the Queen understands the revelation and all those names. Naphthalene is just mothsbane sap, by the way. We haven''t been able to identify this phenol stuff yet." "Unbelievable," Bobbo muttered. "Well, I will be back later today, Holy One." --- General Bobbo, Aybhas Garrison Bobbo left the shrine and landed Niefl''flaf in the forecourt of the Aybhas Garrison. He dismounted and waved a groom over. "This is Niefl''flaf. Please give him a grooming and a good rubdown. Give him the freedom of the grounds until the sixth bell. Then tack him back up." He dug five bronze out of his money pouch and gave it to the girl, "this should cover the service and whatever he wants to eat, but don''t let him have more than one apple. Keep the change." It was one bronze over the usual tip but he overtipped so Niefl''flaf would have premium care. "Hey, boss! That''s not fair!" the winged horse protested. "Make me fly all this way and expend all that energy and not let me have more than one apple?" "If you do, we''ll have to stop at least twice for you to have the trots and I''m the one who has to wash your butt off in the river. Only one apple." Bobbo glared at his mount and then turned to look at the groom who was amused. "Just one apple it is, sir! Thank you, sir!" The groom flipped one of the bronzes in the air and deftly caught it before stashing the money in her belt pouch. Bobbo strolled to the entrance of the garrison''s headquarters where he was stopped by the sentry. She was a middle-aged woman who looked fit enough to be a threat to anyone who crossed her. "May I ask your business, friend?" "I wish freedom of the garrison. I am Lord Bobbo haup Pinisla, general of the left of the King''s army." He presented his tablet of authority, a fire opal carved with the symbol of his rank and the king''s insignia. "Wait one moment, Honored One. She whistled, "Quit stuffing your face, Usko, and cover the gate. I need to escort someone." "Coming!" A younger woman arrived running. The first sentry led Bobbo to the office of the garrison captain, who stood up and saluted with her fist over her heart. She was only 24 and already a garrison commander. It didn''t matter how good a soldier one was, what mattered for the speed of promotion was how much taller you were and how white your hair was. He swallowed his bitterness and smiled as if he really meant it. "At ease, Captain Tyoep. Please be seated." He sat down in a chair facing her. "It''s been a few years, Captain." "Indeed it has," she smiled at the memory. "Those were good times. So what can I do for you, Honored One?" "I would like the freedom of the garrison for a few hours," explained Bobbo. "I have some time on my hands before an appointment at the shrine." "Oh? Is the campaign already winding down?" She looked surprised. Bobbo thought, she must think I''m here to make arrangements for the badly wounded. "After last year''s performance at taking their largest city, most of the towns decided to capitulate when we arrived. Only a handful resisted. Now, all we have to do is win the peace." He didn''t tell Tyoep that all the Coyn settlements were empty and the inhabitants fled into the Naver Mountains to the south, probably to die of starvation or attacks by wild beasts or the freezing weather during the cold season. He thought it a great waste of good farming talent. "Freedom of the garrison granted," she smiled with a mischievous glint. "Bet a beer I can beat you in a spar." "Oh, you think?" he grinned back. "Not likely, little girl." She was at least two hands taller than he was. "I''ve gotten better," she made a rueful face. "I had to. Doesn''t look good if the old lady running the place can''t beat most of the troops." "Old lady...," he busted up laughing at her calling herself an old lady. "You haven''t even had children yet." She had two or three years to go before she took the customary time off to establish a family. "Hey old man, do you want to try to beat me, or should I collect that beer now?'' "Hehehee, you can try, little girl," he grinned, but he knew better than to underestimate her. She was taller, had a longer reach, and was a lot younger than he was. He was as fit as ever but he was five years older than the last time he sparred with her. She might be stronger than he was now, not that strength was a deciding factor when fighting with weapons. His true advantage was his skill. "Well, let''s get going to the practice ground, grandpa." 19. Feral Coyn Usruldes the Wraith, Aybhas I knew that the General of the Left was a lonely guy. Sometimes I thought that stupid winged horse of his was his best friend, and yes, Niefl''flaf was on the stupid side, even for a flying horse. Many years ago, Bobbo was sweet on a priestess warrior of Erhonsay. They had their hand-in-hand ceremony scheduled when she died in a training accident. He has not looked at another woman since. I sat in the one-room shelter my agents had built for myself and Cadrees as I watched Bobbo lesson the gals of the garrison. It was common knowledge that the only warrior in Foskos who was a better fighter than Bobbo was the King. Bobbo wasn''t as big or as strong as a silverhair. He constantly exercised to maintain the stamina he needed to beat a silverhair in a fight; however, Bobbo fought with his mind as well as his body. Many silverhairs relied on pounding someone to death. Bobbo analyzed them to death. He had excellent mid-range clairvoyance and maybe just a touch of precog to help him dodge and weave. He had the remarkable talent of not being where his opponents'' weapons traveled. He was infamous for a rising offside axe shot with an optional shield hook that dropped behind a shield and got an opponent in the left ribs. With a short sword in his hand, the same basic motion took the left arm off at the shoulder socket. I think he fought everyone who was off duty at the garrison and a few that were on duty. No one beat him, not even the garrison commander. He beat her easily, five times. Then he told her how he beat her so she would improve. He actually talked to every opponent, teaching them how to get better. He was an excellent teacher. I could see him retiring to Kas to teach fighting in his old age. It was obvious to me that Captain Tyoep, the garrison commander, liked the General, in a woman being attracted to a man sort of way. She was flirting. He was so far gone down the path of a single male that he didn''t even realize it. I had to wonder if he was missing the flirting cues because he was so short. Seriously, she was almost a whole head taller than he was, but mismatched heights are not uncommon between silverhairs and their halfhair or unmagical partners. My wife and I are a good example of that since I''m two heads taller than she is, though I am tall for a silverhair man and she is short for a halfhair. Sometimes it just works out that way. Oyyuth has a lot of magic for her height, inheriting all of the talents that run in her family for magical fine control over temperature charms, a critical skill for brewers. She can make light and has rudimentary telekinesis. She can manage to omnicast for help over a very short range, but that''s all she can do. It''s exceptional considering how short she is but I would have fallen in love with her regardless. I''m afraid I fell for her the first time I saw her and I''ve been smitten ever since. I was eighteen and Old Gwilekos, my mentor in spycraft, started to take me to the draught rooms of local breweries in Is''syal for practice in the art of eavesdropping by clairvoyance. That''s one of the things she set out to teach me since it is neither simple nor easy to listen in on just one conversation in a noisy crowded room. Oyyuth was sixteen. Her father had her learning every job in the family business. When I first saw her, she was learning the jobs of the draught room for the Kay''syo Brewery. My first sight of her was with three pitchers of beer in each hand, dodging bodies, tables, and chairs as she navigated the floor of the draught room. Even at sixteen, she was mature in ways I didn''t expect, and she bounced drunks as well as her old man could. I was captivated. I was a regular in under a year, excluding when I was sent on my first missions. The King enrolled me as a royal courier, though it was an open secret that some of the couriers were spies. I was cleanshaven and cut my hair short in the unofficial bowl cut worn by all couriers. I frequented businesses with the hood of my mantle up to create the accepted polite fiction that I was just another middle-class citizen instead of a silverhair. That hood got me my own chair in the back corner of the draught room. The white eyebrows still meant I got great service but the hood signaled I didn''t expect the use of lawful honorifics. I would stop in every afternoon before crafters and artificers quit for the day so I was there before the evening rush and usually left before the dinner hour. I always had a book with me, assigned by the King who wanted to improve my education. I would watch Oyyuth from under my hood. It took me two years before I got the courage to talk to her beyond making change for my horn of beer. I didn''t have problems talking to other girls, just Oyyuth. By eighteen, she was running the draught room and all its employees. Oyyuth treated me like any other customer. Her old man started hanging out in the draught room in the afternoon to glower at me. I couldn''t dredge up the courage to ask her out and yet, I couldn''t stop watching her surreptitiously from under my hood. It was a terrible situation. I knew at some point I either had to ask for parental permission to take her out, since she hadn''t asked for me first, or be invited by her brooding father to leave and not come back. Unknown to me, Old Gwilekos knew Kirurffi hat Kay''syo. Kirurffi, who was a lot smarter than most people knew, recognized me as one of her students. That''s why he hadn''t already tossed me out though both Kirurffi and his daughter Oyyuth knew I was attracted to her. Kirurffi had observed that I was tongue-tied in front of Oyyuth. Old Gwilekos couldn''t tell him my background because the King has told no one who I was. Old Gwilekos reported the situation to the King. The King paid Kirurffi a visit I didn''t know about. The next day, Oyyuth walked up to me with a horn-sized beaker filled with cold water she had just chilled down. She yanked my hood down and inspected the haircut. I was aghast and too startled to speak. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. "Alright, Courier Hessakos, let''s see your tablet," she stood with one fist cocked on her hip and the other held out in front of my face. I took my fire opal tablet as a royal courier out of its special case on my belt and handed it to her. She duly inspected it, "huh, so that''s what one of these things looks like." She handed it back to me and as I put it away, she dumped the really cold water on my head. "What was that for?" I managed to sputter. "That''s for making your legal guardian who lives in the big house on top of the hill come and talk to my dad because you were too timid to do it yourself," she said, using one of the ways city residents referred to the palace. "Wha...?" Just then, I heard Imstay''s laugh from the draught bar. There he was, hiding his long braided hair under a hooded mantle, standing with Kirurffi back by the big barrels of tapped beer. They were laughing and slapping each other on the back. I think my chin hit my toes. I had been set up. "Come on, wet one," Oyyuth dragged me to my feet by the brooch and chain closure of my mantle. "We''re going for a walk." "We are?" "Yes, we are, master too-shy-to-ask-me-out," she dragged me to the door with her finger hooked under my mantle chain. She smiled serenely and looked quite pleased. We were married two years later. --- General Bobbo, Aybhas The military was split between offensive forces, which were mostly men, and defensive garrisons, which were mostly women. As common wisdom stated, nothing was fierce as a woman protecting home and family. As a result, the culture of Foskos assumed men were better at aggression in attacking and women were better at ferocity in defense. Wars of conquest and raids for revenge were handled mostly by men. Policing and defense of communities and castles were handled mostly by women. Bobbo was quite happy with his afternoon on the garrison practice grounds. A few of the women of the garrison gave him a real workout, which made the effort worthwhile. He had to switch to his preferred weapon, the single-bitted axe, to beat the garrison''s two best fighters. He took his leave right after the sixth bell and returned to the fourth floor of the shrine. There was no sign of the Queen''s griffin on the south balcony where he left Niefl''flaf to chew his pinion feathers for lack of anything better to do. He was about to knock on the door to the High Priestess''s door when it opened. Lisaykos looked down her long beak of a nose at him, "skip the formalities, General, and leave that fighting axe and buckler on your backstrap outside the door." She waited for him to do so and motioned that he should sit on one of the two lounges against the north wall. As he sat, he noted the small set of Coyn-sized steps on one side of the lounge against the south wall. "Tea? Beer? Kayberry juice? The tea is hot." She pulled some beakers off the bottom shelf of the sideboard. "Oh, please, not more beer. I got quite soaked at the garrison. Make it tea, please." "I was guessing that''s where you went by the fresh dust on your boots and the sweat ring around the neck of your undertunic," she placed a beaker of hot tea in front of him. He slipped a surreptitious finger under the collar of his tunic and was a bit abashed that what she said was correct. It figured the old bird would notice something like that. He always had to watch himself around her. She was so sharp. Very little got by her. He would always be careful not to make an enemy out of her: that''s how much he respected her. The fact that she was a pure silverhair and even taller than the king only added to the intimidation factor---not that he would ever reveal that she scared the crap out of him. The only other person who scared him more was the Queen. "Before the Queen and Emily return, General, I thought I would share a few thoughts for when you attempt to speak with our Coyn guest," she began. He found the word guest very interesting, "go on." "Emily is not of Foskos. She is a free Coyn and just as standoffish as the Sea Coyn traders of Inkalim. She is also mute. If a question needs an answer beyond yes or no, she will write it out on a wax tablet." Bobbo was surprised and showed it. "She''s literate? The revelation I saw this morning wasn''t dictated? She wrote that?" "No, that''s the work of my secretary based on what she wrote on wax tablets. His handwriting is much better than even mine, and I have a fair fist. But yes, she is quite literate and extremely intelligent. She is also quite feral. So my advice is to be careful how you address her and do not approach her. She is not a tame Foskos Coyn so don''t expect her to act like one." "I''m not sure I understand," Bobbo frowned. "From the old injuries she had when she was first brought here, it was obvious to those of us involved in her healing that she suffered badly at the hands of Cosm. We don''t know where and we don''t know when, but it''s as clear as daylight that she doesn''t like us and doesn''t like being around us. She doesn''t want to be here and she is not happy that she can''t go home because agents of the King destroyed it when they entered it in her absence." "What about the blessing of Tiki?" Bobbo protested. "Doesn''t that tie her to Foskos and make her one of us?" "I thought you knew better than that, General Bobbo." Her words came out coated in ice. "The gods care very little for borders and the petty little kingdoms and nations we chose to form for ourselves or impose upon others. Their will is inscrutable. Tiki must know why he gave a feral Coyn from the northern wilderness a revelation that''s a recipe for relieving colon distress because I can not sort night nor day from it." "Blarg," he swore. "Anyway, Emily is shy and skittish and I do not know how she will react to a male Cosm who is obviously a seasoned soldier. That''s why I asked you to leave your weapons outside. My advice to you is to appear as harmless as possible, and whatever you do, speak softly and calmly, and try not to make any sudden movements." "Feral Coyn, eh?" Why was his life never easy, he asked himself. Lisaykos smiled that frightening smile of hers at him, the one that made him wonder if she tortured small children or kittens for fun. "She hasn''t bitten anyone as far as we can tell." --- 20. No Basis for Negotiation Emily, Valley of the Vanishing River/Aybhas The only good thing about the trip to my valley was retrieving some magnetite. Several of the pieces of shaped slabs of magnetite had been struck by lightning and magnetized. We took two of the slabs back with us. We also stopped at what little was left of my home. Most of the rubble had been taken out of the collapsed cave and piled up in heaps. From the many Cosm-sized footsteps on the ground of the fire scar surrounding my former home, it was obvious someone had bothered to go through the wreckage. If there had been anything to salvage, they had already taken it. Given that the King had sent agents to my valley, it was likely anything worth saving was in the possession of the King of Foskos. So old kingy-poo was once a distant figure who tolerates horrible injustices to Coyn. Now he advanced to the person who destroyed my home and stole my stuff. The only exception was my spool of silk thread. Did the King''s men miss it because it was dark-colored and hard to spot? I didn''t see it on the rubble pile. The Queen saw it, picked it up, and handed it to me. There was soot on it but there was also one of my two precious steel needles. It was still stuck in the spool behind the thread. The other needle had been in my pouch but my pouch was now gone. It was either destroyed in the explosion or taken by kingy-poo''s men. The thought crossed my mind that it would be nice to try out my design for gun cotton grenades on old kingy-poo. I think I was just a bit ticked off. That was before we saw the hot springs. The hot springs looked like someone had a frat party and didn''t clean up afterward. There was litter and poultry bones and partly eaten meals all over, so the scavenging animals had come down the mountain to eat the free leftovers after the partiers had left. So there was now animal excrement everywhere. The partiers had also cut down several trees, some of which they allowed to fall into the pools. The pathway and the stair into the lower pool were smashed and the soaking bench I so lovingly made was knocked down and in pieces. After seeing the hot springs, I resolved to build traps to prevent future intrusion---that is, if I still wanted to try living there again. Now known as a place where I had once made a home, it was no longer protected by being hidden from others. The secrecy of the place, which was part of its protection for me, was now gone. So much was lost in such a short time: it left me feeling adrift and anchorless. I was floating, at the mercy of whatever current had caught me up and I hated feeling that way. All I had left were two tools I had made, my knife, my little belt blade hidden in the billet guard of my belt, and the knowledge in my head. If it had not been for the Cosm of the healing shrine, I would not even have clothes or shoes. It''s not that I wasn''t grateful, but I loathed the feeling of being in their debt; to make it worse, I felt guilty for not wanting to be in their debt, since I had concluded the Cosm at the shrine were decent people. Or maybe I should reverse that and say they were decent people who just happened to be Cosm. It didn''t feel comfortable, but I had to acknowledge that my black-and-white view of Cosm wasn''t going to work for me anymore. What I yearned for, though, was to get away and have some time alone. I wanted to walk the river bottoms where the yews grow, to cut a new bow stave; and I wanted to meander through the balmbrush and cedar forest that grew between the lava flows of the rift valley and sinks of the Vanishing River, to cut new arrow shafts. I had already started collecting griffin feathers to use as fletching. As it was, the planting season was over and the growing season was already halfway done. The wheat planted last harvest season was already cut on the south end of the kingdom near Black Falls. Maize and barley were already tall in the fields. Time was getting away from me. If I was going to leave this place, I had to do it soon or it would be too late to find a new home and prepare for the cold season. It might already be too late since I didn''t know if I could find a new place to live in time. Another cave would be great but I had been lucky in finding the old one and didn''t feel optimistic I could find another. I had explored every inch of my valley and I was sure there were no more caves to find there. Building a house would take too long. I doubted I could make a habitable structure to withstand the winter storms before those storms arrived. Living on the fringes of the Coyn slums was doable for the cold season, as they called winter here. The problem was that I wasn''t a child anymore, which would make it harder to go undetected. Besides, that wasn''t what I called living. I had gotten too used to walking with my head up under the trees of my forested valley. It would be a move of desperation to go back to how I used to live, with my head down on the edges, hoping not to be noticed by either Cosm or adult Coyn. I would never want to go back to that. Those days still haunt my nightmares. Those were the thoughts running through my head as the Queen and I returned to the shrine on Asgotl''s broad back. I had shown him my route across the volcanic rift zone, where the rootless fissures never erupted lava, at least not any time recently. If on foot, my route includes a phreatic explosion crater with a spring of drinkable water at its bottom. It doesn''t taste great, but it is drinkable. I stumbled on it years ago while stalking a herd of antelope. They stopped to drink, which is how I found it. That one spring makes it possible to make the four-day slog across the broken lava landscape. The trick to the route was to skirt the newer flows and stay on the older flows which have some soil and vegetation on them. It''s a longer walk in terms of distance but a shorter one in terms of time. It''s very difficult to walk on the broken-up newer flows. Crossing the rift valley in under one bell on Asgotl was wonderful compared to the four-day slog on foot. Flying also meant I didn''t need to resole my shoes after ripping them up walking on basalt, cinder, and scoria. With my thoughts in a messy jumble, Asgolt made a sudden turn away from the shrine as we approached it from the northwest. He turned north over Aybhas and then circled back to land on the north balcony, not the south balcony closest to Lisaykos''s suite. It had been too warm for wearing sheepskin while flying, but it still got nippy on Asgotl''s back when he gained altitude and speed. The Queen had wrapped the front of her woolen flying cape around me to keep me from getting cold. She didn''t remove it immediately when we landed. "I''m not sure you saw, Emily, but there was a winged horse on the south balcony," the queen said. "I think you should stay strapped into the saddle until I can see who has come to visit. If it''s not safe for you, Asgotl can take you to his family''s aeries in the high peaks to the east. That''s one place no Cosm would dare go." "Mind consulting me about this?" the griffin interrupted. "Consider yourself consulted," she snapped. "Besides, it''s true. It''s the safest place I can think of in short term." "Well, yes, you are right about that," he grumped, tired, thirsty, and hungry for the basket of meat that Wolkayrs probably had ready for him. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. The queen dismounted, took off her cloak, and then wrapped it around me---three times. It was a bit on the large side. "There, if Asgotl needs to leave in hurry, you''ll stay warm. Asgotl, you know the signal to leave, and if anyone approaches who is not me or Lisaykos, leave anyway." "I understand," he didn''t sound happy. It was warm, wrapped up in the queen''s oversized cloak. With a light breeze blowing a hint of the fragrance of balmbushes from off the lava plains, it was peaceful and quiet. I nodded off strapped into the saddle so I couldn''t fall. The queen tapping me on the shoulder woke me up. "You''re not tired, are you?" She looked amused. "It''s not even sunset. So, here''s what''s going on. The King sent one of his more reliable staff to sound you out on whether you would sell or trade some of your creations. It looks like matches are high on the list but so is cast iron and maybe steel if they have figured steel out. I''m not sure they know the difference. "Emily, you don''t have to deal with the emissary if you don''t want to. Just say the word and we will send him on his way." That sounded great to me. I didn''t want to meet anyone in kingy-poo''s employ, especially after what they did to my home and hot springs. "That being said," the queen made a rueful face, "you might want to at least meet this particular emissary and see what he has to say. Out of all the people the King could have sent, the one he picked is probably the most reasonable man in his retinue. His name is Bobbo. He''s highly-educated by Cosm standards, cultured and smart. He''s probably the best person the King could have sent to talk with you." I thought it out for a minute or so and then nodded yes with some resignation. I might as well get this over with. After all, if I didn''t agree to meet an emissary this evening, more would certainly show up unless I decided to bug out from Foskos altogether. And given that I had no safe place to run and hide, I didn''t have the option of just walking away and not dealing with the Cosm who wanted to trap me here. For now, it might be a choice between the Cosm I could deal with, like the Queen and the healers, as opposed to those I did not know, like the King and his followers. I shed the Queen''s cloak and unstrapped myself from the saddle. --- General Bobbo, Healing Shrine of Mugash I did not know what I expected, but this young thing halfway between a girl and a woman was not it. She was small too. Even by Coyn standards, she was small. Given how thin she was, she may have grown up without enough food to grow properly. Her face was pleasant but plain and her hair a non-descript color of brown. It was her eyes that were startling. From the moment she stood in the doorway studying me, she nailed me to a wall with her eyes, those angry, burning, intense eyes. I left my seat on the lounge and got on both knees to give her a proper deep obeisance rather than a military salute. "May the blessings of the gods be upon you, Great One," I bowed my head but looked up after waiting for the expected response. The Coyn was giving me an intense and questioning look, frozen in the doorway. "General Bobbo," the Queen stood behind the Blessed Emily, "she can''t speak, so please, spare your knees and sit down." "Thank you, Great One," I bowed my head again and then sat back down. I waited for the Queen and the Coyn to sit on the lounge against the south wall, and then I waited for the Queen to begin the conversation, as required by protocol and good manners. "I hear the campaign went well and finished early, General," the Queen gave me a cue. "Yes, Great One," I nodded. "Few chose to fight. Most either opened their gates or chose to flee and abandon their settlements. With the absorption of those two river valleys to the east, we should no longer have any grain shortages, barring failed crops. The hard part now will be building a haulage road through the mountains. For those sorts of tasks, my talents are no longer needed, so the King asked me if I could come and open discussions with the maker of fire, also known as the Blessed Emily, about the secret to making instant fire." I put my best hopeful smile on my face and looked back at the Coyn, whose eyes were still burning a hole through my head. "Of course, the King would like to inquire what requirements the Blessed Emily would have for us in order to share her knowledge," I added. The little Coyn reached for a wax tablet from a pile stacked neatly on the side table next to the lounge. Then she wrote at length. At one point the Queen, looking over her shoulder, stopped her. "Emily, they don''t use miles here. Use wagon-days. One wagon-day is about 12 miles." The Coyn flipped the stylus over and rubbed out some words with the blunt end, and then went back to writing. Given the passion with which she wielded the stylus, I suspected she would not favor the King and his desire for the things she might make. Finally, she was done. I was a bit shocked that the Queen got up to bring the tablet to me. When I saw that, I started to get up to stop her but Lisaykos put a warning hand on my knee to keep me seated. Then I remembered the instruction I was given not to get up or make any sudden movements. What I read on the tablet astounded me. In a passable hand using very small letters, Emily wrote: "I can do nothing at the moment since agents in the employ of the king trespassed on my home, and in their meddling, destroyed it by touching that which should not have been disturbed. The results were a fire which left a fire scar four wagon-days long and a half wagon-day wide, as well as the destruction of all my tools and ingredients, some of which took two to three years to make. As his employees caused the loss of all I possessed, I will do nothing for the king without the restoration of my home and goods, or an equivalent worth in some mutually acceptable trade good or currency. Those are the conditions which must be met before I will consider any exchange for knowledge regarding any of the things I have created." I let the words settle in my brain, and took a deep breath, thinking how I might move what could be a small but immovable object seated across the room from me. "That''s certainly quite clear," I put my hopeful face back on, "though I think this is not what my sovereign was hoping for. I believe he was hoping that you might negotiate with your King in a more friendly manner than this." She grabbed another tablet and started gouging out a reply in the wax. Looking at what she was writing, the Queen looked surprised and maybe even a little upset. The Coyn wrote: "He is not my king. I am not his subject. Foskos is not where I live. I am not like other people. I lived in my valley to be left in peace, unburdened by the demands of others. I am a guest here at this shrine, and not by my own choice. I was brought here without my knowledge or consent by the Queen, who in an act of mercy, rescued me after an accident. I was not conscious at the time I was injured. While I was cared for here, the king''s agents destroyed my home, thus robbing me of the ability to shelter in my valley through the upcoming winter and forcing me on the kindness of others whom I have little means to repay. What have I ever done to deserve the destruction of my home at the hands of the king''s men? Is this my recompense for the act I now regret of rescuing his children who were lost and wounded near my home two seasons ago? Given how the king has repaid me homelessness for my charity, why should I be interested in anything he has to offer?" It now made sense why this little feral Coyn wanted to drill two holes through me with her burning glare. What she wrote was upsetting. It also left me sad that her world had been turned upside down through no fault of her own. I would like to know what it was those two scouts had disturbed in Emily''s cave that caused the explosion and the fire afterward; however, I was in no position to ask about it. I wondered if she knew that the King''s agents scavenged whatever they could find out of the rubble of her home. "I believe I understand the circumstances behind your request," I sighed. "I have enough to return to my sovereign so he can plan how he wishes to proceed from here. I thank you for your candor, Great One, and for your time." I looked at the Queen, "might I have your leave to depart, Great One?" She nodded, so I got up in an unhurried manner. Before I bowed my way out, I had a premonition that I needed to share: "Just one thing before I go. Someone tried to follow me when I left Is''syal. I took steps to lose them, but the problem with the best trackers is that you never really know when you''re being tracked. I don''t know who would want me tailed; or better put, I don''t think I want to put a name to the one likeliest to have me tracked. Regardless, I would suggest that you increase the guard around Emily and move her out of reach of those who move in the shadows." Then I bowed myself out and left. I wondered if there might still be dinner left at the garrison, where I would beg a bed for the night since it was too late to fly back to Is''syal. 21. Epiphany Emily, Healing Shrine of Mugash I almost ran away when I saw an axe and shield leaning on the wall outside Lisaykos'' study. As it was, I stopped as the sight of the weapons triggered the memory of the bunkhouse set on fire. The Cosm guards of the breeding farm killed anyone who ran out of the building. The screams as my bunkmates died in the flames still haunt my nightmares. To this day, I do not know how I was overlooked when the corpses were collected and burned. Left for dead in a drainage ditch, the fever that had spread through the bunkhouse should have killed me. The blow to my head should also have doomed me. Waking in that ditch, the pain in my head was the worst I ever experienced during either of my lives. It was then that I bit the control gem off my hand with my teeth. I don''t remember how I got out of the ditch. My next memory was hiding under another bunkhouse. How I lived after that is a painful thing to remember. I ate snakes and insects and the remains of discarded food off the middens, and I stole what I could not scavenge. I don''t know why the sight of weapons will trigger the memory of that night, but it does: Cosm men hacking and impaling the few escaping girls, backlit by the flames of the burning bunkhouse, playing over and over again in my mind. When I saw the weapons outside Lisaykos'' study, the memory threatened to overcome me; but I pushed it aside and stuffed it back down the hole it came from. It wasn''t easy. It was hard to push those horrific images away but I knew I had to do it to deal with the King''s minion. This wasn''t the time to show weakness. Confronted with beings who possessed both magical powers and physical supremacy, my only advantage was what was in my mind. I could not afford to show any mental shortcomings or deficiencies. "Emily, are you alright?" the Queen looked down at me. "You just went white as snow." She was keeping pace with me by shortening her stride and dropping her cadence. I don¡¯t know how long I stood there but I stopped until I could no longer see the flames and the death with my eyes open. When they were gone, I started walking again. The Cosm general performed a proper obeisance when I entered the room. That was freaky. I doubt I will ever get used to that. The general then explained that he came on King''s behalf. The King wanted the recipe for making matches. That made me angry. The King was the indirect cause of burning down my home, and now he wanted to haggle? Over matches? It was just too surreal. I had an epiphany right then: people wanted what I could make. Properly leveraged, my knowledge was a commodity and it was a seller''s market. I was safe so long as people in power thought they could profit from me. It was also a weapon, but using knowledge that way was a more dangerous path to follow. I think I was close to this realization when I told the Queen I would trade steel for the emancipation of the Coyn, but when I said that to the Queen, it was my depression and my rage at this screwed up kingdom that was talking. It was odd that my realization only took a breath or two, sitting on a couch and just talking. It was odd because it happened in such a mundane setting but it changed everything. The world changed right then because of it. I had a tool no one else had. The only thing that limited my use of it was myself. In the face of the King''s emissary, I had found my courage. My demand for restitution was written by my rage. I would play hard to get as a delaying tactic. Now that I knew what I wanted, I needed time more than anything else to figure out how to get it. The study was quiet after General Bobbo left. Then the Queen asked a question which she should have asked two rotations ago: "Emily, what caused the explosion at your cave?" I wrote the one-word answer on a fresh tablet: "gunpowder." "Why? I mean, why did you make gunpowder? That stuff is dangerous, isn''t it?" I was beginning to get tired of writing long answers, but I wrote: "Used it to mine magnetite. Low power explosive but easy to make, safe to store. Should not have been enough to blow up cave. I think blast wave knocked down walls---then, lacking support, roof fell in." "Well, that''s understandable," the Queen looked relieved for some reason. "What''s understandable? What is gunpowder?" Lisaykos asked from the other couch. It occurred to me that while the Queen and I knew about explosives, this technology did not exist on this world, at least not yet. Lisaykos lacked an understanding of what explosives were and how they destroyed things. "Remember when the red terraces above the Fire Pot were destroyed?" the Queen explained. "Huge blocks of rocks were thrown into the air and strewn all around, and where the terraces once were, there is now just a huge crater filled with rubble." "Yes, go on." "Explosives can do that sort of destruction without relying on steam or geysers or lava. A small amount of explosive was enough to destroy Emily''s cave." If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "What a dreadful thing," Lisaykos frowned. "It would make a horrific weapon in war, worse than dropping boulders at a height." "Yes," the Queen grimaced and clenched her fists, earning a speculative look from Lisaykos. Her expression returned to normal after a half breath, as if nothing was wrong. I guess I wasn''t the only person here that hid what they were thinking. "Emily," the Queen changed the subject, "how hard would it be for you to make a batch of matches, starting right now?" "Wait," Lisaykos interjected. "What are matches?" "Emily''s instant fire," the Queen explained. "Good enough, but why is it called matches?" "Huh? I do not know. Do you, Emily?" I shook my head no. The name didn''t even make sense in English. On a fresh tablet, I wrote: "Matches need wax, potassium chlorate, antimony trisulfide, red phosphorus, and a binder. The binder is tree sap from the long-needle red pine trees. Antimony trisulfide is the mineral stibnite. There is an outcrop two valleys to the east of my valley. Phosphorus is made by evaporating urine - took two years. The problem is the potassium chlorate, which is made by electrolysis. Can''t make that without building a new Gramme machine generator." "How hard is it to build a new one?" the Queen asked. I wrote: "Have to build a cupola furnace to cast an iron ring. Took me a year last time. Need to find white clay. Need to build brick kiln. Need to build new bellows for furnaces. Need to make replacement tongs, which requires a bloomery and a forge to make wrought iron. Need copper bar and copper wire. Need graphite. Lots of work to rebuild all of these." "This is just a hypothetical question, Emily. What if there were already bellows, copper, bricks, and extra hands to do the work that doesn''t need your brain?" "Even teaching takes time and I can''t speak to teach." I needed to speak to get what I desired out of the Cosm. Having filled the last tablet, I took a fresh one and wrote on it: "If I want to get my voice back, what''s involved and how long does it take?" --- Imstay King, on march with the army Both Bobbo''s report and Usruldes'' report agreed: the maker of fire was at the Healing Shrine of Mugash, where she was recovering from some kind of accident. Other than that, there was little overlap in what the two men reported. Read side-by-side, the two narratives could be stitched together to make a coherent story. Imstay put together a storyline that made the most sense:
Four rotations ago, the maker of fire suffered some kind of accident. The Queen rescued the Coyn and took her to the Shrine of Mugash for treatment. The Coyn was confined for over one rotation, suggesting that whatever happened to her, it was serious. Only major injuries take that much time to heal. The maker of fire probably recovered from her injuries two rotations ago. The Coyn was seen riding a griffin, first in the canyon of the Black River, then in the Valley of the Vanishing River. The griffin was probably the Queen''s. Two days after the griffin sighting, High Priestess Foyuna announced that the Coyn was blessed with a revelation by Tiki. The Coyn was literate and already wrote out the revelation. The revelation is a recipe for a medicine for constipation. The ingredients were exotic but understood by the Queen. Bobbo first visited the palace and an information broker in Is''syal, gathering intelligence in both places. Bobbo detected Usruldes'' tailing him in Is''syal. Usruldes does not believe Bobbo detected his tail after that. Before meeting with the maker of fire in the evening two days ago, Bobbo spent time during the day flirting with the Captain of the Aybhas garrison. The Queen and the maker of fire visited the Valley of the Vanishing River on the same day that Bobbo visited the Healing Shrine of Mugash. They brought back two black slabs of unknown composition. The maker of fire will not negotiate to make anything until she is compensated for the loss of her home and workshop. She states the King''s scouts got into something they should not have meddled with, and that caused the explosion and the fire afterward.Imstay was not happy that the Queen already had some sort of relationship established with the maker of fire, though it was logical seeing that she had rescued the Coyn. He guessed she had been watching the Coyn ever since their children had been lost after that blizzard during the cold season. Bobbo made it clear in his report that the maker of fire insisted on her status as a free Coyn who did not reside in Foskos and did not acknowledge him as her king. Bobbo believed the destruction of Coyn''s home by the King''s scouts may have given her a bad opinion of Imstay. Usruldes noted that no one outside the shrine had met the maker of fire, nor had most of the healers and attendants who worked inside the shrine. He said the attitude of the residents of Aybhas toward the newly blessed revelator was one of curiosity among the Cosm and approval among the Coyn. His agents found this attitude replicated in every city and town of the realm excluding Blockit, Angsum, and Ixism''os. In those three, Cosm were hostile and Coyn silent on the subject of a Coyn revelator. After pondering the intelligence he received, Imstay took a ribbon of linen and wrote a message to Bobbo to obtain an inventory of the destroyed possession from the maker of fire''s home, along with an estimate of what it would cost to replace everything. He found the right messenger bird, tied the message on, and sent it on its way. Then he took another ribbon of linen and ordered Usruldes to set up surveillance on the maker of fire in Aybhas. If he found the Coyn alone, Usruldes should capture her and bring her to Imstay. He considered taking his griffin and flying back to Is''syal but then discarded that idea. He had decided to prevent the problem of sending his army home early with nothing to do when they got home. That was a recipe for trouble. So he put his army to work on building a wagon road through the mountains. He needed to stay and work with them. He spent a few hours every day among the soldiers, joining them in moving dirt around. It did wonders for morale. --- 22. Paper and Kaopectate Aylem, Lisaykos, AND Emily at the Aybhas Night Market "I haven''t been to a night market in years," Aylem enthused. As was the custom, she was wearing a hooded cloak with the hood up to hide her hair. An eye mask obscured her face. It was the disguise that most people used. It was a tradition to be anonymous at the night market on the eve of growing season midday. "I didn''t get out last year," Lisaykos said, "but I made it the year before." The crowd magically parted around them as they strolled down the main thoroughfare of Aybhas'' market ward. It was impossible to disguise height so everyone knew who the shrine healers were under their hoods. Everyone politely ignored the obvious and treated them like everyone else. Still, for anyone as tall as the Queen and high priestess, the way in front of them was always uncrowded. "Emily seems to be enjoying this," Aylem remarked. Emily''s head was constantly turning left and right, looking at everything. The Coyn was riding on Wolkayrs shoulders, wearing a hooded mantle. Thuorfosi, Twessera, and Kayseo walked beside them. The three were tasked to keep Emily safe and out of trouble "Of course she''s enjoying this," Lisaykos humphed. "Other than two trips to Vanishing River, she''s been stuck inside the shrine for five rotations. She lived in a forest and could go anywhere whenever she wanted so it''s not easy for her to be confined." "Huh." "I wonder if any fabrics have arrived from Uldlip already," Lisaykos changed the subject. "There is only one way to find out," Aylem scanned the market booths for those selling fabric. She also warned Kayseo by telepathy to stop at the next fabric vendor. "Look at that, Lisaykos, I do believe I see fabric." A party of seven entered the booth, which sold fabric and nothing else. The booth attendant was trying not to fidget, unnerved by five cloaked and masked healers in her store. Three of them pounced on the bolts newly arrived from Uldlip. Wolkayrs, Lisaykos, and Aylem strolled in a different direction to look at the linens to find bolts with a high enough thread count for writing. "This one would work for writing linen," the Queen fingered a bolt. Emily, still on Wolkayrs, wrote on a tablet and handed it to the Queen: "Is there really no paper?" "There is no paper here. Everything written goes on linen, vellum, parchment or wax." "But it''s so easy." "No one knows how," the Queen shrugged. "I certainly don''t. Do you?" Emily nodded yes. "You do?" Aylem was astounded. Emily repeated her nodding head for yes. "What would I need to make or buy for paper?" "Cotton and linen rags, a tub and beater to pulp the rags, a kettle or cauldron to stew the rags and lye. Wood to make deckle and mould. Wire to make the mould. Many pieces of felt bigger than the sheets of paper. A wine or olive press. Drying stand or line. Lime can substitute for lye, since good lye doesn''t exist here, and lime is easier to make." Lisaykos was lost from listening to just Aylem''s end of the conversation. The high priestess asked: "What''s paper?" It was a gobsmacked moment for Emily and the Queen did a facepalm. Emily motioned to get the wax tablet back and started writing: "Paper is like parchment for ease of writing. It is made by making a mush of cotton and/or linen by beating it, then boiling the mush in water with lye or lime. Mush is spread on a woven mesh of wire with a removable frame to keep it from flowing off. When enough water has drained off, the sheet of mush is flipped onto a piece of felt and covered with another felt. Then it is pressed to make it stronger and thinner and hung out to dry." Lisaykos pursed her lips as she contemplated Emily''s instructions, "sounds like a lot of work." Emily snatched the tablet back and wrote: "Less work than parchment and much faster. I have made up to 30 sheets of paper in a day." Lisaykos read the tablet and cocked an eyebrow at Emily, "you don''t mean here, do you? You mean you did so in that other place?" Emily was confused and then realized that Lisaykos was being obscure because Wolkayrs wasn''t privy to her or Aylem''s origins. She nodded yes. "Isn''t that a waste of good fabric?" "Use old rags that would otherwise be thrown away," Emily scribbled. "I''m an idiot," the Queen said, "that''s why the ragman collected rags." Emily nodded yes back at the Queen''s reference to rag collectors who vanished as a profession after the Second World War when cotton and linen were displaced by synthetic fibers in everyday fabrics. "So we need felt, rags, and a kettle to make the mush," Lisaykos said, making an inventory in her head. "I have no idea what lye is but lime we have. Borrowing an olive or a cider press would be easy. So the only thing missing would be the tub and beater arrangement and the wire mesh and the wooden frame. Is that right?" She looked at Emily. Emily nodded yes. "Any jeweler or bronze crafter will have wire," Aylem chimed in. "It doesn''t sound like it would be hard to make. Does it have to be a specific type of wire, Em...?" Aylem swallowed Emily''s name before she could say it completely since the night market excursion was supposed to be incognito. Emily wrote: "Brass or pot metal." "Well," Lisaykos stopped herself from smiling at Emily, but only just, "this sounds like an interesting thing to try. Writing out instructions on how to make the beater, the mesh, and the frame will give you something to do while you''re stuck in bed for the next rotation and half." Emily just rolled her eyes and grimaced. "Don''t you give me that look, young lady," Lisaykos shook her finger at Emily. "I warned about fixing a skull fracture. Your problem is that you don''t know how to sit still." She shifted her attention, "Wolkayrs, do you mind doing some more woodwork for me?" Thus the great paper-making industry of Aybhas was born because six women went fabric shopping at the night market on mid-growing day''s eve. --- EMILY, Healing Shrine of Mugash Though she warned me ahead of time, Lisaykos was annoyingly unyielding about minimal movement while the puzzle pieces of my skull knit back together. Lisaykos didn''t allow me to walk. Lisaykos and the gang of three carried me everywhere and even Lisaykos treated me like I was made of glass. In truth, it wasn''t all that bad, especially after Lisaykos advised me to close my eyes when being moved. It was weird, but that actually worked. "Most of your fear triggers appear to be visual," she explained the day after my skull was reassembled. "So close your eyes and don''t look at the things that frighten you, especially when Cosm hands pick you up." Lisaykos didn''t miss much. The work of moving the pieces of the cracked-eggshell depression in my skull was done by the Queen, who is some kind of expert at bone reconstruction, while Lisaykos prevented internal bleeding and made sure the meninges didn''t tear. Kayseo was invited to observe the process. This all happened while I was out of it. I woke up several bells later with a fitted piece of hardened leather held on linen bandages over the newly reconstructed skull. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! I didn''t see the Queen around when I woke up. She had to return to Is''syal for her day job of keeping tabs on her children and running Foskos while the King was in the field with his army. I was surprised to discover that Kayseo was one of the talented healers-in-training who received personal instruction from Lisaykos, which was a very big deal among healers. This was why she was invited to observe. For the first two days, Lisykos and Kayseo traded off checking up on me at every bell and every half bell, even at night. Swelling that can put pressure on the brain was a real worry because some of the pieces of bone had been right up against my brain. I never realized the injury was that bad. While she worked in her study, Lisaykos had me installed on one of the lounges to keep an eye on me, with a cushion under my knees and pillows supporting my back and head. At night, one of the gang of three stayed with me in my room, watching while I slept. Frankly, I thought it was overkill but I wasn''t in a position to make a protest. After all, I was the one who agreed to this and it solved the problem of trying to find a new home and storing enough food before the snow arrived. I spent the days immediately after the skull repair making drawings of a mould and deckle and answering Wolkayrs¡¯ questions about the two pieces worked together. He kept getting technical about what wood to use, how wet the wood would get, what to seal it with, how the deckle should fit on the mould---and that was just the wood discussion. We got more involved in figuring out how to do the wire mesh. I figured doing laid paper would be best since it would use less wire and involve less work to make. The problem was I was thinking of drilling holes in the mould and running the wires through from the working face of the mould to the back of the mould, but as Wolkayrs pointed out, it would weaken the wood, and besides, no one could make holes small enough. The problem was I kept assuming that one could just nip down to the hardware store to pick up itty bitty steel-alloy drill bits for the battery-powered electric drill. I kept spacing on the fact that there were no steel drill bits and no drills, not even the old-fashioned hand-cranked kind that worked like an old-fashioned egg beater. It was a bit dicey when I mentioned drill bits and Wolkayrs got all confused because what I was describing didn''t exist in this world. He got a bit vexed with me a couple of times and Lisaykos has to reassure him that I did indeed know what I was talking about. "They exist," Lisaykos told him, "but they don''t exist here." He would get all flummoxed and Lisaykos would say, ¡°remember, she¡¯s not from Foskos.¡± On the fourth day after resetting my fractured skull, Wolkayrs showed up with a square frame with notched channels cut at close-spaced intervals. In the channels, he laid very thin stiff fibrous sticks, spanning the distance between opposite pieces of the frame. The sticks things reminded me of a cross between rattan and bamboo. He then added a second frame the same size on top of the first, sandwiching the thin stick things and holding them in place. Lisaykos got interested and wandered over from her work table to watch. Holding the two frame pieces together with his hands, he held the assembly up. "Will this work? I think it''s more workable than fighting with wire and should have the same effect, yes?" "Beaver reeds," Lisaykos nodded and ran a finger down the reeds held in place to test their fit. "Clever. I would never have thought of that myself." It indeed solved the problem of making a mesh to catch the mushy pulp, assuming the reeds would release the pulp. I had only one problem: the second piece holding the little sticks in place wasn''t flush with the sticks themselves. The frame of the mould had to be flush with the surface of the mesh to transfer the proto-sheet of paper to the felt. I managed to convey this to Wolkayrs, who just grinned. "That''s easy to fix. I''ll just use some strips of brass sheet instead to hold the reeds in place. It was a good demonstration of the skill difference between a hack like me and an experienced woodworker who grew up helping out in the family woodshop. With the solution to the mould in hand, all Wolkayrs had to do was fit a deckle. In the meantime, I had to come up with a beater design, to beat the fabric into mush. It was easy, much easier than designing a mould and deckle. I drew out a design for a simple water-powered trip hammer using a water scoop design, just like a Japanese shishi-odoshi. It used the same principle as see-saw in a playground. The hammer was on one end of the pivoting lever arm. The water scoop was on the other. Water flows into the scoop. As the scoop fills, it gets heavy and its side of the lever is pushed downward by the weight of the water. At the same time, the hammer end of the lever rises up. In the downward position, the water spills out of the scoop, causing the hammer to fall and do the work of beating whatever is in its path, like fabric that needs to become pulp. Wolkayrs liked the trip hammer. I was worried about a water source but it turned out that city of Aybhas got its water from a pressurized main. It was fed by a reservoir in the foothills immediately to the east. The reservoir was much higher than the tallest building in the city, which was the shrine. This solved my curiosity about how the fourth floor of the shrine could have such good water pressure. So much was done by magic that it always surprised me to find problems solved by using physics. Given butting heads with Wolkayrs over the mould left me worried about explaining more details about paper making. Part of the problem was that I looked really young. It was hard on people like Wolkayrs to just take my word for things because I didn''t look like a person who could know as much as I did. My other concern was remembering the process accurately. I was drawing on memories of making paper for a high school project, which from my perspective was decades in the past. Worse still, I couldn''t even relate all of the details firsthand. For example, I couldn''t explain to anyone, except maybe to the Queen, that I didn''t have access to a press when I made paper. Instead, I placed my stack of paper and felt between two pieces of braced plywood and drove my brother''s Pontiac GTO on top for a weight. Lisaykos was getting interested in trying to make paper. She gave Wolkayrs an allowance to pay for wood and other supplies. She also arranged with her daughter to borrow an old olive press from her family''s estate, which was two wagon-days south. She also started collecting scraps of linen and cotton from here and there. Buckets of cut-up fabric scraps soaking in water began to collect along the wall in the bathing chamber on the fourth floor. The gang of three was rather dubious over the whole project. I thought it was a gambit on Lisaykos'' part to keep me occupied while my head healed. --- EMILY, Healing Shrine of Mugash On day five after resetting my skull fracture, the Queen showed back up bearing a surprise. "Is this what you wanted to find?" She pulled a chair up next to my lounge. I started to sit up and reach out when Lisaykos, sitting at her work table, interrupted: "You are not allowed to move that much, Emily." "She''s right, you know," the Queen made a face that was a cross between a reprimand and sympathy and handed me a ball of white clay, better known as kaolinite. I just had to test it though the look of kaolinite is usually good enough to identify it. It was friable with an earthy, uneven fracture alright. It even tasted like kaolinite. The look on the Queen''s face when I nibbled on a little piece was, oh, so worth it. I got to remind her that kaolinite was one of the two original ingredients in Kaopectate, back in the day when the over-the-counter medicine was still just clay and pectin. The exchange attracted Lisaykos, who wandered over after hearing about medicine from the past that the Queen and I shared. Pulling up a chair, she read through the various things I had written for the Queen''s edification about eating clay and making original-recipe Kaopectate. "You never told me about this, Aylem," Lisaylos aimed a raised eyebrow at the Queen. "To be truthful, I didn''t realize that Kaopectate was just a solution of clay and pectin," the Queen admitted. "I didn''t do healing in my past life. I studied how to handle finances. Besides, I never mentioned that I had memories from a previous life after that first time I told you when I was 12." "Uhg, don''t remind me," Lisaykos shook her head. "So what does this medicine do, pray tell?" The Queen started giggling. I studiously gazed upward at the lovely decorative plasterwork of the ceiling and worked very hard not to laugh. Lisaykos delivered one of her exquisite looks of long-suffering patience at us. When the Queen managed to regain her composure, she managed to say without busting up with laughter: "it is a treatment for diarrhea." Lisaykos dropped her head into her hands, "by the eleven gods, first a laxative and now an antidiarrheal. What''s next? Medicine for indigestion?" I just couldn''t resist the temptation. I motioned for a tablet, since I wasn''t allowed to reach for anything, and wrote: "I know two, one of which you could produce in a matter of an hour or two." "I had to ask," Lisaykos chided herself. "I just had to ask. Back to the antidiarrheal. How is it made?" I wrote: "Simply mix white clay, pectin, and water." "Emily, dear," Lisaykos asked sweetly, "what is pectin?" "Pectin is a binding agent found in most fruits and a few vegetables. Take the solids left from pressing fruit/vegetables for juice or cider and steep in hot but not boiling acidified water. Filter out the solids. Precipitate the pectin by adding alcohol." I hoped Lisaykos wouldn¡¯t ask about acidified water. The acid involved is hydrochloric, which takes electrolysis to make. "Aylem, I have changed my mind," Lisaykos said after looking at what I had written. "I''m not letting Emily out of here until she writes down every medicine recipe that''s bouncing around in her head." I was pretty sure she was joking. Stupid me. --- 23. Crime and Salvagement Imstay King and General Bobbo, at the palace in Is''syal "May Gertzpul take her to the coldest abyss of the nine-times damned," he slammed his fist down on the arm of his chair so forcefully that it broke. He blinked at the broken arm, blank-faced for a breath, and then bellowed, "damn her, damn her, damn her!" Bobbo was waiting on his knees at the doorway, hand over his heart. He pondered that his timing could have been better. Imstay in a fit of temper was a bit difficult to manage. The King noticed Bobbo''s presence at the door to his receiving room and waved at him to get up and come in. "Do you know what she''s done this time?" Imstay yelled. "I assume this must have something to do with the tax assessments," Bobbo made as broad a statement as possible. Given that the Queen was auditing more than just the tax assessments, it could be anything that was upsetting the King. "It''s Kushamar," the King closed his eyes and groaned. Kushamar was his uncle, one of the two that Aylem dismissed as Heldfirk''s tutors. They were also the generals of the right and center. Imstay was very close to his uncles on his mother''s side. Because of his fondness, Imstay looked the other way when his uncles bent the kingdom''s laws. "Three low and petty assessors accused Kushamar of moving his boundary stones," Imstay snarled. "My uncle says they falsely accused him and tried to blackmail him so he took them into custody, but they attempted to escape and two were accidentally killed. The one that got away was Udayhar, Lord Fusso''s youngest." "Lord Fusso''s youngest and low petty assessor aren''t two things that go together," Bobbo remarked in a very calm and even voice. "To be fair, Fusso and Kushamar aren''t two things that go together either." "Exactly," the King got out of the broken chair, moved it out of the way, and got another chair to sit in. "Please, have a seat, Bobbo. I''m so wound up I''m forgetting my manners." "My thanks, Mighty One." He grabbed a lowly stool and sat down on it facing the King. "So let me see if I have this right. Three assessors found boundary stones that had been moved, so they confronted Kushamar about it. He tried to bribe them and they refused, so he tried to do away with them. Fusso''s boy was the one who got away, injured but still alive." "No, that''s not what Uncle Kushamar said." "When Lord Kushamar is set in the Well of Galt and eleven high priestesses cast the charms of compulsion and truth on him, which version of this do you think will be the correct one? "I''m hoping I could prevent that," the King sighed. "So what does the Queen have to do with this?" "The Queen was here when Udayhar''s servant came in, riding a horse no less, like a low-caste," the King related. "The Queen flew to where Udayhar was hiding, wounded and unable to travel any further. She asked General Lynhaydras and two of her subordinates to accompany her." "Witnesses," Bobbo surmised. Imstay nodded, "the Queen is many things, but foolish is not one of them." "Is Fusso''s boy still with us?" "Of course he is," Imstay snapped. "The number of patients the Queen has lost as a healer can be counted on the fingers of just one hand. Once he recovers from the blood loss, he''ll be fine." "The boundary stones?" "They were not where they should have been. When Lynhaydras followed the new illegal boundary of his land, she found an unregistered breeding farm operation. The Coyn all had charms of compulsion as well as inhibition and control." "Five offenses, three of which can''t be dodged," Bobbo whistled. "Your uncle would have been wise to accept the fine for moving the stones, again I might add, rather than try to bribe a son of Fusso. I don''t think Kushamar can be saved this time. The best you''ll be able to arrange is the charm of death or a beheading, and maybe the preservation of his estate for the sake of his children." "There''s got to be a way," Imstay wrung his hands. "Help me find a way, Bobbo. You''re sharp. You could solve this." "Attempted murder of Fusso''s youngest and the violation of one of the Laws of Landa? Mighty One, neither the southern lords nor the shrines will let this one slide. If you try to save him, you''ll have a war on your hands against your own subjects. Your uncle has gone too far this time. No one can save him. My advice would be to beg the Convocation for a painless execution for him." The King answered with a scowl. "Of course, you''re not going to hear this from me, because I would never suggest anything underhanded or illegal," Bobbo looked at the ceiling. "Kushamar would be better off hiding somewhere on his brother''s lands or maybe his youngest son''s new holding that we just added to the kingdom. But I would be stricken dead by Gertzpul to freeze in the coldest pit of the abyss before I would suggest such a thing." "Hmmm," the King sat back and thought. "Yes, of course, you would never even think such things, Bobbo. Too bad Lynhaydras already has him in the Black Tower of the Citadel. So, now that we''ve discussed the mess with my uncle, why did you stop by? I''m guessing you are looking for the things from the maker of fire''s cave?" "Actually, yes, Mighty One," Bobbo nodded. "I was thinking it would be a good tactic to return to her what we salvaged before I asked about an inventory of her possessions. You know, to give the appearance of dealing in good faith." "I will have them delivered to your house tomorrow. See if you can find out why she''s got her head wrapped up in bandages." "I will try," Bobbo sighed and shook his head. "You could always ask your Queen. She should know." "Not funny, Bobbo." "I meant it seriously." --- Emily, Healing Shrine of Mugash Lisaykos allowed me to walk by the end of the current rotation but only if she or one of the gang of three was around to keep an eye on me. The hardened leather skull protector and bandages would stay on through the end of the next rotation but I could at least get around by myself; however, Lisaykos would not allow me do anything for making paper other than watch. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. To be truthful, it would have been difficult for me regardless. The tub was too tall for me to bend over to scoop the pulp into the mould and deckle, which were wider than I was. The felts were stacked on a Cosm-scaled table so I couldn''t even reach without something to stand on. Lisaykos put me in a chair so I could watch. Looking at the scale differences reinforced how out of place I usually felt living with these well-meaning but clueless Cosm. Wolkayrs set up the trip hammer in the south garden such the water that spilled out of the water scoop went into the irrigation system. The trip hammer worked so well that the soaking fabric scraps and lime turned into mush in a matter of hours. Wolkayrs and Thuorfosi were the ones who got to get wet and up to their elbows in mush. I was a bit envious. The trial run of making paper was a success though the mould was a bit wobbly. Wolkayrs said it needed some internal bracing to make it stiffer. The first papermaking session was livened up when the Queen and General Bobbo arrived together on their mounts. The general unloaded two leather bags and brought them over to me. He did a proper obeisance on his knees to me and Lisaykos, in the middle of a graveled path no less. I pitied his knees. The arrival of the Queen and Bobbo temporarily halted the paper process. Wolkayrs and Thuorfosi took a break while Bobbo, still on his knees, started to unpack one of the two bags with great care. "This is everything that the King''s scouts salvaged," he said to me. He handed me a cloth-wrapped item that I needed two hands to hold. The second it landed in my hands, I knew what it was. I put it in my lap and untied the string keeping the cloth around it. It was that big piece of quartz I collected the day the Queen visited my hot spring. I picked it up to inspect it for damage. I was amazed to see there was none. I had left all the crystals wrapped in leather inside my backpack. Apparently, that was good enough to save this lovely piece. "One of the scouts tried to steal that and several other crystals," Bobbo remarked. "The King has a strict policy that no thieving is allowed in his army. The scout was executed, which is the usual punishment for soldiers who steal." I was a bit shocked by that revelation. It was just a lump of rock, after all. "You''re a wealthy woman, Emily," Lisaykos remarked. "The size and quality of that crystal is good enough to sell to one of the shrines. Why are you giving me that look, little one? That crystal would easily buy you a farm." I guess my disbelief showed on my face. Bobbo gently lifted the big prism of quartz off my lap and wrapped it back up. Putting it to the side, he pulled several more wrapped crystals from the bag, though none as big as the first. Unwrapping all of them left everyone awestruck. It crossed my mind just then that I might have gotten shortchanged by the traders in Uldlip. I had no idea the Cosm valued crystals this highly. "The piece that grades from pink to green is amazing," the Queen said, lifting it from my lap. "This would make a good personal crystal for invoking charms. Will you sell it to me, Emily?" I think my jaw hit the ground, bounced out of the garden, down the road, and into the river. "Let''s discuss that later," Lisaykos began wrapping crystals back up, handing them to Bobbo who put them back in the bag. "I believe Emily needs some time to understand the value of what she''s got here. I certainly had no idea the King managed to salvage this much from the rubble." Bobbo turned his attention to me. "Great One, why did you collect these?" I picked up the tablet I brought and wrote: "trade goods for Uldlip." "Good choice," he nodded. "Small and portable with high value, just the right thing for someone on foot." He packed the crystals back in the bag and turned his attention to the other bag. "I would love to know the story behind these," he pulled out my bear cub boots. "Found dead bear cub," I wrote. "Skinned it and kept the feet. The forest is a hunt or be hunted place so I made boots that leave bear tracks." Everyone was floored by that statement except the Queen who just smiled to herself. Bobbo was the first to recover his wits. "Then there are these things which look like sky metal," he laid out one of my throwing spikes, my planishing hammer with a now-broken handle, my cast iron frying pan, a bag of square iron nails, and two pieces of the iron ring from the Gramme Machine. My hand went for the planishing hammer, to inspect the striking surface of the head for damage. Then I picked up one of the ring pieces, wondering how much iron I would have to make to recast the ring. "I was intrigued by the two pieces of metal that look like they were once a ring," Bobbo said. I just nodded my head. I didn''t want to go down that road of what would be a painful explanation. "What was it for? Did you make that?" Bobbo wasn''t going to give up. I was surprised when the Queen replied: "It''s the same stuff as sky metal but it was made from rocks that Emily found. It was part of a machine that made the same sort of energy as lightning, but on a smaller scale." "What?" Bobbo was shocked by what the Queen said, as was everyone else. "When you were a kid, did you ever pull your fingernails against the inside of a wool blanket while under the bed covers to see those little sparks?" the Queen asked. "Who hasn''t?" "Well, those are the same thing as lightning. Only the magnitude is different. Emily has a machine that can make that energy." "She makes lightning?" Bobbo was aghast. "No, nothing as dangerous as that," the Queen explained. "She uses it to make different potions and compounds, like one of the ingredients in the instant fire sticks. That''s one of the reasons why the explosion at the cave was quite the catastrophe. Now she has to make a replacement for that machine before she can make instant fire again, as well as some stuff I would like to get my hands on called chlorine bleach that can make linen really white, or a potion called lye which makes a soap that isn''t harsh but cleans better." "Blarg," Bobbo said in a subdued voice and then looked at me. "You are one of those crazy genius artificers, aren''t you?" I didn''t know how to respond to that so I just shrugged. Bobbo exhaled and dug back into the bag. He pulled out a three-wheel pulley and several carved stone molds for buckles, pulley wheels, rings, and hooks of different sizes. He picked up the pulley, which had a crude wood body, brass pulley wheels, and an iron pin, "I assume the other half of the pair is lost, yes?" I nodded yes. "What is that?" Wolkayrs was intrigued by the pulley. "It''s half of a block and tackle set," Bobbo explained, handing him the pulley. "There''s supposed to be another like it. They come in pairs. You pass a rope through the pulley wheels and you can lift many times your own weight. Coyn use these to load wagons and move things they can''t lift." "That''s not bad work," Wolkayrs inspected it. "Great One, what did you use for glue?" He handed it back to Bobbo while looking at me for an answer. I wrote: "cheese glue." "Good choice," Wolkayrs chuckled. "Smelly but strong." "Might I ask," Bobbo picked up the throwing spike, which looked tiny in his meaty hand, "what is this for?" I motioned for it and he gave it to me. I looked around for a target, then wrote: "Watch the round end of the pivot post on the trip hammer." I handed the tablet to General Bobbo, waited for him to finish reading, and then threw the spike into the pivot post. It was off by about two centimeters, but it was good enough. It was fun watching everyone''s jaws gape. "Well, that could ruin a person''s day," Bobbo commented. I swear I could see wheels and gears turning behind his eyes. "That''s everything from the salvage operation. At the time, we didn''t know where you were or when you had left." Of course, I caught the implication that they knew who I was and where I lived, which made me angry all over again. "So what in Giltak''s name are you making here?" Bobbo gestured at the papermaking set-up. "It''s called paper," Lisaykos replied. "Cheaper and faster to make than parchment, assuming we can get it to work. Today is our first try. Wolkayrs, could you show the General how this works?" So General Bobbo spent the rest of the afternoon making paper with his overtunic off, his undertunic sleeves rolled up, getting wet and pulp-spattered, and having the time of his life. I ended up dozing off sitting in the warm sun while Lisaykos and the Queen talked about some big scandal involving a string of crimes by someone called Lord Kushamar. --- 24. Paper and Pencils Usruldes the Wraith, in the shelter on the hill southeast of Aybhas I envied the paper makers and the fun they had. In all my travels, I had never seen anything like it. Watching the paper process from description to final product was fascinating. I wondered where the Coyn came from that she knew about this paper stuff. I also wondered how the Queen knew about it. I surmised that the Queen observed it using the Great Crystal. Her clairvoyant range using the crystal probably stretched all the way to the eastern coast. She could see things in the crystal that the rest of us could only dream of seeing. It takes several days to make a hide into vellum. If this paper stuff could be made faster than vellum, it could reduce the cost of books. Places like the healing shrine that must record patient progress could do away with the bulk and inconvenience of using many wax tablets. Note-taking for my agents would become much easier for the same reason. I was quite interested in paper. It was miserable watching the paper makers eat dinner afterward. The meal was grilled trout and grilled asparagus basted with butter. It was the small green asparagus that grows on the river and canal banks and not the bigger white asparagus which I find tougher to eat and less flavorful. I tried not to dwell on their happy and convivial dinner as I gnawed on my tasteless and dry flying-cavalry ration square. The Holy Lisaykos looked older than I remembered. So many years had passed since I had seen her. I would see her from a closer distance in just a half year when I enrolled my oldest daughter at this very shrine. My daughter did so well at the Mugash entrance exam that they accepted her at the exam itself. She took the exam for every shrine and she was accepted at every one, even the Shrine of Erhonsay whose exam is half martial arts. She chose the Healing Shrine of Mugash and sealed my fate. I will not deny my daughter the joy of being escorted by her parents at the enrollment ceremony. The King has placed my name, my real name, on the Coldtide Festival list for promotion into the nobility. He did it just so I can escort Fedso''as from a prestigious position near the back of the pack on enrollment day. It is just a court lordship. What matters is the public use of my real name. My name alone will bump my daughter ahead of all other court lords and far ahead of my wife''s standing as a craft master. If my birth family is paying attention, and of course they will be, they will come to Aybhas looking for me at my daughter''s enrollment. It is just four and a half rotations, forty-five short days between the Coldside Festival and enrollment at the Shrine of Mugash on mid-cold season day. I know I must meet my mother there. I anticipate that enrolling my daughter at the highly-respected Shrine of Mugash will ensure at least civility from her. Will the rest of the family come? I do not know. My courage flees from me when I think about it. Oyyuth noticed I am losing sleep over it. I told her my story before we were married, omitting my family name. I told her who I was the night after our hand-in-hand ceremony. The haup Gunndits are the most powerful of all the southern lords. I worry that my reentry to public life will hurt the brewery and the future of my children if my birth family takes measures against me in retribution. To be more honest, I''m scared out of my underwear over meeting my mother and my sister, Lord Gunndit. What do you say to your family that you ran away from 19 years ago? I am such a coward. The King knows how much I love working in the field, which is why my subordinate, Deputy Spymaster Snow Bear fills in so much for Spymaster Wraith. I offered to step down and let Snow Bear take my position. He has all the right skills to be a great spymaster. Both he and the King turned me down. Now I face retirement sooner than I wanted if I become too public a person, all because I won''t deny my daughter this singular wish of hers that I escort her at her enrollment. I''ve been gone from home on so many missions that I couldn''t even think of denying her when she asked me. She even told the King to his face, ordering him not to send me on a "courier mission" at enrollment time. I am so screwed. --- Lisaykos, Healing Shrine of Mugash It was such fine weather that I had a table set up on the south balcony on the fourth floor and had dinner served there for everyone at the papermaking in the afternoon, including the General. He assured me that he had the freedom of the garrison so I didn''t need to find him a bed for the night. Emily didn''t much like sitting in a normal chair on four lounge cushions, but there was no way around it, short of letting her sit on the table. She was still uncomfortable with being one undersized Coyn surrounded by the rest of us, but she was better accustomed to it now than she was when she first arrived. The General asked if he might bring the garrison commander with him in the morning. He had quite smoothly inserted himself into the paper making. It looked like he was having so much fun that it felt wrong to turn him away. I had never seen this side of the General before and I found it fascinating. The next morning, he and Captain Tyoep showed up at the south garden right at the second bell. I think he didn''t tell her that the Queen was present. When the Captain made her obeisance to the Queen, she was more nervous than I''ve ever seen her. Aylem usually doesn''t stay overnight at the shrine but did so this time because she too wanted to see how the paper turned out. Yesterday afternoon, the layered stack of felt and paper was pressed in the old olive press, coated on both sides with a thin layer of hide glue, and then hung on strung lines to dry overnight, like pillow covers on a clothesline. Thuorfosi took down one and brought it over to the work table. It was half-again the area of a standard wax tablet. She then picked up the table and moved it to where Emily was sitting. I confess, it was fun to watch Emily''s expression when Thuorfosi did that. Emily assumed a neutral expression instantly and fingered the paper between her fingers. Aylem walked over and did the same. "Feels like it could be smoother. It feels like parchment before you polish it," the Queen remarked. Emily nodded. She waved at Thuorfosi to get her attention and then pointed at a box sitting next to the pile of unused felts. Thuorfosi brought it over and Emily pulled out a leather sandbag for polishing parchment and a small stoppered jar. Inside the jar was a fine white powder which Emily sprinkled on the sheet. She then took the leather sandbag in both hands and started to polish the paper. "Emily, let me do that," the Queen said. Emily paused and gave her a sharp look. "Seriously, it will go faster." Emily visibly exhaled, dropped her shoulders, and stepped back on the chair she was standing on. Though the General and the Captain were shocked, and Thuorfosi and Wolkayrs were very uncomfortable at the sight of the Queen doing menial work, I was merely exasperated that Aylem forgot her dignity in public. After a minute of applying the white powder and sandbag, the Queen straightened up. "What''s the powder?" Aylem asked. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Emily grinned and reached into her belt pouch for something she had made three days ago. Unlike when she made it, it now had a point carved on one end of the stick-like object. She held it in her hand like a pen and wrote on the polished patch on the sheet: "Wheat starch, though any starch should work for polishing." "Hey, that''s that thing you made with the candle and the clay," Wolkayrs burst out. Emily gave him a grin like a fox in a hen yard. "Emily, is that a pencil?" Aylem asked. It was the first time I had ever heard the word. I guessed it was just another thing from Emily''s and Aylem''s old world. Emily sported a self-satisfied smile, gloating even, as she passed it to the Queen. Aylem examined it and dragged the tip across her fingernail and looked at the line it left behind. She then bent down and wrote: "Where did you get wheat starch?" She passed the pencil back to Emily, who wrote, with a grin, "from wheat." "Arg!" Aylem gestured at the heavens. "You made wheat starch, yes? How did you make it?" Emily wrote: "Soak wheat kernels in hot but not boiling water. Filter through a cloth to get the wheat out. Evaporate the water after filtering. The powder left behind is starch. The kitchen here made it for me." I was beginning to feel like we needed to assign someone to follow Emily around and take notes on everything she did, except I know if we did that for real, it would creep her out. "So what''s with the candle and clay to make a pencil?" Aylem asked. "How does one make a pencil?" Emily looked a bit apologetic and wrote: "Long story." "I can explain the process," I interjected. "Wolkayrs and I watched her make it a few days ago. I suspect she did so because she knew we were going to try making paper at the end of the rotation." And so, I related the story of the pencil which began when I lifted the restriction on Emily''s confinement after fixing her skull fracture. Four days ago, as soon as I was sure the pieces of her skull bonded into one solid piece, I allowed Emily to walk on her own. It would take at least another rotation for the repaired bone to become sturdy. Bone work was difficult and tiring healing and even several days after the reconstruction, the repaired skull was still fragile and an accidental blow could easily rebreak it. I would have preferred to keep her immobile for two entire rotations but Emily is not the sort of person who can sit still and do nothing. She needs something to do almost all of the time. When she does sit still, staring off into space with a frown etched into her eyebrows, it means she is thinking; and when she is done thinking, she will throw herself into her next task without pause. As soon as she could move around again, she asked for an old or broken plate, small enough that she could hold it; a wood dowel half the thickness of an arrow stave; a beaker of water; some rags; a small smooth board; some glue; and a candle of second or third quality. Since an occupied Emily is a happy Emily, I asked Wolkayrs to take care of her requests. After all, Emily watching has become one of my favorite pastimes as of late. She is infinitely surprising. Well before the mid repast, something strange and interesting was happening at Wolkayrs'' work table. Standing on a chair, Emily first held the broken plate shard over the candle, which being of the inferior grade of beeswax, smoked a bit. As soon as she had a significant coating of soot on the plate shard, she scraped it off onto a piece of rag. By the fourth bell, she had a little pile of soot collected. Emily is the sort of person who gets so focused on what she is doing, that she will work straight through mealtimes. Wolkayrs had to blow out the candle and take the plate from her to get her to eat. When I laughed, he gave me an accusatory glare and snipped: "You are not any better, Holy One!" When the mid repast was over, Emily climbed back on the chair and got back to work. She mixed some of the soot with some of the white clay Aylem gave her. She then rolled the mix together into long thread-like rolls which were very thin. Setting them aside, she pulled out that strange little sky metal blade that''s hidden in the billet protector of her belt, which certainly made Wolkayrs'' eyes pop open. He had no idea she had such a thing. She used that little blade to cut the stave into two halves. At this point, Wolkayrs gave up any pretense to doing his own work and was watching, just like I was, to see what she was up. She cut a channel down the middle of the flat surfaces of the stave halves. By the time that was done, the threads of rolled clay and soot were dry and stiff enough to hold vertically next to the relit candle flame. She hardened the threads that way---by holding next to the flame and using the heat to harden and dry them, finger length by finger length. Soon after she started, she had to put the first thread down in a hurry because it got too hot and burnt her fingers. After I walked over and had healed her fingertips, she wrapped the end of the thread in a rag and went right back to what she was doing. She hardened two of the threads that way. She broke the tip off of one and dragged it across a light-colored rag. It left a grey line behind and Emily, who is usually serious and somewhat grim, broke out into an unrestrained smile. I really liked the look of that smile. She laid a baked thread into the grove on one half of a stave. She fitted the other half on top to check the fit, removed it, and then painted glue on the two halves. She fitted the halves together and squeezed to get the excess glue out, which she then wiped away with a rag. Having made one of these things, she then made a second. "So that''s the story of making that pencil thing," I concluded to the paper-making crowd. The Queen liberated the pencil from Emily''s hand and passed it around. Everyone took a turn writing with it. The only complaint, which several voiced, was that it was a little small. It was hard to get a proper hold on it to write. Emily just rolled her eyes. I guessed from the expression on her face that she was thinking something like, "I made it for me, not for you." Emily motioned for Thuorfosi to bring more sheets of paper from the drying line. When Thuorfosi put them down, Emily shocked everyone by taking out that little knife from her belt and cutting a sheet into four uneven pieces. The first piece she folded into a box and the second into its lid. She then folded the smallest piece of paper into a long-necked bird with wings. I was amazed at how fast and confident her little hands were at folding the paper. On the last piece, she regained the pencil and wrote: "paper - it''s not just for writing." She then took that piece after everyone had a chance to see what she wrote and folded it into a tapering triangle shape of three surfaces. "I get it," the Queen started laughing softly and shaking her head. Emily grabbed the folded thing, drew back her arm, and let it fly. It glided some thirty or forty hands before it lost velocity and hit the ground, tip first. "That''s amazing!" Bobbo went running after it. He picked it up and tried throwing it but it flew immediately into the ground. "I guess that was too hard," he picked it up and tried again, barely putting any force into his launch. The paper triangle sailed back toward the rest of us and landed on the table. The next half bell was spent by everyone but me making paper airplanes, which is what Emily called them. I wanted Emily to show me how to make the folded bird but she told me to wait until later since folding the bird was much more complicated. I needed to make my rounds and hear the reports of my department heads. I left the other six behind so they could make more paper with the pulp that was left. This would give us an idea of how many sheets could be made if we wanted to try to upscale the process as a new craft industry. Since Emily was the idea person behind paper, the required blessing from the Shrine of Giltak for a new craft was a formality. That was a measure of just how much influence a blessed revelator had. I''m sure Emily had no idea that she could have real influence if she wanted to exert it, though she wasn''t that sort of person. Bobbo''s description of a crazy genius artificer was near perfect, as far as I could tell; and I had her under my roof for the next two seasons. I finished my work and invited Kayseo and Twessera out to the south garden to see the mayhem. We walked out to see the Queen and Captain Tyoep putting up more drying lines because they ran out of room with the lines put up yesterday. Wolkayrs and the General were tightening the press and Thurofosi was working with the mould and deckle. Emily was missing from her chair. I had visions of her running off on some crazy notion of hers and bumping the head that we worked so hard to put back together. "Hey! Where is Emily?" The Queen turned her head my way, "behind you by the wall." I looked and there she was, sleeping between Asgotl''s forelegs, her head resting on her arms draped over his leg above the elbow. I restrained myself from chuckling since Asgotl was obviously sitting very still so as not to wake her. The look on his face was like he was trying to juggle eggs without breaking them. --- 25. Paper Airplanes General Bobbo, at the palace in Is¡¯syal The Queen and I flew back to Is''syal and landed at the House of Mounts together. Niefl''flaf and Asgotl got along reasonably well, which wasn''t always the case between griffins and winged horses. The grooms came to take care of the mounts and the two of them fell to gossiping about mutual acquaintances. As we walked through the covered walkway leading into the palace, we both had sheets of paper with us, rolled up tightly around wood dowels and covered with canvas for protection in transit. I realized I enjoyed the Queen''s company on this trip even though traveling together was coincidental. We met at the House of Mounts two days prior and discovered we were going to the same place. I had never spent time with her before, other than the obligatory court event or ceremony. Watching her enjoy herself while making paper showed me a side to her I had never seen before. People call her the Ice Queen. Her demeanor at the palace is always so dignified and utterly unapproachable. Before the last two days, I never knew that the queen could be full of energy and fun. She was willing to share tasks in a mutual endeavor and she didn''t mind getting tired or dirty if that''s what it took to get something done. The banter she had with the high priestess was another surprise. Those two traded barbs like siblings. They trusted one another without exception, which is rare for people at the highest political levels. I had forgotten that the Queen had trained as a healer at the Shrine of Mugash and that Lisaykos had been her personal teacher. It was easy to forget the Queen''s healer background since she was also an adept of Landa with complete mastery of all charms and mind magic. The exchanges she had with the Coyn, Emily, were also unexpected. It was like they were communicating on a different level than the rest of us like they had known each other for years. It was like the conversation of old friends who only had to say a few words to reference a shared experience from long ago, which was strange for two people who knew each other for less than a year. Emily was amazing, and in her own way, frightening. Her eyes still burned but she was less hostile this time around. It was interesting that she had no concept of what those crystals were worth. What I would like to know is where her ideas come from. As far as I can tell, other than the revelation from Tiki, she has given the shrine recipes for two other medicines. She can cast metals, including something equivalent to sky metal, but she also came up with this paper stuff and a new writing tool called a pencil. Then there''s that whole thing about making a weak form of lightning and using it to make potions to turn white cloth whiter and soap stronger. That''s just plain scary. What must go on inside that little head of hers? I can tell she''s not really at ease at the shrine. That much was obvious when that young healer picked up the work table with everything on it and carried it over to the Coyn. The look on Emily''s face told all I needed to know about how she felt about Cosm. The Holy Lisaykos was accurate to describe Emily as a feral Coyn since there is nothing about her that is tame. There''s one thing I do know: we can not afford to make an enemy out of her. That little throwing weapon shows she could be dangerous if she turned her mind to war. Someone who can do her own hunting of beasts like bears is capable of violent force artfully applied. I wish I knew more about the rapport she has with the Queen. I also would love to know why the Queen is not surprised like the rest of us at the things that Emily makes. Would it be a good move to establish a closer relationship with the Queen? "Great One," I addressed the Queen as we were walking. "General?" "I had a thought that it might not be a bad idea if we both presented the paper to Imstay King." She let out a sigh and shook her head, "General, the King probably blames me for the arrest of his uncle. I doubt it will be possible to have a civil conversation with him right now and for several seasons to come. He can not be objective on anything that concerns his family." "Hmm," there was not much I could say in reply. She was right. Maybe I needed to rethink my efforts towards improving the relationship between them. It was possible my wishful thinking was getting in the way of my objectivity. "By the way, General," she ventured, "how did you convince Imstay to return Emily''s possessions from the cave? He could have kept those crystals and made a nice profit, and no one would have known." "That surprised me too," I admitted. "I relayed Emily''s conditions to him, and I did not edit what she said to make it pretty for him. He told me to return the stuff and to get an estimate of what it would cost to compensate her losses. I didn''t even know what was in the bags at first, other than the broken sky metal ring. My opinion is that his gesture is a measure of how badly he wants instant fire for his soldiers. It would be a great boon for those who have little magic. He really does care about the morale of Foskos'' soldiers and guards, especially since he doesn''t allow them to loot." "Speaking of that," the Queen inquired. "When was the soldier executed that stole the crystals?" "About three days after the theft was discovered. Discipline is usually faster than that, but because of the distance from Vanishing River, it took longer than usual to get the necessary three officers to sit a tribunal and render a verdict." "That''s good to know," she shook her head. "I confess to suspecting it was done after Emily made her demands. What a pitiful state of affairs that I even had that thought. I know Imstay better than that. I should have known better." I ran ahead a few steps to hold the door open into the south side of the palace for her. She smiled at the gesture, a real smile that reached her eyes. "Well, General, here is where we part. May the gods be with you until we meet again." Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "And with you, Great One." Then she was gone and I was left to make my report to the King. I found him in his workroom, fretting about finding enough wagons for hauling grain from our newest possessions. Even with a new road, it was a trip that had three mountain passes, The round trip would take two rotations using wagons with oxmules to deliver the grain to the royal granary just north of Is''syal. The wagons had to leave now before the passes snowed in for the return trip. "Ah, Bobbo, thank the eleven gods you are here," he greeted me as I made my obeisance at the doorway. "Get up and help me figure this out. Have you eaten or did you come straight here, as is your habit?" "The latter, Mighty One," I was relieved to find him in a better mood than when I left. "I am too old to change my ways." Imstay laughed and rang a bell for the servant on duty, who appeared in seconds. "Fetch the General something to eat and whatever beer is the most recent one tapped. Bobbo, please take a seat. I''m not sure my numbers are correct. If I did this right, we look to be about twenty wagons short. Can you look this over and tell me if I''ve made any mistakes?" "Certainly," I started untying the rolled-up paper. "First, I''d like to show you this." "Oh?" The King reached out and felt one of the sheets. "That doesn''t feel right. What''s wrong with this parchment?" "It''s not parchment. It''s called paper. The Coyn Emily came up with it. You can write on it. I was invited to help make this paper stuff at the Healing Shrine of Mugash over the last two days. We made over two hundred sheets in two days." "Two hundred," Imstay''s eyes grew wide as the implications sunk in. "How many people?" "Three on the first day, including me. Five on the second. But that''s not everything. Emily gave me this." I pulled half of a pencil out of my pouch and I wrote on a corner of one sheet, "this is a pencil," and then handed it to my king. He immediately wrote his name with it. ¡°It¡¯s a bit small,¡± he frowned at the pencil stub. ¡°The Coyn made the pencils to fit her hands, not ours. Scaling up would be easy.¡± "The maker of fire couldn''t have organized the equipment and people to do this. Who organized this?" "Emily told the high priestess about paper on Midday Eve," I explained. "The high priestess decided to try to make some and fronted the money to make the equipment which the maker of fire designed. Emily also made two of these pencil things. This is half of one. She gave it to me when I told her I wanted to show you the paper. She was less hostile on this visit." "So this is all the Coyn''s invention?" "Yes. She is rather unusual. Your description of a crazy genius artificer turns out to be correct. Since the Revelation from Tiki, she''s given the shrine two more medicine recipes along with inventing paper and pencil. She has all the makings of a frenzied mekaner." "You have an inventory from her then?" "I confess I do not. The high priestess asked me not to ask about it until the Coyn''s head is completely healed. That won''t happen until the end of next rotation." "She''s still in head bandages? How did her head get injured? The shrine let her be injured?" "It''s an old injury," I explained. "Her skull was caved in next to where the brain manages speech. The healers at the shrine undid the injury. The bandages keep a protective covering in place over the injury site while the bone gets stronger, with some healing magic of course. When the bandages come off, the shrine will work on restoring her speech. Neither the high priestess nor the Queen have impeded my access to Emily. By the way, the Queen was also at the paper making. She helped out on the second day." "That sounds just like her in one of her impulsive moods," the King shook his head. "Now tell me how this paper stuff is made." "Certainly, Mighty One; but first I''d like to show you this," I took a paper airplane from the inside of my wax tablet and sailed it across the room before it hit the wall and fell. "It turns out that paper has more uses than just writing." Imstay surprised me by jumping out of his chair and retrieving the paper airplane. He turned it over in his hands and then made the same mistake I made yesterday. His too-forceful throw sent it on a curve straight into the carpet. "Mighty One, a lot less might and a lot less wrist, almost as if you are pushing it forward," I advised. Imstay''s second attempt was much more successful. He started grinning like a little boy with a new toy. "I need to show this to the children." He ran and picked the paper airplane off the floor and threw it again. "Can you make more of these?" Imstay asked. "It''s easy and I know two different ways to fold the paper," I replied. "You know, the children are at their lessons right now." "That''s right. I know exactly where to find them. Grab as much paper as we will need and let''s go." Right then, my empty stomach growled and Imstay blinked. "Alright, you eat first then we''ll go. Where is that food?" Right on cue, the servant on duty walked briskly through the door with a mug and a plate of bread, cheese, and fruit. He put them on the table in front of me and then bowed himself out of the room. He was a little fellow with copper hair and green eyes who couldn''t be more than 14 or 15 but he was quiet and efficient. "I''ve not seen that one before," I remarked. I made it a point to know the face of everyone who worked in the palace. "He lost his family in the siege of Capani last year," Imstay sat back down. "His name is Garki. He says he doesn''t have a family name, but I think he''s hiding one. He''s literate and knows etiquette, which certainly suggests he came from a higher caste background. And he has numbers too." "How did you find him?" I managed to ask around a mouth full of bread and cheese. So much for my manners. "He showed up in the camp selling his labor for food. He was even thinner than he is now. I noticed him after I sent you back to find the maker of fire. Uncle Nirirgi felt sorry for the kid and hired him for all those jobs his attendant didn''t like to do, like cleaning the tent and fetching firewood. I saw him serving Nirirgi a meal with all the proper moves one expects from a palace attendant, so I stole him. When I found he could read, write and do numbers, I offered him a job. He has hardly any magic. He can make a light but that''s about it; however, I didn''t hire him for magic." "How did your uncle cope with losing his errand boy?" "Nirirgi wasn''t too happy but I granted him some salt pans outside of the Pink Lake to smooth things over." "Aren''t you worried the boy might stab you in your sleep? Since he lost his family in the siege, he might want revenge." "I''m not worried," Imstay surveyed that state of my plate. "He''s had ample opportunity already and hasn''t once shown any hostility. You made short work of that cheese. Has your stomach been sufficiently bribed yet?" "I believe I can last until the fourth bell now, thank you." "Let''s go then," he got up and started walking out the door without waiting for me. The Queen isn''t the only royal who''s impulsive. 26. Abduction General Bobbo, at the palace schoolroom in Is¡¯syal We found the children in the middle of a geography lesson, taught by a scholar from the Library Shrine of Galt. Imstay dismissed him and focused on Opo''aba and Heldfirk, demonstrating with my paper airplane. After Imstay asked me to show how the paper was folded, paper airplanes filled the schoolroom. Just before the fourth bell, the Queen arrived with some paper and a paper airplane. She was stunning in an embroidered purple gown to match her eyes, her hair up in a jeweled coif. Imstay spotted her immediately. They frowned at each other for a good ten or more breaths. Imstay cracked first, "paper is amazing." "Yes. Yes, it is." She was a bit off-guard in reaction to Imstay''s harmless small talk. "Are you coming in or did you just want to hold up the door frame?" Imstay sent a paper airplane towards her. She caught the airplane and sent it back. "Well, it did seem to be a rather noble doorway," she replied, putting on her court face and regal air. "I was impressed with its dignity and bearing." Opo''aba giggled and Heldfirk stated: "Mom''s being weird again." Aylem sat on the edge of the teacher''s table, "I see I didn''t need to bring paper. I didn''t foresee that you would interrupt their school time." She frowned at Imstay for doing so. "Yes, I should not have done that," Imstay conceded. "So that little Coyn with the head injury came up with this paper stuff? Is she really a Coyn? I''ve never seen one this smart before." "There''s no doubt she''s a Coyn. She is so smart that it''s scary." "Is there enough money in the treasury to compensate her for her losses?" Imstay asked. "Are you serious? Even if you compensate her, I don''t know if you could meet her terms for producing something afterward like instant fire." Aylem remarked. "When I asked her to make me a sky metal knife, she said the price was the emancipation of all Coyn." "What?!?" Imstay had not foreseen such a radical request. I was shocked myself. "I was surprised myself," Aylem admitted. "That''s ridiculous," Imstay got a bit louder. "How would all those Coyn survive? They are entirely dependent on us." "Yet the Sea Coyn flourish in a society that excludes Cosm. Emily herself met all her own needs while living in the forest. Coyn don''t need us or our magic to survive. The proof of that is Emily, who makes things that magic can''t create." "This sounds like a new variant of our usual argument," Imstay''s voice was stripped of any emotion. "Which one?" Aylem managed to say without sarcasm. "Yes," Imstay looked her in the eye. "Point taken," Aylem sighed and looked down. "Did you set up Uncle Kushamar? He aired his suspicions with just a bit of a bite to his voice. I stood as still as possible and so did the children. No one had seen these two talk this seriously in years. Were they being reasonable because they had onlookers? "If he was set up, it wasn''t by me," Aylem responded in a flat voice. "What sort of beast would set up Kushamar to commit murder and mass murder? No, I don''t think it was a setup. No one ever guessed he had a hidden breeding farm hidden in that gulch." "Yes, but..." "No, no buts please," she cut him off, pleading. "This is the point in every one of our conversations where everything falls apart; however, this time it was different." Imstay flushed red with anger but kept his words unspoken, wondering if there was a difference. "Explain." "If it had been winged horses, eagles, and griffins in that death pit, not a single one of our cities would be left standing from the mass bombardment of dropped boulders," she argued. "I saw the death pit at the breeding farm, Imstay. There were thousands of dead Coyn children, mostly female. It was so overboard that I vomited, as did Lynhaydras and her two guards. All of us have seen death before. But this...this was...was..." She shook her head, "I don''t have words to even describe it." Imstay looked like he wanted to say something, anything to explain it away. "Don''t say whatever it is you mean to say, Imstay," Aylem looked truly wearied. Not once did she raise her voice, which rather unnerved me. "Please just listen," she pleaded some more, hoping he would hear what she had to say for once. She continued: "The mass murder of thousands of Coyn children is so extreme that there is no way anyone can save your uncle and the use of the charm of compulsion is a sacrilege violating the Laws of Landa. The first demands that the guilty party be buried alive. The second demands death by exhaustion. "The shrines will not let this pass, husband. If General Lynhaydras determines that Gandrohas knew his father''s breeding farm, there will be no saving him or the rest of the family either. Kushamar will be taken to the Well of Galt by the eleven High Priestesses and compelled to describe what he has done. I see no way to prevent his fate." If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. She got up to leave, "I apologize for ruining what should have been some happy time spent with Opo''aba and Heldfirk." And then she was gone, leaving Imstay at a loss for words. He knew it was hopeless and did not want to admit it. "Is Uncle Kushamar really going to be killed?" Opo''aba asked in a tentative voice. "I fear that is what will happen, child," Imstay looked at his daughter with a face that wrenched my heart. The children loved Kushamar who had always been kind to them. Personally, I thought punishment for Lord Kushamar was long overdue. I wondered if there was any value to having Opo''aba and Heldfirk attend Kushamar''s trial in the Well of Galt. --- Lisaykos, at the Healing Shrine of Mugash "Trust me, Emily," I told her, "boredom will be the largest obstacle in relearning how to speak. We''ve reverted the injured part of your brain back to the state it was at when you were learning to speak as a child. This is dangerous because it might also affect your swallow reflex. So even your food will be boring since you''ll be eating only easy-to-swallow foods." I got one of Emily''s long-suffering patience looks as a reply. "We will start with exercising your tongue by making percussive consonant sounds," I handed her a tablet with those sounds written out. "Let''s get through all of these today at least once since you will be practicing them while I am gone." Emily gave me a questioning look, so I explained: "I need to go to Is''syal for a few days. I''ll leave tomorrow afternoon around the fifth bell. There''s a trial for Lord Kushamar, who is one of the most powerful lords and the king''s uncle. He was caught running an unregistered breeding farm where over a thousand corpses were buried in a pit." Emily flinched and swallowed hard. I can only imagine how bad her memories must be. "He''s been accused of moving boundary stones, which is punishable by fines and restitution. He is also accused of murder and attempted murder of the young tax collectors who discovered the boundary stones. Normally he could pay blood money to avoid a trial, and he''s rich enough to do so because blood money settlements are expensive. "During the boundary stone investigation, the guards of the Is''syal Citadel garrison found the unregistered breeding farm. The Coyn there were in a pathetic state and have since been removed to the nearest healing shrine for Coyn. All of them had charms of disciple plus charms of compulsion. The use of the charm of compulsion without the knowledge and approval by the Shrine of Landa is a sacrilege. The penalty is death by exhaustion." Emily gave me a questioning look, so I explained it to her. "Death by exhaustion involves casting a charm of compulsion to run in a circle around the perimeter of the White Shrine of Landa until dead. It''s a terrible way to die." I continued: "The Citadel guards also discovered the mass grave with over two thousand dead Coyn. Since the victims were Coyn and not Cosm, the offense is cruelty, not murder; but for cruelty, scale matters. Cruelty on the scale of thousands is a capital offense and the penalty is being buried alive. "Lord Kushamar will be taken to the Well of Galt and those of us who are high priestesses will cast the charms of compulsion and truth on him, all of us together. This ensures that the charms can not be overcome by a strong will like yours. Then we will question him as to his part in these crimes. The king will not be able to protect Kushamar as he has done in the past. So that is why I will be gone for a few days since I must witness any punishments that we decide upon. "Wolkayrs and Thuorfosi will be staying in my chambers with you, and Tweserra and Kayseo will trade off with them when they need a break. So there will be someone with you at all times while I''m gone. So I expect you to practice these sounds until you are bored to a stupor, and after that, practice them at least five times more." I got a new version of the face of disgust out of Emily for that last pronouncement. "I would like to take the big clear crystal and the pink and green crystal with me to Is''syal to get an appraisal on them. I believe you would do well to know what others think they are worth. I did notice that look on your face when Aylem offered to buy the pink and green one off you. It was a face that seemed to say ''it''s just a rock.'' I don''t like the thought that others might take advantage of you because you don''t value things the same way others do. May I take them with me?" Emily gave me a funny look and then nodded. "One more thing before we begin the tongue torture, Emily," I remarked. "I will be speaking with Raoleer, the high priestess of the Craft Shrine of Giltak, about registering paper and the pencil as new crafts, so we need to discuss soon how to divide the originator and royalty fees. The pencil should be all yours, but paper had some contributions beyond just you. So give that some thought while you''re working on your sounds." --- Emily, at the Healing Shrine of Mugash Without Lisaykos around, her chambers felt empty despite Thuorfosi waking me in the morning and Wolkayrs'' company during the day. Lisaykos was right: practicing p, t, k and b got boring very quickly. It was also frustrating because I had problems articulating those sounds. It was like my tongue did not know what to do. There was some kind of disconnect between my tongue and my brain. The tongue worked fine but it the brain itself that needed to relearn how to talk. Nothing about talking was intuitive. I had to listen to myself carefully and pay attention to my tongue position to make sure I made the correct sound. According to Lisaykos, my ability to speak was currently as bad as an infant''s. If I stopped practicing for too long during the day, Wolkayrs would call out: "I can''t hear you!" He was a total nag. At least I had the run of the library and Wolkayrs had the keys. I got a lot of reading done the first two days Lisaykos was gone. This world''s technology was about bronze age so no one stayed up late unless they were magical Cosm who could make their own light. The rest of us went to bed shortly after the seventh bell at dusk and got up at dawn. The second night that Lisaykos was away, I was fast asleep with Kayseo reading in the armchair in Lisaykos''s bedroom. She opened the door between the two rooms so she could keep an eye on me while not disturbing me with her light. Unfamiliar sounds woke me up. I had no idea how late it was. I opened my eyes to the sight of Kayseo struggling with two figures who were hooded and masked in black. In horror, I watched as they stabbed Kayseo in the gut. As far as I knew, we were the only people on the fourth floor. Who would even know what had happened if I couldn''t raise an alarm? I first pocketed my throwing spike from off the window sill. I blessed whatever genius made my nightgown with pockets. I then threw my broken planishing hammer through the window, hoping that made enough noise for people on the lower floors to notice. I discovered that calcite doesn''t break as easily or as loudly as glass so I didn''t know if anyone heard the sound of the breaking window. I hefted my hatchet, which I always kept within reach out of habit, just like I did if I was sleeping in the forest. I must have made a strange sight standing on my bed in my nightgown and bandaged head, wielding a Coyn-scale hatchet. The pair in black laughed at me. One pulled out a wand-mounted crystal and cast what I assumed was a charm of deep sleep since I remember nothing after that. 27. Pursuit Usruldes the Wraith in pursuit Cadrees and I could not make it from our observation post to the shrine quickly enough to stop the abduction of the Blessed Emily. I did not stop at the shrine since the pursuit was more important than anything else; however, as I flew past the building''s wall, I mindcasted as loudly as I could that there was a stabbed healer on the fourth floor. I also flew past the Aybhas bell tower and started the bell ringing. I hoped that would suffice to rile the town. Last, I mindcasted the garrison fortress as I flew past. I sent a short prayer to Gertzpul pleading that he spares her. Then I climbed for altitude as only an eagle can. My mount Cadrees and I knew each other well enough that he knew to climb first in pursuits. My clairvoyance was to the limits of the visible horizon so the higher I was, the better I could use my magic. It didn''t matter if I was inside or outside: if it was between myself and the horizon, I could see and hear all. Good thing it wasn''t raining or foggy since the weather cut my range in half---I have no idea why. Both kidnappers were easy to spot. They were on griffins, which meant that someone sporting hefty magic was involved. I stayed high. Cadrees was so much faster than any griffin that I wouldn''t lose them. They flew up the Salt River until just south of Two Ferry Island. They landed at a small farm, hiding the griffins in a barn and carrying the Blessed Emily inside what looked like a dark dwelling. What worried me was the possibility of a charm of watching. I had to resort to occupying the mind of a skunk and waddled him right up to the front stoop of the house. Though there were no lights in the windows, someone opened the door to inspect the skunk. By this, I determined there was a charm covering the house and that it was working. I had the skunk cross the charm boundary several times until whoever was on watch duty got tired of looking at the trespassing skunk. I left Cadrees on the side of the house opposite the barn. It wouldn''t be good if the griffins smelled my eagle. I crossed the charm and immediately dropped and stayed still for at least a half bell. Then I crept up to the house and opened my mind to listening inside. "...too small. What if I miss?" "Don''t miss." "Easy enough for you to say since you''re too cowardly to do it." "Shut your face. Here, hold it still and I''ll do it." Then I heard a loud thunk. "Stop the bleeding! Stop the bleeding!" "I''m trying. We need a bandage." "Use the one on her head," "We were told not to touch it, stupid." "Here, let''s do this." "Good idea, that will work." There was a pause of several minutes before they spoke again. "They should be here by now. They''re late." I mindcasted to Cadrees to get under trees so he couldn''t be spotted from overhead whenever these late people showed up. I became one with the darkness and waited. I didn''t have to wait long. Three griffins and one flying horse with riders landed. They hid their mounts in the barn. The riders entered the house. "Hand me the goods," a new voice said. "Where''s the finger?" By this, I surmised that the thunk I heard was the detachment of one of the Blessed Emily''s fingers. That''s a bad thing to lose if you''re an artificer like she is. "Now, what about our pay?" "We''ll take care of that now." I heard the sounds of swords and scuffling. I could guess what form the payment took. Four people left the house, carrying the still unconscious Emily. While they entered the barn, I ran in the opposite direction for Cadrees. We were already gaining altitude when the four left the farm on their mounts. I followed them to an estate west of Is''syal which I recognized: the principal home of Lord Nirirgi, Kushamar''s brother. One of the fliers peeled off to a small outbuilding while the other three entered Nirirgi''s mansion. I groaned to myself that I would need to scout out charms of watching all over again. I cast the first of what would be many charms of wakefulness on myself. It would be a long night. Right after dawn, someone came out of the main house with a tray full of food and brought it to the outbuilding. By now, I was inside the charm of watching and was one with the tall grass. "Why do you have her gagged? She can''t speak, you know." "I didn''t know that." "Take the gag off. It''s not necessary to be deliberately cruel. Besides, the master is going to put our charm gem on her if the exchange doesn''t go as he wants, so we won''t need to keep her tied up." "Is that wise?" "The master wants her to make stuff for him. She''s supposed to be some kind of genius artificer." "Yeah, tell me another good joke. She''s a Coyn. How can she be any kind of artificer? Coyn aren''t smart enough for anything besides farmwork and cleaning. My mount''s smarter than any Coyn." "Whatever. I''ll be back at midday with more food." --- The Judgement of Lord Kushamar haup Blockit at the Fated Shrine of Galt The Well of Galt wasn''t enclosed like the Well of Mugash. It was a circular depression with a decorative red and white marble railing around it. It was surrounded by a walkway that could accommodate six Cosm walking side-by-side. The walkway was ringed with four tiers of marble seating. Lord Nirirgi was almost too late to be seated but no one gave him any thought. Around the Well of Galt, the tiers were filled with nobles, royal ministers, city ward officers, and craft masters. The King and Queen sat together on ceremonial cushions of Foskos Blue embroidered in gold with the realm''s emblem of a rampant griffin. Lord Fusso and Lord Hestyo sat together only a few hands away from the royal couple. Lord Nirirgi sat with Kushamar''s wife who was released from house arrest to attend the trial. All the other members of Kushamar''s immediate family were either under house arrest or residing already in the Black Tower of the citadel, excluding his youngest son in far-off Yuxviayeth. The eleven high priestesses processed in, led by the Holy Kamagishi of the Fated Shrine of Galt in her red and white robes. On her head was the traditional head covering of a cloth-of-electrum veil held on by three rolls of white wool. All the other high priestesses wore the same. Kamagishi processed first since she was the host. Foyuna of the Crystal Shrine of Tiki was next as the priestess from the oldest shrine in the kingdom, wearing robes of blue and yellow, followed by Lisaykos from the second oldest shrine in silver-shot grey with black facings and the white stoll of a shrine-certified healer. After her was the oldest high priestess, the Holy Fassex of the White Shrine of Landa in purple and black and the gold sash of an adept. It didn''t take long for all the priestesses to enter the well, in the order of when their respective shrines were founded. The array of different robes was colorful but formidable. The assembly of priestesses was the largest concentration of magical power in the kingdom and they would use that power to compel Lord Kushamar to speak the truth about his crimes. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. "Bring forth Lord Kushamar haup Blockit, accused of land theft, murder, attempted murder, gross cruelty, and sacrilege," Kamagishi commanded. Two citadel guards escorted him to the door of the well. His clothes and face were dirty and his long silver hair was disheveled. He stood at the door and did not enter. Annoyed, Kamagishi bent her mind to pull him in and seat him on the judgment chair in front of the crystal. The priestesses then pointed their personal crystals at Kushamar. "Lord Kushamar, we cast 11-fold compulsion and 11-fold truthfulness upon you," Kamagishi intoned. "You will speak when we allow you to speak and you will speak the truth without ommissions." "Lord Kushamar, did you move your boundary stones?" "Yes." "Why did you move your boundary stones?" "To obscure the ownership of the breeding farm, which was built on Lord Hestyo''s land without his knowledge. If discovered, we would argue it was Lord Hestyo''s breeding farm. We would only admit that we moved the stones and feign ignorance of the farm." "What happened when the assessors confronted you about the boundary stones?" "I offered them a bribe. They refused. They tried to flee. One got away. The other two were killed on my orders." "Was the mass grave at the breeding farm created on your orders?" "Yes." "Why?" "Too many Coyn died. We needed to get rid of the bodies." "Why did you add a charm of compulsion to the charm gems?" "Some buyers want docile Coyn who won''t talk back or grumble. The charm of compulsion ensures that." "Did you know that was illegal?" "Yes." "Have you heard enough, sisters?" "Yes." "Then I have one more question," Kamagishi stated. "Did any members of your family know of your illegal breeding farm or aid you in its operation?" "My eldest son, Gandrohas, and my wife, Sassayos haup Surdos." A murmur echoed through the high dome over the Well of Galt as all eyes turned to the silverhair woman sitting next to Lord Nirirgi. She leapt from her seat, levitated, and flew for the door. Before she reached the double door out of the domed chamber, there was a blinding flash. Sassayos'' dead body struck the wall to the side of the door and fell to the floor with a sickening thud. The Holy Fassex covered her still painfully bright crystal with her hands until the light from it faded. Under the law, flight before judgment was considered the same as an admission of guilt and anyone could slay an escaped criminal. Kamagishi gave a hand signal and two priestesses of Galt in red robes appeared and dragged the body from the chamber. Once the body was stripped of its valuables, now forfeit to the crown, an adept of Landa would take the body and dispose of it in the nearest of the Great Cracks under eruption. The chamber was shrouded in silence as the body was removed. Most of the spectators were shocked given the esteem in which the House of haup Surdos was held. Lord Inorurk, Sassayos''s brother turned white and dropped his head into his hands as he quietly wept. Kamagishi broke the spell. "Sisters, are you ready to pass judgment on Lord Kushamar?" "We are." "The list of offenses is long. Is he innocent of any?" "No." "According to the Law of Landa, when there are four or more offenses, the worst punishment will suffice for all of the offenses. We have a puzzle, sisters since there are two punishments of death. Which then is the worst? Burial alive or death by exhaustion?" "The death of exhaustion is exquisitely painful and can last more than a day," Lisaykos commented. "Burial alive for a sinner brings the long silent terror of never escaping this life even after death until the death of the world," said Senlyosart of the Singing Shrine of Sassoo. "Cruelty towards thousands is a crime never before recorded in all our history," said Sutsusum of the Hospitable Shrine of Gertzpul in her high and strangely ethereal voice. "So many little ones were sent to Gertzpul''s arms so soon and for such a selfish greed. A special crime calls for a special death. Let Kushmar die from both penalties. Let him dig his own grave, deeper and deeper until he falls from exhaustion but yet still breathes. Then, still alive, the earth above him will bury him in the hole he dug himself." Silence fell on those gathered. The observers outside the Well of Galt were almost afraid to breathe lest they disturb the heavy quiet. "I find it is right and meet so to do," stated Fassex of the White Shrine of Landa, the oldest of all the high priestesses. As the voice of Landa, she had great influence. "Do you agree, my sisters?" "Yes." "But where shall he dig?" asked Moxsef of the Shrouded Shrine of Vassu. "The dunes of Rax," said Ashansalt of the Bountiful Shrine of Mueb. "Tomorrow, beginning at the second bell. Do you agree, my sisters?" A final chorus said in unison, "Yes!" Kamagishi walked to face Kushamar to cast one last compulsion, "Lord Kushamar, you have been judged and given your doom. You will return now to the Citadel peacefully. You will be brought peacefully in the morning to the dunes of Rax where at the second bell, you will begin your punishment. Accept your fate which was of your own making. How say you?" "It will be as you say," Kushamar said, not able to stop himself from saying it. "Lord Kushamar, come," one of the two guards called to him from the entrance to the Well of Galt. He rose and silently followed them back to his cell at the Citadel because he could nothing else despite the rage and bitter hate he felt. Garki in his blue tunic with the gold sash around his waist as a personal servant of the King came running as fast as he could through the crowd under the shrine¡¯s dome, dodging everyone in his path and miraculously bumping no one. He performed a running slide on his knees of at least 10 hands to stop a fingers width from the somber King, who was walking with the equally-somber Queen. With his right hand over his heart and his eyes on the ground, he held up a small box and a letter on parchment while gasping for air. Imstay gave the boy an indulgent smile, which Garki couldn''t see, and took the box and letter. He flushed bright red upon reading the letter and handed it to Aylem. He cracked open the box, peered in, and closed it with a grimace. The Queen read the letter and all the color drained from her face. "Let me have the box, please," she said in a completely flat voice. "You know what''s..." "Yes, I know, but I would like to see if it might be saved to reattach later." "Oh, right, stupid me," he gave her the box. "Garki, please catch up to the high priestesses and ask them to meet me, in..." He tried to think what room would be both large enough and private enough. "Make it my solar," the Queen suggested. "Since I seldom entertain, no one ever uses it but me, and it has more than enough seating, comfortable and rich enough for all eleven high priestesses." "And have them please meet me and the Queen in her solar, immediately if not sooner, on a matter related to Lord Kushamar''s judgment." When Garki ran off, Imstay turned to Aylem who had her crystal out and was intent on casting some kind of charm on the contents of the box. "Can it be saved?" "Yes, I think it should be fine. Someone thought to stomp on it a few times before boxing it up, but it only adds an extra step in putting things right. If they are still alive when this is over, they will wish they had died." She smiled with such concentrated malevolence that he got a chill down his back. He had personal experience with her vindictiveness. "I take it that you have become fond of this Coyn who has kicked up such a fuss," he said neutrally. "You could say that. Me and Lisaykos both." They started their walk back to the palace. "Heldfirk said you saw the instant fire," his curiosity got the better of him. "What was it like? Heldfirk was not a very observant narrator of what he saw." "The instant fire is several thin coating of minerals and potions at the end of a thin stick. There''s a second part to it which is a piece of sandstone, not too coarse, that''s been soaked in another potion called red phosphorus. When the stuff on the stick is dragged across the sandy texture of the stone in the presence of the red phosphorus, the ingredients react together to make a flame." "You''re mixing potions with potions. How is that not magic?" "Not everything that reacts together is magic." "Yes? Like what?" "When you pour vinegar into milk and the milk curdles. That''s not magic." "Maybe it is magic and we don''t recognize it." Imstay was feeling contentious and needed a distraction to keep himself from thinking about his uncle. "Sour milk doesn''t have an aura of magical energy," she sighed, guessing he was trying to avoid thinking about the trouble at hand. "It''s not the least bit magical." "Oh." He wondered how they would solve the current tangle with the Coyn. "What''s she like, this Emily?" "Shy. Standoffish. Not well socialized. Scared of Cosm. She''s usually very serious. I think I''ve seen her smile three times. Self-reliant and self-sufficient. And smart. So smart it''s scary. General Bobbo called her a crazy genius artificer and that''s not a bad description. But there''s no greed in her and no ambition, other than to have the freedom to experiment and make things. She''s unique." They walked for a moment in silence. "And she''s fragile," Aylem continued. "Small, fragile, and physically weak, even by Coyn standards. And if her kidnappers hurt her badly, I will make sure they die extremely slow painful deaths." "I don''t think I have ever heard of any Coyn being an artificer before," he remarked thoughtfully. "There are artificers among the Sea Coyn," she replied. "I guess there would have to be some," Imstay frowned, seeing cracks in some of the beliefs he had held all his life. It made him feel uncomfortable and unbalanced. 28. Escape Emily in Captivity I woke up on a cold wood floor. Obviously, the two Cosm men in black killed Kayseo and kidnapped me. I worked hard at not weeping because I didn''t anyone to know I was now awake. Her death made me realize how much I had come to care for her, her gentle disposition, and her silly love of gossip. My feet were tied together and so were my hands. There were bloodstains all over the front of my nightgown and there was a bloody bandage on my left hand which hurt if I thought about it. My hand felt weird but I couldn''t figure out what was wrong from the pattern of the pain. It just felt wrong somehow. Whoever tied me up did a really bad job of it. It looked like I could pull apart the knots with my teeth. I wouldn''t even have to fish my throwing spike out of my pocket to use as a blade to cut the rope. Seeing that the rope was on the thick side compared to my wrists, I should be able to pull my hand through the loop. Now was not the time to try. I could hear heavy footsteps on some outside steps. Then the door opened. "Hey, midday feed is here. Hey, where are you? Garf? Garf?" "Quit your yelling," a voice outside said. "Can''t a guy go relieve himself in peace?" "If anything happens to her, it won''t go well for anybody, but particularly you. Why are you leaving her on the floor? You could at least put her on the window seat." Footsteps approached. Someone picked me up, carried me a short distance, and put me down gently on something padded. It certainly was better than the floor. Whoever it was then covered me with a blanket and put a small cushion under my head. "The master will make use of her if the exchange doesn''t happen so take better care of her. She''s valuable," the one who was not Garf said. "A little kindness goes a long way with Coyn. It wouldn''t hurt you at all to use some when she wakes up, and save some of that food for her." "Huh." The nicer Cosm man left. Garf puttered about the room, working on something at a table close to where I lay. I nodded off at some point. I woke to the sound of a scuffle and body falling onto the wood floor. Then someone gently shook me. "Great One? Great One?" I opened my eyes to see a Cosm man all in black, including a hooded mantle, hair scarf, and face covering. He looked somewhat like a ninja. "I''m one of the Foskos corps of wraiths. I hope you are well enough to travel because I''m getting you out of here. Can you grab my collar with your right hand?" He cut the ropes tying my hands and feet. Then he bent down so I could grab his collar and picked me up to seat me on his left arm. "Are you sitting firmly?" I nodded. It did cross my mind that he might not be the rescuer he claimed to be; but knowing to call me "great one" was reassuring, even if I hated being called that. I had no idea what a wraith was but it sounded like special forces to me. He cracked the door open and ran for the tree line. Once there, he kept running until he reached a clearing holding a giant eagle. After he leaped onto the eagle''s saddle, the bird took off and flew into the soon-to-set sun. "Great One, can you swim?" I nodded yes. "Good, we may need to do so. We are being pursued and by other eagles. We can''t outrun them. Cadrees, head for the Island Swamp. We''ll hide there and you can get help." "I can fly faster than they can," the eagle replied. "No, you can''t, not with passengers. We''ve been awake too long. We are both too tired for this. You can be in Is''syal in less than a half bell. Get help." "I don''t like it. I don''t want to leave you." "It''s not the first time." "Yes, boss. Don''t drown." I looked back over his shoulder and spotted three eagles chasing us. "Take a deep breath, Emily," his right arm came around to get a firm grip on my nightgown. When the eagle was within a meter of water, the ninja guy pushed himself out of the saddle. We fell for a breath and hit the water back first. He swam underwater long enough that I really needed more air. At the point of desperation, he surfaced within a colony of cattails. He immediately broke off two cattails and decapitated them. "Think you can breathe through this," he handed me one. I nodded though I was unsure if I could. "Quick, get under the water," he placed me on my back and I stuck the reed in my mouth. He did the same and held me while we both sank. It was a very ninja move. We stayed that way for what seemed like a year until it was dark. Then he surfaced. "We''ll float downstream now," he whispered as he dog paddled out of the cattails and into the Salt River. "Expose as little as you can above the water." The float was quiet and uneventful. I was feeling optimistic when three arrows landed in my ninja''s back. His grip relaxed and I floated free. I dove under him, flipped him, and pushed him toward the riverbank, thanking the American Red Cross for all those senior lifesaving classes in a previous life. I dragged what I could out of the water and onto a gravel bar. Because of the arrows, I left him on his side. I realized my mouth was too small to do mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. He still had a pulse. I pulled down his mask and tried to get a breath in doing mouth to nose. Immediately, he began to cough and then threw up on me. I should have expected that. Drowning victims almost always threw up. I dunked myself to clean up my nightgown. An archer with mostly white hair landed next to us on a giant eagle. "Step away from him," she ordered. I scrambled up the gravel to get between my ninja and the eagle rider. I pocketed a handful of rocks. Then I ripped a strip off the bottom of my nightgown. "I said, step away," the archer pulled out a crystal mounted in a wand. A charm of discipline hit me. The pain took my breath away. Despite the pain, I made a sling out of the fabric strip and used a headshot to drop the archer. The eagle protested and started to come toward me. I had to use two stones to force the eagle to stop. My ninja dragged himself out of the water and stood up. "You have to kill the rider or they will just keep coming after us." A bronze knife appeared in his hand. The eagle tried to attack but I slung a piece of rock into its eye. The ninja stabbed the unconscious archer who he then threw in the river. The eagle flew off. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. My ninja looked bad but picked me up and walked across the gravel bar, "we need a better hiding spot." He got back in the river and we floated downstream to a wooded island. He staggered out of the water and into a thicket where he sat down, shielded from sight by a thick patch of bushes. "There are two more eagles searching for us," he said softly. "Are you cold at all?" I nodded since I was quite chilled after getting wet twice. He pulled out a crystal and dried our clothes. Then he cast a charm of warmth. It felt wonderful. With the mask gone, I saw that he had a beak of a nose and a slightly sloping chin. It was too dark to see his eyes but his short hair sticking out of his headscarf was completely white. "Ah, help is coming," he smiled but sagged from fatigue. "The eagles are leaving." A riderless eagle landed outside the thicket. "You don''t look so good," Cadrees the eagle stated. "I don''t feel so good," he picked me up and walked over to his eagle. "Let''s get off this island," he put me in the saddle and climbed on. "Find a decent field to land in." Cadrees landed in a recently cut hayfield. My ninja rescuer slid off and then lifted me down. He sat down crosslegged and placed me in his lap, casting charms of warmth and light. The warmth was nice though the pain from my hand had steadily grown during the evening. Now it threatened to overwhelm me. I wondered if it was wise to pull the bandage off and see what was wrong with my hand. "Your wound is bleeding," he said to me. "I can sense your pain from here. Help is only a few minutes away, Great One. The Queen should be here first. Close your eyes and rest for now." He pulled me against his warm chest and wrapped his arms around me. We sat together like that, waiting and enduring. --- The Queen''s Solar The king addressed General Lynhaydras and the high priestesses who were seated in a circle with him and the queen. "The note reads ''Free Kushamar at the Gate of Kesmat or else you will never see the Blessed Emily again. We send you a token of our resolve. We will send one every day until Kushamar is freed.''" "Unforgivable," Foyuna growled. "Whoever sent this, sent it to the King, who can not reverse a judgment made in the Well of Galt," Kamagishi remarked. "The most likely suspects behind this are King''s own family," said Senlyosart. "Don''t remind me," Imstay said, grief-stricken but resolute. "Even if it is my family, it can not save them from the King''s justice. I will not make a mockery of the law." More than one pondered the irony of the King''s statement. He had spared his relatives numerous times before from the consequences of their actions. Many guessed that the kidnapping terms targeted the King''s feelings for his family. "The kidnappers did not fully account with the involvement of the shrines," Fassex stated. "If we act as a body, we can expose the kidnappers and recover the Blessed Emily. Great Aylem, can you locate Emily?" The queen made a sour face, "I can not, which disturbs me since I have always been able to find her before this." "Even without the great crystal at the shrine of Tiki?" Raoleer asked. "Yes, even without the great crystal if she is close enough, which is to say within ten wagon-days. But I can not find her. She is either too far from us or we may be dealing with a charm of nothingness or circular light, though that narrows the list of suspects to full silverhairs who can cast those." "The charm of circular light is one of the lost charms," Fassex looked startled. "The prerequisites to be one of the wraiths is the ability to cast the charm of circular light and clairvoyance," the King disclosed. "My spymaster, who learned his magic outside of Foskos, teaches it to wraith candidates he deems able to learn it." Just then, someone knocked at the door despite the presence of a guard to prevent any intrusion. The door opened a crack and Garki stepped in. He knelt in full obeisance, "my apologies, Great, Mighty and Holy Ones, there is a messenger from the Healing Shrine of Mugash outside the door with dire news." "May we invite the messenger in, sisters?" Lisaykos asked her outward demeanor at odds with her inner worry. "I believe we all wish to hear this, given the circumstances," Fassex remarked. "Is there any dissent?" She waited several moments for a response. "I believe we agree. Young man, please invite the messenger in." Garki made a second obeisance and slipped out. The door opened wider to accommodate Healer Thuorfosi, who knelt with her hand over her heart. "Holy One, my mistress, may I speak?" "You may," Lisaykos granted, her fists clenched. Thuorfosi remained on her knees. "Late last night, between the quarter and the half-night bell, two intruders entered the fourth floor of the shrine through the south balcony, fouled the charms of warning and repulsion on the quarters of the high priestess, and entered the bedroom. There they struggled with Healer-in-training Kayseo, who was stabbed through the abdomen. They abducted the Blessed Emily and fled." Lisaykos turned white with an anguished expression. The Queen''s wooden face at this news was unreadable. "An unknown person mindcasted both the temple and the garrison, waking numerous magic users with a message regarding the kidnapping and the assault on Healer-in-training Kayseo. Because of this person''s mindcast, Kayseo was discovered within scant minutes after the attack, before death became irreversible. We anticipate that she will make a full recovery." Lisaykos let out a breath of relief. Foyuna, who was sitting next to her, reached out and squeezed Lisaykos''s hand in sympathy. Thuorfosi continued: "One of Emily''s sky metal tools was thrown through the clear stone window in her bedroom. Her sky metal hatchet was on the floor in front of her bed. There were no other signs of struggle. We believe she was wearing only her nightgown when she was taken." "I see the aura of shame on you, my daughter," Ashansalt of Mueb remarked. "What is it you are not saying?" Thuorfosi flushed and hung her head, "Only that it was supposed to be my night to stand watch over Emily. Kayseo and I traded nights so I could spend the time with my husband." "So you feel that you traded your fate with this young healer-in-training? Many would feel the same way, but it is not your fault. Blame those who violated the shrine, not yourself, child." "Holy One," Thuorfosi bowed her head. "Healer Thuorfosi," Lisaykos said in her usual calm and unshakable voice, "you should heed the words of High Priestess Ashansalt. Now please, go and rest, and we will speak later." Thourfosi bowed herself out of the room. "Well," Aylem began, "that answers the question of what happened in Aybhas." "But who is this unknown great mage who mindcast the temple and garrison?" Foyuna pondered. "I believe he may be one of mine," Imstay said to everyone''s surprise. "I sent my very best to Aybhas, to keep a very discreet watch over the Blessed Emily. He has greater magic than myself. I did not receive his report this morning, which suggests to me he was too occupied to send it. If it was him who mindcast the shrine and garrison, then we may be in a better position than we thought since he will do all in his power to pursue the kidnappers and rescue Emily." "You set surveillance on Emily in Aybhas," the Queen said in a pleasant voice and a malevolent smile she only used when she was on the tip of losing her temper. The truce was nice while it lasted, Imstay thought to himself. "At the time, I was not exactly in a position to ask you for information about this most unusual, and might I add, dangerous visitor to our kingdom." He braced himself for her reaction. The room held its breath while the Queen digested Imstay''s reply. Aylem relaxed her shoulders and calmed her expression, "if I were in the same position as you, I would have likely done the same." She looked at Imstay, still annoyed, "Usruldes?" "Yes, Usruldes," he kept his voice neutral. "Then there is a chance," she concluded. "That miscreant is more than competent," she conceded, remembering the time Imstay had set Usruldes to spy on her movements and the operation of her villa and estate. "Great One, you should leave to use the Great Crystal," Foyuna prompted. "If you leave now, you can be at the Shrine of Tiki before dark and can return here before midnight. Then we would gain unequivocal answers if there is no progress this evening." "You would not come with me?" Aylem asked, confused. "I have a punishment to witness in the morning," Foyuna pointed out. 29. Unexpected Reunion Aylem at the Crystal Shrine of Tiki Aylem and Asgotl flew into the great dome of the Tiki shrine, startling the young attendant on duty. "Great One," he knelt and made his obeisance, "this is unexpected." "This visit is to find the Blessed Emily, who was abducted last night in Aybhas, from with the Shrine of Mugash itself," she explained so he could make the proper notation in the shrine''s chronicle of events. She sat on the throne facing the crystal and dropped into the trance. Her vision showed her the insides of a shed with Emily sleeping on an old beat-up window seat. The other occupant appeared to be a laborer of some sort, puttering about and sharpening garden and lawn tools. The door opened and the laborer fell to a man all in black, who then scooped up Emily and ran through the grounds of an estate she recognized near Decorat. She groaned inwardly. Imstay''s other uncle, Kushamar''s brother Nirirgi was behind the kidnapping. She saw the current truce unraveling before it even had a chance to go somewhere. She watched as Usruldes made breathing tubes from cattail stalks and noted the location where he and Emily were hiding from Nirirgi''s agents and dropped the trance. She now knew all she needed. After a few words to the young attendant who was recording what appeared in the crystal, she and Asgotl were back in the air and flying straight to the Island Swamp region. She mindcast to Lisaykos, whose mind was most like her own for telepathy, and sent Emily''s location, only to learn Usruldes'' eagle had arrived at the palace to beg the king for help. --- Instay King, at the palace in Is''syal "Will someone shut that noisy bird up," Imstay bellowed in annoyance. Someone''s eagle kept flying the window of the king''s study screeching. He finally got fed up after listening to the racket for several minutes and stomped over to the window. Flinging open the drapes, the eagle spotted him. The bird screamed at him, "Imstay! Usruldes! Help Imstay! Usruldes! Help!" There was an arrow stuck in his right wing. Imstay said something far worse than blarg and then mindcast at the eagle, "Go to the north courtyard. I will meet you there. Understand?" The eagle nodded and banked downward toward the courtyard. "Garki!" Imstay bellowed. "Mighty One...?" "Garki, take this tablet. Go to the guardroom. Tell the officer to ring the sequence for winged mounts at mounted quarters immediately. Repeat what I just told you." He listened to make sure the boy had the expression correct, physically spun the boy around, and gave him a push. "Run!" The boy ran. So did Imstay, leaping down the stairs three and four steps at a time, yelling for people to get out of his way, running as fast as he could. Cadrees was waiting in the courtyard, with one of the guards from the gate arguing that he couldn''t land there. "I''ll take care of this, soldier," Imstay clapped her on the shoulder and moved her aside. "Cadrees, where is Usruldes?" "I left him and the Great One hiding in the Island Swamp. He told me to get help." "Can you take me to the House of Mounts?" "Yes, but what about the search?" "That''s why we''re going to the House of Mounts. There should be the signal for guards to meet me there any moment now." Just as he finished speaking, the palace bell began the sequence for guards with mounts to meet at the House of Mounts. "See?" "Get on," Cadrees pushed the king with his beak. He was so tired that he felt every stone of the king''s weight. His departure was sloppy because of it. It took mere seconds to fly from the palace to the House of Mounts. Sliding off, Imstay gave the eagle a chiding look, "you should stay here and rest because you are exhausted." "I will come with you," Cadrees disagreed. I have the charm of reunion embedded in my beak. I will find them for you." Imstay gave the eagle an unhappy look and then sighed. "You are too much like your master." As soon as he said it, he regretted it. "Not master," the eagle said with his head drooping from fatigue, "brother; he is my brother and I am his." "I am most truly sorry, friend," Imstay put his folded hands against his forehead and bowed in apology. "I knew that and I apologize for forgetting that. I know you and he are close." The grooms, soldiers, and guards entering the House of Mounts were shocked to see their king apologizing to an eagle. Was this really the man who once flogged his own mount for a minor mistake? "Imstay King, I forgive you," Cadrees replied. "You are worried and I am tired. Neither of us is flying at our best." "Cadrees, I thank you for your understanding. May I place a charm of location on you, in case we get separated?" "Certainly, Imstay King." Imstay retrieved a charm gem from his belt pouch and placed it on the side of Cadrees'' beak. "Tiki, Lord of Time, who knows the place of all your children, bless us so we may know the place of Cadrees even when he and I are far apart." There was a warm glow around Imstay''s hand as the gem was set into Cadrees'' beak. Imstay found his griffin already tacked up. "Flavriansha, we have some difficult night flying to do, maybe with some fighting involved." He stopped to count the javelins in the large quiver on the griffin''s right shoulder but Flavriansha stepped back and turned to face Imstay. "What? Hey! What are you doing, dunderhead?" Imstay frowned. "Did I see you just apologize to an eagle?" Flavriansha pushed Imstay with his beak. "We don''t have time for this," Imstay snapped and tried to step around the griffin''s neck to mount, but Flavriansha maneuvered to keep Imstay in front of her, where she pushed again with her beak. "You just apologized to an eagle," she accused Imstay and sounded upset. "Can we please talk about this later? There are people who need rescuing on this dark and cold night." Flavriansha stared at him for a moment. "Don''t forget what you just said. Get on." As soon as he was settled, Imstay counted up the number of riders mounted and ready to go. He was pleased to see the three squad leaders present had formed the riders into three groups: one of soldiers, one of guards, and one mixed. The most senior of them, a guard lieutenant who looked old enough to be his mother, approached on her flying horse and saluted: "The eagle here said there were three assailants on eagles after a Cosm and a Coyn on foot, Mighty One. I regret to say that we don''t have any strong mindcasters among us." "Hmm," Imstay considered what the best course of action would be, since coordinating three groups at night would be difficult without a strong mindcaster. He was good at the task but not the best. He was accustomed to having one of the strong mindcasters on his staff on hand so he could be free to command. Before he had a chance to say anything, someone in a bright green tunic on a grey winged horse dropped into the assembly yard out in front of the House of Mounts. The high-speed descent was followed by an abrupt bank, upward turn, and aerodynamic stall to a controlled drop just a hand off the ground. It was a maneuver that took extreme skill and fearlessness on the brink of insanity. "Sorry to be late, Mighty One," Bobbo saluted. "I was on the far side of town." "Excellent," Imstay said. "Bobbo, you''re in charge. We''ll use your clairvoyance and my mindcasting. Usruldes and Emily were in the water in the Island Swamp when Cadrees, that the eagle over there, was ordered to leave them and get help. There were three armed assailants on eagles chasing them. Cadrees has a charm of reunion tied to Usruldes and a charm of location tied to me." "Usruldes? Usruldes the Wraith sent for help? Cadrees," Bobbo was all business, "when did you leave them?" "The start of twilight," the eagle replied. "Was Usruldes injured? Why did you break up?" "I was too fatigued to outrun our pursuit," Cadrees hung his head in shame. "He stayed to protect Emily who is injured." "Does that arrow in your wing pain you?" Bobbo asked. "It''s stuck between feathers, a few of which are broken," Lisaykos replied as she grabbed the arrow shaft and dislodged it. Imstay and Bobbo both jerked in their saddles at her sudden unexpected appearance. "How did you get here?" Imstay squawked. "I walked," she replied very calmly. "Cadrees, lower your head," she held out a hand. He lowered his beak into her hand and she placed her other hand between his eyes. They stood like that for several breaths until she removed her hands. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "There, that should be good for about two bell-lengths, then all the fatigue will come flooding back in on you," she patted him on the neck. "Next time, don''t stay up this long without sleeping." She stepped aside as she pulled a headcloth from a pocket in her riding cloak and started to tie up her hair, "well, don''t wait on me; I''ll catch up." "Holy One...," Bobbo began. She cut him off, "You are going to need a healer and possibly someone to handle Emily, who might take one look at a gaggle of soldiers and guards, and take to the river to get away from all the big scary Cosm." "We''ll be looking out for you, Holy One," Imstay told her. "Please be kind to my friend Usruldes when you see him," Cadrees addressed her awkwardly, his head tilted to the side, looking uncertain and worried. She looked up at him kindly. "Why would I not? Everything will be fine." She patted him again on the neck and then turned to get her mount from inside the House of Mounts. Cadrees followed her walking away with his worried eyes. Then he turned his head to Imstay. Imstay looked just as worried. "If she says she''ll catch up, she''ll catch up," Bobbo stated. "You can take whatever that woman says as scripture." He then began rolling out orders to the three squad leaders, checked to see that they could hear the king''s mindcasting, and then got everyone into the air to follow Cadrees. --- Aylem, in a hayfield in Gampff Holding Asgotl outdid himself on the flight up the river. Even before we passed Blockit, I could feel Emily, her strong will like a bright flame in my clairvoyant sight, confirming what I suspected before: that some kind of charm had been hiding her from me, preventing me from finding her without the aid of the Great Crystal. I could also feel two different groups on flying mounts, which I assumed were the forces Imstay assembled for the rescue. Lisaykos mindcasted that information to me in flight, being one of the few mages in the realm with the power to mindcast that far. It was not too far from the Manse of Gampff to the riverside hayfield where Emily, Usruldes, and Usruldes'' eagle were waiting for help. I was surprised to be the first to arrive. Given Usruldes'' reputation, he must have been in bad shape. In all my years as Queen, Usruldes the Wraith had never before asked anyone for help. Ever since he first showed up around 16 years ago, no one had ever seen his face. I myself had only seen him in person four times. All I knew about him was that he was taller than Imstay, which meant he was a silverhair, and that he could hide from even my clairvoyance. He undertook missions for the king which most would consider impossible. He was a legend. As far as anyone knew, he had been foiled only once; and that was when I caught him in a physical trap when he expected a magic trap instead. That was when the King set him to spy on me at my villa. Even then, Usruldes slipped out of my grasp immediately so I never had the chance to unmask him. This was why I was so surprised to see his face for the very first time when I landed in the hayfield. It was not what I guessed a man like him would look like. He had an open friendly face and enough crows'' feet around his eyes to testify he was a man who smiled and laughed a lot. Appraising him with all his defensive charms dropped, I could feel he had a strong magical attribute of empathy, which was the last thing I would expect from a man reputed to be the King''s assassin. I could also see in my mind''s eye five bright red spots of pain in him and one on Emily, who was asleep in his lap with his arms wrapped around her, her head cradled in the crook of his elbow. He raised a finger to his lips, looking me in the eyes and then looking back at her protectively. I liked that look he had for her. It was unfathomable to me that the infamous and frightening Usruldes was a man of empathy and compassion. I knelt silently in front of them and reached for Emily, dropping her into a deeper sleep. "We can speak now. She won''t awaken." I took off my riding cloak, put it on the ground, and then moved Emily to it, covering her up against the evening chill. Asgotl wandered over and laid down on the ground next to her. I looked at this silverhaired man who looked to be in his 30s, his face for once not hidden by his hood and face coverings. His hair was cut short like a scout or courier. He was cleanshaven, except he had about two days'' worth of stubble showing. He had a very prominent beak of a nose and a bit of a sloping chin. His eyes looked gray in the starlight. For some reason, he looked a bit familiar but I couldn''t place him at all. He was sitting very straight. He had to or the arrows in his back might shift. One had penetrated a short way into his right lung. He had succeeded in casting stasis on himself to control the bleeding and the edema but it was beginning to break down from the extreme fatigue which cloaked his aura in a solid blue haze. Just below his heart was a knot of dark green fear, which I found inexplicable, given his placid and calm exterior. His self-control was unworldly. "Can you maintain your posture and stasis for thirty to fifty more breaths?" I asked, kneeling behind him. "There will be no pain but those arrows must come out and the puncture of your lung sealed over. The rest we can take our time to heal, but the arrows must be dealt with immediately." "Great One, I can indeed last as long as fifty breaths," he said in a soothing bass voice so musical that he could be a court herald if he wanted. "Please, get them out. I feel the tip of one grate against a rib as I breathe. It is most unpleasant." Healing soft tissue while pulling out an arrow is easy so long as you have the time and the magic to do so, and I have magic to spare. My concentration was profound while pulling them out so I did not hear two mounts land in the field next to us, though I did note that it became brighter as someone set more charms of light around us. Just as I finished closing the layers of the epidermis, I felt the knot of fear inside Usruldes explode though physically he did not move at all. His control over his own body was quite impressive. He was a remarkable man, first for casting stasis on himself, which usually only healers can do, and now, not even moving under extreme emotional stress. I looked up to see what he was reacting to and was shocked to find just Imstay and Lisaykos. Imstay was wearing a very worried face and Lisaykos was staring at us. I got up and stepped to the side but Lisaykos'' eyes did not stray. It was Usruldes she was staring at. I noted with some confusion that Imstay was rather nervous. It was Usruldes who broke the impasse, "I would kneel and greet you properly, Holy One, but I''m afraid that I might lose consciousness if I tried to do so. Pray forgive my current state of incompetence." "Is that all you have to say for yourself?" Lisaykos'' voice was a note higher in pitch than usual and her expression did not change, plowing him into the dirt with her glare. "Meeting like this is like tearing the scab off a deep wound that has never healed." Usruldes took a deep shuddering breath, "yes, I admit that I am a coward that I could not bring myself to tell you I was alive and well. I should have done that at least but...but..." He started to collapse to the side and caught himself only at the last moment. Lisaykos started to take a step toward him and stopped herself when he sat back up. "You need to tell her what you planned for cold season midday," Imstay prompted. Lisaykos shot him an accusatory scowl. "You knew all along, didn''t you?" she hissed under her breath at him. Imstay calmly nodded back, his face regally neutral. "My oldest passed the examination just after growing season midday to study as a healer-in-training," Usruldes continued, his voice fading as the strength ran out of him. "She just turned 12 and she''s already showing white in her hair though she¡¯s so blond it¡¯s hard to tell. I planned to bring the entire family to meet you when she enrolled at the shrine. I was thinking you at least wouldn''t throw me out of the shrine and castigate me as an unfilial son in public, and you would at least get to meet your grandchildren." He drooped and then sagged, bracing his hands against his knees in the fight to stay upright. "I''m afraid I am going to fall over now," he said in a calm and informative voice and then collapsed to the side. I was already behind him, catching him before his head hit the ground. With his eyes closed, he smiled an amused little smile, "ah me, here I am, close to dying but in a beautiful woman''s arms." His eyes cracked open just a little, "please, don''t tell the wife." Then Lisaykos was kneeling on the ground next to us. "Well, put him down on his back," she was snapping orders just as if she were in the wards doing her rounds at the shrine, her hand on his head, assessing him; but the tears were falling down her cheeks. "You are dangerously exhausted, you stupid boy." She wiped her face on her sleeve and looked at me, "he should be carried to where he can recuperate, and he needs to stay in bed for several days with a healer sitting on his legs so he can''t get up too soon. And someone needs to take care of that gash on his left arm and the twisted ankle. Also, he probably got some river water down the wrong way because his throat and airway are irritated with elevated mucus production. That will have to be watched to make sure he doesn''t pick up a respiratory infection." Imstay joined us kneeling around Usruldes flat on his back. "Can you take him back, Aylem? I''ve got a fully-loaded war saddle on Flavriansha and your griffin is a more stable seat than trying to get him up on the high priestess'' eagle." "I can do that," I replied. "Where should I take him? We can put him in one of my guest rooms, and no one would be any wiser. That would at least protect his identity. But who will take Emily? And we still need to see to her severed finger." "Yes, you must take good care of Emily," Usruldes startled us all by speaking, which was half muttering by now as he allowed himself to be as exhausted as he felt. "I''d be a dead body in the river but for Emily. She saved my life twice today. Knocked the archer that shot me right off her eagle." He nodded and closed his eyes again. "She''s a little wolverine...and...," he finally faded all the out. "That tiny little thing is a wolverine?" Imstay was confounded, looking over to where Emily was sleeping next to Asgotl. "Who rescued whom here?" "You haven''t had the privilege of startling her in the forest," I replied. "I did that once and had the unique experience of looking at an arrow aimed right at my eyes. She''s decisive when it comes to defending herself." "Huh." Imstay frowned. "She took care of herself and survived alone for years, living in the wilderness north of the lava plains," I pointed out. "She''s not exactly normal. What I want to know is if she really took out an archer and how." "I''m sure Irhessa will have quite a tale to tell when he wakes up," Lisaykos remarked, brushing the hair from out of her son''s eyes. She also looked spent and as weary as I have ever seen her, though given what just happened in this hayfield, it was understandable. I knew from years of experience with her as my mentor, that her stoic exterior hid a caring and soft heart. Her troubled relationship with her son was something she hid from her working colleagues in the community of healers. I didn''t even find out he had run away until a year after it happened. That was when her husband died and she moved out of the Manse of Gunndit and into the suite on the fourth floor of the shrine. That''s how well she hid her pain from the people she worked with. "I will take Emily," Lisaykos said, "but I will take her to your suite, Aylem. Bringing her to the guest house at the Shrine of Galt would not be good. Every single high priestess wants to meet and question her. It would set her back months in getting her accustomed to Cosm." I laughed, "I think she''s a bit more resilient than that, dear heart." I lifted Usruldes, or Irhessa to use his real name, and walked over to Asgotl. "I''ll put him in the room that''s to the right just inside the door to the drawing room. I''ll fly straight to my balcony so we can get him inside without exposing his face. I have Emily''s finger inside a stasis charm so I can take care of it tonight. I''ll be waiting for you." Imstay ran to catch up with me and placed a hand on my shoulder, "Aylem." I stopped and looked at him, "Usruldes is not exactly light so please, make it quick." "Thank you." That confused me. "For what?" "For helping Usruldes. I know there are some hard feelings there." "We can talk about things later. Your night is not over yet. Your troops are at your uncle''s home right now and you probably need to be there." "General Bobbo is taking care of it," he looked like he was about to weep. "I was afraid I would let him escape if I went with them, so I came here instead." "You''ve changed, Imstay," I lifted Usruldes onto the back of the saddle and started to strap his legs so he wouldn''t slip and fall in flight. "So have you," he turned and walked back to where Cadrees and Flavriansha were waiting. --- 30. Interrogation Emily, at the palace in Is¡¯syal I opened my eyes to the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling and Thuorfosi sitting on the floor next to the Coyn-scale bed where I was sleeping. The scene was disorienting. I had no idea of where I was or what had happened. I was in a fresh nightgown and my left hand was bandaged and splinted. I sat up and became lightheaded for a moment. Thuorfosi stopped me from falling back onto the pillow. "Feeling a bit weak?" She smiled, "you were injured and you haven''t eaten anything for almost two days. You''ll feel better after some food. I can point you to the necessary for now." I nodded yes but I was full of questions. First things first though: the call of the full bladder was insistent. The room where I woke was strange. I admit I experienced some schadenfreude watching Thuorfosi duck under the low ceiling and squeeze herself on her knees to get through the Coyn-sized door. Then she spoke to someone on the other side of the door: "Veflia, she''s awake. Could you show her to the necessary and help her washing up?" "Of course, my lady." A middle-aged blond Coyn entered the room. She knelt gracefully in a front-lacing gown, hand over her heart. "May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One." I groaned inwardly, thinking I needed to get out of Foskos just to escape all this bowing and scraping. I waved that she should get up. I guess the look on my face spoke volumes since she chuckled. "You just need to get used to it, Great One, because everyone will greet you this way." "Veflia, I took care of the hot water for you," Thuorfosi said from outside the doorway. "Thank you, my lady," she replied while giving me a hand getting out of bed. The splint didn''t allow me to use my left hand. It threw my balance off while getting up. Veflia was at least a head taller than me and displayed some strength in helping me get up. "Tell me if you feel dizzy at all," she walked me down a Cosm-scaled hallway with several Coyn-scaled doors. There was a mezzanine above with more coyn-scaled doors. Whoever built this place stacked Coyn-scale rooms inside a Cosm-height ceiling, so every room was accessible to both Coyn and Cosm, though it would be a tight fit for the latter. The Coyn-scale bathroom was at the end of the hallway. It had several necessary stalls along the wall and four tubs with curtains for privacy. The wall opposite the door had a long table with washbasins. Veflia spotted my eager look at the tubs. "We got you cleaned up last night. The Queen doesn''t want you to get the bandage wet. Any washing today will be with a washing cloth." Though it infringed on my sense of modesty, Veflia helped with the necessary and with washing my face and unbandaged hand. "We have some clothes for you, though given how thin you are, they will be a bit baggy on you," Veflia walked me back to the room where I woke up. "If you can wait a moment, I''ll be right back with them." She returned with underclothes, a linen kirtle, and a deep-blue gown to go over it. The gown had poofy sleeves that would be at home at any given renfair. Veflia laughed at the face I made: "The Queen warned us you probably wouldn''t like long skirts, but you will have visitors later today. You must be appropriately attired. I wish we had something better for you than this; however, there''s no help for it on such short notice." I was ready to disappear down the next available rabbit hole but had to endure someone dressing me. Veflia was amused by my blushing cheeks but appalled by how thin I was. "Lady Thuorfosi was telling me earlier that you had actually filled out some since arriving at the Healing Shrine of Mugash. I can barely imagine that, child, since I can see all your ribs. But don''t worry, Zdatel and I will fatten you up in no time. There''s plenty to eat so don''t hold back." Zdatel? Who was Zdatel? Veflia had a co-consprirator named Zdatel? There were two of them? Things were not looking good. "That should do it," Veflia tied off the front laces. "I''m afraid we don''t have any shoes small enough for your feet, but since you won''t be going anywhere today, your stocking feet will be fine for now. And now, let''s do something about that hair of yours." I changed my mind about things not looking good. They just got a lot worse. My hair had grown out a bit since landing at the shrine. Other than trimming the uneven ends, nothing had been done since. I liked simple, low-maintenance hair, having spent a previous lifetime stuffing a hard hat on it. Veflia steered me down the hallway in the opposite direction from the communal bathroom. She took me to what looked like a common room with assorted comfortable chairs and many small tables, all on Coyn-scale. An even taller lady with Maureen O''Hara looks was waiting with comb, brush, snips, and a towel. She got on her knees with her hand over her heart and greeted me. I inwardly groaned once more and motioned for her to get up. This was getting unbearable. "I''m so pleased to get to meet you, Great One," she gushed. "Everyone''s been talking about you. I think every Coyn is thrilled that Tiki chose to bless one of us. Now, if you sit here, I can get that uneven hair trimmed up." While they tortured my hair, they revealed that they were the Queen''s hairdressers and fashion consultants, serving the Queen ever since she first came to the palace. That finally answered my biggest question about where I was. These Coyn-sized rooms were part of the servants'' quarters for the Queen. Apparently, most of the Queen''s cleaning staff were Coyn. Veflia and Zdatel were chatterboxes but that was okay since their babbling contained a great deal of information. Both myself and my ninja rescuer were taken in by the Queen last night. The Queen reattached my amputated pinky. The rest of the healing was taken care of by Thuorfosi, which gave the Queen and Lisaykos the chance to have a few hours of sleep before they left. The execution of Lord Kushamar was this morning and they both had to attend, thus explaining their absence. My rescuer was still sleeping in the Cosm-sized end of the Queen''s quarters. I got the impression that he was in much worse shape than I was. That made sense since he looked like a human pin cushion last night. I also found out that he was some kind of legendary secret agent called Usruldes the Wraith. He was the King''s chief spy. No one ever saw his face because it was always hidden by a hood and a facemask. I was able to eat after Veflia and Zdatel finally finished my hair. They brought me a tray filled with all sorts of stuff including a lovely liver pate. The pate was wonderful on top of some sourdough bread. I ate until I was stuffed. Afterward, I found Thuorfosi in the drawing room reading. She had come prepared with a wax tablet. She lifted me onto the oversized, overstuffed sofa and I finally was able to get some answers about the events of the last two days. I was more than pleased to hear that Kayseo was alive and on the mend. People guessed that Usruldes was the magic user who mindcasted the shrine two nights ago, enabling the timely healing of Kayseo. No one would know for sure until he woke up. Lisaykos'' deputies chose Thuorfosi to bring the news of the attack to Lisaykos here in Is''syal. Lisaykos then volunteered Thuorfosi to keep me from misbehaving---her words, not mine---while the Queen and Lisaykos witnessed the execution. I did protest my innocence. Thuorfosi did not believe me. "So you and Asgotl didn''t go fishing the day you went to Black Canyon?" she countered. She also nailed me with arguing with the Queen and getting her so angry that she hauled me off to the Tiki shrine. It turns out arguing with the Queen is a big no-no and it shocked the gang of three and Wolkayrs. The only person who can get away with arguing with the Queen is Lisaykos, and even she has limits to how far she can push the Queen. I had no idea. I killed some time with Veflia and Zdatel playing old maid, though the playing cards were hand-painted on vellum and sized for Cosm. I also had no idea why they called the card game scabby queen. That was weird. I excused myself to visit the necessary. While there, I pondered how nice it would be to have modern toilets and a real shower. That would require making and fitting pipes and valves. I don''t know how serious I was about plumbing a whole castle but it was a problem to keep me from getting too bored. I started looking around at the piping for the tubs. The feed pipes to the tubs from the wooden water tanks overhead were fired clay, which was a clumsy system but it worked for these folks. The only valves were on the water tanks and those looked like simple drum valves so the hydraulic head had to be fairly low. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. The drain pipes to empty the tubs were lead. That blew me away. I had heard of lead pipes but had never actually seen any. The lead drains appeared to go down through the floor, which was tile over a wood subfloor. I know because I found a loose tile and lifted it up to inspect the subfloor. The bathroom was next to the outer wall. I wondered whether all the bathrooms in the palace were placed next to the outside walls and what that meant for the drains. What I couldn''t figure out was how the water got into the water tanks. I got up on the lip of one of the tubs to see better. I wanted to see if there was an inlet pipe and where it came from. The possibility of a gravity-fed system like in Aybhas was tantalizing. I couldn''t climb around looking at piping in what I was wearing. I would have to ask the Queen''s hairdressers for some work clothes. Just then, while I balanced on the tub edge, Veflia walked into the bathroom. "Surd save us," she squawked rather loudly. "What are you doing? You''ll hurt yourself!" She was loud enough that she was heard in the drawing room. It was quite annoying. There was nothing wrong with my balance and I was just looking. It''s not as if I had taken any pipes or valves apart, at least not yet. The thumping sound of someone Cosm-sized came down the hallway and Thuorfosi got down on one knee to look in the door. "What are you up to this time, Emily?" I made the motion for writing on a wax tablet since there was no way to explain otherwise. "We don''t have time for that, troublemaker," she shook her head at me with an expression of patience well worn out. "Do you need a hand down?" I gathered my skirts and jumped lightly to the floor in answer. "You have company, Emily," Thuorfosi gave me a chiding look. "Please try to be not too outrageous." Veflia was standing inside the door the whole time with her hand over her gaping mouth. "I''m sorry, Veflia," Thuorfosi apologized, "I forgot to warn you that Emily is just a little bit on the feral side." I picked up the wax tablet from where I put it on the washbasin table, straightened my skirts, and made sure there was no accidental dirt on the gown. Then I walked down the hall to the drawing room and the Cosm side of the Queen''s suite. I did not expect what greeted me. Seated on the chairs and sofas of the drawing room were all eleven high priestesses in their brightly-colored robes and goofy hats that resembled the hats the vestal virgins wore in the BBC production of I, Claudius. The Queen was there too, sitting next to a big silverhaired man who I thought might be the King. She gave me an apologetic glance. Lisaykos'' expression was carefully neutral. Foyuna looked worried. The oldest of them was seated in the center dressed in robes of purple and black. She had pale blue eyes, that same blue you see in thick ice on a frozen lake. I didn''t know what sort of protocol might apply here. Some time ago, Lisaykos told me that a blessed revelator had a higher standing than a high priestess. If that was the case, was this some kind of set-up to judge me and put me in my place? My annoyance at what I took as discourtesy overcame the knot in my stomach. I returned that old lady''s stare with one of my own. Thuorfosi carried a chair over for me, "would you like help to sit, Great One?" I nodded yes. I noted that she stood a step back to the side. "I am told that your name is Emily," the old bird began. Her voice was quite pleasant to listen to, good enough to do voice-overs on radio. "I am Fassex of Landa. You do know of the Shrine of Landa, yes?" I shook my head truthfully no. That caused some murmuring. Fassex looked a bit put out. What did this collection of old bats want with me? "Do you not respect the gods?" she demanded. "You should know and revere them." Okay, I admit it: I was intimidated. They were power personified, both by physical presence and by magic force. I had no weapons except what was in my head. No matter what I did, this looked like a judgment to me. I wrote: "What are your gods to me? I was never taught their names and roles. I was never told that I should worship them and why. Can you tell me why I should respect them when they have no relevance to my life? I had no business with your gods before your queen forced me to go to the Shrine of Tiki with her. There, a prankster god forced his revelation on me for a cure to constipation, of all the absurd things, with ingredients that may be impossible to make with the technology of this realm. True respect is not given. It must be earned. I acknowledge that Tiki has the power to use me as his plaything since he has already done so. I can respect that power and my own powerlessness against it. I have now fulfilled the obligation of writing down the useless revelation he put into my brain and hope to be quit of any more of this blessed revelator business." Above what I had written, I wrote "please read this out loud," and handed the tablet to Thuorfosi, who looked a bit frightened, to tell the truth. It could not be helped. This wasn''t the time to meek. I looked right at that old bird Fassex with all the annoyance I felt as Thuorfosi read what I had written. Fassex looked at the queen, "you forced this Coyn to the Crystal Shrine of Tiki?" I was floored by the regal dignity the Queen employed in her reply: "I admit that I indeed gave Emily no choice but to go with me to the shrine. She had angered me greatly by holding up a mirror to my own cowardice and moral failing, and I did not like what I saw looking back at me. So yes, in my anger at her and myself, I physically picked her, put her on my griffin, and took her to the shrine. The rest you already know." Fassex digested that answer and turned back to me, looking a bit disturbed. "Emily, you do not want the blessing of Tiki and the benefits that go with it?" That was a doozy of a question. I wrote: "You can call it a blessing if you like but for me, it was an imposition to do something I had no desire to do. Anyone who eats a balanced diet will never need Tiki''s revelation to Emily for a laxative anyway. Do I want all these supposed benefits of Tiki''s blessing? I find being reverenced and called a great one embarrassing. I am the same person now as I was before Tiki showed up, so what is so different about me now that I should suddenly deserve all of this kneeling and bowing? As for other blessings, where are they? I have been abducted because I was known to be blessed by Tiki. I just had my finger chopped off. My home was destroyed by those in the employ of the king and all my works with it. Now I must live dependent on the charity of others to my great shame. My pride has always been my ability to live the life I chose without being dependent on others and that has been taken from me. Now I am questioned as to why I don''t think these are benefits. I would give away every so-called blessing if I could have my home back. Nothing is a blessing if you do not value it as such." "Imstay King, about this one''s home?" Fassex asked. "My agent and Emily have been negotiating, Holy One, to see if her loss can be amicably settled since, without a settlement, I will not be able to acquire her invention of instant fire which could greatly benefit those in my troops who have little magic." "So you are culpable for the destruction of her home?" "My men indeed caused the explosion that ruined her home, but it was an accident." "We have heard some of this matter," Fassex remarked. "Emily, what is it that the King''s men disturbed that caused this explosion. The fire that followed it was seen on this side of the lava plains." "It is called gunpowder," I wrote. "I used small amounts to shatter rocks in the places that I mined minerals. It will not explode unless it is exposed to a flame. It was in a sealed container placed in a safe and isolated location, far from any flame sources in my workshop. It would not explode on its own." "You made and stored such a dangerous thing?" "Gunpowder is not dangerous to store and it is not a strong explosive. I can make explosives that are ten times more powerful but have never seen the need to do so." After Thuorfosi read that out loud, I did get a little kick out of seeing several jaws drop. An errant thought ran through my head that without magic, this bunch of old bats had nothing, but I had the knowledge to blow up every shrine and fort in this kingdom. Fassex was looking a bit less fierce and a lot more thoughtful but her next question revealed something fundamental about what people might be talking about in the communities of the kingdom. "Emily, it is said that Cosm have magic because they are the blessed of the gods. No Coyn has ever been blessed before now, therefore the Coyn were never favored by the gods." I was surprised that this was the first time anyone had the gumption to mention this to my face, but I already knew my answer. I wrote: "I have read every revelation of Tiki since residing at the Shrine of Mugash. Where in any of them do they refer to Cosm as the only race the gods love? Where do they say that Coyn, griffins, eagles, winged horses, or whales are not loved by the gods? I have seen only where the scriptures refer to those who know good from evil, love from hate, generosity from avarice, and kindness from malice, and that the gods love those who choose correctly from among those things. The scriptures did not say the Gods bless just the Cosm. They bless only those who can choose appropriately, which implies that race is irrelevant in the eyes of the gods and that how one chooses to act is what is important." Fassex nodded at my answer when Thuorfosi read it. "Sisters, have I left out any of the questions you wanted asked of this child?" The room was silent. "Sisters, are you satisfied with the answers this child has provided?" Several scattered affirmative replies were voiced. "I too am satisfied." She stood up and the other ten high priestesses stood with her. They all removed their vestal virgin hats, knelt on one knee, and placed their right hands over their hearts, "may the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One." I don''t know if it was the stress of the unannounced interrogation, the sight of all eleven of them making obeisance to me, or just the events of the last two days, but I was unnerved enough that my hands were shaking and I dropped the tablet and stylus. The Queen picked up on my losing it and crossed the room in a few long strides. "You just reached your limit, didn''t you?" she picked up the tablet and stylus and handed them to Thuorfosi, who was looking worried. "I''m going to get you out of here, alright?" She scooped me up out of the chair and carried me somewhere. I had my eyes closed so I''m not sure where. She put me down on a Cosm-scaled bed, which I guessed was her own, and placed her hand on my head. "You''re too strong-willed for charms of peace to work. The only practical alternative is putting you to sleep. We''ll wake you for the evening meal, okay?" I nodded. It was embarrassing falling apart like this but I couldn''t help it. Lisaykos let herself into the room, "how is she?" "Well, the last time she was scared this badly, she fainted." Lisaykos knelt next to the bed and brushed some hair out of my eyes, "you look quite lovely today, Emily. Your hair is especially nice. I tried to talk my sisters out of doing this, by the way, but I was overruled. We can talk after you''ve had a nap." I''m not sure which one cast the charm but I slept until I woke until late afternoon after strange dreams of bismuth and zucchini. --- 31. Dreaming of Giant Zucchini The Queen¡¯s Drawing Room The King, Queen, General Bobbo, and Lisaykos were seated in the drawing room waiting for Usruldes who walked in without his usual fast and concise movements, wearing clothes the King lent him. The clothes were baggy on him since he lacked Imstay''s muscular bulk. Before he even had a chance to do reverence, Imstay spoke up: "If you even think of doing obeisance, I will feed you to the jawfish in the river." Usruldes stopped, blinked, and then nodded. "I would give the fish indigestion; however, for once, I will not argue with you. I haven''t felt this worn down in a long time." "Then we will not keep you for long," Imstay promised. "Can I get you some tea?" That got a raised eyebrow out of Bobbo. It made him realize just how close these two men were. "Please," Usruldes lowered himself slowing into an armchair. "How is the Blessed Emily?" "She''s sleeping right now," Aylem replied. "She was questioned by the high priestesses earlier but as soon as it was over, she had a bad attack of nerves so we put her bed to sleep it off. The last two days have been rough on her." "She showed no signs of that while we were traveling together. She was easy to be with: cooperative, compliant but decisive in action when she needed to be. I did want to talk to her sometime soon. I would not be sitting here if not for Emily." Imstay delivered a beaker of hot tea to Usruldes. "Thank you." The king clapped him on the shoulder and sat back down. "What name should I be using for you?" Lisaykos asked. "Whatever name you use will be fine, mother. Usruldes is just an alias I hide behind." Bobbo, who the king had invited, sat up in his chair and looked from Lisaykos to Usruldes and back, eyes wide. "Wait. You. You''re..." "Yes, General. He is my son." "Usruldes, you''re her missing son?" Now that Bobba knew, he could see the resemblance: they shared the same chin, the same nose, and the same gray eyes. "And you will forget his face and his identity as soon as you leave here," Imstay said. "Of course I will, Mighty One," Bobbo nodded, "but first, I really would like to hear what happened with Usruldes, or should I say Irhessa, or maybe Hessakos?" "Oh crap," Imstay grimaced. "So you do know my real face," Usruldes remarked. "That''s part of the reason the King asked you here." "It''s a good cover story," Bobbo conceded. "I never had any reason to doubt it. If you look at things sideways, it''s even close to the truth." "Cover story?" Lisaykos prodded. "King''s courier," Usruldes replied, referring to a small corps of magic users who carried sensitive messages and diplomatic correspondence. They often had to defend those messages in transit or destroy them. They had erratic schedules and were gone for long periods, which served as a good cover story for a spy with a family. "His family lives four doors down Brewers'' Row from me," Bobbo said to Lisaykos. "His children are fond of stealing the apples and pears off my trees to the consternation of my gardeners." He turned back to Usruldes, "does your wife know?" "Yes and no. She knows I work for the king directly and that I do tasks other than courier work. She does not know I am specifically Usruldes." He stopped and held his head for a moment, "Blarg, I''m worse off than I thought." He closed his eyes and sat back in his chair, gripping the arms, "I''m sorry, the room was spinning there for a moment." "We''ll keep this as short as possible," Imstay said. "We should limit ourselves to just essential questions. Who wants to start?" "I will," Lisaykos jumped in. "Do you know what happened to the bandages on Emily''s head? "Those came off in the river. I tried to protect her head as much as possible but did not detect any problems from the healing skull. The last time I checked was just before the Queen arrived." Satisfied with that answer, Lisaykos moved on to the next thing she wanted to know. "Irhessa, were you the person who mindcast the shrine and garrison at Aybhas?" "Yes, mother. That was me. I saw that young healer get stabbed but couldn''t stop my pursuit of Emily. I''m sorry, but I had to make a choice and that choice had to be Emily. I hoped to wake enough people who could help your healer, assuming she wasn''t already dead." "Well, it worked," Lisaykos acknowledged. "You woke half the town but Healer-in-training Kayseo is alive due to that mindcast." "I''m glad it worked out. I hardly ever get any feedback on the things I do, so it''s nice to know she survived. She seems to be a good egg and Emily trusts her." Lisaykos'' eyes narrowed, "so just how long were you spying on my shrine?" "I had orders to keep an eye out for Emily, not the shrine, mother. You can''t say it was for nothing since I was already positioned to protect Emily. I regret only that my observation post was too far away to stop the kidnapping, but I was worried you might detect me if I was any closer." "No, I knew someone was out there but I couldn''t pin you down from the few bursts of activity I detected," she deflated his bubble. "You are very good at hiding, but then, you always were." Bobbo interjected when it looked like Lisaykos was done: "Your eagle, Cadrees, said there were three attackers on eagles. When we got to the Island Swamp, we found only two. What happened to the third?" "Emily and I took down the third," Usruldes replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do. "Not you?" Aylem wanted more detail. "You and Emily both?" Usruldes exhaled, "When we floating the river as debris, an archer on an eagle found us. She put three arrows into my back without my knowing she was there, which meant she had a more powerful charm of concealment cast on her than my powers of clairvoyance. Frankly, I thought it was the end of me." He paused and consciously relaxed his shoulders. "I remember losing my hold on Emily and going under. I felt the water filling my lungs and the panic and the fear." He shuddered and closed his eyes again. "And I thought, so this is what it''s like to die, and that my family would never know what happened to me, and how much it would hurt them, and how much I loved them." The room was silent as he covered his face with his hands. He then shook his head and continued: "My apologies. It was a difficult moment. Everything went black and the next thing I knew, Emily had gotten my head and shoulders pulled up on a riverbank. She somehow got me to expel the water in my lungs and stomach. I was quite helpless just then, and that''s when the archer''s eagle landed next to us. The archer told Emily to get out of the way so she could kill me off. Emily deliberately put herself between me and the archer. I had no idea what she was doing because she ripped a strip off her nightgown and picked up some rocks and ignored the archer. "So the archer cast the charm of discipline on Emily to get her to move. Mind you, at this point, I was just beginning to get my first unobstructed breaths and regaining my wits. The most amazing thing is that Emily got back up despite enduring a charm of discipline, and stood again between me and the archer. She took a rock, used the strip from her nightgown as a sling, and hit the archer in the head. The archer fell off her eagle and onto the riverbank, out cold. The eagle tried to attack and Emily made it back off by a barrage of rocks from her makeshift sling. By then, I was able to get up and dispatch the archer, pushing her body into the river. Now freed from the force of its control gem, the eagle departed. So that is how Emily saved me, not once, but twice. As I said, she was decisive when she needed to be." "I''ve never seen anyone resist a charm of discipline," Imstay said in wonder. Usruldes shook his head, "I didn''t think it was possible before I saw it happen in front of me." His head started to droop and he forced it back up, "I am fading, folks, and I would prefer to be horizontal in a bed rather than on the floor." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. "Is there anything else you know that we don''t?" Imstay asked. "Yes, there''s a deserted farmhouse with a barn on the west side of the river just south of Two Ferry Island. You should find two or more dead bodies in it. The people behind the kidnapping hired other people to do the dirty work of removing Emily from the temple. Then they killed their hirelings at that farmhouse. Cadrees can show you where it is. He is susceptible to freshly killed rabbits or fresh fish, in case you need to entice him. I''m going back to bed now." He struggled to his feet and swayed a little. "I''ll walk him back," Aylem got up and took his arm, and guided him back to his guest room. The rest of the drawing room occupants sat in silence for several moments until the Queen returned. "He was asleep before his head hit the pillow," Aylem remarked as she sat back down. "Who is staying for dinner?" --- Emily, dreaming in the Queen¡¯s bedroom I dreamed of a silver-colored mineral with a splintery-to-fibrous habit, radiating needles like stibnite. At first, I thought it was stibnite but Basil Valentine in his Benedictine habit protested, remarking that he would never give his noble antimony to Tiki for indigestion. "Give that to me, love," said Granny Mueb. She was wearing a rubber zucchini suit. I asked her why. "It''s going to be harvest soon. I''m trying out for the cheerleading squad as a mascot." She took the mineral from me and threw it into the cauldron where she was making willow bark tea. "We''ll need a lot of tummy medicine for harvest." "Is this supposed to be one of those dreams like the one with the bat poop for making saltpetre? I had that dream after I made my saltpetre so your timing was off. Why can''t you folks just mail me a good chemistry text or a subscription to PubChem?" "It''s so boring when you''re a god, you know? We have to get our fun somehow, and you''re very entertaining. Did you miss the iridescence?" She handed me back the mineral she just threw in the pot. I looked at it and noticed a yellow tarnish that graded into iridescence. What was this? I was missing something crucial. I wanted my copy of Dana''s mineral handbook in the worst way. "You haven''t looked on the backside of your pegmatite veins, have you? You''ll flunk mineralogy if you don''t remember the mineral associations with tourmaline and skarns." "Mineralogy was 60 years ago and I didn''t flunk! Dammit, I taught it as a professor in Perth! This dream is unfair!" Granny Mueb just laughed. "You can get your over-tall friend Jane to concentrate acetic acid from vinegar by freezing, you know," the talking zucchini suddenly loomed over me, as tall as Susan from Monsters vs. Aliens. Granny Mueb Zucchini picked me up by the collar and tossed me into the cauldron filled with pink tummy medicine. "Don''t forget to invent glass first, dear," she said as I fell into the brew. Bismuth! It was bismuth subsalicylate in the cauldron! I opened my eyes to find myself sitting up in bed, except it was a Cosm-sized bed in a room I didn''t recognize. It was a huge room. Then I remembered. It was the Queen''s bedroom. I remembered the panic attack after being interrogated by the magic monster priestesses of doom. I really could have lived my life without that particular experience. Right then, I was more than ready to walk out of this place, head for the woods, and be done with Cosm for the rest of my days. Regardless, I needed to remember this dream which dredged up my long-forgotten organic chemistry from college. Someone thoughtfully left a wax tablet and stylus on the side table next to the bed. I grabbed them and started to write, half in Fosk and half in English because Fosk doesn''t have words to describe chemical things. I first wrote: Mueb? Is this a god? Was Mueb the Giant Zucchini a god or just a dream entity? Because of Mueb, I woke up with salicylate compounds stuck in my head. Since being attacked by the god Tiki, I was becoming apprehensive that all this science in my head was the fault of powers outside of myself. That made the confirmation of Mueb as a god a top priority. There were eleven gods but I couldn''t remember all their names. It had been almost an entire season since Foyuna had lent me that book on the gods. So, who was Mueb and why did she want me to make the salicylate-based compounds of aspirin and bismuth subsalicylate, commonly sold over-the-counter as Pepto-Bismol? I started with the basic materials to get both drugs and wrote:
Bismuthinite Bi2S3, looks like stibnite, Sb2S3 - yellow tarnish to iridescent effect Calcine and then smelt, reducing furnace? Fluxes? Bi+3(aq) + 3(NaOH) --> Bi(OH)3 + Na(aq) Bi(OH)3 + salicylic acid ---> Bismuth subsalicylate.The pink tummy medicine was easy if I had lye and salicylic acid. The problem was the salicylic acid, especially since organic chemistry wasn''t my favorite subject.
willow bark ---> salicin --- how to get from salicin to salicylic acid? derive from methyl salicylate? sodium salicylate?No doubt, more would come to me. Once these problems popped up in my brain, they would not leave me alone and often worked themselves out while I was doing more mundane tasks like fishing, chiseling quartz out of a pegmatite, or being trapped inside a Cosm palace. I put the problem of getting salicylic acid aside and moved on to acetic anhydride. If I had acetic anhydride, I could make aspirin. We did it in organic chemistry as an exercise in esterification. You treat salicylic acid with acetic anhydride. The end products are aspirin and acetic acid. If I remembered correctly, it worked best with sulfuric acid as the catalyst Did I need to concentrate acetic acid from vinegar, as Granny Mueb said? I could make acetic anhydride from acetic acid but Mueb was not as lazy a chemist as I was. I could probably skip making concentrated acetic acid if I went the lead acetate route. Lead acetate was easy to make. All you need to do is expose lead to the fumes of a good strong vinegar, the source of acetic acid. Yep, lead acetate is easy to make and easy to poison yourself with too. Lead acetate was once known as sugar of lead. It tastes sweet like sugar. I don''t recommend eating it. Lead acetate is white. It was used in cheaper formulations of white paint to bulk out the more expensive lead white, which was a carbonate. That''s why all those little kids got lead poisoning. They ate the sweet-tasting paint chips from flaking cheap lead-white paint. Terrible stuff. Tastes great and fries your brain forever. This should work for acetic anhydride:
lead acetate -> dry distillation -> acetone acetone -> pyrolysis -> acetic anhydride salicylic acid + acetic anhydride w/ sulfuric acid (catalyst) --> acetic acid + aspirinI had to wonder if these eleven gods were messing with my brains. I shouldn''t be able to remember all this stuff that was decades old from another life. Some of it I was sure I didn''t even know in that previous life. It would be so much easier just to ship me a CRC handbook and some chemistry texts. Are you paying attention, you meddlesome eleven gods? Was there really bismuthinite on the west ridge of the Valley of the Vanishing River? I needed to go exploring soon before the snow started to fall on the mountain tops. Otherwise, the thought of gods meddling with my head would drive me nuts until the snow melted next year. I jumped off the bed, thinking to go out to the drawing room. It had to be getting close to dinner time. I reached the door and realized I couldn''t reach the latch. And the bed was too tall to climb back on. I managed to snag a cushion off a chair and used it to cushion my back as I sat down on the sill of the ceiling-to-floor window. The view of the city below was interesting to look at and the descending sun was painting the sky with pretty dusk colors. As I sat there, looking at this center of this Cosm-run polity, I got to thinking. Why did the Cosm still scare the crap out of me when I wasn''t scared of a giant creature like Asgotl? Was it because Cosm had magic? The ability to wave a hand and inflict agonizing pain was something to fear. But one didn''t need to have magic to be cruel or to inflict horrific pain. Just ask Hitler and Pol Pot. They perfected entire governments to do that for them. I could not deny that my childhood experiences in a breeding farm left a deep mark on me. I still flinched when anyone touched me without my knowledge. Seeing Cosm-sized hands in front of my eyes did horrid things to my stomach. The night of fire and death of my bunkmates still stalked my nightmares and sometimes appeared as waking flashbacks---something I didn''t want to face or admit. Before the glass accident, I thought that I never wanted to be a part of this society run by Cosm on the backs of Coyn and flying mounts; however, the actions of the high priestesses today made that desire irrelevant. The greatest social power in Foskos, the shrines, had now included me as part of their Cosm society regardless of how I felt about it. Was it now too late to escape? Going back to the wilderness certainly was one solution. Being alone solved the problem of Cosm who scared me; however, being surrounded by people at the shrine brought another problem to my attention: I was lonely and I didn''t realize it before the Queen rescued me. I found it pleasant just to sit in Lisaykos'' study and read while she did her paperwork. I liked listening to Thuorfosi playing her zither-thing and it was nice to have Wolkayrs top off my beaker of sweet tea without even having to ask. The folks at the shrine were kind to me and they were genuinely good people. I liked them and I liked being with them. They became less frightening with time. It occurred to me that the Convocation of funny priestess hats was concerned about the explosion at my cave. Lisaykos and Aylem had been worried about that too. It was an obvious conclusion that magic users did not have chemical explosives. What if magic users didn''t advance in the material sciences because they didn''t need to? Did that make my knowledge of explosives something they feared? I realized that I didn''t need to solve this conundrum this evening. I had all of the harvest and cold seasons to figure it out as I worked on relearning how to talk. I wondered if Lisaykos had somewhere I could build a glass furnace. The sunset was lovely. I sat watching it until Thuorfosi came to fetch me for dinner. I showed her the tablet, pointing to the first line about Mueb. "Of course Mueb is a god," Thuorfosi looked confused. "You didn''t remember that from the Lay of the Eleven Gods? Mueb is the god of the harvest and nature." Well, I always was bad with names. I remember the gods'' roles better than their names. About half the names didn''t stick in my memory. Giltak, Gertzpul, Tiki, Mugash, Surd, Landa, Galt - that''s seven of them but the names on the other four keep escaping me; though I think I''ll remember Mueb from here on out. So if Mueb was the harvest god, I guess that explained the zucchini suit. Having Mueb in my dreams also explained one other thing: these gods really were mucking about in my brain. --- 32. The First Dream Command Aylem, the Queen¡¯s Drawing Room Thuorfosi came back from my bedroom, then realized Emily wasn''t following her and went back to get her. She was looking rather confounded and somewhat exasperated. She reappeared with a wax tablet in hand looking pleased with herself. Emily was following right beside her with an angry stare that rivaled Sassoo''s divine wind of devastation. It wasn''t difficult to fill in the gaps as to what happened. Thuorfosi stopped at the edge of the circle of lounges, sofas, and chairs and Emily tugged on her skirts. "What?" Thuorfosi protested with an evil grin. "You want this?" She held the tablet just out of reach. Lisaykos muffled a laugh and Emily shot daggers at her with her eyes. I noticed the tablet was full of writing, which implied to me the Emily was working something out for her own reference. She had filled several tablets while working out papermaking. This might be the same sort of thing. "Thuorfosi, might I see that please?" "Of course, Great One," she walked over and handed it to me. Now I was the target of Emily''s killing-intent glare. What I read stunned me. Imstay next to me was trying to read and understand it and looked completely lost. "Do you understand any of this?" he asked in a low voice. "Yes, most of it," I looked down on the scowling Emily with one hand on a hip and the other held out, waiting to get the tablet back. "You were supposed to be sleeping, not inventing more stuff," I gave her a motherly look of disapproval to hide my astonishment. She didn''t even react. Instead, she simply persisted in her killer stare and indignant pose, waiting for the tablet to be returned. As the saying goes, if looks could kill, I''d have been a corpse already. "I have some paper on hand if would like to transfer those notes to something more permanent than wax," and handed her the tablet. The scowl of death retreated and she nodded. "Can I see, Emily?" Lisaykos asked. Emily shrugged then crossed the room to hand the tablet to Lisaykos. "You, with your amazing memory, forgot who Mueb was?" Lisaykos gave Emily a disbelieving look. Emily made writing motions. "Oh," Lisaykos dug into a pocket, "borrow mine for now." She handed Emily a tablet. Emily wrote something out and handed it back. "I see, that''s reasonable," Lisaykos replied. "These look like more of your recipe notes, dear heart. What does it mean? Do you know what this is about, Aylem?" I sighed, "instead of sleeping, Emily outlined how to make two more medicines." "I put you to sleep," Lisaykos chided Emily, who with her hair done and wearing skirts looked like a small child being scolded. "I used a strong charm so you should have been sleeping still, which is why we sent a healer to wake you." Emily wrote something and held it up for Lisaykos to read. Just for the briefest moment, Lisaykos'' face showed deep concern and then resolved to unreadable neutrality so quickly that if I didn''t know her as well as I did, I might have thought I imagined that concerned look. "I smell grilled mutton," Lisaykos changed the subject seamlessly. "Are we going to eat in here, eat in the dining room, or eat on the balcony?" "I was originally thinking of eating on the balcony, so we could put in orders for seconds from the grill that I had set up out there," I said. "But it''s getting a little chilly tonight so let''s stay in. Emily doesn''t like coping with formal dining room furniture, so why don''t we eat in here? Is that alright with you, Imstay?" He looked a little shocked that I asked his opinion. "Yes, yes, this is fine," he replied. I knew he was lingering and staying for dinner because he was curious about Emily, especially after this afternoon''s incident with the high priestesses. I half expected to see smoke coming out of his ears, he was so deeply sunk in observation and evaluation of her. Just her existence was a challenge to what he learned when he grew up. She was the contradiction to everything he thought he knew about Coyn: she was strong-willed, self-sufficient, determined, not at all respectful of rank or nobility, capable of saying no, and incredibly intelligent. Imstay wasn''t stupid. Given the unpopularity of his late mother''s faction at court, he would have been off his throne well before now if he had been lacking in intelligence. After Emily told off the eleven high priestesses this afternoon, he now knew that she would not cave to bullying. Her paraphrase of the Revelation of Tessoep on the choice of right things was just brilliant given the question she was asked on the blessing of Coyn. He did not miss that at all: here was a Coyn who had not only read the revelations but could use them for her own purposes. That one performance gave the lie to his claim that Coyn were just well-trained bipeds with no originality or creativity of their own. I would treat Imstay with kindness and patience for now because he was deeply grieved over his family''s actions and I could see he was disturbed by this tiny little whirlwind named Emily. I rang the bell on my side table and gave instructions for serving dinner to the Coyn Evoy, who was one of my oldest staff members and was on runner and errand duty this evening. "Holy One," Bobbo spoke up after being quiet and unobtrusive since this afternoon. "Might I ask what the Blessed Emily came up with this afternoon when she was supposed to be napping?" This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. "I''m not sure because I don''t know what these names are," Lisaykos shrugged. "Aylem, you understand better than anyone Emily''s cryptic formulas. What did she create this time?" "Aspirin, which is a medicine that can help reduce minor pain, fever, and edema. Willow oil has the precursor to aspirin in it so we''re already using a weaker form of Emily''s more pure version. That''s the first of the two." "So one is an improved version of willow oil," Lisaykos nodded. "That would be useful. And the other?" "I''m not sure I understand all of this, but it looks like the essential core of what''s in willow oil can be mixed with a metal that Emily calls bismuth to make something Emily calls bismuth subsalicylate, which is a medicine that settles indigestion and may be able to help infant running disease." That got both Lisaykos'' and Thuorfosi''s attention and also resulted in Emily giving me a questioning look. "You know it by the name of infantile cholera, Emily." She nodded, having been given its name from our previous lives. "You''re doing it again," Bobbo said in quiet that followed my the response to Emily. "It''s like the two of you have your own little language." "Yes, I''ve noticed that too, Thuorfosi said a little timidly, not sure if she should be speaking out. Lisaykos looked a little worried and Emily went very still like she often does when she feels threatened. Imstay had his thoughtful face on. I had already planned on how I would handle this when it came up so it wasn''t a problem for me. "General Bobbo," I said kindly with just a little tiny bit of deliberate condescension, "might I remind you that I am very talented with mind magic." I waited for his confused face before proceeding. "I usually know what Emily is thinking because I know what Emily is thinking. Most of the time it''s passive reading, but if I need to, I can read deeper. I don''t need to with her since she''s a very clear thinker. I can''t help but know what''s in her mind because to me, she might as well be able to speak." "Oh." Bobbo looked gobsmacked. It was fun to see that face on him since his expressions were usually so carefully constructed to fit every possible occasion. It was nice to trip him up for once. "Oh, look," I sat up and looked toward the staff bringing out tray tables and skewers of grilled meat and vegetables, "here comes our food." --- Lisaykos, the Queen¡¯s Drawing Room We saw Imstay and Bobbo out the door after dinner. I needed to return to the guest quarters where the rest of the high priestesses were staying but I wanted to find out what sort of bad dream could wake Emily from a charm of deep sleep. It did not escape my notice that she hardly ate anything at dinner, which wasn''t good since I''m sure she skipped mid repast. If she got much thinner, she might blow away in a strong wind. I saw Thuorfosi getting ready to give Emily a bit of grief over not eating enough but caught her attention and shook my head. Emily hadn''t gotten down from the chair she was sitting on so I walked over and got down on my knees in front of her so she wouldn''t have to look up at me. "Emily, I''m a little concerned about this afternoon," I said once I had her attention. "You said what woke you was a bad dream." In my peripheral vision, I saw Aylem start listening from where she was standing by the door, out of Emily''s line of sight. Thuorfosi was listening too but she was to my side. "I used a charm of deep sleep on you. You should have slept without dreaming until you woke on your own sometime tomorrow or a healer woke you by undoing the charm. Was it the nightmare you have with the burning building?" We all knew she had bad dreams. I found out what was in some of those bad dreams when I was working late one evening and heard her tossing and whimpering in her sleep. I inadvertently saw what she was seeing in her nightmare when I touched her to wake her. It confirmed for me what I suspected about her, that the experience of a breeding farm created lasting trauma for her. I put her into deep sleep that night so she could at least get some real rest. We had a long talk the morning after, if Emily with a tablet is the equivalent of talking. She described the barest outline of what was in that dream and admitted it was based on what had happened to her as a child in a breeding farm. I told her we had mind magic that could help make the nightmares and the flashbacks go away. I didn''t push her at all to take advantage of this since, at the time, she hadn''t yet decided to spend the cold season here to relearn how to speak. People can very touchy when it comes to admitting to a mental disorder. Events and people can wound a mind just like accidents and people can wound the body. They are all disorders that need healing. After that night, I had her commit to waking me if she had nightmares and needed help falling back to sleep. She actually did one time during the rotation before we fixed the old fracture in her skull. "Emily?" She was staring at the tablet in her lap and not looking up. "Emily," I lifted her chin gently and made her look at me. "I know there''s an old brain in there, young lady, but that makes little difference when it comes to bad dreams. Was it the burning bunkhouse?" She shook her head and started to write. What she wrote on the tablet shocked me: "A woman who called herself grandmother Mueb gave me the steps to make aspirin and bismuth subsalicylate and told me where to find one of the ore mineral forms of bismuth on the west side of the west ridge of the Valley of the Vanishing River, in back of Tourmaline Mountain." I just sat there with my jaw hanging. She took the tablet back and wrote: "Didn''t mean to upset you. But that''s what I dreamed, except it felt too real to me to be a dream. Now I can''t get it out of my mind: I want to see if there is bismuthinite in back of Tourmaline Mountain." Aylem had walked over and took the tablet from my hands. She read what was written and frowned down at Emily, "is this the same as you telling me about remembering things when you sleep?" Emily motioned for the tablet and wrote: "no, this was different." "Gods," Aylem bit her finger. "Lisaykos and I have to attend another compulsion of truth at the Well at Galt tomorrow. Given that there will likely be an execution at the Shrine of Landa the day after, the soonest we''ll be able to do anything about this will be in three or four days. Thuorfosi, can you take care of the splint and bandages on Emily''s hand in the morning? I''ll have to be dressed and on my way to the Shrine of Galt before the sun is up." "Certainly, Great One." "Can you please see Emily to bed? The high priestess and I have some things we need to talk about." "Of course." I had a bad feeling about leaving Emily in this state but my obligations took precedence. I told myself she would be alright under Thuorfosi''s eye. Considering what happened while we were dealing with Lord Nirirgi''s punishment, I should have locked Emily in the deepest dungeon to keep her from committing, well, the crazy things that only a maniac like Emily can do, which of course, she went and did. --- 33. Usruldes proposal Emily, in the Queen¡¯s Chambers I woke to the smell of bacon. I opened my eyes to see a Cosm-sized hand dangling one of those wonderful rolls with bacon, onions, and cheese on the inside. Of course, it was just out of reach since I knew there was a Thuorfosi attached to that hand. I turned my head to see her grinning face. She was sitting on the floor next to the Coyn-sized bed I slept in. She looked like she expected me to leap out of bed after the roll. I would have been happy to sleep some more. I had zero energy. If I had been at home in my valley, I would have spent time at the hot springs. If I had been at the Shrine, I''d have spent the day on the lounge in Lisaykos''s study with a book. "Are you feeling unwell, Emily?" she asked, putting the roll back on the plate which held several more. She handed me a tablet. "Feel tired, no energy." "Well, that''s not surprising given that you had three rather eventful days," she frowned at me. "If your stomach is not upset, I do want you to try and eat something. You''ve hardly eaten at all and that might have something to do with why you feel tired." That was a good point. I hadn''t thought of that. If the problem was not enough food, I might feel better if I ate something. "You are correct. I should try to eat," I wrote. "Can I get some work clothes? I would like to see how the piping is arranged in the bathroom and I can''t do that in a dress and still be decent." "You know, you looked nice yesterday," she said. "Or I could go ahead and climb up the piping wearing long skirts," I wrote. "If I let you loose to go climbing around the water pipes, I will never hear the end of it," Thuorfosi folded her arms and tried to look forbidding. It didn''t work. I knew her too well at this point. "Why don''t you wash up and eat something first before deciding on anything. Veflia and Zdatel want to do your hair again, by the way." I capitulated. At least I was given the opportunity to take a bath after Thuorfosi removed the splint and bandages from my hand. Veflia left another pile of clothes for me while I was enjoying the hot water and the big tub. I was not at all surprised to see another kirtle and gown in the pile. After that, the terrible twosome of torturing hair did my hair in the same braid as yesterday. Then I was able to sit down to eat. I was surprised that I ate all four rolls without thinking because I swear I wasn''t at all hungry. To kill time, I started to play klondike solitaire. It attracted the queen''s entire Coyn staff inside her suite plus Thuorfosi. I ended up teaching the game for the better part of the morning. Then I was back to being bored after mid repast was over. I entertained myself by memorizing the layout of the streets below the palace. I had dragged a chair over to the balcony parapet, climbed up it, and was able to see the city below. "Can you see all you want to see from there?" a beautiful bass voice asked. I gasped because it startled me. "Sorry, Great One, I didn''t mean to scare you." It was my ninja rescuer, in what looked like pajamas and a kimono-cut bathrobe. He knelt which made it a lot easier to see him. "I missed you yesterday," he smiled. He had a nice smile like he was truly happy to see me. "You were awake when I was asleep for most of the day, except for when I was awake but you were asleep in the Queen''s bedroom." He held out his hand, "can I see your left hand?" I was confused by that. "I''d like to see how well your finger is healing. I feel bad about that since I was too slow to stop your kidnappers. I got to listen to your finger getting cut off through the wall of the house you were in at the time. That was not a good experience for me." Poor guy. I didn''t realize he was right there. I was unconscious at the time so I had no idea what was happening. I put my hand in his. He turned my hand palm up and palm down, lightly brushing it with the fingers of his other hand. I could feel a slight warmth from his fingertips. "That''s a wonderful piece of healing," he said in admiring tones. "The nerve pathways are perfectly aligned, which is always the hardest part on a reattachment, but all the capillaries are too. I''m guessing this is the Queen''s work because I can''t even tell that the bone was separated. She''s the best when it comes to bones. If she wasn''t the Queen, she would be in high demand as a healer based on just her healing talent alone." He looked at me with a lopsided grin, "am I right, it was the Queen?" I nodded yes. "Tired of playing cards already? I heard them playing from the guest room I''m in." I rolled my eyes and nodded. "Are those the only clothes they gave you?" I''m sure I looked grumpy when I nodded a third time. He looked from side to side, then walked over to the door to the balcony and looked up and down the hall. He came back with a conspiratorial smile. "You have a climber''s calluses. How easy would it be for you to climb the wall there to get up to the gable above the door?" I looked at the stonework for a few moments then jumped off the chair, pulled off the stockings to free up my toes, and scrambled up the wall to the right of the door. When I got level with his head, he laughed and pulled me off the wall. "I was right. You did a lot of climbing up and down there in your valley. Do you know how to climb with lines?" He was holding me up so our eyes were level. I didn''t know what he meant. I guess my expression indicated that because he replied, "you know, climbing with rope set along the climbing route?" I shook my head no. "Do you know how to rappel?" Again, I shook my head no. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. "I assume that you''re not afraid of heights?" he asked, still holding me up. I gave him a rather annoyed look in answer. Even with his holding me up like that, I don''t know why but I felt as safe around him as I did around Asgotl. Maybe because it was because he rescued me. He placed me gently back on the chair, then retrieved my stockings and handed them to me. "You better put them back on before your keepers notice that they are off." He politely looked over the parapet at the city below so I could do so without embarrassment. He had rather polished manners for a ninja. I didn''t even know his name. "You look like you have a question," he stated, "and neither of us has anything to write with, so stay right there and I''ll be right back." He disappeared through the door. He returned before I had a chance to wonder why he was taking too long. He had a small beaker and a wax tablet. "This is hot sweet tea for you. I hope the cup isn''t too large. And here''s a tablet and stylus." He grabbed another chair and pulled it up next to mine. He sat down. "Well, I still feel a bit fatigued but a lot better than yesterday. Being used as a pin cushion for arrows took a lot out of me." He laughed, "you were down snoozing away under a charm of deep sleep while I had the arrows pulled out of me. I was quite surprised when the Queen brought me back and let me rest in one of her guest rooms. You see, I work for the King, not the Queen. I''m not exactly her favorite person, especially since she caught me once spying on her properties; however, the King and Queen seem to have some kind of truce worked out right now. Most everyone is quietly praying it sticks. I think that''s more up to Imstay than it is to the Queen." I gave him a questioning look. "Oh, that''s right," he gave me a knowing look. "You don''t know about the King and the Queen, do you? Well, Imstay was raised by an old established and very conservative family on his mother''s side. She was queen before Aylem was. Her people are the kind who look down their aristocratic noses at anyone who isn''t as pedigreed as they are. And if you''re not Cosm, the only purpose of your existence is to serve them or be stomped into subjugation. That applies to Coyn, griffins, winged horses, roc eagles, the lizard people of Chem, or whoever. If the race isn''t Cosm, you aren''t really people. And if you are Cosm, don''t even knock on the door to visit unless you''re a silverhair. "Now the current queen, on the other hand, came from the poorest of the poor. She was abandoned as an infant at one of the slum orphanages run by the Shrine of Surd. Her remarkable talent was recognized at the age of six, which is unheard of; but she had such power even at that age that she was inadvertently reading the mind of everyone around her. She spent three years in isolation with a handful of priestess adepts of Landa in a remote hideaway, learning how not to read everyone''s mind and how not to force her will on others passively. When it comes to mind magic, she''s a monster. "It was obvious before she was ten that she would be the next queen. She used the great crystal at the Shrine of Tiki the first time she saw it. I believe she was nine when that happened. Imstay was the prince with the most magic and closest blood claim to the throne, so neither of them ever had a choice about marriage. They were married and that was that. After she was raised by the Shrine of Landa, she was sent to the Shrine of Mugash when she was 12 to study with the High Priestess there. Between Landa and Mugash, the queen was influenced by the two shrines who strongly believe in advancement by merit and humane treatment for any race that is sapient. You see where this is going, yes?" I nodded my head. I had already heard bits and pieces of this but never heard it before as a linear narrative. "The King and Queen lasted about six years before the major arguments started. The Queen succeeded in gaining great improvements in treatment for the sapient mounts but ran into a wall over Coyn. The King''s family, which is to say his mother''s family, is deeply invested in businesses that exploit Coyn. They aren''t the only ones; there are seven other old families with similar portfolios in living property. They form a major faction in the kingdom. Even with the destruction of Kushamar and Nirirgi, it won''t significantly change the other old families who trade in Coyn as dispensible slaves. "What seems to be giving the King pause right now is you, Emily," he looked right at me with a worried expression. "By simply being you, you are contradicting everything he thought about the Coyn. I honestly don''t know which way he is going to fall when he finally makes up his mind. I think it could go either way. He is a torn and confused man. The fact that the Queen is treating him better than she has in over a decade is helping. If she can keep a cover on that fiery temper of hers, they have a chance of mending their broken marriage. What did he say to you yesterday, by the way?" "Not a thing," I wrote. "Didn''t even introduce himself at dinner." "Arg! That aggravating man!" My ninja slapped his knee hard. "He has a bad habit of not confronting his problems directly. He prefers for people to notice his problems and hopes someone will solve them for him. He can be so frustrating that way. He is a smart man, good with manipulating the ruling nobles, with some real skill in waging war, but he wastes all that talent on favoring his relatives instead of ruling for the benefit of all his subjects, no matter what race. I guess I''m like General Bobbo in wishing he would just grow up." He stopped and thought for a moment. "Why am I telling you all of this?" I wrote: "You are tired, you''ve just survived a mission that almost killed you, you don''t have anyone you can talk to about this and I''m not exactly in a position where I can talk." He read the tablet and laughed. I swiped it back and wrote: "by the way, what''s your name, lord secret spy for the King?" He read that and laughed some more. It sounded like catharsis to me. "Hehe, those who know and fear my shadowy presence that acts silently from behind the throne call me Usruldes the Wraith," he tried waggling his eyebrows up and down in a sinister fashion and failed. I worked hard not to laugh. "I saw that, Emily. Yes, I admit it, I have a rather friendly face. That''s why I wear a mask and hood. I look too nice to be a spy. I go by Hessakos when I''m off duty and spend time with my family, who live just about 14 cross streets to the west from here, six houses in on Brewers'' Row off the West Way. My wife and brother-in-law run the biggest brewing operation in the city. We''ve got the Queen''s license to make her top-fermenting beers and ales and sell them. My cover with my family is that I work for the king as a diplomatic courier. One of the things I intend to do today is to go home and see my wife and children. "I think the other reason I''m telling you this, little Emily, is that I know I can trust you. Don''t give me that look, my fearsome little wolverine. I don''t think you''ve been around Cosm enough to know this, but when a silverhair such as myself shares an intense experience with someone else in close quarters like you and I did the night before last, it''s inevitable that my mind magic will passively read your character. I''ve gotten a good enough read on you to know you are worthy of trust." "Now I have a bit of a confession to make, Emily," he looked a little embarrassed. "I have really good clairvoyance, as good as the Queen within my range. My range isn''t as wide as hers but better than anyone else. For example, there''s probably nothing in the palace I can''t read by just standing here and snooping about with my head. It''s why I''m such a good spy. For the record, I don''t peek on women changing ever since I got married." He had the good form to blush right then. "I saw what you wrote last night about an ore mineral to the west of the Vanishing River. You look to me like your keepers have cleverly trapped you here while they conduct their business. The King, Queen, and high priestesses will all leave this afternoon before the sixth bell for the Shrine of Landa. It''s the northernmost shrine and it takes little over a bell to travel there on a winged mount. I expect them to show up a quarter to the the sixth bell and be out the door immediately. If they don''t do the right thing and have Healer Priestess Thuorfosi take you home to Aybhas today, I would like to propose a little field trip tomorrow, you and I and my eagle Cadrees, to go up to Tourmaline Mountain." I liked the sound of that since I did want to escape the palace, and I probably couldn''t ask for a more competent protector than the king''s own spy for the trip. --- 34. Escape from the Palace Usruldes/Hessakos/Irhessa, Palace/6 Brewers¡¯ Row It had been a while since I last broke into the palace. It would make a nice warm-up for me, lest I get too rusty at breaking and entering. I was amazed there were no wards on the windows. I used my mind''s hand to lift the latch and swing the window open. Emily was sitting up in bed watching, fascinated at what I was doing. I motioned her over to the window. "Put this on the bed," I whispered as I gave her a sealed piece of parchment. She gave me a questioning look. "It''s a note from Usruldes that we''ve gone on a little ride and will be back by dinner. It will stall a search being mounted for us, and we really should back by evening." She nodded and tossed the parchment on the bed. "Now let me put this around you. Put your arms up." I cinched up the safety belt I made for her in a hurry around her upper chest at the level of her armpits. It was secured to a crenulation of the roof stonework. She probably didn''t need it but it made me feel better. "Now start climbing," I told her. "I''ll be right behind you as soon as I close and lock the window." I was hanging by the line that I used to rappel to her window. I had her stand on my forearm to get her balance while climbing out the window. She was a little slower climbing in the dark than she had been in the daylight, but she was a good climber. I was impressed by her skill. When she stood up on the edge of the roof, Cadrees picked her up with his beak and deposited her on the saddle. I was right behind but took a moment to coil and stow the climbing ropes. "Next stop, Brewers'' Row." Cadrees lifted off, following the roofline and then climbing. He circled to the south and then came in low over the rooftops till he wing-braked over my backyard lit up with light charms. My wife was waiting for us. "Hello, I''m Oyyuth," she smiled at Emily. "I''m Hessakos'' wife. Would you like a lift down?" Emily looked at the distance from Cadrees'' back to the ground and then nodded yes. "I have a pile of clothes and shoes ready. It''s all outgrown kid clothes and hand-me-downs but there should be something you can wear." She led Emily off while I got the saddle off Cadrees. By the time I was done making Cadrees comfortable for the night, Emily already had an undertunic, overtunic, and long pants. She was sitting on a padded footstool with my oldest, Fedso''as, sitting on the floor and passing her shoes and boots to try on. "Hey dad," Fedso''as meant to educate me, "this Coyn can''t talk at all." "Yes, I know, daughter," I reached down and tousled her hair. "Where''s your mother?" "Went to put the midget to bed." "What did I tell you about that language?" I didn''t like it when she called her little brother that. "But he is a midget and he''ll always be a midget to me. I''m always going to be bigger than him." "You don''t know that for sure," I tried reasoning with her. I should have known better. "Even if he''s a silverhair, I''ll still be bigger because girls always have more magic power than boys," she said as if that was the end of the discussion. "The priestess said I''m going to be a silverhair with so much magic that I could join any shrine I want." "That''s not the reason I want you to stop saying that and you know it," I chided. "It''s what you are on the inside that matters, not the physical advantages you were born with. By saying you''ll always be bigger is really saying you''ll always be better, despite your brother''s inner worth. Worth is not what you''re born with, it''s what you make of yourself, isn''t it?" Fedso''as pouted and didn''t answer. "Isn''t it?" I persisted. I had noticed my daughter had been thinking a bit too well of herself ever since she was admitted to study at the Shrine of Mugash right at the exam, which is unusual. I wanted to stop this line of thinking before it got out of hand, especially before she met her grandmother. I noticed my wife listening from the doorway. "Fedso''as," I warned. "You are in danger of becoming conceited. That''s my real point. Having a lot of magic doesn''t make you a better person, it only makes you more powerful. It''s not what you are, it''s what you do that''s important." "But Dad, don''t we use that power to heal the sick and take care of the Coyn? If we take care of them and all the flying mounts too, doesn''t that make us superior? How can those with magic be caretakers without being superior?" "And if someone who is less magical than you can take care of themselves without your help and protection, who then is superior?" "Don''t be silly, Dad," she looked like she was sure she would win this little argument. "For example, would this cute little Coyn ever be able to feed herself, or clothe herself or fight off predators without our help? She can''t, right? We both provide for her and protect her. By the way, Dad, is she ours? She''s cute." This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. "Pfffft," my wife tried and failed to contain a laugh. Emily smiled and shook her head. Fedso''as turned her head and gave her mother an indignant look with all the dire drama that only a 12-year-old can command, "what''s funny about this? "You didn''t introduce our house guest, dear?" I asked. I confess I was ready to enjoy what came next. "I''ll let you do the honors, Luv," she grinned back. "My darling daughter," I was trying not to look smug and knew I was failing. "Take a look at our guest''s left hand." "What''s wrong with her...," she stared. "Oh. You don''t have an owner." "Great One, this is my darling but clueless daughter, Fedso''as. She will be enrolled on cold season midday as a healer-in-training at the Shrine of Mugash, where you reside for now." At this point, my daughter''s wide eyes and dropped jaw were quite a sight. "Fedso''as, this is the Blessed Emily, Revelator of Tiki." Emily smiled in a friendly way and waved at Fedso''as, as if cued. "Before the queen rescued her after a mishap, the Blessed Emily lived by herself in the wilderness on the other side of the lava plains and had done so for many years." "Surd save us! I am so sorry, Great One," Fedso''as made a deep obeisance. "Please forgive me, I spoke without thinking." Emily nudged her with a foot, rolled her eyes for dramatic effect, and motioned Fedso''as to get up. "Fedso''as, Emily has no magic and never will have any magic," I took advantage of my daughter''s flustered state to drive the lesson home. "But she is in every way your better, both in rank and accomplishments, and always will be. So, no more midget talk and no more bigger is better attitude. Understand?" "Yes, Dad," she hung her head, aware of how big her mistake was. "Emily, have you found shoes or boots yet?" She nodded at me. "Good. We all need to go to bed now since Emily and I need to leave before dawn. Emily, we''ll wake you when it''s time. Let me show you where you can sleep tonight." --- Emily, at 6 Brewers¡¯ Row/Valley of the Vanishing River Hessakos and Oyyuth had a Coyn-scaled guest room which surprised me, complete with a Coyn-sized necessary in a side room. Oyyuth woke me while it was still dark out. She left me with some hot sweet tea and a meat roll. By the time I staggered out to the back of the house, Hessakos had Cadrees ready including some supplies like bags for rocks, hammers, and chisels made of bronze, and traveling food. There were no stirrups on the saddle. Apparently, this is normal for eagles. There''s a funny sort of seat belt arrangement which helps the rider stay on the eagle. Hessakos had added one for me in front of where he usually sits. It was a bit chilly out when we got up in the air. Hessakos lent me a sheepskin cape that his son had outgrown, but it was big on me. I ended up belting it to keep it on. When we were flying, it was nice and warm. Is''syal is further north than Aybhas so our route was more to the west than to the north. Watching dawn break over the mountains behind us was lovely. Cadrees detoured a little so we could watch the sun come up. I was surprised that Hessakos and Cadrees knew the river valleys and ranges north of the volcanic rift zone well. That''s how I found out that Hessakos spent a couple of years just exploring when he was young so he knew the same landmarks I knew. Our first stop was along the river bottoms of the Vanishing River before it reached its sink. I found several yews that were good enough for bow staves. I was amazed at how quickly Hessakos cut them for me. What would have taken me half a morning, he did in a few breaths. We added four bow staves to the load Cadrees was carrying. Our second stop was at the edge of the sink itself, where the swamp cedar trees grow. Hessakos cut enough straight cedar branches for four dozen arrows. I was guessing it was around the second bell. Then we climbed over the top of what I had named Tourmaline Mountain and Cadrees searched for a landing spot. We landed at the crest of the ridge above the tree line because Cadrees needed a break. If I had been on my own, I would have gotten off the mountain immediately because I saw the signs that a storm was coming in from the west. I realized that with Cadrees we could get to the valley bottom in minutes so it was far less of a problem than when I was living alone. Still, we needed to stay aware of that line of clouds. Hessakos made a clever little tablet with a strap that fit my hand, the strap went across my palm and the tablet rested against the back of my hand with the wax side up. The stylus was attached by a hefty string so it wouldn''t get lost if I dropped it. When Cadrees had landed but before we got off, I wrote "storm" on the tablet and showed it to Hessakos. "Is there somewhere we can shelter if we need to?" he asked. "Not that I''m saying we should stick around that long, but it''s good to have a backup plan." I wrote: "Magnetite vein, at the bottom. Might need to scare the snow bears away." "Where is that, Emily, and what is magnetite? I heard the name a few times before but it means nothing to me." I drew a map in the wax showing where we were on Tourmaline Mountain. The next peak to the north I called Box Top Mountain because it reminded me of the top of a breakfast cereal box. It hosted part of the metamorphic core complex rocks. The next peak I called the Capitol because its shape reminded me of the dome on the U.S. Capitol Building. The fourth peak was what I called Iron Mountain because that''s where the magnetite vein was. I''m not sure if it was technically a vein or a dike or both, but that''s the sort of thing geologists like to waste time arguing over. I just know that this near-vertical five-to-15 meter thick vein of magnetite ran from the treeline of the mountain to a topographic bench halfway down. The place I got my magnetite was where the vein intersected the bench. I never bothered to map much of the geology but I was sure there was a big unconformity there. There were other mafic rocks present too, including some lovely black and green peridotite. It was also the place where I used my black powder to get the magnetite to cave downwards. Blowing up the bottom of the vein created an alcove which I thought both Cadrees and Hessakos could fit into. "So, three peaks up and then follow the outcrop of black rock down to where the ground levels off," Hessakos looked over the map. "Let''s check it out and then we can come back here to look for your mystery mineral. Cadrees, I''m going to mindcast this destination map for you. Got it yet?" "I got it," the eagle replied. "Are you ready to fly?" "Yep" --- 35. Tourmaline Mountain Emily, West Ridge above the Vanishing River Cadrees spotted the place I described immediately and landed in the little clearing in front of the vein on the bench. We got down this time and I walked them to the alcove. Cadrees stuck his head in, "this is bigger than I thought it would be." "Yes, this will work if we need a spot to shelter in. The only problem is all these rocks on the ground. It would be hard to find a place to sit." He was referring to all the magnetite that had fallen from my blasting. "Let me do some housecleaning." He pulled out a quartz crystal he wore around his neck and got that funny half-lidded look that magic users have when they do major magic. Then all the loose rocks floated up and floated out into the clearing where they neatly piled themselves in a half-circle shape, making a wall. It was amazing to watch. I''m sure my jaw dropped all the way to the valley floor because Hessakos had a good laugh after seeing my reaction. Hessakos exhaled and relaxed: "I''m not completely recovered yet from two nights ago. That took more work than I expected. Alright, let''s go back to Tourmaline Mountain. By the way, Emily, what''s that name mean?" I sketched a typical tourmaline: a long striated prism with flat terminations and a rounded-triangular cross-section. I annotated it with a note that the colors could be black, blue, dark green, light green, pink, or green on one end shading to pink on the other. "That pink and green version is what I would call two-color crystal," he remarked looking at the tablet. "You draw well, Emily. I assume then that Tourmaline Mountain has two-color crystals?" I nodded yes and then wrote: "And quartz crystals too." "What''s a quartz crystal? Hey, don''t give me that shocked expression. What is it?" I drew a six-sided quartz crystal with a pyramidal cap. "I know that one too," he said. "We call that just crystal. There''s a large crystal in the well of every shrine. Smaller ones get used for magical tools or to make charm gems." That confused me since charm gems are flat. I wrote: "Charm gems are flat and don''t look like quartz because quartz is not flat. Why is that?" "The artificers of Giltak cut the crystal into thin wafers for charm gems. Depending on intended use, the hexagonal cross-section may be replaced with a round one." That''s sounded weird to me. Quartz has non-existent cleavage planes. That would make cutting flat wafers or disks from a quartz crystal difficult and maybe even impossible given this civilization''s lack of technology. Even in the 21st century, cutting disks of quartz that way required a wet saw with a blade whose cutting surface was made of crushed diamonds. "That''s an interesting face, Emily," Hessakos laughed. "I''m looking forward to when you can talk so I can find out what all your faces mean. Now then, can I give you a lift back into the saddle?" I waved him off and started writing and sketching instead: "Tell Cadrees to look for these on the north and west sides of the mountain." I drew what a vein might look like as a vertical dike, as a sill, and as a footwall on one side of the gully eroded down by a stream. It was oversimplified but there just wasn''t time to explain how ore deposits worked. I was sure that we were looking for pegmatites, those vein structures where crystals have time to grow. Hessakos studied my simplified drawings. "Cadrees, I''m looking at drawings Emily made. I''m mindcasting it now. See it?" "I see it. What do you want me to do if I do spot something like these?" "Find a place to land," I wrote. Hessakos repeated it out loud for Cadrees. We got back into the air and spent some time looking, landing, and inspecting features. Cadrees had much better eyes than me or Hessakos, so he was the one who found the greater number of possible locations. It was past midday when Cadrees landed on the eleventh possible location. This one was just below the treeline on the north side of the mountain in a little col between the main peak and a secondary peak. I walked between the col and the secondary peak and found schist, of all things. I was hoping to find a pegmatite. Then I had a thought and ran back to the col, which confused poor Hessakos. "Emily? Emily, what are doing?" He chased after me. I was about a third of the way between the main peak and the col when I found what I thought I would find: pegmatitic crystal growth. I had found a skarn, the hydrothermally-altered minerals between the metamorphic schist and the tonalite exposed on the east and south sides of the mountain. Tonalite is a lovely salt-and-pepper igneous rock often mistaken for granite by people who never bothered to learn any geology. The treeline stopped at the transition between the schist and the skarn mineralization, which wasn''t surprising since changes in vegetation are often controlled by the underlying geology. I started walking the contact, which took me west into the trees and downward. The trees had covered many small protrusions of skarn rock so they weren''t visible looking at the mountain from a distance. I ran from outcrop to outcrop, with Hessakos on my heels, trying to get me to stop and answer him but I was too excited to slow down. My first find was book mica. The second was cassiterite. That got me more excited because cassiterite is the main ore mineral of tin. This was looking better by the minute since tin and bismuth sometimes occur together. I found some quartz crystals and then I saw bismuth; not bismuthinite, but elemental bismuth in a little pocket with quartz. It was the sort of mineral you could only see in a museum in my former life: stacks of planar triangular faces of pinkish-silver metal on a bed of little quartz crystals. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "What is that?" Hessakos dropped to one knee to get a better look. I wrote: "It''s what we''re looking for. Can you get the tools?" He closed his eyes briefly: "Cadrees is coming. It''s better if we stick together." While we waited, I looked at other nearby outcroppings and found bismuthinite intergrown with elemental bismuth. As soon as Cadrees arrived, I grabbed a hammer and pointed chisel and started working on liberating some of the bismuthinite to take back with us. I decided after a minute or two that bronze did not make good tools for rocks. The point on the chisel was mushed beyond saving in no time at all. "You want some of this, Emily?" Hessakos was studying what I was doing. "Here, let me try something." He took out a quartz crystal that he was wearing as a pendant under his tunic and then got that half-lidded look again. Pieces of bismuthinite started falling out of the outcrop. "Great imitation of a fish, Emily," he teased me over my wide-eyed and open-mouthed expression. I was gobsmacked watching him take apart an outcrop in seconds. I ran over to the book mica and pointed at it. "You want that too?" He walked over and liberated two huge books of mica while I grinned over the thought of furnace windows and a way to cover the slit in my horn eye protectors. I then walked over to the elemental bismuth. My greed for beautiful minerals was getting the better of me. I could have looked at that rock all day. "This will need to be the last one, Emily, or I''ll run out of stamina," he got on his knees and sat back on his heels. Then the rock around the bismuth started spalling off all around the specimen, trimming all the rock away from around the quartz pocket. Soon, it was the only thing left on that part of the outcrop. He made a horizontal cut below to detach it. I was already picking up the bismuthinite and mica and stuffing them in a canvas sack. The hard part was packing up the bismuth in the quartz pocket so it wouldn''t be destroyed in transit. Hessakos solved that problem by repacking his pemmican into another sack so we could use the wooden box it came in for the mineral specimen. It was then that the wind started to pick up noticeably. "That''s not good," Hessakos looked up at the sky as he finished stowing the sacks in the saddlebags. He strapped the pemmican box down immediately behind the seat of the saddle. "Up you go," he picked me up and deposited me on Cadrees and got on himself. He did up my straps faster than I could do them myself and then we flew up through the trees to get airborne. "We''ve made a bad mistake, folks," Hessakos remarked as we all looked at the leading edge of a storm almost upon us. "We''ll run into that no matter where we try to go on the other side of the lava plains. It''s going northeast and we need to go east or south to get to any town on the Salt River. It''s a good thing we scouted out shelter, Emily, because we need to use it. Cadrees, get us back to where we were this morning." I was really surprised at how fast the weather had changed and then I corrected my thinking. From the empty rumble of my stomach, I realized it was much later than I thought. I had lost track of time while focusing on the outcrops we had found and so had Hessakos. It started to snow on us while we flew. It only took a few minutes for Cadrees to land back at the bottom of the magnetite vein. At this lower altitude, it was rain that was falling. When we got into the alcove under the vein, Hessakos cast a charm to dry off me and Cadrees followed by a charm of warmth. He then pulled a leather and canvas bucket out of the baggage Cadrees carried. He took his crystal and concentrated. The bucket slowly filled up with water. "I would like some of that water when it''s full," Cadrees said. "It''s for you but I''m afraid it''s short rations for you." He patted the eagle on the neck. "I did see some mountain sheep in the valley but they''re probably in the trees by now with this rain." "Missing one evening of dinner will not kill me," the eagle replied. He dragged the bucket over to Cadrees. "I have sweet tea for you and me, Emily." He produced two leather skins of cold tea from the saddlebags and put one in front of me. I couldn''t even lift it. "Blarg! I''m an idiot!" He smacked himself on the side of the face. He then dug back into the saddlebags and produced a small beaker made of horn. He filled it up from his bag of tea and handed it to me, "Do you want it hot?" I nodded and it was instantly hot. Having magic sure was nice. I was feeling a bit envious. He spread our sheepskin flying cloaks on the ground to sit on and laid down on his back. "We''re stuck here for the night. It''s not the wet that''s the problem. It''s the wind. Getting caught in a wind shear or a downdraft could break Cadrees'' wings. We''ll have to wait for more stable air once the storm has passed over. This looks like the beginning of the harvest to cold season weather pattern, which is about right since the harvest season will be starting soon. There will be snow in the morning where we found our rocks. If we hadn''t come here today, you would have to wait until planting season to locate what Mueb wanted you to find." That would have been difficult to deal with. The thought of spending the entire harvest and cold seasons wondering if a god had really visited me in a dream was chilling. The fact that a god did visit me in a dream was not exactly a cause for celebration. I did not like the feeling that I was just a puppet dancing on some deities'' strings, especially given my secular leanings in my previous life. "Wow, that''s a face that could sour milk," Hessakos sat up. "What''s wrong?" "Thinking about gods meddling in my life, that''s all," I wrote on the wrist tablet. "Yeah, I can see where that could be a burden rather than an advantage," he nodded. "It''s not been an easy year for you, has it? "Not more or less difficult," I wrote. "Just a different kind of difficult." "It''s hard living in the wilderness," he nodded. "I did it for two years after I ran away from home. Dang, Emily, that''s a great face you''re making. I wish there were a way to capture all your expressions." Curse my brain, I immediately pondered how hard it would be to make a camera. "I know that look, Emily. You''re thinking of something outrageous again. Do you have a way to capture expressions?" He looked expectant and curious. I sighed and wrote, ruefully, "there is a way to capture images on silver." I knew I could make a primitive daguerreotype with a camera obscura, with silver-plated copper sheet or silver fused onto glass, then converted to silver halide, and developed by exposure to mercury fumes. It was dangerous as anything because mercury vapors are neither kind nor gentle to living beings, but the process would probably work just fine. "And you never thought to use it?" Hessakos got a lifted eyebrow from me for that question. I wrote: "Living here in my valley, I had no practical use for it. I made things that made my life easier or more comfortable. Making a camera would do neither." "Wait! What''s a camera?" "A device to capture an image and I believe Cadrees wants some more water." After he fetched the water in for Cadrees, we ate dried fruit and pemmican for dinner while I explained how I would make daguerreotype images until it was dark. Then we slept in our sheepskin cloaks. --- 36. Storm Lisaykos, at the White Shrine of Landa "How much longer do you think he will last, sister?" Foyuna asked. I gazed at Lord Nirirgi with body clairvoyance to gauge his level of exhaustion. "Past the fourth bell but before the fifth." Foyuna''s stomach growled loudly just then. We all had to stifle our laughter since we were in public with many eyes upon us. "Next time, eat a big morn repast because mid repast is never a certainty at these affairs," I said with some amusement. Foyuna was the youngest of us. This was her second time attending a punishment, Lord Kushamar''s being the first. Just then, I noticed Thuorfosi, who should have been in Is''syal keeping an eye on Emily. My heart landed in my stomach. Worse, she didn''t come over to me. She went to the King, made her obeisance, and handed him an opened parchment. He read it and said a few words to Thuorfosi. Then he gave the parchment to the Queen, who visibly paled when she read it. All I could think was that Emily was involved, based on Aylem''s reaction, but it was something outrageous but not dangerous, based on Imstay''s reaction. Aylem looked over in my direction and made a discreet hand wave at me to approach. "You had better see what this is about, Lisaykos," Fassex remarked, "though it''s probably that little Coyn kicking up trouble again." "Replace ''probably'' with ''certainly,'' and I''d agree with you," I got up from my chair and approached the King and Queen. After making my one-knee obeisance next to the kneeling Thuorfosi, Aylem handed me the parchment. The seal was black with just a spider on it. I ran my thumb over it and recognized my son''s aura. I flipped it over to read it.
The Blessed Emily was left alone at the Queen''s apartments with nothing to do and nothing to read. Having observed that the Blessed Emily was ready to climb into the crawl spaces of the palace to study the building''s plumbing, I thought it best to forestall disaster to our water system and divert her to more productive activities. I have taken the Blessed Emily to the mountains on the west side of the Valley of the Vanishing River to search for the ore of the metal called bismuth. I plan to return before the seventh bell. If we are delayed, I will visit my home first before returning to the palace. I don''t believe I need to sign this.I found myself holding my head as I handed the parchment back to the Queen. "If I had been thinking straight, I would have sent her back to Aybhas with Thuorfosi this morning. How can such a small creature like Emily be the center of so much chaos?" "Really, Holy One," Imstay said, "she was touched by Tiki and Tiki is a twisted god. Usruldes is reliable and will take good care of her. He owes a life debt to her now and will protect her with his own life. He will bring her back when he said he would, and the plumbing of the palace will be safe until her next visit." "Yes, you are most certainly right, Mighty One," I sighed. "They are both capable of taking care of themselves with no help from us. Thuorfosi, what''s this about the plumbing?" "Holy One, she mentioned yesterday, and the day before that she wanted to see how water got into the holding tanks for the bathtubs and how water was delivered to the palace," Thuorfosi replied. "She''s probably designing drains and flushing toilets in her head," Aylem said with a long-suffering look. "There was a drain system and flushing toilet in her cave." "Flushing toilet?" Imstay asked. "It''s a necessary that uses the flow of water to take the waste away through a drain when you are finished. Because of the water, they don''t smell and no one has to come and collect the waste afterward," Aylem explained. "I think I would be interested in this if today was any other day," his eyes followed his uncle as the older man ran past in his circuit around the Shrine of Landa. "For now, I suggest we take Usruldes at his word and wait for their return this evening. Priestess Thuorfosi, perhaps you should return to the palace first in case they arrive a little early." "Yes, that sounds wise," Thuorfosi responded. "Do you know how he removed Emily from a room with a charm-warded door and a locked window in a heavily guarded building?" "He likes to do that sort of thing," Imstay replied. "He''s a bit vain over his craft of entering and leaving without leaving a trace that even magic users can find." "All we can do is wait," the Queen sighed. I was right about Lord Nirirgi. His heart failed between the fourth and fifth bells, and we were on our way back to Is''syal before the fifth bell. My son and Emily were not back by the seventh and last bell of daylight, but Thuorfosi had word through the citadel that there was bad weather working its way up the Upper Salt River basin. --- Lisaykos, the King¡¯s Chambers Aylem and I walked to Imstay''s apartments to find the address where Usruldes lived. We found Imstay well on his way to drinking himself to a stupor alone with just one worried young attendant on duty. The boy looked thankful when we arrived. "So have you come to gloat, wench?" Imstay bellowed when he saw Aylem. He always was a nasty drunk. "No, Imstay, we''d like to find out the address of where Usruldes lives," she replied calmly. "They are not back yet, and we have word through the garrisons that the storm we saw this afternoon is currently causing floods, taking roofs off houses, and dropping trees across roads in Black Falls and Gunndit, and it''s moving up the river toward us." "Bad storm, Gertzpul have mercy," he said softly. "Not even the weather will let me grieve. Forgive me. I am very drunk." His head drooped and he took a deep breath. He staggered to his feet, walked to a side table, and pulled open a drawer. He removed a crystal pendant on a chain. "I am too drunk to use this, but you can, Aylem. It has a charm of location for Usruldes. You can probably use it as a guide for your clairvoyance." He unsteadily walked up and handed it to her, then stumbled back to his chair. Aylem held the crystal and probed it, then shut her eyes only to open them a breath later. "They are safe. They have taken shelter in a warm, dry place and are sleeping. I could hear the storm outside." She put the gem on Imstay''s side table. "Thank you, Imstay. Do you want me to sober you up so you are functional when this storm arrives? It sounds like the garrisons will need to be deployed." "No, I deserve this hangover for failing to protect my family," he muttered. "Usruldes lives six doors down on Brewers'' Row from the West Way. I think you''ll like his fam...family." I saw Aylem put her hand in her pocket where her personal crystal was and Imstay started snoring. Aylem walked over and picked him up. "Garki, please get the doors for me. We''re putting him to bed." --- Usruldes, in-flight on Cadrees It was fun to surprise Emily with a warm egg, cheese, and onion roll when she woke up. We sipped hot sweet tea and waited for the rain to stop, which it did before midday. Cadrees took off to hunt down a meal and I asked Emily more questions about capturing images. I was learning all sorts of wonderful things, like what iodine and chlorine were, or how to coat copper with silver using the same force that makes lightning. I also learned some scary things like how mercury poisoned a town called Minamata and how dumping mine wastes into a river poisoned a lake downstream called Coeur d''Alene. The passion with which she wrote made me feel like she had actually been to these places I had never heard of. The lean sentences she wrote on these horrors were all the more powerful for her sparse words and bare descriptions. What I could read between the lines left me scared. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Sometimes I felt like I was being lessoned by an ancient sage when communicating with Emily. She looked like she wasn''t older than 14, but she seemed to look at the world with old eyes. Maybe that was the influence of the gods putting things in her head when she slept. Cadrees came back with the news that the river was in flood in its lower reaches and that its sink wasn''t a sink anymore, it was a lake. It was amazing to see when we flew over it on our way home. There were other lakes of water in places where there should have been lava, pooled up after the heavy rains. It looked to me that the Salt River in the distance had expanded and flooded beyond its banks. We were approaching the Great Cracks when there was a tremendous explosion in front of us. Cadrees turned, banked, and dove to gain speed. When we were out of reach of the violence, we watched in awe as masses of rocks as large as houses fell from the sky and great bellows of steam and ash rose up in a giant cloud that grew a top like a mushroom cap. Emily was fascinated by it. By the time we reached where the lava fields ended and the farmland began, there was evidence of the storm''s passage. It wasn''t pretty. Entire farms and estates were underwater. The loss of life would be bad, I feared, and the harvest of barley and spring wheat would be bad this year. It would be a long cold season eating tubers for the poor folk. The first people we rescued were a woman and a young boy clinging to a wooden roof. Cadrees saw them, wing braked above them, and picked them up in his talons, which was quite a trick since he had to do so without killing them. The talons of a roc eagle can easily impale a soft squishy body when picking it up. He spotted the dome of a chapel shrine. There were garrison guards there who appeared to be directing people straggling in so he left them off there, wing braking right in the middle of the chapel forecourt and setting them on the ground gently, the showoff. We picked up so many people out of the water, both Cosm and Coyn and even one juvenile griffin, that we lost count. We took all of them to that chapel shrine. Even after the sun went down, I lit up the surface of the water to help Cadrees see and we found a few more. We finally quit after we couldn''t find any more living people in the water though there were plenty of dead ones. Cadrees never once stopped to rest. He is the best of all eagles. The people at the chapel shrine started calling out to ask who we were but I just waved as we flew off to look for more people in the water or stranded on roofs, trees, or the tops of grain silos. When we were done, we had just under two wagon-days distance to fly eastward to Is''syal proper. Most of the city is built on a large domed hill with the Salt River running just to the north. The planking on the bridge over the river was gone and the water was over the river bank. The go-downs between the river and the city wall were flooded but most of the city was safe from water. I''m sure we would see roof and tree damage in the daylight. I lit up all the charm gem lights in my backyard from about 500 hands out. Cadrees landed just as the quarter night bell rang out from the belfry of the citadel. Emily looked tired but she never once made any complaint or did anything to impede what Cadrees was doing. "Alright Emily, the first thing that must happen is that I get Cadrees some water. While I''m doing that, get yourself unstrapped. Can you get down on your own?" She shook her head no. "I''ll get you down then as soon as Cadrees has his water." I jumped down, grabbed a pail, and filled it from the cistern tank. "I''ve got Emily, Dad," Fedso''as said as I was carrying the bucket over to Cadrees. "Fedso''as, don''t go anywhere," I leapt back up onto Cadrees to unstrap the pemmican box and very carefully slid down with it cradled by one arm. I walked around Cadrees and handed the box to my daughter. I wanted to give it to Emily but realized the box was too big for her to carry. Having a Coyn underfoot was giving me a lesson on what it was like to be a small person surrounded by much bigger people, and it also left me wondering why it took me until my thirties to discover this truth. "Carry this as if it was three dozen eggs in a box with no lid and put it on the dining room table. Then get a chair for Emily to stand on so she can open it and make sure the contents are unharmed. Got that?" "Yes, Dad. Emily, can you open the door? There''s a foot latch on it." I watched them for a moment and then got to work getting the saddle unpacked and off the tired eagle. When that was done, I pulled two skinned rock hares from the ice room under the floor of the equipment shed, warmed them up, and tossed them to Cadrees when I got back to ground level. They disappeared down his beak. "Thanks, featherless one." He butted his head at my stomach. "You''re a great eagle, you know that? You did well today." "I''m tired, punk. I''m retreating to my spot for some rest. Can you refill the water for me please?" "Sure thing." When I was done with the refill, I grabbed the canvas bags and the sheepskin cloaks and carried them into the house. I saw the shadows on the wall of people in the dining room, "hey, dear, sorry I''m late but we ran into some weather." "I assumed that''s what happened," Oyyuth said from the dining room. "That''s so beautiful, Emily," I heard her say in her normal speaking voice. I put the bag with the pemmican on the counter in the larder and carried the bag with the rocks to the dining room, and there I stopped in shock at the sight of my mother sitting at the table on Emily''s right with my wife sitting to her left. My mother, in a blue tunic, not grey, and pants no less, looked up at me: "You look like a fish, son. You should close your mouth before something swims into it." My daughter, who was sitting next to my mother giggled at my getting scolded. Realizing I was outnumbered, I pulled a working table cloth out of the linens press and put it down to protect the tabletop from the rocks. "Oh," mother looked up and blinked, "there''s more?" Emily nodded. I pulled out the book micas first and passed one to my mother. "Fascinating," I watched her peel a thin clear layer off the top of the book mica. "It''s completely clear." She flexed it back and forth, "this is really a rock?" Emily nodded. "So, is it just a novelty or do you have a use for this?" Emily wrote on her tablet: "very useful---eye protection." "Is that a tablet on a hand strap?" My mother was looking curiously. "I made that for her," I said, "so she could write while we were in flight without worrying about dropping the tablet and stylus." "What else is in the bag?" "The black rocks are tin ore and the metallic ones with the needle shapes are more bismuth rocks," I explained, knowing it would save Emily some writing. "What''s bismuth?" Fedso''as asked. "It''s used to make medicine," my mother said. I pulled a chair up next to my wife and sat down, "mother, I thought we would make introductions to the family at the shrine at cold season midday as I told you the other day." "I was a bit concerned for Emily, knew she was with you, so I thought I''d introduce myself while I was waiting." I wasn''t fooled at all by the innocent routine. This was my mother after all. She was enjoying every single moment of this. She hadn''t lost her love of needling people. It wasn''t one of her better traits. "Grandmom''s really great," Fedso''as enthused. "Why didn''t you tell me I had a grandmother who worked as a healer?" "We''ll talk about that later, squirt." Then I mindcasted at my mother, "you told her you worked as a healer and nothing else?" She mindcasted back, "you should warn her before she arrives at the shrine, but for now, I didn''t want her to think I was anyone important. High Priestess is a title that can get in the way of establishing normal relationships. I wanted to meet her without any of that baggage." "Emily," mother looked at the Coyn, "will you go back up the palace tonight or do you want to stay here for the night?" Emily pointed down at the table. "You''re saying you want to stay here, yes?" Emily nodded. Mother gave her a knowing look, "I was guessing you would want to do that. Being made to dress up and having your hair done was not something you would tolerate more than once and you suffered through it twice. Now, the Queen would like to know if you could help out for a day or two in the exchequer office. It would free up another pair of hands to help with the clean-up after the storm." Emily nodded yes. "Wow, you can do the Queen''s numbers?" Fedso''as asked, wide-eyed. "Emily is very good with numbers," my mother said. "Are you coming up the palace in the morning, son? If you are, you can bring Emily with you." "I can do that. Will I be seeing you again before you return to Aybhas?" "I''m not sure," she looked a bit tired for a moment. "I''ve been working with the people who were hurt badly in the flood or from flying debris. They kicked me out of the shrine at the seventh bell with orders not to come back until morning. So I''ll be back doing trauma care tomorrow." I squinted and looked at her with body clairvoyance, noting the dense blue haze of fatigue clouding out everything else. Even after all these years, she hadn''t changed one bit with the bad habit of overworking. "You didn''t sleep last night, did you? Why don''t you spend the night here instead of walking across town to get back to the guest house at the shrine?" "Oh, yes!" Fedso''as bounced up and down at the thought. "Please, grandmom? We can have morn repast together!" Mother took one look at Fed''s eager face and capitulated to the bouncy 12-year-old. Oh, I was enjoying watching my lovely daughter coerce my mother with the irresistible power of cute. "Well," she waffled, "I need to be back at the shrine by the second bell." "We eat at first bell," Fedso''as proclaimed. "Great! I''ll make sure the guest room is ready!" She ran out of the room. "Where does she get all that energy?" I asked the room. "You were the same when you were 12 and maybe even a little worse," my mother smiled one of her smiles, the kind where you wonder where she''s hidden the small fluffy animals she''s torturing for fun as a break from torturing small children. My wife laughed and Emily looked vastly amused. I knew running into my mother was going to make my life more difficult. I was right. --- S.36.5 EXTRA --- Side story: Lisaykos and Oyyuth Lisaylos, Is''syal, 18th year of Imstay''s reign, Growing Season, 8th rotation, 7th day I borrowed working clothes from the Queen and was still wearing them when Kamagishi kicked me out of the great hall of the Fated Shrine. I lost track of time healing flood victims and worked straight through the night and into the following day. I took a short break to find something to eat sometime after the sixth bell. That was when Kamagishi found me. After she gave me grief for working too hard, she evicted me from great hall. I didn''t want to eat in the guest house dining room. I was feeling too grumpy to keep up polite appearances, so I returned to my guest room. I tried to rest but was too hungry and agitated to sleep. It was still raining. I cast a thin barrier to keep the water off of me and grabbed my hooded mantle as I walked out the door. I couldn''t hide my height but at least I could walk the streets with my hood up to avoid the obeisances of passers-by. My feet took me over to the Westway. Since no one knew me here, I indulged myself and bought two skewers of grilled grouse and nips. I ignored the voice of my deceased high priestess mother in the back of my head, lecturing me about decorum and appearances. It was unbecoming for a princess to be seen eating cheap street food in public, after all. I banished my mother''s posthumous nagging and enjoyed my skewers. I committed a further sin by eating them while walking. I smiled at the thought of my staff being appalled that I would stoop to eat street food. Little did they know that I considered street food a treat, the consequence of attending too many formal dinners and feasts as a child princess, and later as a high priestess. I cast the charm of vanishing on the empty beaver reed skewers before knocking on the door at Six Brewers'' Row. A middle-aged nohair in a housekeeper''s kirtle and apron answered the door. She gasped when she looked up at me, realizing that a silverhair was on her doorstep. She eyed the embroidered sigil on my mantle nervously. "Welladay, my lady," she recovered her composure in a breath. "How may I serve you?" "I would like to speak with Craftmaster Oyyuth Kas''syo, if she is available." "I will fetch her. Please, my lady, come in from the rain," the housekeeper opened the door all the way. I had to duck my head to enter, thinking that my son probably had to duck too. The reception foyer and hallway were paneled with well-oiled oak and floored with glazed terracotta tiles. The housekeeper disappeared down the hall. A full-figured woman in her thirties appeared, a frown of concern framing her hazel eyes as she approached. She was on the short side for a halfhair, silver intermixed with chestnut brown in her curly hair. She wore it in a disciplined bun. A few strands had escaped to frame her heart-shaped face. She wore a quilted jacket over a sensible gown. Her cloth was excellent. The Kas''syo family was what people called crafter nobility, wealthier than some lord holders and just as famous. Though I would have found Irhessa a noble silverhair wife, he could have married much worse after running away from home. I was grateful that my son had the good taste to partner with a woman of such good standing. I wasn''t one of those who believed halfhairs or crafters were unworthy of marriage with nobles. She recognized the embroidered sigil of Mugash on my mantle and dropped to her knees. Before she could pay me obeisance, I reached down and picked her up, placing her on her feet. "Craftmaster Kas''syo, obeisance is not necessary between family members inside one''s home," I told her. She looked startled and then worried, "Please, Holy One, has something happened to that little Coyn or my husband? Is that why you are here? To bring news?" She had paled as she spoke. I tried to look and sound reassuring, "They are both fine. They encountered bad weather and took shelter last night in a warm, dry place. I expect them to return once the worst of the weather passes. I had some time to spend and decided I would like to meet my son''s family, now that I know who you are." I watched as she closed her eyes for a moment and her shoulders relaxed in relief. "He''s safe," she sighed, "thank the gods." Then she composed herself, "Holy One, have you eaten? We just sat down for dinner. You are welcome to join us. There''s more than enough though it is a rather simple meal." "Craftmaster, you are my son''s wife," I studied my new daughter by marriage. "You should follow custom and call me Mother Lisaykos, since you already know who I am." "But you''re...," she began to protest. "Yes, I am well aware of my standing," I sighed, "but I would love to meet my grandchildren without any of that nonsense in the way, at least initially. I know I can''t hide my hair or how tall I am, but I find that I am rather fond of being called grandmother." I guess what I said impressed my son''s wife because she visibly relaxed and smiled suddenly. "Well, Mother Lisaykos," there was a mischievious glint in her eyes, "you should let me hang up your mantle where the children can''t see it. And if I''m to call you Mother Lisaykos inside my home, you should call me Oyyuth." She walked over to a wardrobe by the door and opened it, "We can put the mantle in here for now." She handed me a small hanging bar appropriate for a mantle. I draped the mantle on the bar and handed it back. "So, do I need to set another place for dinner? I know the children will be thrilled. My mother died when I was young and my father died before I had my two youngest so only my oldest remembers having a grandparent." "I will stay for dinner. How many children do you have?" I asked, consumed with curiosity. "That husband of mine didn''t tell you?" Oyyuth was surprised. "Have you had a chance to sit down and talk with him at all? From what he told me, you didn''t speak much four nights ago when you ran into each other." "We have not spoken at length," I stated, feeling conflicted. "I wanted to meet my grandchildren at least once, just in case Irhessa and I end up not speaking to one another afterward. I know I will be seeing your oldest once she enrolls at the shrine, but I know nothing about any other children you might have." "Surely it can''t be all that grim," Oyyuth said as she led me down the hall and turned right onto a longer hallway. "I''ve been expected something like this to happen for years now, except I thought it would happen before now. Here," she opened a door on the right, "let''s step into my study for a brief moment." I stepped inside and sat in what was obviously a chair for a guest facing her work table. She closed the door behind me. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Oyyuth pulled open a drawer in the table and removed a letter box, "I don''t want the children to accidentally overhear. I''ve been working on my courage to contact you for the last few years. This is my collection of letters I can never manage to complete," she handed me the box and sat down, looking pensive. "It''s not easy to try to write someone who is a High Priestess and a Princess, to say, ''Hello, you don''t know me but I married your runaway son.''" I pulled seven folded pieces of parchment out of the letter box and skimmed them, "Was it really that difficult?" "Mother Lisaykos," Oyyuth''s expression was a conversation all by itself, telling me I ought to know better, "I may be one of the leading citizens of Is''syal, but the gap between me and the royal house of Foskos is one no commoner can cross. I need to remind you that Irhessa''s great grandfather was Imdeseop King. Because Irhessa is within three degrees of royal descent, his marriage should have received approval from the current King and the Convocation. By the law of the land, the Convocation could send me to the mines with my property and business forfeit to the King and my children mind-wiped and adopted by strangers." "Did you know who Irhessa was when you married him?" I had to ask. "I knew he was on the run from his family. I didn''t know he was noble until the night after our wedding, when he told me everything. To be honest, I have never worried about Imstay King. Imstay was the one who played matchmaker between us. He visits here when he needs to escape the palace. I know the King well. It''s the Convocation that worries me, and you in particular. You are the most private and reclusive of all the High Priestesses. You rarely leave Aybhas and you seldom appear in public. With regards to a matter like this, common knowledge about you is not helpful. Your reputation is that you are strict, stern, proper, and law-abiding, though usually fair. I''ve never been able to guess how you might react if I ever found the courage to send one of those letters. That makes you dangerous. I found myself weighing a grandparent for my children against the possible ruin of my house, family, and fortune. That''s quite a face, Mother Lisaykos." "I confess, I never thought about any of those things," I replied, a bit shocked by her pragmatic analysis. "I had forgotten about erasing children''s memories and adopting them out to strangers. I believe that was done to remove the offspring of an illegal marriage from the line of succession for the throne." I sighed and considered my son''s circumstances. If I remembered correctly, a Kas''syo married a haup Gampff a few generations back, so Oyyuth''s descent wasn''t bad. Given that she had avoid me to protect her family meant she wasn''t interested in social climbing or exploiting a relationship with me. She had kept her relationship with the King quiet and discreet, which spoke well of her character. As the Presiding Craftmaster Elect for Is''syal, Oyyuth''s social standing was just short of being noble. My son had married an outstanding woman. I wanted to get to know her better. "Daughter Oyyuth, you have nothing to fear from the Convocation. Once this gets out, your only worry will be the line of nosy high priestesses at your door wanting to meet you and my son. They are the worst clutch of gossiping hens you are likely to meet, starting with that golden-eyed gossipmonger here in town at the Fated Shrine." Oyyuth laughed, "Oh, you''re right about the Holy Kamagishi. She is quite fond of what she calls social news." "So, how many new grandchildren do I have?" "Three," Oyyuth retrieved the letters and the box and put them away. "Fed''soas is the oldest. She''s twelve. She''s also motion personified. She has to work to stay still and stick to her studies. I worry about that a lot, especially since she will be traveling far from home to be trained. Troyeepay is my only boy. He''s seven. He''s quiet and very smart. He adores his father and tries to be like him. He''s also very sweet. Imstay says he''s got magic, though I didn''t know magic could be discerned in a child that young. Amoythoy is our youngest. She''s one and a half, so she doesn''t eat with us. She usually eats in the nursery. She won''t join the family at dinner until she learns her table manners. She''s already in bed for the evening." Oyyuth led me down the central hallway to the second door on the left. Inside was a spacious dining chamber. The two children were seated on either side of the currently-empty chair at the end of the large table. As head of the household, that was obviously Oyyuth''s seat. "Children, we have company," Oyyuth announced. Both instantly got to their feet, which pleased me. Well-mannered children are a joy. The girl had the blond hair that''s common in the Gunndit family, though I could see a lot of silver coming in at the roots. She had her father''s thin face and build, but not the haup Foskos nose, thank the gods. She had her mother''s hazel eyes. She would have stunning looks when she grew up. The boy, Troyeepay, looked like his mother, with the strong chin and the curly chestnut hair, though he had the grey eyes that tend to run in the haup Foskos bloodline. I could tell, despite his youth, that my newest grandson had the nose, poor boy. "Fed, Troy, I would like you to meet your grandmother," Oyyuth said, pulling out the chair next to Troyeepay. "Mother Lisaykos, please sit down and I''ll get a place setting and your dinner." She hurried out of the room, leaving me with two awestruck children. I sat down, "Please, be seated you two." I tried to look friendly without resorting to the scary smile. "Are you really my father''s mother?" the girl, Fed''soas, asked, slowing sinking into her chair across from me. "Seeing that I carried him for a year and a half, and then gave birth to him, I have reason to believe that I am indeed his mother." I raised one eyebrow at my dubious granddaughter while my grandson tried to contain his laughter and succeeded. I raised my other eyebrow at him and he raised his right back. "Do you have a question, Troyeepay?" I asked him. "When did you meet our father?" he inquired, with more solemnity than most seventy year olds. "How did you find him? I thought he ran away from you?" "Ah," I had to pick my words with care, "we met five days ago, by accident. It was a little earlier than anticipated. Your father planned for us to meet about fifteen rotations from now." "He did?" Troyeepay''s jay dropped and he reverted to looking like a surprised child instead of a seventy-year-old sage. "Your father intended to bring your family to meet me in Aybhas," I explained. "You''re a healer?" Fed''soas brightened, her smiling lighting up the dining chamber. "You work at the Healing Shrine? I''m going to be training there come Cold Season." "Yes, my son told me about your enrollment," I nodded. "I am a healer and I work at the main shrine. I specialize in healing head injuries." "Why are you trying not to smile?" Troyeepay asked. My grandson was sharp. I never thought I''d get called out by a seven year old. I would need to watch what I said around him. "Most people are unsettled when I smile," I explained, "so I try not to do so in front of people I don''t know or who I have just met. My eyebrows have such a steep angle to them that I look like I enjoy torturing people when I smile." "Show me?" Fed''soas asked, bouncing in her chair. "Fed, that was rude," Troyeepay chided her. "Was not." "Was too." "Not." "Too." "Not." "Too." I laughed at the nostalgia of bickering children. "Wow," Fed''soas blinked. "You really do look evil when you laugh." I hooked my hands like claws, raised my arms menacingly over my head and loomed over Fed''soas, "I am evil when I laugh." I laughed for effect and then swooped in to tickle her sides. Troyeepay let out squeal of merriment at my teasing his sister. Fed''soas shreeked and squirmed to get away from me. She was unsuccessful. Oyyuth and her housekeeper returned to the dining chamber at the moment of noise and hilarity. Setting a plate of food in front of me, Oyyuth smiled with satisfied contentment, "I guess I don''t need to worry that you won''t get along with your grandchilden." 37. 6 Brewers Row Fedso¡¯as, 6 Brewers¡¯ Row, Is¡¯syal My father was out in the backyard, on his back staring up at the stars. "Can we talk, Dad?" "I''m not going anyway. Grab a seat." He sat up and patted the grass next to him. "Grandmother is a wow. I mean she is wonderful. Why did you wait so long to see her again?" "That is a really difficult question, Fed. We didn''t part on good terms and once I had left, even when it was years later, I couldn''t find the courage to face her." "But you said you ran away because of your father, not your mother." "That''s true, I did run away because of my father. I didn''t want to inherit. I wanted to see the world. I wanted to have adventures. I wanted to explore. I didn''t want to be what he wanted me to be." "So what about grandmother?" Dad looked at me with a very strange face and then laid back down and stared at the sky. "I''m tempted to say that you''re not old enough to understand. I certainly didn''t when I was your age. I''ve tried hard to ensure that you and Troyeepay never have to face the choices I faced. When families fight, there are no winners, Fed. When you fight with your family, you conflict with the people who should understand you the best. When they hurt you, it feels like a betrayal by the people you should be able to trust the most in the world. When you can''t reconcile with your family, it makes everything that people say about love and trust look like a lie." I watched one solitary tear gather at the corner of his eye and then slide across his temple to be lost in his hair. "I believe that my father never even tried to understand me but I was probably a difficult child to understand. I was very different from my peers who bullied me just because I was different. Despite being a boy, I had enough magic to become a healer or an adept of Landa. I think that I might have been happy to be a scholar of Galt, but that shrine never admits men no matter how talented. My father couldn''t understand that I might actually prefer studying at a shrine to the more manly arts of clearing the land and raising stock and crops. "I believe that my mother did understand me, at least in part, but mother sided with father. Mother was all about duty and responsibility. It is the duty of men to tend the land and build the bridges and roads, fish the rivers, and hunt the beasts; and it is the duty of women to intercede with the gods and do the work of the shrines, craft goods, run the businesses, and defend the home and family. "I didn''t fit, Fed, but my parents never tried to find a way where I might be able to fit. I was miserable and could only look forward to a future filled with more misery, doing something I knew I already hated. So I left. For many years, I stayed far away from my family for fear that if they found me, they would force me to take up the duty I never wanted but was born to. Some of that avoidance was shame because the duty I ran away from was then given to my older sister. Because of my selfishness, she took up what I fled from and if she hated me for it, I don''t think I could bear it." Dad wiped away the tears with his sleeve and sat up. He looked so unhappy that I had to hug him, "I''m sorry, Dad, I didn''t know that..." "Don''t apologize, Fed. These are my failings, not yours." He hugged me back. "Your grandmother is a great healer and has the love and respect of many people. Don''t let my troubles keep you from getting to know her. And now child, you should go to bed. The half-night bell with be ringing soon and growing girls with lots of magic need to get adequate sleep." --- Emily, 6 Brewers¡¯ Row, Is¡¯syal I had no idea why a large talking shark was wearing pink chiffon and swimming around the teacher''s desk in my old homeroom at Idaho Falls High School. What was weird was the red lipstick that appeared out of nowhere and did her non-existent lips. "What do you think, Luv?" the shark asked. "Is this a good shade or not?" "What other colors are there?" I asked "Pink or peach," she smiled, showing off a mouth full of razor-sharp flesh rippers. "Stick with the red," I advised. "Pink and peach are just not your colors." "Why thank you, Luv. Now the reason I''ve asked you here today is to tell you about kelp. Kelp is very important. You are going to need some. Oh, not right away, but I wasn''t going to let that suck-up Mueb steal all your attention, so I decided to slip in while there was still an opening." "Mueb? No, wait. You''re another one of the eleven bothersome gods, aren''t you?" "That''s right, Luv. I''m Vassu, the water god. Now about kelp, you need to burn it and collect the ashes. First, wash them with water and boil the water to get sodium carbonate. "Washing soda," I said. "Oooooo! Very good. I like bright students." She swam through the air above the desk singing, "yes yes yes yes yes!" "So you''re invading my precious dream time to tell me about washing soda?" "No, Luv, there''s more and it''s the important part." She suddenly looked up and to the left. "Drat, Giltak is coming. I gotta go before they catch me cutting the queue. Now remember this, Emily: dissolve the solid remains from the ash with excess sulfuric acid and you get the halides you need. Don''t forget to invent glass first and ether too! You''ll need it to extract the bromine. Gotta go, Luv! Ta ta for now!" And then I woke up, in the guest room at the home of Hessakos and Oyyuth, wondering why these meddling gods kept mentioning glass. --- Lisaykos, 6 Brewers¡¯ Row, Is¡¯syal I admit I was feeling a bit envious that Emily and my son seemed to have a more comfortable relationship after three days than I had with her after a season and a half. I consoled myself that they had been through life and death together in dire circumstances. Sometimes experiences like that forge unbreakable friendships. It was a revelation that he had carried her into the dining room with her sitting on his arm, her arm around his neck for balance; and then he put her into the chair at the head of the table, which he already prepared with a pile of cushions. It was so seamless and natural that they seemed like old friends. Then he put a beaker of hot tea in front of her. "Sausage roll?" he asked. She nodded. "Grilled cheese on bread?" She shook her head no. "Then let me give you two sausage rolls." She shook her head no. "Seriously, Emily, you need to eat more. I can feel your ribs when I pick you up." He scowled at her. She gave him an annoyed look back. I couldn''t help but chuckle that someone else was on the receiving end of Emily''s killer glares for once. Emily then shared her annoyed look with me. I answered with a raised eyebrow. Fed''so''as giggled and Oyyuth was amused. Troyeepay was confused, not following the exchange at all but he was only seven. The youngest, Amoythoy, wasn''t even at the table since she was still in the nursery with her wet nurse. "I have noticed that if you leave the right kind of savory roll out within Emily''s reach, that it will mysteriously disappear around the third bell," I remarked. "I''ll wrap some up that you can take with you," Oyyuth said to Emily with a motherly smile that said Emily had no choice in the matter. So far, I liked everything I saw of my new daughter-in-law. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "How do you know so much about Emily, Grandmom?" Fedso''as asked. "Emily is currently my patient," I replied. "She suffered a bad head injury several years ago which wasn''t treated correctly and she lost the ability to speak because of it. I specialize in head trauma and mind injuries as a healer, which is why she''s my patient. I''ll be working on restoring her ability to speak over the next two seasons." I looked at Emily, "we need to get back to working on that." Emily wrote on the tablet and held it so I could read across the table: "I forgot to practice for the last five days." I deliberately smiled at her, "I know." Emily hurriedly wrote again and held it up: "You have a scary smile." I kept smiling at her, "I know." Emily gave me a roll of her eyes and my son laughed and smiled for the first time since I arrived at his house. "Hey Grandmom, do they need help at the shrine?" "Of course they do. The place has so many injured people that the overflow has spilled into the great hall." "Can I come with you and help today?" Fedso''as asked, leaning forward in her chair. I tried to keep the panic I felt off my face. "The work for someone who isn''t a healer or scholar is hard, Fedso''as. It''s changing sheets and feeding people too weak to feed themselves, washing dishes, emptying necessary pots. Many of the injured are poor people who stink because they have no place to bathe or Coyn who are weak and easy to break and must be handled with special care because of that." "I want to help," my granddaughter said, looking right at me intently. "Please." My son looked at me with sympathy, "you will find that she is a hard worker and can follow instructions." Then he mindcasted: "It will ruin your plan to keep your position from her, but it''s up to you. If you do take her with you, I do not think you will be disappointed with her. She has the right temperament to be a healer." "Dad," Fedso''as accused her father in that unique whine that all children master for use on their parents, "you''re mindcasting grandmom, aren''t you?" He smiled, "maybe." "What do you think, Oyyuth?" I asked, looking for more information upon which to make a decision. "She will not be an embarrassment to you, Mother Lisaykos," Oyyuth said, knowing full well what my position was, but using the appropriate address for one''s mother-in-law in a family setting. I looked at my granddaughter who I barely knew and decided to take the risk, "alright, young lady, I will take you to the shrine with me, and I will make sure they work you until your fingers fall off." "Yay!" she bounced with excitement, all smiles. "Hey Dad, were you around when there was that big explosion yesterday at the fifth bell out on the lava plains?" "We were so close to it that I''ve never seen Cadress fly that fast before to get away," my son replied. Then we all noticed Emily had started writing. If Emily had something to say about it, I suspected it would be interesting. She was drawing a picture too. Yes, it would be worth waiting for. She wrote: "It''s called a phreatic explosion. That''s where water under the ground runs into hot lava and turns to steam. The water was probably floodwater pouring down through the volcanic rift and meeting molten rock. Hot lava is ten times hotter than boiling water, hot enough that it will turn a lake full of water into steam instantly. Steam occupies 1,700 times more space than the water it once was, but there isn''t that much space available underground, so the steam expands in the direction of least pressure, which is upwards in this case, breaking and destroying all the rocks in its path as it tries to escape to the surface. This is what caused the explosion. As we watched, we saw pieces of rock the size of houses thrown thousands of hands into the air." "So if this beaker had water in it and it turned into steam suddenly, it would use up one thousand seven hundred times the volume of this beaker?" I asked for clarification. Emily nodded. "How does compare to gunpowder?" I asked. Emily looked surprised for half a breath and then her thinking face appeared. She erased the tablet with the blunt end of the stylus, placed the tablet flat on the table, and then started writing. I leaned over so I could see what she was writing but it was incomprehensible to me:
m.wt. about 100 g/mole (s) estimate 1.5 g/cc (100 g/mole)/(1.5 g/cc) = approx 67 cc/mol 1 mole saltpetre + C solid --> 2 moles gas = 44.8 liters = 44,800 cc 668.6 67 ? 44800 -40200 4600 -4020 580 -536 44 -40.2 gas expansion of gunpowder = approx 670 times solid volume ignores PV=nRT temperature effects steam expansion more than two times bigger"Oh wow," Fedso''as got excited watching Emily crunch through that cryptic column of numbers, "that''s long division using the Queen''s numbers. You''re so fast. That''s amazing, Emily. How do you do that?" Emily had filled the tablet so she wrote on the very bottom of the tablet: "practice." Frankly, watching Emily do that sent a chill down my back. Whatever was inside of her head was unique and somewhat frightening. It meant that if Emily made a lot of gunpowder, she could destroy entire towns. Emily erased the tablet and wrote: "Vassu is a water god, yes?" Well, it wasn''t the first time the topic got changed this morning, though it had been my granddaughter careening from topic to topic before this. "That''s right, Emily," my son answered. "She''s usually depicted as a young woman pouring water from a bucket next to a well." "Is she ever depicted as a fish?" Emily wrote. "That''s silly, Emily," my granddaughter pronounced, "of course not." "Not always, Fed," my son corrected her gently. "Emily, Vassu is the god most revered by the Sea Coyn on the coast. They usually depict her as a non-scaly fish called a shark." Emily started thinking so deeply after that her eyes were fixed on nothing in this world. My son noticed it too. "Emily," I broke her out of her descent into deep thought and she looked up at me, "did you dream of Vassu as a shark last night?" Her expression was profoundly unhappy as she nodded briefly in the affirmative. "That''s twice in one rotation," my son said with concern. "Was there any urgency this time?" I asked. Emily made a very interesting face as if that wasn''t a simple question. "That should have been an easy question to answer, dear heart. What''s wrong?" Emily wrote a list: 1. Kelp for silver halides in the camera - can wait 2. Glass - both Mueb and Vassu said to get this done before anything else 3. Vassu said that Giltak was next Then she wrote: "I finished Tiki''s revelation so now I wish they would leave me alone." "If it''s any help, Emily," my son tousled her hair, "I can pick up some kelp next time the King sends me out to the coast." Emily nodded and attempted not to look quite so miserable. "What do silver halides in the camera mean, little one?" I asked. Emily picked up the stylus but my son stopped her hand. "A camera is a device that can capture images, mother. Emily described it to me while we were waiting out the storm." "You did it again, Emily," I sighed. "We should have someone following you around all the time to write down your ideas as they come out so we don''t miss any." "That wouldn''t be a bad idea," my son laughed. There was the sound of a door closing abruptly and then footsteps running in the hallway. A burly man with mixed dark brown and silver hair appeared in the doorway. The resemblance to Oyyuth was strong. "Sorry to interrupt, folks," he pulled a strand of hair away from his face. "Sis, we''ve lost all pressure on the water feed and the roof tank is now empty. Haven''t had any pressure since just after the half-night bell." "That''s not too bad," Oyyuth replied, "We only have one malting tank going instead of all four." "It''s not just us, sis. Chet said there''s no pressure below the fifth ring road throughout the city." "I''ll check the water line to our tank," my son got up and walked out. "How full are the brewery tanks?" Oyyuth asked her brother. "Half full," he replied, "we could probably supply everyone on the street for personal use for two or three days, like the last time the pressure failed." Just then the bell at the citadel and the bells at the Shrine of Galt started ringing and didn''t stop. My son ran back into the room and caught my eye from across the table, "I can give you a lift to the palace." "I will take you up on that. Emily should come too." He nodded his agreement. I turned to my granddaughter, "sorry Fed, I''ll try to come to get you when I''m done at the palace." She just nodded, trying hard not to be disappointed. I got up and walked over to my very quiet grandson. "You don''t say much, Troyeepay." "That''s what meals are like, Grandmother," this perfect little gentleman said with great solemnity. "Fed talks enough for three people so it''s alright." An angelic smile lit up his face. Everyone else, other than my granddaughter, laughed. 38. The Water Meeting (Part 1 of 2) Emily at 6 Brewers¡¯ Row/Palace Stolen story; please report. (continued in part 39) 39. The Water Meeting (Part 2 of 2) Emily, at the palace (continued from part 38) "Might I suggest we let in people to listen while Emily and the watermaster talk?" Bobbo suggested. "That way, the people who need to know about what is happening become informed about how this will affect the city. We can reorganize into a formal meeting after when they are done." "Bobbo, why can''t I make you my chief minister?" Imstay asked. "Because every time you ask me, I say no." Bobbo grinned up at his King. I had a feeling this question had come up many times before between these two. "That''s a good suggestion, General," Aylem said. "Imstay, let us explain to the people outside what is happening in here and then let them in." "Both of us?" He frowned. He didn''t look like he wanted to share the center of attention. "Or just you, if you want," the Queen had managed to shed her temper for now. "I was just thinking that if the ward masters and the crafts and the lords saw that you and I and the shrines were in this together, it might make things go smoother. The city needs to pull together as one right now or a lot of people will suffer." Imstay drooped. "That has a lot of merits. I would like to ask that I go first and that I do the speaking." He pinched his nose and scowled, "you must think I''m so petty." "No, Imstay, I don''t. You are concerned about the potential erosion of your authority because I''m an undefined power center nipping at your heels and it worries you, and the balance between the shrines and the throne has always been difficult. You are not petty. You are conflicted between your love for your family and your duty to the kingdom. You are grieving and not allowed to show it and now you must deal with a flood and a potentially failed harvest. I will follow where you lead in this. This is not the time for faction games." Aylem was really batting them out of the park at the moment. General Bobbo saw his opening. "Alright, Mighty One, you lead. Great One?" Bobbo gestured for the Queen to take the spot next to the King. The Queen walked over and stood next to him. It was crazy that he was this huge man, and she was still taller than him by half a head. Her hair was longer too. Poor guy. Imstay held out his arm to escort her. The Queen blinked in surprise and then instantly smiled and took it. "Oh dear," Bobbo said, "how does the shrine precedence work in this case?" "Kamagishi goes next," Lisaykos replied smoothly, "because the local shrine always takes precedence in its hometown. I go last." She smiled at him. I think that smile was on purpose. The poor watermaster was standing there gaping. The four silverhairs processed out the door that Bobbo opened for them and then closed. I started writing out a series of questions while we waited. I could hear Imstay''s voice in the corridor outside talking. While that was going on, I noticed four women in red robes placing stools at the corners of the shoved-together tables and sitting down. Each one had several parchment scrolls but no ink. I had no idea what that was about. I nudged the watermaster and passed him a tablet, where I had scribbled: "let''s get the trivia out of the way. How much head is there between the reservoir to the tank under the park? Are there any pumps in either of the two systems? How much distance between reservoir and city in pipe footage? What is the enclosed aqueduct made of? Is it circular or square or rectangular or some other shape? Where are there valves? and what kind are they? "Ah, Sure, little missy, but what''s this head you''re talking about?" I sat down on the table cross-legged and started writing. Damn, it''s times like this I wished I could talk. "What''s the difference in elevation from the reservoir to the tank under the park in front of the palace?" "Don''t know," he scratched his chin. "Is it important?" I just about collapsed. I pointed to the distance question. "Oh, the reservoir is two wagon-days away, but I usually ride a mule, which is faster so I can get there in less than a day. If it''s an emergency, like now, I get a ride on a winged mount." Okay...fuzzy thinking on distance and time. Somebody needed some basic physics lessons. And I needed to calculate what the gravitational constant was in units of hands and wagon-days. Was it safe to assume it was close to the gravitation constant on Earth? Did they have any distance measures between hands and wagon-days? Come to think of it, what did they do for surveying? No, no, I needed to stay on track. I pointed at the material for the aqueduct question. "Baked clay and most of it is buried, except when it breaks," he said. "The aqueduct is square, more or less." About this time, I noticed that people were walking in quietly out of the corner of my eye. I waited until I saw the King and Queen sit down and then I wrote: "Looks like people are here. So go back to what you were saying about the two problems and start from the beginning." "Alrighty, little Emily," he pointed to where the aqueduct crossed the river on the schematic. I got back to my feet to see. "We have two problems, little one. The first was that a wall of mud came down right here and cut the aqueduct at the Rig River. We already fixed that but the water won''t flow now. Usually, when the water doesn''t want to go, we hire some contract mages and have them push the water through until it flows by itself. Usually doesn''t take more than two day bells and four mages. But I''ve exhausted every contract mage in the city, all 53 of them, and the water won''t move. The last attempt had 20 mages and we exhausted every one of them. That''s the first problem." There was significant murmuring over that pronouncement by the watermaster. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "Now we''ve got a full pool under the parade ground in front of the palace but we got backflow coming into the system up the drains because of the flood and it''s crossed over to the supply side on the three lowest rings. Normally, we keep the valves feeding the mains open to prevent bad backflow problems and cut off water service temporarily at the lower rings of the city where there''s flooding. But because of the break in the line at the Rig River, we closed the flow down to preserve the water supply. "So the second problem is that we cut water service below the fifth ring road because it''s mixed with backflow from the flood." I nodded my head. That made perfect sense to me. Floodwaters are notoriously dirty and unhealthy. "At the rate the river is falling, we''ll be out of flood conditions tomorrow. A full pool under the parade ground can flush out the entire system but I don''t want to do it because right now, that''s the only safe water in the city. I''m getting ready to cut off everyone but the citadel and the shrine and start rationing everyone else until we can get the aqueduct flowing." I wrote: "So if you can solve the aqueduct problem, the backflow problems go away above the lowest rings; and when the flood recedes you can flush the system, but only if you get the aqueduct flow back. So the real problem that needs solving is the aqueduct and the rest is just correct procedure to preserve the supply on hand." "Yes, exactly." He smiled. "You really do understand water." Water flow wasn''t hard to understand but I realized that he might be as sharp as a marble. I wondered what sort of pay and prestige came with his job and if there was more to him than what I observed so far. I wrote out my next question: "Where are the valves and what is their design?" "What do you mean, design? There''s only one way to stop the flow, missy." I looked at him incredulously. "There are other ways?" he asked, somewhat timidly. "Many," I wrote. "Oh." He scratched his head, "guess we should be talking together later when this is over." I nodded. "Everywhere you see a brown square, that''s a valve," he pointed them out to me on the schematic. "And they are all open?" I wrote. "Yes, every valve is open," he said. "And you bled all the air out of the system?" I wrote. "What? A little air is no problem." I think my jaw must have detached, bounced out of the palace, down the main thoroughfare, out the city gates, and into the Salt River, where it took a boat to the coast. "Your precog is so impressive," I heard Lisaykos say to Kamagishi softly. "Emily''s face is impressive," Kamagishi replied. "Now I want to know what the problem is with air in the aqueduct." "Is air in the line a problem?" the watermaster asked. "Probably," I wrote. So, they had a twenty-something-mile-long water line from a reservoir with an unknown amount of hydraulic head. They just fixed a break at its lowest dip going over a river. They reopened the line section by section by hand, with no way to bleed out air pockets in a square ceramic pipe. Now I needed to confirm my suspicion. "How many valves were closed when fixing the break at the river?" I wrote. "Every valve was closed, missy. We always do it that way for safety." "You reopened them starting closest to the reservoir?" I wrote. "That''s right." he beamed. "Want a job kid? You''re good at this." I chuckled at the job offer. The way they opened the valves one at a time probably created what are called air locks because the velocity of the water filling the line would never be faster than the entrained air bubbles that would form and collect at local maxima. That''s the problem with gravity-fed lines. It''s plumbing 101. I had no idea how the mages tried to move the water through. Brute force hydraulic head pushing wouldn''t work with an air lock because the air would never move from the local maxima where it was trapped. Physics would trump magic if someone did just brute force pushing on the water. To get this to a satisfactory conclusion, I had to explain how air locks worked and how they could stop the flow in enclosed lines in gravity-fed water systems. Then I needed to lay out options on how to fix it, followed by a long-term plan to install air bleed valves at all the local peaks in the aqueduct line as it traveled across the countryside. That was quite a lot of things I needed to explain. It was times like this I cursed not being about to speak yet. I smoothed over some wax since I had already filled it all. "Emily," the Queen was standing in back of me tapping me on the shoulder. I didn''t even notice that she had moved. "Emily, you look like you know what''s wrong." I nodded. I wrote: "There is reason to believe large air pockets in the system were introduced from fixing the break at the river. Air pockets can stop the flow. You can''t get rid of them by pushing the water because the more buoyant air will stay in place regardless of the force applied to the water. Need to confirm air pockets. Get the air out the water will flow. Should probably ration water until the main line is fixed. Short-term fix: find air pockets and remove them. Also need a long term fix: install air bleed valves which will eliminate the need to hire contract mages in future." The queen read it and handed it to the watermaster. "Are you sure about this?" the watermaster asked me. I wrote: "I don''t think I''m wrong. Send someone to verify the air pockets. It''s the only way to be sure." The King walked up, picked up the tablet, and read it. "And what if you''re wrong?" I was sure I was right. A gravity-fed line across mountain terrain with no air bleeds? It was screamingly obvious. "I believe I am right. I''m surprised this sort of no-flow condition has not happened before." The watermaster read what I wrote after the King read it. "Little Emily, this has happened before. It''s happened seven times since the line was built. If mages pushing the water didn''t work, then the only other fix is to drain all the water from the line and then fill it back up. It takes a rotation." "Holy Kamagishi, what do you think?" the king waved her over. "I need your opinion. Is your sense of precognition satisfied?" Kamagishi joined the knot of people standing in front of me at the table. "My head is telling me that whatever was supposed to happen has happened. It happened when the watermaster said a little air was not a problem and Emily was shocked that he said that." "So, who here knows how to cast the difficult and rare Schrodinger charm?" the King asked. "What''s that?" I wrote and handed it to the Queen. The name was really over the top? Schrodinger? Really? This sounded like goofball god humor of the Tiki variety. "It''s a charm that makes a hole in any object you cast it on until you actually look at it and then it disappears," the Queen said. "It''s a strange and difficult charm." "Nobody?" the King asked? "Imstay, dear," the Queen said, smiling apologetically. "Of course!" he threw his hands in the air, shaking his head. "Of course! Aylem! I forgot you know every charm ever created. Someone throw me out a window, please. We''ll all be happier that way and I will finally get a rest." He pulled out a chair and sat down, looking very tired, "it''s been a very long year this rotation." (Continued in part 40) --- 40. Usruldes and the Sausage Roll Emily, the Palace in Is''syal (Continued from part 39) General Lynhaydras, a silverhair in her 50s, walked up and saluted the King, "Mighty One, the water in the lower city will return as soon as the floodwaters recede, which will probably be tomorrow, yes?" "Watermaster?" the King asked. "Yes, General, I anticipate it will be tomorrow," the watermaster said, "assuming the water line from the reservoir starts working. Once the waters recede, we can flush the lines and restore service." "You want permission to requisition wagons from teamsters and barrels from brewers and vintners to cart water from the north parade ground pool to the lower city while the water is off," the King said, giving the general of the Citadel a long-suffering look. "Exactly," she smiled. "I''m glad that it''s not going to be a long-term problem. I didn''t understand half of what they were saying at the table, but you know mekaners. They speak a different language from the rest of us." The King guffawed, "yes, definitely." He then looked up at the Queen, "are you available to poke holes in water pipes today, Aylem?" "Something can be arranged. Are you up for a griffin ride, watermaster?" she asked. "You know where the line is buried. I certainly don''t." "Should little Emily come with us?" he asked. "I think you should see what the line looks like," he said to me. "But first," Lisaykos walked up carrying my boots, "you need something on your feet." As soon as I pulled my boots on, Lisaykos handed me a sausage roll, "eat." I picked up a tablet and wrote: "Later. Not hungry." "Emily, the arrangement was that you would have seconds around the third bell. It''s now around the third bell. Tuck it in, girl." Lisaykos was going full-authority on me but I wasn''t the least bit hungry. If anything, my stomach was feeling a little touchy, given the crowd of big Cosm all around me who I didn''t know and was trying to ignore. The citadel commander and General Bobbo were herding the ward leaders and craft master with barrels and wagons to spare into a corner to talk about coordinating resources. Everyone else was milling around chatting or leaving now that it looked like a disaster with the aqueduct was no longer a concern. I could hear people talking about me in hushed tones and felt too many eyes on me now that the watermaster and I had dissected the water problem. I wanted out of this place to get away from all the people looking at me. I slid off the table, did a backroll to get under the table, got to my feet, and ran for a side door which I had noticed exited into a hallway. The tables were just taller than I was so I could sprint full speed just by ducking my head and keeping my knees bent. The far side of the table was mostly clear of big Cosm-sized legs and I had just left my keepers behind me. I cleared the table and ratcheted up the speed, aiming for the door which was in front of me. At the speed I was now going, I knew I''d be able to make a running leap for the latch. Just as I sprang for the latch something grabbed me around the waist and spun me around to a stop in midair. The room went dead quiet. The black-gloved hands that had caught me walked over to a chair and set me down, then spun me around. An inescapable grip clamped my shoulder, such that if I tried to get away, I knew it would hurt without causing harm. There was a fingertip poised right on top of a nerve bundle that sits where the shoulder meets the neck. I looked up into the amused eyes of a man wearing an Usruldes suit. He motioned someone behind me and then caught a sausage roll thrown across the table. He suddenly crouched down and I found myself clamped between his side and his arm, holding me in place and carrying me sideways. I attempted to wiggle free but it was in vain. I could hear polite laughter behind me as he walked behind the dais and through a door into a waiting room for court officials,. He set me down on my feet and then sat down on a chair. "You looked like you needed out of there. I''m guessing the audience for that arranged stage show with you and the watermaster was beginning to bother you." I nodded and took a running jump at a chair, making it up on the first try. Just as I got comfortable, he handed me the sausage roll, now wrapped in a black cloth. "How does your stomach feel? From the look on your face out there, it doesn''t feel great right now. Am I right?" I nodded. "So tuck it into your tunic and eat it when you feel better. Now, I predict that within 20 breaths, my mother will come in through that door. Want to count?" I could tell from the crow''s feet crinkling next to his eyes that he had one of those big mischievous smiles on his face. I held up my hand and started counting my breaths on my fingers. He started counting with me out loud. "One...two...three...four...five...six...seven...eight...nine...ten...eleven...twelve..." The door opened and Lisaykos stepped in, followed by the King who had held the door for her. The King was smiling, which sure beat his gloomy looks earlier. Imstay paused, dug into his belt pouch, pulled out a gold piece, and gave it to Usruldes. "You had a bet going, you two?" Lisaykos gave them both a judgemental eyebrow raise. "He bet me that he could make me laugh before the fourth bell today," Imstay admitted. Then he started chuckling. "The look on your face, Holy One, when Emily made a run for it under the tables---oh, that was rich! Then, when you popped out of nowhere, Usruldes, and caught this little fiend in midair---the whole room stopped. I think the last time you showed yourself in public was seven years ago. And to waste a charm of circular light on something as droll as the wayward Blessed Emily trying to escape the stern and forbidding High Priestess Lisaykos..." "Hey!" Lisaykos interjected a protest. "...that was great timing. And then there was the sausage roll, the root cause behind the attempted flight, flying through the air between you two. Oh, I think I needed that laugh." He sat down, reached over, and ruffled my hair. "You looked like you needed your hair mussed up," Imstay''s grin was so big that he looked ten years younger. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. "You need to ask me first before you muss up my little Emily''s hair," Usruldes told the King. "Your Emily? Your Emily? She''s her own Emily, you know. Masterless Coyn, no less. Since when do I need to ask you? You don''t own her!" the King told his spy. "Gentlemen!" Lisaykos stopped them before they got started. "Emily, the Queen has gone to change into flying clothes. She has asked you to meet her and the watermaster at the House of Mounts. Do you know where that is?" I shook my head no. "I will take you there," she pronounced. "Holy One," Usruldes lightly touched her sleeve, "I removed Emily because I could see her fear building when she realized everyone in the room was watching her. She needed out of there. Just my opinion, mind you." Lisaykos started to say something and then stopped and thought for a moment, "you are correct. Emily, my apologies. I wasn''t thinking." I shrugged at her. I didn''t see the need for any apologizing. Sometimes I think Lisaykos is too hard on herself. "I heard an interesting thing working at the shrine yesterday evening," Lisaykos said to her son. "Someone on an eagle, a young silverhair, and his toddler daughter, in sheepskin flying capes, were seen flying over the floodwaters, picking up people and taking them to the chapel shrine in the village of Decorat. They were even seen after dark until about half before the quarter night bell, with the silverhair lighting up the surface of the floodwaters after the sun went down, looking and finding even more living victims. The number that was reported to Kamagishi of Galt in my hearing was that 24 Cosm, 29 Coyn, and one adolescent griffin. The rescuers never stopped to give anyone their names but the village head of Decorat would like to find them to thank them." I kept my face carefully neutral. Usruldes, also known as Hessakos, had the advantage of wearing his face mask. I could see the crows'' feet next to his eyes, the big faker. He was enjoying this. "Yes, it reminded me of a boy I used to be acquainted with." Lisaykos continued, "who used to ride the fence lines looking for every lost lamb and every lost calf until he found them and returned them to their mothers, even if it took until the half-night bell." "Hmmm," Usruldes said. "Hmm," the King said, giving his spy a speculative look. He and Lisaykos looked at each other for a long moment, and then the King looked at me. He made a motion with his head toward the door and got up. So that was what this was about. I hopped off the chair, careful to stash the wrapped up sausage roll down the front of my overtunic, and ran out the door the King was politely holding for me. He surprised me by scooping me up in his arms and then depositing me on the Queen''s throne. He turned the two thrones so they were facing each other and plopped down on his throne. "Well, tiny little Emily, I''m Imstay. They let me work around the palace to keep me from making trouble on the streets." He laughed humorlessly, "I don''t know why I''m making jokes. It''s been rough being King lately." I made the writing on a tablet motion and he passed me a tablet from out of his tunic pocket. I wrote, "Heard you had to put down relatives. Not my idea of a fun job. Sounds like you really loved them a lot. Don''t forget to find time to grieve in private since it looks like you can''t in public." "Huh," he looked at me as if he was weighing me on a scale. "I have a guy who works for me that told me the same thing." I wrote: "Bobbo or Usruldes or someone I haven''t met yet?" "General Bobbo. He''s a pretty sharp customer. What do you think of him?" I wrote: "Smart. Really smart. Need to hire a law master before negotiating with him, he''s that smart." The King read it and started guffawing. He shook his head, smiling at me. "You are something else." He studied me for a moment. "Be nice to your host at the shrine, the high priestess. She''s probably having a hard time in there. Usruldes has been working hard to avoid being alone with her but all it takes is a second look at her to know she has something to say to him, and I hope it isn''t something that will make it worse between the two of them. I found him and his eagle 17 years ago, or maybe I should correct myself, and say they found me and saved my life 17 years ago. "I knew who he was when he and Cadrees rescued me. I had seen him many times before at court events. He''s like a little brother to me. I hid him and I trained him and I gave him money and his freedom, but he came back to serve me because, for him, I''m like his big brother. I care about what happens with him. I was his sponsor at his wedding, which smoothed over the bumps with Oyyuth''s stickler of a father. So I hope this works out in there for him and his stone-spined mother. "It was the biggest scandal two decades ago when he ran away. Lisaykos put a lid on it tight because it was a huge embarrassment. No one found out until a year later when Lord Tridhoytos haup Gunndit died and she moved into the shrine so his sister could become Lord Gunndit. He''s famous for that, except right now, no one knows he''s right here under their noses, and of course, only you and Lisaykos and the Queen know he''s Usruldes besides me. I''d like to keep it that way. I''m not saying I think you might uncover him. He trusts you and he doesn''t trust anyone, so that tells me you won''t betray him. He doesn''t make mistakes in judgment about people. "I do want to thank you for saving his life," he put his hands together in front of his forehead and bowed to me on his throne. "He is the brother of my heart and I am indebted to you for keeping him from drowning." I was embarrassed to have a king bowing to me like that. Seriously, pulling someone unconscious out of a river is something that everyone would do. Right? He looked up at me from his bow, "you know," he said with a lopsided grin, "you''re blushing." He sat up and leaned back. "I do want to know how to make instant fire twigs. I''m not giving up on that and I know you will not be an easy person to negotiate with." He grinned, "that''s why I''ll be sending Bobbo." "Pffft." "Ha! Made you laugh!" He pointed an accusing finger at me. Then he sighed. "Did my wife tell you that my girl wants to meet you?" I shook my head. "Well, when you have a moment, have me or my wife introduce you to the girl who started all your troubles last cold season. She wants to thank you for helping her and Heldfirk in the forest. Heldfirk talks about you all the time but he got to meet you. Opa was unconscious so she never got to even lay eyes on you." "I can do that, if I don''t get chained to my bed in the Queen''s apartments for having snuck out of the palace with Usruldes," I wrote. He laughed when he read it. "If you don''t go home today, you could spend another night with that family on Brewers'' Row," he suggested. "Wow, mention mushrooms and up they pop." He looked behind me. "I won''t stop her if she wants to stay another night," Usruldes said. "I see you have found a new Queen," he winked at me. "Very little maintenance and a bonus for not needing much food," Imstay didn''t miss a beat. "Holy One," Usruldes made a bowing obeisance, "you are also welcome and there''s a delightful daughter in the house who wants to be a healer and would love to talk with you." "That is a tempting offer," Lisaykos nodded. "I might do that." Then she turned to me. "Ready, Emily? The Queen is probably already waiting." --- 41. Mother and Son Lisaykos, the royalty waiting room for the small reception hall, the Palace, Is''syal The door shut behind me. I looked at my son''s eyes and after studying them, remembered they were the same as they were years ago, right down to the little dot in his left eye to the left of the pupil. He was much taller than when he ran away and he had filled out. He took after me more than he did his father, who had been a very muscular man. My daughter, the poor girl, took after her father. My son studied me, saying nothing, waiting. I think he knew this was coming, sooner or later. Neither of us was ready for it. I pulled up a chair and sat down. "Every night for the last 19 years, I''ve stared at the ceiling before I go to sleep and asked myself what I should have done differently to have saved my little boy from whatever terrible end had befallen him. Every night, I would fall asleep not finding an answer because you can''t turn back time to mend whatever went wrong. And I would wake in the morning with the certainty that I had failed you as a mother." I fought to keep the tears from forming and failed. "We share the same talent for empathy. I can feel that knot of anger you have. You had it then. You still have it now. I thought you would grow out of your anger. Until you left, I never imagined that you would see running away as the solution to whatever was going on in your head. I didn''t understand it then, which is obvious in the damning clarity of hindsight. I do not understand it now. "I thought you would bend to what we wanted for you because we thought it was the best thing for you, and we wanted you to have that best thing. What you wanted and what you needed was something different. It was my failure not to know that. I honestly do not know what I could have done back then that would have kept us together as a family because I wasn''t as insightful then as I have since become. "I never really learned much from my many successes, Irhessa; but I learned the deepest lesson of my life from my one huge terrible mistake in losing you. I realize now that you can''t fix people and make them into what you want them to be. You have to bend around people and give them their room and let them live their own lives. They will flee otherwise, if not in person then in mind." I got up to go. "I understand that you may wish to keep me at a distance. I also understand that if your daughter had decided to enroll at some other shrine, we wouldn''t even be speaking right now. If not for the accident of Emily''s abduction, I would still not know if you were even alive. Your hurt must be deep for you to have acted in this way. I will try not to disturb your life. I would like to have the opportunity to spend time with my grandchildren and to get to know my daughter-in-law if she will tolerate me." I walked to the door. With my hand on the latch, unable to look at my son again for fear of losing control over myself, I gave him my final words: "I may have been angry with you. I confess that I do not know if I will ever understand you, but please know that I have never stopped loving you." As I started turning the latch, his hand stopped mine and he turned my shoulder away from the door. He hugged me tight and buried his teary eyes in my shoulder. "Don''t go like this, mom. Please, don''t. It may be hard between us, but I don''t want to lose you a second time because I was too stupid to do something better." I realized then, in ways that I didn''t the evening before, that my son wasn''t the 14-year old bundle of rage from almost two decades ago. He was a grown man, mature and successful, with a family he loved and who loved him back, which is better than I can say for my attempt at being a parent. We managed to dry our tears and exit the royal preparation room behind the dais. I found Imstay doing his best to be his personable welcoming self with all the delicacy and finesse of a lame griffin with a broken wing. Emily seemed to be doing tolerably well with him, which was a huge relief. Imstay could be charming if he put his mind to it, and he was working hard at being friendly but not frightening for Emily''s sake. I''m not sure what they were talking about, but I heard the King say: "If you don''t go home today, you could spend another night with that family on Brewers'' Row." Then he looked up in mock surprise right at me and my son. "Wow, mention mushrooms and up they pop." "I won''t stop her if she wants to stay another night," my son said. "I see you have found a new Queen," he stated. "Very little maintenance and a bonus for not needing much food," Imstay grinned. I had the feeling my son and the King were on good enough terms to banter with each other. Imstay had been hiding him from everyone for years. They had to be closer than I had suspected. "Holy One," Usruldes made a bowing obeisance to me, very proper and very polite, "you are also welcome, and there''s a delightful daughter in the house who wants to be a healer and would love to talk with you." He always was one to use perfect polished manners. I at least got that right when raising him. "That is a tempting offer," I replied, very tempted to have more time with those lovely grandchildren. "I might do that." It was time to get back to the day''s business, now that Emily had posed a solution to a water problem I didn''t even begin to understand. Life with Emily underfoot was not dull in the least. "Ready, Emily? The Queen is probably already waiting." She nodded. "Grab my collar, just like before," and I picked her up. She weighed nothing at all, which continued to concern me. I needed to pay more attention to what she ate and when, so I could determine if there was something off-balance with her diet. She had been eating at my shrine for a season and a half, but I could still feel her ribs when I picked her up. This had to be fixed. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. I bowed my farewells and exited into the corridor. Just on the other side of the door was Kamagishi, waiting for me and smiling like a fox in a hen yard. "Hello again, Great One," she smiled pleasantly at Emily. "Sister Lisaykos," she beamed at me, hands clasped behind her back and a spring in her step. Kamagishi was going to be trouble. I just knew it. "Sister, I noticed that when you were chatting with General Bobbo that you mentioned you and the Blessed Emily spent yesterday evening with your grandchildren." "Yes. What of it?" "The only grandchildren you have that I know about live in Gunndit," she grinned. "I think I would know if Lord Gunndit was here in the city, and I know that she is not. So the only possible deduction is that you have grandchildren here in Is''syal, and they are not your daughter''s children." She was enjoying this way too much. "Your point, sister?" "You have found your missing son! That''s the only possible outcome here. How long have you known? Why did you hide it from us?" I sighed. Kamagishi on a roll was unstoppable and unquenchable. "I found him the evening after the trial of Lord Kushamar. My son works for the King. He was injured the night the King''s forces took Emily back from her kidnappers. Then, yesterday, after your priestesses chased me out of the shrine..." "And rightfully so since you had not slept in more than a day," Kamagishi chided me. "...I decided I would go and knock on the door to see what my daughter-in-law and grandchildren were like." Kamagishi''s golden-yellow eyes lit up with glee, "No? You crashed your son''s house uninvited?" "Yes," I said nothing more just because I knew it would rile her up. "Details, woman! I wanna know the details!" She was so predictable. I kept myself from smiling. "My son works directly for the King. He is sufficiently well placed at court to have the social standing to marry the woman who runs Kas''syo Brewery." "No! He''s married to Craftmaster Oyyuth Kay''syo?" "Yes. He is married to Oyyuth Kay''syo and she is delightful, perfectly delightful. And smart and talented with business acumen. She''s a halfhair, but I''ve never been stuck up about that sort of thing. My oldest granddaughter has been tested and accepted for the Healing Shrine of Mugash. She''s 12, very 12, a completely and totally overeager earnest 12-year old and wonderful and cute and a little too loud for my taste but that will be taken care of with time and training. Her hair is already going white. "I have a very quiet grandson who is seven. He has some magic already, but he''s young enough that it''s too soon to tell how much. He doesn''t say much but when he does, he is very witty which leaves me with the impression that he is as smart as his mother. And there is a little girl who is one and a half. She got scared the first time she saw me, but I think that''s because I''m just a bit on the tall side. There, gossipmonger of the shrines, you know everything I know myself about my grandchildren." "Lisaykos, that''s wonderful!" Kamagishi gushed as only Kamagishi can. "This must make you very happy to find your son and find he has a family you like at the same time. It could have turned out a lot worse." "Yes, I know," I said truthfully. "I don''t mean to pry but..." "Oh yes, you do," I shook my finger at her like she was an erring priestess in training. "...Alright, I do mean to pry," she didn''t even pause. "How are things with your son? I mean, he ran away from home. That has got to be awkward." She didn''t even guess half of it. "It is a bit awkward, but my son is not an angry mixed-up 14-year old boy anymore. He''s a fine person doing something he likes doing. He''s a good husband and a good father. He''s also kind, and he is supremely thoughtful, as Emily might tell you if she could talk." Emily nodded at Kamagishi on cue. Kamagishi took a measuring look at Emily and turned back to me, "they know each other?" "Emily borrowed my son from the King so she could fulfill a dream command. They got caught out in the storm together." "Dream command? You haven''t reported anything like that," she frowned. "It happened after the examination of Emily, that afternoon right after everyone left. It was a dream command from Mueb." "Emily, you are full of surprises," Kamagishi said. "It''s worse than that," I remarked apologetically. "Emily had another last night, this time with Vassu in her aspect as a shark." "Gods!" Kamagishi studied Emily. "I am so sorry, Emily, but it looks like the gods consider you a good conduit. Given records of previous incidences of this kind, it might get worse before it gets better." Emily gave Kamagishi a look that said: "please drown me and put me out of my misery." "So back to your son," Kamagishi returned to her main line of interrogation. "What''s he like?" "Didn''t I just tell you that?" "What does he do? What is he like?" "Kamagishi, please understand that I just met him for the first time in two decades. He''s not the boy I remember. In some ways, I don''t know him at all. How can I tell you what he is like when I don''t know myself?" "Fair enough. So what does he do for the King?" "Royal courier," I stuck to the cover story. There are some things I won''t share with the other high priestesses. "The King sends him all over, including out to the coast. I''m under the impression that the King gives him the really difficult missions." "Isn''t that dangerous?" "He has a very fast eagle. Remember the father and child on an eagle who rescued all those people near Decorat? It was my son and Emily on that eagle." "So he takes after you," Kamagishi decided. "We share the same gift for empathy. His clairvoyance is good enough that he could have been a priest of Tiki. That being said, he looks like me," I said honestly, "except the eyebrows, which thankfully he did not inherit. Poor boy, he got my nose." --- 42. Grandmother and Granddaughter Lisaykos, the Environs of Is''syal I spotted Aylem and the watermaster waiting with Asgotl in the forecourt of the House of Mounts. "Don''t forget to eat something, Emily; and if you want to spend the night with my son and Oyyuth, don''t let Aylem talk you out of it." "Emily," the queen walked over, all smiles, "Are you ready?" Emily shrugged. "Great One," I handed Aylem the bag with Emily''s tablets and sausage rolls, "these go with Emily." She slung the bag strap onto her shoulder. "Emily, why don''t I just put you up on Asgotl?" She nodded her agreement. I thought she was looking a little worn already. That farce of a meeting probably took a lot out of her. "Make sure she eats something," I told Aylem. "I packed a mid repast for three since I assumed we would be out for a while," Aylem paused and looked at me frowning. "You are worried about her." "If you look at everything that has happened this rotation, she''s had a pretty rough time. Be easy on her, please." Aylem studied me for a moment. "I can do that. And Lisaykos, you should go raid my clothes press for some fresh clothes." I nodded and waved as I walked away. Kamagishi fell in beside me. "You can borrow something from me if you want a change of clothes for working at the shrine," she offered. "Might be a little roomy but my work clothes ought to fit you. It will save some time. I know there''s one patient the staff wanted you to take a look at if you have the opportunity." "I do; however, I was going to swing past my son''s house and fetch my granddaughter who wanted to help out today. I promised I would come back and get her." "Oh?" Kamagishi perked up. "Can I come with you? I''d love to meet your granddaughter." "And my daughter-in-law, and my other grandchildren, and get your eye tracks all over their house, and every other high priestess will know all about it by the seventh bell, you insufferable busybody," I accused her in exasperation. "Your point?" She beamed. "You know, this is the news of the year." "My son is a very private person and by the way, so am I. I wish you would not make a big noise about this," I sighed. It was my bad luck to have Kamagishi shadowing me. "Oh? Like not telling anyone your son was missing for over a year?" "I hoped to find him before the incident did damage to his reputation, Kamagishi. He was supposed to have become the next Lord Gunndit. I didn''t want that sort of cloud over his head." "You know," she spoke slowly as if choosing every word, "have you ever considered relying on your friends and sisters of the convocation of shrines to help you during those times when life has borne down on you too hard?" That startled me so much that I almost tripped. She steadied me and gave me a very thoughtful look. "You are such a support and pillar to everyone, like now when you could be heading to your home. But who is it that supports Lisaykos? Hmm?" She started walking again. I caught up. "Just give it some thought, you stubborn old cow," she kicked a stray stone down the cobbles. "Kamagishi." "Yes?" "I haven''t told my granddaughter that I''m the High Priestess of Mugash yet," I confessed. "Oho? And why is that?" "I wanted her to meet her grandmother without that damn title in the way, nothing else. I thought I''d be able to exit town without her knowing. She will find out soon enough, but when she begged for me to take her with me this morning, I gave in to her request because saying no would have been too selfish of me." "You are full of surprises today, Lisaykos, almost like a normal grandmotherly person instead of the paragon of perfect polite priestess practice and protocol." "Please, Kamagishi, if you want evidence that there''s a normal, breathing, emoting person inside of me, I will tell you the last several days have been very hard on me and I am more weary at heart than I have been in many years." I stopped and blotted my eyes on my sleeve. "You," she stopped, walked in front of me, and surprised me with a firm hug. "My apologies, sister, I didn''t know my teasing was stabbing you where you were wounded. That''s is my fault for being thoughtless. You know, stubborn fool, it''s alright to ask for help when you need it." I got my breath back, "I know." "Let''s go meet your granddaughter," she pulled me by the sleeve. "But you need to tell her, and probably before you walk into the shrine with everyone using proper address with you." "I know," I was trying to work out how to tell her. "You are worrying too much," she smiled. "Kids that age are very resilient. It''s hard to break them at that age." "Tell that to my son," I said without thinking, "when it was him that I broke." "You never give yourself a break, do you? It will be fine, assuming you can permit yourself to be a little less than perfect and a bit more like a doting grandmother." "You sound like your mother," I observed. "So, what''s this patient that your staff wants me to see," I changed the subject. "Coyn, crushed by debris while in the water," Kamagishi knit her brows together, "lost a hand and a foot. The owner left him off along with his ownership tablet. "I hate it when that happens," I sighed. "How are the public rolls in the city right now?" "Fairly full, and I expect the situation to get worse before it gets better because of the crop damage we''ll have from the flood." "It will be a bad cold season, I''m afraid." "We may want to consider this as the Convocation," Kamagishi proposed. "There is ample precedent." "All you need is for Mueb and Surd to agree to have the Convocation meet over food shortages." "You left out Mugash." "You already have agreement from Mugash. Preemption now will spare us many healings and burials over the cold season." "Thank you." "You''re welcome. That''s one of the good things about you, Kamagishi. You meet problems head-on with no dallying about." "Look, we''re at Brewers'' Row already, and if I''m not mistaken, there seems to be a youngster down there, just outside the sixth door down who looks like she''s waiting for someone." "Fed!" I called. Her head whipped around and she saw me and came at a gangly-legged run. "GRANDMOM!" She was all smiles. I caught her, swung her around in a circle, and put her down. "Are you eating enough, girl? You don''t weigh anything." "Dad says I eat more than a cow." "They eat a lot at her age," Kamagishi said to me sagely. "Yes, I had noticed that." I looked at Fedso''as, "does your mother know you''re leaving now?" Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. "Not yet," she smiled up at me. "Geez, Grandmom, you''re really tall." "Yes, I know. You''ll catch up with me in a few years. Now go tell your mother I''m taking you to the shrine to work for the day, and tell her I''ll be staying again tonight, and...wait, there she is now. Wait here." Oyyuth had her hair tied up in a headscarf and wore a long apron over her working gown with its sleeves rolled up. I could tell she was breathing hard and had a bit of sweat worked up. It didn''t take me long to reach her, which is one of the only advantages of being too tall. "You look a bit out of breath, Oyyuth." "We''re loading our empty tuns to take down to the second ring to hold water. It takes everyone to load them. So you''re taking the endless motion machine with you for the day? Good luck. Give her lots to do and she might go to bed for once without casting the light charm to read under the covers." I couldn''t help it: Oyyuth sounded just frustrated enough that I had to laugh. "It''s not that funny," she gave me an exasperated lopsided smile. "Oh yes, it is," I chuckled some more. "Like you and I never did that sort of thing when we were her age." "Well, there is that," she laughed. "Are you staying tonight?" "Yes, I believe I will be. Irhessa and I already discussed it up at the palace." "And Emily?" "I''m not sure there. The queen made off with her and the city watermaster to fix the aqueduct." "Seriously?" "Emily knows what''s wrong with the design of the aqueduct and how to fix it; the watermaster knows where it is under the ground, because it''s buried, and the queen has the magic to do the repairs. So I do not know if we will see her this evening or not. I think it would be good for her because I know she is comfortable here, and that means a lot. She lived alone in the northern wilderness for so long that she''s not good being around a lot of people." "Hessakos mentioned that. I had the room made up already just in case. We usually eat quarter past the seventh bell, so I hope you can get back by then." "Yes, I will see you this evening." I rejoined Fedso''as and Kamagishi. "So that was your mother, Fed?" Kamagishi asked. "Yep, she runs the whole brewery," she said proudly, "she''ll be the Presiding Craftmaster for the whole city next year." Then she stopped and looked at me. "I''m sorry. I am forgetting my manners so please don''t tell my dad, okay?" "Alright, Fed, but..." She ignored me and turned to Kamagishi with a bowing obeisance appropriate for meeting on the street in a non-ceremonial setting. "May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Holy One," she intoned solemnly. Kamagishi put her hand on Fed''s head, "and also upon you, Healer-in-training-elect Fedso''as. Now, we should move on since it is getting late and your grandmother has a patient we want her to see." "Yes, Holy One," Fed bounced up and then bounced alongside us as we walked. "I didn''t know you knew the high priestess, Grandmom." "Your grandmother and I have known each other for many years," Kamagishi remarked, enjoying herself greatly. "Oh wow, grandmom, you must be in the shrines a lot." "I live at a shrine, youngster, and in a season and a half, so will you." "So you live at the shrine in Aybhas?" "Yes. Yes, I do." "But you didn''t always live there. Where did you live when Dad was growing up?" "We lived south of Aybhas, outside of Gunndit on your grandfather''s farm. Your grandfather died many years ago so now it''s your aunt''s farm." "Yep, Dad told me he had a sister, but not much other than that. When do I get to meet my aunt?" "Soon, I hope, but that''s up to your father and mother. Your aunt may come to the enrolling ceremony if she knows that you and your father will be there, and then you might have a chance to meet your cousins," I said. Her eyes lit up, "I have cousins?" "Four, but only the youngest is close to you in age. The others are all older." "Oh," she pouted a little. Kamagishi just smiled. --- Fedso''as, the Environs of Is''syal My poor grandmother. She stopped me just before the entrance to the shrine and said she needed to tell me something before we entered. Then she fessed up that she was the high priestess of Mugash, which I already had guessed, and mom confirmed it when I asked her. I mean really, how many people are named Lisaykos? High priestess Lisaykos of Mugash is famous throughout the kingdom. That I could have a silverhair healer grandmother who was freakishly tall but who wasn''t the high priestess was just not possible, and mom confirmed it after everyone left for the palace. I loved the look on Grandmom''s face when I said, "yeah, I know. It was kinda obvious." Old farts can be so thick sometimes, even grandmothers as wow as mine. My grandmother disappeared somewhere with High Priestess Kamagishi, who is nice but likes to tease my grandmother. I got sent, not to the general volunteer table, but to the table for shrine students. Kamagishi walked me over and told the priestess in charge of trainees to include me since I was accepted at Mugash. I got teamed up with an adept trainee of Landa named Twevyar to run errands for healers and adepts. She was nice but she was also really big. I don''t mean fat, I mean big. She''s 14 but she''s already really tall and her hair is already completely white. She''s awesomely strong too. She was kinda embarrassed about it so I didn''t tease her at all. She could already mindcast. She took the supply requests and then mindcasted them to me. I would go through the supply rooms putting everything together. By the time I was done, she was ready to grab what I gave her and deliver it. She said I was really easy to target for a private mindcast from a distance, which isn''t always the case for someone like me who doesn''t have any training yet. We ran more supplies than anyone else. I found out later that the Landa trainees had an informal competition going but Twevyar was the odd person out until I showed up. She wasn''t too sure about me at first, but when I suggested breaking up the chore of getting supplies into the component tasks, just like Mom does for the workers at the brewery, and used Twev''s talent at mindcasting to save time for me on my end, we were the top of the heap. Twev''s prize was that the other trainees would do her chores for the next rotation. She was really happy about that. The adept that was in charge of the trainees had some very nice things to say about Twev and me: that we figured out what we were both good at and then used that to our advantage. Then she asked me if I''d consider switching to Landa from Mugash. No way, I said. I was really tired when we were told to stop working for the day. My legs were killing me from running up and down the ladders in the supply rooms. I fell into a chair and I couldn''t get up at first, I hurt so bad. Twev came up behind me, put her hands on my shoulders, and made a lot of the pain go away. She was so nice. Quiet, and a bit shy I think, but nice. The seventh bell rang. My grandmother and my Dad, who was carrying Emily, showed up at the door of the room where the trainees were waiting before going to dinner. I was surprised when Twev walked over and did a full obeisance to my grandmother. Then she got up and hugged my grandmother. Both Dad and I were gobsmacked by this. When the hug was over, grandmother motioned me to come over. When I got up, grandmother turned Twev to face me and said: "Twevyar, Fedso''as is your cousin." The entire room went quiet. Grandmother then looked at Dad and said, "Irhessa, Twevyar is your niece." "I''m your cousin?" "We''re cousins?" "Ahhhhh! Yaaaaaaaay!" We were bouncing on our feet and grabbing each other''s hands, smiling and laughing. It was just unbelievable. "CHILDREN!" Startled, we stopped and looked at grandmother, who was looking scary. "You are being too loud. This is a shrine, not a street festival for the hard of hearing." "Yes, grandmother," we said in unison somehow. "Mother, maybe Twevyar could join us for dinner and to stay overnight," Dad said quietly. "What will Oyyuth say?" "She''ll be pleased. I think she''ll approve of Twevyar." "I will take care of it," grandmother said and left the room. "So, Twevyar, I''m your Uncle Irhessa. Would you like to spend the evening with my family, and your grandmother, who is staying at my house?" "You''re really my mother''s long-lost brother?" Twevyar asked. "You look like her," Dad said. "People say that all the time," she blushed a bit. "How did grandmother find you?" "By accident. Five nights ago. We were both shocked. Still, I was planning to see her at cold season midday, when your cousin enrolls at the Healing Shrine of Mugash. So we would have met eventually, Twevyar." "So where did you go when...? Twevyar couldn''t bring herself to say it out loud to Dad. "When I ran away from home? I traveled around for several years. Then I moved here to Is''syal. I work directly for the King." He pulled the fire opal tablet of a royal courier out of his pouch and handed it to her. "Oh," her eyebrows went up. To have a fire opal tablet really meant something. She handed it back to him. "The King sends Dad all over the place," I told Twevyar. "He travels a lot. Sometimes we don''t see him for months." Twevyar was trying to decide what was up with Dad carrying Emily. "Fed," she leaned over and whispered, "what''s with the Coyn?" "Oh," I smiled, "you''ll like her. She''s really nice and very funny. That''s Emily. She''s staying with us." "You mean, Emily, as in the Blessed Emily, Maker of Fire and Revelator of Tiki?" Twevyar''s jaw dropped. "The same," and I winked at Emily, who just rolled her eyes at me. Then everyone in the room got on their knees and performed full obeisances. "May the blessings of the eleven god be upon you, Great One," they said in a straggling semblance of unison. "If Emily could speak, she would wish the same blessings for all of you and would ask you all to rise," Dad said. Twevyar got to her feet, "so it''s true that she can not speak?" "Emily was injured badly in the head several years ago and lost the ability to speak because of it," Dad said. "Right now she is staying at the main shrine of Mugash with your grandmother because she is trying to restore Emily''s speech." "And I''m confident that we will do so," my grandmother said as she came back into the room. "Twevyar, if you would like to have dinner and spend the night at your uncle''s house, you may. You need to be back here at the second bell." "Yes, I would like that very much, please," my cousin said. Then she smiled at me. It was going to be a great evening. --- 43. Aqueduct and Rescue Emily, the environs of Is''syal We started at the reservoir in the mountains to the east of Is''syal, which was originally a natural lake. There was an earthen dam with a stonework penstock to feed the aqueduct. A spillway fed the natural outlet of the lake, which was a tributary river of the Salt River. The work looked old, but the city kept it well maintained. The so-called valves were truly primitive gate valves, but they worked, though they all leaked a bit. From what the watermaster said, the system was hundreds of years old. I guessed there were hundreds of meters of hydraulic head. Someone would need to survey the aqueduct to know how many. Without that knowledge, I wouldn''t be able to calculate the internal pressure for designing some air bleed valves. It turned out that I was exactly right about the cause of the lack of flow. I asked the Queen if there was a way she could sense water or air inside the pipe. She thought about it for a few minutes and then started to look inside. She said she used a charm of light inside the aqueduct and clairvoyance. She saw air pockets at seven of the eleven local maxima in the line. Some pockets were small, she said, but three were very large, including the one after the repaired line crossed the Rig River. The charm to bleed the air was interesting, but I had to question that name. Calling it Schrodinger''s charm was just too provocative. Did a reincarnated person from Earth name the charm after the physicist Schrodinger and his famous cat? Or did one of those pesky eleven gods name it as a joke? I asked the Queen but she did not know. At the first air pocket, we heard the roar of escaping air followed by a fountain of water that soaked us to the skin. It was fortunate that we were with the Queen who dried us off with magic. I have to admit that I was developing a well-baked case of envy toward magic users. They had so many useful charms to make hot water, dry clothes, create light, induce deep sleep, remove wounds and burns, cast warmth, build protective perimeters, and so much more. Yep, I suffered from envy after living with Cosm for the last season and a half. I located two leaks in the aqueduct. All it took was observing the water-friendly plants along the path of the buried water line. It shocked me that the watermaster did not know this. Well, he knows now because I showed him what to look for. I found what looked like camas lilies in those wet soil spots. I wasn''t entirely sure because the flowers were no longer in bloom. I dug some up. The bulbs looked like purplish onions, which convinced me they were camas lilies. I tossed a few in the canvas bag Oyyuth packed this morning. The Queen gave me grief for digging in the dirt. We even had time to stop for an afternoon meal. Asgotl is a saint since he insisted that the Queen bring some of the liver pat¨¦ I liked. We stopped on a hill with a good view of the city and stuffed our faces. We could see the staggering damage of the flood from where we ate. The sight of all those fields with drowned crops was sobering. When we arrived back at the storage tank under the parade ground, the water pouring in from the aqueduct threatened to overflow the tank. The gleeful watermaster opened the gate valves to restore pressure to the upper city and flush the mains in the lower city. I mentioned that the city could achieve backflow protection in the future by installing check valves. That was a big mistake. I should learn to keep my thoughts to myself because somehow I got coerced into designing both check valves and air bleed valves for the water system. A design to replace those ancient gate valves was also on the to-do list. The biggest problem I faced for designing new valves was finding a practical way to cut threads. All the old gate valves had hand-cut threads so each set of threads was different. It was hardly fair since I was a chemistry geek, not a mechanical engineer. I''m sure a real mechanical engineer would be laughing at my miserable efforts. In a way, I found it a lot of work for no gain since, despite all this effort, I was still no closer to getting flush toilets back into my life. Nor was I making any progress on anything else that mattered to me. By the end of the excursion, I was feeling out-of-sorts and frustrated. The Queen and the watermaster had fallen into a detailed discussion of maintenance, staffing, budgets, and all that sort of arcane knowledge. I never really cared for any of that management stuff. I quietly exited the valve house and climbed the difficult-to-climb over-sized steps up to the parade ground proper. Asgotl was up on the parade ground waiting since there was no way he could get into the valve house. He was lying down, soaking up the late afternoon sunlight. "Hey, girlfriend, you look unhappy," the griffin tilted his head to look at me. I shrugged. Being mute made it hard to hold a conversation since Asgotl didn''t know how to read. "It''s too late in the day to go for a ride," Asgotl remarked, "or I''d make off with you. It would be fun to go find some fish, or maybe some nifty rocks." His concern was touching. Unfortunately, there was still a flood in progress. The water was lower than it was last night. Where the flood water had receded, it left behind a blanket of sediment mixed with debris. It looked like the crops in the flood zone would be a total loss. As I was scanning across the landscape, I spotted motion. I saw a line of trees, the ones commonly used as windbreaks. The trunks were still submerged, but the tops were out of the water. In one of the trees, I saw someone, no, two someones waving. I smacked Asgotl on the flank and motioned for him to put his head down. "What do you want, Emily? I don''t understand." I pointed out into the floodwaters then waved my arms like someone waving for help. I did it a couple of times before he understood. "You saw someone needing a rescue in the floodwaters, yes?" I scooped my hand for yes and nodded. "Griffins are not what you need because we can''t wing brake to hover like roc eagles can, so I probably can''t get them, but you can show me the place. Then I''ll be able to lead help to the spot." I nodded, climbed up, and strapped myself into the saddle. Asgotl took off in the general direction I had pointed to, north and a little east, to where the Rig and Salt Rivers came together, in a place that was now one big lake. Smacking my hand to give Asgotl directions left it feeling sore, but I got him to the line of trees where he saw them for himself. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. It was a Cosm boy and girl. Neither of them had a spot of clothes on, but that''s not unusual for people caught in a violent flood. The two kids were in the branches above the water. I had to wonder how long they had been there. I waved at them so they would know I had seen them. They were yelling and waving now. I wished we could pluck them out of the tree, but at least Asgotl could muster some real help for them when we got back to the city. "Oh ..e ee.. s el.." Asgotl tried to tell me something but I couldn''t understand. It must have been important enough for him to try. What I didn''t understand was why he was flying in a circle around the tree and not returning to the city. Then I realized he was marking the location for help was already in the air. I started looking back toward Is''syal to see if I could spot flying mounts. Sure enough, I spotted two dots flying our way. Then I couldn''t believe my eyes. Was this a badly-plotted Japanese isekai novel or what? One of those dots resolved to Usruldes and Cadrees and the other into the King on a griffin. Then I spotted four more dots in the distance. This was ridiculous. Usruldes and Imstay joined us in the circling pattern, apparently waiting for the other four dots, which eventually resolved into eagles carrying four silverhaired women wearing purple riding tunics. When those four were almost upon us, Cadrees started air braking above the tree. I was gobsmacked when the two children started floating upward. Each one was plucked out of the air into the arms of a purple-clad silverhair and then we all flew back to the city. By the time we got there, Usruldes had vanished. I wasn''t surprised. Asgotl landed in the House of Mounts forecourt, which was already busy with landings and departures. Regardless, the Queen was waiting, her arms folded, giving the two of us quite a look. The King landed next to us and so did all the eagles. Citadel guards with blankets ran over to the two eagles carrying the children. I undid my riding straps but I decided to stay put until the forecourt thinned out. With this small mob of flying mounts and Cosm, it would be easy to get stepped on. The Queen made her way through the crowd like an icebreaker. Then one of the purple-tunic silverhairs came over. "This is the second time the two of you have run off," the Queen was trying to look stern at us and wasn''t succeeding. "Oh, I see," the purple-tunic said. I recognized her. Her name was Fassex from the Landa Shrine. It took a second for me to make the connection since her hair was up and she was in riding clothes and not in ceremonial robes. "I was wondering how a Coyn could be riding a griffin alone, but now it''s clear. It''s unusual for a griffin to form a second bond, and even more unusual for it to be with someone with no magic, but bonds of affection are possible for griffins. It''s happened before." "I''m pretty sure it happened the second time they met," the Queen said. "Fascinating." Fassex smiled at Asgotl. "Just when I think there is nothing more to see in this life, life comes along to surprise me." "Are you alright up there, Emily?" Asgotl asked. I thumped the signal for yes. "Just wondering since you hadn''t gotten off yet," he explained. "Oh! Hand signals," Fassex''s eyebrows went sailing up into her hairline. "These two criminals worked those out between themselves the first time they snuck off without telling anyone," the Queen said with begrudging humor. "Oho! Really? And what sort of trouble did they get into?" Fassex was amused. "They went fishing," we were now the victims of one of the Queen''s looks of long-suffering patience. I was doing my best to look innocent. Fassex laughed. "Fishing?" Imstay asked, walking up to us. "Your griffin and that little bundle of trouble went fishing and didn''t tell you? Pffffft!" "It''s not that funny," the Queen said with a very sour look. "Oh yes, it is," Imstay slapped his thigh and laughed with Fassex. General Lynhaydras walked up, one eyebrow up and poised at the sour Queen and the laughing King and high priestess. Then she put her hand on my knee, "Great One, I was told you are the person who spotted those two children who the Landa adepts just brought in; and Asgotl, the Queen''s griffin, went with you to mark the location." I nodded. "Asgotl, Great One, I thank you both for doing that. You both did well, you two." She did a bowing obeisance and headed off. "Yes, that was well done," said Fassex. "You have sharp eyes, Great One," she looked up at me. Sitting on Asgotl, my eyes were just a smidge higher than hers. "And thank you, Great One", Fassex did a bowing obeisance to the Queen, "for alerting us about those children." "All I did was speed up the rescue, Fassex," the Queen said quietly. "These two were getting ready to fly back to the city to muster help when I mindcasted Asgotl. I really didn''t do anything." "Hmph, if you say so, Aylem," Fassex shook her head. "Well, at least I was finally able to see the infamous Usruldes the Wraith in action. This is the first time I have ever set eyes on him. What a marvelous feat of magic that was. Just marvelous. And he did it without a crystal, which is astounding. I want to know how he did that. Imstay King, can you please send him to me so I can understand how he did that?" "I will ask him," Imstay said, "but I will not command him. He is self-taught and a bit self-conscious about it. Don''t spread that around please." "I can give discreet tutoring, Imstay King, for a talent like that. I can keep my mouth shut too." "Oh, little Emily," a musical bass on the other side of Asgotl sang softly, "are you coming home with me for dinner?" "Hessakos?" the queen noticed him. "Dinner? I was hoping to have dinner with Emily." "And also me," Fassex said. "It''s why I came over, to invite her." Oy! This was a bit much. Imstay looked up at me, "you want to go home with Hessakos, don''t you?" He winked at me. I nodded. That cheerful family was much easier on me than the birdcage of the Queen''s apartments. The Queen''s face fell when I nodded. "Aylem," Imstay put his hand on her arm, "I don''t want to ruin your evening but I need your help. We need to get an inventory of damages down the river, plus how much of the grain crop is lost, and where the grain shipments are on the new road from the eastern valleys. I need to ask you: please come with me to the Shrine of Tiki and use the great crystal for us. The Queen deflated, "yes, let me tell my house guest. Then we can leave right away." She turned to me and Asgotl, "the two of you are still in the hot pot." She delivered a very unconvincing glare. I tried not to laugh. Asgotl snickered. "Houseguest?" Hessakos blinked. "Do you mean Priestess Healer Thuorfosi? She can stay at my place since she''s one of Emily''s healers. I can convey the message, Great One." "That will work, though she''s probably still at the shrine working with the injured." The Queen turned and picked me up off of Asgotl, "Emily, I need my griffin back." She put me on the ground in the middle of a forest of too many knees, thighs, and rear ends. "Blarg!" The Queen picked me back up. "Sorry, dear heart, that was my mistake. It''s too crowded right now." She stepped around Asgotl, "Hessakos, will you take Emily, please. "Of course." So I landed in Hessakos'' arms. I was beginning to feel like a ball passed from player to player. Just when I started to feel better around Cosm, they did something like this to unnerve me all over again. "Patience, little one," Hessakos whispered to me, "I''ll get you out of here as quick as I can." With various shouted last-minute instructions and farewells, the Queen, King, and their griffins disappeared south, leaving me, Hessakos, and Fassex. "Are you comfortable, little one, or do you want to sit on my arm instead?" Hessakos asked. I motioned yes then no with my hand. "If you need to change position, just punch me on the chin" he paused and grinned, "if you can reach it." I bopped him on the chin for that. --- 44. Family Matters Emily, Is''syal "You two seem to know each other well," Fassex observed as we started walking. The forecourt was still a muddle of mounts, riders, and grooms, with people landing and taking off constantly. "I was about to arrive from Yant when I heard the queen mindcasting for anyone in the air with an eagle who could do pickups. I was very surprised to see someone your size riding a griffin alone, Great One. At that distance, I didn''t know it was you." She looked at me, and then chuckled, "well, this is a new experience for me. I''ve not had any practice holding a conversation with someone who couldn''t talk before." She was up there in years but she certainly seemed spry and the deep crow''s feet lines next to her ears told me she laughed and smiled a lot. I certainly didn''t notice the crow''s feet when she was the Convocation spokesperson for interrogating me. "Drat! The queen flew off with the bag with all the wax tablets, Emily," Hessakos grumped. "Stupid me. I''m sorry Emily. You had all your aqueduct notes on those, didn''t you?" He pursed his lips in frustration. "Yes, I heard the water problem was being fixed before we left Yant this afternoon," Fassex remarked. "News travels fast," Hessakos replied with a questioning look. "The Shrine of Galt sent word since we planned to send a specialist in purification magic here to start purifying river water," she explained. "Now that Is''syal has safe water again, we have sent him to Two Ferry Island, where the levees were breached." "Yes, I heard it was bad down there," he frowned. "The king told me the lower half of the town was completely washed away and thousands are missing. And here we are, happy and healthy, walking down the North Way on a warm sunny day, laughing and making jokes." He shook his head and grimaced. I reached over and put my hand over his and tried to give him a sympathetic look. He gave me a sad smile back. "You shouldn''t feel bad about moments of joy in the midst of sorrow. There is something redeeming in laughter. It''s one of the ways we are reminded that we are alive and that there are things in life worth experiencing, even when it may seem futile or hopeless. There should always be hope and there should always be laughter. You should wrap yourself around those moments and treasure them. We would not be able to bear the tragedies of living otherwise." She was looking somewhere far away at things beyond our sight with an expression of profound sorrow. I had no idea of how old she was but she probably had lived through quite a bit. We walked in silence for a while. Our route took us through what looked like a high-end marketplace, with jewelers, bookstores, magic tool shops, fancy fabric stores, shoemakers, saddle makers, leather workers, and many other fancy businesses. It wasn''t crowded but people still got out of our way even though Fassex wasn''t in robes. She was still the tallest person in the marketplace. I drew many curious looks and a few hostile ones. There was not a single Coyn other than myself in sight. It wasn''t exactly comfortable. We were almost to one of the entrances to the shrine when we passed a tea shop with street seating like a sidewalk cafe. Someone spit loudly and said, "imagine, carrying that sort of filth through the streets in public." There were a few guffaws that followed. Fassex stopped and then everything stopped. Everyone and everything except Fassex, Hessakos and myself, were frozen in place, even the tea in the middle of being poured. She turned and stood at the edge of the tea shop seating with a quartz crystal in her hand glowing with the intensity of an incandescent light bulb. "Who spat?" "I did," a full silverhair man in stylish robes said woodenly. The only active thing about him was his eyes, moving around in panic. "Were you the one who made the comment?" "Yes." "Stand." It wasn''t a request. "Everyone who laughed, stand." Six men and one woman stood. They were all either silverhairs or halfhairs. Then the eight who were standing suddenly screamed and fell to the ground writhing in pain. Everyone and everything that was frozen then unfroze. Despite the return of freedom of motion, it was silent except for the eight who were screaming. The tableau of screaming Cosm was disturbing. I turned my head and buried my face in Hessakos'' tunic to get the sight out of my eyes. There were running footsteps, and then, "sister." "Kamagishi," Fassex said calmly. The screaming stopped. Several voices started sobbing. "I will not tolerate blasphemy of the Blessed Revelator of Tiki." I looked up to see Kamagishi with her hair tied back in a plain functional red robe with an apron over it. "It is enough," Kamagishi protested. "You know the law," Fassex said. "It is not up to us." She turned and looked at me inquiringly. It was up to me? This was the second time today. Was there really a law that made me responsible for punishment? How could I convey that I didn''t want this? Pain might be a deterrent but it was not a reformer. "Compassion is admirable, Great One, but it comes with the disadvantage of possibly being too softhearted," Fassex said to me with concern. Did she just read my mind? Fassex turned to the eight who were still on the ground, afraid to move, looking up at her with wide eyes filled with fear. "We know who you are and where you live. Hope that you never come to our attention again." I thought about all the disrespectful things I had said to the high priestesses a few days ago about bothersome gods and unwanted blessings and felt the adrenalin surge do strange things to my guts. My ears were ringing and my vision hazed over. I smelled bacon and wondered why. I opened my eyes to what looked like someone''s Cosm-scale bedroom. "See?" Thuorfosi said. "Works better than a charm." She set the piece of bacon aside. I found myself wrapped in a blanket in Thuorfosi''s ample lap and held in her arms. At that moment, I felt very safe. "Back with us?" Hessakos mussed my hair and looked at me with a concerned frown. "I wish I knew what scared you so badly. I don''t think it was the charm of discipline Fassex cast on the blasphemers because you laugh off charms of discipline like water." I gave him an incredulous look. Laugh off charms of discipline like water? No, that wasn''t how it worked. Charms of discipline were a combination of the worst period cramps ever added to monster migraines and then squared. One does not laugh off something like that like water. "Good withering glare, Emily," he smiled. He looked at Thuorfosi, "she has the best glares, stares, and burning eyes of death and doom I''ve ever seen." Thuorfosi laughed, "I''m worried all those wonderful expressions will go away once she can talk again." "I''m not," Hessakos grinned. "The library of looks won''t go away, it will merely gain commentary." Then he looked at me with that concerned frown again, "I wish you could talk right now." I made the writing motion and Thuorfosi had a tablet and stylus already handy. She was way too good to me and patient too. "Didn''t know such a small insult was considered blasphemy and then remembered how badly I maligned the gods when the 11 high priestesses questioned me at the palace. That could have been me five days ago and it scared me." The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "I wasn''t there, little one. Were you truly disrespectful of the gods?" he asked. "It was Fassex that did the questioning and it got very theological," Thuorfosi explained. "Fassex is strict about blasphemy and sacrilege. She indeed accused Emily of disrespect, and Emily counterposed with statements on the nature of respect, the relative nature of divine blessings and burdens, and the fallacy that only Cosm are blessed using an argument based on the Revelation from Tiki to Tessoep. She knocked them down flat. You should have seen her, with that angry pout of hers that thrusts the lower jaw forward and the smoldering unrelenting stare. If she had magic, the whole palace would have been on fire." "Tessoep? On the right things?" He laughed in surprise, "When did you run into the scriptures, Emily since you''ve been living on the other side of the Great Cracks?" "Right before Growing Season Midday," I wrote. "Emily was on fire when the Convocation of High Priestesses questioned her," Thuorfosi sounded like a proud mother of a student who made the dean''s list. "Then, as soon as they were done, she couldn''t stop shaking so the queen and Lisaykos whisked her out of reach. I can understand why Fassex''s actions in the market would be frightening to Emily considering what those old birds did to her five days ago." It''s almost the seventh bell," Lisaykos walked into the room. "Oh. Emily, you''re awake. How do you feel?" She got down on her knees to speak to me. "Doing better?" I nodded. "Fassex is taking my place here so we can head home tomorrow," Lisaykos studied me. "Did Fassex frighten you?" I shook my head and showed her the tablet with my note about blasphemy. "Oh dear," Lisaykos stared at the tablet. "Do you know anything about law and how it affects your standing, Emily?" I shook my head. "That explains a lot. We''ll have to fix that when we get home," Lisaykos continued. "Thuorfosi, could you please fetch my travel bag from the shrine guest house and meet us by the west entrance? Irhessa, let us collect your daughter so we can all go home and eat." --- Usruldes, in Is''syal and Gunndit I was restless and fidgetting the day the folks from Aybhas left and I remained that way for two more days. Imstay lost patience with me and kicked me out of the palace. "If you can''t settle down because you''re worried about meeting your sister, then just go and see her. Your mental state is getting on my nerves." Imstay was pacing up and down his study. "Out! I don''t want to see your face until you''ve gotten this out of your system. Take your eagle and get out of here." I went as Hessakos, or rather, as Irhessa, in my official forest green flying cape with the gold-thread trim. I wore my grey hat with the turned-up red-ochre brim as a certified herald and had my tablet as a courier in its case hanging conspicuously from my belt. I left at the first bell. The time between bells grew shorter as the equinox approached, so my flight to Gunndit put me there halfway between the second and third bells. The flood damage from Is''syal to Queensland was sobering. Half of the town was missing on Two Ferry Island. There would be food shortages during the cold season and into the planting season until the winter wheat was harvested next year. Aybhas was untouched by the flood, excluding a handful of fields; however, there were multiple roofs under repair and downed trees. Gunndit was the same, though in the distance I could see that the salt pans and berry bogs of Black Falls were flooded. The market town of Gunndit was right on the river and my sister''s lands stretched from Gunndit east into the mountains. The fields under cultivation were heavy with grain and the pastures were full of fat happy cattle and sheep. The sight of the Lord''s manse left me feeling strange, a curious mix of anger, sorrow, nostalgia, and nervousness. I didn''t want anyone like my mother telling my sister. I wanted to do it myself, though I didn''t understand why it was important to me. I was concerned that there would be no forgiveness from her since my absence forced her to leave her position at the Shrine of Landa to become the Lord Katsa haup Gunndit. Cadrees circled the manor and then landed in the forecourt. A groom ran out. "Leave my eagle here for now," I said to the boy. "I may be leaving immediately after I see Lord Katsa." I passed him four bronze for his service. A doorman was waiting on the front stoop. I did not recognize him and he made no indication that he knew me. "Welladay. Is the Lord at home?" If I excluded running into mother during the last rotation, I could not remember the last time I had felt this nervous. "May I know who I am announcing?" I held out my courier''s tablet. He eyed it for a moment and then opened the door, "If you would follow me." He led me to the reception chamber immediately to the right of the front door. The only thing that had changed was the rug on the floor. My eyes devoured the details of a room I hadn''t seen in 19 years. I ran my fingers over the linen-fold wood paneling, remembering the feel and the scent of the well-oiled wood. My sister entered the room, looking older than I remember but still so beautiful in a lavender gown in the latest fashion. I knelt on both knees and put my hand over my heart in obeisance, "May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Lord." I looked up into her startled face and waited for a reaction. Her expression changed to a frown as she walked up to me. She slapped my face with enough force that I was sure it would bruise. "That is for running away and making mother cry herself to sleep every night." She grabbed the front of my tunic with both hands and yanked me to my feet, glaring at me with ire. I prepared myself to be thrown out the front door physically since she was even stronger than mother. "This is for coming back," she wrapped me in a hug from which there could be no escape. "Thank you for being alive and well." I could hear the catch in her voice that told me she was close to sobbing. I felt my eyes tearing up as I hugged her back. "I was so scared you would show me the door," I tried not to sob myself. "I''ve been dreading this day for years. I wanted to see you again so badly and was so scared you wouldn''t want to see me." I buried my face in her shoulder and couldn''t stop weeping. She just hugged me closer. We stood like that for I don''t know how long. "Silly boy, I have never stopped looking for you and worrying about you and hoping you were still alive and well. Let me look at you." She held me at arm''s length and looked me up and down, tears on her cheeks. "You''re all grown up and finally got taller and...Oh dear, you poor boy, you got mother''s nose." "My daughter calls it the beak," I confessed. "You have a daughter? You have to tell me everything. Let''s sit in the solar." She led me down the hallway to the room in the back of the manse with ceiling-to-floor windows and comfortable chairs. I sat down facing her, "I left my eagle with the groom out front. Can someone..." "Wait," she held up a finger and closed her eyes for a moment. "It''s taken care of." "Thank you." "So, missing brother for almost 20 years, start talking," she ordered. "You have a daughter, and...?" "I have a wonderful wife, two daughters and one son. My oldest, Fedso''as, is 12 and she will be enrolled at the Healing Shrine of Mugash come cold season midday." "Great Gods! Mother!" Katso looked concerned. "I have no idea how she will react." "Mother knows. We met last rotation," I explained. "She just spent two nights at my house in Is''syal and your daughter, Twevyar, spent one. She and my daughter were instant friends. They got to know each other while volunteering at the shrine to help with the flood victims. This was before they discovered they were cousins. Your daughter, by the way, looks just like you when you were her age." "I know, poor girl," she sighed. "It will be hard to find her someone to marry who will be sturdy enough to survive." "You have four kids and I haven''t heard about any funeral notices for Musshia, so it looks like he survived marrying you." "Just as witty as ever, I see," she gave me a wry look that was straight out of my mother''s repertoire. "If you don''t need to leave soon to carry out your courier duties, will you stay the day and maybe the night? The boys will want to meet you. They don''t remember you at all but they were still quite young when you left." "I can stay. The king has given me leave time to take care of, ahem, my family entanglements." "Excellent!" She shook her head, "I can''t believe you''re actually here, in that chair, talking with me." She suddenly skewered me to the chair with her eyes, "you are not allowed to disappear ever again." "I have worried for a very long time that you would be angry with me because you had to give up your position at Landa to become Lord Gunndit." I had to bring it up before I lost my courage. "To be truthful, Irhessa, if father had not been so obsessed with the boys-get-land, girls-get-shrine thing, I would have preferred taking the land and giving you the chance to go to the shrine of your choice." "Seriously?" "Yes, seriously," she steepled her hands. "So, before we get too far down the path talking about family and bragging about our children, tell me about this flood up north. We had a wind storm here and heavy rain but none of the catastrophic flooding." "It''s heartbreaking. It''s all I''ve been working on for the last several days. Uncounted thousands are dead, caught in the sudden flood. Half of the town on Two Ferry Island is gone, if you can believe that, swept downstream after the levies broke. Every street is flooded in Queenstown and the Crystal Shrine of Tiki is an island of high ground surrounded by water. I estimate the entire spring wheat and barley crop is lost between Queenstown and Is''syal. It will be a hard and hungry cold season for the survivors." "Gods! It''s every bit as bad as the rumors say," she grimaced. "I''m sure there will be a relief order coming my way for foodstuffs. Let me just get my steward to start on making an inventory," she held up a hand and mindcasted for a few moments. Then she was done. "Moving on, let''s get back to you. I''m happy you met with mother and both of you survived. I''ve always worried about what might happen if you met." She leaned forward in her armchair, "now start at the beginning and leave nothing out." --- 45. Death Emily, Healing Shrine of Mugash The return to Aybhas was uneventful, other than flying over all the flooded land. I got thinking that this would be my first experience with famine, though I heard that grain from the east side of the mountains was coming and would keep the wolf from the door until the winter wheat was harvested next planting season. My life calmed down a great deal after all the excitement of being kidnapped and being trapped in Is''syal with too many Cosm in one place. For now, my comfort level for Cosm included only the gang of three, Lisaykos and Wolkayrs, and no one else. Otherwise, I preferred to be left to myself. I spent my mornings learning how to move my tongue around my mouth from Lisaykos, or sitting out on the south balcony practicing where no one could hear me screw up. I had the hardest time learning the t-sound, followed by a vowel, followed by a k-sound. More often than not, the t-sound would turn into a d-sound and the k-sound came out sounding like a hissy ch-sound. Then there was the scourge of my existence: the w sound, which turned into a stutter more often than not. I also despaired over diphthongs. The ow-sound was an especial source of agony where the sound is changed by the tongue and lips changing position at the same time. How in the world do little kids master this stuff? Lisaykos said I was making progress but it sure didn''t feel that way. Well, I walked into the skull repair and speech therapy of my own free will. If my life was on the calm and boring side, I only had myself to blame. For the most part, the old lady side of my brain could deal with calm and boring. The teenager side of my brain wanted a bit more excitement. I started going for walks or runs in the afternoon, just to get out and stretch my legs. Lisaykos made me wear the grey and black mantle that advertised that I was from the shrine. I did notice after a rotation of getting out that there was always a garrison guard on an eagle overhead. Just to make life interesting for whoever was on that eagle, I started climbing trees. Then I noticed when I was climbing trees, at least two people walking nearby who were very fit women with garrison-regulated hairstyles. So I started hiking out to reachable gravel bars in the river. First I piled up lots of driftwood. I made a stick and board friction fire starter. Then I''d dump my boots, wade into the stream and catch some trout. Afterward, I''d start a driftwood fire and toast my trout. When I wasn''t messing with the minds of the gals from the garrison who were assigned to keep an eye on me, I was looking over what I could find in the gravel bars. I wanted a hand lens or a loupe in the worst way but had to make do with my own eyes. I also wanted my furnaces back because I thought the sand in the river had potential. I could see quartz, feldspars, and black sand that I was sure was magnetite given how fast it settled when I swished it around with my fingers. I also used a piece of broken plate as a make-do gold pan and was happy to see the black sand settle instead of swish away. I even spotted some gold flecks. So it looked like I had a decent source of silica-rich sand. I wanted to try melting it. That posed a problem since I was tethered to the shrine until the cold weather was over. I needed to make charcoal, fire some kaolin bricks, and build Agricola''s furnace, which should get me to the 1,400 degrees Celcius I needed, unless I could find a decent flux to drop the melting temperature. I never was able to eat everything I caught but I gave my leftovers to an old homeless soldier who lived in a little shack he built under the bridge over the river. He never said anything to me other than to shoo me away but I still left him fish and he still ate the fish. As far as I could tell, he made spare change combing the banks of the river for things he could sell to junk dealers. One afternoon, three rotations after the flood, I was standing in the river waiting for one particular fat trout to wander between my hands when a griffin buzzed my campfire and stole the trout that was already cooking. The griffin circled and the homeless man came running through the water toward me. He picked up a big piece of driftwood and positioned himself between me and the landing griffin to protect me. "You get away from here, thief," he swung the driftwood in front of him. "Stay behind me, little lady, I won''t let him get you." "Oh my, I must have left entirely the wrong impression, my brave friend," Asgotl said. "I meant to tease my friend who is behind you. She and I sometimes go fishing together." To add to the confusion, a garrison guard on an eagle landed next to Asgolt and the guard jumped off. "Good afternoon," she looked at the homeless guy and Asgotl, "would someone please explain to me what you are doing that isn''t threatening this Coyn, because both of you look like threats to me." Her left hand was holding a loaded crossbow, currently pointed down. Asgotl slowly and languidly laid down. "I do believe this is just a misunderstanding, officer. This Coyn is a friend of mine and I thought to tease her by stealing her fish. This stalwart gentleman misunderstood my actions and thought I was threatening the little one, so he came running to protect her. This is all that has happened." "Do you know this griffin, Great One?" the guard asked me, looking like she didn''t believe a word Asgotl said. I nodded yes. "Oh. And what about this fellow here? Was he protecting you?" She dug into a pocket and pulled out a wax tablet. I walked out of the river onto the gravel bar and wrote: "I indeed know him. He is a homeless soldier who lives in the shack under the bridge. I often leave him the fish I catch but can not eat. He indeed came to protect me, not knowing that Asgotl the griffin is my friend." "Well then," she pocketed the wax tablet, "thank you for explaining that. Have a good day." She mounted her eagle and took off. "So you do know this griffin?" the homeless soldier asked me, towering over me. I nodded yes. "It was just a misunderstanding," Asgotl said reasonably. "I offer my apologies for giving the impression that I was attacking." "Well," mister homeless tossed the driftwood onto the gravel bar, "that''s that then," He started limping back to his shack. "Excuse me," Asgotl extended a wing to block his path. "What?" "I wanted to thank you for protecting my friend, even if it was a misunderstanding. That was a noble thing to do," Asgotl was sincere. He retracted his wing. The man blinked, "well, right, that''s just what people do, uh, right." He nodded his head and limped back to his shack. Asgotl turned his head back to me. "Aylem''s here. She''s got stuff for you. She sent me to fetch you. And here''s your fish that I swiped." He held out the fish on the stick I had impaled it on. I took it and set the stick back to cook the trout over what was left of my fire. I climbed up, strapped in, and thumped Asgotl to take off. He got into the air and climbed. He kept climbing. The eagle started following us. He''s such a bad griffin. He was going almost vertical and then pulled his wings close to his body, and using his tail as a rudder, performed a stall turn. Nose down and wings in close, we dropped out of the sky at a ridiculous speed, passing the startled eagle and rider and gaining speed. Asgotl leveled out over the river, dropping speed. I wish I had a hand signal for "do it again." That was better than a rollercoaster ride. Having pulled a stunt like that, Asgotl flew sedately and calmly to the south balcony. I unstrapped and slid down his neck to the ground. "Wasn''t that fun? Wasn''t that fun?" he said, bumping me with his peak. I was nodding and grinning. I could do that all afternoon if we could get away with it. Our self-congratulatory session was abruptly interrupted. "Ahem," the queen, arms folded, was glaring at us from the door, which was being held open by Lisaykos, who was looking merely annoyed. Yep, we were busted. "Just what do you two think you were doing?" She had that parental scowl on her face, the one that telegraphs that you''re grounded for all time. I didn''t have a tablet on me so I couldn''t scrawl "stall turn" and hold it up like a wiseass, but I certainly thought it. It was just some harmless fun. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "I believe what we were doing was losing the mounted garrison guard sent to tail Emily," Asgotl said factually as if we did this every day. "And we did a splendid job of leaving her and her eagle in the turbulence of my pinion feathers." "Arg!" Aylem smacked her palm against her forehead in a most dramatic facepalm maneuver. "Asgotl, Emily has no magic. If she falls off, she has no magical protection and would fall to her death." "Aylem," the griffin sounded a bit annoyed, "then make a magic tool for her if it makes you feel better, but you can''t keep her locked up in a box with cotton padding. She''s her own person. She will do what she wants and not what you want her to do, which is stay within these walls and never go out." The queen''s face was turning an interesting shade of red and a terrible pressure was building that forced me to my knees. I couldn''t even find the breath to scream. Everything turned red until it went black. ----------------- The soul that was once Emily, in a place that doesn''t exist "Let''s go for a walk," the short little jizo said. So I walked with him through endless groves of blooming cherry trees. I did not understand why I felt sorrowful about the beauty of the trees. "Because it is the nature of beauty to be ephemeral," Jizo said. "Everything has an end, even gods, even existence. Fill your eyes and enjoy this now, for soon it will be gone." Then it was gone and where we were walking was nothing and nowhere. "It is the abyss," Jizo said. "It is waiting for a new creation." "You should not be here," Jizo remarked. "There was a mistake in the timeline. This is the bridge back to where you belong. I can not make you go back. You must choose which way to go." "What is there? I do not remember." "I will show you." On the tiles of the balcony were two bodies. One was a girl halfway between adulthood and childhood. A slow drop of blood fell from her nose. Next to her was a huge griffin, not moving or breathing at all. "Asgotl! Is he dead? Oh please, not him." It felt like my heart had dropped into my stomach. Jizo looked at me, "you think of him before you think of yourself?" "What I can do is worthless compared to him. He has a real skill and can render a real service." I nailed Jizo with a glare. "Aylem would be broken if she lost him." Jizo looked at me and then through me and then out of me and back into me. Words don''t describe the feeling. Then he smiled his little happy smile and thumped the non-existent ground with his Buddhist monk''s staff with the jingling rings and Asgotl started breathing. "Thank you," I was relieved. "So am I dead now?" "Well, that''s up to you. All you need to do is step onto the bridge and you will be back to that place." "And if I don''t?" "Millions of souls will live and die in needless suffering." "But that is the nature of life. How did that one-sentence history of the world go in One Thousand and One Arabian Nights? One is born, one suffers, and then one dies." "Let us put it a different way," Jizo said as a night sky full of stars appeared. The cherry trees in full bloom lined the path and in the distance, a campfire was burning cheerfully with seats around it made out of sections of fat tree trunks. Mueb was there. She was wearing Carmen Miranda''s dress and hat from the Chiquita banana commercials and peeling the bulbs from camas lilies. Another woman was there too. She looked like a 1950s housewife with styled hair, a prim blouse and skirt, and sensible shoes. She was knitting tan and green socks. "Have a seat," Jizo said, handing me a stick with a marshmallow on the end. "You''re the sort of person who catches them on fire," he grinned at me. He was right. "If you don''t go back," Mueb said, "millions of souls will live and die in needless suffering. If you do go back, then millions of souls will live and die in needful suffering because you were there to give them meaning." She picked up a stick, stuck a camas bulb on it, and started to roast it over the fire. "Don''t forget to tell people that they have to cook the bulbs thoroughly or they''ll be quite sick. Folks should start gathering them now before the snow arrives or there will be starvation this cold season." "What the...?" I was really getting sick of cryptic gods. "Look, I don''t appreciate all this weird instruction and revelation garbage. I''m not even anyone mystical or religious. I''m certainly no one special nor do I want to be. I didn''t even believe in higher powers back on Earth. I don''t go for this mumbo jumbo crap and sideways mystic voodoo. So why me? I can''t imagine anyone less qualified." "You see Emily, we had a need to fill in your current reality and you had all the job skills we were looking for," the 1950s housewife said with a mother knows best smile. "It was simply a matter of finding the right person for the job. You aren''t the least bit magical in this reality and that''s just perfect; and you can do wet chemistry and pyrometallurgy from the ground up, which is even better. I''ll be frank with you. We want to get iron and steel going before we have magic-powered wars over deposits of tin because that''s what will happen in a century if iron and steel don''t show up." "And there''s the problem of your friend Aylem," Jizo sighed as his marshmallow caught on fire. "You are her punishment," a skeleton in a back robe said in the voice so old and dry that sand fell from his breath as he talked. "Who are you?" I asked. "Death?" "Oh no, I''m Landa," the skeleton said. "He''s death," the skeleton pointed at Jizo. "Did you guys mix up your scripts or something?" I demanded to know. All four deities thought that was really funny. They laughed hysterically for at least five minutes. Go figure. "I have many names," Jizo said, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes. "They call me Gertzpul where you''re currently living. I don''t think I would go so far as to say that you are Aylem''s punishment. Rather, you are more like her geas." "Her what?" "Her geas." "What is a geas?" "It''s an obligation, dear," the housewife said. "Oh, and I''m Surd, by the way. A pleasure to meet you. And here I thought I would have to wait my turn in line." She beamed at me. I shook my head in disbelief, "I don''t get you people or half the things you say." "It''s alright, Luv," Mueb said. "It''s supposed to be ineffable." I felt like tearing my hair out. What did I ever do to deserve this gaggle of goofball gods? "What Aylem needs is you as a friend," Landa the boneman said. "She needs your courage, which you have in abundance." Well, that made no sense to me, given that most Cosm scare the crap out of me. "Oh nonononono," Landa corrected. "The opposite of courage is not fear and fear is not the opposite of courage. Courage is what made you stand between your friend Hessakos and that archer." "So you oddballs want me to be a friend of that oversized overpowerful overmagical monster woman who just killed me because she has a bad temper? Are you nuts?" "Probably," Jizo grinned. "So what if I don''t go back?" "Then, Luv," Mueb started munching on her roasted camas bulb, "you''ll go down the tunnel to what waits next for souls after their current lives are over." "Emily," Landa sat down on the stump next to me, "if you go back, you can give a new revelation, since those have more importance than dream commands, that Aylem should not be put to death. Aylem must break the crystal in the Well of Landa for the Coyn to be free. If she is executed or punished in a way that deprives her of her position as queen, she can''t do that. You need to prevent that." "I can take care of preserving Aylem''s life and role since she is at my shrine," said the lady in the holy lady robes, straight out of a Cecil B. DeMille movie. "You can arrange a revelation for the crystal when Emily visits your shrine, Landa." "Yes, that will work." "Will you go back, Emily? Please?" Mugash smiled down at me. All the wounds of the world were healed with that smile, and all the hurts that sapient races do to one another were made right. There was no pain or suffering in that smile, just love and compassion, and understanding. Mugash fit all the niches in my mind for what a deity should be. She was the real thing. "If you go back, Emily, I will tell you where to find phenol," Tiki pulled the marshmallow off my stick and ate it. "I wasn''t kidding about that. I will reveal the secret location of phenol to you. That''s how important this is." "You guys are gods. Can''t you take care of these things without involving me? I really don''t get you folks." A new marshmallow appeared on the end of my stick. The six gods who were present all turned to me and said in unison: "It''s ineffable!" "Emily," Mugash said. "I must warn you that if you do go back, you will be in a world of pain. Aylem hurt you so badly your soul fled your body. But it must be this way, or Aylem will not be motivated to change. You are her geas, but you are also her punishment." "If I go back, the Coyn will be free?" "It won''t happen tomorrow, and it won''t be without much hardship, but yes, the Coyn will be free," Landa said, a small pile of sand gathering at his feet as he spoke. "If Aylem breaks the crystal in the Well of Landa, the charm of control will be no more, and the Coyn and the griffins and the winged horses and the roc eagles and the Chem can all be free." I had no idea who or what the Chem were. I popped the marshmallow in my mouth after blowing out the flames. "Where did that bridge go?" "You''ve already crossed it," Mugash said. --- 46. Divine Intervention Aylem, Healing Shrine of Mugash Damn my temper and damn my occasional lack of control over my power. In a fit of anger, I thoughtlessly invoked the charm of a thousand stings and cast it on my oldest friend, Asgotl, and on Emily. I sometimes used it on Imstay and his cronies when he got out of hand. Cosm can survive a thousand stings but flying mounts and Coyn can not. Because I was annoyed, I killed them through my thoughtlessness. I felt like flinging myself over the parapet. Lisaykos knelt next to the body that was once Emily. She felt Emily''s cheek and then closed her still-open eyes. I could see the mental fortitude in Lisaykos build as she steeled herself to carry out her duty to cast the charm of endless sleep on me until my trial in the Well of Galt. Wolkayrs, Thuorfosi, and Kayseo came running through the balcony doors. The strength of the charm I cast would have been felt by most of the healers and attendants on the south side of the shrine. "What happened?" Wolkayrs asked, panting from running up the stairs. He didn''t get an answer because, at that moment, the crystal in the Well of Mugash sent up a white light that penetrated the solid roof of the dome and lit up the sky. "Look," Kayseo pointed. "There''s a light from the Shrine of Sassoo." It was tinted green. "And from the Shrine of Tiki," Thuorfosi added. The light from there was fainter since it was further away. If this had happened for three shrines, then it had happened at every shrine in the kingdom. "Something is about to happen," Lisaykos said in a trembling voice, tears running down her face. Something did happen: I screamed. That''s because Mugash appeared in front of me. "You are a disappointment, Aylem." I was trapped by her eyes and read bottomless anger and sorrow there. "For every day that the Blessed Emily must suffer, you will kneel on a bed of gravel in the Well of Mugash; your throne will be denied you and your magic will be sealed, both until Emily releases you. You will only eat and drink and rest from the seventh bell to the first bell. You will sleep on the floor or stand or kneel but you will not sit. No one may greet you and you may not greet others. You will speak only after being spoken to and your name shall be Wretched. Now Wretched, kneel." I couldn''t help myself. I knelt. Everyone else on the balcony was already kneeling in front of the goddess. That meant everyone saw my humiliation but that was probably the point. Mugash turned her back on me. She walked to where Lisaykos was kneeling next to Emily''s body. She bent over and put her hand on Lisaykos'' head, "you can save her, my beloved daughter." Then she knelt on one knee next to Emily''s body and placed her hand on Emily''s head. "Emily, I name you Courage. Now breathe, child, and come back to us." The light of the crystal suddenly expanded in width and blinded everyone. Then it was gone, and so was Mugash. Lisaykos fell over onto the tiles of the floor. Wolkayrs ran to her and shook her shoulder, "Mistress!" "What?" Lisaykos blinked. Then realization spread across her face. "Oh my. Oh, Gods." She closed her eyes tightly for a moment, and when she opened them, there was wonder on her face. "How amazing." She took a deep breath and reverted to her usual no-nonsense self, calm, efficient, and decisive. She struggled to get up, "there is much to do." "Please," Wolkayrs held out his hands, "allow me to help you." She looked at him blankly, and then she recovered herself. "You are a dear," she nodded and let him help her to her feet. "Kayseo, come here, please." She ran over, "yes, Holy One?" "Kayseo, you are well matched for this problem," she delivered her instructions without pause. "With every beat of her bruised heart, and I mean that literally---it is bruised---thousands of capillaries are bleeding. Start with Emily''s brain and stop the bleeding. Brain, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys: that''s the order you should use. After that, use your clairvoyance and your discretion." "Wolkayrs, find Yutmuss. He''s probably at the garrison. Ask him to please come and take care of this poor griffin." That got my attention. Asgotl was alive? I was sure he died under the strength of my charm. He may never forgive me, but I was still glad and quite relieved he was alive. What was happening around me, though, was unprecedented. Mugash brought Emily back to life and then gave two revelations in a row: one to Lisaykos and one to Emily. The last time someone received more than one revelation was so long ago that it''s considered just a legend. And it was Emily who received a second one. It was like the age of myth happening right now under our noses. I wanted to go and help. My healing magic is strong, but then I remembered that Mugash sealed my magic. I held my hand out to make a light, and nothing happened. I could feel no magic move in me whatsoever. I could not even begin to make up for this disastrous mistake of mine by helping to heal my friends. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Mugash did not condemn me to death, which the law would have demanded. Given what I had just done, I would have preferred death. How could I even look Emily or Asgotl or Lisaykos in the eye ever again? The hole in my soul appeared bottomless, and I did not know how far I would fall or if I would ever stop falling. I could not think of another time in my life when I felt as miserable as I did now at this moment. I also knew that my misery was nothing compared to what Emily would now endure. In a Cosm, the charm of a thousand stings fires off every peripheral nerve. It is as painful as a charm of discipline, though that charm merely creates the perception of pain. The charm of thousand stings affects the whole body. If applied for more than a few seconds, it would end in a grand mal seizure. It is a nasty little charm. For griffins, it works the same way as in Cosm; but griffins aren''t as robust, and the disruption of the nervous system usually results in death, as I thought it had in Asgotl. In Coyn, because the body mass is fifteen to twenty-five times less than Cosm, the energy floods all the nerves. The energy that is left over jumps to destroy the circulation of blood by bursting the small blood vessels and other cells next to peripheral nerves. The physical effect should not be survivable, unless, of course, a god decided otherwise. The bleeding would be everywhere. If not stopped immediately, even with Emily alive, she would die in minutes unless the bleeding stopped. And if she lived, it would be a very long time before she would regain her health back. She would be a living bruise. I could only imagine the pain. Her amazing resilience and stubborn will would be her only advantages here. There was no excuse for what I had done. At 34, I should be able to keep a lid on that damn temper of mine. Yes, I think death would be preferable. It would be a long time before I would be able to live with myself. If I could end my life and leave this toil behind, I would do so. What I had just done was unforgivable. --- Lisaykos, Healing Shrine of Mugash What Mugash had given me as a revelation was a new way to approach traumatic injuries. It could save thousands of millions of lives, starting with Emily. It was so clear and so simple that I was left wondering why no one had thought of this before. I knew what I had to do. "Thuorfosi, I want you to bring three, no, four healers who are good with soft tissue injury as fast as you can. I returned to Emily who was beginning to turn dark red in blotches. The skin could wait. Preventing organ failure took precedence, followed by bone marrow, major muscles, and joints. I started with the eyes, which were red where they should have been white. Blood was pooling under the conjunctiva, which was something healing magic could not fix; however, I could stop the bleeding and did so. Her eyes would look horrific for at least one rotation. I did the inner ears and the eardrums. I tackled the tongue and the sinuses. The stomach, intestines, colon, bladder, and womb were next. I was in the middle of the gall bladder when the additional healers arrived. I gave them and Thuorfosi directions on the order things should be healed and left them to do their work. The restricted-use storeroom was across from my bedroom. I fetched two hollowed crystals, their carrying bags, two of the shrine''s precious hollow needles, and the stretchy hollow vine from the glayon tree in several thicknesses. I cast the charm of purification on them to rid them of any disease and toxins. Then I set these items up in Emily''s room and purified the whole room. Someone knocked on my bedroom door. I opened it to find High Priestess Senlyosart of Sassoo, whose shrine was two and a half wagon-days to the south in Black Falls. "I can''t stop what I''m doing, sister, but you can talk to me while I am walking," I slipped past her into the hallway. She stopped me. I was ready to order her out of my way when she said, "the Queen is out there and I think it best to hear what has happened out of her earshot." "My apologies, sister. There is a life at stake here. I will tell you this and then I must do what only I can do. Mugash has appeared here. She has sealed the Queen''s magic and pronounced punishment on her. In a fit of temper, the Queen killed Emily and injured her griffin. Mugash brought Emily back to life but she is still on the lip of death, and so I must go now." I walked out to where Emily was surrounded by six healers, all laboring to stop the bleeding and the edema that could kill her. I tapped Kayseo on the shoulder. After a moment, she came up from her healing trance. "Progress, Kayseo?" I asked. "The fact that she is so small is a great help. With six of us and just one little Emily, we are almost done with controlling the hemorrhaging, but there will be some worrisome swelling, especially in her joints. There is also hemorrhaged blood in her muscle tissues with no path out and that will be extremely painful. The amount of pain she will experience may be enough all by itself to kill her." Kayseo calmly delivered her assessment. "She has lost a lot of blood and that too is worrisome. The pumping force is beginning to drop and that worries me since her temperature is also falling." "We need to move her inside," I determined. "Kayseo, can you cast stasis?" "I''m just a healer-in-training," she protested. "I''m not..." "Kayseo," I interrupted her, "yes or no, can you cast stasis?" "Yes, I can." "I thought so. Let us disengage for now and move her." Kayseo nodded and we both began pulling the other healers back from their trances. "Now Kayseo, I want you to cast as deep a stasis as you can muster," I directed her. She performed wonderfully, as I knew she would. She is a very talented young woman. Many hands lifted Emily and carried through the doors into the hallway and then into Emily''s room through my bedroom. When she was placed on her own bed, which I had already stripped down to a mattress and bottom sheet, we got her out of her clothes to assess the state of her skin. The sight of Emily bare was frightening. She was covered in large ugly dark red blotches which would be blue and purple by morning. She really did look like one huge bruise in the making, and that was just the damage to the epidermis. Even though much of the bleeding was stopped, she had already lost a great deal of blood from the system designed to circulate it. Without enough blood, the heart was in danger of failing. Most people who had bled this much usually died. "Is it even possible to keep her alive with this much blood loss?" Thuorfosi asked in a worried voice. (Continued in part 47) 47. The Revelation of Mugash to Lisaykos Lisaykos, Healing Shrine of Mugash What Mugash revealed to me was human anatomy and physiology in more detail than anyone had ever known before. As many suspected, the heart was the pump that drove everything. The heart depended on the blood, and things it carried, including the one called oxygen. There had to be enough blood in the system so the muscles and organs could get enough of this oxygen stuff. The first cure provided by Mugash in my revelation was that you could take blood from one person and give it to another who needed it. My revelation also included the knowledge that blood needed to be matched. This was new to me. I assumed that if Mugash gave me this knowledge, then I should be able to sense differences in blood. I extended my body clairvoyance towards Emily and concentrated on just blood. It was a strange sensation and I felt it in my fingertips. I explored the sensations for a moment and then turned to my mystified healing staff in the small room, barely large enough for seven people to stand. "Give me your hand, Thuorfosi," I asked and held out mine. I explored how her blood felt to me. Then I worked my way through the other five, ending with Kayseo. "Usivwak, please give me your hand again," I explored the sensation of her blood again and then compared it to Emily''s one last time. "Very good, folks. Usivwak, you need to stay. Kayseo and Thuorfosi, you should also since you are already Emily''s healers. The rest of you are welcome to watch this. This is something new that Mugash put into my head when she appeared to us on the balcony. You can take blood from one person and transfer it to another but the blood has to match. Priestess Usivwak''s blood feels like it is the closest to the Blessed Emily''s blood, so we will move some of Usivwak''s blood to Emily. That should provide enough blood to keep Emily''s heart from failing. We will need a little elbow room to work." "Usivwak, you know what this is?" I held up a hollow needle. "Yes, that''s a hollow needle, which I have only used once and that must have been thirty years ago." "Emily has lost a lot of blood very quickly," I explained. "The pump, which is the heart, has barely has enough blood to keep working. Your blood and her blood are very similar. I will take some of your blood and we will put it into Emily to make up for what she has lost. "A non-magical Cosm has about three horns of blood. If we divide by eight to get an equivalent volume for a Coyn, then a Coyn will have about three-eights of a horn. If we assume Emily lost a third of her blood, then an eighth of a horn should be enough to restore a sufficient volume of blood to her. And here is a crystal container, already purified, where I have already marked an eighth of a horn." I took the glayon vine, purified it, and attached a needle with copal paste glue and silk string. Usivwak was already squeezing her wrist to make the veins on the back of her hand stand out. I purified the back of her hand and then had Kayseo purify my hands and fingers. In the background, I could hear hushed voices of people gathering in the hallway but had no time or attention to spare to them. "Are you ready, Usivwak?" She nodded. I chose the fattest vein and slipped the needle in. Thuorfosi had thoughtfully already inserted the other end of the tube into the container. It took hardly any time at all to get to the eighth horn mark. "Put that under stasis, Thuorfosi," I directed. "Otherwise, it will start to oxidize." "What?" She looked at me, confused. I muttered something rather foul. I now had an idea of what oxidation was, but no one else did. Kayseo looked shocked that I just swore. I don''t think she had ever caught me swearing before. "Yes, Kayseo, I do know how to use colorful language," I said, quite calmly. "Contrary to rumors on the lower wards, I am indeed full of imperfections of character. I just know how to hide them better than most." I took the funnel, purified it, and attached another length of purified glayon vine. "Kayseo, bring her out of stasis and make sure her heart is beating. If it''s not beating, make it beat." "It''s beating but it''s not strong. She is breathing. Everything is sluggish, though," Kayseo looked worried. "Let''s get a vein up on her right hand," which was the hand closest to the interior of the room. Kayseo took Emily''s stick-thin tiny wrist and carefully tightened her hand around it. It took a lot longer than it did for Usivwak''s veins to rise. It was difficult to target such small veins. "Let''s try the big veins on the inside of elbow. It might be easier than a hand." I knew that in the future, we would need smaller needles for use on the Coyn. "Let''s fill the vine up first since it would not be good to introduce air into her veins." Thuorfosi dripped some blood into the funnel to fill the vine. When a drop of blood showed at the needle she pinched the bottom of the vine and whacked the air bubbles out with her fingers while Kayseo held the funnel up. "Good enough," I decided. I cursed how small Emily''s veins were. I decided to use some other location than her hand because the veins were too narrow for the needle. I clamped my hand around her upper arm and managed to insert the needle into the big vein that runs on the inside at the elbow and unclamped the bottom of the vine. It was several long moments before all of the blood drained down the vine and into the vein. I pulled out the needle and healed the puncture. Kayseo''s eyebrows shot up while she was assessing Emily. "I can feel a difference. It''s not huge but it is noticeably different. Her pulse isn''t thready anymore and the pumping pressure is much stronger. Her core temperature is also coming back up, and she''s breathing better." If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "We still have more river rapids to shoot," I warned my healers. "We have some obstacles before us. There may be some additional internal bleeding so we need to pay attention any new blood loss. Next, her tongue is swollen so it will be hard to get her to eat or drink. Also, when she regains consciousness, pain will be one our biggest problems." "So what are we going to do to manage those?" Thuorfosi asked. "We will keep her in deepest sleep until the worst of the swelling is down. That''s the great limitation of healing magic, as you all know: it can do nothing about edema. To get around this, as Mugash has put into my head, we will let poor Emily sleep through the worst of her recovery, while we use purified glayon vine to drip liquid sustenance into her stomach." They all looked astounded. "That''s so obvious when you think about it," Kayseo said, marveling. "I can''t help but think why no one had ever thought of this before now?" "That''s what I thought too," I admitted. "Now, you two," I pointed at Thuorfosi and Kayseo, "are back on permanent Emily duty, as is Twessera. I will spell you three if you need breaks since I''m right down the hall, just like we did when she first arrived. She must be rotated and you''ll need to be on alert for bed sores. Can I get one of you other folks to go down and tell the kitchen that we will need a pot of strained bone marrow broth going around the clock? Now I need to take care of our visitors and the disposition of the Queen so I will be unavailable for a bit. Kayseo?" "Yes?" she looked up from where she was still assessing Emily. "You are in charge of this sick room," I smiled, in the full knowledge that it unnerved her. I pulled a tablet out of my belt pouch that I had ready for several rotations already. "Here is your tablet to authorize schedules and supplies. I expect you to report every morning on Emily''s progress at the second bell. Now I must be going. I will check back in soon. Mindcast if there is an emergency." I made my way out the door, and as I exited, I heard Thuorfosi say to Kayseo, "congratulations, you undergrown overachiever." After all, Kayseo had just turned 16 and hadn''t come into her full height yet. Out in the hallway, there was not only Senlyosart but also Foyuna of Tiki and Sutsusum of Gertzpul. "Sisters?" I asked. There was so much to do. The last thing I wanted was the other high priestesses underfoot before I was mentally prepared for them. Then I realized that I wasn''t going to get the chance to prepare myself. "Your scholar attendant, who is currently on the balcony helping with the injured griffin, told us what he believes has happened," Foyuna began as was her place. Her shrine was the most senior, after all, "but we would like to hear it from you directly, Great One." The use of the highest title caught me by surprise. That''s when everything came crashing down on me and for a moment, I felt a little dizzy. Foyuna took my arm and led me to my own study. "First, you need to sit down and take a moment for yourself. Being on the receiving end of a revelation is very hard on most people according to the history rolls. Then, when you''ve had a cup of tea, you can tell us what happened. That way, when the rest of our sisters arrive, we can pass it on to them if you need to be taking care of your shrine''s business." "When the rest of our sisters arrive?" I asked, looking at the three of them askance. "I was napping," Sutsusum remarked in her ethereal soprano, "and I received a dream command from Gertzpul to come here immediately. It is the only time I have ever received one." "That show-off Fassex contacted everyone by targeted mindcast," Senlyosart said with just a hint of the impatience that Fassex often provoked in others with her overbearing pride. "They will all be here, though Rakkalbos, Irralray, and Fassex will probably be chasing the sun down to get here by the seventh bell, so warn your cooks to have something ready for them." I sat down on one of my lounges in my study and dropped my head into my hand, suddenly feeling rather tired. "I should have just stayed in bed today." Senlyosart, who is one of the most efficient people I have ever met, pressed a beaker of hot tea into my hands, "take a minute for yourself, dear, and then fill us in on the details we don''t know so we can help you the best we can." I did what I was told and took a few moments for myself. As I sipped my tea, I thought of poor Emily, guilty with Asgotl only of the exuberance of youth. And that reminded me of my wayward former student, stripped of power by Mugash the Merciful and condemned to what I thought was far too lenient a punishment for killing Emily. I took the anger that threatened to rise in me and slammed a door on it until I had the leisure to indulge myself with what I might do to Aylem to pay her for her idiocy and arrogance. --- Aylem, Healing Shrine of Mugash One by one, the high priestesses arrived, landing on the balcony, dismounting from their winged mounts, and entering the shrine through the door closest to Lisaykos'' study. Before each entered, they stopped to look at me. I couldn''t even meet their eyes. Fassex was the last to arrive. She stopped in front of me. "To think that I wasted three years of my life trying to teach a failure like you control. We should have just put you down when you were six like we were originally going to do." I knew about that but, when I received my revelation from Tiki, he told me I had to live because I had a purpose. He said that I would break magic and make magic and change magic. Nothing like that had happened to me yet. I had to wonder if those were empty words or if I had destroyed that future through my actions this afternoon. I was too ashamed to raise my head and meet Fassex''s eyes. I had a sickening feeling that I had destroyed more than just my own future. What would happen to my children? And the Coyn I has rescued over the years? And Emily, who I wanted as a friend and who I have harmed so grievously? Whatever Mugash had done to me, I could not rise off my knees. I did not know what would happen next to me. Wolkayrs brought Yutmuss back with him from the garrison. Yutmuss was one of the few male healers since healing magic tends to run strongest in women. He was a big round jolly man who specialized in the healing of animals. Both sapient mounts and dumb animals loved him, even ones who didn''t like people. He had a way with all creatures. He spent time assessing Asgotl and giving instructions to Wolkayrs. Asgotl would unable to walk or fly for at least two rotations, maybe more. I had hurt him badly. Before the evening was over, Asgotl was covered with blankets with full-time attendants to take care of him. Yutmuss spent several hours healing various hurts. After the quarter-night bell, Asgotl regained consciousness. In a low voice, Yutmuss explained to him what had happened. For the rest of the night, I could see Asgotl''s gold and black eyes glaring at me, unblinking with a smoldering anger. --- 48. Aftermath Emily, in a place that doesn''t exist "Is this the same place as before?" I asked as I tuned my guitar. The campfire was still burning cheerfully. Mueb was still roasting a camas lily bulb. Mugash, who was sitting down this time around, raised her eyebrows at me. "The context is provided from what is inside your mind, Emily," Mugash smiled in a way that telegraphed care and friendship. "You are not able to comprehend our true extent so we create a context to interact with you that is based on your memories and your concepts of the divine. I find it refreshing that you have a rather under-awed conception of deity. It''s such a nice change from all those mystical types who just want to fall on their knees to worship us and take everything we say without any questions or doubts whatsoever. "Tiki adores you, by the way, not that he would let you know that. He''s too fond of being cryptic and ineffable." She rolled her eyes. "You had all the social references for Trader Vic''s, right down to the Birkenstock sandals and the tacky Hawaiian shirt. One of his strands of existence spent a summer bartending at Trader Vic''s on Earth just for fun." "So yes, this is the same place as before because it exists inside you," Mugash explained. "We just borrowed it to help communicate with you. It would be tempting to choose some other contexts from your existence, like riding roller coasters or hang-gliding off the cliffs of La Jolla or doing stall turns with your friend Asgotl; but if we did, we wouldn''t get a chance to talk since you''d be having too much fun." "What a shame," I grinned as I finished up my tuning. "Hang gliding is an awful lot more fun than divine revelations. The one Tiki gave me made no sense whatsoever and it hurt when he dropped it on me." I started playing a picking riff my brother wrote years and years ago. "So, why am I here?" "Well, right now, the healers are keeping you unconscious because if you were awake, you wouldn''t want to be. That''s how bad you would hurt." Mugash sighed and looked distressed and so did Mueb. "We would like to ask a large favor of you," Mueb said. "We want you to wake up long enough to tell your friends about the camas lily bulbs before it gets too late in the year to dig them up. There are only about three rotations left before the snow starts falling in the alpine vernal meadows." "Your healer friends have you sunk so deep that it will take a little help from us to wake you up," Mugash said apologetically. "The problem is the pain." "I still don''t get you, folks," I stopped playing for a moment. "You''re deities, right? Why don''t you just tell me I need to wake up and do this? Why are you asking? I mean, I''m the low man on the totem pole here, so to speak." Mugash gave me a wistful smile. "It''s because you''re you, Emily. You don''t do mumbo jumbo voodoo pooh pooh if I remember correctly. There is also the consideration of free will, especially for you. You''re a little too down to earth for the divine commandment routine. If Tiki appeared as a burning bush, you''d probably fetch a bucket of water to put the fire out." I laughed and so did Mueb. Mugash was probably right about the bucket of water. "So I thought it best to talk with you about it," Mugash said. "It''s Mueb''s request but I noticed the conversation between you two wasn''t connecting well so I offered my help." Mueb nodded her head up and down. "So you are asking if I will endure the pain for the sake of people not starving over the winter?" "Yes." "That is worth some pain," I conceded. "Thank you for asking. That was considerate of you. I will wake up and try to tell them about the camas lily bulbs." "Thank you, Emily," Mugash smiled that wonderful smile full of love and understanding. Then I gasped a ragged indrawn breath at pain so bad it was beyond imagining. "Emily!" Twessera exclaimed, putting down the book she was reading. "How are you awake? Let me put you back to sleep. We want you to sleep through the worst of the pain." I saw her big hand coming down toward my head and I moved to block her. I found myself whimpering at the pain of moving my arms, but I got my hands in the way of hers. Ugly blue and purple bruises covered almost every inch of skin on my hands and arms. It looked gross. "Emily? Emily, please. I need to do this," Twessera pleaded. I started to shake my head no, but the pain of moving my head caused me to scream. Twessera looked panicked and then got that funny half-lidded look that told me she was using mind magic. I tried to move away from her, but the pain was a deterrent to motion. On the edge of my awareness, the tiny bit not preoccupied with trying to escape pain, I heard running footsteps. "Emily woke up," Twessera told someone out of my field of view. "It shouldn''t be possible but she''s awake and she''s trying to push me away." Lisaykos sat down next to me and studied me with a deep crease between her eyebrows. Dammit, can''t you read my mind or something, Lisaykos? I was pretty sure I couldn''t manage to speak even the outline of what I needed to convey from Mueb. I still spoke far too slowly. "Can you hear me, Emily?" Lisaykos asked. "Yes," I managed to whisper despite my tongue feeling like it was ten times too big. Was my tongue swollen? I heard more footsteps. Kamagishi ran in followed by a high priestess whose name I didn''t know. "This is what I was talking about earlier, Lisaykos," Kamagishi said. "Surd save us, is that Emily?" The look on her face could only be described as horrified. "This is injury beyond all reason," the other priestess said, eyes wide from looking at me. I guess I looked as bad as I felt. "This could explain your premonition, Kamagishi," Lisaykos said with the saddest expression I think I have ever seen cross her face. "I''m almost afraid to touch you, Emily dear, for fear of causing you more suffering. Is this another dream command, dear heart?" I managed to whisper, "yes." I wanted to yell at her to read my mind, dammit, even though the thought gave me the heeby-jeebies. "Was it Mueb again?" Lisaykos asked. "Yes," I whispered again. Quit being so foolishly gentle, Lisaykos, and read my mind already so I can go back to sleep. "It might be best if you read what she has to say from her thoughts, Lisaykos," the other priestess suggested. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. I looked right at her, though she was at the edge of my vision, since I could not even turn my head, and whispered "yes" again. "Oh," Lisaykos looked surprised. "Hurry," I tried to say but I don''t think anyone understood me. I was barely keeping it together. I wished Lisaykos would hurry. "Ashansalt," Lisaykos extended her right hand to the other high priestess, "take my hand." Lisaykos then very gently touched the top of my head with her left hand. *Can you hear me, Emily?* Well, thank the gods, I thought. Finally! Now I could get this taken care of and go back to sleep. *You have to think about what you need to say.* I did? She couldn''t just extract it? Alright then, I reran my memory back to what Mugash and Mueb were saying around the campfire, about the camas lily bulbs, that they needed to be harvested now, that they had to be thoroughly cooked or people would get sick, what they looked like in bloom, what they looked like now, where they grew in saturated soil and vernal pools in mountain valleys, about Shoshone Indians on the Camas Prairie gathering the bulbs as a winter staple, and how the settlers of Idaho drove them out, that the bulbs looked like onions with purplish skins, that I left some in the Oyyuth''s canvas bag with the sausage rolls and the wax tablets with my aqueduct notes. I was beginning to lose coherent thought. What was wrong with me? I had to get this across or people would run out of food this cold season. *It''s alright, Emily. I understand now. You''re in terrible pain which is why it is hard to think clearly, but we understand now. Can I please put you back to sleep?* Please! *Sleep well, little Emily* I could feel relief and love and care in that thought from Lisaykos like a physical sensation as my consciousness and the pain receded. Lisaykos was really that fond of me? After all the trouble I gave her? Then I was back in that other place. Mugash blew out her flaming marshmallow and opened her mouth. "No, wait!" I stopped her. "You need to wait a few seconds before eating it or you will burn your tongue." "Oh? Thank you for warning me," Mugash smiled. Mueb was now experimenting with marshmallows too. "Well, that turned out well," Mueb was happy. "Sorry about the pain." "Not an experience I want to repeat, ever," I said while playing my brother''s old picking riff. I moved on to that picking riff I liked by Peter Gabriel from the Genesis Foxtrot album. "Maybe you should get your friend Wolkayrs to make you a guitar," Mugash suggested. "Now, our next problem for you to take care of..." "What? I''m not off the hook yet?" I asked. "You still need to do something about your wayward friend Aylem," Mugash put another marshmallow on her stick. "That is also related to the revelation I gave you." "I know you want me to forgive her but I''m not sure I''m ready yet," I said, feeling quite irritated about what Aylem had done to me and Asgotl. "Well, that''s what we need to discuss," Mugash said. "If you insist," I conceded. After all, the gods were at least keeping me entertained as my injured body healed. --- Imstay, Is''syal There were too many rumors flying about. The official pronouncement of the Singing Shrine of Sassoo on behalf of the Convocation was not the whole truth. I asked the Holy Kamagishi when she returned from Aybhas about what had happened. She gave me the same story as the news issued by the Shrine of Sassoo. I''m the king, dammit. I needed to know. I told her that but she stuck to the official story. I sent Usruldes to Aybhas to speak with the high priestess and assess the situation regarding the Queen and the maker of fire. He came back an angry man, and Usruldes is not a man who shows his anger. The truth, as far as he could tell, was that Aylem let her temper run away with her again and thoughtlessly cast the charm of one thousand stings on Asgotl and Emily. What he told me next shocked me: Emily died. Usruldes'' mother was there and watched as it happened. She was the one who confirmed the death and closed the dead Coyn''s eyes. As she prepared to incapacitate and capture Aylem, the deity Mugash appeared. In front of multiple witnesses, Mugash pronounced a judgment on Aylem, that she must kneel in penance on gravel all day, every day, until Emily decides to stop the punishment. In addition to that, Mugash blessed Lisaykos with a revelation of the knowledge needed to keep Emily alive. Then Mugash brought Emily back to life and gave Emily another revelation, the contents of which are unknown because Emily is not conscious. Usruldes saw Emily. With barely repressed rage, he told me that every inch of the Coyn''s skin is bruised purple and blue, and the whites of her eyes are stained red with blood. Using the knowledge that Mugash gave Lisaykos, the healers have kept her alive up to now. No one knows yet when she may wake or if she will wake. These events make one thing clear to me: this troublesome little Coyn has the favor of the gods. I spoke with Emily only once, if you can call writing on a tablet the same thing as talking for Emily. I''m glad I had the foresight to play the role of the good-humored and approachable monarch in front of her. I couldn''t and didn''t show my reaction at the time, but she shocked me to the bottom of my soul when we talked. Emily is not some ordinary sub-human Coyn. She looked at me with old eyes and told me that I loved my uncles and cousins, and I needed to find a place and a time to grieve for them. I know she knew what crimes my family committed against her and many other Coyn. Yet she was able to look beyond what must be her own negative judgement of them to address one thing few others have acknowledged: that despite their crimes, they were my family and I loved them. That moved me. I can''t say I feel much sympathy for Aylem. That foolish woman should have better control of that damn temper of hers. The revival of the Blessed Emily by a god does not wipe out Aylem''s crime of killing her. The Law of Landa is explicit on the punishment for the death or the attempted death of a king, queen, high priestess, prophet, revelator, or god-blessed: the killer is thrown into a Great Crack which is actively erupting. The truce between Aylem and myself was getting stronger before she went and pulled this most recent idiocy. It makes me angry and I''m not even sure why. Am I angry because she mistreated me and my late mother''s family for the last ten years? Am I angry because it upset our children, or because I was starting to like her again? All I know is that I don''t know what the answer is to the current Aylem problem. I''m as confused as anyone else; however, I''m the King and can''t show that I''m confused or afraid, or indecisive in public. I have been debating with myself whether I should leave Aylem to her fate at the hands of the Convocation. I believe they will try to pass a judgment on her regardless of Mugash''s punishment. It will take someone more formidable than a tiny bedridden Coyn to stop the power of the Convocation. The downside of losing Aylem is that there is no prospective queen replacement waiting in the wings. Someone who can use the Great Crystal is an integral piece of the realm''s defense. My cousin Foyuna can use it but her range is limited, only a third of my mother''s reach. The other downside is that the children would miss their mother. Despite all our arguments, Aylem loves our children as much as I do. She has always tried to be a good mother. Her success as a parent is debatable, but not from lack of trying. There is one other thing I know: the gods want Aylem alive. I find that profoundly disturbing. Granted, she was the first revelator in over 600 years. That was shocking all by itself. Now we have three revelators at the same time. This is unheard of. It''s almost as if we are on the verge of a third age of divine intervention. If the confirmed number of revelators goes up to seven or a prophet appears, then we are all in trouble. There are seven revelators and one prophet in the Prophesy of the Great Breaking, a frightful foretelling by the Holy Uaysserex who received it as a revelation from Galt. I have copies of the Aylem''s sealed revelation from Tiki and the secret foretelling of the long-departed Holy Uaysserex, made centuries ago before Aylem was born. Usruldes obtained them for me, though I have no idea how he managed it. The foretelling came from the Vault of Galt. There is only one door into the Vault, in the Holy Kamagishi''s office, and she has the only key. Usruldes removed the foretelling, copied it, and then returned it. He''s so good at what he does that I sometimes wonder if he''s really human. The problem is that the foretelling and the revelation match yet they were made hundreds of years apart. The gods have been planning for Aylem''s arrival long before any of us drew our first breaths. This forces me to conclude that Aylem has a fated purpose that she must still fulfill. Otherwise, why would a deity intervene to preserve her life? That''s what Mugash did by imposing her own punishment, thereby preempting any judgment on Aylem under Foskan law. --- 49. Forgiveness Emily, Healing Shrine of Mugash Four rotations after I died, I woke up with Kayseo sitting next to my bed. "Good morning, Emily," she smiled brightly. Was it my imagination, or was Kayseo bigger than I remembered? I wanted to make the writing motion for a tablet to ask if she had gotten taller. When I tried to move my hand or turn my head, nothing but pain happened. I could not move. I guess my distress was immediately obvious on my face because Kayseo looked at me sadly. "I''m sorry, Emily," she stroked my cheek softly. "I wish you could sleep through this too but you can''t. You''ve been immobile for 42 days. Right now, you are very weak and some of your muscles are also not completely healed from the damage done by the hemorrhaging. It''s going to be very hard for you to move for a while." This did not sound very promising. "You probably won''t be happy to hear this, but you''ll still be using a catheter until you can at least sit up. You must sit up on your own before you can use the necessary. Now, I remember how thrilled you were when we had to feed you after your eye injury. Well, until you can manage to hold your cutlery, you''ll never guess what?" I guess the gimlet-eyed glare I was giving her told her all she needed to know about what I thought about being fed. "Pffft!" She clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. "Now I know you''re on the mend if you can look like that. Put it this way, Emily. It''s better than the feeding tube." Did they use a feeding tube on me? That was pretty sophisticated given this civilization''s current technical level. Now Kayseo was looking at me with a serious expression. "You have got to eat a lot, Emily. You were too thin before and now you have lost more weight. You are dangerously underweight, so I don''t care if you don''t like being fed. You have to eat. You are so thin that your cheeks are sunken in. You can''t get your strength back if you don''t eat more." So that was the Kayseo lecture, followed by the Twessera lecture, the Thurofosi lecture, the Lisaykos lecture, and the Asgotl lecture. That last one was special since Lisaykos carried me into her study just so Asgotl could give me his own little pep talk about eating more. Asgotl wasn''t able to fly yet. Wolkayrs and his family built a shelter for him on the balcony because he too was recovering. The splints on his wings had just come off right before I woke up. In many ways, I was happy Asgotl was around. He convinced the people at the shrine that the way to my stomach was paved with good bread, liver pate, truffle mushrooms, smoked salmon, grilled trout, and lots of sweet butter. It took a visit from Hessakos for the shrine to discover the importance of scrambled eggs with cheese, onions, and bacon served with fresh sourdough bread with lots of chewy crust. Even without the food advice he gave the folks here, I was happy to see him. He was thrilled that I could say a few one-syllable words almost loud enough to be heard more than an arm''s length away. Lisaykos said he visited when I was still asleep. He became angry at how badly I was injured. I am under the impression he is not the only one who was piping mad at Aylem. The Queen was only alive because Mugash stipulated her terms of punishment in front of witnesses. I admit that I''m not happy with Aylem myself, but this was what Mugash wanted. The gods can''t replace Aylem, not without creating a significant set-back in their long term plans if I understood Mugash correctly. Kayseo, who loves a good gossip, told me Lisaykos made Aylem follow her one evening so she could see me when I looked the worst, with the whites of my eyes turned red, and almost every inch of skin some shade of blue, purple, or red. Aylem took one look at me and closed her eyes. Lisaykos got so angry that she cast compulsion on Aylem and forced her to look. It took a rotation to get rid of the catheter: that''s how long it took me before I could sit up. It took a half rotation beyond that before I could eat without help. Along the way, I "invented" the straw, or in this case, the glayon vine, which behaved like stiff tubing when left alone but bent and took on whatever shape the fingers chose when pulled gently. It made it easier to stay hydrated since I could now leave a ceramic beaker on the side table next to the bed and use the glayon vine to drink from it. I still couldn''t walk far. I started to walk on my own because I got tired of all these overgrown Cosm carrying me everywhere. At first, I had to sneak my way out of bed. The first time I did it, I managed to get down the little stair next to the bed but was so tired by the time I got down that I couldn''t get back up. I got lectured by Kayseo for that. She''s well down the path of becoming a mother hen. And yes, she had grown and was now as tall as Twessera and Thuorfosi. Twessera told me that Kayseo would probably end up as tall as Lisaykos since she was a prodigy of healing magic. I kept forgetting that she was only 16. She was more mature than your usual 16-year-old. Thuorfosi mentioned one evening that Kayseo grew up very quickly after her entire family died in some horrible natural disaster a couple of years ago. It was only recently that her character began to brighten up again. Poor kid. Two rotations after I woke up, I could make it as far as the hallway. When I started walking farther, Asgotl followed me. He stayed by my side and walked with me. He then would find someone to put me back into bed when I could go no further. Lisaykos said I was trying too hard, but she''s not the one stuck in bed dying of boredom. My skin was mostly back to normal, and I no longer had horror movie eyes. I was slowly able to speak short words intelligibly. Diphthongs and the w-sound were still a challenge. As soon as I could speak and go downstairs on my own, I knew I had to deal with Aylem. I wasn''t looking forward to it. Mugash wanted me to forgive Aylem and didn''t want me to put it off. I found this to be difficult considering how badly Aylem injured me. I was angry with her. I was disappointed with her. There was this huge knot of resentment toward her inside of me. She was the agent that had drastically altered my life in ways I would not have chosen for myself. Yes, Aylem was not on my list of favorite people right now. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Sometimes, I watched from the railing around the Atrium opening on the fourth floor as the shrine staff escorted Alyem to her daily penance in the Well of Mugash. She looked beaten down and unhappy. I guess that was the gods'' intent. She needed to find her bottom, like an alcoholic walking into AA. I amused myself by imagining a twelve-step program for overly-powerful Cosm mages. I hoped the gravel bit into her knees until they bled. Lisaykos made a special order for gravel from a cinder cone on the edge of the lava plains: it was full of scoria and sharp glassy edges. I considered the special gravel a good measure of how angry Lisaykos was with Aylem. I was finding that forgiveness was hard. I kept running Mugash''s revelation in my head, trying to find a path to forgiving Aylem. I finally just wrote it out in the hope that I might find the answer by looking at the written words: Forgiveness does not condone wrongdoing nor should it ignore it. Forgiveness does not excuse wrongdoing nor does it grant pardon. Forgiveness does not erase wrongdoing nor should it deny that it happened. Forgiveness does not reconcile but reconciliation can not exist without it. Forgiveness has nothing to do with justice and cares not for punishment or restitution. Forgiveness has nothing to do with pity. A wrongdoer may be pitiful but acts of wrongdoing deserve no pity. Those were just the best bits, or at least the most quotable. There were a bunch more like that. It was some heady stuff and got very zen in places. In other spots, the concept of forgiveness overlapped the definition of love from St. Paul in 1 Corinthians. I did tighten up the prose and fixed Mugash''s grammar. "Emily, this is amazing," Lisaykos gazed at the wax tablet I had used. I didn''t even hear her come into my bedroom. I guess I was a little too focused when I was writing. "Is this your revelation?" she asked, sitting down next to the bed where I was resting. I nodded yes. "May I take this?" she studied the writing thoughtfully. "Wolkayrs can write out the copies that need to go to the other shrines. I wondered when you might reveal your revelation. But given that you''re not completely well, I didn''t want to pressure you, but here it is in my hands. It''s beautiful but..." "What is it?" I managed to say slowly. "It is strange. ''Forgiveness can not be earned.'' It is something I would never have thought. It is a completely new way of looking at forgiveness. It''s almost a new definition. It will take a while to understand this." "Mugash told me," I had to pause and get my tongue placed correctly, "that I m..m...must fo...forgive Ay...lem." I took a deep breath. This was the most talking I had done outside of my daily practice. "She said w...when I un...derstood it, I wu...would forgive her." "Forgive Aylem?" Lisaykos looked at me oddly. "Did you talk much with Mugash?" "M...more than the oth...ers." "You''ve been talking to the gods?" Lisaykos looked worried. "Just when I wa...was pu...put to sleep after dying and af...after Mueb too. "Who besides Mueb and Mugash?" "Stink fi...fish!" I had forgotten but now it flooded into my mind. Tiki told me when he took me bar-hopping in Vegas, right after we went to the Mama Mia musical. I would never have pegged him as an Abba fan. "What?" "It''s phenol!" "Emily, dear, you are not making any sense whatsoever." This was frustrating. I tried to reach a blank tablet at the foot of the bed, but Lisaykos just shook her head, pushed me down against my pillows. She handed me the tablet and she didn''t even have to unbend her elbow to reach. Damn Cosm. So I wrote: "Talked with Gertzpul, Surd, Mueb, Landa, Tiki, Mugash while recovering. Mostly Mugash. Tiki said that if I chose to return to this life after Aylem killed me, he would tell me where to find phenol for making phenolphthalein in the revelation. And it''s stink fish. Stink fish have a gland that stores phenol. Phenol is why they stink." "Emily," Lisaykos looked upset, "the gods gave you a choice?" I nodded yes. She pinched her nose and shook her head. "Did they tell you what awaited you, how badly Aylem had hurt you?" I nodded yes. "And if you decided to stay dead?" "I wu...would go on to wha...whatever comes next when you d...die." "And you chose pain? Why Emily? Why did you choose to suffer so badly? What did they tell you?" I looked at her face, full of a need to understand. I didn''t know what I could tell her or even if I should tell her. "The expression on your face is disturbing, little one," Lisaykos said softly. "You are too well-grounded and practical a person to choose hardship and pain over the possibility of a new and fresh future unless there was a compelling reason. And no, stink fish doesn''t qualify." I shook my head. I didn''t think it would be good to tell a high priestess that the gods wanted Aylem to destroy the crystal in the Well of Landa so that the enslaved races could one day be free. I myself didn''t even know how or why that would work. Lisaykos'' face acquired an expression of frustration with just a hint of impatience, "you know I could read it from your mind." She sounded serious about the possibility but by now, I had her measure. "M...n...no, you won''t be...cause you are Lisaykos whose n...name means integ...teg...tegrity." "Oh, that was cruel, Emily," she gave me a lopsided evil smile. And then her smile fled, "it''s just that I too am trying to solve the riddle of Aylem and why the gods spared her. No one at the shrines would have. We don''t know what it means. We also don''t know how to deal with her once you decide to release her from punishment. We have not released many details about this incident because we do not know what to do with Aylem since the gods put her fate into your hands." "I can te...te...tell you two things." "That implies there are more than two," she looked at me askance. "Yes." I didn''t think I could tell her there were five things. "Alright, two things then." "I will m...make iron and steel new crafts." "That''s one." "Landa has a...a...revelation for m...me." "Emily!" She was shocked. "I do not know the f...future ex...ex...exactly, but I know the gods'' intentions." "That''s three things," she was disturbed by what I had said. "What should I do with Aylem?" she asked, looking for answers she could use. "Forgive her," I said without thinking. As soon as I said it, I knew it was the right answer. --- 50. Mugash Intervenes Aylem at the Healing Shrine of Mugash Mugash turned the chair in front of the crystal around and sat down facing me. I could still see anger in her eyes but frustration too. "I hoped that you would have made more progress by now. Emily is almost to the place where she needs to be but you are not." She sighed and studied me with her indigo eyes. "We made you too well. You are the one person in 10,000 who can bear the pain of gravel chewing your knees to shreds because you are such a perfect physical specimen. What about experiencing someone else''s pain?"
I was gagging and my lungs burned. Something was moving in my windpipe that seared as it made a grotesque sucking sound. I could not see. I was blind. I kept trying to breathe but I when tried to exhale, something was pushing air back into me and my lungs were burning as I gagged some more. In the distance, a beeping noise began incessantly. "Blood oxygen 62!" "Can we increase flow?" "Maxed out." "We''re losing her." Then there was the cessation of pain as the world faded away.I gasped for breath as the Well of Mugash reappeared in my sight and discovered that I could breathe just fine. I was alive. I was well. I wasn''t dying with my lungs burning from lack of air. My relief was profound. It has been so real. "It was real," Mugash said. "It was someone else''s death." It wasn''t here. That had to have been on Earth. "Yes, it was. That was Emily''s death at St. Patrick''s Hospital in Missoula, Montana. It took her six days to die like that. Six days, Aylem. Emily tried not to fight her caretakers because she understood they were trying to save her but she was scared and in terrible pain. Do you think you could endure six days of that? Perhaps you should." Then I was struggling once again as my throat gagged and my lungs burned. --- Lisaykos, Healing Shrine of Mugash It was after the sixth bell when I heard a commotion out in the atrium. Annoyed, I got up to see what the noise was about. I didn''t approve of disturbances in a place where people were being healed or recuperating from healing. What greeted me as I entered the corridor was not what I expected. The crystal in the Well of Mugash was brilliantly lit and flooding the atrium in painfully bright light. I ran for the stairs. On the first floor, I had to wade my way through the crowd gaping at the Well. Ignoring the pain of the light on my eyes, I approached the door. The door opened in front of me. Knowing an invitation when I saw one, I stepped inside. There was no painful light inside the Well. Just Mugash sitting in the Chair of Judgement in front of the crystal and Aylem, unconscious, face down on the cruel sharp gravel. I immediately kneeled in reverence in front of my deity. "Oh, please, do get up, dear one," Mugash said kindly. So I did. I looked at the wreck of Aylem on the floor in front of me and then looked up at Mugash in question. "We made her too well and she has lost sight of empathy. I am teaching her how to regain it." I brushed the gravel out of the way of my knees and knelt next to Aylem, who was still out. I extended my hand to touch her face and gasped when I saw what was in her mind. "What?" I took in a breath just to reassure myself I could still breathe. "Aylem is living through the six days it took Emily to die in her previous life, as all the marvelous and miraculous machines of her amazing world failed to save her," Mugash explained in a sorrowful voice. "Six days of that? Does Emily remember it?" "Yes." I swore quietly. "I am done for today, dear one. You may put her to bed now." Then she was gone. The light in the crystal went out and Aylem made a screaming, panting noise and tried to stand. She slipped on the gravel and fell, cutting herself in numerous places. Her eyes looked outward and tried to make sense of what was around her. I stood, picked her up by the waist, and placed her on her feet. I didn''t let go, "are you able to stand?" Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. She nodded, put a foot forward for position, and promptly fell again. I rolled her on her back and picked her up in my arms, "put your arm around my neck." I had to maneuver sideways to exit. "Now ware the door," I carried her out into the atrium. "Galpahkos, get these people back to their business," I snapped at one of my three deputies who I spotted at the back of the assembled crowd. I carried Aylem down a side corridor of patient rooms to the small room we had placed her in. After I put her down on the floor, I went out to a closet in the hallway, grabbed a pile of blankets and a pillow, and returned. She was trembling, flat on her back with wild eyes and her hands clutching her head. I placed two blankets on the floor, picked her up and put her on them, then covered her with the other four. I placed the pillow under her head and held her hand as she started to sob uncontrollably. I healed all her cuts while I waited for her to calm down. Krukallos, the healer in charge of this wing of the first floor, and in charge of the crew delegated to herd Aylem between her room and the Well of Mugash, was in the hallway, patiently standing outside the door. I waited until Aylem was just quietly sniveling. "I am going to put you into a light sleep for now, Aylem. You will likely feel better---well, physically at least---when you wake up, which should be in a few hours. You''ll probably need to use the necessary by then. Keep the blankets for now. You''ll make yourself sick otherwise." I put her to sleep, got up, and walked out. "Leave her some food and a light tonight," I told Krukallos, a steady sturdy practical healer in her late forties. "Take her to the Well in the morning as usual. Be warned that this may happen again tomorrow." "Great One," she said softly but urgently, "what happened?" "If people do things well but gods can do them perfectly..." "Yes?" "Well," I struggled myself to wrap myself around this thought, "if people can punish well, then gods can punish perfectly." "Surd save us," she whispered in horror. "Yes," I nodded. "Mugash is taking an active hand in the Queen''s fate." "Mugash was...?" "Yes, Mugash was here and she spoke to me," I exhaled and let the tension relax out of my shoulders. "And now, I think I want to retreat to my safe place and think about all that has happened this evening." "Are you alright, Lisaykos?" She grabbed my hand and searched my eyes. She''s known me for many years. "I just need to have a hot cup of tea and my dinner and I''ll be fine," I patted her on the shoulder and returned to my study. There, Emily was encamped in her usual spot on the lounge along the south wall. She was in a red plaid housecoat that Twessera had made for her, belted over an undertunic and leggings, which I suspect Thuorfosi dressed her in this morning. Her hair was braided in an overplait, which looked quite attractive on her now that her hair had grown out. Thank the gods, her cheeks were no longer caved in from being dangerously underweight, though I could still feel her ribs. She studied me from her perch on the lounge with those penetrating eyes of hers, looking like she wanted an explanation. "The crystal lit up, y...you w...went in, the light w...went out, and you came out carrying Aylem loo...king like some...thing had stepped on her." She was still having trouble with Y, W, and OO sounds involving both the tongue and lips but was speaking better all the time. Her voice was soft but one could hear her now clearly across a small room. "We are going to have this conversation in my chair," I said referring to my big comfortable padded armchair with the view of the mountains. "We are?" Emily gave me a dubious sideways look. She knew what was coming next. "Ha!" I scooped her up, walked into my bedroom, and flumped into my chair, putting my feet up on the window sill. I pulled the throw blanket off the back of the chair and wrapped it around the disgruntled Emily. I cradled her against me and wrapped my arms around her. She sighed with just a hint of exasperation, closed her eyes, and leaned her head back against me. I could feel no fear whatsoever in her and that made me happy. It had taken more than half a year to get to this point and it felt well worth the effort. I caved in to the impulse to wrap Emily up and comfort her like this two rotations ago. It was a day when she was pushing too hard again, trying to walk down the corridor. She had fallen and her elbow had taken the brunt of the fall. Asgotl had come stumbling into the study in a panic when she fell. I found her curled up doing her valiant best to not give in to the pain, which is a bad habit of hers. My maternal instincts got the better of me so I picked her up, wrapped her up, and cradled her in my lap while sitting in my big bedroom chair. Instead of being so damn stalwart all the time, she caved in and had a thoroughly good cry, which was a good thing. She needed the catharsis. She doesn''t allow herself to show weakness, even in front of those she lives with. I know that what''s inside her head is older than I am, but she needs to learn that she doesn''t have to be such a fortress of inner strength all the time. "W..well," a relaxed Emily said, "wah...wah...what did Mugash do and say?" "I love the way the sun backlights the snow-covered tops of the mountains in golden light at this time of day," I remarked. "Avoid...ding the subjek?" "I know you can do this," I said patiently. "Sub...jec..t. Come on, try it." "Sub...je..c...t! Answer the quest...ion." Emily is nothing if not persistent. "When you died, it took six days as you lost the battle to breathe," I stated. I felt her stiffen, never a good sign with Emily. "It... it...it..." She took a breath and let it out. "It was frighten...ning. I w...was very scared. It took so long. I lost count of the days and then it...it hurt so bad. It is not easy to die." I picked up a kerchief off my side table and gave it to her so she could wipe away the tears. I found it interesting that she never sobbed when she wept. The tears would just show up quietly with no audible announcement. "Mugash judged that Aylem would profit from experiencing your death," I told her, a little wary of how she would react. She sat up and went completely stiff and still, every muscle tense, not even breathing. "Relax, dear heart," I pulled her back against me, "and don''t forget to breathe." She let out a ragged breath, "at least it wasn''t six days worth of that experience." "Mugash is a god, Emily. She can manipulate time if she wants. Aylem, in the space of less than an hour, lived all six days of your death." Emily made an exquisite grimace, "I''m not sure I approve. That''s just cruel." I wasn''t as shocked as I would have been half a year ago. I was becoming accustomed to Emily''s occasional critiques of the gods. --- 51. Someone elses pain Aylem, Healing Shrine of Mugash Not even the Nazi bombs falling day after day on Coventry were as horrible as living through Emily''s death from some terrible disease, fighting for something as basic as air. Is this sort of experience the reason she has such fortitude and strong will? It made me feel many times worse about killing her than I had before. I didn''t think I could feel any worse than I had been after killing her, but I was wrong. I realized for the first time how superior Emily was. She had no advantages in this world. Not one! She was a small weak Coyn with no magic. Her only transportation was her own two feet. She couldn''t even speak when I found her. I thought I was so much better than her. I wanted her for my own selfish desire and for the things she could make. I also wanted her friendship because of our shared experience as former residents of Earth. I never once thought of what I could give her in return. I thought that my patronage and protection would be more than sufficient. I thought she would fall at my feet in gratitude. I didn''t even consider that she might value other things or have other needs beyond my own. I had been so wrong about so many things concerning Emily. I had lost my temper at my oldest friend, Asgotl because he rightfully pointed out that Emily was her own person who would do as she liked and not as I wanted. I was such a child, acting like a spoiled brat denied a piece of candy. I dreaded walking back into the Well of Mugash. Mugash would be waiting for me, but she wasn''t there when I entered in the morning. She came again at the sixth bell, sat on the Seat of Judgement, and punished me further. "You, Aylem, are a bully," Mugash said with great disappointment. "You were given so many gifts: wealth, power, all the different types of magic, strength, intelligence, and beauty. You have used some of those gifts to bully others and get your own way. Your position and power have scared most people from confronting you even when you are wrong." I would have argued about that, but I could not move nor speak. Mugash had restrained me. "Aylem, your children and husband are afraid of you. Your children have seen you lose your temper at Imstay, subjecting him to a thousand stings as they watched. You fail at making friends because everyone fears you and what you could do to them in a fit of temper, just like Imstay. "Your own daughter is scared of you, Aylem. You have been so occupied with your own selfish life that you can''t even see how she lives in fear. This is your daughter''s fear:"
"I looked up from where I was hiding because mother was being scary again. She waved her crystal and father fell to the floor, twitching. They always fought and sometimes mother would end the argument by attacking dad with her magic. He would never win, especially since mother was bigger than everyone, stronger than everyone, and had greater magic than everyone. "Everyone is scared of her. Her servants are afraid of making mistakes. One man mixed up sauces at dinner one night. Mother picked him up like a puppy and shook him, then threw him across the room where she stopped his flight with magic just before he hit the wall. She let him float to the floor. He got up and ran away, ran out of the palace, and was never seen again. "I asked her not to read me any more bedtime stories. I said I was too old for it but I was really afraid she would hurt me like she hurts daddy or her servants."I had not known. Opo''aba hid those feelings from me. My own daughter was afraid of me and I gave her reasons to be that way. But I hadn''t hurt anyone badly and the circumstances were... "You didn''t hurt anyone badly," Mugash interrupted my thoughts, "until you killed Emily and Asgotl. Those two, along with Lisaykos and Fassex are the only beings who will speak hard truths to you despite your temper. Do you remember this?" The crystal lit up with an image of me, Emily, and Asgotl. I looked angry. Emily, who was wrapped in my flying cloak looked miserable and she was shaking. Asgotl looked annoyed. The great dome on the Crystal Shrine of Tiki came into view. I remembered this afternoon. Emily had angered me. After she put her shoes on at my order, I had grabbed her and ungently slammed her onto the front of Asgotl''s saddle. I bruised her and I knew I had frightened her but I had been so angry that I didn''t care that she was trembling as we flew northward to Tiki''s shrine. "That''s right," Mugash said with incredible sorrow, "you cared so much for your fit of rage that you let the most vulnerable being of your acquaintance, who you already knew was frightened of you, shake in fear of you for the half-bell flight. How was that not bullying, Aylem? This is what it was like."
My stomach knotted and I felt nauseous. The adrenalin surge was intense and made me dizzy as my ears rang. My legs fought for balance against the flying straps. I needed this to be over soon or I might pass out. Aylem was scary when she was like this. I didn''t like it. All I wanted was to get away from her and the rest of these Cosm who screwed up my life at every turn.Just as suddenly as I was inside Emily''s head, I was myself again. I didn''t like myself very much right at this moment. I had to admit that I had not handled Emily kindly that afternoon. Was I really that bad a bully?" "While you were reveling in your anger and your power, Emily was suffering, one of the many times over the last year that she endured fear and despair, yes, despair, because she chose to rescue your children." "Why shouldn''t the Coyn harbor great fear for the Cosm who oppress them?" Mugash stated in a voice heavy with power. "When Emily was seven, this is what happened to her for picking up a piece of bread that fell on the ground, because she was hungry."
I had just gotten my bowl and bread. I saw a piece of bread that had fallen from the serving table, covered with dirt and mud, but I could brush that off. It would just get thrown out or left to disintegrate on the ground otherwise. I quickly crouched and picked it up, happy to have a little more to eat, to try and stop the endless hunger. Something grabbed me from behind and threw me through the air. I was dazed after I hit the ground. "Filthy, greedy piece of garbage," an angry Cosm halfhair man picked me up and shook me. "You know what the punishment is for stealing food." In my fear, I couldn''t even answer. In terror, I knew that I was about to die in horrible pain. The nasty Cosm men took me, stripped me of my smock, and tied me to the frame. Then they whipped me until I lost consciousness. It was the fourth time I had been whipped, but never for this offense which incurred 50 lashes.It is one thing to know that these things happen and another to experience them. I now understood why Emily was so adamant that the Coyn must be free. I flexed my shoulders to assure myself that my own back wasn''t sliced up and bleeding. Fifty lashes? That would kill about half of those who endured that severe a punishment. It would have been a mercy to... Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. "Yes, it would have been a mercy to let her die," Mugash remarked with regret, "but like you, we had already picked Emily and it was her place to endure." Why? I wondered in anger. Why did the gods torture someone like this? "Tools must be tempered, Aylem," Mugash replied with overtones of mourning, "or mended as we must mend you."
Despite my weakness from the fever, I heard the Cosm overseers talking outside my window, talking of needing more oil to start the fire. Bottomless fright took me to my feet and I ran, to the shock of my bunkmates to the far side of the building, into the necessary room. I picked up the boards, loose so they could be cleaned every day, from around one of the holes where we squatted and shat. I dived through into the reeking filth and scrambled to find a way out where I would not be seen, just as the overseers set the building on fire. It was their solution to the fever running through the underfed girls in this bunkhouse at the breeding farm. The men were clustered on either end of the bunkhouse next to the doors. The girls who ran out to escape the flames became moving weapons practice, as the men tried to see who could neatly slice a fleeing Coyn in half. I had almost gotten to the drainage ditch when someone yelled, "hey, Gaff, get that one." There was laughter, the sound of footsteps running towards me, and an explosion of pain on the side of my head. I woke half-submerged in the drainage ditch. The pain in my head was the worst I ever experienced during either of my lives. I looked at the flat hexagonal charm gem embedded in my left hand and decided if I was going to die, I was going to die free. I took the charm gem between my teeth and bit it off my hand. Every cell in my body felt like it was on fire, like the burning bunkhouse and the smell of the burning bodies of my bunkmates, my friends in adversity, all dead.--- Lisaykos, Healing Shrine of Mugash The scene today was almost the same as yesterday. I was already waiting outside the Well of Mugash at the sixth bell. I don''t know how I knew, but I did. The crystal flared into life and the door into the Well opened for me. Mugash was immobile on the Chair of Judgement and so was Aylem, eyes closed, kneeling on the gravel. Now and then, she whimpered or muttered something I couldn''t understand. I found my courage and extended my hand toward her, only to receive an image of a younger Emily being whipped. We may have removed the scars from her skin, but I knew we would never remove the memories from Emily''s mind. Aylem let out a small scream which died down to a lingering whimper. Something had changed. I reached out again and saw the fire that haunts Emily''s worst dreams. In just a breath, I had the gist of the entire incident. I knew from the look of the surroundings, that this was another illegal unregistered breeding farm. I looked up at Mugash who was now looking back at me. "She may not wake up this time for some hours," Mugash said. "You may put her to bed." Then she was gone and the light in the crystal went out. I carried the unconscious Aylem out of the shrine and looked up at Emily''s frowning, thoughtful face between the railing posts on the fourth-floor walkway. I passed Aylem to Krukallos, who was ready and waiting today. Then I ran up the stairs to where Emily was waiting. She was still sitting on the floor of the walkway studying the dispersing crowd that had gathered today, legs sticking out between the railings. When she looked at me, I picked her up and took her to my chair. I enjoyed the annoyed look she gave me as I wrapped her up and wrapped my arms around her. I leaned my head back in my chair and exhaled, letting the tension drain out of my stiff shoulders. I had to admit I needed this right now more than Emily did. "Wh...what horrible thing did Mugash inflict on Aylem today?" Emily asked in a very matter-of-fact voice. I sighed, "the time you were given 50 lashes for picking up a dirty piece of bread with the intent to eat it because you were hungry." "Huh," Emily closed her eyes and leaned her head back. "That''s not as bad as six days on a ventilator. That should not have put her under." "Then she was treated to the bunkhouse fire," I said. I felt eyes on me and turned my head to see Fassex in riding clothes in the doorway of my bedroom, an astounded expression on her face. *Get out of sight right now, Fassex, quietly. The last time Emily was around you, she fainted from the fright you gave her. Now move!* Fassex may be proud and overbearing but she is not stupid. She vanished before Emily noticed. If Fassex arrived unannounced, something bigger than Mugash was brewing. So much for some quiet time with Emily. "Say, dear heart, I''m about to get some unexpected visitors," I hugged her and rested my chin on her head. "Can I pass you off to Wolkayrs and Thuorfosi for dinner?" "Here, let me guess," she looked a little annoyed, "it''s the invasion of the Convocation, yes?" "I think so," I sighed. "Not surprised, given the way the crystal has been behaving," Emily deduced. I mindcasted for Thuorfosi to fetch Emily. Then I put Emily down and we walked through my dining room to get to my study. Fassex was there, pulling off her sheepskin leggings. With one leg yet to liberate, Fassex did a one-kneed obeisance at me, "May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One." I was still a bit rattled by someone as senior as Fassex making the obeisance of an inferior to me. "And also upon you, Holy One. You should have at least taken a moment to get out of your leggings, woman." She gave me a mischievous smile as a reply. Vixen! As I suspected, she was enjoying this. Staying on one knee, she made the same respectful obeisance at Emily but she looked up in surprise when Emily said in her soft voice, "and al...so up...on y...you, Holy w...One." "You''re speaking!" Fassex smiled with true sincerity. "That''s wonderful! It''s only been a season and a half. Lisaykos, you''re a miracle worker." "It''s the standard treatment for relearning speech after head trauma," I pointed out factually, "and Emily is both a fast learner and highly motivated." "I have so much wanted to sit down and talk with you," Fassex said to Emily, pulling off the final sheepskin legging. Emily looked a bit intimidated. "Not so fast, Fassex," I cautioned. "She not completely recovered yet." "She looked well enough to me," said the high priestess who didn''t even get hay fever. "She''ll truly be well when she can get up and down the stairs by herself, all three sets of stairs," I stated. "She''s not even close yet." Thuorfosi appeared in the doorway making her full obeisance, with perfect timing. She took Emily off to the main dining room downstairs on the second floor. The assembled healers adored it when she ate with them, much to her huge embarrassment. The staff had even made a special Emily chair so she could comfortably sit and eat at the tables. "When are the others arriving?" I sat down behind my work table and scowled at Fassex. "I expected most everyone north of Is''syal to be here already. It''s snowing up north, has been since the fourth bell." "Let me look," Foyuna strode in wearing her sheepskin, "as soon as I get out of this stuff." That was the beginning of the other nine arriving unexpectedly, though I should have guessed this was going to happen. It made me more certain that we were entering a new age of divine intercession. The gods had not been this active in six centuries. Aylem was the first Great One in over 600 years, and now there was Emily and, to my consternation, myself. Frankly, given what I knew about the past lives of Aylem and Emily, I worried that some awful upheaval was on its way. Given that Emily would not reveal what the gods had told her, I was convinced of it. The high priestesses had all received dream commands to be here tomorrow. Nice of the gods to warn me. My sisters wanted to spend the evening discussing what should be done about Aylem. I let them run on for a while and then pointed out to their collective dismay that it wasn''t up to us. It was in the hands of Mugash who had proclaimed in front of witnesses that the form of Aylem''s punishment was up to her, who had now directly intervened, and the end of that punishment was up to Emily. --- 52. Release Emily, Healing Shrine of Mugash A tall individual with pink hair came flouncing through my dream space in a sequined evening gown just like the one in The Producers musical that looks like the Chrysler Building. I couldn''t tell if it was a man or a woman. "Name''s Giltak, love," the androgynous creature in the evening gown said in a voice that could have been a sultry woman or a high-pitched man. "I was going for an elegant but still technical construction look? You don''t think fits the bill? It''s so hard when all I had to work with were your memories from that other place, Earth I believe it was. The problem is, you were such a tomboy that you had absolutely no fashion sense. You still don''t. You didn''t give me much to work with." Wait up here, this is another one of those eleven gods? Yes, Giltak! The one who makes stuff, like Hephaestus from Greek mythology. A non-binary Giltak was invading my dreams! "Oh, you are so smart, Luv," Giltak smiled. "Now I want you to invent the drafting compass because you are going to need it; and I would like to have it done before you come and visit my shrine, which will be soon." Oh, joy, another one of these dreams. Yes, the deities of this place were mucking with my brain again. "Now you''ll want to study up on your logarithms too, just to be prepared and all that. You see, I''m not like that clown Tiki, being all opaque and inscrutable just because it''s fun to tease people. I am all about transparency and clarity of purpose. So, get ready for logarithms and bring that compass. Paper and pencils will be useful too. It was nice of you to get those going already. Why, you''ll get to be Euler and Euclid in one convenient portable package. It''s just so ducky, Luv! And do listen to your overgrown friend there, Jane, or Aylem if you prefer, about your clothes. You do need to take it up a notch. Don''t make me give you a revelation for color-coordinated hard hats!" Then, POOF, he/she/it vanished in a purple puff of stage smoke with little glittering bits and the smell of lilacs. These deities are so frustrating! What in the world was transparent about that? Was Giltak saying I would be inventing geometry? ¡°Well, you can do that too if you want, since you''ll need geometry when you invent the slide rule,¡± Giltak said as if his/her/its voice was coming from an echo chamber. Holy crappola! These gods are too much! The drool-inducing smell of bacon strolled up my nostrils and kicked my senses into wakefulness. "You are oversleeping this morning, Emily," my daily torturer Thuorfosi remarked, dangling a piece of bacon just out of reach. "Y...y...you enjoy this too much," I grumbled. I spied what was laid out for clothes. "No, no, and hell no," I pronounced. "I am not w...wearing that." It was the white kirtle and blue gown that Aylem had made for me during planting season. "The King wants to talk with you," Thuorfosi explained. "Th...that''s nice, I do not w...want to talk to him," I rolled over and covered my head with the blankets. "Going back to sleep now." "Emily!" "Pulling rank now," I grumbled. "I read the law. Revelator tw...twice over trumps Kings and everybody else. Go away and w...wake me up after the fourth bell." I heard her walk away. I was looking forward to what she would try next. I knew she wouldn''t give up. Thuorfosi was resourceful. I was almost back to sleep when I heard laughter. The door to Lisaykos'' study had to be open. I heard new footsteps from two pairs of feet. Two people entered my bedroom and sat down. "Emily?" it was Lisaykos. "I''m asleep," I said from under the covers. "Come back after lunch, I''m not w...w...wearing any dresses and I don''t w...want to have any chats wi...with any kings. Gods and queens in my life are b...bad enough." "Did you not sleep well last night?" she asked. "I did n...not. This time is w...was Gi...Gi...Giltak." I surprised myself to find that I was upset and close to tears over another damn god intruding into my unhappy complicated life. "Dream command?" she asked sympathetically. "Dream command and a promi...mise of an...an...another revelation," I tightened my grip on the covers. "Gods, that makes four," Lisaykos stated the obvious. "Four?" an unknown male voice said. What the? I pulled the blankets off my head and sat up. It was the King. "Good morning, Great One," he said pleasantly. "There is something wrong with Aylem," Lisaykos stated, frowning. "Other than her b...bad temper?" I asked. Lisaylos gave me a disapproving look. "It is like there is no one home behind her eyes this morning. She doesn''t see us or hear us. She was placed in the Well at the usual time in this state." "She is trapped in a me...mory?" I guessed. "It''s not one I recognize," Lisaykos said. "I think it''s your memory, and you are looking up at two buildings, impossibly tall buildings, all silver in the sunlight. They are both on fire, and people are falling from one of them to their deaths. From where you are, you can see their entire fall, and..." She held her eyes for a breath, "it''s very upsetting..." Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "Me cago en la leche..." Swearing in Spanish is a bad habit I picked up working in Peru. "Out! Out! I have to change." "Emily?" "Th...this stops n...now. Mugash w..w..." I smacked my thigh with my fist, "will stop this now." Oh, I was angry. Hostia puta! Tacos were going to fly, I was so mad. How dare she use that memory! "If I stop now, Emily, it will end," a Cosm-sized Mugash appeared sitting on the end of my bed crosslegged. She was smiling sympathetically. "Are you really ready for what comes next?" "I should have stopped y...you ye...yesterday but I can''t get d...down the stairs on my own," I snapped. I''m sure there was steam boiling off from my ears. "Emily, look at me," she placed her hand on my shoulder. I had no choice but to look at her. I experienced the same feeling that I had gotten from the Jizo Gertzpul, as Mugash looked at me and into me and out of me and through me. Then she smiled again, pleased, "yes, you are ready." And she vanished. "That...that...that was...was," Imstay was in a complete panic. Lisaykos reached out and touched him, and he breathed out and calmed down. "Thank you, Great One," he said to Lisaykos. "Yes, Imstay King, that was a manifestation of Mugash," she explained. "This is her shrine and that is the fourth time she has appeared since the day that Aylem lost her temper and killed Emily and Asgotl." "Out, go talk elsewh...wh...where," I ordered. "I will send Thuorfosi back to you." "W...w...whatever." As soon as they were out the door, I was off the bed and pulling open my clothes drawers. I was out of my nightgown and into my underwear in seconds, though it did get me out of breath. I pulled on leggings and an undertunic, followed by my plaid housecoat. Though I was breathing hard, I had the hidden sliding door to the hallway open. "Scoot, Asgotl, I need to get out." He had taken to sleeping in the corridor on the other side of the hidden door. He''s was such a nice griffin. He was doing it as protection for me. He got up and I got out, closing the sliding panel. "Can you get me downstairs, Asgotl?" "Can you climb up on your own and can you stay on without the saddle right now?" he asked me, poking me with his beak. "I don''t think so. Can you pick me up by the collar with your beak and carry me down?" "No, it will rip your clothes up." I heard someone inside my bedroom. It was probably Thuorfosi which meant I was about to get busted. Out of nowhere, which took my breath away, Usruldes the Wraith stepped into existence. He knelt on one knee, "Great One, may I be of service?" "Of course you can," I beamed. "Could you please take me to the Well of Mugash?" "Your wish is my command," he scooped me up and seated me on his arm. I grabbed the back of his collar with my arm for balance. He ran down the stairs. People took one look at him and scurried out of the way. Asgotl followed us. His foot touched the tiles of the ground floor and the place lit up. What is it with these goofball gods and their light shows? He walked around to the door into the Well of Mugash, which faced north. The door opened on its own. He put me down gently, "I don''t think I''m invited. Good luck, little wolverine." Then he vanished. It was a good trick, appearing and disappearing like that. That was nifty magic. I looked into the Well at Aylem''s back. She was wearing the same serviceable kirtles day after day. Today''s was blue. Her hair was a mess. I stepped inside and the painful glare of the light stopped. I was thankful for that though it still seemed very bright outside in the atrium. I studied her back. Even kneeling she still towered over me. She really was a monster. I walked around her and over to the Seat of Judgement facing her. I realized, looking at the seat at the level of my eyes, I couldn''t get up on it. I still wasn''t used to living in a world on the wrong scale. I had forgotten how long her arms were. She picked me up and put me on the chair. "I w...wish y...you wu...wu...would wa...warn me before you do that," I said. I was developing a real hatred for the W sound. I sat down and looked at her. She looked like hell. "I w...wasn''t responsible or even in on wa...what Mugash decided to do to you," I explained in my painfully slow speech. "I am not happy Mugash did that." Aylem didn''t say anything. She just looked at me with a confused expression. "W...why aren''t you saying anything?" "I am not allowed to speak without being spoken to," she explained. I think my jaw dropped. "Go get a chair and sit," I said. "I am not allowed to sit in a chair," she said meekly. Good gods, someone took the ginger out of Aylem. I don''t think I was mentally prepared for a meek magical monster woman. I liked the energetic confident version a lot better. Somehow, my voice came out clear and loud and with no stammering, "Aylem, you are allowed. I release you. You are free to go." I realized the sound of my voice was echoing in the atrium. How did that happen? The light suddenly grew painfully bright and then it began to narrow and coalesced on Aylem. It fell into her and the world returned to normal, except every single bell in the city, including the one on the roof of the atrium dome at the shrine, began ringing. Those stupid goofball gods, resorting to such a cheap theater trick. Well, it probably played well enough in Peoria. Then it occurred to me, no one here would even get that old joke. "Aylem, close the door and lock it," I told her. She did. Then she knelt in front of me. Not seeing her for such a long time, I had forgotten that she was just that smidge bigger than everyone else. It made a visual impact that triggered the fright reflex in me and probably would continue to do so for a long time to come. Even with my sitting on the Cosm-scale chair, she was still looking down on me and it still sent a chill down my back. I was sure at this point that she knew about the butterflies in my stomach just now. I had learned that much about passive telepathy. Looking at me, she looked distressed. She gently pulled me off the chair and into a hug. She was weeping. "I''m so sorry," she said, "I just...I just..." "Aylem!" "Yes?" "Can''t breath." "Aaah!" She put me back on the chair as if she was afraid I would break. Everything I had done since waking up hit me all at once and I suddenly wanted nothing more than to go crawl back into my warm comfortable bed. Before that happened, I needed to say a few things. "Aylem, I need to go rest soon, but before I do, I want to warn you that Imstay and your daughter are here. So are all the high priestesses. You can proba..bly blow off the Convocation for a day or two, but you need to fix things with Asgotl and with your family and you can''t put either off." She closed her eyes, bit her lip, and nodded her head, looking miserable all over again. I was at the point where the room was threatening to spin. "Emily!" She grabbed my shoulder. I managed to look up at her alarmed face. "You went and pushed yourself too far again," she scolded. Ah, now that sounded like the Aylem I knew. She picked me up and carried me out of the Well of Mugash. She stopped, looked around, and then walked up to Thuorfosi, "she overextended herself just now so please, take good care of her." I was fading at this point and wasn''t able to pay attention to what else was going on around me. --- 53. Dinner Plans Emily, Healing Shrine of Mugash I woke up in a nest of pillows, under a down-filled comforter in my usual spot on the lounge in Lisaykos'' study. Asgotl was curled up asleep on the carpet next to me. I looked up at the early snow falling outside the window behind Wolkayrs'' work table. "Ah, good," Lisaykos said from behind me, "you''re awake." Wolkayrs got up from his work table and brought a platter over, putting it on the little table he had made for me. The table slid a flat surface at a height where my hand could reach without sitting up all the way. The platter was filled with bite-sized squares of bread, with bacon and smoked salmon with cheese, and liver pate, and ham salad with pear slices---all things I liked to nibble on. "Thuorfosi will be here soon to drown you in the tub and do your hair," Lisaykos paused. "You will let her put you in a dress for this evening because you are having dinner with the Convocation and this is not negotiable." I sighed. "No, m...maybe tomorrow b...b...but not today," I stated. The thought of trying to keep myself together in front of all the high priestesses for an entire formal dinner left me with a feeling of dread. This same bunch interrogated me at the palace after I had been abducted. They arrived with no warning and grilled me with theological questions as to why Tiki, the chief of the Gods, made a lowly unmagical Coyn like me into a blessed revelator. It wasn''t a positive experience and it didn''t leave me feeling warm and fuzzy towards them. The Convocation was anything but safe. If they were all like Foyuna, who was friendly and kind, it wouldn''t be so bad. I had an unnerving feeling that they were more like Fassex, with her overwhelming power and her overly-rigid opinions on things like proper religious attitudes. The sight of those Cosm that Fassex punished at the tea shop next to the Shrine of Galt was never far from my thoughts whenever I was reminded of the High Priestess of Landa. I felt unsettled and unhappy over the events of the last two days, the dream command last night, and everything that happened this morning. The last thing I wanted to do was to play the role of a well-behaved little revelator for the Convocation Altar Guild and Gestapo Glee Club. I wanted to forget all the memories the last two days had resurrected of my horrible childhood as a Coyn and the constant fear of things much larger than myself. I needed to bury once more the dread of huge hands descending from above to toss some of us into the air for the fun of watching us then fall to our deaths, or to be stripped and whipped, or to be taken away from the rest of the bunkhouse and never return. I wanted to curl up somewhere warm and safe and quiet, maybe read a book, maybe listen to Thuorfosi play her zither thing, maybe listen to more of Asgotl''s outrageous stories or Twessera''s funny ones. "I see that..." I gasped and flinched at Lisaykos'' voice right next to me. She knelt next to me and rested a hand on my knees. "I''m sorry, Emily, I didn''t mean to startle you," she had that deep crease between her eyebrows that showed up when she was disturbed about something. "I can tell just looking at you that maybe the Convocation should do without you this evening. My apologies for forgetting that the last few days have been hard on you. You probably don''t want to go to the general staff dining room on the second floor this evening. Now then, what to do?" "Thuorfosi and I were planning on going to the meatball skewer place in the north market this evening," Wolkayrs interjected from his work table. "It would be easy to include Emily in our little excursion." Lisaykos looked at me, "are you up for that, or should you be staying in?" I had my pick of evils. I guess the face I made while pondering my choices spoke volumes. "Oh dear," Lisaykos chuckled. "You get to choose between having the nice but uninteresting evening inside on your own or going out to eat but having to be carried the whole way." She suddenly frowned and looked out the door into the hallway. "If you want to discuss security arrangements, Lord Usruldes, you can come in and have a seat." "Security a...a...arrangements?" I asked. "It''s only an issue, Great One, and not a very big one at that, if you opt to eat out," Usruldes said, strolling through the study door. He fell to his knees, bowed his head, and put his right hand over his heart, "may the blessings of the eleven gods be upon both of you, Great Ones." "Please rise, Lord Usruldes, and feel free to sit down," Lisaykos said with just a hint of orneriness. She stood up, avoided bumping the still sleeping Asgotl, and sat down in an armchair facing Usruldes, who remained standing. "Security arrange...ments?" I asked a second time. "There has been a very discreet guard on you since your mishap with the Queen," Lisaykos informed me. "There has?" I wasn''t sure I liked the sound of this. "There are ten who assigned to this task," Lisaykos explained. "Usually there are eight who do most of the work and two others who occasionally fill in." I looked from Usruldes to Lisaykos and back. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. "It''s been a while since I''ve gotten the daggers of death glare out of you, dear heart," Lisaykos remarked with some amusement. Right then, more than anything, I wanted to be back in my home in my little valley on the other side of the volcanic rift, far far away from security, and convocations, and Cosm, and the damn gods behind it all. "Y...you knew about this and you d...didn''t tell me," I accused. "No, no one told me or asked me about this," Lisaykos said, shaking her head. "They just appeared one day, a few days after you died. I did my own checking to make sure the people watching you were fit to do so. They all work for Lord Usruldes. They are all women, by the way. They share one of the two local houses that the Corps of Wraiths use. It''s the two-story house with the white shingles three down on the left from the peak of snob hill. You can see it sitting in my armchair in my bedroom." "Two houses?" Usruldes said with a hint of inquiry. "The other is the one a half block from the public boat landing. Five Bridge Street is the address," Lisaykos smiled at him. "You sometimes retire there to sleep in the back room. From what I can tell, it''s the Wraiths'' local base of operations." Usruldes sighed, "if you didn''t already have meaningful employment, I believe I would want to hire you for a rewarding career in protecting the realm of Foskos." Lisaykos laughed at that, finally relaxing. I realized that she had been tense ever since he entered the study. Were the two of them still circling each other, trying to discern where the lines were between them? He relaxed enough to sit down in one of the armchairs. "Great One," he fixed his eyes on me, "you have received two revelations and three dream commands. The King determined that given the gods'' interest in you, it behooved the kingdom to take measures to prevent any further incidences like your abduction at the end of the growing season. At the same time, any guard around you must also be so deft that you and the people you live with should not even know that it''s there." He took in a large breath and sighed loudly in resignation, "obviously, this isn''t always possible given that your bedroom is next door to someone who is a high priestess." "So Emily," Lisaykos nailed me with her eyes, "are you staying in for a quiet evening, or eating out with Wolkayrs and Thuorfosi?" "The l...latter," I decided. "I''m feeling a bit spent but if I don''t need to w...w...walk at all, it w...will be nice to escape the shrine for a w...while." I ignored the issue of a hidden security detail following me around. It made me feel like I was living inside one of those isekai cultivator wuxia light novels, where the royalty was always surrounded by invisible ninja guards. Usruldes stood and bowed, "I believe I must be on my way, Great Ones." He nodded his head politely at Wolkayrs, "Scholar." He started walking out and then stepped hurriedly to the side to allow Thuorfosi to enter the study. He bowed his head politely and placed his hand on his heart as she walked past him, eyes wide and mouth gaping. As soon as she had passed him, he vanished out the door. Thuorfosi looked at us, still gaping, with her hand pointing to the now empty door. "Was that...was that really who I think that was?" "Yes, Thuorfosi, that was Usruldes the Wraith, who I invited in for a few words after noticing him loitering in the hallway," Lisaykos said kindly. "I knew a bunch of people saw him in Is''syal right after the flood but I wasn''t one of them. Wow. A real Usruldes sighting." Thuorfosi had gone full fan-girl, something I would never have guessed about her. Lisaykos'' reaction to Thuorfosi was even better: a look of incredulity that took no prisoners. Wolkayrs was struggling not to laugh. The tableau was quite entertaining. It took a few minutes for normalcy to return to the study. Lisaykos had been patiently sitting on her curiosity over Giltak for the entire morning. She would not be diverted any longer. "Now, about this dream command from Giltak?" she asked. "I need to invent a tool called the compass. I suspect some form of the compass already exists but since I''ve never really been inside Cosm w...workshops, I don''t know w...what forms are in use. Giltak said I had to invent it. That suggests w...whatever is in use is probably primitive. It shouldn''t be t...too hard to make even if I don''t have a w...way to thread the metal. I can w...work around the lack of threads if I use two pairs of spring clamps and use brass. Brass is probably the best metal to use since there isn''t any steel yet." "Brass?" Lisaykos asked. She walked over from her work table and sat on the end of the lounge. "What is brass?" "You know, brass, the alloy of copper and zinc." "Wolkayrs," Lisaykos waved him over from his work table. He came with a tablet and stylus ready, pulling up a chair. "Now, Emily, let''s back up and give Wolkayrs a chance to write all this down. Now, please describe brass and how one makes it. And what is zinc?" "W...What? You don''t know w...what zinc is?" I looked at Wolkayrs, "you know zinc, right?" He shook his head no. "I have decided that while you are living here, Wolkayrs and Thurofosi will be writing these little gems down that fall out of your mouth before they get lost," Lisaykos said, smiling that evil smile of hers. I rolled my eyes and she laughed. Lying there on those pillows, sipping hot tea, and nibbling my lunch, it dawned on me that despite being stuck in a Cosm-scaled shrine, for now, the company was pleasant and I was comfortable. I realized, for the first time, that this place had begun to feel like a home. I looked at the snow falling, piling up against the calcite panes of the windows. When was it that I rescued Aylem''s children? I never kept a formal calendar living in my valley on the other side of the volcanic rift. It must be close to a year ago. If I had walked away from Heldfirk and Opo''aba, I would probably still be there in my valley and would have made glass by now. Without the intrusion of Cosm into my life, I suspect I may have eventually made my way to the coast to explore the culture of the Sea Coyn. I had changed. I wasn''t the Emily who lived a life of unbounded liberty and isolation anymore, completely free and utterly alone. Sitting here on this pile of pillows, with a down comforter and a warm wool blanket, I was trapped here for now, but this was not a jail. The shackles that kept me here were the ties of affection and my pitiful health. The irony was exquisite and my lips curled into a self-deprecating half-smile. "Emily?" Lisaykos'' voice dropped me out of my train of thought. I looked up in question at her and Wolkayrs, who was poised with stylus and tablet. "For a moment there, you were far far away," Lisaykos smiled with her eyes. "Now, let''s start with the thing called zinc." --- 54. Street Food Lisaykos, Healing Shrine of Mugash "This is fish? This is good," Foyuna enthused. The girl had been raised with the best of the best, being the king''s cousin on his paternal side. Most nobles preferred livestock and poultry. They disdained fish and rabbits as the food of poor people and Coyn. At the shrine, we had fresh fish often because it was tasty and inexpensive. As someone who had a busy shrine that took a lot of money to run, I was fond of inexpensive, especially when it tasted good. "It''s not often you get fish cooked this well," Senlyosart remarked. Her fish was almost gone but I already knew she liked most fish. "I wouldn''t mind the recipe," she hinted. Her shrine was on the river like mine. "Would it be possible?" Senlyosart looked at me in hope. "It''s Emily''s recipe. It''s simple to make once you have the sauce in hand. The sauce itself is a bit of a challenge," I replied in a helpful, informative voice. "Assuming you already have the sauce, you coat the fish with it, add a little seasoning, and bake it in the bread oven until it flakes easily with the prong." "You cooked fish like bread?" Moxsef was surprised. Meats and fish were traditionally either roasted over a spit or boiled. Emily''s method of baking meats and fish was truly novel. "We had dishes made so we could cook inside the bread oven," I was enjoying this, "made of kiln-fired white clay which was then glazed and fired a second time." "Why?" asked the ever-practical and inquisitive Raoleer of Giltak. "The glaze keeps the meat juices with the meat instead of sinking into the clay," I explained. I hadn''t done any cooking myself. To be honest, I don''t know how to cook since I have never had to make a meal for anyone, including myself. Despite this, I have spent more time in the shrine''s kitchens in the last several rotations than I have in my entire life. I was quite willing to do so if it would get the picky Emily to eat more. "What''s so special about the sauce?" Senlyosart asked. I could tell she was taking notes in her head. I took a moment to find someone in the basement near the kitchen and mindcasted to have a crock of the sauce brought up to my dining room from the cold room in the basement. Apologizing for the slight delay, I began to explain. "The sauce is made from perry vinegar, egg yolk, and light olive oil." Then I waited for someone who understood food to make the connection. Of course, it was the maniac mekaner Raoleer who understood instantly. "Wait," she protested. "If you mix those, will you not get a horrible mess? The vinegar and the oil will separate and the egg yolk will make the mess worse." Note that I didn''t even know this myself until only a few rotations ago, but I wasn''t going to tell anyone here that. "Yes, that is what will happen if you don''t mix them correctly." I deliberately did not add anything more, hoping the crock of sauce would arrive soon. On cue, we could hear the sound of feet running up the stairs echoing down the corridor through the open door of my dining room. The young man who Emily taught to make her sauces appeared, breathing hard. He made a bowing obeisance, and said apologetically, "Great One, I have brought the requested olive oil-and-egg sauce. "Krusk, would you please put a spoonful on every plate?" He fetched a spoon from the sideboard and circled the table. "So this the sauce?" asked Foyuna, who was seated exactly opposite of me. She put some on her spoon and tasted it. "Interesting. Somewhat tart and sweet at the same time." "The trick, as I understand it," I explained, "is the speed of the mixing. You start with the vinegar and the yolk. There''s a kind of liquid fat in the egg yolk. Brisk mixing breaks up the yolk and the vinegar into small droplets. Then you add in the oil very slowly at first. Due to the vigorous mixing, it too forms tiny droplets. The fat from the egg yolk coats the droplets and keeps the drops of the oil and vinegar separated. There''s a point at which the liquid ingredients will thicken into the sauce after enough droplets are coated with the yolk. The Blessed Emily calls this an emulsion. We''ll be having a variation of this emulsion sauce for morn repast tomorrow, where the oil will be replaced by butter." We should have dinners more often at the Shrine of Mugash," Kamagishi said teasingly. "The culinary output of the entire shrine system would improve." Even dour Irralray of the Peaceful Shrine of Erhonsay laughed. "Yes, but how about a new way to do mutton?" Senlyosart leaned back and grinned. It was a common belief that there was nothing new anyone could do with mutton. I sat back and glanced at Krusk. He looked back at me and smiled knowingly. I smiled at Senlyosart, well aware of what my kitchen was plotting for tomorrow''s dinner for our current guests. "There''s a new way to serve mutton?" she asked, happy to be surprised. "Oh, please stop smiling, Lisaykos," Kamagishi chortled, "you''re scaring me." "If the food here gets any better, I just might move in," Fassex remarked to everyone''s amusement. --- Aylem, Healing Shrine of Mugash I wasn''t ready. I just wasn''t ready. I passed the overspent Emily to Priestess Healer Thuorfosi and saw Asgotl try to push his way through the people crowding the atrium as the bells started peeling. I immediately cast the charm of shadows on myself followed by the charm of nothingness. Once I had those two charms of deception to fade the memory of me out of the minds of others, I cast the charm of circular light around myself. It''s always better to use circular light with either shadows or nothingness. Circular light by itself can sometime throw a light-based artifact that can disclose that magic is in use. It''s rare but sometimes there will be a red flash or a linear red haze. If you remember to cast shadows or nothingness, the confusion sewn by either of those two will mask the observation of any light defects associated with circular light. I wasn''t ready to see or talk to anyone quite yet, not even Asgotl who looked like he had a big heap of grievances all piled up. I don''t know if I could handle that today. I would be in better shape for his anger tomorrow. All I wanted to do right now was to go and sit in a quiet place and just think. The thought of seeing my daughter left me cold and frightened. I may not be the best mother but I deeply love my two children. The realization that my daughter was afraid of me gutted me and left a hole inside me that I did not know how to fill. My Opo''aba, my wonderful lovely daughter was scared of me and I gave her good reason to be that way. And if she felt frightened, then Heldfirk probably felt the same way. I took the steps down to the basement and found an empty storeroom to sit in and just think. My magic reappeared when Emily released me as if it had never been missing. I couldn''t feel it at all in one breath and in the next, it was just there, as if it had always been there. And since my magic was back in all its power, I knew I could even take a nap and the charms would still function in my sleep. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Most mages find they must train themselves to have charms persist in their sleep. Not me: I''ve never had to do that. The charms I cast can last weeks at a time if I want them to. The charms of other people usually last a day at most. I did not worry, therefore, when I nodded off and woke up in the middle of the night. I got up and decided to take a walk along the river and decide what to do next. If only Opo''aba were not here. I think I could face Imstay right now, if he wasn''t too judgmental. I am hoping Lisaykos doesn''t take too big a gouge out of me, because I know she will, but then she''ll be done. That''s one of the good things about her: she doesn''t nurse grudges or grievances. I don''t know if I can face Fassex right now. Maybe tomorrow, when I''ve had a little more time. --- Emily, North Marketplace, Aybhas The meatball place was a kitchen built into a wagon and set-up as a street stand with street-side seating. It was popular. We had to stand in line. That was so cool. I haven''t had to wait for anything in an age. Thourfosi had me sitting on her arm. We were all wearing lined shrine mantles with the hoods up. The hoods were gray, of course, and lined with with black flannel. The sigil of the shrine was embroidered in gold. Wolkayrs told me that''s reserved for the High Priestess'' deputies and staff. That left me wondering just how incognito that could be. I found the foot traffic around us was interesting. All the Coyn I spotted looked like they were running errands. They tended to stick to the uphill side of streets. No one looked abused. Most were well clothed for the cold snap that arrived this rotation. The line moved fast. When it was our turn in line, the lady at the counter looked at me, blinked, and looked at Thuorfosi. "My lady priestess, is this...?" She asked in an urgent whisper. Thuofosi raised her eyebrows and tugged on the front of her own hood, the universal signal for "incognito." "Right, and how many skewers?" "Three." "Pitchers?" "Just one." "Any nips?" "I''m good for some nips," Wolkayrs said. "You, Thu?" Thuorfosi nodded. "Em?" "W...w...what''s a nip?" I asked. I had no idea what a nip was. "You''ve not had nips?" Thuorfosi''s eyes popped. "Well, we must fix this. Two nips. please." "That''''ll be one silver, two bronze," she held her hand out and Wolkayrs counted out the coins. "Eddo, table!" She shouted. A small disturbance, or maybe a small knot of turbulance, forced its way through knees in pants and skirts to erupt next to the counter lady. It was a Coyn teenager, somewhere between 16 and 18, brown hair, nice hazel eyes. He had a happy, devil-may-care smile. "Put them at twenty-seven," the counter lady told him. He blinked with an inquiring face and looked up at us. His mouth formed an oh. Thuorfosi tugged on her hood briefly and gave him a warning glance. He bowed with a flourish, "if you good folks would follow me." He was a showman with a bounce in his step as he showed us to our spot, under a large open air roof on one side of the street and up against a stone wall looking down the pedestrian way into the north market. I could see the roof of Wolkayrs'' family''s woodshop. The young Coyn inspected the table top and then the seats to make sure they were clean and dry, and then turned to us smiling, "this is your table. Your food will be out in just a moment." He bowed and then ran back to the counter lady taking orders at the food stand. "I saw that," Thuorfosi tapped the end of my nose. "You really looked that young man up and down, didn''t you?" "What?" I rolled my eyes. "I''ve b...been a prisoner of the fourth floor for ages and d...d...do you know know how many Coyn I''ve met? Zero! Of course I g...got eye tracks all over him. I haven''t m...met anyone my height ever since I met the Queen''s Coyn at the palace. I have v...very little idea of how Coyn live on this side of the Great Cracks." "The Coyn working in the kitchen are peeking at us," Wolkayrs smiled in amusement. "I had noticed," Thuorfosi smiled back and then smiled at me. "I w...was working on not noticing," I grumped. "It''s a b...bit off-putting." "You can''t stop people from looking," Thuorfosi sympathized. "People will always look but as long as your hood is up, no one will bother you." Eddo the Coyn had not lied about the speed of our order. The food came out just then, along with three plates, a pitcher of something showing a wiff of steam, and beakers, including a coyn-sized one. Wolkayrs poured spiced warm cider for everyone, explaining for me that it was warm spiced cider in cold weather and cold tea in hot weather. "So these are nips," Thuorfosi explained. They were cone-shaped tubers cooked on a grill. Each one was on a beaver reed skewer, not too big for my hands and not too small for Wolkayrs and Thuorfosi. "Try one. They''re best hot." She held the platter so I could reach. I picked up a nip on a stick, blew on it to cool it, and bit off the tip. The wonderful taste of buttery potatoes spread across my tongue like a balm. The taste was of pure nostalgia. Conical spuds! I should have taken a smaller bite because the nip was very hot. I must have made a face. What''s wrong, Emily?" Wolkayrs'' expression was as full of worry as was Thuorfosi''s. I swallowed in a hurry, "it''s good...really really good, b...but hot! I w...was trying n...not to burn my tongue." I looked at the nip, "d...do they come out of the ground like this or w...were they cut this w...w...way?" "That''s their normal shape," Wolkayrs said, popping an entire nip in his mouth. A second followed it. I was still less than half way through mine. Damn Cosm. "Why haven''t we had these at the shrine?" I thought Wolkayrs and Thuorfosi were going to choke from keeping themselves from laughing. "Are you serious?" Thuorfosi looked at me with amazement. "W...w...would I ask if I w...wasn''t serious?" "Ouch! Struck down by the Emily glare of death!" She giggled. "Emily, this is street food. The High Priestess Lisaykos haup Foskos was palace raised and she would never serve street food at her table. Nips are, well, you know..." "Poor people food?" I filled in. "Exactly," she nodded. Please don''t tell the Blessed Lisaykos that..." "I heard nothing. Did you hear anything, Wolkayrs?" "Not a thing." --- Aylem, over Aybhas From several thousand hands in the air, I watched with my clairvoyance as the three of them enjoyed eating street food. Healer Thuorfosi was quite the mage. She had Emily wrapped in a subtle charm of warmth so she didn''t notice the chill inside a low-grade barrier so the breeze wouldn''t touch her. It was very skillful and considerate magic. Emily did not realize how hard her three attendant healers worked to keep her comfortable. She would probably be disturbed if she knew. Did she still think of Thuorfosi, Twessera, and Kayseo as the "gang of three?" She probably did not since Emily originally applied it as a slight. In her mind, there was a gang of four who were some corrupt Asian politicians who were framed by other corrupt Asian politicians some three decades after I died. Along with High Priestess Lisaykos and Scholar Attendant Wolkayrs, the five of them were the people Emily knew the best. They provided all the work and the care to heal her and help her and make her more comfortable in a world she disliked. I had done none of those things for her yet had once expected her to give me her friendship and sympathy, simply on the basis that I was me and she should feel privileged to gain my patronage. I was unliked and friendless growing up in Coventry, especially after my brothers fled my dog''s end of a family. My life here was a bit better but I think that''s because of my position as Queen. I was still just as unliked and friendless here as I was there. Only here, people put up with me in ways that wouldn''t anger me because they were afraid of what I might do to them. The envy I felt just then for Thuorfosi, Wolkayrs, and Emily in their friendly sharing of nips and spit-turned-basted meatballs made me wish I could join them. It would be so nice just to talk to someone over some street food, share some gossip, tease one another over making eyes at some attractive passer-by. I used to think that becoming the Queen was recompense for all the pain of my previous life. What a fool I was. What good is power in a life without love? 55. Missing Aylem Emily, Healing Shrine of Mugash It was the morning after I released Aylem. Something was wrong and it wasn''t the hollandaise sauce on the eggs benedict. The excursion for street food did me a world of good, though I was tired enough when we got back that I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. The next morning was an informal meeting of the Convocation over morn repast in Lisaykos'' private dining room, between her bedroom and her study. Eggs benedict, myself and Aylem were on the menu but Aylem was nowhere to be found. No one explained why. Lisaykos dodged the subject. I had little interest in being grilled by the high priestesses a second time. To be truthful, I was quite keen on spending the day in bed, looking out the window at the now-melting early-season snow. I felt tired. I think part of that was due to the exertions of the day before. The other part was dreaming last night where I could remember the gods telling me things, really important things, only to wake and not be able to remember. Was I just dreaming or were the gods messing with my head again? I really didn''t like that. Alright, to be honest, I hated it. They had taken my love of science and turned it into their tool. Waking up and knowing things I had never studied before was unnerving. It made me feel violated, like I had no privacy inside my own head. Thuorfosi put out the kirtle and gown. For the second day in a row, I refused. I showed up to morn repast in what I usually wore to the the first meal of the day: my red plaid housecoat over an undertunic, leggings over stockings, and slips. Foyuna rolled her eyes at me and smiled. Kamagishi did the same. Lisaykos gave me one of those looks. I found it very interesting that Fassex didn''t even react. Maybe that was her version of being polite. After we were done eating, I protested at the subsequent meeting about being held responsible for Aylem''s absence, which some of them tried to pin on me: Irralray, Rakkalbos, and Moxsef. "I am n...n...not Aylem''s keeper," I''m sure my anger was audible in my voice. "Mu...gash g...gave me the power to end the pun...ishment that she imposed on Aylem. Once that w...w...was done, there w...were no further actions t...to take. Done is done. It can''t be un...done. Your desire to impose a third-party retribution does n...not make Mugash''s punishment any less complete." I had to stop briefly to catch my breath. I caught Lisaykos giving me a concerned sideways glance. "W...W...Who do you think y...you are?" I couldn''t generate much volume but they were all dead silent, listening to every word. Scary old bats. "Further punishment is an arrogance on y...your part because by seeking that, y...you are disparaging the actions of a god. Do you think y...you are b...better than Mugash?" "Know your place," Fassex snapped. "You are one to talk since you don''t even reverence the gods inside their own temples." "W...w...what are y...you talking a...bout?" That was a surprise. I had no idea what she was referring to. I knew enough about passive reading to know that most of them would know I was telling the truth. "The statues of the gods inside temples, the ones at every major doorway," Fassex spoke as it this was the most obvious thing in the world. "It is disrespectful not give a reverence to them when walking through those doors." Was there something like that inside the three temples I had visited? I never noticed anything like that. "The blame may be mine," Lisaykos remarked. "I never pointed these out to Emily." "Then you too share this wrong," Fassex decided. "Fassex," Lisaykos'' expression and tone of voice could not have been colder, "I am not Emily''s teacher. I am her healer. Besides, you are losing sight of what is in Emily''s sight." "What?" Fassex interjected. "Why would the Blessed Emily reverence a mere pedestal?" Lisaykos stuffed the knife into this ridiculous exercise of character assassination. "That''s all Emily can see at her eye level. She is only seven hands tall. There was no intent to disrespect the gods nor was there even knowledge of the tradition." "Yet the act of disrespect still happened," Fassex asserted. "Some form of contrition is called for." "If I had no intent and no knowledge, then w...what purpose does this unnamed punishment serve, High Priestess Fassex?" I snapped. "W...without knowledge or intent of a wr...wrong, there can be no offense. W...without wrongdoing, any punishment becomes j...just an exercise to assert your power over the powerless, nothing more and nothing less. Any p...punishment thus inflicted becomes a wrongdoing, Fassex, one possibly w...w...worse in character that Aylem''s offense..." "How dare you?" Fassex barked. "...because Aylem had no intent to kill me or Asgotl. Her offense was one of thoughtlessness and lack of self-control; but your proposed punishment would be full of intent and malice of forethought, w...w...which is far w...worse. "Yes, Holy One, I do dare because I know w...where I stand w...with the gods." I was on fire by now, I was so annoyed. "Do you know w...w...where you stand w...with them, Holy One? Make sure y...your own house is in order before the d...day I come to the Shrine of Landa, because Landa said he has a revelation w...waiting for me." "Aaah," screaming Kamagishi stood up suddenly, clutching her head between her hands. "Great Galt," she sat down with her hands shaking slightly. "Sisters, the four of you should drop this," she said with her eyes wide and looking somewhere in the far distance. "Landa''s hand is indeed upon Emily." "Fine, but then what of The Queen''s offence?" Moxsef barked. Kamagishi took a deep shuddering breath and pulled herself back to a semblance of normalcy. "May I remind you, sister, whose shrine is the one that makes judgements? As high priestess of that shrine and the Supreme Justicar of Foskos, I concur with the Blessed Emily that it would be wrong to add to what the deity Mugash decreed as the judgement and punishment of Aylem Queen. It would be disrespectful to Mugash." "What then should we tell the people about the Queen?" asked Senlyosart. "Tell them the truth," Kamagishi replied. "Everything that is happening now is in the hands of the gods and people should know that great change is coming. Before you ask, Sister Fassex, yes, this is a premonition." She sighed and pressed on either side of her forehead with her hands. "Oh my aching head! This is most definitely a premonition. Great One, how much do you know of this?" She looked at me with painful eyes. I tried to think of what to say. It would be a lot harder to dodge an entire room of overpowered magic wielders than it had been to dodge Lisaykos on this subject. "I asked the Blessed Emily the same thing," Lisaykos answered for me. "She said there were three things: she would receive a revelation from Landa sometime in the future, that she would set up iron and steel making as new crafts, and that she knew what the gods intended." "Gods," Kamagishi said, "isn''t that three revelations?" Kamagishi studied me with eyes that pitied me. It was disconcerting. "Four, actually," Lisaykos looked resigned. "The Blessed Emily received a new dream command the night before last from Giltak where the god informed her there was a revelation waiting for her at the shrine in Omexkel." "Giltak?" Raoleer of Giltak sat up. "How can we be sure that all these Emily dream commands are really from the gods?" Irralray asked. "I asked the same thing myself, Holy One," I said in the lull. "The first one w...was from Mueb, for two medicines. One uses an ingredient called bismuth. Imstay King lent me use of a courier who took me to w...where Mueb said to find bismuth. It was w...where Mueb said it w...was. That''s how I became sure these w...were real." "There''s another thing," Lisaykos said. "Two of these dream commands have woken her from the charm of deep sleep." "I was there for one of those," Ashansalt of Mueb said. "The message imparted from Mueb was the information that the bulbs of the purple wet weed were edible when cooked. We previously had believed this plant was poisonous. "The Blessed Emily had a different name for purple wet weed but there is no doubt over the identity of the plant. We will avoid food riots this cold season because of this because we had enough time to harvest them. To be honest, they are quite tasty with butter. Lisaykos, have you told anyone about the circumstances when the Blessed Emily received this dream command?" "No, there was too much going on at the time, not to mention my head was befuddled from receiving the revelation of Mugash," Lisaykos explained. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. "It was two days after the Queen killed Emily," Ashansalt said. "Raoleer, Kamagishi and I stayed later than the rest of you. Because of what our shrines do, we wanted to see paper made. When the Blessed Emily woke up from the charm of deep sleep after only two days, she was in unbearable pain, too much pain to try to talk. Lisaykos read her mind for the content of the dream command and passed the information to me by handlinking. I had glimpses of the dream from the Blessed Emily and I have no doubt that both Mueb and Mugash were present in it." "Mugash?" Fassex asked, confused. "W...when I w...was dead, I m...met several gods. Mueb failed to impart her command to me at the time. After...w...ward, Mugash intervened to help Mueb impart her dream command because there w...was urgency f...for it." When I finished getting through that difficult-to-speak bit, everyone except Ashansalt and Lisaykos was gobsmacked. "Great One," Kamagishi asked, looking concerned, "how many gods have you met? "Tiki, M...Mugash, Mueb, Vassu, Ger...ger...gerpul," I really mangled that name. "Landa, Surd, and Giltak. I am sorry, I can not say Ger...pul today." "Gertzpul?" Sutsusum asked, kindly, in that airy high voice of hers. "Yes." I smiled, nodded. This was more talking that I usually did and my jaw and tongue ached. I was starting to think of hiding in the solitude of the study fondly. "Why don''t we take a short break for now?" Lisaykos said. There was a general murmur of agreement around the table. She got up and knelt next to me, "you''re looking worn out." I nodded, "Jaw hurts. Talking is hard." She gave me a funny look and then touched my head. "Thought so. You should rest some more. Thuorfosi will be here in a moment to rescue you." "Rescue?" ¡°Yes, I wish she could rescue me too,¡± a flash of impatience crossed her face for less than a breath, and then vanished as if it had been my imagination. "I''ll send someone to wake you for mid repast." "Huh.¡± It would be nice to escape the scrutiny of the Convocation. --- Emily, Healing Shrine of Mugash I waited until I could hear the deep long breaths of Lisaykos sleeping. It was difficult staying awake but I considered it worth the trouble. Earlier in the day, Kamagishi and Foyuna persuaded me to have dinner with the high priestess sewing circle and terrorist society. I was gratified that my wine-basted lamb served with mint jelly went over well. No one here had ever seen mint jelly before. It was quite the coup for Lisaykos, who cared about the reputation of the shrine''s kitchen. Raoleer campaigned to sit next to me and we ended up talking shop for most of dinner with the other ladies in various states of astonishment while they mostly listened as the two of us talked furnace design, types of clay, smelting copper and tin, and to my great joy, cutting threads in wood and metal. My tongue and jaw didn¡¯t last long but I brought my tablet and Raoleer did enough talking for the two of us. I drew for her my design for a compass, discussing the merits of cutting threads, which is still done by hand here, versus making little spring-loaded clamps for the angle-adjustment piece. She had the knack of finishing my sentences for me though I have a suspicion she was reading my mind too. I must admit that talking with me right now is a chore for both me and everyone else too. I was relieved that Raoleer knew about zinc and about white vitriol, which is zinc sulfate heptahydrate. She didn''t call it vitriol. To her it was the white acid rock. Turns out she knew all three of the vitriols, which were blue, green, and white acid rocks to her. I had fun with Raoleer at dinner which makes me glad I made the effort to go. I promised I would come and visit her shrine in Omexkel and we could get into some proper pyrometallurgical trouble together. Poor Lisaykos spent most of dinner muttering things like "I''ve done a terrible thing," and "I''ve created a monster." She was thoroughly disgusted with the two of us. Apparently, Raoleer is the nerd of the convocation and quite unapologetic about it. She''d be fun to take rock collecting. I think I like her a whole bunch. I nodded off without meaning to before the end of the meal but I made through the first two courses. That unplanned nap was a blessing in disguise since it gave me the staying power to stay awake later until Lisaykos fell asleep. Then I was out the sliding panel to have a talk with Asgotl. He was still sleeping in the corridor every night in front of my door, the sweetheart. "Yo, w...whale blubber," I whispered and I sat on the floor cross legged. "Isn''t it after your bedtime, Grandma?" He bumped me with his beak. "W...what''s the story on Aylem? Everyone is w...way too conspicuous at not even bringing up her name, but she was supposed to be at the meeting this morning along w...with the King. Neither showed and I know the King was still here this afternoon." "What sort of evidence is that?" he remarked neutrally. "And you''re still here," I pointed out. "Well damn," Asgotl replied. "Lisaykos was hoping to find Aylem before you caught on. She was afraid you might blame yourself." "So, she''s been missing since when? Early this morning? Yesterday evening? She can''t get far on foot." "I wish it were that simple," he sighed. "It looks like no one ever told you that Aylem doesn''t really need me to fly. She can fly on her own." "W...what...?" "Aylem really is a monster in many respects," Asgotl explained. "Her mind magic is so strong she can fly about ten to twelve wagon-days per day. The best of the silverhairs can fly, usually an hour or two; but Aylem can go all day." "No one ever told me," I remarked. "I think everyone avoided telling you about all of her powers for fear you''d get too frightened to deal with her," he confessed. "You were quite jumpy when you first got here. Lisaykos was worried you''d hit your limit and take off." "She was right to be w...worried," I conceded. "I had escape plans in the w...works starting from the moment I arrived here." "I figured as much, Grandma." "Did she have any cold w...weather clothes? It w...was snowing yesterday and it was w...windy and wet today." "Her charm magic is so strong, it turns out that she doesn''t need any cold weather clothes. She can surround herself with warmth and lack of wet everywhere she goes. She wouldn''t normally since it would shock even silverhairs, so she acts like she was a normal silverhair instead of the monster that she is. In truth, she is practically indestructible." He swiveled his head so one eye was staring me down from an arm''s length away, "everyone was wary of telling you." All I could do was hold my head. "W...what a farce." I exhaled and relaxed my tense shoulders. "Damn. What w...w...was her state of mind like yesterday?" "Soggy. Remorseful if I''m any judge. Full of self-doubt." "Soggy?" "Weepy," he said. "What did y...you talk about w...when you spoke w...with her?" "I didn''t. The one time I tried to get near her but she avoided me and I never found her after that." "Crappola, blubber boy," it sounded like Aylem might have really run away. "You''re staring off into space with your thinking look again," he bumped me with his beak. "Any good thoughts in there?" "I''m w...worried about things like p...post traumatic stress disorder or severe depression. Stuff like that can br...break a person." "Hey, land bug, I was living in an ocean and never learned about human mental diseases. What''s post traumatic stress disorder?" "It''s a disease w...where the memory of a traumatic event messes w...with your brain. The most famous symptom is a flashback of the event itself w...while awake. There are other signs like nightmares, panic attacks, avoiding reminders of the event, insomnia, isolation. It''s a nasty mental illness." "Huh, sounds like someone I know," Asgotl nailed me. "Yeah, I''m aware I fit the description, w...whale blubber," I admitted. I didn''t think it slowed me down any but I didn''t want to talk about it so I changed the subject. "She have any run-ins w...with any of the high priestess hit squad?" "None that I know of," Asgotl sighed. "No one saw where she went when she got out of the Well of Mugash." "Mugash the Merciful was not pulling any punches for Aylem," I remarked. "She w...was pulling memories from people, mostly me but some from Aylem''s family, and replaying the really horrible ones in Aylem''s brain. I w...was fading out when I released her and didn''t have the chance to talk with her." "I don''t get it. How bad can a memory be?" "Mugash let Aylem experience the six days it took for me to die of respiratory failure---all six days w...worth. That w...was three days ago. Two days ago, Aylem relived the bunkhouse fire and the time I w...was punished with 50 lashes. She also w...was treated to her own daughter being afraid of her." "No way!" "Yes, w...way. Yesterday, Mugash treated Aylem to the day my brother died. He w...was trapped in a burning building. I w...was on the phone with him w...when the building collapsed. I heard him scream just before the connection got dropped, w...while I w...w...watched the b...building fall down." It happened decades ago in a different life and I found myself shedding tears even now. I had to work not to sob out loud. "It''s the w...worst thing that...that...," I had to stop or I would break down down. It took a long moment to get myself back under control. "I am quite unhappy Mugash used that memory. It''s my own private hell and it w...w...was not for sharing." I used my sleeve to blot away the tears. "What are w...we going to do about Aylem, whale blubber? You can''t fly yet. I can''t w...walk as far as the north balcony w...without getting out of breath. How in the name of perdition are w...we going to find her?" "You won''t be finding her tonight," said Lisaykos'' voice in back of me. "You are going back to bed and this time, I will charm you to sleep. You too, feather head." I leaned back and looked up...and up at Lisaykos looming over me in her nightgown and housecoat, her hair down and in two braids. It send a chill down my spine. She looked really huge right then. "Dang, busted again," the griffin said. I think he picked up dang from me. --- 56. Plans and Ceremonies Lisaykos, Healing Shrine of Mugash The light inside the Great Crystal at the Shrine of Tiki was steady so we knew Aylem was alive somewhere. Try as she might, Foyuna could not find Aylem even though she was one of the most powerful clairvoyants in the kingdom and could use the Great Crystal to a limited extent. Emily became more restless by the day, as did Asgotl. The griffin could now fly again but he was still recovering his strength. Emily could get all the way down the stairs now but she could only manage to go up one flight if she was climbing. I worried that when Emily got her strength back, the two of them would sneak out and go on their own search. I did think it strange that Emily was concerned for Aylem even after what Aylem did to her. My other worry was getting Emily to agree to attend the induction of the new trainees and Kayseo''s promotion to a full healer. Kayseo''s work was so extraordinary, the healers at the shrine petitioned that we promote Kayseo now instead of at planting midday. This would give those leaving for circuit assignments the opportunity to attend her promotion. Getting Emily to attend felt like a losing battle. I have never run into someone as stubborn as Emily. She had a good argument, saying the ceremonies were solely a Cosm affair and she had no place at them. I believe my argument was better, that as a blessed revelator of Mugash, she indeed should be at the ceremonies where healers were presented as servants of Mugash for the first time. Unfortunately, I had to admit that I was losing this battle with the half-horn-sized immovable object named Emily. Emily lost the battle 13 days before the ceremony and I didn''t need to do a thing. That afternoon, I was returning from my daily rounds when I was surprised to hear voices coming from my study as I came up the stairs. I stopped in the hallway to listen. "You know, you''re a big reason I''m getting promoted at 16 instead of at 18 or 19," Kayseo''s soft soprano cajoled. "The Blessed Lisaykos allowed me to be the lead healer on your recovery, which is one of the hardest practical tasks a trainee must complete for promotion. You don''t have to do anything at the ceremony, Emily. You just need to sit in a chair and watch." I could hear Emily''s voice in reply but it was too soft to make out the words. I extended my clairvoyance. "That''s silly, Emily," Kayseo stated in her usual calm and reasonable way of talking. "Maybe people will spend a few seconds looking at you since no one ever gets to see you. If you spent a little more time being seen, you would be less interesting to people. But people will be there to see their children become enrolled, and not to look at you. It''s a moment of pride for every family to have a child enrolled here. Not everyone has healing magic. Most can''t pass the entrance test for this shrine. "People will look at you, just like they will look at the Blessed Lisaykos, the Revered Galpahkos, Priestess Recorder Kuerm, and Scholar Attendant Wolkayrs. That''s because you all will be sitting behind the crystal on the dais. But their eyes will be on the enrollees who are the real focus for the ceremony. It''s really a day for...for..." Kayseo suddenly choked off a sob. "Kayseo," Emily stretched her hand out to Kayseo, who was kneeling on the floor next to the lounge where Emily was sitting, "what''s wrong?" Kayseo sniffled and blotted her tears with her sleeve. "I''m sorry, Emily. I wish my mom and dad and little brother could be here for my promotion. They were here for my enrollment but never got...got..." Wolkayrs had already crossed the study, tapped Kayseo on the shoulder, and handed her a kerchief. "Thank you," she blotted up her tears. "Emily, I don''t have a family anymore. All I have are my friends to attend my promotion. That''s why I''m asking you to be there, Emily, because you''re my friend." I felt Emily''s thoughts shift as she reacted to what Kayseo said. "Alright, I will go," Emily capitulated. She had gotten closer to Kayseo ever since Emily''s kidnappers attempted to murder the young healer. I was pleased. Kayseo made an appeal to Emily''s emotions that no one else could have made. She succeeded where the rest of us had failed. The next hurdle was getting Emily dressed. The expression on Emily''s face when Twessera and Thuorfosi announced they would take care of her clothes was delightful. She looked like a snow hare cornered by hunting dogs and was trying to gauge which way to jump to escape. I confess I enjoyed this more than I should have, especially when Twessera showed up the very next day with clothes already made from cloth I had provided her several rotations before. The timing was fortuitous because the King was coming the day after to discuss the enrollment ceremony. I was guessing it has something to do with my son and my new granddaughter. --- Imstay, Healing Shrine of Mugash It was the fourth day of the fourth rotation of the cold season, exactly 11 days before cold season midday, and the enrollment of the new healers-in-training. For the first time in my reign, I made an appointment to speak in person with my kinswoman, the Blessed Lisaykos. I didn''t tell her that I was bringing other people with me. That was deliberate. I could feel my relationship with the shrines shifting and I wanted to gauge how she would jump with unexpected changes on my part. We spent the night at Manse Gunndit. Then the six of us flew up to Aybhas. We showed up at the door to the high priestess'' study just as the third bell of the day started tolling. Her ever-vigilant scholar attendant - I forget his name - had heard our entrance from the balcony and was kneeling in obeisance just inside the door to the high priestess'' study. His eyebrows went up when he realized there were six of us. "Oh my," he took my cold-weather flying cloak from me and hung it up. Before I had my leggings off, he glanced at the rest of our party. "Mighty One, my lords, if you will excuse me, I will be back in an instant." He was a short-round fellow but he certainly moved faster than I expected. He ran to the corner of the room, opened a door hidden in the room''s wood paneling, and emerged with two more racks, enough for six cloaks and pairs of leggings. Lisaykos got up from her work table at all the commotion and got halfway across the room before she saw everyone shedding their flying gear, with their hoods half-down and their face coverings still half-wrapped. "Katsa?" Lisaykos'' eyes were wide and her eyebrows were almost to her hairline with surprise. Katsa handed her hat, scarf, and mittens to the scholar attendant. She didn''t bother taking off her cloak. "May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One," she knelt and performed a full obeisance. "And upon you. Get up, Katsa," Lisaykos snapped. "What nonsense is this?" Lord Katsa haup Gunndit sprang to her feet, beaming, arms wide, and hugged the surprised high priestess. "Mother, you look well, if not befuddled. Did that terrible king person forget to tell we were coming?" "He said he was coming but didn''t mention you," Lisaykos shot me an accusatory glare from over her daughter''s shoulder. "Oh," she saw Hessakos emerge out of his hood and knit head sock. "Irhessa?" As his mother, she used his birth name. Hessakos blinked when he heard his real name. It was only a half a year since he was reunited with his mother and sister. He wasn''t used to hearing it again after twenty years of an alias. He turned, saw his mother, and immediately did a full obeisance on his knees. Bobbo and Musshia, who weren''t even out of their head socks yet, joined him. "May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One," they said in near-perfect unison. "And also upon you," she walked up to her kneeling son. "If you will excuse me, whoever you are," she said to the other two as she lifted Hessakos to his feet and then hugged him. I saw Lord Gunndit bite her lip so she wouldn''t laugh out loud at her brother''s shocked face. "How are you, son?" she asked, not letting go. He finally relaxed enough to hug her back. "To be honest, mother, I am weary. The King is a slime eel who deployed all the scouts and all the couriers to search for the Queen. I''ve had little time to sleep. I feel bad to be taking this trip, but I fear Oyyuth''s wrath if I didn''t." "Oyyuth?" Lisaykos asked. Oyyuth was a short cloaked figure who then knelt next to Lisaykos with a mittened hand over her heart. A woman''s muffled voice from under her scarf said, "may the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One." "Oyyuth!" Lisaykos was truly and pleasantly surprised. I had no idea she was that fond of her son''s wife. The High Priestess bent down, picked her son''s wife up, set her on her feet, and hugged her. "Now this was a good thing to brighten my day," Lisaykos smiled and didn''t seem to care that she looked like she was guilty of the last five child murders in Aybhas. I had never seen such happy spontaneity out of Lisaykos before. It was a bit of a revelation. Was it possible I was starting to like the old mountain goat? "Oyyuth, you must stay for the mid repast," the old lady declared. "Wolkayrs, we need to warn the kitchen. Mid repast for eight including the King, Lord Gunndit, Lord Pinisla, and the Presiding Craftmaster Elect of Is''syal. Did you contact the Mounts Residence?" "The garrison is sending someone over to take care of our mounts," General Bobbo, the caretaker Lord of Pinisla, offered. "Water, food, and a warm dry place are already arranged." I caught a motion out of the corner of my eye. I saw what could be mistaken as a pile of cushions. In reality, it was a pile of the Blessed Emily under a blanket plus cushions. She had fallen asleep reading. A large book was open and took up a third of the lounge. I think the book was bigger than she was. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Emily had fallen asleep next to the tome and someone placed a blanket on her. The commotion of our arrival woke her. The motion was her sleepy hand rubbing her sleepy eyes. The next thing I noticed was an annoyed look aimed at the noise by the door. That look vanished as fast as it appeared. She dropped her head back on the cushion where she was resting and watched the confusion at the door to the study. I walked up to the high priestess, "may the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One," I bowed with my hand over my heart. "And also upon you, Imstay King," she replied pleasantly. "Thank you for the surprise visit by my children. Though, somehow, I suspect that you have a different purpose at hand than making an old heron like me happy." "May I ask you to introduce Lord Gunndit and her husband to the Blessed Emily?" I asked. "No, please, permit me?" Hessakos cut in. "Certainly," Lisaykos told her son, "but you may want to move the sleeping griffin first since he''s in the way." "I''m awake," said the griffin disguised as a lumpy backless settee next to Emily''s lounge. I didn''t even notice him until he spoke. How did he do that? Could he always do that? "Who could sleep through all this noise?" the sleepy griffin complained. "but I can move." He got to his feet, making an amazing transition from furniture to flying mount. He wandered to the far corner behind Lisaykos'' worktable, far removed from any human traffic in the study, and flumped back down to go back to sleep. "Thank you, Asgotl," Hessakos bowed to the griffin. "You are welcome, friend of Emily," Asgotl replied, cracking open one eye to look at Hessakos and then shutting it. Hessakos conducted his sister and her husband over to Emily''s lounge. Katsa was a head taller than Musshia though he was a big sturdy guy for a halfhair and his hair was more white than brown. He was talented with avoiding court functions and ceremonies so I hardly knew him despite staying at his home for the last two days. Lord Gunndit I knew well. She was the most respected and powerful noble in the south of the kingdom. She was also one of the most powerful mages and certainly stronger than most of the high priestesses. If she had not become Lord Gunndit, she probably would have succeeded Fassex as the high priestess of Landa. She''s also taller and heftier than my cousin Foyuna, the tallest of the high priestesses. I might be mistaken, but I believe the only mage who is taller and stronger magically is the missing Aylem. The General and Oyyuth, the presiding craftmaster-elect for Is''syal, hurried to catch up with the Gunndits and they made their obeisance to Emily together. I could feel the Coyn''s discomfort from across the room. Emily''s voice did not carry this far so I missed what she said that made all five laugh. I stepped closer to hear because I was curious as to how she reacted to Katsa. "Great One, I would like to present my sister, Lord Katsa haup Gunndit, and her husband, Musshia hat Gunndit haup Surdos," Hessakos said from his knees. All five stayed on their knees, I think out of courtesy, so Emily did not need to look up. "If y...you are family to my friends Lisaykos and Hessakos," Emily said with a calm smile, "then you are a friend of mine." "I am happy you think so," Katsa smiled. "My brother has told a lot about you." "Well, I guess I w...will have to forgive him for telling lies then since I am much more ordinary than w...what he may have told you." "So, ordinary people read the laws of Foskos to kill time?" Musshia grinned, looking at the book of the realm''s laws open on the lounge. "I never knew." "Yes," Emily rose to Musshia''s bait. "B...because of its superb entertainment value, I hear that ordinary p...people even flock to all the chapel shrines every tenthday to hear recitations of the law for two w...whole bells." Emily started turning pages with a grin, "I sure I saw something on that just a few sections ago." "Great One," I bowed a quick obeisance at Emily. "That''s the directive of the Edict of Puyutsptwee," I offered. "Uyumaptwee King repealed that edict right after he removed his brother Puyutsptwee as king. It is no longer part of the law." I even managed to say that with a straight face. Hessakos laughed and threw his hands in the air, "I am in awe of your mastery of the law, Mighty One." He grinned and looked around at everyone in the room, "We should probably move on to what we came here to do." "Well, finish getting your flying gear off and let''s set up a ring of seats around the lounge since it''s easier not to move Emily," Lisaykos picked up an armchair to move it. "I assume this is something Emily can hear, looking at the collection of people you brought with you, Imstay King?" "Yes, certainly," I nodded and picked up another armchair. "May I move your codex of the law, Emily?" Wolkayrs asked, bringing her a beaker of hot tea. "Mark my place first, please," she straightened up, freeing up more space on the lounge. "Oooo! I want to sit next to Emily," Oyyuth elbowed her husband out of the way before he had a chance to sit down. Hessakos gave her a mock-pouting face and sat next to her. "How are you doing, Emily" Oyyuth rested her hand on Emily''s knees which were still hiding under the blanket. "Getting better?" "I think so, slowly," Emily smiled warmly at Oyyuth. They were obviously comfortable with each other. "They were out of that pate you like so much," Hessakos said looking at Emily over the top of Oyyuth''s head. They were quite mismatched in height, not that it bothered the two of them. "So I picked you up some of that smoked steelhead you liked, the one with the garlic." She smiled, "y...you didn''t need to do that, you two, but thank you. If y...you bring much m...more of that stuff, I''ll get fat." "You could stand to get a little fat," Oyyuth grabbed and waggled Emily''s toes through the blanket. "You look even thinner than the last time I saw you. I swear a strong wind could blow you away right now." "You see," Lisaykos walked up, "it''s not just me." She gave Emily an exasperated look and sat down in the armchair immediately to the right of the Coyn. Emily was annoyed and settled back into her nest of cushions while maintaining a grimace. "Where are the children?" Lisaykos asked Oyyuth with just a hint of eagerness. "Amoythoy is back at home with her aunt and uncle," Oyyuth leaned forward. "Fed and Troyeepay are at Manse Gunndit being entertained by their three older cousins. They''re both city kids like me and they''ve never been on a working farm before. Kattessat and Troyeepay have really taken to each other. Today Kattessat is teaching him how to milk cows. It''s really cute to watch the two of them." "And Fed?" Lisaykos asked. "Pestering me about what one needs to do to run a Lord''s holding," Katsa said with some frustration. "Great One," Katsa looked right at Emily, "did you really show her all that stuff about double-entry accounting? I never expected a 12-year-old to quiz me about my journal and ledgers. I expect that from the tax collectors, but from my niece?" Emily looked little cowed by Katsa''s vehemence. Lisaykos studied Emily, frowned at her daughter just long enough for me to catch it, and then laughed. "Katsa, it was more like Fed attacking poor Emily to extract everything she knew when she was visiting Irhessa''s and Oyyuth''s house," Lisaykos diverted the attention away from Emily. "Fed loves anything to do with math." "Well," Musshia rolled his eyes, "I never expected to be quizzed before about the nuances of the bundled twigs the wranglers use to count heads of cattle. She''s like the great sucking mouth of Uedroy, wanting to know everything. The real problem is, she really wants to know everything." "Yep," Emily said in her soft voice, "that sounds like Fed, alright. I can get tired just watching her." I found myself nodding my head at that assessment of Hessakos'' daughter, who had too much energy to spend. "It sounds like you have something to share about my niece, Mighty One," Katsa hadn''t missed my silent agreement about Fed. "Imstay King taught her how to fish," Hessakos saved me from answering. "After two or three bells of non-stop questions, she asked him why the fish would bite at bait that didn''t look like anything you could find in a river, like grains of maize on a hook, and the King answered, ''I don''t know! Why don''t you ask the fish?''" It was worth a good laugh at my expense. "I seriously considered passing a law declaring Fedso''as a national calamity, given how many days it took me to recover from her unquenchable curiosity," I stated solemnly. It was a good follow-up laugh. "Well," I took a hot beaker of tea sweetened just right from the scholar attendant, "getting down to business, I have three matters to discuss regarding the enrollment ceremony next rotation. All of them need your cognizance and approval, Great One," I looked at Lisaykos. "But first, I would like to know if the Blessed Emily will be in attendance?" I looked at Emily, who gave me a face full of frustration as she nodded yes. I guessed she would rather not go. "Excellent," I winked at her and she rewarded me with a splendid glower. I was beginning to see why Hessakos and Oyyuth described her as fun to be around. She was easy to tease and not offended by it. "Fedso''as would be very disappointed if you were not there," I added. "She asked after you, you know." That surprised the little Coyn with the thousands of facial expressions. "The first item of business will determine whether the second item can even be considered. This entails the need for General Bobbo, as the caretaker lord of Pinisla, to speak with Healer-in-training Kayseo, since we have determined with the aid of the Restful Shrine of Surd that she is the last living member of the house of Pinisla." "Oh, my," Lisaykos'' eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. I managed to surprise her. "I appointed General Bobbo the caretaker lord to rebuild the holding of Pinisla two years ago, after the mudslide destroyed the town. As part of his duties, he was to search for anyone who may have the Pinisla bloodline. Kayseo haup Pinisla was born to a cadet branch of the family that had little more than the right to bear the name. "Regardless, she had the strongest surviving bloodline and claim to the lordship. General Bobbo collected many positive statements from everyone he has interviewed regarding this young woman''s character," I continued. "He has only to speak with her himself before making the final decision to name her the heir to the lordship and his adoptive daughter of the land." "It''s a big step for me," Bobbo jumped in, looking a little nervous. I was surprised since he never showed that face to people. I think he made a conscious decision to display his real feelings for a change, to show others how serious he took this. "I do have a legitimate reason to speak with her other than gaining my final assurance to go forward with the announcement. I''ve been meeting with all the surviving residents of Pinisla since there are only 27 of them. She is the last one. "Given what she suffered after the disaster, as her friends here at the shrine have told me," he exchanged a look with Wolkayrs, the scholar attendant, who stood in the appropriate spot behind the high priestess. "I want to surprise her and declare her as the heir at the beginning of her promotion ceremony, which is the last piece of business at the enrollment ceremony. That way, she can have both her dearest friends escort her as well as the King and me for her promotion." I studied Lisaykos and saw that she was willing to listen to our proposal. "My plan would be to challenge the promotion to demand the right of escort, on the grounds that I claimed her as my daughter of the land. The king would then make her the heir by soil, salt and wine. It''s a quick ceremony. After that, we would roll immediately into the promotion." By the time the staff served the mid repast, we hammered out all the details to the satisfaction of the high priestess and all the Gunndits. All that was left to do was finish the embroidery on everyone''s clothes for the ceremony. S.56.5. EXTRA --- Side Story (the enrollment ceremony) Lisaykos, Healing Shrine of Mugash The back-laced kirtle for Emily was the very best linen with Twessera''s impeccable embroidery in gold around the cuffs and neck. Next was a scholar''s black gown in silk velvet with the grey facings for the Shrine of Mugash. It was finished with four cloth-of-gold bands on the skirt and sleeves, which was a perfect touch to show she outranked any scholar anywhere. Over that was an open mantle in the same gold-shot grey silk as my ceremonial robes. It was lined with black satin with a stand-up collar. It was piped in gold thread with gold buttons. Two gold gilt broaches linked by a gold chain pinned it to the robe. To top it off was a scholar''s four-cornered hat piped in gold. There was even a pair of gold-embroidered black velvet slips for her feet. I didn''t anticipate Lord Voymas haup Omexkel on my doorstep first thing in the morning on cold season midday. He protested that his daughter was bumped from the position of highest precedence to the second highest. Precedence goes by the highest rank of those presenting the enrollees and inductees. When I told him who was outranking him, he apologized and withdrew amiably; though he did warn me that his daughter was a bit spoiled and he hoped the shrine could help with that. We didn''t process because of Emily. She refused to be carried in. I let her win this one, given that we had conspired to get her at the ceremonies in formal robes. We had announcers herd the crowd of about five hundred into their seats in the great hall, which is in the basement of the shrine. We had moved the crystal out of the Well of Mugash and into the great hall the night before. The well was just too small for this many people. I had warned my three deputies that the King provided a credentialed herald and royal courier to announce the ceremony. They were surprised but not at all opposed. Thus began one of the most memorable enrollment and promotion ceremonies I ever officiated over. My son looked official and respectable with the red ochre and grey cap of Sassoo on his head, denoting that the Singing Shrine of Sassoo certified him as a herald, fit for ceremonial and diplomatic duties. Most royal couriers also hold that extra honor. Over one shoulder, he wore the ceremonial cloak of a royal courier, made with forest-green silk velvet embroidered in gold. He wore a rose wool overtunic with the pine tree of Gunndit embroidered around the hem and neck in green. Underneath he wore a white linen high-necked undertunic, white deerskin trews, and white leather boots. The fire opal tablet of his direct service to the King hung from his belt. I might be biased as his mother, but I thought he looked quite handsome. He ran the ceremony with all the aplomb and dignity of a credentialed herald, with perfect poise and professionalism. His wonderful musical bass was a joy to listen to and he never once upstaged the ceremony participants. One by one, the thirty girls to be enrolled processed down the center aisle in their white linen kirtles, each escorted by two sponsoring adults. Lord Voymas and his wife, who was the sister of Lord Fusso haup Ark''kos, presented their girl, who swore her oath on the crystal in a clear voice with no mistakes. She had certainly practiced. She departed to take the second-to-last seat of the front row to the right. Her mother and father took the second and third-to-the last seats of the front row to the left. The last empty seat on the left caused the whole hall to murmur since there should have been two left. The fun started when Imstay, dressed in a silk robe of Foskos royal blue, stood up, took off his jeweled diadem and, placed it on his chair. The hall went silent, which was perfect as far as I was concerned. He strode off the dais steps and walked up to my son. Irhessa handed the King the book of ceremonies. He then placed the cap of Sassoo on the King''s head. He produced the gold circlet of a court lord from somewhere inside his cloak and placed it on his head. Then he made a bowing obeisance to the King. "You have my leave to bring forward the last enrollee," Imstay intoned in his baritone, perfectly projected to fill the hall. The King always was a consummate showman. Irhesse ran lightly down the aisle to where my daughter and granddaughter were waiting. They were a matched pair, my son and daughter. She was wearing a gown in the latest fashion made with the same rose-colored wool and the same embroidery as Irhessa''s tunic. On her head was the gold coronet of Lord Gunndit. Between them was my granddaughter with her hair already half white, in her white kirtle, her hands held up on both sides by her escorts. They processed in perfect coordinated steps down the aisle. The crowd was spellbound. The haup Gunndits always were a bunch of show-offs and my children were living up to that reputation. I could tell both Irhessa and Katsa were enjoying themselves. "Who comes now before the Shrine of Mugash," Imstay began the last enrollee oathtaking. "I am Lord of the Court Irhesse hat Kas''syo haup Gunndit, and present to you my daughter, Fedso''as Kas''syo haup Gunndit to enroll as a trainee at the Healing Shrine of Mugash. "I am Lord Katsa haup Gunndit, and present to you my niece, Fedso''as Kas''syo haup Gunndit to enroll as a trainee at the Healing Shrine of Mugash. We bring with us recommendations for the trainee elect from Mighty One Imstay haup Foskos, King; Holy One Kamagishi haup Truvos, High Priestess of the Fated Shrine of Galt; and the Great One, Blessed Emily, named Courage, Maker of Fire, Revelator of Tiki and Mugash." Irhessa knelt on one knee and presented the sealed parchment letters to Imstay, who in turn knelt on one knee to present them to me. I broke the seals and examined each one. I didn''t know about the one from Kamagishi. That was a surprise. My granddaughter didn''t know about any of them and had a wonderful gobsmacked look on her face. "Fedso''as Kas''syo haup Gunndit, those who carry the great expectations of others must do great deeds. Knowing this, are you ready to swear to do so?" I asked. "I am, Great One," she knelt in a full obeisance. "Then rise, place your hands on the crystal, and swear." "I, Fedso''as Kas''syo haup Gunndit, here do swear on my honor and my life, to heal the sick, mend the injured, and cure the ill at heart, for all speaking beings, whether they walk on two legs or four. I swear to follow the laws and precepts of the Healing Shrine of Mugash while I have breath and blood in me until I perish or the world end." "We have heard your oath, Fedso''as Kas''syo haup Gunndit, and we accept your service," I intoned. "Take your seat now among your sisters." As Katsa also sat down, the King and my son traded places. I too sat down, finally having the chance to take the weight off my feet for a brief moment. "This ends the enrollment of the trainees," Irhessa announced. "Now begins the induction of Kayseo haup Pinisla as a healer blessed by Mugash. Bring forward the candidate." Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Wearing an open floor-length grey surcoat with the white facings of a trainee, Kayseo processed down the aisle between Thuorfosi and Twessera. They were both in their ceremonial grey robes with the black facings, grey head cloths, and a headrail of a single roll of white wool. It should have been her parents to escort her, but all of Kayseo''s family, down to the household pets, perished in the great disaster of Pinisla, so Kayseo asked Twessera and Thuorfosi to escort her. Kayseo was from an insignificant cadet branch of the house of Pinisla, so far removed from the succession that she only owned the right to bear the name. She was one of the few from Pinisla who survived. The only survivors were those who were elsewhere on the day a massive mudslide came down the mountainside and obliterated the town. After the disaster, the King gave the land to General Bobbo with orders to rebuild the area''s valuable timber industry, recover the fire opal mine, and seek out anyone who might have the right to inherit the lordship. That general now came barging through the back door of the hall, followed by a red-robed priestess of Galt carrying a box and a green and tan-robed priestess of Surd carrying documents. "I call hold! Stop this ceremony!" The general was splendidly clad in his dark blue army tunic of the best wool embroidered in gold, with his bronze breastplate, backplate, and grieves polished to a mirror finish, axe and buckler on his back, and carrying his white plumed helmet in his arm. I stood up on cue, "By what claim do you interrupt this sacred proceeding?" "I demand the right of escort for Kayseo haup Pinisla." "Who are you to make such a claim?" Imstay stood up and drew his sword. He stomped off the dais and stood protectively in front of the crystal. "Know that I am Lord Bobbo haup Pinisla, general of the left of the king''s army, and I claim Kayseo haup Pinisla as my daughter of the land, with the claim right for her escort in this shrine." "Prove your claim," Imstay ordered. "I am Arkmos, priestess of Surd, and I have found that Kayseo haup Pinisla has the right to the lordship of Pinisla through direct descent. These are the documents of her lineage." "I am Hikued, priestess of Galt, and I have confirmed and certified the lineage of Kayseo haup Pinisla." "Blood is not enough to claim lordship," Imstay stated. "Courage and valor to defend the land and people are required. Can you prove Kayseo haup Pinisla has both courage and valor?" Bobbo held out his gauntleted hand and the priestess of Galt placed a sealed letter in it. He walked forward, around Twessera, Kayseo, and Thuorfosi, and up to the King. Kneeling, he presented the letter, "Mighty One, this is a letter received by me from one Usruldes, surnamed the Wraith, who claims he is in your service. Is there any in the hall who may confirm the seal aura of Usruldes?" "General, I know both the seal and the seal aura of Usruldes, called the Wraith," I said. The King handed the letter to me. "This is indeed the spider seal and aura of Usruldes." I handed it back. The King broke the seal and scanned the contents. Then he began reading: "I have sent this missive to General Bobbo haup Pinisla, general of the left of the king''s army as a proxy for my voice. Hear my words and engrave them upon your hearts. "On the second day of the eighth rotation of the growing season, I watched in terror as Kayseo haup Pinisla, a healer in training, defended the Blessed Emily, revelator of Tiki, from her abductors. I watched in shame as they grievously wounded Kayseo near-to-death for I knew I could not reach her in time. "My duty was to watch over the Great One. I could not stop to attend Kayseo. To save one so valiant in the Great One''s defense, I mindcasted the shrine and garrison in hope that such a brave young woman could be saved, with a prayer in my heart to Gertzpul that he not take this young hero of Mugash to his hospitable groves and gardens where the worthy have their rest. "I here apply my seal and soul on the first day of the first rotation of the cold season in the 20th year of the reign of Imstay, so that all may know these are true words here written." The King passed the letter to my son. "Priestesses Thuorfosi and Twessera, you may depart to go about your business," he commanded. They made bowing obeisances and took seats at the far end of the front row with the new trainees. They weren''t going to miss any of this. "Kayseo, kneel." She knelt, looking even more gobsmacked than before. I sat down to rest my feet and watch the show. The two visiting priestesses and Bobbo flanked the King. The priestess of Galt handed the King a silver goblet from the box she carried. "Kayseo, this is your land," the King took a pinch of dirt from the box and placed it in the goblet. "This is the bounty of your land," he took a pinch of salt from the box, "and this is the fruit," he poured in wine from a wineskin the priestess of Galt handed him. "Partake of this cup that you will become your land and your land will become you." He handed her the cup and she drank it down. "By this act, I name you, Kayseo, the Heir of Pinisla." He held out his hand to her and helped her stand up, "behold the Heir of Pinisla!" The healers in the hall flooded the center aisle to mob poor Kayseo, who looked she had just been dropped out of the sky by an eagle. I let them exult for a few moments. Then I took my staff of office and thumped it several times on the dais. "May I remind you all there is still one last ceremony to conduct. Please take your seats." "Have you only one escort, my beautiful Heir of Pinisla?" the King turned on the charm. Forty years old and still flirting. Kayseo shook her head. "Permit me, then," he took her hand. "Now continues the induction of Kayseo haup Pinisla," my son announced. "Bring forward the candidate." The general and the King escorted Kayseo the short way to the crystal. "Who comes now before the Shrine of Mugash?" "I am Lord Bobbo haup Pinisla, general of the left of the king''s army, and I bring before you the Heir of Pinisla, Kayseo haup Pinisla, who is my daughter of the land." "I am Imstay haup Foskos, King, and I bring before you Kayseo haup Pinisla, who I have made today the Heir of Pinisla as the sworn defender of our land." "Healer in training Kayseo, I call you that for the last time. Remove the garb of your childhood and cast it off." Bobbo helped Kayseo take off her trainee robe. "Kayseo, to become a priestess healer is not an act of mortals but a gift from the divine. Place your hand on the crystal and all will know if Mugash has accepted you," I said. Kayseo placed her hand on the top of the crystal. At first, nothing happened. Then the light began to grow from the bottom and filled the insides. It then burst out of the crystal and enveloped Kayseo completely. It vanished suddenly. Kayseo staggered a little and caught her breath. "Priestess healer Kayseo, you are not garbed as befits your station," I announced. "Where are your robes?" "I have her robe here," General Bobbo stood and walked up to Kayseo, helping her to put it on. "My dearest daughter of the land, this robe is the gift of the Priestess Twessera, Priestess Thuorfosi, and Scholar Attendant Wolkayrs." My son turned to me and said in a voice that carried everywhere in the hall: "Great One, this was the last business to come before you. Does the populace have your leave to depart?" "They have my leave to depart and go on their way." For those who did not have money or failed to make arrangements made for one last dinner with the enrollees, the shrine provided a dinner service in the dining hall. I had my own arrangements for dinner in my private dining room with my family and the King. 57. Indoor Plumbing Lisaykos, at her private quarters The enrollment ceremony and the elevation of Kayseo as both a full healer and as the heir to the holding of Pinisla went smoothly. What was notable was the dinner afterward followed by the events of the early morning. In a rare show of courtesy, the King escorted me up the stairs to my living quarters where I would treat my family to a private dinner. "I thought Bobbo and his new daughter were joining us," Imstay counted the number of place settings at my dining room table. The servers were still adding the last touches to the table. "Your spy service is failing you, Imstay King," I put my stole, headstall, and veil on my work table and joined him in my dining room. "Bobbo is taking his newly adopted daughter and her friends to have dinner with Captain Tyoep. They invited Emily but she declined, saying it was less embarrassing to fall asleep in the middle of dinner here than at the garrison." Imstay had a good laugh over that. I was a bit wary over inviting him but the King is close to my son, regardless of what I may think of him, and Irhessa asked me to. "So where is the bundle of trouble?" the King asked, referring to Emily. "I''m right here, Uncle Imstay." Fedso''as had just entered the room, snuck up behind him and goosed him. Imstay turned to attack when I shut it down. "Children! That includes you, Imstay King, there will be no roughhousing in my quarters." "Grandmom!" Fed pouted. Oyyuth had warned me that the King sometimes came to visit and played with the children. "My home, my rules," I crossed my arms and glowered at the two of them. Fed looked put out. "Fedso''as, this is a working shrine. There are sick and injured people who need quiet. You''ll have to get used to it." "Even if these are private apartments?" Fed inquired, just like every conniving kid looking for a loophole to weasel through. "Emily''s bedroom is next to mine and there is no roughhousing allowed anywhere near Emily. Being around Emily has its own set of rules." "What sort of rules, Great One?" Imstay asked, now curious. "No roughhousing, no sudden movements, no touching her if you can help it, and no picking her up without asking or warning her," I explained. "Also keep your hands away from her face and avoid carrying weapons openly. The last two can trigger nightmares and spells of her being difficult to handle." "Seriously?" Imstay looked incredulous. "Sometime in the past, the Blessed Emily was subjected to violence at the hands of some ruffians who captured her. This resulted in horrible scarring on her backside." I left out that his mother''s family ran the illegal breeding farm where Emily got all those scars. "Scarring?" asked my son who had just walked in with his son, the eight-year-old Troyeepay, Oyyuth, and Katsa. "Her backside including her legs, arms and skull were carpeted with whip scars. We removed them when she first arrived." Imstay looked troubled. "Whipping? The charm of control is supposed to make such measures unnecessary." "Feel free to check the records downstairs, Imstay King, which I had witnessed because I was worried over a potential treaty violation with Inkalim. I thought she might be from there when she first arrived here because she had no embedded charm of control." "Gods!" He looked shocked. "Are you sure it was abuse by Cosm and not by fellow Coyn?" "I''ve seen her memories. They were Foskan Cosm." "That''s disturbing." He frowned in thought. The change in Imstay was incredible to me. He was still the blunt and loud man he had always been but lately, he had become thoughtful and questioning. He appeared to be listening to everyone and judging what he heard slowly and objectively. It was a remarkable change. I wasn''t sure if it was due to the execution of his uncles and their families, or the arrival of Emily, or both, but he was turning into someone different while we watched. "Where''s Emily?" my granddaughter asked. "You need to remember to use her title, young one," I chided her. "But Emily told me not too," Fed persisted. "Not when you are in the company of someone like the Lord Gunndit or the King," I corrected her. "Always use the more polite form of address when in doubt. You should be using the King''s title too, but since you already have a relationship with him and we are in a private setting, I let it pass for now." "Now you sound like my dad," Fed pouted. "I''m far worse than your father," I assured her. Fed rolled her eyes. My son laughed. "So where is Blessed Emily?" Fed asked again. "She''s probably in her bedroom getting changed. I''ll go check." I entered my bedroom and knocked on her bedroom door. "Emily?" I knocked again and thought I heard a soft reply. I peeked clairvoyantly and saw her struggling to get out of the fancy black kirtle she wore at the ceremony because she couldn''t reach the back laces. I let myself in. "Let me get those laces for you, Emily," I got down on one knee. "Put your arms straight up." It only took a moment to get the laces undone. "Thank y...you," a subdued Emily said. "Ask for help, next time, dear heart, or we''ll start calling you Stubborn One instead of Blessed One." "That''s not a bad idea," she considered it. "I like it." "Try not to dress too informally, dear," I advised. "We made the children dress and it would be nice if you were not too bad an example in front of them." She gave me a disgusted look, "be so kind as to hand me the change of clothes I already laid out on my bed, please." I bit my lip to keep from laughing as I handed her the white kirtle and made my escape back to the dining room. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "Speaking of the Blessed Emily, Mother, what really happened with her and the Queen?" my daughter asked as I took my seat at the table. "There are a hundred different rumors out there." "What have you heard through the Sassoo post?" I asked since the Shrine of Sassoo was the authoritative voice of the convocation. "I''ve heard what everyone else has heard: that the Queen caused an accident with magic that almost killed the Blessed Emily, and that Mugash appeared and punished the Queen. Then the Queen was so distraught over what she had done that she fled in despair and can''t be found. Because a god intervened on Emily''s behalf, there are some people who say she may be a prophet or a saint in the making." She took the coronet off her head and put it on the table with a look of disgust, "I hate that thing---it''s so heavy it gives me a headache." "Your father used to say the same thing about that coronet," I recalled. "Well, the official story is very close to what happened. Regarding Emily, I live with her at the moment, and trust me, I doubt she''s a saint." I heard Emily''s soft soprano out in the hallway as she spoke with someone on the serving staff. "Let''s wait and hold this discussion until Emily goes to bed, which should be early tonight." Dinner was quite good. We had lamb with mint jelly because I knew that both the king and my son would like it. Then we had an Emily recipe that she called ice cream. She got all excited about it one day when she discovered some of the kitchen staff could use charms of cold on food. Wolkayrs took her to visit the bronzeworker next door to the woodshop his family ran. A rotation later, Wolkayrs delivered a wood and bronze contraption she called an ice cream maker. The woodshop and the bronze works now have a partnership, making ice cream makers for nobles and affluent merchants. I made sure Emily got a percentage. Ice cream used an exorbitant amount of precious sugar, which is an import, but what came out afterward made the kitchen of my shrine even more famous for its food. Imstay threatened to steal my cooks. He could do that if he really wanted to so I allowed him to send some of his cooks here to train at the beginning of the cold season. It was Katsa''s first time with ice cream, which she enjoyed but she sighed over the cost of sugar. Emily asked why and Katsa explained that sugar was made far to the south in the land of the Chem. It was only available as an import through the Sea Coyn. Then Emily asked why we didn''t extract sugar from the large beets grown as hog feed instead. The table went silent. The look on the King''s face was precious. The look on Katsa''s face was even better. My son had this insufferable ''I told you so'' look on his face aimed at his sister. "Excuse me," I got up and got Wolkayrs'' running log of Emily utterances from his work table in the study next door. I sat down again, "start from the beginning, Emily." "What are you doing, Great One?" Imstay interrupted. "We have an ongoing record of the things that Emily says," I explained as if it was the most normal thing in the world, which for us, it was. Almost a year of Emily underfoot does that to a person. "Just give me a quick outline, Emily, and then we can get back to socializing." She summarized her thoughts on beets as: grow beets, wash beets, mush beets, steep beets, separate beet mush from liquid, evaporate fluid, collect crystals of sugar. She had a lot of different caveats that I left out because I didn''t understand them. Besides, the point was just to keep track of her ideas and we could expand upon them later, just like we had with paper, pencils, and plumbing. When I was done with recording the idea, the King looked at the two of us in amazement. "Does this happen all the time?" "About once a rotation," I said. I wanted Imstay to see Emily in the process of being inventive. If he accepted Emily as a Coyn who created things, then it would be easier for him to accept other Coyn as creative agents. "What happens after you write things down?" he asked me. "Some of them we can use right away, like medicines or new recipes in the kitchen, some we save to consult with another shrine, and some must wait until other projects are complete," I explained. "What sorts of things need to wait?" Katsa asked, equally as fascinated as Imstay. "The camera, for example," Emily explained slowly, "can not be made w...without glass and iodine and bromine." "What''s a camera?" Katsa had never heard of anything called a camera. "It''s the box that makes exact images I told you about," Irhessa told his sister. "It''s why I need to take a trip to the coast for seaweed to make iodine and bromine." "What are iodine and bromine?" Imstay asked. "Substances that combine w...with silver to make an image without magic," Emily explained. "How is that possible without magic?" the King asked, looking at Emily thoughtfully and shaking his head. "It''s almost too much to absorb at once. Ice cream. Sugar from beets. Boxes that capture images on silver. I feel like my head will burst." "Emily has that effect on people," I remarked, enjoying the sight of other people besides me getting run over by Emily''s wild ideas. "Oh, Emily?" Fed leaned in her chair and made big eyes at Emily. "Yes?" "What did I just say about titles, child?" I scolded my granddaughter. "Yes, Grandmom," she pouted just a little. She looked at Emily, "Great One?" Emily gave me a pained look before turning back to Fed. "Yes, Fed?" "Now that I''ll be staying here at the shrine, when I get some free time, will you still take me to fly kites?" "If y...you can give me a day of w..warning, I can," Emily replied. "I''ll keep my promise to you, but you''ll need to do most of the w...work because I can''t right now." "Oh wow, thank you, Emily...Great One," Fed bounced in her chair. The girl had entirely too much energy. "Emily," I picked the stylus back up, "what is kite flying, and is it a dangerous activity for my grandchildren?" I deliberately smiled. Emily shook her head. Then she grinned. "A kite is a toy made of paper or cloth on a light frame of w..wood, attached to a string, and flown in a breeze." "But you don''t have any magic to make something fly," Imstay protested. "I don''t need magic," Emily replied, "just some breeze and some good aerodynamics." "Arrow what?" Imstay sputtered. Emily looked at the King, grimaced, and dropped her head onto her hand sighing. "You did it again, dear heart," I leaned over and told her. She nodded, head still held in her hand. "If you''ll excuse me for a moment," Katsa got up and headed for the necessary, having been in my quarters many times. "So," I asked Emily, "can you explain this arrow die macks thing to me?" "It''s as basic as oxygen," she gave me an apologetic look. "That''s not encouraging," I remarked, given how difficult it was for me to understand the theory of gasses, which Emily was teaching me. Emily considered knowledge like that to be basic. I didn''t want to think about what she considered difficult or advanced. Katsa came rushing back into the dining room, "Mother, what happened to your necessary? It''s...It''s..." She paused and frowned in confusion, "I don''t know what it is!" "Oh my," it was an oversight on my part, "I forgot to warn you." "PFfffffft!" Emily tried not to laugh and didn''t succeed. She started laughing in earnest. The mirth was contagious because I started to laugh too. The look on my daughter''s face was just too funny: my super-competent overachieving daughter was at a total loss and completely flummoxed. I needed a good laugh just then. "Wait," Imstay leaned forward, "did you...?" He got out of his chair and ran past Katsa to the bathroom, leaving my bedroom door open in his wake. There was the sound of water gushing through the pipes, followed by a funny anemic water sound, then a clunk, followed by another clunk. "Hey, it''s not working now," Imstay shouted from the bathroom in protest. I shouted back, "you have to wait for the tank to fill back up." "You built one?" my son leaned forward as realization spread across his face. "A working flush necessary? I have to see this!" He got up and ran past his sister to the bathroom. There was another flushing sound. "Emily, Great One, I want one!" the king shouted. "What do I need to do to get one?" Emily was too busy turning red from laughing too hard. --- 58. Meeting the monster Lisaykos, fourth floor, Healing Shrine of Mugash Oyyuth and I put Emily to bed after she fell asleep in her chair after dinner. She caught my skirt as I was getting up to leave, thinking she was deep in dreamland. In a half-asleep voice, she asked: "Did Asgotl come back today?" "No, he didn''t, dear heart," I put a light hand on her shoulder. "I''m worried too. He said he''d be back four days ago." "Thanks. G''night." "Sleep well," I dropped a simple charm of sleep on her as we left. Oyyuth walked back through my bedroom with me. "She''s not simple at all, and the more I see of her, the stranger she gets." "I wouldn''t disagree in the least," I remarked to my son''s intelligent and observant wife. "Her brain never sits still. She scares me at times with some of the things she comes up with." "Flushing necessaries?" Oyyuth smiled in amusement. "I want one. And that shower thing is brilliant, by the way." "Emily loves it, which is probably why she had it made. She doesn''t need to have help to use it, other than for someone to charm the hot water tank." Oyyuth laughed, "that sounds just like her." We took our seats at the table. "Do you have permission to be out for the evening, Fed?" I asked my granddaughter. "I can return at first bell if I want to eat in the dining hall or at second bell if I already have eaten, Grandmom." "And which do you prefer to do?" "Eat here?" she asked, brimming with hope. "Thought so," I nodded. "Do you want your own room or do you want to share with your aunt?" "Oh, Aunt Katsa, can I?" "Of course, imp," Katsa smiled, enjoying her niece''s company. "Take number six down the corridor across the hall," I told Katsa. "It''s already made up, though no flush necessary yet." "Well, phooey," Katsa pouted. "The piping is on order with the foundry in Omexkel and the drains are on order from Weirgos. Come back in a half year. I''m having the entire shrine done, followed by the shrine chapel at the north gate, followed by both marketplaces." "Isn''t that expensive?" Imstay the budget-constrained asked, eyebrows up. "Did you need to raise your rents?" "The paper workshops are profitable, along with the percentage we get from the pencil makers we''ve licensed on behalf of Emily," I explained. "As soon as I finish negotiating with the Shrines of Giltak and Vassu, we''ll get a percentage from the soon-to-be-official water fitters. Most of the licensing proceeds will go to Emily---I made sure of that---but the shrine will still be making enough that I may be able to lower the amount we request from the kingdom next year for the main and chapel shrines. Even then, I''ll still be able to refit all the chapel shrines with new healthier plumbing within a year or two, including the ones we share with other shrines." "Surd save us," the King was wide-eyed and gaping, as was my son. "How much of the revenue is Emily''s?" Imstay asked in an awed voice. I could see the wheels turning behind his eyes as he estimated the taxes he would reap from the new crafts. One way or another, he was determined to profit from the Coyn''s inventions. A king''s heart is never far from his treasury. "Emily is a wealthy girl, and I¡¯ve arranged things so no one can steal it from her. But I find it frustrating because she doesn''t care about money." To be honest, I was exasperated with her attitude. "All Emily wants out of life is to be comfortable, have a workshop where she can make things, and maybe find a partner and raise a family." I did not mention Emily''s unspoken desire to do something about how Coyn were treated in Foskos nor her resolve to raise a family far from Foskos where all Coyn were property. "She also keeps talking with Asgotl about traveling," I added because I knew it would rile the King. "Gods, no!" Imstay did not like hearing about Emily''s desire to see the world. "At least not without leaving us sky metal and instant fire." "Well, at least you''re honest about your greed," I conceded. The King exhaled in a huff. "It''s greed for my soldiers and my garrison guards, and it''s greed for the realm," he argued. "A battle mage such as myself doesn''t need those things. It''s to help those who don''t have much magic." "Paper has been a real boon for the crafts," Imstay pointed out. "Artificers can draft permanent plans at a fraction of the cost of high-count linen or vellum. I heard recently that there isn''t enough paper to meet the growing demand." "Well, then," Katsa the landholder smiled, "it looks like time to plant some more flax fields." "Not if you cut back on barley to do so," Oyyuth the brewer protested. "Ah," my son looked at the ceiling in mock innocence, "the endless dialog between supplier and crafter." "So, Imstay King," I decided it was time to change the subject, "are there any results at all on the search?" The King''s face fell. "I have every one of my agents, all of the corps of wraiths, and all my scouts looking for her. And no, I have not a single clue. It may be hard to find Aylem if she doesn''t want to be found. She knows the charm of circular light and the charms of shadows, nothingness, and misdirection. If she uses them together, we wouldn¡¯t find her even if she was standing next to us." Stolen novel; please report. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why she fled,¡± Imstay showed real worry on his face, ¡°and I worry that the Tirmarans to the north or the nations to the east will take advantage of her absence to attack us. Without the defensive advantage of the Queen in residence, we only have geography as an advantage.¡± ¡°Surely not right away, at least,¡± I pointed out. ¡°It takes a lot of effort to supply an army that must cross the Blue Mountains or the Salt Desert.¡± ¡°True, I doubt even Impotu could pull that off before next year¡¯s campaign season,¡± he pinched his nose and frowned, ¡°and my cousin Foyuna can use the Great Crystal so we¡¯re not completely blind to armed threats. I would sleep better, though, if the Queen was safe at home with her charms of defense.¡± --- A woman who has lost herself, in a cavern in the Fenland "Where am I?" a woman''s voice asked the darkness. She was lying on something soft and comfortable but she could sense something living but not human near her. * This is my home. You are in the Fenland. My children found you and brought you here. You were stumbling about in the cold, raving, delirious and half-starved, but I have healed most of your ills. Today is your third day here. Please tell me if you are hungry and I will have some meat prepared for you. * "Is this a cavern?" * Yes, it is. It is a large cavern with many chambers. I live here with my children. * "Who are you?" * I''m a large scary-looking monster. My name is Ud. My children and I hunt the chamois, the mountain goats, and the bighorn sheep. We mean no harm to any sapient flying or two-footed creatures. Sadly, when many see me or my children, they flee in terror. I will not be offended if you react the same way. * The woman lit the darkness with her magic and saw the red eyes, the great maw of the mouth, and the many hair-covered segmented limbs of the monster. She screamed. * Well, that could have gone better. At least you didn''t faint or go running out of the room. Pray tell, what is your name, child, and where are you from? * "You are a very scary monster." Standing up, the woman''s two eyes were level with the monster''s many eyes. "I''m afraid I can''t remember my name or my home. Please don''t eat me." * I have no interest in eating my guests. It''s bad for one¡¯s reputation as a host. Let me show you around. * The giant spider pivoted and exited up the tunnel. * First, you need to know where the front door is located. I have no problems living in the dark---fewer people screaming or fainting that way, but two-footed creatures like yourself need some sunlight every day. So to get to the front door, we go up this tunnel, take the first tunnel on the right and then the second on the left. * "It''s cold up here," the woman shuddered as the temperature dropped. * It''s the cold from outside getting in. The weather is quite wretched right now. It''s like this at the other doors too. That''s why I tend to stay at least two levels down during the cold season. I keep the doors open because I store my meat for the cold season next to the doors. It''s in that room to the left. Now if you take this passage here, I have some nice rooms set up for Cosm and Coyn, with real beds. If you had a mount, I''d have to move over to the west door where I have some spaces big enough for them. * "Do you get a lot of visitors?" * Sadly, no. I do have the occasional student, though, and some of them come to keep me company when they can. * "What do you teach?" * Magic. I doubt there''s much I could teach because you have already mastered the three branches of Cosm magic. * "I have? I don''t remember." * I hope you like mutton because it''s dinner, and early morning repast, and midday repast, and any snacks in between. We''ll cook all of your mutton since your kind doesn''t do well with raw meat. I''m afraid you''re stuck here for the next few days because of the weather. Everything is snowed in and the roads are impassible. I was hoping to stock up on some goat or chamois before the weather turned but I am not in luck this year. * "I have no complaints," the woman said. "If not for your children, I might be dead in the snow. I am grateful for the rescue." * While the snow continues, could I interest you in talking about magic? You have an extraordinary level of magic and have mastered its use for the most part, and you''re not even 40 yet. I would love to talk with you about it while waiting for this weather to blow through. * "It would be unreasonable to turn down such a request," the woman said, "especially with the inclement weather outside." * I am curious about your amnesia. You don''t show any sign of being hit in the head and you have no traces of drugs in your system. You have amazing physiology which prevents you from becoming ill, so I think I can rule out a physical cause for your loss of memory. That leaves mental trauma as a cause. You have blessing marks on your aura from Tiki, Landa, and Mugash, so there must be a story there for you to have three blessings. And you speak Fosk so I can assume you''re from Foskos. You are a silverhair and the biggest Cosm I think I''ve ever met, which is in keeping with your magical ability. So what thing happened that compelled you to leave your home and walk all the way here? * "I don''t remember anything. Is it possible to regain my memory?" * Do not be worried over it. Stress-induced amnesia goes away on its own. Give it time. Most cases resolve within two years of whatever trauma caused it. As for what happened to you, I am merely indulging in being a busybody out of boredom. Pay it no heed. Ah, here we are, back where we started. Allow me to conjure you a chair. * "How did you do that?" the woman was amazed. "Is that a new creation in the world or did you teleport it?" * It is a new creation. Creation magic is like the charm of water, where the desire for a physical object becomes a reality. I can teach it to you if you''d like. * "I want to try but I have lost my crystal." * Silly girl, someone with your ability doesn''t need a crystal. Will you permit me to show you how? * --- Emily, dreaming "Hello, Emily," a beautiful woman with long wavy black hair and golden eyes was sitting on the end of my bed, in a perfectly-draped white chiton illuminated by moonlight streaming in through the window. I sat up. It was still dark outside. Most everyone in the shrine would be asleep. "Who are you?" "Sophia. I must be quick, Emily, before Mugash catches me in her territory. I''ve been watching you for a long time and I have come to give you some wisdom. I have three things to tell you. First, the cat has things to give you in Is''syal so you must go there soon. Second, you must prevent Aylem from fleeing Black Falls. Last, Tiki and Mugash have not told you everything, nor will they unless you press them. Remember that the next time they ask you for something. When you''re a prophet, it''s a seller''s market and the gods are the buyers. Don''t let your timidity stop you from demanding a better deal. I must go now. Remember." Was this a dream? Was she the deity of wisdom? Did the Foskans even have a deity of wisdom? She had gone as quickly as she had come, and so did the moonlight. Then I remembered that Erdos did not have a moon. Did she just insinuate that I was a prophet? I didn''t like the sound of that. She also implied that I had bargaining power with the gods. Was that even possible? Could I choose not to do all the things they wanted me to do? Was it possible that the gods were in some way limited from acting directly on their creation? I did not remember when I fell back asleep. 59. Put the jar down and back away Lisaykos, Healing Shrine of Mugash "You''re up early," my son said, leaning against the doorjamb into my study. He was dressed all in black underneath a pale blue overtunic. "As are you," I noted, as I caught up on my unending administrative work. It was about halfway between the three quarter night bell and the first bell of daylight, a time when morning cooks, bakers and servants were first getting ready for the coming day. "I woke up with the funny twitch I get when something is going to happen," my son said frowning. "Funny, I had a similar feeling," I looked up from my work pile. Katsa walked into the study in her bare feet with her hair down and a housecoat over her nightgown, "heard you talking, because I woke up a few minutes ago with the same feeling." "Must run in the family," I put down my stylus. "The tea should still be hot if you two want some." "Thank you, mother," Katsa walked in, poured herself a cup, and sat down. "Is the kitchen ready to water and feed a hungry tired griffin?" Irhessa asked with that unique look he gets when he''s deep into clairvoyant sight. I haven''t figured out how he does long-range farseeing without trancing. "We have a griffin who will get here just before the first bell," he added. "He''s over Emily''s spring at the old explosion crater out in the rootless fissures, so he''s due north." "What''s he talking about?" Katsa mouthed at me, clueless as to Emily''s safe path across the lava plains. Irhessa stood straight up with his eyes wide. "He''s carrying something in his beak. He''s also exhausted from being in the air too long, the fool." "I''ll ask the kitchen to bring something up for him," I said. I sorted through the workers in the kitchen and found one of the smarter bakers. I mindcasted my instructions. "We should wake Emily.¡± "Should we?" my son asked. "Asgotl is bonded with Emily," I pointed out. "Would you want to explain to either of them a decision not to wake her?" The look of astonishment on Irhessa''s face was a sight. "Fish face," Katsa teased. He closed his gaping mouth and gave his sister an annoyed look. She smiled sweetly. I found the exchange nostalgic. "Anyway, a griffin bonding with a Coyn is rather amazing," Irhessa said, "but doesn''t that imply that his relationship with the queen is also a bond and not the charm of control?" "Aylem freed Asgotl in the middle of the Mounts War," I replied. "She is his primary bond. He left her and then he came back after a season. Hunting for his dinner in the wild was too much work for that lazy featherhead." "How did I miss that?" he frowned, "but it explains a lot." "I will wake Emily," I said, getting up. "I will go change," Katsa finished her tea. "If we''re not in here when you''re done, we''ll be on the south balcony," I informed her. "Irhessa, can you intercept the folks from the kitchen? Emily wakes up slowly so I may be a moment or five." "Yes, I noticed that about her," he said with some amusement. I poured some hot tea into one of Emily''s beakers and took it with me to her bedroom, putting it on the side table. I sat down and shook her lightly. "Emily?" "Go ''way," a sleepy voice muttered. "Asgotl has been spotted. He''ll be here soon. You..." I had never seen Emily wake up this quickly. She sat straight up fully alert, "h...how soon?" "We''re between a half and a quarter before the first daylight bell. Irhessa said he should be here before dawn." "So there''s time to change," she swung her feet out from under the covers. "I''ll get out of your way," I got up to leave. "I left you a cup of hot tea on the night table." "Right. Thank you." She was down the bed stair before I had a chance to close the door behind me. I found my son in my study examining Emily''s pile of books. "Is she reading all of these?" he asked. "She''s mostly done with that pile," I remarked as I sat down on the lounge next to the sideboard. "I expect she''ll be getting a new pile in a day or two. She''s a very fast reader and remembers most of what she reads. I honestly have never seen anyone learn as fast as she does. It unnerves me, some days." "It does disturb me that she knows so much," he leafed through a geography manuscript. "Some of her knowledge is far beyond what even many experts could know, like how the air pockets stopped the flow of water in the Is''syal aqueduct. I checked with the scholars at the Shrine of Vassu and they had never even heard of the air pocket phenomenon; yet when presented with Emily''s math of what she called hydraulic head, they confirmed that it was a sound theory. "And then there''s the contraptions she designed to stop backflow and remove air pockets, which were built and tested at the Shrine of Giltak. Where did those come from? It''s like the designs just leaped from her mind fully formed. How does she do that? I find it perplexing." "Do you doubt her at all?" I asked. "No, I would trust her with my life. She has no deceit in her, nor greed, nor ambition. If she has weaknesses, those would have to be almost the same as her good qualities. Without greed, she doesn''t know the worth of her labor, and this lets others take advantage of her. She grossly undervalues herself. She has no ambition, so she doesn''t put herself forward. She doesn''t want to be in the public eye. "Then there''s the trust problem. She finds it very hard to trust anyone. She lived alone for so long at such a young age that she doesn''t know how to handle or approach people and has insufficient skills to judge if someone is trustworthy or not." "She trusts you," I pointed out, still a bit envious at how quickly Irhessa and Emily forged a friendship. "She didn''t at first. I read it off her when I first found her that I was a calculated risk she was willing to take, nothing more." He put the geography down, "Asgotl just passed Glass Butte and the kitchen staff is coming up the stairs." "We should head out to the balcony," I got up. He held the door for me, "It worries me that there''s more in her brain than her age should allow. Sometimes I feel like I''m talking with someone much older than myself, but she can''t even be 16 yet." He laughed to himself, "I hate puzzles I can''t solve." "How did you guess at her age?" I asked. "She''s hit puberty but her last four back teeth haven''t come in yet." "She hasn''t menstruated yet," I pointed out. "Yes, but she''s underweight and probably grew up malnourished, which accounts for that. A weight deficiency can do that to a girl her age." "I have considered that, trust me." I stopped to knock on the hidden door from the corridor to Emily''s room. "Emily?" I peeked and saw the room and the bathroom were empty. "She''s on the balcony already with Katsa," he held the balcony door open for me. He kept holding it for three of the kitchen staff who followed with two kettles of water and one of raw mutton. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "He''s over the river now," Irhessa said as he lit up all the charm gem lights on the balcony. Katsa had already cast the charm of warmth. I thought it was a little too warm. Soon after, we saw Asgotl circle the dome of the atrium and then bank, making a precise stall coming over the parapet and immediately dropping onto the tiles. Irhessa ran up and took what he had in his beak. Without saying a word to anyone, the griffin walked straight to a kettle of water and drank it all. "Oh, so much better," Asgotl said. Then he promptly emptied the second kettle of water. "More, please?" Katsa took out a quartz crystal pendant from around her neck, and then there was water again in both kettles. "Thank you," Asgotl bowed his head, then lifted it and studied Katsa. "Have we met?" "Asgotl," I put my hand on my daughter''s shoulder, "you have met just once and only briefly. This is my daughter, Katsa." "Ah! May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Lord Gunndit," he bowed his head again. "And with you, Asgotl," she smiled. "Uhg," Asgotl sunk to the floor, "too tired to stand up." Emily ran over to him and he bumped her with his beak, "hey, grandma." "Hey, whale blubber, w...was w...worried about you. You w...were gone ten days. You said you''d be back in six." "I found Aylem''s trail but lost it north of the Copper River Sink." "That''s not good, w...whale blubber," Emily scratched him between the eyes. "W...what did you bring back?" "This is one of the queen''s shoes," Irhessa put his hand inside the vamp, "and there are things in it." He pulled out a small burnt leather pouch, "this might be yours, Great One." "Yes," Emily ran over and he handed it to her. She opened the burnt leather and looked inside, eyes getting wide. "Is there fire inside?" Asgotl asked. "Let''s go burn something down, w...whale blubber," Emily looked up, grinning with mischief. "Let''s not," I said immediately. "Killjoy," Emily retorted, still grinning. "There are some small jars inside the shoe," my son pulled out a small ceramic jar with a lid sealed by wax. "I''ve never seen these letterforms before," he frowned at the writing on the jar. I took it from him. "This says stibnite," I deciphered the Latin letters. Irhessa gave me a wondering look as he handed me the next jar. "This one says potassium chlorate." "Hmm," Irhessa pulled the last jar out carefully, "this one is leaking something wet." He was about to hand it to me when a loud soprano voice said: "DO NOT GIVE THAT JAR TO YOUR MOTHER. PLACE IT ON THE GROUND GENTLY AND EVERYONE MOVE AWAY." It was Emily. I had no idea she could generate that kind of volume. She was always so soft-spoken. "Hessakos," she always used the name he was known by in Is''syal, "do not w...wipe off your wet hand and don''t t...touch anything with it." My son nodded, looking a little worried. "Drop the shoe. It w...will have to be decontaminated or destroyed. Now dunk your hand in this kettle of w...water and don''t pull it out." "Gods, Irhessa, your fingers are glowing," Katsa observed. I looked and saw pale glowing white patches on his palm and fingers. "Hessakos, in the water, now!" Emily pointed at the kettle. He sat on the tiles next to the kettle and dunked his hand in. "Don''t rub any of your fingers but m...move your hand around in the w...water to get as much of the phosphorus off of your skin as possible. Good, the immediate danger is over but we''re not safe yet," Emily visible deflated as the panic left her. "Lisaykos, are the other two jars w...wet?" "They are both dry," I replied. "Good," she took a deep breath and let it out, relaxing her shoulders. "Lord Gunndit, can you please drop the temperature w...within the charm of warmth you cast?" "Is the heat too much for you, Great One?" Katsa looked concerned. "I made it warmer than usual because you said you were cold when you first came out." "No, this is a good temperature. I like it, but the phosphorus on the shoe and jar w...will self-ignite if it''s too w...warm." "I may need to cast a new warmth charm." "Do w...whatever you can, please. That''s all I ask. Lisaykos, is there any copper sulfate heptahydrate in the shrine for m...medicinal use?" "I know that''s a chemical name but it''s one I don''t know yet," I said. "What about blue acid rock?" "Yes, we have blue acid rock." "I n...need a horn of blue acid rock crystals and some rags that can get thrown away, and not into the rag pile for p...paper," Emily stated. "Please burn them w...when we''re done." "Give me a moment," I found the night rounds healer in charge on the second floor, where the regular medical supplies were kept. I mindcasted the request to her. "Some is on its way." "Thank you. Alright, here''s the plan," Emily finally started to explain. "The last jar had white phosphorous stored in w...water, which is the only safe way to store it w...without inert gas. Hessakos got some w...white phosphorous on his hand. This is bad. First, when the w...water evaporates, w...w...white phosphorous can spontaneously burn if it''s warm out. Next, white phosphorus can also react with the skin to create chemical burns. Last, it''s a potent poison even in low doses. Hessakos is a Cosm so he''s big enough that I''m not w...w...worried about phosphorus poisoning but, Hessakos, just in case, for the next day, if you start feeling nauseous or crampy, or have abdominal pain, or a weird heartbeat or get breathing problems, head for the nearest healer. Better yet, just camping out in your mother''s study should suffice." The door from the hallway opened and Imstay walked out onto the balcony. "Hey, that''s one of Aylem''s shoes," he walked toward it, bending down to pick it up. "Don''t touch that," both myself and Katsa blocked the King and moved him back. "What?" Imstay was unhappy to be blocked. "Imstay King, Asgotl came back with something dangerous without knowing it," I told him while holding him back by the shoulders. "Some of it is on that shoe and if you don''t want to join my son in getting treated for touching it, just stay still and be quiet for now." "But...!" "I will command the grace of Mugash," I uttered the magic words that allows a healer to restrain a king about to harm himself. It''s a charm only healers blessed by Mugash can use. "Seriously?" "Seriously." "Imstay King," Emily got his attention. "You know the charms for drying and p...putting out fires, yes?" "Of course I do," he frowned. "Please dry the shoe out," Emily requested, trying not to smile and not succeeding. "Fine," Imstay took his personal crystal out of his belt pouch and cast the charm. There was a small tendril of smoke from the shoe and then the fabric of the vamp burst into flame. "Gertzpul spare me," Imstay stared at the burning shoe in disbelief. "Pl...pl...please put it out now," Emily was still smiling. Imstay cast the charm to put out the fire. The fire went out and then a breath later it started back up. The king swore under his breath and put the fire out again. It started back up again. "Try using the water charm and get it wet again," Emily suggested. The king gave Emily a long questioning look and cast the water charm. The flames vanished. "Could you please explain, Great One?" Imstay demanded. He was interrupted. "Who needs the acid rock and rags?" A healer in a working grey robe ran onto the balcony. "I''ll take them," I walked over to the door. "You might want to stay for this, Sulkirk. We have a new poison and flammable substance we''re trying to contain. Just don''t touch anything." "Surd save us," Katsa said in a loud voice. "The jar just caught fire." "Let it burn and don''t breathe the fumes," Emily said loudly, then she dropped in volume now that she had everyone''s attention. "It''s just the material that leaked out and c...caked on the outside. It w...will go out on its own, eventually." "I''ll fix the smoke," I took out my crystal and created a breeze to blow the smoke away from everyone. Then I walked over to my poor son who looked just a little worried. "Put the acid rock crystals into the w...water, please, w...without splashing," Emily directed. "Now, Hessakos, count to fifty, then take a rag, soak it in the w...w...water, and keeping your hand in the water, brush off the remaining residue on your skin." "Alright," he started counting out loud. When he was done, Emily explained: "Blue acid rock is a sulfate of copper. It reacts w...with phosphorus so the phosphorus gets bonded with some of it, preventing it from catching fire again. The rags w...will remove the phosphorus, and the acid rock neutralizes w...what¡¯s left. Just to be sure, you w...will use all those rags, brushing stuff off, even if you can''t see any left on your skin. When you''re done, you should wash your clothes right away or at least rinse them in a lot of water if you want to keep the dye from fading." "Why do I need to use all the rags?" my son asked. "That''s a lot of rags, Great One." "Because there can be some phosphorous particles left which are so small that the eye can not see them. Just because y...you can''t see the danger, doesn''t mean it isn''t there." "There''s no better way?" he asked, starting on his second rag. "Not that I know of. There could be a charm that might w...work, but I''m not the person to be asking about charms," Emily gave him a lopsided smile. Then she turned to Asgotl, who had been watching everything with a worried expression. "Whale blubber, d...do you have any burning sensations in your mouth or on your tongue?" "None that I noticed," he replied. "I am so glad that it''s cold out, which kept the stuff on the leaking jar from igniting w...while you were flying," Emily pinched her nose and grimaced. "If you notice any mouth or b...beak pain today, say something, even if you think it''s minor. Okay?" "Okay." "Great One," Imstay ventured a question, "how do you know there are particles so small that the eye can''t see them?" "If I built a microscope, w...we probably could see s...some of them," she replied without thinking. "Great One," Imstay had an incandescent grin on his face, "pray tell, what is a microscope and how hard is it to build one?" "Arg!" Emily whacked her palm on her forehead. --- 60. The Griffins Travels Asgotl, Healing Shrine of Mugash The two-footed ones had their early repast in Lisaykos'' dining room, which I couldn''t get into because it only has a single, not double, door. I had my mutton out on the balcony. The shoe and the jar that leaked were both immersed in their own kettles of water, for now, to keep them from catching fire. The stuff I brought back that catches fire just by removing it from water is frightening. Emily plays with scary stuff. When I was done eating, I wandered into Lisaykos'' study and took a nap. Wolkarys took the granddaughter to meet up with her classmates and the rest of the two-footeds distributed themselves around the study and woke me up. After the King swore Katsa and Oyyuth to secrecy, it was my turn to talk. "Emily and I considered it an oversight not to consult with her before searching the valleys north of the lava plains. Emily knows the five valleys up there better than any map. She''s not recovered enough to travel but I could check places Emily identified as locations a person would visit. "I started at the beginning of the third rotation, working my way from north to south. I began at the Valley of the Birch River, which I must say has some superb chamois hunting. There was nothing obvious along the Birch or Aspen Rivers; however, I found a hairpin along Emily''s safe passage across the Great Cracks. I couldn¡¯t grasp it with my talons so it''s probably still there. Aylem, by the way, does know that route." "What route is that?" Imstay asked. "I''ve never heard of a safe route on foot across the lava.¡± "I found the route six years ago," said Emily. "I don''t think anyone who w...wasn''t on foot would find it. It takes four very long days for me to walk from Blockit to the sink of the Vanishing River." "Imstay King," Irhessa jumped in, "I know the route. It''s real. You can indeed walk across the Great Cracks; and before you ask, no, you can''t get a wagon across." "I had no idea," Imstay looked like he had swallowed something bitter. "My apologies to the three of you for doubting you. I will be good and shut my big mouth now." I was shocked. Imstay just apologized to a griffin and a Coyn? The king had changed. I might begin to like the fellow. I returned to my account of my travels: "I found the Queen''s trail along the Vanishing River. The first thing I found was that someone, I assume Aylem Queen, had removed every rock and piece of debris out of Emily''s collapsed cave, including the walls that had fallen between the three separate chambers that Emily used. The debris has been spread out and searched. Someone had gathered Emily''s old belt pouch plus the three jars, and had placed them inside the base of a broken furnace." "I presume the jar was not leaking then?" the High Priestess asked. "Not that I noticed," I replied, Great One. "It''s possible I cracked the wax seal or cracked the clay when I put it in the shoe." "Emily, this phosphorous stuff," Lisaykos switched targets, "is it more or less dangerous than your explosive powder?" "More," Emily answered. "It''s the m...most dangerous thing I have ever made." "This concerns me, Emily. Why do you have something like that?" "It''s an inter...mediate step for making red phosphorous, w...which is much safer." "What is it for?" Lisaykos was radiating worry. "Instant fire." The words "instant fire" got Imstay''s attention. "Could you use the white whatever-you-called-it to make instant fire sticks instead of the red, Great One?" "Too dangerous," Emily replied. "How do you make the white stuff become the red stuff?" Imstay asked. "Heat it in water." "That''s it?" "More or less, though you need to use a retort or alembic." ¡°Ahem!¡± I butted in to quell the chatter and resumed my narrative: "The cave site now looks very different because the floor of the former cave is exposed to the open air in its entirety. "I left the items, meaning to return and collect them. I next checked the hot springs because Aylem and I visited Emily there early during planting season, almost a year ago." I noticed Emily had a satisfied grin on her face. I winked at her. "Wait," Imstay interrupted again, looking at Emily, "Great One, you were dealing with Aylem that early on?" "No," Emily looked amused. "The Queen visited my hot pool uninvited w...while I was having a soak. I knew I w...wasn''t alone because Asgotl made so much noise as he tried to get through the trees to get to the hot springs. I thought it was a snow bear so I got out of the pool and got my bow, wi...w...which I always kept in reach, to shoot the bear before it could reach me." "She scared the willies out of me," I added. "I got through the last few trees only to be looking down at the shaft of an arrow aimed right between my eyes by this little dripping-wet girl who had no clothes on. Aylem asked if it was okay to share the hot pool. Emily wasn''t talking back then, but she put the bow down and got back into the pool. Aylem decided it was okay to join Emily in the hot pool, so she did. "As soon as Aylem got comfortable in the water, Emily hopped out, put on her clothes, and gathered up her pack and bow. Then she spotted Aylem''s pile of clothes, which she picked up and proceeded to hang on tree branches as she walked away. There was still a lot of snow on the ground up there, so Aylem had to go running through the snow without any clothes on to retrieve her clothes. Emily placed Aylem''s underclothes, shoes and stockings the furthest away, which I thought was quite amusing, but Aylem didn''t think so, for some reason." "You stole the Queen''s clothes?" Imstay was gobsmacked. Emily smiled an evil little smile. "Y...yes and I w...would do it again in the same circumstances. I couldn''t t...talk then but I w...wanted to make it clear that I did not w...welcome any visitors to my private valley. I w...was very unhappy she had crashed my hot springs." "PFFffffft," Imstay tried not to laugh and did not succeed. "You know, she told me she had tried to visit with you and that you vanished into the dense forest where she was too big to follow," Lisaykos added. "She never mentioned there was a hot spring there." "I loved that hot spring," Emily sighed. "The scouts trashed it while I w...was here recovering from the eye injury. I built a nice bench in the pool with a paved path. The scouts knocked it all down, left garbage behind, and cut down several trees for reasons that are be...yond me." Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. "That''s what I''m leading up to," I said, trying to get the meeting back to the main event, which was my narration. "The hot springs are all cleaned up. Even your bench is rebuilt and the paving stones replaced. The trees dropped into the pools are gone. It looks almost the same as when Aylem and I first visited." "I found Aylem''s shoe at the hot spring. I put it with the jars and pouch at the cave site. I knew for sure that I was on her trail. I checked the big fir tree where Emily had built an emergency shelter for Heldfirk and Opo''aba. It was clear that someone has used it recently. If you didn''t know about that fir tree, you would never be able to find it, so I was sure it was Aylem. After that, I was able to follow her trail up to the source of the Vanishing River." "How?" Imstay asked. "The remains of cooked fish and campfire sites. I was trying to figure out which way she had gone when I ran into a little trouble of my own. I had crossed into the territory of a griffin clan and they didn''t much like me. They chased me northwest for two days until I came to the ocean. I hid along the coast until they gave up on finding me. "I flew south until I found the mouth of the Claw River. From there, I flew southeast until I hit the Salt River. I followed it back to the lava plains. I returned to the cave site to fetch the shoe and other items. You know the rest." "I''ll repurpose the agents who went south and east," Hessakos looked at the king, "excluding those keeping an eye on the situation between Junu and Impotu." "Agreed," Imstay said. "Is Aylem''s disappearance known out there?" "Impotu knows. I haven''t gotten good intelligence out of Junu lately, what''s left of it. That''s one of my current worries." Hessakos worried the base of his left thumb absently. "If the Queen gets as far as Tirmara, it could upset the reindeer riders. I''m not sure what would happen if a powerful mage like Aylem ran into any of their shamans." "I feel sorry for any shaman who crossed her,¡± Imstay remarked, ¡°though she would have to get across the Great Fen first to reach Tirmara." Imstay stared off into the distance, thinking. "We''ll need to deal with those cannibals at some point. If they ever spread south again into valleys north of the Great Cracks, we should eliminate them or break up the families and assimilate the children." Imstay frowned. "I don''t understand why she hasn''t returned home. The Blessed Emily released her from a divine punishment so there''s nothing more anyone can do to her; not that anyone could do anything to her once she recovered her magic. So why...?" "Why run away?" Hessakos finished Imstay''s sentence with a sad little smile on his face, looking at his sister and mother. "Yes," Imstay replied, perplexed. "You really don''t know?" Hessakos grimaced. Imstay was being very dense. "Imstay, brother, if you run away from your family problems as the way to solve those problems, it is difficult to go back," said the voice of experience. "The problems you ran from may still be there if you return," Hessakos didn¡¯t move his gaze from his mother. "Then there is the fear of rejection and the public shame. I thought you knew that." The horrified look on Imstay''s face signaled that he just understood what Hessakos meant. "Oh crap. I''m sorry, little brother. I am such a thoughtless idiot." Hessakos shrugged and gave the King a knowing smile, "I know you are, but I like you anyway." "You...!" Imstay grabbed a lounge cushion and threw it at Hessakos, who caught it and sent it flying back. "Children!" Lisaykos scolded in a voice that tolerated no dissent. "There will be no roughhousing in my quarters. Act your age." "He started it," Hessakos pointed a finger at the King. Lisaykos stared at her son in disapproval. Hessakos blushed and collapsed into himself, "Yes, mother." Oyyuth and Katsa shared a look and started laughing. "What''s so funny?'' Lisaykos snapped. Katsa managed to recover her composure. "It''s good to see the two of you getting along so well. I''ve been a bit worried about it." "Mother Lisaykos," Oyyuth smiled, "my drawing room has been the site of some epic pillow fights between these two." "So that''s how it is," Lisaykos digested the information. ¡°It¡¯s good to know that our sovereign can maintain dignity in every circumstance.¡± She studied the King with an unreadable face. He looked back at her, confused. He sighed. "So," Imstay returned to the matter at hand, "we need to find Aylem and convince her it''s safe to come home." "And if she doesn''t want to come home?" I asked the room full of two-footeds. "We''ll deal with it, if and when it happens," Imstay declared. "Our priority remains to find her." "I''m embarrassed our searches to the north were insufficient," Hessakos confessed. "That was my oversight but I assumed that if she went that way, it would be easy to find her trail in the new snow along the rivers." "H...her visit to my valley may have happened after you searched it," Emily pointed out. "Everyone assumed she w...was traveling quickly, and that may have been a bad assumption." "At least we have a trail now," Hessakos said. "What are the other two jars that came back with Asgotl?" Lisaykos asked. "Both are ingredients for instant fire. The potassium chlorate is fine so long as no one ever opens it. The stibnite is benign." "Why don''t you have the containers marked that way?" Lisaykos wanted to know. "I never thought that anyone besides myself w...would handle my chemicals. I never marked them because I w...was the only person using them." "How should they be stored while it''s inside my shrine?" Lisaykos was deep into one of her annoying long-suffering patience acts. "Put the potassium chlorate inside a much larger jar or crock w...with a lid, so if it ignites, it is contained. Put it in a cool place w...without any com...b...bustibles nearby. That''s probably going further than needed, but this is your shrine and you make the rules.¡± "What about the shoe and the phosphorous, Emily?" "The shoe should be burnt since it''s already halfway to being destroyed. The best thing for the white phosphorus would be to convert it to red phosphorus, but I lost all my equipment to do that in the explosion. For now, just keep it in the kettle and keep the water topped off. Alternatively, we could just expose it to air with a charm of w...warmth and let it burn to nothingness. I''d rather not do that since it took two long smelly years to produce w...what''s in that jar, and I w...would hate to repeat that. But this is your shrine, Lisaykos, do w...what you need to do and I will abide by it." "Can you not buy new equipment, Great One?" Imstay asked. With another unreadable face, Emily explained in a sad, soft voice: "Y...you can''t buy the equipment I lost. I m...made every piece by hand. I fired every brick. I built every one of my six furnaces from the ground up. I m...made my own charcoal. I forged my own tools. I cast my own pots and pans. I carved all my casting molds. I made my own casting sand. I smelted my own copper and I made my own iron and steel. That''s w...why the loss of my home is so painful, even now. I lost years of w...work and all my notes. Can y...you give those five years back to me, Imstay King?" She nailed him with a motionless unwavering look. The king closed his eyes and grimaced. "I think I am beginning to understand just how much you lost through the actions of my scouts. I don''t think I could bear it if this had happened to me. Your reply to General Bobbo when I sent him to negotiate finally makes sense to me. There is no treasure in Foskos that could ever repay you for your home and workshop and your way of life. That was the real message in your reply to me and I was too stupid to see it." "Yes, that w...was the real message and it was also a test for you, Imstay King. You failed it. Do not think that I missed the intent of your scouts to capture me and confiscate my possessions. If Tiki had not made me a revelator, I might be in danger from y...you still." The two of them stared at each other for a long uncomfortable interval. "Why aren''t you angry with me?" a frowning Imstay asked, breaking the impasse. "I w..was extremely angry, for a long time," Emily admitted in her slow and soft voice, in the same tone she used for discussing a recipe or talking about the weather. "I still am rather unhappy over the whole situation and all the setbacks I''ve suffered over the last year. But it¡¯s a w...waste of time obsessing over w...what was lost and can''t be replaced easily. It''s a fool''s errand to spend effort on things I can''t fix or change so I w..will do what I always have done, and move on with life, spending my efforts on the things I can achieve." All the Cosm in the room were shocked speechless. If I''m not mistaken, the King looked a bit scared. "Are we enemies, Great One?" Imstay asked in a neutral voice. "Given that I am currently residing within your kingdom, that is not to my advantage," Emily smiled without mirth. "Rather, I find it fortuitous for the King of Foskos to be in my debt." The screaming silence was shorter this time but much heavier. "I see," Imstay King said, once again breaking the frozen tableau. --- 61. The Guitar and the Compass Emily, in Aybhas "Seriously, Great One, figuring out these fret things, as you call them, has been quite a challenge," craftmaster Ruxlos said. Wolkayrs'' mother recommended her as someone who could build a guitar. Ruxlos made musical instruments. Other than the meatball stand, hers was the first business I had seen with Coyn workers. The Coyn in the shop all looked happy and healthy. They got along with Ruxlos and she appeared to treat them more like employees than slaves. Despite that, each one had a wood identity tablet in a belt pouch and wore a mantle with the shop name on it. It was clear that Ruxlos was their owner. The shop''s Coyn were all highly-skilled artisans doing complicated carving and shaping of wood. I wanted to talk to them but my previous attempt to reach out had failed. Wolkayrs had stopped me before I committed a grave offense, pointing out it was rude for someone of my social status to talk to a shop''s slaves. It would be taken as an insult to the shop''s owner. That was an unpleasant revelation. I wanted to know what their life was like after the shop closed. Who trained them? Could they read and write? What did they eat? Where did they sleep? How did Ruxlos treat them at home? What happened if they were ill or injured or too old to work? I knew so little. Every time I visited Ruxlos'' shop, all work stopped. Today was no different. Everyone watched as I tuned the current iteration of a guitar. I had taken Mugash''s suggestion to have one made. The only problem so far was the name. Because I told people that making one was a dream command from Mugash, everyone was now calling it Mugash''s divine instrument. The name guitar just wasn''t going to stick. Plucked instruments in this culture were all lap instruments and ones with shaped bodies and long necks were all played with a bow. As far as I could tell, there were no long-necked instruments that were plucked. This meant that things like frets were unknown. It was a good thing the zither-like instruments were around so the art of wrapping strings was quite advanced. The zither things were called prells, I recently discovered. My top three strings were sheep gut and the bottom strings were gut or silk wrapped in bronze. Having no tuning fork or piano for reference, I had to guess where E was for the lowest string and tuned upward. Then I tuned down the strings using overtones. I finished with the tuning riff I wrote in college, back when Art Garfunkel still hung out around Columbia University and folk music was big. As I played, my rogue brain was contemplating if it was possible to build an oscilloscope without vacuum tubes or solid-state components so I could tune to a perfect A at 440 hertz. As far as I could tell, local musicians tuned to the pitch of the bells on the dome of the shrine. That topic brought me back to an ongoing problem in this strange world I was in: how to establish standardized measurements, especially for time. Finding a perfect A at 440 hertz was meaningless if there was no way to measure a second of time. But that wasn''t relevant for my guitar so I got back to playing. Ruxlos let me sit on her work table, which was taller than the seven Coyn who worked in her shop. The Coyn were arranged along a mezzanine that lined three sides of the shop. It was high enough that the heads of the Coyn at their workbenches were at the same level as Ruxlos'' when she was working at her own table in the center of the workshop. It was a good arrangement to handle the differences in size in a shared workshop. The current iteration of the guitar was quite good. Ruxlos wanted to put a carved decorative piece over the sound hole like you see on lutes. I insisted it stay open. She wanted to make the soundbox smaller and I insisted it stay as big as possible. It was a lost cause to explain that the soundbox had to operate like a Helmholtz resonator, but that was the issue at stake. I just dug in my heels and was as pleasantly stubborn as possible about what I wanted. Wolkayrs told me later that Ruxlos made different versions using her ideas and had found that I was correct in insisting on a large soundbox and an open soundhole. she did spend some time experimenting with the bracing inside the soundbox to make the resonance even better, but that''s getting ahead of the story by a few years. What I had in my hands on the afternoon of the fifth day of the first rotation of the new year was a working guitar with a proper acoustic guitar sound. Overall, I was happy with Ruxlos'' efforts. After my tuning riff, I ran through several plucked pieces I still remembered from another life, mostly pieces of adapted lute music by John Dowland plus some of my favorites from classical rock. My fingers had never played any instruments in this lifetime so it was a struggle. I had no playing calluses and my new hands had no muscle memory, so I was flubbing a lot of notes. It was frustrating. The bottom E string kept going out of tune. Either the tuning peg wasn''t snug enough to maintain tension on the string or the string itself was stretching in an unstable way. After tuning it for the fourth time, I pointed it out to Ruxlos. That''s when I noticed it was dead quiet. The normal sounds of a street filled with shops and booths were missing. I looked up and across the store''s front counter which was open to the street. There was a crowd of people who had stopped to listen, including Wolkayrs'' father, Hopushe, who did the hard labor in the family wood shop; his mother, Haddakos, who managed the shop; and his sister, Uxthodos, who would inherit the shop one day. Prelb, the bronze-casting lady who made the paddle for my ice cream maker, was also in the crowd. "Craftmaster, how long have those people been out there?" I asked while I changed out the E string for one with a different wrapped core. Ruxlos was still experimenting with strings since I insisted I needed to play hammered notes on the fretboard. So the strings had to have enough elasticity. What I really wanted were steel strings but I had to invent steel wire first. Living on Erdos made me realize just how much I took for granted in my previous life, like steel guitar strings. "They started to gather when you started playing," Ruxlos smiled. "Where did you learn to play like that?" "Mugash put the design in my head and that''s w...where the music is from too." I couldn''t exactly tell her that I had spent eight years on the top of a mountain in Peru running the gold recovery plant for a cyanide heap leach operation. In a place that remote, the Anglo employees either made the rounds of the three bars in the nearby village, played Nintendo, or took up a hobby. My hobbies were guitar playing and writing horrible romance novels, none of which was ever picked up by a publisher. That was after I divorced my second husband and took the farthest job I could find to get away from the vindictive abusive bastard. I switched to doing some B. B. King riffs to punish the new string, which was staying in tune. I didn''t feel like I could manage any flamenco pieces because the tips of my fingers were getting too sore, so I stopped playing. If I played anymore, I wouldn''t be able to play for days afterward. I needed to get my playing calluses back. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Ruxlos, can y...you add a fret here?" I played the overtones high on the fretboard on the top five strings. "Don''t move those fingers," she grabbed a crayon of red wax and marked the fretboard. "The fretboard is still too w...wide for my liking," I noted. "Is it possible to narrow it some more? It''s still difficult to reach the bottom string." I fingered the open major G chord, which is a real chore if you have short fingers like mine. "Again? There won''t be any fretboard left if I narrow it further. It''s so narrow now that I can''t even play it." "Well, yes, but y...you have fingers the size of tree stumps and I have fingers," I switched to a high and airy voice, "like little delicate flowers." Back in my normal voice, I added: "Narrower fretboard, Ruxlos. My fingers are smaller than even m...most Coyn." "I told you so, Rux," remarked the Coyn at the foot-powered lathe. He didn''t even look up from the piece of wood he was shaping. His smile was quite smug. It was interesting that he used a nickname with his owner, who I now knew had the power of life and death over him. "I''d drop you in the steam box, Gatzel," Ruxlo didn''t even turn her head, "but there are customers in the shop." Her workers all busted up laughing. I surmised that the Coyn and Ruxlos must trade banter often, given how relaxed they were with one another. "How fast do think you''ll be done?" I asked Ruxlos. "Well," Ruxlos looked over at one of her workers, "how long to fit a narrower fretboard, Kirkun?" "I''ll need to cut a new neckpiece, so make it two days," an older Coyn woman said, not even looking up from gluing some thin pieces of wood." "Two days, Great One," Ruxlos said. "I''ll be back," I smiled and contemplated jumping down. Wolkayrs grabbed me before I could and put me on his shoulder, one hand on my own shoulder to keep me balanced. "Wolkayrs, I want to w...walk back," I protested. "I want to get back before next rotation, Great One," he said smiling. "The market is crowded today and you walk too slow." He let himself out the back door into the alley. There were two garrison guards, both silverhairs in their light blue tunics flanking the door. A guard escort of two battle mages was the price I had to pay to escape the shrine. It was the same arrangement as last year but it would have been nice if I had been consulted. Lisaykos was a good egg, and I admit I was fond of her, but she was overly protective in my opinion. I knew she meant well because the state of my health made me vulnerable, but the loss my freedom grew heavier by the day. The bad part of this was that I lacked the physical stamina to ditch the surveillance on me. My lack of fitness was really beginning to depress me. "I am going to go up the stairs on my own," I told my keeper when we arrived back at the shrine. Wolkayrs sighed dramatically. "Oh well, I suppose I can wait for you one and a half flights up. I could use the nap." I smacked the top of his head lightly, "beast." "Slug." I did climb the south stair and got as far as the second floor before I had to stop. It did wipe me out for the rest of the day. I later fell asleep while trying to help Lisaykos balance chemical equations. She was making good progress for someone who hated algebra. She was determined to master the material as she struggled to describe Mugash''s revelation of how oxygen and carbon dioxide worked in the body. Two days later, I brought home a guitar. Ruxlos had already mocked up a Cosm-scaled version by using different string materials. Wolkayrs told Thuorfosi about it and she immediately ran down to Ruxlos'' shop to order one for herself. It was the eighth guitar order Ruxlos had received in the two bells since I had brought mine home. The day after, Lisaykos handed me a package from High Priestess Raoleer at the Building Shrine of Giltak. It contained two completed compasses, one small enough for me and one large enough for any Cosm. Both could use a pencil, now available for sale from licensed workshops in Aybhas, Omexkel, Kas, and Is''syal. For someone who disliked the chore of accounting, Lisaykos had a good head for business and was an keen negotiator on my behalf. I wasn''t sure why, but it mattered to her. I wondered if she was trying to protect me from aggressive Cosm business people. The compass material was brass, though it reminded me of those cheap plastic compasses kids used in school in my previous life. There was a tensioning screw and spring arrangement at the pivot that was a work of art. Some brilliant craftsman cut those threads by hand. I was in awe. It was a much better design than what I had suggested to Raoleer. "I don''t understand why you are all excited about this thing, Emily," Lisaykos said after I played with the compass for an entire bell with a stupid smile on my face. "Emily, you are frightening me with that smile. You can stop now." "Let me show you something to explain why this is a big deal," I said as I grabbed a piece of paper, now made in licensed workshops in Aybhas and sold in Blacks Ferry, Gunndit, Omexkel, Is''syal, and Kas. I grabbed the compass and climbed up on a chair next to Wolkayrs. Lisaykos gave me a look, then got up and walked over. "I will pick two locations on this piece of paper. No matter where the dots are, I can always find the point which is exactly halfway between them. There is no guess work here. This method is always precise. "First, I w...will draw a line between the two dots," I borrowed Wolkayrs straight edge and drew the line. "Now I take the compass and set it on one dot and draw an arc that''s greater than the estimated halfway point. Using the same angle on the compass, I''ll now do this for the other dot. See how the two arcs overlap in two places? I w...will now draw a line between those two arc intersections, and the point where it intersects the line between the original two dots is the exact midpoint." "My parents do stuff like this with a nail, a string, and a wax crayon at the shop, but I''ve not seen it used exactly this way before," Wolkayrs remarked. "That''s handy." "I''ve never seen this before," Lisaykos studied the paper. "I assume it''s good for more than just finding midpoints." "Giltak hinted in the dream command that I needed the compass to solve a more complicated problem of mathematical geometry." "Why?" Lisaykos asked. "To make a tool that makes the multiplication and division of Queen''s numbers much easier to use. For example, let''s say I need to divide 876 by 128. How long would that problem of long division take you, Lisaykos?" "I''m slow with the Queen''s numbers so I must look up numbers in the multiplication tables, so I''d guess maybe as much as an eighth of a bell," she said. "Well, I believe Giltak is going to instruct me to build this calculating tool and I need a compass to do that. Once the new tool exists, it can solve problems of long division out to three digits in about five breaths or less." "Five breaths?" Lisaykos was gobsmacked. I had a marvelous feeling of accomplishment looking at that gobsmacked face. To ice the cake, Wolkayrs was deep into a fish face, and I regretted not having a candy to pop into his open mouth. Yes, life was very good right at that moment. "Did you see the invitation?" Lisaykos asked, recovering her dignity. "What invitation?" I asked, confused. "The one I forgot to give you along with the package with the compasses in it." "No, Lisaykos, I haven''t seen the invitation." I smiled as sweetly as possible and batted my eyelashes at her. She strolled over to her table and brought it back for me, "I will be coming with you, just to make sure the Shrine of Giltak is still standing after you and Raoleer start plotting together." --- 62. Shrine of Giltak Thuorfosi, the Healing Shrine of Mugash and the Building Shrine of Giltak Emily was cute and often funny and really smart. She never complained, well, not about stuff that mattered, and when she felt well, she even cleaned her own room though she doesn''t have to. That''s what the shrine staff was for, right? Ever since she designed that shower thing and convinced the high priestess to install it, I don''t get to tease and torture her in the morning anymore in the bathtub, which I confess, I missed. She was fun to tease. She made such great faces, especially when half asleep. Just the other day, after I teased the Blessed Emily awake with the magically-enhanced fragrance of a freshly-cooked piece of bacon, my husband told me that he feels sorry already for our unborn children. "I thought you were close to perfection: well-read, musical, talented, gentle and caring, good equally with children and Coyn alike," he said. "Now that it''s too late to rescind our request for family time," he added, "I find myself confronted with the reality that your refined exterior has masked your true nature as a fiend in search of small and powerless victims to torture." My husband thinks he''s funny. I still did Emily''s hair every morning in an overplait braid, which looked good on her. If left to herself, the best she''d do was an uneven braid and the worst would be cutting her own hair because she doesn''t want to be bothered with it. Don''t even get me started on her sense of appropriate dress because she didn''t have any. I jest not: she actually attended a meeting of the Convocation once in her housecoat, an undertunic, stockings, and slips. Because she''s the Blessed Emily, she got away with it but we were still all aghast that she did it in the first place. The high priestess told me that she and Emily were traveling to Omexkel next rotation to visit the Building Shrine of Giltak. She asked me if I would like to come with them because I was one of the few people who could manage Emily. Lisaykos would be spending a lot of her time negotiating the final contracts and financial arrangements for Emily''s latest creations, namely the shower, the flushing necessary, a couple of new valve designs, and something Emily called a sink trap. The High Priestess would also be negotiating the final arrangements with the Shrine of Giltak for a new craft for people who made and installed these things. Lisaykos'' errands at the Shrine of Giltak would leave Emily needing someone to watch her. She is still not well from her horrific injuries last harvest season. She could walk again, just for short distances, like from her bedroom to the north balcony and back, but two flights of stairs were enough to leave her winded. I know the state of Emily''s health was an ongoing concern for Lisaykos. Emily suffered the charm of a thousand stings almost half a year ago and she still had not regained what she lost physically. I know it bothered Emily. I could feel her unrelenting desire to get better and also the demoralizing frustration at making such slow progress. I think most other people would have given up but Emily was not most people. She also pushed herself too hard and that was what the high priestess wanted to prevent. The complication was that Emily would be visiting the Shrine of Giltak. For a mekaner like Emily, it might as well be the worst-possible den of forbidden lusts and addictive drugs. I understood why Lisaykos wanted someone capable to restrain Emily at the one shrine capable of tempting her to overindulge in creating strange potions and objects that had magic-like effects without using magic. I started packing her travel goods by examining what clothes she had: several pairs of leggings, all with holes worn already at the knees and heels. They were alright for being at ease on the lounge in the high priestess'' study but they weren''t fit for visiting. There were two pairs of pants in nice stretchy wool. They were a little worn but good enough for working with furnaces. I needed to ask Lisaykos where I could get some more. The white kirtle and the blue gown would get packed and again, I''d see if I could get another set like it before we left. She would need the sheepskin coat and leggings for flying, plus her mantle with a hood in the Shrine of Mugash colors. It might be wise to order a second mantle like it. She had several linen undertunics and three overtunics but only one set was presentable. She would need more. The Blessed Emily was not kind to clothes. How did she manage when she was living alone in the forest? She could use a new belt but I knew she had that tiny little knife hidden in the billet protector which she used from time to time. She would want to keep that. She could also use some new shoes. Her ankle boots were beginning to fall apart. I made a list of everything I thought Emily needed for clothes and I went to see the high priestess right before the time that Emily got up. Once again, Lisaykos displayed her amazing skill for planning and organization. "In the bottom drawer of my clothes press, you will find everything on this list, Thuorfosi," the Blessed Lisaykos scanned my list on my tablet. "I had more clothes made for her after her accident with the Queen. I had a feeling she would be with us for some time and she''s hard on clothes." The high priestess looked just a little bit smug. "Don''t forget to ask Emily where her tools are and which ones she wants to bring. You should also ask if she has any rocks she wants to bring. Take her shopping too for a decent-looking belt pouch, and don''t let her talk you into something small, plain, practical, and inexpensive. She''s bad that way. See if you can buy at least two pairs of leather work gloves for her. Also, we would all be relieved if you can talk her into replacing her belt. I think the belt and pouch shop across from the scriptorium has some crafters up to replacing the leather and keeping the buckle and billet she made herself. More to the point, they will let her watch and guide the process. I know she would prefer to do it herself but don''t let her even reach for a rivet tool right now." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. I spent so much time shopping and packing for Emily that I had hardly enough time to pack for myself; however, we did get into the air in time to land in Omexkel well before the dinner hour on the appointed day. The only problem was getting Asgotl and Emily to land. The two of them had to have circled the central building of the shrine four or five times. There is no building anywhere in the world like the all-wood Shrine of Giltak with its strange spiraling roof sheathed in copper. When Emily and Asgotl landed, Emily had her problem-solving look on her face and her eyes were on fire. She was about to say something when Lisaykos walked up in a hurry and put her hand on Emily''s knee. She leaned so close to Emily''s face, their noses almost touched. She said something so softly I couldn''t hear it. Nor could anyone else. Then Lisaykos stepped away, looking satisfied. The look on Emily''s face told me that the high priestess just prevented Emily from committing a breach of protocol. The Blessed Lisaykos and the Holy Raoleer traded a glance and I knew they were mindcasting at each other. High Priestess Raoleer then nodded and she and her welcoming committee made a full kneeling obeisance. "May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One," Raoleer, her deputies, and her craftmasters said in perfect unison. "And up...upon you, good people," Emily managed to say with some surprising dignity and solemnity. "P...please rise," there was a short pause, "before the snow gets your knees cold and wet." The grin was back and Emily studiously avoided Lisaykos'' look of frustration. Emily and Raoleer traded knowing smiles. "Raoleer, how old is the central building of the shrine?" Emily asked, now looking rather intent. "About 1,200 years," Raoleer replied. "W...Who designed it?" "It was the Blessed Soykrux, the first revelator and high priestess of Giltak. It''s all wood. There were no metal fasteners used. Still aren''t other than the tacks to hold the copper sheeting on, and..." "So p...please tell me if I have this right: there are four floors w...where the volume of each floor is equal to the others but the height of each floor follows an inverse logarithmic progression and the edge of the eaves of the roof is a logarithmic spiral w...when looking straight down on it, yes?" "What kind of spiral?" Raoleer was displaying the typical reaction of someone just run over by the strange things that came out of Emily''s head. Emily started unbuckling the straps that kept her on Asgotl''s saddle. "Correct me if I''m w...wrong, please. If you use the method of squares to help draft a logarithmic spiral, which is the usual method, the inner square has a side of a length of one, the square next to the first square also has a side of one, but the next square which abuts the first two has a side of two. The fourth square next to the first and third has a side of three, then the fifth next to the first, second and fourth has a side of five, and so on. The length progression of the sides of the squares is one, one, two, three, five, eight, 13, 21..." "Then 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, and so on," Raoleer grinned. "I''ll stop there. Great One, have you ever been here before, or have you already studied the building of the Shrine of Giltak?" Raoleer asked, looking somewhat perplexed. "No, never, but I couldn''t help notice the spiral made by the line of the r...roof. The name I know for that spiral shape is a logarithmic spiral. Is the top of the spiral where it begins at the W...well? Lisaykos already had her tablet out, "how do you spell that, Emily dear? The name of the spiral, that is?" "Oh crappola," Emily grimaced in realization. "Did you do it again, Emily?" Asgotl asked with a sigh. "I don''t think so. If the Holy Raoleer knows the Fibonacci series, she probably knows the math of logarithms, though she might use a different name for it. My apologies, Holy One," Emily said to Raoleer, "this is a b...bad habit of mine: I saw the spiral on the roof and got stuck on the idea of the mathematical design of the shrine. Once I get stuck on an idea, I often have problems getting unstuck." "Emily, dear heart," Lisaykos walked up next to Emily, "I believe we should move inside and out of the snow before you and Raoleer freeze the rest of us while the two of you get carried away...again." Lisaykos smiled at Emily. "Aren''t you feeling a cold at all?" "Oh," Emily had the good grace to blush as she realized she got so carried away that she forgot that it was cold out. "Maybe some." "I''m not offended, Great One, though we should move somewhere warmer," Raoleer smiled with just a touch of amusement. "Most everyone who lives here is familiar with getting trapped in a thought storm. I noticed last time I was in Aybhas that you suffer from thought storms more than most." "How far are our quarters, sister?" Lisaykos asked. "The regular guest house, not the one for the Convocation." Raoleer pointed, "it''s that building over there." "And meals?" "Informal ones in my dining room, which is in the building next door to the right. Formal affairs, like this evening, are in the refectory. I''m sure you remember where it is." "Ah yes," Lisaykos replied. "Thuorfosi, don''t let Emily do that walk." "Yes, Great One," I nodded. Emily looked like a little storm cloud and stared daggers at Lisaykos. Lisaykos just lifted one eyebrow in reply. "Emily can''t manage that short a walk?" Raoleer asked Lisaykos in a quiet voice, looking worried. "It''s been half a year." I''m not sure if Emily heard them or not. Lisaykos looked equally concerned. "Her recovery has been slow. She could walk that distance right now but she would then spend a day recovering." In a much softer voice, she said, "and I can not determine why." The two walked toward the guest house, heads together. "I noticed the search for the queen seems to have shifted north and west," Raoleer remarked, "but there have been no official updates." "Asgotl, the Queen''s griffin, found her trail in one of the valleys to the north of the lava plains but he was lost it north of the Copper River." Lisaykos sighed. That was six rotations ago. There had been no progress since then. --- 63. Pendulums Thuorfosi, at the Building Shrine of Giltak in Omexkel Dinner tired Emily out. I haven''t decided if this was a good thing or a bad thing. The only modification to the chair for Emily was a pile of cushions. Though she could reach, it was at the expense of her lower back muscles. The seating arrangements put Emily between me and Raoleer. This means they talked furnaces and metal all dinner. Emily ended up kneeling on the chair so she could write and diagram things for Raoleer. Emily was tired enough after dinner that she fell asleep with her head on my shoulder while walking back to the guest house. She did not wake up when we got back. I put the sleeping lump of Emily to bed. At least the guest house had rooms sized for Coyn. It didn''t make my life easier, but it was more comfortable for her. Raoleer wanted to show Emily the different furnaces already built for tin and copper and something called zinc. In the morning, High Priestess Lisaykos and I both agreed that Emily needed a rest day. Emily didn''t agree, but since she was too sore to sit up in bed without help, her disagreement was moot. She dozed all morning. When the midday bell rang, High Priestess Raoleer and my mistress both appeared at our quarters. We woke up Emily and headed to the mid repast in Raoleer''s private dining room. Lisaykos had counseled Raoleer not to bring up metals or furnaces today because Emily gets too excited talking about them. Instead, Raoleer broached the subject of time measurement. This was a mistake because we discovered that Emily was also passionate about measuring time. At least her back was sore enough that she didn¡¯t make it worse by writing at the table during the meal. I may have witnessed the world change at mid repast. Raoleer and her artificers had a problem trying to measure time. Emily solved it at the table as we ate. In yet another "Emily moment," as the Blessed Lisaykos liked to call them, Emily listened to the Holy Raoleer describe the shrine''s pendulum problem and then popped out an answer. I didn''t understand most of what she and Raoleer were talking about so don''t blame me if this isn''t accurate. I''m just a priestess healer, not a priestess artificer. The High Priestess Raoleer told the Blessed Emily about a strange behavior of the big pendulums: they didn''t travel back and forth in a straight line like everyone expected. Emily nodded her head as if she expected Raoleer''s description of the strange pendulum movements. Her explanation showed that she even knew Sekoy''s Law, which should have been impossible. The things she said about pendulums were incredible. It is such a mystery to me how Emily knows so much. Where does all this knowledge come from? I sometimes think she might be the prophet in the Prophesy of the Great Breaking. She shows the signs of high favor from the gods: she''s the first Coyn to be a revelator, the first person to receive revelations from more than one god, and the recipient of multiple dream commands. She is just too strange at times. If Artificer Sekoy''s pendulum mechanics were just published two years ago, then how did Emily know so much about the subject? Pendulums are important right now at the Shrine of Giltak because their use might solve the problem of measuring shorter periods of time. Longer periods are measured using the ten bell system calibrated off sundials and the motion of the stars. Daylight is divided into six equal parts using seven bells. The first bell is at dawn, the fourth at midday, and the seventh at dusk. The night is divided into quarters, with three bells. This system is easy for those who have sundials, star maps, and correction tables provided by the Shrine of Tiki; however, bells and sundials are not useful for anyone who needs to measure a smaller division of time. The bells have the additional problem that the time between bells changes every day because days are longest during the growing season and shortest during the cold season. There is no uniform way to measure short periods of time. At the Shrine of Mugash, we have our own measure not shared by anyone else. We use the finest white beeswax candles cast in uniform molds with marks for one-eighth of a bell on them as measured on the day of the equinox. Priestess Artificer Sekoy discovered that the time it took for a pendulum to travel back and forth depended on the square root of the length of the pendulum. This is now known as Sekoy¡¯s law. Sekoy then realized that large pendulums could help solve the time measurement problem for both long and short periods. The shrine made several large pendulums and hung them in the third chamber in the Shrine of Giltac to find the conversion that turned pendulum length into time. If the unknown number was the same for every pendulum length, then large pendulums could provide better and more uniform timekeeping everywhere. It sounded clever to me. Priestess Sekoy must be a very smart lady. The High Priestess Raoleer told the Blessed Emily that the pendulum ball on each pendulum was displaced to the left every time it swung, and it happened for every pendulum regardless of its length or the size of the weight. Emily nodded, not at all surprised or perplexed. "Holy One, that happened because the planet moved to the right underneath each pendulum,¡± Emily remarked as if this was obvious. ¡°By hanging each pendulum from the ceiling, y...you essentially put each inside its own inertial reference frame." Emily looked at Raoleer¡¯s confounded face as she digested Emily''s statement. "Before y...you protest, Holy One, that if this were true, then w...why did the pendulum take a day and a half, give or take a bell, instead of just one day, to complete its circuit of the circle and return to the position where it started? Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "The answer is that the inertial reference frame of the pendulum is also rotating about the rotational axis of the planet but at a speed w...which is determined by the inverse of the latitude of the pendulum, w...with the latitude at the equator being defined as zero. So the time that the pendulum takes to make the complete circuit of the circle is one day divided by the sine of its latitude. If y...you draw it out with all the angles identified, you w...will find that this is indeed correct. The closer you get to the equator, the longer it w...will take the pendulum to make a full rotation w...within the circle of its reference frame. "W...when the pendulum is at the equator, the plane of its travel is now fixed relative to the planet, and the time it takes to travel the circle is now infinite. In other words, the inertial reference frame of the pendulum is rotating around the planet''s axis at the same speed the planet is rotating, and it w...will never trace out a full circle. It w...will only trace out a line. "At the poles of the planet, the pendulum w...will trace out its circular path in exactly one day as its inertial reference frame is stationary and the planet revolves underneath it. If you give it a little thought, Holy One, you''ll realize that you could use your massive pendulums as a w...way to accurately establish latitude and calculate the curvature of the planet to a high degree of accuracy, simply by measuring the time taken to make a complete circuit of a circle by the pendulum at different locations." Emily looked at Raoleer, who looked beyond gobsmacked. "Did I lose y...you somewhere, Holy One? I''m interested in this because I''ve been w...w...worrying about trying to standardize units of time, distance, mass, and temperature. I planned to ask you about this very subject w...while I was here." Raoleer closed her eyes and shook her head. "How can you know all this?" "It''s simple," Emily said a bit defensively. "Just start from first principles. The planet is round. The planet orbits the sun. The planet rotates about its axis, one planetary rotation per day. Because we have seasons, we know the axis of the planet has to be tilted; otherwise temperature w...would vary only by latitude and not by the time of the year. "You''ve got the hard part down, Holy One, w...which is the experiment to find the missing constant that relates pendulum travel time to the square root of the pendulum length. Throw in the equation for simple harmonic motion, and you can calculate everything else with knowledge of how geometry works. Right?" Emily''s face was cheerful and optimistic as if this was the easiest thing in the world. Raoleer''s expression just got more incredulous. "How old are you, Great One?" Raoleer gave Emily a penetrating look. She answered honestly, "I don''t know. I never knew my parents and I never had a family." "You''ve never been to any kind of school?" "That is correct." "Who taught you to read and write?" "Lisaykos taught me to read and write in Fosk." Raoleer looked at the Blessed Lisaykos, frowning. "That''s the truth, sister," my mistress said without even blinking. "Where did you learn your mathematics skills?" Raoleer turned back to Emily. "W...when I was younger, I w...was captured by some Cosm. The first time they whipped me, I woke up the next morning in a fever, and most of what I know w...was stuffed in my head." "Most?" "Now and then, the gods decide t...to mess with my head and put more things in it," Emily said with bitterness and just a touch of anger. I had never heard her talk like this before. The bitterness surprised me. Why did she not feel grateful for such a wonderful gift from the gods? "Unbelievable." Raoleer studied Emily for several breaths. ¡°What is the equation of simple harmonic motion and what is an inertial reference frame?¡± Emily¡¯s fish face was impressive, ¡°y...you don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°Maybe I should get Sekoy and you can explain this to us?¡± ¡°Not this afternoon, sister,¡± Lisaykos smiled at Raoleer, ¡°not if you want her to make sky metal tomorrow. She won¡¯t rest if she spends the afternoon talking with you. You bring out the worst in each other.¡± --- Jane, who can not remember her Foskan name, in the Fenlands. * Jane dear, what you need to do is to use the charm of undoing, the spell of creation, and the spell of repair, in that order, and the tightness in your clothes will go away. I had to do it to myself several times over the last few millennia or so, but then again, my exoskeleton is my clothing. * "This is quite upsetting," Jane said, "I was too big to begin with, and now I''m getting bigger? People are too scared of me as it is." She closed her eyes and shook her head. A lonely tear escaped down her cheek. * Oh! Jane! You remember that people were scared? Follow that thought if you can. Who was scared? When did this happen? * "I...I...," she frowned in frustration. "I just know people were scared of me...and...and I was lonely all the time. I don''t remember anything else." * Ah, but Jane dear, you just remembered another thing you didn''t remember before. You see, it is getting better. You already remember your old name and some of your previous life. You need to be patient, dear, and give it time. Some of your memory is already returning. * "What good is memory, Ud, if everyone runs away from me?" she remarked with bitterness. * You don''t know that everyone ran from you. Some probably did not. They were your friends, and you will want to see them again. I am certain that they are missing you and looking for you. Seriously, look at the monstrous me. Even you screamed when you first saw what I looked like, and yet, here we are, having a cup of tea and a nice chat on the beach. Shallow people will only see the outside of you, but your friends will see the beauty of you on the inside, which is what matters. * --- 64. Bloomery Emily at the Building Shrine of Giltak At the Building Shrine of Giltak, I began doing what the gods wanted with iron and steel. Thus, it was finally the day to teach anyone who wanted to learn the art of making wrought iron. I anticipated working through all the different furnaces for processing iron ore over the next few rotations. This way, I could get the iron and steel chore out of the way and get back to living my life. I was looking forward to no further obligations imposed by pesky gods who smiled sympathetically as they coerced me into doing their will. I figured it was better than giving me a choice between doing what they wanted or smiting me, which kept things in perspective for me. Blooms of wrought iron are made in a furnace called a bloomery. Bloomeries are fun. A bloomery is a freestanding one-use chimney made out of mostly mud. You start a fire in the bottom with charcoal. Once that¡¯s going and the mud of the chimney starts to bake, you add some ore at the top of the furnace, followed by some charcoal, followed by more ore, and so on. All you need to do is keep the fire burning and prevent bridging of the alternating layers of ore and charcoal. The cool thing is the iron isn''t supposed to melt. By making so much carbon from the charcoal available in a nice warm place, the iron is chemically reduced. That¡¯s because the oxygen will leave the iron oxide in the ore to shack up with the carbon to make their children, CO and CO2, all without melting the iron. Molten iron will absorb too much carbon, which is bad. That¡¯s why it¡¯s important to not use too much blast from the bellows which will make things too hot and melt the iron. ¡°I don''t understand why the bloomery must be so small?" asked Priestess Artificer Huhoti, Raoleer''s deputy for the shrine''s foundries. Huhoti was a middle-aged lady with lovely bright green eyes, which was an unusual color for any Cosm. She was also sturdy with buff arms and shoulders from doing a lot of metalwork. She was providing the muscle for the bellows, which were the giant accordion style that could have walked right off the pages of Georgius Agricola¡¯s De Re Metallica and into the Shrine¡¯s foundry. Huhoti explained to me that it¡¯s often less work to use a bellows than to use magic to move volumes of air. She said gases are tricky to handle with magic. Gasses want to go in directions contrary to the desires of the mage. It got me thinking that maybe whatever the mage was doing did not account for the Brownian motions of gas particles, which can only be described and modeled using the statistical thermodynamics of random or stochastic processes. Running into oddities like that made me wonder how magic really worked in this reality. I didn¡¯t have time to chew the fat about the intersection of magic and gasses. Everyone attending the wrought iron demonstration was seated in an arc centered on the bloomery and they were watching and also asking questions. The Coyn on were on chairs and the Cosm were on reed mats on the grass. There were over 50 people in total. It was the first time I had seen Cosm and Coyn mingle so closely together. ¡°So, is there a reason this thing is so small?" persisted Huhoti, who had to be pushing at least 19 hands tall. Damn too-tall Cosm. I took my tamping tool and made sure no material had bridged the space between the bloomery wall and the pile of alternating iron ore and charcoal inside. "There are several reasons. First, there is a limit on how much ore you can put in before the sheer volume of material starts to w...work against you. On longer bloomery runs, the ore receives more exposure to the charcoal, w...which increases the chance that it will melt in a strong air blast and become unusable pig iron w...with too much carbon in it. "If you can''t forge a bloom, that''s a sign you¡¯ve made pig iron. Pig iron is brittle and will fight you if you try to forge it. D...don''t throw the pig iron away because y...you can use it in other furnace designs to make cast iron or steel. Today, we w...want to avoid pig iron and make wrought iron, so the faster we can finish the run, the better.¡± "Another reason for a smaller furnace is that I know how to use a bloomery and y...you don''t, Revered One. This is not a production bloomery, it''s a demonstration. We will w...waste less ore this way. Ore is precious until you develop more iron ore sources.¡± Raoleer had sent the shrine¡¯s artificer trainees down to the Rig River to collect black sand from the sand bars, which is mostly magnetite. Magnetite is heavy so you can pan for it. The mining instructor was ecstatic because the trainees also brought back a pile of placer gold they removed from the black sand. "Next, Revered One,¡± I fell into professor lecturing mode on purpose, and gave Huhoti the old raised eyebrow, ¡°it''s stupid to build a bloomery taller than the person using the tamper t...tool. I am seven hands tall, which is short even for a Coyn, so I made the bloomery five hands tall. Thus, I have no problems keeping the charge from bridging inside the furnace.¡± Huhoti laughed at that. "There is an alternative to a short furnace. You can build a platform for the people loading the alternating layers of charcoal and ore and for the people w...with the tool to break up any bridging between the wall and the charge. You can even build a really big furnace out of brick that¡¯s permanent, with a permanent gallery near the top for loading the ore; however, that¡¯s a lot of bother if you were me and didn¡¯t need a lot of iron all at once. Did that answer your question, Revered One?" "Yes," Huhoti replied. "So what''s the largest bloomery you''ve run?" "It was a charge of about 30 stone of ore. It took a while to consume the charge and half the bloom ended up as pig iron. It w...was not a good furnace run. I cut back to 20 stone after that and haven''t had a problem since.¡± I stopped to lean on the tamping tool, which was a long rod of bronze and took a needed deep breath. I was feeling like I needed to sit down two minutes ago. ¡°Who wants to play with fire? I need to rest for a bit." "Oh! Oh! Me!" Raoleer jumped up, dressed in foundry leathers and just itching to play with fire. I have to admit I liked Raoleer''s attitude. She¡¯s a nerd¡¯s nerd. I gave her the tamping tool and sat down on the grass close enough to the bloomery so I could listen to it and see what both Huhoti and Raoleer were doing. It was my second break because I was worried I would run out of energy despite using a small charge of only four stones of magnetite, which is approximately two kilos. I asked to have the ore roasted to drive away any moisture so the ore would smelt faster. That was done yesterday. When I sat down, I knew the bloomery run would be finished soon. I couldn''t see the top of the charge anymore so more than half of the charcoal had already been consumed. It wasn¡¯t a big bloomery and it was consuming the charge quickly. The fire inside was the lovely blue of a reducing flame. Building a bloomery is easy. First, you dig a small hole about as deep as my forearm is long. Then you use cob to build a chimney around the hole. Cob is mostly wet clay mixed with a little sand and a bunch of straw or any other hollow-stemmed grass. If you have lots of stiff clay for your cob, you can just make a round chimney without bracing. Otherwise, you can weave a frame out of something like willow for the chimney if you¡¯re short on clay for your cob. Three artificer trainees did the work of building the furnace chimney for me right after morn repast. It wasn¡¯t hard work either, not for the three Cosm teenagers allowed to get dirty and play with mud. Every bloomery needs to have one or two holes for air at its base. The holes or hole need to be braced or supported by brick or rocks to allow air in from the bellows. There¡¯s some fancy French name for an air hole on a bloomery but there were no stuck-up historical reenactors in Foskos to be snobby over terminology, so I called it an air hole. It¡¯s possible to just put in air holes at the bottom and let the bloomery draw its own air naturally. Personally, I like having active control over the amount of blast going in instead. I had run several bloomeries at reenactment events in my previous life. At the end of the run, the handbuilt mud-and-straw bloomery would start to make a noise that was more like a hollow hissing sound. It''s hard to describe it if you''ve never heard it. I was waiting for that moment when the voice of the bloomery changed from a soft roar to a funny hollow hiss. It was a tricky time for finishing the bloom. The bellows operator had to reduce the blast to match the decreased mass of the charge. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. My shoulders hurt, and I knew I had overextended myself and would catch grief from my keepers. I was in such pathetic shape. I shouldn''t have hurt like this after making a bloom. We had only started two bells ago. I leaned back and stretched out in the cool grass of the lawn, enjoying the feeling of my neck muscles not having to hold up my head. I felt and heard someone walk over and sit down next to me. "Your face is a little burnt," Thuorfosi said, solving the puzzle of who it was without having to open my eyes. "Yep, that''s about right. Happens every time. It will be gone tomorrow. If my foundry leathers hadn''t have been destroyed in the cave explosion, I''d have a face cover to use w...with room for eye protection. I''ll make new leathers if I start doing a lot of metallurgy again. At the rate that I''m not getting better, it''ll be a while." I tried not to sound too bitter but I found my state of health was bothering me more and more lately. I enjoyed the feel of the sun on my face. It was still quite nippy out given that the planting season had just started and there was still snow in the northern part of the kingdom. There was no snow at the Shrine of Giltak in front of the foundry buildings, which is where we built the bloomery. I''m not sure if it was this way because of radiated heat from the foundry or if someone magiced the snow away. I had fallen asleep. I knew this because someone was shaking me awake. "Great One," it was Thuorfosi. "The Holy One says the charge is almost spent." "What?" I sat up. How long did I nod off? I hoped it wasn¡¯t too long. I got to my feet and ran over to the bloomery, signaling Huhoti to stop the bellows. I bent down to listen. "What are you doing?" Raoleer asked. "Listening. The sound of the bloomery changes when y...you''re close to finishing." I walked around the bloomery, listening to it from different places around its circumference. I held my hand over the tuyere pipe, otherwise known as the air hole, to see how hot it was. Putting on my gloves and book mica-covered eye protection, I pulled the pipe from the bellows out of the brick-lined hole. "Be careful not to step on that," I told Raoleer, pointing at the hot pipe. "Can I have the tamping tool, please?" I got on my knees and looked inside. There was a mass at the bottom, backlit by the fire. I dropped the eye protection over my eyes and got on my stomach to get a better look up the shaft of the bloomery. I poked at it with the tamping rod and saw sparks. I moved it around a little and was confident the bloom had formed and had dropped partway into the hole at the bottom of the bloomery. "What are you doing?" Raoleer asked. I got to my knees then stood up. "Take a look through the air hole. It looks like w...we have made a bloom. Seeing that I didn''t wake up in time to cut back on the blast, it might not be usable as wr...wrought iron, but at least you''ve seen how simple this process is. Anyway, take a look. We should let everyone who w...wants to see have a look at what the final product looks like this close to completion. Go ahead and poke it. You''ll hear and feel a happy metallic tap which is what you want to hear." "Huhoti, come over and have a look when the Holy One is done," I waved her over. "After all, you''re the one who''s done the most work." The bellows were the most labor-intense task in making wrought iron using a forced-draft bloomery. I always used a one air hole design because there was only one of me back when I lived in my sorely-missed valley on the other side of the volcanic rift. Huhoti and Raoleer traded places. Raoleer crouched down to look at me, which I thought was odd. She looked over at Thuorfosi and nodded. I had a feeling they had something set up. Thuorfosi walked over, put her hand briefly on top of my head, and said, "yes." Raoleer nodded. "Huhoti," Raoleer addressed her subordinate, "can you shepherd everyone who wants a look in an orderly manner?" "Yes, Holy One. Great Giltak! This is quite a sight." Huhoti was on her side looking up the air hole at the bloom. "So, Great One, what happens now?" Raoleer asked me. "You knock the bloomery over and take out the bloom," I said. "We could refine the bloom tonight, which I w...wouldn''t recommend because I¡¯m falling over. But if we did, we could get a start on refining it while it''s still hot, since it takes a bit of time to get the forge started up. Alternatively, we can leave it until w...we''re ready to start refining and knock it down then." "Alright, we''ll get back to this tomorrow after midday," Raoleer nodded. "She''s all yours, Priestess Thuorfosi." "Thank you, Holy One." Thuorfosi then smiled down at me. "You are just as grimy as you were when the Queen first delivered you to the shrine for healing." "Some good honest dirt never hurt anyone," I said. "It lets bathtubs earn their keep." "Yes, bathtubs," Thuorfosi''s smile got deeper. It dawned on me that we weren''t home in Aybhas, and there was no shower here. Just a Cosm-scaled bathtub and Thuorfosi. "Well, let''s get it over w...with," I said, taking off my eye protection. "I''m in no condition to try and resist the inevitable." I bent over to pick up my gloves and swayed as I straightened up. My vision faded as I lost my balance. Raoleer caught me. "And this is why we''re stopping for now," she said, "because you are ready to fall over." "I know," I admitted but had no more energy to deliver witty retorts on the way back to the guest house. I fell asleep in the nice warm bathtub and woke in the morning in my bed, scrubbed clean and in my nightgown. I knew Thuorfosi had let me sleep late because the fourth bell rang when I stumbled out of bed. I was putting my belt on over a worn-out overtunic suitable for getting dirty at a forge when someone knocked. "Yes?" I called out. "Seeing if you were awake," Lisaykos said from the other side of the door. "Mid repast is ready." My foot caught the foot latch and I opened the door, "food is definitely on the agenda." "Good, because bureaucrats make me hungry," she said. "I''d love to have a few with bacon and lettuce and white egg sauce in one of your sandwich things." White egg sauce is what everyone was calling mayonnaise. Lisaykos opened all the doors for me between us and Raoleer''s dining room. Mid repast was ground elk with mushrooms and onions on brown rice with some kind of brown sauce which was different than gravy. As far as I could tell, no one was doing roux-based sauces yet. It was good and I was really hungry. I even had seconds. There wasn''t much to the afternoon. We started at the bloomery. I pushed it over with my foot. When I knelt to pull out the bloom, I couldn''t lift it, to my great embarrassment. It''s not that it was heavy, because it wasn''t. I was just too pathetically weak. Knocking over the bloomery to get the bloom was a well-attended public event, otherwise, I think I might have wept. My keeper, Thuorfosi, picked me up and moved me out of the way and Raoleer pulled out the bloom. "Is it supposed to look like this?" Raoleer asked, turning it over in her hands. "Yes, that''s a nice-looking bloom," I said. "It''s supposed to have that sort of spongy, frothy look with little pockets of slag mixed in w...with the iron. Let folks get a look at it and then w...we can go and abuse it in the forge." After everyone who wanted to look at the bloom had their chance, the small mob of interested people moved inside the main foundry building. Thuorfosi made it clear that I was not walking into the foundry on my own two feet, which left me feeling even more inadequate. Raoleer''s people had built a forge just for this event out of masonry with a draft from the bellows coming up from underneath through a bronze grate. The fuel was charcoal. One side had steps up to a platform for Coyn and the other side had steps down to a dugout area for Cosm. It was rather ingenious, building one structure usable by both human races. The bellows were hard to work from the Coyn side, but that could be fixed at a later date. I knew I wouldn''t be able to do this all afternoon. I was guessing I would last maybe a quarter of a bell at most. Someone had already started up the charcoal so I had Raoleer put the bloom into the already hot charcoal and got the bellows going to heat the bloom. When it started showing bright red to dull orange color, I pulled it out and put it on the huge slab of bronze which would serve as an anvil surface for now. I used the wedge end of my beloved steel cross peen hammer to cut off a small piece of the bloom and then put the bloom into a corner of the forge. I heated the small piece to the bright orange stage, pulled it out, and started the laborious process of hammering the slag out of it, explaining what forge refining was while I worked. I was close to a decent, usable piece of wrought iron when the dizziness hit. I dropped the tongs and hammer onto the bronze slab and braced myself against it. "Somebody make sure I don''t fall into the forge, please." Several hands reached out and kept me from falling as my sight faded from a yellow blur to a speckled black and my ears made that hissing noise you hear when you''re about to pass out. I woke up in my bed later that afternoon and heard the sixth bell ringing. I felt like I was living under a permanent cloud of never being able to get better. I was sick of living this way, always tired and weak. At dinner, Lisaykos determined that I would take a few days off from metal smelting and suggested to Raoleer that I instead instruct the residents of the Shrine of Giltak in the fine art of making kites. --- 65. Talking with Giltak [Foskos Map here] Lisaykos, Building Shrine of Giltak Emily spent the evening before with paper, glue, hemp twine, and some beaver reeds. She had the first kite made in no time at all. It was diamond-shaped. The second kite was triangular. Raoleer was taking notes as Emily made the kites. Emily growled at Raoleer for documenting what she called "just a simple toy." I was a little worried when Emily got the first kite in the air. I did not realize that getting one aloft required some running. Thuorfosi launched the second kite. Soon we had a crowd of people fascinated by the two kites. After reeling in the kites in time for mid repast, Raoleer was walking around telling people how the kites were made. Given that we were at the Shrine of Giltak, I wasn''t surprised that many folks spent their mealtime making their own kites. The afternoon saw general mayhem when artificers-in-training and their teachers abandoned their classrooms to make and then launch their own kites in the great ring of fields between the ancient shrine building and the rest of the shrine complex. I lost sight of Emily at one point and couldn''t find her. I made the mistake of looking for her closer to the ground. When I looked for her kite instead, I found her almost immediately but was greatly concerned to see that she wasn''t flying her kite. The kite was under the control of a tall man in a sheepskin flying coat with the hood up. He was with another man just as tall, also in a sheepskin flying coat with the hood up. Emily was riding on the shoulders of the one without the kite. Emily was smiling and talking and laughing so whoever it was, she wasn''t under any kind of duress unless she was under a charm of deception or illusion. I began stalking the trio until I was close enough to recognize voices. Then I was just annoyed. I walked up behind the kite flyer, pulled the hood down, and pinched the earlobe of my no-good son. "You know it''s polite to tell people you''re going to stop by to visit?" "OWwwwwwwww!" Irhessa tried to pull away, which of course, is the wrong thing to do with an earlobe pinch. "Mother, let go!" In a mistaken moment of kindness, I released him. "Wow, I forgot how much those hurt," he grimaced and rubbed his earlobe. "Here, Emily, grab this," he handed her the spool of string. "I need both hands to murder my mother." "Did the two of you goofballs warn Raoleer you were planning to sneak onto her shrine?" I asked. "Nope, not a word of notice," Irhessa said. "I figured we could take care of that when we arrived. Besides, we''re missing someone. We''re waiting for her to show up. I''m surprised we arrived before she did." "That''s because you didn''t," High Priestess Kamagishi of Galt said, walking up with Raoleer. "May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One," she made a bowing obeisance. "And also upon you, sister. Now, why am I getting a bad feeling about this?" I asked. "Last year was strange enough. I don''t know if I can survive another year like it. I''m getting too old for this sort of thing." "You are as tough as bison gristle, old lady," Kamagishi laughed. "You''ll probably outlive the rest of us." "I sincerely doubt that," I grumbled. "So why are you here?" "There are days when I wake up and get this feeling that something is about to happen. Today is one of those days." Kamagishi was not joking at all. She was always serious when premonitions arrived. "At the same time, Lord Irhessa and Imstay King both received dream commands from Giltak last night to come here today. I was saddling my eagle when Imstay King came running into the House of Mounts, looking for his griffin." Raoleer looked around, "where are Imstay and Emily?" That''s when we all realized they were no longer with us. "Emily''s kite is on the ground," Irhessa pointed. "Blarg," Raoleer said so softly she might as well have shouted it. "What?" Kamagishi looked at her as did the rest of us. "The doors to the shrine are open. It''s not scheduled to be open today. We keep it locked because of the strange effects the crystal has on some people. No one is allowed into the Well of Giltak unsupervised." Raoleer started for the door at a brisk walk. We followed. Huge charm gem lights hug on the walls of the four stacked chambers in the shrine. They were already lit when we entered. It had been many years since I had been in this shrine. The stairs wound around in a passage along the eves of the continuous spiral roof. I had forgotten how long a walk it was to arrive at the Well in the highest of the four above-ground chambers. We climbed to the Well of Giltak and found the King standing in the doorway. He was in a daze. He gasped as Raoleer placed her hand on his shoulder. "Are you back with us?" she asked. "I was always here," Imstay said in a hushed voice, "I just didn''t have any control over myself until you touched me." "It''s one of the powers of the high priestess of this shrine, to be able to release those called to the Well of Giltak. It happens once every fifty to sixty years. I never thought I would be one of those who privileged to witness it. Giltak must like you." She smiled at the King. The King looked nervous. "It''s safe to go in but don''t get too close to that sphere," Raoleer said, pointing to a spherical disturbance in the air surrounding the shrine''s crystal. Emily was inside the spherical disturbance, quietly sitting on the chair of judgment, eyes closed. The crystal was floating in the air above its pedestal. It was six-sided but had pyramidal caps on both ends. It was lit up and shining a bright light upwards. "I bet that light penetrates through the roof and can be seen outside," Irhessa said in an awed voice. "Yes, you''re probably right," Raoleer said. "According to shrine records, during a revelation from Giltak, strange things may appear inside that sphere. We might hear things too. Usually, Giltak will appear inside the sphere toward the end of the revelation. I didn''t see any mention in my records about how long a revelation should last." Raoleer was right. Strange things began to appear and disappear inside the sphere. A person appeared who was covered in a form-fitting suit of some shiny thick fabric, wearing mittens and a strange contraption over the eyes. The figure was moving at an impossible speed through powdery snow with two long sticks for balance. Then the person was gone, replaced by many people in hardly any clothes at all, showing indecent amounts of skin. They were running off a cliff overlooking a sea with what looked like giant kites. The nearly naked people were strapped to the kites. They floated over the water and vanished, replaced by a woman dressed in rich clothes all in black, singing impossible high notes to swelling strange but beautiful music. "...Houston Grand Opera, summer of 2008, I got to hear her in the Magic Flute and then again in 2010 at the Met..." It was a woman''s voice, speaking another language but the sense of what was being said was conveyed to our minds. I guessed it was Emily''s voice from her previous life speaking the language called English. "I got it," the woman said, "Heaven''s Design Team. You''re Ven-chan in the English translation, Kanamori in the subtitled anime, and Venus in the dubbed version. I coerced the manager of my assisted living center to buy a subscription for Crunchyroll. I wanted to catch up on all the anime I missed after the car accident in West Australia. If I had been smart, I should have stayed in Australia and not gone back to America but my family wanted me to come home." "The character fit my personality well," a sultry woman''s alto stated. "You''ll be bringing your friend Aylem home soon, and I did want to share something with you before then." "I will?" Emily''s other voice sounded surprised. "When you return to Foskos, your friend Aylem will need to use her strongest magic and I wanted to warn you about it. She is the second strongest magic user on the planet, after all." "I''ve already been warned about that," Emily remarked. "She doesn''t need a mount to fly. She only uses Asgotl for the sake of appearances. She never gets cold. She only wears winter clothes, again, for the sake of appearances. I''ve been warned already." "So did anyone tell you she can take out an army by herself with magic?" Giltak asked. "No one has said so to my face but I don''t think it would surprise me at this point." "I see. Well, then, just don''t be too shocked when she destroys her first army. Now, can I see the compass?" "Of course, since you instigated its creation. The folks here made me two. I never imagined you could cut threads this well without a modern lathe. See, there''s one that will fit big hands and one that will fit my hands. Isn''t that lovely work? My little pencils are nowhere near the same quality. I''m in awe of how well they can make things without machinery and automation." "Oh, yes, I see," the sultry alto voice said. "They aren''t slackers at the shrine. The folks doing those threads are all Coyn. Small steady hands cutting small uniform threads. Cosm hands are too big and clumsy to do this level of fine work. The priestess and priest artificers who run the shrine don''t suffer from the usual prejudice that Coyn are just well-trained domestic animals that talk. I expect you noticed that half your bloomery audience was Coyn." "I did notice. I found it encouraging. But I haven''t been able to make contact with other Coyn yet in Aybhas, but I''ve chatted with more Coyn in the last three days than I have since the bunkhouse fire. I''ve been living at a shrine that''s scaled to Cosm. There aren''t even Coyn for domestic chores. The healers segregate the facilities for Cosm and Coyn. There''s a chapel shrine by the north gate in Aybhas that caters to just Coyn when they need healing." "Mugash thought that was best," the sultry voice said. "It''s a safety feature. It''s easy for a thoughtless Cosm to injure Coyn and you don''t want that happening in a place of healing. So you are right, where you are living puts you in a place where you can''t meet any other Coyn. Is that a problem for you?" The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Yes and no," the Emily voice said. "I admit I would be more comfortable around people my own size, though I''ve gotten used to the people I live with. These days, I forget about the size and strength difference most of the time. The big exception is when I want to go somewhere, and someone comes up with those huge hands and picks me up like I''m a small sack of groceries. The folks at the shrine are kind and generous, and well-meaning, but I get the feeling that I''m some kind of intelligent pet for some of them and that really bothers me. "I do want to see what life is really like in Foskos for Coyn. I want to see if there are any more of those terrible places where I got trapped as a child. I''ve researched the law regarding Coyn and now I want to see how the law lines up with how Coyn are really treated. But this lingering fatigue that won''t go away is stopping me from getting things done and I''m feeling frustrated over it. From my perspective, I''d like to get all these revelation chores done and out of the way so I can get back to what I want to do on my own time. "I''m taking care of iron and steel right now. But I need to find Aylem so I can expedite the revelation of Landa. Once Aylem takes care of the crystal, I believe my to-do list for you folks is done. Then I''ll be able to determine whether chattel slavery can be eliminated with or without bloodshed. "On the other hand, even if I could manage to escape the shrine and mingle with other Coyn, I don''t know what I would talk to them about. The weather? How they feel about being enslaved? What they do with their free time, assuming they have any? I worry that what''s inside my head is just too different from their reality. I often feel like there is no one I can talk to who can understand me. I have this fear that the cognitive dissonance would result in being shut out or ostracized for being too strange." "You worry too much, Professor Emily McGuigan," the other voice said. "By now, almost everyone, Cosm and Coyn, expects you to be strange. After all, you''ve already done a few outrageous things and you have the gaggle of goofball gods dropping by and visiting now and then. That is part of our protection for you." "Yes, I figured that out, especially with Tiki. I appreciate that he made me a revelator as a means to protect me, but that implies he could have picked anything for a revelation. He demonstrated that he really is twisted by giving me the recipe for Ex-lax as a revelation. Seriously, Giltak, look at his pattern of nonsensical revelations. He even gave a middle-aged maiden aunt of a priestess a revelation to write a sex manual, for both sexes. I find his sense of humor perverse.¡± "Well, it is funny on a certain level," the voice of Giltak argued. "Yes, if you''re not the butt of the joke," Emily retorted instantly. "He knew that I would know it was impossible to make phenolphthalein without coal tar and a decent chemistry set-up to do fractional distillation. These people don''t even have glass yet. Do you know how hard it is to use a ceramic alembic instead of a proper glass distillation coil? I damn near killed myself three years ago making phosphorus. That''s Tiki''s idea of a joke? "On Earth, one of his aspects was Coyote." "The Navajo trickster god? That explains a lot. So Giltak, can you tell me how long it will take me to get better? The chronic fatigue and weakness are wearing me down. I''m not sure what is worse: the chronic fatigue or the depression over the chronic fatigue." "That''s not my department. You will get better but I do not know how long it will take. The person to ask is Mugash." "Unfortunately, she didn''t leave me her cell number, pager number, or email." The sultry alto laughed. "You could try prayer." "Alright, on that subject, why is prayer even necessary?" I think all of us listening gasped in unison. What a blasphemous thing to ask! I was shocked. I revised that opinion as the rest of the conversation unfolded; however, it made me realize just how different Emily was from the rest of us. Emily''s other voice from her previous life continued: "If you deities are omnipotent, or close to it, omnipresent and omniscient, then you already know all our needs, our hopes, our fears, and desires. And if you already know all that, then why must we pray to seek answers or ask for things which you already know about? It strikes me as needless work and not at all efficient. When you already know what people think, then why make people tell you?" "You really don''t know?" the sultry alto sounded amused. "It looks like a lot of wasted effort to me." The alto sounded amused: "Let''s us discuss prayer then. You became lost to prayer in your previous life, love, and you have not found it again." "What good is prayer that is never answered?" asked that other Emily voice with a bite and bitterness in it. "You know so much, love, but you are not yet wise," the alto was sad. "The importance of prayer is the act of prayer itself." "If the act of prayer is what''s important, and the content is secondary, then what about all those unanswered prayers?" Emily demanded to know. "Isn''t that a betrayal by the gods towards an act of faith by their believers?" "You missed my intent, child," the alto sounded just a touch disappointed. "You are speaking from where your pain lives. Your pain still owns you. You must learn to own your pain. Only then can you give it away and leave it behind you. First, prayer is an act of faith, which is how the soul acknowledges it is not alone, that there is something greater than the self. That was your failure in your previous life, love. "Prayer is an action where a soul looks outward, child; however, you turned inward after you fled your abusive second marriage in Elko for Peru. You never looked out again, especially after your brother Michael died. You don''t like conflict, little one, and your answer to it is to flee. When you need help, you must learn to ask for it. Second, regarding the content of prayers, souls receive what they need, not what they ask for. Prayer could be useful to you, Luv. You may want to consider it next time you get stuck in a tight spot." "Tell me, little one, what was the most famous quote of John Donne, whose poetry of love you and your young man Tom so adored?" The alto still sounded a bit sad but now there was a hint of teasing. I was left wondering who this Tom person was. "Death be not proud, though some..." "No, no, no, not that one. How melancholy." "I see what you want, needling god," the other Emily voice accused with a hint of amusement. "Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." "Now you are teasing me," Giltak''s alto laughed. "Come on, you know what I want you to say. Give me the other really famous saying from out of the middle of that same essay." Emily heaved a vast sigh, which despite speaking with another voice still sounded just like her: "No man is an island, entire of itself." "Ooo! You even quoted it correctly. It''s what you need to remember, little one. Ah well, that''s enough for today''s advice from an understanding god,¡± the voice of Giltak said. "People are waiting for you so we need to move on to your revelation, which I promise you will enjoy." "You were sufficiently transparent about that: one slide rule, delivered in record time. How many scales do you want?" "Multiplication, squares, cubes, inverse, and basic trig. It would be better to find the math whiz kids and teach them the principles of building the scale and then let them do all the work." "I like that. Can I get another pina colada for the road?" "Guzzle it down, Emily-chan." "Do I get to keep the buzz, Giltak-kami? I haven''t had a good bar hop since Tiki took me to Trader Vic''s at the Plaza Hotel." "I think you''ve had enough drunken buzz for one afternoon, young lady." "Party pooper." "Pleasant dreams, Emily." A being in a lavender robe and long braided lavender hair materialized out of glittering light and placed a hand on Emily''s head, "Euclid and Euler, Emily. Enjoy the buzz." The manifestation of Giltak exploded into uncounted bright pink sparks that faded out. The light in the crystal vanished and the crystal floated down into its padded depression in the pedestal. Raoleer walked up to Emily and touched her lightly on the head. "Lisaykos, your opinion, please." I joined her at the chair of judgement where Emily was still sitting, eyes closed, not moving except for the slow motion of her breathing. I extended my hand and made an estimate of Emily''s level of consciousness. If I were to describe it, it was as if she was strung out on stimulants. I was reminded of Aylem''s description of what Emily was like after Tiki imparted his revelation. "Aylem described a similar state in Emily''s brain immediately after she was touched by Tiki. This might be how she reacts to being touched by a deity. Or it could be how a Coyn reacts, but since Emily is the only Coyn known to receive revelations, it''s not known which it might be. Tiki left Emily writhing in pain so Aylem put a charm of deep sleep on her. Her brain activity did not resemble dreamless sleep but she was not awake so Aylem left her like that until her brain resumed normal levels. I suggest we do the same." Imstay wandered up, interested in what I was saying. "Great One, I have never heard of different kinds of brain activity before. Is this something new or just advanced healer magic?" "It''s new healer magic, Imstay King." I replied. "If you haven''t been trained to detect brain patterns, you might not know what to look for. There are seven different patterns that I can distinguish. It''s one of the Queen''s greatest contributions to healing. Right now, Emily''s brain resembles someone who has taken too many stimulants. If she follows the pattern of what happened at the Shrine of Tiki, she''ll be fine tomorrow." "May I?'' Irhessa walked up to Emily and touched her head. "Interesting," one of his eyebrows floated up. "You can distinguish brain patterns?" I asked my son. "Yes, though I wasn''t aware anyone had actually classified patterns," he replied. "I would like to learn more about this. This is interesting to me." "I am fascinated by your magic," I remarked. "You were quite talented when you were a boy, but I never had the chance to observe how you developed as you reached maturity. You have the makings of a good healer. If you would like to learn more, something could be arranged, either formally or informally." He looked at me with some surprise, "I am interested. I can manage the basics with what I learned on my own and I can do stasis too, on others and on myself. But my healing magic has always been strong and my body clairvoyance is quite good. I can see all the aura colors, including the blue fatigue fog." "Really? You could always quit your current employer and sign on with the Shrine of Mugash." I smiled. "Oh no, you don''t," Imstay King squawked, right on cue. "Is the King always this bad?" I asked my son who keeps surprising me. "Yes, he falls for every goad imaginable," Irhessa smiled innocently. "We should probably make sure Emily doesn''t wake up for now. Then I think the five of us should sit down and have a long talk with you about Emily as one of the legendary reborn with memories of a previous life." "Yes, sister," Raoleer gave me an accusatory look. "I did note that you were not at all surprised by that conversation between Giltak and Emily. I suspect that you''ve known this for quite some time." "At least since before Aylem disappeared," Imstay added, "given how you reacted on the morning of Aylem''s release by Emily to the memory that Mugash borrowed of the burning buildings, which made Emily so angry." "I think Raoleer''s sitting room would be an appropriate place to talk," Kamagishi added her opinion. "Memories of a prior life would explain many of Emily''s mysteries," Irhessa remarked. "Asgotl too." That caught me by surprise. "How did..." "Ah, yes! I was right about that." My son smiled with satisfaction at my reaction. "Aylem''s griffin?" Imstay was surprised. "He was once a leviathan," Irhessa remarked. "I overheard him and Emily talking about it one day. He calls Emily ''grandma'' and she calls him ''whale blubber.'' They have strange conversations together. I picked up a passive thought from Emily about Asgotl complaining he didn''t know much about humans since he had lived in the ocean." "I will need to talk to my people once we exit the shrine about the revelation from Giltac," Raoleer sighed. "There will be a crowd waiting for us outside. I will take care of that and I will meet up with you as soon as I can at my quarters." I was not looking forward to this. 66. The Theory of Graphical Calculation Imstay King, at the Building Shrine of Giltak after Emily¡¯s Revelation I found it hard not to call the four other sapients races lesser since Cosm were superior in all the things that mattered: size, strength, craft, culture, and magic. We could feed, clothe, shelter, heal and protect all the other races through our efforts alone. It made sense for the Cosm to be positioned in rulership over the others in order to make provision and protection for them possible. As Tiki told the first High Priestess Mage Uskya haup Foskos in the very first revelation over four thousand years ago, the Cosm half of humanity was made to rule, protect and guide. The current system of having the other races in service to the Cosm made sense from the perspective of Uskya''s revelation, but should service entail what has become enslavement, at least according to the Blessed Emily? Ever since the Mounts War, the system of allowing free flying mounts to negotiate year-long trial contracts as well as multi-year contracts has worked, with tweaks here and there on the terms as we discovered what did or did not work. I think something that is not slavery will work for the flying mounts. The problem is Emily. What she said to Giltak hit me hard, that after she finished with what the gods wanted from her, she would then "determine whether chattel slavery can be eliminated with or without bloodshed." I think the important kernel to that statement is not whether she can eliminate slavery, but whether she can do it without bloodshed. Such a frightening statement and she made it in such a cold way, not screaming with passion but made with such calm deliberation as if she has already thought it through many times. Knowing the Blessed Emily, she probably has thought it through many times. She might be the most dangerous person alive and she was living in my kingdom. We sat the Blessed Lisaykos down at the Holy Raoleer''s table after Giltak''s revelation to Emily. Then we questioned her until the seventh bell when Raoleer had dinner served to the five of us. When we were done eating, we questioned her some more. "Great One, you said you knew Emily wanted to dismantle Coyn servitude," I tackled what was bothering me directly. "How long have you known she thought this way?" Lisaykos looked profoundly reluctant to even open her mouth. "Kinswoman Lisaykos," I held my aching head in my hands, "even if I meant harm to that little dangerous Coyn called Emily, I can not touch her. You heard the god this afternoon: she is under their protection. Do I look suicidal to harm the first Coyn revelator chosen by the gods? I have no choice to try to make her the ally of Foskos because accidentally making her my enemy might destroy the realm." "Oh please, cousin," Lisaykos rolled her eyes and moved the level of address to that of family and friends, now that I had given her an opening to do so. "She is clever and talented, but destructive? Seriously, Imstay. She got upset when Fassex lightly punished the Is''syal residents who insulted her in public. Emily hates violence of all kinds." "I am serious," I looked at her with all the somberness I could muster. "Do you remember what she told the Convocation the first time you folks questioned her? She said she could make explosives ten times as powerful as the small amount of explosive powder she stored in her cavern home. Please take seriously the possibility of an angered Emily wanting to free enslaved Coyn. She has the means inside her head to destroy whole cities. Just because you are fond of her doesn''t mean she isn''t a threat." Lisaykos studied me with a smoldering stare for a long time. Then she sighed, "Emily was thinking of the emancipation of the Coyn from the moment the Queen started to bargain with her, just a rotation after Aylem brought her to the shrine. The Queen had seen instant fire and she had seen Emily''s steel knives and tools. She had been inside Emily''s workshop and knew about her attempts to make glass. We all know that Aylem has an excellent head for business. She saw Emily as another clever Coyn she could collect and woo with her enlightened treatment of Coyn at the Villa." Lisaykos inhaled and let it out slowly, eyes closed. "Raoleer, I could use a stiffer drink right now than beer," Lisaykos said, shocking her son. "Wait," I held up a restraining hand while I dug into a pocket hidden on the inside of my overtunic. I rescued a small tin flask and passed it to the Blessed Lisaykos. "It''s my emergency supply of Inkalim brandy." "Imstay, I can''t," she protested. "That''s more valuable than crystal." "You''re my current emergency," I smiled, I hoped not insincerely. "Enjoy it." She raised an eyebrow at me as she uncapped the flask and took a sip, rolling it around on her tongue and swallowing with a sigh, "that is very fine stuff, thank you." "I can always send you some," I offered. "Thank you, but no," she smiled naturally for a change, even though it still looked evil. "I like fine liquors like this just a bit too much, which is why I don''t keep any. I have a shrine to run and a carefully-nurtured image to maintain." This was some of the most honest talk I had ever heard out of my far cousin. "The Queen wanted Emily to make a steel knife and Emily told her that the price of steel was the emancipation of the Coyn of Foskos. That started an argument between the two that almost killed me in my concern for Emily. Emily did not realize how dangerous Aylem''s temper could be. Emily was not talking yet so I couldn''t hear her side of the argument." I was appalled, "that defenseless little Coyn argued with Aylem? Did Aylem restrain herself?" "Yes and no," Lisaykos grimaced at the memory. "I don''t know what Emily wrote that set Aylem off because the next thing I knew, Aylem picked Emily up very roughly. The bruises Emily came home on her back and the insides of her thighs were ugly. Aylem slammed Emily onto Asgotl''s saddle, wrapped her in her oversized cloak so the girl couldn''t use her arms, and flew down to the Crystal Shrine. She strapped Emily into just the thigh straps Emily had crafted for Asgotl''s saddle. So Emily spent the trip having to balance on the saddle with no stirrups and no arms, hurting from Aylem''s rough handling. "Aylem did nothing to help her at all during the trip on Asgotl. Then, when they got to the shrine, Tiki appeared and made Emily a revelator. When they returned the next day, I could tell things had changed for Emily. When she first came to the shrine, all she wanted to do was escape back to her home on the other side of the lava plains. "After Tiki blessed her, Emily''s resolve hardened. She still wanted out of Foskos but now she added the desire to destroy Coyn slavery and the ability of our race to abuse the Coyn simply through size and strength." Lisaykos took a moment to appreciate another sip of brandy. "Aylem lost her chance to woo Emily with that first display of temper aimed at Emily. After that, Emily was much more ambivalent toward the Queen and also even more wary of her. She knew the Queen was dangerous but she didn''t realize just how dangerous. She understood that Tiki''s revelation was to protect her from Aylem and well as others like you who wanted to enslave her. Does that answer your question, cousin Imstay?" "Unfortunately, yes," my headache was getting worse. The existence of Emily has shredded everything I once thought about the Coyn. The Blessed Emily may be the most knowledgeable sapient being on the planet and perhaps the most intelligent too. Given I now knew about Coyn achievements at both the shrines of Giltak and Sassoo, I no longer believed that Coyn were just intelligent beasts like smart hunting hounds. I was left with the horrible conclusion that we had enslaved an entire race as smart as ourselves simply because we could. "The problem now becomes how do we restrain the Blessed Emily so that her resolve for emancipation causes the least bloodshed." I allowed all the worry I felt to show for a change. I had to believe I was among friends since I need all of these people to work with me on this. I explained my fears: "The knowledge of another world lives inside her mind, a frightening world where people know how to fly without magic and make machines that can make lightning, a world where a small and weak thing like Emily knows how to cook and mix different rocks and dirt together to make whole hillsides explode and create a burning white fire that can''t be put out. "The threat of Emily feels real to me," I admitted. "We can not afford to turn her into an enemy. Aylem Queen needs magic to destroy an army but I suspect Emily could destroy an Army with enough dirt and rocks, and resourcefulness. How much of our magic can be replicated by what resides inside Emily''s inscrutable mind? And she has the protection of the gods!" Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. "I''m not sure I agree with all of that about Emily''s potential to be an enemy," Lisaykos said, after another sip of brandy, "but I understand your reasoning." "I thank the gods daily that she is not the girl with the golden eyes," I remarked, referring to the prophecy of the great breaking. "The contents of that prophecy are not public," Kamagishi said in very level tones. "How does the third verse go?" I asked rhetorically. "The girl with the golden eyes will free the winged ones to fly, and arm the tailed ones to rise. The greatest mage she will save to break the charm gems of the slaves, and set the nations aflame, beneath a queen all to tame. Without magic, she will make fire and find once more her heart''s desire." "How did you get the contents of that prophecy?" Kamagishi demanded. It lived in a locked room in the locked vault underneath the Fated Shrine of Galt. I smiled for the first time in hours, "please, Holy One, I''m not totally incompetent as king. That prophecy might affect the health of the kingdom so of course, I know about it. I''m just saying that it is reassuring that Emily doesn''t have golden eyes like yours or we would be looking forward to nothing but war and bloodshed for maybe decades. That makes it my duty to know since the protection of the realm is my job. Does this make you the foretold prophet, I wonder?" "Of course I''m not the prophet," she frowned at me, not knowing how I knew, "I''m hardly a girl anymore. I''m about to be a grandmother, for love of Galt." --- Emily, Building Shrine of Giltak I woke up in my bed in the guest house with Thuorfosi sitting crosslegged on the floor with my guitar, her prell, and a Cosm-scaled guitar. "You''re awake, finally," she smiled at me. "My divine showed up. I''m trying to get it tuned since I just put the strings on it." "Your divine?" I asked, confused. "Short for Mugash''s divine instrument." She frowned. "These tuning pegs take getting used to. It doesn''t help that I discovered you loosened all the stings on yours. I was planning to use yours to tune mine." "I knew we''d be flying, which means changes in temperature and pressure and probably humidity too, all of which would not be nice to the neck of the instrument if the strings were still tight. Tuning is a quick task so I loosened the strings." "Show me how you tune it?" "Get me my housecoat please?" I got out from under the covers, put on my housecoat, and went to use the necessary. I came back and sat on the side of the bed. "Guitar...divine, please." I tightened the strings and started to hum a little solfege under my breath to locate E. I always sucked at solfege so I was sure it wasn''t E that I settled on; regardless, it would be close enough. I sang the note for Thuorfosi. "That''s about w...what the bottom string should be, of course, except a few octaves down." I started tuning my bottom string to the E note I had hummed. "A few octaves?" Thuorfosi raised an eyebrow at me. "Emily, dearest, what is an octave?" "Arg!" It was a face-palm moment. "You did it again, Emily." "Is there a nice hole I can crawl into for a w...while?" "I''m all out of holes, Emily." She was grinning. "I won''t torture you too much today, Grandma, but apparently, while you were chatting with Giltak yesterday, the King, Irhessa, and the three high priestesses heard much of the conversation between you and the god, most of which was incomprehensible, or so I am told. It confirmed what many suspected, that you are someone with memories from somewhere else, a place very different from this world. "Good fish face, Emily. Lisaykos got cornered yesterday evening about how much she knew. We confirmed it with Asgotl, who Irhessa already suspected." "The Queen told me not to tell anyone because it might place me in a position of greater danger," I said. I fell backward onto the mattress and stared at the ceiling. "This is awk...w...ward." "Not really. Anyone who has spent any time with you was already guessing you might be one of the legendary reborn ones. The ancient records do not document any reborn ones in the last 2,500 years, but they did show up in the past before then. There are seven reborn ones recorded in the ancient records kept in the vault at the main Shrine of Galt." "Did y...you suspect?" "Well, yes. I knew something was very off about you. I thought you might have one of those weird metabolic conditions so that your physical appearance didn''t match your physical age. I didn''t guess you had lived another life before this one. I just thought you looked young but were much older." "Well, crappola." "Emily, you''re what? Fourteen? Maybe fifteen? It''s hard to tell because you''re so small, but that''s because you didn''t get enough to eat while growing up. You''re getting a woman''s figure, but your third set of molars has yet to come in. The problem is that you talk like a mature adult, and you treat other adults as adults. Now that you can talk, you often sound like a teacher. You know how to explain complicated things, and that''s not a skill a 14-year-old Coyn who never went to school or a shrine should have. The one thing you never do is act your age, or maybe I should say, the age you appear to be." "So w...what now?" I asked. "Teach me how to tune my divine and tell me what an octave is," she smiled. "What?" I sat up. "Why should anything change, Emily? Several members of the Convocation and the King and Irhessa already suspected this about you. So now it''s been confirmed. That''s all. It does nothing to change the existence of this strange Emily phenomenon which arrived on our doorstep a year ago." I was having a hard time wrapping my brain around what Thuorfosi was saying. "Oh, and Lisaykos said you''re on enforced bed rest for today." "Oh, joy," I grumped. "And since you''re not going anywhere, you can teach me how to play my divine? Oh, yes, Raoleer wants to know what you need to record the revelation from Giltak." When Thuorfosi said that, it felt like a dam broke in my mind, and a flood of concepts drowned me and left me gasping for breath. It felt like I was suffocating by what was pouring out and my head exploded with pain. When I managed to open my eyes again, I was flat on my back on the bed with Thuorfosi clasping both sides of my head. "Emily, say something," she ordered, concern writ large on her face. I tried to speak but whimpered instead from the sharp pain. What was with these gods and their cursed revelations? Couldn''t they manage to pass on knowledge without a side order of intense pain? What good is being a god and making your revelations worse than the worst hangover for the poor recipient like me? "Emily?" "W...when y...you said revelation," I managed to squeak, "everything for the r...revelation f...felt like it exploded in my head all at once and n...now it hurts." "Here," she closed her eyes for a moment and then the pain vanished. "Oh, that''s better. Thank you." The beauty of the revelation spread out in front of me in my mind. "That''s so elegant." I was floored by the knowledge that just burst into my head. Giltak didn''t just give me the method of using two sliding logarithmic scales to do simple multiplication and division. That gender-confused god gave me the method of adding and subtracting functions in such a way that you could use it with any monotonic function, whether it was logarithms, 1/x, or x3, and apply to a graphical rule. It wasn''t just logarithms, which for my whole previous life I thought it was. If you were clever, you could use the theory to create graphical rules for almost every function. It was a complete theory of graphical calculation. It''s simplicity was beautiful. Using the theory of graphical calculation, one can build any set of sliding scales for any two functions f (x) and g (y). So long as the values of x¡äand x? on one scale and values y¡ä and y? on the other scale had the property that f (x?) ¨C f (x¡ä) = g (y?) ¨C g (y¡ä), you can build any set of scales you want and they will work to build a slide rule. If you know any three of the four numbers of x'', x'''', y'' and y'''', you can use the sliding scales for f(x) and g(y) to find the fourth. If the fundamental equation of graphical calculation is stated as h (x, y, z) = f-1(f(x) + g (y) ¨C g (z)), then it becomes very easy to build function scales using the log scale as the reference scale of f(x). then any g scale can be built graphically with a compass by simple addition and subtraction of distances. I was floored as to how simple and elegant it really was. Those math freaks in Europe in the seventeenth century were amazing to have figured all this out for the first time. It was as profound a moment for me as the day when I understood for the first time how taking a limit collapsed into an integral. I started to weep because I knew moments like this happen maybe only once in a lifetime and that some people never experience this incredible feeling of enlightenment at all. It was sad because this moment of epiphany had come and was already gone. Thuorfosi had moved her hands to my shoulders, "Emily, are you alright? Why are you weeping?" The poor girl: it must be a trial to deal with someone like me who has been relegated to being used as a chess piece in a game between the gods where all the rules are ineffable. "I''m fine, really," I said, feeling like the world had somehow gotten heavier. "It''s just that understanding the revelation for the first time was so beautiful; and the moment of experiencing that transcendent beauty, like all beauty, has now come and gone, never to be encountered again in all its bright unique newness." I wiped away my tears. "It''s sad because I''ll never pass this w...way again." She moved my guitar out of the way, sat me up and hugged me. "I''m glad that you''re fine, but I don''t think I will ever completely understand you." "You and me both," I said and she laughed. I''ve never been one for prayer or anything spiritual, but I thanked Giltak in my thoughts just then, and I heard distinctly a sultry alto say in my ear, "you''re welcome Luv." --- 67. Pi High Priestess Raoleer, Building Shrine of Giltak Lisaykos wasn''t willing to leave the Blessed Emily alone with me and she needed to return to her shrine. So as a compromise, the three healers who kept track of our triple-revelator in Aybhas would take turns here in Omexkel making sure she did not overexert herself. Every rotation, one would head home and another would arrive. The Blessed Emily didn''t much like that she had "a keeper" following her around to make sure she ate all her meals, worked no more than two bells, got enough sleep, and spent at least two days every rotation doing no work. It was difficult for a living whirlwind like Emily to pace herself. She didn''t like it much but she put serious effort into learning when to stop before she exhausted herself, mostly to avoid nagging by her keepers. It took close to five rotations for the Blessed Emily to write up her revelation and then teach it to my staff at the Shrine of Giltak. When she handed me the completed manuscript, she told me that the first eight pages were the real revelation and the rest of what she had written were just examples and explanations. I asked her to teach it to my best mathematicians and they got all excited by it, especially Shrine Artificer Aduda, the Coyn who is our advanced math instructor. Then I had her teach it to me. I am glad I knew enough advanced math to understand it. Emily stayed another rotation to work with the mathematicians, the bronze smiths, and the woodworkers. Together, the three crafts and the Blessed Emily created what she called a slide rule. She showed everyone who asked how to use it, including me. Before that happened, Emily insisted on the realm setting a standard for length. That''s because she wanted to create a scale bar engraved with both linear and logarithmic scales to use for creating slide rules calibrated to standard lengths. High Priestesses Sutsusum of Gertzpul, Moxsef of Vassu, and Foyuna of Tiki flew in from their respective shrines to negotiate standard lengths for casting the bar since our four shrines were the ones that used distance measures the most. I don''t know how Sutsusum and Moxsef felt about it, but one does not say no to someone who is a triple revelator. I''m not sure Emily realizes that even high priestesses would be hard-pressed to turn down any requests she makes. If she knows what sort of power she could wield, she doesn''t show it. She''s not a person with guile so I believe she hasn''t a clue about the power her position gives her. It took a little negotiating between the five of us, with input from my staff, to settle on a set of distance metrics that Emily would accept. This was important since the Blessed Emily wanted the scale bars for the slide rules to be the same length as the realm''s standards. Foyuna even brought the original standard bar for one handwidth from the Crystal Shrine for the occasion. Emily was set on using subdivisions of ten for everything. This made a great deal of sense to me since the Queen''s numbers were a system built on multiples of ten, instead of the old system which was built on multiples of eight. We agreed that the handwidth would continue as the base measure. For future calculations, we would shift to using ten half fingers instead of five fingers. Emily wanted to redefine the wagon-day as 10,000 hands but we managed to get her to accept a standard of 8,000 hands. That way, one wagon-day would stay very close to the original definition of the distance between the Shrines of Tiki and Gertzpul, which the Crystal Shrine had measured as 7922 hands plus three and a half fingers 32 centuries ago. For some reason, the Blessed Emily was quite happy to keep the divisions of a circle measured in fractional units of its circumference, called perimeters. She then gobsmacked everyone when she stated that the multiplier between the diameter of a circle and its perimeter was not the 3.15 we''ve been using for centuries, but rather it was 3.141592. "Oh!" Sutsusum made the best fish face I''ve seen in a long time. "That explains why our wheel measures of road lengths are always a little over compared to measuring with the metal staves." "You use rotations of a w...wheel to measure distance?" Emily asked. Her question surprised everyone gathered to talk about standardized lengths. I thought everyone knew that long distances were measured with Gertzpul''s wheel. After Sutsusum picked up her jaw from off the floor, she replied in her high squeaky voice, squeaking higher than usual: "Yes, we always use rotations of a wheel to measure distances along roads. Then we must correct the measurement to get the true distance. The error is why the law says even large buildings can only be measured using metal staves." ¡°How can you be sure that the ratio of diameter to the circular perimeter is the value you just gave?" Moxsef asked with a disbelieving scowl. The Blessed Emily didn¡¯t react at all to Moxsef¡¯s goading question. She smiled with good nature and jumped out of her chair to the floor. "Let me demonstrate that my value is more accurate than 3.15. Later, if you w...want, I''d be happy to show you two different methods one can use to derive the value of the perimeter to more accurate values, but for now, I can use the sliding rules to show the accuracy of my figure, assuming that the Holy Sutsusum knows the correction for the measuring w...wheel? Don''t tell me what it is. Just tell me if you know it off the top of your head." She looked hopefully at Sutsusum. ¡°Given all the roads I built when I was younger, yes, I will never forget it," she chucked. "But how can you know the correction if you''ve never used Gertzpul''s wheel, which admittedly is too big for most Coyn to handle?" Emily just grinned at Sutsusum in reply. She¡¯s such a hopeless mekaner that I wish I could get her to stay here. Still grinning, she pulled two rolled lengths of paper out of her pouch and unrolled them. I knew what was coming since she had used these to demonstrate the basics of the sliding rule to everyone. I suspect she did it to show the three visiting high priestesses the utility of Giltak''s revelation, though she may have done it to politely teach Moxsef a lesson. We were sitting in the third chamber inside the Shrine of Giltak using our usual cushion and chair arrangement so the shrine''s Coyn of full artificer status could attend the negotiation as well as the priest and priestess artificers. I know it made the arch-conservative Moxsef uncomfortable but her antiquated attitudes about Coyn were her problem, not mine. "Need help holding those down?" I asked the Blessed Emily. I had learned by now that paper liked to stay curled if it was kept rolled for a while. She looked up at me, "please?" This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. I joined her and held the ends of the two rolls of paper down so they wouldn''t curl. "Just hold that one down, please, and I can slide this one," she instructed. Foyuna, Moxsef, and Sutsusum got up and walked over to watch more closely. I motioned them to sit down on the floor, both because I didn''t want them looming over Emily and because they were blocking the view for everyone else. I could tell Emily was a bit uncomfortable with the high priestesses watching so closely but it didn''t stop her from sliding her half of the two scales. "Now, let''s assume that Gertzpul''s wheel w...was measuring 3.15 hands for every actual 3.141592 hands traveled," Emily began. "Subtracting one from the other, the w...wheel overestimates by...," she began to mutter to herself as she produced a pencil and did the subtraction on the floor, "ten from two is eight, nine from nine is zero, five from nine is four, one from nine is eight, four from four and one from one are both zero, 0.008408." I was left gaping at how fast she used the Queen''s numbers. The method of tens was powerful but not intuitive for those of us who learned it later in life. Emily spread out her strip of paper and slid it along mine, "let''s use three significant digits since that''s the best most slide rules can do, and use 0.00841 hands for the overestimate for every w...wheel rotation. To get the overshoot normalized to 100, w...we divide by 8.41 by 3.15 and we get," she squinted at the paper as she uncurled the whole strip, "2.67, which is 0.267 hands when we put the decimal point in the right place, w...which is the same as two and two-thirds half-fingers, which should be an overestimate of 1.33 fingers for every 100 hands measured. I might be off by one or two one-hundreds," she smiled tentatively at Sutsusum. "The correction we currently use is one and one-third fingers for every one hundred hands," Sutsusum revealed in a wondering voice. ¡°So you were able to accurately calculate the correction we use by using the difference between our incorrect value and your correct value and then scaling it to 100 hands. I am amazed at how quickly you were able to do division with the sliding rules. Can you teach this to me before I head home?" Emily leaned back and looked at the healer currently attending her, ¡°Twessera? Is after dinner w...workable?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see how tired you are after dinner, Great One,¡± Twessera gave her a measuring look. ¡°If you go and rest after this, it should be possible.¡± ¡°Does that work for you, Holy One?¡± Emily said to Sutsusum. The high priestess of Gerztpul nodded. ¡°Well then,¡± Emily turned her attention to Moxsef, ¡°does that calculation satisfy your question as to the accuracy of my number, Holy One?¡± ¡°It does appear so,¡± Moxsef conceded grudgingly. I was appalled by her rudeness at never using Emily¡¯s rightful title and amazed by Emily¡¯s ignoring that rudeness. How could she not get angry over the insult? I intended to have words with Moxsef about this later. I was beginning to appreciate what Lisaykos said just before she returned to Aybhas, that living with the Blessed Emily was like being in a boat on a river that was nothing but rapids. On the day after the negotiation for standard lengths, the Revered Priestess Artificer Huhoti used the standard bar from the Crystal Shine to create a mold with casting sand. Emily watched from a safe distance, seated cross-legged in a chair. I found the exchange between the two of them amusing. It was fun to watch the Blessed Emily do a fish face. "So, you will be casting four times?" Emily asked while Huhoti was melting her bronze. "No, just once," Huhoti said. "Why should I cast four times?" "But isn''t each of the shrines that measure things taking home a new standard handwidth bar?" "Yes," Huhoti looked confused as to why Emily was asking such an obvious question. "So how do you make four bars without casting four bars?" Emily asked, leaving both me and Huhoti gobsmacked. Emily''s gaps in knowledge were sometimes really incomprehensible. As soon as Huhoti comprehended what Emily didn''t know, she explained it with a grin: "You have never cast metal with a Cosm artificer before, Great One?" "I''ve never cast metal with anyone other than myself," the Blessed Emily explained. "Isn''t casting metal the same for everyone?" "Ah, yes," Huhoti''s grin got bigger, "but after I cast the bar, we will go to the vault where I will split it into four bars lengthwise and then engrave each one with the linear scale. I also made the mold just a little bit longer than the standard bar the Holy Foyuna brought. I will remove material off one end of the new bar before I split it in four so each bar is exactly the same length. We''ll do this in the vault so the temperature will be the same for both bars for the leveling and the splitting." We had converted one of the old adits in the hillside into a vault to store the standard handwidth bar for our shrine. Once there, it would remain in stasis so it would never corrode. Since the temperature underground stays the same year-round, all future engraving of new bars for making slide rules would take place in the vault. After Huhoti''s explanation, Emily''s jaw bounced out of the foundry, through the market square in Omexkel, and then down to the Rig River, where it caught a boat for the capital. "You can level the new bar and then split it in four with magic?" The astounded look was precious. Her eyes were as big as silver coins. "Well, of course. I''m an artificer mage, after all. It''s what I do." "Wow," the Blessed Emily said softly to herself. The Holy Foyuna, who was watching along with the other two visiting high priestesses, shook her head and looked amused. "How do you know when you have the new bar level with the original?" the Great One asked. "I use a charm gem with a level charm," looking like Emily should have known that. Emily didn''t. "How does that work?" "You don''t know?" It was Huhoti''s turn to be gobsmacked. Emily shook her head no. This was turning into a very interesting conversation. "I use the level charm to cast a level surface, which I watch using my close-in clairvoyance. Then I remove the bronze bumps, layer by layer until there are no more bronze bumps above the level line on top of the original bar. It''s the only way to get them exactly the same length." The Blessed Emily sounded like she was in awe, "you can see the layers of atoms with your clairvoyance?" "I have no idea what an atom is. Is that what you call the bumps? Regardless, I can see smaller than most people," Huhoti explained, realizing that Emily really didn''t know this. "Only the very best healers can see as small as the best artificers." "Do the bumps look spherical but kinda fuzzy, and if seen from above the layer, the bumps would make hexagon patterns?" "How did you know that?" "Unbelievable," she shook her head as if something momentous had just happened. "You can see atoms. How is that even possible?" "What''s wrong, dear heart?" Twessera asked. She was sitting on the floor next to the Blessed Emily. "You look surprised at something." "Remember the stuff I''ve been teaching at the Shrine of Mugash, about gasses, like oxygen and carbon dioxide and hydrogen?" "Yes," Twessera didn''t know where Emily was going with this. None of us did. "The Revered Huhoti can see them!" "You didn''t know some mages can see that small?" Twessera asked, finally realizing why Emily was so gobsmacked. "It''s not common. Kayseo can do it, and so can the Blessed Lisaykos and the Queen." Emily let out a huge sigh, "dang!" 68. Meanwhile, back in Aybhas Raoleer, Building Shrine of Giltak A rotation later, after the bronze and wood workers got together to make the scales, the Blessed Emily wanted to add a thing she called a cursor. One of our few priest artificers, Nitsuthluk, had the talent to shape crystals to make Emily¡¯s cursor with a hairline etched and blackened on it to help read the scales on the slide rules. The cursor had to be the clear crystal that formed in octahedrons or cubes and could be scratched with a piece of iron or bronze but not with the clear three-sided crystals we used for window panes. Emily called the cursor crystal fluorite and the crystals used in windows calcite. Any other clear crystals wouldn''t work because, as Emily explained, light would be distorted as it traveled through them. I made her promise me she would write down the properties for the different clear varieties of crystal. I also asked her to document how to tell one crystal type from another. In return, I promised to take her around to all the mine sites where we got our materials to make metals, after she recovered from the malaise the Queen gave her. The afternoon she visited Nitsuthluk''s workshop, she said some very fateful words: "I need to finish my w...work on making glass. It''s amorphous so it doesn''t matter how you cut it to make transparent pieces. It would make this so much easier since anyone can make glass. It doesn''t need magic or the right variety of crystal." "Glass?" I asked. "What is glass beside the shiny black or grey stuff you find out on the lava plains?" "It was something I was working on when I got injured and the queen rescued me," she frowned. "Mueb and Vassu both said they w...want me to finish with it, but I can''t even last a quarter bell at a forge right now without being exhausted." She sighed, "it''s very frustrating trying to do these things when I''m physically unable and feeling like I''m trapped here until I do." She was looking off into space, eyes focused somewhere far distant. "What''s so special about glass that you keep talking about it, Great One?" asked Kayseo, who was Emily''s healer on hand for this rotation. She was a sweet girl and the recently acknowledged Heir of Pinisla. She was also promoted to priestess healer at the age of 16, two years ahead of her age group; but according to Lisaykos, the girl is a prodigy of healing magic. "Huh?" Emily blinked and returned from whatever distant place she had been visiting. "See this beaker?" She pointed at Nitsuthluk''s beaker of tea. "Imagine this beaker being a quarter of the thickness, just as hard and completely transparent. That''s glass." "I see," Kayseo sighed and pulled her tablet out of her pocket. "That''s right. I remember now. The Queen called the beads that she pulled out of your eyes glass and they were all clear. Now how it is made?" Lisaykos had all of Emily''s healers trained to write down all the interesting things that Emily mentioned. "Wait, you got this glass stuff in your eyes, Great One?" I asked. "I forgot to preheat the tube I made to manipulate the melted glass in the furnace. Since I used a lot of w...water to shape the tube out of this nice soft amphibolite that I found in my valley when I...uh..." "It flashed to steam and propelled the hot glass stuff into your eyes, just like a cold mold can blowback molten metal while casting?" I finished her sentence for her. "Yeah, an extremely embarrassing mistake for someone like me who should know better," the Blessed Emily made a face at her own self-described failings. "It w...was a very bad moment for me because I was alone in my workshop and had no hope of rescue. That''s when the queen found me and took me to Aybhas to be healed." Kayseo had that grin she gets when she''s about to tease the Great One, which she loved to do, "the Blessed Emily was a lot easier to manage back then since she couldn''t talk yet." Emily and Kayseo were very close and the teasing was constant between the two of them. "Hmph," Emily gave her a well-baked glare. "So, dear heart," Kayseo smiled, having gotten the reaction she wanted out of Emily, "outline how glass is made please." "Yes, how is it made, Great One?" I pulled up a chair since she had been standing to watch Nitsuthluk working with crystal. "Have a seat. Let me help you." Emily just grimaced at me but made no verbal protest when I picked her up and put her in the chair. Nitsuthluk didn''t have any helpers, Cosm or Coyn, so there was just Cosm-scaled furniture. "It shouldn''t be that difficult," she started explaining. "The only difficult part of making glass is building a furnace that can get hot enough. Glass is just a mix of different kinds of sand. The different mixes of sand w...will give you different varieties of glass with differing properties, all of which will melt at different temperatures depending on the mix and any fluxes. "For example, Holy One, you know from all your assaying experience that when you assay white quartz---that''s the same stuff as the six-sided crystals used in the temples---mixed with litharge, the slag that forms over the button after the melting step is often a beautiful clear green. That''s a form of glass, called leaded glass, and the amount of green coloration can be controlled by how much litharge you put into the crucible. If you use only a little litharge, the slag w...would be almost completely clear. "So in a w...way, you already know how to make glass because you make almost clear slags when assaying all the time. This gives y...you an idea of how hot the furnace has to be to melt the ingredients for glass. Assay furnaces are hot enough to do the job, though their configuration isn''t well suited to manipulating glass, which needs more room. "When I tried to make glass, I made a dome with a floor on stilts that I put over my very best charcoal in the lower chamber of my assay furnace. That w...was to concentrate heat. I made a crucible of white clay with ground thorianite in it so it would w...withstand as much heat as I could generate." I had no idea what this thorianite was that the Blessed Emily mentioned or why it would improve the heat resistance of a crucible, but I had learned by now to just let her talk. If you stopped her with questions, she would often go off on a tangent. She continued: "My first batches of attempted glass didn''t w...work, probably because I didn''t have the right mix of fluxes yet. What worked finally was silica sand from the Vanished River, which was mostly quartz plus some plagioclase and K-spar sand. I removed all the magnetite in it with my homemade magnet. To that, I added some ground-up limestone and the ashes of burnt salt reeds that grew at my hot springs by the brine spring. That melted w...well and easily. And it w...was that batch that I got in my eyes. There, can I stop now?" She glowered at Kayseo who just raised an eyebrow as she finished writing. "Might I interest you in one of these?" Nitsuthluk looked at Kayseo and put a quartz crystal in her hand. Then he cast a series of charms on it. It started taking with Emily''s voice, repeating exactly what she had just said. "A recording device," Emily smiled with glee. "That''s awesome!" Awesome is one of Emily''s favorite words, and she used it enough that it was spreading through all the Coyn at the Shrine. "Sorry," Nitsuthluk apologized, "one must have at least an intermediate level of magic to use it." "Well, it''s not that hard to do w...without magic," Emily said thoughtfully. "I''d have to make some kind of motor or hand crank, and I''d have to play around to get the right mixture of hard w...wax, but I know it can be done." Nitsuthluk''s jaw dropped, "without magic?" "Sure? W...why not?" the Blessed Emily looked at him in surprise, as if making a recording without magic was the easiest thing in the world. It probably was to someone like her, with the knowledge of a whole different world in her head. "Dear heart," Kayseo said, oh so sweetly. "Gods!" Emily grimaced. "You did it again." Kayseo was really enjoying herself. --- Lisaykos, Healing Shrine of Mugash I stared off into space and sighed, "is my schedule free at the end of the rotation?" Wolkayrs picked up a large wax tablet, "no, there''s a note here that you are taking your granddaughter to Manse Gunndit." If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "Ah, that''s right." I looked out the window, restless. "I think, Great One, that your problem is that it''s too quiet without Emily." "Well, we don''t own her. She''s not property and we''ve always known that at some point she would leave us." I watched pale pink petals from the fruit trees in the garden blow past the calcite windows. At this time last year, Aylem had brought a small pathetic Coyn girl to the shrine to heal her injured eyes. Who knew that she would work her way into our lives like this? "I''m having the same problem you''re having," he remarked. "It''s too quiet around here and there''s this Emily-sized hole that needs filling. I miss waiting for the next ridiculous thing she comes up with." He sighed. "It was fun. Paper was fun and ice cream was fun and now the whole town is filled with people playing the divine. Emily was like throwing a pebble in a quiet pond and now the ripples are swamping the banks." "Stop now or I may need to make a quick trip to Omexkel to kidnap her and bring her home," I laughed. "In that case, I won''t stop," he sat up. "Should I send an order down to the mount residence for your eagle?" We both laughed. "I have a perfectly good excuse, I mean reason, to have Emily stay here longer. She still needs to finish explaining the theory of gases and elements and the like to me. It''s necessary for documenting my revelation and she''s the only one who understands it." "Why that could take years," he said, brightening up and smiling at the thought. "Yes," I smiled back. We both laughed again. I stopped and held up a hand to quiet Wolkayrs who didn''t have my sensitivity to approaching magic users. We both heard the door from the balcony open and close quietly. There were no footsteps. I caught a fleeting feeling of someone who was there but who wasn''t there. I pulled up my body clairvoyance and overlaid it with my healing magic to measure physiological disfunction. What I found almost made me laugh out loud. "You can drop the charms of shadows and circular light, Lord Usruldes. I may even have something that would help with your bruised posterior from riding your eagle too many days without rest." Usruldes appeared in the middle of the room, "May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One," he did a full kneeling obeisance. "And also with you, Lord Usruldes. Please rise." He stiffly got to his feet. "You look like you could use a little healing if you''re that sore," I remarked. "How long have you been on the eagle of yours and sleeping on the ground? Feel free to have a seat. The armchairs are probably the least painful. And if you are this tired, how is your poor eagle doing? I do have a very talented healer for mounts on my staff." I looked at Usruldes with encouragement. Poor Wolkayrs was dumbfounded by the conversation. Usruldes pointed at Wolkayrs and made inquiring eyes at me. I could see dark circles not completely covered by the face mask. "Wolkayrs is completely trustworthy. It would make all of our lives a little easier too if he knew. He''s so closed-mouthed, he turned down a 500 gold bribe to disclose one of Emily''s recipes that the kitchen decided not to make public. You can trust him." Usruldes turned and studied Wolkayrs. "Mint jelly, we''re keeping it in-house for as long as possible. I couldn''t sell out my friends in the kitchen." Wolkayrs was unmovable when he needed to be. Usruldes turned and charmed the door shut. He staggered to a chair and fell into it. He leaned his head back and moaned a little. "Wolkayrs, get some hot smoked black tea, unsweetened." "You should spend the night," I told Usruldes. "You are in no shape to fly further this afternoon. You could stand to shave. I can see the stubble through your mask. How long have you been in the air?" "Since half night," he said. He pulled off the head cloth and then the face covering. He had been in the air for all day and half of the previous night. "What''s the rush?" "I have found the Queen." "Where?" I got up and moved to the lounge against the south wall to sit next to him. "On the coast of the Fenland," he leaned his head back again, resting it against the high padded back of the chair. "Your tea," Wolkayrs handed him a full steaming beaker on a small plate. There were also three sourdough bread chips with a liver pate that Emily likes from one of the food shops in Aybhas. Usruldes, or rather Irhessa or Hessakos, depending on who was talking to him, looked at the chips with pate and wolfed them down. "I should have eaten those slower," he apologized. "Emily got me hooked on that liver pate from the little specialty food store three rings in on the Eastway in Is''syal. This is just as good." "When did you eat last?" I asked. "I had rations," he explained. "I haven''t missed any meal times. I wouldn''t be able to function if I skipped." "Rations?" I inquired. "Flying calvalry rations, tasteless, unsatisfying, small volume, and barfaceous." "Not those little square things?" "Yes, those horrid little square things, but they work for me, so I use them." "Oh my poor son, you will eat a real meal before you leave, even if you turn down my offer of a bed and some healing. So, why are you here? I''m not your employer." "The King told me to do whatever needed to be done to get the Queen back and gave me the discretion to act as I see fit," he explained. "He does that a lot. He trusts me, maybe even more than he trusts General Bobbo." "So why are you here?" "I need Emily," he took a swallow of tea. "That''s a wonderful tea, Wolkayrs. Thank you." "You are welcome." Woldayrs was already back at his table working on the chapel shrine accounts to close out the books for last year. "More pate?" "Do you need to ask?" my son said. "I thought as much," he got up and returned to the sideboard to prepare more pate. "Emily is in Omexkel," I said. "Still?" "Well, you know Emily," I chortled a little. "She''s been turning the place upside down. She herded them through two sky metal furnace designs and one variation to make steel. Now she''s got them building a third design that''s supposed to make steel directly instead of iron. She calls it a blast furnace. I don''t pretend to understand any of it, though I keep feeling like I should since furnaces for sky metal are all about balancing oxygen and carbon dioxide, which are part of my revelation from Mugash." "Look," I fetched a box from my worktable. "This was made for me," I handed him a knife with a varnished stacked leather hilt. "Those wavy lines are called pattern welding. Emily started the work on that knife and couldn''t finish it because she still lacks stamina, so the folks in the foundry finished it for her. And this one is for the Queen." I took out a slightly larger knife with a purplewood hilt. "Emily didn''t tell the folks at the Shrine of Giltak it was for Aylem, but her note for me in the box said it was for the Queen." "Ow," my son cut himself on the queen''s knife. "You''re not the first to do that, you know. These are amazingly sharp knives." ¡°I don¡¯t understand why she is doing anything for or with the Queen,¡± my son wondered with a frown. ¡°If I were her, I¡¯d be staying as far as possible from the person who had ruined my life and my health.¡± ¡°I asked her that,¡± I sheathed my knife. ¡°It has to do with the revelation that Landa has for Emily. Aylem Queen apparently is part of that revelation. Emily believes that once the revelation from Landa is complete, she will have fulfilled all the tasks the gods want her to accomplish and she will be free to do what she wants. It¡¯s not a matter of what she thinks of Aylem. She sees Aylem as part of her path to freedom from the demands of the gods.¡± Wolkayrs delivered a plate full of pate on bread chips. Irhessa popped two chips with pate in his mouth without even looking at the plate. "I want one of these," my son said with lust in his eyes for my knife. "You''re probably on her list. I need to get to Omexkel and negotiate the craft right for iron and steel before she does something inadvisable like give it away because she can''t be bothered with money." My son sighed. ¡°I wish I could instill some honest greed in her." "I know. That''s why I did all the negotiating on paper, pencils, the ice cream maker, the kite, the flushing necessary, the shower, and the divine. She will get her fair share, whether she likes it or not. I need to return there soon to make sure she gets some kind of return on glass too, especially since she has already paid the price of her eye injury and the loss of her home. I will need to negotiate with the Shrine of Mueb too, over purple wet weed, and with both Mueb and Giltac over sugar from beets." "Here for just one year," he shook his head. "And then there is this," I handed him a one-scale slide rule. "Oh! The shrine is already making these? That was fast." He started to play with the slide. "So, will you stay or will you go?" I asked. "I will stay on the premise that I might have some time with my daughter? I haven''t seen any family for eight rotations, I think. I''ve lost track." "This can be arranged. Do you have anything other than black to wear?" "In my saddlebags." "Wolkayrs can get those for you." "I''ll call Cadrees back." "He''s not on the balcony?" Both Wolkayrs and I looked at my son in surprise. "I jumped and landed on the dome and climbed down. He kept going and is probably at our old hiding place." I shook my head in wonderment. "Should I have my mount specialist meet Cadrees at the shrine''s mount house or the garrison? If he''s in the same shape as you, he may appreciate the services of a healer." "I think he would like that. He''s familiar with the garrison here, so let''s make it the garrison. The garrison captain here is familiar with Hessakos the courier." He paused for a moment, "Cadrees will be here in just a moment." "Let me contact Captain Tyoep. It will help her get used to the thought that you''re my son, especially since she already knows you. I''ll alert Yutmuss to pay a visit with Cadrees too." "Thank you." --- S.68.5 EXTRA --- Side Story (Pillow Fight) Lisaykos, Healing Shrine of Mugash Wolkayrs took care of setting my son up for the night in one of the guest rooms on the fourth floor. I made my way downstairs and out to the trainee residence. The first-year trainees shared quarters, six to a room. The trainees for the first three years ate in their own separate dining hall unless it was a special occasion when the whole shrine ate in the great hall, which was the only room large enough. I had avoided seeing my granddaughter because I didn''t want to create any favoritism problems. I had seen her at whole shrine assemblies twice, from a distance but that was it. I had arranged the trip to the Gunndit first growing day festival through normal channels, with a note sent to her floor supervisor just like any other family member who wanted to take their children home for the two-day holiday. Today would mark the first time I bent my own rules, but after 20 years of not having my son in my life, I found myself feeling remarkably greedy about spending time with my new family. It was a shame we couldn''t get Oyyuth and the other two children here. I would have to make sure that Irhessa spent at least a day at his home before he returned to his current task. I noted with interest, but no reaction on my part, the startled expressions of the shrine staff who I passed in the hallways of the first story. I usually spent two to three bells a day making my rounds of the patient wards and administrative offices and otherwise kept my nose out of my supervising healers'' business unless asked. I had enough of my own work to do; I didn''t want to micromanage my staff. So the sight of me downstairs after the sixth bell was uncommon. The time between the sixth and seventh bells was a free period for all trainees though first years were not allowed to roam. They had to stay within their residence wing. Dinner was at the seventh bell. Study time was after dinner until half past the quarter night bell. I climbed the stairs to the third and top floor and knocked on the door of the young unmarried healer who was the floor supervisor for the year. "Come," a voice called. I stepped inside. "The answer, Trainee Poyoy, is still no, I will..." Priestess Healer Emdiyo looked up and gaped for just a breath when she realized I wasn''t whoever this young misbehaving Poyoy was. "Great One," she stood up and made a bowing obeisance. "I beg your pardon. Please, sit down. May I get you something? Tea?" I sat in her guest chair, "no, I''m fine. Who is Poyoy and what is she about?" "Poyoy is a darling child who has just received word three days ago that the divine she ordered is finished and ready for pick-up. She''s asked every evening since then if she might walk the four blocks to the instrument maker''s shop before dinner, and the timing was just right for her evening visit to try to wear me down again." "Well, she is at least asking, and not just sneaking out like a certain trainee Emdiyo I recall having been brought before me for discipline," I studied the ceiling. She laughed, "yes, there is that. I''m just trying to keep them out of the trouble I got myself in." "Well, that should be easy, given what a handful you were," I said gently. She had grown up to become a very reliable and responsible young lady, though I had my doubts early on. She had the good grace to blush. "So, Great One, what may I do for you?" "I believe there is a Fedso''as haup Gunndit under your supervision, who I confess I have been working hard to ignore lest I create a situation of favoritism." "Yes," she smiled fondly, "Fed is quite a smart girl, studious, easily the best-mannered girl in her year, and not too much trouble." "Not too much trouble," I felt my eyebrow raise on its own. "That implies some trouble." "Well," she smiled a bit ruefully, "she was the target of some mean-spirited harassment during the first three rotations or so, because of certain family associations." "And?" I wasn''t too surprised but I wasn''t happy to hear of it, either. "Your talented granddaughter crafted an interesting little magic, which I haven''t figured out yet, I confess. Whenever the room of girls who were picking on Fed had their turn in the washroom, the hot water would never be hot when it came out of the faucet, regardless of how many charms of warmth were cast. Fed would remove the curse, as she told them when they stopped the harassment of her and one other girl who was their target. It was a reasonable response but it broke the rules on magic use outside of instruction times. I regretted the necessity of disciplining her for it because the girls picking on her and several other trainees are a bunch of stuck-up little spoiled princesses who needed to be knocked down a bit." "What did you do to discipline her?" I was curious. "Cold water only in the washroom for her until the end of the third rotation of the planting season," Emdiyo made a wry face. "Enough of a punishment to shut up the girls of room four without creating undue hardship for Fed. Your granddaughter is a good egg. She stands up to bullies, and I like that a lot. So, Great One, you''re here because of something that deals with Fed, yes?" "Well, this is up to your discretion. Her father stopped here just now, expecting to expedite his current business, which was with the shrine, and then leave immediately to complete his current mission for the King. He''s been traveling for 8 rotations outside of the kingdom without being home. He asked to see his daughter. I have talked him into having dinner and sleeping in a real bed. I would request that you release Fedso''as to have dinner with her father, and just incidentally, me. If that''s not possible, I would like to arrange a few minutes so he can see her." The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. "Of course, you may take her for dinner," Emdiyo said. "It wouldn''t matter if her surname was ratcatcher. This is for the succor of a hard-working royal attendant. Let me fetch her, by your leave." My hand automatically made the motion granting my leave and Emdiyo walked down the hallway. She left the door to her room open so I could hear everything in the hallway. I heard a door open followed by the shrill squeal of 12-year old girls. Then Emdiyo said loudly: "Girls, stop this right now and get this mess cleaned up." I could not resist the temptation to see what had transpired. Emdiyo was not the sort who raised her voice often. I had a sinking feeling when I saw some feathers escape the room to fall on the hallway floor. I looked in at a sight I had not seen in at least two decades: the air of the room was afloat with feathers everywhere. There had been a pillow fight and one or more pillows had broken open. I haven''t had the opportunity in a long time to use what Katsa called the death stare, where---to hear her tell it---I draw myself up to my full and considerable height, and then glare flames of divine judgment down my long and considerable nose, which some say is a weapon in its own right. I found my granddaughter, who had a look of resignation on her face, and gave her the look. I liked that she didn''t try to hide or make excuses. She was standing there ready to take whatever was dished out to her as discipline with an appropriate attitude of contrition. It reminded me of a certain young son I used to have long ago before we were a broken family. I thought then to myself that I was getting old and soft; and I heard an absent Emily say to me in the back of my memory, "no, just getting old and wiser." Emdiyo looked up at me, "I''m not sure what I am going to do to discipline this lot, but I will allow you to take Trainee haup Gunndit for now, but not for her sake; only for the sake of the one who traveled so far to speak to her." "Are you sure?" I asked, just so the children in this room would have a clear idea who had the final decision here. "Oh, I will have something appropriate devised when you return her, Great One." "Well, then," I glowered at my pillow-destroying granddaughter, "you, out that door. There is someone here who needs to speak with you." "Yes, Great One," she made a perfect bowing obeisance and then, with perfect etiquette, waited for me to go first. Her parents had done a splendid job in training her. I did not even look at her, except when holding a door so it wouldn''t close in her face. By the time I returned to my study with my granddaughter following me in silence like any other obedient trainee, Wolkayrs was exiting from the guest suites holding a razor. He saw my questioning gaze. "I took the razor before he got started shaving and he refused to let me shave him," Wolkayrs groused. "He is so tired his hands are shaking, now that he doesn''t have to fly any further. I apologize but you''ll have to continue to be offended by his unshaven face. I would advise asking the kitchen to make him something to eat that doesn''t require finesse. He is in very bad shape." "Wolkayrs, I will let you decide what my family will have for dinner. I trust your judgment but it can not wait past half til the quarter night bell. This one must return to her room at a reasonable hour, give or take a little. There are extenuating circumstances, though. Fed is pending the receipt of her own judgment, having been caught with her roommates in an act of indiscretion just now. I don''t want to get her into more trouble than she''s already in." I looked back at my granddaughter with her head appropriately bowed and her eyes on the floor, which is where they should be right now. "Alright, Fed, you are free to forget I''m high priestess. It''s family time." "Grandmom!" "Fed!" She ran to me and I caught her and swung her in a circle, put her down, and hugged her tight. She pushed me back and grinned. "I missed you," she said, and then she hugged me again. "I''m sorry I haven''t been around more often but I...I..." "I know," she said, the epitome of reason. "Mom and Dad must have repeated it to me seventeen times every day for at least 500 rotations, that I can''t treat you like family when I''m a trainee at the shrine. I got it. I understand. It''s okay, Grandmom." To my horror, she patted my hand. I saw Wolkayrs save his own life when he succeeded in not laughing out loud. Then he wisely disappeared down the stairs to consult with the kitchen and serving staff. "Hey, short stuff," Irhessa said from the doorway, where he was leaning. The look on Fed''s face was worth the trip to fetch her, given the absolute delight when she saw her father. She ran to him and they hugged. She then pushed him at arm''s length and scrutinized him, "Dad, you''re a mess. We''ll have dinner but you must promise me to go right to bed and oversleep in the morning. What have you been doing to yourself? You are oozing blue fatigue fog all over the place." "You can see the blue fatigue fog already?" he looked overjoyed. "That''s my little girl," the proud father hugged his talented daughter. "Dad," she scowled at him. "Don''t change the subject. You''re a mess. This is worse than the last time when the king brought you home and had to carry you in himself. You can''t keep doing this. One of these days, you will really hurt yourself." She was not happy with him. This looked like one of those ongoing dialogues that families get into and seldom resolve. I sat down in one of the armchairs, "he does this often?" "This is the fourth time I remember him looking and acting this bad," she said with a frown. "You should talk to him about this, Grandmom. He might listen to you." "No, child, he hasn''t listened to me for twenty years," I said sadly without thinking. "He might listen to his sister, but I''m afraid I have little traction with your father." "I''m not that bad, am I?" he asked, looking wounded. "Oh yes, you are," Fed and I said almost in unison. She and I looked at each other and laughed. "I''m sorry," he fell back onto the lounge. "I just wanted to get to a safe place so very badly. The coast north of Inkalim is not an easy place to be." He looked at her suddenly with a questioning look, "why is there a feather stuck in your hair, Fed?" I stood up, walked over, and removed the offending feather, "where do you think white feathers this soft come from, son?" I handed him the feather. "Oh," his eyes grew wide as he looked from his daughter to the feather and back. "You''ve been in a pillow fight." He grinned at her. "Did you win?" "Don''t know," she shrugged. "We got busted before we finished." "There will be other times," he smiled at her with understanding. "You should treasure them since you only get to be young once." There was a bitter sadness in what he said that stabbed at me where I didn''t even know I was wounded. I bit my tongue and said nothing. This was father and daughter time, and I let them be. --- 69. The Well of Galt Lisaykos, Healing Shrine of Mugash It was half-past the third bell when a cleanshaven and less fatigued Irhessa leaned up against the doorjamb of my study door. "You put a charm of sleep on me," he accused with a smile. "A certain granddaughter insisted you get some sleep." I looked at the schedule that Wolkayrs wrote out for me this morning. "You should visit your sister for a few days. I have Fed at end of the rotation and we were going to go to Manse Gunndit for the first growing day festival. How about inviting Oyyuth down with the rest of the children and we can make a day of it?" "I''m the only one in the family with a mount," he said with regret. "Alright, we could spend the festival at your house in Is''syal. Katsa and her family could come to visit you. You know she wants to, as do your nephews. And we could kidnap Twevyar from Yant. We won''t have problems with mounts that way." "Hmmm." He frowned and thought too long about it. "It was just a suggestion," I remarked casually. "Otherwise, I will kidnap my granddaughter, the one who lives here and not in Yant, and will be at Manse Gunndit in a few days." "I will discuss it with Oyyuth," he said. "I will pass on seeing Katsa on this trip. I need to talk with Emily as soon as possible." "Is there some other reason besides your overwhelming need to overwork yourself like the rest of my family?" "Yes, there is." He grimaced and stood in my doorway with his arms folded, glaring at the floor. Finally, he finished whatever debate he was having with himself. "Mother, is there a charm called the charm of tongues for understanding another language?" "It''s one of the lost charms," I said. "There''s documentation on those in the vault at the Shrine of Galt. I''m sure Kamagishi would let you in to inspect the manuscripts, given who you are. What does this have to do with Emily?" He looked at me from across the room with a worried face, "I had another dream command, from Vassu this time, to learn the charm of tongues, which I had never heard of before but I''m not a scholar of the charms by any measure." "Go see Kamagishi," I advised, "tell her I sent you if she gives you any grief." "What''s a divine?" he asked. "Everyone keeps talking about them but I have no idea what one is. Are they a new fad or something?" "I think all I need to say on that subject is," I made him wait for it, "Emily!" "Emily? Gods, it''s an Emily thing? But what it is?" "It''s a musical instrument that has a soundbox but it''s plucked, not bowed," I explained. "Mugash told Emily she needed to have one." "Amazing," he said more to himself than to me. "Do you ever get the feeling the world might be changing too fast?" I had a good laugh over that rhetorical question. --- Hessakos, Building Shrine of Giltak "Hello, Priestess Kayseo," I walked into the guest house with the Holy Raoleer in tow. "Is my favorite little wolverine in?" "Wolverine? Why a wolverine? I''ve always thought she was more like a little traveling thunderstorm." Kayseo put down the manuscript she was reading. "I don''t know if Thuorfosi ever told you, but Emily saved my life in the middle of the kidnapping incident. I remember lying on the riverbank, helpless to save myself, and she deliberately put herself between me and my attacker. Then she attacked, like this extremely-fierce tiny wolverine, nose and whiskers twitching, all bunched up and bristling and ready-to-bite. She knocked my attacker off her eagle using a sling she improvised by ripping a strip of fabric off her nightgown. She''s been a wolverine in my head ever since." "My Emily?" Kayseo looked like she didn''t believe a word I said. "A thunderstorm or a whirlwind, maybe. But a wolverine? No, I don''t think so." She picked her manuscript back up. "She''s in her room trying to understand musical notation." I walked over to the indicated door and knocked. I didn''t hear anything so I cracked the door open to see Emily asleep, divine leaned up against the wall, and music all over the floor. I didn''t want to wake her up but I did want to see my wife and kids before dark. So I went in and took out a little paper package with liver pat¨¦ on bread chips that Wolkayrs had given to me. It was a clever package. The paper had been waxed so the food didn''t penetrate through to stain clothes. I took a chip full of liver pat¨¦ and put it close enough to her nose so she would smell it. Her eyes popped open and focused on the food. She looked at me and then opened her mouth. She pointed at the pat¨¦ and then at her open mouth. It made me laugh. "It''s yours if you sit up and eat it like a civilized person, Great One," I said. "W...What? Civilized?" she grumbled in her soft voice. "Forget it, then. I have no intent to be civilized." She sat up anyway and I gave her the pat¨¦. She''s an addict. "I hope you''ve managed to put on some weight," I said, sitting on the floor in front of her perch on the bed. She looked annoyed at the reminder. "Alright, down to business," I told her. "I have found the Queen. I got a dream command from Vassu that you are needed to get the Queen to come home. That''s the first bit. The second is that I need to learn one of the lost charms, called the charm of tongues. It lets you understand things in another language." "Where is Aylem and why didn''t she come home w...with you?" Emily asked. "She''s on the coast of the Fenland, a hard place to reach, no matter which one of the three routes you take. She has lost her memory. I did not speak with her directly. She''s staying with an old friend of mine who is protecting her for now. So she''s safe but inaccessible." "Emotional trauma-induced amnesia," Emily considered. "I can see that happening. What she endured w...within her own mind could have caused her to flee from the reality of what she had done. That kind of memory loss is usually temporary. When are w...we leaving for the coast?" "I wanted to see my wife and children first and my mother tempted me with spending the holiday at Manse Gunndit. I think the second is impractical but I do want to see my family in Is''syal." "What''s wrong w...with going to Gunndit?" Emily wondered. "I''m the only one with a mount." Emily gave me the weirdest look when I said that and Raoleer out in the common room laughed. "He''s not too sharp, is he?" Priestess Kayseo remarked from the common room. "Especially when it''s staring him in the face," the Holy Raoleer replied. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. I raised my voice a little: "So enlighten me!" The two women just laughed some more. Emily gave me a sad disappointed look, "Hessakos, you forgot that Asgotl w...would likely say yes to helping you out, and I should probably go with you since that will save some time in going to wherever we''re going. There''s the additional benefit that you''d get an additional seat on a mount because I''m sure Kayseo w...will tag along until I return to Aybhas or leave with you." "So you''re done here for now," the Holy Raoleer said to Emily from the door, where she was now standing. "The folks at the foundry will miss you, and you will miss the first firing of the blast furnace." "I''ve already been here too long, Holy One," Emily sighed. "You could move here, Great One," Raoleer suggested. "Aduda, Boi, and Koifu already offered to build you a house in the east canyon." "They''re nice kids," Emily said with that thinking look of hers on her face. "Aduda is sweet on you," Raoleer remarked, smiling with her eyes. "You know that, don''t you?" "I know," Emily said with a touch of sadness. This was turning into a very interesting conversation. "What? You''re not interested?" Raoleer raised an eyebrow. "It''s not that," Emily bit her lip. "I''m just not ready for any romance," Emily suddenly looked up at Raoleer with accusation in her eyes, "and you are overly fond of playing matchmaker." The Holy Raoleer laughed, "probably." "Kayseo, w...We need to pack," Emily called out to the common room, "if we''re trying to get to Is''syal before dark." "Already on it," Kayseo called out from her room. Emily was staring off into space again with that thinking look back on her face. I was getting an itchy feeling in the back of my head that something interesting was about to erupt. "Holy One, what happens if you use a charm of w...warmth on air?" Emily looked at Raoleer leaning on the doorframe. "It gets warm or hot, depending on the amount of magic applied, and it will rise or move away depending on where you are and whether you''ve used a barrier charm to keep it in one place. Warmth on air is not usually used without some way to constrain the air from moving elsewhere. Why?" "Remember the problem of routing pre-heated blast through the bellows?" Raoleer eyes opened wide, "Oh!" "Yeah, have someone use magic to preheat the blast instead of wasting charcoal. Might get better temperature control as w...well as the ability to experiment with finding an optimal temperature for preheating." "Oh, I like this," the High Priestess pulled out her pocket tablet and made a note, "and it''s moments like this that convince me that you really need to move here Great One." "Good try, Holy One, but I''m not moving, at least for now." "Huhoti won''t forgive either of us if I let you leave without her saying goodbye. She''s become quite fond of you, you know." Raoleer closed her eyes for a moment, "there, she''s coming now." "Yes, I believe I''m going to miss Huhoti," Emily said. "She thinks about metals and chemicals the same way I do and I never thought I''d meet anyone like that here. She made the world a lot less lonely for me." Kayseo came in with empty saddlebags for Emily''s clothes and tools, "too bad it took the Holy Raoleer to pry the two of your apart after dinner every night so you would go to bed on time." "We were not that bad," Emily protested. "Oh yes, you were," the Holy Raoleer shook her head. --- Emily, at the Fated Shrine of Galt "You did it!" Asgotl did that little prancy dance he does with his talons and feet when he''s really happy. "All the way to the library doors!" I had just walked from Hessakos'' and Oyyuth''s house to the library doors at the Shrine of Galt. It was a short walk but I was winded and my back hurt for some strange reason. Passers-by kept giving us strange looks. It probably did look strange. It''s not often a griffin escorts a Coyn on a walk through city streets. Asgotl is big for a griffin too and I''m short for a Coyn. We must have been quite the sight. "Ow," I staggered and leaned against the wall of the library portico, "I could use a chair right now." ¡°Did you overdo? I told you to ride on my back, twice!" Asgotl grabbed the bell pull with his beak and pulled it. After only a breath or two, the door opened and a Priestess Librarian looked out, then up at Asgotl and down at me." "Hello," I managed to say. "I''m..." "Priestess Kayseo," the librarian called out, "she''s here." While she waited for my keeper, she got down on her knees, "may the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One." "And w...with you also," I replied, "please rise." It still rattled me to see these big Cosm do kneeling obeisances to me. "You should have stopped to rest on your way here," Kayseo appeared in the doorway, arms crossed, glaring down at me from a formidable height. She had grown so much in the last year. "She did," Asgotl said, "twice. I told her just to get on my back both times but she''s being dense today." "Oh?" Kayseo had a dangerous look on her face. "Traitor," I smacked Asgotl''s knee. "Hmm, I think there''s a bug on my knee," Asgotl said to Kayseo. "I''ll take care of it for you," Kayseo leaned down and picked me up under the arms and then held me up so she was looking me in the eyes. "Next time, take him up on the ride, Great Bug. You are infuriatingly stubborn." "Yeah, Great Bug, what Kayseo said," Asgotl humphed at me. "I''m off. See you in a bit, Kayseo." The librarian closed the door with an amused smile on her face. "Alright, too dense to follow directions from your healer, grab my collar with your right hand," she shifted me to sit on her left arm. "The others are waiting for you." "They are?" "The high priestess had a premonition earlier this morning," Kayseo turned down a hallway, "so she and Lord Irhessa are waiting for you to show up so we can all go down to the vault together." "Ah." When she got to the door into Kamagishi''s study, the door opened of its own accord and then shut itself behind us. "Dear heart," Hessakos didn''t nag. He had a way of saying things that left one sinking in the feeling of having let him down horribly. He was an expert with guilt. "If you wanted to come, you should have just waited for me to take you with me." "Needed to w...walk," I said. I might have pouted just a little. "I know it seems too slow, but you are getting better," he said. "You need to give it more time." "Hello, Great One," Kamagishi stood up from her chair and did a bowing obeisance. "How are you today, besides too stubborn for your own good, Great Bug?" "Not y...you too," I protested. She rolled her eyes at me. "Well, shall we?" Kamagishi took a ring of keys from a drawer in her work table and opened a door on the back wall of her office. It revealed a spiral staircase built into the stone wall of the shrine. Hessakos and Kayseo followed Kamagishi down. "Aren''t y...you going to put me down, Kayseo?" I asked, surprised that she was coming too. "No, I am not going to put you down," her lips were set firmly. "You have overdone it again and you are not walking anywhere for the next two days. And these are old steps that were made for silverhairs. Given your current state, you would likely trip and fall again like you did three rotations ago in Omexkel." I sighed. I knew I wasn''t going to win this. Kayseo would immobilize me if I was too stubborn like she had done in Omexkel twice. We went down a long way, deeper than I anticipated. We finally came to a landing. "We call this the vault," Kanagishi said, unlocking the door. "It is actually the original Well of Galt surrounded by the original library stacks. It is more than thirty-five hundred years old. It used to be just below street level, which tells you how the city has been built up around the shrine. The charm gem lights hanging from huge lamp fixtures came to life. We were standing on a circular mezzanine with doors spaced around the perimeter. Four equally spaced sets of steps of white and red marble went down into a circular depression. In the center of it was a giant sherry-colored topaz crystal, taller than I was. It was magnificent, set on a tall stand of the same variegated red and white marble that lined the Well. Something in my peripheral vision moved and I looked. It was a huge fluffy tuxedo cat. It would probably come up to my waist if I was standing up. "How did a cat get down here?" I asked. My companions looked and then dropped to their knees and bowed their heads. "Bow your head, Emily," Kayseo whispered urgently. With that warning in my ears, I studied the cat who sauntered over leisurely and stopped in front of me. Kayseo was trembling which confused me until I realized what was going on. She was terrified of this cat. (Continued in part 70) 70. Dont Call me John (Continued from part 69; Emily, Vault at the Shrine of Galt) * I have an itch I can''t reach, right behind my left ear * He spoke to my mind and begged me with his beautiful golden eyes, the same color as Kamagishi''s strange eyes. I reached out and gave him a good deep scratching through the thick fur behind his ear. He started purring. * Ah, that hits the spot. Thank you. You are most kind.* "You are welcome," I said to the cat. He was a wonderfully handsome cat. "So, I take it you are Galt." * Just don''t ever call me John, * and then he licked a paw with all of the dignity of Gene Kelly in the first scene of the movie Singing in the Rain. I studied this ham of a cat. "Fit as a fiddle and ready for love, I see," referring to the first musical number in the movie. He rubbed up against my hand and purred some more. I scratched some more. * I am the Casanova of feline felicitude. If you were a cat, we could make wonderful kittens together. * I rolled my eyes at him and heard his laughter in my mind. * Emily, look at me * I looked at him and fell into those golden eyes. I lost track of where I was because I was now back in the abyss. * Look into it, Emily * So I did and I understood for the first time the nature of nothingness. * Not many can look and see what isn''t truly there, Emily. There was a philosopher from one of your former worlds who was given this same opportunity and it drove him insane. Many took his insane ravings as genius afterward. A truly sad case. You, however, have seen the truth of this. Now I am sure you will be able to see magic for what it is. * "But I have no magic," I protested, not even sure what he was talking about. * Yes, you have no magic, which is why you will be able to see it for what it is. * "Okay, now I know you are one of the eleven goofball gods because you are making absolutely no sense whatsoever. I''m so glad you cleared that up for me." Galt sniffed the air around my hand dramatically. * Ah, the sweet smell of sarcasm. How I missed it so.* He paused to lick his paw again. * Sorry, I had to reassert my dignity. Now, Emily, the thing about a catalyst is that even though it expedites a reaction to completion, it is not part of the beginning or final products. So of course, you can not have any magic.* "If you''re trying to be ineffable, you''re doing a great job, Galt," I made a face at him. He just purred. * I know you can do this, Emily. We have faith in you. Please, just give it some thought. Tell me, what is magic? * "What?!?" * I met a soul not too long ago in the orthogonality of time who you may know as Maxwell. He had been a great mage in a previous life and understood the true nature of magic. Because of that understanding, he was able to write those four wonderful equations when he lived on Earth. This will help you. * "Is this a revelation?" * No, kitten, it is not. If you don''t come up with the answer on your own, I may have to resort to using a revelation; but I have confidence you don''t need my help to derive the answer. And before I go, the thing your friend Irhessa is looking for is in the room with the lost key. I know you''ll be able to get inside, Emily. One last scratch please? * I''m a sucker for cats. Of course, I gave him one last scritch behind the ears; and then, he was gone. Kayseo gasped and put me down. Hessakos and High Priestess Kamagishi looked at me with round eyes and worry. Kayseo put her hands on either side of my head to examine me and then looked at the other two, "it''s not magical; it''s natural." Something was obviously wrong but I had no idea what. I felt fine. "Truly frightening," the Holy Kamagishi just shook her head. "What''s wr...ong w...with you people?" I demanded to know. "Great One, your eyes are now gold," Hessakos said, sounding a bit scared. "That''s really unnerving," Kayseo said, "but the only thing that changed was the pigment." "I do find it unsettling that all these things are happening now," the High Priestess remarked, standing up and brushing the dust off the knees of her red and white robes. "It worries me that we could be entering a third era of miracles and interventions." "Could be?" Kayseo aksed. "I don''t think that is any ''could'' involved here. Let''s take that out of the subjunctive case and put it into the declarative case where it belongs." "Before you all go down the road of speculation, shouldn''t we at least look at the door with the lost key?" I asked. "How do you know about that?" the Holy One of Galt looked down at me. "Didn''t you hear Galt mention it?" Did they not hear my conversation with the Foskos god of knowledge? "Great One, we only heard your answers to him," Hessakos said quietly. "Please explain the door without a key." "Galt said the answer you are looking for is in the room where the key is lost," I replied. "It''s that door over there," the High Priestess pointed at the door opposite where we entered. "I can''t open it. No one can. It''s been closed for almost 2,500 years." "Can''t a mage who can use the mind''s hand pick the lock?" I wondered. "There are charms on the locks to prevent that," Kamagishi replied. I started walking over to the door. When I got to the steps, someone came up behind me and picked me up. Of course, it was Kayseo. "You aren''t going to give me a break, are y...you?" "Not a single one, Great Bug," she smiled sweetly with just a touch of self-satisfaction. "Only 16 and already insufferable," said I, pouting. She laughed. "What is in the other rooms, Holy One?" I asked. "Books, really old books," she replied, walking around the mezzanine to where we were. "Can I see some other room?" "Sure," she selected a key and inserted it into the keyhole of the door to the right of the one with the lost key. It swung open and the charm gem light lit up. The three walls were lined with shelves full of books. Kayseo started to walk in and I stopped her, "wait, I w...want to look at this." I reached out and touched the hinge. "Holy One, who oils these hinges and keeps the rust off everything?" The hinge looked new, as did all the door fixtures. "No one does," she answered. "Whoever built the Well used the sideways charm of time on the chamber. It too is one of the lost charms. It''s like healing stasis but lasts forever, but only on non-living things." "Huh, what a w...weird name for a charm." I studied the door, wondering what could sideways time be. Then it hit me like a getting slapped in the face with a salmon. "Crappola, that''s what he meant!" "Great One?" Kamagishi was giving me a look. "Who?" "Galt! That''s w...what he meant! Time is orthogonal and the lost charm used that quality to spin time perpendicular to time''s current direction of travel. That makes perfect sense now," I looked up, happy to have sorted that mystery out. "Emily, no one understands what you just said," Kayseo patiently explained things to me. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "That''s alright," I shook my head, "I think it w...would take me a few rotations before I could teach someone enough to understand what I just said. It''s a lonely w...world out there for someone like me. No one speaks the same language. Take me to the door without a key, Kayseo, please?" Kayseo gave me a worried look. The door looked as new and usable as the rest of the doors around the Well. I started laughing. I couldn''t believe no one had opened the door. "How often do people come down here, Holy One?" "Oh, Maybe once every 20 years. Very few people are allowed to see the books and records in the vault." "Is there a list of w...what''s down here?" I wanted to know. There might be something I would want to read or had to read. So, Galt wanted me to figure out what magic was. Interesting. That meant there was something wrong with the current theory of magic, except I knew very little about that, other than there were three kinds of magic. "I have one in my study." "Can I see it sometime?" "You? Of course you can." "Kayseo, put me down please." "What are you up to now?" she asked me suspiciously. Enough was enough. "Priestess Kayseo," I said with every ounce of managerial authority I have ever held, "I do not answer to you. You will put me down now, child." I let a little real anger show in my eyes. Kayseo looked very startled, and so did Kamagishi and Hessakos. I suppose that might have been expected since I have rarely asserted myself never lost my temper. It had the intended effect and my feet were on the ground. Each door had thee copper hinges. I pulled the little knife wedge out of the billet protector on my belt. Then I took off my belt and pulled off the new pattern-welded knife in its sheath, the one Aduda made me two rotations ago with the big heavy bronze pommel. After putting my belt back on, I walked to the open room next door and inspected the bottom hinge. I leaned against the door to close it. It took a moment but it finally moved. Given that the door outweighed me by a lot, it told me a world about how good these hinges were. When the door was shut, I took the little billet knife and used the bronze pommel on my new knife in its sheath to hammer the small blade like a wedge, lifting the top of the hinge pin. I took one of my brand new throwing spikes from its holder on the shoulder strap of my chest underwear and put it at the bottom of the hinge. I hammered it upwards at the bottom of the hinge to knock the pin further upwards. When it had come up about half a hand, I stopped and removed my jury-rigged tools. "Can someone pull that pin out for me please?" Hessakos walked over and pulled it out without effort. Damn Cosm. He looked at the pin and shook his head, "it''s so obvious." He laughed. "I should have thought of this." "Well, get to it," I smiled up at him. "Can I borrow your knife pommel?" I handed the sheathed knife to him. He used the liberated pin and my knife pommel as a hammer to knock the hinge pins loose in the door with no key. Then he pulled them the rest of the way by hand. He took out the crystal he wore around his neck, levitated the door off its hinges, and slid it sideways to pull the door bolt out of the door plate. He picked up the liberated door and leaned it against the wall. "Looks like the lights are not working in this room," he made a light to look inside. "Gertzpul! There''s a dead body in here." The mummified body of a Cosm woman in faded robes of an unknown color was on the floor. The head stall on top of her veil had the three rolls of a high priestess. Her desiccated bony hands were wrapped around two books and a key. Hessakos very carefully took the key, walked to the unhinged door, and fit it in the lock. The key turned the bolt. "That settles the problem of losing the key, Holy One. This is the lost key." He handed it to her. "I am thinking the mysterious disappearance of the High Priestess of Yasknapa of the White Shrine of Landa may finally have a solution," Kamagishi remarked, ¡°since she was last seen fleeing the palace and running through the streets of Is''syal." Hessakos walked back to the mummified body and carefully slid the first of the books, a thin volume, from out of her dead hands. He muttered an apology as he did so. Opening the manuscript carefully, he looked inside and then gaped. He closed it carefully and walked over to me. He knelt and opened the book so I could see the first page, "are these Latin letters?" I could not believe what I was seeing. Beyond any doubt, I was looking at Humanistic Bookhand of the 15th or 16th centuries and the language was close to Shakespeare''s English. How did an Elizabethan get to this world? "Gods!" I ran my fingers down the page and felt the ink on top of the vellum. "Unbelievable." "Can you read it?" Hessakos asked. "Yes, I can. It''s an old form of English." I scanned the page. ¡°This poor w...woman, she locked herself in this room to die so she could not be compelled to create...more...charms that..." I stopped and flipped through the pages with growing horror. "Emily, are you alright," Kayseo knelt next to me with real concern on her face. "Your face just went almost completely white." "This lady was a hero. She should have a proper resting place. She died to save others from suffering. Galt helped her in her last days. Please let me see the second book." Kamagishi brought the second book, sat cross-legged on the mezzanine floor, and opened the second book in her lap. It too was handwritten in a humanistic book hand in Elizabethan English. It was her diary of the last few years of her life. On the last page, a piece of vellum fell out. It did not appear to be a page since it was the wrong size. I picked it up and read: "My Lord Galt has commanded of me to place here this small missive. I have had great comfort from him in these my final hours. I pray thee and beg thee, receive from me this piece of my regard and pass it only to the one upon whom Tethys Vassu has placed her regard to hear the words of our fair island home in this strange place. Take his hand in thine that he may ken the truth through thine eyes and then give this leaf to the flames to perish. These two volumes I have writ so that thou may ken why I have come to this place to die. "I have seen thy fair face on the mountain top in the land the Spanyards took from the heathens. I know that thou will come and thy arrival brings comfort to me at my life''s end. Giveth thou these writings to the one who died in the night of great fire when Saint Michaels Coventry wast set afire by the gunnes in the sky. I place now my trust in thee. I set here my hand for the last time in my life. I was Yassknappa of Yantes. I beg thee to pray for the repose of my soul." Underneath, she had written the instructions on how to use the charm of tongues, which made no sense to me. I had to assume that Hessakos would understand them. I sat down on the floor of the mezzanine in front of Hessakos. "You are mentioned in this letter along w...with me and with the Queen. Good fish face, Hessakos." "What does it say, Great One?" Kamagishi asked. "She asks that Hessakos read this through my eyes. After he has read it, she asks that it be burnt. She requests that the two b...books which contain the high priestess'' journal and knowledge of charms be given to the Queen. Last, all of this is by the command of Galt w...who helped her escape her enemies." "Shouldn''t we at least keep the letter intact until Fassex might have a chance to see it?" Kamagishi posed. "She is Yasknapa''s successor, after all." "Holy One, the burning the letter immediately is the command from the god Galt, and I w...will be w...waiting to destroy it once Hessakos has read and comprehended it. This is not negotiable. I w...will burn it if Hessakos doesn''t beat me to it." I was adamant about this. For some reason, only Hessakos was being trusted with the charm of tongues. That was clear to me. "Maybe you should leave me and Hessakos to ourselves for a few moments," I suggested. "Yes, that we will do," Kayseo stood and then tactfully waited for Kamagishi to stand before walking to the opposite side of the mezzanine by the stair. Kayseo hides a sharp brain under that sweet exterior of hers when she isn''t bullying me. "Your hand, friend," I held out mine. He wrapped both of his huge hands around mine. He looked very solemn. "I w...will read this in English so you can see the w...words and hear the words and understand them. The writing style is antiquated and not easy to understand, which is why I''m approaching it this w...way. Under the letter part are the instructions for the charm which I can read but I do not understand it at all. Are you ready?" He nodded and I began to read the cumbersome writing style from five centuries before my era on Earth. When we finished, he rubbed his temples and grimaced. He picked the book in his lap back up , opened it and started to read. He slammed it shut in indignation after three pages. "Those...those..." He was angry enough that his face was red. "All that happened a long time ago. It''s now all in the past. She had g...good company and a good friend in Galt at her ending and it was not painful, just sad that she had to make that choice," I put my hand on top of his. He exhaled and relaxed his shoulders, "you are correct." He looked at the letter, "this word, ken?" "It is an archaic form of the verb to know." "I have a request," he picked up and held the letter between us. "Yes?" "There are three instant fire sticks in your pouch which Asgotl brought back from the Vanishing River Valley. Use one to start burning the letter? I would like to see the instant fire sticks." "For you, yes." I opened up my pouch and pulled out the waxed box and the sandstone rock in its leather wrapper. "I don''t know how w...well this ancient vellum w...will burn so be ready with a charm of fire, please." "Of course." He held it so I could catch a corner on fire easily. "Is that what I think it is?" Kayseo came running, all excited. Kamagishi followed at a slightly more dignified pace, but only slightly. I got out a match and held the rock in my other hand. I struck the match. It flared, catching the corner of the 2,500-year-old vellum on fire. It burnt quicker than I thought it would and then it was gone. "There, now I can sleep tonight w...with a light heart that I fulfilled her request," I said. "The Heavens thank thee for this travail and thou hast my heart''s gratitude, Emily, maker of metal and fire," a lovely voice said from within the Well. There she was standing in billowing robes of deep purple, a purple veil on her silver hair, and the three spotless white wool rolls for her headstall. She had a face filled with lines of both love and grief and her eyes were a brilliant amethyst color. She kissed her hand and then blew it to me. A mist of light hit me and vanished with the same profound feeling of ephemeral beauty I had from Gertzpul and Giltak. Then she faded to a swirl of glowing purple points of light that ascended from the Well and vanished through the roof. I was left speechless. Lisaykos would have said gobsmacked but she wasn''t here. Hessakos closed both manuscript books and handed them to Kamagishi, "we will leave these in your safekeeping until the Queen can come for them." He got up and picked up my throwing dart, my knives, matchbox, and rock. "Emily?" Kayseo bent over and lifted my chin with a finger. "Feeling a little overwhelmed?" I nodded. She laughed kindly and picked me up. My head felt heavy and I let it drop onto her shoulder. My mind was empty of thought. I heard every sound and saw every dust mote in my sight. The smell of the strong soap Kayseo used floated past my nose and the soft wool of her gray healer''s robe brushed my cheek. I felt at peace for one of the very few times of my remembered existence. Kayseo was the last to exit the stairwell which the Holy Kamagishi closed and locked behind us. Then the High Priestess turned and placed her hand on my forehead. "Take her home and don''t leave her alone today, Kayseo. She has received the benediction of the blessed dead and her mind is in a state of extreme disassociation." "Is that what that was?" Kayseo looked pleasantly surprised. "I''ve read about it but I never thought I''d get to see one." "Well, shall we take this strange phenomenon of a quiet peaceful Emily home, Kayseo?" Hessakos asked with his usual cheerful smile. "Yes, let''s." "You may want to be prepared to return," Kamagishi said. "I''ll be contacting the Holy Fassex in just a bit and I expect those formal ceremonial types from the Shrine of Landa will want to do honors for their long lost high priestess. I suspect they will want to thank you two, and Emily also, if she''s returned to us by then. Gads, I need to contact the citadel and the King too. Enjoy your day, youngsters," she ushered everyone out of her study so she could get to work. 71. The Way to Uldlip Emily, in Gunndit and Uldlip The festival of the first day of growing season held on the land of Lisaykos'' family was uncomfortable for me. A year ago, I was unaware of the festival because my eyes had been wrapped in bandages and I was confined to bed at the Shrine. This year, I sat in the solar of Manse Gunndit reading with Lisaykos for company. The first-day festival does not involve any Coyn. The festival grounds were filled with partying Cosm and were not safe for the smaller human race. Several thousand of people lived on the haup Gunndit holding and several thousand more lived in the city of Gunndit. Lord Katsa had to officially initiate the festival in the city, which involved watching and blessing the parade through the city streets. Then she returned to her lands to do the same thing at the festival site, which was always in the parklands in front of the Manse. Usruldes told me that the few times Katsa was unavailable, Lisaykos, filled in for her since the high priestess was the marriage partner of the previous lord and a princess of the lesser degree in her own right. The festival was in honor of Vassu in her aspect as the bringer of rain and river water for crops. This meant that water fights were part of the festivities. All the festival booths received charms of protection but anyone dry and walking through the festival grounds outside of the booths would soon be wet. Added to the nonsense, teenagers with magic would roam the lanes, drying people off at random. This was to ensure that the groups of children with glayon vines bloated with water would have ample targets. All water fights had to end at dusk but the partying did not. I spent about a bell that afternoon playing around with a glayon vine, stretching it and snapping it and using it as a slingshot elastic to shoot wads of discarded paper. I tried shooting some wads of paper at Lisaykos, who was reading, but she just waved her finger in the air and they all reversed course to bombard me. The off-white spongy interior of the vine reminded me of something but I couldn''t put my finger on it, which annoyed me. "It doesn''t stretch in the cold season," Lisaykos said at one point, not even looking up from the manuscript she was reading. "The vines get brittle in the cold and break into solid pieces." Then she cast a cold charm and my glayon vein broke into frozen pieces. She tried not to smirk and didn''t succeed. The next morning, Hessakos and I left for the fenland many wagon-days to the northwest. First, we stopped for the night at Uldlip. Hessakos had friends among the Sea Coyn and wanted to gather information, assuming he could cajole them into talking. "It''s not easy," he told me as we were getting ready to leave. "You must always have information to give in exchange. The Sea Coyn never give anything away for free. But we will be skirting Tirmaran territory and it''s always better to see if they''ve been giving the Sea Coyn trouble before traveling north of Inkalim. We do not want to run into any Tirmarans. They are dangerous, even for me." According to the histories I had read, the trade fair at Uldlip was about six centuries old. Its establishment was part of the treaty negotiation after Foskos lost a war of conquest against the Sea Coyn, which is something the ruling Cosm of Foskos seldom talked about. I asked Hessakos how a race of giant mages could lose to magicless Coyn. All he would say was: "guile, ambush, indirect attacks, superb archery with poisoned arrows and the willingness to die rather than be slaves, so the historical records say." The trip to Uldlip took the same time as flying from Boston to New York, but without the huge hassles before and after landing with security checks and the nightmare of driving in Boston. Hessakos flew a strange pattern before he landed on a small rise south of where several hundred Sea Coyn were laying out the trading site. I had never been to Uldlip before the fair actually started so I found the activity interesting. "Stay on Asgotl, Emily," Hessakos said. "It will help with showing up this early if they see a Coyn flying a griffin. Remember our cover stories. We''re not here to trade, after all, but they don''t know that yet. We''re just traveling through. If my friend is here already, I just want to speak with her. One last thing, they call me Usruldes here, so remember to use that from here to the coast." He dismounted from Cadrees and spread a small rug on the ground. Then he sat cross-legged on the ground with the rug in front of him. He placed a wineskin on the rug and two beakers small enough that a Coyn could pick one up with just one hand. Then we waited. We didn''t wait long. Five Sea Coyn approached, in their white floppy caps, billowing white capes and long white linen shirts covered with complicated and colorful knotwork embroidery. They were all brown-skinned, black-eyed, and black-haired with high broad cheekbone, strong chins, and prominent noses. A tall middle-aged woman led the party. The other four were two men and two women armed with crossbows, which were cocked and loaded. They walked up the rise with confusion on their faces as they stared at me on Asgotl. "I come with the words of my lips to greet you in friendship and with my water to share with the stranger," Hessakos touched his fingers to his lips and then held his hand out, making the gesture of welcome. "Please share my water with me, Danasma Camp Master. We come not to trade, for it is too early, but to speak with Ulamis Tuleen, whose standard is flying in the encampment. I am her friend, Usruldes." "I greet you, Usruldes, and know of you," Danasma replied, all the while looking up at me on Asgotl''s back. "Pardon me if this is rude, but you know Coyn in bondage are not allowed in Uldlip." "I am a free Coyn, Danasma," and showed the backs of both my hands, "and I have traded here in Uldlip in the past: n...not last year, but the three years before that, w...with crystals for salt, rice, cloth and thread." Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Danasma''s eyebrows rose when she recognized me: "You? You are the miner from the north. You are wearing cloth and have grown out your hair. How is it that you are with Usruldes Udkin? And I thought you were mute. You can talk? And how can you fly a griffin when no Coyn has magic?" "She is my friend," Asgotl said, startling all five Sea Coyn who had never been spoken to before by a griffin. "I take her with me for friendship''s sake. I am Asgotl and I am pleased to meet you, Danasma Camp Master." "Unbelievable," Danasma''s were as wide as eyes can go without popping out of one''s head. "I w...was mute," I said, "but I have been at the Healing shrine in Aybhas and have spent the last year regaining my voice, w...which I lost as a child after a head injury. This is possible because the King of Foskos is in my debt." Danasma turned to a young woman in her escort, "Kimnel, find Ulamis Tuleen and tell her that Usruldes Udkin is here and wishes to exchange words with her." Danasma then seated herself on the rug and poured water into both beakers. Both she and Usruldes downed the water in one swallow. "Welcome to Uldlip, Usruldes Udkin, and Miner of the North." "I thank you, Danasma," Usruldes put his hands together against his forehead like he was praying and bowed to her. "Was the trip from Tuleen uneventful this year?" "No, it was difficult in two places where floodwaters cut new channels in the river. We dispatched workers to clear the channel even before the snow melted in the passes. There was a terrible storm at the very beginning of harvest last year that came up from the south and wiped out two entire fishing fleets and the towns that sustained them. Thousands of people died. Did you suffer the same?" "We suffered a storm at the same time," Usruldes said. "There were terrible floods along the Upper Salt and Rig Rivers. Half the town of Two Ferry Island and its inhabitants were lost. All of Queenstown was underwater but the Shrine of Tiki was above the water and took in the townspeople and farmers who made it before the water became too high. We lost almost all of the small grains north of Queenstown. It has been a hard year." "How hard was the famine?" she asked. "We have the ocean to rely on but Foskos does not." "This one here showed the high priestess of Mueb that the bulbs of purple wet weed were edible if cooked," he pointed at me. "So we were able to harvest enough before the snows came. While rations were lean in a few places, no one starved over the cold season. Still, the loss of life in the flood was horrible. They found several new bodies every day at the beginning of planting where the river spreads out before Black Falls." "So we both have had losses," she sighed. "There will be fewer sheepskins this year coming out of Fosk," Usruldes said. "We lost a lot of flocks. We should have a full inventory of everything else. There will be some traders from Aybhas with a new thing called paper to show around. It is a less expensive writing surface than vellum and parchment." "I have heard rumor of this paper," Danasma said. "Look, there is Ulamis." She waved. A woman walking up the rise waved back. She was short and stocky and her hair was turning grey. She reached the top of the rise, looked at Danasma and Usruldes, and then looked up at me. "I do not think I would have ever believed this had I not seen it with my own eyes," Ulamis said in a rasping alto. "How do I know that you haven''t staged this, Usruldes, you old criminal? It can''t be hard to just pop a Coyn on a sitting griffin." "Asgotl," I smacked our new hand signal for stall turn, "let''s buzz the camp." "That sounds like fun." Asgotl took one bound down and leaped into the flying, which is a difficult maneuver and falls into the showing-off category. I looked down to see Usruldes pinching his nose and shaking his head. Asgotl poured tremendous effort into climbing as fast and as high as he could. Then he pointed his nose straight up, tucked his wings in, and flew into the stall. For just a heartbeat, we hung motionless in the air and my stomach discovered butterflies because I feared we might go over backwards. Then Asgotl shouted, "here we go, Emily, Hold on tight!" I felt the sway as he kicked the fall-off with his tail and hips, and then we were dropping nose down, the speed picking up. I had to wrap my hands around Asgotl''s neck strap to stay leaning forward. He leveled off right at the level of the encampment''s standards. I have no idea how fast we were going, but it was fast enough that tears were streaming from my eyes. "Woohoo! That was great!" Asgotl was exuberant as we landed very sedately. "You think you''re an eagle or something, four foot?" Cadrees bumped beaks with Asgotl. "Knock it off, you two," I told them. "I w...want to get down now and don''t want to get stepped on." Asgotl laid down so I could slide down the neck strap easily. "That is so much fun there is probably a law against it," I joined the three already sitting on the ground around the little rug. "I greet you, Miner of the North, Ulamis made the hand to lips gestured. "And I greet you also, Ulamis of T...tuleen," I repeated the gesture. "So you really can talk now," Ulamis remarked. "Have we traded before?" I didn''t remember ever speaking with her. "You have traded at my tent with my nephew," she explained. "That would explain it," I smiled. "I''m looking to swap news, Ulamis," Usruldes said. "What sort of news?" "Have you heard of anything out of the Tirmara tribes?" "They are having some kind of internal war right now. Maybe everyone will get lucky and they''ll kill themselves off up there and make the rest of our lives easier," Ulamis said. "I received a report of a griffin tribe that moved in the area close to where the Copper River flows into the Fens," Usruldes said. "Have you heard anything about who they are and where they moved in from?" "First I heard of it," Ulamis said. "Are you sure it''s a good report?" "I''m the one who found them," Asgotl said from above, startling the Sea Coyn. "They chased my butt all the way from the Copper River, across the Fens, and down to the coast. I''m sure it''s a good report." "Yes, I do believe the report is good," Usruldes said with a straight face. He''s as bad as that griffin. (Continued in part 72) 72. I am Emily (Continued from part 71) Emily, Uldlip "I heard your friend Ud is out and about and has a guest," Ulamis fished. "Our people saw them having tea, of all things, on the beach north of the Great Wash. "Yes, I know," he smiled wistfully. "I spoke with Ud on the south shore of the Claw about two rotations ago." "And the guest?" "Her newest student. Nothing to worry about there. Ud has no reason to abandon the old agreement unless someone starts poaching her sheep." "We know Ud is keeping to the old agreement," Ulamis said. "Her children found and helped the crew of one of our boats that ran afoul of the weather off the Fens two rotations ago. Our concern was the identity of the guest, just like when you stayed with her many years ago. Unidentified visitors on our north border will always give us pause." "I am on my way to visit with her," Usruldes divulged. "Her guest is no threat to you." "What about this one?" Ulamis pointed at me. "You can''t tell me she''s going to be Ud''s student?" Usruldes laughed, "of course not." "Since he is going to the coast, I am tagging along under his protection," I said. "I have had a dream command from Vassu. It involves kelp." Danasma and Ulamis laughed. "No, really, what are you doing with your griffin? Ulamis asked, still chuckling. "I''m serious," I replied. "If you burn kelp, the ashes are a substance which I would call soda ash." "Yes, that''s right," Danasma nodded. "If you treat the ash with the acid that''s made w...with the blue and green acid rocks that comes out of the copper mines of Foskos, you can extract a substance that is light sensitive. It has some uses that could help me out w...with my mining efforts. That''s what Vassu told me. So I am in search of kelp to see for myself if I was just dreaming or if Vassu really visited me in my sleep." This time around they listened to me seriously. "What was Vassu like in your dream?" Ulamis asked. "Don''t laugh," I held up a hand. "She w...was a big grey smooth-skinned fish with a big back fin and really big teeth. She dressed in pink and she told me I had no fashion sense." "Not a lady with a bucket next to a well?" Danasma asked pointedly. "I didn''t even know that w...was the depiction of Vassu by the Cosm when I had my dream," I shrugged. I didn''t know if I had traction with these two gals or not. "I didn''t even know who Vassu was before last year, w...when the Shrine of Mugash healed me after a bad accident. Before then, I didn''t live in Foskos, didn''t know their gods, and had nothing to do w...with them. Some of them don''t exactly treat our kind w...well and even for those treated well, I will never approve of slavery. No thinking being, w... whether Coyn or griffin or eagle or flying horse should be property." I didn''t realize I had put teeth into my words in that last sentence as I felt the bitterness rise in me. "Down, girl," Ulamis smiled a little defensively. "We''re not your enemy. And you''re with Usruldes, who we know. You are his friend, and that makes you our friend too." "Sorry," I shrugged again. "It''s a painful topic for me." "Miner," Ulamis smiled with encouragement at me, "we''ve been hearing strange stories coming out of Foskos about some kind of genius Coyn who is a master artificer called Emly. Supposedly this person invented paper and a new kind of writing instrument and has a way to start fires easily without magic. How much is this is real, and how much is splashing water around?" I noticed Usruldes shifting a little uncomfortably, but I ignored him. "The correct name is Emily, not Emly. Emily is real and created paper with help from a woodshop in Aybhas, the support of the Shrine of Mugash, and the loan of equipment from Lord Gunndit. The pencils are real, and I have one here," I pulled a pencil out and handed it to Ulamis. "Some of what we''re hearing is very disturbing," Danasma said. "Some are saying she is a prophet and talks to the gods. But in the Cosm religion, no Coyn was ever blessed by their gods. Their religion places Cosm in a privileged position and has enslaved all other races. "Foskos is not a place a free Coyn from our nation can walk into and investigate these strange rumors. By the terms of our ancient treaty, we''re forbidden to visit Foskos, and people from Foskos are forbidden to visit us. Our concern is that someone in power in Foskos is manipulating reports to their own advantage and changing the power game there. Given that we are a neighboring nation, this is a genuine worry, especially if it changes how Coyn are treated by Cosm. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Hey," I raised an eyebrow, "here w...we are in a yearly trading fair in the middle of a desert and you are talking about international politics. You''re merchants and I am just a traveler. As far as I can tell, w...we are not people who move the policies of nations. Do these questions serve any purpose other than gossip?" "These are honest inquiries, Miner," Ulamis said. "Camp Master of Uldlip is an important position in our government. Danasma is from one of the four ruling families and is in line to succeed her mother on the council of five, which rules our nation. I myself am a past member of the council of five, in the seat elected by those with the franchise to vote. What we choose to report goes to the council of five and is listened to." "You, Miner, are not a Coyn of Foskos, though you have been allowed to reside there as a free Coyn for the last year, which means that you must have some good connections with the ruling class there," Danasma said earnestly. "You are in a position to know the truth of these rumors that we have not the means to confirm." "You just met me," I looked from one to the other, "how can you know I''m even trustworthy?" "We can''t," said Ulamis, "but my gut is telling me that any gal who can befriend a griffin has got something special going on in her character that makes a griffin trust her. Griffins do not trust easily." "Miner," Danasma leaned forward, "the most disturbing news we have heard is that the Queen of Foskos, who we have both met, by the way, harmed this Emly last year. She was tortured as her punishment until Emly stopped it. Then it is said the queen lost her mind and fled into the wilderness and has been missing ever since. What part of this is true?" "That''s just about what happened," I said. "The part about the torture is a bit off. It was the deity Mugash who declared what the Queen''s punishment would be. Mugash did not believe the Queen was making sufficient progress in amending the flaw in her character that led to the accidental attack on Emily. So Mugash started mental torture of the Queen by taking Emily''s memories of terrible things she had endured and having the Queen relive them. Emily did not approve so she terminated the punishment, which was a power Mugash had granted Emily. It was a nuanced situation that is probably difficult to understand without being directly involved." "How did you find all of this out?" Ulamis asked, who was a bit incredulous. I pulled out the sandstone rock and the box of matches. I removed one of my two remaining matches from its box and struck it against the rock. As the flame flared into life, I looked at the two: "You see, I am Emily." Ignoring their fish faces, I continued. "Vassu really did give me a dream command to find kelp and extract the substances known as iodine and bromine from it. That is one purpose for this trip. The other purpose is to find the Queen of Foskos. Vassu gave Usruldes here his own dream command, for him and me to bring her back home. "Am I a prophet? I am not. I am no one''s prophet and I w...will not accept anyone calling me that. What am I? I''m a person w...who knows how to mine rock and get metals out of them. That is my craft. You probably will never meet anyone better at it than I am. That is my conceit and my vanity. I have absolute confidence in my skill. Am I a genius? No, I am not. I know w...what geniuses look like and I''m not one of them. I just know a bit more than other people around here about how the w...world is made---that is all. "I have had the misfortune to have been used by certain gods to deliver some revelations. I truly wish they had picked on someone else because all I w...want is to live in my workshop and make metals, w...without meddling by a gaggle of goofball gods who can''t even give me a clear idea w...why I should bother to do their bidding. This time last year, I didn''t even know their names and never desired to set foot in Foskos, a place w...where slavery of our kind is legal." "So why do you heed them, if you have such disrespect for them?" Danasma asked, somewhat put out. "Oh, I respect them. I respect any entity that has the power to screw w...with my life like this. Please do not confuse respect for liking, affection, or worship. Respect has little to do with those things. I respect the power of the gods. I know full well that I am a bug and they are the flyswatter. But there is nothing I have ever encountered that says I have to like what they''ve done to me and my life." "There''s no other motivation for you other than coercion by force from the gods?" asked Ulamis, who looked like she was actually understanding the point I wanted to make. "No, they want one thing that I also want, and for that, I will heed their bidding for now. The gods want to dismantle the magic tools that make the enslavement system in Foskos possible, and they have given me the best possible tool for the task, that being Aylem, Queen of Foskos." "What?" Usruldes gasped. "The other thing the gods wanted me to do I have now done," I pulled my new knife from its sheath on my belt and handed it to Ulamis. "I have introduced the technology to make iron and steel." "This is sky metal," she looked at it. "What''s this patterning?" "It is not sky metal. It is pattern welding of iron and steel. The rocks that provide the element of iron are everywhere around us. It is one of the most abundant substances on the planet. Just sitting here, I know that if I had half a day to spend, I could separate enough black sand from that sand bar over there in the river to make enough iron to make a knife similar to this. Sky metal is a mix of iron and another metal called nickel. It looks similar to this, but Foskans made that knife with black sand out of the Rig River in Omexkel. I trained the metalsmiths who forged it, both Coyn and Cosm at the Shrine of Giltak. "The process is not difficult, though if you tried it without a guide, it would probably take some experimentation to get it to work. I suspect that next year, these knives will show up here as trade goods. If I had the ore on hand, it would take me two days to extract the iron and then forge a knife like that, assuming I had the stamina to endure the work, which I lack right now." "Ow!" Ulamis discovered my knife''s edge. "There are only two real advantages to iron as a material. It''s abundant, which drops the cost of making tools significantly. Say goodbye to the expense of finding and fighting over deposits of tin ore to make bronze. There is now a cheap substitute. The other advantage is that you can sharpen one of these knives sharper than bronze, and it will keep its edge ten times longer." I leaned back and looked up and Usruldes. "I''m feeling kinda tired, Usruldes. Can we set up camp so I can fall over now?" --- 73. The Sinking Ship Jane and Ud on the beach * You are restless today. * The Cosm woman in a yellow linen summer gown paced the hard-packed sand on the edge of the shore in her bare feet. "There''s an itch in the back of my mind that there''s something out there but I can see nothing with my clairvoyance." * Then sit and trance properly as I taught you and you will find it, silly girl. * The woman sat down and crossed her legs. Dropping into a deep trance, her consciousness flew over the water toward the source of annoyance in her mind, and there he was. A boy, Sea Coyn by his looks, spread unconsciously on a ship''s hatch, a long way from shore. She extended her reach to see a crippled ship, barely staying afloat, with many wounded. She saw the plan in the shipmaster''s mind to beach the dying ship and send someone who was uninjured for help. She decided the boy must be saved first. The experienced sailors on the ship would be at less risk than just a boy alone and unconscious. * You will save him? * "Yes. Is that not part of your agreement with the Sea Coyn?" * Indeed it is and you are now one of my kin, so please, fetch him to shore. * She flew over the waves for a long way before she spotted him. He looked like he was between ten and twelve, she guessed. For some reason, that made her feel nostalgic for something that was just out of her reach of her slowly-recovering memory. She lifted him in her arms, noting that he hardly weighed anything at all. Her body clairvoyance told her he was hungry and very thirsty and exhausted. She landed on the beach next to Ud, the ancient spider monster with the personality of an indulgent grandmother. She smiled to herself at how strange and wonderful the world could be. * Well, it looks like he just needs rest and food and we can return him to his people. How will you approach this? * "The difficult part will be not frightening him," she said. "I believe I will blindfold him and let him awaken with his eyes covered. Then I can explain to him that we may look frightening but mean him no harm. It worked for you and me so it may work for him and us." * What? No charms of peace or suppression? It''s much easier. * "Easier is not always better. The mental state of a patient is just as important as the illness or injury." * There is merit in that analysis. Proceed. * She created a pavilion on the beach with creation magic and furnished it with a bed for the boy and a chair for herself. She placed him on the bed, cleaned him and his clothes with a thought, and created a pitcher of water, a beaker, and a side table to put them on. She filled the beaker with water. Then she blindfolded him, dropped into his mind, and gently wakened him. "Who? Who''s there? Where am I?" His boyish soprano squeaked. "Peace, child. We rescued you from where we found you, drifting on a hatch a long way from shore. You are dehydrated and need water first. I have some here. You must take small sips at first or you may throw it up. Once your stomach has made peace with the water, then you may drink it more quickly. Are you ready? I will lean you up first." She helped him to sit up. "Hold out your hand and I will give you a beaker with water. Remember, small sips." She placed the beaker against his palm and waited for him to grab it with his fingers. "Do you have it? I will remove my hand now." The boy took a sip and then another right after it. "Take those sips slower, young man." "My mouth is so dry," he countered. "You must be patient like you were when you clung to the hatch that saved your life." He took another sip and then counted out loud to twenty. The next sip followed. This repeated 12 times before she let him drink a little faster. He emptied the beaker twice. "If you can keep that water in your stomach, we can move on to some food." "Why are my eyes covered?" the boy asked. "Some people might call me a monster. I wanted to warn you about that before removing the eye bandage." "Is this the Fens? "Yes, it is." "Are you Ud?" "No, I am not. Ud is here but she is outside this tent. She''s too big to fit inside." * Greetings, child. I am Ud. Many believe that Jane and I are indeed monsters. Our appearance is frightening. You may be scared when you see us, which is why we wanted to talk with you first. Just remember, we mean you no harm. * "I am going to put the beaker on the side table. Now I will undo the bandage over your eyes." "Aaaaa!" The boy started to move away from the woman. "You''re a giant. Please don''t eat me." * I''ve heard that line before. * There was a sense of laughter from the spider monster. "You''re huge," the boy protested, looking up...and up at the woman. "I noticed," she smiled gently. "It''s really hard to find shoes that fit. No one makes them big enough. It is such a bother." "That''s...that''s just silly," he said, giving her a very disgusted kid look. "You sound like my sister." "What? Does your sister have big feet too?" She leaned over urgently, "quick, tell me, where does she get her shoes?" The boy laughed. "How''s your tummy feel?" she sat back and watched him with a light smile on her face, thinking about how children his age were resilient. "I''m still thirsty," he said. "But how is your stomach, young man?" "Uh...alright?" "Here," she poured a half beaker of water and passed it to him. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "Thank you," he said and gulped the water down. "You are welcome. What is your name, little one?" "I''m Dimod." "Well, I''m called Jane and you already know who Ud is. Can you tell me what happened to your ship?" "Pirates. They attacked us." "Where?" "We were 20 days out of Kora-Kor and had just sighted the Cliffs of Gong. They came out of the north. They were not from Tirmara. They were dressed differently and talked funny. They rammed our ship, took our silks and spices, and tried to kill us. It''s only cuz my dad''s the best sailor in Inkalim that we got away." "But you didn''t. How did you become separated from your ship?" "The halyard parted," Dimod explained even though Jane had no idea what a halyard was. "So dad gave me a line to run through the halyard tackle so we could get the spar back up. Well, I got up to the top of the mast when the wind shifted and a wave hit us just right. That knocked me off the crow''s nest and I fell into the water because I forgot to secure my line to the stays when I was threading the new halyard. You know?" Jane nodded, not understanding a word the child said. "When I came up, both ships were too far from me so no one heard me. I saw the hatch so I climbed on it. I was on it for a day and a night." "Well, you were out cold when I picked you up," Jane said. "How''s your stomach feel?" "Hungry?" "Alright, let''s see how some food does in your tummy." She leaned away from him and reached under her chair to pull out a tin of shortbread biscuits. The tin was colored with a red tartan, and stamped "MacNeal''s premier selection --- made in Aberdeen. She opened it up and presented it to him, "just one biscuit for now." "Not two?" He brightened up and smiled. "Just one for now," she gave him a motherly look, the one for little boys trying to weasel more cookies than they were allowed. "Oh, alright," he pouted. "The ones with the red filling are really good," she advised. He considered his options and took one with the red filling. "Ummff! Fuff ifss good!" "Don''t talk with your mouth full, child," she said on reflex. She heard Ud laughing in her mind. "May I have another one, please?" "Let''s wait a few minutes to make sure your stomach will keep that down." She smiled at him. His face darkened, "I hope the ship''s alright, and my dad." "Ud? Are they still afloat?" Jane called out to Ud. * They could use some help. The ship is getting lower in the water and they are still far from shore. I can watch Dimod and you can help the ship or I could help the ship and you can watch Dimod. * "I should get them. They''d take one look at you and abandon the ship to get away from you." * Oh, that''s so unkind Jane. I''m not that frightening. * "Oh yes, you are." Jane shot back. "Is Ud really that scary?" Dimod asked. "How brave are you?" she asked him with a smile. "I''m brave enough to go to sea with my father," he boasted. "Okay, but don''t say I didn''t warn you." She stood up. "Need help out of bed?" "Why''s the bed so far off the ground?" he looked over the edge of the mattress at the ground far below. Jane had forgotten to adjust the bed height for a Coyn child. "Here," she bent down and picked him up in her arms. She walked out of the tent and right up to Ud. "Aaaaaa!" He wrapped his arms around her neck and buried his head in her shoulder. "Is that really Ud? She won¡¯t eat me, will she?" "Yes, this is Ud. She is not going to hurt you or eat you. She''s very nice and she''s been helping sailors from Inkalim for many years. She hasn''t eaten a single one." He lifted his head and peeked at Ud''s ten glowing red eyes on her cephalothorax. * I am quite a harmless monster. Can''t we be friends? * "She''s scary, Jane," he hid his head back into her shoulder. * He''s such a cute little human boy.* One of her furry pedipalps came up and mussed up his hair. * And you know what''s so fun about humans is their feet. * "Ud, behave yourself," Jane admonished the house-sized spider. * Especially their cute little toes. * The pedipalp secured the feet. * Which are so ticklish! * The other pedipalp extended several soft hairs and started brushing the bottoms of Dimod''s toes. Dimod squealed and started laughing, "No, no, not my feet. Stop stop stop stop stop!" * They are so cute when they do this. Don''t you think so, Jane? * "I''m going to take back everything I said about you being a nice monster, torturing a little boy like that! Tickling him to death. That''s just so mean, Ud." * Okay, I''ll stop. * "Very good," miffed Jane. * For now. * "Ud!" Jane glared at the monster. "Are you alright, Dimod?" The boy reached over and covered his feet with his hands and said in a little voice, "please don''t tickle my feet." The glow in all ten red eyes blinked out and then came back on. * I will stop tickling your feet and toes, * the monster promised. A pedipalp snuck upward and goosed him in the side. "Eck!" he squealed again. * I make no promises about sides, necks, or knees. Human children are so much fun. * Jane sighed. "Can I leave you with Ud, Dimod? She will take good care of you. I need to help your father''s boat get to shore. What''s your father''s name? "Kimkud, he''s the ship''s master." * There are reefs off the shore here, Jane. Bring them to the inset where we had tea two days ago. It''s all nice sandy sea bottom there and it''s not too far for the children to bring the crew a few bighorn sheep. We will meet you there? * "I will meet you there, Ud." * Put Dimod in the indent behind my eyes, Jane. That''s a comfortable spot for a human.* "Hold on, Dimod," she shifted her grip to hold him up by the waist and placed him on Ud''s cephalothorax. "It''s so soft and fuzzy!" Dimod ran his hands through Ud¡¯s fur. "See that depression in back of the eyes?" Jane pointed. "Go sit there. No matter how far and fast Ud might run, if you''re in that spot you''ll never fall off because it''s magic." "Magic?" His eyes grew round. "Ud is a magic monster. She''s very magical." "Wow." --- Sea Master Kimkud, at sea on a sinking ship Kimkud could not decide if he was really awake and alert or if he was delirious and about to die of thirst or wound fever. A giant woman with silverhair bigger than any Cosm he had ever met, and he had met quite a few, descended to their sinking vessel from out of the sky. She scared him when she asked for him by name. She first insisted on seeing the worst of the wounded and did something to them that put them into a restful sleep. Then she sat crosslegged on the quarterdeck, made a gesture with her hand, and the ship lifted out of the water and started traveling through the air. A line of land appeared eventually and the ship was flying toward it. One of the other sailors tapped his shoulder and pointed. Kimkud could not believe his eyes. There was a monster bigger than his 150 hand ship running on the water headed for the ship. "We''re going to die horrible deaths, I just know it," he said to the gathering frightened crew. The giant lady glanced briefly and then smiled. "Fear not, Master Kimkud. It''s just Ud come to meet us. She has her children bringing mutton for your crew since your stores have been spoiled." "You''re with Ud?" he asked. "I am sorry. Did I forget to tell you that? My apologies, shipmaster. I forgot in my concern for your wounded. Please forgive me, but now I must concentrate and bring this ship down safely." "Dad!" Damn, he was now hearing things. "Dad! Dad! Look at me!" It was the voice of his eldest son, lost during the fight with the pirates. He would never be able to make peace with the boy''s mother, who didn''t want Dimod to go to sea at such a young age. "Dad! Dad! Look! I''m riding a magic spider monster!" He turned his head to see Dimod on top of the monster, waving and smiling. He fainted and the crew couldn''t rouse him before they came to shore. --- 74. Oh my darling Clementine Jane, the shore of the Fenland * I know that you know that there are visitors on the beach. Why do you not come with me to greet them? * Having seen the sailors safely return to their home, Jane and Ud returned to Ud''s caverns. A few days later, an eagle, a griffin, a Cosm, and a Coyn set up a camp on the immense expanse of beach on the shore of the Great Wash, at the very southern tip of Ud''s territory. The visitors did very little besides fish, hunt, talk, and sing. The little Coyn had a string instrument which Jane knew was a guitar. It was wrong in this place. It didn''t belong here. It made her feel strange. She knew the sight of the Cosm and his eagle. She had seen him before but didn''t feel comfortable meeting with him. Ud knew him well. He was another of her students. Years ago, he and eagle were a lost pair and Ud took them in like Ud had taken her in. Ud said he was a lost soul just like Jane was a lost soul. Ud had a habit of taking in strays. She declined to meet him several rotations ago. He was back and now he brought the griffin and the Coyn with the guitar. The sight of the two made her want to run and hide. She wanted them gone or she wanted to escape far away. The Coyn frightened her. This Coyn girl with no magic, chronic pain, and chronic lingering fatigue: Jane actually shook when she tried to convince herself to meet the Coyn. It made no sense. Other than Ud, she knew she was the most magical living being ever placed on this world. She knew that if she was so inclined, she could rule the world through her power alone. She wasn''t sure but it might even be why she was put here by the gods, though personally, ruling the world did not appeal to her. Left to herself, all she desired was amiable company and maybe a quiet life raising a family and perhaps running a farm. She once lived a different life which was short, lonely, and difficult. When that life was over, the gods of this place took her and molded her into the monster she was now. Yes, she was a monster and she knew it. Her power was closer to a god''s than it was to any silverhaired Cosm mage. She didn''t like that she was made this way, but she was never given a choice. This is how she was born, and this is how she would stay until she died. She knew she was a power. Like her teacher Ud, she used a significant fraction of her power to keep the rest of it from radiating out of her and mentally quashing other living beings around her. With such strength, why did this tiny ill Coyn cause such fear in her? Why did the sight of the griffin cause her such sorrow? She could crush both of them with just a thought though she knew she would never do such an evil thing to powerless sapients. * Jane, child, you must come out. * "No, I''m scared, and I don''t even know why I am scared of them." * It''s not those two you are scared of, love. You are scared of your fate, which is currently hurtling toward you. Those two are its herald. You can not hide here forever. * "Yes, I can. I can do a lot of good here. I can help those sailors. I could find those pirates. I can find the lost and take them home. I can have a purpose here." * You are hiding from yourself. Your life and your fate are elsewhere, dearest. I have seen the shape of it and it is good. Quit fighting destiny, Jane. Come out. * She felt Ud leave. She was frozen and could not move, trapped inside this nameless fear. --- Emily, on the beach I was comfortable in a cloth hammock chair Usruldes made for me, relaxing and casually playing riffs. I felt like I was on a vacation. Usruldes was cooking the fish I had caught earlier for dinner. I found it amusing that he was inept at fishing. Cadrees and Asgotl were goofing off in some good-natured acrobatic one-upmanship. It was fun watching their antics. I was trying to remember how to play a bit of guitar picking from the classic rock band, Yes, but it just wasn''t working. I suddenly found myself floating upward in the chair. The chair and I stopped, and I saw a sight in front of me that left me frozen for several moments. It was a spider on the same size scale as a small whale. "I hope that you are Usruldes'' teacher, Ud, because if you''re not, then I am in big trouble." * Yes, tiny one, I am Ud, and you must be Emily. * I could feel amusement and surprise in her answer. "Nice to meet you, Ud." * You too, Emily. Please, pardon my rudeness in putting you on my eye level, but you are small enough that I can not see you when you are on the ground. I can tell where you are because I can feel the air currents around you, so I will never step on you accidentally, but it is so much nicer to see a person. Usually, I leave your kind on the ground and mindcast to them; but since you are here with Usruldes, I thought it polite to speak face-to-face at least once. * "Thank you," I replied. "That was most considerate of you." I then asked a question that had bothered me since the time Usruldes told me about Ud and the Fens. "Ud, you have a large underground home stretching from the mountains to the ocean. Most of the middle of your home must be underneath the Fenland. You have got to be below the water table. How do you keep the water out?" * Excellent engineering and lots of spiderwebs. I can vary the strength, density, hardness, and elasticity of my web, depending on what I want to build with it. * "Oh, I guess I deserved that answer," I laughed at myself. "Where is your newest student hiding?" * She is lingering nearby, fearful of you and the griffin. * That answer made me sad. "How''s her memory?" * Not fully returned. * "Does she remember what she did to me and Asgotl in Aybhas?" * Not yet. She is fighting it. * "I can understand that. Nobody w...would want to wake up to be a killer after maintaining a self-image of living a moral and ethical life. It could undermine self-worth in a big way. That''s a hard truth to face." * Can you help her? * "I don''t know if I can. I can''t defeat her inner demons for her. All I can do is put out the welcome mat and heat up the w...water for tea. She''s the one who has to walk through the door. "I''m not in a great place myself. Frankly, the thought of seeing her and talking to her scares the crap out of me right now. I wouldn''t even be here if not for the insistence of the gods. I''ve learned that I can get used to Cosm over that last year. It''s not easy and it takes time, but it can be done in small doses. But Aylem? I''ve w...wondered before what it is about her that seems so much worse than other Cosm. I have to wonder if it''s some form of cognitive dissonance or an uncanny valley-like effect. Are you familiar with the uncanny valley theory, Ud?" * I have seen it set out in your mind, so yes, I know. It would be interesting to see the research results that were done in your previous world with robots. Robots: what an interesting concept. It''s fascinating to me what a place with no magic can create. Autonomous mechanical machines: so creative! * "Set out in my mind?" * Oh. I forgot. I''m sorry about that... * "Ud, it''s alright. I''ve gotten used to the fact that people w...with strong mind magic can''t avoid seeing what other people may have in their minds. It''s a bit creepy but it''s not something you can stop. Don''t apologize for being what you w...were born to be, even if that''s being a spider monster as big as a house." * I find the way you think unique and unlike those who only recall this life. * "That''s not too surprising. This place is so very different from Earth. It would be so much fun just to hop on Asgotl and go explore it, with so many new things to see and places to discover. I doubt those stupid gods would cope if I did." * They can be constricting for those they choose to use directly and they certainly have left their marks all over you. * This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "What?" * Can''t you tell? Oh, no, I guess you can''t. How very interesting. I can see Tiki''s mark on you, and Landa''s and Mugash''s too. Galt went so far as to give you his eyes. He must have liked you. It''s been centuries since he''s done that. He''s a good god to have on your side, so consider yourself lucky. Yes, and I see Giltak and Gertzpul have left marks too. * "Not Mueb or Vassu?" * Not yet, at least. * I groaned, "I have to admit, I find the change in eye color spooky, but since I don''t have a mirror, I don''t think about it much because I''m not looking at myself every morning." Usruldes walked over. "Hate to break things up, girls, but your fish is ready to eat, Emily." It was novel to look down at Usruldes, which is a measure of how high Ud had me floating in my chair. "One last thing, Ud?" * Yes? * "How much does Aylem remember?" * England, right up to the day she died but nothing after that. * "Oh, crappola." Usruldes served up fire-roasted salmon on the beach. It was a wonderful meal since we kept that greedy griffin from stealing my fish. "Oh, that fish looks so nice and juicy and..." "Look, you big fat griffin, get aw...way from my dinner! Go get your own fish if you w...want some." "And here I thought we were friends," he was pouring on the melodrama, thick and sticky. "The line in this friendship, blubber brains, is drawn right here w...with my salmon." He nudged my chair with his beak, which was almost as big as all of me, "you can''t mean that, and I know you can''t eat all of that." "Stop, it, Asgotl," I was getting annoyed. "Please?" He nudged my chair some more, making it impossible to eat. "Usruldes, do you think you could levitate this excuse of a griffin and drop him in the drink for me, please?" "Hmmm," he concentrated and Asgotl started rising off the ground. "Hey! Wait one minute! Emily! Usruldes! Hey, stop it. I can''t swim!" * Fear not, little griffin, I will save you from drowning. * "Ahhh! No! No! Somebody, help me!" The sound of a heavy object falling in the water followed by frantic splashing noises carried up the beach. "Ah," I sat back, "music to my ears." "Huh," Cadrees made one of his few remarks, "I wonder how long it takes for a griffin that big to dry off?" --- Jane, on the beach During the morning, the little Coyn, who was a very good swimmer, would dive and cut stalks of kelp for about a half-hour or so and the Cosm man with her would gather them up and carry them onto the beach. Every afternoon, the man burned the kelp in a pit in the sand and then packed the ashes into waxed canvas bags that Ud made for him. Every evening, the little Coyn would take out her guitar and play. She knew a lot of Renaissance and Baroque tunes. She''d also play and sing some songs I recognized as American cowboy songs. Now and then, she''d play something I knew from listening to the radio or going to shows in town when I was a girl. It unnerved me. Did she also come from where I came from? That was the only explanation that made sense. I needed to know the story about her: where she was from, what did she know, how had she died, how did she come to be here? My curiosity grew by the day. By the sixth evening, it was maddening. To add insult to injury, Ud would wander by while I was eavesdropping every evening, cajoling me to go join the four visitors on the sand. On the seventh evening, it felt like I had been punched in the stomach. She had been teaching her Cosm friend songs so they could sing them together. I found the rendition of that dreadful Western folksong a bit much, but they were enjoying themselves. In twangy American English, they sang: "Oh my darling, oh my darling, oh my darling, Clementine. You were lost and gone forever, dreadful sorrow, Clementine. "In a cavern, in a canyon, excavating for a mine, dwelt a miner, forty-niner, and his daughter, Clementine." "Yes I loved her, how I loved her, though her shoes were number nine, herring boxes, without topses, sandals were for Clementine. Switching back to speaking in Fosk, the man stopped singing after he had learned all the words: "Emily, what does that mean, a miner forty-niner?" "Well, about a hundred years before I was born, people from the east side of my continent discovered there was a lot of gold in the mountains on the west side of the continent. Many moved out west, as one would say in America, my former country. The year that gold was discovered was 1849, by how we counted the years. All the folks who went out west to mine gold were called forty-niners after the year gold was found." "Alright, but what about the number nine herring boxes?" he asked. The Coyn laughed: "That''s very crude humor. The lyric there implies she had huge feet, so huge that she resorted to wearing heavy paper boxes on her feet as if they were a pair of sandals. The reference to the herring either means there was a herringbone pattern printed on the paper of the box or that the boxes once contained preserved herring and she was reusing them as sandals." "Oh." He sat and thought a bit. "Herring is a food, yes?" "Yes, it''s a fish." "So what is a herringbone pattern?" "It''s a popular way to set up the warp and weft of a loom to make a pattern with different colored thread that looks like this." She drew in the sand. "And those are said to resemble the bones of a herring. I never saw the connection between fish bones and the herringbone pattern. But what do I know since I''m not a weaver?" "How is it different from a chevron pattern?" "Displacement. See, chevrons are connected across the break but herringbone displaces the colors at the break. Like this." "Oh, I get it," he pulled out a tablet and started taking notes. "What are you doing, Usruldes?" "Taking notes." "Why?" "When you smile like that, Emily, I feel very nervous for some reason," he paused. "My mother said that I should take notes, and..." "Blarg! Your mother! I should have known!" The little coyn smacked herself on the forehead and shook her head. "This is not anything worth taking notes over." "I ask you, Emily, would you overlook a request from my mother?" he said sweetly. "That''s different," she said flatly. "Really?" "Just put that thing away," she grumbled and started plucking at the guitar again. The guitar style changed again. "It took me a while to get this to where I wanted it," what she was playing sounded difficult. Then she started singing a song that was on the radio a lot the year I died. We''ll meet again Don''t know where Don''t know when But I know we''ll meet again some sunny day Keep smiling through Just like you always do ''till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away... She wasn''t Vera Lynn but when she wasn''t singing any of that American folk garbage, she had a sweet young-sounding soprano and hit all the notes right. It was sad listening to her sing that song, thinking of my brothers and the bombing and that I would never see them ever again---well, I don''t think I missed my mother, who was a sot. I felt relief that I never had to deal with the chaos she created ever again. I did miss my brothers. I even missed my father, though he wasn''t good for much. I was walking away to escape all those memories when she finished that song and started with another that was like a knife in my heart. I''m still not sure why it hit me so hard. "Lully, lullah, thou little tiny child, bye-bye, lully, lullay. Thou little tiny child, bye-bye, lully, lullay. O sisters too, how may we do for to preserve this day? This poor youngling for whom we sing, Bye-bye, lully, lullay. She was singing the original version of the Medieval Coventry Carol, first written down in the reign of Elizabeth I, and not the Victorian version. I found myself adding in the harmony of the alto line. Herod the king, in his raging, charg¨¨d he hath this day His men of might in his own sight all young children to slay. That woe is me, poor child, for thee. and ever mourn and may For thy parting neither say nor sing, bye bye, lully, lullay." "So," the little Coyn said, adjusting the tuning on a string and not even bothering to look back at me, "do you know Es ist ein Ros entsprungen? by Praetorius?" "Isn''t that Lo how a rose ere blooming?" "Yes, that''s the English for it. I think I remember the English version, at least two verses. Do you? I assume you know the alto line?" "Well, of course," I said. Didn''t I just sing the alto on the Coventry Carol? Was she deaf? "That''s not a given. For example, I know all the women''s parts to most of the music I can play, so I can sing any part when necessary. Hmm, Praetorius on the guitar is kinda weird. Can I do it? It''s probably better a cappella. Let''s see, F major if I remember correctly, soprano on C, alto on A." She played the two notes and started singing, and so did I. I hadn''t sung with anyone for so long. I didn''t realize how much I had missed it. We did all three verses. "Have a seat if you¡¯re going to stick around," the little Coyn said. "How''s your memory of Mozart?" "Wha...?" "You know, w...we need a piano, or better y...yet, an organ for Mozart." "What¡¯s an organ, Emily?" the Cosm man asked, reaching for his tablet. "A w...wonderful thing: you make pitched tubes powered by a bellows that can be played at the same time, using a board w...with levers to control it all. Most of it could be wood. That w...would make it easier to build in this culture than a piano, which requires steel piano w...wire and a cast metal soundboard w...with..." "Emily," the man said, "you¡¯re doing it again." I had already snuck away. I didn''t know if I could even manage a conversation. Just looking at her face made me want to run away. What was wrong with me? I went back to the place I was sleeping, lay on the bed, and stared at the ceiling for most of the night. --- 75. Remembering Emily, on the beach When I woke in the morning in our pavilion, Ud was waiting outside with Usruldes, Cadrees, and Asgotl. Asgotl was hanging his head and Usruldes looked a bit abashed. Cadrees was his usual quiet self. Of course, with Ud being a spider, it was not possible to read any expressions off her. Her emotions were usually conveyed when she mindcast. I sat up in my bedroll, threw on an undertunic to be decent, and instantly knew it was going to be a bad day for me. My arms and all the muscles in my back hurt and I felt weak. I stumbled out onto the sandy beach and plopped into my folding hammock chair. "Morning, folks. Usruldes, I don''t think I should be doing any diving today. I''m not really feeling w...well." * I am relieved that you know this, Emily because you are indeed not well today. I told your friends that you will be resting for the next two days. * "I see," I smiled. "That would explain why Usruldes and Asgotl look like they¡¯ve been chewed out. I hope you didn''t chew them out too badly. After all, I too should be w...working at not overdoing. I am myself complicit for not taking better care of myself." * Your lack of recovery from your injuries concerns me, little one. In your own words, Emily, can you tell me about the magic attack that destroyed your health? You and I both know I can lift it from your mind, but speaking it out loud can uncover truths that thoughts alone do not convey. * "Interesting. So you are saying you can pick up on the subconscious content from someone else through the act of speech?" * Yes. It is such a shame that you have no magic. With how sharp your mind is, you would be a pleasure to teach. * "Please, Ud, I''m envious of magic users as it is. It w...would be fun to learn things from you, if just talking with you is any indication; so it¡¯s a disappointment that I never can." * Emily, you underestimate yourself. Now, the magic attack, please. I especially want to hear about your conversations with the gods. * Usruldes looked shocked when Ud mentioned the gods. I described what the attack was like and what the campfire discussion with the gods covered. Asgotl was startled to hear that he had actually died. He didn''t know that Gertzpul had revived him. "After the attack, people told me I was unrecognizable with blood pooled in my eyes and every inch of my skin discolored from capillary bleeding," I described what little I knew since I was not conscious for the early parts of my recovery. "Ud," Usruldes interjected, "I saw her a half rotation after the attack and it was, well, beyond description." He visibly shuddered. "Emily didn''t look like herself. Even her scalp was blue and purple from all the bleeding. Mugash appeared before my mother and gave her a revelation on what to do to keep Emily alive long enough to start recovering." "I wasn''t awake for that," I commented. "The only thing I remember was the pain. I still have some pain in my major muscles, especially my legs. My joints still ache. Sometimes it feels like the insides of my bones hurt. If I overexert, breathing becomes painful. And I''m w...weak, which I hate. I used to climb mountains. Now I need an escort just to visit the damn bathroom, to make sure I don''t pass out or fall down. That''s a slight exaggeration but there are days when I think I w...will never get w...well again." I couldn''t keep the bitterness out of my voice. * I have looked back to when you were injured and you are getting better. You are too close to yourself to see the improvement. * "Do you know how long that w...will take, Ud? Because no one has been able to answer that question for me." * About a half year but only if you rest and stop trying to do so much. The more you push yourself, the longer it will take. * "At least it''s a finite amount of time. I do not think I could bear it if this w...were to last my whole life." It was a relief to hear someone knowledgeable have an estimate on the recovery time. * You need to rest today, little one. I have made you a cottage with a porch and a big hammock chair and rooms inside for all four of you to sleep tonight. * "Tonight? Even the winged ones?" * There is weather coming. Do not sleep in your tent tonight. You''ll want to be inside the cottage. If it gets bad, I will move all of you into my home. * "Sounds reasonable," I looked around only to discover the cottage was just a few steps to the side of the big tent Usruldes brought for the trip. * There are both Cosm and Coyn bathing rooms with flushing necessaries. I borrowed your design, Emily. I hope you don''t mind. * "Why should I mind that? I should be thanking you." I was then faced with keeping myself amused for two days but Usruldes spent the morning telling me stories of his adventures, with Cadrees pitching in to make an occasional remark. Usruldes'' tales of capture and escape from the Tirmaran cannibals scared the crap out of me and got me through the mid repast. Then he had to go visit the caverns to get some meat for dinner because the only decent angler in our group was me. I was on orders to rest today and it struck me that following the advice of a magical spider monster who was the size of a house was a good idea. So, no fresh fish for dinner and I couldn''t convince Usruldes to dig for clams. I guess clams aren''t big enough to make a meal for a Cosm given the efforts needed to dig them up and cook them. I entertained myself with trying to figure out how to make organ pipes while Usruldes was off in the caverns. Cadrees was out looking for small game to supplement our food options. Asgotl was curled up on the sand in front of the porch, to keep an eye on me, so he said. He just wanted to nap on the sun-warmed sand, the lazy lump. I dozed in and out of wakefulness, listening to the breakers on the shoreline, dreaming of organ pipes. The sun was shining and a very light breeze carried the smell of juniper with it. I enjoyed this perfect moment of doing nothing at all. My ears registered Asgotl sitting up and then breathing heavier. "Can I not come to talk, master griffin?" she asked pleasantly, though there was an edge to her voice that conveyed things were not well with her. "Have I ever done anything to deserve such an angry look?" Oh boy. That was the wrong question. Asgotl was not at peace with what had happened. We had talked it over many times. I hope he didn''t lose his cool with her. "Not with the person you are at the moment," he managed to say without tinging his words with anger. "I see. Then you knew me before?" "Yes." "She knew me too?" "Yes." "I thought as much," her tone was resigned as if waiting for a verbal attack from Asgotl that didn''t happen. "I couldn''t sleep last night. I¡¯ve been trying to sort out why I''m frightened by you and her. Something tells me that the two of you are what I''m trying to escape." The silence that followed that utterance lasted quite a while. "Am I the cause of her injuries?" she asked in a trembling voice. "Yes." "You¡¯re not making this easy." "Yes, I know." He was not being a good griffin. Unlike me, he had had no closure. He had no means to release all that anger. He used to have a good friend he could talk to about things like that; but right now, that friend was why he was angry. "What did I do to you?" she managed to squeak in a tiny voice. "You lost your temper and killed us." "If I killed you, then how are you alive?" Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "The lord of death, Gertzpul, revived me. The god of healing, Mugash, revived her." She gasped. "Why did I lose my temper?" "I¡¯d be the griffin king if I knew that. I have no idea why someone your age would lose your temper over a little playing around." "How did I..." "Your face turned red with rage and you cast the charm of a thousand stings." "I used that on a Coyn and a griffin? But that would be fatal." "I noticed," the sarcasm he employed was screaming. "Oh dear god." I opened my eyes in time to see her completely gobsmacked. It was time to change the subject before Asgotl lost his composure. "Jane," I said, startling her, "pull up a patch of sand and stay awhile. So, tell me, what was it like growing up in Coventry?" The pause was historic, epic even. A sloth could have answered faster. "W...were you happy there?" She looked like she was having trouble formulating an answer. Her silence spoke volumes to me. "Jane, they aren''t here. They can no longer do anything to you." "It...they...," she shut her eyes and bunched her fists against her forehead. "My mother was a sot. My father worked the night shift so he was asleep in the day and never around at night. My brothers left and never came back. It wasn''t pleasant. It was mostly lonely. I did choir at church just to get out of the house twice a week." "Church of England?" "Methodist." She looked at me with a frown etched between her eyes, "how did you know that I grew up in Coventry?" "You told me the very first time we met, under a fir tree in the Vanishing River Valley." She chewed on that for several moments. "Where are you from?" she asked. "Idaho Falls, America." "How did you die?" "There was an epidemic and I caught the bug that caused it." "Did Germany win the war?" "No." I switched to English because Fosk didn''t have the words for what I wanted to say. I spent the next half hour describing my parents'' war. Aylem''s eyes were as big and round as saucers when I described the creation of the atomic bomb. She looked horrified when she realized a lump of plutonium and a lump of uranium, both the size of a cricket ball, destroyed two cities and killed a quarter-million people. "Emily," Usruldes said in Fosk from in back of me, "I''m confused. In describing this terrible war, you¡¯ve mentioned 50 million people died. How can you have that many people? Wouldn''t you run out of land for them all?" "How long have you been there?" I had to lean back and turn my head just to see him. "When I died, there were seven and a half billion people on the planet." It was fun watching his fish face as he tried to imagine that many people. "Hitler lost the war but London was bombed," Jane said, frowning. "London took terrible damage and lost half of its historic churches," I said. That reminded me of the Bells of London children''s song and played around for a moment, seeing if I could figure out the chording for it. It wasn''t hard. It was just C and G7. "Oranges and lemons," Say the bells of St. Clement''s. She looked surprised and then joined me. "You owe me five farthings," Say the bells of St. Martin''s. "When will you pay me?" Say the bells of Old Bailey. "When I grow rich," Say the bells of Shoreditch. "When will that be?" Say the bells of Stepney. "I do not know," Says the great bell of Bow. Here comes a candle to light you to bed; Here comes a chopper to chop off your head! "I love that song," she said and wore a wistful smile as she looked off somewhere far in the distance. I guessed she was remembering something from her life in England. When her attention returned to the here and now, I mimed a horrified expression at her, cringing hands on either side of my face. "What? What¡¯s that for?" she demanded. I dropped the expression and said in what I hoped was a normal friendly voice: "That¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen you smile or laugh." She looked panicked when I said that. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "Staying for dinner? It¡¯s mutton. W...well, if you¡¯ve been staying with Ud, you might not want to stick around for more mutton; but the company¡¯s decent, if you don''t mind grumpy griffins nursing grudges." "Hey," Asgotl protested. "You¡¯ve not been a bundle of sunshine either, sourpuss," I gave him what I hoped was a wise grandmotherly look, which probably didn''t work. It¡¯s hard to do the granny routine with a face that still belongs in junior high school. "Emily? It is Emily, right?" Jane asked. "Yes?" "I killed you, yes?" "Yep, deader than a doornail," I said in English with a bit of a western twang. I knew the expression wouldn''t sound right in Fosk. "And you still haven''t recovered from the charm of a thousand stings?" "That¡¯s right." I tried to keep my tone light. "And you¡¯re still in some pain." "Don''t remind me." "The griffin¡¯s angry. Why aren''t you?" "I w...was angry for quite a while," I shrugged. "I got over it." She frowned at me, with a crease so deep between her eyebrows that it would need a bridge to cross it. I waited a moment to see if she had anything to say, and then needled her: "What''s wrong? You look constipated...I mean confused." "Anger isn''t something you just get over," she snapped, annoyed and confounded. "Yes and no," I made sure I stayed calm since she was looking suddenly riled and that got the butterflies in my stomach going. I was afraid of her being angry. So I waited, not sure what to say next. "Explain what you mean by that," she snarled, fists clenched, teeth bared. "W...why are you angry?" I asked with a level voice, trying to keep my hands from shaking. "Answer my question. I don''t understand." She raised her voice, frustrated. "Why...," her voice broke and she made a funny choking noise. I looked up and what I saw was shock on her face as she stared at my eyes. Right then, I saw we could be going home soon. I just had to survive the next few minutes. "I''m not sure w...what I can say to you," I took a deep breath and let it out slowly to relax my shoulders. "I really don''t. I don''t understand why you get so angry so quickly, like just now. And you did so because of a small thing that you did not understand, namely how I can let go of my anger. "Your anger frightens me, Aylem. Your anger killed me last year and it leaves me w...wondering if everything you told me before my death was just one big lie. Looking at you right n...now makes me feel lightheaded. My stomach is in knots. My palms are sweating and my ears are r...ringing. I...I...," I held my head in my hand for a moment to get the noise out of my ears. "I di...di...di," I smacked my thigh with the flat of my palm so the pain would stop the stuttering. "I didn''t realize it would be this hard to speak," I said slowly and deliberately, concentrating on the correct position of tongue and teeth to make the sounds of speech. "I don''t understand your anger. I have a hunch that you were taught to wrong way to handle anger growing up, or not taught at all." I closed my eyes and leaned my head back on the chair because I didn''t want to see the world outside my eyelids for a while. "I am talking to Aylem now, aren''t I?" I was sure the shock was from seeing the new color of my eyes. That change in demeanor meant she had remembered not everything, but at least something. She shook her head yes, and buried her head against her knees. "I''ve never had a temper problem so I don''t know w...what to tell you," I continued while I had her attention. "I''ve always had good control over anger, enough to use it as a tool when I needed it. I do know that the way people react when angry is a learned response, and any habit of behavior that''s learned can be unlearned and replaced with something different. "I think maybe your answers lie w...with one or more healers at the shrine in Aybhas who understand about behavior modification. Head shrinking isn''t my specialty but I know anger problems can be fixed. So, can we take you home, Aylem? There are a lot of people who are w...worried about you and want to see you home safely." She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at me with concern, "Emily, what is wrong with your eyes?" The question caught me by surprise. "You mean the color change? I met Galt. He did this as a gift. Some gift, eh? You should have been there for Lisaykos'' reaction the first time she saw the new eye color." I rolled my eyes and said in English, "She almost had a cow!" "A cow? What does that mean?" Usruldes asked. "It means being upset or shocked over something," I explained. "If you were from England instead of America," Aylem said, "one would have kittens over it, instead of a cow." She paused and then looked at him strangely, "Usruldes, how can you understand English?" "The charm of tongues," he explained. "But that''s one of the lost charms," she picked her head off her knees and looked confused. "Yep, we found a bunch in Vault of Galt, me and Emily and Priestess Healer Kayseo and High Priestess Kamagishi," Usruldes remarked. "That was the day that Galt appeared to us and changed Emily''s eyes. I thought I was going to lose control of my bladder, I was so scared." "That still confuses me," I protested. "I thought Galt was adorable and helpful, and not at all frightening." "I''ve noticed this about you, Emily," Usruldes accused. "The gods do not frighten or awe you." "That''s not true. Mugash is awesome. She is so amazing that it takes my breath away. And Gertzpul is like the Buddha, so he''s way up there too. On the other hand, the rest are a bunch of goofballs: powerful, ineffable, deserving of respect, but still goofballs. Well, maybe not Galt. Galt''s pretty amazing and rather adorable." "Wait, Usruldes, did you say Priestess Healer Kayseo?" Aylem asked with wide eyes. "Well, I wasn''t sufficiently clear," he grinned, "I should have said Priestess Healer Kayseo haup Pinisla, Heir of Pinisla." "Surd save us," Aylem was gobsmacked good and hard. "Well, I see we''ll have plenty to talk about over dinner," I said. 76. The change in Aylem Emily, on the beach Usruldes headed off into the nearby woods to visit a spot with wild onions, carrots, and squash to add to our dinner. While he was gone, we talked about many different things in a sociable girl-to-girl way that she had never used before with me. There was very little of the condescending and overbearing Queen in evidence and a lot of a scared and uncertain woman trying to find her feet after falling hard. About half of what we talked about was in English because she wanted to know what the second half of the twentieth century had been like and what I had done during my lifetime. I did manage to get her to open up about herself and her experiences growing up in the 1920s and 30s. I was shocked and envious to discover how many silent films she had seen as a little kid --- actual silent films in a movie theater with a live full-time pianist! Her descriptions were fascinating. I was happy to find out how much she loved music, which I had not known about her. Given Usryuldes'' reaction to her singing with me, I concluded that no one knew she liked music. If I wanted a word to describe Aylem while still on Ud''s beach, it would be subdued. In a way, it was galling because she had lost so much confidence in herself. I''m sure I didn''t like the old Aylem much. I wasn''t sure I was going to like Queen Aylem once she regained her footing, though it was too soon to tell if she would revert to her old bad habits. While we were at Ud''s beach, I do know that I felt sorry for her because despite her sins, she was a lost soul and I¡¯ve always had a lot of empathy. Usruldes did the cooking on our trip. During one of his breaks from roasting the mutton over the fire, I asked him to get what I had brought for Aylem, guessing that she might need tangible assurances to lure her back home. "Hey, Usruldes, can you get that thing with the purplewood?" He looked at me a bit confused and then figured it out. "I know right where it is," he ran into our tent and came back with a cloth-wrapped object that he handed to me. I undid the wrapping and held out the knife in its scabbard hilt first to Aylem. She just stared at me and it. "You better take it before I drop it, Aylem. It''s too heavy for me and I¡¯m close to dropping it." She took it and pulled it out of its sheath. "It''s beautiful. Is this Damascus steel?" "No, at this level of technology, it''s more like Viking pattern welding, which looks similar to Damascus, but the way it''s made and its alloying content is different from Damascus steel. The original Damascus iron came from a mining district in the middle of India that had some unique impurities that led to its legendary properties once it was forged in the metal-making industries of Medieval Damascus and Bagdad. The biggest difference in pattern welding of low-carbon and high-carbon wrought iron is that this will have less elasticity; however, elasticity isn''t as necessary for a knife as it is for a sword. This should suffice as the knife you wanted that would be sharp and stay sharp for many meals. It will rust more easily than twentieth-century steel so make sure to keep it oiled.¡± ¡°Emily," she looked up from her knife, "I thought you said that the price for steel was..." "The terms have been rearranged by the gods," I explained with a healthy serving of discontent. "While my body was recovering and the healers thought I was under a charm of deep sleep, the gods itemized what it was they wanted from me, and part of that was to establish iron and steel crafts. According to the gods, they chose me because I remember all my pyrometallurgy from my previous life. It''s one of their priorities because, without the introduction of iron and steel, there will be wars over tin. I can¡¯t say I¡¯m happy over losing iron and steel as leverage, but I don''t think it''s possible to say no to the gods of Erdos." Aylem started crying quietly. "I don''t deserve this, Emily. Not after what I did to you and Asgotl." "You know, girl, if you''re going to be like this all the way home, it will be a very w...wet trip, and you''re so big that I''ll have to invent the umbrella just to stay dry," I said with just a hint of being put upon. "What''s an umbrella?" Usruldes asked. "It''s a w...waterproof cloth stretched on a collapsible frame that you use to stay dry in the rain," I said without thinking. "It can expand for use and fold up for storage and carrying." He got up and ran into the tent and came back out with a tablet. "Alright, umbrella, to stay dry in rain. How are they made?" He looked up hopefully. Aylem looked at me and I looked at Aylem and despite her state of upset, we both laughed. --- Asgotl, on the beach I found her lying in the warm sand of the beach just after the sun went down, staring up at the sky with her hands behind her head. After I found her, I realized I didn''t know what I wanted to say. I''ve never been good at expressing why or what I feel. I stood there for a long time, trying to figure out how to even start the conversation. I ended up sitting down next to her in the sand, staring out at the breakers as they rolled in and crashed against the sand. It was a long time before either of us said anything. She finally breached the silence. "Will you leave and go home to your clan?" she asked softly. "They are my kin but I have lived in Foskos too long," I admitted. "I like being lazy and having someone else hunt for me. People let me inside and allow me to hang out with friendly Cosm and a weird little Coyn I know. I get to travel all over the place, including here. No, I have no desire to live in the wild with my clan." This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "So what are you going to do?" she asked. "I have no hold on you. You''ve always been free to leave." Her voice was sad and resigned. "There need to be some new rules between the three of us," I remarked, staring out to sea. "The first one is that I will no longer call you mistress or great one. You do not own nor do you rule me. You are Aylem, or if there is a need for formality, Aylem Queen, as is customary in Foskos. "The second one is what Emily and I do together is our business and not yours. I''m my own griffin and she''s her own person. I concede that there is a very small chance that in a stall turn, as Emily calls it, Emily might somehow become unstrapped from the straps that have never failed. "Emily designed those straps. They have something she called redundancy. She said that even if three straps failed, the fourth would still keep her on me. I trust her craft ability. "I appreciate that you were worried about Emily right before you killed us in such a painful manner. I can find nothing wrong with being concerned for her wellbeing. I also understand that I was being snippy with you. I could have been more tactful. I was annoyed that you were annoyed. I will work on that." With that, I said not what I wanted to say, because that would not solve any problems. Telling her off in anger might even make things worse, but I said what I needed to say to move forward as Emily asked. If she can forgive Aylem, so can I. "The wind''s picking up and from the look of those storm clouds, the weather will be here soon. You may want to get under cover." I got up and started walking back to the cottage that Ud made for us. I only got a few steps before I was halted by Aylem wrapping her arms around my neck and hugging me. "You''re getting my neck feathers soggy, Aylem," I beak-bumped her. "Thank you," she said softly. "I don''t deserve you two as friends." "Aylem," I gasped, "I can''t breathe." --- Usruldes, on the beach "We have three routes to get home," I explained, drawing a map on the sand. "The northern route heads east across the fens then cuts down southeast along the Valley of the Vanishing River. This is a wilderness route and it also has an option to take a pass halfway down the valley that cuts over to the Aspen River to the east for the shortest route to Is''syal. "The middle route crosses the fens on the south and then follows the Copper River to a pass just north of Emily''s Iron Mountain. From there it can swing south to Uldlip or east to Queenstown. The third route takes us inland along the Great Wash and south down the Claw River. Then we would follow the Middle Fork of the Claw, over a pass in the Barren Mountains to the Barren River which empties into the Salt River west of Uldlip. Emily made her opinion known upfront. "I favor the northern route down the Aspen because it gets the books from Yasknapa of Yantes into Aylem''s hands the quickest," Emily said from the hammock chair. "The griffin clan that harrassed Asgotl is not a threat to any group traveling with Aylem. I have a feeling that we need Aylem to take possession of those books by the quickest route possible." "The ancient mysterious missing high priestess of Landa has been found?" Aylem asked. I realized that she still had months of events to catch up on. "Aylem," I replied, "Yasknapa of Yantes was found in the vault at the Shrine of Galt, in a room whose key had been lost for 2,500 years. We found her remains on the same day that Galt changed the color of Emily''s eyes. Now here''s the part that I''m glad you''re sitting down for: Emily, myself, and you were all mentioned in a letter Yasknapa wrote to Emily 2,500 years ago at Galt''s instigation." "Merciful Mugash," Aylem''s eyes grew wide. "She left you two books," Emily said. "They are written in Elizabethan English." "That''s...That''s..." Emily continued, grinning, "she wrote in the letter: ¡®Give these writings to the one who died in the night of great fire when Saint Michaels of Coventry was aflame from the guns in the sky.¡¯" "Blarg." "Language, Aylem," Asgotl flicked some sand at her, "Emily is still a child." Aylem aimed and flicked sand back at him. Emily rolled her eyes. I was just happy they were all getting along, especially the griffin. "Aylem, I assume St. Michael''s was a church in Coventry?" Emily asked. Emily used the English word church and with the charm of tongues I knew it meant shrine. "St. Michael''s was the cathedral. We lived within walking distance of it. I loved the bells as a little girl." "How long does it take?" Emily asked me. "To Is''syal?" "If we left at sunrise, we would be there before sunset, maybe before the sixth bell if the wind is right," I said. "Usruldes, how many people know about Aylem having a previous life as Jane?" "You, me, my mother, Kayseo, and High Priestess Kamagishi." I wondered if this had anything to do with picking a route home, or if it was just Emily leaping on a thought trail in her head and running down it without regard to the matter at hand, which is a bad habit of hers. "How old were you when you remembered Coventry?" Emily asked Aylem. "I was nine. It happened at my first visit to the Crystal Shrine of Tiki." "The Convocation needs to know," Emily stated. "Our route home," I said to remind them of our current agenda. "The fastest route to Is''syal," Aylem stated. "If Emily thinks those books are that important, and she''s the one who talked to Galt, then that''s what we should do." "I think I followed that circling sentence, I think. Should we leave tomorrow or take a few days to have some fun?" I asked, thinking it might be easier on Aylem to give her some extra time to settle back into her restored memories. "I need to go home, the sooner, the better," Aylem said with conviction, though with a bitter face. "And then I will take you to Lisaykos, to find the right mind healer to help you fix this little problem you have," Emily said firmly. It was not a request. Emily was using that unique tone of voice I had only heard once before that could not be mistaken for anything but a command. Aylem''s head came up defiantly and her eyes met Emily''s. Emily''s immovable resolve overcame Aylem''s overwhelming force. Aylem''s head dropped in resignation, "yes, we will do that." "If you are serious about patching things up with Imstay, he needs to know about you too," Emily added. There was another brief exchange of warring eyes and again Aylem conceded, "yes, you''re right." She sighed heavily. (continued in part 76) 77. Iodine and Bromine (Continued from part 75 --- still Usruldes, on the beach) "How are w...we going to get all this soda ash back to Fosk?" Emily asked. "W...won''t it slow us down? We made a lot." I looked at all the canvas bags I had packed with the ash of rotation¡¯s worth of seaweed fires. "Can you get the iodine and the other stuff, I forget what you called it, out of the ash here so we aren''t hauling the excess around?" I asked. "I need sulfuric acid for that, and it takes a pile of blue, green, or w...white acid rock and a dedicated laboratory facility to make it," Emily shrugged. "I don''t have that here on the beach. The closest I have to a useable facility is the compounding building at the Healing Shrine in Aybhas or the Extractor''s Building at the Shrine of Giltak." * Emily, what is it you need out of the soda ash? * "Iodine and Bromine. Do you know w...what those are, Ud?" Emily asked the air since Ud was mindcasting from somewhere else. She did that a lot because of her immense size. * Aylem, do you know what those are? * "Not specifically. I know they are chemicals used in our previous world. Iodine was used as an antiseptic. I don''t know what bromine was used for." * Use this as practice, dear, for the new magic I taught you. * "Hmm," Aylem pondered. "Emily, do you mind if I snoop a little in your mind? I can extract the chemicals from the soda ash if you do but I need to borrow your knowledge to do so." Emily looked a little nervous, ¡°I th...think I can do that.¡± Aylem smiled with encouragement at Emily: ¡°Can you think about iodine: what it is, what it''s like." "Alright," Emily''s thinking face appeared. "It''s a halide, so it''s on the halide column of the periodic table. It''s a shiny black solid that melts just a bit above the boiling temperature of w...water. It has a funny smell somewhere between hot metal and salt. It''s used as a topical antiseptic. It''s used as a photo-sensitizer for photographic plates, which is why Usruldes is so interested in it." "You''re going to make a camera?" Aylem was intrigued. "Yep," Emily smiled a very smug self-satisfied smile. I could feel that thinking about the camera had distracted her from her nervousness. "That''s so posh!" Aylem was excited. I had no idea what posh was until I applied the charm of tongues to the word. "Okay, I think I have a good idea of iodine," Aylem asserted. * Hold up, darling. What are you going to put it in? * "Oh." Aylem''s eyes opened wide. "Oh, dear." * That''s what I''ve been trying to get through your thick head. Slow down and think the whole process through. * "Yes, mother," Aylem scrunched her head down and pouted. I had to laugh since it reminded me of my time learning magic with Ud. "What sort of container does iodine need, Emily?" Aylem asked. "Usually dark brown glass with a Teflon-lined cap or a Teflon-film wrap between the bottle threads and the cap." "What''s Teflon, Emily?" Aylem asked. Emily made a wonderful fish face. Her eyes might have had a chance to pop out, it was such a good fish face. "Why the face?" Aylem asked. "Teflon was invented by Dupont I think around the beginning of the Second World War. It was not common at all until after the war. Then it got used all over the place." Emily''s fish face disappeared to be replaced by what I was calling the evil genius face. "Teflon was wonderful until they pulled the original off the market in 2015 for being too toxic when heated too hot. That was a problem because its most popular use was for no-stick pots and pans. Two quick swipes with a soapy sponge and the Teflon-lined pot or pan you were scrubbing was clean. You see, things don''t stick to Teflon, not even all the fried-on bits from frying in oil in a frying pan. Teflon was great." "Can you describe and visualize what a Teflon cap might be like?" Aylem asked patiently. "Teflon is polytetrafluoroethylene. It''s a polymer made of long strings of carbon atoms, and off of each carbon were two fluorine atoms, so it looked like this," Emily hopped out of her chair, jumped off the porch to the sand, and drew a picture of one of the chemical strings with a stick. "The final product had a cloudy white translucency to it and kinda felt like hard paraffin but without the stickiness." "Hmmm," Aylem concentrated and an amber-colored clear bottle appeared with a black cap on it. Emily walked over to it, took off the cap, and inspected its insides. "This looks and feels right," Emily grinned. "Awesome!" "How much iodine do you think there is in your soda ash?" Aylem wondered. "I have no idea," Emily shrugged. "I''ve never separated iodine from scratch before. This is a first for me." "Hmm," Aylem concentrated again and popped out of her trance suddenly. Aylem frowned. "Emily, there are two things in there that are very similar and one would be solid but the other feels like a liquid on its own, but other than that, they are almost the same in feel." If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "I bet the liquid that''s similar is the bromine," Emily got her thinking face in place and switched to English. "I''m sure you might remember this from chemistry class. Bromine is a syrupy dark brown liquid. It''s one row up in the periodic table from Iodine. They''re in the same column on the periodic table because they are both halides. Iodine''s heavier. It''s got 53 protons and the stable form has 74 neutrons. Bromine is lighter. It''s got 35 protons and has two stable forms, with 44 and 46 neutrons. The distribution between the two forms is close to fifty-fifty. Does that help?" "Emily," Aylem peered at her with narrowed eyes and continued in English, "you have all that chemical stuff memorized?" Emily looked surprised at the question. "Of course I do for the elements. I memorized the periodic table when I was 12. Most people memorize it in high school. Didn''t you?" "No, most people don''t memorize it in high school," Aylem said, shaking her head. "You see, there are these things called reference books---I''m sure you''ve heard of those---and you can look things up in them so you don''t have to memorize stuff like the periodic table. They''re quite handy, you know." The sarcasm was a bit thick. Emily''s face fell a little, "you never memorized the periodic table?" "Emily, I never took chemistry. I was training to be a bookkeeper." Aylem smiled at the fish face Emily was making, and then rolled her eyes. "You are such a boffin." "A boffin?" Emily looked befuddled. "What''s a boffin?" "You know, a boffin!" Aylem pointed, leaned over, and bopped Emily on the nose. "I have no idea what you''re talking about." Emily switched back to Fosk. I cut into their conversation. "Emily, the charm of tongues informs me that a boffin is someone who is educated in science. It''s an English word. You both speak English but you do not know this word?" "I do not but I don''t think that''s odd," Emily''s thinking face came back out. "Aylem died ten years before I was born but slang changes with time, so it could be a time-shift thing. It could also be the difference between British English and American English, which do have vocabulary divergences and very different slang." "Your countries weren''t close to each other?" "Not at all," Aylem jumped in. "There''s an entire ocean between England and America." "When you were listening to us speak English, couldn''t you hear the difference between our accents?" Emily asked. "No, they sounded both incomprehensible to me without the charm of tongues, and when I used the charm, they sounded the same." "Unbelievable," Emily shook her head. "So, a boffin, eh? I think you just called me a nerd." "What''s a nerd, Emily?" "A mekaner." She stuck her tongue out at Aylem. "Well, Miss Boffin," Aylem rolled her eyes and then waved her hand in the air theatrically. Another clear amber container appeared along with a strong penetrating odor. Emily''s nose wrinkled and she ran to the second and twisted the cap on. I realized the motion must have closed up the bottle since the pungent smell stopped instantly. "Hey, this bottle''s got stuff too," Emily hefted the first bottle and looked into it. She sniffed the air and then picked up the cap, brushed the sand off, and put it on the bottle. "Now all we have to do is get them home without breaking them." Her grin of glee was infectious. "Wow, real photographs," Aylem grinned back. "They''ll be on glass or copper plate if I get it to work. I have to give it some thought to make the jump from silver-plated on glass or copper to light-sensitive silver compounds on paper, but glass or copper shouldn''t be too hard." "Glass? You made glass?" "No," Emily sighed with a grimace. "I only have about a quarter of a bell''s worth of stamina before I fall over with exhaustion right now, so I am no longer allowed to do any hot work at the furnaces at the Giltak shrine in Omexkel. I taught Raoleer how to do glass but there isn''t any plate glass yet." "Well, you just need to make a phonograph instead," Aylem declared. "Already thinking about it," Emily grinned even more. "You know, there''s a priest artificer at Omexkel that has a working crystal version of an audio recorder but you have to have magic to use it. When I saw it, I figured I could do the same thing with something like Edison''s wax cylinder." "Say, Aylem," Emily was suddenly serious, "can you do that container and extraction thing with any element?" "Probably, so long as I have an idea of what the final product is like from what you''re thinking. I can probably make some compounds too, so long as I have a good idea of what I want to make." Emily smiled to herself, "awesome." "You scare me when you smile like that, Emily," I said. --- Emily, on the beach * Come out to the porch, little Emily. * The invitation roused me from my late afternoon nap and I stumbled out to the porch. Instantly, I was lifted into the air to look upon Ud''s ten glowing eyes on her cephalothorax. "What''s up, Ud?" I asked, floating in the air. It was rather fun and the view was great. * I want to see this on you * One pedipalp held up what looked like a sleeveless hoodie. * Let''s try this * Suddenly I was wearing it, except the hoodie part was now rolled and tucked in to make a stand-up collar. * Excellent, it fits, not that I doubted any of my abilities in weaving. That''s made out of my web, Emily. It will stop a pointed weapon or flying object from penetrating though it won''t prevent any blunt trauma injuries from being struck. It will also keep you cool when it''s hot and warm when it''s cold. Last, and this is really for Aylem, it will prevent you from a fatal fall. It''s washable and it will never wear out. One last thing, while you are within ten hands of my undershirt, Aylem''s charm of reunion that she cast on you will not work. That should help you if you decide you need some time away from your Cosm friends. * "She what?" This was not welcome news. * She cast it on your when you first met. I doubt she ever saw a need to tell you. I''m afraid she had grown too accustomed to having her own way as Queen by the time you two met. When no one was brave enough to tell her no when she needed to hear it, it was easy for her to forget other people have their own needs that are more important to them than her own desires. I hope she grows out of that bad habit of hers. Consult with me if she doesn''t. Tell your friend Lisaykos this too." "Thank you, Ud. All of this is quite thoughtful of you. I do have one question for you. What happened to the bottles of halides that were in front of the cottage? They''re not here anymore." I could feel amusement in Ud''s answer. * Usruldes left a note for his mother tied to the bottles and I left them on the south balcony of the Shrine of Mugash. Lisaykos will store them for you so you won''t have chemicals to worry about as you travel. * * Now Emily, this is important. I have one last thing I need to convey to you. You need to eat approximately 10 percent more than your current intake. You need to work harder on this. You are dangerously underweight. You will recover from your current malaise faster if you eat more. There I am done nagging you. * "Yes, mother." I tried not to be annoyed but it got old rather fast. * Good. * One of her pedipalps came up behind me and messed up my hair. * If you ever want some beach time, just drop in, little Emily. You do not need to come with any of my former students. You will always be welcome here and you can bring a friend or two. I enjoy the company and I believe you would never bring a bad guest. * --- 78. Great Balls of Fire Emily, traveling We had roast mutton, of course, for our last dinner on the beach and went to bed early. I woke up before everyone else and took one last dunk in the lovely ocean and body surfed a couple of waves in the morning twilight. I went back to my room, changed out the wet underclothes I went swimming in, and left them on the porch rail to dry. I went for one last stroll on the beach, which in reality means I walked a short distance and then had to sit down to rest and catch my breath. I was still sitting there watching the waves as the sun came up when Usruldes came and fetched me back to the cottage. "Are you sure you didn''t overdo just now?" he plunked me on his shoulder and braced my shoulder with his hand to make it easy for me to keep my balance. "I''m alright," I protested. "I''ll probably sleep all the way home so it doesn''t matter for today, does it?" "Were you thinking that before you dove in?" "Well, yeah," I admitted. "This is exactly what Ud, Asgotl, and I were talking about with you the other day," he sounded just like his mother Lisaykos with his inflections when he nagged me. "You''re always pushing just a little too far when you don''t have. You need more rest, not more exercise. You''re still recovering, and you are not where you can start building back strength yet. It''s too early." "You sound just like your mother," I pointed out. "Good! You listen to her," he paused, "sometimes." Aylem started laughing from the porch. "Usruldes, your mother has a staff of three healers who follow this bundle of trouble around to keep her from overdoing. It''s a lost cause if you think she''ll listen to you." "I''m an optimist," he said cheerfully. "Besides, I have my own coercive measures." When he said that I knew I was doomed. There was nothing I could do to prevent what was coming. He was too big and I was too weak to escape. "Really?" Aylem inquired suspiciously. "Pray tell." "Why look, Emily," he was so cheerful about this, the beast, "I already have your feet right here." "I hate you, you slimy bastard." "I know for a fact that my birth was legitimate and I''m too clean to be slimy," he said as he clamped my legs under his huge hand and proceeded to tickle the bottom of my foot with the other. I will leave out the rest of the embarrassing details. I had already strapped myself into the saddle on Asgotl when Aylem came out, hopped on, hopped off, and then started to adjust the stirrup length in a businesslike manner as if she did this all the time. "So," I said in a bored voice, "you thought I wouldn''t notice you''re more than a hand taller?" "I told you she would notice," Asgotl sounded quite smug. "That''s an exquisite grimace, Aylem," I said in a cheery voice. "How in the world did someone your age grow more than a hand in a half year?" "She learned some new magic from Ud and this was a side effect," Usruldes called over from where he was strapping the camping gear to Cadrees'' saddle. "Huh," I thought about it, "it makes a certain amount of sense if one assumes that certain types of magic demand a minimum amount of magic potential to do since size is a measure of magical capacity." Concepts of a theory of magic premised on the laws of the conservation of energy and mass were already bouncing around in my brain, thanks to the damn cat god. So, was physical mass like a magical energy storage device? Was physically-stored magical energy a potential energy analog? If so, what was it converted to when it turned into the magical analog to kinetic energy? Was storage a function of the whole mass or volume of a Cosm or was it tied to a subset of a Cosm like the nervous system? Or was there some extra physiological system that existed in Cosm that didn''t exist in Coyn, like some additional organ that just handled magic? "Emily? Emily?" "Huh? What?" I surfaced from my thought train. "You were wherever it is you go when you get deep in thought and don''t hear people talking to you," Aylem said from directly behind and above me. I wondered when she had gotten onto the saddle, then I realized what she had just said. I''m really dense sometimes. She wrapped me in a felted-wool summer flying cloak so I was warm and quite comfortable leaning against her abdomen in flight. I indeed slept all the way home. I even slept through the attempt of that griffin clan above Copper Basin to harass our party. Aylem waved her hands around, to hear Asgotl tell the tale afterward, and all those poor griffins got blown away by a heavy wind. We landed for a short time on a huge cinder cone that''s immediately south of the Great Crack known as the Ever Red, which is an actively-erupting volcanic fissure that¡¯s not stopped spewing basaltic lava for several centuries. The cinder cone in question was impossibly big, maybe 500 hands high, which made me doubt it was entirely made of cinders. Regardless, there was a clear view from it into the upper portion of the Salt River Valley. Landing woke me up. It was late afternoon, maybe around the sixth bell. The sight that greeted my eyes was worrisome. There was some kind of fire up the north fork of the Salt River, near where Yant is located and another down by where the Crystal Shrine of Tiki is located. I was about to ask what was happening when Usruldes saw I was awake. He motioned that I should be still. That''s when I noticed that Aylem was in a deep trance state. I heard Aylem exhale and felt her relax. "This is bad. We are being invaded. There are three armies. There is a smallish one, about 20,000, attacking Yant. The city wall has been breached and there is currently a magic fight in front of the Shrine because they are trying to breach the shrine''s gate. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. "The second army is the largest, about 40,000. They are trapped between the Shrine of Tiki and a bend in the river. Imstay has an army of about the same number surrounding that bend on the west side of the river. That seems to be going well since Imstay has that force contained. The third army is down at Blacks Falls with 20,000 soldiers. That force is having a hard time because we''ve opened all the canal gates and have flooded the salt pans and berry bogs, and it looks like we did that when they were halfway across the salt pans. If we can get an offense going there, we can take them. "I''m not a soldier, Usruldes. What do you suggest?" she asked "I''m not a soldier either," he said, "I''m just a spymaster who obviously has just failed in keeping our home safe." His face was bitter. "I suggest we leave Black Falls for now since their water defense is working. I should go to the King. You should go to Yant and use the ultimate charm of defense since the city wall has been breached." ¡°The knowledge of that magic invaded my mind when I inserted my flame into the Great Crystal when I was nine years old," she made a sour face. "I have not even thought of it since then and if you had asked me yesterday if I remembered it, I would have said no. When you mentioned it just now, the way to invoke it is suddenly standing in the forefront of mind as if I had used it every day for the last twenty-five years." She closed her eyes and her expression was like someone near and dear to her had just died. "It is a terrible magic and I must use it," her voice was grim and resolved. "How is your far mindcasting, Usruldes?" "Excellent," he replied, equally as grim. "I can far cast to Imstay with our crystal pair that he made and it has a range of about 50 wagon-days. But you are you. I believe the two of us do not need a matched crystal pair. Remember, Ud was my magic teacher too, and also, I will have access to Foyuna and the Great Crystal." "Can you find me from far away?" "I''m my mother''s son in that respect," he smiled a humorless smile, ¡°and I know she has often been able to find you in her mind.¡± "Good enough," she nodded. "I may not be reachable this evening." "Yes, I understand that, but if I get into the Crystal Shrine of Tiki, I will be able to at least check up on you." "Thank you. I will try to contact you when I reach Yant if I am able. And if I am not, Fassex can reach the King." "Stay safe," he said, and then pointed at me, "you too." "You know I can take care of myself," I pointed out. "I can avoid trouble." "War is different, Emily," he cautioned. "Don''t overestimate yourself and please remember that you are not well." "Blarg," I grimaced at the reminder. "Right." "Good," he nodded, made a bowing obeisance at Aylem, and took off on Cadrees for the Tiki shrine. "Should I leave you in Is''syal, Emily?" Aylem asked me, wrapping her arms around in concern. "You''ll be far from the fighting there." "My gut reaction is to stay near you for now, because while you sound fine, I suspect that you are not fine. Asgotl and I will not leave you while you deal with the inevitable gossip and backlash about your mental health." "But..." "Aylem, this is not negotiable," Asgotl said. "We are coming with you. Both of us. That''s what friends do." What a good griffin he is. "Aylem, can you make stuff in addition to processing stuff to extract elements?" If she could, there was something I wanted to try. "I noticed you made bottles and Teflon-lined caps out of thin air. Can you do something similar but with something inside?" "I can," she said in a nervous voice. "It''s called creation magic. It''s one of the lost magics. Ud taught it to me. It¡¯s what''s to blame for getting bigger." She sounded bitter about that. Did she not like being tall and having such splendid magic power? "Aylem, can you make me glass balls filled with white phosphorus and no oxygen and put them in a basket or bucket I can reach while I¡¯m on Asgotl? Do you need me to think about white phosphorus for you?" "I had an aunt who lived in Liverpool who died of phossy jaw before I was born," she explained. "I know what white phosphorus is." She dropped into that deep trance again, and then there were two baskets of glass balls filled with a glowing substance on either side of me. They were not too big for me to hold. ¡°These are evil, Emily,¡± Aylem pointed out in a very neutral voice. ¡°You think down some scary paths in that overactive mind of yours.¡± "The U.S. Army used white phosphorus grenades during the war that my first husband died in," I said, holding a glass ball and getting a feel for its weight. "I know exactly how evil this stuff is." I put the glass ball back into the basket. "How do we keep the balls from breaking in flight? Neither Asgotl nor myself have any defense against this stuff." ¡°I have applied a charm to the baskets that keeps the contents completely immobilized and have added a charm to the glass that it can not break while it is inside the baskets.¡± I nodded, satisfied. "Let''s go visit Yant," I said. We crossed the rift and flew up the North Fork. The number of conifers was astounding, just like Yellowstone. There were no invaders at Surdon but there was a long line of carts and people evacuating the city in the direction of Yuxvos and Is''syal. Yant was the next settlement up the river. It was also the most northern town in Foskos. We cleared a bend in the river and I saw the broken city wall and the invaders inside Yant, already looting. The town was already on fire in several places. Most of the invading soldiers wore bronze armor under red tabards. Several hundred were in front of the shrine''s closed gate. There was a magic fight going on there between a line of mages on the ground behind a wall of tall bronze shields and the adepts on the shrine roof. "Blarg," Aylem swore. "What''s at the gate is just the vanguard. Look." She pointed at a mass of marching soldiers approaching the city. "I''m going to leave you two and take care of that army. Emily, please, try not to burn the rest of the town down." She dropped the stirrups and flew toward the incoming army. I gave Asgotl the signal that would land us on the shrine roof. As we touched down, I heard someone give an order to recast the protective barrier around the shrine. Someone had recognized us and dropped the barrier so we could land, though I realized it was probably Aylem they had spotted first. Fassex dressed in riding clothes ran up to us. "Great One, we are overjoyed that you and the Queen are here. Wait, what are those?" She extended her hand toward one of the baskets with the glowing white phosphorus inside. I stopped her. "Holy One, don''t touch them. These are dangerous. The glass is fragile by design so it w...would be easy to break one if you''re not careful. They w...were made with me and my small weak hands in mind. The stuff inside makes an instant fire that can not be put out with the normal charm of fire extinction. With that being said, w...want to drop a few on the vanguard at your front door?" "I am open to that," she remarked. She led the way to the front of the shrine. "You should go first." "Holy One, I have no strength in my arms right now to throw one of these things. I intended to drop them straight down from Asgotl¡¯s back. Please take one and try it out." "If you insist, Great One." "I do insist. It may help break their attack. I thought there was a general agreement between the nations of Erdos never to attack shrines?¡± She took a ball, ¡°the Impotu army at our gate has broken that convention of war.¡± Scowling, Fassex stepped toward the front facade and sent the ball toward the opposing line of mages. It broke on contact with the ground. Drops of flaming elemental phosphorus splattered in all directions, starting fires everywhere it fell. I felt sick at the screams rising from the gates and forced myself not to lose my stomach. "Oh, my," Fassex studied the scene below. "May I try another?" "Holy One, please, use as many as you w...want." --- 79. After the Battle of Yant Emily, the White Shrine of Landa The white phosphorus balls were effective, too effective for my taste. Starting with the fourth phosphorus ball, instead of throwing them, Fassex guided them with telekinesis into the vanguard and broke the glass explosively over the heads of the battle mages, spreading the phosphorus across many ranks of soldiers with each exploded ball. I don''t know how many died from the burns. I don''t think I want to. Fassex used up one basket of the balls before the few hundred left alive fled from the shrine gates. The surviving soldiers attempted to put the fire out on those poor souls who were splattered with the phosphorus. I made the mistake of looking over the parapet at the victims of my evil idea and was promptly sick with dry heaves because I had nothing in my stomach. The balls of instant fire, as Fassex named them, were a very effective and gruesome weapon, and my stomach agreed. War sucks. The remaining soldiers inside the city surrendered when they realized that the rest of the army had been destroyed by Aylem. Caught between the Deus ex machina of Aylem and my balls of fire, they lost all will to fight. Fassex sent out a group of 20 adepts who worked their way through the Impotuan soldiers casting some kind of magic on them to make them easily manageable. The adepts on the roof carefully removed the baskets off of Asgotl''s saddle and left them on the roof for now. Sitting on the roof and leaning against Asgotl''s upper foreleg, I advised Fassex that the baskets had charms cast on them to protect the glass balls from accidental jostling but told her they should be stored in a cool place somewhere far from combustible materials. "You don''t know much about magic, do you, Great One?" she smiled at me kindly. "Other than cleaning and healing magic, I''m mostly ignorant, Holy One." "I will make sure the baskets will be safe here on the roof," she took out her crystal and cast some charms. "The masonry cladding of the roof and dome isn''t combustible. I just cast a barrier around the baskets that no one weaker than myself can break and also a charm of cold to keep them at a temperature of a cool day during the harvest. Is that good enough by your estimation, since you know the nature of the instant fire better than anyone else?" "Holy One, that is perfect. Thank you." "You look fatigued," Fassex got down on her knees next to me, the first time she had ever done so for me. "I fear all we have prepared for food is soup. I will have some brought to your room. I am wondering if I should allow you to walk to the room I''ve had prepared for you or if I should carry you. You do not look well." "I do not feel very good right now and I don''t believe I will be able to stomach food for a little while longer. Please, just leave me some water or fruit juice if you have any to spare. If it''s a long walk or there are Cosm-scaled steps between here and where I need to go, it would be better if you carry me." "About time you used some sense," Asgotl sniffed and bumped my shoulder with the tip of his beak. "Yeth dear," I lisped in annoyance at him. Fassex carried me to a guest room on the top floor of the shrine with a priestess adept following us with my backpack of clothes and sundries and my guitar. Some smart person had spread a rug on the stone floor and placed just a mattress on it. I could use it as a bed without help to get on or off. It was made up and everything. There were several extra-large floor cushions for Cosm to side on. There was even a Coyn-scaled pitcher of water and some Coyn-sized beakers. There was a basin to use if I got sick to my stomach some more. I later found out there were Coyn quarters in the Shrine of Landa but Fassex thought the guest quarters down the hall from where she had her quarters were more fitting for someone of my station. I guess she couldn''t deal with my sleeping in a room next to the enslaved Coyn domestic staff. Well, that''s Fassex for you: the woman must have every person in Foskos firmly pinned to their place in the kingdom hierarchy, right down to the lowliest slave who collects the chamber pots out of the necessaries every morning. While I took a nap, the priestesses and priests of the shrine had difficulties with the clean-up after the phosphorus bombs. They put out all the fires in the paved city square in from of the shrine, but every time they tried to extinguish the burning phosphorus, the stuff would just burst back into flame. I wish I could have seen all those overgrown Cosm mages trying to extinguish burning phosphorus without a clue to its chemistry. I did tell Fassex to use water if anyone had phosphorus splashed on them, but she didn''t extrapolate that to phosphorus splashed into the crevices between street paving or on grass or the massive wood doors of the shrine. They had a horrible time with getting the fire out from the phosphorus that had eaten into the ancient wood of those doors. The aftermath of the conflict at the gate left me feeling very off. After I woke from my nap and turned down food, I discovered that Aylem was in the room next to me in a completely helpless state. No one bothered to tell me that this charm of ultimate defense puts its user into a dangerous state of exhaustion, depending on how many people are killed by its application. It also robs the user of all magic for two or more days. That''s quite a price to pay just to use one charm. It also solidified my thoughts about physical relationships of magical energy. The only person in the world that can use this charm is the Queen. Only the queen can learn it and use it if it is needed. Aylem''s use of it was the fourth time it was ever employed in the more than four millennia history of Foskos. The charm is quite neat and clean. The Queen can cast it on whoever she wants and they just fade to nothingness, leaving their clothes and other physical possessions behind, sort of like a neutron bomb but without the bodies to clean up afterward. There were now around 19,000 piles of clothes, armor, and weapons from the north gate of Yant stretching back for a distance of half a wagon-day. There was also a whole mule-powered wagon train of supplies. By law, it was now the property of the Queen. All the doors at the Shrine of Landa had foot latches so I let myself out of my room. In my bare feet and a clean undertunic, I knocked on Aylem''s door. A priestess in the purple working gown of the shrine opened the door and looked out, right over my head. Then she looked down and promptly got to her knees, "May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One." I knew it would do me no good to pound my head against the wall in consternation, so I merely grimaced at the sight of this towering silverhair doing a full obeisance at me and attempted to accept it with as much grace as I could muster. "And also upon y...you, adept. Please get up." "The Holy One thought you might be stopping in to visit," said the priestess who looked about twenty. I noticed that she had lovely green eyes. When almost everybody in a shrine had white hair, things like uncommon eye color stood out. "Would you like a chair or would you prefer to sit on the bed?" the priestess adept asked. "What w...would be easier on you, Aylem?" I called up to Aylem on the Cosm-sized bed. "On the bed, dear heart," a weary Aylem voice said. "I won''t have to turn my head as much." I looked up the priestess, "please?" "Certainly, Great One," she picked me as gently as Lisaykos and placed me on the mattress. She also provided me an arm to hold on to for balance as I sat down crosslegged. "Thank you," I smiled up at her. She looked slightly surprised by the thanks, and then made a shy smile, "you are most welcome." She picked up her chair and book. "I will leave you two to talk. Use the bell if you need me, Great One." She left the door ajar so she could hear if Aylem wanted help. "I like your hair braided," I studied Aylem. "It looks good on y...you; it makes your face l...look a few years younger." Aylem looked tired, which was not common for her since she is usually so energetic. She was sitting up with a pile of pillows behind her. The blankets and a poofy comforter turned her into a big lump under the covers. "Do you have enough blankets, Aylem?" I teased her a little. "Maybe," she said softly. "I actually feel a bit cold, which is not something I''ve felt since I was a little girl. I can barely move right now. You might enjoy the sight of me being stuck in bed and needing help to eat because I can''t manage to hold a spoon up." "Nope, not me," I replied, wondering where she might have gotten the idea that I enjoyed other people suffering. "I''ve never been a fan of Schaden...freude." Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Schaden what?" She didn''t know the word. "Schadenfreude, it''s a German w...word that had crossed over into English usage by my day. It translates as the joy one gets from the suffering of others. Schaden is one of the German words for harm or hurt, and Freude is joy. Leave it to the German language to have a w...word for such a thing." "It''s not fun, being so exhausted that y...you need that much help," I sympathized. "It''s not easy to bear feeling like that w...with much grace. I hope you''re not in pain at all?" "No, but I can barely move," she replied. "I don''t think I''ve ever felt this way. I can feel what I think of as the channels through which my magic moves and it''s like there are a few drops of magic but not the tremendous reserves of power I always have at hand. I do not think I have ever run out of magic this way. It''s weird, but I feel like an empty bathtub." She chuckled. "So, as the magic returns, wh...where does it come from? Is it from outside the Aylem personal magical system or does it come from something w...within you? If you sleep X amount, then does Y amount of magic recharge proportionally? Are there certain foods y...you can eat that enable magic to return faster or be stored more effectively or to get cast more efficiently?" Aylem was surprised by my questions. "What brought this on? Why are you so interested in magic all of a sudden, especially since you don''t have any and never will?" "Oh!" I realized I forgot to tell her about Galt. "You can blame Galt for this. W...when I was in the vault at his shrine, he told me he w...wanted me to figure out what magic w...was and create a theory for it. Now it''s stuck in my brain. So I figured the first thing to quantify, if possible, w...would be the relationship is between size and magic, or better yet, between size and the three types of magic if indeed they are different. The other thing that needs to be solved is w...whether..." There was a light knock and then Fassex strolled in. She dressed just like the young priestess looking after Aylem: in a simple workaday kirtle under an everyday purple gown. She had her hair up in a bandana-like headcloth. "Great Ones, may I intrude?" She did a bowing obeisance. "You are always welcome, Holy One," Aylem said. "Oh, so formal this evening," Fassex smiled at Aylem as she pulled up a chair and sat. "I do not know where I stand anymore," Aylem said with doubt in her voice, "so I thought it best to err with the most polite address." Fassex looked a bit sad, "Aylem, dear, I have regretted the words I spoke to you in anger the night that...," she paused and looked at me with uncertainty. "Holy One, I died that night and I know I died. I don''t see w...why someone knowledgable like you can''t talk about it, given your position." I figured she didn''t know me well enough to know how mellow I was about such matters. After all, dying this time was instant and I had some fun while recuperating, thanks to those gods who chatted with me and took my soul drinking at Trader Vic''s. She studied me for a moment and then nodded. "Aylem, I regret what I said to you in anger that night. I was upset and I wasn''t thinking quite rationally. Part of it was grief, I think, for the lost little girl I once lived with who was struggling with a power she had no experience controlling. I know we have had differences of opinion over the years, but that has never diminished the affection I have always had for you." Honest-to-Pete, this iron-spined old lady was tearing up. Was she one of the adepts from Landa who raised Alyem when she was a little girl with too much magic? Aylem was crying too. Yep, these two had a relationship that I did not know about. "Thank you, Fassex," Aylem said softly. I wondered if I should sneak out of the room and leave the two of them alone to talk. "When this invasion is over, we should sit down together with Lisaykos and talk about what to do with this bad temper of yours, child. You are too old and too important to be crippled by an anger problem." Fassex sighed. "It''s something we should have taken care of earlier than this, but it was hard getting you to listen to anyone, dear heart. Even Lisaykos was wary to bring this up with you. I''m sorry it took an incident this extreme for you to acknowledge that you have a problem." Aylem grimaced at the appraisal and nodded in agreement. "Good," Fassex patted Aylem on the shoulder. "And you, young lady," she turned to me, "were saying something fascinating as I was opening the door." "Just speculating," I shrugged. "So Galt asked you to determine the nature of magic?" Fassex''s eyes were shining with interest. "Why you? Why not someone with magic?" "Galt said that because I had no magic, I w...would be able to see magic for what it really was," I explained. "So I''ve asked myself, what is it I have besides a lack of magic, that w...would make me a good person to solve this question? I think the answer is that I look at the w...world as a physical system defined by a universal set of laws governing time, space, energy, and mass that can be determined by observation and experimentation. This hints that there are physical laws that apply to magic. So it should be possible to determine what they are." "This is fascinating," Fassex remarked, "but doesn''t magic also depend on the inborn talent of the mage?" "Let me counter with another question. Is magic stored in the body or is magic a force or type of energy that uses the body as a conduit? If we use Aylem''s description of just a moment ago, it appears that something is stored w...which Aylem called magic and that it moved along wh...what she thought as channels. Now given the description, it suggests that there is a storage component w...which is proportional to the mass of the magic user. That''s a good place to start, I think. The trick w...will be figuring out how to measure it. So Fassex, how is the magic potential of a magic user measured? How does a shrine evaluate the magic potential of a trainee or fully-grown mage? Can I talk to your people who test the magical ability of children who w...wish to study here?" Fassex looked a little overwhelmed with my little introduction to the subject. Aylem chuckled, "Fassex, get used to this. Emily is like this all the time. She never stops thinking about things. One of the priestesses down in Aybhas said it was like living with a small whirlwind underfoot." "Interesting," Fassex said, studying me, which was a bit uncomfortable given how much magic the old bird had to be packing. "W...what are the tests y...you use to measure magic?" "I''m not sure we measure anything, not at least in the meaning you give to the word measure. To test a candidate for adept training, we ask the child or person in question to move a heavy object with magic alone, to read a thought that isn''t mindcast from someone nearby, to see an object placed in a dark closet, and to predict which one of three doors will open." "How do y...you prevent someone w...who is just guessing from getting the right answer through luck?" I wanted to know. "The prediction is one test we repeat thirty times, which eliminates those who get lucky with guesses. It also sorts out those really good at precognition from those just minorly inclined to that skill. Precognition is a hard skill to measure and to train. Let''s see, we also ask a candidate to heal a small wound, make light without a crystal, and cast a charm of warmth or cold. What am I missing, Aylem? I know there''s something else." Fassex frowned. "Putting someone to sleep and robbing someone of voluntary motion," Aylem rattled off. "That''s right," Fassex nodded. "It''s been a few decades since I had to test any candidates," she explained. "Hmmm," I pondered the list of tests. I had to wonder how they differed between the various shrines, if they tested for the same skill sets or if they concentrated on the ones best for their own shrine''s set of skills. If I looked at most of the tests together, there were changes of state, changes in energy, and transfers of energy; however, how did precognition fit? I found myself wanting to quiz Kamagishi since her precognition was strong. The problem was the element of time. Clairvoyance was sensing a physical manifestation at a distance or not visible to the eye. So was precognition a clairvoyance effect plus a time translation? This might bear some thinking since, as Galt pointed out, time was orthogonal, which opened up a whole new window of potential explanations. "She''s got her thinking face on," Aylem said to Fassex. "From the look on your face, I can tell you''re picking some of it up." "The Blessed Emily is such a clear thinker when she''s in that state, but I don''t understand more than half of what she''s thinking about time," Fassex said. "W...w...what?" I came up from my train of thought. "You know," Aylem said, "I have to wonder if your deep thinking episodes are a form of trance, Em." "Oh, that could explain a lot," Fassex replied with her eyes lit up. "Her thinking just now was so much clearer than regular everyday thought. I''ll have to give this some consideration. This could be an interesting line of inquiry about trances. Do you have some time tomorrow, Great One?" "My n...name is Emily, n...not Great One." "But that is not respectful or proper, especially since..." "Respect is earned, not given, and I am not proper in the least, nor d...do I care about it much," I gave her my best managerial, no-you-can''t-have-a-raise, cold icy stare. "The n...name is Emily. I''m sure y...you can w...wrap your tongue around it." I was feeling quite annoyed. Damn stiff-necked old schoolmarm. Fassex tried looking grim and stubborn, somewhat miffed with a taint of anger, followed by indignance. It was just a name and I wasn''t going to budge. Why was so important anyway? In a conversation with just three people, it was stupid to stand on unreasonable ceremony. She caved first and looked away. Sighing, she said, "Emily." "You know, Emily," Aylem said to me, "you''re a bit frightening when you look like that." "Say w...w...what?" I had a hard time conceiving that I could look frightening to a Cosm. "And you should go to bed," Aylem continued. "When you''re too tired, the stammer gets worse, and it''s gotten noticeably worse since you arrived and it was really bad just now." She smiled helpfully. "Interesting," Fassex remarked. "A good observation, Aylem." Fassex looked at me with that funny narrow-eyed half-lidded look characteristic of most people using body clairvoyance. "I see," Fassex returned to a regular gaze. "You are quite tired, and still in the process of recovery, I believe. I would be remiss if I didn''t help you to bed. I''m sure I would be subject to some criticism from my sister Lisaykos if I didn''t take measures to safeguard your health, Emily." Fassex was smiling with too evil a glee for me to mistake that I was about to gather some retribution for winning that little stubborn staring contest we just had. I sighed and resigned myself to what was about to happen. She stood up, smiling like a saint, a very self-satisfied saint, and scooped me up. "I will be back in a few moments, Aylem, after I put our little dear Emily to bed." Aylem, damn her, laughed with what I knew had to be pure schadenfreude. Damn Cosm. --- 80. War Intelligence Usruldes, traveling After we crossed the river at Two Ferry Island, I stopped briefly to make sure Cadrees had enough water in him. I ate a ration bar and drank some water too. Then I put on the Usruldes suit, both the clothes and the mindset that went with it. We were under attack so I visualized putting kindness away in a lightproof box with a lock. It was a mental technique I used to be effective as an assassin. Ud promised me long ago that she would rescue me if I ever went too far down the path of a killer and I trusted in her. She was never far from me, even when I was as far away as the east coast, more than 600 wagon-days from the Fenland. She placed a link between us when I first left her care for Imstay''s. If I needed her, I just had to think of her. We chatted around once a rotation, usually when I was traveling for the King. It helped her starve off the loneliness she lived with. It''s hard when you''re a giant near-immortal magical spider monster to find friends. It would have been wonderful if Ud came to help repel the invaders. I know she had friendly relations with some of the gods and it would make sense if she defended the shrines, if not the kingdom. The eleven shrines of Foskos were the originals that the gods directed humans to build. Direct help from Ud was not likely to happen. One of the huge ironies of Ud''s existence was that she was a pacifist. I wrapped myself and Cadrees in the charms of shadows and circular light and flew to the Shrine of Tiki. Passing through the shrine''s barrier that most thought could not be passed, we entered the dome over the Well of Tiki. I rang the gong with my mind. It took only a few moments for the High Priestess to appear. I unwrapped the charm and dismounted. Kneeling, I did my full obeisance, "May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Holy One Foyuna. I wish to beg a boon from you." "You are?" "I am Usruldes, called the Wraith. The Queen, Aylem Nonkin, may be at this moment using the charm of ultimate defense in Yant to save the Shrine of Landa, which is currently under attack. I promised her I would try to stay in touch with her. May I ask that you use the great crystal?" "You have seen the Queen?" Foyuna was taken aback. "She is with the Blessed Emily. We spoke in person about a bell ago." "Lord Usruldes, your name is known to me. Pardon my doubting you. May the blessings of the gods be with you too. Please rise, good and faithful servant of the King." I got to my feet. "Holy One, you were not amiss in doubting one you have never met, especially since I penetrated the barrier around the shrine." "I am astounded that you did so, though I can tell you are a great practitioner of strange magic whose nature I do not recognize. The aura around you is strange." "Holy One, one of my other names is Usruldes Udkin for I am a student of Ud and part of her kin." "Ud actually exists? I see there are many mysteries about you, but that is not germane at the moment. Let me use the crystal for you. No one has used the charm of ultimate defense in over a millennium and it is perilous. It drove the last Queen who used it insane." She rang the gong herself and two priestesses came running out into the dome. "Byahi, I need a recorder," Foyuna ordered the older priestess in her fifties. "Ioyseeya, this is a servant of the King. The auras of hunger and thirst are upon him and his mount. Please bring him something to drink and something hot that he can eat while flying. Bring something too for the eagle. Delegating some of this is apropos since you seldom do, child, but tonight, time is important." I bowed to both of the priestesses, "I thank you kindly for your service. I will not forget your names." Foyuna waited for Byahi to sit at the recorder table and take up her stylus. "Now, Lord Usruldes, let me prepare my trance. But first, tell me, does the Queen have her personal crystal on her?" "No, she does not. She left it in Aybhas while she was running from herself." "You put that in an interesting way, Lord Usruldes. Might I inquire as to her state of mind? She is such a powerful mage that it could be troublesome if she were not entirely..." "Sane? Yes, I agree. She is in her right mind, so do not worry there. She is not completely at peace with herself, but she has discovered where she needs to be mended and with care from the Convocation and the healers, she can be mended. Also, she was rescued by Ud, who has helped her greatly; and she is traveling with the Blessed Emily, who went to find her with Asgotl. I believe you know both Emily and Asgotl, so the Queen is with friends who will protect her." "I wish we could speak at length on this but I know you are pressed for time. Have you seen the King yet, Lord Usruldes? We have not been able to pass messages through the barrier, which I dare not drop." "I can pass the barrier and can carry any message you need. I wanted to know of the Queen before I reported to Imstay King." "Thank you. I will invoke the crystal now. It will be up to Tiki if I am permitted to see as far as Yant." "I know. I have confidence in the god''s favor for you." She dropped into a trance and the flame in the crystal burst into a ball of light. That flame was Aylem''s, that she placed there 26 years ago. It provided power to the crystal so others could use it if Tiki allowed it. From the ball of light, I knew that Tiki would favor Foyuna''s efforts this evening. I had never witnessed the great crystal in use before. A scene began inside it of Aylem calmly floating over ranks of soldiers in red tabards who faded away into nothingness underneath her. It was one of the strangest and most disquieting things I have ever seen. The scene shifted as Foyuna took advantage of her connection with the crystal to look around Yant. The city was on fire in at least twenty different places. A force of Impotuan soldiers was assaulting the gates of the shrine. A priestess adept of Landa on the roof of the shrine guided a glass globe with a glowing substance I recognized. She snuck it under the barrier that protected the Impotuan battle mages from overhead attacks. She then exploded it just over their head so that the phosphorus would splash all around. The adept manipulating the balls of phosphorus was quite clever. The results were horrific. Phosphorus will continue to burn until all of it is consumed. I almost felt sorry for the invaders. Watching this reminded me that Emily is not someone you ever want as an enemy. Since the adepts of Landa had their hands on white phosphorus, then Emily must be safe at the shrine. This was a great relief to me. Foryuna moved back to viewing the Queen, who was finishing up with destroying thousands of lives. When she was done, she floated down to the ground and looked right at the crystal. * Foyuna, I can tell Usruldes is with you. Tell Usruldes I have succeeded in my task and the northern army is no more. I will see all of you in a few days. And now, I must rest. * The crystal went blank and Aylem''s steady flame replaced the scenes we had just seen. Foyuna stood up abruptly. "That''s amazing! I don''t think that''s ever happened before. I''ve seen no mention in the historical records of a Queen far from the shrine using the Great Crystal to communicate with someone who was here using it." "Really? I do not know very much about the Great Crystal. It did surprise me. We are many wagon-days distant. The Queen''s strength as a mage is unbelievable." I really was surprised, though I already knew she was a monster in terms of magical ability. Several priestesses including Ioyseeya appeared with two hand-sized hot chicken and onion coffins, a skin with bog berry juice, and two skinned rabbits for Cadrees. "Do you have any message for the King?" I asked Foyuna. "Tell him we are fine here. We have a well in the second basement so there is plenty of water and we have three rotations of edible though not palatable rations. The barrier has six mages maintaining it day and night. He does not need to worry about our holding out." This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Excellent. I do not know if I will be able to return, but I will if I can." I got up on Cadrees and strapped myself in. "Thank you for the rabbits," Cadrees said to the priestesses, shocking them since mounts seldom speak to people other than their riders. "Farewell and stay safe Holy One," I called out as Cadrees took wing. The two coffins were gone down my throat before we got to the barrier. I think I may have been a bit hungry. I wrapped myself and Cadrees in the charms of shadows and circular light and passed out of the barrier. We coasted downward toward the King''s pavilion in the middle of his fortifications. He had surrounded the Impotuan force with a manned palisade-style siegeworks on both sides of the river. How I wished for Emily''s phosphorus bombs right at the moment to drop on the enemy. Cadrees and I did our usual routine. I cast misdirection on him to befuddle the mounted sentries. I leapt off his back and floated down to the camp. Cadrees went to find a spot to wait until I called. I pulled out my crystal and made its twin around Imstay''s neck vibrate. Then I strolled into the guarded pavilion still cloaked. The war council was standing at the sand table. "Usruldes," the King address the pavilion door, "have you news?" I knew he loved to do this to his captains and generals so I played along even though it was a bit silly. Still wrapped in the charm of circular light, my disembodied voice spoke to those present: "Mighty One, I have just spoken to the Holy One Foyuna haup Foskos. The shrine has supplies for three rotations and the barrier is held by six mages at all hours. The Holy One says not to worry about their safety. "That''s a relief," Imstay remarked and he meant it. "I have other news." The pavilion went silent. "Impotu sent three armies: the one here, one with 20,000 at Blacks Falls and one with 20,000 at Yant." "We knew about Blacks Falls," Imstay frowned. "We did not know about Yant since we can''t get to the Shrine of Tiki for a reconnaissance. How bad is it up at Yant?" "The Great One, Blessed Aylem Queen, is in Yant. The town had fallen to the invader and a vanguard of 1,000 is at the gates of the Shrine of Landa. That force is under counter-attack by the adepts of the shrine, who now have the use of instant firebombs created by the Blessed Emily and crafted by the Queen. Because the attack on the shrine was dire, the queen has used the charm of ultimate defense and destroyed the rest of the northern Impotu army single-handed." "Surd save us!" Imstay was gobsmacked. "How is the Queen? Is she well?" "She has regained her memory and is in her right mind. The griffin Asgotl and the Blessed Emily found her on the sea coast north of Inkalim. They were able to bring her home. The Queen and Emily will join you in three to four days." "Usruldes, I have a task for you, "Imstay announced. "We have heard no word from Pinisla. The Impotuan army descended onto the flatland using the road from Pinisla. We have no intelligence on the situation there." "I will go," I said and then remained standing inside the pavilion to gather gossip and mutterings from the King''s captains. I did not depart when they left the king. Dropping the charm of circular light, I fell into a chair at the table, feeling all the distance I had traveled since this morning on the beach. It seemed like it had been rotations ago. "You are too tired to travel anymore this evening," Imstay stated. "We will talk and then you will sleep. This is an order, little brother." I knew I could keep going at least until the half-night bell but I knew better than to cross Imstay when he used that tone of voice on me. I grimaced and nodded. "Let me tell Cadrees to find a place a place to rest." "Tell him to go to the mount camp. The grooms can take care of him for the evening and he''ll get a proper meal. I knew how the two of you skimp when you travel hard. I''ll have someone at the gate to meet him." I nodded, "tell them to leave the saddle on and not disturb anything." Imstay and I relayed our respective instructions by mindcast. "Have you eaten, and I don''t mean those nasty ration bars?" Knowing my preferences, he poured me a dark ale and put it in a real glass mug. "Glass!" I picked it up and studied it. "High Priestess Raoleer sent me some," he said with a wry smile. "She wants more funding, you see, so she can build a glass factory and a second foundry." "I can see the glass factory, but a new foundry? Why?" "She wants to move the sky metal operation away from the river like they did with the copper works. The slags are even worse for the river than the copper ones." "That sounds reasonable," I considered. "Has she asked what Emily thinks about that?" "Not yet. You and she have been gone for two rotations." He stepped out to the entrance, "Garki!" "Coming," Garki''s boyish voice responded. I was glad I hadn''t pulled off my mask yet. When the boy showed up, he looked like he had grown a bit taller and there was a smattering of white hairs on his head, which was a surprise. He was probably younger than I had originally thought. "Garki, Lord Usruldes needs some dinner and something he can take with him when he leaves in the morning," the king ordered. "Yes, Mighty One," and the boy was gone. "Have you found someone to teach him some basic magic?" I asked. "He''s taller and has some white." "I''ve been teaching him," Imstay replied, plopping in the seat next to me. "I thought he was a short 15 or 16 since that''s what he was telling people last year. It turns out that he''s 13. He was afraid his life would be in danger if we found out he had magic. I was bad and sorted through his mind when he was sleeping and it turns out that he''s a younger son of one of the big landowning families we displaced when we invaded two years ago." "In that case, is it safe to keep him in your service?" I worried. "We were not exactly restrained on putting the former ruling families to death when we stole their land." "I''ve been watching carefully," Imstay sighed. "He''s not a vindictive lad and I haven''t picked up any hostility from him. Yes, I have been snooping in his mind." Imstay looked at the ground with a sad expression. "I have been sending him to Heldfirk''s lessons since he is literate. It turns out he''s quite sharp. He took to the queen''s numbers in a flash." "You need to be careful, you fool," I snapped. "Don''t let your liking for the boy cloud your judgment like you let your fondness for your uncles lead you astray." I regretted saying it the moment it left my mouth. I was too tired to watch my tongue. Imstay''s brow clouded and he scowled in anger. He glared at me. I merely returned his glare with my gaze since it was how I honestly felt. I would not lie to cover up my tactlessness. Then Imstay surprised me and sighed, shook his head, and let his anger go. "Like usual, you are correct. I am too fond of people when I should be a better judge." "When this little altercation is over," I said, "I will dig deep into the matter of this young man and give you my appraisal as to what we should do with him." "Fair enough," Imstay said, fatigue falling off his words. "You really have gone through a change, big brother," I studied him. "If this were two years ago, you might have taken my head off in anger." "Having to watch my favorite two uncles betray my trust with their reprehensible behavior did something to me," he admitted. "I came out of that feeling that everything I ever thought was true was now in doubt. Some days I feel like I don''t have any foundation to stand on anymore and there are few I can trust." "Speaking of trust," he sighed again, "how is the Queen, really?" "Shaken. Drowning in self-doubt and trying to put a brave face on her loss of self-confidence. What she needs are friends and to be honest, she doesn''t have any. There is no one she confides in besides that griffin of hers. My mother is the closest thing she has to a human confidante. Even Mother is wary of Aylem''s power and they live in different cities on top of that. You might even say that her griffin is her closest friend, but how can a griffin help her with restraining her use of magic when angry?" "So what can we do to help her?" Imstay was sincere with that question. Two years he wouldn''t even have bothered to ask. "I''m not sure. To be honest, if Emily had not been kind to Aylem when we lured her out of where she was hiding, I don''t think she would have returned. Emily also got her to admit that her temper was a problem that needed help from the healers, and then got Aylem to promise to go the shrine in Aybhas and do something about it." Imstay gaped in astonishment. "Ware the royal pavilion," Garki called from the front entrance. "Come," Imstay replied. The boy carried in a tray full of different foods. "There wasn''t any hot food left but I found several things that will travel well cold," he put the tray on the table. "There are several different kinds of cheese, a crock of salted butter, some cold wood grouse that should travel well, four small loaves of bread, a wrapper of flatbread, dried apples, some pickled garlic, onions, radishes and eggs, and mutton meatballs wrapped in sage leaves. I also found some waxed bison leather pouches to carry it in." "This is a feast, child," I looked at Garki with his earnest look. "Thank you. This is more than I expected." Garki nodded at me. "Mighty One, may I turn in or do you need me more tonight?" Garki asked Imstay. "Turn in, we''ll be fine; and wake me at quarter to the first bell please, in the morning." "Of course," the boy smiled, did obeisance, and retreated. "This is impressive," I looked at the pile of food, grabbing a loaf and a hunk of cheese. "He''s very good. I think he''s the best personal page I''ve ever had. He''s always this efficient and effective. As I said, he is sharp. Quiet and unassuming, but sharp. And he keeps his mouth shut too." "If he wasn''t the scion of a conquered people, he''d be perfect," I remarked. "Hey, let me change the subject. I''m concerned about Pinisla. General Bobbo was up there with his newly-adopted daughter, Healer Kayseo. I''m quite worried about their well-being. You know the fate of nobles at the hands of invading armies. The thought makes me sick that something might have happened to those two." "That sweet girl was in Pinisla when this army passed through?" I grimaced. "Stuff sleep. I''m leaving now." I started to get up and Imstay pulled me back down. "Sleep first. Remember, this is an order, little brother." "Blarg." --- --- 81. Talk in Yant, Revenge in Pinisla Emily, Shrine of Landa Fassex entered my guest room and closed the door with her foot. Then she put me down gently and sat down on one of the sitting cushions on the floor. "Now that I have you alone, please, Emily, how is the Queen doing, really?" Fassex was suddenly serious and concerned. "Her calm is a front," I replied, knowing that Fassex needed an honest opinion right now. "Her confidence in herself is in t...tatters. She''s afraid of herself and w...what she might do, now that she has crossed the line and done real harm due to her bad temper. I also have no w...w...way to measure w...whether she has regained all of her m...memory or if there are g...gaps." "Wait," Fassex stopped me. "She lost her memory?" "Wh...when w..we found her, she had w...what I would call trauma-induced amnesia, Holy One." "Gods," Fassex dropped her head into her hands for a long moment. Then she looked at me, "two things. First, if I have to call you Emily, you need to call me Fassex." "I wasn''t sure where the boundaries were with you. I did not want to presume," I said honestly. "I find the way you look at the world strange," she was honest back. "You do not think like most other people." "That''s a fair assessment," I remarked. "So, the second thing?" "If she lost her memory and then regained at least some of it, is Aylem well enough to be out on the world right now?" "I don''t know, Fassex. I really d...don''t; but as you just saw, she''s functional enough to t...take down the army threatening this town and shrine. I do w...worry about leaving her alone for long periods because she''s feeling horrible about herself. I am concerned about d... depression, and self-harm if she''s left to herself." "How was she when you found her? And where did you find her?" She looked at me frowning. "I am being inconsiderate. You do need rest and here I am peppering you with questions. I will return to talk some more in the morning." She reached out and lightly touched me on the head. When I woke sometime before dawn, I knew she had put me to sleep. Damn adepts. --- Usruldes, Pinisla The Impotuans left a small garrison at Pinisla. The few inhabitants of the rebuilding community were either dead at the invaders'' hands or had fled. I found some of them in the forest, in their hunting camps out of sight of the Impotuans. They told me a story that left dread in my heart. Bobbo by himself created a bottleneck at the gate of the palisade he had built around the new townsite. He fought off the invading soldiers one at a time. The Impotuans surely had not anticipated encountering a seven-times single-combat champion of Foskos at the gates of this tiny community. When the General was sure he had given the residents time to flee, he leapt the wall and fled, only to be peppered full of arrows. He was last seen trying to cross the river. No one had seen him since and his mount was missing. A missing mount suggested strongly that Lord Bobbo was dead. The residents who hadn''t successfully fled, all four of them, had been tortured and killed except for one: Kayseo. The Impotuans have a law that it is a capital offense to kill a healer or to harm one in a way that would make it impossible to heal others. So instead of killing Kayseo, first they cast befuddlement and illusion on her. This was to prevent her from defending herself with her formidable magic. They started their torture of her by crushing the bones in her arms by dropping large rocks on them. The Pinisla residents who successfully fled to the forest heard her screaming. The Impotuans did not harm her hands at all since hands are needed by a healer to use healing magic. Then they cut off her feet. They left her legs alone since she was still a growing teenager. Harming the open growth zones in her legs'' bones would be harmful to a healer since that would stop her growth and limit her ultimate healing power. I guess Impotuan law considered such technicalities to be a legitimate interpretation of their laws concerning harm to healers. Somewhere in all of this fun they had with Kayseo, they gang-raped her. They also cut out her tongue, cut off her ears, sliced off her nose, pulled out a number of her teeth, and then gouged out her eyes. Listening to them as I scouted out their garrison, I also discovered that they thought it was great entertainment to strip her naked and brand her buttocks. Then, they cut off her breasts and finished by leaving her hanging by her pristine hands on the inside of the palisade wall so they could laugh at her pain. By their own laws, they had not killed her nor had they taken away her ability to heal since she still had her hands and intact growth zones in her legs. When I found her broken and dying body, I cast stasis on her. If she was aware at all, I did not want her to know what happened next. First I cast the forbidden charm of miasmic fear so that not one of them would have a peaceful death. Once they were all frantic with fear, I killed the entire garrison of 300, one soldier at a time. Some I set on fire. Others I gutted with my knives or beheaded with a sword I took from their garrison captain. The ones who I found that had participated in her rape I cast stasis on. After all the others were dead, I strung each rapist up on the palisade wall and robbed them of the ability to move. First, I castrated them. Then I slowly cut out each of their tongues, lobbed off their noses, sliced off their ears, and gouged out their eyes. Then I burned each of the rapists, slowly while still alive, starting with their feet. When I was done venting my anger, I burned all the bodies to ash so there would be no evidence of how they died. I heard Ud calling me and I answered. * I am worried for you, child. You are in a dark place right now. * "I admit I was lost to my rage, Ud," I mindcasted. I didn''t have the range to reach Ud but she had the range to hear me. "The girl they maimed is a friend." I showed Ud in my mind what they had done and explained that Kayseo was a young prodigy of healing magic. I also showed Ud my memories of the ceremony where she became heir and was promoted to full healer at just 16. * Are her feet lost? * "I can not find them and it has already been more than two days." * What a shame. Do you remember creation magic and unraveling time? * "I was bad at them, remember?" * That was because you were a child when I taught them to you. The fully grown you should be able to sustain both. I can see in your mind that you remember how to use them. Start with her eyes, then her tongue, then her ears, then her nose, then her breasts. I will help you with the teeth. * If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "What about her feet?" * You do not have enough magic to do bone. You can mend but you can not create bone. I am sorry. * "I understand." I knelt at her side where I had placed her on the ground and recalled a magic lesson from 17 years ago. It took two bells to restore her face, chest, and head. It was difficult and draining magic. Then I wrote a letter to my mother on my precious supply of paper. I explained what had happened. Then I wrapped Kayseo in a blanket, strapped her into Cadrees'' saddle, and sent Cadrees and the letter to Aybhas. I flew myself to where the remaining inhabitants of Pinisla were hiding in the forest and told them that I had eliminated the garrison and healed Kayseo as much as I could. Then I flew downhill over the White River, starting from the palisade, looking for Bobbo''s body. I didn''t find his dead body. I found Bobbo barely alive on the river bank. I cast stasis on him and removed the arrows, healing the arrow punctures as I pulled the arrows out. Most of his bones were broken, including his skull and spine. I levitated him and flew with him over the pass into Truvos as the sun went down. From there, I followed the Black River to my mother''s shrine. I landed on the courtyard in front of the shrine which attracted a great deal of attention. I walked inside, ignoring the spectators in the courtyard, and brought the levitated Bobbo to the greeting table. "This is Lord Bobbo haup Pinisla, General of the Left in the king''s army. He has many bones broken so I dare not put him down. Please hurry and take him from me since I am close to exhausting my magic." In the distance, I saw my mother exit the south stairwell and come running. Several other healers also came at a run. My mother approached Bobbo and appraised him and me. Then she rattled off instructions to the healers present on how to move him. It was a relief when I could finally relax the levitation charm. "Lord Usruldes, the only reason you are still standing is your stubborn resolve," my mother told me. "I am invoking the grace of Mugash for you to rest here. I will inform the King as to what happened in Pinisla." "Great One," I began to protest, "I must..." I couldn''t remember what happened next because my mother cast a charm on me. --- Emily, White Shrine of Landa The bell tower of the shrine was the highest spot in Yant. I woke up early, just like the day before at the beach. Unable to fall back asleep, I started exploring. It wasn''t hard to find the stair up to the roof. From there I found the bell tower and its wonderful view. Though I needed more sleep, I enjoyed watching the sun come up over the mountains. Fassex found me there. "I thought you would still be asleep," she said, seating herself on the same handrail around the bell tower that I had perched upon. "I thought I w...would still be asleep too," I admitted. "I w...will likely have a nap sometime during the day." "Have you eaten?" "Not yet." "Do you have any strong morn repast preferences?" "Not really though left to myself, eggs and bacon are what I w...would cook." I pointed at the steady line of people leaving the shrine, "w...were there really that many people inside the shrine last evening?" "About half the town was able to flee and the other half took refuge inside the shrine. I didn''t want to release that many people at night. This is their first chance to return to their homes for those lucky enough to have a home that''s standing and unlooted." "And those who are unlucky?" I asked. "The shrine will take care of them until new homes can be built. The Queen decided to give her spoils of war from using the charm to the people of Yant, to help pay for new construction. About half the adepts and all the trainees are out organizing those spoils. It will help to pay costs up front instead of waiting for money from the kingdom treasury." "Fassex, w...why haven''t I seen a single garrison guard in Yant?" "The entire garrison was cut down defending the city walls. They also slaughtered Lord Masha and his lady, who was once a working priestess librarian of Galt. I have searchers out looking for their two daughters." "Ouch. Not good," I contemplated just how soon the looting would start by the city''s low life. "Help is coming from the Shrine of Erhonsay. They should be here sometime after the fourth bell. Kas is not too far away." "W...were you one of the adepts who raised Aylem as a little girl?" "Yes," her face was pensive. "There were three of us. We had a house about a wagon-day up the Yantes River from here. The other two have already passed. I am the last one still living. We were the three most powerful adepts at the shrine. We had to be because we needed to shield ourselves from her. She was and is that powerful. When she was nine, the Convocation was split on whether we should remove her from the land of the living. Akoep, who was the high priestess at the Crystal Shrine at the time had a dream command for Aylem to visit. That''s when Aylem received her revelation From Tiki." Fassex sighed. "Once she was blessed by a god, there wasn''t anything we could do to her. While she was at Tiki''s shrine, she inserted her flame into the Great Crystal and it''s been there ever since. We knew then she would be Queen." "I haven''t seen that revelation," I stated. Lisaykos told me there were no copies of it. The only copy of it was at the Shrine of Tiki and it was sealed. "Aylem''s revelation scared the convocation into paralysis," Fassex explained. "It says, in brief, that Aylem would break the kingdom''s magic and create new magic to replace it. " I was shocked. That matched what Landa told me when I was dead. "Landa said what to you?" It was Fassex''s turn to be shocked. "I guess that thought was a little too clear," I remarked. "Just a bit," she shook her head. "Forgive me, I need a moment to settle my head." "Sorry." "Don''t be. It''s my problem, not yours." Her eyes focused and she took in and let out a deep breath. "What''s your real age, Emily?" "Somewhere between 85 and 87, I think. I don''t know when or where I w...was born this time around." I had decided overnight that if Fassex was serious about helping Aylem, she needed full disclosure beyond what Kamagishi had probably already told her. "Fassex, w...were you sincere about helping with Aylem''s problem?" "I helped raise her so I feel responsible, at least in part, for how she turned out. For that which I had a hand in making, I should attempt to see it mended before I leave this life." It was disclosure time. "Aylem is another person who has memories of an earlier life, as does her griffin," I stated. "They are both from the same place I''m from." Fassex''s consternation was profound. "If you''re serious about helping her, Fassex, then you need to know that her little anger problem may have roots in her previous life. She admitted to me and Asgotl that her mother w...was addicted to alcohol and made Aylem''s home life hell. She never had a chance to grow out of it. She died when she was 17, during the most terrible w...war ever fought. I''m not sure if it is relevant to the way she is now, but it''s something to be aware of." "How did she die?" "Those little balls of phosphorus you used yesterday? Those are toys compared to the bombs dropped on her city from the air. She was either caught by an explosion or she had a building collapse on top of her." "Great Gertzpul!" "Thankfully, she doesn''t remember the moment she died." "Sounds like you did," she fished. I was a good fish and took the worm off the hook. "There was an epidemic. I caught the disease. It took me six days to die as my lungs progressively failed. I slowly suffocated as my lungs filled with fluid, a...w...wake for most of it. It w...was not a good time." "That''s rather gruesome," Fassex remarked. "Change of subject, if you know you are getting a revelation from Landa, why have you not gone to the Well of Landa to receive it?" "Reason one: I don''t w...want to get stuck here writing it down while there''s a war on. Reason two: if Aylem must reshape magic as the result of my revelation from Landa, then the middle of an invasion is a lousy time for that. Aylem is a walking breathing strategic defense system for Foskos. Defending the people who live in Foskos is her priority right now, and not following my revelation, which I assume will destroy a magic system and replace it with something new. ¡°Reason Three: Aylem must have the leeway to act as she sees fit during this emergency and a revelation will get in the way of that. I¡¯m sure that one of the reasons the Impotuans invaded is because they heard the Queen of Foskos had run away from her kingdom. No, now is not the right time for a revelation." --- 82. Arrival at the Army Camp Kayseo, Healing Shrine of Mugash I believed I was dying and hoped I would perish soon as the burden of staying alive held no appeal. By some miracle, I awoke to find that I had a pair of working eyes, a nose, a tongue, a chest, all my teeth, and two ears---though I remembered all the pain and violation and terror of having pieces of me cut off or mutilated. Then I discovered that I had no feet, which told me my assault was real after all. I could not stop sobbing because I could not banish the faces of my tormentors out of mind. Twessera stayed with me for the first two days. She held me and comforted me and never left me alone. I might have dashed my life out by smashing my head into the wall if not for Twessera. I calmed down a bit by the second day but backtracked into despair when I heard the bad news about my adoptive father, General Bobbo. The Blessed Lisaykos stopped by several times a day. When Twessera needed to step out, either the Great One, another senior healer, or Thuorfosi would sit with me. Despite being constantly attended, I never felt so alone in my life. I began to lose weight because I couldn''t keep any food down. Lisaykos authorized the regression of memory treatment, offered only in cases of extreme emotional trauma. I was a healer. I knew what this meant. I agreed to the treatment because I knew it would help prevent the worst of the long-term consequences of post-rape trauma. The treatment didn¡¯t prevent post-event trauma but it could blunt the worst of it. Lisaykos reassured me that justice was already taken care of, though some thought it was too lenient. Usruldes the Wraith, who had found me and healed me, had exterminated the Impotuan garrison left at Pinisla, all 300 of them. Usruldes was such a strange and mysterious man. The Great One incapacitated him immediately after he rescued my adoptive father. This was to force the spymaster to rest. When Lord Usruldes woke a day and a half later, he intruded into my father¡¯s room and used his strange magic techniques to heal him, which was a feat of healing that most healers considered impossible. To hear the healers who worked that wing tell it, Usruldes appeared out of nowhere in Lord Bobbo''s room, sat down, and started healing. When Priestess Kibbilpos tried to stop him, she found a barrier in her way. Lisaykos came at a run. She passed the barrier somehow and then tranced and watched what Usruldes was doing. As Senior Healer Kibbilpos related to me later, the Blessed Lisaykos told Usruldes: "I should be angry with you for acting without permission in my shrine." He replied: "I confess that I am so used to acting on my own initiative that it did not even occur to me. I apologize. I will remember next time. I have undone most of the brain damage except for the spot that had two blood clots on the right motor cortex, which was under the fracture of his skull. The damage there was beyond my ability to completely repair. The Queen may have the strength to do the complete repair but I don''t. It may be worth asking her. Also, it might be possible with therapy to establish new pathways to replace the damaged functions, but you already know that." "Which areas are still not recovered?" "Left side of his face and neck and some or all of his left arm. I''m not familiar enough with healing magic to tell how much function may still be damaged." "Mouth, tongue, and throat?" "Should be fine." ¡°I could be wrong, but it felt like there was another presence with you." ¡°The person who taught me magic helped me with the difficult task of constructing the framework to unravel time for a magic user.¡± ¡°All the way from...?¡± He cut her off, ¡°yes, from there. She is more powerful than the Queen. We once conversed while I was in Mattamukmuk --- that''s how powerful she is.¡± That city was halfway around the world. "Will you teach me this unknown technique of brain repair?" "Of course I will." "Is there anywhere else in my shrine you intend to visit today?" "Kayseo." "Kayseo is..." "On the fourth floor, north wing, west side, the room nearest the atrium," he cut her off. "I will walk with you there." "I know the way, Great One." "You will scare my healers if you wander about any further without an escort. This is not negotiable." "Your will, Great One." This frightening masked and hooded man in all black came into my room with the High Priestess. "Twessera, these two need to talk," Lisaykos gestured to Twessera to leave the room. Then she turned to Usruldes, "come see me when you are done, and this is an order." He nodded, then turned and tapped her on the shoulder before she could leave, "thank you." She glowered at him. Then her expression lightened and she nodded, patting the top of his head. She closed the door behind her as she left. He just shook his head and then cast a barrier on the door. I think he was the tallest man I have ever met, and I had met the king. Unlike the king, Usruldes was a lanky, wiry man. He lacked the king''s impressive muscular bulk. He was as tall as many healers, and obviously, he had some unorthodox but effective training in healing. He pulled up a chair and sat next to my bed. "There are some things I believe you need to know before Emily and the Queen return, especially since you are so close to Emily and because you were present in the Vault at the Shrine of Galt. But first, have you had the regression memory treatment yet?" This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. "Earlier this morning." "And how are you feeling?" "Better, I think.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure, to tell the truth. ¡°At least I no longer feel that living is meaningless and full of despair," I managed to smile. The only thing that was removed was the memory of the rape and the torture. The memory of hanging on the palisade in chains was still there, as was most of the attack and losing the opportunity to escape because I was helping others to escape before me. "If you ever get flashbacks at all, even if it''s five to ten years from now, promise me you will get it treated, please." "I can do that." I knew what flashbacks could do to a person. Look at poor Emily, after all. "So what is it you need to tell me? I can feel your doubt and just a tad of nervousness." "Damn, you are every bit as good as my mother and you''re only 16. You''re going to be a monster when you come into your full power." "Your mother? Who is your mother and what does she have to do...Oh!" He pulled off his mask and his head covering. "I used a forbidden magic called unraveling time to heal General Bobbo.¡± His voice changed in subtle ways. It was the same bass voice but the inflections were different and the timbre brightened so it became the recognizable voice of Irhessa haup Gunndit, better known as Hessakos hat Kas''syo. "Let''s get to the immediate problem," he continued. ¡°There''s a problem because Emily and Hessakos left to find the Queen but Emily and the Queen returned with Usruldes. The latter can not become common knowledge. People know that the Queen met Usruldes when she returned, but traveling with him must be forgotten. You are the only person in a position to make the connection by accident. That''s why I''m telling you now so you can avoid making that mistake in front of anyone out of the loop. "The only people in the loop are the king, the queen, my mother, Thuorfosi, Wolkayrs, Emily, Bobbo, and now you. That''s too many people and I must now start thinking about my retirement as Usruldes before my cover is destroyed, to protect my family." "My other matter is that my teacher, a monster named Ud, taught me..." "Ud actually exists? It''s not a tall tale?" I was shocked. Hessakos smiled, "yes, Ud indeed exists. She took me in after I ran away from home and taught me my magic, which is why it is so different from the magic taught at the shrines. Among the things she taught me was how to deal with the kind of brain damage that your new father had. The General went over two sets of waterfalls on the White River, which is why he fared so poorly. Before I came to visit you just now, I healed most of Bobbo¡¯s brain and spine damage. The thinking part of his brain will be fine. I was not able to undo all the damage to his left arm and neck so I do not know how much recovery he will have there, but at least he won''t be a breathing brain-damaged turnip for the rest of his life. "That being said, because of your own injuries, Ud asked that I pass on some advice. I''m not sure if it''s advice rather than precognition. Ud said Emily will be able to help with your leg injury." "Really? But how? She has no magic." "Kayseo," he smiled with amusement, "are you forgetting that Emily is an idea factory?" "Oh." --- Emily, traveling I spent most of my time in Yant questioning the adepts who managed the tests for admission to the shrine, trying to figure out if Cosm used body mass for magic storage or as magic conduit. I learned a great deal about how mages think about magic but made little progress by way of formulating hypotheses. On our third day at the shrine, which was the fifth day of the second rotation of the growing season, I also took Asgotl for a ride. I wanted to fly along the new road between Surdon and the newest additions to the kingdom to the east, to see if there was any further Impotuan activity. It was probably a stupid thing to do but with my very own griffin shuttle service, who could tell me no? When she failed to dissuade me, Fassex sent ten adepts with me. I told her I did not need any sort of protection. Fassex said they weren¡¯t for my protection. The ten adepts just needed some time practicing their riding skills. Right. The road was clear but after I dropped down into the basin of the north Boro River, followed by the ten adepts needing flying practice, we found a land populated by only dead bodies left to rot, farmsteads burned down and the crops burned in the fields. There would be no grain from the east this year. It was dinnertime when we got back and I was exhausted. Both Fassex and Aylem nagged me about overexertion. Just what I needed: tag team nagging. On the fourth day at the shrine, Aylem was up and about and completely recovered from single-handedly making an entire army disappear three days earlier. She had spent her time talking with Fassex about serious stuff, listening to my guitar, and sleeping. We left the day after, myself and Aylem on Asgotl, and Fassex on her eagle, whose name was Dray. Yes, Fassex was coming with us. She was serious when she said she wanted to help with fixing Aylem. She was traveling so she, Lisaykos, and Aylem could have a serious talk about Aylem''s little temper problem. Before we left for the King''s army camp, both Asgotl and Dray were equipped with baskets of the phosphorus balls. I made another request of Aylem, this time to ask her if she could make phenolphthalein. She gave me the strangest look when I asked but she said she could make it easily whenever she wanted. ¡°If you want to spend the rest of your life sitting on the necessary smelling foul is up to you,¡± she declared, clueless as to my motivation for the question. It was nippy out when we left Yant, so I was the victim of Aylem''s usual routine of wrapping me up in a flying cloak. Of course, being toasty warm resulted in my falling asleep again while flying all way down to Queenstown. I woke up in time to see Fassex and Aylem having a grand time dropping white phosphorus balls around the largest pavilions and tents in the Impotuan encampment. The Impotuans couldn''t get their mounted cavalry in the air fast enough to stop them. The fires burned late into the evening. We flew across the river and landed in front of the royal pavilion. Imstay was waiting for us, or should I say, for Aylem. Oh boy, did he pour on the charm. He even flirted a little with Fassex, who was vastly amused by it. It was going great right up to the moment Aylem dismounted. "Aylem?'' Imstay asked in a little voice. "Yes?" "You got taller," he said in an even smaller voice. She sighed and grimaced, "it was an accident." "Ah," was all he could manage for a reply. Given he was a man''s man, with that eye-candy physique, I could see where the height difference might take a chomp out of his self-image. "Well, Mighty One," Fassex jumped in, stampeding the awkward moment out of existence. "how do you like our little welcoming gift for the Impotuan camp?" Flames and smoke were rising from multiple places behind the palisade surrounding the Impotuan camp. "Are those the instant fireballs Emily invented?" He smiled humorlessly. ¡°Better them than me. What¡¯s wrong with their mages? They should be getting those fires knocked down by now.¡± ¡°The charm of extinction doesn¡¯t work on white phosphorus,¡± I reminded the King. ¡°Remember the shoe?¡± The momentary fish face he made told me he had forgotten. Then the smile he made was evil and full of schadenfreude. ¡°So sad for those shrine-attacking rapists,¡± there was some real anger in his words so I assumed he knew of some atrocities that the Impotuans had already committed. "Well, my two... sorry, Great One," he made a bowing obeisance to me. "My three lovely ladies, will you join me? We''re having a variety of meats done on an outdoor spit for dinner." He held the tent flap open for us. Fassex sat down and then said to the empty tent, "whoever you are, I am not fooled so show your face." Usruldes materialized in one of the corners of the sand table room. "Excellent," I said and ran up to tug on his pant leg. "Can I have a w...word with you, Lord Usruldes, in private?" He bowed an obeisance at me, "of course, Great One." --- 83. The Best Use for a Laxative Usruldes, Foskan Army Camp outside of the Crystal Shrine of Tiki "May I?" I bent over and offered her an arm to sit upon. Emily caught my collar and I picked her up. I strode out of the tent. When I was sure no one could hear, I warned her, "bite your lip so you won''t make a noise in surprise." Then I cast the charms of shadow and circular light on the two of us. What most people don''t know is that even the mage who casts the charm can''t see what''s inside the charm, including one''s own self. I''m glad I warned Emily because I heard her gasp of indrawn breath as we vanished. I walked us out to the edge of the camp nearest the river and then walked along the river bank. "It''s safe to talk now but I will not drop the charm. It''s safer this way. "Well, my partner in various crimes,¡± Emily began, ¡°I have an idea but I have not the means to carry it out, but y...you just might. You see, Aylem can make phenolphthalein.¡± I was confused. She was talking as if I knew what this stuff was. "Emily, what is pheno-whatever it is?" "Oh bother. You know, the stuff in the Revelation of Tiki to Emily." "And this is germane how?" I wasn''t following the twists of her strange mind this evening, especially having just returned from the company of my grumpy mother who was busy with accepting war injuries too serious to heal in the field. "Phenolphthalein is a laxative," she explained as if whatever she wanted to say was obvious. "Little one, you''re making no sense. I''m still baffled at what you want from me." "It''s an extremely effective tasteless, w...white laxative, which will blend in with most drinks. I mean it when I say extremely effective. Image hundreds if not thousands having to run to the latrines all at the same time. There would be lines just to have the runs without soiling one''s underclothes. You could mix it in with the salt supply or the officers'' wine or beer supply, or in the stew for the regular soldiers. For a Coyn, all it takes to kill someone with this stuff is less than a pinch. It may be the same for Cosm. "With your skill at infiltration, I was thinking it would make a nice gift for the folks on the other side of the river. Imstay''s army can''t attack the invaders until that barrier goes down, right? This could take their mages offline." The implications sank in and I had to work hard at not laughing out loud. "Young lady, that is evil." "Well, I w...would prefer a virulent strain of E. coli, but I don''t have the means at the moment to isolate some and culture it up; so phenolphthalein it is." "I have no idea what you just said, oh cryptic one." What was Eeee-colye?¡± "Sorry." She sighed. "So, do you think this is possible?" "You forget to whom you speak! Am I not the infamous Usruldes the Wraith?" "Yep, figured as much. Any...w...way I could watch?" "No, no, no, and no! Oh, did I mention no?" Emily could do well to develop some better self-preservation instincts. "Maybe. I''ll have to see if I remember your mentioning no." "Emily," I warned her. "This isn''t a school or workplace prank. These Impotuan soldiers are professional killers and this is a war. I will need to scout their camp to find how their supplies are moved. They have a barrier up which is effective against even my clairvoyance so I will need to go in person. This will take time just to scout the layout and logistics." "Good enough." She sighed. "I will devote some time investigating inside the Impotuan barrier this evening. If it looks feasible, I will visit before dawn or tomorrow evening." Now that our business conversation was done, I dropped the charm. As we walked back, I filled Emily in on what had happened in Pinisla and what was going on at the Shrine. That was a mistake because it made Emily angry. Emily is the sort of person who doesn''t lose her temper. She''s the sort who calmly plots and plans revenge. I had never seen this calm cold killing intent in her eyes before and it frightened me. She was perfectly calm as she logically considered how she might ruin the lives of those responsible for Bobbo''s and Kayseo''s injuries. --- Emily, the Foskan Army Camp Usruldes took me back to the King''s pavilion. He had dropped the charm so we were visible. I have no idea if all those obeisances were because of me or because it was Usruldes carrying me. Either way, it was very freaky watching all these tough-looking soldiers and garrison guards bowing as we passed. I will never get used to this. "This disturbs you still? Usruldes asked softly so others couldn''t overhear. "Yes, it does. I don''t like the attention." He chuckled. "I can see that. You dislike being in the public eye." "That''s not t...too far off the mark," I said. "So has there been any action between the two armies since the King got the Impotuans caged behind that palisade?" "Just skirmishes ever since the king got the other army trapped between us and the hill the shrine is on. They were marauding on the flat, past Queenstown and almost all the way to the Queen''s villa. We missed most of the fun. The king made this army by pulling volunteers as he came south from Is''syal and turning them into a fighting force, then driving the Impotuans off the flats and forcing them south to the Shrine of Tiki. I''m impressed he pulled it off by himself. It''s the first time he''s done all the work of leading the army without Bobbo''s help or the help of his now-late uncles." "It looks like he raided a lot of garrisons," I noted. "There are many w...women here in guard uniforms. I don''t recognize half of the facings. W...where are the gals with the teal and pink facings from?" "They''re from Weirgos on the Rig River, where the Shrine of Vassu is located." "And the ones w...with dark blue and w...white?" "Two Ferry Island, a wagon day from here, where the Shrine of Gertzpul is. Ah, I think I can smell dinner." Usruldes was right. There was the drool-inducing smell of meat over a fire. My stomach even rumbled, which changed my mind about wanting to skip dinner. Now I wanted some. It smelled so good. "Two Ferry Island is where the flood w...washed away a bunch of the town below the shrine, isn''t it?" "That''s right. Around three thousand people were lost in the floodwaters. The shrine and the upper town are built on rock while the lower part of town was built out on what was once a gravel bar." "No levies?" "The levees were breached." Usruldes nodded at the guards at the entrance to the king''s compound and headed straight for the king''s tent. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. "I supposed there w...weren''t any piles or rip rap lining or other engineered structures that could have prevented the levies from failing?" I was still posing the question as Usruldes carried me into the inner chamber where Imstay, Aylem, and Fassex were already eating. "What sort of engineered structures can prevent levies from failing?" the King looked up, keenly interested. Aylem just shook her head and laughed, "Emily, dear heart, I believe you just did it again." "We have a chair ready for you, Emily," Fassex pointed to one next to her piled with cushions. "Wait, where''s my stuff?" I asked. "Through there," Imstay pointed at the flap sealing off where he usually slept. "I put you three in there for the night and I''ll sleep out here." The King demonstrated he was quite the gentleman when interrupted by unexpected guests at his army camp. It looked like he would be sleeping on the floor. I say floor because every inch of the ground was covered by carpets on top of a ground cloth. "W...we should ask Aylem to make some tonight if you might need it before dawn. You shouldn''t get it w...wet before you use it." I explained to Usruldes as he put me onto the chair. "That''s the one thing you need to be careful of." Aylem was looking back and forth between me and Usruldes with a pensive face and then her eyes widened, "that''s why you wanted the phenolphthalein." Then she started laughing and shook her head. "Oh Emily, that''s just evil." "I don''t know if it w...will achieve a measurable effect," I noted with a straight face, "but it''s w...worth a try." Fassex frowned, "why am I picking up random images of people running to the necessary?" I managed not even to smile, "ever hear of Tiki''s revelation to Emily?" "Surd save us," an epiphany crossed her face. "Need a diversion? We have balls of instant fire." "Maybe tomorrow," Usruldes nodded. "Tonight is just to map out how they manage their supplies." "Isn''t their barrier in the way?" Aylem pointed out. "Not from above. Their barrier is vertical but not capped, as you discovered earlier. Their overhead defence is the charm of detection, and to me, such a feeble charm is laughable. I would immolate the mage who left that hole in my defense if I were the Impotuan commander. After I take a nap, I will vanish from sight and float high above their tents and study them, assuming they have their fires out by then. The only person I have ever met who has better clairvoyance than myself is you, Great One," he said to Aylem. "My path into their food supply is now only a matter of time." "I should have never allowed the two of you to meet," Imstay pointed his forefingers at me and Usruldes and grinned. "See if you can figure out if there''s a schedule on their sneaking supplies in from Bull Trout River." "That''s on the agenda," Usruldes nodded. "I will leave you now. I must get some sleep before I do this night''s reconnaissance. Make sure Emily eats enough." He waved as he disappeared out the door before I could liberate a throwing spike to skewer him. "I thought you did not care about strict proper address, Great One," Fassex studied me. "I don''t understand," what she said confused me. "Were you not angry at him just now for calling you Emily?" she asked. I laughed, "not at all. Usruldes is my friend. He can call me what he wants. I was annoyed because he was nagging me to eat more." "The mutton''s good tonight," Aylem said helpfully with an innocent smile. "I was looking at that piece of bison with all that lovely crisped-up fat and the black crunchy bits, and maybe some of the wood grouse," I confessed. "I thought I smelled sourdough earlier. Is there any? Any chance there''s sweet butter?" "Garki?" the king bellowed. "Coming!" A faint boyish shout replied. A red-haired boy ran in. He was showing some white in his hair. "Garki? Aylem asked. "You''ve grown a bit and you seem to have sprouted some white on your head." She smiled at him kindly. The boy blushed deeply, "yes, Great One." "Somebody lied about his age," Imstay remarked to Aylem. "Oh? He did?" Aylem smiled and shook her head. "He''s attending classes with our son now," Imstay explained. "Heldfirk has been working a lot harder lately at his schoolwork because Garki is a good student." Imstay looked pleased with himself. "Garki''s good with the new numbers; and when he''s not in class or working, he''s reading." "Do you have something to read here, Garki?" Aylem asked. The boy nodded. "So what are you reading now?" Garki blushed even deeper. "Giltak''s Revelation to Emily with annotations by Shrine Craftmaster Aduda of Omexkel." Imstay was astounded. "How did you get a copy? That''s only a few rotations old." "I told the priestess liaison of Giltak at the palace that the king wanted a copy," Garki informed the king with a straight face. "When it showed up, I entered it into the catalog of the king''s books and then borrowed it. You''ll find all the record-keeping on borrowing it is proper and up to date." "So now that you ordered and then borrowed my new book, do you understand it?" Imstay was gaping. "Well, it''s not that hard," Garki looked a little put out. "I already made my own logarithmic rule from following the instructions. I did a squares rule too, just to see if the revelation was correct about not resorting to logarithms for everything, and it was." "You managed w...without a compass?" I had to ask, full of curiosity about this kid. "I made my own, Great One." He looked a little afraid to be speaking to me, which blew me away. "How?" "I took two pieces of beaver reed, one slightly shorter than the other. To the short one, I glued a discarded pencil stub I saved. Then I glued the two reed pieces at right angles at the top and wrapped string around the top for reinforcement. When I need to span a set distance, I bend the reeds together with my fingers so they bow inward. Then while holding the bent reeds in place with one hand, I take another string and wrap it around many times just above where I''m holding the reeds. That sets the opening distance in place when I let go of the reeds and let the string hold the tension." "How do y...you keep the string from slipping?" I wanted to know. "I cut little notches on the outside of both reeds. So long as I get the string started in the notches, it won''t slip." "I never thought of tensioning the t...two pieces of reed that way to make a compass. Garki, that''s clever." I was impressed with his ingenuity. "Well," Imstay interrupted, "hate to divert you two from what I''m sure would be a fascinating discussion, but Garki, Emily needs some sourdough and some sweet butter, if you can find some." "I''ll find you some right away, Great One," he told me with an eager smile and ran out. "W...w...what an interesting kid," I said, watching him run off into the twilight of the ending day. "Where''s Bull Trout River?" I asked while watching Fassex spear the piece of bison I wanted and put it on my oversized plate. I didn''t know if I could eat all of it. "It drains a valley in the mountains just south of the shrine before flowing into the Salt River," Imstay explained. "It dead-ends about three wagon days east into the mountains." "If the Impotuans are using it to bring supplies in, then where is the pass they''re using? Can''t you block it?" I eyed the Cosm-sized two-tined eating prong with some doubt. How in the world was I going to cut my meat? The eating prong was longer than my forearm. It would be awkward. "It''s a dead end," Imstay frowned at me. "The river has its source in a box canyon with a right-angle turn to the south." "Imstay King, if there''s no pass, then how do the supplies get into the valley of Bull Trout River?" Maybe I should wait for Garki to deliver some bread. Then I could at least make a sandwich to avoid looking like a barbarian when I ate because my only other alternative was picking up the hunk of too much meat with my hands. "We''ve been trying to find that out and can''t find their hidden supplies." "Do they have allies that can fly?" I asked. I was sure that a war between Cosm armies and their mages would be different from anything I knew of on Earth. "It''s roc eagle territory back there," Aylem remarked. "They don''t ally with anyone. They attack on sight anyone who crosses into their realm. You have to fight and win before they will even talk to you. I think eagle allies are unlikely. It also limits the routes open to the Impotuans." Aylem frowned at my plate. "Is something wrong with your bison? You''re not eating." I could feel the heat off my cheeks as I blushed and pondered if there was a hole deep enough to hide my embarrassment. "I see," Aylem said and reached across the table for my plate. "How much should I put back?" "Two-thirds," I muttered, wishing I could disappear. I could see Aylem and Fassex struggle not to laugh. "I really miss General Bobbo right now," Imstay sighed, gallantly attempting to change the subject. "He was the one who usually picked up on these sorts of things." "From w...what Usruldes was saying, it sounds like his brain is now w...working again," I remarked. "You could roll up a bunch of maps and fly down and visit him. We''re not far from Aybhas." Aylem put my plate back in front of me with my meat cut neatly into small bite-sized pieces for a Coyn. Fassex bit her finger and turned her head away from me in order not to laugh. My tattered pride was not faring very well at the moment. I could almost like Imstay for gallantly going out of his way not to laugh at me. --- 84. In Search of Bread Emily, Foskan Army Camp The trickle of sweat running down my forehead pooled where my glasses were jammed against the bridge of my nose and then ran down the inside of the lens as I tried not to make a sound breathing. I was crouched down behind the water heater in the back of the linen closet, listening to the sound of gunfire out in the Plaza de Armas. The Rondas were breaking down the doors in the hotel looking for anyone they thought was one of the guerrillas. Men yelling and women screaming were punctuated by bursts of automatic weapons. The door to the room banged open. "Ch¨²pate este!" Gunshots spewed across the room, through the flimsy walls, into the water heater, next to my head, the taste of blood in my mouth... Galt''s raspy tongue cleaned the blood off my face and his soft fluffy paws put my glasses back on, "you''re not there anymore, Cara mia, wake up now..." I sat up straight in my bedroll, my hand feeling the place to the right of my pillow for my glasses case. Then I remembered I didn''t have glasses in this world. My heart was still racing. That October night in Ayacucho in 1990 was one of my least favorite nightmares. Was that really Galt waking me up or did I just dream that? "Yes." Galt purred in my ear. Damn cat god. It was obvious I was getting no more sleep for the time being. I could smell baking bread in the camp ovens so it was not too far from daybreak. I pulled on enough clothes to be decent, grabbed my ankle boots, belt, and my hooded Shrine of Mugash mantle since it was a bit nippy out, and silently stepped around the sleeping lumps of Fassex and Instay on my way out of the pavilion. I startled the poor door guards, especially when I sat down at the door flap into the pavilion to pull on my boots. I got up to put on my belt, which was still too loose, not that I would admit that to anyone but myself. I remembered to hang the fire opal tablet Imstay gave me last night from its special leather holder on a bronze belt hook. It functioned as a pass for walking about the camp. Pulling on the mantle, I took off for wherever that wonderful bread smell was coming from. I found the bread operation and it was impressive. Fifty handmade brick and cob ovens were all fired up, with wood fires in the lower chamber and round loaves loaded in the domed top chamber. The smell was glorious. Making sure I wasn''t in the way, I spent quite a while just eating the smell of all that baking sourdough. I noted that some of the baker''s hands were setting up tables in a row and heading my way. Before I had time to move, a pair of flour-crusted hands picked me up. The hands gently carried me to a flour barrel in a pile of baking supplies near the ovens, where they put me down. "Sorry, Great One, but we''re about to distribute the morning bread and I don''t want you to get stepped on," a raspy baritone informed me. "It''s about to get busy. You''ll be out of the way here." Before I had a chance to thank him, he walked back to the confusion of setting up tables and moving bread loaves. I could tell from the way he was shouting orders and moving people around that he was one of the people in charge of the bread operation. Soon pairs of soldiers and guards formed a line, each one carrying a net which the bakers filled with bread loaves at the direction of a clerk with a tablet. One or two people from each group in the encampment collected the bread for distribution to other members of their group. It was a rather grand form of mayhem though I was amazed how much bread was handed out. It had to have been thousands of loaves. I should have tried to count. No wonder bakers got up so early. It had to take a lot of time to bake that much bread. The sky was growing light in the east behind the mountains when the line finally slowed down. The man with the raspy voice came back. He sure looked like a baker: white tunic, rolled up sleeves, big white apron, big white bandana tying his hair back, and flour all over him. He smelled like fresh bread. That''s a smell I think any sensible woman could fall in love with. "Rumor has it," he produced a white cotton cloth from behind his apron with something wrapped up in it, "that a certain person who sometimes hangs out in the queen''s apartments has a weakness for this." He produced one of those incredibly yummy egg-bacon-onion rolls with the sharp cheese baked into the bread that they make in the palace in Is''syal. He handed it to me. In a fit of greed, I had a mouthful even before I thought to say thank you first. I chewed and swallowed as quickly as I could. "Thank y...you. W...wow. This is as good as the ones in the palace." I hoped that made up for the bad manners just then. "Well, thank you for the compliment. By the way, I''m Emoskos, the head baker in the palace." He folded his arms, leaned against the barrel, and beamed a satisfied smile. "You are w...welcome," I took another bite. "Itfs gooffd." He retied the cloth and turned it into a secure bundle, pulled two cloth loops through my belt, and tied them together. "There, you can take those back with you to snack on." "Thank you." "If you''re still here tomorrow, I''ll have some ready. Garki comes by every morning to get the baked goods for the King''s pavilion. I can send them with him. Speaking of Garki, there he is now, coming down the path. If you want to head back, stay here and he''ll take you. Or if you''re out right now for a walk, head between that stack of flour barrels over there and the path you find in back will take you to the north gate through some very pleasant fields where the mounts are pastured." "Help down, please?" I smiled up at him. Emoskos was alright. He gave me a lift down and waved as I disappeared down between the flour barrels. The pathway to the north gate was every bit as nice as described. I hoped to see Asgotl. I climbed up the fence to the top rail and looked around for several minutes but didn''t see any griffins in the twilight that looked like him. Giving up, I strolled out to the north gate. I was feeling a bit wobbly by the time I got there so I found a comfortable tree trunk to lean against and happily watched the traffic in and out of the gate. The gate officer''s pavilion was on the opposite side of the road into the camp so if I needed help to get back to the King''s pavilion, I didn''t have to go far to get some. The sun was just breaking over the mountain tops, sending long shadows, making the shadows of the Cosm at the gate into the silhouettes of grotesque monsters. A Coyn and a Coyn-scaled horse, or maybe it was a pony, came toward the gate at a canter, pulling up just before the gate and walking the rest of the way. Oh boy, I''d take this young man home with me in a second on looks alone. Copper red hair in a long braid down his back, green eyes, broad shoulders, strong chin, neat ring beard and mustache, strong hands, cute butt. Yep, I could look at this gent all day. Definitely eye candy. "Welladay, I am Py''oask, stores manager for the Villa on an errand to the camp on a matter of some urgency about a shipment of grain. Can you please direct me to the quartermaster or the head of the bakers?" He took a fire opal tablet off the hook on his belt and held it out for inspection to the two soldiers barring the gate. I knew by now that only the King and Queen gave out tablets of fire opal, so Py''oask must work directly for Aylem on her estate. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. I saw the young silverhaired gate officer in her pavilion to the side of the gate looking up from her work table with interest at the exchange. Her light blue guards'' tunic had the light grey and black facings of Aybhas. I didn''t realize until now that there were some Aybhas folks here. "Look here, runtman, we can''t be wasting our time with every jolly tale spinner at our gate. Where''s your letter of authorization?" the shorter of the two soldiers started harassing the Coyn. The Coyn had pulled out the top of a stalk of wheat from inside his tunic and held it up. The taller half-haired soldier swore at the sight of it. "Shut your mouth, Stymos. You don''t know crap from clap." The stalk of wheat got my attention too and despite feeling a bit on the uncertain side, I got up and walked over, pulling my fire opal tablet off my belt. I held it up to the taller soldier and then the Coyn on his pony. "May I see that pl...please?" Py''oask handed it down to me. "Claviceps purpurea, also known as ergot, commonly called the purple grain rust in Foskos," I said, studying the purple horn-shaped fruiting bodies of the fungus growing on the wheat, a thing I had only seen in pictures before now. "W...when did this shipment of grain leave and w...when is it expected here?" "Today, and it''s flour ready to use, not grain," Py''oask said, looking relieved that the problem was being taken seriously. "It left yesterday morning from our mill. When the miller came with the stalks they found on the milling floor, I left immediately and swam a few canals to try to get here before it arrived. I''ve been riding without stop and now that I''m here, could someone help me with my poor mount? She needs some care because I''m afraid I pushed her too hard." The gate officer came striding out of her pavilion, "Willikos!" "Coming!" Another guard came running out in Aybhas facings, half-haired, about thirty. "This gentleman''s pony has been ridden hard all night to get here," the officer pointed at Py''oask and the pony. Will you please take care of this poor beast properly and take it to the ground mount stable when you are done? The pony is the Queen''s property so take all the time you need to do the job properly." "Ma''am," Willikos saluted. She walked up to Py''oask and the pony. Py''oask dismounted and held the reins out to her. "Thank you, sir. What''s your mare''s name?" "She''s Sweeper. There are some of her favorite parsnips in the right-side saddlebag." "Got it. I''ll take good care of her for you, sir," she took the reins and then felt the pony''s neck and side. "Breathing is a little heavy but there''s still sweat. She should be alright after a walk to cool off. Come on, girl, how about a nice stroll?" She clicked her tongue and two departed at the pony''s walking pace. The gate officer got on her knees in front of Py''oask and me. "May I see?" I handed her the wheat stalk. "Was the first of the wheat planted at harvest season?" she asked Py''oask. "Yes," he answered with a grimace. "We just started milling four days ago. We''re already looking at the rest of the fields and calling back all of the flour we''ve made, and are thankful it''s just four days'' worth. It would be bad if we had to burn the fields. We''ve already sent word to all the neighboring holds and farms." "This needs to be reported to the Shrine of Mueb," the gate officer looked at me. "May I impose upon your resources to have word sent quickly to the shrine? Today, if possible?" She did a bowing obeisance which confused Py''oask who hadn''t figured out who I was. "I w...will endeavor to do so, though I need to get back to the royal pavilion first and I''m afraid I''ve already w...walked too far today." Py''oask looked even more confused since it was just after dawn. "Yes, I saw you resting over by the tree across the way and was wondering how long it would take you to come over. You don''t remember me, do you?" She smiled kindly. "W...we''ve met?" "Well, I was wearing my sallet at the time so half my face was covered, but we met on a gravel bar when a certain disabled soldier was valiantly protecting you from a rogue griffin with a piece of driftwood." "Oh! you''re the guard with the w...wax tablet?" "That''s me." She smiled. "I''m Leftenant Looxyas. "Sorry about startling y...you w...with the stall turn," I apologized. "I shouldn''t have been following you so closely," she conceded. "It was some beautiful flying that griffin did." I nodded, "he''s a good griffin." I thought for a moment. "Do you know w...what happened to that homeless soldier? I sent someone from the shrine during the cold season to see how he w...was and if he needed help but he was gone." "No one told you?" Lt. Looxyas asked. "Captain Tyoep got him a job at the garrison. Turns out he knows the queen''s numbers. He now works in the quartermaster''s office keeping the books. All he needed was a break and his brave defense of you did that for him." "That''s w...wonderful. That''s good to know. I didn''t know w...what happened to him and w...was afraid that he met an unhappy end. Did he ever take that lame foot to see a healer?" "It wasn''t a lame foot," Lt. Looxyas replied. "It was no foot at all. He was limping around with a broken prosthetic. He didn''t know he was entitled to a new one, but the Captain got him all fixed up." "It makes me happy to hear he is doing w...well," I smiled at one less worry in my life. "Py''oask, was it one wagon or more than one wagon of flour?" "It was three wagons of flour in standard 400 stone barrels," he said. "It needs to be dumped in the river or burned." "Hmmm," an idea came to life in my head, but I needed to check a few things out first, "not right away. Better to set the shipment aside until I can make some inquiries." "If you are thinking about what I investigated last night," a musical bass answered my train of thought, "the answer is that we should talk to the King, but yes, set them aside for now with a guard." Usruldes appeared a few steps away. Py''oask flinched, Lt. Looxyas gasped, the two soldiers on gate duty turned white and I had to roll my eyes. What a ham that guy was. He knelt next to the Leftenant and pulled out a flat leather wallet. He removed six small pieces of paper which were already impressed with his spider seal. Five levitated while he wrote on the sixth with what looked like a silverpoint stylus. He wrote: "I authorize Lt. Looxyas'' orders concerning the three wagons of flour from the Villa." Then he dated it and drew a little hairy dot with eight little legs. As he wrote, his writing appeared on the other five pieces of paper. He waved and the papers flew to his hand and he handed them to the leftenant. "I will trust you to find or intercept the three wagons of flour. There is one slip for the other gates, one for the quartermaster and one for the bakers, who you should send a runner to right away in the unlikely case the wagons beat Py''oask here. I would use the sixth slip to assign duty couriers to scout the roads between here and the Villa and locate those wagons. Just a suggestion." He looked at Py''oask and turned back to the leftenant: "Please find Manager Py''oask a place to sleep today and tonight, see he gets fed too, and then see him on his way in the morning. If there are any problems with his arrangements, send word to the royal pavilion, and we will intervene. Ask for me by name and if I''m not there, ask for the King, who I will inform forthwith." He turned his gray eyes on me. "Now, for you, young lady who went running around too much this morning already," he extended his arm, "grab my collar and hop on, and I''ll take you back." I grabbed his collar, and he seated me on his arm and stood. "We can talk to the King about the contaminated flour and the phenol-whatever-you-call-it. Given that we have the high priestess Fassex in the camp, it should be easy to arrange a message to the Shrine of Mueb. That leftenant is quite on the ball in remembering that ag diseases must be reported as soon as possible." I tried leaning back to see if I could see Py''oask and the leftenant, but my arm was too short, and Usruldes was too wide. Then a wave of lightheadedness hit me, and I swayed and almost lost my balance. Usruldes caught me before I fell. He shifted his grip and changed to carrying me in both arms. "You managed to sneak out without waking anyone, so I have no idea how long you''ve been out running around," he scolded me lightly. "I know you walked almost all the way to the west side of camp because you were at bread ovens even before Garki arrived to get the bread for the royal pavilion. I know because Emoskos told Garki you already retrieved the rolls he made for you. From there, you walked to the north gate. No wonder you''re falling over..." I heard his voice continue to talk, but I faded in and out. I had a fuzzy memory of someone tucking me in. I slept until Aylem woke me. S.84.5 EXTRA --- Side Story (The Decorum of the Ruling Class - or - Dangers of Dining with Cosm) Emily, royal pavilion, Foskan Army Camp At first, it was just someone calling my name and tapping my shoulder to wake me up. "Go ''w...w...way," I snagged the blanket and rolled the other way, covering my head. "I''m told by the three healers assigned to keep track of her that she''s usually like this when waking up," an amused woman''s voice said softly. "We were letting her sleep as much as she wanted in Yant," said a voice that my half-asleep self knew was Fassex. Her voice was both lovely to listen to and distinctive. She added: "She typically woke up between the second and third bell, which was impressive considering that she went to bed half before the quarter-night bell. That''s probably a measure of how much she tired herself out every day without someone chasing after her." "Emily," the first voice said, "Usruldes has liver pat¨¦ but only if you get up and eat with the rest of us." Now I knew the voice. It was Aylem but with the volume set to soft, which wasn''t the way I remember her ever speaking. A softspoken Aylem just wasn''t something I was ready to deal with. "Hmmm," liver pat¨¦ was tempting, very tempting, but I felt so lifeless and flat. The King''s voice floated through the cloth tent flap between the sleeping and inner chambers: "Doesn''t sound like Emily is waking up at all. What were you going to do with the liver pat¨¦? I wouldn''t mind some if it''s going to go to waste. Hey, Garki! Have you ever had liver pat¨¦?" This was cruelty, I decided. I tried talking myself into moving and managed to roll over onto my back, but that was about as far as I got. With my eyes open, the light in the pavilion hurt my eyes, so I closed them for just a moment. "Emily, wake up," someone was tapping on my shoulder. Ah, it was Aylem in soft mode again. "B...but I''m a...w...wake," I said and rolled over. No wait, that was wrong. I sat up, confused. It was dark out and I was in just an undertunic and stockings. Aylem laughed, "well, you are now, but you slept all day." "I d...did?" I guess I was worse off than I thought I was. This wasn''t good, especially under the noses of Aylem and Usruldes, both of whom would tell Lisaykos all the details. I sighed as I contemplated the Gang of Three chasing me around for the next half year. Then I remembered about poor Kayseo. Damn. "Now that''s a fearsome face? Dare I ask?" this alien soft-spoken and gentle Aylem inquired. "Can I get a hand d...down, please? I n...need to visit the necessary. W...Why am I on the King''s bed?" "Because that''s where the King and Usruldes put you this morning," she smiled sympathetically. "Do you remember waking up for mid repast? You said ''go away,''" she imitated my soprano. "Then you fell back asleep and we couldn''t wake you. Now, do you think you can get to the necessary on your own feet or should I carry you?" "I d...do not need to b...be carried to the necessary," I grumbled. "D...down please?" Aylem picked me up like I was glass and set me down as if I would break. She removed her hands and I had to grab at her skirts to keep myself from falling down. I had no strength at all in my legs. I was pathetically weak and in front of Aylem, which made it tens times more humiliating. I think she was waiting for me to fall over because she picked me up with hardly any pause. "You badly overdid things this morning," she scolded me very gently. "Did you know that the stutter is always a lot worse when you''re overly tired?" "Em...pirical evidence seems to favor your c...current theory," I replied somewhat sourly. I found the excursion to the King''s private necessary facility a bit nippy and I started to shiver before we got back. "Are you cold?" Aylem asked, looking surprised. "Yes," I admitted. Suddenly, it was warm and I relaxed into the sudden heat with a smile. "How''s that?" "W...warm," I leaned into her arm and closed my eyes, feeling quite relaxed and a little drowsy. I think I nodded off because I was surprised when Aylem put me in a chair piled with cushions topped with a blanket. She wrapped the blanket around me before I had a chance to realize what she was doing. "You, Emily dear, must eat something," she said with her queenly voice that would not allow for any argument. "Part of that weakness just now is because you''ve had hardly anything to eat for almost a whole day." I lacked the energy to argue with her, even if she was right. Usruldes with his black face cloth and black headscarf came and sat next to me, bearing a tray filled with all the things I like to eat which were high in caloric content. Someone had been planning ahead. The only question was how many of them were in on it. I knew the King had a playful and teasing streak, as did "little brother" Usruldes. Garki, who I could tell adored the King, would follow Imstay''s lead. I did not know where the new, soft-spoken Aylem would fall but I was sure Fassex was above such childish antics. The King with a smile wandered over and handed me a Coyn-scaled eating prong. I wondered what poor soul in the camp got delegated to find or make this thing in less than a day. He certainly was trying to butter me up so I would agree to make the things he wanted, like instant fire, formerly known as matches. I planned to kick back, relax, and enjoy his futile efforts. Aylem walked back over and handed me a beaker of hot sweet tea. I took a sip since I was thirsty and discovered it was incredibly sweet tea, with emphasis on sweet. How much sugar did she dump into this beaker? It was more like sugar syrup with a little tea for seasoning. It was obvious this clump of silverhairs had already eaten and had nothing better to do than sit around and watch me try to eat. Even Fassex, who was sitting sedately across the table from me with a mildly interested expression over this tableau. The only one who was innocent of lurking was Garki, who was cleaning and picking up around the pavilion. I turned my head to glower at Usruldes. "It''s liver pat¨¦ from that little shop down by the third ring on the Eastway," he said helpfully, ¡°plus the cheesy egg rolls that Head Baker Emoskos made you this morning.¡± "It''s rather d...difficult to feel any sort of desire for f...food w...when there are f...four big l...looming silverhairs all w...w...watching me to see if I b...bite at the bait." Why could I not talk properly this evening? Imstay looked surprised at my statement and then ran to the chair to the left of Fassex, sat down, planted his elbows on the table and his chin on his hands. Then he started a bug-eyed stare at me. I guess he could act like a rowdy schoolboy as much as he wanted since he was the King. Stolen story; please report. Fassex took a look at the King, thought for a second, and then imitated him. My vision of the always proper Fassex died at that moment. In the back of my head, I could see Gene Kelly at the microphone in Singing in the Rain saying solemnly, ¡°dignity, always dignity.¡± Aylem plunked down in the chair on the other side of me from Usruldes, leaned over, and did a bug-eyed stare at me. Usruldes put the tray on the table, picked up a piece of sourdough with pat¨¦, held it a hand length away from my nose, and adopted the contagious bug-eyed stare, which was freaky looking with his face mask and headscarf on. Garki stopped his chores, put down his dusting cloth, "Wait, wait, wait!" He ran over to the chair on the other side of Fassex, and completed the threesome, down to the elbows and bug-eyes. I closed my eyes and shook my head, thinking to myself that this was a representative slice of the magical ruling class of this kingdom, and the kingdom was doomed. I must have thought that thought loudly and clearly because both Fassex and Aylem started laughing, and the rest followed. I didn''t think it was that funny. "Oh yes, it is," said Usruldes, gasping for breath he was laughing so hard. I grabbed the pat¨¦ from him and enjoyed it while the ruling class of the kingdom was trying to recover from an inexplicable bout of hysteria. The bacon and cheese-wrapped sausage bites were good too and I still had room for the cheesy egg rolls. While the adults in the room were trying to recover, Garki asked if I like smoked fish. "Very much so, especially on top of a f...farm cheese, preferably tangy," I replied, thinking of Philadelphia cream cheese, lox, red onions, and bagels. "Emoskos was wondering about that," Garki explained. "He was also wondering if you liked spicy food." "I don''t do w...well with the really hot peppers but I do like the spicy varieties of radish, especially pickled or as a sauce," I remarked. "The sharp members of the mint family are fun t...too, like inside of a gyoza." "A what?" Aylem asked, still a bit out of breath from laughing. "You know, a gyoza, a p...potsticker." "I have no clue what you''re talking about," she frowned. "Oh dear," I shook my head at my stupidity. The great explosion of Asian food in North America and much of Europe didn''t happen until the 1980s after the wars in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia and the opening of mainland China. Good thing I didn''t mention dim sum or tapas. "I am gaining an appreciation for why Lisaykos'' kitchen staff has been making such progress as a center for cooking innovation," Fassex had a satisfied smile on her face. I knew she was looking forward to visiting the Shrine of Mugash because she liked the food. "Gyoza, Emily?" Aylem smiled sweetly. "You make a wrapper out of wh...wheat flour, preferably from hard wheat planted in the planting season, boiling w...water and salt. Roll it out thin and cut out circles about this big," I formed a circle with my thumbs and middle fingers. You put down a whole mint leaf, ground pork, and w...whatever other ground meat suits your fancy, mixed w...with finely chopped cabbage, and chopped garlic. Fold it up to make a three-sided shape." "Not two-sided?" Aylem asked. I guessed she was thinking of pasties. "No, three-sided. So you put it in a cast-iron pan or a w...wok and fry the bottom side in something like sesame oil." "What is sesame oil, Emily?" Fassex asked. I braced my eyes in my hand and shook my head. "I''ll have to investigate cooking oils more than I have," I sighed. "Anyway, o...once the bottoms of the gyozas have gotten some crunch fried into them, y...you add hot w...water to the bottom of the pan in a thin layer and then cover the pan w...with a glass lid to steam the top t...t...two sides. If you have a w...wok, then you just put the gyoza on the steaming rack and dump in a cup of hot water and slam the lid on until done. It only takes a moment." Aylem leaned toward me with a wry look: "Wok?" "Glass lid?" Fassex inquired, looking fascinated, though I had no idea by what. Imstay got up, walked over to a chest, opened, and pulled out what I would have called a two-liter beer mug in a previous lifetime. He returned to his chair and handed it to Fassex. "What is this?" She was gobsmacked, which I thought was a good look on her. "That''s glass," Imstay said. "It''s a Blessed Emily thing. She taught the Holy Raoleer how to make it." Aylem had gone bug-eyed. "Raoleer is making glass mugs. Oh Emily, can you get me some? Please?" "I''m sure something sufficient to assuage your av...av...avarice for glass can be arranged," I sighed. "Woks? Cast iron pans?" Fassex circled back around to iron. "As soon as the folks at the Shrine of Giltak get their iron...w...works built, I suspect that cast iron w...will become available for very reasonable prices. There''s nothing as good for temperature control and ease of cooking as cast iron. You can even make a cast iron portable oven that can d...double as a big pot or pan w...with the lid off." "Say what?" Imstay was instantly interested. "How big and how portable?" "It w...would take a little research to find the right thickness for one that would w...work for someone on a Cosm scale, but it should be d...doable. Now, I have remembered that the Blessed Lisakos has cautioned me not to be so free with my ideas since she manages my accounts and contracts, so I will stop for now lest she nags me some more." I flashed Imstay a fake innocent look. He sighed and shook his head, knowing how deep the hole was between him and me. I could see the wheels turning in the back of Imstay''s eyes. I knew he was thinking of his army while I thought about my lost home. "That little pan the scouts found isn''t this portable oven thing, is it?" he asked. "No, that w...was just my frying pan. That w...was the first piece of cast iron I made. Roaleer was beginning to make cast iron tools when I left Omexkel. Tools are the first best use for cast iron, like axles and plows, and axes that really bite into trees - all that and ovens of various designs and c...cookware. Horseshoes t...too." Imstay sat up. "Iron horseshoes? What about mules?" "Mules have sturdier hooves so they only n...need shoes for heavy loads or rough, rocky terrain, like lava flows and roads that g...go over a lot of rocks," I explained. "How do you put a metal shoe on a horse?" Usruldes asked, perplexed. "W...wait," I looked at him, "you''re n...n...not using metal shoes out of bronze? W...what are you d...doing to protect horse hooves?" I didn''t even bother to look at the hooves of the pony the Py''oask was riding. I just assumed she had metal shoes. "No, we use leather shoes with reeds inside for padding," he explained. "Emily, that''s a great face you''re making," the crow''s feet crinkled next to Usruldes'' eyes. I made an effort to stop gaping. I was getting tired from talking so much, so I stopped. It was more difficult once the stutter started too. There were days when I found myself wishing I could go back to the wax tablet just to give my poor tongue and jaw a break. I wondered about the ergot-contaminated wheat and the phenolphthalein as I slumped in the blanket and cushions on this chair that was too tall to get out of. Garki appeared next to my chair, bending over. "Your beaker is empty, Great One. Would you like more tea?" His voice was at an intimate volume. "Yes," I nodded. "Sweet but not t...too sweet." "Are you cold?" he asked, frowning. "W...When I''m tired, I d...do feel cold. I get run d...down a lot." "I heard you were ill. Are you still recovering?" "Yes, I''ve been told it w...will take a half a year or more to get completely better." "What a stinky possum!" He made a face. "Hey, Great One, you like ginger?" "W...wh...what? Y...you have ginger? I love ginger, the hotter and fresher, the better." "In your tea?" "Garki, y...you put ginger in my tea and I will take you home and marry y...you." He chuckled and took my beaker with him to make more tea, presumably with ginger in it. Usruldes leaned over and said softly, "not bad, you ate everything.¡± 85. A Storm Named Galt Imstay King, Royal Pavilion, Foskos Army Camp by the Crystal Shrine of Tiki After everyone had eaten dinner, I asked the Blessed Emily if she wanted to see the sand table. It was a work of magic of which I was proud and I had remade it this afternoon while she was sleeping, based on a suggestion she had made the evening before. I will admit that I had more than that as a motive. It was also my intent to beat down her resistance toward me with good intentions and charm, which frankly, were the only weapons I had left when facing this confusing and stubborn opponent. My only option left was to make her a friend and ally of Foskos, since it would be suicide to make an enemy out of someone so favored by the gods. It would take one thing that I had little experience with: patience spread over seasons, maybe even years. I was now forced to play a long-term strategy, which had never been my strong suit. In addition, I was motivated to establish some kind of better working relationship with her before she embarked on her ultimate goal of dismantling the slavery system for all four of the lesser races. After watching the process of revelation at the Shrine of Giltak with my own eyes, I knew this would take place and there was nothing I could do to stop it. That left me with the prospect of trying to guide its progress in such a way that the disruption and potential bloodshed is minimized. How I wish my Bobbo were well and here to advise me. Faced with his absence, I realize now just how wise a man he has been all these years. I confess I should have valued him more in the past and I certainly will make up for that fault of mine in the future. "Great One, if you''re up for it, I would like to show you the sand table," I suggested to the Blessed Emily. "H...how, Imstay King? It''s too tall f...for me to see even st...standing on a chair." "I''ll have to carry you," I told her. "There''s no other way. You''re still wrapped up in that blanket. Are you still cold? We can keep the blanket." "I am still c...cold," she said in her slow soft voice. For some reason, her stutter was acting up this evening. The last time I remember her stutter being this bad was when she released Aylem from Mugash''s punishment. "We''ll keep the blanket, then," I walked around to her side of the table. "Let me help you," Usruldes got up. "It will be a little tricky with the blanket. Hold your arms out like this, Imstay King, one for her to sit on and the other to stabilize her at her shoulders since she can''t grab your collar. That''s good." Then Usruldes picked Emily up, still wrapped warmly in the blanket, and placed her in my arms. "How does this feel, Great One?" I asked. "Do you feel secure or does it feel like you might slip?" "It''s c...comfortable, Imstay King, and it f...feels quite secure, thank y...you." "So this is the sand table which captures what the ground looks like as if we were very high in the air," I explained. "So we''re located..." "Yep," she said, "right on the other side of the river from the Impotuans, who are sand...w...wiched between us and the shrine. The y...yellow represents?" "Paved or graveled roads." Stupid me. This was Emily. Of course, she would know how to read maps, given that what was dwelling inside this girlish Coyn was a personage older than the Holy Fassex, with another world''s knowledge on how to manipulate the natural world to create magic-like effects without the benefit of magic. "So w...where is Bull Trout River?" "It''s this right here," Usruldes had grabbed a pointer stick and identified it since I had both my hands full holding the Blessed Emily safely. "How accurate is the sand t...table?" she asked. "If you flew over this area tomorrow, it would look just like this from the air." "How?" "Well, someone like me who knows the charm of copying shapes, flies as high or as low as needed, depending on the situation, and casts that charm. Then the mage travels to where the table is and casts the charm of recreating shapes. The details like blue for water, white for trails, and yellow for paved roads are up to the individual mage." "Wow, that''s awesome!" Emily went wide-eyed on me. For some reason, it made me feel happy that I could actually impress her for once. Then she went into frenetic thinking mode. "That w...white line up that c...canyon is the Impotuan supply p...path?" "I think so. It''s what I picked up when I did a flight earlier today. I went up to where the stream bends to the right, there." Usruldes put the pointer on the spot. "The enemy trail turns left there, not right, and appears to go over a little pass, like you suggested, in back there. That drops their trail along a little valley that connects Pinisla to Truvos. Now we need to find their route into that valley and do something to control that access. But first, we need to defeat that army on the other side of the river. Then most of these troops need to depart to Black Falls to help run off the third force attacking us." "Usruldes already put Tiki''s cure into the salt and white sugar supply for their officers, which includes their mages. He''ll be checking at the quarter and half night bells for any effects." "Usruldes'' staff...hey, don''t look at me like that, Great One. He does have a staff, and they''re all stealthy just like him. Anyway, while you were sleeping today, his staff and the queen''s wagoneers from the Villa, with help from her stores'' manager Py''oask, took a wrong turn, shall we say, with those three wagons of questionable flour. All of the Queen''s Coyn wagoneers and their one Cosm escort were safely retrieved by our agents after they fled the Impotuan squad that captured that valuable cargo of flour. I''m glad they could all swim, which made their escape from the Impotuans a lot easier because you-know-who over there would really take it out of me if any got badly hurt." Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "Ack!" I squawked. Aylem startled me by walking up behind me silently and placing her hand on my shoulder. "Yes, that''s right," Aylem purred with a look of cat-in-the-cream comeuppance at scaring me, "but they are all back in camp safely. The garrison personnel from Aybhas has adopted them and given them their own camp within the Aybhas garrison camp," "You are going to be the death of me," I exhaled and regained my wits. "It''s better than arguing all the time," she said tentatively. I leaned my head back lightly against her shoulder, "you have a very good point." Usruldes cleared his throat and then gazed at the ceiling cloth of the tent with great interest. Fassex wandered up to look at the sand table. "As I was saying," I straightened up, "we''re hoping the combination of these effects will lower the number and the health of the mages maintaining their barrier. If we can take it down, then we will have won this little war." "How so?" Emily asked. "If Aylem can enter their camp, they will all die if they don''t accept her demand for surrender," I explained. "Either way, we will win this battle and the Crystal Shrine will be able to open its gates again." "Got it," Emily nodded her head. "T...too bad they can''t suffer the same w...way the residents at Pinisla and Yant suffered," she said with a scowl and bit of a bite to her words. "Feeling a little vindictive, dear heart?" Aylem looked a little surprised by the quiet intense venom of Emily''s reply. "If someone starts a fight w...with y...you, you don''t have to be nice w...when y...you finish it," Emily stated firmly. "Still upset over the news about Kayseo?" Fassex asked. "Maybe a l...little," Emily conceded. "I find your thought of chopping off all their feet and sending the feet to the shrine in Aybhas rather suggestive, little one," Fassex gave Emily a knowing smile. "Lisaykos should teach you some techniques for obscuring some of your more disturbingly clear visualizations." "I don''t know about that," Usruldes remarked rather dryly. "I found that image rather refreshing myself." We were all startled by sudden and nearby peals of repetitive thunder and flashes of lightning. It was not raining out. The door guards were standing and looking north with their mouths agape. We all walked out of the pavilion and into the open space in front. In a distance of maybe a half a wagon-day to the north of camp, dark boiling clouds were sending out a tremendous show of thunder and lightning at an altitude too low to be a natural storm on this clear night. Several tornadoes were swirling out of the bottom of the clouds. I glanced at Fassex and Aylem and they were both making fish faces at the phenomenon. "What is it?" I asked Aylem. Aylem was trembling and Fassex looked scared. "It''s Galt." "Galt is causing that?" I was confused by her answer. "No, he''s not causing it," Aylem gripped my shoulder tightly. "It''s him. It''s Galt in his aspect as anger." A chill ran down my spine and I gathered Emily against my chest protectively. "Gods!" Strangely enough, Emily was thoughtful, studying the miniature cataclysm, and not at all afraid like I was. Then, blessedly, it stopped and the clouds and whirlwinds vanished, returning to the night to the chirping of crickets and a spray of stars across the heavens. "We are indeed living in remarkable times," Usruldes intoned. He then frowned and studied where the storm had been. Aylem noticed and stepped next to him. "Oh!" She said. "Are you good with eagles?" she asked Fassex. "I can handle the eagle if you can handle the rider," Fassex replied. "Who is coming?" I asked. "Not sure," Usruldes replied followed by Aylem saying, "Kamagishi." "Really?" Fassex looked surprised. "Well, that implies something big is about to happen." "Maybe it just did," Usruldes remarked. "I have sent for the wranglers to help with the eagle." It took a minute longer for an eagle to make a faltering landing that was more falling than it was flying. Usruldes and Fassex acted together to bring bird and rider down gently. Kamagishi fell off the eagle and into Aylem''s waiting arms. "Great One, where did you come from?" Kamagishi mumbled. ¡°Aren¡¯t you in Yant?¡± She was scorched and her face was burnt enough to be blistering. There was a bloody spot on her clothes spreading under her left arm. Her eyebrows and some of her hair had burned away. "Let''s get you inside and fixed up," Aylem said in a voice that didn''t invite any contradiction. She carried the high priestess as if she weighed nothing even though Kamagishi was a tall silverhaired woman, taller than me even, with a well-muscled build. Usruldes got ahead of her and Aylem to hold the tent flap open for them. He held it open for Fassex, me, and Emily too, before turning back to help with the injured eagle. --- Aylem, Royal Pavilion, Foskos Army Camp by the Crystal Shrine of Tiki I carried Kamagishi to the big bed in Imstay''s sleeping quarters, which for the last two days has been the sleeping quarters for the women while the men slept under the tables in the inner chamber. I laid her down while Fassex pulled off her shoes before she left the chamber and closed the cloth flap of the door behind her. "Not a word until I take care of the worst of this," I told her. I examined the gash in her side. "This looks like an arrow graze." "Crossbow," Kamagishi managed to gasp out. "Your clothes are ruined," I warned her. "Do you have some extra with you?" I asked as I unbuttoned the top of her buttoned kirtle. Kamagishi always was on top of the latest fashions, even as a high priestess. She''s always been vain about clothes. Laces are much more practical, I thought, as I looked at all those buttons. Impatient, I waved a finger and the buttons undid themselves. "Clothes in my saddlebags," she said through clenched teeth. I healed the slice on her side. It wasn''t deep at all, just long and bloody. The burned skin was confined to one side and above the jawline, thank the gods, and didn''t extend under the singed cloth surrounding her neck. The burns on her scalp were worse and I got to work healing those. Then I healed the skin on her hands and forearms. It took a while but I left her with fresh unburnt skin, lifted the headache, and relieved the sore back and butt muscles for someone who lives at a desk, and then takes an eagle for a long flight. Regardless, she would look like quite the sight for a while until her hair grew back. "Better?" I asked as I offered her a hand up. "We''ll have to send a runner to get your clothes since the wranglers took care of your eagle." "On it," Garki''s youthful tenor sang out from the other side of the cloth wall and I heard his feet leave the pavilion at a run. I had to laugh. Garki was such a joy to be around. "Oh, my. Oh, yes. Thank you." Kamagishi took my hand and let me pull her up. I handed her the housecoat from my clothes bag so she could cover up while waiting for her own clothes, and we joined Imstay, Usruldes, Emily, and Fassex at the table in the inner chamber. (continued in installment 86) 86. After the Storm (Continued from installment 85) (still Aylem, Royal Pavilion, Foskos Army Camp) "Was that Garki, the king''s page?¡± Kamagishi asked. ¡°He keeps dropping by the library to pick up books to satisfy the King''s sudden new interest in geometry and bridge building, so I am told." She smiled knowingly at the King. Imstay chuckled, "yes, I was told that I''ve even ordered a copy of Giltak''s revelation to Emily from the shrine in Omexkel, the annotated version." "Well, it does contain a complete pictorial instruction guide to building your own slide rule," the biggest gossip and book addict in the kingdom remarked. Then Kamagishi looked at me, "Great One, I thought you were still in Yant." "Fassex and I arrived yesterday." "With the Blessed Emily?" I nodded in answer. "Kamagishi," I asked, "why are you here and what happened with Galt just now? I think that''s the first appearance of him in his aspect of anger in more than three millennia." "Actually, Great One, the last appearance of Galt as the personification of anger was around two and a half millennia ago, when he appeared to enable High Priestess Yasknapa of Yantes to escape her persecutors." She paused and then sighed. "As for me, I was quietly working yesterday after mid repast when I had a sudden premonition of white-colored fire falling out of the sky," Kamagishi began in a tone of voice that told me this might be a tale wrapped around the truth of what happened. The woman did love to spin a good tale, after all. "After I alerted the citadel that I had had such a vision, the pressure passed so I concluded it must have happened somewhere else. I messaged the Citadel so they could stand down the alert." She looked at the Emily who Imstay still had in his arms. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was slow and deep, suggesting she had fallen asleep. "The Blessed Emily does look rather sweet, sleeping like that," she said with a fond smile. One eyelid cracked open and, no kidding, Emily managed a one-eyed menacing stare with that one sleepy eyeball. "I''m just resting my eyes, you know," she said in a sleepy voice. "I am awake still, and I am listening." "Hello, little one," Kamagishi smiled, quite amused. "Anyway, ever since then, I''ve had an increasing sense that something else was about to happen down here at the Shrine of Tiki, but not until General Bobbo and High Priestess Lisaykos arrive. Immediately after that, the army here will leave to go south. When I couldn''t resist the pressure of the precognition anymore, I got on Pibl, my eagle, and flew down. I was about halfway between here and...Sutsusum!" High Priestess Sutsusum from the Hospitable Shrine of Gertzpul on Two Ferry Island rushed in, looking a little windblown, still wearing the beautiful alternating dark blue and white pleated robe of the Gertzpul clergy. "Can someone come to take care of my griffin?" she asked. "I''ll take care of it," Usruldes said and walked out. "Please, Holy One," Imstay said, "take a chair." "I saw the manifestation of Galt from the walls of my shrine and flew straight here. Can someone please tell what has happened?," she inquired, looking over Kamagishi with her burnt hair and eyebrows wearing in my housecoat over her ripped and bloody clothes. Garki came running back into the pavilion just then, "I will put your saddlebag on the bed in the sleeping chamber, Holy One." He did a bowing obeisance to Kamagishi and then disappeared for a breath. Then he was back, making a second obeisance to Sutsusum, who was also in her late 40s like Kamagishi. "May I bring you some hot tea, Holy Ones?" "Please," Sutsusum said smiling. Garki''s smile could be contagious. "I would like some of the wonderful ale I know the King orders by the firkin," Kamagishi perked up. "I would like some too," added Fassex. ¡°The dark ale, please.¡± "Tea," I told the boy. "Nothing for me," Imstay said. "Hmmm," the sleepy Emily considered. "A small beaker of dark ale sounds good to me right now." "You are not old enough to drink, young lady," I told her reflexively without thinking. Emily gave me an ¡®are you serious?¡¯ look and rolled her eyes. "Well, you are a very easy drunk," Usruldes said to Emily as he returned and sat back down. "Does it matter?" Emily posed to him."I''m too weak to go anywhere right now so why not have a beaker before someone carries me off to bed? I don''t need to do anything tonight so why not?" "Yes, Garki," Imstay ordered, "bring Granny Emily a small beaker of the dark ale from the Villa." "You''ve got my ale here?" I was honestly shocked. I was also a little embarrassed by what I had said to Emily. I really should know better. I don¡¯t know why I still feel like I need to protect her. "Of course, I have three of your brews," Imstay looked a little put out. "I have at least ten or twelve of the best the kingdom has to offer available at all times for my guests. The Villa dark ale has a slightly more bitter and nuanced flavor than the rounder and somewhat sweeter dark ale from Kas''syo Brewery, which is the other really good dark ale." "Oh," I didn''t know what to say. "Thank you for the compliment on my ale. I''ll pass it on to my brewers." "You''re welcome," he smiled with a mischievous rake to his eyebrows. "It is a worthy brew." Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. "Anyway, we just sat down just a few moments ago, Holy One,¡± I said to Sutsusum, ¡°after putting Kamagishi back to rights. We all heard and saw Galt in his aspect of anger and then Kamagishi arrived with cuts and burns on her and her eagle. Her eagle is with the wranglers and the healers right now and I took care of the Holy Kamagishi¡¯s injuries." "Yes," she nodded. "I''ve been eying the blood that¡¯s soaking through that housecoat.¡± "There¡¯s blood?" Kamagishi lifted her arm and saw the bloodstain on the housecoat. "Oh my, that must be from the blood on the ripped kirtle, sister. I was grazed by a crossbow bolt. It¡¯s healed now.¡± "A crossbow bolt?" Sutsusum squeaked in her high-pitched voice. "All in good time," Kamagishi smiled mischievously. "I had just started telling everyone what happened when you showed up." "So what were you saying about a premonition?" Sutsusum asked. "Yesterday, in the afternoon, I had a very strong premonition about white fire falling from the sky. That was the start of everything, but nothing happened in Is''syal and the feeling passed." "The white fire was probably the Queen and myself," Fassex volunteered. "We were carrying these little bombs that spread a fire that can''t be put out, designed by the maker of fire over there," she pointed at Emily. "We dropped them on the Impotuans as a present before we landed here yesterday." "Since they violated the Convention of Surd when they attacked one shrine and threatened a second, I can only approve," the normally kind and steady Sutsusum remarked with surprising vitriol in her high-pitched voice. "Today, as you heard walking in," Kamagishi said to Sutsusum, "I had an increasingly-pressing premonition that something was going to happen here until I couldn''t bear it any longer and flew down. I still have this feeling and right now it feels like sometime in the morning before the third bell, but not until General Bobbo and the Blessed Lisaykos arrive." ¡°I find that disturbing,¡± Usruldes remarked with a deep crease showing between his white eyebrows. ¡°Bobbo received healing of the injuries to his brain and spine just a few days ago. He was not conscious yet when I left the Shrine of Mugash. I can not imagine what might happen for him to travel here in his current state. The man was almost dead when I found him.¡± "I find it rather shocking myself," Kamagishi remarked with a frown. "I had news from Aybhas that his injuries were such that he was not likely to ever wake from the coma he was in; however, I have never had a false premonition. Either Bobbo or someone who looks just like him will be here tomorrow, dressed in a green housecoat over sleeping trews and shirt. What prodigy of healing was able to heal him?" Imstay gave Usruldes an unreadable look and then addressed the rest of the pavilion, "it turns out that my spymaster has been hiding an unusual talent for healing from the rest of us all these years. The Blessed Lisaykos has already invited him to come study at the Shrine of Mugash. He healed Priestess Kayseo in the field when he found her and he healed the General the next day at the shrine, using a technique never seen before, which he learned from his instructor in magic who does not live in Foskos.¡± Usruldes was hiding his eyes behind his hand and was shaking his head. He was not accustomed to being seen in public, even if that was just the small group currently gathered in Imstay''s pavilion, but Fassex would not abide his hiding behind the charm of circular light. ¡°His instructor?¡± Kamagishi the incorrigible gossip prodded. ¡°He learned his magic from Ud, the legendary spider monster of the Fenland,¡± Imstay grinned. I¡¯m sure he was thinking that this would add to Ursuldes¡¯ mystique as the sinister spymaster of Foskos. ¡°She actually exists?¡± Sutsusum gasped. ¡°Yes, she exists,¡± I added. ¡°I have met her. She is frightening beyond belief and yet, she is one of the kindest personalities one could hope to meet.¡± "For the last two years, it almost feels like the world grows stranger and more incredible by the day," Kamagishi remarked with a thoughtful scowl. "Speaking of incredible events, what brought about the manifestation of Galt in his aspect of anger?" Sutsusum asked, extremely curious, having watched the same phenomenon we had. "I was attacked by Impotuans on mounts halfway between Two Ferry Island and here," Kamagishi''s yellow-gold eyes flashed in that weird way they have. "One of them grazed me with a crossbow bolt. I was trying to cast a barrier charm despite the gash in my side when one of my attackers threw a fireball at me." She felt the side of her head, suddenly concerned. When she realized there was a large patch of hair and an eyebrow missing, the color fled from her face and she had a horrified expression. She always was rather vain about her appearance. "Oh gods, I must look a sight!" Her eyes were wide. "Couldn''t you grow it out at all, Great One?" she asked me. "I will do it for you tomorrow when it''s daylight out so I can see better," Fassex volunteered with a grin. "Aylem can grow out hair but she''s the wrong person to ask. She did you a favor by not doing so." "What?" Kamagishi was surprised. "Aylem has a small control problem when it comes to things like growing out hair," Fassex grinned deeper and I was feeling grumpy about having one of my faults in magic use exposed. "You see, she''s so overpowered that if she grew out your hair, you''d end up looking as fluffy as Galt and would need the use of a razor to restore everything that wasn''t your scalp." I could feel the heat of my blush and felt angry at Fassex until I caught sight of Emily''s intense look aimed right at me. Then, the anger drained right out of me, to be replaced by a sense of shame. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and attempted to find my center again, as Ud had instructed me to do before I had left to return home. I was aware of silence as I opened my eyes again. Everyone was looking at me with concern. Fassex met my eyes with a small encouraging smile. "It''s a start," she said and wouldn''t look away until I nodded. I was feeling quite humbled at that moment. "Are you alright?" Kamagishi asked me. She''s always been more open with me than many of the others in the Convocation. "I''ll be fine, thank you for asking," I tried to smile with some confidence, though I felt little right then. "Please, continue. We still don''t know what happened with Galt." "Well, in a way, neither do I," Kamagishi admitted. "The fireball glanced off my barrier charm which I was in the process of casting. It failed as a result and I got burnt. Then, before what I knew was happening, I was within a circle of quiet calm, with a soothing voice telling me I was loved and protected. Outside the circle, there were boiling clouds all around me and lightning flashing continuously but never coming near me. This lasted long enough for me to realize that it was Galt and I was inside of him, which was a very strange thing indeed. "Then it suddenly stopped and on the ground, I saw the burned remains of the dead flying cavalry squad that had attacked me. Neither myself nor Pibl, my eagle, felt very good. We were both burned and we flew straight here. I had to give Pibl some of my strength since he was half-blinded, burned on his head, and in great pain." "The wranglers have him with the healers now," Usruldes said. "I checked when I took Sutsusum''s griffin over to the fields set aside for the mounts." "Thank you, Lord Usruldes, for that kindness," she smiled at him. "I have been wondering." She took a deep draught of her ale in one of the glass mugs. "Is this the glass I keep hearing about?" "Yes," Imstay replied, beaming at being the first in Foskos to entertain and serve drinks with glass. I could tell it was hitting all his kingly ego reflexes. Silly man, but image is important to a king, and he knows it well. Between smiles, he took Emily''s empty beaker from her. "I think you''ve had more than enough ale for one evening, grandma." "K...k...kinda f...fun w...watching the pavilion spin," she muttered. "Someone help me to bed, please." We all had a good laugh at Emily''s expense. I got up to help her to the necessary and then put her to bed. --- 87. The Nature of Magic High Priestess Kamagishi of Galt, the Royal Pavilion, Foskos Army Camp It was a terrible dream. The overseers, huge and malevolent, more than three times my height, set the building on fire. It was their solution to the fever running through the underfed girls in this bunkhouse: burn the bunkhouse to kill all those with the fever. I had already squirmed through wretched human waste to escape before the flames were started. The men hung out by the door and had a contest to see who was best at slicing a fleeing Coyn girl in half. I had almost gotten to the drainage ditch when someone yelled, "Hey, Gaff, get that one." There was laughter, the sound of footsteps running towards me, and an explosion of pain on the side of my head. It wasn''t my dream. I knew that after I cast a charm to banish the illusion. Then I was able to hear the person sleeping on the floor mat next to me sit up and gasp in terror, and choke back a sob in the dark. "That must be one of the horrific nightmares Lisaykos told me about," I said softly to Emily, who was still breathing heavily. She wiped her eyes and collapsed down onto her sleeping mat and pillow. Then she took in a shuddering huge breath and let it out. "It w...w...wasn''t so bad," she said in a very quiet voice so she would not wake the others, though I could tell her nightmare had woken every silverhair in the pavilion including the King plus two in the tent next to ours. "I was lucky," she added in a whisper. "I woke up before the bad part." I sat up despite myself and looked at her in horror. What could be worse than watching one''s bunkmates fleeing a fire and being sliced in half by swords and axes wielded by giants, all seen from the point of view of a tiny helpless Coyn? "How can you sleep after something like that?" I whispered back. "Usually can''t if I''m a...l...lone. I usually get up ''cuz sleep''s not p...possible." "And otherwise?" "Lisaykos w...would cast deep sleep on me so I could go back to sleep with no dreams and send someone to w...wake me after daybreak," Emily said. "Would you like me to do that for you?" I could see her golden eyes study the darkness above her and saw that they reflected light just like a cat''s. I could feel her thinking but it was that strange thinking state Emily fell into when she was deep in thought. "Kamagishi, w...when you have a precognition of an event, does it ever feel to y...you that the timing of the event is influenced by your observation of it?" I was very confused as to where that question came from but I answered her as best I could, "Yes, sometimes very much so. Like yesterday and right now with the event that is currently forming which will happen around the third bell." I could feel her frenzy of thought again which then stopped. "If you stopped trying to observe the future event, or some other precognisant mage was watching instead of you, would the event still happen?" "There is some kernel in every foretold event that will happen no matter what, no matter who foresees it or how many may foresee it." After a moment, Emily''s thought train felt like something had fallen into place in some great conceptual framework that was building in her head. A clear thought came ringing out of Emily''s head, though what it meant was beyond me: "When the travel time of light on Earth was a constant, the observation of the light through one of the two slits caused the waveform to collapse in the famous slit experiment. So the action of the observer changed the physical phenomenon, when the time was a constant. If we flip it and instead make the kernel of the event on Erdos the constant and time the variable, then is precognizance a parallel observation event that causes the timing of the kernel of the event to change? " This was followed by: "Time is orthogonal and magic is somehow involved with time. Magic must be one of the fundamental forces with its own set of mathematical rules. If magic did not uniformly constrain the Brownian motion of gasses, like Priestess Huhoti of Giltak described, does this mean magical force is a vector rather than a field?" And then: "Magic is a manipulation of orthogonal time as a variable to create the desired physical phenomenon in our perceived reality. It should be measurable by someone with the ability to sense and manipulate magic. The experiment to verify this should be actions taken by a precognisant mage to change the circumstances of the arrival of the kernel of the foreseen event." Then I felt a huge disappointment radiate from Emily that she had no magic and could never experience a magical observation event. With a cavernous sadness, Emily said, "I don''t think I can go back to sleep at the moment. I need to find a w...wax tablet or some paper." "Here," I made a light, sat up, and pulled my recorder manuscript out with its magic stylus. "You can dictate all those thoughts you just broadcast and this will write them down." "But won''t that w...wake everyone?" Emily whispered urgently. "We''re already awake," Imstay grumped loudly. "Just dictate it and get it over with so I can go back to sleep." "Those were beautiful clarion thoughts, Emily," Fassex sighed from where she was still curled around her pillow. "They were a real treat after your nightmare that might have woken every silverhair for at least 500 hands all around." "Quit exaggerating, Fassex," Aylem chided lightly. "Emily doesn''t understand your humor and might take you seriously. It was probably only about 30 to 50 hands, Emily, which is to say, just a few tents in the royal compound." "My nightmares haven''t woken people before," Emily protested, looking disturbed. "I fear you''re wrong, dear heart," Aylem said in a gentle tone of voice that I had never heard come out of her before this moment. "You''ve woken Lisaykos and your three healers several times with your bad dreams." "Say what?" Emily looked upset at that, eyes wide and her expression horrified. "Where was that nightmare located?" a man''s voice asked from the tent next to the royal pavilion. "You can tell him, Emily," the King said. "If that breeding camp is still there, it won''t be for long." "Is that Fusso?" Aylem asked in wonder. "Yes," Imstay replied. "He''s currently my acting General of the Left. "It''s safe to tell him, Emily," Fassex said. "He loathes breeding camps and everything they represent." The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "It w...was somewhere north of Blockit in the Island Swamp," Emily said, "but that event w...was seven years ago and I do not know if the breeding farm is still there." "I''ve heard tales told of an incident like the one in your nightmare," the voice of Lord Fusso said. "When this little tiff is over with the Impotuans, the confirmation that the fire really happened means I now know the search for the site is worthwhile, Great One. I never want to see something like that again, even if it was just a dream. If what you dreamed wasn''t even the worst part, I do not want to find out what followed. If anyone is too disturbed to sleep, I will be taking a stroll around camp. I will not turn down some company. I will wait out front." "I will join you," Imstay said and there were noises in the inner chamber as he got up and got dressed. "How late is it?" Emily asked. "The three-quarter night bell has not yet rung, though it will soon," Aylem said. "So Emily, this is a magic manuscript and what you dictate will be written down and the record is permanent and won''t ever be lost." I smiled at her wide eyes. "I always carry one with me. They are standard for all court cases and government proceedings." "Oh, wait," Emily seemed like she remembered something. "At the w...water meeting in Is''syal the day after the flood, is that what the gals in the red gowns w...were setting up in the conference chamber?" "Yes, the red gowns are for the priestesses who serve as court and government recorders, as opposed to the priestesses who serve in the library," I explained, realizing Emily did not know that. She had some curious gaps in her knowledge about Foskos. "Alright, here goes," she took a deep breath and I could feel her organize her thoughts into beautiful regimented rows of logical conclusions, not that I understood a word of it. She dictated clearly and quickly. I thought she was done when she sighed. "It''s one of Clarke''s three laws, that one person''s science can be indistinguishable from magic. I think that may be something like what Galt was after, that magic isn''t really magic, but rather, it''s this reality''s science that hasn''t been measured and quantified yet." "Do you thi...," I started to ask a question but was startled out of my thought by a vibration that sounded like a cat purring but I could feel it making the ground vibrate underneath me. I could hear birds taking flight from trees and neighing horses over in the pastures on the west side of camp. Eagles screamed and griffins cried. Lights started coming on in tents all over camp. Aylem got out of bed in just an undertunic and stuck her head out the back of the pavilion. "The dome of the shrine just lit up and lights are being lit in the enemy camp too. "This is happening everywhere," said Fassex with her eyes half-lidded while she traded thoughts with our sisters at home in their shrines. "It is all over the world, Imstay," Usruldes'' unexpected bass said, sounding slightly out of breath. "Ud just spoke to me. She says it is Galt and his purr of happiness is everywhere. Ud said this means he just won a bet he made with Tiki. It is causing havoc everywhere from the Island republic of Kora-Kor to the City-State of Mattamukmuk on the east coast, halfway around the world away from here." "I hope it stops soon," Emily said to me. "I don''t think I could sleep through that." The moment she stopped speaking, it stopped. Her eyes grew very wide all of a sudden and then she nodded as if to herself, smiled, and fell deeply asleep. Aylem gasped, rushed over, and felt Emily''s head. "Did you see that?" she asked me. "See what? Did you see something, Great One?" I asked. "It was Galt, but I could see through him. He walked across Emily''s stomach, laid down, and licked her chin. She fell asleep, he smiled, and vanished. Right now, her thought process feels like, like..." I placed my hand on Emily''s head. "This feels like the benediction of the dead that Emily received from Yasknapa of Yantes, only more euphoric. Emily may not be with us very much tomorrow. How amazing the world has become lately." I did marvel at all the strange things that were happening. I had come to believe we were entering the third age of revelations and miracles. "She probably will not wake until late tomorrow," Aylem estimated. "We should make sure someone will be with her at all times because I will not be able to, nor do I think you will be able either." "I''ll be happy to keep an eye on our little whirlwind of trouble," Fassex said, yawning. "Too bad Galt didn''t stop to put me back to slee..." She was instantly sleeping. Aylem extended her hand and then pulled it back. "She''s naturally though deeply sleeping," Aylem said in wonder. "That was just a little too coincidental for comfort, Great One," I said, a bit disturbed. "Kamagishi, it''s just a handful of us in this pavilion," Aylem said, looking down at me with a concerned frown and a voice full of fear and uncertainty. "The name''s Aylem." I was astounded. The ice queen who was so aloof and unapproachable just invited me to drop the title in private. It was sad that it was so clumsy as if she had never been able to do this before now. It was shy and hopeful and painful. She was trying to ask me, not order me, and wasn''t sure how to do it. I was touched and smiled without even realizing it, "of course, Aylem." She was embarrassed and didn''t know what to say next. I didn''t want her to dwell on it, which would make her feel more awkward than she already felt. It occurred to me that given the way she was raised in isolation, she might not have any confidants beyond Fassex and Lisaykos, who had both been her mentors and teachers. She may never have had the opportunity to make real friends close to her own age growing up. I had suspected something like this for years, and despite all the attempts I made to open up to her, she had never responded to any of my overtures. Now it dawned on me that she might not have known how to reach out or respond. How was it that Emily had made such inroads with the queen? Then enlightenment broke on me like a downpour. The books I was keeping safe in order to give them to Aylem --- they were in what Emily called English. Aylem could read English. It was logical that Emily and Aylem were from the same place. "You can read English," feeling my eyes widen on their own. "Yes, I can," she admitted quietly, realizing that I just made the connection I had missed before. "I thought you already knew that." "You and Emily are both...," I put my hand over my mouth before I said it where the King might hear. "I think I realized that in the Vault of Galt but I didn''t take the thought about English to its logical conclusion before this. Priestess Kayseo and Irhessa haup Gunndit probably also know." "I haven''t talked to Kayseo so I''m not sure if she has thought it through," Aylem said softly. "Fassex and Lisaykos both know. Lisaykos has known for over a year now. Emily told Fassex five days ago." My brain now was racing and I thought of the appearance of Galt in the Vault, the strange case of Yasknapa, Irhessa receiving the lost charm of tongues, the sound of Usruldes bass, the way Emily and Usruldes looked at each another, the way Emily and Irhessa talk to one another, and where Emily prefers to stay when she''s in Is''syal...all the pieces clicked. "Great Galt," I tried to stop the thought since Aylem was close enough to hear it without trying. She sighed. She heard it. Oh dear. "Well, you''re right," Aylem remarked. "Those two are great friends, and they have a hard time hiding that, even when he''s in his wraith outfit. Just bury the thought deep so others can''t read it from you. The danger is not to him but to his family. They could become targets if his identity leaked." "Oh my gods," I was gobsmacked and couldn''t help it. "Would you like some help sleeping?" Aylem offered. "Question for you," I inquired. "Was Fassex correct that you have a problem growing out hair?" She blushed deeply red, "sadly, it''s true." She sighed deeper than usual. "Hair is touchy and very volatile. Facial skin doesn''t feel much different from scalp skin to me; and so, my attempts have always overshot their target, and the quip about the razor is accurate. I''m afraid your face would be as fuzzy as Galt." "You know," I said sympathetically, "you don''t have to be perfect with every little bit of magic. It''s alright not to be able to do it. I just didn''t know." "The problem is that Fassex has this horrid way of teasing me that always makes me feel bad about myself, and I hate it," she admitted. What an admission! Whatever had happened to the Queen over the last half-year had made some big changes in her. The Ice Queen just admitted to a fault. "I''m wide awake after that awful nightmare," I admitted. "You look a little out of sorts. Let''s go for a stroll." Aylem agreed. That left me feeling good about how things were going, even if I would be short on sleep come daybreak. 88. The impossible happens Aylem, Foskan Army Camp "Here, use this," I dug out a silk scarf for Kamagishi. At least it was one of the white ones instead of one of the purple ones I liked that matched my eyes. My eyes were one of the only things I liked about my looks. "What?" Kamagishi was surprised as she belted the red overtunic over her white linen undertunic. It was one of the few times I had ever seen her out of long skirts. Somehow it made her look even more feminine. "I thought you might want to cover the bald spot," I offered. She felt the bare patch with the singed stubble of her once beautiful silver hair and blushed a deep red. "Thank you." She took the offered scarf and tied up her hair so the damage was completely hidden. "I keep forgetting that my hair burned away." She laughed at herself. It was always amazing to me how she was such a well-grounded person. She smiled up at me and I could feel a knot of happiness in her without meaning to. It''s usually a pain being able to read people so easily. But this time I was happy because Kamagishi was genuinely touched when I asked that the title get dropped. She usually ran all her thoughts very deep, deep enough I would need to dig if I ever wanted to read them; and I would never do so since that was just rude. Her pleasure that I had asked her wasn''t buried at all. It was a sincere feeling and it made me both happy and embarrassed. I should have done this years ago but never managed to get beyond my own reluctance and fear of rejection. But I managed to do it finally, which wasn''t bad for the girl who grew up with just adult choir members as my only reliable social interactions. I never reached out to any of them because I thought they were only kind to me out of pity because they knew my mother the lush. As we walked we could hear the whole camp stirring. Galt''s moment of joy had been felt everywhere and had woken everyone. How could anyone go back to sleep after that? Half the world had been asleep and that monstrous purr had ended sleep. Well, on the upside, it gave me a few more hours to enjoy walking around before I had to face the task I needed to do today. I wasn''t looking forward to it. "That''s a sour face if I ever saw one," Kamagishi remarked, one missing eyebrow floating toward her now non-existent hairline. "Just thinking about what''s on my agenda for today," I couldn''t stop the sigh. "It''s tragic just because so many will die. So many sons and daughters who will lose a parent and so many parents too old to have more children who will lose their sons and daughters. But..." I looked at the lights lit up inside the Impotuan barrier and realized they were fighting a fire on one end of their camp. Where were the mages in their camp who should be there to put it out? "But...?" Kamagishi prompted me. "I just have to remind myself of all 500 daughters in the Yant garrison, every one of them, who died defending the city walls from the Impotuan army who gave them no quarter, and of all their teachers at the shrine in Kas, and all their brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers who now grieve for them. They all died because the Impotuans thought it was safe to invade because I abandoned my realm because of my own stupidity." My voice broke into a swallowed sob. I asserted my will to hide my anguish and my rage, which was partly at myself. Kamagishi hugged me from behind. "It''s alright to feel angry at an unprovoked attack, Great One. The gods would not have given you the power to defend Foskos if you were not up to the task." She spun me around and caught my face between her hands. * Everyone is awake and you''re too tall to miss, Aylem. You''ve got an audience. Let''s use this as an opportunity. * I took in a ragged breath. "You''re right. I just need to keep my eyes on ending this with as little damage to us and as much damage to them as possible. What''s important is liberating the Crystal Shrine of Tiki so they can''t spring another surprise invasion." "That''s my queen," she beamed at me in approval. "Let''s see if we can finagle head baker Emoskos out of some bread, and maybe the Blessed Emily''s egg rolls too since we know she won''t be awake until this afternoon." "Oh, yes, those are good. But Holy One, we do need to save her some. I can put them under stasis and keep them fresh for her." "Oh, alright," Kamagishi hammed a great look of disappointment, playing to the soldier boys and garrison girls peeking out of the tents and around their cloth encampment walls. "Look at all those ovens," I stopped and stared as the amazing operation of making bread coming into view. "You''ve not seen this before?" Kamagishi was surprised. "I''ve never been in an army camp before," I admitted. It was true. I had always avoided this part of ruling since the army wasn''t my half of the rulership. "Well," Kamagishi smiled, "let me introduce you to the art of conning bread out of your head baker, who Imstay King stole out of the Palace kitchens to bake for this recruited-on-the-road army." She checked the positioning of the scarf and then shamelessly, especially for a high priestess, adjusted her clothes so that certain items of anatomy had the most advantageous display. Lisaylos and Fassex both had warned me over the years that Kamagishi wasn''t shy about certain matters between men and women. Her husband passed away young in an accident and her two children were grown and both enrolled at the Shrine of Mueb, so she had more freedom in that regard than most. She was one of those women who enjoyed everything that was involved with being a woman. I just had never seen her do anything like this before now. She stopped and then turned around to look at me with a preplexed look. Then her eyebrows raked upwards and and she laughed with a sympthetic look, which confused me. * Oh my! Aylem, that blush is so profound, it''s bright red. Remind me never to take you around town drinking with me. * "You go bar hopping?" I whispered so only she could hear me. I was outraged! What improper demeanor for a high priestess! "I''m kidding you, you big goof!" She bite her finger and slapped her thigh to keep from breaking down laughing just yards from the camp bakery. I really did not know what to think of this display. Did people really behave like this and get away with it? I guess I might have thought too loudly because Kamagishi was suddenly serious and studying me. * Gods, woman! Didn''t anyone ever let you have any fun when you were growing up? * I tried to think of something to use as a counter. Somehow I didn''t think that wholesome walks along the Yantes River with the three adepts who raised me, or going shopping incognito with Lisaykos were what Kamagishi had in mind. "Surd Save us," Kamagishi said softly for my ears only, "they really didn''t let you have any fun. No wonder you have a hard time knowing how to react when someone outrageous like Emily lets loose with her exurberance." Her look was half serious and half horrified. Then she surpised me again with a smile for the audience, as she caught my arm and dragged me into the baking area, "let''s go steal some bread." This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. "No, Holy One," a raspy man''s voice stopped her, "the last time you snuck into one of my baking operations and spread your good cheer about, one of my bakers told my wife and I was in trouble with her for months!" "Emoskos," she leaned provocatively over with her hands on her hips and, to my horror, batted her eyelashes at him, "you know I would never do anything untoward." He stepped back, drew himself up straight and folded his arms. "And now, shameless forward woman, you are trying to corrupt our beautiful and noble queen with your wanton ways!" The working bakers were grinning and enjoying what I had just realized was some street theatre evolving under my nose. I had almost made the mistake of taking this seriously. As it was, I was part of the show. I took a small step back and did my best to look elegant and royal. "Here," he held a hand out behind him and without even having to look, someone placed a warm cloth-wrapped round of bread in his hand. He smoothly held it out right in front of Kamagishi''s nose. She took it from him with a face that would have suited Galt in a dish a cream. "Why, thank you, Emoskos." She started to stroll slowly away. I was confused as to why and then I realized it was so Emoskos could time the next act in this little play. He held his hand out behind him again and it was filled by whoever was ready and waiting with the bread. He approached me and reverently dropped to one knee, "Great One, lovely Queen, please accept this as a humble token of our esteem for you." His smile was perfect, both reverent and hopeful, full of pride in the craft of his bakers and expectant that I would acknowledge that. I saw the script unrolling in front of me and dared not deviate from it. "Emoskos, you and your crew are truly the best of all bakers," I took the cloth-wrapped round from him and smiled with as much sincerity as I could muster on my face, which I knew could be substantial, having practiced for years in front of a mirror to get it right for royal audiences. "Please," he produced a folded and tied cloth around several smaller things inside, "these are for the Blessed Emily." He leaned to the side to see around me and said in a quiet voice that guaranteed that everyone would hear it, "don''t let that egg roll greedy high priestess of Galt get them." I smiled beautifically, "be assured I wil cast stasis on them to keep them fresh for when Emily wakes up later today, and I won''t let the Holy Kamagishi swipe them." I took them from him, then on impulse said, "thank you for thinking of Little Emily," and kissed him on the forehead. Then I beat a fast but graceful exit out of there. Kamagishi and I got out of their earshot and she said, "you''re a quick study." "When I figured it out, it just seemed like a natural thing to do," I admitted, a little blown away by what I had done. "Cad!" We both turned at the sound of Imstay''s angry voice. I was about to run to wherever he was and Kamagishi restrained me. "Watch this, he''s a master." Imstay was looming over Emoskos, who he topped by a head and then some. Emoskos was a burly man but Imstay was giant compared to most men. He was a man''s man, tall, strong, buff, and a great warrior. "You little miserable ungrateful excuse of a bread slinger, who I had the mercy to employ in my home when you were a nothing," he waved his arms and stamped his foot. "How dare you steal a kiss from my queen! I never!" Someone placed a cloth-wrapped round of bread in Emoskos'' hand held behind his back. He whipped the round in front of him, "might I offer you some fresh bread, Mighty One, just out of the oven?" Imstay smiled as if there were nothing more important in this life than fresh bread, "why, I thought you would never offer!" He took the bread, "thank you, Emoskos, you can stay employed for now." He looked at Emoskos and Emoskos looked back at him and then they both fell on each other and laughed and laughed and laughed. And all the bakers laughed with them. "See you, soon, baker man," Imstay waved as he exited the baking area with a jaunty spring to his walk. "Next time, stand in line like the rest of the army, king man!" Emoskos yelled after him. Everyone laughed more. "And that''s one of the reasons why our fighters love him," Kamagishi explained. "He''s got the common touch despite being more noble than the highest noble. He talks to them, and drinks with them, and fights along side them, sharing their risks and burdens, and jokes with them like you just saw. That''s why they will die for him." Lord Fusso, who had been walking with Imstay, rejoined him. Then Imstay saw us and his face changed to an even brighter smile. He asked Fusso to hold his bread and then approached me, well aware that people were watching. He knelt on one knee in front of me, took my hand and kissed, "and how is my beautiful Aylem Queen today?" "I was doing fine until some attention hound accosted me just now in the middle of a public thoroughfare in the midst of an army camp." I put my hand on my cheek as if taken aback, "I never saw anyone so brazon." I rolled my eyes for effect, "Have you ever seen such shamless behavior, Holy One?" "Why, never, Great One," Kamagishi rolled her eyes. "In all the history I have studied, I have never encountered such a thing happening in our fine realm of Foskos." "Hold these," I handed Kamagishi my bread and Emily''s egg rolls (statsis already cast). "You sir," I announced looking down my long aquiline nose at Imstay, "have propositioned the Queen of Foskos in the middle of a public thoroughfare." "Why, yes, I have, lovely lady," he held his arms out as if to embrace me. "You gave that mean and lowly baker a kiss. Doesn''t your king deserve the same?" "I find, sir," I said in a lofty and dignified voice, as if bestowing the greatest of all accolades, "that there is only one thing to do, given that you have accosted my esteemed self." "And that''s a kiss?" He smiled hopefully then closed his eyes and puckered his lips. "No," I picked him up and threw him over my shoulder, "that''s taking you home and giving you a stiff talking-to followed by a meaningful time-out, or maybe a good spanking." At this point, there was quite an audience and they were all waiting for the punchline, which I had not delivered yet from the obvious lead-in I had just uttered. I stopped in my step, looked thoughtful, then smiled and nodded my head theatrically, "no, you''d like the spanking too much." They were a good audience. I was glad I had not disappointed them. They roared their laughter. Kamagishi told me later that the king was doing all the right helpless and horrified faces behind my back that I couldn''t see. Then Imstay started up the requisite protestations to accompany the exit from the stage. "Aylem! Aylem Queen, put me down! I''m the general of this army and I can''t be treated like this!" "That''s nice dear," I smiled contentedly. "We''ll get you home, and get you a nice warm cup of milk and tuck you in, and we''ll have a meaningful talk about your behavior today, young man." Then I started nodding and waving at the soldiers and guards watching and grinning and laughing from the sides of their encampments, watching their superiors put a show on for them: my carrying off the king over my shoulder, smiling and waving, and Imstay protesting every inch, all the way into the royal emcampment. The pair of grinning citadel guards doing door guard duty pulled the tent flaps to the side so I could enter with my husband slung with his head hanging down my back, still making a token amount of noise for the last of the audience watching us vanish inside. I put Imstay down in one chair and fell into the one beside him. We looked at each other and started laughing so hard the tears were falling from both our eyes. Kamagishi and Fusso entered on the two of us and looked in disbelief at what they were seeing. I don''t know why it was such a sight for the two of them, especially since Kamagishi instigated at least my part in this charade. "Oh my," Imstay got a hold of himself, "I have only one regret and that''s that the children couldn''t see this." He sighed with genuine regret. Even when the two of us and our relationship was at its worst, he never dragged the children into it. He always tried to protect them from our fights. He had certainly done better than I had. I sighed with my own regrets over what I had done to our children. I was surprised when he took my hand and kissed it, "we can make it better for our children, Aylem. I know you love them as much as I do." There was such sympathy and empathy in his eyes. If he had said right at that moment that we could start over and try to make it work this time, I would have thrown myself at him. Everything I once loved about him was looking me in the face for a second time. I felt like my heart was breaking just then because I wanted to try again with this man and not fail this time around. "I''m afraid to ask you," he said with real fear and the sadest look of longing I ever saw on his face. I stood up and walked over to him and devoured him with a kiss which was many years of loneliness in the making. To my surprise he picked me up and carried me to his bed, which I noted in surprise was empty and Emily was not sleeping in her bedroll on the floor. No matter, it just meant we were camping with considerate people. It was daylight when we were done and I fell asleep in his arms. --- 89. A Vanishing Battle Imstay, Royal Pavilion, Foskos Army Camp I was asleep with the most beautiful woman in the world in my arms. Then Usruldes made the wooden camp bed sway by leaning on it with his foot. "We have trouble," he said simply as we both woke up and stared at him. "Please get up. I''ll have some tea ready." He walked out. We both dressed as quickly as we could. I was done before Aylem and exited to see an unexpected scene. Usruldes had already shifted the landforms on the sand table to include everything from where we were down to Black Falls and over to Uldlip. Lords Hestyo and Fusso were at his side discussing things with General Bobbo, who was being held up by High Priestess Lisaykos on one side and Captain Tyoep on the other. Given the look on Tyoep''s face, I think a hand-in-hand ceremony is not far off and that sweet girl Kayseo may be gaining an adoptive mother who is less than ten years older than herself. I wasn''t worried. I knew the two had already met and liked each other. Enough gossip. By the less-occupied side of the sand table, the Holy Terror Kamagishi was pacing, with that look she gets when she¡¯s on top of an event about to happen. I was reminded of Emily''s strange pronouncements on magic and time manipulation, though I don¡¯t know why because I didn¡¯t understand a word. Fassex was seated at the conference table with a sleeping Emily in her lap. Several captains of the flying cavalry were waiting quietly, already in armor. Usruldes was waiting patiently. I nodded my head for him to start. He bowed an obeisance. "My Lords and Captains, the King is here so we will now start this meeting. The Impotuan army that was outside of Black Falls," Usruldes began, "finally breached the barrier Lord Skalta haup Black and Captain Sertfos created by flooding the salt pans. The walls of the town have been breached. The garrison pulled back successfully to the inside of the shrine and the shrine has a barrier up. The residents of the city evacuated to the bogs or the hills above Manse Gunndit, as have the residents of the city of Gunndit and the Manse. High Priestess Senlyosart sent all the trainees and younger clergy out of the shrine days ago, so they are safe." "Now, the bad part: a portion of the Impotuan army skirted the salt pans around the south side of Black Falls, crossed the rift valley, and attacked the trade fair at Uldlip. Our traders were attacked and they defended the camp, which allowed many of the Coyn traders to flee down the river. Some Coyn traders and all of the Cosm from Foskos who defended the trade fair died and the camp was ransacked. The Impotuans looted all the trade goods. They also broke the Convention of Surd when they raped and mutilated the Sea Coyn from Inkalim that they caught,¡± he paused, ¡°regardless of gender." There were a few gasps followed by an angry and profound silence. Aylem joined us, wearing a simple yellow dress I don''t remember seeing before. It looked good on her. I then chided myself for thinking about the woman I had just made love to in the middle of a discussion regarding the ravages of war. General Bobbo, straining to keep his head up, looked right at the Queen beside me and addressed the silence. "Great One, I have a plan to delay the Impotuans in their assault of the Shrine of Sassoo." His voice was stronger than I expected, "To make this plan a reality, I do not know if you can fulfill my request and still deal with the Impotuan army across the river from here." "So long as I take care of your request first, there should be no impediment," Aylem responded. "Once I invoke it, the charm of ultimate defense does not care if there is one soldier or one hundred thousand. Either way, the after-effects should be the same. I will not ask why a man like you, who can not even stand due to your injuries, is out of bed. It speaks volumes about your concern for the people of Foskos. What do you require? I''m sure that whatever it is, given your fertile mind, it will bring great hardship to our enemies." "Enough white fireballs for fifty mounted fliers?" Bobbo asked. "General, do you need to see the sand table any further?" Aylem inquired. "No, not anymore," he said, wondering why the question changed directions. So did I but I also knew that Aylem was a careful thinker. She certainly had a reason, which she then demonstrated. She grabbed two chairs and brought them to him. Lisaykos and Tyoep lowered him into the first and Aylem put his useless legs up on the second. Then she fetched a chair for herself so he wouldn''t have to look up at her while they spoke. Her aim had been his comfort. I hid my shock. I had never seen her act with consideration toward any of my staff before. Garki, bless him, delivered hot tea to Bobbo, then Aylem. He followed up with tea for everyone else. "General, I believe we have over 200 fliers ready and able to fly," Aylem said after sipping her tea. "Why 50 pairs of baskets? Why not 200?" I had to hide my reaction again. I had no idea she knew how many fliers we had ready to deploy. Our flying numbers were currently half that of the Impotuans, which was why we had not run them off yet. Mounted battle mages can stop an army. "I did not want to demand so much that you would not be able to take care of the army across the river," Bobbo replied apologetically. "I know there are almost three more rotations of those dry tasteless emergency ration bar supplies left in the Shrine of Tiki, but it can''t be a happy situation in there, despite Usruldes'' deliveries of bread and greens." Usruldes was delivering groceries to the shrine? I did not know that. When was he doing that? Was that boy sleeping enough? "General Bobbo, you have always been a most considerate man," Aylem smiled at him. "Wait one moment," she got up and walked out to the open space in front of the pavilion. We all felt a magic event of some formidable magnitude come about. Now, in less time than it took to take a breath, the royal encampment was filled with baskets of Emily''s nasty little glass globes of instant fire. Aylem instructed the pavilion guards to drive the curious away since the contents of the baskets were extremely dangerous. Aylem came back in, swallowed the rest of her tea, and made a grave face. "Well, since no one can relieve Black Falls until we''re sure of the safety of Tiki''s shrine, I will take care of the Impotuans across the river immediately. I require that someone cast a barrier above their camp to prevent anyone from fleeing on a mount. Holy Ones, will you please take care of me when I''m done? Also, no one is to follow me lest you get caught up in the charm." "I will cast an overhead barrier. I have already posted a skirmisher line and backed it up with my agents, so no one can escape from the southern end of their camp," Usruldes announced to everyone but Bobbo''s surprise. "I will go to meet my skirmish line in just a moment. The barrier preventing your entry into their camp before this morning has fallen in multiple spots. This was achieved through a combination of Tiki''s Cure in their salt and sugar supply, and an outbreak of a deadly and strange food poisoning illness that comes with a fever and delirium. The Blessed Emily''s initiative to corrupt their food supply has had its desired effect to incapacitate their mages." Aylem''s only reply was a humorless smile of approval. He bowed an obeisance. She strode out without a look back, a determined and grim expression on her face. Then she rose up into the air and flew across the river. Usruldes left on her heels, flying upward to mount a flying eagle in midair. "Show off," I muttered. Lisaykos gave me a dubious look that I could tell masked her worry for her rediscovered son. I knew she struggled with the mental shift from her 20-year-old conception of an angry and unmanageable boy to the complex adult he had grown into. I wished I could comfort and reassure her in public over the bravery and extreme competence of her son, but could not without destroying his disguise. The Blessed Lisaykos is one who never lets her feelings show and she has indeed wounded herself by doing so. On such outcrops this realm is anchored. I found it reassuring when my sources informed me she was a doting grandmother. I''m still chuckling inside over the quip she delivered last year to her noisy granddaughters at the Shrine of Galt, that they needed to quiet down because they were at a shrine, not a street festival for the hard-of-hearing. I had a mental image of older citizens yelling into each other''s hearing trumpets every time I thought of it. Bobbo looked as bad as I have ever seen him: pale, hollow-cheeked, and barely able to keep his head up. What had it taken for him to convince Lisaykos, of all people, that he needed to come here to appeal to Aylem for Emily''s evil little invention? "Garki," I ordered, "get the bed in the sleeping chamber made up with fresh sheets." I took the pitcher of hot tea off Garki as he headed to the back of the pavilion and then topped off Bobbo''s tea. "I know you prefer beer, but I think your healer would disapprove at the moment. You can use my bed if you need to lie down." Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "I''m alright for now," he swallowed some tea and sighed in contentment. "You need to find a way to clone Garki. He is the best you''ve ever had." "He was my uncle''s discovery," I said with true regret. "Nirirgi was a failed human being but he had an unerring eye for finding good staff. Garki''s a good kid. You know he lied about his age?" "I just noticed the white," Bobbo smiled with just a touch of bitterness. How hard had it been for him to claw his way up the ranks with just intelligence and fighting prowess? He had good battle clairvoyance and a smattering of precog, but that was the sum total of his magic. And now, here he was, horribly injured and maybe never able to fight ever again. "How is speaking for you?" I asked with concern. "Speaking is good. Almost everything looks like it may recover except for my left arm, which still has numb spots and my hand doesn''t seem to work. Other than my arm, the healing magic of the mysterious Usruldes has left me feeling like there was no harm done." He grimaced, "I currently have no strength, my king, and I fear will never be able to fight as a worthy soldier ever again. I regret I can not help you lead your army anymore." His tone was heartbreaking. "What''s this noise," I flicked his forehead with my fingers lightly. "Your arms wielding shield and axe were a decent tool, but your mind wielding an army is your real value as a weapons master. I can assign battle mages to protect that mind of yours on the field." Bobbo looked appropriately startled. I mindcasted Lisaykos. * Is he well enough for me to carry so he can see the mounted cavalry off? It would be good for him and good for the fliers too. * "I''ll come with you," she said to me. "Sister Kamagishi, are you prepared to fetch Aylem when she''s done and take her to the Shrine of Tiki?" Kamagishi was not there. "She met the queen''s griffin a moment ago and they left together," said Fassex, who everyone had forgotten about. The old bat was sitting quietly at the conference table with the sleeping Emily still in her lap. "I believe she is already on it." --- Aylem, Impotuan Army Camp I flew to the north end of the Impotuan encampment and had an irreverent thought that I should have had someone to fix my hair so I looked regal and imperious for this rather horrible occasion. I could already taste the stomach acid from my disquiet stomach. I pulled the hair tie out at the bottom of my braid. I braided it before going to bed last night and now freed the thick unruly curling mane of my unmanageable hair. I ran my fingers through it, thinking the wild woman look might not be a bad one for what I was about to do. My next irreverent thought was that it was a blessing this charm left me too helpless to move because otherwise, I would have retched out the contents of my stomach up in Yant. I now knew that post-charm nausea was part of the reaction and was mentally prepared for feeling sick after handing out death to so many people. At least it was a painless death, which is more than the Impotuans deserved after they had attacked a third shrine and murdered and raped the Sea Coyn. I did not need to feel charitable toward rapists who would not follow the Convention of Surd. I needed to offer them the opportunity to surrender. Their force at the northern end of their camp didn''t even give me the chance to talk. Just for fun, I caught the first crossbow bolt, flipped it around, and sent it back to skewer the shooter through the heart. That sent several of them running away from the entry point into their camp. Two tried to run north and around me to escape. I didn''t want to invoke the charm yet so I incinerated them. In less than a breath, they were ash. I really hate that smell. By the time I entered the boundary of the camp, all the soldiers guarding the northern perimeter had fled except for one exceptionally brave young silverhair who brandished his sword at me and demanded I state my business. "I am Aylem Nonkin, Queen of Foskos, Revelator of Tiki," I loomed over him by a head and a half. For effect, I cast a local breeze charm so my hair would stream out in the back of me and my skirt would billow in the wind. "I am here to demand your unconditional surrender. Go tell whoever is in charge that I will walk through your camp and kill anyone I encounter until I receive your capitulation." "I don''t believe you," he said in his strangely-accented Fosk. "It''s just some tall tale that you can kill entire armies." "Heard from the army that attacked the Shrine of Landa in Yant five days ago? I already destroyed it." I said in a helpful voice and smiled sweetly. I then used the charm of compulsion on him, and he was shocked that I had the power to force a silverhair to do my bidding. "Go and find whoever commands this dying army and tell them my terms: surrender or perish." He dropped his sword and walked away to do my bidding against his will. I proceeded forward through the camp, incinerating everything in my path: tents, weapons, willing whores, soldiers. The kidnapped Foskos residents who were abducted against their will to cook and clean and pleasure soldiers I compelled to gather north of the camp so that our healers could attend to them. The flying mounts I left alone since they would be free as soon as their owners died. I had a bad thought that there may be many of my subjects abducted by the Impotuans inside the camp who might perish once I invoked the charm. So I stopped and cast a compulsion on the entire camp, for any Foskans unwillingly abducted to flee to the north as quickly as possible until they were in back of me. I added a command for them to help one another in their escape and knowledge that time was short. I made sure those who slept were wakened. Having done all I could to save as many Foskans as possible, I continued my path of incineration southward. I was heartened by tens of women and children running frantically past me. I was disturbed that I began to see Coyn among those Foskans fleeing. I hoped those with shorter legs could get away fast enough before I invoked the charm. It was one of the only times I was ever fully grateful that I was an overpowered monster. I could see that Impotuans were trying to escape among the fleeing Foskans. I made sure those soldiers burned to death a little more slowly, especially if they had threatened a woman to help them in their attempted flight. I stopped my progress through the camp when I saw a silverhaired boy approaching in gilt armor and a crimson cape. He might have been all of eighteen or nineteen. That didn''t mean I stopped my incineration of any who tried to get past me along a line from the river to the shrine. Any Impotuans crossing that line while I talked with the armored boy turned to ash. "I am Kisir Ugi, third Prince of the Empire of Impotu. I am told, woman, that you demand my surrender." He was certainly arrogant enough. He even sneered. I was sure at this point how this would go; so I cast stasis on him for a breath and searched the camp for any remaining Foskans. To my joy, I only found two, both injured and unable to walk. I knew this would exhaust me far beyond what I had done in Yant, but I touched their minds so they would not be too fearful and teleported them just to the other side of the north gate into our army camp. I mindcasted the gate sentries as to who these women were. That done, I released the princeling to enjoy his last few breaths of this life. "I refuse to surrender, whether unconditionally or with terms," he brazenly stated once he regained his composure. "I do indeed demand your unconditional surrender for you and all your army," I smiled pleasantly, enjoying the sensation of looking down at him. For the only time in almost thirty years, I released all my precautions that prevented me from leaking my power and frightening everyone around me daily. This boy would experience the full brunt of my monstrous force bearing down on his mind and body. I confess I did enjoy the arrogant little jerk¡¯s scream as his puny mental power tried to shield his mind from me. I crushed his feeble attempt at casting a barrier with a sniffle of my nose and laughed at him. "Do you understand the enormity of your so-called empire''s mistake now? It is even worse since you have attacked three shrines of gods who care not for nations or borders. Did you not see Galt protect his priestess from your attack? The Convention of Surd exists not for our sakes but the gods'' whims. Have you forgotten that in your Empire on the other side of the mountains?" "You can''t kill me," he bargained and demanded and pleaded and whimpered. "I am a prince of the empire. You dare not. I am as royal as you are. I demand appropriate treatment as a prisoner. You don''t dare kill me. The Empire will send every army we have if you so much as disturb my hair. You can''t. You dare not kill me." "Hear the judgment of Aylem Nonkin, Queen of Foskos, upon the Prince Kisir Ugi, scion of the soon to perish Empire of Impotu," I made sure my voice would be heard inside the head of every sapient being for ten wagon-days in any direction. "Your armies invaded our realm of Foskos with no cause or provocation. They attacked a high priestess of Galt who had done them no harm. They abducted the free citizens of the Nation of Foskos who they enslaved for menial labor. They broke the Convention of Surd when they attacked two shrines and besieged a third, and when they raped and mutilated the Coyn of the Nation of Inkalim. "I declare that you and your army will perish this day and that your army in Black Falls will also perish, as I have already caused your army in Yant to perish at my hands, and that your empire will fall by the powers the gods have placed in my hands." "Thus shall I smite all those who attack my realm," and I invoked the charm. With the casting of it, I laughed without joy as the prince stared in panic, watching his hands vanish in front of his vanishing eyes. Then I walked casually through the Impotuan camp, watching every fading panicking soldier. When I reached the southern boundary and could find no more souls to send to Gertzpul, I looked toward the Shrine of Tiki and mindcasted Foyuna. * Foyuna, I have freed the shrine from the bullies who surrounded it. You may let the barrier drop and please prepare three rooms for me, Emily, and General Bobbo. I look forward to seeing you soon. * I felt her happiness and agreement. Then I steeled myself for the immediate collapse and nausea that would come as soon as I dropped the charm. I saw Kamagishi circling me on Asgotl, which made me smile. I waved at them, sat against a tree, and released the charm. 90. Queen! High Priestess Kamagishi, Impotuan Army Camp I was surprised that Usruldes arrived at the queen''s side before I did. He nodded at me as Asgotl and I landed. I jumped off and Asgotl ran over to Aylem before my own feet hit the ground. "I''m afraid if I try to touch you, you''ll fall over," Asgotl said with concern. "I can''t feel you in my mind right now, which is scary, girlfriend, just like it was five days ago in Yant." He laid down next to her, put his head on the ground, and looked up at her, "I worry about you, you know." Aylem managed a tiny smile for him that was full of love for this goofy, exuberant griffin. I had done my own checking and I knew he was a free agent. She had smashed his charm gem during the Mounts War. He was probably her only real friend who loved her for her own sake until very recently. I found myself wishing I had a relationship like that with my eagle Pibl. "Why are you here?" I asked Usruldes who had flown over on his eagle. "To protect her while she can not protect herself," he stated as if I should have known that. I looked at him with disbelief, "but she just saved the shrine." I shook my head, "who would dare?" "Yes, there are many who are grateful right now, but all it takes is one lunatic, Holy One; and right now, our Queen is at her most helpless. It would be the perfect moment for an Impotuan to attack or someone who felt injured by any of the Queen''s regrettable past actions. The moment you assume you are safe is the best moment for an assassin''s attack. I should know. Assassinations are part of my job," he said with deep sincerity. "I also have my agents surrounding the general area. The only ones who can approach right now are your sister high priestesses and the king. The queen''s safety is our only task for now." "I never thought of all that," I said with consternation. "It''s my job to think this way, not yours, Holy One," the crow''s feet next to his gray eyes crinkled, telling me he was smiling. "Here comes the first," he looked up at someone in blue and yellow landing on a griffin. It was Foyuna, who leaped off and ran up to us. Foyuna did a full kneeling obeisance to Aylem, "may the blessing of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One." She put her hands together, leaned her forehead into them, and bowed to the ground. "It will be impossible to express the gratitude of the Crystal Shrine of Tiki. We are forever in your debt, hero of Foskos." Aylem looked a little shocked but she was too far gone at the moment to even speak. Foyuna leaned back at beamed at the queen, "I know you can''t even speak right now, Great One. I have a litter coming to carry you to your room in the shrine." Foyuna looked up at Usruldes, "Friend Usruldes, may I ask that your agents escort the queen into the shrine. We intend to carry her on foot." "Of course, Holy One," he said in that wonderful bass voice of his. "Those of us who live in the shadows are honored by your request. We have so few opportunities to serve under the eyes of so many. Thank you." He made a bowing obeisance to her with a profoundly deep bow. "I should be thanking you," Foyuna protested. "Thus we could spend the entire day insisting on the primacy of each other''s gratitude," there was humor in his voice. "In just the last few days, you have done so much for us at your own peril, Lord Usruldes," Foyuna reposted. "The Shrine of Tiki will forever be your friend, especially for the delivery of the bread and the fresh eggs and garden greens." "I was happy to be of service." I could tell he meant every word. A knot of priestesses and priests from the shrine came at a run with a makeshift litter. It was made of blankets and the handles of two long brooms. Asgotl humphed, "I wish your shrine could accommodate griffins better, Holy One." "So do I, old friend," Foyuna replied. "I know you know you can stay under the dome in the Well of Tiki, but there is no way for you to pass any of the doors to the rooms. The shrine is just too old for big doors." "I bet Emily could design you some," Asgotl hinted. "You are incorrigible," she gave him an amused look. "I''ll come back when she''s ready to leave," he rubbed his beak against Aylem''s knee. "I''ll just goof off and get into trouble with Emily instead." He turned his head to see how Aylem reacted and made that funny snorkeling laugh that griffins make when she managed to glare at him. It was rather cute and touching to watch him tease her, especially since I knew he had been so angry with her before he, Emily, and Usruldes brought her home. The king arrived next on his griffin. I was surprised to see that he had put on a surcoat of deep blue velvet and he wore a cloth-of-gold diadem. He knelt at her side opposite Asgotl and pulling out a matching diadem, he put it on her. Then he lifted her limp hand and kissed it reverently. "I''m sorry, Great One, Hero of Foskos, but I must impose one last duty upon you before you can rest." He looked around for Usruldes: "I need your help. Walk with me and I will explain; but first, don''t let her head droop or drop." He startled everyone by picking her up, which was only possible because he was so tall. Usruldes had her head in his hands and once Imstay was completely on his feet, Usruldes gently leaned her head against Imstay''s shoulder. Imstay looked at him and you could tell they were having their own mindcasted conversation. Then Usruldes vanished and I suspect he kept the queen''s head steady and supported as the king made his way through the Impotuan tents to the riverside. An amazing sight greeted us. The thousands of soldiers and garrison guards that formed the king''s impromptu army were lined up on the opposite shore. As soon as the king and queen were noticed and recognized, a spontaneous chant started in the Foskan army. "Queen! Queen! Queen! Queen! Queen! Queen! Queen! Queen! Queen! Queen!" The sound grew and swelled and still, the army kept chanting it. Then the queen''s arm slowly and painfully lifted for a small wave. The army erupted into unrestrained cheering in reaction to it. I suspect the unseen Usruldes was behind that maneuver since Aylem was incapable of even holding up her own head. Foyuna had the priestesses and priests with their blankets and broom handles follow the king. Imstay laid her down on the makeshift litter contraption and the party departed for the main doors into the shrine. I hoped that spontaneous acclaim would help a bit with Aylem''s well-disguised depression and lack of confidence. I stopped when I got to Asgotl, "well, pal, can I get a ride back to the royal pavilion?" --- Emily, Crystal Shrine of Tiki I woke up in a soft brushed linen nightgown in a Cosm-sized bed, but someone had kindly left a stair so I could get up and down on my own. I recognized the layout of the room as those in the Crystal Shrine of Tiki, so I assumed that''s where I was. I got down and visited the room''s attached bathroom, which had both Cosm and Coyn necessaries. High priestess Foyuna was doing her homework since I was a revelator of Tiki and therefore entitled to digs at the shrine as a perk. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Too bad it still required a mage to get hot water for the tub. I did note there were faucets that I could reach and a stair ladder in and out of the oversized bathtub. I was fond of Japanese-style tubs so I did not consider the size of the tub a problem. There was even a bench to sit on. Having taken care of the necessary chores, I noted that I was both thirsty and hungry. I found my leather backpack of clothes at the foot of the bed and put something clean on. I was ready to go forth and hunt down some food or at least a kitchen where I might get a plate of something to eat when I noticed there was no convenient foot latch for Coyn on the door. Stuck inside the room for now, I decided I''d kill time looking at the notes I made about magic and time manipulation. I saw that Kamagishi had put the piece of parchment from her magic manuscript thing into my bag so I dug it out. I was just getting settled down on the bed to look the manuscript over since I failed to climb onto the chair to use the table when the door opened. "Lisaykos!" To say I was happy to see her was an understatement. She forgot herself and smiled back. She was unfortunate to have been born with a rake to her eyebrows that made every smile look evil. "Tortured many children lately?" I teased gently. In reply, she walked up to the bed, stood me up, and gave me a hug, firm but I could still breathe. Lisaykos was a class act. "They are all out of small children in Aybhas. I ate too many of them, I''m afraid. I''m out of kittens too so I''ve moved onto ponies and puppies." Her deadpan was perfect. "Well," I chuckled, "that might last two or three rotations before y...you have to move to a new town to replenish your supply." She put me back down next to the headboard, kicked off her shoes, and sat on the foot of the bed. "You are talking better." "Yes, w...when I''m not tired and not trying to get around those terrible w and oo sounds," I conceded, "but it does seem a bit easier than before I left to fetch Aylem home and it''s a lot better than it w...was a season ago." "I''m hoping the oo and w and y problems get better with more practice," Lisaykos sighed. "You should be aware that some of that stutter may stick around permanently. Little imperfections may never go away. Any improvement on the fatigue problem?" "Very little," I grimaced. "Ud said it w...will take another half year before I will be completely recovered. She said that not even she could fix it without creating an entirely new body, but that body would be like an infant''s in having to learn about moving all over again, so why bother?" Lisaykos laughed, "I would love to meet her someday. She sounds really interesting from what I''ve heard from you and Aylem and Irhessa." "You''ve been able to talk to Aylem? I thought she would still be flat on her back from exhaustion." Lisaykos just shook her head, "Emily, you''ve been asleep for three days." "I what?" I knew I should have passed-up that opportunity to go to the opera with Giltak. While my body was asleep in the Foskan Army Camp, Galt had taken me to dinner, and afterward, we went drinking with Tiki, Giltak, and Gertzpul. Then Giltak, that no-good fashion plate of a god, tempted me with the Volksoper Wien followed up by the Staatsoper. It''s only something a god could arrange. The bad thing about hanging out with gods is that neither gods nor souls on that plane of existence get tired. Time had gotten away from me. Three days? Oy vey! Oh well, the Sachertorte was good and that was after we went to Gasthaus Schmidt on Neubaugasse for beer, schnitzel, and singing. I never realized before I died how much I liked Vienna. Sometimes it seems that life is just one regret after another over something we should have done when we had the chance but didn''t. I regret not spending more time in Vienna. "Hold on a moment," Lisaykos looked worried and put her hand on the side of my head. I never noticed before now, but I realized she always reached past me so that I didn''t see her hand when she touched my head. Had she picked up on how large hands spooked me? "Yes," she said without thinking. Then she got a panicked look on her face. She had never let on before that she had read any of my thoughts passively. I flinched. "I c...can''t say that I like it but I''ve gotten used to it," I remarked with resignation. "I''m not g..going to go running d...down the hallw..w...ways to escape y...you, or anything like that." Why was I clenching my fists? She pinched her nose and grimaced, "I am so sorry, Emily." "I''m n...not w...worried about it. You shouldn''t be either." I leaned my head back against the headboard of the bed. "What w...were you concerned about th...that you w...wanted to check?" "The gods visited you again, didn''t they?" she wanted to know. "Aylem said Galt put you to sleep three days ago and checking just now, your brain patterns felt different to me. Activity is still racing around in your brain. I noticed it the first time when you got the dream command from Mueb about the rocks. I also noticed it after the dream command from Vassu about the seaweed. I noticed it again when you came back from being dead, when Mugash and Mueb visited you, and then after both your dream command and your revelation from Giltak. I''m not sure what to call it. The texture, the feel of your thoughts is different after the gods visit you. You don''t have magic so there''s no way to describe the feeling to you. If the gods weren''t involved, I would say you were strung out on stimulants by the way my body clairvoyance measures things. Yet here you are, aware and lucid, functioning like you do every day. So it''s different but you''re still the same. It''s similar to what Galt did to your eyes. You can''t feel that there''s anything different about your eyes but anyone who knew you before Galt changed them can see the difference." "But the f...feeling you can detect in my brain goes away?" I asked. "In the past, the feeling dissipated in a day or two," Liaykos said, "but here we are on day three. I should have been measuring this. I will measure this from here on out." "Well, that''s one more weird thing about life on Erdos, I guess," I tried not to let it spook me. "Galt told me that he wanted to reward me for solving the problem he posed about magic in record time. What I did not know beforehand was that he had a bet with Tiki over it. Tiki lost. So Galt took me to a favorite restaurant of mine in California and then Tiki took us drinking. Giltak showed up and took me to the opera. There were no dream commands or strange revelations. The gods just wanted me to have a good time. This would freak me out if I thought about it too much, so let''s not for now. I looked over the side of the bed at the floor and then at the door. "Frankly, my biggest problem right n...now is that I can''t open the door of this r...room on my own and I''m starving and really thirsty." "But there''s a pitcher of water and a beaker on the table," Lisaykos pointed out, and then it sunk in for her that the table and chair were too high, the pitcher too heavy, and the beaker too big. These were things that Wolkayrs took care of for Lisaykos. She didn''t need to think about them because he did it for her. "Oh dear, and Foyuna tried so hard to make the room more comfortable for you. Didn''t you see the latch pole?" Lisaykos pointed to a pole on a rack next to the door. It had a bronze hook on the end and was as long as the table was high. It looked like a boat hook to me, the kind you use on sailboats to snag lines. "One: no, I didn''t see it," I replied. "Two: what''s a latch pole? I''ve never seen one before. Is it for the door?" Lisaykos grimaced and pinched her nose for a second time, "Surd save us." She gave me one of her long-suffering patience looks. "You''ve not been anywhere that uses latch poles? No, obviously not, or you would not have asked that question. There will be a latch pole in a rack on either side of the door. And I will have a talk with Foyuna about the table, chair, pitcher, and beaker. I hope they have appropriate eating ware for you down at the dining room." "The king had the same problem when we showed up from Yant," I recalled. "There was great hilarity during dinner on the first evening because the table knife was a veritable short sword for me and the eating prong was longer than my forearm. Aylem ended up cutting my meat for me. I wanted to sink into the ground from embarrassment. It was not a good time." "Yes, I can see how that would have been unpleasant for you," Liaykos said, getting off the bed and pulling on her shoes. "What happened to your travel set of table implements I had made for you?" "I''m not sure. I haven''t seen them since we were in Yant. They might have gotten left there." "I''ll mention that to Fassex. She''s left already for Yant, now that she and I and Aylem had some time to speak together. I like your idea of Aylem spending time in Aybhas to get straightened out upstairs. The hard part will be finding the right healer, but we can discuss this later. For now, let''s take a trip to the kitchen because you need to eat." "I''m hungry so I won''t argue with that," I said, looking for where I put my boots. "Lisaykos," I saw a troubled expression on her face, "what''s wrong?" "You won''t want to hear this, but if I must, I will cast the Grace of Mugash on you," she said in a voice that warned me not to argue with her. "W...why?" "My son told me what Ud said about your need for a deep rest so you can get better. So I''ve decided that you are not walking anywhere while we are here at the Crystal Shrine and when we get home to Aybhas. Now, get up and grab my collar, and we''ll find some food for you." I inhaled and sighed. It would get me nowhere to try to talk her out of it because I knew I would exhaust myself if I walked any distance right now. This would last only a half year more. I might as well resign myself. --- S.90.5 EXTRA --- Side Story (Out on the town with the gods) I woke up in a vintage Jaguar with a person-sized Galt in sunglasses, a fedora, and a 1970s London Fog trench coat driving northbound on Highway 99 just north of Lodi. I had always loved driving on 99 with its signs labeling the different crops along the side of the road and all the little California towns that were so different from both Idaho and New York City. "You get all my jokes, so I wanted to show you something before dinner," Galt said in a baritone that just purred, full of round vowels and rolled R''s. He maneuvered the Jag seamlessly through the traffic as numerous almond orchards flew by. "There, I paid real money to have that put up for three months in 1978," he pointed at a billboard in the distance as we drove through the small town of Galt. I had to find my glasses and put them on so I could read it. "WELCOME HOME, JOHN!" The huge letters were in an Art Deco font, yellow on black. Underneath in small print sans serif letters was: "Paid for by the committee to re-elect Ann Rand." I had a good laugh over it but pointed out to Galt, "you spelled Ayn wrong." "Deliberate," he smirked. "I didn''t want to be too obvious." I wondered how that was anything but obvious, but what can you say? Galt''s a cat, after all. "So, where''s dinner?" I asked. "Danielle''s, corner of Fair Oaks and Watt in Sacramento," and then we were there in the parking lot. "Do you want the original owner''s menu or the new owners'' menu?" "How did you know I liked this place?" "Hey, kitten, give me a little credit," he took off his sunglasses and winked at me. "I am a god, after all." Dinner was wonderful. Galt was funny, told good 1970s-era jokes, and used lots of bad puns. I had a Coq Breton crepe followed by the blueberry and sour cream crepe for dessert. Then we hopped in the Jag and pulled up to the front of the Plaza Hotel in New York. Tiki in a doorman''s uniform came running down the steps. "Oh, no no no no no no no no no no," Galt told Tiki. "I won the bet, so we have to go to the bar of my choice, not your choice." "But, but, but," Tiki gestured, "pina coladas!" "Salt Lake City, bad-taste-in-clothes boy," Galt''s ears laid back. "Get in and shut up." I was trying to think of any good bars in Salt Lake City, a town where it''s hard to find a decent cup of coffee, not to mention a decent bar within ten blocks of Temple Square. Well, maybe that''s a slight exaggeration. But seriously? Salt Lake City? Moroni was probably rolling over in his grave right now. Galt pulled up to the front of the old Utah Hotel. I wondered if he had recreated the bar that was once in its basement back before I was even born. Galt walked straight to the elevator, and we went straight up to the restaurant with the wrap-around view of Temple Square and the Temple and the Tabernacle. Galt dialed the weather for Winter so all the Christmas lights were up, and beautiful big white snowflakes were falling. It wasn''t the Utah Hotel 4th floor restaurant I remembered since there was a bar in the middle of the floor. A milk bar. Milk selections from all over the world. They even had Reed''s chocolate milk from Idaho Falls, otherwise known as liquid crack for any kid who grew up in eastern Idaho. Just for that, I might even take Galt up on that making kittens offer. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Galt pulled his sunglasses down, "really?" "Well, on second thought, probably not," I told Mister Don Gato Juan. "Dang," he said. "Dang it all to heck." Tiki and I just looked at Galt and cracked up. "Well, have to blend in with the natives," Galt said defensively. "A cat, in a trench coat and fedora, and he wants to blend in?" Giltak''s alto purred behind me, "Oh, I want to sit next to Emily." Then they were sitting next to me. Tiki showed up behind the bar in a black vest and black bow tie over a Hawaiian shirt. "I''ll have a Duche de Leche, love, and go heavy on the cassia," Giltak smiled. They had pastel green hair this evening to go with the pastel green shirt, the pink duster, and the pale pink bell-bottoms. "Any preference on the rum?" Tiki asked. "Bajan, Mount Gilboa if you have it," Giltak simpered. "So who invited you to crash my drinking party," Galt wanted to know. "Why I did, you cute little fluffy kitty," Giltak smiled like someone who knew they could get away with just about anything with enough chutzpah. There was an ominous thunder sound in the distance. Giltak looked a little bit worried and Galt smiled. "You two," Tiki pointed at both of them, "behave." "So, why am I out drinking again with you, Tiki?" I asked. It''s not that I minded, but I did think it was weird that the gods of this place were paying so much attention to me. It was a bit unnerving. "Shall I take that Reed''s chocolate milk you lust after and make it a special Black Russian?" "No way," I clutched my glass to myself. "One can only adulterate Reed''s chocolate milk with a scoop of Reed''s vanilla ice cream." Then there was some, plus a spoon and straw. "No problem," Tiki chuckled. "You didn''t answer my question," I pointed out. Galt sighed, "I was so happy you won my bet for me, Emily, that I asked Mugash if you could heal up a little faster." He looked depressed. "She said no," Tiki added. "So, since you''re still in a deep sleep," Galt continued, "I thought it might be nice to spend some fun time with you, to cheer you up a bit." "Especially since Aylem and Imstay are rediscovering the carnal delights with one another right about now," Giltak said with the most innocent smile I have ever seen. I was waiting for Giltak''s face to crack, it was so perfect. Then it sunk in, "wait, Aylem and Imstay are...?" "Yep," Giltak grinned. "Surd will be so happy over this." "I don''t get it? What do people see in that greedy schmooze artist? He''s like the ultimate con man. It''s bad enough that Usruldes likes the guy, but he conned Aylem into bed with him? Just how bad is her self-esteem?" The news made my brain hurt. "Still sour on the king, eh?" Tiki asked. "Hmmm. A Sour King: a whiskey sour made with Chivas Regal. I like it. Need to add that to the menu." "Look, he''s charming and personable, kissing babies and buttering up political donors on the campaign trail, and all that. He''d make a great politician in late 20th century America," I explained. "I feel that no one ever gets to see the real Imstay. He''s always got a mask on. How can I trust a person who never shows his real face?" "Are you sure you''re not still mad over his blowing up your home?" Galt asked, looking over the top of his sunglasses. Just then, the Jizo who doubled as Gertzpul hopped on the barstool next to Galt, "Mai Tai, please." "Nope," Tiki the bartender refused. "This is a milk bar. Drinks have to have milk in them." "Okay," the Jizo said. "One Mai Tai with milk, please." "Yuck," we all said in unison. 91. A Plea for Help in the Night Aylem, Crystal Shrine of Tiki I was sitting in bed in the room Foyuna set up for me on the outer ring of the shrine so I would have a view of the river and the farmland beyond. The afternoon light was lovely streaming through the windows. I could see the work crews hired from Queenstown to pick and sort out the possessions of the vanished Impotuan army. I was waiting to hear whether I needed to go to Black Falls or if I could stop and stay awhile at Aybhas. I was hoping it was the latter but I suspected it was the former. The army Imstay put together had five wagon-days of marching to do before they could reach the enemy. I was worried that the shrine might fall before then. I wasn''t bouncing back as quickly as I did at Yant or I might have left this afternoon straight for Black Falls. Fassex was confident that the flying cavalry with its instant firebombs had eliminated most of the Impotuan mages involved in the assault on the Shrine of Sassoo. I hoped so too. The thought of a shrine falling made me feel a bit sick to my stomach, to be truthful. The nations of this world shared the same gods. Some were more important than others depending on where you went. The lizard people of Chem and the Sea Coyn of Inkalim both revered Vassu before all others and the Tirmarans followed a blood-thirsty version of Erhonsay. Impotu worshipped all eleven gods as did Junu. What was going on with the Impotuans that they would attack the shrine of any god? I wanted answers and I didn''t have any yet. As something to keep me from obsessing over Black Falls, I requested the summary account books from Is''syal. My staff had sent them down yesterday so I could start work on sorting out three seasons of embezzlement while I was away. Why did the idiots in the exchequer never learn that the beauty of double-entry accounting was that it made it easier to spot irregularities in finance? I knew there would be a few more thieves to send to the mines when I got back to the palace. There was Lisaykos'' knock pattern at the door. "Come," I said loudly, just for the joy of being able to be loud again. I confess I hate sitting in bed feeling weak and helpless. How does Emily put up with it? Lisaykos came in with a somewhat grumpy Emily sitting on her arm. "So, you finally woke up, sleepyhead," I couldn''t stop myself from teasing her. "I guess that''s the sleep of the gods for you. I hope you slept well and finally got rested up from pushing yourself too hard at the army camp." "Well, I do feel w...well-rested," Emily conceded. "I hear I slept through all sorts of excitement." "I don''t know if I would call it excitement," I put a slip of vellum into the accounts summary codex and put it aside. "I have a letter from Fassex for you," I picked up her sealed letter from my side table. ¡°She wanted to talk with you before she left but her shrine asked she return right away. So she wrote you a note after I suggested it to her. There''s lots of room between me and the wall if you want to sit." Lisaykos put Emily down on the bed next to the wall and then pulled up a chair for herself. Emily sat down crosslegged. "You are in your stocking feet?" I noticed her lack of shoes or boots. "Someone hid my shoes because she doesn''t want me walking around," Emily managed not to pout but just barely. Lisaykos looked satisfied with herself. "Well, you do have a bad habit of pushing yourself too hard. Remember what Ud said about that? You need to stop doing that or it will take longer to get well," I tried hard to keep any sort of judgmental tone out of my voice. "I did a little math about how far you walked four days ago," I added. "North to south, the army camp was about a quarter of a wagon-day long, laid out along the river. That''s about three miles in English distance. The Royal Pavilion was in the middle of that. You walked to the bread ovens at the very southern end of the camp, so about a mile and a half. Then you walked to the western perimeter from the bread ovens, which was about a half mile. From there, it was three miles to the north gate along the path that skirted the fields for the mounts. So you went for a five mile stroll, Em. No wonder you slept all day afterward," I smiled in what I hoped was a friendly manner. Emily just sighed, bit her lip, and shook her head. "So, there''s a letter?" I handed it to her. She tried to break the seal with her hands and couldn''t. Looking at it, the sealing lacquer was as thick as her fingers. The look of angry frustration disturbed me and the silent tears that followed were worse. It was very hard for me to watch since I was the cause of her poor health though I wondered if the seal was too thick to break for any Coyn. Without looking up, she handed the letter to me. In a normal voice, she asked, "will you break the seal for me, please?" I did so and she blotted the tears from her eyes. Lisaykos studied Emily with concern. I handed the letter back and she started to read it. The look on her face went from neutral to bug-eyed. Then her face went red and brows drew together in displeasure. She put the letter down, closed her eyes, and placed her clenched fists on her knees. I could feel the frustration radiate off her as of it were a physical fire. She took a deep breath and held it for quite a while and then let it out, relaxing her tensed-up shoulders as she did so. I looked at Lisaykos and Lisaykos looked at me. Lisaykos reached over and took the letter slowly off Emily''s lap, so Emily could stop her if she wanted. Lisaykos leaned back and read it. Her eyebrows slowly floated up across her high forehead and I could tell when she was done, that she was working hard to hide her amusement. She passed it to me. After I read it, I understood. I hid both my amusement and my worry. "You know, Emily, she wouldn''t have felt obliged to mention it if she wasn''t concerned about you. Fassex doesn''t waste her words at all." I got one of Emily''s daggers-of-death stares. The frustration was burning orange-yellow in her aura with tinges of angry red. I wish the charm of peace worked on her because I would have used it right now. "It might help if you stayed in one place for a while and did nothing much for a change," Lisaykos suggested. "I think adopting a lifestyle where you ate three to four meals a day without skipping any and avoiding any activities that would exhaust you may be what you need. No running off to play with the rest of mekaner maniacs in Omexkel. No trips to pick up weird rocks. No field trips to strange places with Usruldes. Just you and a couch and a pile of books to keep you getting too bored. Besides, my account books need some more help again." "It''s not if I''m trying to lose weight," she snapped and slammed her fists back down on her knees. I heard Foyuna''s knock pattern at the door. "Come." "Welladay. I was just down the hall when I heard someone emote with incredible force," Foyuna walked in, curious. "I''m not sure if it was rage or frustration." She raised an eyebrow at Emily''s still flushed face. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. "Ah," she uttered as she assessed what happened. "Frustration, I see." She shook her head. "After talking with Fassex before she left, I was thinking of mentioning that I could feel all your ribs when I put you to bed three days ago, Great One, but I think I won''t mention that now. You''ve probably heard it from too many people already. Well, I still have work to do this afternoon. I just needed to check to make sure there wasn''t any blood on the floor or dead bodies in the hall." She made a bowing obeisance to Emily and fled with a smile on her face. "I prescribe the Gang of Three treatment for at least a season and see if it helps," I suggested. "I just might do that," Lisaykos replied, deliberating not looking at the boiling nexus of frustration sitting on my bed between me and the wall, "and I will impose it under the Grace of Mugash because otherwise, someone might find a way around it." It was a good thing Emily had no magic because the shrine might have been destroyed from just the force of those two angry smoldering eyes. It was a good thing that Fassex was far far away at the moment. --- * Wake up, Aylem. * It was between the three-quarter night bell and dawn. I sat straight up and then realized I had heard the voice in my head. * Can you travel, Aylem? We could use both you and Lisaykos, though you are better at burns and bones than just about anyone. * "Usruldes," I mindcasted back, "where are you? Why do you need me?" Burns did not sound good but I had a hard time imagining burns so bad that Usruldes couldn''t handle the healing. He was very good with the methods Ud had taught him. * We are at the Singing Shrine of Sassoo, what little is left of it. Senlyosart is in a bad way. I''ve done what I can, as have the healers who are here, but I have put her in stasis and we are maintaining that until we can get a real miracle worker here like you or my mother. We fear for her life. Are you well enough to come? Can mother come? * I knew he had been able to find and wake me because we had both studied under Ud. I still wasn''t a hundred percent yet but I estimated I was more than 90%, which should be good enough. If I flew on Asgotl, I would likely be back to my full power by midday. If it was just healing I needed to do, I would be fine. "What about the Impotuans?" * There was a terrible bloody battle. They broke the gate into the shrine before we could reach them. They pulled down the buildings of the city to slow us down. We had to fight from one pile of rubble to the next. They set the shrine on fire and burned the Well of Sassoo. The singing crystal was destroyed. Senlyosart used the charm of Sassoo Euroo after emptying several 400-stone barrels of unprocessed salts at the door of the Well and breaking the wall of the shrine to flood its interior. That put out most of the fire and allowed our forces to slaughter the remaining enemy, but the roof fell in on Senlyosart and eight other Windshapers and Voice Mages. Three were still alive when we found them. One has since died. Senlyosart and Priest Usoy are still with us but just barely. Can you come? * "As soon as I can wake your mother, I will come." I dropped the contact and got out of bed. Throwing on a housecoat, I ran down the circular outer corridor to Lisaykos'' room and knocked. I felt her wake up and heard her tell me to enter, so I did. I lit all the gem lights as I walked in, "I have just received a request from Black Falls, what''s left of it, for you and I to come and try to save Senlyosart." "What has happened?" Lisaykos sat up, got out of bed, and started to gather her clothes for flying. "It appears, from what your son just told me, is that the town is ruined and the enemy burned the shrine. They burned it, that beautiful wooden well with the wonderful acoustics. The singing crystal is no more. Senlyosart and nine others repelled the Impotuans with salt and water propelled by Sassoo''s Euroo wind. The damage they did to the enemy enabled our army to defeat the Impotuans, but the remains of the burning Well fell in on them. Senlyosart and one other are all that live." "I''m not going to bother to pack," Lisaykos said. "I can come back for my stuff and my two patients. Have you woken Foyuna?" "No need," Foyuna made another of her amazingly well-timed entrances. I was never able to figure out how she always managed to show up at exactly the right moment. "I''m having your mounts tacked up under the dome of the well as we speak," she added. "I will make sure General Bobbo and the Tiny Tornado of Trouble are well taken care of." "She gets along with the General," I pointed out. "He can''t get out of bed and she''s not allowed to walk anywhere. Put them in the same place and let them entertain each other. It might work and you may still have a shrine standing and intact by the time we return to retrieve them." "She can''t be that bad," Foyuna gave us an incredulous look. "Oh yes, she can," Lisaykos said. "She''s twice as smart as the rest of us put together, she''s excessively clever, and she has no respect for authority because she''s figured out the rules don''t apply to her. Don''t ever forget that she''s older and much more experienced than she looks." Foyuna looked gobsmacked at Lisaykos'' warning. "Just think of her as a feral Coyn and you should do alright." Lisaykos smiled with some encouragement. "Let her read the restricted revelations or have someone take her to your kitchen to corrupt your cooks." "Relax, Foyuna," I said cheerfully. "She doesn''t have any of her strange chemicals on hand so you don''t need to worry about the shrine burning down or exploding." "Maybe you should take her with you," Foyuna said, frowning. Lisaykos was thoughtful, "not a good idea." She stared at her feet, which she often did when she was mulling over what to say. "Emily is not that good with seeing the aftermath of destruction and violence. I''m not sure how bad things are down in Black Falls but with the shrine in ruins, I worry that the blood and gore will be enough to trigger traumatic memories for her. I would rather she stay far from scenes like that.¡± "The battle at Yant?" Foyuna asked. "How did she handle that?" "Not well," Lisaykos said. "Fassex said she lost her stomach. I don''t worry about stomachs myself with Emily. I worry about nightmares and flashbacks." "Yes, Fassex told me about the nightmare she inadvertently shared with the royal pavilion," Foyuna shook her head and looked troubled. "What bothers me about that incident is that Emily said that she woke up before the bad part. What could be worse than the fire and murder she dreamt of?" Lisaykos glanced and me and I looked back. Foyuna saw the exchange, "you both know, don''t you?" "Yes," Lisaykos said. "Yes?" "Yes." "And you not going to tell me," Foyuna accused Lisaykos. "That is correct," Lisaykos remarked. "I will tell you when we come back," I promised her. "Aylem," Lisaykos protested. "Dear heart," I looked her in the eyes, "you''re her mother''s cousin. You watched her grow up. You''re both princesses of the same degree. You share the same royal surname. You are both sisters in the Convocation. With all that, you still can''t bring yourself to trust your kinswoman and sister of the clergy?" "I want to be here when you tell her," Lisaykos conceded. "Remember who we are protecting." "Will you allow Emily to read the unrevealed revelations?" I asked. "Not all of them," Foyuna said without thinking. "And mine?" "Certainly not." "She already knows what¡¯s in it without having to read it," I said, "so it does not matter if she sees the original or not. She is the prophet with the golden eyes. We have as much control over her as we do over what is about to happen, which is to say, none at all. We should learn to cherish was few moments of peace we have left." "Surd save us," Foyuna''s eyes grew wide as the implications of what I said sunk in. "Enough. We are wasting valuable time. I need to change and so do you," Lisaykos said to me. "I will meet you in the dome." "I will be there in just a few minutes," I left Lisaykos'' room as she pushed a befuddled Foyuna out into the hallway so she could change. 92. Chatting with Foyuna Emily, Crystal Shrine of Tiki I woke up to a worried Foyuna reading a book in the chair that I couldn''t climb onto in my bedroom. "That''s quite a scowl," I muttered in a half-asleep voice since I was not completely awake. She put the book down in a hurry, "You''re awake." "Maybe. Maybe not. Haven''t decided yet." I admit I was feeling a bit flat since I had problems falling asleep last night and I didn''t know where Lisaykos was sleeping so I could ask her for a sleep charm. I was a bit underslept, assuming it was still morning. "W...what time is it?" I asked. "About half-past the second bell." Yes, I was underslept. Sleeping some more was tempting, except now I wanted to know why Foyuna was camping out in my bedroom, waiting for me to wake up. "So, Holy One," I began, "why are you reading a book next to w...where I''m sleeping?" "You can call me by my name, Great One," Foyuna said tentatively. That surprised me. "W...we haven''t spoken much at all," I pointed out. "I didn''t w...want to be rude. Lisaykos really beats me up verbally when she thinks I''ve been rude, even by accident. I try to avoid that. She''s scary when she gets all proper." Foyuna started laughing, "oh, that was such a great face." She laughed some more. "W...when you remember how to breathe, the name is Emily," I said. "I''m sorry," Foyuna finally managed to get her episode of hilarity under control. "You just looked so put out when you mentioned being chided by Lisaykos. You seem to have endured a few sessions of being coached by the best bred and most mannered of all the high priestesses." "Once or twice," I said as drily as possible. ¡°Why are y...you here, Foyuna?" "I''m here because the Queen and High Priestess Lisaykos left for Black Falls well before dawn," Foyuna explained. "The Shrine of Sassoo was attacked and burnt. High Priestess Senlyosart is on the edge of death. The people at the scene requested the Queen and High Priestess of Mugash, to see if they could save her. I decided you needed to hear that news from me since this is my shrine and it looks like you''ll be here for two to three days longer. So, tell me: how can I keep you entertained enough so you won''t try to go climbing about in my plumbing or go exploring when Lisaykos wants you to stay in bed or at least not go walking around?" "Huh," what a vexing question. How would I entertain myself so I didn''t get into too much trouble while at her shrine? I wasn''t even quite sure what this shrine did other than taking care of that huge crystal under the dome. "If you have the time to spare, what about a tour of your shrine, for starters? I don''t know what all y...you do here other than babysit that lovely chunk of quartz out under the dome." "Quartz?" she asked, looking confused. "Y...your huge crystal is made of a substance called quartz, which is silicon dioxide. I think it''s the biggest quartz crystal I''ve ever seen or heard of." "Are all of the crystals in the shrines this quartz stuff?" she was intrigued. "The ones at Is''syal, Aybhas, and Omexkel are also Quartz. The one in the vault at the Shrine of Galt, wh...which is to say in the original Well of Galt, is a topaz, an aluminum neosilicate with fluorine in it. It''s much rarer than quartz and I''ve been w...wondering where it came from. It''s amazing. I haven¡¯t seen any other shrines¡¯ crystals." "I have no idea, and I have no idea what all those different things mean," Foyuna admitted. "All the crystals are so old that no one remembers where they came from." "I w...wonder if there''s anything about that in the vault at the Shrine of Galt?" I would have to ask Kamagishi the next time I saw her. "Anyway, a tour might be good." I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. "I hope Senlyosart makes it. She''s nice. It w...would be not good if she died. We talked about going fishing together." "Yes, she suffers from that strange affliction of wanting to catch fish and eat them," Foyuna considered. "I didn''t know that you suffered from the same disease." "You don''t like fish?" I asked. "Well, the fish that got served up at the Convocation dinner at the Shrine of Mugash last year was very good. If all fish tasted like that, I think I might change my mind about fish." "Y...you just need to learn how to prepare it properly. The Foskos habit of boiling fish is the w...worst way to make it unless you''re preparing a soup or stew. Certain varieties of fish do better if cleaned and then allowed to soak overnight in cold milk, coated in egg and then dipped in flour, and cooked in a cast-iron frying pan in hot oil. Y...you can put herbs or cheese in the flour to change up the seasoning. Others do better baked in butter with bread crumbs. Again you can flavor the butter with lemon or garlic or herbs to achieve variations in the seasoning. Cheese with some fish is always good if you know wh...which varieties are suitable for it. There''s so much y...you can do with fish." "Maybe I should just put you on a stool in the kitchen and let you talk to my cooks all day about fish," she grinned at me. "I must confess, I have never cooked anything. I''ve always had other people to cook for me." "Seriously? That¡¯s as bad as Lisaykos!" I confess I was gobsmacked. I had a hard time wrapping my brain around the thought of anyone who had never learned to cook. ¡°Well,¡± she looked a little embarrassed, ¡°we both grew up in the palace at Is¡¯syal, though many years apart, so neither of us ever got near a kitchen when we were young.¡± I had to shake my head at that. "I have no objections talking to your cooks, if they w...will listen to me," I admitted. "Some fresh fish out of the river to play with might not be a bad idea. I just w...would worry that I would tire out after a while w...without someone to take me back here to rest." "Since you mentioned it, I was thinking of taking you around myself, at least for a tour of the shrine." She pulled a plate off the table and set it on a shorter table next to the bed that had appeared overnight. It was slightly higher than the level of the mattress. It had four egg, onion, and cheese rolls on it. "You missed early repast but one of the lead cooks with the army by the name of Emoskos left these off for you before they headed south for Black Falls. I put them under stasis to keep them fresh and then forgot about them yesterday." I started to reach for one but Foyuna lightly swatted my hand away. "Patience, greedy little Emily. Let me lift the stasis first. Do you want two or three?" Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. "Two." "How about three?" she suggested. "If I eat three I w...won''t have any appetite at midday," I pointed out. "Alright, two." There had been four on the plate. Two disappeared back into the white baker''s cloth that I knew Emoskos used to wrap rolls and bread. "We''ll save the rest for later." "How many did Emoskos give y...you?" "Eight, and it''s been hard not to eat them myself," she admitted. "I will let you devour those and will be back between now and the third bell to give you a chance to freshen up and get changed." "How about at the third bell so I have time to soak in that w...wonderful bathtub?" I asked. "Could you do the hot w...water tank for me, please?" How I wished I had magic to cast the charm that heated water. "Certainly." She must have had her crystal hidden in her hand to charm the tank and the rolls because I never caught her casting the charms. It was either that or she had the knack of casting charms without using a crystal as a focus for the magic. I confess, I lost track of time and was still soaking when Foyuna came back. She let herself in and then I heard her sit down and the bed and start laughing. "I''ll come back in just a bit so you can get dressed," she chuckled. "I seem to remember that you liked soaking. Lisaykos told me the story of you and the Queen, your hot spring, and hanging all her clothes on the trees with snow still on the ground. What a marvelous thing to have done." "I see y...you are amused," I said, having discovered why she was laughing. "Oh, Emily, that was a wonderful thing you did. Everyone''s been so scared of the Queen for so long and here you are: tiny little you stealing her clothes despite not having a lick of magic. It''s so rich. I wish I could have seen it happen." "I''ll be three doors down to the right, on the same side of the hallway as your room if you get done before I''m back," she said and she left. I was out of the tub and dressed when she came back. She caught me fighting with my hair. "Here, let me," she got on her knees, dried my hair instantly, and did something that untangled all the tangles. Taking the comb from me, she had my hair tamed in less time than it took me to put on my shoes. Then she put it into a regular braid, not a fancy french braid which everyone in Foskos called an overplait. "There, that looks presentable," she turned me around inspected me. "Now, I''m going to let you walk three doors down with me because someone you know wants to say hello." "My shoes?" I asked. "I think you won''t ruin your stockings if you walk just three doors distant because other than that, you aren''t walking anywhere, or Lisaykos will stick me with hosting Convocation meetings for the rest of my existence," she held the door for me and matched my pace down the hall. "This is the room," she opened the door. "Sorry, but I''ll have to lift you onto the bed." "Is that the Great One, Holy One?" a familiar voice said. I couldn''t place who the man was but I knew I had heard this voice before. Whoever it was, he sounded weak. "Yes, it is," Foyuna smiled at him. "Don''t overtire yourself trying to get those fingers to move more. Just moving them is a huge improvement. Your daughter will be very happy to hear that you could move them today." She picked me up and stood me on the bed, keeping a hold of me so I didn''t trip or fall. "General!" It was Bobbo. He looked like he had been through a war, which he probably had. He did not look like the energetic and robust man I was used to seeing. "Just drop the title, please? The name is Emily. I heard y...you got injured w...with the invasion of Pinisla." "Shot full of arrows, fell into a river, and went over two waterfalls," he managed to grin. "According to the healers, if it was a bone, then I broke it, except the ones inside the ears." He was smiling but his voice was weak. I managed to get around his legs to sit cross-legged with my back against the wall. "Sounds like y...you got hit on the head near where the parietal and front bones of your skull come together at the top of your head and a bit to the right," I remarked. "Right side, right about here," I pointed high on my skull. "I may be off a finger or t..two in location since I''m not a healer." "That¡¯s right. How do you know that?" he wanted to know. "I share quarters w...with a head trauma specialist in Aybhas," I replied with a smile. "Hard not to pick up stuff from her." "I knew that," he rolled his eyes. "In reality, it was much worse than this but Lord Usruldes consulted with his teacher in magic, who isn''t human and knows things we don''t. He came back from visiting his old teacher and took me from paralysis to having a chance at a real life again. I am very much in his debt. I got my fingers to move earlier today but my left elbow seems hopeless." ¡°Getting better takes time,¡± I remarked. ¡°You have the look of someone w...who needs a little more patience.¡± "Yes, I''ve been telling him that too, but it hasn''t sunk in," Foyuna said, pulling up a chair. "Overachievers often have a hard time when injured or ill," I said. "It''s not easy to be broken when y...you''re used to being fit and w...well." I looked at Bobbo giving me an appraising look. "General, why are y...you here? I thought you w...were at the shrine in Aybhas?" "When news arrived in Aybhas that the city walls were breached at Black Falls, I convinced that head specialist you live with and the garrison commander to bring me to the Queen," he explained. "I thought if we could use your instant fireballs on the army attacking the gates of the Shrine of Sassoo like you did in Yant, then we could delay them long enough for the ground army to get there. I know that the Queen is partial to personal hardships endured to achieve something that benefits others so I decided to make that move for the sake of the shrine." "I take it y...you succeeded?" "Oh yes, but at the price of having to stay here at this lovely shrine for a few extra days, being spoiled with good food and lovely company." Even in a weakened state and hardly able to move, the General was still working his audience over. What a schmooze artist. "I wish I was not bedridden," he said with genuine regret, "because I have never had the chance to see the observatory on top of the dome here." "Observatory?" I didn''t know there was an observatory here. What sort of observatory? "The Shrine of Tiki keeps the calendar, Emily," Foyuna explained to me. "You didn''t know that?" "No, had no idea y..you did that here. I confess, other than the shrine where I have been living, I know very little about the Shrines and Foskos in general. I didn''t even know w...what territory was included in Foskos until I read about it in a book earlier this year. Is it a day or night observatory, or both?" "Both. After we ate at midday, I''ll make sure I will include it in the tour." Foyuna looked at Bobbo, "I think we may manage to get you up to the roof, General, if you don''t mind being carried." "I''m getting used to it," he said with resignation. "For the opportunity to see it, I won''t turn down the help to get up there." We had the mid repast in Bobbo''s room, talking about the war. We all agreed that Aylem''s flight from the kingdom probably played a role in the Impotu Empire''s decision to invade. The mid repast was sandwiches, which seemed to be catching on after Lisakos had them served to the Convocation in Aybhas. Bobbo''s meal was made up of many smaller bite-size sandwiches that he could pick up with just his right hand and could pop into his mouth. Holding up his right arm was difficult but using it to move a small sandwich was currently within his ability to move. After the meal was over, I asked Foyuna why she couldn''t find a wheelchair locally in Queenstown for the General so he could come with us, even if a trainee or shrine attendant had to push it for the weakened Bobbo. I got two blank stares in reply. "I believe," General Bobbo said with a genuine smile of pleasure and not one of his cultivated looks, "as one would say at the Shrine of Mugash, you did it again, Great One." "I thought I said to quit calling me Great One, you twisted conniving general," I huffed, feeling annoyed. "But Great One," I swear his eyes twinkled as he grinned in untainted glee, "you''re still so out of sorts with that title that I just can''t stop myself!" ¡°You, sir, are as bad a tease as Healer Kayseo, and that¡¯s saying something.¡± I wasn''t unhappy that I could give the injured man some joy, but the cost was so high to my poor self. I didn''t care for all the bowing and scraping and title-insistence that persisted in Foskos. "So," Foyuna wanted to know, "what is a wheelchair? The name is very descriptive so I can take a good guess of what one should look like. Should I be contacting Raoleer so she can drop by and the two of you can draft the plans up?" --- 93. Ruins of Black Falls. Lisaykos, the Ruins of Black Falls We started work healing the moment we arrived in what little was left of Black Falls. Frankly, the town was a ruin, the garrison fortress and manse were both smoking rubble and what was once the Singing Shrine of Sassoo was four empty, half-collapsed walls surrounding blackened and charred timbers and the stones of the fallen dome. When we began, there was just a canvas roof over our heads. As supplies were flown in from Guundit, Truvos, Esso, and Aybhas, tired soldiers and garrison guards built a large tent around us. It was a blessing the weather was both dry and warm. Between the three of us, we managed to save Senlyosart. Aylem went into a deep trance to try to rebuild Senlyosart''s leg. I managed the remaining spinal cord and the brain trauma; and with Usruldes'' help, we were able to make great progress with tissue repairs, especially for the all-important involuntary brain and nerve functions. I must learn that technique that his teacher Ud taught him. Senlyosart will need many months to relearn some of her basic movements, like sitting up and walking, assuming her leg will be salvageable. If it can''t be saved, she will still need a long time to heal and rehabilitate. The alternative for her leg was amputation. Frankly, when they pulled her out of the rubble, what was left of the leg was, well, mush. I wasn''t sure that even Aylem could undo the damage, it was that far gone. Between my son and I, we healed Usoy, whose injuries were mostly burns, broken bones, and injured organs. The biggest problem was the amount of blood he lost internally. His salvation was the unlooked-for arrival of several healers from Aybhas who brought Kayseo with them. They arrived just before Aylem and I did. Kayseo remembered everything about blood transfusion. Her colleagues sat her in a tall chair and let her direct the rest of them in what needed to be done. Kayseo remembered everything about matching similar blood characteristics and instinctively did it on her own based on watching me last year. She had the other healers find unwounded volunteers among the army that were willing to be examined by her to match blood types. She convinced those who matched to give up some of their blood if needed. Usoy was in stable stasis by the time Aylem and I arrived. I was asleep after healing non-stop for all the pre-dawn and daylight bells. I was wakened sometime between the quarter and half night bells by widespread screams of panic and alarm. I had been so tired at the end of healing that I just pulled off my boots before falling onto a floor mattress. Now I sat up and pulled my boots back on. I ran out of the tent, only to be greeted with shaking ground and people trying to flee along the narrow berms between the salt pans to the south of what was left of Black Falls. I levitated above the level of the tents to see what was happening only to see a horrid creature, black and hairy, with many segmented legs and glowing red eyes. It was easily the size of the dome over the atrium at the Shrine of Mugash. It was maybe an eighth of a wagon-day away and was approaching the edge of the growing tent city, though not at great speed. It was still one of the most frightening sights I think I ever had seen. I immediately searched my memory for what sort of charm might stop such a monster. Imstay joined me after a moment. "Where did it come from, Great One?" he asked. "Maybe the tunnel caves that run through the lava plains, cousin," I suggested. "There are mentions of monsters living in those caves in the historic records." "That thing is bigger than any tunnel cave," Imstay said bleakly. "I wonder if putting on armor is a waste of time with that thing?" "Oh, Gods!" I gasped and clutched Imstay''s arm, "what is that boy doing?" I saw my son fly directly towards the monster. My heart was gripped by fright watching him. When he got right up to the thing, it reached out and grabbed him with two hairy legs and then threw him high in the air. "I''ll get him," Imstay said but I snagged him with both arms and stopped him. "No, you fool. You''ll just die too. We need you to lead the assault that will kill that thing." Then I heard in my head: * Mother, Imstay, Katsa, come here and meet my teacher Ud. * "That''s Ud?" Imstay said and looked at me. "I think I just aged two decades." "Let me find one of the priestesses of Sassoo so they can spread the information and control the panic," I told the king. "Then I will join you. Don''t get eaten." It only took me a moment to find one of the acting deputies for the shrine and relay the news that the visiting monster was friendly and known to us. I debated whether to tell Aylem but decided not to disturb her. I walked sedately with just a moderate light to keep myself from tripping in the dark to meet Ud. My daughter was already there with Imstay, and my son. Katsa had taken on the task of transporting food, clothing, and materials to build temporary shelters from Gunndit to Black Falls. She and her string of wagons were heading back after daybreak to bring another round of supplies. Yesterday, when Katsa arrived with the first shipment of supplies, she saw the King and her brother in his all-black Wraith uniform. She got off the wagon she was driving and walked up to Usruldes. He did his full obeisance to her. She immediately folded her arms and looked down her nose at him and said: "So, they say your name is Usruldes." She then snagged Imstay, who is neither as tall nor strong as she is, and said: "So, Imstay King, he''s been in your employ for how many years?" "Sixteen," he managed to say, to hear my daughter tell the story. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. "You should have introduced me to him before this," she stared the King into the ground and then dropped him. As she walked away, she later told me, she heard Imstay tell my son, "she''s even scarier than the Blessed Lisaykos." I think my reaction to this scenario was what Emily calls schadenfreude. As I joined the three already standing before the monster Ud, I heard her in my head. * Greetings, mother of my student Usruldes. I''m sorry to have panicked the camp but Sassoo asked me to come and lend my aid since a shrine was destroyed and one of the gods'' chosen representatives was sorely injured. * "I was just talking to a mutual friend of ours yesterday about how I would like to meet you someday, and here you are," I smiled, though I could just barely see her red glowing eyes on the top of her furry exoskeleton. They were rather scary-looking eyes though Emily had assured me that Ud was extremely friendly and rather maternal in character. Ud''s answer to me was tinged with her pleasure. * Oh, you''re the one who lives with Emily. How is the little bundle of trouble? Is she here? * I laughed. "We left her at the Shrine of Tiki with High Priestess Foyuna, who probably has her hands full making sure Emily doesn''t do too much damage while there for two or three days." * That''s too bad. She would be a great help tomorrow. * "Tomorrow?" Ud knew something we didn''t know. * Tomorrow is the day that Galt said Aylem will try to run away again. That''s another reason I came to visit: to help with Aylem because Kamagishi, who is already on her way, won''t be able to stop her. I can stop her but only by force, but Galt told me Emily can stop her by just being Emily. * My son looked at me, "should I go get Emily?" "You''re as tired as I am," I told him. "We should both go back to sleep soon." "I can get Emily," Katsa volunteered. "Do you have your eagle with you?" I asked. "Oh, no, I don''t," Katsa realized. "That''s the problem with taking a wagon here. I''m so used to flying that I forgot that I didn''t this time. I could borrow yours." "I could get her," Imstay said. I looked at the tired and overworked King: "No, you don''t, Imstay King. You need to stay here and be kingly, especially with Ud present. Your troops and people will need you here to keep control of reactions to Ud''s visit." "I will get her," and we all turned in surprise to see Asgotl folding his wings after landing behind us. * Now that sounds like a very good thing to do, friend Asgotl. * "Hello, Ud," Asgotl bowed his head to her. "It''s a pleasure to see you again though it is much sooner than I thought it would be." "Can the griffin get Emily by himself?" Imstay asked. "Of course, I can, Imstay King," Asgotl sassed back. "Emily and I have flown together, just the two of us, many times. All I need is someone to put my saddle on me, please, and I can be at the Shrine of Tiki by the half-night bell. --- Emily, Crystal Shrine of Tiki I didn''t do a step of walking all day. Foyuna carried me around with me sitting on her arm, except for when we went up to the roof to get to the observatory. She had one of the Priestesses in the shrine bring Bobbo up at the same time. The two of us were carried in both arms of our hosts while they flew to the observatory. There is no other way to get there. Damn show-off Cosm. The observatory, of course, was built on a Cosm scale and operated by magic so it was impossible to get my hands on the equipment and play. I almost melted down on the spot from a bad case of magic envy. We stayed up there as the sun went down. The priestess on duty started the demonstration by measuring the position of where the sun went down with a giant spherical astrolabe. The astrolabe as wide as Foyuna was tall. There were also an alidade and some diopters that the shrine used to instruct its trainees. I was fascinated when the priestess making the measurements used a lit-up leveling charm to level the planimetric surface of the astrolabe. I wanted to move in and enroll, but alas, the shrine required magic of all of its students so no Coyn could enroll even as scholar attendant students. I did grumble to Foyuna about that. She pointed out that the Crystal Shrine was the oldest, more than four thousand years old, and designed only for Cosm because there were no Coyn in Foskos when it was built. That bit of history surprised me. Foyuna then told me that around 2,900 years ago, the Coyn migrated in over a century from the east. They came from the east, fleeing some catastrophe many hundreds of wagon-days away. Foskos was thought to be the cradle of civilization for the Cosm but the Coyn were not native to the region. Upon hearing this, I knew that I needed to start a serious study of history to gain a better idea of the history of the world. Maybe I needed to make an extended visit to the Shrine of Galt, to camp out in the library and just read history books, including the restricted ones. Foskos was the ancestral nation from which Jutu, Impotu, and the small city-states sprang. Nobles who fell out with the royal family of Foskos founded the two nations to the east. Since women sometimes became king, the royal house had never failed throughout known history. There was a bias in Cosm culture toward men being the better gender for agriculture, hunting, and war, so rulers were men more often than not. A woman ruling was not an outrageous concept. Foskos had had several women as king and at least two who had been both king and queen at the same time. The word king and the word lord were not gender-specific in the Fosk language. Queen was a curious word too. It did not mean the person married to the king. It was reserved for the best mage as measured by the ability to use the Great Crystal. This would always be a woman because that was how Cosm genetics worked. Men who were great mages like Usruldes were rare. There was so much I didn''t know about this place. If I was going to be stuck here while the gods used me as a tool, then I needed better knowledge of this culture. I doubted I would escape the gods until I delivered the revelation from Landa, though the thought of running away still plied my mind late at night when I woke up and couldn''t get back to sleep. But if the gods were part of the key to freeing the Coyn, then I had to persevere. I was more accustomed to Cosm now, after living here for a year and a half. Still, those huge hands made me flinch when they got too close to my face. Whenever I was reminded that I was a Coyn currently trapped at the top of Cosm society, I remembered that were several hundred thousand Coyn who were still property. I needed to break out of the cotton-wadding protection the shrines had me wrapped in and make my way into the places where Coyn lived and worked. I wasn''t completely at peace living with Cosm. I was also uncomfortable about the gods taking over my life. I had heard the talk and the rumors that I was a prophet and I didn''t like it. I didn''t want to be a prophet. I wasn''t even sure what a prophet was supposed to do. I had a daydream to ditch the gods¡¯ demands and run off with Asgotl to go exploring. I needed to ask him if he was interested in doing that with me. I wanted to see what the rest of the world was like, and I certainly did not want to walk. 94. Negotiable Prophethood After the observatory demonstration and dinner, I went to bed but couldn''t fall asleep despite being tired. Then a fluffy fat person-sized Galt cat jumped up on the bed and snuggled next to me. * Scratch behind my ears, please? You''re so good at it. * "What''s Tiki going to say? This isn''t your shrine. Does he know you''re here?" I sat up and applied both hands behind his ears. "And don''t purr so loud you knock things down from shelves. Geez." * Tiki knows. I just thought I''d keep you company while we were waiting for your ride to arrive.* I stopped scratching. "My ride?" * Yes, kitten, your ride. Scratch please? * I started scratching again. "Alright, mister cat god, fess up!" * Asgotl is coming. They need you in Black Falls, what''s left of it. Oh oh oh oh oh! Under the jawline! There! There! OOOOOOOOOOH! * He was purring but not so loudly that the world was shaking. "Why?" "This is one of the problems with free will," a Cosm-sized Tiki started pacing back and forth in my bedroom. "We''ve been inserting some free flow into reality since it''s not good to overengineer adjustments to the system. Our current problem is Aylem. It''s nothing that can''t be fixed but it¡¯s best for gods to avoid direct involvement. I apologize, Emily, but we need you to take care of Aylem for us, again, please." I moved to scratch the person-sized cat under the chin, "what I don''t understand is why you need to use something like me?" I adjusted my posture for better reach. "Why is it preferable for you not to intervene directly? I mean, you''re gods? Right? Can''t you just do some godly power stuff and take care of it without using a powerless short unmagical thing like me?" Tiki stopped pacing and looked at me. Well, those two glowing red patches behind the Tiki mask looked at me, I think. "What happened to omnipotent, omniscient, et cetera, et cetera?" I asked. * Don''t look at me, Tiki. She''s your revelator, * Galt squawked. "Galt, why be difficult when with a little more effort, you could be a cat?" * Very funny, booze man. * "Emily, yes, we are deities. Your current level of sapient being can not comprehend my complete existence. You''re doing great to be able to talk with us like this. You show incredible promise. We like you and we enjoy you. I know you aren''t going to like what I''m going to tell you next. "There are things about you that make you the perfect agent to achieve what we need to do right now. We have many things we need to adjust to keep reality running well. Right now, we need to fix Aylem. You are an important tool in our toolbox to get that fix done. That''s a lousy way to put it because you are sapient and that makes you so much more than just a simple tool. "As to why we need to use beings like you, well, I can''t explain it to you. It''s a cop-out to say that it''s ineffable. I admit that. I will say that a lot is going on around you in this current reality that you can''t sense with your current physical existence but that we can. From a project management point of view, we are on budget and on schedule with this version of reality. We were under budget but then Aylem put a divot in our resources. "These little chats we have with you are something we construct in a framework built from your own understanding of reality. We really do enjoy these interactions with you. You have been a very good agent for us but you have also been a lot of fun. Some of what we have done with you, Emily, has been simply for pleasure, like Giltak taking you to the opera. "Please don''t hate me for this, Emily, because you''ve been one of the best souls we''ve ever had the joy to employ; however, right now, you are also our prophet for this world. Sometimes a soul comes along that fits so well with what we want to achieve that a prophet opportunity arises. That is what is happening with you, Emily. ¡°I see that face, Emily. Please don''t look like you want to murder me. You do really good scary faces, Emily. I was impressed when you stared down Fassex at her shrine, by the way." "Flattery is not going to work, you miserable chunk of carved macadamia nut!" I was appalled by what he told me. "Damn you and the coconut you came from! I do not want to be your prophet! Go find someone else!" "You will understand in a few millennia," Tiki said. "It can''t be helped." * Tiki, I advise you not to dodge this one. She¡¯s one of the best agents we¡¯ve ever had. * "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" I threw my hands up. "You want me, specifically me, the one and only me who is Emily, and no one else to do this prophet gig, because you''ve looked over my skills and experience and decided I''m the best fit for the job, right?" "That''s one way to put it," Tiki conceded. "Unbelievable!" I smacked my hand against my forehead. "Is there room here for negotiation?" I remembered what the mysterious black-haired lady-god told me one night in my bedroom in Aybhas. "No," said Tiki. * Yes,* said Galt. "Oy vey," I shook my head. "I can¡¯t negotiate?" You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. "No, you can¡¯t," said Tiki. * Maybe,* said Galt. "Dullards!" Mugash interjected, looking perfect and benevolent in her Old Testament holy woman outfit in the white and brown colors usually worn by Saint Anne. She smiled at me. It was a perfect smile, full of love and sympathy and empathy. It was impossible not to love Mugash. Yes, I had deduced that she was using godly manipulation on me, but what a class act she was at manipulation. She had this god thing down pat, even if she was manipulating me. "You are too smart for this job," she said sadly, comprehending my thoughts, "but as you are right now, you are perfect for what must happen tomorrow." "Tomorrow? I thought I was shooting for negotiation on the whole prophet gig here." "You want the elimination of the enslavement system by the Cosm," Mugash said. "We want that too. What this beach bum of a god is hiding is that this is not an easy task. Let me share some disclosure. Your old world experienced a failure of sustaining biological life. That wasn''t supposed to happen; however, there were some amazing results before the system crashed. Inserting you and some others at different times into this current reality is an exploration of how we might reboot some of those results without destroying the balance of life. "The Cosm are an exploration in response to your former system''s failure. Their role is to act as restraint on Coyn excesses in developing technology. We did not anticipate the enslavement premutation. That was not the intended result. I would like to discuss this further but I regret that you need to leave for Black Falls. Emily, so we can continue this discussion later?" "When can we continue?" I asked, "and what guarantee do I have that you will negotiate in good faith?" Mugash leaned her head to the side and studied me. "Consider me your HR department liaison. I guarantee we, the gods, will continue to negotiate terms with you because we do value what you are doing for us." "Hey, wait a minute," Tiki protested. * Shut up, coconut head, Emily isn''t your usual idiot prophet, * Galt swiped his paw at Tiki. * No more burning bush fiascos or holes in the moon. I have nothing against a little more quid pro quo for the soul who is one of our best agents ever. How can you possibly complain about her results so far? You can''t, so shut up, Booze Man. * "I concur with Galt, Tiki. This is an occasion where negotiation is appropriate." Mugash turned back to me, "Emily, we will speak again, as soon as the situation with Aylem smooths out. I believe you now understand how important she is for us." I nodded. "So I need to go to Black Falls. What''s up with Aylem? Please don''t tell me she''s going to lose her temper again and hurt someone." *No, she''s going to try to run away again,* Galt said. *You can stop her. We need you to stop her.* "So, when will Asgotl be here? Can I get any sleep before then?" *I will wake you when it''s time,* Galt purred and licked my face. I fell asleep. I woke up when someone, who shall remain nameless for now but whose initials are Galt the Cat God, decided to play with my braid. He smacked the end of it around like it was a kitty toy. It landed on my face and it wasn''t pleasant. I sat up feeling rather annoyed. "Look, you incorrigible feline, that hurt!" Galt was sitting on my legs looking very pleased with himself, the wretch. Foyuna was sitting in the chair looking terrified. I didn''t get it, but for some reason, everyone was scared of this overgrown pussy cat with addiction for getting scritched. * I promised I would wake you up. I didn''t promise I would be nice about it. * I tried to hit him with my pillow, but he disappeared before my projectile intersected with where he was sitting. "Oh," I glowered, "that god is such a cat!" "How can you talk about a god like that?" Foyuna was still terrified, eyes wide, breathing fast and shallow, pale skin, slight trembling of the hands. "I don''t understand w...why everyone is so scared," I shook my head. "He''s so catlike and rather adorable." "I don''t understand why you aren''t as frightened as everyone else in the shrine right now. Everyone here knows that there have been gods in and out of your room all evening. Don''t you feel the power pouring off the gods when you are in their presence?" "No, I don''t feel anything like that," I admitted. "Maybe you need to be magical to feel the fear you''re describing. Most of my interactions w...with the gods have been benign, except for getting a revelation, w...which two out of three times, hurt a lot. I was unconscious for the third time so it doesn''t count. Some of my experiences w...with the gods have been a lot of fun. For example, Tiki makes the best pina coladas ever, w...which makes sense since he''s a god and all that. One w...would expect drinks made by a god to be perfection, and they are. I''ve been out drinking w...with him twice and w...would go a third time if invited." Poor Foyuna looked gobsmacked. "Emily, I think I would likely perish from fright if any of that ever happened to me. What''s a pina colada?" "If made by Tiki, it''s heaven in a glass w...with a great buzz afterward and no hangover in the morning." "So it''s alcohol?" she asked, still looking skittish. "One of the best alcoholic concoctions ever made," I replied, thinking of how well Tiki made them. She finally relaxed a little, "it sounds wonderful and now I think I would like to try one." Then she screamed because a Cosm-sized pina colada popped into existence on the table next to her. I had to refrain from laughing because the situation did strike me as comic. "W...well, I think Tiki w...as listening to you. You better try it, at least. Tiki is just a little vain about his bartending skills." Foyuna took a sip, hands shaking in fear. Then her face changed. "Oh my," she blinked. "Sweet with just a little bite, and what are these flavors?" She took a larger swallow. "That''s amazing." "Is Asgotl here?" I asked. "Yes, he''s currently putting a dent in my budget for feeding mounts. He''s bigger than most griffins and eats a lot." She took a long pull on the drink. It was half gone already. I had no idea how it might affect a Cosm. "Do you know how to make these?" she wondered, completely forgetting her former state of fear from a few moments ago. "I know w...hat goes into them and I have no idea w...where one could even get the ingredients in Foskos. They are made w...with things from very far away. I doubt I could ever make my own that w...ould be anyw...here as good as Tiki''s." I started the slow climb out of bed, "is it chilly out at all?" "Wear a flying cloak so Asgotl can fly as fast as he wants without worrying about freezing you," she advised. "Do you want a hand getting dressed or should I leave? I did bring back your boots." She left them on the floor under the table. "I can fend for myself, thank you," I said as I gathered up my clothes. Foyuna left. I debated grabbing my baggage since I still had not gotten back to the shrine in Aybhas. I decided to bring just the guitar in its leather gig bag, one change of stockings and underwear, and my new big knife that Aduda made. I had been making progress on getting my playing calluses back. Since Lisaykos and Aylem both needed to return to recover their possessions, I would leave everything else and ask them to fetch my stuff too. Wearing my Mugash Shrine mantle with the black satin-lined hood, I left my room with my riding cloak in hand and my clothes stuffed in my gig bag. Foyuna was waiting for me. She made sure her shrine attendants properly strapped the gig bag I wanted to bring with me to Asgotl''s saddle. I belted myself up against the backrest on the saddle that Aylem used. That way, I''d be able to fall asleep without worrying about not having enough strength to stay upright on Asgotl''s back. --- 95. The Orders of a Prophet Emily, the tent city at the ruined town of Black Falls Asgotl banking steeply woke me up. I looked down on a ruined town as dawn broke over the Blue Mountains to the east. If Black Falls had been a community in Idaho or Montana, I would have guessed its size was around 20,000. Of course, that would be off since I didn''t have a feel for the population of Cosm settlements when compared to Coyn ones. The numbers would be much less since Cosm take up more room. Black Falls was utterly destroyed. It reminded me of photos of post-WWII Berlin or Vienna. I could see paths growing in the rubble as people started to clear the wreckage. To the north of the remains of the city were hundreds of tents laid out in a regular grid. I spotted Imstay''s big pavilion in the middle of the tent city. The most amazing thing I noticed was Ud. What in the world was Ud doing here? When Asgotl said Ud showed up, I thought he was trying to pull my leg with one of his silly attempts to fool me again. He never succeeded. I thought he was joking, but there she was, larger than life, which is how Ud always looked to me. She was bigger than most big houses. I used our hand signals to make it clear to Asgotl I wanted to go straight to Ud. He landed on a segment of the ruined wall within shouting distance to Ud. It looked like she was inspecting the ruined wall. * Emily! * Her greeting was loaded with pleasure as she carefully closed the distance. A fuzzy pedipalp pushed my hood off and mussed my hair. "W...elladay, Ud," I smiled. "It''s a joy to see you. W...what are you doing here?" * Galt and Sassoo asked me to come and help with Black Falls. Never before have any of the old original shrines been attacked and destroyed. Sassoo requested I build a new shrine for him, for certain considerations, of course. * "What does someone like you bargain for?" I had no idea what a spider monster might desire. * More visitors to starve off my boredom. That''s the biggest source of unhappiness in my life. * "What did Galt want?" * He wanted me to stop Aylem. I told him it would be better if you stopped her. He said he would look into getting you here. The gods don''t like intervening this closely, but I see that they managed to get you here. Did they speak with you directly or through a dream? * "Three of them manifested inside the Crystal Shrine to coerce me into coming," I remarked." "Seriously?" Asgotl interjected, sounding surprised. "Which three?" "Tiki, Galt, and Mugash," I replied. * I believe you will know how to keep Aylem in Foskos without intervention from me. That will be best. * "I see," that statement surprised me. "Changing the subject, can you build something like a shrine?" * Since I arrived, Skalta Lord, Katsa Lord, and Imstay King offered me 4,000 cattle to lay the foundations of a new city. I can build pilings for buildings, caseins for bridges, permanent foundations, footings, load-bearing walls, columns, and light-weight domes---all very quickly. I told you I was good with engineering. I can even do road ballast and pavement, water mains and drains, and canals and weirs. I was just looking at how the old townsite and thinking of what I might want to replace it with. * "How fast is very quickly, Ud?" * Probably around a half a rotation, once I make up my mind on the design. I need to plan for growth, after all, though Cosm are not fast reproducers. I don''t worry too much about Coyn spaces since they can be stacked on multiple-level buildings without the structural problems that Cosm introduce with their much heavier bodies. * "Ud, can you leave room in your plan for two different kinds of drains? Lisaykos has been looking into upgrading Aybhas for running water and she needs to install a second drain system to do that. So she''s planning on digging up the streets to install it. I''m thinking that running water is going to catch on in Foskos, so maybe you want to leave room for a second drain system here so the rebuilt Black Falls can avoid digging up the streets. All it will take is a little advance planning on your part. I suppose I should talk to w...whoever the Lord is that controls this city and the folks from the shrine." * You have your thinking face on, Emily. There''s something I need to talk about first before you run off on a thought spree about water systems. You have a weakness that you can''t resist an interesting engineering problem, but today you need to do other things, Emily. * "Oh right, the situation with Jane," I used her English name in case someone might overhear me. "Galt and Tiki didn''t tell me much. They just said I should be here to fix Jane." I grimaced. "W...where is she?" * Sleeping. She went to bed at the three-quarter night bell after healing non-stop since she arrived. She performed a feat of virtuoso healing never attempted before. I estimate she will wake up close to midday. Your friend Kamagishi thinks whatever will happen will be soon after the midday meal. * "Kamagishi''s here?" That surprised me. It also indicated that there was more to the problem of containing Aylem today than I could see on the surface. I stopped and considered the importance of Aylem for the gods. Did they really expect her to conquer the known world? I didn''t think about it often, but when I did, I had problems wrapping my mind around it. Wars of conquest were problematic too, but that wasn''t my department to worry over. Still, I didn''t like war, especially after Tom died in Vietnam. It was still painful for me even though it was now a lifetime ago. But it was undeniable that the gods had a huge investment in Aylem they wanted to protect. I needed to chat with Kamagishi and see what she had to say about an Aylem meltdown today. What a bother. Regardless, first I needed a hot cup of sweet tea and something cheesy and eggy in my stomach. I should have grabbed the rest of the rolls that Foyuna had under stasis before I left the Shrine of Tiki. Oh well. "Ud, I need to find Kamagishi and something to eat," I said. "I''ll be back when I can to chat about w...water systems and city planning. This could be fun. I''ve never played with city planning before." * I will consider your suggestion for double drains. I''m not going anywhere and I think you''ll be able to find me when you want to come and play engineering with me. * I could feel her amusement in that statement since Ud did not exactly fade into the background anywhere she went. "Hey, blubber brain, how close can you get me to food and Kamagishi?" "Food is easy," he said, peering across the tents. "I just need to find Imstay, because to find him is to find Usruldes who will feed you. And Usruldes will know where Kamagishi is likely sleeping at the moment since she hadn''t arrived yet before I left for the Crystal Shrine. Hang on tight, little Grandma, and let''s take a flyover of the tents to find the royal pavilion." He leapt into flight from off the wall and soon he was climbing fast and steep, like the daredevil idiot he is. Up, up, up we went until I started to freeze, even wrapped in my warm-weather flying cloak. Then he pulled the stall, kicked the tail over, and pointed his beak at the ground. I remembered to wrap the neck strap around my forearms so I could stay leaning forward while we gained velocity and buzzed the camp. A couple of mounted cavalry patrolling the perimeter of the camp reacted to our dive but we were going so fast, they never had a chance to intercept us. We went speeding just over the tops of the banner poles, both of us screaming in joy as we shocked the waking camp. It was such fun. We were greeted by the welcome sight of Lisaykos staring daggers of disapproval at us as we sedately landed in the cleared area at the royal encampment. I could hear that reprobate king, Imstay, laughing his amusement. Before Lisaykos could reach us, Garki ran over. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. "Do you need help down, Great One?" he offered. "I believe that my life would be in peril if I do not carry you to the eating table, Great One, because the Blessed Lisaykos made it clear that she would practice evisceration as a lesson for healer trainees on anyone who permitted you to walk around the camp when you arrived." "You have such an interesting turn of phrase, young man," Lisaykos said after she had silently walked up behind him and was now doing her competent best to loom. Garki did not even blink, "thank you, Great One." He turned and made a bowing obeisance. "I am gratified you have noticed my modest efforts at improving my erudition. If you will now excuse me, I need to make sure the Blessed Emily does not walk a single step into the eating tent lest I be eviscerated as an educational exercise." "Carry on, young man," she was smiling with her eyes. I got the impression that this was not the first exchange between the two of them. "I see you brought your divine, Emily. What are the bulges in the divine case?" "Clean underwear and stockings," I said. Lisaykos shook her head and laughed. She started to unstrap my divine in its gig bag. I undid the straps that kept me in the saddle and then held out my arms so Garki could grab me. "Wow, you don''t weigh anything at all," he bounced me in his arms. "Can you make sure the Asgotl gets w...water and something to eat, Garki? He''ll be hanging out here all morning." "Going somewhere?" Lisaykos asked, one eyebrow working its way up to her hairline. "Just keeping my options open in case I need to chase a very overgrown somebody in flight." I yawned without meaning to. "I could use some hot sweet tea and something to eat." "I''ll get a wrangler to feed the greedy Asgotl, don''t worry," Garki said, waiting to hear the expected protest from the teasable griffin, which Asgotl delivered promptly at volume. He''s so reliable. I should have expected a chair piled with cushions for me at the table because one was waiting for me. A grinning Imstay was sitting across the table and Kamagishi was next to him. Garki got me settled and then produced a plate with hot and fresh bacon, egg, onion, and cheese rolls made by Emoskos the baker. The beaker of hot sweet tea followed immediately. "This is a different tea," I swallowed some. "It''s good. I like the smoky flavor." "We are low on everything," Garki apologized. "I borrowed that off Lord Usruldes because the supply for the royal pavilion has been depleted with all the visitors and guests we''ve had. You''re on my tea list. So is the Queen. Everyone else is getting beer, cider, or perry." "Got plenty of honey?" I asked. "Yes," Garki pointed to a big crock on the bottom of the camp-portable sideboard. "Got vinegar?" "Of course we do," Kamagishi sniffed. "It''s one of biggest exports for places like Truvos and Pinisla and the Surdos River Valley, where the mixed-tree forest is full of fruit trees." "I meant in the encampment," I began savoring the first of my rolls. They were addictive and I was addicted. "Yes, I have vinegar, Great One," Garki looked in his supplies stashed in the traveling sideboard. "Perry vinegar, apricot vinegar, and plum vinegar." "Use the perry vinegar, Garki," I told him. "Go out and collect some of that fresh mint that''s growing everyw...where like a w...weed." "That''s because it is a weed," Lisaykos rolled her eyes. "It gets everywhere and will take over a garden in minutes if you''re not careful." "Here''s w...hat I''d like you to do, Garki: use one part vinegar, two parts water, and four parts honey. Boil the w...water and add the honey to dissolve it. Add the vinegar and as much mint as you can stuff in the pot and still keep it a pourable liquid. Then drop the heat to keep the w...water at a simmer. You can do two things with this. You can let it cool naturally or you can slow cook it down to make a syrup, w...which you can store in a cool place. "The first concoction you can serve as soon as it''s cool, but you can''t cool it down by magic or the mint w...won''t have time to steep its flavor. The second, the syrup, you can use to make the drink up by just adding w...water it is since it''s a concentrate. "Do you have time to make a batch? Then we w...won''t have to be stuck with just beer or tea on a day like today w...which will be hot in the afternoon. Served cold, it''s a great hot weather drink." "I can try that," he looked intrigued. "That sounds like a drink that the Lizard People of Chem make," Usruldes said, walking into the pavilion. "I''m surprised there isn''t something like this in the beverage choices of Foskos," I needed to stop talking soon so I could finish my first roll. "There''s a shared premise behind all drinks like this, w...which is a balance of sw...eet and sour. I call this drink with light fruit vinegar and specifically spearmint, peppermint, or mint by name of sekanjabin; but you can play w...with the basic principle and make all kinds of interesting drinks. "For the sour, you have sour w...wines, many different kinds of vinegar, your verjus varieties, and the sour juices of things like citrons and lemons. Your sweet can be any source of sugar like the many flavors of honey, sugar itself, and the sugary tree syrups like birch, hickory, or sugar maple. For flavorings...w...well, you can play around with all sorts of volatile herbs like the mint family, ginger, peppers, cloves, cinnamon, cassia, or different citrus zests." They were all giving me that gobsmacked look again, everyone but Garki who had his tablet out and was taking notes. Usruldes started to laugh, "how long have you been in camp, and what''s verjus?" "Verjus is the juice of unripened fruit, usually grapes or crab apples. I''ve been here since the sun broke the h...horizon," I replied, knowing where he was going with this. "You can avoid completing that thought, beast. I already know how this ends." "You do?" he blinked, amused. "Yes, you w...ere about to say," I did my best imitation of a low-pitched voice, "''you did it again, Emily, and you haven''t even been here for a w...whole bell yet.''" Then they all laughed, right on cue. Garki was already setting up a tray table with a pot, some honey, and vinegar. He really was an interesting kid. It was time to get down to the business of the day and also to test a theory I had. It would be possible with Kamagishi here as my experimental subject. The first order of business was to finish eating this roll before it got completely cold. I got halfway through the second roll before I started on the next agenda item. "Kamagishi, tell me everything about w...why you''re here w...with specifics on how the precognition has taken shape and changed with time," I took another bite. "Yesterday morning I woke up early with this terrible feeling that something traumatic was about to happen to the Queen," she began. I held up a finger because I wanted to swallow before I questioned her. It didn''t help that the bread in the rolls was nice and chewy, just the way I like it. "I note your interesting w...word choice," "What?" "You said traumatic, not dangerous or life-threatening or fatal or injurious. You said traumatic. Can y...you explain?" I wanted to get a good idea of what might happen. "The original looked like something happened, she panicked and she fled," Kamagishi explained. "It felt like another running-away event where we would have to find her and bring her back. With Impotu invading us, that could be bad." "Huh. W...hat direction did she go?" "That matters?" "Of course, it matters, Kamagishi. If I know w...hat direction she may go, I can have Ud w...waiting to try and stop her in case she decides to flee." There are days when I think these folks could use a basic course in project planning and management. "East. Yes, east, into the mountains. The thing is, it''s changed a few times since then. For example, sometime after the half-night bell last night, the flight aspect got less certain. It''s been getting more uncertain since then. Then, when you arrived a little while ago, the flight aspect went away." "Just by my being here?" "Yes." "Huh." I pondered my options. It was time to test a hypothesis. "Just your sitting there thinking about this right now is changing things. I can feel it change, second by second. This is really creepy." Kamagishi shivered. "Alright, I think I''m getting it now. W...here is Aylem sleeping?" "Three pavilions over," Imstay said. "I didn''t want to have anyone to disturb her sleep. She worked a miracle yesterday and deserves her rest." "No one is w...watching her tent or her?" I asked. "No, why?" Imstay looked confused. "This is the royal encampment. It''s close to being as secure as the palace." "Are you an idiot?" I asked before I could stop myself. "Might I remind you who I am?" Imstay flushed with anger and glared at me. "Yes, y...you are the King and I''m the person who got dragged out of a sound sleep by three, count them, three gods last night," I snapped. "One stayed w...ith me all evening until Asgotl arrived just after the half-night bell. Every Cosm in the shrine spent the entire time in a state of terror. I think at the moment, being given the task of containing Aylem by three gods trumps you as the King. Do you w...w...ish to test this? Remember that the variable y...you w...will be testing is w...whether the gods are displeased w...with your actions." His glare readjusted itself into a look of concern. "Three gods? Why are these things happening? Why us and why now?" I was glad he forgot to be angry at me. "Because the gods w...want to change something fundamental in how Cosm society w...works," I told him with a bit of sympathy. "That''s how I understand it." As king, he would bear a lot of the civil unrest that would probably erupt. "All of your lives are about to become more difficult. Mine even more so." (Continued in installment 96) 96. Galt Trespasses (continued from installment 95: Emily, Royal Pavilion, Tent City as Black Falls) I breathed in, held it for a count of ten, and let it slowly out, trying to relax the tension I felt. "Imstay King, w...will you please put a guard of four silverhairs around the Queen''s tent. No one goes in or out, not even the cleaning staff, without the approval first of one of the folks in this tent right now, and I w...want that to extend to Aylem too. We can''t let whatever is going to happen just happen. We should try to intervene and control it if we can. And we should tell Aylem too. If she knows something is coming, she has a better chance of dealing w...with it in a manageable fashion." "Are you sure about that?" Lisaykos asked. "I would want to try to shield her from..." "No," it erupted from my mouth before I could stop myself. This was bad. I was too underslept to keep myself from speaking before I had time to consider what I wanted to say. "I noticed," Imstay said ruefully. Then he blushed and looked at me with contrition, "sorry, I didn''t mean to be that rude." "Well, now we all know how underslept I am. Usruldes, Lisaykos, can you two please give me an evaluation of how rested everyone is?" I requested. Just because I didn''t have magic didn''t mean I couldn''t ask others to use theirs. "I think w...we are all tired and stressed and not at our best." "I got enough sleep," Usruldes said. "You need a lot more rest," he pointed at me. "Our two high priestesses are as tired as you in terms of how much blue fatigue they are displaying but they both have reserves of stamina that you lack. Imstay King needs to be tied down to a bed and made to sleep. He''s in the solid blue stage of fatigue." "I will concur with those assessments," Lisaykos said with a weary sigh. She held her hand up in front of her face. "Yes, I can see the blue haze on myself, which is never a good sign. I will also confirm that Usruldes is not at all tired right now." "So, the first thing w...we need to do is put the king to bed," I said. "No, I have too much to..." His head dropped and he started snoring lightly. Lisaykos put her crystal back in her side pocket. Usruldes got up, picked up Imstay, and took him to the sleeping chamber. He reappeared and sat back down. "Usruldes, y...you are the best-slept person right now," I said. "Can you take care of guards for the queen, ones who can at least have a chance at explaining things to her in case she w...wakes up before we catch on?" He closed his eyes for a long moment and then looked at me. "Four of my wraiths will be on station before you have time to finish your tea." "I already finished...," I started to say but Garki materialized at my elbow and refilled my beaker. Behind his mask, I could see the crow''s feet crinkle at the corners of Usruldes'' eyes. Damn ninja. "Usruldes is now in charge until the king w...wakes back up in a rested state," I said. "Oh gods," Kamagishi held her head. "Everything just rearranged." We waited until her golden eyes refocused and her rate of respiration dropped back to something resembling normalcy. "The trauma and the crisis remains but the flight threat doesn''t exist anymore whatsoever," Kamagishi said in wonder. "Interesting. I think the t..two of you should try to catch a nap somewhere nearby," I pointed to Kamagishi and Lisaykos, "w...within earshot." "What are you going to do?" Lisaykos asked suspiciously. Damn her. She knows me too well. "I am going to get some big cushions and put them inside the entrance to Aylem''s tent and take a nap. W...while I''m doing that, Usruldes is going to make me a kite." "I am?" he asked. "Yep." "I need to schedule the king''s second bell meeting for this afternoon first," Usruldes said, "and make some other changes to the King''s schedule." "W...hen you have the chance, please?" I did my innocent smile at him. He wasn''t fooled. Dammit. These folks were on to all my formerly effective tricks. "Wow," Kamagishi got wide-eyed again. "The crisis part is suddenly not a big deal anymore." "Fascinating," I looked at Kamagishi and saw all sorts of interesting things I wanted to try with a powerful precognisant. The possibilities started to unfold in front of me. "W...hen? Can you pick the moment it changed?" "When you said you would nap in Aylem''s tent." I leaned forward so much I almost lost my balance but Lisaykos reached over and caught me. "Thanks," I smiled at Lisaykos and focused back on Kamagishi. "Alright, now that the extraneous events tied to the trauma have been minimized, can y...you see the event yet that triggers the trauma?" "It doesn''t work like that," she protested. "Try," I urged. "Precogs can see simple events so if w...we simplify complex events down to their causes, it stands to reason that the most talented precogs should be able to see the kernel of the causal event." "I think I''d feel more comfortable if you would at least blink, Emily," Kamagishi said in a tiny scared voice. I blinked. "There. Happy?" She laughed, "you are too much." Then she sat back and tranced. We all tried not to make noise, even Garki, who was watching with big round eyes. Kamagishi opened her eyes and looked at me intently. "It''s her daughter. She''s here. She''s a trainee at this shrine." "What?" Lisaykos sat up. "We need to wake Imstay about this. We can let him sleep afterward." "Go for it," I said. "Did you know about this, Usruldes?" "Yes, I did but we took care to keep Opa away from the royal encampment. Imstay hasn''t had the right opportunity to tell Aylem yet since we haven''t been back long and we''ve been a bit busy ever since." Suddenly, we all felt Ud. Obviously, the neighborhood spider monster had been listening in. * That makes so much sense. Before you left the Fenlands, I had my suspicions it might be either Imstay or her daughter or both that caused her to run away. * "Surd save us," Lisaykos went white as she thought of something. "One of the memories that Mugash made Aylem live through during her punishment..." "Yes?" Kamagishi urged. "It was her daughter''s fear of Aylem after watching Aylem lose her temper and attack Imstay. Aylem didn''t know that her daughter had seen that and was afraid of her." "Oh crappola," I had just realized that Opo''aba''s troubles with Aylem might parallel Jane Paxton''s troubles with her alcoholic mother in Coventry. These patterns often repeated each generation. Did Aylem make a connection between her own actions and those of her mother? She wasn''t stupid. She had a lot of time to think about it when she ran away from herself and her memories. "What is Conventry?" Kamagishi asked. "That was a really clear thought, Emily. I''m sorry. Being powerful enough to be a high priestess means sometimes hearing all the noise from all the thousands of thoughts constantly being blasted about by every sapient thing. It''s one of the reasons some of us never leave the shrines if we can help it." Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! * I could help with that, * Ud said. * When this is over, we should talk, Kamagishi. * "Alright," I interrupted, " before w...we get too distracted, we need to talk to Imstay, and w...we need to find Opo''aba before she and her mother intersect." "I''m awake," Imstay stumbled out in his stocking feet. "Ud just woke me up." He sat down. "You want to know about Opa?" "Opa?" I asked. "Nickname," he replied, taking a beaker of beer from Garki. "She snuck off to one of the examination days at the Shrine of Galt under a false identity. Garki the forgery artist helped with that as did her brother and someone named Bobbo who I am told is no relation to a general by that name. Given that we already know she has The Voice, it is not surprising that her highest score was with the shrine of Sassoo. She could not respond in the usual way to all the invitations to the six shrines she qualified for." "Which ones?" Lisaykos wanted to know. "Sassoo, Gertzpul, Mueb, Giltak, Galt and Landa." Imstay saw the disappointed expression on Lisaykos'' face, "sorry, not Mugash." "But Giltak?" Lisaykos was incredulous. "Opa is even better than her mother at math," Imstay sighed, "and she was Garki''s partner in crime in ordering the Revelation of Giltak to Emily." He spotted Garki smiling to himself and swatted the boy on the rear. "So as I was saying, all the shrine invites went to the address certain parties used for her in the city, which was 6 Brewers Row. Oyyuth opened them and was almost ready to take them over to the Shrine of Galt, not knowing what else to do with them when her husband rescued them. "My poor daughter received a visit from Usruldes the Wraith while studying in the schoolroom with Garki and Heldfirk. He told her that she should write the shrine of her choice, explaining her dilemma with sneaking into the examinations. She should reveal in the letter that she wanted to enroll and that if she had the support of the high priestess, she would be able to make a case to her father the king. "No high priestess who has a lick of sanity will turn down enrolling a haup Foskos, especially one who is a princess of the greater rank. Senlyosart got Opa''s letter, hopped on her eagle, and barged into my office one rotation before the end of the year. The Shrine of Sassoo enrolls on the midday of the planting season, which only gave us a handful of rotations before enrollment. "Opa''s had very few opportunities to meet other kids her age, other than her cousins. Then Aylem stopped visits to my family so Opa didn''t get to see any of them anymore. Now, I''m not sure I want her to see them anymore either, the ones still alive. Regardless, Opa didn''t want the burden of being known as a princess right off the bat, so we talked Oyyuth into making her and Hessakos Opa''s guardians. Since Hessakos was off on the king''s business, Bobbo and his daughter flew Opa and Oyyuth down to the shrine, and Bobbo stood in for Hessakos at the enrollment ceremony. "I hid in the wings in the Well of Sassoo and watched," he smiled a proud father smile. "Because Lord Pinisla was standing in for Lord of the Court Hessakos haup Gunndit, she was the second to last candidate to enroll. Then she made the now-destroyed crystal sing." "Really? That''s wonderful!" Lisaykos was impressed. "I wonder why she didn''t pass the test for my shrine. She should have been a natural given that she''s her mother''s daughter." "W...what''s The Voice?" I asked. I had never heard of this. "It''s the ability to use your voice not only to excel at performance in oratory or singing, but to cast certain charms with voice alone, like the charms of peace on a crowd or mob, or the charm of compulsion to impose your will," Imstay explained. "It''s a talent that runs in the haup Foskos bloodline. Several of the royal family have become the High Priestess of Sassoo over the centuries. In fact, Senlyosart is a far cousin on the paternal side." I shook my head, thinking I need to camp out at the Shrine of Galt and just read every book in the place. I didn''t know nearly enough about Foskos and the shrines. "If Lisaykos will let you, you are certainly welcome to do so, little one," Kamagihi smiled. Then she frowned. "Blarg! I did it again. I''m sorry, Emily." "Don''t w...worry about. Everyone is tired and I''m getting used to it." Damn Cosm. It wasn''t as if they could stop being telepathic. Worse yet, I couldn''t even blame them since they could stop themselves. Imstay took the conversation back over: "Opa is enrolled incognito as Opa hat Kas''syo, raised by the folks at the Kas''syo Brewery, who took her in as a street stray. They educated her and taught her magic when they realized she had magic at a young age. This works well since she already knows them as Uncle Hessakos and Aunt Oyyuth. Before you ask, Lisaykos, she is already a friend with your granddaughter." "Well, someone needs to collar Opa hat Kay''syo and sequester her so she doesn''t encounter her mother in a setting that we don''t control," I said feeling more tired by the second. "I''m already her Aunt Kami," Kamagishi said. "I''ll go find her." "Aunt Kami?" Imstay raised an eyebrow. "Is that why she always came home late when she visited the shrine library?" Kamagishi grinned, "You betcha, Daddy Kingy-poo!" "Daddy Kingy Poo?" Imstay''s jaw dropped and bounced a couple of times. "Sorry," Kamagishi had the good grace to look embarrassed. "I got that from your daughter." "Alright, Imstay will go back to sleep," I synopsized before we got diverted by too many tangents. "I need some cushions so I can catch a nap. Lisaykos needs a rest. Kamagishi needs to find Opa and Usruldes will take care of everything else and make a kite." "Yes, that''s about right," Usruldes got up and fetched some cushions, a few blankets, and a bed mat out of the sleeping chamber of the royal pavilion. "Let''s get you set up since ambushing Aylem is the most important part of this. I''ll take care of everything else." "Wraith boy, I have a meeting that needs to be...," Imstay started. "My staff is already taking personal notices to the attendees that the meeting is rescheduled for the fifth bell, Imstay King," Usruldes purred in his melodious bass. "Oh. Right. Good job. I''m going back to sleep. Would one of you lovely ladies use a sleep charm on me, please?" "Garki, would you carry Emily for me please?" Usruldes asked, his hands full. "Yes, sir!" He stopped his charm of warmth on the proto-sekanjabin and picked me up in both arms. "Hello again, Great One," he grinned. I surmised he had lost his apprehension of me since the destruction of the Impotuan army at the Shrine of Tiki. "Did you finish all your rolls, Great One?" he asked. "I saw you ate all the bacon." "Yes, I finished all three rolls and now I am stuffed," I replied, wondering which of my torturers recruited him to keep me fed. "Lunch will be shredded bison with melted cheese and grilled onions between toasted bread, which is new. The ingredients between two pieces of bread are called a sandwich," he explained as he followed Usruldes out of the royal pavilion. "I didn''t know if you had encountered sandwiches yet since they are a new thing and are just catching on now in Is''syal." I could see Usruldes'' shoulders shaking as he silently laughed while Garki explained sandwiches to the person who introduced sandwiches to Erdos. Then Usruldes stopped abruptly and Garki almost ran into his back. Usruldes dropped to his knees, put his hands pressed together against his forehead, and bowed to the ground, trembling. Garki started trembling too and carefully got to his knees so he wouldn''t jostle me. He started muttering, "please don''t hurt me," over and over again. When Galt''s fluffy paws landed on Garki''s shoulders and Galt''s flooffy head popped up at my eye level, I knew why. * Hello again, kitten. I just want to give you a little help so Aylem can''t accidentally read your mind this afternoon. * His paw dropped down and tapped me on my stomach. * There, that should do it. * Then chaos erupted as a sonic boom made the ground tremble and I watched as multiple tents collapsed. A spinning ball of blue and purple strands of opaque mist appeared next to us, lit by small internal flashes of light so bright they left retinal burn aftereffects. The ball was the size of a griffin. It dispersed explosively and out of it stepped the most handsome giant man in a red ochre robe worn off one shoulder, textured with silver-gray patterning like Han dynasty Chinese textiles. He was easily two heads taller than the average Cosm high priestess. His skin was so dark brown it was almost black and he was gorgeous to look at, like the most buff of any Zulu warrior: long-limbed and strong with a runner''s or swimmer''s muscles. His head was hairless and gleamed. He didn''t have eyes per se: what was contained in his eye sockets was as black as space and glowed with thousands of pinpricks of starlight. If the figure of Mugash was lovely in all her compassion, this figure was beautiful in all its potential strength. I wondered if this was the god of war. He picked up Galt by the ruff of his fuzzy neck and held the cat god like he was a piece of rubbish to be thrown out. Then he looked at me and smiled with perfect teeth that actually sparkled, better than Tony Curtis in the Great Race because the sparkle was real and not a movie special effect. "Greetings, lovely little soul. I am not Erhonsay, god of war and peace. I am Sassoo, father of all music and god of the winds and the hunt. This is my Shrine and these are my people." He held Galt out and looked at the cat with disgust, "and this thing is crashing on my territory without permission." Galt purred, completely unconcerned. * Dude, time was of the essence. Emily was testing her hypothesis of how magic as one of the six forces, can affect time as the dependent variable, by varying the boundary conditions where an immutable event is a constant. Unfortunately, she was much more successful in manipulating a mage to isolate the independent variables than Tiki and I anticipated and I wanted to... * "Silence, meddling godlet," Sassoo bellowed, cutting Galt off. Then everything went wonky as the world froze, excluding me, Galt, and the enraged Sassoo. 97. After opera and coffee Usruldes, tent city at Black Falls I watched the huge feet of Sassoo stop in front of me as I cowered in abject helplessness, I was so frightened. An errant thought flew through the back of my mind that I was glad my bladder was empty. I heard Sassoo argue with Galt though I was so disconcerted that words held no meaning for me. Then everything in the world felt stretched out of shape followed by the sickening feeling of reality snapping back in place. The two gods were gone and I realized I could breathe normally again. I got to my feet. Garki was in a daze with a smile on his face. So was Emily. Emily took priority. I shook her shoulder gently. "Emily? Emily!" "Eh? Huh?" Her eyes opened. She looked around and intelligence filled her eyes, "oh, I''m back here now." Her face bore disappointment. "Well, phooey. Time to get back to work." She looked up at me in concern and reached out to touch my hand. Her fingers were warm and her touch was soft. "Usruldes, you''re shaking. The gods disturb Cosm, don''t they?" "I have no idea why they don''t affect you," I said, glad that she appeared fine. "Did Aylem wake up?" "Let me check," I peeked inside to the Queen''s still slumbering form on the camp bed. "No, she slept through all that. Thank the Gods." "Alright, before setting me up in ambush next to her bed, I want to see your...I want to see Great One Lisaykos." "Your wish has been granted," I watched as my mother came running out of the royal pavilion toward us. She stopped by my side and felt my cheek. "That''s a relief. You''ll be fine." She cradled the back of Emily''s head in her hand: "A god touched you again. How do you feel?" "I feel fine though I still feel tired," Emily smiled as if to reassure my mother. "Has my level of fatigue changed at all, out of curiosity?" "No, you''re just as underslept as you were before you left the royal pavilion," my mother frowned in concern. "I can''t help but see some of the residuals in your head right now. Where is that place and what is that wonderful music? Did the gods...?" "Well, it started as an argument between Galt and Sassoo because Galt had the bad manners not to tell Sassoo he would be trespassing at this poor ruined shrine. Then they started a contest of one-upmanship with each other, with the added benefit that Sassoo took me to one of the most famous opera performances of the twentieth century as part of it: Maria Callas singing the part of Carmen at the Paris Opera House. Giltak even crashed the event. Then we went out for amaretto and tiramisu at ZUM Roma." A look of satisfaction mixed with longing crossed Emily''s face. "Dang, I miss coffee." She closed her eyes as if to catch and seal a memory from escaping. After a moment, she opened her eyes and studied Garki. "Galt placed his paws on Garki so he could be off in la-la land for a while. He should probably be put to bed and watched to make sure he doesn''t do something like walk into the river and accidentally drown in a happy daze. Where''s Kamagishi? I need to chat with her before I take my nap." "Coming!" I heard Kamagishi call out from the royal pavilion. She came at a run and arrived slightly out of breath. "Were you listening?" Emily gave her a sharp look. "Well, yes," Kamagishi flashed a knowing smile. "I was putting Imstay back to sleep. What just happened, Emily? All sorts of things happened on different time paths and I can see all sorts of futures spreading back out in front of me as if everything were almost back to normal. Except for you-know-who and the other you-know-who will still meet. That seems to be immutable." "Amazing," Emily had a wondering look on her face. "It really worked. We managed to reduce all the noise around the constant immutable event to where we can now see it. Now we can manipulate it." A brilliant smile broke out, "I love being right!" She pumped her fists in exaltation. "You need to explain this to me at some point," Kamagishi told her and left no room to argue otherwise by her tone of voice, "in very small words of short duration so I understand what it is you just did." Kamagishi studied Emily with speculation, "are you sure you have no magic?" "Trust me," Lisaykos said, "she is an undersized, underfed Coyn of approximately fifteen years of age and she doesn''t have a drop of magic in her." My mother shook her head, "I''m still trying to understand what just happened over the last bell because I too can not make sense of any of it. How can something which is fated to happen be changed?" Ud suddenly broke into all of our thoughts. * I can try to explain it to anyone who wants though I don''t know if any of you will understand. Emily fulfilled Galt''s command to her to discover the nature of Magic and she did. You must make her write it down so Cosm can learn from her understanding of Magic in the fullness of time. * "Oh, thank you, Ud," Emily grumbled with buckets of sarcasm. "Just what I always wanted to do: write more stuff for Cosm that they can''t comprehend." Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. * Aylem will comprehend. It will start there. Little Garki will understand it when he is older, after you teach him, Emily, so the understanding will continue. * "Oh." Emily blinked and then shook her head. "I need my nap. Kamagishi, can you make sure Opa doesn''t get anywhere near the royal encampment or the Queen until half past the fifth bell?" "You want to push it back?" Kamagishi asked. "Yes, I want to confirm we can pick when we want the immutable event to happen. It''s really important to have that confirmation." "Mekaners," my mother muttered and shook her head. "I''m going to get some sleep. Will you walk with me at least as far as the area where the rest of the healers have set up sleeping quarters, Sister Kamagishi?" "Certainly, Sister Lisaykos." The two high priestesses went out the back gate of the royal encampment and strolled arm-in-arm down the lane. I called for one of my wraiths to put Garki to bed and keep a watch on the boy. I set two more to keep an eye on my mother and Kamagishi. I already had a watch set on Kayseo and the Princess Opo''aba. I took Emily and installed her on cushions and a bed mat next to the camp bed where the Queen was deep in the recuperating slumber of a fatigued healer. Then I set myself up in the inner chamber of the royal pavilion to make a kite. Why did Emily want a kite? --- Opo¡¯aba, tent city at Black Falls "Why do I have to get stuck with running errands for a crippled healer?" trainee Moyuxkol haup Ixism''os screamed in my face. I had just finished helping carry casks of grain into the army''s kitchen area from the stores compound but had tripped and dropped the two I had in my arms. The wood is not thick on the casks and they broke. Moyuxkol and her two sidekicks, who were also on stores duty, ridiculed me and made up a fake law on the spot about being liable for the loss during a calamity. I told her so but she didn''t believe I knew anything about the law of the kingdom. What a joke. I had the law memorized, all of it, and the legal scholar attendants of the Shrine of Galt had been my teachers. "I tell you what," Moyuxkol simpered. "You can take my shift with the crippled healer and I won''t tell Voice Druyudros that you''re liable for two dropped casks of grain." "No, that is neither acceptable nor right," I folded my arms and looked down at her. I knew that that infuriated her since I was the tallest in our class and had a lot more white in my hair. "I don''t know how you think you can get away with what you are always trying to pull on others. If you are the shining example of what a noble is supposed to be, I worry for this kingdom. You lie, you cheat and you bully. I don''t know what you did to intimidate or bribe Voice Druyudros to always back you up, but I assure you, someday your misdeeds will come back to haunt you." "Surd save us, listen to the street trash speak like she''s some high-bred toff," Eyos, sidekick number one, said. "Who taught the street trash to talk like the lady she''ll never be?" Moyuxkol, the spoiled brat had the gumption to laugh. I had to work hard, almost daily, not to ever lose my temper at her. I was determined not to be my mother. It was easier at times like this when Moyuxkol picked on just me, but some kids in our class were not noble and came from families which didn''t even have a flying mount. She tortured a couple of gals who were the first to walk down the aisle at the enrollment ceremony. They had no confidence or social standing to dodge the deadly trio''s bullying. I tried to protect those girls as much as possible, to the point where I allowed myself to be blamed or framed falsely in their place at least three times since we enrolled. I found I couldn''t stand bullies like her. Moyuxkol and her sidekicks made everyone they considered beneath them miserable since our complaints went unheard. We initially made our complaints to Priestess Voice Druyudros, the Voice in charge of all 12 girls in our first-year class of 18 enrollees. I had been the first to complain and got extra cleaning duty for my efforts to do the right thing. Upsupkot, sidekick number two, pointed across the tent city to the east side of the ruined Black Falls walls: "Look, it''s the spider monster that showed up last night. Want to take a closer look?" "Yeah, I do," Moyuxkol. "Hey, street rat, have fun with the crippled healer today. See ''ya!" The three of them ran off, without even telling our supervisor. We still had until the third bell for this particular duty. Before the attack, I had started to float some feelers about what the connection was between Moyexkol and Druyudros. When the current crisis is over and done with, I will finish my efforts and take my results to Senlyosart, assuming she recovered. My gut told me that something was off here in ways deeper than just petty tyrants bullying commoners. When my duty was over, I checked in for an early midday repast, which was sandwiches. I grabbed mine and turned to run down to where the healers were camped when a long arm latched onto my shoulder and stopped me. "So where are you running off to in a hurry, Trainee Opa?" High Priestess Kamagishi said in a gloomy disapproving voice. She looked really tired and was wearing rumpled flying clothes, which surprised me since she''s usually such a sharp dresser. Before I made a big goof, I remembered to do all the correct etiquette things toward a high priestess Kamagishi, like any other person of the merchant class. Holding my wrapped sandwich in my left hand behind my back, I made a full kneeling obeisance, "May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Holy One." "And upon you too, Opa," she finally smiled. "Now do I get a hug, you scamp who didn''t enroll in my shrine? I just found out this morning. I will have words with your guardians and Lord Bobbo over this, you know." "Aunt Kami, I missed you," I gave her a big hug. By the time I let go, I noticed that the rest of the people in the dining tent for trainees, guards, and soldiers were on their knees in proper obeisance to the Holy One. "Please, will you rise and go about your business," Aunt Kami said to the tent as soon as she noticed. "I''m just here to give a wayward child a piece of my mind," she smiled sweetly at her audience and turned an evil conniving smile on me. Everyone laughed. Aunt Kami could always work a crowd. She was a real pro. Of course, I was taking mental notes, just like I took mental notes when watching my dad work a crowd. "What do I need to do to get my own sandwich?" Aunt Kami asked me. "That line there," I pointed to the people waiting for sandwiches. We didn''t get as far as the line before the person at the head of the line was given an extra sandwich wrapped in cloth and brought it to us. "Thank you," Aunt Kami said in a voice that wasn''t loud but was heard by everyone. How did Kamagishi do that? (Continued in installment 98) 98. Fated Conversations (Continued from installment 97; Princess Opa, tent city at Black Falls) "Let''s go find someplace where I can have a few words with you, Opa, just the two of us," she led me out of the dining tent, "and I think I have the perfect place." "But Aunt Kami, I need to check on Healer Kayseo before I do anything else," I pleaded. "The trainee who is supposed to help her this afternoon took off with her friends and dumped the duty, using pretenses, on me. I need to make sure that Kayseo is not abandoned." "What?" Aunt Kami was quietly but instantly angry. "How in the world was this permitted to happen?" "The person who dumped her duty is the daughter of Lord Ixism''os and the highest-ranking among the enrollees. The Voice in charge of the first-year girls chooses to believe her and her lies rather than those of us she picks on. I''ve been trying to solve the problem quietly without blowing, well, yeah, that thing I''m not talking about. I had started my inquiries on any ties between Voice Druyudros and Moyuxkol haup Ixism''os but the attack came. Because of what happened today, I would like to talk to Senlyosart over Moyuxkol skipping out on Healer Kayseo, because that''s going beyond mere bullying classmates. But I don¡¯t know when my kinswoman will be better and don¡¯t know who will run the shrine while she recovers. And now I''m worried about cousin Kayseo..." "Cousin?" Aunt Kami smiled as she questioned my calling Kayseo my cousin. "If General Bobbo is my adopted uncle, that makes Kayseo my adopted cousin," I asserted. "She and Lord Bobbo flew me and Aunt Oyyuth down here for the enrollment ceremony. Kayseo is wow. I like her a lot and I will not permit her to go without help today because some spoiled brat of a noble''s daughter decided she was too good to help a hero of Foskos." "There''s a lot to like about Kayseo," Aunti Kami looked like she was remembering something. "You know her?" Where did Aunt Kami meet Kayseo? "Yes, I know Priestess Kayseo. She''s a rather amazing young woman and I suspect that Lisaykos is considering her as a successor. That''s how talented Kayseo is. When your mother had her unfortunate incident with the Blessed Emily, the person Lisaylos relied on to keep Emily alive was Kayseo. When they pulled Senlyosart and Usoy out of the rubble, it was Kayseo who came with a team of healers to set up the blood transfusions that saved Usoy''s life. Kayseo is something else." "Wow. I didn''t know that. Now I''m even happier she''s my adopted cousin." I skipped a few steps and turned around and smiled. "So the healers are down this lane," I pointed. "Let''s go find Kayseo." "I don''t think we have to spend any time looking," Aunt Kami pointed down the lane at the tall willowy figure of Great One Lisaykos coming right at us. "I see you finally tracked her down," Lisaykos said. Before they could start talking, I did my kneeling obeisance, "may the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One." "And upon you too, Opa hat Kay''syo," she looked at me kindly. "You can get up, you know, and for future reference, a bowing obeisance is fine under informal circumstances like this, in the middle of a dusty street that can get your clothes dirty, child." I popped up to my feet. "Uncle Hessakos said..." "Uncle Hessakos?" The Great One raised one eyebrow at me. "Uncle Hessakos said that when you smile, it looks like you are contemplating the torture of small children and little cute fluffy animals." "Really?" The Great One smiled. It was true what Uncle Hessakos said. Aunt Kami started to laugh and laugh and laugh. "It''s not that funny, Kamagishi," the Great One snapped. "Oh, yes it is," Aunt Kami laughed some more. ¡°If Hessakos is her uncle, that makes you her great aunt.¡± "While Aunt Kami is recovering from her temporary hilarity affliction," I defaulted to respectful deference, "Great One, can you please tell me where I might find Healer Kayseo?" "Certainly, trainee, but why?" I explained once more that Kayseo''s assigned errand-runner had run off and that I wanted to be sure Kayseo was being adequately served. The Great One looked like a whole bank of thunderstorms when I was done. "I knew the next runner for Kayseo was late but I did not realize it was a case of truancy," the anger rolling off the Great One was palpable despite her calm and measured tone of voice. "Sister Kamagishi, do you think Sister Senlyosart would object if we took a hand in this matter given that someone is trying not to reveal certain matters?" "I''m not sure," Aunt Kami has finally recovered her composure. "It''s political. Priestess Voice Druyudros haup Angsum''s family are the poor relations of Lord Ixism''os, who controls the weir gates to their only productive farmland." "I think maybe Voice Druyudros needs to be reassigned," the Great One said. "We have lost several senior Voices. It will be appropriate to recall senior Voices with longevity who are currently in the field at the garrisons and have them return to the shrine. Younger Voices will need to replace them in the field. "The Shrine of Sassoo is small,¡± the Great One¡¯s frown was frightening. ¡°I think the largest shrine organization can spare some priestesses to fill in as supervisors for the trainee classes. They can provide long-term rehabilitation for the recovering Voices, Windshapers, and Musician Attendants at the same time. I will discuss it with the King and Queen. Then we can summon the Convocation, and hold it here so Senlyosart can attend at least the portion affecting her shrine." "I like the way you think," Aunt Kami smiled malevolently. "So where is Kayseo and what can we do to replace the truant trainee haup Ixism''os? Opa and I still need to eat our mid repast, and I still need to talk to her about you know what." "Opa," the Great One looked at me, "I will make sure that Kayseo is properly attended, even if I have to do it myself." "But you can''t, Great One," I protested. "It''s a job for someone like me who can''t contribute in ways that you can." "She makes a good argument, doesn''t she?" Aunt Kami remarked, laying her hand on my shoulder. "After all the coaching in the law I gave her and she slipped out from under my fingers as a trainee." She sighed and looked down at me, "Opa, Kayseo can wait and Lisaykos will make sure she is alright. It''s more important that I talk to you, now. I¡¯ve been trying to catch up with your work crew for a bell and a half. I didn''t want to make finding you a big deal, on the premise that I didn''t want to blow your identity." "What''s so important that you have to talk to me?" I couldn''t figure it out. "Were you planning on finding your mother today?" she asked me. "Yes, I traded some duties so I would have this afternoon free to see if I could find my mother and finally talk to her," I explained. "I want to see her," I tried not to tear up in front of these two high priestesses. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. "That¡¯s what I need to talk to you about: your mother. The Blessed Emily is with your mother right now. You will get to see her and talk to her this afternoon but Emily needs to talk to your mother first. So let''s find a quiet spot and I''ll explain what I can about everything that''s happened and why it has to be this way. Alright?" "Opa, there is more to this than you know. When your mother wakes up, Emily must talk to your mother first," the Great One said with as serious a face as I have seen on anyone, short of when my father explained last year what happened between my mother and Emily and Asgotl. "The difference between a calamity for the kingdom and putting your relationship with your mother back together depends on you not seeing her until Emily talks to her first." "Seriously?" "Remember the strange event this morning when everyone in the tent city was paralyzed with fear?" Aunt Kami asked. "Yep." "That was because two gods visited the camp regarding your meeting with your mother." I could tell Aunt Kami was not making this up and it frightened me. The gods had not been active for more than 2,500 years, and now two appeared because of me and my mom? Scary. "The monster Ud has not left her home in the fenlands in over seven centuries," Aunt Kami added. "She showed up last night in part to tell us that Emily had to be here today for your mother''s sake. Your mother''s mental health is not only fragile right now, it is also a matter that affects the survival of the kingdom. This is a lot bigger than just you and your mother." I didn''t know what to think. This was all so much to take in. "Come, dear heart," Aunt Kami took my arm, ¡°let us find a peaceful spot and eat our repast and talk.¡± --- Aylem, the tent city in Black Falls I heard the fourth bell and woke up. To my great surprise, Emily was curled up in some blankets on some cushions next to my bed. I tried to get up without waking her but didn''t succeed. I knew this because a tiny hand reached out and caught the hem of the nightgown I had created before I went to sleep. I was getting better at the creation magic Ud had taught me. It was a lovely lacey linen nightgown, the kind I knew Imstay liked. "Emily, I need to use the necessary," I said to the tiny hand holding firmly onto my hem. I couldn''t see anything else, just the hand and the attached arm extending out from under the bundle of blankets. That''s the way Emily usually slept: rolled up in a wad of blankets with just a foot or hand sticking out. "Promise?" a muffled voice asked. "I need to talk w...with you so I can''t let you get away." "Badly enough that you left the Shrine of Tiki to chase me down?" I was both amused and concerned. "I''ve been visited by five different gods in less than a day," the muffled voice said, "so I really need to talk to y...you." "Seriously?" I didn''t like the sounds of this. "W...would I get dragged out of bed from a sound sleep to go flying in the cold in the middle of the night if it w...wasn''t serious? Stupid gods w...wouldn''t let me sleep. Go to the necessary. Come back. W...we can talk." "Can I at least get something to eat while we talk?" "I''m sure something can be arranged," she sat up and a grumpy-looking mussed-up head emerged: Emily in morning mode. "Garki ran into Galt by accident this morning so he''s currently sleeping off a state of bliss and is unavailable for his usual high-quality food and drink service." "I can take care of meals for you both," Usruldes'' voice said from outside the closed tent entrance. "Sandwiches are currently on the menu and I have some for whoever wants them, including ones in extra-small and extra-large sizes. Emily, you will eat every bit of the sandwich I have for you plus 10% more, as per the orders of one Ud, who is disappointed you haven''t gained any weight." I laughed at that, especially at the disgusted look on Emily''s face. It only took me a moment to take care of my morning routine. I made a dress for the day in rose pink, fashionable but comfortable to wear, with a shortened hem to walk in, and lots of pockets. "Food time," I told the slowly-waking Emily and picked her up carefully. I could tell she was groggy just by looking at her. When I picked her up, I was surprised to feel that strange brain state that''s the signature of being touched by a god within the last one to two days. Emily wasn''t kidding about the gods. Usruldes led us to a trestle table in the middle of the royal encampment with bench seats. "Why are we eating out here?" I asked. "Imstay was so tired this morning that he was showing a solid blue fatigue aura," Usruldes pulled the bench out for me. "I want to avoid waking him up before his staff meeting at the fifth bell." "That''s a good idea," I agreed. I straddled the bench and put Emily in front of me with her back facing me. "I''m going to fix your braid, Emily. It''s unraveling." "Should just w...whack it all off and be done w...ith it," she grumped. I was amused. She was in fine form this morning. "Oh, look, there''s Ud," my teacher was walking slowly along the ruined city walls to the east of what remained of Black Falls. "I haven''t had a chance to say hello yet." * Hello, child. We can chat later. You need to talk to Emily now. * I felt welcome, amusement, and concern from Ud all at the same time. This was beginning to worry me. Then Asgotl, still wearing a saddle, wandered up and plunked down. "Hey, pretty ladies," he put his head in front of Emily on the bench. "I am not scratching y...your ears, blubber brain," Emily grumped. "Aylem is doing my hair and you can w...wait." "Boy oh boy oh boy, you are grumpier than usual," he sniffed. "Your stutter is worse this morning too." "Yeah, well," Emily said as if Asgotl should know why. I could tell just from the way she held her head and shoulders that she was tense. Now I was beginning to get quite worried. Usruldes was putting plates of sandwiches down when I tied off her braid. I wrapped my arms around her and rested my chin lightly on her shoulder. "You said you needed to talk with me. Is someone in my family or among my friends dead or uncurably wounded or sick?" "No, nothing like that," Emily stiffened and I could tell she was trying not to shake. Usruldes mindcasted me. * Please, Great One, let go of Emily and make it seem natural. She''s scared and she''s trying not to show it. * * Scared of me? * I asked the spymaster. * Yes, both of you and other things bothering her right now. * The concern he had for her was screaming at me. What was even more disconcerting was that Asgotl was thinking close to the same thing as Usruldes. He was afraid for her and what I might do to her. Did they think I was that unreliable after all the shame I''ve had to face? I unwrapped my hug. I got up and walked to the other side of the table, pulling my plate with me. "I''m starving. Is there anything to drink? Hot tea?" "It''s still steeping," Usruldes said. "I''m not as good as Garki, who would have delivered a cup already. Do you want tea, Emily? Or would you like to try that drink you were teaching Garki this morning?" That got my attention and a change of subject might calm Emily down. "What drink?" I asked. "Sekanjabin," Emily climbed onto the table and then sat cross-legged on it. "Sorry, even sitting on the bench, the table is still too tall." "Real Persian Sekanjabin?" That sounded wonderful to me. "Yeah, the tea supply is almost depleted so I thought I''d give Garki a non-alcoholic alternative to beer, cider, perry, and ale." She sighed and looked at her hands. "Usruldes, I''ll try the sekanjabin, please." I watched Usruldes walk to the royal pavilion and decided to eat my sandwich before Emily found her resolve to tell me her difficult news. It was good that I woke up hungry or the worry might have robbed me of the ability to eat. The moments before he returned were heavy with silence as Emily studied the wood of the tabletop. Usruldes put down a hot beaker of tea for me and a small beaker of sekanjabin for Emily. "You need to eat, Emily," he said gently. "I can''t eat right now. Please save it for me?" "Emily, you need to ea... "No, I do not," her two golden eyes were on fire as she glared at him, burning like an arc lamp, a steady flame of anger. "I can not eat right now. Take it away and then leave me to talk to Aylem." It was the spark she needed. With her annoyance, I could see her signature determination condense and settle on her face. Her iron spine straightened and the jaw jutted just a fraction forward. "Emily..." "Five Gods are on my back right now and y...you w...want me to eat a sandwich?" Her voice was soft and very controlled. I was glad I was not on the receiving end of that look she gave Usruldes. After a moment, he did a full kneeling obeisance, then put praying hands against his forehead, he bowed to the ground. Wordlessly, he got up, took the plate, and vanished into the royal pavilion. (Continued in installment 99) 99. Nailing Down Aylem (Continued from part 98; Aylem, tent city at Black Falls) "I''m done eating, Emily." I was so hungry, the sandwich had vanished into my stomach before I realized I had eaten the whole thing. I took a sip of tea. "You better tell me what you need to tell me so I can stop pretending I''m calm." She let out a huge sigh and collapsed into herself, and then looked at me. That look coalesced and focused on me until I couldn''t look away. "First, I w...would like you to make me a promise that no matter w...what, you w...will not run away again." "What?" "Promise me. It''s the entire reason those damn gods woke me up in the middle of the night. The most important thing y...you can do today is not leave this tent city." "Emily?" "Do you trust me? Trust me on this, w...when today is over, you w...will be happy that you made this promise to me." "I?...is?...I..." I was suddenly more frightened than I could remember being. "Aylem, I can''t stop you if you get up and w...walk away. No one here can. The only thing I can do is ask y...you to get through today, here, in Black Falls. No one will die. No one w...will get hurt. The army loves you. To the populace of the kingdom, y...you''re their goddess right now for having defeated the Impotuans. You worked a real-life miracle w...with Senlyosart yesterday. All I''m asking is a promise you''ll not leave." She tilted her head to one side and studied me, "take a deep breath, Jane Paxton. Hold it for a slow count of ten and then let it out, just like Ud taught y...you. Come on, I know you can do it." She gave me a confident lopsided smile. I did as she asked and felt my head stop spinning and my heart stop pounding. "I think you know w...without knowing w...what follows, don''t you?" Emily looked at me with sympathy. "There is no w...way this won''t be difficult." I could see the shape of what was coming at me and Emily was right. I wanted to be far far away. "Promise?" she asked with just the tiniest hint of impatience. "Why is this so important right here and right now?" Why couldn''t I put this off until I''m ready? "It''s simple," Emily explained with some personal pain, "because what you decide to do right now w...will affect millions of lives. It''s why five gods decided to wake me up from a sound sleep to ruin the rest of my life. It''s simple and it''s hard, Aylem. You can take the easy w...way out, doom millions and tick me off at you for the rest of your existence; or you can do the correct but hard thing, promise me you w...will stay here today, save the future that the gods want to create for all sapient creatures, and let your daughter say hello to you this afternoon. I can explain the details later because it w...will take time to explain. Just promise me?" As I looked at her, with my stomach turning over with fear and my hands in my lap so she couldn''t see them shaking, I saw her briefly close her eyes. In that half a breath, I saw fatigue flash across her face along with fear and deep grief. Then it was gone, but I was left with the certainty that the burden she was carrying was greater than any of my own problems. I could not deny that the gods had once again touched her and what they required of her had taken her even further from the future she wanted for herself. "I''m not ready to see my daughter, Emily," I finally admitted. "I can''t...I can''t..." "You can and you will," Emily replied sorrowfully and sighed. "It will happen and it will be today. Kamagishi has seen it. It''s an immutable event. We can''t stop it but we have done all we can to make it easier for you. So, promise me?" She didn''t stutter once. "Yes, I promise. If Kamagishi has seen it, I can not escape it." "Take her kite flying," Emily suggested. "Bet she has never been." "Kite flying? There are no kites in..." I stopped when I saw Emily''s grin aimed right at me. "Emily," I could barely believe it, "you introduced kites?" "W...while staying at the Shrine of Giltak," she beamed with satisfaction. "They''re everywhere now." She got up and walked across the tabletop to me, wrapped her arms around my neck, and hugged me. I hugged her back and wept out all my fears and hurts and regrets, sobbing like a child. Asgotl walked up behind me and rested his beak on my other shoulder and wrapped a wing around the three of us, hiding my sobbing face from sight. I did not deserve these two and all the forgiveness they had given me, especially in the face of Emily''s ongoing disability which I had caused. I don''t know how long it was that we were like that together. The fifth bell rang and I became aware that the guards at the entrance to the encampment had barred several people from entering. I dried my eyes and cast quick healing on my face so there would be no traces of a drippy nose and red eyes. "We should move on or at least move elsewhere," I said. "I believe the guards are keeping people out so we could have some time to ourselves. "Is Imstay a...wake yet?" Emily sat back down on the tabletop. I snooped and saw Imstay trying to drag himself awake, sitting at the conference table, rubbing his head as if he hadn''t had enough sleep. "Well, his eyes are open and he is sitting upright." "Usruldes?" Emily asked. "Heading this way with your sandwich, which you will now eat, young lady," Asgotl said in a voice that would not take no for an answer. "My life has turned into a disaster," she dropped her head into her hands and moaned. "Alright, here''s what I w...would like you to do, for now, Jane. You should attend the meeting with Imstay but do not accept any obligations or things to do this afternoon or evening. Your afternoon and evening are for your family." This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. "Emily, I am the Queen and I do have..." "No, I''m pulling rank on you today, Aylem. And from my point of view, taking care of y...you and your family this afternoon and evening is the same thing as taking care of the whole world." The look she gave me was formidable and as solid as the Marble Arch. It was a look that allowed me no room. The touch of the gods was still burning within her eyes and I could not defy her. I realized suddenly that she knew it too and was consciously using that authority with no small skill and all her stubbornness. Just what had the gods done to her this time? "Asgotl, w...will you ask Imstay King to please speak w...ith me before his meeting starts?" Emily requested. "You will eat?" he butted her with his beak. "Yeth, dear," she lisped at him with an annoyed face and goofy voice, as if he nagged her often. Given this was Asgotl, he probably did nag her, just like he sometimes nagged me. Usruldes tilted his head as Asgotl walked past him and then got the back of his head swatted by Asgotl''s tail. Emily chuckled. "Your mid repast, Great One," he said in a monotone. "Sorry, friend, for snapping at you earlier," she slumped and looked at him apologetically with big eyes. "I w...w...was a little stressed." "Still are," he said and then he visibly relaxed. "Warmed your food up for you." "Can you tell the guards it''s safe to let the meeting attendees in?" she asked. "Oh, and the Queen should attend the meeting. Then she should hang out here until I return. She w...will probably be climbing the tent w...walls so can you show her how to fly the kite? She hasn''t flown one in a very long time." "I do have my own duties to take care of, you know," he folded his arms, "as well as filling in for Garki, who is still asleep with a stupid smile on his face." He looked down and thought for a moment, "lucky kid." He looked up, "I have taken care of the meeting attendees at the gate." "I can help with filling in for Garki," I volunteered. "No, you can''t, Great One," Usruldes contradicted. "It is not meet for you to do so." He tended to get very formal when he disagreed with royalty. "I find that I have a sudden need to be distracted and I am offering to help, you thick-brained over-bred stubborn person," I pointed out. A very tall, stout --- not fat --- silverhair, even taller than most high priestesses, approached and made full kneeling obeisance, "may the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great Ones." She was in a plain lilac-colored work dress, a full-length work apron, and her hair was up in a kerchief. I knew I had seen her somewhere before this. "And upon you," I replied. "Please rise. Your face is very familiar but I am embarrassed to confess that I can''t place it right now." Emily looked between the two of us and also at Usruldes, who was standing so still as to almost be unnoticeable. The woman was taller than Usruldes, who was the tallest man I knew. She might be taller than Lisaykos even, and Lisaykos was the second tallest in the Convocation. I didn''t get to complete what I was saying because Imstay arrived at the table. Before he could do or say anything, Emily pointed at him, "let me grab your collar, Imstay King, because w..we need to talk for just a moment, in private." "For the inventor of that wonderful new beverage, anything, lovely lady," he pulled out the charming behavior, like usual. He sat her on his arm and the two of them vanished off to an empty part of the royal encampment. I was sure she was filling him in and asking him to make sure I stayed put while the conspirators brought my daughter to me. Just thinking about it made my stomach clench. Maybe I could fake being sick? No, that wouldn''t fool anyone. In this world, I never even got sick. "Sorry," Usruldes said to the silverhaired lady, "I know you would like to harass the King and me a bit more for what we have done to your family but we have some crisis-level crises to take care of today. Save it up for later and I will be pleased to deliver up another opportunity for you to take out a little more retribution upon us for our sins." "I can''t tell if you''re joking or not, not with that fool mask on your face, you miserable reprobate," she addressed Usruldes in a very familiar tone as if they had known each other for years. "For the record, Lord," he said in a lofty tone, "I can hardly be a reprobate since I have never been incarcerated nor have I needed rehabilitation for past deeds of ill repute, given that I have never committed any." "That we know of," Lisaykos said as she walked up. "Did you know, Lord Gunndit, that this agent of the King called me a beaky squawk this morning?" "No, the nerve!" She then turned to me. "Figure it out yet, Great One?" Katsa haup Gunndit winked at me. "Yes, now that you and your mother are side by side, I see the resemblance," I admitted. "I don''t think I''ve seen you in about four years." "Before we start to chat," Lisaykos interrupted and walked up to me. She placed her hand on my cheek and frowned. Then she sat down and hugged me tight, "it will be alright, Aylem, I promise." I hugged her back and started crying again. Lisaykos was another one whose forgiveness I didn''t deserve. "I promised Fassex and Emily I would take good care of you and I will do so," she leaned her forehead against mine. "You will get better. Do you want me to stay with you while you wait?" "Are you together enough to come to the meeting, Aylem?" Imstay''s voice said from behind me. "Can you give me a moment to compose myself?" I asked, sounding a lot more confident than I felt. "Of course," he took my hand and kissed it. Then he winked at me. What a ham. "Where''s Emily?" I asked. "She and Asgotl have some errands to run," Imstay replied. I looked around and noted that Katsa and Usruldes were herding the meeting attendees away from us and into the royal pavilion. "Katsa knows about Usruldes?" I asked Lisaykos. "When did she find out? And how?" "It''s quite an amusing story," Lisaykos smiled and looked up at Imstay. "I''ll tell you after the meeting." Imstay groaned. Then he paused and looked at me, "I would let you skip the meeting, since pretending that you''re all together when you aren''t is difficult, but Emily did not give me that option. I''m sorry." He looked at the ground for a moment, thinking. "Would you like to walk in with me? I think it might be a good move for you." "How?" I asked. My mind was a morass of pessimistic notions, all of them conjectures of my fears. "I''m the reason for this war. How can people not blame me? I..." Lisaykos flicked her finger against my forehead painfully, "stop it, Aylem." She grabbed my shoulders. "Was it you who mobilized 80,000 soldiers to invade, destroy and pillage? Was it you who raped the Coyn in Uldlip? Was it you who burned a shrine? You may have been absent but this war was not your intent." Imstay crouched next to me: "When someone falls down, you can choose to help them up or you can kick them and stomp on them and then steal their belt and pouch. You fell down but they chose to start a war and kick us while you were down. You are not at fault for this war." He took my hand and stroked it with his thumb. "I would cancel this meeting if I could but there are too many captains and priestesses and craftmasters who have not yet gotten the entire story on Ud or what she was sent to do, courtesy of Sassoo. I dare not put this off any longer." I nodded my head while working on regaining my composure. --- 100. Assault and Attempted Murder Emily, tent city at Black Falls I wouldn''t say we were lost, because when Asgotl was in the air, we could see everywhere in the camp; however, we weren''t sure where the shrine''s Voice trainees were camped since there were thousands of tents and even more people, Cosm, Coyn and mounts. We found the Herald Attendant and Musician Attendant trainees as well as the Priestess and Priest Voices and Windshapers; however, the directions we got at every stop to the Voice trainees just confused us. None of them were any good. I began to suspect that there were a lot of Cosm in Black Falls who didn''t know how to give directions or were too proud to tell a Coyn they didn''t know where a different part of the tent city was located. Near where the shrine Heralds were camped, we found a camp full of shrine Coyn with about a hundred tents. They all wore light-gray summer-weight overtunics with red ochre trim over white linen undertunics or kirtles. I was relieved to see that the Coyn looked well fed and not at all abused. They reminded me of the Coyn at the Shrine of Giltak. Several local Coyn appeared to be off-duty and relaxing with musical instruments. They were jamming and were much better than I would ever be. Asgotl wandered into the entrance of their camp which caused a bit of a stir. We only intended to ask for directions. "Hey, griffin, this isn''t...," a tall bearded black-haired man tried to stop Asgolt, which looked like a mouse trying to stop a marmot. He paused when he spotted me. "Welladay, you''re wearing Mugash shrine staff colors," he observed my gray shrine mantle with the black-lined hood and the gold-thread Mugash sigil embroidered on it. "You from Aybhas? I didn¡¯t know there were any of us on that shrine¡¯s staff." I decided to dodge the question since I had the mantle because I lived with Lisaykos, not because I was real staff like Wolkayrs. "Yep, we¡¯re from Aybhas," I said. "W...we are on an errand. W...we are trying to find w...where the Sassoo shrine''s Voice trainees are because we need to locate one. Can you please help us?" "You in a hurry?" he smiled up at me, "because I see an instrument bag on your back and I''m wondering if it''s a divine?" I had grabbed it on my way out with Asgotl on a whim. It still had my stockings and underwear in it. "We need to return before the sixth bell, w...with the trainee we were sent to find." "How in the world did you score a ride on a griffin?" he looked up at Asgotl in wonder. "Would he be offended if I scratched him?" "I wouldn''t be offended at all, friend," Asgotl said, shocking the man since griffins never talk to Coyn. He looked around carefully and then laid down slowly, just in case there were Coyn he couldn''t see who might be in the way. "Between the eyes and behind the ears, please. You won''t hurt me at all if you need to stand on my knees to reach." "Let me get off first, y...you miserable excuse of a griffin," I chided him. "He really is terrible," I told the black-haired man as I slowly climbed down. The man helped me down the last bit of leg, "you''re just a kid and someone lent you a griffin?" "I get that all the time. I''m older than I look. Besides, the griffin and I have known each other for a while," I explained. "Sometimes I ride him by myself," I admitted. "Now I¡¯m impressed. I''m Oytwee, by the by," he said, "and you are?" I didn''t get a chance to reply since several children in the six to ten range spotted Asgotl getting scratched. They squealed in delight and came at a run. "Are you a real griffin?" "Well, I''m not an elephant, last time I checked," Asgotl said, though I could tell he was frozen in place so he wouldn''t accidentally move and hurt a child. He was such a good griffin. "Can we pet you?" "You shouldn''t touch or climb on my wings. Please leave my tail alone. I really like getting scratched on my neck, behind my ears, and between my eyes." "Can we sit on you please?" said one very cute little girl with curling blond hair. "Only for a little while because I am on an errand and will need to leave soon." "Oytwee, I''ll watch them," a plump gal in her twenties came running over. "It''s my turn today with the kids." "Is it okay with you, master griffin?" Oytwee asked. "Can we steal your friend for just for a moment? None of us has seen a divine yet." "It''s fine," Asgotl said and didn''t even flinch when a little boy pulled on the fur of his shoulder to climb up. "This way," he led the way to the circle of musicians around a campfire. "Hey folks, this gal''s from Aybhas and she''s got a divine." "Oh!" A young blond man hopped off his seat, tucking his flute under his arm, "please have a seat. Can you play something on it?" ''Well," I sat down and check the tuning, "we can''t spend too long because w...we are on an errand." I did overtone style tuning so they could hear the overtones played high on the strings. Then I started my tuning riff, "this is something I play to check my tuning since it uses parallel twelves." Parallel twelves are what Foskans called an octave because there were twelve half steps in an octave. I wasn''t good at Foskan musical notation yet but I at least could transcribe it onto a normal musical stave for my own use. I finished with my tuning riff and decided to play a Dowland piece followed by the Peter, Paul, and Mary arrangement of All my Trials because I thought it might have resonance with these Coyn, who despite the care given to them, were still slaves. I had reworked the rhymes in Fosk to keep the original meaning as intact as possible but tweaked it just a little to make it a hymn of Surd, the deity of family, and mercy. "All my trials, Surd, soon be over. All my trials, Surd, soon be over. I¡¯ve got a little message Surd sent to me, someday I¡¯ll wake and find I¡¯m free. All my trials, Surd, soon be over. If living were a thing that money could buy, you know the rich would live and the poor would die. All my trials, Surd, soon be over. Too late, my brethren, too late but never mind. All...¡± "Stop that noise," someone on the other side of the cloth camp wall threw a large bucket of water at us. "What did we tell you about making noise over there?" a young woman''s voice ordered. "Just stop it." The aim on the water was excellent. I and my guitar were soaking wet. I was annoyed. I know it wasn''t because I sang poorly. I had a decent soprano voice with good pitch control, though it lacked a mature vibrato. It was very high and very pure sounding, almost like a boy soprano in one of those English boys'' church choirs. From singing duets Thuorfosi taught me, I knew it carried well. "Sorry about that," Oytwee handed me a cloth. I immediately applied it to my instrument. I wasn''t at all sure if the wood glue was water-resistant. "A few of this year''s incoming class are not pleasant people," he said softly. "That''s where the Voice trainees are camped so you don''t need any directions. Just walk around the end of this row to get to their entrance." ¡°That was a song of beauty you played,¡± an older man with graying hair remarked. ¡°Do you have a score for it?¡± I had to shake my head no. I would have to fix that. "A true musician," said the gal next to me with a prell and an approving smile. "You take care of your instrument before yourself.¡± "So that''s a divine," Oytwee studied it. "It has a very nice timbre though it doesn''t carry far. Where did you learn to play it?" If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The screams of happy children interrupted us. Asgotl allowed the children to pile on his back. Then he stood up, sat his hindquarters down, and let them slide off the incline of his long back. From his expression, I knew he was enjoying himself. I wondered if he had once done the same for the Queen''s two children. "We said stop your noise," the angry voice demanded. "That does it. I''m coming over there." A Cosm-sized hand appeared to untie the cloth wall, which was about 16 hands high. Soon it dropped and a Cosm girl around 12 years old stepped through in the red ochre over gray of Sassoo with an angry look on her face. Her expression turned uglier when she saw Asgotl entertaining the Coyn children. "How did a griffin get over here?" She scowled. "Who is your master, griffin, and why aren''t you in your field where you belong?" "I do not answer to you, child," Asgotl snapped. "Trainee Moyuxkol, you are in violation of the rules for the temporary city," Oytwee said. "You have now trespassed in a Coyn encampment and should leave immediately or face the consequences." "Oh no, not until that griffin leaves and returns to where he escaped from," she announced. "I am a free griffin, child. I have not escaped from anywhere and I am here on business." "Stop lying," this overgrown brat ordered. "Who owns you?" "No one," Asgotl''s neck feathers started to stand up as he got angry. "Trainee, the griffin is not lying," I pulled out of my pouch the fire opal tablet of the king''s personal staff that he gave me last rotation. "The griffin is a friend and is doing me a favor since I have been tasked to find someone among the Voice trainees." "Where did you steal that from?" the brat accused. "You insult not only me and Asgotl but also the King w...with that statement." Oh, she was so annoying. I couldn''t stand spoiled brats like her. As the nerdiest girl in junior and senior high school, I had run into her type too often when I was growing up in another life. "What does a filthy little Coyn know?" she sniffed and looked down at me from her considerable height, which looked to be pushing 15 hands. "There''s no way the King would have a filthy thing like you in his camp." "I w...wish to speak to whoever is in charge of your camp, trainee," I stood up, slipped my tablet back into my pouch, and slung my guitar on my back by its strap. "I have an errand to run in your encampment. Be so kind as to show me the w...way, please?" I spoke in neutral but polite tones. "I won''t show you anywhere except to the guards for stealing the king''s tablet," this little brat pronounced. She was so confident she could do whatever she liked. If she turned out like this, then what were the parents like? "So, hand the tablet over, and you, me, and griffin will go to the guards." "I am here on business w...with a proper tablet from the King and you are just a trainee," I stated. "You have neither the standing nor the authority to impede me. If y...you do not wish to be expelled from this shrine, you will take me to your supervisor so I can find the person I am looking for, or y...you can skip that step and find her for me. Her name is Opa hat Kay''syo and her presence is requested at the royal encampment." The Coyn around me looked scared. The brat looked bratty. I wanted to wipe the arrogance off her face. Some of her fellow trainees were now watching the show. A few looked like they approved but more looked concerned. "You think you can pull precedence on me?" she shrilled at a high volume. "You filthy little Coyn, know your place!" She took out her crystal and cast a charm of discipline. The initial shock took my breath away. Damn, that charm was seriously painful but it didn''t hold a candle to what Aylem had done to me. I was used to pain by now. The charm of discipline was worse than a migraine but when the initial wave of pain was over, I opened my eyes, turned on my heel, and started walking to Asgotl, though it took all I had in me to do so. "Sorry, kids," I said to the children, "I need my griffin back. Go to your tents and get out of sight, alright?" I smiled for their sake. "Hurry now, you must go hide quickly." "Asgotl, I don''t have the stamina to do finish our errand," I shifted the guitar to climb up his foreleg and neck. "W..w..we need help. Let''s go back." "Watch out!" Asgotl suddenly shouted. "How dare you turn your back on me!" the brat screamed and hit me with a second charm. Asgotl screamed in pain since it hit him too. My ears were hissing and I almost passed out from the pain of the second charm on top of the first. I staggered a step. I took my guitar off my back, popped the strap off, and picked up a large rock. I used the strap as a sling and like usual, I did not miss. The rock hit her right in the correct spot just above her temple and she fell. In the moment it took her to regain her senses, I had my knee on her larynx and my knife just above her carotid artery. The pain of two charms of discipline was still burning its way through me. I wanted to curl up and scream in pain. As a result, I was not tactful. "My knife is right above the artery that goes to your brain. If you move so much as a finger...w...width, it will cut your artery and you w...will die in under a minute because that''s all it takes with the arteries in the neck. You have angered me, child, on a day when I have little time to w...waste on spoiled brats who think they are someone with a noble surname. Under the laws of Foskos, your fate is now in my hands. I am not a violent or vengeful person, but by the gods, the least that w...will happen is that you will be expelled." I didn''t see the kick coming. The foot was aimed at my knife, to get it away from the brat''s neck. Because of the way I held it, hilt up, point down, it dragged across the brat''s shoulder and left a lovely incision wound. Then the foot-propelled business-end of the knife lodged in my thigh. I hoped it missed the femoral artery. The rest of the Cosm-sized foot broke my left forearm, my elbow, and several ribs. I could feel and hear them break. I was also concussed when the toes and the ball of the foot struck my head just behind my ear. Then I went flying. I expected to hit the ground and that would be the end of me. A Coyn usually dies after a physical assault like this from a Cosm. An adult silverhair Cosm could weigh somewhere between 1,600 and 2,500 stone. I weighed maybe 90 stone, soaking wet with my boots on. In the great game of classical dynamics, I had just experienced the losing end of the momentum equation and was about to explore the losing end of the impact integral. The outcome of Cosm versus Coyn on a physical level is no joke. It''s the reason that Foskan towns and cities segregated living spaces for the two races. Cosm and Coyn can work together but not live together. It''s one of the reasons Lisaykos was so unhappy when Aylem left me at the Healing Shrine of Mugash in Aybhas because it was an all-Cosm, no-Coyn facility. It had no safety features for Coyn before Lisaykos retrofitted parts of the shrine for my benefit. I expected an impact followed by whatever comes after death. I wasn¡¯t ready to die but at least I wouldn¡¯t have to put up with any more of this prophet crap. I would miss the gang of three and Lisaykos and Woldayrs. I knew now they had become a new family for me despite their excess of tallth. I didn''t get my impact and expected death. The world went wonky on me for the second time in one day and I had this really strange feeling that I was transitting multiple inertial reference frames where time was stretching at right angles to bleed off speed. The ground came up and floated into me softly. That''s the only way to explain it because that''s what it looked like to me. * Oh, that worked better than I thought it would. I''m so glad. Help is coming, little Emily. * Ud! Ud''s shirt! In the short time since she gave it to me, the only times I had taken it off were when I washed it. When other people put me to bed, I always asked for my shirt back, after explaining it was a magic tool for my protection. It was on my back when I got kicked and it saved my life. "Thank you, Ud," I managed to whisper. It hurt to breathe. * You are welcome. Now I am very happy I gave that to you. Help is here now. * "Great One," one of Usruldes'' wraiths was kneeling next to me, "say something!" "Something," I hoped she heard me. I couldn¡¯t manage more than a whisper. I opened my eyes but did not even try to move. "Breathing hurts. Head hurts. Someone should cast stasis cast on me to stop internal bleeding but I can be fixed. Is Asgotl alright?" "The griffin is fine, though he is still in pain," the wraith agent replied. "I''m sorry I did not reach you in time. I did not expect a Priestess Voice, of all people, to attack you. I thought you were dead. You should be dead." "A Coyn pulled a knife on a trainee," an approaching woman''s voice pronounced. "That Coyn ought to be dead and it would be better for it to be dead at this point because the only resolution to this situation will be that Coyn''s execution for assaulting a noble. Who the crap are you?" "I am an agent of the King," she stood up in her hooded black mantle and tunic and must have pulled out her fire opal tablet since the next thing she said was: "This is the same tablet the Revelator showed that trainee when she requested the trainee''s help. That trainee assaulted her three times and you assaulted her once. By law, both your lives are now forfeit to whatever the blessed one decides unless she dies, in which case you will be judged in the Well of Galt." "Blessed what? That¡¯s a stinking filthy Coyn," the woman shouted. "What nonsense is this? I should just stomp on it now and put it out of its misery since it will die anyway. No Coyn should have survived that. How can it be alive?" "You should hope she''s alive," I heard Imstay''s voice raised in anger. I felt the ground shake as his weight knelt next to me, "say something, please, Emily?" There was worry in that abruptly soft voice. "Something, please. That''s a silly request, Imstay King," I managed to whisper. Now that the charms of discipline were wearing off, I was beginning to feel a tiny bit better, but I had that strange out-of-balance feeling I remembered from the car accident in West Australia that almost killed me. "I think my back is broken, Imstay. I need a healer but I w...wanted to talk to Opa before she sees Aylem. Imstay, this is important. Please, tell your daughter that Mugash showed Aylem all of Opa¡¯s fear of her. I think it''s w...why Aylem ran away. Aylem couldn¡¯t face the guilt of making her own daughter afraid of her. Opa needs to know." I didn''t remember anything after that, except for Lisaykos'' and Kayseo¡¯s voices talking to me in my delirium. --- 101. Imstay, Opa and Aylem Imstay, tent city, Black Falls At the meeting, Usruldes was in the middle of explaining about Ud when Aylem twitched. Then Usruldes stopped mid-sentence. "The Blessed Emily was just attacked by a Priestess Voice," Usruldes said. "Asgotl was just attacked by a charm of discipline," Aylem said. "I''ve alerted all my wraiths," Usruldes stood up. "They will secure the scene. Great One Lisaykos, please come with me." "Is Emily hurt?" Aylem asked. Usruldes held up his hand for a moment, "broken bones, probably a concussion, and..." He paused and I could see the anger flare in his eyes. "She was kicked by a Voice for a distance of about 100 hands. The agent assigned to the Blessed Emily could not get to her in time to prevent the attack. My agent reports that a trainee cast two charms of discipline on the Blessed Emily. After the second charm, the Blessed Emily felled the trainee with a rock and then immobilized the trainee with a knee applied to her throat and a knife at the side of her neck. Emily was talking to the girl about the consequences of what she had just done when she was kicked by a Voice." "Let''s reconvene at the half before the quarter night bell," I declared. "Let''s go, Usruldes, Lord Skalta, Great One." "I''ll be right behind you," Lisaykos said. I saw her turn to talk with Aylem. I exited the pavilion. I was too tired to cast levitation so I cast a speed charm on myself and ran to the trouble spot. Coming through the opening into the camp, I eyeballed the distance between a bleeding trainee and the small crumpled body of Emily. I noticed her left arm and knew that bones aren''t supposed to bend that way. One of Usruldes'' agents was standing between her and an angry-looking silverhair in red ochre and grey Priestess robes. "Blessed what? That¡¯s a stinking filthy Coyn," the woman shouted. "What nonsense is this? I should just stomp on it now and put it out of its misery since it will die anyway. No Coyn should have survived that. How can it be alive?" "You should hope she''s alive," I said as I walked up to Emily. I trusted that Usruldes would contain the situation. I needed to know what sort of state Emily was in. It was important since it could affect Aylem''s state of mind. I confess I was also worried because I wanted to know Emily better, to talk with her, and see what she thought of life in Foskos with that unworldly perspective she had. If anyone had told me I would feel this way about a Coyn two or three years ago, I might have sent him or her to the healers to have that delusion cured. I knelt next to that small broken body but couldn''t see her breathe. Given her injuries, I was afraid she was dead or dying. "Say something, please, Emily?" Her eyes opened briefly as if it hurt to see. "Alright, something please," she smiled at her own little joke. "That''s a silly request, Imstay King. "I think my back is broken, Imstay King. I need a healer but I w...wanted to talk to Opa before she sees Aylem. Imstay, this is important. Please, tell your daughter that Mugash showed Aylem all of Opa¡¯s fear of her. I think it''s w...why Aylem ran away. Aylem couldn¡¯t face the guilt of making her own daughter afraid of her. Opa needs to know." As that old saying goes, think of someone and your thoughts will bring them to you. Emily mentioned Opa and then there was Opa, ducking under the arms of guards and the wraith agents and running straight to me before anyone could catch her. She looked so grown up in the shrine''s gray working overtunic with the wide bands of red ochre on the sleeves and as trim. "Mighty One?" Opa''s voice had dropped enough that she was starting to sound like her mother''s alto. She stopped just a few steps away. "This is awful," Opa was horrified. She knelt and reached out for Emily. "Don''t touch, Opa," I put my hand in the way of hers. "Moving her could make the injuries worse. A healer will be here soon." "I''m already here," Lisaykos'' voice said from behind me. The old bird could be as sneaky as her son when she wanted. "Before you ask, Katsa and Kamagishi are with Aylem and keeping her in at the royal pavilion. She wanted to come but she was convinced that keeping her promise to Emily was the right thing to do." I tapped my daughter on the shoulder to get her attention and motioned that we should both get out of the way. I didn''t have to worry about Emily with Lisaykos here. I looked around and Usruldes was already segregating witnesses to keep them apart until interviewed. Before I bothered Usruldes, I guided Opa over to Asgotl, who was down with his head on the ground. A small flock of Coyn children and some Coyn adults were speaking with him. All the children were petting him, which I thought was touching. He''s always been good with children of all species. I wish more mounts were like him. ¡°He still likes playing with children," Opa sighed. "He''s such a sweet griffin." "How much have you been around Coyn children, Opa?" "Not much but I do know the rules," she pouted that I had to ask. "Opa, I don''t know what you know,¡± I explained calmly. "That''s why I asked. As king, the well-being of the Coyn is part of my responsibility. As you just saw, it''s easy to break them. A kick that would give you or me a bruise threw Emily 100 hands and left her with multiple broken bones. Frankly, it should have killed her. By some miracle, she survived that attack. So when we get up to Asgotl, please watch where your feet go, kneel slowly, and stay very still. If you need room, to get more comfortable or to get up, tell the Coyn first so they know to get out of the way. And forgive me if you already know all this." I wasn¡¯t about to tell my daughter that I had not been around this many Coyn in years. I gave her instructions for approaching Coyn because I needed to remind myself. Other than Emily, I do not think I had ever had a real conversation with a Coyn. It was a disturbing thought that sprinted across my mind. How could I possibly ensure the wellbeing of the Coyn if I knew nothing about them and their lives within my borders? It occurred to me just then that I knew more about the lives of flying mounts than I did about the Coyn. But I had work to do so I put the thought away for now. "Welladay, Asgotl," I called out before I got too close. It was mostly to give the Coyn some warning I was near. I walked carefully around the Coyn. Then I slowly knelt in front of Asgotl. Opa did the same, kneeling next to me. "How are you feeling, big guy?" I asked the unusually-quiet Asgotl. "I know griffins and charms of discipline don''t mix." His eye opened and studied me. "It doesn''t hurt too much if I don''t move." "Can you walk?" "I don''t think so. Maybe in a few hours." "Let me see if we can leave you here for the night," I looked around to see if there was any obvious person as camp master. "No need to ask, Mighty One," a bearded black-haired Coyn made a bowing obeisance at my side. "Master Asgotl stepped in front of the charm discipline to protect our youngsters, so he may stay as long as he likes and the whole camp will take care of him. And he is welcome to come back to play with the children whenever he likes." "You are?" "I am the camp master for the shrine''s Coyn. My name is Oytwee. The griffin shielded our children, Mighty One. It means the world to us." "We all saw him, master big person," a tiny tow-headed boy piped up. "He saved us." "Katkol, that''s the King," Oytwee grabbed the boy''s earlobe. "His title is Mighty One. Now apologize." Oytwee was firm with the child but not overbearing, He was also not acting out of fear of me. I could see why he was appointed camp master. "I''m sorry migh..." "Katkol, I know we taught you how to do obeisance, just like you do to the Holy One when you pass on the street or outside. Start over but with an obeisance." If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The boy performed a good bowing obeisance, "I''m sorry for calling you the wrong name, King big person Mighty One." "It was just an accident," I smiled at the boy and tousled his blond hair with a light hand. "You meant no disrespect. I accept your apology." I looked back at Oytwee, "Yours?" "Not with that head of hair, Mighty One," the camp master laughed. "He''s my nephew. He lives with me and my partner," He slapped the boy on the butt. "Now scoot, child, because I need to talk to the King." "Oytwee, it is good of you to let Asgotl stay with you tonight,¡± I told the Coyn camp master. ¡°I will send a wrangler with his dinner and a water bucket for him. Now I must be going. Thank you for your help." "Mighty One, a moment, please? Might I ask who was the injured girl in the mantle of the healer shrine, the one the healers just took away? We have her divine and need to return it to her." "You don''t know?" I was surprised. "We asked her to show us her divine and in all the confusion, I never caught her name. If you know where she is camped, or can send word, we can get her divine back to her." "I can take it back with me," I offered. "She''s staying with the Queen." "She''s yours? But she wears the Mugash mantle." "She''s her own person. If anyone owns her, it''s the gods. Her name is Emily and her divine is the first one ever made." The poor Coyn was speechless and his fish face was so perfect that I should have thrown him into the river with the rest of the fish. "Can you fetch her divine, please, since I do have many other things to take care of today?" "Right," he ran to a tent and then came running back. "This is it," he handed it up to me. Then he gave me the strap for it, though it was muddied and had been stepped on. "What happened to the strap?" I looked at the dirt on it, wondering how to carry it without getting my clothes soiled. "The Blessed Emily used it as a sling to knock Trainee Moyuxkol down,¡± Oytwee replied, ¡°after the trainee cast the two charms of discipline on the Great One." "She what?" I guess it was my turn for a fish face and Opa was equally astounded. Then I remembered Usruldes'' tale of how Emily protected him from their pursuers in the Island Swamp. I realized the sling must be one of her preferred hunting weapons, to have such good aim. The Blessed Emily just keeps surprising me. "I could tell the charms hurt her, but she never screamed nor did she fall down from the pain,¡± Oytwee explained. ¡°She just turned and walked away after the first charm. She stumbled a little after the second charm. Then she used the divine strap as a sling and knocked the trainee over. It was amazing to watch. I''ve never seen anyone resist a charm of discipline before." "What happened after that?" I was curious. "The Great One put her knee on the trainee''s neck and kept her from moving by holding the knifepoint at the side of her neck. Then she started talking to the trainee. I wasn''t close enough to hear what she said because she has a soft speaking voice that doesn''t carry far." "What happened with the Voice who kicked her? "Oh, right. Voice Druyudros came into the camp at a run and kicked the Great One away from the trainee." "She didn''t try to speak to the Blessed Emily first?" I asked. "Voice Druyudros didn''t even stop running, Mighty One," Oytwee looked a bit angry. "We all thought she was doomed, she was kicked so high and so far. I have no idea how she is still alive, though I am happy that she is. She was good-natured and extremely polite. No one had any inkling that she was the Blessed Emily. She came across as a serious but friendly kid." "Well, that sounds just like her," I remarked, handing the dirty strap to my daughter. "Carry that for me, please." "Yes, Mighty One." "Thank you for your help, Oytwee.¡± "Blessings be upon you, Mighty One," he bowed an obeisance and backed away. "And now, you, Opa hat Kas''syo, will come with me to the royal encampment," I stood up carefully and so did Opa. I leaned over so no one could hear and whispered to her: "I''m trying not to blow your identity. Your cover is that your Uncle Hessakos is here after being away on whatever mission it is I sent him off on. I might even be able to produce him." She look disgusted with me for some reason. "Oh please, he''s standing right over there." "What? You know?" I was alarmed. Usruldes'' disguise was getting more and more precarious. "I¡¯ve known since the first time you took me over to his house two years ago. It''s so obvious since he''s the only man I know of who''s taller than you. I get it, Dad. I haven''t told anyone. Garki knows too, by the way, and I''m sure he''s never mentioned it to anybody." I just shook my head. My life was getting too complicated. "Alright, youngster, let''s go." We started walking out of the encampment and back toward the royal encampment. "Are ready for this, Opa?" "To tell the truth, I''m nervous. Is mom really alright?" "Well, no, I won¡¯t lie to you. Your mother is fragile right now. She cries a lot when she thinks no one is watching. She knows now that her temper is out of control and she''s scared of herself. And she''s worried that she might hurt someone again like she hurt Emily and Asgotl. In a strange way, this assault on us by Impotu has been good for her because it gave her something she could do for Foskos for which everyone is grateful. She has been able to put up a good front around people because of it, but for anyone who knows her, it''s just a cover." "What about you, Dad? Has mom gotten any better with how she treats you?" I could hear some anger in Opa when she asked that. "Don''t let that anger out for now, Opa. Save it for when your mother is more stable. Your mother and I were getting along better than we had in years right before she killed Emily and Asgotl. Since she came back, she''s changed. She has a hard time talking to people as if she doesn¡¯t know what to say and it comes out all awkward. "Now, I promised I would tell you this before you talked to your mother," I found myself saying. ¡°The Blessed Emily thinks your mother ran away because she couldn¡¯t face you. You see, my little princess, the day before Emily released Aylem from her punishment, Mugash made her relive one of your memories. In this memory, you saw your mother use the charm of a thousand stings on me, and it made you afraid of her. ¡°Wha..?¡± ¡°Less volume, please,¡± I was glad there were few people on the lane we were walking down. ¡°Your mother loves you and your brother more than anything else in the world. The thought that you were afraid of her because of her bad temper knocked her down and stomped on her. She couldn¡¯t face her shame over hurting the daughter she loved. That may be why she fled when we came to bring her home after her punishment in the Well of Mugash.¡± ¡°What was mom afraid of? Opa stopped and looked vexed. ¡°She was afraid of losing the love of her daughter,¡± I¡¯m not sure where that came from but it flew out of my mouth before I could catch it. But it felt right to me. ¡°Well, that¡¯s stupid,¡± Opa looked annoyed. ¡°Not really. Think it through,¡± I had realized this morning that Emily¡¯s theory made sense. It explained a lot about Aylem¡¯s actions. It also struck me as absurd that the kingdom''s defenses currently relied upon a broken queen and her relationship with her touchy adolescent daughter. We were almost to the entryway into the royal encampment, ¡°I think the most important thing I want to say to you is: please, just for today, don¡¯t be angry with her and don¡¯t do one of your classic pouts. Your mother is hurting and she¡¯s fragile and she needs a hand up, not a slap down. Please try your hardest to make it clear that your mother is not in danger of losing your love.¡± "Got it, King big person Mighty One," she gave me an impertinent grin. I stopped just in front of the encampment entrance with its two citadel guards to either side. "Well, we''re here." "Here, King big person Mighty One," she grabbed my hand and put the dirty divine strap into it. "This is my show so I''ll take it from here." She walked through the gate with a confident stride. I had to run to catch up but I was careful to stay a few hands behind her. She stopped before the pavilion entrance to listen to the voices inside. "You are going to wear a hole in that rug if you don''t stop pacing, Aylem," Kamagishi said. "Will you please sit down? I''m getting stressed just watching you." "I''m sorry," Aylem sounded agitated. "I just can''t relax. I was doing fine before the meeting was interrupted but now I just can''t stop worrying. First Opa, then Emily and Asgotl. If charms of peace worked on me, I''d cheerfully accept one right now." Opa timed her entrance right when Aylem turned toward the front of the pavilion. She sprinted toward Aylem, yelling "Mom!" and grabbed her around the middle with a flying tackle hug. The look on Aylem''s face was pure panic. "Hi, mom," Opa beamed up at her. "Been worried about you." She hugged Aylem tighter, "I''m so glad you''re home." Aylem finally unwound enough that she hugged Opa back and smiled in relief, tears silently falling down her cheeks. Katsa and Kamagishi got up and left quietly, leaving Aylem and Opa alone. Outside of the pavilion, Aylem''s voice pursued me: "Imstay, before you disappear again, are Asgotl and Emily alright?" "Broken bones and internal injuries for Emily. Lisaykos is patching her up right now. Asgotl needs to sleep off a charm of discipline. He''ll be sore but he should be able to walk in the morning. I don''t know how long it will be before he can fly." "Thank you." "You are welcome." I found Kamagishi and Katsa grabbing my elbows and leading me off to one of the tables in the center of the encampment. After they sat me on a bench, they instructed me to tell them everything. "Ah ladies, I can not. I have too many problems to take care of and should return to where Usruldes is doing my job. I also need to see if Senlyosart is awake yet, and..." I looked at Kamagishi and had a revelation, "Holy Kamagishi, how fortunate you are here!" "I don''t like the sound of that, Imstay King." She gave me a look ripe with suspicion. I lost my smile, "we may need to put a Priestess Voice on trial and as the chief justiciar of Foskos, I could use your advice since I believe the laws regarding assaults on Coyn and the laws regarding assaults on royalty and the God-blessed contradict each other. This could create legal challenges. Can you come with me? We can talk on our way." --- 102. Revenge at Night Usruldes, tent city, Black Falls The Holy Kamagishi warned me when she left to return to Is¡¯syal that something could happen in the Black Falls tent city during the night. She thought it might be an attack by a remnant Impotuan force but Aylem did a survey of everything within five wagon-days and found nothing. Regardless, I postponed the return of most of my wraiths to their usual posts, kept them in Black Falls and upped the number of people they guarded. I had faith in the Holy One''s precog ability. She wasn''t the best at seeing the details of a future event, but she was never wrong that something would happen and when. I kept Cadrees saddled and the two of us found a nice tree where we could catch a nap. I was short on sleep and had been for days. I managed to sleep for about a bell when Owl mindcasted me. He spotted attackers arriving at the camp on flying mounts. His skills with clairvoyance and seeing in the dark impressed even me which is why I gave him night duty as much as possible. I woke Instay with my half of our crystal pair. Then, I mindcasted Lord Skalta haup Black, all of my wraiths, and Captain Tyoep. Most of the impromptu army that Imstay gathered as he marched south had already departed for their homes and farms. The only armed forces left in Black Falls were guards from the garrisons of Black Falls, Gunndit, and Aybhas. I directed several of my wraiths to where the healers had placed the badly-wounded Coyn from Uldlip. I guessed the attackers would go there looking for the absent Blessed Emily. I was thankful that my mother had already left for Aybhas, taking the Blessed Emily, Kayseo haup Pinisla, and several others with her. She would return tomorrow with an eagle litter to carry the Holy Senlyosart up to Aybhas. As soon as I was in the saddle, Cadrees and I left our tree and climbed for altitude. Of course, I wrapped us in our usual charms of circular light and shadow and added misdirection as a precaution. I also put up a barrier. Then I spread my clairvoyance across the tent city. My clairvoyance revealed more attackers than I expected, with at least two in the air. I hefted one of the glass balls of instant fire I had saved and had Cadrees match the flight of the first mounted pair, which looked like a griffin and rider. I timed my leap and landed behind the rider, which turned out to be a her. I pulled her collar and stuffed the glass ball down her back. Leaping off the griffin, I broke the glass with my mind¡¯s hand. The griffin and rider on fire in the sky alerted the night patrols in the camp. I expected things to accelerate now. I saw the second enemy mount, a flying horse, intersect the one on fire. The rider''s charm to snuff fire worked for only a breath. Then the white fire started again. The screams of the first rider and her griffin were terrible to listen to as they tumbled to the ground. I knew this death would haunt me like many of the others I had killed in the past. Cadrees kept pace with the second flier. The rider, a man this time, wore a cape. That made it more difficult. I took another glass ball from the basket, dropped my charms, and flew out of the saddle this time. "Catch," I yelled and tossed the glass ball. The rider turned and saw the ball. He instinctively caught it before his brain caught up with his reflexes. By then it was too late. I had already broken the glass. I intersected Cadrees and once again spread my clairvoyance, scanning for trouble spots and trying to ignore the cries of the second mount and rider I had just condemned to a painful death. --- Imstay, royal pavilion, Black Falls On the day after the attack on the Blessed Emily, we saw the Blessed Lisaykos off as she led the transport of the worst patients to Aybhas. She would return on the morrow to transfer the Holy Senlyosart in a four-eagle litter, which should tell you just how bad her injuries were. Aylem and I turned in early and spent more time talking than rumpling the bedding. We stayed up too late as we discussed purple wet weed and whether we should try to cultivate it. We talked about Lord Gunndit''s plans to extract sugar from hog beets. It was past the half-night bell as we discussed the damage that paper had brought to the vellum and parchment makers. Then chaos ensued. Neither I nor Aylem had strong precog, but like most silverhairs, we had just enough to know when something was about to happen. Aylem noticed first and had already cast a barrier over the bed by the time my own warning sense twitched. Then my crystal linked to Usruldes vibrated. That told me that this was bigger than just an assassination attempt. Aylem¡¯s quickly-cast barrier saved us both from the fireball aimed at the royal pavilion. By the time the fireball collapsed, the four citadel guards for the encampment, one wraith and eleven attackers were on the ground on fire. So was our pavilion and all the tents around it. Whoever cast the fireball didn''t care about other attackers on the ground. Then there was Garki. The boy had been sleeping on a ground pad under the sand table. He had a short sword through his guts and the undertunic he slept in was burning. "No!" Aylem screamed. All the flames vanished. Then she cast an area stasis on everyone on the ground. Aylem ran over to the boy without surveying her surroundings, showing her lack of battlefield experience. I threw a barrier up over her and the wounded. She started the slow process of pulling out the sword and healing the tissues in its wake. Several more citadel guards and five wraiths arrived at a run. I gave them orders to check all the tents and secure the royal encampment. Both Lord Skalta and Captain Tyoep were giving me their initial reports when Aylem finished with Garki. It took her at least an eighth of a bell to remove the sword, which told me just how serious the wound had been. She walked over to join us. I handed her an unburnt housecoat of mine to put over her nightgown, which was a little too revealing in my opinion. The last thing we needed was an epidemic of nosebleeds in the camp. ¡°Aylem, please, if this ever happens again, you should just cast stasis on the injured while a battle is in progress. The time to heal the wounded is after the battle, I smiled to take the edge off the criticism, wary of that temper of hers. ¡°Now, can you please scan the camp for ongoing fights and attackers still loose?¡± I asked. She flushed red and clenched her fists, then she closed her eyes and exhaled. ¡°Yes, I get it,¡± she said through a grimace. Then she walked to an unburnt bench, sat down, and dropped into a trance. Usruldes, tent city, Black Falls Something tugged at my mind. Then I saw it: a moving shadow in the area for the residents of the shrine. Cadrees dove and I leapt. I had to fly all the way to catch up with the shadow. Whoever it was reached the tent before I could. I already had my knives in my hands since I knew it was the quickest way to stop the attack. Charms cast from a distance were twice as slow as a knife throw and I wasn''t fast enough to catch up in person. I was in the process of aiming my throw into the shadow''s back when I was blinded by a flash of light. Fear surged through me for the residents of the tent. Instinctively, I dove for the ground and rolled. I felt the force of a charm pass over my head and miss me. When my eyes finally could see again, the person I was chasing was floating, helpless around the ceiling pole that held up the roof. The tallest girl in the tent cast a charm of eternal sleep as I watched. Then she removed the levitation charm and let the attacker drop ungently to the ground. "Is everyone in this tent alright?" I asked. "I am calling more wraiths to protect you." If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. "Who''s there?" the tallest of the girls said and lit all the light gems in the tent. I was shocked to see that it was Princess Opo''aba. She certainly proved she was her mother''s daughter by casting all those charms and then sensing me when she was only 13. She could be another monster in the making. But where was Flea who was assigned to watch her? I dropped the charms that hid me and got on my feet. The girls gasped. Two screamed. "I was readying my throw to stop the attack when there was a bright flash of light that blinded me." I put my throwing knives back in my wrist sheaths. "Since your assailant is out for the night, can you please tie him or her up and remove any crystals and weapons." I took out some line and tossed it to the Princess. I mindcasted for any nearby agents to come to this tent. Then I knelt next to the attacker''s head. It was just a boy: a halfhair and barely old enough to shave. It was tragic that his life was now over. I extended my clairvoyance in the meantime and found my missing agent with an arrow through him. I took out the crystal that linked me to just my agents and mindcasted that there was an archer loose that we needed to find and stop. Then I mindcasted that news to the King. He cast back that the Queen was scanning the camp. A whistled signal informed me that Squirrel was now here. * Squirrel, put a barrier upon this tent. Keep a watch on the captive and the six girls and don''t let them wander. We''ve got an archer somewhere. Flea has an arrow in her. I''m going to see if she''s alive. * Squirrel flashed the sign for yes and I sprinted to where Flea had fallen, in the gap between two tents. I levitated her out from between the tents and felt her skin. She was still warm and her eyes had not clouded yet. I put her on the ground and cast stasis on her, hoping that I or someone like my mother or the Queen could bring her back. I heard Owl''s and Vole''s whistles followed by Cricket''s and Snow Bear''s. Now I had enough agents. I picked up Flea and walked back to the girls'' tent. Priests and priestesses from the Sassoo shrine were running over to see what was happening. It was starting to get crowded around the girls'' tent. I didn''t like crowds since a crowd is an experienced assassin''s friend. * Everyone. I am Lord Usruldes. I wish to speak to the supervisor for this tent of trainees. Everyone else, please return to your tents. There may still be assailants in the camp and a crowd can hinder our response. Thank you for understanding. * "Snow Bear, take Flea to the healers. She is under stasis. It may be possible to revive her. Request the Queen if she''s available. She''s the best with arrows. Squirrel, can you drop the barrier for a moment? Owl, please take our captive to the Guards'' main station. The captive is under a charm of eternal sleep. Squirrel, Vole, you''re to keep watch on this tent until relieved. I believe the captive was targeting the tallest one, the one with the dark blue eyes." I put a barrier back up and walked up to Opa. "You are Voice Trainee Opa hat Kas''syo of Is''syal, whom the Blessed Emily was looking for when she was attacked, yes?" I took out my paper notebook. "Yes, Lord Usruldes." "How can you be sure I am Usruldes?" I wanted to know since all of my agents dressed the same as myself. "You''re the only wraith who is as tall as the King," she explained. Well, the Princess was correct. I topped my agents except for Snow Bear by half a head or more. "Trainee, can you please explain the flash of light and the capture of your assailant please?" "I woke up feeling like something was wrong. Then I saw that someone was coming through the front tent flap. The flash of light is a charm I know and it seemed like a good idea. It works well to disorient people and if it''s someone friendly, then no harm is done. When I saw that he had a knife out, I levitated him and cast a hot charm of warmth on his knife so he would drop it." "How old are you?" I asked, to keep Opa''s disguise intact. "13." "Are you sure you want to join a shrine?" I asked. "If you are casting like this at 13, I would like to extend the offer to join the wraiths. I could use a talent like you who kept calm and disabled someone who came to do you harm." "I am flattered, Lord Usruldes," she smiled, "but this shrine is where I want to be." "If you ever change your mind, just send a letter to the King, since we work directly for him. Who taught you that flash charm?" "Court Lord Hessakos haup Gunndit taught it to me. He''s my guardian. He works for the King." I was glad I had practiced staying calm in any situation because Opa''s statement was a big surprise. I never taught Opa that charm. I didn''t even know a charm like that. It was probably a variation of a simple light charm but I didn''t see how one could get that incredible blinding intensity. I would have to ask Opa later and learn it myself to cover that fast-thinking lie on her part. "Where is your supervisor?" I wanted to remove Opa from the camp while there was still an archer possibly roaming the tent city. Someone had shot Flea and as far as I knew, we hadn''t found any archers yet. That disturbed me. "We don''t have a new supervisor yet," Opa said. "Our old supervisor was removed for attacking the Blessed Emily." "Trainee Opa, please get dressed. Given that you were Trainee Moyuxkol haup Ixism''os'' main target for harassment, I am moving you to a safer place until we locate the archer who shot my agent. Cricket? In the tent please while she changes." I dropped the barrier so I could exit the tent and Cricket could enter. Cricket was one of my female agents. I felt uncomfortable with closing up the tent so the princess could change without an active bodyguard near on hand. If I could use the charm of circular light, so could someone else. I wanted eyes on Opa continuously until the tent city was secure. * There are no more assailants, Usruldes, * the Queen mindcasted me. * Did you find the archer? * I asked her. * What archer? * * My agent assigned to watch your daughter was shot with an arrow inside Opa¡¯s encampment, about 50 hands from her tent. * * My daughter? * There was a strong sense of panic from the Queen. * Opa is safe and unharmed. I''m bringing her to the royal encampment until we can be sure we don''t have more enemies on the loose. * I felt weary. It was another day when I would never get enough sleep. I started to plan when I would have a new opportunity to catch another nap. My life would be easier if Captain Sertfos were present. She had been missing now for three days and I was splitting her duties for the camp city''s security with Captain Tyoep of the Aybhas garrison. I was wondering if I should ask the King to find a replacement for me in that role when Opa came out dressed in working clothes of tunics, pants, and boots. I expanded my clairvoyance to check the airspace over the tent city, picked Opa up in my arms, cast my charms to make us vanish, and flew straight to the royal encampment. Around 50 dead bodies took up the perimeter of the open space in the middle of the encampment. Lord Ixism''os, the father of Trainee Moyuxkel, was one of the dead. The King and Queen stood glowering at 14 living assailants who were kneeling, including Lord Angsum, father of Voice Druyudros. The boy who attacked Opa''s tent was on the ground unconscious at the end of the kneeling line. I could feel the charm of compulsion that restrained the captured assailants. Few mages can cast compulsion successfully on another silverhair so the current charm had to be Aylem¡¯s work. The Queen was wearing one of Imstay''s housecoats over her nightgown. Imstay was wearing an undertunic and trews. Both were barefoot. The roof and several side panels of the royal pavilion were burnt. It looked like the attackers targeted the King''s sleeping chamber. The King and Queen were fine though angry. They were unharmed but the attack was not harmless. There were several dark blue and light blue tunics and fighting coats among the dead bodies. Garki, Imstay¡¯s favorite page, was among the wounded. "Say nothing," I whispered to Opa. "I will take you to a tent I know is empty, but I''m keeping us invisible for now in case someone hostile is watching." I made the crystal around Imstay''s neck vibrate to tell him I was here. Then I mindcasted the King and Queen. * Great One, Mighty One, I have Opa. I will put her in my tent which I never use. * I summoned two of my female wraiths to sit with Opa in the tent. I told Opa to stay inside until at least daylight and not return to the encampment for the Voice trainees. I was off arranging where to confine the prisoners when Ud showed up at the garrison encampment to drop off 14 unconscious attackers, all neatly wrapped up in spider web. Ud usually avoids getting involved with other people''s wars, but the ones she captured made the mistake of attacking her. She promised Captain Tyoep that they would all wake up with unbearable headaches. We never did find the archer that shot Flea. --- S.102.5 EXTRA --- Side Story (Dueling Gunndits) Lord Katsa haup Gunndit, healers¡¯ area, tent city, Black Falls "Who is your second in charge of the wraiths?" I asked Lord Usruldes as he paced a hole in the ground cover inside one of the tents used by the healers. He was waiting for the Queen to finish her attempt to revive a young lady wraith named Flea. "That would be Snow Bear," Usruldes said, pausing briefly in his stomp of impatience. "If something happened to you, how does one contact Snow Bear?" "The King can. He has two sets of the same summoning crystal set that I use," He started pacing again. "You should rest," I told the Wraith of wraiths. "You''ve reached solid blue on fatigue." "I have endured worst. Do not worry about me. This is nothing. My agent is more important than my sleep." "Well then, do not complain to me when you fall over," and with that, I left him to find my mother. Mother was nearby talking with the bedridden Senlyosart about the process of moving the injured high priestess to Aybhas. "Knock knock?" I said at the cloth door flap that served as a door. Mother''s face brightened on seeing me. "Well, don''t stand there gathering dust," she gave me one of her signature looks, "come in, come in, and pull up a stool." "Who''s there?" asked Senlyosart, still strapped to a back support and not able to see the door. "You remember my daughter, Katsa?" "Of course I do, seeing that we see each other several times a year. Hello, Katsa. How are Musshia and the boys?" I pulled up a stool and poured myself a beaker of tea. "Musshia is here, supervising the off-loading of more supplies if you want to say hello. The boys are split between Gunndit Town and the Manse, getting the next shipment ready. It takes a lot of stuff to keep a city and a shrine fed all at the same time. Frankly, it would be a lot harder to keep the materials rolling without the teamsters of the Queen''s Villa, who showed up yesterday in Gunndit, unheralded and unlooked-for." "They did?" my mother looked surprised. "The Queen overheard that we were short of wagons. She mindcasted the Villa and had all the teamsters who do the deliveries for her brewery sent down to Gunndit. I had no idea she had twenty wagons to spare within two days'' travel time from Gunndit." "I shouldn''t be surprised," my mother shook her head. "The Queen has a very good head for business. Her brewery is tremendously profitable and her clientele is extensive. She has a whole fleet of wagons for deliveries." "Is it true her brewery is run by just her Coyn?" I asked. I figured if anyone knew the truth, it would be mother, one of the queen''s only real confidants. "Yes, right down to the brewmasters, and she pays them too, at half-again over what contracted Coyn labor usually costs." This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "No! Really?" "Yes, really, Katsa," Mother took a well-timed sip of tea while keeping eye contact, just to make me wait. She knew it annoyed me when she did that. Her love of needling people was not one of her better qualities. Then mother resumed her answer: "Yes, she pays them and still makes an avalanche of profit every year. She exports a lot of her ale stock down the river to Inkalim, in firkins designed to fit on Coyn ships as watertight cargo containers that the Coyn can move and manage easily. The Sea Coyn like working with her and she just rakes in the revenue." Mother put her beaker down: "I have to amend that statement. The agents who do the selling are all Cosm because there are too many people who will not deal with Coyn in business deals." "Well, that''s probably a good thing," I said to startle mother with a misleading opening line. I succeeded too, which made me quite happy. Then I made her wait as I took a sip of tea. "If she was using her Coyn as sales agents, those little clever connivers would beggar the rest of us and end up owning the kingdom. The Queen''s Coyn are really smart. Kattessat said they completely reorganized the loading operation in Gunndit, cutting the loading time by a third while allowing for a round of rest breaks so no one got too tired. I''m glad my boys were smart enough to let the Queen''s Coyn do that for them. Unfortunately, some people persist in believing Coyn are not very smart." "Things might improve on that front, now that two more of the old families invested in the Coyn slave trade will be gone in a matter of a few rotations," Mother frowned. "That will make two lord holdings reverted to the crown last year and two more this year. It worries me given that we''ll probably be going to war with Impotu next year or the year after and will need all the soldiers we can raise. Imstay''s already talking about patrolling all the routes over the mountains east to shut off the trade in copper and tin, including those used by smugglers. That will certainly rile things up on the other side of the mountains since we control the market in metals in the west." "That''s a bit worrisome since two of those routes drop into Gunndit territory and one drops into Black Falls," I counted up the usable passes and trails. "I expect it would fall on the lord holdings and the towns to do the patrolling." "More than likely," mother said. "What are you smiling over, Senlyosart? Do you need your beaker topped off?" "I''m out of sekanjabin so I''ll wait until more arrives. I''m smiling because I''m amused." The recuperating high priestess laughed. "It''s been a while since I''ve had the pleasure of listening to a pair of Gunndits verbally sparring with one another." "Speaking of sparring," I grabbed the tin teapot off the table and topped off mother''s beaker, "I came by, mother, for a little help sparring with a stubborn Lord Usruldes." "Yes?" One eyebrow arched upward. "The poor man is down the hall, pacing back and forth, fretting about one of his agents who is currently being worked on by the Queen. On one hand, it is reassuring to see a man with as sinister a reputation as Usruldes the Wraith worrying about those who work under him. On the other hand, the man is in the solid blue range of fatigue and won''t take a rest. He does have a deputy who can take over for him but he will not stand down and rest." "Well, he is doing the work of two people," mother put the tea beaker back down. "He''s also doing the missing Captain Sertfos'' job." "She hasn''t been found yet?" Senlyosart asked, looking sad. "She''s probably dead in a berry bog somewhere. What a shame. She was a good friend. How is Lord Skalta taking it?" "I''ve spoken with him several times," I grimaced. "He''s quite stoic and not talking about his worry at all. It''s a thick green fog all around him but he is walking around, taking care of his holding as if his missing daughter was not something that he has time to deal with for now. Poor man. We had been talking about marrying her to my Kattessat." Mother shook her head, "so many walking wounded." "He is at least busy enough to distract himself from his grief while he waits for word. But Mother, I was wondering if you might be able to do something for Lord Usruldes before he collapses from exhaustion?" Mother smiled. My poor brother. I found out later she cast deep sleep on him shortly after we talked and made arrangements for the king to wake him the next day. 103. Divine Fiasco Emily, in a virtual god-created place "All you need is the cylinder, a needle, and a diaphragm sensitive to acoustical waves. You can crank the cylinder by hand." Giltak and I were at my old assay lab at the Grendal Gulch Mine outside of Elko, Nevada. "Giltak, I already figured that out so why are we here?¡± "Oh silly Emily, a threaded shaft is the easiest way but you could use the motion of the hand crank to both rotate the shaft and to transfer some of the motion through gears to a drive chain or a belt that pulls the cylinder in one direction. Weren''t you paying attention when you took mechanical engineering?" "Giltak-kami, did you hear what I just said?¡± ¡°Wait. What?¡± ¡°Did I just throw off your script? I know you folks can manage many parallel streams of consciousness. Are you on autopilot or something?¡± "But you made a Gramme generator," Giltak protested in a tailored lab coat with paisley collar and cuffs. The socks matched too. Even Giltak''s lab wear was flashy. I had to admit that if I wasn''t so disgusted, I would consider getting a lab coat like that for myself. "You''re just jealous," Giltak grinned. "since you have utterly no panache when it comes to dressing yourself. Have you...¡± Giltak blinked. ¡°That¡¯s not right,¡± Giltak looked disturbed. ¡°This timepath is unglued. Galt, I need help here.¡± *Hello, kitten,* a person-sized Galt walked up on all fours and rubbed the side of his head on my knee. *Scratch?* I scratched but I also gave these two goofball gods a grumpy eyeball. ¡°You are trying to distract me from what you said the night I won your bet for you, Galt. You said you asked Mugash if I could heal faster and she said no.¡± Tiki appeared and put a pina colada in front of me. Then he sat down, ¡°this isn¡¯t working. This is why I wanted to avoid negotiating. Galt. Let¡¯s stop for now.¡± "I am sick and tired of ineffable," I said, sipping the divine pina colada. I studied the tiki mask, wondering how in the world Tiki managed to get a wooden mask to radiate defeat and disappointment without a change of expression. "So, even gods can screw up. Forget ineffable for the moment. What happened to infallible?" *Powerful, mostly omniscient, beyond your current comprehension,* Galt sighed, *but not infallible. Remember Jehovah and Noah¡¯s flood? One of the morals of that story is that deities can make mistakes of judgment. It''s also a cautionary tale of what can happen if a deity intervenes incorrectly or too closely in making adjustments to reality. Jehovah wanted a soft reboot on the direction society was going, but what he got was the death of almost all biological life in the fertile crescent. He was always meddlesome that way---still is, but he¡¯s not involved in this reality.* "I don''t get it. If you are omniscient, then you know things that people don''t or can''t know and given that universal knowledge, you should be able to choose the correct boundary conditions to avoid unintended consequences like slavery. How can you screw up so badly?" Tiki sighed. Giltak looked depressed. Galt studied me: "Kitten, chattel slavery is the worst extreme on the continuum of relative servitude. Not all servitude is evil and the original servitude of the Coyn in Foskos was not chattel servitude. It''s nature changed over time. Landa''s revelation for you will prohibit chattel slavery. Since Cosm are engineered to fear the gods, if you will give them a scripture to abolish slavery, it will happen." I took another sip of Tiki¡¯s creation, wanting a decent buzz right now because I knew something unpleasant was coming my way. "Galt, why can''t you just pop into every Cosm mind and tell them to stop it?" Galt groaned. *You don''t have a complete understanding yet of the physics of souls or magic. Once a reality is set-up, even we are subject to the rules we built into it. It''s effective and energy-efficient to send a prophet to change a society. But souls are like an electron cloud. At the quantum level, we can''t determine the magical position of each Cosm soul at every dt of time. You as a prophet are the right tool. Divine brute force is not. Don''t give me that look, kitten. I know you understood that analogy.* "So, if revelation is a tool for changing Cosm society, where do we fit the Revelation of Tiki to Yud?" The wooden tiki mask looked annoyed while Giltac and Galt laughed ¡°Tiki, you said something wasn¡¯t working and that you folks should stop. I believe you''ve been trying to get around my realization that Mugash deliberately slowed my recovery, multiple times. Have you been running me through a time loop, hoping that on one of those loops, I would not realize Mugash set me up to suffer longer than I should have?¡± The red lights behind the eye holes of the Tiki mask flickered for a moment, "yes, that''s what we''ve tried to do. We''ve erased your memory every time, and every time you still come to the same realization." ¡°Mugash, show yourself,¡± I said to the air. ¡°I know you¡¯re watching.¡± Suddenly the rest of the eleven gods appeared, already sitting in chairs that appeared with them. I looked at the beautiful woman with the long wavy black hair and the golden eyes in the white chiton. ¡°So, you¡¯re Erhonsay, also called Sophia, and perhaps Athena, goddess of war and wisdom?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Emily,¡± she smiled at me with an appraising look. ¡°Are you satisfied that Aylem didn¡¯t run away from Black Falls, as you requested?¡± I inquired. ¡°It was an excellent outcome, thank you---though there was more help than I expected from the god committee to ensure that Aylem stayed put for now. She really does need fixing and by the right people." ¡°What would have happened if she had run away for a second time?" I was curious. A huge effort went into keeping her in Black Falls. I wanted to know if the result was worth all the trouble. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. *If Aylem had fled from her problems a second time, analysis of the set of possible timelines suggests she would go insane,* Galt said in a rather grim voice. *If that happened, we would terminate her current existence. Given her power, it would be too dangerous to leave her alive. The stakes were that high.* ¡°Oh,¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say. It made sense but it still felt like it was way over the top to me. It was time to change the subject back to what I wanted from Mugash. ¡°So, Mugash,¡± I hoped I looked disappointed because I was, ¡°why? And don¡¯t leave anything out.¡± Mugash started explaining herself: ¡°Aylem is a nexus of power with the ability to adjust reality back onto the path we want it to travel, one which maximizes the creative potential for all the self-conscious races while mitigating the worst tendencies for destruction by the Coyn. But Aylem is a soul which dislikes war and is reluctant to act. Despite all her power, she is timid when it comes to using it to its full potential. That¡¯s why we wanted you because you have all the qualities to be a catalyst for Aylem, to keep her moving. But Aylem, in her desire to keep you near and make you a friend, managed to do the opposite and drove you away. We chose her for her superb capacity to host power but we did not look deeply enough into how the retention of her memories would effect her behavior in this life.¡± ¡°And?¡± I prodded when she paused for too long. ¡°A slow recovery would maximize the time you would spend with her between now and the time when she must destroy the crystal at the Shrine of Landa. You were correct, by the way, in your assessment that the Battle of Yant was not the correct time to receive your fourth revelation. A direct attack on our oldest shrines was not on the planned timeline but your death at Aylem''s hands introduced multiple aberrations in the current system. This is a time for system corrections. We need Aylem to adjust the system but we need you so we can both guide and fix Aylem.¡± ¡°A time for system corrections? Might it otherwise be known as the third age of divine interventions and miracles?¡± I just wanted to hear it confirmed. ¡°Yes,¡± Mugush admitted. ¡°And the prophesy of the great breaking is the same as the event in Aylem¡¯s revelation from Tiki and the same as the one precipitated by Landa¡¯s future revelation for me, yes?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Landa said in his voice like scraping desert varnish. "Will Kamagishi show me the actual prophecy of the great breaking?" ¡°No, she won¡¯t,¡± Galt said from where he had curled up next to me, with his paws tucked under and his head resting on my thigh, "but your friend Usruldes will. The Convocation is deliberately hiding it from you. They''re afraid it will scare you back into the forest." ¡°Mugash, instead of prolonging my pain and frustration and tricking me, did you never consider just asking me to stick around?" I admit, I was past being annoyed and was now working on anger. Tiki sighed, ¡°as I told you at the Crystal Shrine the other day, the current you can not understand why this was a logical choice for Mugash, Emily. You are a very young soul and need time to evolve before you can comprehend.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me,¡± I snapped, ¡°and that did not answer my question. I asked about the courtesy of being asked to do something. What does the ineffability of your motives have to do with that? Mugash could have asked me or she could have commanded me or even bribed me to put up with Aylem for the sake of your inscrutable grand plan, but instead, she chose to inflict needless pain and frustration on me to achieve her ends.¡± Tiki would have been better off keeping his mouth shut. It began to make more sense to me how they screwed up with Aylem. These folks were so far removed from the experience of mortal suffering that they were out of touch with what it did to a person---which explained how Mugash could craft a punishment for Aylem that broke her mentally. Did she not understand this? ¡°I¡¯m glad you have such confidence in my ability to handle knowledge. I¡¯m good enough to figure out that magic is a force that affects the space-time continuum; however, I¡¯m not worthy enough for Mugash to simply ask that I stay by Aylem and motivate her. Your stick and carrot incentives seem a bit flawed from my perspective. I think I¡¯m done here for now,¡± and I closed my mind in disgust. I opened my eyes to the real world, in a room I did not recognize. It wasn¡¯t what I expected after arguing with those damn gods. I almost expected the gods to grab my consciousness and drag me back to that place built out of my memories where we talk. The place where I just woke up wasn''t my bedroom at the Shrine of Mugash or the room Foyuna set up for me at the Crystal Shrine. From the sheer height of the ceiling, I was definitely in a room comfortable for silverhair to work in, with at least two tall windows letting daylight stream in. From what I could see, I was in a Cosm-sized bed. But where? I couldn''t lift my head because it was strapped down, as was my upper torso, my pelvis, and my knees. My left arm was splinted and in a sling. There was a feeding tube down my throat and a catheter for my bladder. Just how badly did that Priestess of Sassoo injure me? A strange pair of thumping noises approached. It turned out to be Kayseo on crutches. She was all smiles, ¡°you¡¯re finally awake. You¡¯ve been out of it for a whole rotation. There''s been so much to do that Lisaykos opted to let you sleep through most of your recovery. She transitioned you to normal sleep yesterday. I was thinking you might wake this morning. Your sleep was very restless last night. The healers who set your bones are on their way. You''re ready to be unrestrained and unsplinted, but it¡¯s a shrine policy not to release restraints for a broken back without a final review of how the spine has recovered.¡± ¡°I really did break my back? It felt like it before I passed out,¡± I said around the dryness in my mouth. ¡°You¡¯ve broken your back before?¡± Kayseo looked shocked. ¡°When I was 64,¡± I clarified. ¡°Car accident.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a car?¡± Kayseo asked. ¡°It¡¯s a self-propelled enclosed cart made of metal that uses devices like the ones Emily creates to make it work,¡± Aylem¡¯s new soft and tentative voice said. I could see her now as she sat down next to Kayseo. ¡°Emily, you were a mess,¡± Aylem said with a sympathetic smile. ¡°It was quite a mystery at first how you survived being kicked almost 100 handwidths by someone much bigger than you.¡± ¡°I¡¯d say,¡± Lisaykos¡¯ voice added. ¡°Then Ud told us about the shirt she made you.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me about Ud¡¯s shirt?¡± Aylem asked quietly, sounding a little hurt. ¡°I certainly would have worried less about you on Asgotl, especially when you and that fool griffin buzzed the tent city at Black Falls.¡± ¡°You were asleep,¡± I accused. ¡°I wasn¡¯t,¡± Lisaykos stepped up to the bed, ¡°in case you had forgotten that I was waiting for you when you landed.¡± She did a very good job of looming at me in disapproval. ¡°Yes, you looked like you were about to have kittens,¡± I chuckled. ¡°Kittens? What?¡± Lisaylos wasn¡¯t familiar with expression but Aylem broke up laughing. Kayseo and Lisaykos traded a look which set me off laughing. ¡°It should have been a cow,¡± Aylem remarked and we both laughed some more. It was welcome catharsis after arguing with the gods. ¡°Alright,¡± Aylem pulled herself back together, ¡°let¡¯s confirm that we can free you from broken-back prison.¡± She used Lisaykos¡¯ trick of reaching past my range of vision to touch the top of my head. That was a new move for her. She still gave me the willies. Despite that, her probe was a comfortable warmth spreading down my back. ¡°I believe everything is fine,¡± Aylem withdrew her hand. She looked up at Lisaykos, ¡°do you want to check?¡± Lisaykos deployed one raised eyebrow, ¡°since when do I need to check your work, of all people?¡± ¡°Just asking, in case you did," Aylem said a little defensively. She started undoing the straps holding me down. "Lisaykos, can you be ready with some pillows? I''m going to sit her up." They soon had me in a sitting position against the headboard. ¡°How do you feel?¡± Aylem asked. I tried to move my right arm, the one not in the sling and managed to lift it. I was feeling feeble after a rotation of atrophying in bed, which was to be expected. Then I took my forefinger and poked my splinted hand. ¡°What are you doing, Emily?¡± Aylem asked, befuddled. ¡°You asked me how I feel,¡± I replied. ¡°I feel solid at the moment, so it¡¯s safe to say I haven¡¯t evaporated yet.¡± I gave her a perfectly serious look. I was rewarded with a facepalm. It was a small triumph after the earlier fiasco with the god committee. 104. Unforeseen Ally Emily, Healing Shrine of Mugash Twessera and Kayseo removed all the embarrassing medical tubing and accessories and got me some clean clothes to lounge around in. Unfortunately, Twessera noticed my stockings were baggy on me. She got my new belt and fitted it around my waist and took it in two holes. She gave me one of those looks and was about to start the nagging when I cut her off. ¡°Don¡¯t, just don¡¯t,¡± I scowled though I took care to speak with a neutral level voice. ¡°There is nothing you can say that I haven¡¯t already heard many times before over the last year. You w...will spare yourself the effort and me the annoyance if you refrain from lecturing me about my w...weight. It might be faster if I just took over the lecturing of myself since I already know all the w...words by heart.¡± I had a bad thought just then, wondering if Mugash had also jinxed my weight to keep me weak. I would not be surprised if she had a hand in my failure to gain weight despite always forcing myself to eat more. Ever since I arrived in Foskos, she wanted to keep me near Aylem and would do whatever it took to achieve that, with the collusion of the rest of the gods. It was so fresh in my mind that it was easy to get angry again. Damn gods. ¡°Emily!¡± Kayseo was shocked. I must have thought too clearly again. Crap. ¡°Gods again?¡± Twessera sighed and looked resigned, ¡°this is not good at all.¡± She closed her eyes for a short moment, ¡°the Blessed Lisaykos is coming.¡± ¡°Y...you didn¡¯t need to summon her,¡± I panicked. I didn¡¯t want anyone to know. It¡¯s a lot easier to run away from the gods if no one knows you¡¯re a prophet. ¡°You can¡¯t!¡± Kayseo squawked after picking up my thought. Both Kayseo and Twessera were appalled. This was getting worse. I couldn¡¯t even flee given that I was still in bed recovering. Once I was well again, the shrine would put a constant watch on me. My life and future freedom were doomed. ¡°Not necessarily,¡± Lisaykos said from the doorway. ¡°You two, scoot,¡± she pointed at Kayseo and Twessera, ¡°and put what just transpired into the deepest darkest pocket of unreadable thought you can find. Discuss it with no one, not even with yourself.¡± The two young women looked at each other and got up to leave. Twessera held the door as Kayseo thumped her way out of the room on those horrible crutches. Lisaykos settled into a chair next to me. ¡°When did you discover the gods wanted you as a prophet? Did they tell you when you were recovering this time?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t sound the least bit surprised,¡± I studied her expression. ¡°I¡¯ve been sure that you are a prophet since you came back from the Shrine of Galt,¡± she studied me. ¡°I found out the night before going to Black Falls,¡± I admitted. ¡°Tiki told me and I wish he had not. I might have been happier if I had stayed ignorant. I¡¯m pretty screwed, aren¡¯t I?¡± The world looked bleak. I wondered if killing myself might be a practical option to get out of the prophet gig. Being stuck as Aylem¡¯s token Coyn prophet and sidekick wasn¡¯t a life I wanted. Since reincarnation was real, it wasn¡¯t as if suicide would end my existence. I might not remember my time here but from what the gods said at the campfire meeting, that would likely be the case regardless of when I died. ¡°Let¡¯s have none of that,¡± Lisaykos said, not disguising the fact she just read my mind. ¡°W...why does it seem like more people are picking up on my thoughts lately?¡± Lisaykos sighed, ¡°it became much easier after you died. Still, only the most powerful mages can do so and it only happens if a mage is right next to you. Your problem is that you¡¯re around silverhairs all the time. There¡¯s another thing you probably don¡¯t know: the more time you spend with a silverhair, the easier it is for that silverhair to overhear what you are thinking.¡± ¡°Oh, joy,¡± that explained why Kayseo picked up my thought of running away from the gods so quickly. ¡°Emily dear, I have no intention of putting a watch on you unless you were truly suicidal. I have never intended to box you in, assuming you were well enough to take care of yourself. I had the guards keep an eye on you after the kidnapping because I didn¡¯t want anything else to happen while you were relearning how to talk. If you are well enough and you want to leave, I will not stop you. I don¡¯t think I could stop you, to be honest. You¡¯re too clever to stay caged. I will not mention what happened just now to anyone and I will make sure Kayseo and Twessera never leak it.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± It¡¯s not what I expected from Lisaykos, given that she was so protective of me. ¡°If you can walk out of here on your own two feet, or even if you make a deal with Asgotl to be your mount while you extend your walking range, I will not stand in your way. I won¡¯t be happy about it and I will worry about you, but you are one of the least helpless people I have ever met. And excluding the injuries from the murder attempt, you are getting better. You¡¯re walking farther, you¡¯re talking better and your brain never even slowed down.¡± She raised an eyebrow, ¡°if your mouth gaped any wider, Ud might be able to get inside.¡± ¡°I¡¯m...I¡¯m...I¡¯m just surprised, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Maybe twenty years ago, I would have tried to confine you for your own good,¡± Lisaykos sighed again. ¡°I used to have a darling boy. With him, I discovered that his love was not my possession, it was his gift. I will not make that mistake again. When you care for someone, you must care enough to set them free.¡± She tilted her head and studied me, ¡°I need to get a measuring stick to make sure Ud can fit.¡± I rolled my eyes at her and made a face. She laughed, ¡°when you leave, which I believe is inevitable, I will miss your library of expressions, your elevation of grumpiness to an art form, and all the outrageous things you say and do. I won¡¯t stop you but others in the Convocation might try,¡± Lisaykos warned. ¡°A prophet is a much bigger deal than a revelator. If you want to go somewhere, leave quickly so no one can catch you. Do not tell me ahead of time. You¡¯ll have a better chance at getting away. What I don¡¯t know can¡¯t be used to drag you back here by someone else.¡± ¡°Even if I w...want to go to Mattamukmuk?¡± ¡°Especially if you want to go to Mattamukmuk. That bunch over there is just plain strange.¡± I nodded in agreement though I was still having a hard time thinking of Lisaykos as a help, not an obstacle. ¡°Emily, did Mugash really slow down your recovery to keep you near Aylem?¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Yes, she admitted it to my face,¡± I could feel my skin flush red. I was still angry about it and probably would be for a long time. ¡°Not good,¡± she scowled. ¡°It would help if we knew what the gods expected from us.¡± ¡°We already know, Lisaykos.¡± It was the first time I held nothing back about what I knew reagarding the gods¡¯ plans. ¡°Can y...you tell me why breaking the crystal at Landa matters? Why does it need to be the crystal at the White Shrine of Landa and not the Crystal Shrine of Tiki? How will that break magic use?¡± ¡°You don''t know?" she looked shocked, "and where did you see the prophecy?" ¡°Which prophesy? The Holy Uaysserex¡¯s, Aylem¡¯s, or the one I know about but haven¡¯t gotten yet from Landa?¡± ¡°Gods, you¡¯ve seen both Uaysserex¡¯s and Aylem¡¯s?¡± Lisaykos looked upset. ¡°Neither," I shrugged. "Who needs to read a prophecy when you can talk to the gods who have big mouths? W...when the crystal breaks, something about the magic that sustains slavery will break because of it. That, incidentally, makes no sense to me, because according to Galt, magic is one of the forces that underpins reality. As a fundamental force, you can''t break or rearrange magic. It just is. "Instead, the breaking event in the prophecy should be the disruption of something built out of magic that can''t be replaced easily," I summarized for Lisaykos. "If it destroys something that perpetuates the enslavement of the five non-Cosm races, let''s get Aylem, fly up to the White Shrine of Landa today and get things started." ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you wait a day or two so we can get the split off your arm?¡± Lisaykos the Practical asked. ¡°To be honest, I do not want to w...wait a single minute longer. Wrap me up in one of those oversized flying cloaks and let''s go! Do we really need Aylem at all? Give me two days and a pair of hands to help me out, and I can blow up the crystal just as easily as Aylem can destroy it with magic." Lisaykos shook her head, "whatever happened to your slow and steady patience? Please be kind to our ancient shrine buildings. Aylem''s magic would make a lot less mess than one of your explosion potions.¡± ¡°One, my patience is not infinite and I¡¯ve used most of it up over the last half-year trying to get well. Two, I can wait a few more days to get the splint off. In the meantime, where can I get fresh glayon vine?¡± ¡°Something can be arranged. The students are going out to collect glayon vines next rotation. They¡¯d be out there now except things are too hectic with moving everyone from the Shrine of Sassoo in.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Your fish faces are truly excellent today, dear heart. The Shrine of Sassoo is small in numbers and the Shrine of Mugash is the largest in terms of living space. I have opened the two unused wings on this floor for its students and staff. The great hall will serve as a temporary classroom space. We''re combining the first two years of classes for the magic students and we¡¯re lending the Shrine of Sassoo some of our unmarried healers as student supervisors. The Sassoo Coyn have already moved into a barracks at the garrison --- they would like you to visit, by the way.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Several days ago, a Coyn named Oytwee came up to the welcoming table with an escort from the garrison. He returned your carrying bag for your divine, which still had your underwear and stockings inside. You left it at their camp in Black Falls. He said they want to invite you to their music nights, which they hold every threeday and eightday, and to bring your divine.¡± ¡°That was nice of them. They asked me to play it at their encampment while Asgotl and I were looking for Princess Opo¡¯aba.¡± ¡°Coincidentally,¡± Lisaykos cut off my tangent, ¡°the Queen¡¯s daughter is currently two doors down from you because of the attack in Black Falls and the attack here two days ago. She¡¯s eating with us for now, though we need to move her back in with her classmates soon.¡± ¡°What attacks?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been out for a rotation because of your injuries,¡± Lisaykos explained. ¡°A lot has happened since then. And speaking of attacks, Kamagishi will want your judgment on the two who assaulted you. We couldn¡¯t execute them with the rest because the law is clear that their punishment is up to you.¡± ¡°Execute with the rest? What has happened?¡° ¡°The House haup Ixism¡¯os and the House haup Angsum launched a preemptive revenge attack on the tent city in Black Falls. They targeted you, the King and Queen, and Princess Opo¡¯aba. You were already here when that happened. The attack failed and those two noble families are no more.¡± ¡°Ixism¡¯os and Angsum? Those are the two lord holdings between the Villa and the Glass Butte, yes? Were the two who attacked me from those houses?¡± Lisaykos nodded in answer to my question. ¡°And there was a second attack here on the shrine?¡± I asked, incredulous. ¡°Two days ago,¡± Lisaykos began, ¡°a small force of silverhairs and halfhairs attacked the shrine here and the night market on the eve of growing season midday. The attack was led by the missing Lord Gandrohas haup Yuxviayeth, the son of the late Lord Kushamar haup Blockit and the King¡¯s cousin. This second group of attackers included Impotuans and some mages from Ixism¡¯os and Angsum. Only four of them survived the attack alive. The King and Lord Usruldes are at the garrison right now interrogating them.¡± I shrugged, ¡°they attacked a shrine. Isn¡¯t that sacrilege? Then they are already dead people simply waiting for the cessation of the soul''s existence in their bodies since that crime means death by exhaustion.¡± ¡°In this case, it¡¯s also the attempted murder of royalty or high clergy, which includes revelators, by the way,¡± Lisaykos explained. You should remember from your reading of the law that the punishment is the death of melted rocks, where a priestess adept of Landa casts the condemned into an actively erupting fissure in the Great Cracks. Twelve of the attackers tried to assault Aylem and Opa directly at a small gathering for those not well enough to go to the night market. Aylem hosted it on the south balcony. The attackers scaled the walls to reach the gathering. They were foolish to try to attack Aylem. The survivors will meet their fate at the Great Cracks as soon as Kamagishi sends the sealed warrants of punishment to Fassex. ¡°So, now that you¡¯re awake, you need to give some thought to what you want to do to the two fools who attacked you in Black Falls." "I want to talk with Kamagishi about this," I decided. She was the kingdom''s head judge and could tell me about the nuances that I knew I was ignorant about. "Good enough. I will let her know. She probably doesn''t even know you''re back in the world of the living yet. I do need to warn you that there¡¯s a line of people who want to talk to you. Remember those sketches and notes you made for me while at Manse Gunndit on First Growing Day? Well, I must confess that I showed them to Aylem right after we returned from Black Falls. I was thinking she might have some memories about what water systems were like that might be helpful. She didn¡¯t but she did show your notes and sketches to the King.¡± ¡°She showed the King my half-baked notes?¡± I didn¡¯t like where this was going. "Imstay got excited and took them first to Moxsef, then Moxsef and the King took them to Raoleer. Imstay, Moxsef, and Raoleer took them down to Black Falls and showed them to Ud and Lord Skalta since Ud is getting ready to put down water mains and drain pipes where the new streets will be. Actually, Ud said you had already advised her to leave room to install two drain systems because that''s what a water system required, so there is already room for a second drain system in Black Falls. Ud has been waiting for you to wake up so you can advise her on the necessary pipes to install so she can finish the major streets." ¡°I think I feel a huge headache coming on,¡± I grimaced. The notes I did for Lisaykos were just scribbles on how to scale up wastewater treatment since Lisaykos had asked me what it would take to have flush necessaries throughout the Shrine of Mugash. ¡°So, as soon as you feel up to it,¡± Lisaykos said in a cheery voice, ¡°the Holy Raoleer and the Holy Moxsef want to meet with you, Ud wants to consult with you, and the King and Queen want to negotiate for your services. Here,¡± she handed me a pillow, ¡°use that if you want to scream. This is a place of healing and you should avoid accidentally waking Senlyosart, who is in the room next door.¡± 105. Family Leave Emily, Healing Shrine of Mugash The room I first woke up in was one of the guest rooms across the main corridor in the south wing. Lisaykos put me there because the Cosm-scaled room made it easier for Kayseo to do her shifts watching me. My little bedroom in Lisaykos'' quarters was too cramped for her to manage on crutches. A day after waking up, Lisaykos reinstalled me in my old bedroom with its wonderful view of the river with the volcanic rift in the distance. She liberated me from the splint at the same time when I promised I would be good and sit in bed all day. She left me with a selection of things she knew I wanted to read but I was interrupted after the third bell. "Great One, you''re finally awake. How are you? Your wastewater ideas are amazing! We need to negotiate!" Imstay let himself into my bedroom from Lisaykos'' bedroom, beamed like the quack medicine salesman he was at heart, and sat down. Since he was doing a decent job of being good to our problem child Aylem, I decided I would try approach him as a potential source of buffoonery instead of disliking him outright. His anger at the priestess who attacked me in Black Falls had been real, as had been his concern when he found me. I think I might tolerate him better if he could figure out that I preferred honesty and sincerity rather than the habitual charming routine. I confess his eruption into my bedroom left me speechless for a moment. I was wondering how he found out I was now awake since I had gone back to sleep after Twessera had brought me a plate of my favorite eggy rolls for morn repast. Then I remembered who ran his intelligence service. "Does the High Priestess know you''re here, Imstay King?" I put a place marker in the book I was reading, which was about the island nations west of the Fens which I wanted to go see. "Not yet," his smile got bigger. "I thought we might talk first." "Oh no, you don''t, Imstay King," I shook my finger at him. "If you want to negotiate then Lisaykos is the person you want to talk to. I don''t do my own negotiating." His face fell and I had to laugh, "good try but did you think I would crumble before such an obvious trick? How did you get in here, anyway, without Lisaykos seeing you?" "Easy," said the suddenly-appearing Usruldes in his ninja suit, "I picked the lock into her bedroom from the hallway." "But those are magic locks!" I protested. "And I am Usruldes," the crow''s feet next to his eyes crumpled up in amusement. "I haven''t met a lock yet that can keep me out." "The two of you are not a good combination," I commented. "You bring out the worst in each other, like a pair of schoolboys up to no good." "I will be assessing a one-time tax of a silver piece per head to finance the wastewater plants in all the cities, towns, and villages," Imstay didn''t give up. "A portion of the tax will go to you as the artificer who made the design. You might not get as much if someone else negotiates for you." "Appealing to my sense of greed won''t work, Imstay King. I have wealth far beyond my needs. I don''t require more." The look on Imstay''s face was priceless. Usruldes started laughing, "I told you money was the wrong thing to bargain with." "The two of you should leave the way you came before Lisaykos catches you," I warned them as I opened my book back up. "Too late," Lisaykos said behind them. Imstay groaned. "I will let you retreat this time, Imstay King," Lisaykos smiled her evil smile, "and you will not tax the residents of Aybhas for the sewers here. I used my personal funds to put down new drains for the city as a gift to the populace." --- Emily, Healing Shrine of Mugash While Usruldes and I were off fetching Aylem to bring her home, Lisaykos hired craft workers from the Shrines of Giltak and Vassu to install modern plumbing throughout the Shrine complex, and road builders from the Shrine of Gertzpul to put in sewer drains separate from the storm water drains. When the plumbing was complete for the main shrine and its outbuildings, she had already arranged to plumb the chapel shrine on the northeast side of Aybhas, and both the craft and food markets, whose buildings belonged to the Shrine. The Shrine of Mugash is the biggest landlord in Aybhas, which was something I never realized before. What a racket these watermages from the Shrine of Vassu have going! They''ve been using charms on waste from necessaries for at least two or more millennia. They convert the solids to odorless fertilizer, which they then sell. The raw liquid wastes are sold to tanners and dyers. What the watermages don''t sell, they dilute and dump it into the kingdom''s rivers or send to lagoons to evaporate and leach away. The watermages did have a clue that raw sewage can lead to diseases like cholera and typhus. They knew that open lagoons were a problem, especially for big communities like Is''syal and Aybhas. But given their level of technology, they didn''t know what else to do with their liquid wastes other than just to dump them and hope dilution would take care of the problem. The hard labor behind this system of waste management was Coyn slaves, all owned by the Shrine of Vassu. Moxsef and her watermages owned more Coyn slaves than any other person or organization in Foskos. Lisaykos tried to reassure me that the spoot slaves, as they were called, were well-cared for. I think I will use my own eyes to see for myself, as soon as I can get around better. I wasn''t that excited about getting sucked into designing wastewater treatment plants for Foskos. It would take a lot of effort, and more importantly, time. I didn''t want to get involved in a big complex project that would be a further distraction from what I really wanted to do. I needed to research how to disrupt the slavery system and I needed the time and the freedom to do that. I had to go and see for myself what life was like for the slaves in Foskos, both the good and the bad. I suspected that my Cosm keepers only let me see the best-cared-for Coyn. My own past told me there was still great suffering too. I wanted to know where it and how bad it was. I was all gung-ho to get up to the White Shrine of Landa, get the revelation, and have Aylem break the crystal. Then Galt visited me on my second night back in my bedroom. * Wake up, kitten, * Galt''s voice full of round vowels and rolling R''s pulled me from my slumber. "I need to talk with you." "You''re a god. Go away. I don''t want to talk with you people ever again," I growled, half-asleep and grumpy. I pulled the blankets over my head. * Don''t make me fully manifest to tickle your feet! * Galt sniggered gleefully. I had no doubt he would do just that. He wasn''t the kind of entity that made idle threats. I sat up and did my best to glower. A transparent person-sized Galt was sitting at the foot of my bed. * I''m unhappy with how things are going right now, kitten, and I think you are too. * I think the hinge in my jaw broke when Galt said that to me. * Thank you, by the way, for not cutting me off, * Galt looked as serious as I had ever seen him. * You sure riled them up when you closed your mind. That was the first time you were able to do that, yes? * "I what?" * You decided you didn''t want us in your thoughts and you pushed everyone out, even me. It was rather impressive. You are beginning to blossom as a soul. It''s wonderful to watch. But they didn''t realize you had come this far and would do that to them. * Galt sniffed indignantly, * I hope Tiki and Mugash learn something from this. So, I was thanking you for leaving the door open for me to come and chat. * If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "I''m not sure what you''re talking about." * If you think about it, you will, * he purred softly. * I wanted to ask a favor of you. Can you wait at least a year or two before going up to the White Shrine of Landa? * Galt suggested. * The bone man isn''t quite ready yet. Yant is in bad shape. Not as bad as Black Falls, but not great either. But I''m not asking for his benefit. He doesn''t even know I''m here. If you wait, it will be better for all the Coyn currently enslaved.* "What advantage is there for the Coyn if the destruction of the crystal is pushed back?" * I am the god of knowledge so you can trust me on what will happen. It will be easier to get the government to put emancipation into place if you wait. * Galt then did a cat-like yawn, licked his paw, and smoothed the fur on his transparent head. Then he continued: * The fun thing about being me is that I know what the immutable events will be. When it comes to time, I''m even better than Tiki. If you wait, you will create this wonderful immutable circumstance where three-quarters of the Coyn that belong to the Shrine of Vassu will become surplus labor. That''s because you, Emily, can show the Cosm how to make wastewater treatment work for them. Once Foskos has Earth-style modern plumbing, one-half of all the Coyn workforce will have no more work. The economic crisis will precipitate emancipation. You can win this war in Foskos with economics alone, kitten. There will be bloodshed but it will be minimized. * "And breaking Landa''s crystal now?" * Millions of all six sapient races will die, * Galt remarked, * in 27 different conflicts across the world, precipitated by the loss of the control charm at a time before Imstay and Aylem are ready to accommodate the economic change in Foskos and it will delay the universal spread of indoor plumbing with running water on tap by 78 years. * "How many conflicts if I wait for one to two years?" * Five to six, two in Foskos, two or three in Impotu, and one further east. * "So, you''re asking me to engineer wastewater treatment in Foskos now and to wait before putting the revelation from Landa into play?" * Yes, just sit down with Ud and Raoleer and Moxsef and teach them the nuances of wastewater treatment, hold off on Landa, and everything will be fine. * "Did the other gods put you up to this," I gave him a look. * No, I''m too angry to talk with them right now. They tend to leave me alone when I get mad at them and I got mad at them. They get so stupid at times. It just infuriates me. I''m not supposed to be intervening directly but screw them. Given what they''ve flubbed this time, I''m ignoring them for now. Well, maybe not Giltak. Giltak''s alright if a little timid, even if Giltak is a mekaner''s mekaner. * * And now I''m going to break the rules, * he hissed. * That''s how unhappy I am. Kitten, the war with Impotu is over access to the big crystals in the shrines. It''s been over 20 years in the making and had its root in something that Fassex''s predecessor did. Do you want to take a trip to Is''syal, Emily? This is worth a revelation, and one with no headache ¨C that''s a guarantee. * "No thanks, Galt," I rolled my eyes, "you folks have already blown that wad as far as I''m concerned." * Then I''ll just tell you, * he grinned an evil grin. * Back when we created Cosm civilization along the Salt River, we laid down several large caches of extra big crystals. One of those caches is in a cavern under the Crystal Shrine of Tiki. There''s an entrance through the floor under the big dome. It will help with rebuilding the shrine in Black Falls. It might also help with the situation in Impotu, depending on how enlightened Imstay and Aylem can be. * "Does Tiki know you''re telling me about this?" Galt grinned, * Not a clue, kitten, not a single clue! * "So I need to go to the Crystal Shrine?" * You got it, Kitten, * he grinned. Then he stopped grinning, and stared off into space, holding up a paw. * Wait. * Wait for what, I wondered. * My apologies. It seems I must heighten my protection of you. This means you need to go to Is''syal, Kitten, so I can make you my revelator. Now, I know this is a sudden about face, so before you throw me out, let me tell you what''s in it for you. * "It better be good, hairball, ''cuz the god committee song-and-dance routine is getting really old really fast." * This isn''t the committee. This is just me and now Giltak. The deal on the table, courtesy of Giltak, is Glayon vines, Kitten. Your guess about them is correct. The revelation will save you from doing five years of experimentation to get a working product, not including the invention of the thermometer and the barometer first, which the experimental route requires. If you agree to the revelation, Raoleer will deliver what you want to make Kayseo''s life better within six rotations. * "Damn you, Galt. That''s underhanded." * I prefer to call it enlightened coercion, * he waggled his whiskers at me. * You care deeply for Kayseo, who truly is a very sweet girl. Giltak and I will ensure she gets the help she needs to prosper despite the loss of her feet. Also, I can sweeten the deal. How about dinner at Spenger''s in 1972? * I glowered at him as I waffled. A fish dinner at Spenger''s on San Francisco Bay was a huge temptation. The conniving cat god knew where my soft spots were. * And dessert at your choice of Edy''s on Shattuck in Berkeley in 1972 or Reed''s Dairy in Idaho Falls in 2000? * The wicked cat upped the ante. "Arg! You damn cat! It''s a deal." * Groovy, my darling kitten. Visit me in Is''syal tomorrow if you can or the day after. I''ll let Kamagishi know. * He looked very pleased with himself. I heard Lisaykos'' knock pattern on the door. I looked at Galt, but he was gone. "Come," I said. "I heard voices talking," Lisaykos in her nightdress and housecoat walked in and lit the light crystal. She looked around my empty room with a frown. "I was talking to Galt," I said. "No, it was more like Galt was talking to me." "There are days when I feel like I am living inside a legend or a story book," Laisaykos sat down, shaking her head. "What did Galt have to say that he needed to wake you in the middle of the night?" "I know you''re going to squawk at this, but I need to go to the Crystal Shrine of Tiki and the Fated Shrine of Galt. The trip to Is''syal needs to be tomorrow or the day after. Aylem should probably go with me to the Crystal Shrine. I need to find a spot on the floor under the dome, and I think Aylem can find it faster than I can," I looked up at Lisaykos, who was giving me quite a look. "I believe you are going back to sleep," she reached her hand around the back of my head, "and we will discuss this over morning repast." Then Thuorfosi shook me gently to wake me. "Good morning, grumpykins. Your hot water is waiting for you," she gave me a nostalgic smile. I nodded, stumbled down my bed stair, grabbed the towel she handed me, and did my morning routine. She had the usual array of underwear, gartered stockings, undertunic, and housecoat waiting for me. "How about a decent pair of pants, and one of the new overtunics? Red would be nice," I said, "and my slips, please." Thuorfosi looked concerned, got down on her knees in front of me, and felt my forehead, "how bad is the fever? You must be delirious --- it''s the only plausible explanation." "Very funny," I grumped. "Where''s my hairbrush?" "I can do that for you," she volunteered, like she did every morning, except I hadn''t been home lately. "I really can brush my own hair," I pointed out. "You did your own braid too," she was already undoing the braid, "and it looks like it too." "Hmph." She chuckled, "besides, I won''t be able to do this much longer, so I''m glad you got back when you did." I turned around, and searched her face anxiously, "why? Are you going away?" "Yes, I am," she smiled sadly, "and I will miss you, but you can come and visit. Wolkayrs and I are moving into a cute little house at the foot of snob hill that Lisaykos found for us." "Why are you leaving? What''s wrong?" "Silly, nothing''s wrong. Wolkayrs and I are starting our first family leave." "Family leave?" I knew I had heard it mentioned but wasn''t entirely sure what it meant in this context. "Emily, I''m pregnant. We''re going to have a kid. We''ll both be off for a year and a half, though given that Lisaykos can''t function without Wolkayrs, he''ll be coming in two to three times a week initially to help Lisaykos'' temporary help. Still, I doubt she''ll need much help since she''s five times faster at math than anyone I''ve seen besides you, and she already can use your slide rule. She also knows how the records work at healing chapel shrines, as well as at the main shine." "Do I know this person? The look on your face, Thuorfosi, says that I do." "It''s the Queen. She needed something to do. She offered to work as a regular healer but Lisaykos is only letting her out to heal the worst cases. She said it would be demoralizing otherwise." "Is it?" "In a way, yes." Thuorfosi finished brushing. "The Queen makes even the most difficult injuries look easy to heal, and she''s so fast, and she can perform healing after healing after healing. Even the senior healers feel inadequate with her around." "Someone told me --- I think it was Fassex --- that Aylem is twice as powerful as the entire Convocation put together," I remarked. "Given some of the things I''ve seen Aylem do, I believe that." "She''s different since she came back," Thuorfosi started braiding. "I think I like her better now. I just wish she would smile more. She looks so sad all the time." "She''s got a lot to work through," I said. "The new Aylem isn''t so bad. I just hope she doesn''t turn back into the old Aylem." "Me too." "So when did you discover you would be having a kid? Tell me everything!" 106. No time like the present Lisaykos, Healing Shrine of Mugash Over the last rotation and a half, I asked the best mind healers to take on Aylem as a patient. When all the active ones in Aybhas declined, I moved on to those who were nearby but had retired. There was only a handful. All but one were reluctant because they were intimidated by Aylem. This did not surprise me. It was sad but true that the Queen scared people, even silverhairs. Then two days ago, one finally said yes. She arrived yesterday and would stay here for the next several days to set a schedule and to interview the people who knew Aylem best. Once all her interviews were done, she would commute when the weather was nice. Lyappis hat Truvos haup Esso retired several years ago to a lovely little house overlooking Black Lake in Truvos four wagon-days to the east from Aybhas. She was close enough to fly into Aybhas every day if she wanted. I assigned a permanent room to her in the guest quarters because I knew the cold season weather would strand her here on occasion. I held off asking her because she is the oldest of the mind healers good enough to handle Aylem. She''s a couple of years older than Fassex. She was one of my teachers when I was a healer-in-training more than forty years ago. Lyappis still drops by the chapel shrine in Truvos several times each rotation to chat with the four healers assigned there, so she says. I''m sure it''s just a coincidence that she manages to do a fair bit of hands-on healing when things get busy. Lyappis was one of the greatest healers of her generation. If not for her retired status, I would have asked her much earlier. The only downside to bringing Lyappis in as Aylem''s healer was her youngest daughter, that incorrigible gossip, High Priestess Kamagishi. I knew it in my bones that with her mother here, Kamagishi would visit my shrine more often to the detriment of my cherished peace and quiet. On the other hand, Fassex thought that Kamagishi had broken through Aylem''s defenses and that the two had a growing friendship. If that was the case, then having Kamagishi around might be an asset for Aylem''s recovery. Since Lyappis would be coming to take care of Aylem, I wondered if I could convince Emily to consult Lyappis about her nightmares and flashbacks. I know Emily will never stop being apprehensive around large gatherings of Cosm, but taking the sharp edges off her fear might get rid of the flashbacks and enable her to sleep better at night. We had gathered for morning repast in my dining room, myself, Lyappis, Aylem, Opa, and Wolkayrs. We were waiting for Emily and Thuorfosi, who should have been here by now. "Why don''t you all get started and I will go see what''s keeping those two," I got up and walked through my bedroom to the door of Emily''s. I could hear them talking. I knocked and then let myself in. They were both sitting on Emily''s bed, jabbering away like a pair of schoolgirls. "You two," I folded my arms and leaned against the door jamb, "food now, talking later." Emily looked at Thuorfosi and Thuorfosi looked at Emily. They pointed at each other and said in unison, "busted!" Then they started laughing. "W...we should probably migrate to the dining room," Emily said with a conspiratorial smile to Thuorfosi after she had caught her breath. "Yes, but my dilemma is whether to suffer through your incredibly slow walking pace or tuck you under my arm so we can eat before the sun does down." Thuorfosi was in the same exuberant mood Emily was in. I had noticed this phenomenon before. Usually, Emily is calm, quiet, and serious; however, sometimes she lets loose and acts just like a girl in her teens with Thuorfosi, Twessera or Kayseo, and sometimes even Wolkayrs. It was usually Kayseo who brings this behavior out of Emily but today it was Thuorfosi, who was usually a somber young woman. I didn''t object. It was good for Emily to relax and have a little fun. It made me feel like we had achieved something positive when she could enjoy herself with the Cosm in her life. Regardless, I was hungry and wanted my early repast. "Children," I made sure I sounded like they were a grave disappointment to me, "I would encourage both of you to behave since we have company." This was Emily''s first meal in our shared quarters since she went off to Omexkel, 13 rotations ago. That snapped Emily back into her usual serious self, "company?" "The Queen, Princess Opo''aba, Wolkayrs---I''m sure you remember him, Emily---and the Revered Priestess Healer Lyappis hat Truvos haup Esso." "Ah, yes," Emily rolled her eyes, "another short and manageable Foskan name w...with the usual short and manageable title and honorific. Who is she?" "The Queen''s healer," I held the door open and gestured that the two of them needed to start moving toward the dining room. "She''ll want to talk to you about the Queen. You should tell her everything." "Everything?" Emily frowned at me. "Including how Asgotl fits into everything," I nodded. "Wow, not a little everything, but everything about everything," Emily shook her head. I stepped back into the room, reached over, and picked up Emily, "I beg your pardon, Great One, but if I don''t put something into my empty stomach soon, I just might eat you. Coming Thuorfosi?" This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Thuorfosi got the doors for me and I put Emily on her chair to the right of mine. I forgot that we had newcomers to the table. Opa, Lyappis, and Wolkayrs stood up and made a bowing obeisance to Emily, "may the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One." Emily''s eyes reacted but she recovered immediately, "and also upon you. Please, sit down and eat." Then she exhaled and let her posture relax. "Emily, this is the Revered Priestess Healer Lyappis, who I told you about." "I am honored to meet you, Great One," Lyappis politely bowed her head. Emily had that look on her face that told me she wasn''t sure about having an interloper at the dining room table. Wolkayrs, who was sitting to Emily''s right, came to her rescue. He leaned over, "this is where you''re supposed to make a polite comment back and maybe engage in some innocuous small talk, Em." Emily frowned at him and he smiled back. "Oh, right," the look she gave him wasn''t the flaming daggers of death glare, but it qualified as a precursor. "Me, making innocuous small talk with strangers? Right." She looked at Lyappis, "sorry, I''m not good with polite society stuff." Lyappis gave Emily an understanding look, "no need to apologize, Great One. These things pop out of my mouth without my even thinking. You''ll get used to it eventually." "Huh." "Tea?" Wolkayrs asked her. "Please!" "Lord Usruldes dropped this tea off for you. He said you took a liking to it down in Black Falls," Wolkayrs filled her beaker. She picked up the beaker, sniffed, and then broke out into a beaming smile of pure delight. "Is that Usruldes'' smoky tea?" Aylem asked. "Yep," Emily took a long thoughtful sip. "This stuff is so good." "Lisaykos said you wanted to go to the Crystal Shrine with me," Aylem went fishing for why Emily wanted to go. I hadn''t told Aylem that Galt visited Emily in the middle of the night. "A certain fluffy tuxedo cat paid me a visit last night," Emily watched as Wolkayrs piled three of the egg-onion-cheese rolls on her plate. "He said there''s something wonderful under the floor of the chamber under the dome." "Emily!" I looked at her in shock because what Galt told her she would find was foremost in her thoughts. Thuorfosi and Aylem saw it too. "Anyway," Emily scowled at us for having picked up her thought, "remember what you did when we were looking for air pockets in the Is''syal aqueduct? I was thinking you might be able to find where the empty space is under the floor using the same trick you used on the air pockets. It would be faster, I think, than what I thought of, which was getting Raoleer to rig up a mechanical geophone using a spring tied by magic somehow to the recording rolls of vellum that the Priestess Recorders use. Then I could use the travel times of acoustic waves to find the thinnest part of the floor." "I lost you on that last bit, Emily," I told her. "No worries, I understood it," Aylem looked at Emily and Emily looked back at Aylem. I could see the consensus forming between the two of them. "You need to eat something," Aylem pointed at Emily''s plate. "I need to change into riding clothes." "Wait!" I put a protective hand on Emily''s shoulder, "you''re going now?" "Yes!" Emily and Aylem said in unison. The two of them glared at me, daring me to try and stop them. "Cancel everything I have on my schedule today, Wolkayrs," I told my scholar attendant. "I''m paying a visit to the Crystal Shrine. And send down to the mounts residence to have Heckees saddled with the long saddle and sent up to the south balcony. Lyappis, you should come with us. You''ll not want to miss this. Besides, Foyuna wouldn''t forgive me if I left you behind. Opa, you can ride with me." "Not with my mom?" Opa sounded a little put-out. "Sorry, Opa, but Emily rides with me," Asgotl shouted from my study where he was eavesdropping on our mealtime chatter. "Oh," Opa looked surprised. We were ready to leave by the second bell. Lord Usruldes joined us. He was still in Aybhas wrapping up loose ends on the four surviving attackers from the Night Market attack. They would be transported tomorrow from the Aybhas Garrison to Is''syal for their trial in the Well of Galt on the fourth day of the sixth rotation, four days from now. How he found out so fast about our sudden trip to the Crystal Shrine was unknown though I guessed it had to do with all the unseen security he had installed around Opa and Emily. Foyuna was waiting for us under the great dome of the Crystal Shrine in her lovely blue and yellow robes, complete with veil and triple headstall. The rest of us were in riding clothes. All of our mounts, excluding Asgotl, left for the gallery ledge that circled the dome. Aylem dismounted and unwrapped Emily from her riding cloak. Then they had a whispered exchange that sounded like an argument. It stopped when Asgotl interrupted: "Em is right, Aylem." Aylem looked like she swallowed sour milk, but then rolled her eyes and just nodded. I wandered over. "You''re not getting down, Emily?" "I don''t need to be carried around and if I sit on Asgotl, no one is likely to trip over me," Emily explained. "Aylem doesn''t need to fuss with watching out for Emily," Asgotl added, "not when I''m around." That explained what they had words over. Emily and Asgotl had gotten even closer while Aylem was absent and I wasn''t sure how she was adjusting to that. "Alright, put a stopper in the beak, bird brain," Aylem reverted to that uncertain tone of voice she had been using lately, "because we need to take care of formalities." She reached over and scratched between his ears. I turned to see everyone waiting on us. Foyuna was on her knees, "May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you., Great Ones." "And also upon you, Holy One," Aylem smiled and held her hand out to Foyuna, "please rise." "Thank you, Great One," Foyuna beamed. "If you will excuse me for a moment," she walked over to Lyappis. "How are you, my girl?" Lyappis smiled. "Grandmother Lyappis, I am well. I don''t know if we''ll have time for shopping in Queenstown afterward," the two exchanged the polite form of an embrace between relatives. Emily watched this from Asgotl''s back and then tugged on my overtunic with a question on her face. "Foyuna is married to one of Lyappis'' grandsons," I said quietly. Aylem stepped out and crooked a finger at Opa. She reminded Opa to greet the High Priestess of Tiki appropriately. Then my son in his Usruldes suit accosted Foyuna, and to my surprise, they traded warm greetings. I was left wondering when Usruldes had gotten on such good terms with Foyuna, who seldom left her shrine. When Usruldes and Foyuna were done, all the formalities were finished. (continued in part 107) 107. Another fishing trip (Continued from chapter 106; Lisaykos at the Crystal Shrine) Aylem had already started searching, starting at the Great Crystal and walking in a tight spiral. She slowed down on the third circling in front of the Throne of Judgment and then kept walking. She slowed down again on the fourth circling which was behind the throne. Aylem stopped and sat down on the Throne of Judgment. She closed her eyes and quietly breathed. Then her eyes popped open, ¡°Surd save us! There must be 30 big crystals down there and an entire lithophone.¡± ¡°How do we get in?¡± Emily on Asgotl wandered over. ¡°Can you see anything that looks like a door or hatch?¡± Aylem entered a deep trance and stayed that way for quite a while. Then she came back up, ¡°I can¡¯t find anything.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Usruldes walked up and bowed. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can do better than you, Great One, but getting in and out of places is a professional conceit of mine.¡± ¡°It''s all yours, Lord Usruldes," she smiled at him, got up, and vacated the throne. It struck me that two years ago, they might have mauled each other instead. The world had indeed grown strange. Usruldes walked up to the throne, picked it up, and moved it. He then sat cross-legged on the stone tiles that made up the geometric mosaics of the floor. I could feel his consciousness shift as he entered into that interesting deep open-eyed trance he learned from Ud. ¡°Ah, yes, I see the way in," the focus came back into his eyes. "The way I usually approach this problem is not to look at what is there. That takes too much time. I look for what is not there, like the space used by a crack or the lack of connection between a door and its frame. I build a map in my head of where the empty broken spaces are inside a solid until I can see the shape of the door or passage that will let me in. I hope everyone understood that?¡± I understood and so did Aylem. I don¡¯t know if anyone else did. ¡°Can you open it, Lord Usruldes?¡± Aylem asked. ¡°I can try," Usruldes stood up and walked a few paces. Then he turned around and dropped back into the deep waking trance. A circular area where the throne was usually placed began to rotate. The salt-and-pepper plug of rock that rose was tapered. It looked at least 25 hands long and about 10 hands in diameter at its base. He walked the floating plug halfway between the Great Crystal and the wall of the chamber. Then he slowly lowered it to the floor. When he was done, he staggered a little. "I will need to rest before I try that again." ¡°So, who¡¯s going to take the first look?¡± Aylem asked. ¡°You should air it out first,¡± Emily interjected. ¡°If it¡¯s been sealed for four or five thousand years, the air might be bad down there. Lisaykos, can you tell if there is enough oxygen down there or are you too far away?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never tried to tell the difference with such a large space,¡± I answered. ¡°Just learning how to evaluate the dissolved oxygen and other gases in blood is hard enough.¡± ¡°If that''s how things stand," Aylem peered into the dark space below, "let''s just completely ventilate the space on the assumption that the air is bad." She frowned in concentration for a moment and then I felt the breeze. I could see bits of grass and leaves and silt spiral into the hole in the floor as dust blasted out. Aylem kept the flow of the air going until the pieces of grass and other plant material were both entering and exiting. "That should have completely replaced the old air." ¡°So, who goes first?¡± Aylem asked. ¡°Foyuna,¡± Emily replied. ¡°It¡¯s her shrine.¡± ¡°I agree,¡± I added. I had to wonder if Emily decided on the basis that the local shrine always takes precedence or if she just wanted to dodge having the highest precedence in terms of absolute rank. ¡°But first," Usruldes took some charm gems from one of his several belt pouches, stepped to the edge of the hole, lit up the gems with light, and floated them down into the space below. "Your new storage chamber awaits, Holy One," he made a flowery bow to Foyuna. ¡°Well, then." she smiled, stepped into the hole, and floated down. "Oh my!" her voice echoed up a moment later. ¡°Opa,¡± Aylem smiled and held out her hand to her daughter. ¡°Just like we¡¯ve done before, hold my hands.¡± ¡°Mom, we won¡¯t fit,¡± Opa¡¯s expression accused her mother. ¡°The hole is too small.¡± ¡°Oh, dear,¡± Aylem studied the offending hole, ¡°You are correct so I guess you go first.¡± ¡°Mom!¡± the surprised Opa accused as she floated down the hole with no warning. ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse me,¡± Aylem, the triumphant mother, grinned as she entered the space under the floor. Lyappis followed. I stepped over to where Emily was sitting on Asgotl and arrived at her side just as my son did. I sighed, ¡°I see.¡± My son grimaced behind his mask. ¡°I wish I could take the two of you," Emily startled both of us, "shackle you together with a chain, and lock you in a cabin in the woods for a rotation so you could work out whatever it is you need to finish saying to each other and get it over with. Your mutual avoidance of whatever issue hasn''t been aired yet is beginning to get under my skin." Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. I was speechless. So was my son. ¡°Blubber brain, let¡¯s go fishing,¡± Emily leaned over and spoke at Asgotl¡¯s right ear. ¡°You have the cloak still?¡± Asgotl asked. ¡°I just finished wrapping it around me,¡± Emily¡¯s smile was grim and full of impatience aimed at me and my son. "Fish time!" Asgotl pronounced, ran a few steps, and took flight. ¡°Dang!¡± my son said, watching Emily and Asgotl make their escape. Then he looked at me with concern, ¡°those two will be fine, trust me on this.¡± ¡°My head tells me the same thing and yet, my stomach is screaming with worry for her, despite her overwhelming competence.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Are we really that bad together?¡± ¡°I do not know, Great One. What I do know are my observations of the strained and worried expressions from those who listen to us talk,¡± he frowned. ¡°Mmmm.¡± ¡°Great One, I don''t think you need to worry about this too, unless, of course, Emily shows up in your bedroom with shackles and a chain." ¡°We can hear everything you¡¯re saying up there,¡± Foyuna commented with a hint of amusement. ¡°Great One, you should enter first,¡± he gave me the same bow that he gave to Foyuna. It¡¯s one thing to know there are more crystals. It''s another to see them stacked against the walls. I counted 34 crystals. Most were clear hexagonal crystals like those in most of the shrines. The uncommon ones were one purple crystal, one that graded from pink to green, two sherry-colored crystals, and three pale-green crystals. My count didn''t include the 24 grey slabs for the lithophone. Opa placed her hand on the green crystals and every one of them sang for her. I had only seen the singing crystal phenomenon once before when Senlyosart was elevated to her current position as High Priestess for Sassoo. Hearing crystals sing for the second time in my life was a wonderful treat. We took one of the green crystals and the lithophone and laid them out in the great chamber under the dome. Aylem arranged the lithophone stones using the benches that served as seating in the domed crystal chamber. I don¡¯t understand why, but Aylem staggered the placement of the stones as she set them up: from left to right, in the first group of five, the second and fourth were pushed back, and in the next set of seven, the second, fourth and sixth were pushed back. Then she repeated the pattern for the next twelve stones. Once she made her arrangement, she played some arpeggios and chords, striking the stones with her hands. We stood in awe as she did this. Even though my son had told me that Emily coaxed Aylem into singing with her, I had never seen any indication that Aylem knew anything about music. Even Opa was surprised. ¡°Where did you learn how to do that, mom?¡± Opa asked, watching her mother with wide eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve always known how to do this,¡± Aylem smiled with a hint of sadness. ¡°I used to sing to you when you were younger. Don¡¯t you remember?¡± Opa¡¯s face was stricken. It was obvious she did not remember. ¡°Can you make a green crystal sing?¡± Opa asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Aylem let the last ringing note from the lithophone die out. ¡°I¡¯ve never tried.¡± She walked over to the green crystal from the cache under the floor, knelt next to it, and placed her hand on it. A yellow light burst from its interior along with a loud chord of many notes. Even Aylem was startled by the reaction. ¡°I believe that answer to your question is yes, Opa,¡± Usruldes remarked drily. I could tell he was amused. ¡°If you catch Emily in the right mood, I believe you could convince Emily and your mother to sing together. They are quite good.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Opa looked interested. ¡°What¡¯s a good time?¡± ¡°Emily is usually her most relaxed right after a meal,¡± Usruldes advised. ¡°That¡¯s good to know, thank you, Lord Usruldes,¡± Opa nodded. I looked at Foyuna, ¡°we should convene the Convocation. Our sisters should see this before we replace that huge stone plug in the floor.¡± ¡°When?¡± Foyuna nodded. ¡°It should be soon. We can¡¯t leave this open. It¡¯s an accident waiting to happen.¡± Tomorrow morning, at the third bell," I suggested. "That''s not so fast that the northern shrines will be late and it also gives me time to get Senlyosart here. I can also have my bigger kitchen operation make up sandwich boxes for a midday repast. I know you don''t have all your cooks back from Black Falls yet and your stores are low." ¡°That would be a relief, to be honest, if you would do that," Foyuna looked worried. "We missed buying our sugar, spices, and rice in Uldlip this year. We¡¯re already short and this winter will be a challenge for us. ¡°Imstay has sent a courier out to Tuleen to see what trade we might yet be able to do with Inkalim,¡± Aylem added, ¡°given that the trade fair at Uldlip was disrupted by a third party. We still have some of the Sea Coyn in Black Falls, the ones who were hurt the worst. Some of them will be here over the cold season because they need a longer recovery time. Those will be moving up to the chapel shrine for Coyn in Aybhas if they aren''t there already." Foyuna was astounded, ¡°Sea Coyn from Inkalim spending the cold season in Foskos? What about the treaty?¡± ¡°Imstay decided that since both our nations were victims of Impotu¡¯s act of war, he will consider the treaty suspended until the state of hostilities was over,¡± Aylem remarked. ¡°Both our merchants and the Sea Coyn took serious losses since the Impotuans plundered the trade fair. We were not able to find everything they stole. Imstay believes they have established a base camp or fortress somewhere to the east of Truvos. If we can find it, we may be able to recover some of what the Impotuans took.¡± ¡°It¡¯s getting late,¡± I pointed out. ¡°You could eat midday repast here," Foyuna invited us, "and then I would be able to take Grandmother Lyappis shopping. Any of you are welcome to go shopping with us. The craft market in Queenstown was flooded out last year and the rebuilt market is worth a visit." ¡°Midday repast sounds wonderful," Aylem smiled. "What I want to know is where are Emily and Asgotl? Ever since she started wearing the magic shirt Ud gave her, I have had trouble finding her." ¡°They can¡¯t have gone too far,¡± Usruldes remarked. ¡°We haven¡¯t been here that long.¡± ¡°Just use the Great Crystal, Great One,¡± Foyuna smiled. Aylem nodded and walked up to the crystal on its pedestal. She placed a hand on it and dropped into that open-eyed waking trance that Ud¡¯s students prefer. Then she suddenly stepped back with a frown. ¡°Those two,¡± she scowled, ¡°look like they are heading to Is¡¯syal. Now, in Is¡¯syal, Kamagishi has opened the north doors into the Fated Shrine, and all the clergy, Imstay, Imstay¡¯s staff, the craftmasters, and the citymasters ¨C they are either at the shrine already or are heading there. Yes, Emily and Asgotl have snuck out on us and I will bet that they are going to the Fated Shrine.¡± I groaned, ¡°she mentioned that last night.¡± ¡°What?¡± Aylem and Foyuna were almost in unison. ¡°She said Galt told her about the cache of crystals and she said Galt would give her a revelation today or tomorrow. It¡¯s looks like it¡¯s today.¡± 108. Headache Asgotl, flying north to Is¡¯syal I touched down on an island at the southern end of the Island Swamp because I wasn''t clear on what Emily wanted to do. I thought we might pay a quick visit to the Shrine of Gertzpul, but Emily''s hand signal indicated that we should keep going north. ¡°Why are w...we stopping, Blubber Brain?" Emily leaned forward to talk close to my ears because she has a soft voice. ¡°I was confused as to what you want to do, Grandma. Where are we going?¡± I could hear the grin in her voice, ¡°Is¡¯syal, to the Fated Shrine of the fuzzy adorable cat god.¡± ¡°Was going to Is¡¯syal also something Galt wanted?¡± "I wasn''t happy with it, "Emily admitted, ¡°but he found my w...weak spot and bribed me to accept a revelation from him, and he gave me a deadline," there was just a bit of a bite to her tone. ¡°Was it a good bribe?¡± ¡°Blubber Brain, it was a fabulous bribe. I¡¯ve been thinking about glayon vines and had a hunch they might be an Erdos equivalent to something from Earth, just like the stink fish and the mothsbane. Galt told me last night that I was right. Then he said that if I accepted a revelation, he w...would tell me how to process it, which is something I don''t know. "I''m not sure why he wanted me to accept a revelation from him, but doing so will save me several years of experimentation. That''s a big deal since using glayon vines will allow me to make better crutches for Kayseo. To seal the deal, Galt threw in dinner at one of my favorite fish restaurants on San Francisco Bay followed by dessert at an old-style diner in Berkeley." ¡°A fish restaurant? Now I''m envious. In a way, going to Is''syal is fishing since you''re getting fish out of it. I just wish I could get some free fish too. So, Is¡¯syal it is, Grandma. Aylem is not going to be happy with us.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± an evil Emily voice chortled. ¡°It will be interesting to see how she reacts.¡± ¡°Arrival in less than a bell, Grandma,¡± I used a running takeoff to get back in the air. I don''t know if I got to Is''syal in a half bell. Regardless, I flew at my quickest. When I circled the city, I spotted that the processional doors into the Well of Galt were open. Priestesses lined the way up the steps and through the doors. I landed at the base of the steps and climbed them. Kamagishi was at the top of the steps. She wore her most formal white and red robe, the cloth-of-electrum veil, and wool triple headstall of a high priestess. When I reached the narthex of the shrine, Kamagishi and all the other priestesses dropped to one knee. ¡°May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One,¡± the assembled priestesses said in unison. ¡°And also upon you,¡± Emily replied without flinching. ¡°Please rise.¡± ¡°Hello, Emily, Asgotl,¡± Kamagishi said softly as she walked up to us. ¡°Galt visited my dreams just before I woke up this morning, which gave me just enough time to prepare for this.¡± ¡°W...was it necessary to call out all the people at the shrine?" Emily didn''t sound happy to have a big audience. ¡°Absolutely necessary," Kamagishi was emphatic. "If you don''t know why then I will explain it afterward. Now, as soon as you go through this door into the Well, you will need to be as formal as you can be. A lot of people are here for this, Emily. I know you''re uncomfortable when surrounded by Cosm, so if there are too many, don''t even look at them. Concentrate on looking at the crystal and ignore everyone. And don''t get off of Asgotl until the very last moment." ¡°What?" That caught me entirely by surprise. Kamagishi wanted me to carry Emily into the Well of Galt? ¡°Galt was clear that he wanted you to enter the shrine, Asgotl," Kamagishi frowned. "He didn''t tell me why. One last thing you two should know: the King, all his ministers, and the High Priestesses Fassex, Irralray, Rakkalbos, and Ashansalt are inside. Now, are we ready?¡± "No," Emily replied instantly. "Who could be ready for all of this? I thought we''d drop in and be in and out in no time. I wasn''t expecting an audience." "Well, you have one, and you can''t back out now." ¡°That damn cat god,¡± Emily grumbled. ¡°Alright, Blubber Brain, let¡¯s get this over with.¡± ¡°Just keep your eyes on that fish dinner, Emily,¡± I tried to encourage her as I stepped through the great bronze doors into the dome chamber. The instant my talon set down on the white marble floor, the crystal exploded with light and sent a beam skyward. I expect it pierced the dome and could be seen many wagon-days away. The well wasn¡¯t enclosed like the one in Aybhas. There is only a red and white marble railing around the well, which has a floor one step lower than the outside ring. That ring is wide enough to be comfortable for me to walk around it. The four tiers of plain marble seating around the outer ring were full. I spotted the Kas¡¯syo siblings: Oyyuth wearing her chain of office as presiding craftmaster and her brother in his own craftmaster chain. Oyyuth¡¯s son Troyeepay was wedged between them. Imstay and the four other high priestesses were standing in the well. Kamagishi, who was walking next to me, abruptly stiffened and then knelt. She put her hands together, pressed them against her forehead, and bowed her head to the floor. When I looked up, every being under the dome was doing the same. I could smell a wall of fear rising from them. It was him: Galt, in his aspect as a cat, sitting on his haunches on top of the pale yellow-brown crystal in the well. The crystal was a long rectangular prism, not a hexagonal column like those at the Healing and Crystal Shrines. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. He matched Emily''s description of him: a mostly black cat, with a white nose and snout, white chest and stomach, and white at the ends of his paws. To say he was fluffy would be an understatement. His golden eyes seemed to glow. I stepped into the Well of Galt and laid down, putting my head on the floor so Emily could slide off. Without warning, Galt was next to my head. I was surprised he was so small, only about five hands high. He looked up at me, and I heard his voice in my mind. * Thank you for bringing my Emily here, Asgotl. * Then he looked up as Emily made her way down, sliding down my shoulder while gripping the stirrup strap. * Need a hand, kitten? * "You need to move, fluff ball, or I might land on y...you,¡± she tried to keep her volume down. * No need, * he stood on his back legs and grabbed her around the waist, lifting her down with care. * There, all taken care of. Are you ready, kitten? * He stayed standing, so he was just a bit taller than she was. ¡°You remember your promise?¡± * It was only last night, kitten. Of course, I remember: no headache. I keep my promises. * With one paw still holding her waist, he placed the other paw on her head. * There, all done. How was that, Kitten? Kitten? Emily? Of all the rotten fish! * Galt caught Emily as she slumped onto her knees. ¡°D...dizzy,¡± Emily squeaked. ¡°Everything is going sideways,¡± she apologized. * Headache? * Galt sounded worried to me. ¡°No headache, fluff ball,¡± she smiled even though it looked like she couldn¡¯t focus her eyes. ¡°Dizziness is fine. I can cope with dizziness." Galt picked Emily up in his front paws and walked up to Fassex, * Daughter, would you please give the Blessed Emily a hand until she recovers her balance? * Just then, the sky outside turned dark even though it was a sunny cloudless day. I turned my head to see Sassoo in his aspect as the black griffin, lord of the winds. He filled the doorway into the dome. The wall of fear inside the shrine at least doubled according to my sense of smell. * Just what do you think you are doing, god of windbags? This is my shrine and you are crashing an important occasion. Get out, right now! * Galt sounded angry to me. * I¡¯m returning the favor of your visit to my shrine two rotations ago. I just need to have a quick word with that griffin next to you. * Sassoo sounded amused. I stumbled my way to standing and managed not to step on any of the Cosm next to me in the Well of Galt. The Lord of the Winds wanted me? * Come here, Asgotl, * I couldn¡¯t stop myself. My mind was both empty and afraid but my legs moved of their own will toward this frightening presence. I stopped only a few hands from him. He bent his head down until his brow was touching mine and we were beak-to-beak. * I choose you, Asgotl of the Naver Aerie, and bless you as my revelator. Remember! * Words, music, and images filled my mind, and then I fell into darkness. I woke up just inside the great bronze doors into the dome chamber of the Fated Shrine, at the spot where I was touched by Sassoo, Lord of the Winds. The doors were closed and late afternoon sun flooded through the clerestory windows. The inside light gems were already glowing. Sitting on a stool next to my head was a young priestess in the shrine¡¯s librarian robes. She was focused on the book she was reading. I would have picked my head up but it hurt. So this is what Emily was talking about when she mentioned the post-revelation headaches. I can see why she wasn¡¯t thrilled about them. ¡°Excuse me, priestess?¡± ¡°Goodness! You¡¯re awake, Great One,¡± she closed her book in a hurry and turned her focus on to me. ¡°How do you feel?¡± ¡°My head hurts a lot. Might there be a healer nearby?¡± ¡°One moment, Great One,¡± she held up a finger and got that half-lidded look of doing something magical. ¡°Ah,¡± she smiled at me, ¡°an adept is coming. That should be just as good as a healer for a headache.¡± She was right about that. An adept trained at the White Shrine of Landa could do about 80 percent of what a shrine-trained healer could do. The two specialties had a lot of overlap. ¡°I¡¯m curious, Great One,¡± this young priestess leaned forward, ¡°how does it feel to be the first griffin revelator?¡± ¡°Head achy,¡± I replied without thinking. Then, what she asked me sunk in. I was the first griffin revelator just like Emily was the first Coyn revelator. Maybe this was my purpose on this world. I had often wondered why the gods chose to send me here with my memories of the oceans of Earth. It irked me that Tiki considered us a threesome. Aylem and Emily were revelators but I was just the taxi. Taxis don¡¯t need memories of a prior life. ¡°My apologies,¡± I said to the priestess. She wasn¡¯t to blame for my headache. ¡°I was being snippy. I¡¯m not sure how a revelator is supposed to feel. All that I feel at the moment is this headache. What happened after I passed out?¡± ¡°Galt and Sassoo disappeared and people returned to their homes or shops. The Holy Kamagishi took the Blessed Emily to her study along with the other high priestesses. Oh, look, here¡¯s the Holy Fassex.¡± The priestess knelt on both knees, ¡°may the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Holy One.¡± ¡°And with you too. Please rise. I hear there¡¯s a griffin with a sore head?¡± Fassex entered my field of vision, still in her ceremonial purple robe with the black velvet and cloth-of-gold sash of an adept. She got down on one knee in front of me and put her right hand over her heart, ¡°may the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One.¡± ¡°What?¡± I squawked. A preview of what I would face for the rest of my life arrived in front of me. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can do this.¡± ¡°If the Blessed Emily can, so can you, Great One,¡± the old crone grinned with amusement. ¡°I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t need to teach you the response.¡± ¡°Arg!¡± My fun-filled life of laziness and adventure was over. ¡°And also upon you, Holy One. What happens if I don¡¯t tell you to rise?¡± ¡°Want that headache cured, Asgotl?¡± Her smile was malevolent. What an awful old lady she was. "Please rise," I managed to say, and steeled myself for the merciless teasing I knew I was about to harvest from Emily. 109. Revelation Two-fer ¡°Feeling better?¡± Kamagishi pulled a chair next to the couch I had been napping on. It was a surprise since the last thing I remembered was watching Sassoo give that goofy griffin a revelation. Now I found myself on a couch in Kamagishi¡¯s study propped up on cushions and under a blanket. The three other high priestesses were sitting and talking at Kamagishi¡¯s work table on the other side of the room. ¡°Where¡¯s Fassex?¡± I wondered when I didn¡¯t see her with the rest of the high priestesses. ¡°That was not the answer I was looking for, Great One,¡± Kamagishi smiled. ¡°Fassex went to help Asgotl, whose head hurts.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± I smiled in sympathy for the poor griffin, ¡°he has the dread post-revelation headache. Poor Asgotl.¡± ¡°So, does your head hurt too?" ¡°No, Galt promised me there would be no headache this time and he kept that promise,¡± I smiled. At least one god I knew kept his word. ¡°Seriously, little one, how do you feel?¡± Kamagishi looked sincerely concerned. ¡°Weak and lightheaded. I don¡¯t think I could make it as far as your study door.¡± It was the truth. I was metaphorical roadkill. ¡°So you¡¯ll be staying for the night?¡± Kamagishi asked. ¡°That¡¯s probably up to Asgotl. He¡¯s the one who does the flying. I usually fall asleep in transit.¡± ¡°Considering that you only woke up from your injuries in Black Falls three days ago, it might be best if you stayed overnight. Then we could leave as a group for the Crystal Shrine in the morning.¡± ¡°As a group?¡± That surprised me. Was there a Convocation meeting? Did I miss something? ¡°The Convocation will be looking at the crystals you and the Queen found under the floor, followed by lunch.¡± ¡°So, Raoleer will be there,¡± I realized. ¡°That¡¯s good. I need to talk to her. I was thinking of stopping by Omexkel on my way home, so this will save me from making the extra trip.¡± Kamagishi laughed, ¡°you exhausted yourself to come here and now you want to take a trip to Omexkel to see Raoleer? You really are too much. No wonder you cause Lisaykos such worry. You need to rest now. In the future, Raoleer can come to you. As a revelator, you can ask that of her, and until you recover from your chronic fatigue problem, you probably should.¡± Kamagishi had that worried mother look on her face, the one that left you feeling guilty for not doing what mommy knew was best for you. If it wasn¡¯t genuine, she was a brilliant actor. Then she grinned at me, ¡°it always makes me nervous when you want to talk to that unrepentant mekaner. You and Raoleer together are a recipe for trouble. Does this have anything to do with the revelation you received today?¡± ¡°Maybe a little,¡± I admitted. ¡°And what was the revelation? If it was anyone else besides you, Emily, he or she wouldn¡¯t be allowed to leave this shrine until the revelation was written down.¡± ¡°It will be less than a page, Kamagishi," I admitted. "I could write out most of it now. Let''s see, take nine parts glayon vine sap, one part zinc oxide, and one part elemental sulfur. Mix them..." "Stop, I''ll get a recording scroll," Kamagishi walked to her worktable, pulled a recording scroll from a drawer, and then placed it at my feet. She set up the magic pen and then sat back down. "Now start over," she smiled. I sighed, ¡°I confess to an advanced case of magic envy. Recording scrolls are amazing.¡± I was surprised when it wrote what I just said. That''s when I saw Irralray, Rakkalbos, and Ashansalt quietly listening. That made sense since it would be the first time anyone learned the contents of the revelation. So I started over: "First part: take nine parts glayon vine sap, one part zinc oxide, and one part elemental sulfur by weight. Mix them, adding the sulfur last. Pour the mix into an airtight mold for what you want to make. Heat the mix between 130 degrees to 140 degrees on the temperature scale where freezing water is zero and boiling water is 100. Remove from mold four hours later. This is the base recipe. Variations in heating time and sulfur content affect hardness, strength, and elasticity. Variations in zinc oxide affect strength and curing time. ¡°Second part: draw out a ring of glass mounted on a mandrel quickly to create a glass tube with a continuous hole inside. Remove the excess glass at both ends. Using a burner, close one end of the glass tube and blow a bulb at that end while the glass is still hot. Warm the entire length of the tube to create a partial vacuum inside and place the open end into a beaker filled with mercury. When the bulb is full, remove it from the beaker of mercury. Remove any bubbles or gaps in the mercury by first warming the bulb by immersion in boiling water, then cooling the bulb in water until ice begins to form. Close the top of the glass tube and calibrate using freezing and boiling water. If measuring higher temperatures are required, calibrate with melted tin (melts at 232) or melted lead (melts at 328) in addition to boiling and freezing water. If measuring lower temperatures are required, use colored ethanol in place of mercury. ¡°Use of mercury should be in done in a place with excellent one-way ventilation where people are upwind of the mercury because mercury vapors are extremely toxic.¡± Ashansalt had picked up that I was talking about glayon vines, which pricked her curiosity. ¡°Great One, are you saying the sap from that glayon weed is actually useful?" she asked from where she was sitting at Kamagishi''s work table. ¡°Very useful! There are three things I want to make right now out of glayon sap, Holy One. The sap is more useful than the vine itself unless you''re a healer." ¡°If I remember correctly, glayon vines only grow on the wasteland next to the lava plains," Ashansalt frowned in thought. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say there was a third part, Great One?¡± Kamagishi nudged. ¡°Oh right,¡± I glanced at the recording scroll to see that the pen included the exchange with Ashansalt. ¡°The third part: men are now allowed to enroll at the Fated Shrine of Galt but may not be domiciled in the same building as women. Shrine students are allowed to eat and study together. There, Kamagishi, that¡¯s the entire revelation. Hey, what¡¯s with the fish face?¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Galt really said that?¡± Kamagishi was a sight. In fact, all four high priestesses were a matched set of wide eyes and dropped jaws. The Fated Shrine was infamous for not allowing men to enroll. ¡°Kamagishi, I would never joke about a revelation. That would anger the gods, which is something to be avoided. The gods can and do meddle with people''s lives in nasty ways. I do not want to give any of them a reason to mess with me any more than they already have." Some real anger had snuck into my voice as I was reminded of Mugash screwing with my health with Tiki''s blessing. ¡°Emily,¡± Kamagishi whispered, horrified at what she picked up, ¡°Mugash?¡± I was saved from answering that question when I heard the sound of griffin talons on a tile floor. I looked up in time to see Fassex opening the double doors into the study for Asgotl. I was startled when all the high priestesses in the room knelt on one knee and made a full obeisance to Asgotl: ¡°May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One.¡± I almost started laughing when I saw the panicked look on Asgotl¡¯s face. Asgotl¡¯s head drooped in defeat, ¡°and also on you, Holy Ones. Please get up.¡± He looked across the room and saw me, ¡°Emily!¡± He wove his way to the couch and laid down on the floor next to me, resting his beak next to my legs. ¡°Are we staying here for the night?¡± He looked relieved to see me. ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere, Blubber Brain,¡± I put on my best apology face. ¡°I have no energy left.¡± ¡°Could I head back without you?¡± He sounded desperate. ¡°You can catch a ride back with the high priestesses.¡± ¡°Do you really w...want to face Aylem by yourself?¡± I asked him. ¡°Crap, I didn¡¯t think of that,¡± he looked even more desperate. ¡°Worried about your reception over in the House of Mounts?¡± I prodded, guessing he wanted to hide right now. ¡°Maybe a little,¡± he conceded. ¡°Asgotl, they¡¯ll throw a party for you. This is a huge deal for the mounts. You have nothing to w...worry about.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m worried about,¡± he sighed. ¡°What¡¯s with this humble routine?¡± I needled him because I could. He was such an easy target when he was like this. ¡°Just who are you and what did you do with my friend Asgotl?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just that...well, you know...she...¡± ¡°She?¡± This was getting interesting. Kamagishi was interested too. She went straight for the kill. Scratching between his ears, she leaned toward him, ¡°don¡¯t tell me you have a lady friend at the House of Mounts?¡± ¡°Maybe I should sleep on Aylem''s balcony?" a dejected Asgotl murmured. ¡°Asgotl,¡± I rolled my eyes, ¡°you¡¯re being silly over this. You¡¯ll at least get fed if you spend the evening at the House of Mounts.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Asgotl was motionless as he contemplated the one thing that motivated him more than anything else: food. Then he looked up, ¡°I won¡¯t starve if I skip dinner this evening.¡± ¡°He¡¯s got it bad, whoever she is,¡± Fassex remarked as she strolled over and leaned against the arm of the couch. ¡°It¡¯s not like that!¡± the griffin protested. ¡°So, who is this lady friend of yours?¡± I asked. If griffins could blush, Asgotl would have been red as a beet by now. ¡°Does Aylem know?¡± He sat up straight, his eyes looking down at me in panic, ¡°don¡¯t tell Aylem!¡± ¡°It¡¯s Flavriansha,¡± Garki¡¯s voice said from the still-open doorway. ¡°He¡¯s been chasing her and she keeps turning him down. This has been going on for at least a year.¡± Garki was standing in the doorway holding up a large round basket. ¡°The king has sent some gifts for you, Great One,¡± Garki looked at me. Then he looked at everyone else in the room, placed the basket on the floor, and got down on one knee, ¡°may the blessings of the eleven gods be upon all of you.¡± ¡°And also upon you, Garki," I said since I was the senior in the pecking order. "Please rise. Isn''t Flavriansha the king''s griffin?" I asked. Asgolt dropped his head between his talons and grimaced: ¡°I am so doomed! My life can¡¯t get any worse than this.¡± ¡°Think again, feathers-for-brains,¡± a wind-blown Aylem said from behind Garki. ¡°Nooooooooooooooo,¡± Asgotl groaned. ¡°So,¡± Aylem leaned against the door jamb, arms crossed, ¡°the two of you said you were going fishing.¡± ¡°Yep,¡± I smiled and hoped I looked innocent enough, ¡°caught a big catfish too.¡± ¡°Yes, we watched the whole thing in the Great Crystal. I hope it¡¯s a good revelation because Lisaykos is ready to chain you to your bed so you can get over this chronic fatigue you have. So what did Galt impart to you?¡± I couldn¡¯t stop the smile that broke out on my face, ¡°the sap of the glayon vine is natural latex rubber. The revelation was the basic recipe for vulcanization, plus the methodology for making glass thermometers, and permission from Galt for the Fated Shrine of Galt to now enroll men.¡± Aylem¡¯s fish face was magnificent. ¡°I¡¯m somewhat disappointed that I didn¡¯t figure out the glass thermometer for myself because it turns out to be simple,¡± I admitted. ¡°Rubber? You said rubber, right?¡± Aylem was gobsmacked. ¡°I indeed said rubber,¡± I replied as if it was a minor thing but Aylem knew me too well by now to be fooled by my nonchalance. "Is there something you want to do with rubber, Emily?" Aylem tilted her head and asked. "If I have rubber, I can make Kayseo a decent wheelchair with rubber on the wheels to absorb shocks. I also want to make crutches for her with rubber pads on top that don''t hurt her upper arms, hand grips with padding so she can support her weight correctly, and prosthetics that don''t cause pain when she w...walks. It upsets me to see her in pain. She''s hiding it from everyone. I knew I had to do something about it the moment I saw her struggling with those primitive crutches and barbaric peg legs the other day.¡± ¡°Are Kayseo¡¯s crutches really that bad?¡± Aylem steered Garki out of the doorway and into the study. She grabbed a stool and sat next to Kamagishi. I didn¡¯t leave her in suspense: ¡°The current T-shaped crutch design is horrible because there are no hand grips and it puts all of the body''s weight on the armpits instead. The armpits were not designed for bearing w...weight, Aylem. You¡¯re a healer and this hasn¡¯t occurred to you? The armpit is a nerve-rich region and bearing the body¡¯s weight on a crutch in the armpit can damage those nerves. The abuse of the upper arm can cause thrombosis of the blood vessels of the upper arm. Do I need to go further, Aylem, to ligament damage? To be honest, I''m somewhat appalled that no one has made a better crutch.¡± ¡°I must confess I am ignorant of the effects you mention, Emily,¡± Aylem looked troubled, ¡°but I¡¯m not surprised that no one has improved crutches. Crutches are rare. We should sit down with Lisaykos and discuss this,¡± she remarked. ¡°So, Asgotl, what did Sassoo reveal to you?¡± ¡°Nothing much,¡± he picked his head up. ¡°He wants the design of the new Singing Shrine to be accessible to all flying mounts, just like the Crystal Shrine¡¯s dome openings and the Fated Shrine¡¯s doors.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a problem,¡± Aylem looked concerned, ¡°because the spell for a permanent weather barrier, like the one at the Crystal Shrine, is a lost magic.¡± ¡°Sassoo said you would say that,¡± Asgotl commented. ¡°He said to tell you that the spell is in High Priestess Yasknapa¡¯s book.¡± The reaction of Aylem and all the high priestesses present was so astounded that they could have started their own aquarium with themselves in the role of those bug-eyed goldfish that people used to breed. I really regretted not having a working camera in hand to capture their expressions. The gathering in Kamagishi¡¯s study broke up after that. Aylem and the five high priestesses went off to the palace to have dinner with the king. I didn¡¯t have it in me to go with them. All I wanted to do was sleep. Garki took me down to 6 Brewer¡¯s Row to spend the night. Kamagishi had already made arrangements with Oyyuth so I could sleep in that comfortable bedroom she and Hessakos set aside for me. 110. Crystal Magic Emily, 6 Brewers'' Row & the Crystal Shrine To my surprise, it was Kamagishi who came to get me in the morning. I was having fun over morn repast with Troyeepay as I showed him all my tricks to make long division easier. He was currently learning long division at his school. There were no public schools in Foskos. Troyeepay attended the school run by the brewers and vintners guild. He was a sharp kid and I suspected he would soon blow away his math teacher. In the middle of the meal and math tricks, someone knocked on the back door. No one but the family used that door. Oyyuth and Ayyur, her housekeeper looked at each other. Ayyur, who had come into the dining room after hearing the knock, shook her head, "the master said he''d arrive this evening, mistress." Oyyuth got up and crept over to the nearest window. She peeked through a tiny opening in the curtain, "Surd save us! It''s the High Priestess and her eagle." She ran out of the dining room. Her footfalls echoed down the hallway as she crossed the sitting room to open the back door. I heard her make her obeisance. Then they started talking and laughing as Oyyuth led her to the dining room. "Has she finished eating yet?" I heard Kamagishi say. "I came to take her with me back to the Crystal Shrine. I have a little more time but the Convocation meets at the third bell." "I''m not sure she''s finished eating. She''s spent most of the repast teaching my son new math tricks. They are in the dining room and are probably still at it." Troyeepay and I looked at each other and we were instantly back to working on his long division homework. We certainly didn''t want to make Oyyuth look like she was telling tales. "There you are," Kamagishi entered the dining room, remembering to duck her head. "Stop making that obeisance before you get started on it," I warned the high priestess. "This is a formality-free zone until I finish my morn repast." "But Emily," Troyeepay pouted, "does that mean me too?" "Oh, alright," I begrudged the boy. "It doesn''t extend to you." He hopped off his chain and made a full obeisance, "May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Holy One." "And upon you too, Troyeepay Kas''syo haup Gunndit," she smiled at him. "Please rise." Kamagishi walked behind me and looked over my shoulder at the wax tablet which had my notes on how to use the distributive rule of multiplication. "What is this? I''ve not seen anything like this before," Kamagishi frowned. "It''s just a trick to speed up multiplication and long division," I explained. "Troyeepay is currently suffering through long division at school using the Queen''s numbers." "I find the Queen''s numbers a bit challenging," the High Priestess confessed. "I usually do my arithmetic with the old numbers and then convert them to the Queen''s numbers." "My tricks will work in base eight so you might want to try my shortcuts sometime in the future." "Base eight?" "The old numbers use base eight but the Queen''s numbers are base ten," I turned my head to look up at her. "I''m going to get a crick in my neck if you don''t sit down." Kamagishi obliged me and sat down. "We need to leave soon or I''ll be late," Kamagishi pointed out. I looked at Troyeepay, "you understand how my tricks work now, right? " "I think I do," he nodded. "That''s good because I''m out of time. I need to leave with the high priestess." I turned to Kamagishi, "Holy One, where are Asgotl and the Queen?" I could probably finish my food while Kamagishi updated me on the most recent news concerning our reluctant revelator. "Asgotl slept on the Queen''s balcony last night," Kmagishi grinned. "He and Aylem have already left." "Pppffffft!" I tried not to laugh but it was funny. What a ridiculous griffin. I don''t know why it struck me as hard as it did, but I couldn''t stop laughing. If he slept on the balcony, he probably skipped eating too. And since he flew back with Aylem, she''ll give him nonstop grief all the way to the Crystal Shrine. Kamagishi tried to look disapproving and failed. Soon the two of us were laughing. For a few brief laughter-rich minutes, I forgot about chronic fatigue, the loss of my home, Mugash''s curse on my health, being a prophet, and being trapped by well-meaning silverhairs. That silly griffin gave me a few blessed minutes of catharsis that I didn''t realize I needed. I laughed so hard, that tears fell from my eyes and all the muscles of my sides ached. "Ah yes," I smiled in anticipation over all the payback I was about to get from teasing the Great One, the Blessed Asgotl! "That poor griffin is so doomed. I think I''m going to enjoy this." "It gets better," Kamagishi flashed me an evil grin. "Imstay King and his griffin, Flavriansha, left with Aylem for the Crystal Shrine." The intelligence doomed me to another few minutes of laughter. After that, we left 6 Brewers'' Row on Pibl the eagle. Pibl''s burns from the Ipotuan attack on her and Kamagishi were gone. The only sign of the burns were patches of slight color differences between new and old feathers. I was surprised when Pibl greeted me since most eagles see Coyn as inferiors. Then I noticed that the control gem was gone from the side of her beak. So Kamagishi freed her eagle. Little by little, the world had already started to change. Kamagishi liked to fly with a barrier to break the wind. She was dedicated to being on the leading edge of fashion despite wearing priestess robes most of the time. She used the barrier so she wouldn''t look windswept when she got off her eagle. Regardless, the barrier made it possible to hold a normal conversation in flight. Pibl was included in the barrier and even made some comments. "It is most amusing, Asgotl and Flavriansha," Pibl remarked. "It will be refreshing to see that lazy loudmouth griffin take some grief for a change. My only regret is that he will eventually revert to his usual self. I will bet a quarter of a steer that Asgotl will be on the floor of the dome chamber but Flav will be in the mounts'' gallery." "No takers, Pibl," Kamagishi laughed, "I don''t like losing bets." While in flight, I learned that besides the crystal discovery and the two revelations yesterday, a third remarkable incident happened. A patrol guarding one of the convoys between Uldlip and Black Falls found the missing Captain Sertfos haup Black along with her eagle and one of the missing Coyn from the Singing Shrine. Both Sertfos and her eagle were injured and had to be transported by eagle litter. It was the Coyn who kept them alive. He had made a clever contraption using Sertfos'' armor to make reflections off the mirror finish on the metal. He used it to attract attention to where they were stranded four wagon-days south in the Salt Desert. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. When we set down inside the dome at the Crystal Shrine, Asgotl was indeed on the floor of the chamber while Flavriansha was in the gallery chatting with other mounts. Neither Raoleer nor Sutsusum had arrived yet so we were not the last ones there. After Kamagishi helped me down from Pibl, she set off to greet Senlyosart who was reclining on a lounge. I wandered over to the miserable griffin, working hard not to show glee at his situation. "Have you eaten at all, Blubber Brains?" I sat down on the floor next to his shoulder. "I can stand to go a few more hours until dinnertime at the Healing Shrine," he admitted. "I do know of a great fishing spot just up the White River from here. Want to go?" "Good attempt at an escape, chum," I couldn''t help smiling, "but I need to talk to some of the folks here first." "Blarg," he drooped and put his head on the floor between his talons. "Such a muddle." Then he heaved a huge sigh. "Why is this a problem for you, Blubber Head? So she turned you down, several times if the rumors are correct. Why don''t you just move on? You will both be more comfortable if you do." "It''s more complicated than that, Grandma," he said softly, sounding dejected. "The last time I asked, she got angry with me and told me and the whole House of Mount why. I''ve been avoiding the House of Mounts ever since because most of them have been showing me nothing but tail feathers." That was a mount''s expression for shunning. Now I was curious as to what Flavriansha told Asgotl. "So, what did she say to you that was so awful?" "She is not a free griffin like me, so she is not at liberty to mate with anyone without the explicit consent of her owner. And even if she did get consent, any kits born would be property, and she was unwilling to doom any future griffin to life as a slave. What''s worse is that I am former property so I should have known better." "Holy crappola, whale breath, and she''s Imstay''s mount, with special training as flying cavalry, so she can''t risk pregnancy with war on the horizon. You''re right, this is a mess. Do Aylem and Imstay know?" "They do now," Asgotl sounded like the world was about to end. "Now do you understand why there would not have been a party for me last night at the House of Mounts? I''m the thoughtless free griffin who has forgotten the yoke of slavery inflicted on his fellow mounts. What''s worse is that I''m Aylem''s bond, so I get all sorts of special stuff from the House of Mounts staff, like bigger meals, first cuts of fresh meat, and a place to sleep far upwind from the privy pits. I''m confident that they are all wondering why Sassuu picked the biggest asshat in Foskos to be the first griffin revelator." "Asgotl, you need to apologize to her. Then you need to make yourself scarce so it doesn''t appear that you apologized just to get back into the House of Mounts. Ask Oyyuth Kas''syo or General Bobbo if you can borrow their backyards to sleep. Last, never ask Flavriansha out ever again. You''ve burnt that bridge behind you." "I don''t need bridges. I can fly." "Asgotl, it''s an Earth metaphor." "Oh." - - - Emily, Crystal Shrine of Tiki I was vastly amused that Raoleer took advantage of the confusion of high priestesses going in and out of the cavern to offer to take me down to see the crystals. The looks on Aylem''s, Lisaykos'', and Kamagishi''s faces were special. It was a good reminder for them that no one owns me and I will follow my own will. I had pondered skipping the cavern since from my point of view, if you''ve seen one giant rock crystal, you''re seen them all. Once I was inside of it, I was glad I didn''t follow through because the chamber itself was worth the loathsome need to be carried by a Cosm silverhair. "Oh, look at this!" I had to turn my head to see all the details. "This is the actual volcanic vent for the butte that the shrine is built on. Usually, they don''t drain like this and leave a roofed chamber behind. And look at all this black and green sand. I doubt it formed here. The gods must have placed it in here so the crystals could rest on the sand instead of a pile of scoria. This is awesome!" "You''re the only person I know, Great One, who gets taken to see a cache of shrine-worthy giant crystals and enthuses about the cavern instead." Roaleer laughed, "I shouldn''t be surprised, should I?" "It''s common for the plug of lava left in a vertical vent at the end of an eruption to survive through the ages while the rest of the volcanic material around it erodes away. There are three along the Rig River between Omexkel and Rigdit. Sanddab Island is one of them. But here it''s the opposite. To have the roofed vent preserved with no plug material is unusual. When the vent''s preserved, there usually isn''t a roof." "I see," Raoleer looked amused. "The crystals are pretty wow all by themselves," I conceded. "I''ve never seen topaz crystals this huge before. It makes me wonder where the granite or rhyolite is that hosts these big topaz crystals. They aren''t very common either." "Topaz?" "The pale brown crystals that are rectangular, like the ones at the Shrine of Galt," I looked at them, wondering just how long it took for those crystals to grow. My Earth family would do a yearly trip down to Topaz Mountain in Utah every year to dig for garnets and topaz crystals. That made me feel nostalgic for a moment. I looked at the giant amethyst crystal, "at least there''s a replacement here for the amethyst that will be broken at the Shrine of Landa. What''s so important about that crystal that makes it different from the others in terms of magic?" "You don''t know?" Raoleer looked surprised. "Raoleer, do I look like a magic user to you?" I rolled my eyes. "I don''t know much about how magic is used. It''s not my gig." "Yasknapa of Yantes discovered that the great crystals could influence smaller crystals, making it possible to create charm gems with very little effort. After some research into the phenomenon, she discovered that different crystals were aligned to certain kinds of charm magic. "For example, the crystal at the Fated Shrine of Galt makes it much easier to cast a charm of compulsion to tell the truth which will even work on a silverhair. The priestess recorders make charm gems to compel truthful testimony in court. You place the crystal you want to use for charm gems in the Well of Galt for a rotation. That''s all it takes. The magic that transfers the power of compulsion from the shrine crystal into the smaller crystal was created and cast by Yasknapa. Since her death, no one has been able to replicate her magic. "The crystal in the Well of Mugash can make charm gems that prevent infectious diseases. The one at my shrine makes charm gems of light that work for those with no magic. The crystal at the Hospitable Shrine of Gertzpul will make charm gems that preserve the remains of all six sapient races before cremation or burial. The crystal at the Bountiful Shrine of Mueb will make charm gems to preserve perishable food. But you should already know all of this, yes?" "No, Raoleer. This is the first time I''ve heard anything about making charm gems. The only time I''ve ever seen charm gem magic was when I visited the workshop of Priest Artificer Nitsuthluk when we were making the first slide rules." "Seriously?" she looked surprised. "I''m dead serious. There is a lot about Foskos I don''t know. I run into this problem all the time because people assume I know things when I don''t." "But you know so much about everything, Emily," she frowned at me. "I find that hard to believe." "Spoot slaves," I rebutted. "I never even heard of spoot slaves until a few days ago when Lisaykos told me about them. I didn''t know the Crystal Shrine kept the calendar and had an active observatory with a spherical astrolabe until right after the Battle of Black Falls, a rotation and a half ago. I didn''t know that every shrine has its main doors facing north until yesterday. There is a lot I don''t know." "Surd save us! I had no idea," Raoleer shook her head. "The gods dropped a lot of knowledge in my head, Raoleer, but none of it was about Foskos or any other country on Erdos. So does the amethyst crystal at the White Shrine of Landa make control gems?" "Exactly," Raoleer looked sad for some reason. "When Lord Kushamar haup Blockit was found guilty of using combined control and compulsion charm gems, did someone take crystals from both the Shrines of Galt and Landa?" "It''s the only way to do that," Raoleer grimaced, "unless the gems came from another country." "Are either of those legal?" "No, both are crimes that will send a person to the mines if caught." "That implies a priestess at one or both shrines might have been complicit in making illegal charm gems." "Yes, Emily, it does, but it might not have happened last rotation. It could have happened a hundred or two hundred years ago. The enchantment of a smaller crystal lasts forever. Someone could have made a stash of such crystals and then handed them down in a family or one of the slave trader companies." "That makes me feel sick to my stomach," it was my turn to grimace. "So much for mid repast." 111. Deciding on how someone else will die I managed to sneak out of the dome chamber before mid repast. There were now latch hooks next to most of the doors I might use at the shrine. Foyuna had been busy over the last rotation and a half since my last visit. The nice thing about the layout at the Crystal shrine was the circular design. Assuming I remembered the nearest hallway door out of the dome, it would never be a long walk to my room. There was now a plaque with my name on the door. I let myself in. The too-tall table and chair were gone, replaced by a low table and a Coyn-scaled armchair on a dais three steps up. There were also three of the large storage chests like the ones Wolkayrs made for my bedroom back in Aybhas, which doubled as seating for any Cosm who might visit. Foyuna had been busy while I recovered from the attack in Black Falls. I kicked off my ankle boots and draped my travel bag, the overtunic, and my belt on the armchair. I climbed the stair to the bed, feeling a little tired and a bit frayed around the edges by the entire Convocation. There¡¯s something very uncomfortable about being the only small person surrounded by giant magic people. I needed some time to myself to pretend the world was just one scale with just one human race. I don¡¯t remember falling asleep. ¡°Oh Great Grumpy One,¡± Kamagishi was shaking my shoulder. ¡°Time to wake up.¡± I opened my eyes and peered out from under the blankets. ¡°Before I head back to Is¡¯syal,¡± Kamagishi was leaning over me, ¡°I was hoping I could get a decision and some approved paperwork on what you want to do with the two who attacked you in Black Falls.¡± Aylem was sitting at the foot of the bed. Lisaykos, and Foyuna were sitting on the storage chests. Imstay was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. I guessed my recovery time alone was over for the day. Damn Cosm. I managed to sit up, "what happened w...with the Voice who used me like a football and wanted to stomp me to death?" "She''s under a charm of eternal sleep at the Citadel in Is¡¯syal, and so is the trainee who assaulted you," Lisaykos explained. "As a revelator, it''s your decision as to what happens to them." Aylem added a caution: "Emily, this culture has no permanent prisons. Most big crimes end up at the Shrine of Galt for judgment. Punishments are usually some sort of death penalty because no jail can contain a conscious silver hair. Usually, the families of the guilty are also executed to prevent additional murders in the name of vengeance. The families of your attackers already tried a revenge attack and have perished as a result. You only have to decide about the two who assaulted you.¡± "Can I decide to let someone else decide?" I was uncomfortable with the responsibility of deciding who to execute and how to do it. "No, you can''t delegate this power unless you are deemed mentally unfit to do so," Kamagishi smiled with sympathy, knowing how much I hated this. "W...what''s the punishment? It''s death by exhaustion, isn''t it? Because of the sacrilege?" "Trainee Moyuxkol committed sacrilege," Kamagishi replied quietly. "The Voice committed the more serious crime of murder or attempted murder of an exalted or holy person. The punishment is being dropped into an actively-erupting Great Crack." I must have flinched because Kamagishi added: "It''s a very fast death, unlike death by exhaustion or death by birds. It''s much quicker than being burned alive and kinder than being buried alive." "Are you sure about that, Kamagishi?¡± I wasn¡¯t feeling charitable about being forced into this decision, especially right after being woken up from a nap. ¡°Have you ever interviewed anyone who died that w...way as to w...whether or not they felt pain?" "No, Emily, people don''t come back to life to tell us...about...," she stopped with a look of embarrassment. Then her expression changed to one of admonishment. "Did you...?" With a straight face, I wondered out loud: "I guess it all depends on w...whether the nerves for pain w...were faster or slower than the disconnection between mind and body at death due to the molten lava, which is 14 to 18 times the temperature of boiling water." I paused long enough to look at her gobsmacked face, "the temperature depends on the composition of the lava, mind you. Did you know, Holy One, that molten rocks are corrosive and act like strong acids on the materials they come into contact w...with?" "You...," Kamagishi was searching for words, looking a bit vexed with me. "I w...wasn''t killed in the attack at Black Falls," I pointed out while she was still reeling. "It w...was an unsuccessful attempt, so w...why is it murder?" I could tell I didn¡¯t want to talk about this because my w-stammer was back. Aylem explained: "There is no difference under Foskan law, Emily, between murder, attempted murder, or being ancillary to a murder. What''s important in Foskan law is intent. Intending to murder you and failing is the same as intending to murder you and succeeding. The difference here is that we can be sure about the intent to commit a crime because we can compel the truth through magic. Emily?" "Yes?" "I know you don''t like being put in a position where you have to decide on capital punishment but you shouldn''t take it out on Kamagishi," Aylem gave me her best ''you-can-do-better-than-this'' look. "Y...yes, you''re right," I admitted. "Sorry, Kamagishi. I shouldn''t take my discontent out on you. The customary punishment for sacrilege is death by exhaustion, y...yes?" ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Kamagishi, does intent matter in the crime of sacrilege?¡± I saw that I had caught her by surprise. She frowned as she thought about it. Aylem answered before Kamagishi could sort out a reply: ¡°You might remember that under Foskan law, willful ignorance is a form of intent, Emily. Moyuxkol willfully chose to ignore multiple lines of evidence that you were not a deceitful Coyn out on a joy ride with an equally deceitful griffin. Most of that evidence was overt. You wore a Mugash mantle with a gold thread sigil. She blew it on that one alone.¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Beyond a doubt,¡± grumbled Lisaykos whose shrine was insulted by Moyuxkol¡¯s lack of regard for another shrine¡¯s livery. ¡°She chose to ignore the fire opal tablet that I gave you,¡± Imstay remarked, in a voice I had never heard before from him, one full of reason and consideration like a judge rendering an opinion in a summary judgment, ¡°especially since it had its own case and belt hook, both custom made for your belt. Last, at her stage of development, she should have been able to feel that you had god marks, one of which is also visible. It¡¯s impossible to miss Galt¡¯s eyes. There is one last thing she failed to do, which adds to the willful ignorance. She never stopped to ask who you were despite the god marks, the mantle, and the tablet, and she refused your request to speak to her superior in the shrine hierarchy." ¡°Kamagishi?¡± I looked at her wanting a confirmation since this was a new concept for me. "You would not have seen willful ignorance in any of the statute books because it''s an interpretation. The subject is covered in the rubrics for lords and judges, and I do not know if you¡¯ve read those,¡± Kamagishi explained. ¡°Regardless, it is indeed considered a form of intent.¡± ¡°And Priestess Voice Druyudros? Was that also willful ignorance?¡± This was an important point for me because if Druyudros thought she was saving a trainee from a rogue Coyn, then it mattered in terms of intent from Druyudros¡¯ point of view. ¡°To quote Oytwee, the camp master of the Singing Shrine¡¯s Coyn, she came at a run out of the trainees¡¯ camp and never even slowed down,¡± Imstay said. ¡°What if she thought Moyuxkol was in danger from me? I did have a knife at the trainee¡¯s throat.¡± "She could have levitated you away, or put you to sleep, or used the Voice of Compulsion on you," Lisaykos said with a sour expression. "She could even have tried to talk to you. Instead, she chose to apply contempt before investigation. She did not follow a prudent course of action, which would have been to neutralize you without harming you and ask questions later. She''s a silverhair so she had the capacity to act prudently. Because she did not, this looks like willful ignorance to me. ¡± ¡°Well, then,¡± I made my decision. ¡°Trainee Moyuxkol was badly-raised but she is just old enough to know better. Regardless, she is still a child in terms of maturity, but Foskan society has not the means to attempt the remediation of someone like her, complicated by her capacity for magic, which would make remediation risky. The path of least evil is to execute her using an instant death charm." ¡°Do you not want the public retribution of death by exhaustion?¡± Kamagishi looked troubled. ¡°How will people know that a just punishment was carried out if they can not watch the means of death?¡± "Putting her to death deprives her of her greatest possession, which is the rest of her life," my stomach was feeling sour from all this revenge and retribution crap. "What purpose does death by exhaustion serve other than to prove that I too can be needlessly cruel? I disapprove of cruelty with no purpose other than to wallow in the power to harm someone else. I will not do it. It diminishes me." Everyone but Aylem was gobsmacked. I didn¡¯t care. I was the one who had to live with myself and sentencing Moyuxkol to death was bad enough. I moved on to the Voice who used me as a football: ¡°Priestess Druyudros had an obligation as a priestess and a noble to be an example of one who acts thoughtfully and follows the rule of law. She failed in both endeavors. She stated her intent publicly that she meant to kill me. If not for the intervention of one of the Corps of Wraiths, she might have succeeded in stomping me to death when I survived hitting the ground after she kicked me. She will be executed by being dropped into an erupting Great Crack. I do not like this means of execution, but it is Foskos¡¯ rule of law, not mine.¡± I felt sick to my stomach. I sat still for a moment until the nauseous feeling passed. "Do I have to w...witness the executions?" The thought of having to watch someone be thrown into an active volcanic vent left a bad taste in my mouth as I had to swallow some stomach acid back down. "Usually yes," Kamagishi explained, "however, you are still under Lisaykos'' care. Because her orders are for you to rest, you are not obliged to witness the deaths." ¡°Well, thank the gods for that,¡± at least I could get this behind me now. ¡°Alright, do I need to sign any documents, Kamagishi?" ¡°You only need to seal the document stating your sentencing for the records. The priestess recorders will then issue the penalty orders for the officials at the Shrine of Landa,¡± Kamagishe walked over to the table and picked up a magic recording scroll. ¡°You recorded this?¡± I stared at the scroll as she removed the magic pen. ¡°Of course I did,¡± she gave me a good-natured smile. ¡°I¡¯m glad I did so since you made a firm decision here. Otherwise, you would need to repeat your decision a second time so a scroll could record it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a seal, Kamagishi,¡± I pointed out something I thought was obvious. The least magical Cosm could impress a seal with his or her aura. It was the most basic act of magic and out of reach for me. "You don''t have a seal?" Kamagishi''s jaw dropped. "We need to get you one." "Do you realize that''s nonsensical?" I pointed out. ¡°I think you are forgetting something here. If you do get me a seal, I still can''t impress my aura into the w...wax because I''m a Coyn. The one thing even the least magical Cosm can do is beyond me. So w...what''s the use of my owning a seal? Documents are authenticated with an aura-bearing seal. I will never be able to authenticate any documents since I can¡¯t use a seal that way. That makes it a w...worthless lump of metal from my point of view." "What did you do before when you had to seal documents?" a confounded Imstay asked. "Before today, I have never needed to seal anything, Imstay King. Remember, I didn''t live in Foskos before a year and a half ago." "You are right. We overlooked the fact that Coyn can not impress an aura." Imstay pondered with a frown, biting his finger. "How do we deal with this?" "That''s easy," I shrugged. "I''m still under Lisaykos'' care for chronic fatigue. The short-term fix is to have her sign for me." "It will have to do for now," Imstay decided. "We certainly have enough people who can attest to Emily suggesting it. What''s your opinion, Kamagishi, legally?" "Attestation is valid if you have one high priestess, or a king and queen together, or three lords, or seven priestess recorders of Galt. We have enough of the right people to attest that Emily asked Lisaykos to seal the document for her." The situation made me want to scream. I felt like taking the books of law and pounding Cosm heads with them. None of them realized that under Cosm law, I had no rights as a Coyn. Foskan law assumed that all Coyn, flying horses, griffins, and roc eagles were property, and property has no rights. The only reason I had any standing under Foskan law was because I was a revelator. If I was an ownerless Coyn and not a revelator, the law would give me to the Shrine of Surd, which runs orphanages and old folks'' homes for the destitute and the ownerless. For Coyn who are abandoned or forfeited property, the Shrine of Surd runs training schools for those who can learn a new skill. Once trained, they will be sold. For those who are disabled or otherwise unsalable, the Shrine of Surd has supervised establishments with workhouse-type facilities for those who can do some work, and care facilities for those who can not. The system was not sophisticated, but it eliminated the sight of both Cosm and Coyn poverty from polluting Cosm eyes. The Foskan system had an additional weakness, a bad one. No laws prevented a private owner from abusing or killing his slaves of any race. Thinking about all of this, I wanted to kick everyone out of my formerly safe space at the Crystal Shrine and go back to sleep until my stomach felt better. It occurred to me that I could kick them out and go back to sleep, so I did. 112. Roads from Impotu Emily, Crystal shrine of Tiki I was amazed when all the Cosm left my room and left me alone for a time. Aylem told me later that Lisaykos was behind that, realizing my stomach was sour. It also explained why she didn''t nag me about skipping lunch. Aylem and Imstay waited for me at the shrine to wake back up while almost everyone else left for their homes or shrines. When I later woke up and exited my room, I could tell by the light coming through the clerestory windows along the corridors that it was mid-afternoon. I was surprised when I entered the domed chamber to see Usruldes talking with Imstay and High Priestess Moxsef of Vassu. Moxsef''s presence was unexpected. Imstay looked rather grim and spoke so softly that I could not hear him. Moxsef wasn''t wearing her usual sour expression as if something always smelled bad somewhere nearby. She looked just as grim as Imstay. Aylem was standing with her hand on the Great Crystal. Foyuna had pushed the recorder¡¯s table next to Aylem and acted as her note taker. I wasn''t sure because I couldn''t see the top of the table, but it looked like there was an unrolled map on it. Foyuna spotted me hanging up the latch hook on its rack and walked over to me. ¡°Feeling better, Emily?¡± she leaned down to talk to me and braced her hands on her knees. ¡°Yes, thank you, Foyuna." I realized that I like Foyuna a great deal. She was the friendliest of all the high priestesses with her bright and cheerful personality. ¡°I have bread and stuff to put on it, in case you''re hungry," she volunteered. "It''s on the table." She tried walking with me and became frustrated with the pace. "I''m sorry, Emily, but I''m going to be rude and move you a bit faster than you can walk." She picked me up, carried me across the vast space under the huge dome, and planted me on the edge of the table. Then she pulled my ankle boots off and placed them under the table, "there, now you can make yourself comfortable if you want. Do you want some cushions to recline on?" ¡°No, I¡¯m good for now,¡± I turned and studied the map that took up half the table surface. I had never seen a map quite like it. It showed all the mountain ranges of the Blue Mountains east of the Salt River and extended into the flatlands beyond. What was notable were the highest mountains. If you drew a line from Truvos in the south through Pinisla and then Weirgos, the mountains to the east were drawn on the map as if they were the highest. The Rig River upstream of Weirgos continued that line northward to where it had its headwaters in Naver Lake, in a high valley just to the southwest of the Yuxviayeth holding. Yuxviayeth was the two grain-rich valleys east of Yant and Surdos, which Imstay added to Foskos last year. South of Naver Lake, Foskans considered the line to be the eastern border of the kingdom. The map had the area east of the Truvos-Pinisla-Weirgos line and the Rig River upstream of Weirgos shaded light red. The region had just one label: Eagle Territory. The very highest mountains were on its southern end. The Ahkeseld River rose in the hills to the east of Pink Lake. The Pink Lake was a brine lake that ended the salt pans on the southern border of Foskos at Black Falls. There was a low pass between the west draining lake that fed the enclosed basin of the Pink Lake and the Headwaters of the Ahkeseld River. Pink Lake''s waters were a dark rosy pink, which I guessed was due to salt-loving algae and halophilic bacteria, both of which made extremely salty water turn that color. The great east-west trade route that started at the Inkalim trade post of Tuleen at the sinks of the Salt River, and passed through Uldlip and Black Falls, traveled over that pass and followed the Ahkeseld into the vast breadbasket lands of the Empire of Impotu. The Ahkeseld was one of the longest rivers known on the west side of the continent, draining the southern Blue Mountains and traveling more than 50 wagon-days to feed the greatest river in the world, simply called the Stem. South of Eagle Territory, The Ahleseld had six major mountain tributaries, four to the north and two to the south. The tributaries to the south didn¡¯t matter at the moment since they didn¡¯t border Foskos. The four north tributaries were what Aylem was currently studying. As Aylem described what she saw in the crystal, Foyuna would make notes on pieces of paper and would attach the paper to the map with a thin bronze needle, passing through the vellum of the map and into the wood board that backed the map. ¡°I¡¯ve completely done with the Wall River, Foyuna. Let''s take a short break." Aylem stepped back from the Great Crystal, grabbed the nearest chair, and fell into it. Every river and stream in the mountains west of Truvos or north of Pinisla had a piece of paper pinned to it. Most of the notes had a flat horizontal stroke on them. I assumed that was a negative result. A handful of paper strips had writing, indicating the presence of a new bridge, new road, or new improvements along an older smuggling trail. ¡°I assume the red lines mark the path of the army that went to Yant and the one that went to Black Falls?" I stood up in my stocking feet to get a better view of the map since it was both longer and wider than I was tall. ¡°The army that attacked Black Falls took the trade road,¡± Aylem looked a bit weary as she frowned at the map. ¡°No big surprise there. The army we met at Yant, Emily, took the new road in from Yuxviayeth that Imstay built last summer. The teaser here is finding the route that the middle army took to Pinisla. Usruldes and Imstay have traced the route up Bull Trout River, over a hidden high pass, and down onto the mountain back road two-thirds of the way to Pinisla from Truvos. The mystery is how did they get to Pinisla?" ¡°Didn¡¯t we talk about this on the night the cat god decided no one was getting any sleep?¡± I remembered Imstay showing me the sand table magic, which I had to admit was awesome. "Yes, but also the night before that too," Aylem noted. She suddenly grinned, "I don''t know if you remember the cutting of the meat?¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I clasped my hands behind my back and glowered as best I could at Aylem, noting that it was good that she was feeling up to teasing me, because she sometimes lost confidence when talking to me since we came back from the Fens; however, I was not at all thrilled that she was teasing me about the dinner that night when there was no Coyn-scaled cutlery in the army¡¯s camp. ¡°Ah, yes,¡± she sat back after studying my expression and smiled, ¡°I see you do remember.¡± I shook my head and went back to studying the map. ¡°If I w...was a smuggler, this first valley east of the border looks good to me,¡± I was looking at the first tributary of the Ahkeseld, ¡°lower mountains, lots of pine to hide in.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s called the Nocustoms River,¡± Foyuna smiled. ¡°The high pass here on the backside of Skads Mountain, the one that avoids going into Truvos first, taking a shortcut to the Truvos to Pinisla back road, it¡¯s called Smuggler¡¯s Notch. No kidding on the name.¡± "It''s the first place Usruldes looked, and Imstay, and me," Aylem sighed and looked over where Usruldes, Moxsef, and Imstay were still talking with faces that belonged at a funeral. ¡°You just finished this tributary here?¡± I pointed my toe at the next valley east. ¡°Yes? Nothing there? ¡°Not a thing,¡± Emily,¡± now Aylem sighed. ¡°I didn¡¯t have much hope for that valley, but checked anyway, just in case.¡± ¡°Why is it not a good candidate?¡± ¡°The Wall River Valley? It has glaciers clogging up the head and east side of the valley,¡± she pointed. ¡°There¡¯s a settlement at the confluence of the Wall and the Ahkeseld with about 300 people. There¡¯s a caravansary and a handful of freeholder farms. The Impotuans did not leave a garrison there. They marched their 20,000-man army around it and played nice with the natives. It makes no sense to me.¡± ¡°Any glaciers in the third valley?¡± I wondered. ¡°Some small ones, if I remember correctly,¡± she shrugged. "Bet you find somethings," I ventured. "Nothing in the first two, and the fourth is too far east if those mountains in Eagle Territory are as high as the map indicates." ¡°I won¡¯t take that bet,¡± Aylem shook her head. ¡°I think so too. There¡¯s a glacier-covered east-west ridge in back there, between the tributaries and a big lake four to five wagon-days to the east of Pinisla. The ridgeline is so high that not even the eagles fly over it. I think the tallest peak along that ridge might be the Everest of Erdos,¡± Aylem tapped on the general area on the map. ¡°There may be a way through some of these lower valleys, she indicated southwest of Pinisla.¡± Aylem had a beaker of tea and then returned to the Great Crystal. She didn¡¯t find a road in those mountains she indicated. She found something far worse after only a few moments of starting her trance. ¡°Oh my,¡± Aylem said after a loud intake of breath. It caught the attention of Usruldes, Moxsef, and Imstay. "Oh dear," Aylem remarked, "Foyuna, you''ll want to come to look at this. It''s a wood palisade, a big one, near the headwaters of the third tributary. Was there a name for the river on the map?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a faded name on the map, Aylem,¡± I got on my hands and knees for a better view. ¡°It looks like it says ¡®The Third River.¡¯¡± Foyuna laughed, ¡°yes, I noticed that. The fourth one is labeled ¡®The Fourth River.¡¯ Someone was very inventive with names.¡± She got up from her chair and joined Aylem at the Great Crystal. ¡°It looks like they¡¯ve had some kind of damage.¡± Usruldes joined them, "it looks like they''ve had someone dropping logs and large rocks on them from above. I''m guessing the Eagles don''t want them there and the work you see around the gate is to convert that portion of the wall to stone before the snow hits." Imstay and Moxsef joined the other three so all I could see were five giant-sized backs discussing what Aylem had displayed in the crystal. I sat back on my knees and went back to studying the map with half an ear listening to the conversation. They discussed various features of the fortress. I really didn¡¯t pay much attention until Imstay made a remark that grabbed me. ¡°This can not circulate,¡± Imstay cautioned, ¡°at least for now. On the night of the Midsummer Night Market, five of the party that attacked the south balcony were Impotuans. The interrogations which we finished two days ago have uncovered that the Impotuans have already infiltrated advance parties into Esso, Weirgos, Rigdit, Yuxvos, and Kesmat. They infiltrated Yant and Black Falls too but whether those groups are still operating is anyone''s best guess. The bad news according to Moxsef is that they may be funneling agents through Weirgos and Lord Opyus haup Weirgos could be helping them.¡± That explained all the long faces between Moxsef and Imstay. It was her Shrine of Vassu that was in Weirgos. I flew back to Aybhas on Asgotl with Aylem. Imstay and Moxsef came with us. I would be talking to Raoleer and Moxsef about modern indoor plumbing while Lisaykos took Imstay and Aylem to the cleaners while negotiating on my behalf for my cut as the brains behind plumbing and wastewater treatment. I really wanted to talk about rubber instead, but Moxsef was going out of her way to be pleasant and I didn¡¯t want to appear unappreciative. It was the first time she had ever tried to be civil so we spent four days as I had my brains picked down to the medulla oblongata. It was just her and Raoleer, but after day two, they were joined by the Revered Huhoti from the Shrine of Giltak and the Revered Priest Watermage Deoykoya from the Shrine of Vassu. Deoykoya¡¯s arrival loosened up the other three Cosm a great deal because he was Moxsef¡¯s boy Friday for their waste operations throughout Foskos. Moxsef relaxed a lot after he arrived. He was also Raoleer¡¯s older brother and he was just like her, with the same mekaner tendencies, the same goofy sense of humor, and the same love of talking about how to save the world or at least the bits they had control over. On the evening of the third day of consultation, Lisaykos crashed our after-dinner talks, guilted all of them for keeping me up too late, and dragged me off to bed. I was a little grumpy about that since we were deep into talking about pumps. Yeah, I knew I would regret staying up because I could tell I was getting more and more worn down, but I was having fun talking slurries and how to implement pumping technology, with which Foskans had very little experience. Their gravity-driven systems were works of art, especially now that the Shrine of Vassu was installing air-bleeding valves on all the buried aqueducts, but their reliance on gravity to move water had left them hurting for better pump technology. Oh, I loved the look in Raoleer¡¯s and Moxsef¡¯s eyes when I explained making rubber tubing and then using a peristaltic pump set-up to move constant low volumes without introducing air bubbles. It was mekaner heaven. I was having so much fun before Lisaykos arrived. Damn killjoy. We had Ud in our discussions on the fourth and last day, as she dropped in from Black Falls telepathically. Then Moxsef headed back to Weirgos and Deoydoya flew down to meet with Ud in person and look over the mains and drains Ud was making. On the fifth day, Raoleer, Huhoti, Lisaykos, Aylem and I discussed rubber, crutches, walkers, and wheelchairs. The discussion left Lisaykos looking most unhappy. 113. Eagles and Impotuans Usruldes, reconnaisance in the mountains Cadrees and I spent the night at Truvos in one of the houses my network maintains. In the morning, we left to scout the route from the Truvos-Pinisla road to the Impotuan fortified camp at the head of the third tributary to the Ahkeseld. Because of the short notice, I intended to catch up with Imstay and Aylem in Aybhas this evening or tomorrow. Imstay would still be in Aybhas that long because he and Aylem would be facing the dragon of financial negotiations, my darling mother in extortion mode. Her uncle, King Imhoyep, who was Imstay¡¯s grandfather, used to take Lisaykos to meetings of the chancellor of the exchequer when she was a little girl. He would use her as a foil as he negotiated contracts and examined the tax books to spot nobles trying to hide income, and he taught her all sorts of intimidation tricks. I¡¯m told by oldtimers that she was every bit as good as her uncle the king by the time she left for the shrine training. Poor Imstay, he hates dealing with Lisaykos when it came to money. Since she runs one of the largest shrines, which provides healing to all five races living in the kingdom, my mother deals with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the treasurer¡¯s office under Aylem all the time. Aylem, on the other hand, really enjoys sharpening her money wits by facing down Lisaykos. I¡¯ve advised Imstay for years just to leave it to the Queen, but before this year, he didn¡¯t trust her. Foolish man. Aylem is rigidly honest about money. She would never have cheated the kingdom. I had another reason I wanted to get back to Imstay before he left for Is¡¯syal. Two days from now, Imstay would attend the execution of his first cousin as well as the other three survivors of the Midsummer Night Market attack in Aybhas plus Priestess Voice Druyudros haup Angsum. I wanted to go with Imstay because he would need a friend to go drinking with afterward. Because a lord and a priestess were both being punished, Fassex herself would come down from Yant to supervise the execution. Emily was disturbed over sentencing her attackers. Because of this, Lisaykos, Imstay, and Aylem decided not to mention the day of execution to her. Aylem would stay in Aybhas instead of attending the execution to camouflage the day of the event. Personally, I don¡¯t think Emily is all that fragile. Yes, she would be unhappy to be reminded of the execution, but I believe she had already made her peace with it on the day she made her decision. Granted, no one consults me on these matters and I am wary of talking with my mother about her over-protective handling of Emily. These and other topics were what Cadrees and I discussed as we flew into the mountains east of Truvos and scouted the area between there and Pinisla to find the route to the fortified camp. There is an easy route to the Ahkeseld from Truvos. That pass leads to the first amusingly-named Nocustoms River. It is well fortified and manned with 200 from the Trudos garrison. The next tributary to the east has no easy pass into Foskos, excluding some suicidal smugglers'' trails that are only passable in the summer over the glaciers at the north end of the valley. The headwaters of the third tributary were the location of the fortified camp. I estimated four wagon-days between that camp and the Truvos-Pinisla backcountry road. Cadrees and his sharp eyes found a one-lane road that was fiendishly well hidden behind the Impotuan fortification. The route was narrow and had roadcuts to lower two high-elevation passes just below the treeline to keep the entire road in the trees. The Impotuans built three timber bridges along the route and then painted them so they would look like running water if seen from the air. The intersection of the hidden road with the Truvos-Pinisla trail was just one wagon-day from Pinisla. I could tell that this was work that had started one or two years earlier. This was no hasty project constructed this year. The Impotuans had been planning this invasion for a while. It wasn¡¯t thrown together at the last minute because Aylem went missing. They probably took advantage of that she went missing but it was clear to me that they were already prepared to attack. That thought disturbed me. The camp itself had an earth and timber fortification. Parts of the palisade wall were already converted to stone. It looked like the camp had been attacked at least once from the air based on the damage to the wooden palisade and the number of boulders and uprooted trees on the ground. The edge of roc eagle territory was just a wagon-day to the northeast. I had to wonder if the Impotuans were unaware of how close they were to what the eagles considered their territory, or if they knew about but disregarded the eagles¡¯ territorial claims. The latter was plausible since the Impotuans did not live right next door to the Eagles as we did. They probably had no idea how touchy the eagles were before the Impotuans moved into their new fortification. It was a good location for the invaders because we avoided the area to keep up our uneasy peace with the flying mounts and their touchy relatives. Cadrees and I flew under a charm of circular light once we passed Truvos. It was the afternoon by the time we reached the Impotuan fortified camp. Cadrees spotted two eagles keeping watch over it. I guessed that the Impotuans had done something to raise the ire of the eagles if they were under an active watch. Cadrees and I talked it over and decided to approach the eagles. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. The nearest eagle was perched on the mountain top immediately north of the camp. Cadrees landed about 500 hands away and I dropped the charm so we were visible. The eagle stared at us for quite some time before deciding to fly over and talk. "I should be offended that you have come here with an enslaved eagle, Foskan," she began. "This is technically not eagle territory and I am not enslaved, my lady," Cadrees responded. "I am Cadrees. I do not know my aerie for I was kidnapped as an egg. My rider is my bond who rescued me from an illegal mount training camp north of Kas. He is my friend and benefactor and I am his. We are partners." "Break the charm gems on your beak and I will believe you." I dismounted, "they are simple charms of location but I will break them for you, my lady." I shattered the gems. They are easily replaced. "I say again, my lady," Cadrees spoke, "this is my bond friend, Usruldes. As a free eagle, I travel with him for friendship''s sake. We are here because we have issues with the Impotuans who built the fort below." "I apologize, friend Cadrees and bond Usruldes. Pray forgive my doubt. We watch the two-foots below because they have raided our aeries and stolen our eggs. At first, we thought that Foskos had broken the treaty between us. We now know they are not from Foskos and I regret that we doubted you. Trust is not easy, even now, friends Cardrees and Usruldes." "We have a saying, lady, that the enemy of my enemy is my friend," I ventured. "These Impotuans sent three armies to attack Foskos earlier this year. I suspect you noticed that. Before we defeated them, they destroyed the Singing Shrine of Sassoo." "We have seen the destroyed shrine," she said. "We honor Sassoo, Lord of the Winds, but your shrine was only for Cosm. We regret the insult to the Lord of the Winds, but we will not be offended over a building closed to all those who fly." "We are building a new shrine, my lady. Two days ago, the Lord of the Winds in his aspect as the Black Griffin gave a revelation to Asgotl, a griffin of the Naver Aerie, who is a free griffin with a contract with Aylem Queen as her mount. The revelation was a command to open the dome of the new shrine so the flying races may enter and attend events under the dome. I invite you to come to Black Falls and speak with the spider mage Ud. The Lord of the Winds requested her to build the new shrine. Imstay King, Lord Gunndit, and Lord Black have contracted with Ud to also build the foundations, roads, and walls of the new city. My king and queen, and Ud, who is my teacher, would welcome your insight and your requests if you have any, regarding access into the new shrine. "In exchange for what, bond Usruldes?" "No exchange," Cadrees interrupted before I could answer. "The shrine already debated opening the dome to mounts. This happened before the Lord of the Winds blessed the new Revelator, the Great One Asgotl, who is a good friend to me. High Priestess Senlyosart considered opening the dome to mounts, but eventually chose not to. The problem was the weather barrier, whose spell was one of the lost magics; however, Sassoo has now restored the knowledge of that spell and gave it to Aylem Queen as part of Asgotl¡¯s revelation. The dome will be open to mounts. Now is the time to speak with Ud, before she finalizes her building plans." "What Cadrees says is true," I added. "We would not demand any exchange from you to expand the worship of Sassoo to all five races at the shrine in Black Falls. Sassoo has demanded this of us. and we will not bargain over honors due to a god." "This is startling news,¡± the eagle tilted her head, "though, as you said, it is only two days old. We have seen the great spider of the Fens though none of us have spoken with her. The presence of this legendary monster in Foskos frightens us, though she has not harmed anyone as far as we can tell. We did not know that the Lord of the Winds requested her help. This is news we must consider. Since we are speaking now, I have a question for you. We have heard that the Queen is not well in her head," she said. ¡°Is this true?¡± "It is true; however, Aylem Queen is recovering and has all her wits. She now understands that she is not completely well in her head. She has voluntarily taken quarters at the Shrine of Mugash and will live there for a time in order to heal." ¡°And did she really injure Emly the Prophet?¡± The eagle''s word choices surprised me, "Yes, the Queen injured the Blessed Emily. Emily doesn¡¯t call herself a prophet, by the way, and she doesn¡¯t even like being addressed as a great one.¡± ¡°Is she not the girl with the golden eyes?¡± "She does have golden eyes, given to her by the God of Knowledge. I was there when it happened. Is she the girl in the prophecy? Probably." "I will pass your words along, friend Cadrees and bond Usruldes. I can not promise that the eagles will listen." "We thank you, lady." As she flew away, Cadrees turned to me, "do you know who that was?" "I have no idea. I have a hard time telling eagles apart. You all look the same to me, excluding you, of course." It was an old joke between us. "That was Lugasha, the mother of nesters. You humans call her the Queen of Eagles." Cadrees and I spent what remained of the day scouting the new road the Impotuans built along the Third Tributary down to the Ahkeseld River. Then we flew back to Aybhas after the sun went down. Before I found my bed, which my mother insisted should be at the shrine, I told Imstay, Aylem, and Lisaykos that the free eagles were watching the fortified camp and that the Impotuans had stolen eagle eggs. I also told him about the rest of my conversation with the eagle queen. I hoped they would visit because we could use the occasion to build better relations with them. 114. Walker Emily, Healing Shrine of Mugash The fifth day after the Convocation met was the eighth day after I woke up following the Black Falls attack. I spent the previous four days explaining what I knew about waste and water treatment to respectful and eager Cosm. Following on the heels of the Convocation and the revelation road show in Is¡¯syal, the interesting engineering was warring with my growing desire to escape. After four days of discussing the biology of sewage and the nuanced physics of sediment transport and settling in moving water ¨C an essential subject for processing wastewater ¨C I just wanted to be left alone for a while somewhere out of reach of well-meaning giant-sized magic users who had the best intentions toward Coyn. Their best intentions could not remove the oppression of always feeling small, weak, and helpless around Cosm silverhairs. I never want to hear the phrase, "could you write a bit bigger please?" ever again. Rubber and crutches and how to help Kayseo were on the schedule for the fifth day of the sixth rotation, which was the fifth day after the Convocation meeting at the Crystal Shrine. I woke up early and couldn¡¯t get back to sleep. I dug out some of my older clothes and got dressed for getting dirty. I added the mantle against the nip in the predawn air. It may have been the growing season but Aybhas was at the foot of the mountains where it got chilly overnight. Lately, I was feeling more energetic, especially in the mornings. I could tell I was finally getting better, at least in terms of strength, though my endurance still was abysmal. I wanted some alone time but with the presence of the new full-time guards at the three entrances to the south wing on the fourth floor, I couldn¡¯t get that on the balcony anymore. So I slipped into the hiding place behind the bottom drawer that Wolkayrs made when he crafted my built-in bed. Wolkayrs had left a part of the wall exposed inside the hiding space. It probably didn¡¯t look very big to him but I was small enough that I could squeeze through it. From there, I could climb using the wood laths inside the walls that held up the plasterwork. Once I got above the ceiling, it was easy walking on the joists to anywhere I wanted, though there were not a lot of places to exit back to the living spaces of the fourth floor. I wasn''t going somewhere else inside the shrine. What I wanted was to get outside. There was a trap door on the roof to access the space above Lisaykos¡¯ bathroom. Using the water pipe that fed the hot water tank as a step, it was a manageable climb up the new sewer vent pipe and out onto the roof. I wasn¡¯t a hundred percent sure I could make the climb, but there was little harm in trying. It was easier than I thought it would be. My only worry was that I might wake up Lisaykos. Given that I heard nothing stirring as I closed the trap door behind me, I guessed I succeeded. I walked slowly and carefully away from the area of the roof over Lisaykos¡¯ chambers. Staying away from the edge where one of the two guards on the balcony might spot me, I made my way to the west edge of the roof where the view of the river in the starlight was glorious. The distant sound of the crews readying their cargo boats floated up from the river. Soon, strings of eight pairs of mules appeared on the towpath on the west side of the Salt River, pulling their boats against the current to deliver goods to the towns upstream. There was still a backlog of goods going up the river after the battles at the Crystal Shrine and Black Falls. There wasn''t much going down the river because the docks at Black Falls had not yet been rebuilt. I could smell newly-baked bread and the sound of kitchens preparing morn repast. The sky behind the Blue Mountains slowly turned to twilight. The sun would not be visible until halfway to the second bell because of the ridge to the east behind Snob Hill. The first bell of the day rang as upward-angled beams of orange-yellow sunlight broke through the morning clouds and fog on the river. It was quiet and beautiful and I owned it all as I lay on the roof watching the day begin. Right at the moment, I regretted not having made a camera yet because the way the early-morning sunlight streamed through the clouds above the ridge was something I would have liked to capture. ¡°Lisaykos would like to know how you got up on the roof,¡± Aylem¡¯s voice came from behind me, ¡°and the next time you want to visit the roof, at least leave a note on your bed. Her first thought was that you had been kidnapped again. She really was worried so try to be nice to her about it, please?¡± ¡°There are days when I feel like I¡¯m some kind of exotic pet trapped in an upscale zoo,¡± I grumped. ¡°The trainee on bell duty spotted you and reported that you were sightseeing, which is why Lisaykos called off the search to find you. You aren¡¯t completely recovered yet. So how did you get up here?¡± Aylem sat down next to where I was spread out on my back on the slate roof tiles. ¡°Ask me no questions and I will tell you no lies.¡± I always wanted to use that expression on someone. ¡°Emily,¡± Aylem¡¯s tone was full of admonishment and warning. ¡°The way the light through the clouds is angled upward over the ridge is amazing, yes?¡± ¡°You are being difficult,¡± Aylem stated with a sigh of resignation. ¡°Let me give you a lift down.¡± ¡°Nope, why don¡¯t you go ahead and I¡¯ll catch up in a few minutes.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get down faster with me,¡± Aylem tried being reasonable. ¡°I would prefer to see my own way down, thank you. This is not a negotiable point.¡± ¡°Who put vinegar in your fruit juice this morning?¡± Aylem accused, getting to her feet. I expected her to grab me any second now. ¡°The whole point was to take a little time for me somewhere removed from well-meaning people who insist on picking me up and moving me around, in the world where I''m currently trapped, where everything is too big and too heavy. I will see you downstairs in a moment, Aylem." She said nothing in reply and left. As an afterthought, I hoped I didn''t set off her nasty temper. I wasn¡¯t going to reveal my way onto the roof to anyone using clairvoyance. Instead, I walked across the dome and used the ladder steps to the north balcony which the bell ringers use for access to the belfry. The door back inside was a bit of a challenge but I opened the latch using my belt as a lasso. The look on the corps-of-wraith guard at the atrium entrance to the south wing was priceless as I strolled past her and wished her a good morning. ¡°I see you are in fine form today, Great One,¡± Wolkayrs¡¯ face was full of work-day diligence but his voice was amused. ¡°I won¡¯t ask you how you got on the roof because I know you won¡¯t tell me.¡± ¡°What on the repast menu today?¡± I asked, strolling past with my hands behind my back. ¡°It''s a platter meal this morning. You''ll like it. There''s smoked trout, farmer''s cheese, the first of the early-season apples, and lots of chewy bread with honey and butter." ¡°Thanks,¡± I nodded. ¡°Is it ready? Do you have it here?¡± ¡°Yep, my parents worked all night to finish it in time,¡± he grinned. ¡°The hard part was the folding lock braces.¡± I grinned back. Walking into the dining room, Lisaykos was standing next to my chair so she could glower at me. She was doing a good job too. I could tell from the look on her face I was going to receive a piece of her mind as soon as she could get me alone. She bent down, picked me up, and deposited me on my chair. My escape was fun while it lasted but now it was time to get my brain prepped for another day full of well-meaning over-large Cosm. Aylem, Lyappis, Opa, Roaleer, and Huhoti were already seated. It was almost too many silverhairs given my current frayed nerves. There was one more place setting at the table. No one had started eating, so I guessed we were waiting for someone even tardier than I was. Soon the sound of Kayseo¡¯s peg legs and crutches came thumping in through the door to the corridor, which was open. Kibbilpos, who was Kayseo¡¯s healer for her recovery from the Pinisla attack, escorted her patient into the dining room. It was apparent to even me that Kayseo was struggling with her crutches this morning and failing at hiding the pain. Aylem took one look at Kayseo, got up, lifted Kayeo in her arms, and carried her the rest of the way to the table. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. "To my eyes, it''s too soon for you to be walking on crutches, Kayseo," Aylem said, as she lowered Kayseo into her chair at the table. "It''s been four rotations, Great One," Kayseo protested weakly. "She refuses to be carried," Kibbilpos looked distressed. She looked about thirty with a round face and lovely indigo eyes. She was one of the healers in charge of the long-term patients like Kayseo who were housed in the south wing on the third floor. She was also the healer picked to fill in for Thuorfosi. "Kayseo," Aylem said in her Queen''s voice, "if climbing just one flight of stairs is this painful, then it is still too soon. The forty days for healing severed bones is a guideline, not a hard rule. We will carry you back to your room after we are done here today. You will refrain from walking again until the end of the rotation." "Your will, Great One," Kayseo dropped her eyes and looked miserable. Aylem studied Kayseo''s face and said gently, "if I were you, I wouldn''t use Emily as a role model for recovery." "What?" Kayseo was startled by Aylem¡¯s remark. "Well," Aylem smiled wryly, "we all know that Emily hates being carried anywhere and she''s always pushing herself too hard to get better. What you''re doing right now is just like Emily." Aylem''s remark hit the center of the target based on the horrified look on Kayseo''s face. It was doubly shocking to Kayseo because she was my lead healer last year after Aylem killed me. I didn''t appreciate Aylem''s using me as her example of a bad patient. I scowled at Aylem. Aylem grinned and winked at me. ¡°May I have your leave to depart, Great Ones?¡± Kibbilpos had her hand over her heart and waited for permission with a bowed head. ¡°I believe you may want to stay until the second bell,¡± Lisaycos told her. ¡°Have you eaten?¡± The poor woman was knocked off balance by the high priestess¡¯ invitation. There was panic in her eyes as she searched for something to say. ¡°No, Great One, she has not eaten,¡± Kayseo looked up at Kibbilpos with sympathy. Wolkayrs appeared from the study and put together a plate from the extras the serving crew left on the sideboard. He set a place for her next to Kayseo. ¡°What would you like to drink, Healer Kibbilpos?¡± ¡°I...I¡¡± ¡°Hot black tea with cow¡¯s milk and a spoon of bog berry syrup,¡± Kayseo volunteered. ¡°So sit down already, Kib. No one here will bite you.¡± ¡°Much," I couldn''t help myself. Lisaykos gave me a look of long-suffering patience. Aylem was trying not to laugh. ¡°Emily,¡± Kayseo gave me a wonderful look of exasperation. Raoleer with her wicked sense of humor grinned at Kibbilpos, ¡°to be truthful, we will only nibble on a finger or two, or maybe an ear, except for the Blessed Emily who will gnaw on your kneecaps instead.¡± After the quiet laughter died down, Lisaykos took charge of her dining room table by invoking the short blessing before a meal. ¡°Are you from around here?¡± Lisaykos attempted to put Kibbilpos at ease with small talk. ¡°I''m from Kunnsifa," Kibbilpos still looked nervous. "My mother manages the saw mill there. How could you know where I was from, Great One?" Lisaykos¡¯ eyes were smiling, ¡°you like bog berry syrup as a sweetener. It¡¯s something you only find in the south of the kingdom.¡± She paused for a sip of tea. ¡°If your mother runs the sawmill, then she must be Sekoy Cutter.¡± Kibbilpos relaxed from paralysis to merely stressed, ¡°yes, she¡¯s my mother. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you know who she is.¡± ¡°I was married to Lord Tridhoytos haup Gunndit and now my daughter is Lord Gunndit. I know a few things about the holding. If I remember correctly, you have a brother named Arkmet and two sisters named Irakos and Sutset.¡± Kibbilpos smiled, ¡°you have a good memory for names, Great One.¡± After Kibbilpos relaxed a bit, small talk prevailed for the rest of the meal. I waited for Kayseo to be done eating and got Lisaykos¡¯ attention. She knew what Wolkayrs had built for me down in his family¡¯s woodshop. She must have mindcasted him faster than I could catch because he showed up in just a few breaths with walker version 1.0 in hand. In designing it, I had to consider the much greater weight of someone as big as Kayseo. Rockwood was too scarce and too expensive since it was an import from the vast bayou-laced swamp where the race of the Chem lived. I had to settle for oak instead. Each piece was approximately a 4x4 in American lumber sizes, which was around 10 cm by 10 cm. All three sides of the walker were supported with crossed diagonal bracing of cast-latten flat bars. Latten is an alloy that falls in the middle between brass and bronze. Bronze is a brittle metal so I wanted to replace some of the tin with zinc to give the alloy more elasticity. What I really wanted was steel but there wasn''t enough of it to go around right now. I left the dimensions and the exact alloy proportions up to Prelb, the bronze caster with the shop next door to Wolkayrs'' family woodshop. I trusted her instincts on what would work. Without a mechanical, civil, or mining engineering handbook, it was impossible to do a precise design that could take the stresses of a full-grown silverhair. I had to trust the experience of my artisans. The sides of the walker could fold inward to lie flush with the front with four barrel hinges on each side. Based on a design I gave her, Prebl made four brass folding lock braces like those on twentieth-century folding tables on Earth. The locking braces are what made the walker something that could be folded flat for storage. At the ends of the front frame were two casters. The wheel hub and the bracket were cast latten but the tire was varnished stacked leather. I aimed to replace the leather with rubber sometime soon. The padded and rounded handles at the top of the side frames were also leather stuffed with carded wool. It would have to do for now even though it lacked the forgiving elasticity of low-sulfur short-cure crepe rubber. Wolkayrs carried the walker over to Kayseo. He unfolded it and then turned her chair around so she was facing it. "It works like this," he set his hands on the handles, rolled it forward, stopped it, put his full weight on it and slid his feet forward, and then straightned up. Then he repeated the sequence. "You don''t have to use it like this. It goes a little faster if you try to walk normally." He then demonstrated walking with the walker. "Now the nice thing about this simple contraption," he gripped the handles and picked his feet off the floor," is that it''s comfortable to hold, not heavy at all to move because of the wheels, and it can take your entire weight. It''s also got four points on the ground so it''s a stable platform in case you get unbalanced. It''s designed so you can get your balance back quickly." ¡°I¡¯m supposed to use this thing?¡± Kayseo looked dubious. ¡°It will be easier to use than crutches,¡± Wolkayrs turned the walker around so the inside was facing her. ¡°Trust me. It¡¯s an Emily design. The wheels on the front are why it¡¯s so easy to use. I would never have thought to do that.¡± ¡°You designed this?¡± Kayseo looked at me, looking like she needed some encouragement. ¡°Yep, right after I moved back into my own bedroom at the end of last rotation. The hard part was getting the measurement from your hand to the floor,¡± I explained. ¡°We ended up...¡± ¡°We?¡± Kayseo gave me a shrewd look which she then transferred to Wolkayrs. ¡°Behind every designer stands many talented crafters," I said pompously. "I want to try this thing," Kibbilpos popped out of her chair and snatched the walker. Soon she was using it one-footed, then with unbending knees, followed both feet stuck together. She tried to unbalance it and couldn''t. Kayseo watched Kibbilpos carefully. She stopped and looked at her patient, ¡°Kayseo, you should try this thing. I think you¡¯ll like it.¡± While Kayseo got up and tried the walker, Aylem snuck over to my chair and crouched down next to me. ¡°Where did you ever come up with that?¡± she whispered. ¡°I used one for several months after the car accident in Perth,¡± I replied at my softest volume. ¡°Someone in England invented it after World War Two. They didn''t have wheels originally but by the time I got mine, they had wheels which made sliding them forward effortless." ¡°I like it,¡± Kayseo announced while seeing how fast she could walk. ¡°I think the handles would be more comfortable if they were just a bit higher.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an easy fix,¡± Wolkayrs made a note on his pocket tablet. ¡°How¡¯s the weight?¡± ¡°It''s not heavy at all," she smiled with a touch of manic glee as if already planning excursions on her new walking aid. I resisted rolling my eyes since I knew the Cosm-scaled walker weighed more than I did. Then I pushed the thought out of my mind so I wouldn''t dwell on feeling trapped again. ¡°It¡¯s the very first one ever made so we can play around with its design or its successors until it¡¯s just the right fit for you, Kayseo,¡± I said. ¡°It has only one significant drawback.¡± That got her attention. ¡°The way it''s currently built, it won''t work well on stairs. The free-spinning wheel will be a hazard on a set of steps. There are two different ways to fix this. The first is to lock the wheels, which can be done two or three different ways. The other is to use crutches of a superior design than what the healers currently hand out." ¡°Yes, the Queen mentioned you wanted to rework the way we make crutches,¡± Lisaykos steepled her fingers and gave me a fierce look full of wanting to hear more. ¡°Why don''t we show you?" I glanced up at Wolkayrs who ran back into Lisaykos'' study for the design I drafted and the pieces of prototype design number one. 115. Crutches Lisaykos, Healing Shrine of Mugash ¡°Emily, dear," I attempted to look and sound unmovable because otherwise, Emily would find an effective argument to do things her way. "I think we should move into the study," I looked up and waved to the waiting serving crew waiting in the corridor to come into the dining room. "At the very least, we should give the staff time to clear the table and clean up the mess we''ve left them." I winked at Lieth, the halfhair in charge of the domestic chores for the fourth floor south wing, who ran a crew so efficient and invisible that one seldom saw the staff. "Do you think you can get yourself next door to my study, Kayseo?" ¡°Certainly, Great One,¡± Kayseo was so pleased with the walking contraption that she was grinning non-stop. I think she liked it. I mindcasted Wolkayrs to warn him we were moving into the study. Emily was studying the floor with a calculating look I didn¡¯t like. ¡°Stop even thinking about it, dear heart. Too much exuberance in the morning will mean less staying power in the afternoon. You need to pace yourself, regardless of how good you may feel at the moment.¡± The scowl she shot back at me confirmed my suspicion that she was thinking of jumping down. The height was more than eight and a half hands off the ground taking into account the raised seat and back that Wolkayrs made for her that fit into my normal chairs. ¡°Let''s wait for a few more rotations before scaling the furniture like a squirrel," I smiled deliberately at her. The guests at my table were moving on their own toward the study but Huhoti stopped next to Emily still in her chair. "Up on the roof earlier and thinking of jumping out of your chair just now? Does this mean you''re finally starting to feel better?" Emily looked up and nodded. "That''s excellent news," Huhoti smiled with just a little bit of mischief. "Would you like a hand getting down, stubborn one?" Emily let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head. ¡°Please,¡± she conceded defeat quietly and lifted her arms so Huhoti could lift her. I succeeded in not laughing. Emily was just a little too stressed right now to take teasing with good humor. Her tolerance for Cosm was frayed and I hoped she could get through today without crumbling. If she didn¡¯t already like Raoleer and Huhoti a great deal, I would have insisted she take a day to rest; however, since it was likely to be a meeting of minds between three manic mekaners, I estimated she would survive the day without going sideways on us. I noted that Opa snuck into the study with the rest of my guests instead of returning to her bedroom to study. I decided to let her continue with her minor misbehavior for now since it wasn''t every day that Emily displayed her mekaner prowess to an audience. The little voice in the back of my head was telling me that this would be another day when Emily overturned a significant portion of what we thought we knew. As I stood in the doorway into the study, Raoleer and Huhoti were examining the walking contraption. ¡°...that¡¯s the interesting thing about the best designs,¡± Raoleer was remarking to Huhoti. ¡°They appear to be simple and yet, when you think back on what the world was like before a new thing arrived, you have to wonder why you or I didn¡¯t think of this thing ourselves long before now?¡± ¡°Yes, like glass,¡± Huhoti chuckled ¡°Here we¡¯ve been smelting and assaying metals out of rocks for centuries and the makings of glass have been staring at us all this time, at the top of every slag pour. Why didn¡¯t you or I think of melting the fluxes together to make the clear slag we now call glass.¡± She shook her head. "Just look at this thing," Huhoti took it from Raoleer, ¡°it¡¯s just a simple three-sided frame with bracing. That¡¯s it!¡± She put it on the carpeted floor and made her way to the corridor door and back on just one foot plus the walking contraption. ¡°The wheels are clever but you don¡¯t really need them unless someone was too weak to lift the frame. This thing is really handy,¡± she placed it back in front of Kayseo, who was in one of the armchairs by Emily¡¯s usual favorite spot on the south wall lounge. "You know, "Huhoti looked at Kayseo, "you could put a fold-down bench seat here," she indicated a level about two-thirds of the height of the contraption, "with these same ingenious folding braces that self-lock. That way, Healer Kayseo, when you got tired and needed to stop, you could fold down the seat and take a rest." ¡°Oh!¡± Kayseo sat up with a look of revelation in her eyes, ¡°you could even add a basket or a satchel to hang off the front. That¡¯s so clever, Revered One. Thank you for the idea.¡± Emily had a quiet look of satisfaction on her face watching the reactions to the walking contraption. I had a feeling that more of these walking things would start to show up on the third floor of my shrine. I made a note on my pocket tablet to ask Wolkayrs about what sort of costs were involved in making these things. Wolkayrs moved one of the low side tables closer to Emily on the lounge and put down some folded sheets of paper and some bent and straight pieces of wood. I was interested in how the long pieces of wood had holes drilled in them at one end at regular intervals about a quarter of a hand apart. Then there were two round pieces of dowel, each with a hole through the middle lengthwise. I had no idea what to make of those, but I''m hardly a mekaner. Wolkayrs started to place armchairs in a half circle around Emily¡¯s lounge. Opa, not lacking in manners at all, got up to help him. I was about to take my usual chair next to Emily but didn¡¯t get there in time. Raoleer, not knowing it was my usual chair, plunked down in it and reached for the funny piece of dowel. She picked up an assembly of two long lengths of wood which were attached to a strangely-shaped crosspiece on one end. In a way, it looked like a two-tined pitchfork that was missing its handle. The crosspiece attaching the two pseudo-tines on one end was carved so it was fatter on the ends than in the middle. The pseudo-tines, as I had labeled them in my head, were bent towards each other at the non-spacer end. That¡¯s where most of the holes were drilled. There were more holes halfway down the tines too, before they bent inward at the ends. Roaleer took the dowel and inserted it between the two pseudo-tines where the holes were drilled in the middle, above the bent parts. She wore a smile of triumph which she delivered to Emily. ¡°This is where one of the two long bolts goes, right? There¡¯s one long bolt and nut for each of the two round pieces.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s exactly right, holy mekaner,¡± Emily grinned. ¡°Huhoti, do you have the hardware?¡± Raoleer asked her foundry master and shrine deputy. ¡°The hardware is in my saddle bag," she got up, "I''ll be right back." ¡°Now, this arrangement of holes is clever,¡± Raoleer moved the dowel up and down between the two pseudo-tines. ¡°If you make every crutch using this design, you can adjust the grip to any person, regardless of how tall or short they are. I like this.¡± Aylem watched and then frowned. ¡°Wait,¡± Aylem sat up. ¡°Emily, you¡¯ve made axillary crutches?¡± ¡°You couldn¡¯t tell?¡± Emily was a bit startled. ¡°I did just now. Alright, you are correct,¡± Aylem was thoughtful, ¡°the axillary crutch is a superior design to the design currently in use. It never occurred to me to replace the current crutches. I confess I never gave any thought to the design of crutches before you mentioned it a few days ago in Kamagishi¡¯s office. I can see how having a grip improves the crutch, but why is the two-piece design better than the one-piece design? Why not just add a grip to the one-piece design?¡± Raoleer just gaped at the Queen, astounded that Aylem didn¡¯t see the obvious. ¡°You can¡¯t see why, Great One?¡± Aylem began to flush as she frowned in displeasure. ¡°I have to repeat what the Holy Raoleer just said,¡± Emily said before Aylem could get even more riled. ¡°I think it¡¯s obvious just by comparing the two designs, though I do concede that it¡¯s for two reasons, and not just one. I also concede that I''m infected with mekaner disease, so of course, I think it''s obvious. It''s the same as why double-entry accounting is better than single-entry accounting." Emily gave Aylem a dubious look and then switched to what I called Emily''s teaching voice. ¡°The first reason is the grip itself. When you place a grip between two supports, you distribute the load evenly. If you have a grip that''s attached to just one long piece, like a one-piece crutch, you put a tremendous load from a person''s weight on the point where the grip meets the long support piece. Sooner or later, the grip will fail at that place. Now, the second reason has to do with balance, because..." ¡°No, no,¡± Aylem held a hand, ¡°stop there. You¡¯re going to plow me under with mechanics again, and we both know that I¡¯m no mekaner. We don¡¯t have the seven bells it would take to explain this to me. I will take your word for it ¨C both of your words for it.¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Emily visibly deflated when Aylem calmed down. Then she sat back up as if nothing had happened though the dark green knot of fear in her was hard to miss. I could tell Aylem saw it from the look of exquisite regret and shame on her face. What was interesting was Opa''s reaction. The girl looked like she was annoyed at both her mother and Emily. ¡°Well, the most important feature of the axillary crutch is the grip itself, Aylem,¡± Emily was going to ignore all the undercurrents of emotion and forged ahead with the task in front of her. ¡°Healer Kibbilpos, you¡¯re about Kayseo¡¯s size,¡± Emily smiled in a very friendly way. ¡°Could you please stand up and put Kayseo¡¯s crutches under your arms?¡± ¡°Certainly, Great One,¡± she stood and got the crutches positioned. ¡°Can you face the other way so you can walk with the crutches?¡± Emily asked pleasantly. She waited for Kibbilpos to turn. ¡°Now imagine you have two injured legs and need those crutches to move around. Please use the crutches like you can¡¯t walk without them. It might help if you walk on just your heels. Pick your toes up off the floor and don¡¯t use them to balance, as if you were using leg stumps.¡± ¡°I can try,¡± Kibbilpos seated the crutches in her armpits and balanced on just her heels. ¡°This is not easy,¡± she smiled with a grimace. She grabbed the shafts of the crutches and struggled to move them forward while balancing her weight at the crosspieces in her armpits. Then she moved one heel followed by the second. She repeated the motion several times and then quit. "That is not the easiest thing to do.¡± ¡°How do your armpits feel?¡± ¡°Ouch! That¡¯s about sums it up. Ouch with a helping of ow in the side. It¡¯s unpleasant to hang your whole weight, even for a breath or two, entirely from your armpits.¡± ¡°And that,¡± Emily held a finger up, falling into her lecturing tone of voice, ¡°is why a gripless crutch is a bad thing. The axilla, which is to say the space below the shoulder through which blood vessels and nerves enter and leave the upper arm, is what the current crutch design harms. You''re hanging your whole weight on a hard crosspiece that''s jammed up into one of the most nerve-rich parts of a person''s body. If you do this too much, you can hurt those nerves and can also cause thrombosis in the blood vessels of the upper arm." ¡°Thrombosis?¡± Huhoti asked. "Blood clot formation inside the blood vessels. When they dislodge, they travel and can get stuck in the heart, causing heart attacks, or can get stuck in the blood flow to the brain and cause strokes," Emily explained. "This is why you need a comfortable grip on crutches, so the person using them can support their weight with all the muscles of the arms and shoulder. With the variable grip design, the grip height can easily be adjusted so the user can support their weight using the grips, so no weight is supported by the armpits.¡± ¡°Then why have the crutch go all the way up past the elbow?¡± Aylem asked. "Balance and stability," Emily sat back and relaxed, "in reality, the top of the crutch just needs to be above the elbow, high enough to give the arms some stability while they hold the body¡¯s weight up but low enough so the cross piece at the top doesn¡¯t dig into the armpit. Huhoti returned with the hardware I didn''t know that Emily had ordered from the Shrine of Giltak. I would have found out when I got the bill. Emily gets absent-minded sometimes when it comes to things she has people make for her. Raoleer snatched the hardware and started putting the crutch pieces together, grinning all the while. ¡°Oh, and this short piece with holes must go between these two to adjust the height,¡± Huhoti grabbed the other pseudo-tines and leaned against Raoleer¡¯s chair to start putting her parts together. The mekaner high priestess and her chief deputy ¨C they were a matched set. ¡°The plans are right there,¡± Emily pointed at the papers on the side table, ¡°if you want to look at them.¡± ¡°Oh, no,¡± Raoleer grinned like a small child in a large toy shop, ¡°it¡¯s more fun this way.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Emily gave Raoleer a chiding look, ¡°but if you¡¯re going to completely assemble them, then at least fit them to Kayseo.¡± In the end, Raoleer and Huhoti helped Kayseo stand and balance while they adjusted the crutches. It took Kayseo less than ten breaths to decide she was in love with the new design. "There''s one thing I would change, Emily," Kayseo tried not to look like she was complaining. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Emily opened an eye after dozing off during the crutch fitting. ¡°Well, the wood piece on top and the grip are both hard,¡± Kayseo noted with a tone of apology. ¡°It would be more comfortable if there was some padding. Also, the stacked leather on the bottom slips a bit when I¡¯m on the tiles and off the carpet.¡± ¡°Nothing a little glayon vine sap can¡¯t fix,¡± Emily said in a half-asleep voice. ¡°I was thinking we could do rubber after the mid repast.¡± ¡°Are you wearing out, dear heart?" I purred at Emily, ready to chastise her for being too exuberant earlier this morning. ¡°Maybe a little,¡± she closed her eyes again. ¡°So, now that you¡¯ve redesigned crutches,¡± Raoleer picked up Emily¡¯s design drawings to make sure she didn¡¯t miss something important in putting the crutches together, ¡°you should tell me why this rubber stuff from glayon sap is such an important thing that Galt has to go convey...¡± Raoleer stopped mid-sentence, pulled three paper sheets out of the stack, and laid them side by side so she could look at them all at once. "Great one, what is this thing? It looks like an imitation leg and a boot at the same time. The heel and ankle are filled with?" she looked up to see if Emily had fallen asleep on her. Emily''s eyes were open and she was listening. "It should say crepe rubber," Emily answered. "The three straps hold the remains of the leg so that most of the weight is held above and below the knee, where the leg tapers. The bottom strap secures the stump end nested in crepe rubber. Some weight is applied to the stump with this design, instead of all the weight like the current peg legs given out by the healing shrine. The crepe rubber is very springy and forgiving so the weight applied to the bottom of the stump should never be unbearably painful. That''s why I want rubber so badly. If I have rubber, I can make an artificial leg that should be pain-free." ¡°Why bother with a foot shape?¡± Raoleer asked, interested in Emily¡¯s thinking behind the design. ¡°Why not just pad the straight fake leg with rubber? Isn¡¯t adding a foot an unneeded feature? Emily sat up, ¡°no, the straight fake leg currently in use should be discarded and never used again." She leaned forward, "what Kayseo is walking on gives her just one point of balance per leg. That''s not good. In fact, it''s wretched. The human foot, or the foot of a duck, or the talon of a hawk or eagle, or the paw of a cat or dog is not a point. It''s usually a triangular or rectangular area with a minimum of three vertices to give its owner balance. ¡°This is so important, especially if you expect someone to manage the rest of their life minus the feet they were born with,¡± Emily sat up and started to speak intently. It was obvious that she was passionate about this. ¡°We were all born with feet that gave us the same balance as standing on a triangle or tripod,¡± Emily pulled a spool of thread out of her belt pouch. ¡°We can¡¯t balance on one point or two. It''s not doable and yet, that''s what the current peg legs provide: one point to balance on for each leg if you''re Kayseo. That will still not provide any stability. ¡°Look," Emily dug into her belt pouch and pulled out a handful of pencil stubs. "Here''s the amount of balance you get from one straight fake leg," she stood a pencil on its tip, removed her finger, and let it fall over. "Now, here''s two," she tied the ends of two pencils with the thread. She stood the two pencils tied together with the tips touching the table and lifted her finger, letting them fall over. ¡°Now, if we have three points to balance on, like a tripod, we don''t fall over." She added a third pencil to the two already tied together, stood them up, and removed her finger. Of course, since she just made a tripod of pencils, it stood up and didn''t fall over. "Now go look at the feet of living creatures, and you''ll find they are mostly triangular along some squares, rectangles, and trapezoids. They all have three or more points to balance on. "So the Impotuans took away Kayseo''s triangular foot bottoms and she got simple one-point straight attachments at the end of her legs to balance on. As we just saw, you can''t maintain a balance on just one to two points. You have to have at least three. ¡°The solution here is simple when we remember to treat the leg as a mechanical construct more complex than a simple stick. ¡°I believe that obvious thing to do is to hand out fake legs with triangular-shaped feet to those who have lost both legs and everyone who gets them should be able to walk better, and many will be able to walk without the need for crutches. But I can¡¯t build legs that will be pain-free without something like rubber. ¡°I need rubber to wrap around Kayseo¡¯s calf to hold the fake leg in place and I need rubber on the inside of the artificial leg to cushion the stump and prevent the edema I suspect she is still suffering at the bottom of the stump.¡± ¡°It''s been almost four rotations since the attack on Pinisla," I said in disbelief. "Kayseo, are the ends of your legs still painful, and is there still edema?" The apologetic and distressed look on Kayseo¡¯s face was all the answer I needed. "But why?" I wondered out loud. "When we give these same artificial legs to soldiers, after four weeks, the swelling is gone, and so is most of the pain." ¡°Lisaykos,¡± Emily sounded both sad and weary, ¡°it has to do with the differences between silverhairs and everyone else.¡± ¡°What?¡± I had no idea what Emily meant by that. It couldn¡¯t have anything to do with magic, could it? ¡°It¡¯s a matter of weight and height differences,¡± she said in a hurry, probably in reaction to the expression on my face, ¡°and the width of the tibia in the lower leg.¡± Everyone in the room looked as befuddled as I felt. ¡°I don¡¯t understand, Em,¡± Aylem said in a soft and cautious voice, looking doubtful. "Ohhhh!" Raoleer sat up straight and looked at Emily with revelation on her face, "the weight increases much more than the weight-bearing diameter of the bone, right?" "I''m happy somebody understands beside me," Emily looked relieved. ¡°Now, do you think you can translate for the rest of us, Holy Mekaner Raoleer?¡± I leaned forward and smiled at her deliberately, "might you be available for hire? We could use someone around here who can understand the strange foreign language Emily speaks." (continued in installment 116) 116. The definition of pressure Lisaykos, Healing Shrine of Mugash (continued from installment 115) ¡°It¡¯s simple,¡± Raoleer said, trying to explain why Emily thought Kayseo¡¯s edema was still a problem. Emily was too full of surprises for me to assume she didn¡¯t know what she was talking about. This was Emily. It might take a while to understand her but she didn¡¯t make mistakes and she always knew what she was talking about. If Raoleer thought the explanation was simple, then I had a bad feeling that it might actually be simple and that the healers had overlooked something we should not have missed. ¡°When someone grows up to become a person without usable magic,¡± Raoleer began, ¡°they¡¯ll be maybe 16 or 17 hands tall. But someone accepted into a temple will be 18 to 19 hands tall on average. Someone like Kayseo was more than 20 hands before the attack, and every high priestess is taller than 20 hands. We all know this. ¡°When you get taller, your bones get much longer but not much thicker,¡± Raoleer continued. ¡°It¡¯s common for the femur or the tibia of a priestess to be no thicker than the femur or tibia of a magicless soldier.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure I know where you¡¯re going with this,¡± I raised an eyebrow at the high priestess of all mekaners. ¡°You¡¯ll understand in just a moment, sister Lisaykos,¡± Raoleer smiled helpfully, "but it involves division and only division. Now let''s say our 17-hand soldier has a tibia that''s around a half hand in diameter, but so does our willowy 20-hand five-half-finger tall Blessed Lisaykos. Now, for the sake of my example, let''s say both our soldier and the Blessed Lisaykos lose their foot and lower leg two hands up their respective legs, where the amputation leaves a cross-section of the tibia of that''s about a fifth of a hand in area. Our soldier weighs around 1,400 stone but the Blessed Lisaykos...?" ¡°2,000 stone,¡± I admitted, looking at the raised eyebrow on Raoleer''s face. She didn''t realize I weighed that little. Most high priestesses weigh more. ¡°So if the soldier gets a leg stump from the healers,¡± Raoleer kept her narrative going, "when he puts his whole weight on it, the bottom of the what''s left of the tibia experiences a pressure of 1,400 divided by one-fifth, which is 7,000 stones per square hand, but for the Blessed Lisaykos, the pressure will be 2,000 divided by one-fifth which is 10,000 stones ber square hand. ¡°Pressure?¡± I asked. ¡°Pressure is defined as weight divided by area,¡± Raoleer explained. ¡°The taller you are, the more pressure will be experienced by your bones, because taller people are heavier but the width of the bones hardly increases compared to the increases in height and weight. That¡¯s what Emily was trying to say. So Kayseo¡¯s recovery can¡¯t be compared to a soldier¡¯s because she¡¯s heavier.¡± She frowned and glanced at Emily who had her eyes closed. ¡°Is she?¡± Huhoti asked softly. ¡°No, I¡¯m not asleep,¡± Emily said in her soft voice. ¡°I¡¯m just resting my eyes. So how bad is the remaining edema at the base of Kayseo¡¯s legs?¡± Since I was sitting next to her, I leaned over and held my hand out over her legs. Surprised, I swore, which startled just about everyone, since I seldom slipped up in front of other people. I sat back down. ¡°Great One,¡± I looked at Aylem, ¡°would you please examine this for me?¡± Aylem shot me a speculative look and walked over to Kayseo. She got on her knees in front of Kayseo and gave the girl a reassuring smile in response to Kayseo¡¯s growing look of worry. Then she frowned in concentration as she placed her hand on Kayseo¡¯s knee. ¡°Healer Kibbilpos," Aylem sat back and sighed, "not only is Healer Kayseo stubborn and putting up with more pain than she should, but she''s also not been following your directions despite your best efforts to stop her, and she''s stubborn about it too." ¡°I believe that''s an accurate summation of the current state of affairs," Kibbilpos nodded in agreement. That was a very astute move on Aylem''s part because she made it clear she wasn''t blaming Kibbilpos for Kayseo''s stubbornness. Kibbilpos was still nervous in front of the Queen. It would likely take a few rotations before she would relax around Aylem. Aylem turned on her knees and gave Emily a look as if it was all Emily¡¯s fault. Emily shot Aylem a look right back that made her disagreement more than obvious. It was just another round of teasing in the strange relationship the two had with one another. It was more hopeful on Aylem¡¯s end and more tolerant on Emily¡¯s but it was at least friendly, which was an improvement over last year when the Queen was insensitive to Emily¡¯s fears and desire to escape Foskos altogether. Emily¡¯s expression shifted to one of questioning, ¡°so the edema is still substantial, I take it?¡± "Yes, it''s bad. Her legs are not healing at an acceptable rate. Even with the new crutches and the walking frame, our newest bad patient needs to avoid putting her weight on her legs entirely so the edema has a chance to go down. I''d like to have a bell''s worth of time to smooth the base of where the bone was severed, which should help with that." Emily was shaking her head with a frustrated look on her face, ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you can¡¯t reduce edema and other similar phenomena like bruising. It just doesn''t make sense to me. If magic allows for the manipulation of time, which is the basis of most healing magic, then why does it not work on edema too? The underlying physics of moving time forward or backward for the edema should be the same as for any other injury. If anyone can figure this out, it should be you, Aylem.¡± ¡°Is that how healing works?¡± Huhoti asked, fascinated with the exchange. ¡°Apparently,¡± I remarked. ¡°I never really thought about how before these two came along and started talking the theory behind it,¡± I pointed to both Emily and Aylem. ¡°I¡¯ve tried it, Emily,¡± Aylem replied. ¡°Here, can I borrow you as an experimental subject, Kayseo?¡± ¡°Will I turn purple and maybe grow horns?¡± Kayseo asked, a little concerned and trying to make light of it. ¡°You know, Kayseo, dear heart,¡± I worked on sounding guileless, ¡°I think purple would suit you.¡± Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Aylem waved her hands in disagreement, ¡°no, no, no, no! Lavender! That¡¯s the right color for Kayseo.¡± "Ppfffttt!" Emily tried not to laugh and failed. She looked at the helpless expression on Kayseo''s face and covered her mouth to not laugh too loudly. Kayseo gaped and then shook her head, rolled her eyes, and smiled her promise of retaliation back at Emily. ¡°What you¡¯ll feel, Kayseo, is some warmth and some cold, and that¡¯s about it,¡± Aylem reassured her and took the end of one of the severed legs in her hands. ¡°Brrrrrr, that is cold,¡± Kayseo shivered. ¡°Yes, that was the use of the same technique as healing wounds and blunt trauma, which we now know is a time reversal effect for the soft tissues, effective for almost everything but tumors and cancers," Aylem said out loud for Emily''s benefit. "And now here''s the healing effect for bones applied to tissues." ¡°Ow, that¡¯s prickly, and warm too, but prickly,¡± Kayseo frowned. ¡°There, all done,¡± Aylem removed her hands and returned to her armchair. ¡°Sorry, Kayseo. Lavender and a horn in the middle of your forehead will have to wait until later.¡± Kayseo just shook her head. There was a quiet knock on the doorframe of the open double doors into my study. I looked up and saw the Revered Twipdray, who was the Holy Senlyosart''s healer. Senlyosart and Twipdray were Opa''s tutors Twipdray knelt to do her obeisance, ¡°may the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great Ones. ¡°And upon you too, Revered One,¡± Emily said in a voice that carried to the doorway a moment before Aylem had collected herself to say the same thing. ¡°Please rise and come in. Are you looking for your wayward student?¡± Emily winked at Opa. ¡°Well, maybe not,¡± Twipdray said, which surprised me since I expected to hear otherwise. ¡°The Holy Senlyosart noted there was an interesting gathering here with interesting magic happening. She was wondering if you folks were getting ready to make the new thing from Galt''s revelation from last rotation? If you were, she was wondering if it might be possible to arrange things so she could watch, if it isn''t too difficult given her current state of infirmness. The Holy One knew you were here, Voice Trainee Opa, and she considered that you would profit from the current company assembled." She smiled at her missing student, "she has not yet decided what extra homework she will assign you for neglecting to ask permission first." Twipdray smiled with an unreal amount of innocence. Opa groaned. How wonderful it was, I thought, to be young. Emily didn¡¯t miss my reaction. She picked up one of the wax tablets she liked to keep within easy reach and wrote something on it. She tilted it so I could see what she had written. It said: ¡°schadenfreude!¡± Yes, she¡¯s lived with me long enough that she knows all my character defects. I sighed and then collected myself, wrapping the authority and prestige of my office around me. ¡°Wolkayrs, can you move what you set up for Emily, from your work table to the low table here?¡± ¡°If we move everything else off of the lounge table, yes, it will work,¡± he replied. ¡°Emily wants to demonstrate with the glayon vines for the benefit specifically of you two,¡± I said to Raoleer and Huhoti. ¡°Do you mind sitting on the floor on cushions? That way, I can place our sister Senlyosart with the Revered Twipdray on the lounge where Emily is currently sitting.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind,¡± Raoleer blinked, ¡°not in the least. You, Huhoti?¡± ¡°You could even skip the cushion, though one would be nice,¡± Huhoti joined in. I didn¡¯t doubt them at all, since mekaners will be mekaners, but I had to ask for courtesy¡¯s sake. ¡°Can you manage with the low table, Emily?¡± I asked. She was my one worry. ¡°If I can catch a nap between now and then,¡± she said, ¡°I think I¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°What about mid repast?¡± "Wake me up for it and keep it short so I can conserve what energy I''ve got." She hopped off the lounge and waved goodbye to everyone as she vanished into our living quarters. "I¡¯ll catch everyone in a bit.¡± I have to admit that I''m having a hard time getting used to Emily who is getting her health back. We took a break while Emily took a nap. In the meantime, Aylem took Opa to visit Senlyosart. Aylem showed back up and carried one of the large armchairs into the dining room. Then she disappeared into the guest quarters and reappeared with a padded hassock that she carried into the dining room. I followed her. ¡°Are you trying to seat Senlyosart at the table?" I asked, watching her arrange the armchair and hassock next to Emily''s chair. ¡°We''re having sandwiches today for mid repast," Aylem started going through the sideboard upper cabinets. "Aha!" She reached in and removed one of the lap trays I sometimes used to eat in my study. "I was thinking we can put Senlyosart in the armchair with her legs up and wrapped in her blankets. Her arms aren''t strong yet, but if we cut her sandwich into smaller pieces and put them on a lap tray instead of on the table, she can eat with us. We''ll need a side table to put her beaker of tea so she can reach it. And we''ll seat the Revered Twipdray right next to her, in case Senlyosart needs a hand with anything. Emily should sit next to her because those two get along well and they''ll talk fishing, I have no doubt. That seating arrangement will also keep the mekaner chatter to a minimum." I shook my head, "Aylem, I would never have thought of any of this. This will work. Thank you. Senlyosart will be ecstatic to escape her sick room and eat with us, and I for one will be happy to have her company back among us. She is a good soul and also good company at the table.¡± ¡°I think I was thinking the same about Senlyosart,¡± Aylem said softly, ¡°though I certainly didn¡¯t express it as well as you just did. She looked so lonely just now, especially since she could feel all our activity across the main corridor from her room.¡± ¡°Thank you for thinking of her and all this," I walked up to Aylem, who was looking lost, and hugged her because she looked like she needed a hug. "You look like you''re adrift and don''t know where the shore is," I remarked. She nodded. "And your daughter is being pouty again at you and you have no idea what Emily thinks of you and you''re scared to death that everyone is scared to death of you." I took her by the shoulders, "you''re doing fine, Aylem. If everything around you gets to be too much, take a walk or hide in your room and balance the exchequer accounts like I know you love to do, or maybe I should say, like I know you love to catch the ministers who think they can hide their fraud from you." ¡°I keep frightening Emily,¡± she sounded dejected. ¡°Aylem, you''re being thick-headed," I steered her to a chair and sat her down. I sat down next to her. "It''s not you. Emily will never stop being frightened of us at some level. Some days she does better than others. She''s not managing to do well right now after the previous four days of trying to be polite with Moxsef, who has never had to deal with a Coyn before who wasn''t a spoot slave. I think she''s keeping herself together because Raoleer and Huhoti have the knack of making her forget that they are big and she is small. It''s a mekaner thing." ¡°No, I saw the fear in her this morning, Lisaykos, because what Raoleer said kicked whatever it is that sets me off," Aylem stared at her feet. "Emily recognized and cut me off, but I couldn''t miss the burst of hard fear out of her. She hides it so well on her face, but I can feel everything from her. I don''t know why but I can''t block her at all." ¡°Look, you big idiot, you''ve been teasing her this morning, and she''s been teasing back. The two of you have been making jokes with and at each other, and she''s been giving you more leeway and liberties than she gives anyone else in our present company. Just wrap your mind around that and think about what that means for you and her." Aylem looked at me, brows knitted together wondering what I meant. ¡°One other thing you might want to consider, Aylem dear,¡± I stood up because I could sense the serving crew coming up the stairs with the food for lunch. ¡°You might want to apologize to Emily for your slip this morning, for both your sakes. But before that, why don''t you and I see what we need to do to get Senlyosart out of her room and across the corridor." --- 117. Rubber Emily, Lisaykos¡¯ study "Can you see, Holy One?" I turned and looked up at Senlyosart in my spot on the lounge. I had shifted to the left so she could see what I was doing by looking over my right shoulder, which was a lot lower than her eyes. She nodded, ¡°I can see quite well, thank you for asking, Great One.¡± ¡°Revered One?¡± I twisted to look up at the very senior healer Twipdray, who was a healer¡¯s healer and one who usually took on silverhairs who needed healing. I only knew that she was one of Lisaykos¡¯ four deputies in Aybhas, one who used to manage the two healing chapel shrines in Surdos, which was the second largest healing operation in the kingdom. She was good enough that Lisaykos trusted her with Senlyosart. That said a lot to me because I knew that Lisaykos was very fond of Senlyosart. Lisaykos is the kind of person whose affections are measured more by her actions than by her words. ¡°Yes, Great One?¡± Twipdray looked perplexed that I was talking to her. ¡°Can you see alright?" I asked, thinking the healer was another Cosm too wrapped up in following hierarchy and protocol that she didn''t even give a thought about herself or being able to see what I was doing. ¡°If I lean forward, I can see over your left shoulder to both your hands and the candle, Great One,¡± she smiled, looking touched that I asked her. Just when I think I¡¯ve figured people out, they go and surprise me. I looked to make sure the drop cloth over Lisaykos¡¯ precious floor rug hadn¡¯t shifted at all and looked up at Aylem, who had custody of a small pile of glayon vines under stasis. ¡°Aylem, can I have one glayon vine?¡± She handed one vine to Raoleer who was sitting on the floor facing me. Raoleer handed it to me. I put it on the false tabletop on top of the lounge table. After the pencil affair, which got beeswax in the table, Wolkayrs had made the false top for when I wanted to play with things at his work table. I¡¯m sure I had people wondering at the collection of objects I had on the table: several thin pieces of wood, some beaver reed skewers, my small steel knife from my belt billet, and a pair of steel snips and steel pliers that I requested from Roaleer last rotation when we were both at the Crystal Shrine. I also had some small worse-for-wear beakers with cracks and chips, some stoppered jars, and a beeswax candle. I was missing a small copper box. ¡°Looking for this?¡± Wolkayrs stepped through the circle of people seated opposite me. ¡°Fiend,¡± I chided him. "I''m going to enjoy this," he winked and stepped back, standing behind Lisaykos to watch. He and I had spent half a bell yesterday before dinner in the basement making mischief together. ¡°You¡¯ll want to see this, Thuorfosi,¡± the voice of Hessakos said from the study door. ¡°We¡¯ve both already seen it but you haven¡¯t.¡± He had said we. Who was he referring to, I wondered? ¡°Wait,¡± Thuorfosi, still in her flying cloak held up a hand, ¡°we mustn¡¯t forget our manners.¡± He nodded in agreement. They got on their knees and Kamagishi, revealed behind them, got down on one knee. "May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you Great and Holy Ones," they said in splendid unison. ¡°And also upon you,¡± I was just a little grumpy for having been thrown off my groove. ¡°Please get up and get in here, and save why you''re here for later because I''m not going to stop what I''m doing." I threw the three a slightly put-out look and then turned my attention back to the copper box. I tried to get the cover off and couldn''t. ¡°May I?¡± Raoleer held out her hand with a helpful look on her face. I placed it in her hand, ¡°open it very carefully and lift the cover off slowly. If you detect any heat or flames, slam the cover back on and extinguish the fire.¡± She opened it with care, lifted the cover, and looked inside, "Oh!" She grinned with excitement and handed the bottom of the box to me, putting the cover on the table. Everyone else was trying to see what was inside. I took the leather-wrapped piece of sandstone from my pouch and removed the leather. The stone was still the dark red of the phosphorus I had soaked it in. I picked up one of the matches out of the copper box that Wolkayrs and I made yesterday, checked to see if the thinned copal we used as adhesive was dry, and struck it against the stone. The flame flared into life and then shrank to the usual teardrop shape of a match flame. I lit the wick on the beeswax candle. ¡°When did you make more matches?¡± Aylem asked. ¡°Matches?¡± Raoleer asked. ¡°Isn¡¯t that Emily¡¯s famous instant fire?¡± ¡°In the place I came from,¡± I held up another match, ¡°I would call this a match stick, or match for short. Calling it instant fire works too.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t see what you did,¡± Senlyosart apologized behind me. ¡°How did the flame start? I certainly didn¡¯t expect to see the mysterious instant fire today. Might I...?¡± "Of course, you can, Holy One," I took the fresh match I had picked up and the stone and turned so Senlyosart and Twipdray could see both my hands. I struck the match head across the sandstone and then held it up while the flame started. Then I blew it out when the flame burnt down too close to my fingers. ¡°Amazing, I couldn¡¯t detect any magic at all,¡± Senlyosart looked at me in wonder. ¡°It¡¯s just several different potions acting together,¡± I shrugged. ¡°The trick is in mixing the potions, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± she smiled, looking happy. "You are most welcome, Holy One," I smiled back, happy that I had made her happy. I did like Senlyosart. I turned back to the glayon vine, which was getting older by the second, and tried to squeeze the sap out but didn¡¯t get far. "Let me," Huhoti took the vine from me and pulled it between her thumb and forefinger, as the sap dribbled into the beaker. She handed it back to me while trying to rub the dried latex off her fingertips. I put the vine down and handed Huhoti a rag and the stoppered bottle of olive oil, ¡°put some olive oil on the rag and it will clean the sap off your fingers.¡± The mood in the room shifted and I looked up at the astounded faces of Lisaykos, Aylem, Hessakos, Twipdray, Kayseo, Kibbilpos, Thuorfosi, Wolkayrs, and Kamagishi. The sight of so many Cosm gathered in one spot made the butterflies in my stomach jump. I ignored them for now. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Olive oil will clean off glayon vine sap?¡± Thuorfosi asked. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t know that?¡± I asked back. ¡°I thought everyone would already have figured that out, seeing that the trainees go out to harvest the vines every year.¡± Then it sunk in that they really didn¡¯t know. I ended up holding my head as I shook it. ¡°Emily, dear,¡± Aylem said in a voice that was a mix of both patience and amusement, ¡°you did it again.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still having a hard time thinking that the sap has value,¡± Lisaykos scowled. "Glayon vine has to be hung for several rotations to drain all that nasty white sap out or it clogs the hollow channel in the middle of the vines," she pointed out, ¡°which is the only reason the vines have any use at all and then only for healers." "So no one buys or sells the vines? Only the healer trainees harvest it?" I asked. "It''s commonly considered a weed, Emily,¡± Aylem explained. ¡°It grows in the poorly-drained soils on the worthless ground next to the lava fields owned by the Crown between Aybhas and Esso. Only the healers have a use for it. The Crown permits the healers to harvest it because it has no value.¡± ¡°You may want to negotiate the rights to vines drained of their sap, Lisaykos, before that worthless land appreciates in value,¡± I went back to the drained vine and slit it open. There was a network of fibers on the inside and a green fibrous skin on the outside. The inside network could be scraped off but the outside resisted removal. ¡°Does the skin fall off or does it dry in place?¡± I asked. ¡°It dries in place and turns light brown in color,¡± Kayseo explained. ¡°Huh,¡± I snipped a piece as long as my hand off the end of the vine and held it next to the candle flame with the pliers. It started to droop. Then part of it began to melt, leaving behind a fibrous framework from the inside channel behind. I grabbed a square of wood and held it under the melting vine to catch the drops until I had several drops collected. I waited until the drips on the wood were cool. Then I peeled the blob of melted vine off the wood and squeezed it. Next, I pulled at it, trying to get it to stretch in any direction. Satisfied, I looked up at my match-making partner. ¡°Wolkayrs, can you get me a piece of paper and a pencil, please?¡± I enjoyed the look of realization on Aylem¡¯s face while I waited. I just grinned back at her. ¡°Here you are, Great One,¡± he stepped through the circle of chairs and passed the paper and pencil to Raoleer, who then gave them to me. I took the pencil, held down the paper, and scribbled in circles manically. "Everyone sees this mess?" I held it up and showed it around, remembering to show it to the two Cosm on the lounge in back of me. I put it on the table, held it down, picked up the crepe rubber I had melted, and erased a streak through the middle of my penciled mess. I held it up so Aylem could see it first. ¡°I¡¯m sold, Emily,¡± she nodded and smiled, ¡°it¡¯s definitely rubber.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Kamagishi held up a hand, standing with Thuorfosi and Hessakos behind the circled chairs, ¡°does this have something to do with the name?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s called rubber because of its property of being able to erase, or rub out, pencil marks,¡± I confirmed. ¡°Now, Raoleer and Huhoti, can I ask the two of you to get the sap out of those glayon vines the Queen has under stasis? I would like you to fill this beaker as fast as you can.¡± ¡°That¡¯s doable,¡± Raoleer replied, ¡°but why fast?¡± ¡°It dries very quickly, see?¡± I pulled up the thin film made by the white latex sap that Huhoti squeezed out just a few moments ago out of the beaker. I stretched it and let it relax. Then I pulled it over my face and had fun listening to the gasps. "I can mix in the zinc oxide and the sulfur while it''s still liquid. If it will still pour, then I wanted to try and get it into this form I made before it solidified," I held up a block of talc schist I had carved into the upside-down shape of a rubber end for a crutch. "Then we can try to use the recipe Galt gave me. If I had some ammonium solution, I could use it to keep the sap from drying. It would take a trip to the geysers east of my former home on the other side of the Great Cracks to fetch the rocks to make ammonia. There''s been too much happening to try arrange that." The mood in the room became strange, nervous even, and a little tense. Kibbilpos was shocked. Aylem had her hand over her mouth and her eyes were wide. Kayseo look startled. Kamagishi was biting her finger trying not to laugh. Lisaykos looked like she was in pain. Wolkayrs and Thuorfosi were looking at me in sympathy. Raoleer was grimacing with her eyes shut. Huhoti was looking at me with a sad smile waiting for me to notice her. ¡°What?¡± I demanded. ¡°The last time this happened and I said something, you arranged to make the end of my slag stick explode.¡± ¡°Only because you said it was cute," I snarled. "It was not cute. It was frustrating." "It was cute, love," Huhoti explained because she knew she could get away with it. It''s part of the give-and-take she acquired after melting rocks and pouring slag with me. It¡¯s part of the fellowship of metals geeks thing. ¡°When you forget about everyday magic solutions,¡± Huhoti smiled with understanding, ¡°you look so vexed. Your eyebrows make a vee and you purse your lips. When you''re frustrated with magic users, you stamp your foot, and if you had any magic yourself, the whole place would burn down." I leaned back against the lounge, crossed my arms, and gave Huhoti a disgruntled look, "alright, Revered One, what incredibly obvious everyday piece of magic did I miss just now?" This sort of thing really did annoy me. It was their everyday magic, not mine. Damn Cosm. At least Huhoti had the knack of teasing me out of my ire, understanding that my worldview had zero magic in it. ¡°We can cast stasis on the beaker we squeeze the sap into to keep it liquid, Em,¡± Huhoti smiled apologetically. ¡°Oh.¡± If I had a hole to go down and vanish, I would have. I got to be an idiot about everyday magic again in front of a room full of silverhairs trying to be tactful and polite in front of the token Coyn revelator. It was not a great moment for me. ¡°Yep,¡± Raoleer remarked as if she was taking notes on an experiment, ¡°there¡¯s the vee in the brows, followed by the pursed lips. Excellent observations, number two.¡± ¡°Any time, number one,¡± Huhoti replied in the same observational voice. I glowered at them. They grinned back at me. ¡°I brought the termometer,¡± Raoleer offered a peace offering. ¡°Thermometer, not termometer,¡± the energy it took to maintain all those vexed looks at the terrible mekaner twosome was ebbing fast. ¡°There¡¯s only one problem,¡± Raoleer looked at me with sympathy. ¡°You forgot to add a measurement hole for it in the mold you made. We can¡¯t put the termometer into the sap which would solidify around it when we apply the heat to the rubber mix.¡± I groaned. It took two bells to make the crutch end. Kayseo was impressed that the crutch tip didn¡¯t slide at all on the tiles of the shrine¡¯s floors. By the time we were done, I was drooping. Then Twipdray scared the crap out of me when she picked me up without warning and placed me in her spot at the other end of the lounge. She leaned against the arm of the lounge instead, ¡°I''m sorry. I didn''t mean to startle you, but you look so tired and I¡¯ve been sitting all afternoon, Great One, while you¡¯ve been standing.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± and I meant it even if my heart stopped for a few breaths. I looked at the three who crashed the rubber demonstration, ¡°so why are you three here?¡± "Galt gave me a dream command as his high priestess to be a witness to the demonstration of his revelation," Kamagishi remarked. "Can I take some of this stuff back with me?" I had a vision in my head of Kamagishi spending a whole day writing with a pencil and then erasing everything she wrote just because she could. "I was coming home as scheduled,"Thuorfosi said, "now that my brother and sister are on the boat leaving Ark''kos with furniture for my new house." She had her arms wrapped around Wolkayrs and was leaning her chin on his bald head. They were looking very much like the young couple in love. It was cute. ¡°I was flying here to say hello to my mother,¡± Hessakos smiled, ¡°after dropping my son off at Manse Gunndit so he can spend two rotations with his favorite cousin, milking cows and herding sheep and learning how to ride a horse. The three of us landing on the south balcony at the same time was just one of those odd coincidences.¡± He smiled at me with a hint of mischief, ¡°Great One, if you cooked up a wad of rubber that was completely round, do you think you could make a ball that would bounce?¡± 118. Missing enemies Lisaykos, in her study "This has been one of the longest days of my life," Lyappis joined me on the lounge on the north wall of my office that was closest to my work table. The first night bell had just rung. "How was Aylem doing before she left for the Crystal Shrine?" "She''s very good at beating herself up," Lyappis fell onto the lounge and covered her eyes with her arm. She sighed. "She needs to realize that it''s not anger that''s the problem; it''s what you do with that anger that''s the problem. She''s also too quick to assume insult when none is meant." "Have you talked with Emily about Aylem yet?" "No, she''s proving adept at avoiding me." "She''s not comfortable with you yet and she doesn''t do well when there are more than two or three Cosm around her. I live with her so I know that signs when she''s stressed, and she''s stressed right now. Tea?" I asked as I got up. "Your usual?" "Please." I got up and heated water at the sideboard, "I''ve got sugar now, from my daughter''s first crop, if you''d like." "I''ll stick with my bogberry syrup, thank you," Lyappis chuckled. "My son has been spying on your daughter''s beets." "I know, I hear about it all the time," I smiled. My Katsa and her Sopno had a friendly competition going over the products of their adjacent holdings. "Shopping tomorrow with your daughter in Gunndit?" I asked as I handed her a beaker of tea with a spoon of bog berry syrup. "For the sake of the people who might be watching us," she sipped her tea with a frown. "I have no idea how she''s going to manage to vet the garrison for any enemy plants while making it look like a shopping trip. She''s vetting the garrison here right now. I hope she remembers to sleep. She''s a crabby girl when she doesn''t sleep enough." "So that''s where she disappeared to. I wanted to chat with her about other business." There was a light knock. It was Usruldes. I waved him in. He closed the door and then charmed it shut. "Lord Usruldes," I began, "my staff..." "...will mindcast you, if needed," he pulled down his hood and pulled off his face cloth, leaving the black scarf covering his hair. "Ah, that explains it," Lyappis nodded, with some vexing fact settling into place in her mind after seeing my son''s face. "Revered One, Great One, may the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you," my son knelt on the carpet. "And upon you too, son." "So formal," Lyappis shook her head and grinned at me, "it''s one of your family''s defects, you know." "I know," my son and I shared a smile, in complete and total agreement over this one small portion of existence. Good manners and proper address mattered. Lyappis shook her head at the two of us. I thought about my grandson Troyeepay at the Manse but I immediately expanded that thought to Oyyuth and my youngest granddaughter and the current uncertain situation. "She and Amoythoy are also at Manse Gunndit," of course, my son picked up my thought, "along with her brother and his family. I owe my sister for this. We pulled in some of our retired folks to help at the brewery while the entire Kas''syo family is out of town and some new employees at the brewery have to dye their hair. It''s a good thing there are lots of things to do at a brewery that are out of sight of the public." "You have both Kas''syo families at Manse Gunndit? I suspect Katsa is loving this," I smiled since it was safe in front of these two. "She''s always wanted to see the Manse filled with family and children. Your favorite tea is the second box from the left on the third shelf up." "Thank you, mom," he said, walking to the sideboard and selecting a beaker. "If I had more wraiths available, I would post them here and not even a bee would be able to get to the garden without being watched. With Kamagishi here, now I''m really worried. We have four high priestesses, the Princess, the Queen, and our Prophet, all in the south wing on the fourth floor of the Healing Shrine." He walked an armchair over and put it down facing us. "Before you ask," he fetched his tea and sat down, "Emily found a way to reach the piping above the tubs in the bathing chamber from the space behind the drawers of her built-in bed. There is a trap door that is hard to see from the outside to access the roof from the bathing chamber. Meadow Vole, who was Emily''s shadow this morning, alerted the entire network since Emily went where none of us could reach her for a time of 27 counted breaths. That''s a lot for the wraiths, who are a particular bunch and vain about their skills. Each wraith takes two years just to train." "I didn''t want to know that about Emily," I sighed. The fate that I had wished on Foyuna, that Emily would explore the plumbing spaces of her shrine, had come back to haunt me instead. "I don''t understand why they are targeting the shrines," Lyappis shook her head. "It makes no sense to me. They have to know it angers the gods. What are they thinking?" Usruldes shook his head, "Revered One, the king, General Bobbo, and I can''t figure that out. If General Bobbo can''t puzzle it out, no one can. He may be our best brain and he is stumped. I am frustrated and feel like I''ve failed to recognize something that''s right in front of me." "From what I hear from my son, you are no slouch," Lyappis studied my son. "So what do I call you these days, my boy? Irhessa? Lord Usruldes? Courier Hessakos? Master Spymaster?" She paused and smiled, "it was one of the most pleasant surprises of the last decade when your name popped up out of nowhere on the Coldtide promotion list at the end of last year. Your mother did miss you, but you know that, don''t you?" "It''s not an easy story for me to tell, Revered One," he sighed. "Call me whatever makes you most comfortable. When my face is hidden, please, never use anything other than Usruldes. At this point, my identity might be the worst kept secret in the kingdom, but the king and the Shrine of Erhonsay have shifted resources to keep my family safe. My weakness is my family but we are dealing with it." "Did you offer to retire?" she asked. She had been the wife of a Lord. She knew what the stakes were. "Yes, more than once, and always sincerely." "Did your wife know when she married you?" "Oyyuth knew I was one of the king''s spies when we had our hand-in-hand. She had the king''s former spymaster tell her what the risks were. Her father and brother were also informed." "I had no idea marrying a spy took such trouble," she looked surprised. "No, it was because it was me," he admitted, "and because Imstay agreed to keep me out of my family''s eye. Please don''t give me that look, mother. So, Cadrees, my eagle bond, and I interrupted an ambush directed at our king not long after I left home. He recognized me and took me in. Then he decided I had the skill set to be a good agent. The king and I, we''re tight. He calls me his little brother and he''s always taken care of me. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. "He''s my closest friend. My life would be a shambles if not for Imstay. The king had the Kas''syo Brewery vetted without my knowing it, just in case the crush I had on Oyyuth was more than a crush. He made sure the king''s intelligence network could accommodate his pet spy''s halfhair family ¨C all this because Imstay wanted to take care of me, not because I was one of his agents." "It did not bother you nor the king that you married someone in the trades? Granted, the Kas''syos are merchant royalty, but still¡?" Lyappis was curious but not judgemental. "There''s blood from the original line of Gampff if you go back four hundred years. Since then, the Kas''syos have birthed the occasional silverhair and every child born from that time forward has had some magic. The bloodline tends to breed halfhairs with very fine temperature control magic. "Oyyuth can do things with temperature that I can''t do, and I''m a bit vain about my magic. She and her brother both can examine one of those huge malting tanks and find every little spot where the temperature is too hot or too cold and fix it, even if it''s as small as this beaker. It''s one of the reasons their beers are so good. I find no reason to look down on the Kas''syo bloodline, and unlike many noble families, they''re good breeders too. You know, Revered One, it''s pleasant to brag about my lovely wife and her family, but this is a business visit," he smiled one of his friendly smiles at Lyappis. He had such a friendly face, unlike my own. "I want to speak to you about the Queen and the Prophet; but first," he looked at me, "I need to speak about the shrines, mother, especially this one." "What about the shrines?" I frowned, wondering what he wanted to say. "I know that the Crystal Shrine, the Healing Shrine, and the White Shrine currently have barriers up, but the King would like every shrine to put up a battle-worthy barrier until we know why they are targeting shrines. Imstay asked me to ask you to send the message out to the rest of the Convocation, to put barriers up to protect against air attacks and gate attacks." That made me sit up, "are things really that bad? I thought Imstay was quietly cleaning out the ambush forces the Impotuans snuck in." "We''ve taken down the groups in Kesmat, Rigdit, and Yuxvos," my son made a sour face, "Weirgos went badly. The attack started as soon as Moxsef left here and joined Imstay''s mounted forces, just as we planned. Moxsef and Imstay took Lord Opyus and his household into custody last night but our opponents resisted. There are casualties on both sides. Mother, this is more serious than we thought. There were garrison members among the traitors. Imstay had guards fighting guards last night." For the second time today, I swore. "Opyus will be tried in the Well of Galt," my son continued. "About half the enemy and haup Weirgos attack forces escaped. We have done the first interrogations. Imstay is still in Weirgos mopping up. The bad news is that Raoleer and Huhoti were their targets. I have spoken with those two so they already know and have been advised to stay here near the Queen for now. They will use the excuse of building an artificial set of legs for Kayseo to stay here for a few more days." "You didn''t mention Esso," I pointed out. "My nephew?" Lyappis sat up in concern. The current Lord Esso was her nephew. "Lord Idriot, the Esso garrison, and the haup Esso household soldiers moved to take the enemy force of around one hundred men last night but they were gone. The one Impotuan soldier left behind to keep up appearances was apprehended but killed himself. A priestess of Erhonsay with the Esso garrison managed to get some information before the soul fled. Their target is Emily." I felt like I had just been punched in the stomach. I put my beaker of tea down before I dropped it. "I suspected as much," my son said with a concerned look. "What?"I snapped. "You are truly fond of her," he rolled his beaker between his hands slowly. "At first I was worried that you kept her here because you wanted to take advantage of her, just like everyone else, like both the King and Queen. I no longer think that, given that you''ve made her extremely wealthy, you have only diverted a small amount of that income to benefit the Shrine of Mugash, not without justification, and you have not taken a single silver for yourself." A wave of anger hit me that he could even think that I would take advantage of a patient under my care. It left as soon as it arrived because I had misjudged him. I realized that this was no child, though I gave birth to him. He had judged me with the cold hard eyes of the King''s spymaster, as was his duty, and I passed his test. I understood, for the first time, just how puissant and formidable my son had become. My respect for him climbed. "To be truthful," he continued, watching my reaction, "I''m extremely relieved to find that you have done so much to build Emily a firm financial foundation, with no strings tied to any shrine or holding." He smiled his approval "I''m glad to find that my mother is every bit the upright moral character I thought she should be. I must wonder if Emily knows how much you have looked out for her interests, or if she will appreciate it when she discovers it." "I suspect she won''t because she doesn''t value wealth, not the way you or I would. She is unlike anyone I have ever known. Living with her has been an adventure, though I''m not sure what I was thinking when I first set Emily up in that used storage closet," I laughed. "I think it''s a modest storage space in an inconvenient spot. Emily thinks it''s a big room. Nevertheless, I admit she has grown on me. Someday she will leave and I know I will miss her. Isn''t that odd?" I shook my head, not for the first time, over that strange Coyn. "I didn''t realize it at the time, but I think we were both lonely people, and sharing a space has helped both of us." "It makes me happy to hear you admit that," Lyappis remarked. "I''ve always thought you needed to socialize more. Please do not make a retort, my dear, about your duty as a haup Foskos. I''ve already heard it. It''s one of your other family''s character defects." "No, I won''t argue with you this time, dear heart. Irhessa, is Emily safe here? At the Shrine of Mugash?" I was feeling chilled, and not by the temperature. "I have fully one-quarter of my wraiths deployed around Opa and Emily and the Shrine." "Not Aylem?" I wondered. "After long discussions with Ud," my son let out a long sigh, "I have concluded that Aylem may be indestructible under most circumstances. Ud taught her magic that will prevent arrows or thrown axes from penetrating her skin when she''s awake. She can already protect herself from fireballs and attack magics. I have one wraith assigned to her bedroom, to wake her up if my agent detects the approach of danger. Aylem did not object. She knows her precognition is limited. I talked to her about it before she left for the Crystal Shrine this evening." "I confess, I try not to think about how dangerous it would be for anyone to attack her," this was becoming a difficult conversation. "Frankly, I feel sorry for anyone who attacks Aylem," my son said. "We should all be grateful that she is a person who feels some responsibility for her actions, because the alternative is just unthinkable, given her power." He leaned forward, "Mother, is it possible to have Emily sleep in a different room every night for the next few nights? Until we hunt down the enemy that was in Esso?" That left me speechless. "Emily will hate it," he frowned. "She doesn''t like the cage she''s in and now we''re about to make it more constrictive. We will need to lay out all the facts for her to get her to agree. It''s the only way I can see to manage her. What do you think, mother?" "How many wraiths do you have on Emily?" I asked. "Three, excluding the visible guards. Thank you, by the way, for getting Emily to stop playing dots and crosses on the window panes with the guards on the balcony. She has such a poor conception of her authority. The wraiths were terrified of refusing her because they needed to do their jobs." "She thinks so strangely," I remarked. "In the place she came from, everyone was equal under the law. This makes it difficult for her to think that precedence is real because she believes ¨C I do not jest ¨C that precedence is a philosophical construct." "What?" Lyappis couldn''t help but squawk. I had forgotten to warn her about Emily being one of the reborn, and Aylem too. There was just too much going on. "Lyappis, dear," I picked up my tea and took a defensive sip, "You need to know this and you already know that nothing can be repeated, but both Emily and Aylem are reborn persons." "Oh!" I enjoyed watching her eyes grow round. "That explains so much," the look in her eyes was one of revelation. "How far back did they live?" "Dear heart," I put my cup down, "they came from another place unlike our own, where there was no magic at all." "What? How can people even survive without magic? The Coyn and no-height Cosm would be helpless without our magic," Lyappis protested, showing some of her old-noble-family attitudes. "There were no Cosm in the place that Emily and Aylem lived," I remarked. "The people there spent their creative efforts to make marvelous machines and non-magical potions that do what we do with magic. They made things we haven''t even imagined like ships that can dive underwater and boxes that can capture images better than any painting. You could go swimming with the fishes with a face like that, dear." "Unbelievable," she shook her head. "The prophet''s blindness toward everyday magic makes a lot more sense now. How did they ever manage without magic?" "They didn''t," I sipped my cooling tea, "they destroyed themselves." - - - 119. Vaudeville chemistry Emily, sleeping I was sitting in the high school auditorium in Idaho Falls, alone and with the lights down. Suddenly there was a spotlight and to my disbelief, out danced a person-sized Galt along with Giltak. They were both dressed in pink tuxedos, straw flat hats, dancing canes, and tap shoes. A piped-in applause track played over the auditorium''s lousy sound system. They started singing and dancing to the tune of ''Fit as a Fiddle and Ready for Love'' from Singing in the Rain; the words, however, were rhyming couplets about wet chemistry recipes. It was beyond ridiculous. They ended with the couplet: Mix sal ammoniac and some quick lime. Don''t you dare heat it cuz it''s sublime! As a vaudeville pair, they weren''t bad, but the ammonia sublimation pun was a bit much. They sang well together though I think I could have skipped the sight of a fluffy tuxedo cat in a pink tuxedo. * I heard that thought, blasphemer! * Galt stamped his shoe on the stage in annoyance. He has all of a cat''s vanity. * Would you have preferred ballet? * he demanded. Suddenly the scene shifted to the set of Sleeping Beauty at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco. Galt was in a pink tutu and toe shoes. Giltak plopped into the chair next to me. We looked at each other and tried not to laugh. I passed them their popcorn. They passed me a plate of bacon. "You aren''t going to have electrolysis at the place where you''re going," Giltak said, "remember to write everything down so you remember it when you need it." * Wait, wait, wait! * Galt shouted from the stage, stopping the orchestra in mid-measure. He appeared in the seat in front of me, * This Tom character you married? What was he like? Is he any competition for me? You know we should have kittens together. * "Quit being a goof, Galt," Giltak rolled their eyes. "Don''t listen to him, Emily. He gets like this at times. Just ignore him. He''ll be back to normal in a day or two." "Galt, for a god you''re being dense," I served up my grumpiest look. "Whatever happened to your omniscience? Tom''s death in Vietnam was the biggest sorrow of my previous life. He felt like the other half of me. We met and we were completing each other''s sentences after just a week. Four years later, it had only gotten worse. All the joy I had in life left me when he died and I never got it back. Don''t ever even joke about him or I''ll show the god of wrath just what wrath looks like." * Hmmm, * Galt tilted his head and gave me an inscrutable cat look, * if it''s a second life, do you need to get married twice? You should ask Kamagishi. She''s the law expert. * "What? Wait! Galt!" I lunged for him as he started to recede into the distance and my arms wrapped themselves around the empty space above my bed as I sat up abruptly. Thuorfosi was just coming through the door from Lisaykos'' bedroom with Usruldes in his black outfit behind her. "That must have been some dream," Thuorfosi sat on the padded chest seat. Usruldes sat on the other one beside her. "You''re breathing heavily, Great One," Usruldes remarked. "Was Galt in your dreams just now? May I?" He held up a cupped hand, "I can check if your mind state shifted from being touched by a god. I heard the heavy running feet of a Cosm and Lisaykos appeared in the door, "I heard you shout, Emily. Is something wrong?" "She had Galt in her dreams," Thuorfosi answered for me. Trying to calm myself down, I nodded at Usruldes, who laid his hand on my knee. I watched as his eyes unfocused and then focused again. "Giltak too?" he asked me. I nodded, "yes, they came together. They seem to be pals at the moment." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly to try to calm myself. That miserable cat god! Was he joking? I had my own assessment of Galt. If it was correct, then Galt was not the kind of character who would lead a person on about something important to him or her. Stated another way, he would never pull a lowly stunt like suggesting Tom existed when he didn''t. So, was Galt serious? Was Tom part of this world? No, I couldn''t think like that. I knew that Galt looked at multiple time strands simultaneously, which was why he was the god of both knowledge and prophesy. Could he have seen some future life of mine? Or some event in this life that could happen? It was a tempting distraction. I had to put it aside for now. I had more urgent things to do than contemplate lost lovers. "I need something to write on, right now. There should be some blank tablets on the shelf in the closet." "Shouldn''t you eat first?" Lisaykos asked. "This is more important than food," I started to move to get out of bed and then stopped. "Usruldes, I need to change. Would you mind going elsewhere?" "It''s not a problem, you''re hardly my type, and remember, I''ve already seen you in your nightgown, soaking wet." I could see the crows feet at the sides of his eyes crinkle up as he grinned under the face covering. The pillow I threw impacted his face with a satisfying thwack noise, "out, now." "Wow, good aim," he rubbed his nose. I smiled with maximum malevolence at him, "I know." He reached down, pulled out three tablets, and handed them to me, "I will see you in a while then, Great One. Gods be with you," he retreated out the door, dodging his mother. Lisaykos took his place on the padded clothes chest that doubled as a seat for Cosm. I barely noticed as I had taken the stylus and was already writing, half in Fosk, half in English for the parts that Fosk lacked:
heat sal ammoniac with lime to make ammonium solution 2NH4Cl+Ca(OH)2 ¡ú CaCl2 +2H2O (vap) +2NH3 (g) condense vapor + gas to get ammonium solution, leaving CaCl2 (flux, desiccant) behind. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. burn sulfur with potassium nitrate in steam in a lead-lined vessel to get sulfuric acid. 2 KNO3 + S ¡ú K2O + SO3 (g) + N2 (g) +O2 (g) SO3 (g) + H2O ¡ú H2SO4 (aq) react sulfuric acid with potassium nitrate to get nitric acid and potassium bisulfate. Pour H2SO4 on KNO3 in flask + heat ¡ú HNO3 + KHSO4 Then distill to get concentrated HNO3, leaving white KHSO4 behind"Why did they want me to remember this?" I muttered to myself, forgetting the other two in the room. "Why would I want to make acids the hard way without electrolysis? Unless electrolysis was not possible? This doesn''t make sense. If I have magnets, I can always do electrolysis." Staring at the first chemical equation, it struck me that by just adding in some carbon, I''d have black powder. It was funny how leaving it out and inserting water instead would make sulfuric acid, though the concentration would have to be controlled by the amount of water or steam available. Was this a primitive version of the lead chamber process? Then it struck me that this was an upgrade of black powder because nitric and sulfuric acid at a one-to-two ratio plus cellulose made gun cotton. The cellulose source could be cotton or linen or even certain tree barks. Gun cotton, also known as nitrocellulose, was five to six times more powerful than black powder. It was also dangerous unless it was done properly. A lot of people died before they figured out all the different ways that making it could kill you. Then my mind went racing down another track: if I had lye, I could make good soap instead of that horrible stuff they use here, and then extract glycerin from it. If I had glycerin and good nitric acid, a whole world of high explosives opened up in front of me. I instantly wanted to gather up some materials to make some gun cotton and blow something up with it. How hard would it be to use gun cotton as the basis to make fireworks? This could be fun, I realized. A large finger and thumb took hold of the tablet and pulled it out of my hands. "I really get nervous when you have that look on your face, dear heart," Lisaykos looked at what I had written. "More chemistry, I see, and none of it is the type I can understand. No, there''s oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur. What''s this KNO3?" "Potassium nitrate, also called saltpeter. I believe the common name here may be niter," I looked up at both Thuorfosi and Lisaykos looking perplexed. "Can I have my tablet back, please? I thought today was a goofing-off day for me. Is Asgotl back yet? I was thinking fishing might be fun while the good weather holds up." The panicked look on Lisaykos'' face was something I did not expect. "What was that face for?" I wanted to know. Lisaykos sighed, "We have another Impotuan problem. Usruldes is here to talk to you about it, during or after you eat your morning repast. Do you have a preference?" "Is this Impotuan problem going to get any worse if I take a shower first?" "No, and everyone else has already eaten," Lisaykos put the tablet on the shelf in the closet. "I heated the water," Thuorfosi stated, "and I put a towel and your house coat in the shower stall. Want a hand down?" She looked entirely too chipper and sunny, given that it was morning. "You''re too cheerful to give me a hand down," I tossed the blankets out of the way and started to pivot for the bed stair. "Right, one hand down coming up," she smiled with maniacal glee, lifted me out of bed, and carried me into the bathroom. "Put me down and scoot, you overgrown monster, I need to use the necessary first." I couldn''t give her too hard of a time. She was pregnant, after all. "See you in a few minutes," she promised me. "I''ll have some clothes set out for you when you''re done." Thuorfosi was one of those vile morning people and I was not. She was waiting for me in my bedroom when I was done to dry and braid my hair. If Lisaykos let me sleep in it was because she wanted me to rest today. I wore an undertunic and my red-plaid flannel house coat that Twesssera made for me. Usruldes and Aylem were waiting. "You ready?" Thuorfosi said from behind me. I nodded and she lifted me into my chair. She then exited into the study since I was the only one eating and I surmised the topic of the morning repast conversation was just for me. At least the food looked appetizing, with poached eggs on buttered toasted bread with mashed turnips in cheese sauce, and bacon, of course. Lisaykos, who liked to seat me immediately to her right, filled my beaker with hot sweet tea and put it in front of me. "You look a bit tired still. Maybe I should have let you sleep some more," she smiled. Lisaykos has an unusual face. When she smiles naturally, the rake of her eyebrows makes her look like she''s just finished a session of terrorizing small children and torturing kittens. As a consequence, she only smiles to frighten healer trainees or to tease people. I looked at that smile, raised an eyebrow, and asked: "What is it this w...week?" "Cute little fluffy bunnies." "Save the skins," I picked up my beaker of tea, "they''re good for making mittens." "I''ll keep that in mind." Aylem and Usruldes started laughing. "Well, there is nothing scheduled for you today," Lisaykos informed me, "at least not for you since you are on a day of enforced rest." "Oh joy," I said with no enthusiasm whatsoever. "And enforced rest does not include any mekaner frenzy sessions with the unholy Raoleer and the Irreverent Huhoti," she added in her most threatening voice. "W...wait," I put down my prong and knife, "I thought they were going back to Omexkel today." "They are down in the alleys of the north market talking with crafters about building a pair of legs. The woodwork and metal work are easy to arrange since Wolkayrs is with them. The leatherwork needed is extensive and will take a few hours or maybe even a day to complete. Huhoti stayed up late playing with glayon vine sap so I believe they have enough rubber stuff to get a first version built for Kayseo." "Well, I won''t complain about it but I am surprised," I sawed a piece of thick yolk-covered bread off so I could eat it. "Does this have anything to do with the hidden attack forces the Impotuans snuck in? Isn''t Rigdit just up the Rig River from Omexkel?" "The ambushes we set in Kesmat, Rigdit, and Yuxvos all went well," Usruldes steepled his hands in front of his nose. "The ambush we set in Weirgos did not go well. Though we have Lord Opyus and his family in custody, about half his household soldiers and some significant portion of the Impotuan troops escaped into the forest to the south toward the No Return River Valley, which is the valley between Pinisla and Weirgos." "That''s not great, especially if they already have a trail blazed to get them to their new fort," I brought up a map of the south and center of the kingdom in my mind. So how does this affect us?" "We''ve done some interrogation already," Usruldes'' eyes sharpened. "Their targets were Raoleer and Huhoti, to capture if possible and take home to Impotu, because of the new sky metal foundry, glass, and paper. Their excuse for staying in Aybhas is to build Kayseo some legs. Their real reason is to stay close to Aylem, which is what we would like you to do too." "As a general precaution or for a specific reason?" I was rapidly losing my appetite. "The raid on the Impotuan force in Esso, which we estimated to be about a hundred, was a complete failure. They were already gone by the time we arrived and we can''t find them." "Not even Aylem?" I looked at the Queen, who was looking most unhappy. "Not even in the Great Crystal," Aylem scowled, "and I was there for much of last night." "So they are going to the Crystal Shrine or the Villa, or they are coming south to use the bridges here or in Gunndit. Or they could be escaping down the Ahkeseld River," I surmised. "They left one squad behind to light fires, rumple bedding, and otherwise pretend that the whole force were present. We caught them and interrogated them. Their original plan, and we don''t know if they have changed it, was to come here to Aybhas." His grey eyes looked like brushed steel. "Their target is you, Emily." (continued in installment 120) 120. Deceptions and prophecies (Emily, Healing Shrine of Mugash, continued from installment 119) ¡°Or they want us to think it¡¯s me. I assume with the lovely Aylem not 20 hands from me, that I can finish my repast in safety,¡± I put my prong down. ¡°Aylem, you looked all over this area for those 100 missing troops?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Where else did you look?¡± ¡°Black Falls, Gunndit, Uldlip, Truvos, the Salt Pans, Pink Lake, Black River, Bull Trout Valley, Queenstown, Pinisla, Weirgos, Omexkel, Glass Butte, Gampff, ...¡± ¡°Did you look anywhere north of Is¡¯syal?¡± ¡°No. Why would...?¡± Aylem frowned. I remembered, just at that moment, what Galt said on the night before his revelation. I held up my hand, ¡°Wait. Listen. Galt told me that the war with Impotu is over access to the crystals at the shrines and has its roots in...¡± I stopped because I saw what the deception was at the moment. ¡°Aylem, you can mindcast anyone in the kingdom yes?¡± I asked, to confirm that she could do it. If Fassex could do it, then Aylem should be even better at it. ¡°Without the Great Crystal, there are limitations. Who do you want to reach?¡± ¡°Fassex, Irralray, General Lunhaydras, Imstay, the garrisons at Kas, Surdos, and Kesmat, and Imstay.¡± "All of those I can do directly since they are all silverhairs. You said Imstay twice," she gave me a teasing smile. I ignored it, "Contact Fassex right now and get her to shut the gates to the White Shrine. Send the garrisons at Surdos, Kas, and Kesmat to Yant immediately. Alert the Citadel in Is''syal to surround the Fated Shrine. The real targets are the crystals at the Fated and White Shrines. Do this. Now. I¡¯ll explain when you¡¯re done.¡± Aylem closed her eyes and sat so still that it was almost fey. Then she returned to this reality, ¡°It is done, and Fassex requires an explanation. What...?¡± ¡°Send Imstay back to Is¡¯syal right now with the forces he has in Weirgos,¡± I directed. ¡°Am I missing anything? Esso. There''s something about Esso." I knew in my bones I was missing something." I turned things over in my mind about Esso and nothing surfaced. Maybe I needed to let it alone to stew. ¡°There are many things I don¡¯t know so I might not have all the answers to questions you might have,¡± I started my explanation. ¡°Galt told me that the war with Impotu was over access to the crystals at the shrines. It had its roots in something that Fassex¡¯s predecessor did some 30 years ago. What happened 30 years ago at the White Shrine of Landa?¡± Lisaykos blinked, ¡°nothing that I know of but I wasn¡¯t high priestess then either.¡± ¡°What shrine in Impotu was destroyed or damaged about 30 years ago?¡± I asked, making a guess. ¡°The Shrines of Landa and Mugash in Suapsepso burnt to the ground,¡± Lisaykos replied without pause. ¡°The Shrine of Landa there was said to be the most beautiful shrine in Impotu, made entirely of wood without a single metal fastener. I remember working for an extra bell every day, copying our teaching texts and scriptures to send to the Shrine of Mugash, to replace the ones they lost in the fire. That was back when we had better relations with our sister shrines in the three great nations of the east.¡± Lisaykos sipped her breaker of tea while thinking, ¡°Fassex can look at the journals of her predecessor, Aynaxsim, and see what may have happened that fits what Galt told you.¡± ¡°Was the Landa shrine¡¯s crystal destroyed in the fire?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, it was,¡± Lisaykos put her beaker down. ¡°Now I know I¡¯m right,¡± I felt sick to my stomach. ¡°Has Impotu had any problems managing its slaves in the last 30 years?¡± Lisaykos¡¯ face went white and the unflappable Usruldes sucked in a sudden breath. Aylem looked confused and then revelation crossed her face followed by, ¡°no, that¡¯s...that¡¯s...¡± ¡°If Galt had not requested that I wait for certain economic conditions to develop, I would ask you to take me to Yant today, Aylem,¡± I spoke to the shocked silence. ¡°Why did Galt ask you to wait?¡± Lisaykos asked. ¡°Less bloodshed,¡± I sighed. ¡°Galt said sitting on my hands for one to two years while waiting for a certain set of economic conditions to develop would save millions of lives. It was the difference between 27 versus six outbreaks of warlike violence. It¡¯s hard to argue with those sorts of numbers.¡± ¡°So, the war is really about gem magic?¡± Aylem asked. ¡°The war is all about Impotu wanting to steal the crystal at the White Shrine of Landa,¡± I frowned, ¡°plus any others they can lift and make off with. I will bet that 30 years ago, someone requested that the White Shrine make control gems for Impotu, which had just lost its control gem source. If one of the big crystals breaks, all the gem magic made by that crystal will fail, right?¡± "Yes," Usruldes was holding his head, "you are exactly right and I will not take that bet. I don''t like losing. We need to fortify Yant until it''s time for Landa''s revelation. What a mess." ¡°What sort of economic things did Galt want to happen?¡± Aylem¡¯s question caught me by surprise. "The sustained infrastructure investment by a government in indoor plumbing and water treatment," I explained. Looking at Aylem''s fish face, I remarked, "Yes, civilization will advance because everyone wanted a shower with good water pressure and a flushing toilet.¡± ¡°Excuse me,¡± Aylem got up, ¡°my presence by mind casting is requested. I will do my best to explain all of this to everyone. You better not be wrong, Emily, about this.¡± ¡°I know I¡¯m not,¡± I pondered, ¡°which I find odd. I usually can see the flaws and weaknesses in the things I say, but this feels different. I can¡¯t describe it, but I know down to my toes that this is correct. Galt gave me the pieces and I just had to complete the puzzle.¡± Was this what it was like to be a prophet? My mind wanted to go running from that thought and I let it for a moment or two. Then I needed to nail down some loose threads. ¡°Lisaykos, dear,¡± I smiled in apology. ¡°I know that look, so it better be good.¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°I need to speak to Usruldes in private for a bit, please?¡± ¡°That¡¯s hardly an imposition at all,¡± she got up and headed for the door. ¡°Next time, ask for something difficult, like a new way to serve mutton.¡± Usruldes waited for his mother to close the door behind her, charmed the door, pulled off the hood, and pulled down the face covering. ¡°It¡¯s a weird silverhair thing,¡± he smiled, ¡°but I¡¯ve had this feeling since yesterday that you wanted to talk to just me.¡± I nodded, ¡°Galt said that if I asked, you would tell me or show me the contents of the Holy Uaysserex¡¯s Prophesy of the Great Breaking and the revelation of Tiki to Aylem.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why not. Has the Convocation kept them from you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You will not like what they say, Emily. Are you sure?¡± ¡°Will I like to hear that I¡¯m the prophet? No, but I already know that it¡¯s a fate I will have trouble avoiding.¡± I was getting used to the idea, but I hated it worse than I hated beets and my second husband. ¡°Aylem was nine when she received her revelation," Ursuldes was grinning for some reason. "It''s very simple as if written by a nine-year-old. It goes something like: ''I will be queen. All the slaves in all lesser five races in the two empires and the two kingdoms will be free. There will be lots of nasty wars. It will be the third age of miracles. There will be a prophet with funny eyes like priestesses who can see the future but she won¡¯t have any magic at all. She will be really little. There will be a griffin that was a fish and he will be a revelator. There will be an eagle and a flying horse and a lizard man and they will all be revelators. The little prophet will destroy the biggest city in the world because the greater race of rulers made the kitty cat mad.¡¯¡± ¡°Say what?¡± I couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°Emily, I¡¯m not joking. The only way to get the revelation and escape the vault at the Crystal Shrine where the records are locked up was to memorize it. It really read like that, as you might expect from a revelation written by a nine-year-old.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the biggest city you know of, Usruldes?¡± ¡°The City of Salicet, the capital of Impotu.¡± ¡°Gods,¡± I didn¡¯t know what to make of that, but it would take a lot more than just gun cotton to destroy a city. Wouldn¡¯t that make me a mass murderer? I didn¡¯t want to be anyone like that. Destroying a city because Galt gets mad? I did not like that at all. I wasn¡¯t going to murder millions of people because some god got mad. They¡¯re all-powerful. They can do their own killing. Damn gods. I would have to have a talk with Galt about this ¡°I don''t like the thought of destroying an entire city," I couldn''t help scowling. "That''s terrible sounding, but there''s no such thing as a war where innocent people don''t die." ¡°What do you mean?¡± Usruldes looked honestly confused. ¡°You know, people who have nothing to do with a war: the folks who grow the food and make crafts and build houses and teach in schools.¡± Usruldes looked even more confused and maybe even a little upset, ¡°That¡¯s a very strange way of thinking, Emily. There is no innocence or guilt in war, just gradations between direct involvement and indirect involvement. Every war affects every person in the countries or tribes who fight each other.¡± He paused and studied me, "That''s a very interesting face you''re making, Em. Having been raised as a noble, I was schooled that war was the most violent means to have access to resources. They aren''t the only way, because every country has several different ways to gain power over resources. War is just one of the tools countries use to ensure there are enough materials and labor to provide everyone with the means to keep living. Some wars are to protect or take back resources, to eliminate someone who steals your resources, or to gain the resources you need for the people whose lives you protect as a ruler. It''s all about protecting and preserving the society that is a ruler''s burden and responsibility." I was in shock. It was alien to Saint Augustine¡¯s philosophy of the Just War that dominated the thinking of western civilization in Europe and the Americas. It hit me that these people had no equivalent of the Good Samaritan, the stranger who does a good deed because that¡¯s what good people ought to do. It was a profound realization and one I knew I had to think about before the cognitive dissonance derailed me. What place did the sanctity of life hold in the world view of this society or in the thinking of the gods who owned this reality? ¡°What I said has upset you,¡± he got up and knelt next to me, cradling the back of my head with his hand. "It''s times like this that I''m reminded that you have a different way of thinking that I don''t always understand. If things were not so dire right now, I would take you someplace where we could talk and not be interrupted, because I have a feeling you need someone you can say outrageous things to ¨C well, other than that goofy griffin.¡± He smiled sadly, ¡°Say something, little one.¡± I gathered my wits back together and dragged myself back to dealing with the business at hand, ¡°Tell me about the Prophesy of the Great Breaking.¡± ¡°Ah, that one is a bit more literary,¡± he sat back on his heels, ¡°though a lot more vague and mysterious. It goes like this: When the maker of fire the counselor of prophets and the greatest mage meet the world will change in the third age of miracles Dag Gadol is the counselor of prophets who will frighten the third prophet to fainting Dag Gadol will catch the prophet¡¯s fish and but will let the prophet get away Her path will pass through rock and wheat and water bridges will fall before her Two without feet will walk The swimmer will see again Two of the four great nations will burn The five will demand their right of the sixth and will receive their due To seven of all six, the Gods will reveal new words the girl with the golden eyes will free the winged ones to fly and arm the scaly tails to rise The greatest mage she will save who will make the great breaking of the charm gems of the slaves of the two unjust empires of the racism of the shrines and the chains of land and greed She will set the nations aflame beneath the mage queen all to tame without magic, she will start the fire and find once more her heart¡¯s desire Wrath will bless her and love her Wrath will take her and mark her Wrath will save her and heal her Wrath will hide her and steal her and she will be lost to Time Mercy will hold her back until she turns her back on Mercy and Wisdom returns to her the heart she shares with a drum.¡± ¡°What demented mind came up with that?¡± It certainly sounded like the sort of mumbo-jumbo you¡¯d expect for a prophesy, complete with bad poetic structure. ¡°I can see stuff in there,¡± Usruldes was thoughtful. ¡°The maker of fire has to be you. The greatest mage is certainly Aylem so the counselor of prophets has to be Asgotl.¡± ¡°Asgotl?¡± I gave him a look. ¡°That goofy griffin? The counselor of prophets? Oh, please. That just can¡¯t be right, and what¡¯s with this Dag Gadol bit? That¡¯s a weird name or title. You know what it is, Usruldes? ¡°Not at all.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Can you write that down for me? I¡¯d like to stare at it in consternation at my leisure.¡± ¡°Of course, I can,¡± he laughed at my turn of phrase. (continued in installment 121) 121. Protecting Emily from Aylem (Emily, Healing Shrine of Mugash, continued from installment 120) My mind was spinning. The prophecy was too much to take in all at once and I kept returning to one thing: was Tom alive right now somewhere on Erdos? Galt acted like it was true; however, if he was truly omniscient, then why was he asking me about my relationship with Tom? I had put it out of my mind during morn repast but talking with Usruldes brought it back to the forefront of my mind. The line about finding my heart''s desire could refer to anything, frankly. It was the last lines in the Prophesy of the Great Breaking that raised doubt in me: "Wrath will bless her and love her, Wrath will take her and mark her, Wrath will save her and heal her, Wrath will hide her and steal her, and she will be lost to Time. Mercy will hold her back until she turns her back on Mercy, and Wisdom returns to her the heart she shares with a drum." To my over-active mind, I could argue that part of the prophecy had already happened. Galt was Wrath. That much was clear. Tiki was Time and Erhonsay was Wisdom. Mugash the Merciful was Mercy. The coding here was rather obvious. Mercy holding my back and my turning my back on Mercy could be Mugash''s meddling in my health to slow my recovery and my turning my back on Mercy could easily be my rejection of the gods at the divine fiasco negotiation session. Being lost to time could be my rejecting Tiki at that event. Galt has already blessed me through the act of giving me a revelation, and he has already marked me by giving me his eyes. I can''t fit the last bits of the prophecy with any events so if they are true, then they have yet to happen. The last line could refer to Erhonsay doing something to bring me and Tom together, but it''s subtle and only works if you know that in English, a mid-pitched drum without a snare is called a tom. It could also refer to Galt since another meaning for Tom is a male cat, but that''s problematic since the prophecy already refers to Galt as Wrath. On the other hand, the prophesy also uses multiple names and titles for people, so it doesn''t rule out Galt. Aylem is called both queen and mage. Asgotl, if it really is Asgotl, is the counselor of prophets and Dag Gadol, whatever that means. I''m obviously the girl with the golden eyes, the prophet, and the maker of fire. So it''s possible that Galt is both wrath and the drum. The thought of sharing a heart with Galt is just too weird and I''m not even going to consider having kittens with him. I refuse to go there. Not doing it. Not possible. Just no. No, no, no. Did I mention no? Usruldes tapped my knee, "you''ve been lost in thought for a fair turn. Can we retreat to the study? It will be just you, me, the Queen, and my mother. I suspect you''d love some alone time but that''s the last thing I can allow until we locate all of the missing enemy troops. I''d like you to stick with me, Aylem, or my mother, if possible. Aylem will be best. No one in their right mind will attack Aylem.¡± ¡°The world is full of insane people, friend,¡± I couldn¡¯t help pointing this out. ¡°That''s always a very real worry," he nodded. "Fanatics and lunatics are always the hardest things to protect against just because they aren''t predictable. I could have nightmares over an insane silverhair on a mount who knows how to attack with magic from the air. Can I give you a hand down? Or should I move out of the way so you can climb down? Do you have your climbing skills back yet?¡± ¡°Going up is doable if I don¡¯t go far, but going down isn¡¯t there yet,¡± I admitted. ¡°Speaking of climbing, please refrain from using your route through the wall up to the bathing chamber, at least until the current situation resolves?" he pleaded. "You put yourself out of reach of your shadow for 27 counted breaths. We''d have to rip the plaster and laths out to get to you if anything happened." ¡°If someone is after me, isn¡¯t that a good thing? You¡¯d have to have excellent clairvoyance to find me inside the walls.¡± ¡°It cuts both ways, Em. What if you were hurt or became unconscious in a place we couldn¡¯t reach or if one of us had to remove you from this part of the shrine because of a fire or an attack? It also means I would need clairvoyants assigned to shadow you and I don¡¯t have enough to spare right now. I don¡¯t dare lower your security right now. Please, Emily?¡± I sighed, ¡°alright. I will refrain for now.¡± ¡°One more thing?¡± ¡°There¡¯s more?¡± ¡°I want to move you to a different bedroom every night until we round up the missing enemy forces,¡± he apologized. "Ugh! That''s a terrible suggestion," I did not like that at all. "Your current bedroom isn''t secure from attack. All an attacker needs to do is break your window and grab you," he tried to project calm but I could hear the worry in his voice. "One of the best ways to protect a person is to change their predictable patterns, and sleeping in the same place is one of those. What is it that you don''t like?" ¡°Almost everything,¡± I decided to be completely honest with him, which meant admitting my fears, though I suspected he already knew all my fears. ¡°Waking up in a Cosm-sized bed is uncomfortable. It puts me on edge. I have to depend on a portable stair or step ladder. There may not be an adequately scaled necessary and in the middle of the night, will I be able to find it in a strange room in the dark?¡± Then there was the fear I had never mentioned: "The worse part is being alone when waking up in a strange place. If I don''t know where I am, will anyone else? In my own bedroom, Lisaykos is next door. If I call for her or make a strange noise, she will be here instantly. She''s done it before. When she''s gone on business, she assigns someone I know to keep watch from her bedroom with the door between our rooms open. If you put me in a strange room I don''t know, with all the furniture the wrong size, it won''t feel safe to me without at least knowing someone friendly is nearby. It''s probably irrational I can''t help feeling this way. My bedroom is one of the only places I ever feel truly safe." Usruldes¡¯ fish face was epic. ¡°I¡¯d rather sleep in Aylem¡¯s closet every night than in a different Cosm-sized guest room,¡± I ventured. ¡°Aylem gives me the willies a lot of the time, but for protection, there is no one safer.¡± ¡°What if one of your shadows were visible and sitting next to you all night? Would that work?¡± he offered. ¡°They already know all your habits and sleep patterns.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I said honestly. ¡°I suppose we could try it and see if it worked.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good enough for me for now,¡± he smiled, looking a little less worried. ¡°How many shadows do you have assigned to me?" I was curious since I never detected anyone trying to watch me, though I knew they had to be hidden or using a charm of circular light. ¡°There''s 24 in total, all women, all capable of the charm of circular light and either misdirection or shadows. That''s about a tenth of all the circular light users in the kingdom," he got to his feet and retrieved his face covering. ¡°That many? For just me?¡± It was a surprise. ¡°Three wraiths are shadowing you at all times," he started to hide his face. "Each watch is four hours and they are staggered so only one person changes watch at a time. That uses 18 wraiths a day. There are 6 additional wraiths because everyone works two watches and gets the third one off. That''s so everyone stays sharp doing what is a boring but essential job of the greatest importance." This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°I know you''re my friend, Usruldes, but all of this makes me feel like I''m trapped in a convivial cage, but a cage nonetheless, which just gets harder and harder to escape by the day," the knot in my stomach was getting worse. ¡°It¡¯s only until we eliminate the missing enemy troops,¡± he pulled the hood back up, returning to his usual wraith suit. ¡°Then life will return to normal. It won¡¯t be more than a half rotation. Aylem will find them if they don¡¯t find us first. Let¡¯s hope it¡¯s the former and not the latter.¡± ¡°And what is the normal security following me?" I demanded. ¡°A detail of five, one watch lasting eight hours on a constant rotation through all five. The seems to be the best schedule for your shadows.¡± ¡°How long have I had a shadow?¡± ¡°During your mekaner visit to the Builder Shrine in Omexkel and after you and Aylem showed up at the army camp across the river from the Crystal Shrine.¡± ¡°Damn.¡± ¡°Emily, you¡¯ve been attacked twice,¡± he sounded distant and cold. ¡°I won¡¯t allow anyone to harm you again under my watch.¡± That made me realize that even Usruldes had his own version of over-protective. - - - Lisaykos in her study Emily looked like a little thunderstorm when she and my son reappeared. Not saying anything to anyone, Emily climbed onto the lounge and took her usual spot. She had several wax tablets she stacked next to where she was sitting. She began to scribble, frown and think for the next half bell. I peaked at what she was writing and saw it was more chemical notes. Aylem was sitting on the lounge against the north wall that was opposite the one Emily was on. She was in a trance, mind casting at someone or using clairvoyance. I had wanted to spend some time with her today to go over the books for the outlying chapel shrines but given what was going on with these rogue Impotuan forces, I knew I needed to wait. It was a peaceful silence though I could help but worry given how absorbed Aylem was in her trance. After about half a bell, she opened her eyes and let out a long sigh. ¡°Progress?¡± Emily asked, looking up from her tablet scribblings. ¡°Yes, and we received help from an unexpected source. Imstay took his force and decided to fly in a straight line to Yant to save time. It¡¯s nasty flying because the route goes up over the Malachite Range, which is between the north fork of the Rig River and its main channel at the western foot of the mountains. The winds are always bad there. In the winter, it¡¯s so bad that you can¡¯t fly that route. "When Imstay was level with the copper mines east of Omexkel, his force was met by free eagles. I guess the Impotuans have made the free eagles their enemy because the eagles volunteered intelligence as to Impotuan troop movements. A troop of around two hundred flying mounts left their fort on the Third River two nights ago, when we started our raids. They met up with the survivors from the Weirgos raid over eagle territory where the north fork of the Rig makes a right turn to the east. They don''t have the same respect for eagle territory that Foskos has. ¡°According to the eagles, the combined force has been flying close to the ground along the rivers and in the trees as much as possible. Right now, they are close to the eastern edge of the Surdos River Valley. I¡¯ve been mindcasting between the different groups of our forces to coordinate a pincer over the Surdos River. I must apologize for doubting you, Emily. You were right about the Impotuans going north to Yant.¡± ¡°Aylem, what about the force that was in Esso?¡± Emily asked, taking the words out of my mouth. ¡°I can¡¯t find them. I may need to go back to the Crystal Shrine to do some deeper searching,¡± the Queen scowled. ¡°How is it possible to hide that many flying troops?¡± ¡°How about by not flying?¡± Emily posed. "What if they are hiding in one of the numerous lava tubes on the edge of the lava plains? Do you have a map of those? That''s where I would hide a hundred flying fighters. That face you''re making is not at all reassuring, Aylem." "Gods, I never even thought of lava tubes. They have no use so no one bothers with them. Foskans avoid the Great Cracks and don''t like crossing them." Aylem was correct about that. The Great Cracks were considered bad luck by most people. ¡°Yes, I noticed,¡± Emily stared at her feet in their stockings. ¡°I grew up in Idaho exploring lava tubes and volcanic fissures with my brothers. Idaho had a lot of them. They were a lot of fun to explore. You had to keep an eye out for rattlesnakes...¡± ¡°Rattlesnakes?¡± the Queen looked alarmed. ¡°Real rattlesnakes?¡± I didn''t know what a rattlesnake was. It had to be some kind of snake from that other world those two had lived on. ¡°Well, they were easy to avoid,¡± Emily looked at the Queen with an inquiring frown, ¡°and they can¡¯t bite through boots or snake gaiters. It''s not like they were really deadly. I''d much rather run into a rattlesnake than a hobo spider or rodent droppings that carried the Hantavirus, which would kill you." ¡°And you think that exploring in such a place was fun?¡± Aylem was incredulous. ¡°You could have killed yourself.¡± The look on Emily¡¯s face was one of thoughtful amazement, ¡°Aylem, what is wrong? Why does this upset you? I don¡¯t understand your reaction.¡± I could sense her aura start to shade to the green of fear. Her control was always a marvel to me, to wear that calm face when she was shaking inside. ¡°You¡¯re always like this,¡± the Queen was getting more riled and it was making me uneasy. ¡°You take such unreasonable risks. Why can''t you just calm down and behave and let us protect you." The Queen''s volume was getting louder and her face was turning red. ¡°Aylem,¡± I said quietly in the pause. She turned her frowning amethyst eyes at me, lips pursed, fists clenched. ¡°I would feel easier if you would pause for a moment and calm down, please,¡± I said in a reasonable and helpful voice. She glared at me and got even redder in the face. I began to wonder if I would survive this. ¡°Dammit,¡± Aylem stood up, and I could feel the power gather in her hands. I was startled by the sight of Usruldes appearing in front of Emily with two other wraiths, both women, on either side of him. One got in front of Emily to block her from Aylem''s line of sight, and the other cast a barrier. "What do you think you''re doing?" Aylem snapped at him. "Protecting Emily," Usruldes said in a monotone. "It might be better if you stayed away from her for a while." "And who are you to say who I can or can''t see?" she demanded. "I w...will argue against that, Usruldes," Emily said in her soft sad voice. I could see from where I sat at my table that she was shaking. How did she manage to speak calmly? "How is Aylem going to learn better people skills if she''s not around people w...who care about her getting better?¡± Emily asked. ¡°I appreciate your looking out for me, but please stand down." He whipped around and stared at her in disbelief, "Emily, she could..." "She could w...what, Usruldes? K...kill me? She''s already done that." Aylem gasped at what Emily had said and instantly lost her rage. She collapsed onto the lounge and held her head, close to tears. "Try the Ud breathing thing, Aylem," Emily suggested in a helpful tone of voice. "It might help." "With what?" Aylem asked with exasperation. "Feeling a little too angry. W...we can continue talking about the possibility of hiding an ambush force inside of lava tubes as soon as I''m sure you aren''t going to level the shrine." "I wouldn''t..." "Both you and I know you can," Emily said in the same calm voice. "Aylem, I heard about the crater you made on the other side of the rift valley from Black Falls when you got angry at Imstay last rotation while I was in bed recovering from the attack. Now, I want to see that deep breath, count to ten, and let it out slowly." The now-flattened and remorseful Aylem gave in and followed Emily''s suggestion. As the two wraiths shadowing Emily stepped back and dropped the barrier, I could see that Emily was white in the face and trying not to shake anymore. "Now what?" Aylem demanded, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. I mindcasted to just my son: * Take Emily to my bedroom, and sit with her in my armchair and let her calm down. * * What, in my lap? * My son¡¯s eyes were wide with surprise. * She trusts you and a comforting hug works well with her. I need to keep Aylem from beating herself up too badly. * My son picked Emily up without a word and vanished into my quarters. The two wraiths had already vanished. I charmed the door to my study shut and sat down next to Aylem to talk her back into a calm state. Aylem treated every slip as a disaster and the acute depression she would fall into immediately afterward was counterproductive. She would not forgive herself, nor would she see resolving her anger without doing harm as a positive step forward. All of our lives would be so much easier if Aylem could stop expecting herself to be perfect. I found myself hoping Lyappis and Kamagishi would return sooner rather than later. Both Lyappis and Kamagishi had the knack of getting Aylem to calm down. I would welcome all of their gossiping ways for the rest of my life if they could help fix Aylem. 122. Attack Usruldes, Lisaykos'' bedroom I sat down on that old armchair of my mother¡¯s with Emily in my arms. I was always amazed at how small she was since the force of her personality was so large. I grabbed the throw blanket off the back of the chair and wrapped it around her before she had a chance to protest. She pulled it over her head and hid in it while she silently wept. I held her snugly, being careful not to hold her too tight. She grew quiet and still after a while. ¡°You awake, Great One?¡± I asked very softly so it would not wake her if she had fallen asleep. ¡°W...what did I tell you about the use of all those damn Foskan titles when in private?¡± a quiet insistent voice grumped at me. ¡°That I should call you Emily, Great One,¡± I teased. She was fun to tease. ¡°Arg," was her reply. She was visited by gods last night so her thoughts were nothing but chaotic noise. I couldn''t tell what she was thinking, but I could make an intelligent guess that she was mentally weary after days of being civil and polite to too many Cosm. She probably didn''t have the energy for conversation with emotional content. I surmised that what she needed was the one thing she couldn''t have right now: some time alone away from the rest of us. I decided to distract her instead. I knew that giving Emily a problem to gnaw on often resulted in making her forget her grumpy moods. ¡°Yo, Emily, I heard that you had some interesting things to say about edema yesterday before I got here. As someone with pretensions of having some healing skills, can I get a review of what you said about the subject?¡± ¡°What?" The blanket flipped back off her head, and she gave me an indecipherable look. ¡°Remember, I do Ud magic, not Foskan magic. I wanted to hear what your thought about edema and magic.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± she frowned. ¡°It¡¯s something like this: magic is the manipulation of time coupled with either the manipulation of energy or mass or both," Emily explained. "Regardless, all of these things can be observed and then quantified into laws describing how they w...work. It''s the time component of magic that''s the most important. We already know that healers can regress brain cells in time so you can retrain motor control after a brain injury. They can also accelerate the growth of new cells to knit a bone back together. "Given that a healer can run time backward or forwards, then w...why not use magic to speed up the breakdown and assimilation of the dead blood cells that cause the discoloration of bruises? Or to accelerate time to reduce the fluid build-up of edema? If you can accelerate time to do repair bone and regress time to heal wounds, then it should also be possible to remove bruises and edema by regressing or advancing time." "So, tell me," I had to ask, "if it''s really that simple, then why hasn''t a healer discovered it already?" Emily shrugged. "I don''t know. I do know that many things appear obvious as soon as someone discovers them. Hindsight is brutal. Look at making sugar from hog-feed beets or sweet syrup from maple trees. They appear obvious today because of hindsight but they weren''t obvious in the past." "You just did it again, Emily," the voice of Lisaykos remarked from the doors into my mother¡¯s bedroom from the dining room. She walked in and immediately picked a wax tablet on the night table next to her bed. "Now, what were you saying about sweet syrup from maple trees?" She took out a stylus and faced us, ready to write. "Oh bother," little Emily shook her head with a grimace. "Not again?" "Yes, again, dear heart," Lisaykos leaned against the window jamb. "Now, tell me about syrup made from trees." She smiled at Emily. "Run out of fluffy bunnies already?" Emily asked with a straight face. "I''m currently considering cute fluffy chicks, just as a stopgap while waiting for a fresh shipment of small children and kittens." Lisaykos''s smile deepened. These two had an in-joke going. "So, sweet syrup made from maple trees?¡± Lisaykos, Healing Shrine of Mugash I was able to mindcast Kamagishi and convinced her to return with her mother. I was the wrong person to be counseling Aylem since I was one of the parties responsible for the damaging oversights in raising her. Kamagishi was done in Gunndit already and they were sitting around gossiping with my daughter. After I requested Kamagishi, all three of them showed up. Kamagishi and Lyappis took Aylem off to eat somewhere. My daughter suggested we go shopping. She even brought her old hooded mantle from the White Shrine. I had her wait while I checked on my son and Emily. My clever boy had her speculating about the nature of magic and the effects of time manipulation on the healing arts. Then she said something quite intriguing: ¡°There are many things which appear obvious as soon as someone discovers them. Hindsight is brutal. Look at making sugar from hog-feed beets or sweet syrup from maple trees. They appear obvious today because of hindsight but they weren''t obvious in the past." I dove for the nearest wax tablet and after the usual banter with Emily, I was ready to write. ¡°So, sweet syrup made from maple trees?¡± I prodded. "At the end of the cold season when the snow begins to melt and the nights aren''t so brutally cold before the mud takes hold and it''s still possible for mules or draft horses to pull a sleigh, you take a small hole about five to eight hands up the trunk of a maple tree that¡¯s at least a hand and a half in width. Insert a metal tube not too much wider than my thumb. Don¡¯t pound it in more than a finger. If the sap is flowing, and that¡¯s what you want, then hang a pail on the tap and cover the top. Come back the next day to collect the sap that¡¯s run into the pail and hang it back up. ¡°When you collect the sap, it must to boiled immediately to prevent it from fermenting. Boil it until it reaches a temperature around two to three degrees higher than the boiling temperature of water. That''s 102 to 103 on the scale I''ve worked out with Raoleer and Huhoti. It will be syrup by then. That''s the overview of the process. This will work for syrup made from the sap of sycamore and hickory trees too. Do I need to repeat any of that, dear heart?" She looked at me with a slightly annoyed smile. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Fascinating,¡± my daughter said, leaning on the door jamb. ¡°Eeeee!¡± Emily screamed. ¡°Oh dear. Oh my.¡± She turned to see my now-startled daughter in the doorway. ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t know you were there. I didn¡¯t expect anyone to be behind me. That was quite unexpected.¡± She hid her hands quickly under the blanket to hide the shaking. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Great One,¡± Katsa got on her knees in front of Emily, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to scare you.¡± ¡°No, no, it was just unexpected, that¡¯s all,¡± Emily smiled in a friendly way. ¡°It¡¯s just one of those things that happens, especially to me when I concentrate on one thing. Please think nothing of it.¡± ¡°I¡¯d offer you a charm of peace but I¡¯m told they don¡¯t work on you,¡± Katsa said, sitting on her heels and trying to look as small as possible. Poor Katsa. She¡¯ll never look small. She has a big frame and a lot of muscle. She makes Imstay look small when she stands next to him. ¡°Somehow, Lord Gunndit, I have the feeling that you¡¯ll be back after Coldtide to get some more particulars,¡± Emily smiled knowingly. ¡°Can I give you some advice on the beet sugar, now that I¡¯ve seen what you gave your mother?¡± ¡°What?¡± Katsa leaned forward eagerly. ¡°After you draw the liquid from the mush and evaporate it, if the crystals still have some brown in them, dissolve them in hot water, distill the liquid, and then evaporate it again. Do this until the crystals of sugar make white cubes. You¡¯re almost there but I noticed some were still a bit colored. The whiter the cubes, the cleaner the taste.¡± ¡°Yes, I will try that,¡± Katsa nodded. ¡°You should think of teaching at the Bountiful Shrine of Mueb, Great One. Now, I wandered back here to see where my mother disappeared. So I will collect my mother and we¡¯ll be off. May the gods bless you, Great One.¡± ¡°And you too, Lord Gunndit. Have fun shopping.¡± Katsa and I retreated but not before I heard my son say: "Let''s sneak out of here for mid repast. I know this great little place on the bench above the north market." - - - Emily, Aybhas I have no idea why I feel comfortable with Usruldes. I suspect it''s because we shared that evening being chased by mages on eagles in the Island Swamp. He¡¯s always been a good friend to me. After I got over the jitters from being startled by Lord Gunndit, I threw on my shrine mantle, a green overtunic, pants, and shoes. When I returned to Lisaykos'' bedroom, he was already in a tan overtunic and the green mantle and cape of a courier. I was greatly amused when he took me to the same street food stand that Thuorfosi and Wolkayrs took me to during the last cold season. The Cosm lady who took the orders told us of a new beverage on the menu. ¡°It¡¯s called sekanjabin. It¡¯s cold and it¡¯s very minty,¡± she said. Usruldes and I looked at each other and had to look away before we started laughing. Of course, we ordered sekanjabin. We split an order of nips and three skewers of meatballs. The same kid, Eddo, seated us. He really did have lovely hazel eyes. I winked at him. He winked back. Usruldes teased me about it. I only had room for one nip and managed to eat one of the huge meatballs. I was quite full by the time I finished. I have no idea how Usruldes was able to eat the rest but it vanished quickly. He must have been hungry. We were the first ones back. I was sinking into post-meal drowsiness when Lyappis, Kamagishi, and Aylem returned. Aylem made a path straight to where I was nodding off on the lounge. ¡°Emily dear,¡± she knelt next to me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± "I know," I didn''t know what else to say. "Nobody was hurt and the shrine''s still standing. That''s not a bad result." ¡°But...¡± ¡°No buts allowed,¡± I sighed. ¡°I bet you consider this morning a failure, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, it was, and the second failure in as many days.¡± ¡°You know, most people don¡¯t learn from their successes. They learn from their failures. I wish I could remember who said that, but regardless, it¡¯s true in most cases.¡± ¡°But...¡± ¡°What did I say about buts?¡± I shook my head. ¡°So there was this business that needed a bookkeeper. The first person to be interviewed was just out of school. He sits down and the interviewer asked what was one plus one. The bookkeeper says ¡®two.¡¯ The interviewer says: we¡¯ll be in touch. So the next candidate with about 20 years of experience comes in and he gets asked the same question. He too says ¡®two.¡¯ The interviewer says: we¡¯ll be in touch. Then the third bookkeeper comes in. He¡¯s about sixty and has years of experience. He gets asked what¡¯s one plus one. He stops and thinks for a moment and then leans forward and says: ¡®what do you want it to be?¡¯ The interviewer hires him on the spot.¡± Aylem, the former bookkeeping student, laughed. ¡°I can¡¯t remember the last time I heard a good accounting joke.¡± ¡°Ha!¡± I pointed a finger at her, ¡°made you laugh. Now let me get back to my post-meal snooze.¡± And snooze I did. By closing my eyes, I could hide from the sight of too many silverhairs looming. I slept through Lisaykos and Katsa returning. I think I would have kept sleeping but angry voices woke me up. Aylem swore, ¡°they will regret they were ever born,¡± she stormed out of the study. ¡°I¡¯ll meet you there,¡± Katsa chased after Aylem. ¡°Wait for me,¡± Kamagishi ran after them. Usruldes dropped his charm of circular light. ¡°I¡¯m staying right here,¡± he told his mother. ¡°Even just Aylem is more than enough force to stop an attack.¡± ¡°What¡¯s happened,¡± I asked. ¡°The Crystal Shrine is under attack,¡± Lisaykos was pacing behind her work table, which she did when she was too wound up to work. It didn''t happen often but it did happen. ¡°It¡¯s probably our Impotuan friends who escaped the raid in Esso.¡± ¡°At least we know where they are now,¡± I commented. I was dozing off again when the shrine bell started ringing and didn¡¯t stop. I heard the sounds of screams and shouting. Usruldes was out the door at a run. Lisaykos was on his heels. Lyappis walked to the door of the study and looked out into the main corridor. She beckoned the guard at the door into the atrium from the corridor and asked her something I couldn¡¯t hear. ¡°One of you should close and lock all the atrium doors,¡± I then heard her say. Then she turned and closed the study door and charmed it shut. Walking briskly through the study, she did the same to the door into the dining room. ¡°We are under attack?¡± I asked her. "It looks like they are targeting the Well of Mugash, maybe for the crystal since it can make charms that protect against infections." She walked over to one of the windows to look out but didn''t make it that far. A rock at least two or more hands in diameter smashed through the window and caught Lyappis on the shoulder and neck. She fell hard and I could see blood spraying. Two Cosm men in everyday clothes jumped into the room. My shadow guards engaged them but another rock took out the other window behind Lisaykos'' table and more men leapt into the room. The strange sight of the intruders fighting the wraiths who were invisible was the last thing I remembered. 123. In the eastern Blue Mountains Emily, in an Impotuan fortress When I next awoke, I was in a place I had never seen before. The first thing I noticed was the smell, like New York subway station at Penn Station in the 1970s: that rank acrid old urine smell. The next thing I noticed was the pain when I tried to move my head. I was on my back on a stone floor. I cracked my eyelids open just a tiny bit and saw there was very little light. I could make out the dancing shadows made by torches of pine pitch. I heard nothing except the occasional drip of water and an occasional slapping noise, like wet swim fins at the side of a swimming pool. The pain was nasty. I closed my eyes, hoping to fall asleep. It seemed like a way to kill time that would otherwise be spent enduring a headache. I woke up to a touch on my head and opened my eyes. All I could see was the inside of a Cosm hand. I could feel the warm sensation of a healer¡¯s probe. ¡°Ah,¡± a woman¡¯s voice said from somewhere above me, ¡°you¡¯re awake. How do you feel?¡± The hand moved out of the way to reveal a silverhair on her knees looming over me. It¡¯s not the sort of thing I would want to wake up to, given the flip my stomach did. ¡°Head hurts,¡± I grimaced, trying not to move. The hand descended, ¡°here, how is this?¡± Her accent was odd, like she was aspirating all her vowels. The pain retreated but didn¡¯t go completely away. ¡°Still hurts but better,¡± I said honestly. ¡°You were not supposed to harm her," the unnamed healer with the accent said to someone else. "What idiot threw her in here, on a cold floor without a cushion or a blanket or water? Move her to a room with a bed and put a guard on the door. Look at the size of her. She''s not going to escape by leaping out a window." ¡°It''s just a Coyn," another woman''s voice said, pitched a bit lower but with the same accent. "I don''t know what the fuss is about." ¡°I will tell what the fuss is about and you will do well to listen, lest we anger the gods, my lady. This ¡®just a Coyn,¡¯ as you put it, has seven god marks, one of which is from the wrath cat. She has his eyes. We can not treat her poorly. The gods favor her.¡± ¡°Regardless, we leave tomorrow.¡± ¡°You should not. She can not travel by air until the swelling goes down. You could kill her. Even if you don¡¯t fear the gods, you should still fear your mother, who wants this one alive and well.¡± ¡°Move her if you like. Put her in your room. I have no soldiers to spare for guarding this thing.¡± I heard hinges squeak and then booted footsteps stomping away from me. Then whoever this healer was picked me up gently and carried me up a flight of stone steps and into what looked like a wood and stone building. It followed the usual pattern of Cosm construction: it was just two stories tall, with the bottom made of stone and the top wood. Cosm didn''t build higher than that because of their weight. Multi-story buildings like the palace in Is''syal and the Healing Shrine required magic, and even then, meeting halls and sacred spaces were always on the ground floors or lower. I didn¡¯t get a good look at this healer until she put me on her bed in her room. I guessed she was around 19 hands. She had a pleasant oval face and unusual teal-colored eyes. She pulled a chair over to the side of the bed and sat down. ¡°I¡¯m Priestess Arma, a healer of Mugash,¡± she introduced herself. ¡°I¡¯ve been told that your name is Emly.¡± ¡°Emily,¡± I tried to correct her. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what I said?¡± she frowned at me. ¡°Are you hearing alright? Any buzzing in your ears at all?¡± ¡°Ears are fine,¡± I said. ¡°Are you hungry at all? ¡°I feel a bit nauseous,¡± the thought of food made my stomach protest at me. ¡°Sounds like you got hit harder than I estimated,¡± she laid her hand gently on my head and I could feel her probe. ¡°Yes, you need to rest tomorrow and not travel at all. How did you hit your head?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. The last thing I remember was soldiers coming through the windows into the High Priestess¡¯ study.¡± ¡°That does not sound pleasant.¡± ¡°I think they killed the healer I was with. It was not at all pleasant.¡± I could see the spray of blood as Lyappis fell to the floor in my memory as vividly as if it were in front of me. She was probably dead. It did not make me feel at all charitable toward Impotuans. ¡°Where am I?¡± I asked, wondering how far away home was. ¡°You¡¯re in a hidden fort in the mountains above the Ahkeseld River.¡± ¡°Where did that other woman want to take me tomorrow?¡± ¡°Kipgapshegar, to meet the Empress of Impotu,¡± Arma said, ¡°who is the Lady General Arkaline¡¯s mother.¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Somehow, I needed to find a way to escape. - - - Asgotl, Naver Mountains, the fifth day of the sixth rotation of the growing season The hunting was good south of Yuxviayeth at the aerie of my clan. It was the first time back in three years and I had a lot of socializing to do before heading back to Foskos. I was surprised to find that my clan was helping Coyn refugees from Yuxviayeth who had fled the Foskan invasion last year. There was an enclave of about 50 Coyn who settled in a small mountain valley where the Naver Mountains and the foothills of the Eagle Mountains meet. The members of my clan knew the fate of Coyn captured by the Foskans and supplied the refugees with meat when they ran out of food. The refugees knew the Impotuans had raided Yuxviayeth, killed all the Cosm there, and burned the fields. They did not go back because they feared the Impotuans. They believed that the Impotuans treated the Coyn even worse than Foskos. They had heard about the Sea Coyn but did not know where to go to find them. I thought they might prosper in all those empty valleys northwest of the Vanishing River and told them of the northern wilderness that stretched to the Fenlands of Ud. I wanted Emily with me so she could talk to them. She would know where they might live to be free of worries of enslavement by Cosm. I was in no hurry to get back. The days were long and the sun was warm and the hunting excellent. With both Aylem and Emily at the Shrine of Mugash for a season or more, I had the liberty to take an extended vacation visiting my family. I was napping, spread out on a warm outcrop to soak up the sun when someone blocked my light. "Hey, find your own sunning spot," I snarled. ¡°I am not here for your sun, you lazy griffin. I am here for you.¡± The voice was like thunder. It rolled and boomed off the canyon sides and the tall peaks like a tempest. In a fit of sudden fright, I leapt to my feet. It was the Lord of the Winds in his aspect as the black griffin. What should have been eyes were a window into the night sky filled with stars. "My Lord," I bowed my head as low as I could. "You have a role to play, Dag Gadol, to counsel prophets. The current prophet feels trapped and wants to escape destiny and here you are, on vacation. "Wait, wait, wait one moment here. What role? What prophet? What are you talking about, Lord? Didn¡¯t you pick me to be a revelator? You didn¡¯t say anything last rotation at the Fated Shrine about babysitting prophets." "I know you remember, Dag Gadol," he scolded me. "Your last prophet was on that boat to Tarshish. It would have been a boat to Australia but he didn''t know that Australia existed or he would have changed his name to Alexander and headed there instead. I know this isn''t the first time you have counseled prophets. Indeed, it is the fourth." Well, dammit. I was hoping I could avoid this sort of thing this time around. Most prophets were pretty screwed up in their heads. They wouldn''t be prophets otherwise. "Lord, I do not understand. Have the gods named a prophet? I know of no one currently in the role of prophet. Is it Emily? She¡¯s the closest thing to one but she¡¯s not deranged upstairs and she¡¯s way too smart to be a prophet." "Asgotl, you are a lazy, work-dodging, pleasure-loving, feather-shedding failure of a griffon. Now get off your drooping tailfeathers and go home before it¡¯s too late. Your prophet needs you." He glared at me and I almost fell down from the fear of him. ¡°Did you not know that extreme intelligence is a form of insanity?¡± And with that, he vanished. Well, crappola, as Emily would say. What a way to end my first vacation in three years. And I only arrived four days ago. My mother will not be happy about this. It doesn¡¯t help that no one believes me in the aerie about the Lord of the Winds blessing me with a revelation. I promised the small colony of Coyn I would leave them with a pile of meat so they could start preserving it for the approaching cold season so, after the Lord of the Winds left, I spent the afternoon hunting. They were pleasant folks working hard to survive and my aerie admired their grit and determination. I wasn''t the only one helping them but I didn''t want to leave without doing my best to help out in helping them. What I really wanted to do was bring Emily to talk to them. Maybe I could do that in a rotation or two. I took a long day to fly from my clan''s aerie to Mugash. That''s because I stopped in Is''syal first. One of my younger cousins, a big strapping fellow by the name of Rialdiaj, thought he might inquire after an opening that a certain royal family had for a mount for a princess. Her mount, a lovely flying horse names Ledjetl, passed away in unfortunate circumstances a year and a half ago. The princess indicated she was ready for a new flying companion and this time, she would like to interview someone free and looking for employment. She did not want to own another sapient being if she could avoid it. Rialdiaj liked the sound of that when I was chatting with my relations. He realized that working for royalty meant much better opportunities for travel to interesting places, great pay and benefits, vacations, and above all, food security, which for a griffin as big as he was, was an issue. To be honest, he was just a smidge taller than I was at the shoulder and he looked on the hungry side most of the time. It was the sixth day of the seventh rotation when we landed at the House of Mounts, which is between the palace and the citadel. "This is the House of Mounts for the capital city," I explained to my young cousin. "If you take work with the princess, keep in mind that most of the folks here are either property of a Cosm or indentured to a Cosm. The terms under which both categories work are similar. The difference is that someone indentured is under contract for ten years at a time under terms no different from the obligations of those who are property." "Ugh." He made a face. "Rialdiaj, you can''t treat any of these griffins, eagles, or flying horses in a rude or substandard way," I cautioned him. "Almost all of them have good relationships with their flyers. They have to because many of them are fighting pairs in the army or the guards. They work together and each brings a unique skill to the relationship. The flyer brings fighting prowess and magic and the mount provides flight and fighting skills. To stay alive in battle, they have to be a seamless pair. Bad flyers who mistreat their mounts get turned out of the army or guards and sent home in disgrace. I feel sorry for those mounts but at least they don''t end up dead in battle." "But what happens to those sent home?" he asked, concerned. "In most magic families, the disgraced flyer is usually stripped of his or her mount, and the mount gets a better owner or employer. It is socially unacceptable in most Cosm families to abuse a mount, even one who is property. I only know of one mount who suffered under a bad owner, and that is out of hundreds of mounts I''ve met. Ever since the Queen negotiated better living terms for those who are owned, and legalized the ability of free mounts to make their own contracts, life as a mount in Foskos is not bad at all." "Seriously?" "It''s as I told you back at the aerie, the trade-off is loss of individual freedom because of the demands of employment but the advantage is never being hungry again. There is also a lot of free time in the off-season if your flyer is a guard or in the army." (continued in installment 124) 124. The griffin and his country cousin Asgotl and Rialdiaj, Is''syal House of Mounts "Good afternoon," a citadel guard wandered up to us, looking a little bemused at Riandiaj and the lack of any charm gems on his beak or talon claws. Free griffins were extremely rare in the forecourt of the House of Mounts. "It''s Asgotl, isn''t it?" She smiled up at me. "Yes, it is my handsome self, in person, who has come to brighten your day with my charm and personality. And this..." I didn¡¯t get to finish my sentence. She dropped to her knees and put her hand over her heart, ¡°May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One.¡± I sighed, ¡°and also upon you, sweet lady. Please rise. This is my cousin, Rialdiaj, on his first visit ever to Foskos. I would like to request an appointment with the King at his pleasure. We can meet here or on the Queen''s balcony, whichever would be most convenient for him." "I can¡¯t do that, Great One. The King is in the field. There are enemies at large that he is hunting down. Can I arrange a message for you, Great One?" ¡°Is the Queen still at Aybhas?¡± ¡°She is, Great One.¡± "Then I will skip talking to the King for now and will head to Aybhas after we find something to eat. We''ve been flying since sun-up. Could you arrange a repast for us before we fly to meet with the Queen?" "It would be my pleasure, Great One," she smiled. "We just in some fresh goat. I''ll be back soon." She turned and ran up the human stair to the meat storage rooms for the griffins and eagles. Rialdiaj watched the exchange with his beak gaping. "What? I asked. "You just gave orders to a Cosm?" "Well, I am a senior personage among the mounts," I tried not to sound too boastful. "Now, let me show you around." I headed through the outer doors and down the short vestibule to the inner doors. "See the bell pull?" I indicated the pull rope to the right of the inner doors. "There''s another pull rope on the outside that we just walked past. During inclement weather, and that''s measured by human standards, not griffin standards, the outer and inner doors are closed. You pull the rope to ring the bell and a pair of citadel guards or grooms or both, will open the outer doors and let you in. Then they close the door behind you and open the inner doors." "So why is there a bell pull on the inner doors?" my cousin asked. "Sometimes, like on a warm day when it''s lightly raining, the outer doors are often left open so a flyer and mount can get inside where it''s dry in the vestibule. Then, after the rider and mount have dried off with a drying charm, you ring the bell to enter the House of Mount through the inner door." "A drying charm? What''s a drying charm?" I realized right then that my cousin didn''t know how magic worked. "Oh. Right. A drying charm is Cosm magic that takes off the wet you acquire while flying in the rain and makes it go away. In less than a breath, you go from wet to completely dry. Poof. Just like that." I looked at my poor cousin. His beak was hanging again. "Come on, and shut your beak unless you want to catch some horse flies, which unfortunately are a problem in the planting season when it first gets warm. It''s the flying horses, you see. They attract the flies. They go away as soon as the Cosm notice and banish the pests with magic." "What about talon midges?" Rialdiaj asked about the greatest warm-weather pest known to griffins. "If you work for a Cosm, never again will you need to stand in a cold mountain stream for relief from midge bites in the growing season. See this little charm gem?" I held up my front leg so he could see the charm gem on my dew claw. "It''s a charm gem that keeps all the little nasty bugs away." "Wow," my country cousin was genuinely impressed. "I''m a free griffin now," I pointed out. "My former owner and current employer gave it to me when I left her the first time, thinking that I would never return to her. "Why did you?" Rialdiaj wanted to know. "Well, two things," I admitted. "I managed to keep myself fed for about a half a year, and that was over the cold season. I am capable of keeping myself fed if I must. You were just one of the many little brats running around under your mother''s wings at the time." Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! "Yeah, I remember what a big deal it was when you came home the first time. Your mom cried for at least a week because she was so happy. She wasn''t happy when you went back, but she got better about it when you started visiting regularly." "Yes, mother has never understood that a griffin can have significant friendships with people of other races." I sighed. "The biggest problem after I came home the first time was that I missed my friend. I realized after returning home, that my former owner was also my closest friend. Her ownership of me was in name only. She had always treated me as a friend and working colleague, never as property. It took half a year away from her to realize that. ¡°She''s a very special person to me. In warm weather, we often hang out together outside. In the cold season, I often hang out with her inside her quarters at the palace. I played with her younglings while they were growing up." "What?" "Griffin backs, especially on big griffins like you and me, make great slides for human younglings. It''s important to move slowly and carefully around the little ones, but I find it to be a lot of fun to play with them." I beak bumped him, "junior, your beak is hanging again." "Well, if it isn¡¯t the Blessed Asgotl!" Someone nipped at my tail. It was Niefl''flaf, General Bobbo¡¯s mount. He wasn''t the smartest flying horse, but he was easy-going and always friendly. "Haven''t seen you in an age. I thought you were with the Queen? How¡¯s life as a revelator? Are they giving you extra-good meals yet?¡± "I wouldn''t know," I admitted. "I started vacation five days ago but had to return early. I need to get back to Aybhas and stopped here, hoping to see the King." ¡°He¡¯s out chasing soldiers who snuck into the kingdom. There were all sorts of big raids two nights ago, all over the place,¡± Niefl¡¯flaf felt talkative. He always felt talkative; however, he always knew the best gossip too, so it evened out. ¡°My human is still at the Healing Shrine so I didn¡¯t get to go. We took out three ambush forces in Kesmat, Yuxnos, and Rigdit. All of the enemy forces in Esso escaped along with half of the enemies in Weirgos. This place is empty because most of the military mounts are in the field.¡± ¡°Five raids?¡± "Five raids for five small forces set up to ambush us," Niefl''flaf snickered. "Good riddance. Too bad some got away. That''s why no one is back yet. I heard a rumor the King is headed to Yant, but no one seems to know for sure." ¡°So, why are you here and not in Aybhas or at in your little house at the General¡¯s place on Brewers¡¯ Row?¡± I had to ask. ¡°Well, my flyer is still in bed and frankly, the mounts'' residence in Aybhas is dull. I''d much rather be staying at the garrison, but the Aybhas garrison is hosting a quarter of the Black Falls garrison until the new fort is finished. There''s no room for me there so I got sent back here. But since my flyer isn¡¯t on active duty, the household here in town doesn¡¯t get our usual mount allowance to feed me, so I¡¯ve been eating here instead.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not right,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Mounts for the injured and retired are entitled to the feed allowance. Somebody is stealing your feed money, Niefl¡¯flaf.¡± "I didn''t know that," the not-so-bright flying horse said. He''s a good guy, but he''s also as sharp as a marble. He''s brilliant once he''s in the air ¨C one of the most talented flying horses I''ve ever met, but he makes up for all the talent with a lighter-than-average brain. ¡°I¡¯m serious about this, Niefl¡¯flaf: you need to mention this to someone and track it down because someone is making off with your feed allowance. Trust me on this.¡± ¡°Dang,¡± he knickered. "On another subject, I''d like to introduce you to my cousin Rialdiaj. He''s never been in a Cosm city before. He''s thinking about employment." "Oh," Niefl¡¯flaf stepped back and looked my cousin up and down. "He looks like you. Hello, Riandiaj. I''m Niefl¡¯flaf. Asgotl and I go way back." "Er, hello," Riandiaj said. "Sorry, I''m tongue-tied. Being in a city is new to me, and I''m feeling a bit...a bit..." He laughed. "See, I''m so eye-popped I can''t even talk straight." "You''re straight off an aerie?" "Yep, never been in a human city before." "Stick around for dinner, Rialdiaj," he advised. "This afternoon is one of the rare times there will be fish. I don¡¯t eat meat or fish, but it¡¯s popular with the griffs and the eagles." "Fish?" I asked, surprised. Fish was indeed rare as a meal. "That''s different. What sort of fish?" "You will be happy, Asgotl," Niefl¡¯flaf winked. "It''s sturgeon. A bunch of shrine workers helping out in Uldlip returned this morning and brought back this huge haul of sturgeon from the lower Salt and Big Hook Rivers, enough for each eagle and griffon at the House of Mounts." "How many sturgeon and how big?" If griffins drooled, I''d be drooling. "Medium to large, and rumor has it that there¡¯s enough for two sturgeon per mount since this place is so empty," Flav looked quite pleased. He was in his element, and we were his captive audience for gossip. "Rialdiaj, we''re staying here tonight," I decided. ¡°We will leave for Mugash in the morning.¡± I would regret that decision for the rest of my life. Rialdiaj shook his head. "I''ve never seen anything quite as big as this. How do you feed this many hungry flying sapients?" "Dedicated herds," I explained. "The House of Mounts has its own grain farms and its own cattle, bison, goat, hog, and sheep herds. Those farms and herds provide for any mount who serves someone in the government. Mounts who have private owners are not eligible. Their owners are responsible for their mounts'' food. So, let''s eat, and then I''ll show you the rest of what''s here. Since most of the military mounts are out, we can probably get into grooming without a wait.¡± I originally intended to eat and run but with the cavalry mounts absent, I had no fear of running into Flavriansha. I would enjoy the things I had missed since the argument with Flav. Life didn''t get much better than a good grooming, sturgeon for dinner, and a comfortable place to sleep out of the wind. What I fool I was not to head straight to Aybhas. 125. Arma Emily, inside an Impotuan fortification I woke up to the sound of voices arguing on the other side of the door. One sounded like Healer Arma. The other voice was a woman, maybe the one from last night. My head still hurt and my stomach was still sour. It was obvious that I had gotten concussed. This would complicate trying to get out of here. The voices were annoying me. I couldn¡¯t make out the words but the noise bothered me. The door banged open and a silverhair woman older and taller than Arma strode in. Her face was angular and she had a nose like a hatchet. Her eyes were a pretty cobalt blue but that was her only good feature. The rest of her was all hard edges. ¡°Gods, what is that smell?¡± she made a face of disgust and glared at the healer. ¡°She can¡¯t keep anything down,¡± Arma remarked, pointing to something on the floor. ¡°She and I both had a long night last night. It¡¯s a fight trying to keep her hydrated.¡± ¡°If mother did not desire this Coyn¡¯s presence, I¡¯d kill it here and now and be done with it,¡± Lady Arkaline snarled. ¡°If you put her on an eagle right now, she would vomit all the way to Kipgapshergar, assuming she lived. Someone handled her badly because this is not a minor injury.¡± ¡°Revolting,¡± Lady Arkaline stated, holding her hand over her nose. ¡°Can¡¯t you make it get better faster?¡± ¡°Coyn don¡¯t heal any faster than Cosm, my lady.¡± ¡°Be happy the Foskans don¡¯t know about this base or we would be forced to travel,¡± she turned on her heel and stomped out. She wasn¡¯t what I¡¯d call a cheerful personality, though her sour attitude could be due to taking a beating at the hands of Imstay and Aylem. ¡°Did your forces fail to capture a crystal?¡± I asked once I was sure Lady Arkaline was far enough that she would not hear me. ¡°You know about that? Well, other than you, we have failed to capture any of the things we were sent to find,¡± Arma sat back down. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°As bad as last night except I can¡¯t get my eyes to focus.¡± ¡°Now, I don''t like the sound of that," her hand landed on my head to probe the injury. "Well, it could be better, but it could be a lot worse. The danger here is swelling inside the skull. You have some localized edema but nothing that requires draining. "I''ll need to check you once or twice a bell to make sure that doesn''t change. If the pain becomes worse or you develop new symptoms, you must tell me immediately," she ordered. ¡°What happens if the Foskans find this place and attack?¡± I wondered. Could Aylem find me if I had Ud¡¯s shirt on? Maybe I should find a way to take it off. ¡°Lady Arkaline would probably kill you so the Foskans couldn¡¯t recapture you,¡± Arma frowned. ¡°She¡¯s the kind of person who would destroy a thing so her enemies couldn¡¯t have it.¡± ¡°That''s not too bad," I considered. "It can''t be as bad as the first time a Cosm killed me, and if I was lucky, I might duck being brought back to life again." Arma stood up in horror, ¡°please tell me you are telling stories. How can anyone live twice? And why would you want to die?¡± Poor healer. I probably shouldn''t have said what I did. That''s one of the goofy things about concussions: the nasty bumps on the head can degrade your judgment, much like getting drunk can. I certainly wasn''t watching my mouth, that was for sure. "It really happened, Priestess Arma," I felt amused. "The Queen killed me. It was an accident, but I was dead regardless. That was the first time I met the gods outside my dreams at night. About half the gods came to talk to me. Then Mugash brought me back to life. If I had known it was going to be so painful, I might have chosen to stay dead. The recovery from being dead has also taken almost a year. Yes, if I had known then what I know now, I think I would have stayed dead.¡± ¡°But you are the prophet,¡± Arma protested, eyes wide. ¡°The gods talk to you. You bring their words to the people. How can you think of not following their commands for you?¡± Cosm were so unimaginative. ¡°Priestess, they never asked me if I wanted to be their tool. Were I to follow my own heart, I believe I would live with the Sea Coyn in Inkalim in the cold season and open up a shop selling metal tools and glassware. In the growing season, I would spend my time in the mountains of the Vanishing River Valley and mine crystals and iron ore. I wouldn¡¯t mind meeting a nice young man and raising a family with him. "The last thing I want to be is somebody''s prophet. It''s a crappy job, and I would like to quit and find some other line of work. Ever since this prophet horse pucky started, I''ve gotten badly hurt by Cosm or abducted by them and kept by them in places I couldn''t escape. No, the gods can have their prophet job back, and they can put it where the sun don''t shine." ¡°Are you not afraid the gods will punish you for your blasphemy of them?¡± the appalled Arma asked, shock written deep on her face. ¡°Hasn''t happened yet, and I doubt it ever will," I said honestly. "They made the mistake of being too exact in their specifications for a prophet. Right here, right now, there is no one else who can do this job. The gods are stuck with me, and unfortunately, I am stuck with them." ¡°You really mean what you say," she sat back down wearing an expression I couldn''t begin to describe. "Tell me everything you can." ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s possible right now,¡± I apologized. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I think I¡¯m about to be sick to my stomach again.¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The next two days were more of the same. I gained a lot of respect for Priestess Arma. She had a sincere worshipful attitude toward the gods and an uncomplaining work ethic that would impress even the perfectionist Lisaykos. Then, she washed the clothes I had been living in for the last few days. That got my magic undershirt off my back and washed. I didn¡¯t even quibble when she took me down to the washroom and gave me a decent scrubbing. My desire to be clean outweighed my sense of modesty. She also slept on the floor so I could have the bed. I told her she should put one of the pillows on the floor, and I would sleep on it like a mattress since all the pillows were as big as I was. She wouldn''t hear of it. In return for her many kindnesses, I told her everything. Her sincerity and reverence for the gods led me to think that Arma would not be silent if I gave her knowledge of the prophecies regarding me, Aylem, and Asgolt. I even contemplated that if she circulated what I imparted, it might make the freeing of the Coyn of Impotu a bit easier. I almost lost her with Aylem¡¯s revelation from Tiki. She was doing fine with most of the details. She absorbed the bits about the wars, the third age of miracles, Aylem¡¯s queenship, and revelators from every race. She was startled that the four enslaved races would be freed but accepted it. Then I told her that Aylem¡¯s revelation said I would destroy the city of Salicet because Impotu angered Galt. She did not like that at all. ¡°You can¡¯t!¡± she protested. ¡°Do you think I want to?¡± I snapped. ¡°I don¡¯t want the blood of thousands of people on my hands. Maybe this will help you realize how much I hate this prophet business. But it¡¯s in a revelation, made before I was even born. There¡¯s one thing you must know, Arma, and that¡¯s the gods arrange things such that people like me can¡¯t escape destiny, even if we try.¡± ¡°That¡¯s...that¡¯s...¡± she dropped her head into her hands. ¡°I don''t know when and I don''t know how," I felt terrible about it, "I just know that I will someday. If you tell people about it, maybe they will move away and save their lives." ¡°I can¡¯t even imagine Galt in his aspect as divine anger,¡± she looked at me with her beautiful teal eyes. ¡°I have seen Galt in his aspect as wrath. He took the form of a dark grey cloud full of wind and lightning. The lightning was nonstop and killed everyone it struck. Out of the bottom of the cloud were four tornados. It was scary. Galt can be scary.¡± ¡°When? When did you see Galt?" she asked eagerly. She had never seen a god, and curiosity burned bright in her. ¡°Three rotations ago, he manifested between the Shrines of Tiki and Gertzpul, which are only about a wagon-day apart," I explained. "A squad of Impotuan flying cavalry troops attacked the Holy Kamagishi, High Priestess of the Fated Shrine of Galt while she was flying to meet the Blessed Aylem and me. Galt himself appeared to rescue his high priestess." She was sitting in her chair with her hand over her gaping mouth, eyes wide. I resisted teasing her. She was serious about her reverence of the gods, maybe even more serious than Fassex, and I wasn¡¯t going to ridicule such a heartfelt belief. "I wish I could have seen all these things," she finally gathered herself. "I often feel like we are taking the wrong road in Impotu at the shrines; but," she bit her lip, "I can also be accused of an improper bias, so perhaps you should not..." ¡°Stop before you begin, young lady,¡± I told this thirty-something healer. ¡°The gods care more for their shrines than anything else, but they care little for the kingdoms the Cosm have made except for the support those kingdoms give to the shrines for their holy work. So tell me of this bias." ¡°My mother was the high priestess of Mugash,¡± she began in a quiet voice. "Nine years ago, when the Empire and the Shrines sat down to plan the campaign to gain the crystal from the White Shrine of Landa in Yant, my mother formed a block of like-minded high priestesses to protest this course of action, arguing that we should try diplomacy again. If the old Emperor were still alive, she may have succeeded. "The emperor died ten years ago, and his second daughter murdered her way to the throne, as is often the case with our rulers. The Empress was all for the appropriation of crystal from the White Shrine. Impotu was founded 25 centuries ago by those who were opposed to the ruinous policies of Yasknapa of Yantes, who would have banned the making of secondary crystals by the primary crystals in the shrines. This was why Impotu existed, the Empress argued. Because Foskos refused refused to make the secondary charm gems we requested, then we would take what we were entitled to.¡± She paused there and looked troubled. ¡°What happened to your mother?¡± I asked, sensing that this is where she was headed. "My mother was deposed from her position, which I don''t think can be done once the crystal in the mother shrine at Suapsepso accepts you in the ordination ceremony. She was taken to the palace in Salicet, and no one has seen her since. She has to be alive because a healer''s life is sacred but no one knows her fate. When the new high priestess was inducted, the crystal in the newly built Shrine of Mugash did not acknowledge her." ¡°Acknowledgement? You mean the crystal lights up, and the light is absorbed into the person being inducted, yes?" ¡°Yes, exactly. You seen this yourself in Foskos?¡± ¡°Yes, I was privileged to see the induction of a friend of mine as a priestess of Mugash. It was amazing to watch since I had never seen it happen before.¡± ¡°They let Coyn into the Well of Mugash in Foskos?¡± she was astounded. ¡°No, they let me into the ceremony because, I¡¯m, well, you know.¡± I sighed. ¡°It¡¯s not easy living at a shrine, always surrounded by silverhairs who forget what the reality of life is like for every single Coyn in the kingdom excluding myself. But I never forget. I would not have attended if my friend had not come and pleaded with me in person. It was difficult for me, but I don¡¯t regret seeing Kayseo become a priestess.¡± ¡°I can hear the affection in your voice,¡± she smiled at me. ¡°You care for her.¡± ¡°So, back to you," I got back on topic. "Have any of the people inducted as priestesses of Mugash experienced the acknowledgment phenomenon since your mother was deposed?" "Not one," she said. "It has caused trouble for the shrine, and many people will not accept any of the younger healers, saying they aren''t true priestesses." "Can they heal?" I asked. "Yes, but I have heard that no talents have appeared since then." ¡°What a muddle. Did the replacement crystal at the new shrine acknowledge priestesses before your mother was deposed?¡± "Yes, myself included," Arma grimaced. "Since that time, I have not been back to Suapsepso or Salicet. I have received non-stop assignments to the worst possible posts in Impotu, like the mines, the royal grain plantations, the army camps for the invasion of Jutu, and this place, all of 40 or so wagon-days from the Shrine of Mugash in Suapsepso. I am now too old to find someone to marry and raise a family, as is the duty of every silverhair. So yes, I admit I have a bias.¡± I looked at this miserable healer in permanent unfair exile at the edges of her country, and out of my mouth came the words: ¡°so, come home with me.¡± ¡°What?¡± She looked like she was examining me for the signs of sudden lunacy. "Come home with me. I''m serious. I have no intention of being dragged off to Impotu. I have projects in the making to make the freeing of the enslaved Foskan Coyn as smooth as possible, and I don''t want them to be sidetracked." "Great One," she gave me an incredulous look squared, "how will little tiny you escape from all the silverhairs in this fort? It''s not like you can jump off an eagle in flight and fly away." "Actually, that''s what I was thinking, the moment I was over the river or a deep ravine," I smiled innocently. "Just because I have no magic doesn''t mean I don''t have friends who can make magic tools. Good fish face, Arma." 126. The Chem in the basement Emily, inside an Impotuan fortification I was able to eat again on the fifth day of my captivity. When Lady Arkaline heard of it, she barged into Arma''s room and wanted to leave that day. Arma stood up to her and pointed out my balance was off and I still had the headache, both of which were true. I was having a terrible time standing up and trying to walk. Arma said it was another symptom of the concussion. She faced down Lady Arkaline, arguing that I would not be able to sit on an eagle without falling off. I didn¡¯t wear my Ud-shirt for three days. I hoped it was enough for Aylem''s monstrous clairvoyance to find me. With Lady Arkaline agitating to return to Impotu proper, I started wearing it again. I had planned on falling off an eagle in flight, especially if I was placed in the back of the flyer on the saddle. It was an all-day flight to get to Kipgapshegar, which is where the rulers of Impotu had their summer palace, in what passed for mountains in the lands of the empire. Arma spent her spare time writing letters to friends. She put the contents of Aylem''s revelation and the Prophesy of the Great Breaking verbatim into each letter. A courier arrived and departed every day from the fort and Arma had three to four letters ready for three days running. Arma said she would follow me to Foskos on the condition that we add a third to our party. He was a Chem named Twee. He lived in a cell in the basement next to the water well for the fort. Like most Chem captured and enslaved by the Impotuans, Twee had been blinded to prevent his escape. The Chem had special water magic. If there was water to be found, then any Chem could command that water to surface and move through pipes or water mains. In every Impotuan village, city, or fortress, a blinded Chem slave provided water for the community. They were pitiful creatures, maimed just to move water around for Cosm. I was liking the Impotuan version of Cosm rule less the more I learned about it. Blinding a person so he or she could not escape was foul. Arma explained that slave traders threw quick lime into the eyes of their Chem captives to rob them of their sight. It was another example of the needless cruelty of Impotuan society. Arma visited Twee every day. She inspected his ration to confirm he was getting his full amount. She also checked his general health and made sure he had enough water to keep the gills on his neck moist. Chem could breathe through both lungs and gills, but if the gills dried out, the two organs that did the gas exchange with water would also dry out. Arma called them gill sacs. If the gill sacs completely dried, they would bleed, which would flood the other two lungs used for breathing air and drown the Chem in its own blood. For obvious reasons, Chem needed to stay near water, preferring to sleep half-immersed. I had read about the Chem at the shrine so I knew a little about them. Because there were no Chem in Foskos, I had never met one. They preferred warmer climes than Foskos, which was a cold kingdom that had snow on the mountain tops three out of four seasons. ¡°How did Twee get here?" I asked Arma after she invited Lady Arkaline to leave us in peace for now. ¡°The way most supplies get here, by wagon and barge," she studied the soles of her shoes and compared them to her boots, debating which to wear. "It takes 30 to 40 days of travel in the upstream direction. If you have a light load, and there is no other traffic, it can take 20 to 30 days with eight mules on the towpath." ¡°Upstream?¡± Did they travel by boat? ¡°The Ahkeseld River is navigable up to the eastern foothills of the Blue Mountains. Once you get to the foothills, you need to use wagons on the old trade road that eventually goes to Inkalim.¡± ¡°Can Twee walk far?¡± I asked. ¡°If we can get out of here, it will be a long way to walk to get to Black Falls or the customs gate above Truvos.¡± ¡°I shouldn''t worry about how far a Chem can travel. He will slow down so I can keep up with him," she smiled at me with sympathy. "The question is whether you can keep up and I don''t think you can. I can walk at least five wagon-days every day, and that would be a leisurely pace. If I enhance myself so I can keep up with a Chem for short distances with rests in between, so make that maybe eight to ten wagon-days of distance in a day if we had to push it." She gave me a funny look and then one eyebrow dramatically rose toward her hairline, "Emly, I think this is the first time I have seen you speechless. Soft-spoken, yes. Speechless, no. That¡¯s a great fish face. So, how slow are you?¡± It irked me that there was true pity for my limitations in what she just asked. I breathed in and bit the resentment, and then let it slowly out and banished it. It was stupid to be angry over something no one could control, like race or height or magic ability. ¡°I have been recovering slowly from chronic fatigue, a lingering effect from when I died last year. It gets better but not quickly,¡± I could not help but sigh. ¡°Right now, I think I could walk at least one wagon-day. If I were completely recovered, I could walk three, assuming level ground.¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°And you were going to escape on your own and walk all the way back to Foskos at one wagon-day per day? You would never make it before our soldiers found you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m small and I have good forester skills. If I want to disappear, I can disappear and no Cosm barring the Queen would be able to find me. A ten-day walk through the wilderness is time-consuming but not difficult.¡± It was Arma¡¯s turn for a fish face. ¡°How is that possible? Where would you have learned how to survive in the wilderness?¡± ¡°I lived by myself in the wilderness for many years, many wagon-days from Foskos. The few things I could not make for myself I would buy from the Sea Coyn at the trade fair at Uldlip. To be honest, I assumed it would take many days to reach Black Falls or the Customs gate above Truvos. So I''ve been worried about how much hunting or fishing I could manage to do to keep you and the Chem fed. A Cosm eats many times what any Coyn eats. I''ve been fretting about it because I''m not in good shape right now. I don''t know if I could bring in that much game." Arma looked at me and then started to laugh softly, "Oh, this is funny. I''m worried because you can''t keep up with me and you''re worried because you might not be able to hunt enough to keep me fed." She had a good hearty laugh, "Well, little one, Twee and I will carry you, and we''ll get to Foskos fast enough that food will not be an issue." ¡°So, my partner in escaping, I know I can escape,¡± I pointed out, though I refrained from telling her the three different routes I deduced to get out of here. ¡°How do we get Twee out of here, and you too?¡± ¡°Twee told me that you and I should find our own way out," she leaned forward, putting her elbows on her knees, "and he will make a tunnel under the foundation of the fort and walk out. The blindness that prevents any Chem from doing this isn''t an issue since you and I will be waiting to guide him. He said earlier this morning that he has most of a tunnel already made." ¡°How?¡± I was mystified. ¡°He moves water around with his magic and the water will make wells, tunnels, underground aqueducts, trenches, you name it. If he wanted, he could undermine the foundations of this place and probably drown every person in the structure and then just swim away; however, without sight, he¡¯d never be able to travel away from here successfully.¡± ¡°Arma, I know I can go out that window right now and walk away unharmed,¡± I admitted. ¡°How do you escape this place?¡± ¡°Oh, you know,¡± she smiled and shrugged her shoulders, ¡°I was thinking of just going out that window and levitating myself down to the ground. Then, with a charm of misdirection on top of a charm of shadows, not to mention wearing black when it¡¯s nighttime, I would walk away and wait for Twee.¡± ¡°It sounds too easy,¡± I worried. ¡°What are we overlooking?¡± ¡°Pursuit by eagle-mounted mages," she looked worried. "They are fast and powerful, and Lady Arkaline will be in a rage. All three of us would suffer if we were captured." ¡°What about water for Twee?¡± ¡°I can invoke the charm of water. I also will have two waterskins, just in case.¡± ¡°We should go tonight if Twee is ready,¡± I said. ¡°I might be deemed well enough to be taken to Impotu in the morning so we should go tonight. Once we¡¯re out of here, how do we find Twee in the dark? Without sight, he may have a bad sense of direction. What about using a charm of location?¡± ¡°Good idea," a bitter look flashed across Arma''s face for just an instant, "but I have no access to charm gems. As a priestess of Mugash, I should receive ten blank gems a year as well as a stipend. I have received neither for nine years now." ¡°Alright, here¡¯s another idea,¡± having committed myself, I wasn¡¯t going to abandon these two. ¡°We leave as a group in Twee¡¯s tunnel.¡± ¡°That¡¯s insane,¡± Arma shook her head, ¡°we would drown.¡± ¡°Would we? If Twee can move water around as you described, then he should be able to move the water to give us breathing space inside the tunnel. Let''s ask him if that''s possible." ¡°Hmmm,¡± she said and then nothing else for many breaths. ¡°He says he can do that.¡± ¡°What? You just mindcasted now?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she gave me a funny look. ¡°Why do you look surprised?¡± ¡°It was so fast. I didn''t catch the signs of you going into a trance," I shrugged. "So, the last problem is getting me down to where Twee is." ¡°I need to change my bed linens today so I have laundry to do," she grinned. "If you curl up and hug your knees to your chin, you will fit into my laundry basket. Problem solved." ¡°Where are your water skins?¡± ¡°Already in the basket along with some pemmican, just in case we get slowed down.¡± ¡°It will be difficult to walk through the forest in long skirts,¡¯ I pointed out. ¡°Do you have riding clothes? Pants are much more practical if we need to stay off the roads.¡± ¡°I do my laundry in my riding clothes, so we''re all set. All we need to do now is hurry up and wait. We were able to escape much earlier than we had planned. At the fifth bell, the drum the Impotuans used to signal the time of day and general orders to the fort as a whole began beating a cadence I had not heard in the five days I spent there. "That''s the assemble to fight order," Arma said, looking up from the letter she was writing. "I¡¯ll see what¡¯s happening.¡± Arma returned a while later and picked up the laundry basket, placing it on her bedroom table. "We should go now," her color was a little up. "Arkaline has taken every available flier to defend our staging fort. It''s under attack by the Foskans. There must be less than twenty people left who are mostly the kitchen staff and the gate sentries. This is likely our best opportunity to get away without being chased. Let¡¯s make sure we¡¯ve got all your clothes so I can put you and them in the basket under the sheets.¡± She grinned. She had deduced how much I hated being picked up and carried around and used it to tease me. 127. Defense of two shrines Aylem, at the Crystal and Healing Shrines, five days before, on the day of the attack on the shrines Around 200 mounted silverhairs and halfhairs either circled the dome on the Crystal Shrine or were dismounted and attacking the gate. I mindcasted Foyuna and told her to move all the residents in the shrine to the southern half of the ancient building. I also told her why. Knowing what I intended, she was the picture of motivation. To give her a little more time, I landed in front of the shrine gate, placing myself between the shrine and the attackers on the ground. ¡°You think you can steal the crystals that the gods gave us?¡± I teased the soldiers. ¡°Witch!¡± ¡°Necromancer!¡± ¡°Coyn lover!¡± I had to laugh at the last one, ¡°given that the Blessed Emily is a Coyn, I will take that as a compliment.¡± Someone shot a crossbow quarrel at me. That was annoying. I had already cast a barrier designed to slow and then stop projectiles. I watched the quarrel travel slower and slower until it stopped a hand-width from my throat. I plucked it out of the air and sent it back to the soldier who shot it. ¡°You have violated the Convention of Surd by attacking a shrine," I warned. "According to Foskan law, your lives are now forfeit.¡± ¡°You and what army, douche bottle?¡± Whoever had said that should not have said that. In anger, I dropped all of the restraints on my power. The shrine¡¯s walls and its protective barrier would protect those inside. The soldiers on the outside did not fare well. Some were already unconscious. Others were vomiting. Still more stumbled around, holding their heads and groaning. A few fell off their flying mounts. ¡°What you now feel is my true power,¡± I smiled sweetly. ¡°I do not need an army. I intended to grant you a painless death,¡± I remarked, ¡°but given your lack of manners just now, I have changed my mind. You will die by fire, one that will burn inside you until it reaches your skin and you shall remain conscious until you turn to ash.¡± I snapped my fingers and amplified the sound. Those still standing or flying fell to the ground screaming. It was over in just a few moments. By the time Katsa arrived on her eagle, only burning bodies on the ground remained. When she landed, she struggled to stay on her eagle. ¡°Great One,¡± Katsa managed to say, ¡°please restore the restraints on your power.¡± It took a moment to focus and then the world was safe from me once again. ¡°My apologies, Lord Gunndit,¡± I walked over to her. ¡°You landed a little too close. Are you and your eagle alright?¡± ¡°We are now, thank you,¡± she drooped a little. ¡°I see you took care of the problem here already.¡± ¡°Only because I used my full power. Otherwise, I would still be fending off combatants. Where is the Holy Kamagishi?¡± ¡°We need to return to Aybhas immediately. The Healing Shrine is now under attack.¡± ¡°Go ahead without me. I need to have a brief word with the Holy Foyuna first.¡± Lord Gunndit nodded and then she and her eagle were in the air. * Foyuna, did you hear what Lord Gunndit said? * * Yes. Go. Stop wasting time. * * Are the residents of the shrine alright? I seldom drop my restraints. * * No one took lasting harm. Some will have aching heads. * I could tell from the nuance shading her response that poor sensitive Foyuna was one of those with head pain. She was sensitive enough that she seldom left her shrine, poor girl. It was a trait that showed up in the haup Foskos bloodline. * I¡¯m sorry, dear heart, * I sighed. * I knew it was a bit close but there were too many attackers to handle one at a time. * * Quit apologizing, fog brain, and get back to Aybhas. * Foyuna added a mental shove to get me moving. I caught up with Lord Gunndit by the time I was level with Manse Esso. She pointed to her right. I followed her gesture and saw multiple mounts in the distance. * They are from the Esso garrison. You can fly faster so don¡¯t slow down for me. I will join up with the fliers from Esso. * Lord Gunndit was firm. I cupped my hand to signal yes and increased my speed. When Aybhas was more than a smudge in the distance, I could see two different attacks. The larger of the two looked like it had penetrated past the greeting table at the north entrance into the shrine. The smaller attack appeared to be around 50 mounted soldiers concentrating on one location in the north market. Soon I could make out magic attacks, mostly fireballs, spreading and dissipating against a domed barrier in the market. Outside the barrier, several of the surrounding shops were on fire. Unlike the attack on the shrine, I could not see any troops responding to the altercation in the north market. I decided to start there. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. The first thing I did was to put out all of the fires. I managed that from about a thousand hands away. That alerted several of the attackers that active opposition was approaching. It took them a moment to spot me. Then five of them landed and attempted to cast a group compulsion on me. I neutralized the compulsion and allowed the magic force to pass into me so I could absorb it and replenish my own reserves. It was strange but as the compulsion unraveled, I caught brief glimpses of other possible timelines spinning off and vanishing, not as if they were destroyed, but rather as they were shunted to some other place. Since Emily started speculating on how magic changes time and its effects on mass and energy, I¡¯ve been trying to sense those effects when major spells and charms are cast. As I unraveled the compulsion spell cast by the five mages, a thought not my own spoke in my head, saying, ¡°The waveforms in the time field collapsed into a timeline after observation of the magic force.¡± I needed to ask Emily what that meant. In the meantime, I cast instant death on the five and moved on to the rest of the attackers. Unfortunately, the market was full of non-combatants, fleeing the market or hiding under store and workshop furniture, hoping to survive. I could kill the attackers one by one with instant death but then their bodies would fall out of the air and onto non-combatants in the market. I decided to incinerate them to ash instead. At least ash falling out of the air wasn¡¯t going to kill anyone. It took a few moments of fending off projectiles, fireballs, and the odd spell. I tried not to think of the lives I extinguished and the families who would grieve. I didn¡¯t want to forget that the attackers were also human; however, I could dispatch them much faster if I thought of them as vermin that needed to be exterminated for the good of my home. When the charm gems on their beaks broke, many happy eagles and griffins left the battle and flew for the mountains as fast as possible. There were a handful of eagles who came to land wherever their talons touched, regardless of landing on a roof or the street or in the middle of a burnt-out shop. I noted they all were hooded. What sort of person flew into battle with a heavy leather hood over a mount¡¯s eyes? I walked up to one and unstrapped the hood. ¡°Why do you wear a hood into battle?¡± I asked a scared-looking eagle. ¡°So I won¡¯t run away or disobey my flier,¡± the eagle stepped from one talon to the next in a nervous manner. ¡°There are no more control gems.¡± ¡°Ah! That¡¯s why,¡± I nodded. ¡°So all of you need to have these hoods removed.¡± I closed my eyes, focused, and undid all the straps on the other three hoods. ¡°If you fly northeast into the highest mountains, that is eagle territory. If you don¡¯t remember your original aerie, the eagles there should help you.¡± With that, I turned my attention to the barrier. The barrier shielded the shop of Wolkayrs¡¯ family, as I suspected. The attackers in the market were after Raoleer and Huhoti. Half the roof was torn off. Wolkayrs and his father Hopushe were dragging the body of a decapitated eagle out of the shop and into the alley. The body of a flier was pushed out of the way under a table. As I walked in the door, I was treated to the sight of Huhoti, who was covered in blood, tying a splint onto Raoleer. ¡°Is any of that blood yours?¡± I asked Huhoti. ¡°Just a cut on my back,¡± Huhoti looked up and then went back to the splint. ¡°Most of it is Uxthados¡¯. She¡¯s in the store room with her mother.¡± I started walking there but Huhoti¡¯s voice stopped me, ¡°she is in the storeroom because she is dead, Great One.¡± I opened the door into the storeroom and looked in on Haddados, Wolkayrs¡¯ mother, silently weeping over her daughter¡¯s still body. Uxthados¡¯ abdomen was slashed. Some of her intestines were visible and the blood from the wound was still wet. I looked at the wet blood and knew she had not been dead for long. If the soul still lingered, there was a chance. I knelt and put my hand on her head and probed. She had not been lifeless for very long. I opened an eyelid and it was not yet clouded. It might be possible to revive her. ¡°Haddados, can I get you to step back? I am going to cast deep stasis,¡± I helped the woman to her feet. Then I cast the spell. Imstay¡¯s words from Black Fall followed me: cast stasis during battle and then return to the fight. ¡°Haddados, Huhoti, as soon as you can, soak some clean linen in water and lay it over the wound. Keep that area moist and take her to the shrine. Tell the people who meet you that Uxthados should stay in stasis. There is a chance we can save her, but I must caution you that it is only a chance, and only if I or Usruldes do the healing. I must leave now." I flew into the fray above the north entrance of the shrine. I lost track of how many vermin I exterminated. When I finished outside, Lord Esso arrived with the fighting silverhairs of his household and the fighting mages of the Esso garrison. Lord Gunndit was with them. But I was already entering the shrine. There were bodies, both dead and alive, lining the main corridor that led to the Well of Mugash. The noise of fighting under the atrium dome echoed down the corridor at me. I entered the atrium at a run. Most of the attackers were already cornered. The sight of attackers dying from wounds delivered by invisible wraiths was unworldly. The sight of the visible Usruldes fighting with just two steel daggers was mesmerizing. I had never seen anyone move like that. No matter how he was attacked, he would make a small step or dodge and then use his attacker''s motion to drive home his own assault. It was like deadly poetry in motion. He spotted me looking at him. ¡°Fourth floor, south wing, hurry,¡± he directed me. The location sent a chill down my spine. I flew up the open atrium to the fourth floor and discovered a dead wraith at the door into the south wing. There were four dead attackers in street clothes in the hallway, one dead wraith, and one wounded wraith holding her hands over a wound in her side. ¡°The Holy Kamagishi took out the last of the attackers, Great One,¡± the wraith informed me. ¡°She is in the study trying to keep her mother alive.¡± I ran into Lisaykos¡¯ study. Three dead wraiths and nine dead men in everyday clothes were on the floor. Kamagishi was feeding magic power to Twipdray who was maintaining the movement necessary to keep Lyappis alive: breathing in and out and keeping the heart beating. Twipdray was also leaning into the cloth she was pressing against Lyappis'' neck. I knew immediately from this that Lyappis had lost too much blood. I knew Twipdray could cast deep stasis, which is one of the hardest healing spells. So why didn¡¯t she? I knelt next to Lyappis and tapped Twipdray, ¡°you can stop, Revered One. I will cast stasis and then we need to find Kayseo, who knows how to do transfusions.¡± Twipdray nodded and leaned back on her knees. I cast deep stasis. I was relieved that my probe found just one wound at the base of Lyappis¡¯ neck next to her right shoulder. ¡°I spent too much making a barrier around your daughter earlier,¡± an exhausted Twipdray put a hand on my shoulder, not to be familiar but to hold herself up. I caught her in my arms as she toppled over and laid her on the carpet, "you have nothing left in you, woman. Let me take over here. You need to rest," I did not let any of my worry for my daughter stain my words of confidence and reassurance. ¡°Great One,¡± Twipdray smiled weakly, ¡°do not worry, your daughter is safe and the Holy Senlyosart is her savior. Opa¡¯s wraith and I shielded her from her attackers and Senlyosart took them down. It was an amazing feat of magic. I can understand why she is the High Priestess of Sassoo. What a windshaper.¡± She closed her eyes and passed out. I looked around the room and at a distraught Kamagishi. ¡°Where¡¯s Emily?¡± ¡°She¡¯s gone, Aylem,¡± Kamagishi said in a lifeless voice, numb with shock, ¡°they took her.¡± 128. Beware of gods spouting prophecies The Holy Kamagishi, High Priestess of Galt, Healing Shrine of Mugash Thank Galt that Aylem arrived to cast stasis on my mother before Twipdray wore out. Twipdray had been making my mother¡¯s lungs breathe and her heart pump for more than a half bell. I was giving her my magic power toward the end as she became more and more fatigued. Carried by Priestess Kibbilpos, Priestess Kayseo arrived with help. She organized some healers to take Twipdray to her quarters and to put her to bed. She said the Revered Twipdray would likely sleep for most of tomorrow, which means she pushed herself almost too far to save my mother. I owe that healer more than she can know. Young Kayseo assured me that my mother would be fine, especially since I was one of the donors of blood for her. I wanted to donate it all but Kayseo lectured me on how much blood was in a body and how it would hurt my health to remove more than a fifth of it. I¡¯m still amazed at how authoritative and persuasive Kayseo is at just sixteen. I wonder what she¡¯ll be like when she grows up. I can see why Lisaykos thinks so highly of the girl. Thuorfosi brought me some dinner because I did not want to leave my mother¡¯s side. I stayed with my mother because I didn¡¯t want her to wake up alone after being wounded like that. To kill time, I started making notes for my journal as a high priestess, a duty expected of every member of the convocation, but I fell asleep in my chair. I woke up to someone tapping me on the knee. When I opened my eyes to the dim light of the night-light charm gem, I saw that it was my mother. When she saw my eyes open, she pointed at the foot of the bed with an expression of fear. I turned my head and nearly jumped out of my skin at the sight of Galt curled up on my mother¡¯s lower legs, looking like a fat fluffy contented tom cat, with his paws tucked in against his chest so they disappeared into his fur and his tail wrapped around. He was semi-transparent but the sight of him still made my hands shake in fear. * Oh, come now, kitten, * he looked at me with an approving smile, * This is a friendly visit to my favorite high priestess. I just wanted to impart a foretelling. You even have some paper and a pencil to write it down. Aren¡¯t pencils wonderful? Now let¡¯s see, should this be blank verse or rhyming couplets? Yes, let¡¯s do blank verse. * The god of knowledge and prophecy cleared his mental throat: * Ahem. Into the night foes took the prophet. Among blasphemers two friends she¡¯ll find: an orphan with a living mother exiled wrongly in her own country and blinded captive mage of water inside the shrine of Mugash he will see and then the blessed of Vassu he will be the fifth. He will lead the prophet and the healer through stone and buried brook. The ire of the gods will sink their captors¡¯ walls and flood the work of years. Parted by pursuit the little one will fall and lost will be. Her friends will find her friends This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. while the prophet will walk home. Yes, yes, I believe that will do nicely. It¡¯s a nice mix of the specific and the cryptic, as these things are supposed to be. Prophecies and foretellings are just riddles, after all, for the edification of one¡¯s worshipers. I¡¯m happy, by the by, that you are on your way to recovery, Mother Lyappis. Your daughter was quite upset that you were in harm¡¯s way.* Galt nodded to himself, looking content with how things were going, I presumed. Then he looked at the door a breath before it opened and a frowning Aylem, in a nightshirt and housecoat looked in with concern. * I''m sorry, Jane. I didn''t mean to awaken anyone besides Kamagishi. Don¡¯t nag poor Emily about her feet too badly when she gets back. Oh dear, that¡¯s Mugash. Gotta go. See ¡®ya. * With that, the cat god vanished. Aylem stared at the spot where Galt had been sitting on my mother¡¯s legs and then looked at me with a raised eyebrow. She closed the door behind her and touched the light gem to brighten the room. ¡°Galt called you Jane?¡± I asked. "Jane Paxton, that was my name on Earth," Aylem explained. "Emily uses it every now and then, especially when she wants to make a point, get my attention, or remind me that I''m only 52 to her 86 or 87." ¡°But,¡± my mother was gaping, ¡°she can¡¯t be more than...¡± She frowned, brows colliding over her nose, ¡°oh, I should have realized she was much older than she looked, but 87? How old was she when she died on, what was it again? Earth?¡± ¡°Emily was 71 when she died on Earth, in a place of care for older people,¡± Aylem explained. ¡°She had been in a bad car accident and broke her back. She lost the use of her legs. She died four years after that. There was no healing magic on Earth. Deep knowledge and study and incredible potions achieved much, but unlike life here on Erdos, there were no healers to undo damage to nerves. She died at 71, in an epidemic. Her death was terrible,¡± Aylem shuddered. ¡°Lisaykos said that Mugash had you experience Emily¡¯s death,¡± I prompted. Aylem closed her eyes and looked grim, ¡°the infection affected her lungs which failed slowly over time. It took Emily six days to die, drowning in her own congestion that her weakened and failing body could no longer expel.¡± I had heard the story before from Lisaykos but I was still horrified. So was my mother. ¡°That goes a long way to explain that little one¡¯s resilience,¡± my mother said after a long moment of quiet. I decided it was time to redirect the conversation. ¡°Aylem, what is a car accident?¡± ¡°A car was an earth thing. They were self-propelled metal carts, but they were made so a person sat inside them. They were enclosed like a top on a wagon but sturdier and also made of metal," she frowned. "I''m making a muddle this, aren''t I? So, people used cars to travel and to carry goods. They were common, and many people owned them and traveled in them. And when there were a lot of them, like in a city, sometimes they ran into each other. That''s what a car accident was. It was like a wagon crash here, except cars were made of metal, so they were much less forgiving. They could go as fast as eagles, so accidents could cause a lot of damage and kill people.¡± ¡°That sounds dangerous,¡± I said without thinking. ¡°It could be, but most of the time it was helpful and made life easier. ¡°You may want to read this,¡± I handed my sewn-paper notebook to Aylem. ¡°It¡¯s the foretelling that Galt just imparted to me. It seems to imply that Emily will be fine and that we should expect two friends of hers to come our way from wherever the Impotuans are holding her captive. It sounds like one of them will be a Chem who is or will become a revelator of Vassu.¡± ¡°Gods," Aylem took the notebook from me and read it. "Just like a god," her smile was an exasperated grimace at the same time, "it''s confusing, specific, and vague all at the same time. So at least Emily has come to no harm. I''ll sleep better knowing that. I swear, I often think the gods do this sort of thing for their own amusement as we try to make sense of such a muddle of confusing mutterings. Don''t tell anyone, but I know for certain that some of Tiki''s revelations are deliberately designed that way. Emily''s revelation from Tiki is a good example of that." ¡°Then what is the purpose of the revelation itself?¡± my mother asked, aghast. "Protection. Tiki recognized the prophet''s arrival and took a logical step to protect her from how Cosm society treats the Coyn in Foskos by giving Emily the status of a revelator. I believe the content of the revelation, which was the recipe for constipation medicine was Tiki having fun. The recipe had ingredients which can''t be made given our current state of potion making. By using those, he was teasing Emily with her advanced knowledge of making potions and medicines. She got protection and he got amusement. It also kept Emily busy and out of trouble for a time, which considering Emily¡¯s personality, counts as a blessing for us.¡± ¡°Well,¡± I sat back and relaxed a little now that my mother had awakened. I was reassured by the news that Emily would return, ¡°at least we¡¯ll be getting Emily back in one piece. It sounds like her abductors will pay a price for having taken her." ¡°Yes, indeed,¡± Aylem smiled humorlessly and handed me back my notebook, ¡°though we must still find her and take her back. So now, I believe I will go back to bed.¡± She yawned, ¡°I had just fallen asleep when I sensed the disturbance coming from your bedroom, Lyappis. I finished a difficult and drawn-out healing just a little while ago. It took up my entire evening, but it was important because it was Wolkayrs'' sister. His family has done so much for this shrine that I had to try to save her. But she will wake up tomorrow, so all is well. I will see you both in the morning.¡± 129. Griffins and contracts The Blessed Asgotl, Healing Shrine of Mugash, the day after the attack I spotted her coming down the hallway from her guest chambers. Aylem was wearing the white kirtle and grey working robe of a healer. She had her thick wavy hair in a simple braid down her back. It surprised me since she usually dressed in the most fashionable clothes and had her hair done up in fancy arrangements. ¡°Bow when I do,¡± I whispered to Rialdiaj. When Aylem was right in front of me with a perplexed look, I bowed my head, ¡°May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One.¡± "And upon you too, Great One," she gave me a knowing smile, knowing I liked all these honorifics as much as Emily did. "I thought I was seeing double coming down the hall just now. Will you introduce me to your friend, Asgotl?¡± "Aylem Queen, this is my young cousin, Rialdiaj. He''s interested in Opa''s open position for a mount. Rialdiaj, this is the Blessed Aylem Nonkin, Revelator of Tiki and Queen of Foskos." "May the blessings of the Lord of Winds be upon you, Great One," he performed a perfect griffin bow for Aylem. "Also upon you. I am pleased to meet you, Rialdiaj." Aylem was at her most personable. "Have you gotten settled into a spot in the mounts'' residence or at the garrison yet? Or did this lazy excuse of a griffin come straight here without giving you a chance to catch your breath?" She smiled the perfect welcoming smile for him. I closed my eyes and groaned. She knew me too well. "We came straight here, Great One," he gave me a little kick. ¡°We left Is¡¯syal before the first bell." ¡°Have you eaten?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes, we have, Great One, but thank you for asking.¡± ¡°Such wonderful manners,¡± she nodded approvingly. "Let us move somewhere a little less public," Aylem suggested, eyeing the curious priestesses, priests, and trainees of Sassoo looking into the corridor from the walkway around the atrium. The sight of two griffins inside the shrine was a novel one for them. She opened the double doors to Lisaykos¡¯ study and we followed her in. I was shocked at what I saw. ¡°We heard there had been an attack here and at the Crystal Shrine, but what happened here?¡± I saw that the two windows behind Lisaykos¡¯ work table were boarded up. Some of the armchairs were missing as well as one of Lisaykos'' precious patterned wool carpets. Wolkayrs and Thuorfosi were sorting through a heap of disordered scrolls, loose vellum, and pieces of paper. I saw some red-brown spots on the baseboard by one of the boarded windows, ¡°Is that blood?¡± ¡°Where?¡± Thuorfosi asked. ¡°I thought I found all of it.¡± She picked up a rag and a stoppered bottle of cleaning potion. "There, on the baseboard to the left of the window," I pointed a talon. ¡°Good eyes, Asgotl,¡± she nodded with a sad smile. ¡°Oh!¡± She stopped and put the cleaning supplies down. ¡°Honey,¡± she tapped Wolkayrs on the shoulder, ¡°we are amiss in our greetings.¡± She flashed a brief grin. Wolkayrs nodded. They got on their knees, ¡°May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon, Great Ones.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but groan. All my human friends enjoyed this too much. ¡°And upon you too,¡± Aylem answered since she was senior in precedence. ¡°Please rise.¡± ¡°Aylem Queen, what happened here?¡± I asked again with a horrible fear growing in my gut. ¡°A force of two hundred silverhairs and halfhairs on flying mounts attacked yesterday just after the fifth bell. They had four targets: the Holy Raoleer and the Revered Huhoti, the Healing Crystal in the Well of Mugash, Princess Opo¡¯aba, and Emily.¡± Aylem spoke in a very controlled neutral tone of voice. The feeling of horror and shame inside of me got worse. ¡°Please tell me Emily is safe and sleeping in her bedroom or is off doing something that only a mekaner could love,¡± I pleaded. Aylem¡¯s face was as sad as I have ever seen it, ¡°The Impotuans succeeded in abducting Emily. The Revered Lyappis was with her when it happened. Lyappis was struck by a stone missile after it destroyed one of the windows. The blood you saw is probably hers. There was a fight in here between the attackers and the wraiths guarding Emily. Six wraiths against around 30 attackers. One wraith survived. Twenty-five attackers died. The wraiths took out twelve, the Holy Kamagishi took out one, and the Holy Senlyosart took out twelve from her sick bed while protecting my daughter.¡± ¡°The High Priestess? Lisaykos?¡± I had noticed her absence. Trading insults with the old vulture was one of my joys in life. ¡°Lisaykos will be in bed today and tomorrow, but she will be fine,¡± Aylem smiled solemnly. ¡°You may be amused to hear that your old adversary is as bad a patient as Emily.¡± ¡°She might be worse than Emily,¡± Thuorfosi added. ¡°I¡¯ve been assigned to looking after her. Last night, Lisaykos tried to negotiate her two days of bed rest sitting at her worktable. Then this morning, she tried to have her work brought to her so she could work from bed. Her latest attempt, just a little while ago, was a request for someone to read her reports while she listened from bed.¡± ¡°She sounds like she will recover just fine,¡± I was relieved. ¡°How did she get injured?¡± ¡°She stopped the attackers from entering the Well of Mugash and taking the Healing Crystal,¡± Aylem answered, taking a seat on the north lounge nearest Lisaykos¡¯ worktable. ¡°When we counted up the bodies in front of the door into the Well, there were 28. When we found her, she had been stabbed in the abdomen twice. She¡¯s alive because she cast stasis on herself before she passed out.¡± ¡°Since you are here, at least for now,¡± I sat on the carpet facing her, ¡°I assume you were not able to locate Emily last night or this morning.¡± Aylem nodded, looking dejected. ¡°I haven¡¯t tried yet today though I did try yesterday. I just woke up. I was healing all last night so I slept in.¡± ¡°What she¡¯s not telling you, Great One,¡± Wolkayrs looked up from sorting shrine records, ¡°is that she saved my sister¡¯s life last night from what we thought was certain death. The attackers went after my family¡¯s woodshop because that¡¯s where the Holy Raoleer and the Revered Huhoti were yesterday afternoon, building the new legs for Kayseo that Emily designed. The Impotuans almost burned the north market down throwing fireballs at our shop.¡± "We lost nine healers, seventeen Cosm residents, and two Coyn in the attack," Aylem sighed. "They have broken more than half of the Conventions of Surd by attacking two shrines yesterday. The third attack aimed at the White shrine in Yant was intercepted over the Holding of Surdos by Imstay King. I¡¯m supposed to meet him at the Crystal Shrine today. I didn¡¯t expect you to be here, though I¡¯m not going to complain either. Why did you cut short your family visit? I thought you were planning to return at the end of Growing Season.¡± She studied me and then she looked at my cousin, ¡°it is fine if you want to lie down, Rialdiaj. This is one of the few places that griffins can mingle inside a shrine, though the new shrine for Sassoo in Black Falls will have a lot more access for flying mounts built into it.¡± Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°Thank you, Aylem Queen,¡± Rialdiaj laid down next to me. ¡°I was unsure about what was proper. It sounds like I picked a bad time to come to this side of the mountains.¡± ¡°Now, if you will hold for a moment,¡± Aylem tranced to mindcast someone. ¡°There, that¡¯s taken care of. Now, why are you back so early, Asgotl?¡± My head drooped of its own accord, ¡°on the day before yesterday, I was visited by Sassoo in his aspect of the Black Griffin. He told me I had to come home because my prophet needed me. So here I am, a day too late.¡± My beak bumped against the floor. ¡°I¡¯m assuming that Emily really is the foretold prophet?¡± ¡°The gods confirmed it on the night you flew to the Crystal Shrine to bring her back to Black Falls,¡± Aylem filled in the missing gap in my knowledge. ¡°She fessed up to Lisaykos last rotation but has otherwise not talked about it to anyone.¡± ¡°And now she is missing, and probably abducted by Impotuans,¡± I felt so inadequate for this task given to me by Sassoo. ¡°My, aren¡¯t we a cheerful bunch,¡± Opa said from the doorway. ¡°So, what do you want to show me, Mom, that convinced the Holy Senlyosart to let me out of my schoolwork for the rest of the morning?¡± ¡°Asgotl brought his cousin, Rialdiaj, dearest. He is interested in your offer of a contract for a flying mount.¡± ¡°Asgotl,¡± Opa smiled, happy to see me. ¡°What are you doing here? I thought you were visiting your folks?¡± ¡°Long story,¡± I was wondering how many times I would need to tell it. ¡°Oh,¡± Opa stopped and her eyes popped wide, ¡°here I am, forgetting all my manners.¡± She got down on her knees right in front of my beak and put her hand over her heart, ¡°May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One.¡± She waited patiently for my reply. I sighed, probably for the fiftieth time since landing at the shrine, ¡°and upon you too, Princess Opo¡¯aba. Seriously, dear one, how can you be making jokes when my Emily is in the hands of those...those...I stop now before I say something embarrassing in public.¡± She laughed lightly, "We could use some humor, or at least some good news around here. What mother hasn''t told you yet is that there was a visit by Galt last night with a foretelling that Emily will be fine and we will get her back." She got up and sat next to her mother. She took Aylem''s hand and squeezed it. ¡°When?¡± I asked the two of them. ¡°The foretelling did not say when Emily would be back,¡± Aylem nodded, ¡°though it did imply that Emily would be coming with two others, and those two may arrive first.¡± ¡°So, you are Rialdiaj,¡± Opa addressed my cousin, ¡°you look just like Asgotl. How old are you?¡± ¡°I am seventeen. My mother pushed me out of the nest six years ago, so I have hunted on my own for the five years it takes to be acclaimed an adult in the Naver aerie,¡± he said with just a touch of pride showing. ¡°I see. Gee, mom, I don¡¯t know about this. I can barely tell the two of them apart. I could see us mixing up mounts.¡± ¡°Opa dearest," Aylem finally showed some of her usual spirits, "it would take any young griffin at least a decade of practice to achieve Asgotl¡¯s sassy mouth, and another five years to descend to Asgotl¡¯s lazy ways.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget that he¡¯s a slob when eating,¡± Wolkayrs remarked drily, not even looking up from the papers he was sorting. ¡°Thank you, Wolkayrs,¡± Aylem didn¡¯t even pause for breath, ¡°and we won¡¯t even mention his messy eating habits. I¡¯m sure the differences will make themselves known in no time.¡± Aylem gave me a teasing smile, which made me feel a little better. She looked so dour when we met in the hallway. ¡°Rialdiaj, do you have a saddle yet?¡± Aylem asked. "Sorry, I don''t," he blinked. "I must confess, I have never had anyone ride me. I never visited a human city or town before yesterday. All of this is new to me. I am amazed to be sitting inside a real human building right now." ¡°Well, you certainly look more than big and strong enough to handle a full-grown silverhair, which is what Opa will be in two to three more years. I¡¯m not sure you realize everything this job entails. Has Asgotl told you much?¡± ¡°He spent at least a day telling me about what he does,¡± Rialdiaj gave me a sly look, ¡°how much time he has to nap, all the big meals he gets without having to do his own hunting, all the good-looking young lady griffins and which mount residence they live at...¡± ¡°Oh dear,¡± Aylem said, looking at her daughter, ¡°maybe we should consider an eagle instead. I don¡¯t know if the world will survive if we have two griffins with the same sense of humor in the same place.¡± ¡°Are we sure they aren''t twins?" Opa said with a straight face. Rialdiaj looked panicked, and then realized his humor was reciprocated. ¡°My cousin took me to the House of Mounts in Is¡¯syal yesterday,¡± Rialdiaj went back to speaking seriously, ¡°and introduced me to other mounts, both owned and on contract, and encouraged me to talk with them, so I would have more than just his opinion on what I would be getting myself involved in.¡± ¡°He did?¡± Aylem was pleasantly surprised. ¡°And you¡¯re still willing to consider employment by my daughter?¡± ¡°I would be open to a short-term contract to see how it might work out,¡± my cousin replied. ¡°How do you feel about Coyn?¡± Aylem asked from out of nowhere. The question certainly surprised me. ¡°Well, they''re little," Rialdiaj had to stop and think. "With the few that I''ve met, I''ve found that I must be very careful where I put my paws and talons because they are so small. Their young are very noisy, but you can say that about griffins kits too. The ones I know work very hard. Other than that, I don''t know much about them. They seem like differently shaped people to me." Aylem nodded, approving of that answer. ¡°I suggest we offer a half-year contract so the two of you can see how you get along,¡± Aylem said, looking from Opa to Rialdiaj. ¡°Though now is not the right moment to worry about contract covenants. Wolkayrs, do you have a draft contract for flying mounts that I might work off?" ¡°I do, Great One,¡± he nodded. ¡°Would you like me to find it for you?¡± ¡°It doesn''t need to be done this moment or even today. A day or two will be fine. For right now, I need to head up to the Crystal Shrine because the King will be waiting for me there. What do you want to do, Asgotl? You can hang out here with your cousin and kill time fishing. Both of you can follow me to the Crystal Shrine, and kill time there. You could also split up, though that might not be so good for Rialdiaj, since he doesn¡¯t know anyone here yet.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, Opa,¡± I looked at my favorite princess, ¡°I¡¯d like to go with your mother and take Rialdiaj with me. It will give my cousin an idea of what mount life is like on a military campaign with all the troops that will be there, and I can stay on top of any news of Emily by staying close to your mom.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m good with that,¡± she nodded and then smiled encouragingly at Rialdiaj. Rialdiaj looked at Opa with a tilted head, ¡°so how do I address you? I know very little about human titles.¡± "If you''re in private like we are here with friends, call me Opa. If it¡¯s in public, you should use Princess or Honored One. If I¡¯m dressed and acting like a trainee of the Shrine of Sassoo, then you should call me Trainee Opa instead.¡± ¡°How do I tell the difference?¡± he asked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll help you figure it out,¡± Opa smiled. ¡°Most of the time, it will be Trainee Opa, and you will be able to tell since I¡¯ll be wearing the Shrine uniform.¡± Opa turned to her mother, "Mom, speaking of being a trainee, I think it''s time to go back to living with my classmates. My identity as a princess is now the worst kept secret in Aybhas, so what''s the point of hiding me here any further?" I could see the ¡°no¡± rising in Aylem, and intervened: ¡°Aylem, it¡¯s been two whole rotations since the attack in Black Falls. She probably has at least two wraiths shadowing her all the time. Keep her away from her classmates much longer and she might as well drop out and get tutored at the palace. That would defeat the whole purpose of enrolling at a shrine, which is to meet people and expand your horizons.¡± ¡°I agree with the griffin," Lisaykos said, in a nightgown, slips, and a housecoat, with her hair down and pulled back. I don''t think I''ve ever seen her with her hair down and undone. She walked in and sat down in the closest chair. "Opa was doing well and was happy as a trainee and she needs to go back to that. Otherwise, what is the point of being a trainee if you''re prevented from living the trainee life? I sometimes think we would have had fewer problems, Aylem, if we had let you enroll as a trainee, to live with others of your own age group. I would hate to see the same mistake made with Opa." ¡°But what about her security?¡± Aylem protested. ¡°There is no better security than that provided by Lord Usruldes, Aylem, and the wraiths kept her from harm in this last attack. Five of them died doing so. There is no doubt as to their skill and dedication. Besides, hundreds of haup Foskos princesses have been trainees at shrines throughout the years, myself, Irralray, and Foryuna among them.¡± ¡°I will think about it,¡± Aylem frowned. ¡°Good, I will make arrangements with Senlyosart to send Opa back to her dormitory group,¡± Lisaykos said, ignoring Aylem''s intent to put off making a decision. ¡°You can do that after you go back to bed,¡± Thuorfosi attacked. ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to be up.¡± ¡°But Thuorfosi, dear heart,¡± Lisaykos did a credible job of looking innocent, ¡°I¡¯m out of tea.¡± S.129.5 EXTRA --- Side Story (The Punishment of the Princess) Princess Opo¡¯aba, Healing Shrine of Mugash, north wing, fourth floor Opa was nervous walking to the room she would share with eleven other first-year students. She was supposed to arrive much earlier in the evening, but the Revered Twipdray was still recovering from the attack the day before. So Opa stayed with the Holy Senlyosart to show the healer who was filling in for Twipdray what needed to be done. Her mother could have done this except her mother had left to meet her father, the King, to rescue the missing Prophet Emily. The Blessed Lisaykos could have done this, but she too was in bed recovering from yesterday''s attack. The Healer Twessera could have done this but she was in Surdos on leave to visit her family. The Healer Thuorfosi could have done this but she was taking care of the Blessed Lisaykos. Opa was the only one left who was familiar with what the Holy Senlyosart needed daily during her rehabilitation from her war injuries, so Opa stayed and helped. To Opa, the tasks of moving the invalid Senlyosart, getting her through dinner, bathing her, and putting her to bed was like one of her father¡¯s army campaigns, where many disjointed moving pieces needed to coordinate together to win the battle. As soon as they settled the high priestess for the night and she was sure the temporary healer knew right from left, Opa was out the door. The dorm lights were already out. She wanted to get back before the lights were out so she could have a chance to talk with her friends about why she enrolled under an assumed name. She didn¡¯t regret doing it, not at all. For the first time, she had met people her own age who accepted her for herself and not because she was royalty. She needed that chance to be just Opa, to grasp that special moment where there were no titles or honorifics or pedigrees to get in between her and others. She had already moved her clothes and school supplies to her new space, left open for her by her classmates. They were in classes when she moved her stuff with the help of Priestess Voice Kakoyva, the new supervisor for the first-year Voice trainees. All she had to do now was spend her first night in two rotations with her classmates. Because of the Impotuan attacks, the two high priestesses, Lisaykos and Senlyosart, arranged tutors for Opa while she was absent from her regular classes. The Revered Twipdray taught her practical magic. The amazing, totally wonderful Holy Senlyosart herself taught Opa magic theory and religion. Her classmates were also currently learning about laws. Opa already knew the law, better than her teachers. It¡¯s just one of those things that happens when you¡¯re a princess with tutors provided by the Fated Shrine of Galt, where the law was kept and practiced. The Holy Senlyosart threatened to have Opa teach law. Opa knew she was safe for now but next year might be another matter. Her classmates also had classes in math, spread across several different levels. Opa could teach them all plus one or two levels not currently on the curriculum. When she reviewed her class schedule with the Holy Senlyosart, the Blessed Lisaykos, the Revered Twipdray, and the Priestess Voice Kakoyva, Opa learned she had music theory and prell practice to make up. So when her classmates had law and math, she would use that time to catch up on her music classes. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. She grew more nervous with every step toward the dorm room. She had to face her roommates for the first time as a princess instead of as a foundling from Is''syal. She hoped they would let her explain why she lied to them for a whole season. She prayed they were all asleep. It had taken time to get Senlyosart into bed. The poor woman was almost immobile. It would be at least a season before she could stand or walk again, though it was better than the alternative, which would have been the loss of a leg. Opa did not begrudge the time. She liked the high priestess, who was also a distant cousin, but the lights in the dorm had been out now for more than half a bell because of the time she spent with Senlyosart. It was more than halfway between the quarter- and half-night bells and all the lights were dimmed in the hallway. Good thing she didn''t have any homework to do. Maybe she could sneak in quietly, get into bed, and face everyone in the morning...maybe. The lights were out in the room. She ever-so-slowly depressed the latch lever and opened the door, flinching every time it creaked. She pulled off her shoes and crept across the floor to her bed. She sat down with exquisite care not to make the bed frame creek. Then she laid down on top of the covers and let out a soft sigh of relief: she was safe on her bed, and no one woke up. She smiled to herself and let herself relax. "Get her!" the cry went up. The charm gem lights all lit up and a rain storm of pillows descended upon the unsuspecting Opa. Then on top of the pillows, several bodied piled, pinning her to the bed. "Make sure she can''t sit up!" "I got her knees!" "Leave room so she can breath." "I got the left stocking!" "I got the right!" Many hands held her ankles and shins. Opa had a sinking feeling as to what might come next only to discover she was right. "No, not my feet!" she shouted, trying vainly to sit up. "No! No! No! Leave my feet alone!" "Who''s got the feathers?" "I got them! I got them! Here they are." "Do you know what we do to princesses who try to pass themselves off as us lowly worms?" an indignant voice asked the rhetorical question. "We lowly worms tickle their feet! Bwahahahahahaha!" "Not my feet! Not my feet! Aaaa. Noooooo....Aaaaaa! No no no no...Aaaa...aaaa..ha hahahahaahahahaahaa...!" The floor supervisor, Priestess Voice Kakoyva in her nightgown and housecoat, stood outside the first-year voice-student room and smiled to herself. She was startled to hear a low chuckle next to her. A woman wraith appeared out of nowhere and put a finger to her black-masked lips. Kakoyva was about to open the door to put a damper on the fun when the wraith stopped her. "Let me, please." Kakoyva nodded. The wraith wrenched the door open. "Psssssssst! Girls!" Many startled students looked up from where they had pig-piled Opa on her bed. They were shocked to see an actual wraith at the door. "Shut it down, kids," the wraith whispered so everyone could hear, "or you''ll wake the floor supervisor!" She shut the door noiselessly. She bumped Kakoyva''s offered fist, saluted, and disappeared. Kakoyva walked back to her bedroom smiling, wishing she was that age again when life was as simple as pillow fights and tickled feet. 130. Catharsis Imstay King, Crystal Shrine of Tiki People think that being a king must be one of the best things ever. Fools. How I wish I could give this job away. Maybe if Heldfirk were older, I might give it to him, but right now, there is no one else qualified. Fusso haup Ark''kos would make a good king if the royal line were defunct, but a haup Foskos has sat on the throne since the kingdom began. We''re the longest continuous dynasty in the whole world. No one else can say that, so the first requirement must be Foskan royal blood. Fusso probably has some hiding in his pedigree, but he doesn¡¯t have the name or a mother with the name. Come to think of it, Lord Gunndit could be a good king. She¡¯s got the right bloodline, a royal mother, the experience of ruling, and the magic. I¡¯ve seen her wield a halberd too and she¡¯s scary. She might be able to beat me with one since it¡¯s her preferred weapon. Halberd training is one of the things they teach at the White Shrine. Scary bunch of old birds, those adepts of Landa. She could be the figurehead or even the real leader of the army with her prowess. Yes, Katsa haup Gunndit would make a good king. One of those young kids my cousin Foyuna had with that young haup Truvos kid would be qualified too if they had the right education and training. Too bad none of them are old enough. It¡¯s not hopeless, but I doubt I could give this job away to any of them. If I offered it to Katsa haup Gunndit, she would laugh at me. Then she would tell that mother of hers, which would be worse. My kinswoman Lisaykos would look down that long beak of a nose of hers, and leave me feeling like a little boy caught doing something naughty in the schoolroom again, though she''s become kinder to me since that little Coyn troublemaker showed up. Funny how that has worked out. Tiki said Aylem, Emily, and Asgotl were a threesome and now all three are revelators. Things are moving so fast that I can barely keep up with the changes. Ever since Galt changed her eyes, we have been sure that the Blessed Emily named Courage, Revelator of Tiki, Mugash, Giltak, and Galt is the foretold prophet of the Great Breaking. That bundle of trouble will herald the third age of miracles and divine intervention. Last year, I dreaded the prospect, and now it is a certainty. Emily told Aylem and Lisaykos that millions of lives would be spared, and the number of wars would be lessened, by waiting for one to two years before she receives the foretold revelation of Landa. It makes my head hurt to think about these things, and what they may mean for the people of Foskos, whose well-being is my responsibility. Lisaykos told me the tiny terrible troublemaker would do anything possible not to be the prophet. She upset Lisaykos when she mentioned suicide as a potential way to escape this honor the gods have given her. What must go on inside the mind of Emily? I would think a person would be grateful and humbled to be chosen as a prophet, the pinnacle of what the gods permit a mortal to be. But Emily thought of killing herself as a way to escape her fate. I just don''t understand how anyone could think that, especially someone born as a lowly Coyn. Wouldn''t everyone want to go from the lowest to the highest? Granted, Emily isn¡¯t your average Coyn, even compared to the ones who have been trained at the Shrines of Mueb, Giltak, and Sassoo. Having seen her in action several times, there is no denying the brilliance of her mind. She says it''s just the knowledge from her former life plus some additions from the gods, but she is not accounting for one thing: what she has done with that knowledge. She must have been eight or nine years old when she found the cave in the Vanishing River Valley and started to live there with nothing more than the rags on her back. What she accomplished while alone in the wilderness defies reason. No child, even with Emily''s knowledge, should have been able to create all the things she made there: iron, two kinds of instant fire, potions that explode and blow hillsides apart, and a machine to harness the destructive force of lightning. Last year, I thought of Emily as someone I wanted to own. Then I thought of her as someone to charm and befriend for the benefit I could gain. Now I think of Emily as someone I must both fear and protect because she is weak and vulnerable and a prophet who talks to gods. I have seen five manifestations of gods in the last year and every time I¡¯ve been overjoyed not to lose the contents of my bladder. Emily has no fear of the gods. Mugash¡¯s gift of the name Courage is not misplaced. Emily¡¯s steady demeanor facing the gods made me notice something I had missed for over twenty years: Aylem is also unafraid of the gods. She reveres them, in ways that Emily does not, but she is not terrified in the presence of a deity the way other Cosm are. I haven¡¯t asked Asgotl if he is also unaffected by the gods but since they are a threesome, I expect he is the same way. I was looking over the disposition of troops around the Crystal Shrine when someone told me Aylem had arrived and was in the domed chamber using the Great Crystal. I meant to ask Asgotl how he felt about the gods while Aylem was using the crystal because I expected her to be in her trance when I entered the dome. Instead, two Asgotls were sitting near Aylem, who was sitting on the Shrine''s Throne, looking depressed. I pulled up a chair and took her hand in mine, ¡°you look unhappy, Aylem.¡± "I tried something Ud taught me, to unravel time while using clairvoyance to see events in the past," she kept shaking her head as if she had seen something unbelievable. "The ones who took Emily, I expected them to fly to the fort in the third tributary valley of the Ahkeseld. That¡¯s the fort we plan to attack and destroy in a few days, as soon as the rest of our forces are in place. I assumed that Emily was there, but that¡¯s not correct. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°They didn¡¯t stop there, Imstay. They kept flying. They flew through a charm of misdirection or obscuration and I can''t pick them back up." She looked me in the eyes, "Imstay, there has to be another fort somewhere in the mountains or in the desert just to the south. Emily is not in the fort we plan to take." ¡°We can send Usruldes to inquire of the eagles, and to gain permission to look for another Impotuan fort. If that fails, we can set up the attack on the fort we do know about in a way that will encourage someone to go for help. Then it¡¯s just a matter of following them,¡± I squeezed her hand, ¡°and they will take us to their other location. We¡¯ll find her.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help it,¡± she sighed and drooped, ¡°but I worry about Emily. She¡¯s so...so...¡± ¡°She¡¯s only seven hands high and probably weighs 80 stone,¡± I filled in for the frustrated Aylem. ¡°She¡¯s tiny and she¡¯s weak. A strong wind would likely pick her up and send her sailing through the air like one of her kite toys with a broken string.¡± ¡°Oh, be serious, Imstay,¡± she gave me a look, which admittedly was an improvement on her moping. ¡°I am being serious,¡± I protested with just a dash of officiousness. ¡°Now, that¡¯s an idea! We could tie a kite string on Emily and get her airborne in a good breeze and we could keep her out of trouble for whole days that way, so long as the wind cooperated. We could probably arrange some kind of intercession on wind velocities with the Lord of the Winds through the Holy Senlyosart and the Singing Shrine of Sassoo. I wonder what that would take? Any idea, love?¡± I looked at her with the utmost sincerity. Her look of incredulity was a wonder and then her face slowly collapsed into a chortle and then dissolved into some deeply-aspirated laughter, as she slapped her knee and grasped her sides. I turned and looked at my cousin Foyuna, who had been taking notes at the recorder''s table in the shrine¡¯s journal of doings that involved the Great Crystal. She was frantically writing while biting a finger to keep herself from laughing. I gestured at the laughing Aylem with a look of befuddlement on my face, ¡°Cousin Foyuna, my wife thinks I jest. What can I do?¡± Foyuna put her pen down carefully and capped the inkwell. Then she allowed herself to laugh. "You, sir," she pointed a finger at me, "are as bad at 41 as you were at 17." She referred to the age I was when I discovered my young cousin Foyuna was a delight to both entertain and tease. I confess I''ve never stopped. Foyuna has always been my favorite royal relative outside my children. I heard the snickering of a griffin and turned to see one of the Asgotl twins having a good laugh at my antics. Now that I had a good look at the other Asgotl, I could see he was a bit younger and maybe just a tad bigger. So there was Asgotl and a younger brother? I decided to target that lazy griffin a bit to see if I could keep Aylem laughing. She clearly needed some catharsis. The last day must have been brutal for her, especially after I heard she had performed another one of her healing miracles on a woodcrafter who did a lot of work for the Healing Shrine. I stood up and sauntered over to Asgotl, winking at his twin at the same time. Then I laid on the obsequiousness, as I got down on one knee, put my hand over my heart, and bowed my head: "My humble apologies, Great One, for neglecting your proper greeting while I spoke with my wife. May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon your blessed head, Great One." I kept my head bowed to force that fat frump of feathers to respond properly, which I knew he must hate. I was a study of respectful stillness. Yes, I did know how to steal the attention while playing a part. It was working too since I heard Foyuna chortling, and Aylem fell into a renewed paroxysm of laughter. Aylem would do well to learn to laugh more. Asgotl heaved a great beleaguered sigh, "and upon you, Mighty One. Please rise, sir, and be at your ease." I was amazed at the somber and respectful tone in which Asgotl returned my blessing. I could not have received a better response than what Asgotl gave me. I looked up and was reassured by a stare that promised a world of retribution would be mine as soon as he thought some up. ¡°Is this your younger brother, Asgotl?¡± I grinned at the goofball. ¡°He looks just like you.¡± ¡°Imstay King,¡± Asgotl went back to being serious, ¡°this is my younger cousin, Rialdiaj, who will be taking a short-term contract as Princess Opo¡¯aba¡¯s mount.¡± "Oh!" This was unexpected but welcome news. Opa had finally gotten over the death of her previous mount, a lovely flying filly named Ledjetl. ¡°Have you had a chance to meet my daughter?¡± ¡°I met the princess this morning and found her very kind to this uncultured youngster just out of the aerie,¡± he was well-spoken and respectful, though the self-depreciation needed to go. He saw the face I made at him. "Imstay King, I am straight out of the aerie," he protested. "Before yesterday, I had never even been to a human town. I know very little about human ways. I am an uneducated youth, all of 17 years of age and just accepted two seasons ago as an adult in my clan." "My apologies, Rialdiaj," I bowed my head briefly to him. "I thought you were being flowery in speech when you just being truthful. It was my misunderstanding." The poor youngster didn''t know what to say in response, so I saved him from his confoundment. I looked at my now-relaxed and no-longer-moping wife, "Well, Aylem, do you want to keep trying with the crystal, or should we call up the scouts and wraiths and see if we can find this second base where the enemy has carried off our Emily?" ¡°Maybe both, but I believe I should take a break before doing more work with the Great Crystal. Thank you for cheering me up.¡± "I saw the foretelling that Kamagishi received," I remarked, sitting back down next to her. "From the contents, I believe that Emily will come back to us on her own time and maybe with blisters on her feet.¡± ¡°Now that confuses me,¡± Aylem looked vexed. ¡°How could it happen that Emily would ever walk far enough in a populated place like Foskos to get blisters before someone came along to take her where she wanted to go? Besides, she knows how to make her own shoes, for Surd¡¯s sake. It¡¯s just not possible!¡± I pulled out the crystal pendant whose other half was around Usruldes¡¯ neck and sent him a summons. I disliked using the wraiths this much or this openly, but protecting and retrieving the prophet from the Impotuans required their skills. Yet I felt it in my bones that while we would find some new friends or allies during this expedition, Emily would come home on her own. 131. Falling Emily, Impotuan fort in the Blue Mountains north of the Ahkeseld River It was time to head to the basement to make our escape. Arma put two sheets into the laundry basket and then lifted me in. The sides of this thing were almost as tall as I was. Arma frowned at me as I curled up in the bottom of the basket, ¡°You really are tiny, even for a Coyn. How old are you? Are you fully grown yet?¡± I sighed, ¡°I haven¡¯t gotten any taller for the last three years, so I think this is as big as I¡¯m ever going to be. I assume that I¡¯m fully grown. Yes, I know I¡¯m small even for a Coyn.¡± I tried not grumble. ¡°Ouch, looks like I found a sore spot,¡± she raised an eyebrow at me. ¡°So you think you are 15 or 16, in this life?¡± ¡°That¡¯s about right.¡± ¡°It helps to know that you are much older than you look," she remarked and she put my clothes on top of me. Then she covered me with more laundry. "You are so confident and worldly when you speak while looking like a child ¨C it¡¯s off-putting and a bit frightening.¡± ¡°I think the gods might have done that on purpose, so I can use being underestimated as a weapon or ploy when dealing with adversaries,¡± I surmised. "Well, it does deliver a bit of a shock," she admitted. The basket rocked when she picked it up. "Now, hush. We must pass three or four people on our way down to the basement." I did my best to adopt the mindset of a bedsheet, lying around with nothing to do all day besides attracting dust mites. I tried to keep my nerves from making me too jittery. It was hard letting someone else carry me to our departure point. Arma started down steps and then leveled out. A man¡¯s voice stopped her: ¡°Doing laundry, my lady?¡± ¡°Linens don¡¯t stop getting dirty just because there¡¯s a battle on, Kelmain,¡± Arma replied with just a touch of weariness over doing chores. The man laughed, ¡°I guess that¡¯s true.¡± Arma continued walking and went down more stairs. From the sound of her footsteps, these were stone steps instead of wooden ones. In a loud voice which I assumed was for the benefit of the other Cosm left in the fort, Arma called out: "Twee, wake up. I need some water in the washing basins." There was the sound of water rushing followed by the thump of bags or parcels being put on the floor. Then Arma lifted the laundry off me, which was a relief since the amount of cloth used on a Cosm bed was not an insignificant weight. ¡°Get dressed,¡± Arma whispered as she covered the top of the basket with a sheet. I was already in my pants and Ud-shirt. I pulled on my under and overtunics and belted them. On the premise that we would be in the water, I wrapped the billet end of my belt around the belted part several times so the end would not dangle. I did not know what had happened to my pouch, which wasn¡¯t making me happy because the matches and the striking stone were in my pouch along with my little eating dagger, which was one of my only surviving possessions from my former home in the Vanishing River Valley. The basket started shaking and it knocked me to my knees, which hurt. I was sure that would bruise. Then the basket kept shaking. ¡°Don¡¯t panic, I¡¯m casting a barrier,¡± Arma dragged the basket next to her. I could hear odd bits of things falling and could smell dust rising. It was an earthquake. It stopped soon enough that I guessed it would have been around a magnitude four if this had been Earth. Arma flipped the sheet off the top of the basket, ¡°you alright?¡± "I''m fine. The further you get from the Great Cracks in Foskos, the more earthquakes there are in the Blue Mountains, or so I am told. That makes sense if you consider that the geothermal anomaly of the volcanic rift creates a seismic quiet zone because the increased heat, which decreases the..." I looked at Arma''s completely befuddled face and stopped. "I''m sorry, Arma. You didn¡¯t understand most of that, I¡¯m guessing.¡± ¡°You understand why there are earthquakes?¡± She asked in a quiet voice full of doubt. ¡°Yes, I do,¡± I smiled apologetically. "Ssssssssssthat''s interesssssting," a sibilant tenor-to-alto pitched voice said behind me. "Sssssscan you explain it sssssometime for me when we are not attempting to take a sssssssudden trip?" I turned to see two large but clouded eyes in what looked like a giant salamander head peeking out of what I had taken to be a cistern. The head was as wide as I was at my shoulders. His skin was dark brown with yellow spots. ¡°Yes, yes I can,¡± I replied, recovering from my moment of feeling startled by him. The head turned back and forth and then pointed down toward me, ¡°Ssssthere you are. You are just a little thing. Oh my, the gods really do favor you. Seven holy blessings and the eyes of the angry cat god.¡± ¡°What?¡± I was surprised. I thought Arma said he was blind. His eyes certainly looked like they had the tell-tale cloudiness of caustic lime burns. "Twee was the shaman of his tribe of Chem," Arma said softly, seeing my confusion. "The Chem shaman can see auras. Now if you two can be quiet for a moment, I need to run upstairs for a moment. Emly, you should probably go around to the other side of Twee''s sleeping tank so no one can see you if they look down the stairs. I moved and Arma ran up the stairs. We soon heard her voice. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Kelmain, are you alright? Is everyone accounted for? Was there any damage?¡± Arma accosted the man she talked to earlier. ¡°Crist scalded himself in the kitchen when a pot on the stove fell over," his voice sounded a bit distant. "That''s all that happened. Everyone is otherwise fine and accounted for. I was more worried about the cook fires but there were no mishaps there." ¡°I will take care of cook Crist,¡± Arma said. We heard nothing for several moments and then footsteps came down the stairs. ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± she whispered so I could hear her. She walked around the tank, ¡°I¡¯m the healer. It would have looked strange if I had not checked on everyone. But now that¡¯s done. You, Emly, are probably looking for this,¡± she reached into her belt pouch and pulled out my missing belt pouch. ¡°Is there anything in here that can¡¯t get wet?¡± "Oh, yes. Is there a way to keep things dry?" I pulled it open and checked to make sure the striking stone and copper box of matches were still there. "Will this do?" she handed me two oilskin envelopes big enough to put all the contents of my pouch inside, along with greased leather thongs to tie them. I folded my pouch contents into an oilskin packet tied within an oilskin packet which I then stowed inside my pouch, now safely on my belt. ¡°Tie up your skirts like this," Arma instructed as she grabbed both sides of her tunics and tied the ends together, looping them through her belt. She looked like one of those working peasant women in the calendar pages of the Tres Riches Heures illuminated manuscript. All she needed was to tie her hair up in a white kerchief, and she could have stepped off the pages of a fifteenth-century hand-painted book. I followed her example. Tying my skirts up did get a lot of fabric away from my feet and lower legs. Arma hefted what looked like a haversack onto her back. Then she picked me up without warning, which made me gasp in surprise. "Sorry, I need to remember to warn you before I do that, don''t I? You''re very jumpy for a Coyn, you know." She stepped into the tank and I got my first look at all of Twee. He was about 12 hands from his nose to where his rear legs were and his tail started. Then there were about another 12 hands to the tail. The tail ended in four little tentacle-looking things. He had a bright red cloth like a bandana tied around his thick neck. "Sssssit down in the water, Arma, and I will make the water run away from your heads." ¡°The water is warm, Emly, so it won¡¯t be bad getting wet,¡± Arma said as she got both arms wrapped around me firmly and knelt. ¡°Sssssall the way under, sssssgirls,¡± Twee patted me on the head with his splayed fingers which did not appear to have a palm. His fingers looked like they splayed out directly from his wrist with a bit of webbing in between. I took a breath but found it unnecessary as a bubble of air about four hands in diameter formed around my head. Twee wrapped himself around me and Arma just below my head. "Hhhhhhhere weeeee go," he said with his head immersed outside my air pocket. We started spinning in the water as if we were detritus could in a drain. That''s probably close to what happened because in a moment we were in the dark, in what appeared to be a round water-filled passage. We traveled at a great speed, faster than I was comfortable with until we surfaced like a fishing float suddenly free from a fishing line. ¡°Sssssdo not get out yet,¡± Twee unwrapped himself and swam free. ¡°Sssskeep your headsss down while I make trouble.¡± The ground visibly trembled and moved in waves. Water spouts erupted around the valley the fort was in. It was built at the edge of where the forested slopes met a grassy basin surrounded by a ring of peaks. It was mostly shielded from sight by trees, obscuring it from being seen by flying mounts who were not directly on top of it. ¡°Sssssnow, ladiesss, run into the treesss,¡± Twee instructed. ¡°They will be too busy saving themselves to look our way.¡± I hoped he was right. The ground disturbances continued and from behind a screen of majestic pines, we saw the stone foundation of the fort fail and the wood superstructure slide off into the liquified mud surrounding it. "SssssssI made a new swamp here," Twee made a funny hissing noise that I thought might be his version of laughter. "Sssssswest to the river and the trade road isss thisss way. We ssshould walk as far as we can manage. It may be daysss before they discover that we are not in the ruins of the fort or it may be hoursss. Sssso away we should be." ¡°Hold on just a moment,¡± Arma said as she cast a drying charm. ¡°There, how¡¯s that, Emly?¡± ¡°Much improved, thank you,¡± I glanced back at the crumbling fort, whose beams and stones were still shifting and moving. I saw some men leap out of the collapsed wood upper story to the ground from where the fort was beginning to burn. ¡°I hope the kitchen crew gets out okay.¡± ¡°Ssssssthey are the enemy,¡± Twee studied me, standing up on his hind legs. ¡°Sssswhy should we care if they live or die?¡± ¡°They never did me any harm, Twee, and they are just cooks, not warriors,¡± I pointed out. His head tilted to the side as he thought about what I said. "Sssssyou have a soft heart, little prophet, even after you have sssuffered ssso. Maybe it is a prophet thing. Arma, give me your belt end, and please lead us." Arma carried me in her arms for hours, into the night. The ground under her feet vanished behind us. It was amazing how fast she could walk. Twee trotted alongside her on all fours, grasping the dangling end of her belt in his mouth. Every half bell or so, Arma would stop and give a waterskin to Twee who would squirt water into his gills. We noticed small tremors as we walked, but they were nothing to be alarmed over. I confess that I fell asleep while Arma carried me. This left me feeling inadequate and embarrassed when I woke up, which was when she stopped traveling for the evening. We made a fireless camp in the trees, on a bluff overlooking the river. We could see the lights of the little traveler¡¯s town called Three Rivers at the confluence of the Ahkeseld and Wall Rivers, which was about 500 hands shy of the confluence of the Adkeseld and Nocustoms Rivers. It was toward the end of the growing season, which in the southern end of Foskos usually meant stream flows diminished because there was less rain. It would start snowing soon on the mountain tops but it would only sprinkle on the fields. Precipitation wouldn¡¯t pick back up until the middle of the harvest season on the flat, and then only gradually. The Ahkeseld was flowing slowly enough that I could see the stars reflected on the river''s surface. The smear of stars overhead, which Foskans called Gertzpul''s Road, was bright enough to see by at night. I had forgotten what moonlight looked like since Erdos had no moon. I sat on the edge of the bluff and took in the beautiful view. I wanted my watercolor paints from my previous life, and my field box, stool, and a pad of Arches cold press to capture the scene. It was that lovely. ¡°Are you coming to sleep, Emly?¡± Arma asked. ¡°I have a pillow for you.¡± ¡°Be there in a moment,¡± I answered. ¡°I was just enjoying the scenery.¡± I felt something thump on the ground. I was wrong that it was a thump. It was probably the P-wave of the earthquake whose presence became obvious a breath later when the ground wobbled under the S-wave. I started to get up to get away from the edge of the bluff. ¡°Emly!¡± Arma called out in concern. She started toward me. I never saw her arrive because the surface wave train of the earthquake arrived and the face of the bluff collapsed under me and into the river below, taking me with it. I could hear Arma shouting my name over and over until the ground fell on top of me and took me with it downward. 132. Toms first letter --- End Part 1 Priestess Arma, along the Ahkeseld River I watched in horror as the edge of the bluff collapsed, pieces of the edge slipping down one after another, with Emly on the first bit of ground to go sliding down toward the river. I grabbed Twee and levitated both of us as the ground where we were setting up the bedroll wobbled and buckled as it too slid down toward the river. I snatched the haversack and waterskins quickly before they vanished downhill and flew them and Twee to the far side of the river, where there were no bluffs. Then I levitated over the hillside that fell into the river, looking for Emly and hoping beyond hope to find her in one piece and still alive and unhurt. Frantic, I exerted all the magic strength I had, lifting the part of the bluff in the river that I knew she was on. I spread it, thinning it and expanding the space it took to help search, and moved it to the river bank next to us. Then I searched for her. I found her boots and one stocking but nothing else, which made no sense unless I missed her in the river. So I went back to search the river, taking the collapsed bluff still in the river apart, standing up to my hips in the cold river water. All the time I was searching, Twee was trying to get me to stop and to rest, saying something strange, like a god had passed by and taken Emly away. I didn¡¯t want to accept that for it could only be Gertzpul. Nothing else made sense to me. I eventually collapsed on the river bank, Twee circling me frantically in concern, saying Emly would be alright. I had to wonder if I had heard him correctly, or if he or I had bumped our heads and were making no sense. At some point, I must have blacked out because when I opened my eyes next, members of the black-clothed assassins of Foskos had me on a bed pad in a tent, under blankets and with a pillow behind my head. The pain in my head was substantial. Twee was seated on a chair speaking the hiss-and-click language of the Chem to a very tall man sitting next to him. The man was in the black mask and black mantle of the Foskan assassins. ¡°You¡¯re awake,¡± said a woman¡¯s voice on the other side of me. I turned my head painfully to see a very tall silverhair with thick wavy hair in a single braid down her back. She was wearing a blue gown over a pale yellow undertunic. The fitted cut appeared very practical for flying or working but I could tell that the cloth wasn¡¯t just good, it was excellent. The undertunic was patterned linen of a very high thread count and the gown was silk. ¡°I¡¯ve rarely seen a magic-overuse injury as bad as yours,¡± she smiled sympathetically. ¡°You almost killed yourself. If I had arrived any later, you might have left this world, and that would make my friend Emily very unhappy since your friend Twee tells us you helped him and her escape the second Impotuan fort.¡± ¡°You found Emly?¡± I started to get up despite the pain but the silverhair¡¯s hands pushed me gently but authoritatively back down. ¡°We have not located Emily yet,¡± the woman smiled with a hint of frustration, ¡°but we have reason to believe we will not find her. One or more gods have taken her somewhere beyond our ability to find her. There was a foretelling made by Galt five nights ago, saying that we would find two of Emily¡¯s friends but that Emily herself would walk home on her own. Twee said he saw a hole to a different place that Emily fell through. Then it closed behind her. We know that Chem are born with second sight and we believe him. I¡¯m wondering why you did not take his advice and stop your efforts searching the landslide for Emily?¡± Again, I had failed as a priestess. I should have listened to Twee, whose role as a shaman was very close to being a priest here. I instead wallowed in my panic when I could have been conserving my resources to get us both safely to Foskos. ¡°I failed to heed him because of my own foolishness. I feared for Emly¡¯s life so I heard Twee but failed to listen to him.¡± I wanted to find an Arma-sized hole to bury myself in. ¡°I''m not sure you should be sorry about being driven to save a life, Healer Arma," she smiled, and there was understanding and compassion in that smile. "I am astounded that you lifted and spread half a landslide out of a river to find a missing Coyn. You found her boots so you must have found and spread out the debris from the place she fell. If she was here to find, you would have found her then. Moving all that ground and relocating it so it could be searched was an awe-inspiring feat of magic kinetics. Are you sure you''re not really a road builder of Gertzpul in disguise?" The look on her face was holding its own conversation and it said to me: "You did great so quit being so hard on yourself." ¡°But¡,¡± I started to protest and this lady cut me off. ¡°No buts, young healer,¡± this thirty-something only a few years older than me chided, shaking an admonishing finger, ¡°You did well. If you had not done such a good job of methodically spreading out the landslide debris, the Corps of Wraiths would be doing it themselves in your stead, just to confirm there is no Emily for us to find. Their chief, Usruldes the Wraith, would demand it of them for the sake of being thorough.¡± ¡°Usruldes the Wraith,¡± I grabbed my blankets without thinking and physically shuddered. That name was wrapped in fear for over more than half the dry land on Erdos. The lady was startled by my reaction, and then she relaxed and chuckled. She clapped twice loudly, interrupting the conversation of Twee and the Foskan assassin. ¡°Sorry to break into such a lively conversation, but it is apropos to introduce yourself to Priestess Arma since you were the one who found her and asked me to come to heal her." ¡°You will, Great One,¡± a musical bass said as he bowed his masked head. Who was she that he called her great one? Was she one of the rumored revelators who lived in Foskos? ¡°Friend and Priestess Arma,¡± he looked at me with stormy grey eyes, ¡°please forgive my rudeness in not greeting you when you awoke, but Twee here was talking up a storm.¡± Twee slumped little and tilted his head, ¡°Sssssssorry, Arma.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, silly,¡± I replied. He flicked his tongue twice in reply. Twee was an easy-going sort and not all wrapped up in conversational courtesies. ¡°I am Lord Usruldes Udkin,¡± he bowed in his chair, ¡°commonly known as the Wraith. I am the Minister of Intelligence for the Kingdom of Foskos. I want to assure you that my Corps of Wraiths will bring you and Shaman Twee safely and comfortably to the Healing Shrine of Mugash in Aybhas.¡± I think I must have clutched the blankets to shield myself from this new threat, ¡°Us...us...usruldes?¡± ¡°I think your infamy may have exaggerated your menace, Lord Usruldes,¡± said the lady who had healed me. ¡°Priestess Arma, let me assure you, if you are under his protection, nothing on this world will harm you. You need a safe place to recuperate and Twee will be staying at the Healing Shrine while I try to remove the scarring from his eyes. Healing eye injuries is one of my specialties. I fixed Emily''s eyes last year after she had a bad accident with one of her furnaces.¡± My head was spinning. On one side of me was the most feared assassin in the world. On the other side, the lady who healed me could be none other than the storied Blessed Aylem, revelator of Tiki. Emly said Aylem Queen had fixed her eyes last year. The Queen was said to be the greatest mage anywhere. She was also rumored to be insane. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Oh dear,¡± the assassin looked concerned, ¡°you don¡¯t look good, Priestess.¡± ¡°You¡¯re¡you¡¯re¡,¡± my tongue would not work properly and I was having trouble focusing. My ears were filling with funny high-pitched tinnitus. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I forgot to introduce myself,¡± the lady smiled with an apology all over her face. "I am sorry, friend Arma. I am Aylem Nonkin, Queen of Foskos. I am also both an adept and a healer. Lord Usruldes is right in that you do not look well right now, though that shouldn¡¯t be a surprise since we know you¡¯re not well.¡± I felt Twee take my hand with those soft fingers of his with the strange springy skin, "Sssssssfeel better sssoon, Arma. I am worried for you. I find that Lord Usruldes is thoughtful and kind. He found us and summoned a healer as soon as he saw your condition, which was getting worse after you fell and passed out." ¡°I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ve given the poor girl a shock, Great One,¡± the musical bass was full of concern and care, which did not mesh with my conception of this man as the world¡¯s most frightening assassin. ¡°I fear you are right, Lord Usruldes,¡± the Queen sighed. ¡°I have an eagle litter coming to take you to Aybhas, Priestess,¡± Lord Usruldes informed me. I will ride alongside and Twee will ride with me. The Queen is coming with us. We have kept all of the Impotuan soldiers away from this area so they do not even know you are alive, which may be a blessing. A few escaped. Some we captured. The rest are casualties. ¡°You will be safe in a bed at the Healing Shrine in two to three bells," he paused as a lady dressed as one of the Foskan assassins handed him a message tube from a messenger bird. He unrolled it and his eyebrows slammed together in a frown. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± the Queen asked. ¡°Snow Bear is injured,¡± his lips pursed under the mask. ¡°General and imperial heir Arkaline took his arm off. She escaped. His eagle is carrying him and his arm, one in each talon, so Marmot writes. They are heading here because of a rumor that a certain healer is in the camp. Great One, could you...?¡± ¡°You do not even need to ask," the Queen made a slightly-exasperated face at him, "especially not for the ever-worthy Snow Bear. Can we get a tent set up with a good windbreak and conditions inside as clean as possible?" ¡°Certainly,¡± he got up, hissed and clicked at Twee who was still holding my hand, and then Lord Usruldes left. The Queen gave me a quizzical look, ¡°would you believe me if I told you that Lord Usruldes also has a soft heart, especially for his Corps of Wraiths, but for others too? He and his eagle bond spent more than two bells rescuing survivors from last year''s flood, unknown and unasked when he could have been at his leisure. Then he refused to admit it had been him. He is much kinder than his reputation would suggest.¡± I was speechless. I think I was indeed in shock. - - - Lisaykos, Healing Shrine of Mugash My son, dressed as a royal courier, frowned in concentration as he read what I could not read. It was all in Earth¡¯s Latin letters, tiny Latin letters as if written by a Coyn. I suspected that they were written by a Coyn, one who was not Emily. Irhessa put the paper down and looked at me in consternation, ¡°it¡¯s a love poem, in English. ¡®What I dream I had, pressed in organdy, clothed in crinoline of smoky burgundy, softer than the rain.¡¯ There¡¯s more like that, a whole cascade of images, all invoking a scene of meeting a man¡¯s lover in a romantic place in his dreams. Then he wakes up to find her sleeping next to him, and he confesses how much he loves her. Organdy and crinoline are fabrics associated with fancy women''s clothing on Earth and smoky burgundy is that deep red-brown color you see in some of the heartier red wines.¡± ¡°Surd save us,¡± I let slip. The implications were startling. ¡°There''s more," he said, picking up the paper. "He writes, ''By this Paul Simon piece, you will know that it is me if you are my Emily. I come to Aybhas from time to time on business for the holding where I live. I have obtained my own guitar. A Coyn can''t climb the steps to the main shrine or I would visit the garden under your window on the south wing and play the songs that I know you love, including our song. So if your captors ever let you out, come to the social hall for Coyn by the Chapel Shrine of Surd in the northeast quarter. I will play there when I come to town. I do not know if you still love me but I believe I still love the lover you once were. Even if you do not love me anymore, we should talk.'' He wrote no more than that. I do not know why he drew a drum at the bottom of the paper." ¡°The last line of the Prophecy of the Great Breaking," I remarked. "I think it has to do with that since the prophecy promises that the girl with the golden eyes will rediscover her heart''s desire." ¡°¡¯And Wisdom returns to her the heart she shares with a drum,¡¯¡± he quoted. ¡°So this mysterious Coyn who can write English in Latin letters and quotes earth poetry, does he have a name or occupation that has something to do with drumming?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it has anything to do with that occupation, because her first husband was a soldier and her second was a miner.¡± ¡°He was in prison?¡± Irhessa was shocked. ¡°Mining was a profession where Emily lived,¡± I got up to make myself some more tea since I had granted Wolkayrs time to be with his recovering sister and Aylem was busy trying to remove scar tissue from the Chem¡¯s eyes. ¡°Her people did not use working in a mine as a means of punishment. Emily¡¯s people knew how to mine rocks so that people didn¡¯t die all the time. It was an honest and honorable craft. Why else would Emily be good at it herself?¡± ¡°When we find this person, he can explain it to us,¡± Irhessa glowered. ¡°Which husband do you think it is?¡± ¡°You look like a father looking over the first young man to ask to date your daughter,¡± I was amused. Despite accusing me of being protective of Emily, he didn¡¯t realize he was protective of her too. ¡°I hope it is the first husband because she fled her country to escape the abuse of the second.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± he looked like he was remembering something, ¡°the first husband died in a war.¡± "She loved the first," I boiled the water with a charm and poured it into the tea basket at the top of the pot. "Emily will know who it is when she gets back,¡± I sighed and wondered where she was, which god had taken her, and when she might come home. I had to face my own truth, that it was too quiet and I was lonely without her causing continual havoc in my quarters. Lyappis was right. I needed to be more social for my own good. I don¡¯t know if I had been good for Emily but Emily had been a blessing for me. I frowned at the boarded-up windows on the east wall of my study and grumbled over Impotuans to myself. With the destruction of the two Impotuan forts in the southern Blue Mountains, we would have a peaceful pause during the upcoming harvest and cold seasons. Foskos was recovering from last year''s flood and this year''s invasion. The upcoming cold season will be another lean one because the Impotuans burned the crops in Yuxviayeth and massacred everyone they found. Thank the gods for Emily''s gift of purple wet weed. It would keep people from starving for a second cold season in a row. The Holy Ashansalt had learned the knack of cultivating it in alpine meadows and Coyn who farmed on holdings had been planting its seed bulbs this year everywhere they could carry then. The bogberry harvest will be excellent this year, which will help on the southern end of the kingdom. I think there will be not a few nobles this year learning to like fish better. Emily had already convinced my daughter that Coyn could walk out on the iced-over lakes and rivers to fish through the ice. She even designed a tool that two Coyn could use to cut through the ice. Foskos would not starve this cold season. Next year, Imstay will take an army into Impotu to pursue retribution for the invasion. Foskos would look weak if we didn''t launch a counterstrike. There is disaster and war behind us and more war in front of us. Wedged in between, the peace of the upcoming harvest season has an air of the surreal. How I wish I could stretch these quiet sunny days out forever. But I can''t do that so I watch and I wait and I worry about that little Coyn whose existence has become precious to me. Emily never did give Imstay instant fire. --- The End of the First Part --- 2.1 Girl talk with a god? Emily, along the Ahkeseld River and other places The rocks and the dirt and the grass fell on top of me while I was falling. Clod by clod I was buried. I expected to be crushed by the weight of the earth and suffocated by the lack of air. Neither happened. Instead, once I was swallowed by the darkness, it felt more like being in water. Then it became water yet I could breathe. As soon as my mind recovered from the shock and the change of scenery, or lack thereof in this case, I knew a god must be messing with me. "It was a lot more fun last year before you figured everything out, Luv," Vassu the Shark moped as she swam a circle around me. She was the only thing I could see and she was still wearing the pink chiffon. So Vassu was messing with me? She was more active with the puny lifeforms of Erdos than other gods, and I did like her goofiness. It reminded me of the great musical comedian Anna Russell. "The bismuthite adventure was a very good time," I said. I wouldn''t turn down more of those. The bismuth adventure with Usruldes and Cadrees had been a lot of fun with a Cosm who didn''t scare the crap out of me. "Alas, the time for appetizers is over," Vassu sighed. "Appetizers?" "You know, Luv, little tasters to engage your fertile brain, get you interested, and keep you entertained while we get ready for the main dish," Vassu sounded like she was trying to be cheerful and positive. "And where are we on the menu right now?" I asked. "We''re still in the teasers," she stopped in front of me with all those scary teeth. "We''re in the soup and salad and bread rolls stage of an American formal restaurant meal of the twentieth century. The main events of the entree are coming up soon." "So where am I?" I asked, noting I could stand up and there was something solid beneath my feet. "Well, nowhere really," she grinned. It was then that I noticed I had lost my boots and one of my stockings. "I''m just taking the opportunity to tease that insufferable cat god. He opened up the hole in reality that you fell through but I shunted that time-space line to bring you here instead of Salicet. Finding us will give him something to do while we girls can have a chat. I confess that I do want to talk with you about one matter of importance." "You wanted to talk with me?" I was still feeling unhappy about what Mugash pulled on me with Tiki''s blessing. "I had nothing to do with that," Vassu huffed. "I tend to err on the too-much-information side of things and I do not approve of extending physical burdens and sufferings. Biological life is already hard enough on souls." I knew she wasn''t lying. The gods tend to err with their lack of disclosure, but they don''t lie. The problem from my point of view is that they withhold information or like to disguise it to the point of not being useful inside the wrapper of a prophecy. "That''s not a flattering way to look at your deities, but it''s not incorrect either," she sighed. "Well, I do need to speak with you about Twee, who you just met. You haven''t had time to get to know him better but I hope you do become friends with him. The most important thing, Emily, is to get him to my shrine in Weirgos. He''s the next revelator. You must take him to Omexkel since Giltak is collaborating with me on this. There, he needs to learn all he can about cast and wrought iron. Then you need to take him home to his tribe and help get them started on their iron industry. It''s the next step on your great task of setting up the Great Breaking." "What?" To say I was gobsmacked would be an understatement. "I thought the Great Breaking was about the end of slavery." "Have a seat, Luv," Vassu gave me a toothy smile. Then, I was sitting in a comfortable wingback armchair with a matching hassock under my feet. "I don''t know how long it will take Galt to find us. I do not have time to give you a university class on the relationship between technology, agriculture, the nurturing of creative intellects, and the organization of labor, but for most agriculturalists, the step-up in technology and the ability to sustain a large creative artificer population can correspond to the elimination of most forms of slavery." I mulled that over for a moment, "I note you said that the relation of those four things could lead to the elimination of slavery, not that they would. I also note you said most forms of slavery, not all." "You really are sharp Luv. Don''t ever change that about you. Yes, the introduction of technology that greatly increases labor productivity is a necessary condition to the elimination of slavery." "Given the way you said that, I must surmise that it is not a sufficient condition," I anticipated where Vassu was leading me. "The engineering that minimizes the abuse of increasingly-productive labor is societal. Societies must be managed to balance individual wants and community needs, and that is done through the structure of power. As much as you dislike the man, you need the cooperation of Imstay and other ruling Cosm like him to prevent the abuse of the labor provided by the different races." "Then, what will prevent Imstay from just shifting from chattel slavery to serfdom or wage slavery?" "The gods, which is to say, our agents working through the shrines. "That never worked on Earth," I protested. "There were places where it did, but unfortunately, that was the exception and not the rule. In this reality, we have designed a brake to minimize greed and maximize the greater good for all sapient life. The trick is in the social engineering to make this work. You are part of that, but so are Aylem and Asgotl." "Foskos is not the whole world," I pointed out. "Foskos is destined to rule all other nations in the coming age," Vassu pronounced, and the words felt heavy and profound. "I still don''t understand how this is supposed to work," I grumped. "The Cosm will not do what the gods will not permit in the running of societies. I will do a tiny bit of rule-breaking here, Emily, because you are just too smart to do what you are told without explanation. You need reasons for what you do. So here''s an incentive for you: your revelation from Landa will make the perpetration of chattel and economic slavery a sin. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. "This is this bad part of having someone like you as a prophet, Luv. Many gods prefer less intelligent prophets because they don''t tend to talk back, usually cower in awe, and don''t ask pesky questions," Vasso gave me another of her toothy smiles with all those sharp, hungry-looking teeth. "Many gods prefer that sort of behavior from prophets." "I see," I mulled over what she said. As far as motivational goals, it was a good one. "So, Twee is the fifth revelator. So, that leaves one revelator slot for an eagle and one for a flying horse." "There''s also a fudge factor," Vassu remarked, "as one might have said on Earth, in that we may or may not count you as one of the revelators, since you''re the prophet. If we need to add a revelator at the last minute to fix or fine-tune something, we can have seven revelators plus one prophet, which is a fudge in case we need eight revelations. "Lisaykos was not originally meant to be a revelator and Galt wasn''t supposed to give a revelation this time around too, so that''s thrown off Tiki''s original grand plan." "So, you gods fudge your own prophecies?" I rolled my eyes. The more I learned about how the god business worked, the stranger it got. "You see, not even we know all the details of what will happen. You understand more about time now, so I can say that we know everything about all the different permutations of what may happen, but we don''t know which one will happen." I stopped and thought about that, "That actually makes a twisted kind of sense in a weird statistical thermodynamics way." "You are the most intelligent prophet I have ever encountered, Emily," Vassu studied me with those weird shark eyes with the peanut-shaped pupil. "Having a smart prophet is new for me, and to most of us, except for maybe Galt, but he has such a long view of time, it''s hard to say what he''s had to work with in the past. I do know he enjoys working with you. He hasn''t been this interested in a prophet for a long time, which for a god is longer than you can imagine, I''m sorry to say." "No need to apologize, Vassu," I frowned just a little. "I can cope with the concept of things beyond my understanding. Not knowing stuff keeps me interested, in a warped sort of way. I do suffer from curiosity." "Which killed the cat!" "I know," I grinned. "But you know, the cat came back. "The very next day!" She flashed a toothy grin at me, "I know. This is why everyone thinks you''re so much fun. Well, most of us." She stopped, looked around, and then chuckled. "He''s looking for you, and he''s getting close. It''s good for him. I''m not going to make it easy for him to find you." "Hey, I do get that I am the pawn piece here," I shrugged. I was powerless and I knew it. "You are not a pawn, Emily Prophet," she was suddenly stern with me. "You are the designated prophet. You can not change the boundary conditions on reality, but you can affect the nature of significant outcomes. This is big. Time is one of the variables in magic and you, Emily, get to play with time without having magic." "What?" "Galt already has helped you there. He showed you how your choice of timing on visiting the Shrine of Landa changes the face of war on Erdos. The things you do, the people you talk to, the things you tell them, the thoughts you influence --- all of these allow you to leave your mark. If we want to use Tiki''s metaphor, you''re the catalyst. I don''t like that one much. I prefer a deterministic chaos metaphor instead. I think the role you have is like Lorenz''s butterfly, that the flap of your wing in Mattamukmuk drives the tornado that will level Salicet. But you can choose Mattamukmuk or you can choose Ud''s beach cottage on the Great Wash. That choice will change the effect of that tornado in Salicet. Salicet could fall tomorrow and its half-million residents would all die, or Salicet could fall five years from now, already half-deserted by those who choose not to follow the path of doing the wrong things." "Is that what you see in your view of possible futures?" I asked, curious if this was real or just hypothetical as a teaching moment. The whole destruction of Salicet thing really did upset me. "Destroying Salicet tomorrow would be hypothetical, Luv, because it is already an abandoned reality. It can no longer happen. The one five years from now is quite possible, on the other hand," Vassu explained. "The tornado is a metaphor. I''m not going to spoil the surprise for you. "Oh, this is so much fun when we have time to chat," Vassu did that shark-tooth grin again. I was getting used to it. She was coming across a lot more coherently this time. "I should probably let Galt in here soon before he gets angry," she winked. "He''s so touchy at times but still, it''s such a thrill to be working on a reality with Galt. He''s one of the oldest Gods, you know. "Of course, this is all metaphorical, Luv, but Galt is a god''s god. What a surprise it was, the moment when Tiki slipped up, because Mugash failed to account for your free will, and then, BAM, you cut us out of the prophet channel right on top of a potential nexus event. Galt was ready: he slapped down the equation to fix reality and ran with it. Oh, it was such a choice moment. I was in awe. It was masterful. I can already see the knitting realities entwining and rearranging, fixing the holes and spinning off into the orthogonality of time." She grinned at me suddenly, "I know you''re still getting used to thinking about time as having more than one dimension, but here''s a brain puzzle that I know you will enjoy, Emily Luv: multi-dimension time that''s non-Euclidean." *VASSU!* Galt''s voice echoed through the water space. He popped into being on all fours, fur standing on end. He looked a little silly all fluffed out. I hoped he didn''t fry my brains for thinking that. Gods might take it poorly if taken for comic relief. Vassu sighed, "dear me, playtime with Emily is over. I''m sorry, Luv, we need to do this again sometime. I do look forward to your invention of fireworks." "I get to do fireworks?" I sat up. Now, this sounded like fun. Where would I find selenium, I wondered?" "Hot springs near phosphate-rich marine shales," Vassu replied seamlessly. "Selenium, selenium, selenium," I muttered to myself, trying to remember what the blowpipe test was for that element. I would need to talk to Raoleer about making the right kind of tubing and gas hardware for that. How hard would making a gas works be? *Now look what you''ve done, Vassu,* Galt hissed just a little. *You know what happens if Emily gets too distracted. I have a schedule I need to meet, and you just made it harder for me.* "Come now, Galt dear," she flashed a shark-toothy grin at him, "I think she''s going to enjoy her trip to Salicet in Impotu and Toyakastagga in Mattamesskontess. Do me a favor, Luv"? *It depends,* Galt was calming down, but he was still bristling. "Don''t make her walk all the way home. Winter is coming. Be kind to the poor dear." "Wait!" I just realized what Vassu just implied. "Walk home from Impotu?" "No, dear," Vassu glowered at Galt, "walk home from Mattamesscontess on the east coast." *It''s good timing for the revelation from Landa,* Galt was strangely defensive, not something I had seen in him before. "Galt, it throws off my timing for the Chem. I know we''ve talked about this." *From the Stem River,* Galt stated. "Too far, Luv," her teeth got a little longer. "She needs to be home before the lower passes in the Blue Mountains snow in." *The Impotu military road from the headwaters of the Third River.* "The three passes are too high and she''s lost her boots." *Skags Mountain, and that''s much too close. I won''t go any closer.* "I''ll accept Skags. Deal?" *Deal, you overgrown can of tuna,* he growled a little. "I will consider it a favor," she said graciously. "You may collect sometime in the future, Luv." *I''ll remember that.* "I know you will." *Alright then,* he looked at me and instantly appeared more cheerful. "Well, kitten, I have a fun trip planned for you, complete with your first miracles. You even get to taunt some tyrants. I know you''ll enjoy this.* "WHAT?" 2.2 Walking Home Emily, above the Holding of Truvos, Harvest, 6th rot. 10th day to 7th rot. 1st day Galt had taken me on a trip across the central and eastern part of the Erdos landmass, but now I was heading for home. My trip to play prophet was now over and I woke up in a place I had never seen before. I was at the top of a mountain facing west. On my left, looking back east, I could see a road descending from a pass. Along that road, almost due south of where I sat, I could the fortification of a customs gate with tiny guards in light blue coats. I was somewhere on the eastern Foskan border, but I was too far to see any facings on the coats so I didn''t know where. I didn''t want to deal with any Cosm guard forces, so I knew I didn''t want to climb down the mountain going south. In the distance to the west, I could see a vast lake, three villages, and a town with a manse about a half wagon-day away. It was much later in the year than I expected because the leaves on the aspens were yellow and on the maples and oaks, bright red and orange. I couldn''t go due west because the slope was too steep in that directio. If this mountain was easy to get down going northwest, I could be at the manse before the sun went down. I could see the giant late-season gourds and squashes the Cosm grew, waiting to be gathered out of the fields and stored for the cold season. Tiny figures of Coyn scrambled in the low bushes of irrigated berry bogs along the shore of the lake, picking the fruit the Cosm were too big to gather. The cold season wheat had already sprouted. By elimination and by the size of the valley and lake, it had to be Truvos. Pinisla did not have a customs gate. The customs gates for Yant and Surdos were along rivers and the one for Kas was between a mountain and a basalt cone that erupted as recently as a thousand years ago. The customs gate leading to Black Falls was in a low pass dropping to an alpine lake that had no settlement and the two customs posts in Gunndit led to small valleys with an alpine lake and a village in each. On my right was a path heading northwest. It looked like it would be kind to my poor burnt feet, with a mountain stream next to it that I could soak my feet in. I was worried they were getting infected. The blisters had burst on my left foot and the blisters were oozing scary yellowish stuff mixed with what looked like it might be catalase. I didn''t see the scree field until I was right on top of it. Crossing in bare feet that had burns on the soles hurt. It wasn''t as bad as a charm of discipline, so I chewed on my lip and put up with the pain. I reached the stream just before the fourth bell since I could hear a bell tolling the distance, ringing the arrival of midday. I wasn''t making good time. As I soaked my feet in the blissfully-cold water, I thought maybe I should stop comparing everyday pain to charms of discipline since there is nothing worse. There is nothing even close, excluding when Aylem killed me, including monthly cramps, root canals, and migraines remembered from my previous life. My one remaining stocking had been destroyed when the mages attacked me in the palace in Toyatastagka so now I had nothing for my feet. I took my knife and sacrificed my linen undertunic, apologizing to the Coyn weavers who toiled to make the lovely high-thread-count cloth in the weaving shops of Surdos, Yuxvos, and Kesmat, where the flax fields were concentrated. Cloth this fine was made by skilled Coyn who spun and then wove it. Cosm fingers were too big to spin fine threads and weave them. As I created bandages and then a cloth wrapping for my feet, I started thinking of the spinning wheels and drop spindles I had seen everywhere. Twessera loved to spin, weave, sew and embroider. She had what she called a lap loom, which was about the size of a spinet piano from my point of view. She couldn''t spin or weave anything as fine as Coyn fabric but her tweed and twilled wools were very nice and she used them to make pants, stockings, tunics, and mantles for cold weather for her friends. Given that she embroidered everything, her gifts were highly prized. I know I loved all the embroidery she put all over my clothes, though I never found out that she had made off with another of my tunics until it showed back up with her handiwork all over it. At one point, I had to leave instructions with the people who did the laundry that at least two sets of clothes had to stay unembroidered so I would have something to wear that I could get dirty when I made something, like pencils or the invisible ink I promised Troyeepay. As I descended, the path became hard-packed dirt. I heard the fifth bell ring as I got to the nearest village. I saw an all-leather-goods shop among a handful of other basic goods and craft shops. The counter window out front had sandals and shoes for both Cosm and Coyn, which was encouraging. It also had the customary back door on an alley for Coyn to use. My mantle would be good for credit anywhere in Foskos so I knocked and entered. A scowling Cosm lady in a leather apron glared at me as I walked in. "What do you want?" "Welladay, mistress. Might I purchase a pair of shoes or sandals? I have..." "Get out of here. I''ll talk to your owner but I don''t deal with Coyn. Now go." She pointed and took a threatening step toward me. This was not what I had anticipated. In a reasonable and nonconfrontational voice, I replied: "Mistress, surely you know that shrine Coyn may purchase for their own needs on account, reimbursable immediately at the local chapel shrine. I w...wear the staff mantle of the Healing Shrine." "Those gooder-goody stuck-up healers can come and do their own purchasing like they always have in the past. Now, get out, smelly spoot slave before you get used as a rag for cleaning." She took two steps that closed the distance between us so fast that I could not dodge. She stooped and grasped my shoulder, digging her thick fingers in. Picking me up by my shoulder, she flung me out the alley door into the bushes that lined the other side of the alley. The bushes broke my landing but it didn''t stop my shoulder from being dislocated from the rough handling. That hurt. I pulled myself out of the bushes. I ignored the stares of two Coyn men from what looked like the local pewter ware and tinsmith shop, looking out their back door into the alley. Holding my dislocated right arm against my side, I picked out the nearest tree trunk and took a few running steps into it to force my arm back into my shoulder socket. It wasn''t the first time I had dislocated a shoulder in this life. I blacked out from the pain because I found one of those two men sitting me up and the other trying to get me to wake up. "Speak to me, girl," one of them ran a damp cloth across my forehead. "Come on, girl, wake up now. You hear me?" "Huh?" I opened my eyes to see a tall blond bearded man in a worker''s apron, a pair of bronze shears stuffed in the side of his belt. "You alright, there, youngster? That shoulder must hurt. I''ve never seen anyone do that before. We should take you down to the healers." The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Can you stand up?" the man sitting me up asked. He was a bit younger with dark brown hair and pale blue eyes, also in a working apron. "I think so," I started to get up and accepted a hand up from the brown-haired man since I knew I couldn''t use my right arm to regain my balance. It would probably be useless for several days. I stood and took a step forward and back, "yep, I''m good. I''ll stop by the chapel shrine. W...which side of the manse is it on? Is it closer or farther than the manse?" "The manse is closer. One of us really should walk you down. You don''t look well, child," the blond one said, with obvious concern. I was about to take him up on it when a Cosm woman stuck her head out the back door of the shop. "If she can walk herself, she should be fine, boys," the woman said. "I could really use your hands in here because I''m ready to pour the molds. I''ve already skimmed the slag, so the metal can''t get any more melted than it already is." She turned and left the door ajar. "Are you sure you''re up for this?" the blond man asked. "You can wait in the back of our shop and one of us could walk you down after our work is done today." "I should be alright. I can stop at the manse and get help there. Having a staff mantle from a shrine is good for that, but thank you for the offer." I waved with my left hand and started down the alley and onto the track through the village. The track didn''t turn back into a path. It was a grassy track lined by white pines and it was a lovely walk. As the fever I didn''t know I had got worse, the track began to look like the Oregon Trail along the North Platte River coming into Fort Laramie. The prairie grasses in the pine trees looked a bit odd to me as I prodded the oxen pulling my Conestoga wagon to go faster before the thunderstorm hit. The ox that broke free came and shielded me from the worst of the rain. He covered me with his thick fluffy tuxedo fur and purred in my ear all night while he kept me company and kept me warm. I had a vivid dream of the visit to Toyatastagka with Vassu and Galt, where I burned my feet. I rode on the back of Vassu, which was loads of fun, to be honest. In her aspect as a shark, she skimmed across the waves faster than one of those boats that smuggled cigarettes into Italy. The ride was exhilarating. The sight of a giant shark with Galt and myself on its back stopped all activity in the harbor. Toyataskagka is a beautiful city. Colorful houses and shops climb up from the harbor front to the hill where the palace is sprawled. What was once a shrine of Vassu was now dedicated to the false god Cragi. Cragi moved in about fifty years ago, demanding tribute and worship, or else she would destroy the coast of the Mattamesscontess Empire, the most populated nation on Erdos. Cragi was a giant magical squid who had enough water magic to trash some fishing towns. The clergy of the shrine preached that if the people were faithful to Vassu, Vassu would destroy Cragi. The Emperor of Mattamesscontess, who was short on courage, capitulated to the giant squid. The priestesses and priests of Vassu were hunted down. The ones who escaped started an insurrection. Half the empire sided with Vassu and as a show of her goodwill, Vassu destroyed Cragi forty-two years ago as she went to destroy the largest port in insurrection territory, Shinakosettcut. Prompted by the clergy of Cragi, who refused to believe their god was dead, the empire eventually wore down the insurrection and reconquered its territory. The country has been a mass of discontent ever since. The illegal worship of Vassu exists everywhere because the sailors and seafood farmers believe in her. They never stopped believing because Vassu sends help to those lost at sea in the form of whales and dolphins who take them back to shore. Vassu the shark swam up to the quay where the slavers docked their boats, huge three-masted abominations filled with captured Chem. They blinded them on the boats with quick lime and then put them in pens while the chemical burns healed, leaving opaque scar tissue that blinded them. I used to be rather squeamish over physically-cruel punishments, but I could live quite happily with throwing quick lime in the eyes of every slaver in Mattamesscontess. I climbed up the ladder onto the quay and a horse-sized Galt laid down so I could climb on his back. The Cosm at the harbor were paralyzed in fear and did nothing to us. The Chem who could see auras started a great noise of several thousand Chem clicking and hissing. It was one of the strangest things I have ever heard. Galt stopped amid the slave pens where the words I needed to say appeared in my head. I held up my hand for silence and received it. "Sssssssssssshave you wordsss for usss, beloved of Vassu?" a voice cried out. "The gods have heard your cries of anguish, people of Vassu," I said as loud as I could. "The hands of the helpers of Mugash will come to restore your sight, not today, and not tomorrow. Not even next year, but they will come in the year after and those who were blinded will once again see and will be free to return to their homes in the Waterland of Sussbesschem. Tell your people to abide and rejoice for the Great Breaking has begun." The noise of hissing and clicking rose again even louder than before as Galt carried me through the city to the palace. He carried me inside to the great audience chamber where the Emperor was sitting with his court. I got off Galt as he told me: "You must enter on your own. They must be free to heed your words or to choose destruction. Some will heed you and they will be saved. Remember, once inside the audience hall, nothing above the ground can harm you so do not fear the magics of the mages who follow the dead Cragi." It must have been quite a sight, as my undersized self strode through the crowd of Cosm. The palace guards tried to attack me with their halberds which broke upon the divine protection that surrounded me. It was an incredible heady feeling to know that nothing could hurt me here. Now I knew how Daniel felt inside the furnace. Amazing. I walked right up to the dais where the throne was placed and looked up at the Emperor of Mattamesscontess, "I am Emily, the Maker of Fire. I bring a message from the eleven gods of Erdos, who made the world and everything above, below, and beside it. Cragi the false mage is dead and her worship is an abomination in the eyes of Vassu. Renounce the worship of this fake god, give up your piracy and extortion of foreign traders, abandon the enslavement and blinding of the Chem, and return to Vassu. If you do this, Vassu will forgive your transgressions and spare your lives." "Die, Blasphemer Coyn!" A mage in the robes of a priest of Cragi threw a huge river of fire at me. It didn''t touch me but it made the tiles of the floor heat up so much the soft leather sole protector on the bottom of my remaining stocking started to smolder and smoke. I had to move away as my feet became too hot to stand in one place. The mage laughed and advanced, thinking to push me out of the hall. He retreated in panic when I started to approach him at a fast walk instead. It had to be a fast walk because the floor struck by the fire was burning my feet. He fell over in front of me as the carpet of the hall started on fire. "Hear me now, apostates!" I started the second part of the message. "Drive away Cragi, amend your ways, and return to Vassu. If you do not, then this place will be destroyed by fire along with the harbor and the imperial navy will burn to the waterline. What does not burn today will burn next year. All who follow Vassu should leave this city if they wish to live." After that, I lost track of time. I woke the next day in the forests of Truvos with fever dreams still running a whole movie lot of visions across my eyes. Gene Kelly with his umbrella and his dancing shoes tapped-danced me through the woods to the alleys of the Coyn part of town and sat me down on a bench on the porch of the Coyn social hall just a little after the seventh bell rang. There was a lovely baritone inside the hall singing to a guitar while dishes rattled and people talked. I faded in and out of reality and consciousness, listening to the guitar and the singing. I heard my version of "All my trials" as a hymn to Surd with verses added. That made me very happy. It reminded me of what Vassu had told me, about how even the words I spread would make a difference in this world. For the first time, I experienced this in person, and even in my delirium, I began to believe it in my gut instead of just in my head. It was there on that porch in Truvos that all the nonsense the gods had been telling me became more than nonsense. I knew, for the first time, that I could do this thing. I could beat my butterfly wings in Truvos and Toyatastagka and Aybhas and Uldlip, and the world would change for the better. There I was on the Mall in D.C. with Joan Baez and 300,000 other people, singing in Foskan, since this was Erdos, after all: "We shall overcome, we shall overcome, we shall overcome someday. Deep in my heart, I do believe that we shall overcome someday." I don''t remember anything after that. Fever dreams are strange. - - - 2.3 Manse Truvos Emily, Manse Truvos, Harvest, 7th rot., 1st through 5th days I learned that while I was delirious and lost in the woods for a day, I missed the mayhem caused by Idits, the blond tin worker slave. He skipped his dinner to walk to the chapel shrine to check that I had arrived there safely. Idits was a well-respected Coyn in the Truvos community, just because he did look out for other people regardless if they were Cosm or Coyn or a flying mount. When he knocked on the chapel shrine door, the young healer on duty didn''t know what to make of his tale, so she bothered her superior in charge of their little four-healer facility. After confirming that no one matching my description had visited the chapel shrine, especially no one with a shrine mantle, the healer in charge kicked over a metaphorical beehive and visited the manse. She took Idits with her and asked for Lord Sopno''s mother, the retired Revered Lyappis, who was home for a few days. She was currently relaxing with her family before retiring to her cottage overlooking Black Lake for the night, a short walk from Truvos Manse. Lyappis was well-known and well-liked by the healers of the local chapel shrine because of her habit of stopping by to chat and then staying, quite by accident she always protested, to help with the healing work. After Lyappis had Idits describe the green overtunic I was wearing with Twessera''s embroidered knotwork in red and yellow on the cuffs and the grey shrine mantle with the gold-thread sigil of Mugash, all hell broke loose. Lyappis recognized the overtunic as the one I was wearing on the day of the attack. Lord Sopno organized searches that evening and again during the day. A squall-line of thunderstorms rolled through during the night and the storms that followed were still dropping rain in the morning when Aylem arrived. Aylem employed her phenomenal powers of clairvoyance, trying to locate me while Asgotl flew every path, road, river, and stream, looking for me from the air. Aylem and Asgotl both were frustrated and worried when Cadrees with Usruldes in his wraith suit and Lisaykos on Hekees arrived in the late afternoon. Poor Aylem had to bear with Usruldes sitting down after dinner, extending his clairvoyance, and instantly finding me. He pointed out that he was trained by the kingdom''s former spymaster at hyper-local clairvoyance, while Aylem could use the Great Crystal to watch armies move across continents and fleets across oceans. "It''s not a matter of power, it''s merely the consequence that we were trained differently," he explained. "She''s sitting on the porch of a Coyn social building about 120 paces from here, soaked to the skin, not in her right mind, singing a catchy song with strange words. I don''t think anyone inside knew she was there because they just noticed her singing," said Usruldes, so I was told by his mother afterward. "Not in her right mind?" Lisaykos asked. "She appears to have a high fever but it''s hard to tell because there are also signs she has been in contact with a god recently," Usruldes got up from his chair and walked to where his cloak was hanging to dry. "I will fetch her. I hope there is a healer available in-house because the fever looks to be trouble, and she is injured." That was his twisted sense of humor talking about whether there was a healer available. Then he sighed, "yes, there''s nothing like a little dose of Emily to make life interesting." Lisaykos followed him out the door and so did Aylem. Those poor folks at the social hall had the experience of watching the infamous Usruldes the Wraith, the Blessed Revelator Lisaykos, and the Queen of Foskos running up to the building. There was a group of Coyn already on the porch, debating whether to carry me to the manse or send to the manse for help. I''m sure I do not have to explain how scary three silverhair Cosm can look to a group of Coyn when running directly toward them. More than half of them ran away from the fright. The rest had been part of the search parties looking for me so they knew the approaching Cosm were probably coming to get me. It was one of those twists that I had already met the Coyn who found me on the porch. I had met him during the Battle of Tiki''s Shrine. He was Py''oask, one of the managers of the Queen''s Villa. He had delivered a load of beer and ale to Manse Truvos earlier in the afternoon, along with a Cosm colleague also from the Villa, who was staying on the Cosm side of town. Py''oask was the one with the divine who sang at the social hall, I later learned. He had heard me singing on the porch when he finished a song and came out to investigate. He recognized me and started the discussion about what to do for me when the silverhair threesome arrived. Py''oask, unfortunately, left Truvos before I ever woke up so I never did get the chance to say hello and talk with him. It was a shame because I was now intrigued that there were already other Coyn who were good enough to play the divine and lead others in singing, which is one of the major forms of entertainment for both human races. As it was, the fever ran for another day before it broke. Aylem took care of my burnt and now-infected feet. She and Lisaykos took turns managing the fever, keeping it from taxing my system to the point of death of exhaustion or organ failure. Healers hate fevers because they can''t be sped up safely as a means to get rid of them. Fevers can only be wrangled, prevented from going too high, or lasting too long. The feverish body is supplemented by the attending healer to imbue energy into an exhausted patient, kick the immune response into high gear, and speed up the body''s production of the appropriate antibodies. Despite the prevalence of microscopic parasites, bacteria, and viruses, Foskos society doesn''t suffer from epidemics in general. Because infections and fevers are difficult to manage, every charm gem in Foskos has spent time in the Well of Mugash. The influence of the Healing Crystal is to imbue charm gems with the ability to prevent infectious diseases. All legally-traded crystals in Foskos first spend two rotations in the Well of Mugash before being traded to another shrine to be cut into smaller gems. It was one of the reasons the Well of Mugash was always locked. The pervasiveness of charm gems in Foskos is what prevented epidemics. Every charm gem carried the default property of preventing infectious diseases, including all the charm gems for light, slave control, compulsion on prisoners, location, reunion, leveling, magical focus, and magical range. The irony is that as a masterless Coyn, I had no control charm gem embedded in my hand to protect me from a wound infection. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I realized another foul-tasting truth while I was recovering from the wound fever: the control gems at the illegal breeding farm where I spent my early years had no infection protection in them. They must have been obtained on the black market, bought from the pirates of Mattamesscontess, or gotten from somewhere like Impotu. As illicit charm gems, they had never passed through the Well of Mugash. Had the breeding farm been legal, the fever and bunkhouse fire that had killed my earliest companions in this world would never have happened. That realization sat on the back burner of my anger and cooked slowly. When I woke up, Usruldes, Aylem, and Lisaykos were gone. Lyappis told me she ran them off for being over-protective. Though I was overjoyed to see her alive and well after the Impotuan attack on the Healing Shrine, Lyappis was one scary old lady. Even if she were a Coyn, I would steer a careful course around her ¨C that''s how scary she was. She looked like any friendly old lady and even talked like one. Then she would throw off these outrageous one-liners. For example, she mentioned that Usruldes found me, and Aylem and Lisaykos took care of most of the healing for the feet and the wound fever. I couldn''t believe they left so Lyappis replied: "Oh, those three are just too over-protective as if you couldn''t shovel soup with a spoon into your own mouth without help. So I threw them out. The Revered Huhoti is coming tomorrow with something to keep you distracted while you get your strength back after that nasty fever. I expect I''ll be taking you home to Aybhas in a few days." The idea of just throwing out a high priestess and revelator, a queen, and the kingdom''s spymaster was one I couldn''t even wrap my brain around. I didn''t know where she got the idea to contact the Building Shrine, but I was looking forward to seeing Huhoti and getting an update on rubber. Lyappis was also deliberately vague about what Huhoti was bringing to distract me. I accused her of this and she just smiled sweetly at me, and said, "yes." From that stance, she would not be moved. Yes, she was a very scary old lady. I can see why Lisaykos considered her up to the task of handling our problem child Aylem. The scary Lyappis also proved to be observant. From the two rotations when she quietly watched me at the Healing Shrine, she knew what I liked to eat and what I loved to eat. It was all on the menu, even the nips. What was missing were the twice-cooked camas lily bulbs, with the crunchy caramelized outside and the sweetish yam-like taste on the inside. I didn''t know how late in the year it was so I didn''t know if the bulbs had been harvested completely. It turned out to be the seventh rotation of the harvest season, which shocked me since the amount of time I spent with Galt was more like a rotation from my perspective. An entire season had passed. The harvest of purple wet weed bulbs was complete and the bulk was going into storage for food relief during the cold season. Before all of it got stored, I talked Lyappis and Lord Sopno into letting me instruct their cooks on how to first slow roast the bulbs overnight in a greased cauldron on a banked cooking fire and then hot-fried in butter or oil once the sweetness had come up. It was delicious when served lightly buttered with salt and none of the ground gypsum that Cosm like to put on their food. I spent the next three days in bed. That was how long it took me to recover, as gauged by enough strength to walk up and down the long upstairs hallway of the manse five times without needing to rest for a bell afterward. Old-fashioned fevers in a world without antibiotics are brutal. The first night after I regained consciousness, I dreamed again about making acids without electrolysis. That disturbed me because electrolysis is the work horse of chemical engineering. "Giltak, I don''t understand why. There is so much that one can make with an electrolysis tank, a few basic electrodes and a knowledge of half-cell reactions. Making a simple direct current generator and building a tank are easy tasks. I''ve already done it. So why backtrack and drill into me a more primitive method of making acids? This makes no sense to me." Giltak was lazing around the lecture hall in a pale purple lab coat and wire-rimmed glasses. There was even a circular slide rule in the lab coat pocket. Taking the chalk back up, the god of fire and craft ignored my protest, "make sure you build a good still, because you will need it to purify the nitric acid." Making acids out of vitriol and perchlorates out of salt solutions is so easy compared to the older wet chemistry reactions. What was going to happen to me where I would need to make acids without electrolysis? "Giltak, where are you and your chums sending me that I won''t be able to make a generator and electrolysis tank? It''s much easier for me to find any of the vitriols than it is to find saltpeter," I protested. "Now, that would spoil the surprise, Emily darling," Giltak grinned. "Have I warned you about the still? You''ll need it for making ethanol too." "What?!?" That was when I woke up, three nights in a row. I knew I was stuck because of it. By the time I woke up after the third repeated dream, I knew I would never forget what Giltak wanted me to remember: burn sulfur and saltpeter in lead to make sulfuric acid, then react sulfuric acid with saltpeter and distill the product to make nitric acid. I was left wondering why I would need those two acids. It bothered me. The dreams weren''t the only thing that bothered me. The bedroom the Cosm put me in belonged to Lord Sopno, who moved into a spare bedroom with his wife. If I had known that, I would have insisted on moving to a guest room or one of the Coyn guest cabins on the backside of the manse. I told Lyappis that and she said: "I know you would want to move, so that''s why no one told you it was my son''s bedroom." Lyappis confessed they decided to put me in the Lord''s bedroom because it was the only one to have a shower and the set-up for flush toilets. They installed a toilet sized for Coyn while I was still in la-la land with the fever. When Huhoti arrived, she came with several surprises, at both Lisaykos'' and Lyappis'' urging: rubber, plate glass, completed crutches with rubber pads, a Cosm-sized working prototype of a wheelchair with solid rubber tires on steel rims, and Kayseo in functional prosthetic legs to show off how well they worked. Whoever was the mastermind behind this, and I suspected it was several people working together, I was indeed distracted. "My son''s plumbing will be safe," Lyappis added. I had to protest that I was not anything like the rumors, especially if she got them from Foyuna. Apparently, Lisaykos and Aylem got the poor gal all scared that her shrine was in danger from my very rare excursions to examine how pipes were constructed. "I''m really nothing like that," I defended myself which only caused Lyappis to laugh. She laughed too hard and too long if you ask me. I got the impression she didn''t believe me, which left me feeling out of sorts. What good is being a prophet if no one takes you seriously? With Kayseo around, I never even got bored, which was novel, but I had nine rotations of gossip to catch up on. In return, I told her about my travels with Vassu and Galt. Kayseo is one of the biggest lovers of gossip I''ve met. No wonder she and Kamagishi get along so well. She hinted there was a change to my living quarters at the shrine but insisted on omitting the details about the change. That one thing caused me some surprise and trouble later on. 2.4 Erhonsay on the value of life Emily, Manse Truvos, Harvest 7th rot., 6th day On the morning that I managed to stroll up and down the hallway five times without collapsing, Lyappis insisted I dress formally in kirtle and gown. I was shocked to see that she had my black kirtle and formal scholar''s gown from the Healing Shrine. Kayseo''s balance on the new legs was excellent so she insisted on helping me dress. She was very fussy that I "look right," which worried me. I let a little temper show and insisted that someone tell me what was going on. At first I thought it might have to do with making a judgment on the leatherworker who injured me but the formal gown was too over the top for a simple judgment. Something didn''t fit. I was finally finding the leverage my position gave me and I was using it when I needed to. My short fit of stubbornness delivered two personages to the bedroom I did not expect. Kayseo mindcasted downstairs after I snapped at her with the result that Fassex and Kamagishi arrived, both in their formal robes, right down to the triple-roll headstalls of white wool and the cloth-of-electrum veils. Kamagishi wore the stunning necklace and pendant of cats'' eyes gems that denoted her office as High Justicar of Foskos. Fassex bore the sky metal halberd of her office as the kingdom''s executioner-in-chief, which is one of the roles of the High Priestess of Landa. That was a mistake on her part. It was bad enough seeing Fassex all decked out in her purple robes with the black and gold sash of an adept. It always reminded me of meeting her for the first time, which was when I was interrogated by all 20 hands of this walking granite-spined nexus of power. Things wouldn''t have been so bad, I think, if I was fully recovered from the fever. I was still a bit weak and wobbly. It wouldn''t have been so bad if Fassex had left the damn halberd downstairs. It certainly didn''t help that this huge monster of a magical Cosm thumped the end of the halberd shaft when she rested it on the wooden floor ten hands in front of me. The sound and sight of that thing triggered the flashback, and for a while afterward, I couldn''t banish the sight of the fire and the swords and the pole weapons of the overseers slashing and slicing my backlit bunkmates into pieces as they tried to flee the burning bunkhouse. I heard the three Cosm try to talk to me but I couldn''t manage to speak. Usually, I can pull myself out of a flashback far enough to banish the waking hallucination or at least defuse it. I think this time I was too run down physically to do that. When I came back to myself, I found I was sitting wrapped in a blanket with Kayseo''s arms holding me against her as she sat in her wheelchair. After my sore eyes were open for a few moments, she put her chin lightly on my head, "It''s been a while since you had a flashback. You went white when the Holy Fassex bumped the floor with her halberd shaft, so I''m guessing that set you off. I told those two that we will not start until the fifth bell. Fassex''s schedule and desire to get the trial done this morning can go sit and ferment with the jugged vinegar and cabbage. Who asked her to come anyway? They tried to overrule me but I threatened to use the Grace of Mugash." She chuckled softly with concealed menace. Kayseo was also discovering and using her own leverage. "So there''s a trial," I surmised. "Why here and why them? Why are the formal wear and the high priestesses? The leatherworker who tossed me out of her shop committed just straight-forward sacrilege, right? It shouldn''t be that big a deal. Will you please tell me what it happening?" "One of the charges is attempted murder, so it is more serious than just sacrilege. The slave who reported the crime can''t testify because he is property, though he has been rewarded for his part in this," Kayseo explained. "Because it was reported and witnessed by a Coyn, a priestess justicar must verify the crimes with compulsion since you lack the magic to do that yourself. Because you are a sacred person, a priestess justicar must be present and a priestess adept must conduct the punishment. Lyappis asked Kamagishi to act as justicar because she thought you would feel more comfortable with a justicar you already knew and trusted. Fassex invited herself, though as the kingdom''s high executioner, she is here to carry out the punishment that you decided upon." "I knew the tin smith''s Coyn helper got the search started but I didn''t know he reported a crime," I was unhappy to hear of this. "W...why did no one tell me there was a trial as soon as I was ambulatory? I''ve not been delirious for three days now." "Well, I would have told you but no one asked me for my opinion," Kayseo was picking her words. "I was told not to tell you. I think Lyappis didn''t want to trouble you because you were looking so cheerful after the Revered Huhoti and I arrived. She''s right, you know. You have been looking relaxed and smiling a lot since we got here. The Revered Lyappis said you seldom looked happy back at the Healing Shrine whenever she saw you there. She knew you might be angry with her for not telling you; however, she thought it would be a kindness to give you a few days with some friends without all the burdens of the world weighing you down again." I mulled over what Kayseo said. I was all ready to have a good snit fit about another over-protective Cosm in my life but Kayseo undermined that. Besides, she made me realize I was looking for an excuse to have a snit. "Yes, you were," she said, reading the thought. "Not that I would blame you for feeling ire. The powers that be could have had the courtesy to at least tell you earlier today since both the Revered Lyappis and I were confident you were up for it physically." "Sometimes I think I should have a full-on temper tantrum just to get it across how unhappy I am over their treatment of me,¡± I grumped. ¡°I am not going to break over unpleasant news." "You just completely crumbled at the sight of a ceremonial halberd, you know," Kayseo took a finger and targeted the tense muscles at the base of my neck with just the right amount of pressure. "Hmm, someone''s got some knots." "Umm," I was ready to turn into pudding because Kayseo was good at making muscle knots dissolve. "It''s not just the halberd. It had a big scary Fassex in full regalia attached to it. Every time I see her in that get-up, I remember the first time I met her when she interrogated me on behalf of the whole convocation. It w...was a terrible experience. Three days after that, she cast what looked like a charm of discipline on some Cosm at an Is¡¯syal tea shop for blasphemy. Realizing that my answers to Fassex when we first met could have been construed as blasphemy, and seeing how easily she tortured the Cosm at the tea shop, she scared me so badly that I fainted. Fassex scares me as much as Aylem does." "Maybe you should," Kayseo was thoughtful. "Maybe I should w...what?" I was confused by her statement. "Throw a full-scale snit over how constrained you feel," Kayseo suggested. "I know you don''t feel right with precedence and hierarchy, but you have real power if you want to use it. It would not be untoward if you selfishly used a little power to establish what you consider acceptable treatment from your well-meaning but over-protective Cosm friends.¡± "What?" I was gobsmacked. "Look at it this way," Kayseo wrapped both arms around me again. "To someone like me, who has been educated and then blessed by Mugash as a caretaker of others, what I see on the surface is a weak undersized Coyn who isn''t much taller than my kneecaps. Just looking at you makes me want to protect you. It''s an automatic response for any healer. Then the godmarks showed up after Mugash revived you. Those make any silverhair who can sense aura feel a sliver of the same fear and awe we feel when in the presence of the gods. Seriously dear heart, if the Prophet Emily told Imstay King to take his army and exterminate every Impotuan, he would do it because no one can deny the orders of a prophet bearing multiple godmarks. That''s what those godmarks do for you." I was speechless. I had no idea that was the case. Was what Kaysea said true? That I could command the action of armies just because I got stuck with this lousy gig as a prophet? The irony was bitter. I knew I would never do anything like that. Then I saw the possibilities and the temptation. Did power really corrupt or were the people corrupted by power morally weak or unclear on what their morals were? I did not want to travel that path. I would not become a monster. I would kill myself first or pray that someone would kill me for the sake of my former self. I thought of all those books I had read in the 1970s of people who were good upright Germans and Austrians who numbed their better selves to murder over six million fellow human beings. I did not want to become like those people. I was not the prisoner of Earth''s tragic history. I would value life. *And that, Emily, is why you are the prophet,* Sophia Erhonsay said, her voice speaking inside my mind. Then she appeared, Cosm-sized and backlit by the light coming through the calcite window panes. *You must decide the value of a life today, or so they will tell you. You can decide otherwise, and judge that life tomorrow or the day after. You know what your truth is. You just need to find the words to express it. Let your courage overcome your timidity, Emily. Tell them what the value of life is for one who has suffered to live, little one. What is the value of life for you and when is one life more important than another? That is what you should use to judge when asked to do so. Your words have power. Use those words wisely.* "What?" Damn gods. How was I supposed to know all that? I wasn¡¯t hard enough to be a judge. Sophia laughed at that thought and her smile was amused. *Before you get overwhelmed, I did want to say that I am also looking forward to the fireworks. Just remember that arsenic makes a lovely blue in rockets. Don''t take too long to invent the mortar. It will be useful for fireworks and the battle of Toyatastagka, though the fireworks will bring more joy to the world. Nothing is intrinsically good or evil, Emily. All things have their own balance which comes from how sapient life uses things and perceives the forces of nature. The storm brings rain to nurture life or floods to devastate where life clings to the planet. Even the mortar, which brings destruction and despair, can also bring delight and awe. Courage, child. I await your pyrotechnics.* She vanished as quickly as she had appeared. I might have taken it for a fever dream except Kayseo was frozen and tense with fear. "She is gone," I nudged Kayseo''s elbow with a jab from mine. "You can breath now." "That was worse than when Mugash appeared on the south balcony when you died," Kayseo was breathing heavily and I could feel the pulse in her wrists racing as I rested my arms on top of hers. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "She was right in front of you, Kayseo," I noted. "I think she was much closer than Mugash had been. Distance seems to make a difference between simple fright and paralyzing fear in Cosm, from the times I''ve had the chance to observe. Let us change the subject to something less frightening and more germane. Can you help me out of this lovely kirtle and into some everyday clothes? Or at least help me into a house coat? I don''t w...want to get the kirtle stained from eating because I can''t eat with my right hand for now. I''m hungry and would love to eat something soon. I really don''t want to resort to auto-cannibalism." "Auto-cannibalism?" Recovering her wits, Kayseo gave me one of her long-suffering looks of put-upon patience. "Kayseo, I can''t lift my right hand to undo the laces and I can''t use my right arm to pull it over my head. It takes a while for the swelling to go away after a dislocation, and this one''s got bruises on top of it. My arm is useless for at least a rotation, which is annoying since I want to play with that plate glass Huhoti brought me." "You''re incorrigible," she rolled her eyes at me. "No, I''m hungry and no one consulted with me about my clothes this morning. How did these get here, anyway? And why this formal wear instead of a nice kirtle and gown? And will the food come to visit us or do I have to suffer through eating in a room full of too many big people, half of whom scare the crap out of me?" "I can arrange to have mid repast sent up for the two of you," Lyappis walked in. I suspected she had been lurking outside the door waiting for a good moment to intrude. The manse downstairs must be boiling with frantic silverhairs because a deity appeared close enough to be felt. She pulled up the stool next to the wheelchair. "There was a god here," it was a statement. "Who was it? I had to restrain the Queen and three high priestesses from running up here, but I didn''t want a repeat of your trauma attack. Those are frightening visions you had. That was the first time I had seen one of your flashbacks." "I''ve never had a repeat attack on a day w...when I''ve had a flashback," I pointed out, aware I was admitting this to a near-stranger. I didn''t even like to admit I had flashbacks to myself. Why was I discussing this with someone who was mostly a stranger? "I''m not a stranger, little one," she gave me the warm cosy granny smile. "We''re just newly acquainted. Besides, that trauma attack just managed to destroy all my carefully constructed relaxation time for you. Now you''ll be wound up again and more sensitive than usual to all silverhairs surrounding you. I tried to keep the Holy Fassex from following my daughter upstairs but the old goat is too old and stubborn to take orders from just about everyone." She signed. "What would you like for mid repast? The kitchen is making ham, bacon, and beef sandwiches but I''m afraid the bread is not small enough for you." "You''re slicing loaves lengthwise to make one Cosm-sized sandwich, yes?" I asked. "I thought mid repast was nips and beef with butter roasted cabbage and onions?" "We changed plans because my son wanted to show off his sandwiches in front of Lord Gunndit." "Lord Gunndit is here?" "Yes," Lyappis looked apologetic. "I''m afraid I must share some of the blame for this fiasco. More people showed up than I expected. I requested my daughter come in her role as justicar to run this trial for you and Fassex invited herself. Then my boy Sopno saw that Lord Gunndit arrived with the Queen, so he decided to do sandwiches because it''s trendy. Those two are like this all the time. He already has the sugar beet field laid out for next year." "Phooey, I was looking forward to nips," I sighed. I had heard about the rivalry between Lord Truvos and Lord Gunndit. "Sizing down is easy, Lyappis. Just take a loaf and cut it to make rounds through the middle, at right angles to its length. Try to keep the cooks from cutting too thick. I like lots of white egg sauce and that tangy sheep cheese. Lettuce is nice if there''s any fresh, though it''s probably too late in the year." "We may have some in the stasis room," Lyappis said. I''ll see what I can arrange. "And you, Kayseo?¡± "I like lots of white egg sauce too. Skip the cheese please," she smiled. "Hot cider or tea?" "You''re a cruel woman, Lyappis. That''s an evil thing to offer when the cider press is running. Hot cider, please," I said. "Can you get the cooks to cut the sandwich for me into several smaller ones? I''m afraid I''m stuck eating one-handed." "I will take care of it, but I might need to make a bowl of the ingredients instead so you can eat with a prong with bread on the side. I''ll see what we can manage. One more thing. Your housemate would like to come up and say hello. She''s been working so hard at being patient this morning. She refrained from running after my daughter earlier, unlike Fassex. It would be a kindness." "My housemate?" For a moment, my brain couldn''t make a connection. Then I realized who she was talking about. "Blarg. Yes, please send Lisaykos up. I didn''t know she was here or I would have asked earlier." "So which god was it and can you share what the message was?" Lyappis didn''t forget her primary task. "It was Erhonsay in her aspect as Wisdom," I replied as Kayseo started with the laces that went from waist to neck. They only had to be undone at the top for my head to fit through because I was flat enough that the kirtle would slip off easily after that, assuming I had two arms to pull it off. "The message was that I should use my own judgment for what a life is worth in making my decision on what to do with the leather crafter who threw me out her back door. She advised that I should take all the time I need to make my decision and then articulate the reasoning behind that decision. I believe her intent was for me to explain what the value of a life is. She also asked that I create a working mortar in preparation for war in Mattamesscontess. She also made a statement that the nature of good and evil is a matter of perspective and interpretation when applied to objects and nature. Did I leave anything out, Kayseo?" "Dear heart, I heard the god talking to you but I was so frightened that I can''t remember most of the words. What was she talking about when she wanted you to make fireworks? Is that more instant fire?" Kayseo''s tone was apologetic. "Surd save us," I shook my head. "Well, get this kirtle off me, hand me my housecoat, and find me some paper or a wax tablet. I better write this down before Kamagishi and Lisaykos have a cow if I don''t leap on this. If my shoulder felt better, I''d climb out the window and go fishing." "I''ll get some writing material right away, and then I''ll get food arranged for you two," Lyappis stood and walked out. "Hold on, let me put you on the bed," Kayseo stood up and walked me slowly to the bed. "I can''t go quickly, but I can walk with a normal gait almost as far as you did this morning. It''s strange walking without working calcaneal tendons." We managed to get the kirtle off me without too much trouble. She hung it up on the clothes bar. Then we tackled the house coat. I was surprised when she turned down the bedding and turned to put me back in bed. "What''s that for?" I asked, frowning. "Remember, there''s no table up here for you. There''s just the bed tray for eating in bed unless you want to go downstairs for a dose of too many silverhairs being overly formal at you," she grinned. "Before you do that," Lisaykos said as she lett herself into the room, stepped around Kayseo and walked up to where I was sitting on the edge of the bed. Her hair was up in a complex arrangement of braids and she was in her formal robes, except the stole, veil and headstall were missing. "Stop me if this hurts in any way," she got on her knees and wrapped me in an inescapable hug, burying her head in my left shoulder. "I knew you would be fine but I still worried," her muffled voice had a little bit of a catch to it. "I missed you," and her voice ended in a concealed sob. She rarely showed any deep emotion. I didn''t know she was this fond of me. "I didn''t intend to get kidnapped by a pair of gods to go on an adventure. I had been looking forward to a nice peaceful cold season sitting in bed and reading," I leaned my head against hers since there was no other part of me I could move. There was a lot more of Lisaykos than there was of me and she had my arms immobilized. She didn''t release me until she had regained her composure. Outward aplomb and dignity are important to Lisaykos'' self-image so I did not grudge her the extra moments she needed. "You know, you haven''t told anyone besides this closed-mouth insubordinate," she nodded at Kayseo, "about what happened to you. We do know you visited the Holy Mieth and the Holy Losnana, but not much else." She sat back on her heels and gave me one of those looks, which not having seen her for a while, was a welcome sight. I could spend a day cheerfully soaking up every frustrated, disgusted, long-suffering, annoyed, and exasperated look she sent my way. "What''s that look for?" she demanded, looking at what was probably a contented smile on my face. "I missed you," I said honestly. I had missed all of the five souls who made up my little shrine family in Aybhas. She leaned her forehead against mine and put her hands on my shoulders. Speaking very softly, she remarked: "Emily, dear, when the Impotuans took you, you had seven godmarks. Now you have nine. The gods are making it known beyond a doubt that they have claimed you. I''m so sorry. If I could smuggle you out to Omexkel or Inkalim, I would, but you know they would find you." "I know," I sighed. It was something I avoided thinking about because it still upset me. "You said you knew I would be fine. Were you assuming that I would land on my feet because I have a habit of doing that, or..." "Galt appeared before Lyappis and Kamagishi at the shrine the day you were captured,¡± she informed me. ¡°He gave Kamagishi a foretelling that you''d be walking home. His appearance even woke up Aylem from her recovery sleep after some of her miracle-working healing." She grinned, "You''ll be amused. I slept through it." "What?" "I''m told, by Thuorfosi, who takes great joy in repeating it to anyone with ears," she grinned deeper, "that I''m as bad a patient as you are." "Lisaykos, what happened?" I couldn''t hide my concern. "I defended the Well of Mugash from the Impotuans," she gave me a lopsided grimace. "I had to cast stasis on myself after I got skewered by two polearms at the same time. Honestly, I didn''t think I would make it." "I¡¯m glad you survived that. I must disagree, though, because I am not a bad patient," I stated with feeling. It didn''t help that Kayseo started laughing. Lyappis walked in followed by two house boys carrying trays of food and a table to set them on. "I assume, Lisaykos, that you''d like to eat mid repast with these two troublemakers?" "Yes, please," Lisaykos got off her knees. She grinned, loomed, and then carefully picked me up by the waist. "Will you stand the pillows up and spread the food cloth over the covers, Lyappis?" At least Lisaykos refrained from tucking me in. I sat on top of the covers and got more small sandwiches than I could eat placed in front of me on the bed tray. The bread slicing was perfect. "The bread slices are amazing," I couldn''t help but praise the cutting artistry. "Lord Irhessa did that. He insisted after the kitchen staff gave up. He''s rather good with his kinetic magic," Lyappis remarked after making sure all three of us were adequately seated and served. "I know," I remembered the trip to find bismuthite. "What a showoff. So Irhessa is here too. It''s the invasion of the Gunndits." "It''s worse," Lisaykos said. "Fed, Troy, and Oyyuth are here because the family was here for one of the family days at the shrine. And so are Katsa, Musshia, and two of their three boys. Fed and Troy want to say hello, by the way." "They all came?" I was gobsmacked. Was this a circus instead of a trial? "Emily, it''s the Truvos versus Gunndit rivalry," Lyappis looked amused. "The Gunndits will use any excuse to drop in on my son for a day or two of friendly social heckling and my son and his family do the same to Lord Gunndit. They''ve been at it for years." "You should put one of those sandwiches in your mouth, Emily," Kayseo teased me, "before a bug flies in. Or are they too heavy for you? Can I help with that?" "Ah," Lisaykos sighed in contentment. "Now I know you are really real and not an illusion, dear heart. How I have missed the flaming daggers of death glare." 2.5 The Library of Salicet Emily, Lord Truvos'' bedroom, after mid-repast, 7th rot., 6th day The sandwiches were yummy and the company was excellent. Kayseo and Lisaykos started talking shop about this or that technique for healing. I picked up one of the wax tablets Lyappis had left before she disappeared back to the downstairs of a manse suddenly full of unexpected guests. I was deep into remembering and writing down what Sophia Erhonsay had said when Kamagishi poked her head around the doorjamb. Lisaykos noticed this. I didn''t. I was too focused on what I was doing. "I believe she is writing it down, Sister Kamagishi," Lisaykos looked up. "Can I come in?" Kamagishi asked timidly. That got my notice since Kamagishi and timidity were two things that did not fit together. "Since when did you start to be meek and unsure of your welcome?" I accused. "You are the least shy and introverted member of the Convocation and here you are, meeping at my door? Oh, please. I know you w...want to ask about recording the details of a sudden cameo by the deity Erhonsay, god of war and wisdom. Well, quit hiding in the hallway and get in here." I was shaking my head as she sat on the edge of the bed. "Here," I held out the wax tablet, "I''m done. Y...you can have it for your archives." I had edited Erhonsay''s words so there was no mention of fireworks. What the Cosm didn''t know, I wouldn''t need to explain. I also left out the part where Erhonsay said I was the prophet because I wouldn''t abuse power. They didn''t need to know that and I didn''t want to give history lessons on Nazi Germany. Someone else could introduce the concept of genocide to Erdos. I would not. Kamagishi read it and then looked at me in question, "What is a mortar?" "Blarg!" I threw my hands up in frustration. "It''s a thing that destroys other things. It uses the exploding powder that destroyed my home." "But can create delight and awe, because no object is intrinsically good or evil. Right? It is how it is used that is good or evil, as defined by sapient beings," she paraphrased me and grinned. "I am short on patience right now, Kamagishi," I growled. "I''m unsure if I am even teaseable right now, that''s how short my temper is feeling." "I''m sorry about earlier," she hung her head. I knew she meant it. "It w...wasn''t your fault," I was honest about what happened. "The halberd w...w...was what set me off since it came attached to the scary Fassex. I don''t do w...well when I see weapons. They remind me of a certain night with a f...fire." I had to stop. My hands had started their tremor and the stutter was kicking up. I closed my eyes and banished the sight of flames that were trying to invade my vision for a second time in one day. "I think we should put the trial off until tomorrow," Kamagishi remarked with a voice full of authority as she picked up the bed tray of sandwiches and moved it to the table where Lisaykos and Kayseo were sitting. "If you are feeling like your temper is short, you will not be in the best mind to be judging a life, but it is up to you." "T...t¡t," I slapped my left thigh with my left hand in frustration. "Tomorrow would be better." I relaxed against the headboard, aware that I had been tense and it made my shoulder ache. "Kamagishi, does your brother have a complete set of the six volumes of the law here in the manse? I would like to look something up." "Don''t you think you should rest?" Kayseo asked from the table. "I w...won''t be able to, at least initially. If I am tired, I w...will fall asleep looking at the law. I can''t help sleeping when I''m too tired, especially with such exciting reading as Foskan law." Kamagishi obliged me and laughed, "I find the lists of what things are taxable particularly thrilling." Watching Lisaykos roll her eyes was delightful. - - - Emily, Lord Truvos'' bedroom, after the sixth bell 7th rot 6th day "I would take you to our library here in the manse but there are all sorts of people downstairs and I''m under the impression you want to hide from the world for now," Kamagishi had a servant open the door into the bedroom for her. She had all six giant volumes of the law plus the volume on guidance for judges and recorders. They might sound huge and in size they were. Despite this, the handwriting was on a Cosm-scale and the vellum pages were much thicker than paper, so the amount of law wasn''t proportional to the size of the codices. Tolstoy''s War and Peace was much longer than the laws of Foskos. As Kamagishi piled the books on the foot of the bed, Kayseo gave me a stare of disapproval. I tried not to look too eager. I''m a sucker for books, even ones with law. Kayseo suspected I would stay up to read. She wouldn¡¯t be wrong either. "How many books does the manse have?" I asked. "About a thousand," she sat on the side of the bed facing me. "It''s one of the largest private libraries in Foskos. Not even Lord Gunndit has one as large. It takes up an entire room." "That''s tiny compared to the library at your shrine," I remembered the stacks at the Fated Shrine, 32 huge rooms full of books spaced around the great circular reading room. It was one floor down from the dome that housed the Well of Galt, partially excavated out of the basalt bedrock of the hill that Is''syal was built on. It was smaller than the now-destroyed library in the ruins of the Shrine of Galt, in Salicet. It was once magnificent. On our trip, Galt dropped me in the center of the circular counter space in the reading room of the Salicet Library, which was a whole separate building from the domed structure of the shrine itself. The Salicet Library was the size of the palace and the entire Fated Shrine complex in Is''syal put together. It took me some effort to move and then climb the chairs the priestess librarians used behind the counter. Then standing on the white and red marble countertop, I had to contemplate how I might get down. The distance between the floor was more than twice my height and the shrine was a place without the hope of rope. As I considered my options, the great double doors into the reading room groaned on their hinges as they opened. A tremendously-tall silverhair in a kimono-style dressing robe entered, her long hair in a single braid down her back. Her face was lined with age, especially around her reflective amber eyes which were the same as Kamagishi''s. With a flick of her hand, the charm gem lights suddenly illuminated the whole building. Even standing on the counter, I still had to look up at her. I felt no fear since she looked more sorrowful than frightening. "Can the girl with the golden eyes make fire?" she asked me in that funny Impotuan accent that tried to make every vowel drawn out and full of too much air. I opened my pouch and pulled a match out of the copper box. Then I removed the striking stone from its protective leather wrapping and struck the match against it. She watched the flame with consternation. Then I blew it out. This was a library, after all, and fire inside a library was dangerous. She got on her knees and kowtowed like someone from China, "May the gods bless you, Beloved of Galt and herald of our doom." "May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Holy One. Please get up." "Thank you, Beloved of Galt," she got to her feet and managed to make the motion look graceful. "Our patron god woke me to come and greet you. I have expected and dreaded your coming for years. At the death of the old Emperor, I had a dream command from Galt to find a secret storage place safe from the ravages of war as a repository for our oldest and rarest books. Since then, I have removed those volumes which have no replacement, though they are only a fraction of what we have collected. May I show you what is about to be destroyed? It would be quickest if I carried you. I suggest you sit on my shoulder." Her name was Losnana and she had been a high priestess for thirty years. She was 68 and bore the same burden of precognisance that Kamagishi had. She had been receiving visions of what was about to happen for many years. She had not been quiet about what she had seen and was now unwelcome at the Empress'' court because of it. Losnana walked me through the entire library. It was immense, bigger than Butler Library at Columbia or Bancroft Library at Berkeley. With tears in her eyes, she walked through the reading room one last time, running her hand over the round marble counter in the middle of the room. "This has been my home for 56 years," she blotted her eyes on her sleeve. "It is a hard fate to know that one''s home has been doomed for years and years more. It will be dawn soon. Let us go to my chambers where I will don my robes of office one last time. Then we shall enter the Well of Galt for the last morning prayer at this shrine." I rode on her shoulder as she strode through the temple complex, shocking those priestesses already awake. When we entered her quarters, she placed me in her throne-like chair in her outer reception chamber. Unlike Lisaykos, she had servants, who she motioned to follow her into her inner rooms. She came back out a short time late in robes of particolored red and white. Instead of a headstall of three rolls of white wool, she wore a tall pillbox-style hat of felted red wool over an electrum veil. The hat had broad white silk laces that tied under the chin. In her hand, she bore a scepter topped with a sherry-colored topaz. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. She stopped to give each of her six servants a small coffer and directions to flee the city immediately to where their families were already hiding. As they left, she turned to study me, "Well, herald of doom, do you have a name?" "My name is Emily." An eyebrow floated upward, "just Emily?" She looked amused. "Emily Courage, Maker of Fire, Revelator of Tiki, Mugash, Giltak, and Galt," I admitted. "Yes, the foretold prophet, who has died once already, if the rumors are true," she placed me back on her shoulder, one hand wrapped around my calves to keep me seated. "Are they true, those rumors?" "It is true that Aylem Queen accidentally killed me and the griffin Asgotl," I replied, a little abashed. "Mugash revived me. Asgotl was revived by Gerztpul at my request and was made a revelator of Sassoo on the ninth day of the fifth rotation of the growing season." "So many signs and the nobles of Impotu know of them because we make sure they know, but they will not heed them under this current Empress. Why is that, Prophet? Why don''t the gods give us signs, here in Impotu, that the rulers can see?" "To give signs to the contemptuous royalty and nobility of the Impotu court is like throwing pearls before swine," I said, unaware that the expression was unknown on Erdos and would be credited to the great wisdom of the Prophet Emily in the years to come. "They would not know the value of such gifts." "Do you know, Emily, if today is my last day of this life?" she asked in a conversational voice. I had to wonder if her spine was made of adamant, she was so calm as she walked to her fate. I was in awe of her bravery. What I needed to say to her appeared in my head, "You have a choice, Losnana, Beloved of Galt, of offense or defense. You can destroy your attackers but you will perish if you do, or you can defend yourself and choose to keep me with you while you carry out Galt''s will. If you do, you will save another high priestess, who has suffered for the gods'' sake, but your oppressors will also be allowed to live." The twilight of dawn was collecting on the horizon when Losnana opened the doors to the great domed chamber housing the Well of Galt. It was twice as big as its counterpart in Is''syal, with white marble walls and alternating red and white floor tiles. The Well and the great topaz within it were surrounded by soldiers in bright red tabards and breastplates. "You blaspheme in your own shrine, Losnana," announced a voice that I knew I had heard before. "Cosm are the only blessed race. A filthy Coyn has no welcome in this holy precinct. Soldiers, capture the Coyn and kill the sinning blasphemer." I looked for the owner of the voice and found her. It was the Imperial Heir, Lady Arkaline Ugi, with her stunning cobalt blue eyes and that axe-blade of a nose. She wore a coat of plates covered in red velvet and gilt full-plate arms and legs. Her gilt helm looked like a cross between a Roman Empire helmet and a Renaissance-brimmed burgonet. Arkaline took a second look at me, pointed her sword, and screamed: "You! How are alive? Soldiers, get that Coyn!" The topaz at end of Losnana''s scepter flared brighter than my eyes could stand, "You have violated the Convention of Surd," Losnana''s voice boomed through the dome over the Well of Galt, "bringing weapons into this sacred space and intending violence. There are dire consequences for such actions, Heir Arkaline. I am not the Holy Mieth who knew no defense to save herself." Every soldier who came within 20 hands of Losnana collapsed and died. After a few moments, they stopped approaching. "Step away from the Crystal of Truth, Arkaline," Losnana commanded. "No, I will not," the Imperial Heir sneered. "You have come to destroy this holy object and I have come to prevent you, blasphemer." The crystal embedded in Arkaline''s sword hilt glowed as she swung to cast a fireball. It flowed around us as it hit Losnana''s barrier. Arrows and crossbow quarrels soon joined the near-continuous fireballs. "I will not be able to withstand this much longer," Losnana said to me. "I must end this now." The scepter topaz began to glow even brighter. Everyone, including me, was blinded by it. Then I felt Losnana draw back her arm as if she intended to throw something. She did intend to throw something. She threw the scepter at the huge topaz in the Well of Galt. It hit the topaz and both shattered. The flying shards of the giant crystal struck the skin of the soldiers where they lacked armor since they wore only helms and cuirasses. Some fell, bleeding from the neck. Others howled in pain, clutching their limbs, stomachs or groins. The well-armored Arkaline escaped harm though she stopped her attacks for a moment. "There is a tunnel under the library," Losnana told me, as she strode out of the domed chamber and into the vestibule. "I gave the order for the shrine residents to flee when I saw the soldiers. I wonder who let them in." The soldiers attempted to prevent Losnana from leaving. Nothing stopped her. Her barrier magic was awesome. "I''m surprised to find that you are a curious soul," she chuckled as arrows, crossbow bolts, spears, throwing axes, and fireballs failed against the barrier. Soldiers ran and tried to smite the barrier with their swords, dying as they did so. Losnana kept up a stream of chat, as if nothing were happening around us, "I thought you would be fanatical, flat, single-minded, and boring, like most prophets I''ve read about. Your thoughts go from ordered to chaotic faster than a blink. You truly dislike being a prophet, which astounds me. And yes, you love knowledge, making things, discovering things, and finding things. There''s so much in your head. I am surprised and pleased to find that you are a scholar. You also crave both adventure and a safe bed to sleep in at night. I regret I will never be able to know you. You''re such a bundle of contradictions and I do love puzzles." She sighed, "What happens now, child?" The words I needed to tell her appeared in my head. Before I could speak, she remarked: "That was strange." She gave me a sharp sideways glance, "Your mental state felt like it jumped." "Interesting, because I just got an instruction from the gods for you. You need to enter the library and get to the passage behind stack 177 through..." "The third quadrant stacks, yes, of course," she was talking more to herself, "that makes a lot of sense." The short space between the domed shrine and the larger library held the bodies of many soldiers, though I counted the bodies of two priestesses and four scholar attendants among them. Losnana''s eyes teared up at the sight. She laughed with no humor, "We had a revelator from about six centuries ago reveal that a high priestess of Galt would one day cross the passage from Well to Library, walking through the bodies of the shrine''s dead with tears in her eyes. I guess I just fulfilled that. Tragic. I feel like my heart is tearing in two, for I have loved this place," she caressed the marble of a pillar as she passed it. "It is hard to lose a home of 56 years. It was a wonderful life while it lasted." She twirled a finger and the doors opened for her. "I will do everything to stop you, including my fire magic, if you enter the library," Arkaline shouted from behind us, at the head of more soldiers. "Just surrender to us, Losnana. Don''t let your name be smeared with the loss of the greatest book collection on Erdos." "It is you who is wrong, Arkaline Ugi," I found myself saying, and my voice was amplified. I was not in control. Someone spoke through me and it panicked me. "When a god accepts a mortal as high priestess," my voice continued, without my acquiescence, "any assault henceforth on that person is an assault on the honor of the god. The reason the crystal of compulsion exists in the Well of Galt is to provide a means to try sacred persons in those rare events when they have erred. It was not created to become a tool to perpetuate imprisonment and slavery. If you pursue Losnana, the blame for the destruction of this place and the wrath of the Galt will be upon your head and the House of Ugi." *Sorry, kitten,* Galt apologized inside my head, *that needed to be said out loud for the sake of the scriptures that will be written about this event.* "Did a god just talk to you again?" Losnana asked with awe on her face. "Yes, Galt did," I replied. "He''s a very chatty god. Giltak is just as chatty." *I am not at all like that gossiping chatterbox Giltak!* Galt shouted in my head, causing me to wince. Losnana didn''t notice that last exchange as she reacted to renewed attacks from Arkaline''s soldiers. Losnana cast a barrier between us and the soldiers, and entered the main library corridor leading to the reading room. "I am running out of magic quickly," she confessed, looking worried, shutting and charming the doors behind us. "I want to run so I''m going to shift you," she dropped me to being carried in both her arms as she ran into the reading room. "Losnana, just leave me on the counter and go," I waved at the center of the room while listening to the sounds of the soldiers and mages trying to open the library doors outside. "I will go the same way I came, on the back of Galt. As for you, exit the hidden passage and meet with Blinda, your attendant, who is waiting for you with three mules. Travel 12 leagues south along the river and you will find an old friend who needs your help." She put me on the counter. "So, I will survive today," she frowned. "Then, will we meet again?" "Beyond a doubt, I will meet you in either Is''syal or Aybhas," I said as she and her surroundings began to fade from my sight. Just as the sight began to vanish, I saw the door explode inward, blowing Losnana off her feet. I closed my eyes at the memory and hoped that she was still alive and unharmed, as I had many times since that day. "You were there," Kamagishi broke me out of my memories. Her expression was one of reverent awe. "Please, Emily, tell me everything you can about this. All we know is that the library and shrine burned, and the upper city was destroyed by some kind of massive tornado." "It wasn''t a tornado, Kamagishi," I tried to think of how to tell her that wouldn''t take too much time. "It was Galt in his aspect of Wrath, and he only destroyed the palace. He''s consistent. The Impotuan soldiers tried to attack you, and he retaliated. Now they attacked his High Priestess in Salicet, and he retaliated. He didn''t touch the lower city, the river port, the slums, and the slave yards. The library and shrine were already on fire before Galt arrived as the god of terrible temper tantrums. He leveled the palace and its grounds." "I''m sorry for catching those thoughts, Emily," she plucked at her skirt, one of her nervous habits, "but I thought I caught that some books were saved? Yes?" "Galt gave Losnana a decade to get the most important texts into a safe hiding place," I explained. "I best start at the beginning, or it will be a muddle." "Can I get the others?" She asked, pulling her magic recording scroll and pen out of a case on her belt. "Not today, please. Some other day. My tolerances are stripped down to nothing right now. I have nothing left." - - - 2.6 Cloth of Gold Emily, the next morning, 7th rot., 7th day I stayed up too late looking things up but I wanted to have data in front of me before we started the trial of the leather crafter for sacrilege. Kayseo and Lyappis together managed to get me awake, fed and dressed half way between the second and third bells. They even made a sling for my right arm out of black silk so it wouldn¡¯t clash with my robes. The morning was half over by the time Lyappis set me on her arm and carried me downstairs. It must have frustrated all those morning people who woke up a quarter bell before the first bell of daylight. I refused to process. I could think of nothing as stupid as someone my size processing surrounded by giants bowing their heads to the floor, and I refused to be carried in a procession. Ridiculous. When we got to the manse¡¯s reception hall, there was the lord¡¯s chair, a huge thing, covered with cloth of gold. The room was full of Cosm, mostly silverhairs, milling about. So far, few had noticed my arrival seated on Lyappis¡¯ forearm. I spotted Fed for the first time in an age. She had gotten a lot bigger since I saw her last. She had to be a head taller than her mother now. Poor Oyyuth. Fed was a terrible tease about getting as big as a silverhair too. She would be a full-grown one in two to three more years. Fed saw me from across the room. I winked at her. She winked back. She¡¯s a good kid. Lord Sopno approached and made a bowing obeisance. I spoke before we got all muddled up in blessings and the like. ¡°Blessings be on you, Lord Truvos. Why is there a cloth of gold cover on your chair? Do you usually use such a thing?¡± ¡°Well, no¡± he sputtered, ¡°Great One. It¡¯s for you, you see. We can¡¯t just put you on an ordinary chair, since you¡¯re the, the...¡± ¡°Great One,¡± Aylem said from behind me, startling me so I flinched, ¡°he just wants to pay proper respect and honor. Don¡¯t you think that you shou...¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. It¡¯s bad enough I¡¯m dressed up in this ridicuous outfit that was made for shrine ceremonies in Aybhas. I am not going to sit on a piece of cloth of gold for a trial. This is a judicial proceeding, not a costumed festival dance. No offense intended, folks, but I am not going to do it. I am not some sort of cute talking dress-up doll here to play judge for your entertainment and edification. Take that fool thing off that too-big chair because I¡¯m not going to sit on it.¡± ¡°Emily,¡± Aylem chided, ¡°it¡¯s not...¡± ¡°No, and in case I didn¡¯t mention it, no.¡± I turned and looked Lyappis in the eyes, ¡°Revered One, put me down.¡± ¡°Great One, I...¡± ¡°Now,¡± I glared and I meant that glare. I was good and piping mad. The formal robes I could stomach but not a Lord Holder¡¯s throne covered in cloth of gold. It was over the top and it reminded me of the throne of the Emperor of Mattamesscontess. Lyappis made a mistake. She put me down on the chair. I took off my hat, undid the clasp on the mantle, shrugged the mantle off, and then jumped off the chair. I managed not to jar my arm too badly on the landing. I toppled over on my butt but that was fine by me. I crossed my legs and stuffed my left arm into the sling on top of my right arm. ¡°I will sit on the floor before I will sit on a piece of cloth of gold. It¡¯s too much. I refuse.¡± My voice it too soft for most of the people in the room to have heard that exchange but one person certainly noticed. All 20 and a quarter hands of Lisaykos in her full regalia got down on her knees in front of me. She put her staff down, put her hand over her heart, and made a silent obeisance. Then she put her palms together, pressed them against her forehead and lowered her praying hands and head to the floor in front of me. If I had been less angry, I would have been very embarrassed. ¡°Blessed Lisaykos,¡± Aylem frowned so deeply that there was a canyon between her eyebrows, ¡°what are you doing?¡± By now the room had gone dead silent so everyone heard Lisaykos¡¯ muffled voice as she spoke into the floorboards: ¡°If the Blessed Emily must sit on the floor, then how can I stand or sit in a chair in her presence. I believe this is the only proper posture under the circumstances.¡± Kamagishi joined Lisaykos immediately followed by Fassex, who I noted did not have the halberd this morning. I had to wonder how badly Lisaykos chewed her out. I was shocked when Aylem joined them. Then everyone in the room did the same. It was an amazing sight and just as unnerving as attending a meeting of the Convocation. Seeing all those gigantic Cosm on their knees in front of me was not something that would help my stomach settle any time soon. It was time to break up the party. ¡°Fed? Troy? Would you two please remove the cloth of gold from Lord Sopno¡¯s chair, which he has been kind enough to lend me, fold it carefully, and give to one of the household staff of the manse so it can be put away properly?¡± ¡°Your will, Great One,¡± Fed and Troyeepay said in perfect unison and then leapt to their feet to do as I asked. Troy went to find someone to give the cloth to and Fed came and made a kneeling obeisance, ¡°would you like a hand into the chair, Great One?¡± ¡°That would be most kind of you, Trainee Fedso¡¯as. Please be careful around my right arm. It is very sore right now.¡± Fed lifted me very carefully into the chair. She draped the mantle around my shoulders and put the hat back on my head. Damn, she was getting big. ¡°Thank you, Fed. You have my blessing and leave to depart. The rest of you also have my leave to rise and be about your business. Lord Truvos, why are there no other chairs? Shouldn¡¯t the Queen and High Priestesses, as well as yourself and Lord Gunndit be seating with me?¡± Fassex answered before poor Lord Sopno haup Truvos could collect his wits to respond, ¡°it is customary for the High Priestesses in attendance at a trial to stand. The Queen is traditionally seated.¡± ¡°No, not acceptable,¡± I said. ¡°Set up chairs for yourselves, please.¡± ¡°That is neither proper nor respectful,¡± Fassex snapped. ¡°Holy One,¡± it hurt my bruised right side but I managed to raise my volume, ¡°I don¡¯t care a turd for proper or respectable, but I will not spend a trial sitting in this chair turning my bruised side and shoulder to took up at you standing with your too-tall head some hundreds of hands above me. I¡¯m not doing it. You will sit so I can look at everyone without too much pain. The alternative is for you to skip the trial and we¡¯ll manage without you.¡± I followed that up with the best wrath-driven glare I could manage. The startled look I got back from her made my day. ¡°Now, is there seating for all of the people here?¡± I asked, looking at about twenty Cosm lingering, including Lord Gunndit¡¯s and Lord Truvos¡¯ families. ¡°Trials don¡¯t last long, Great One,¡± Kamagishi instructed. ¡°I will verify the crime and you will state what the criminal¡¯s punishment will be. That¡¯s all that will happen.¡± I didn¡¯t know. I had never been to a trial before. Prior to my arrival in Foskos, trials never included Coyn in any way. ¡°Really?¡± I wasn¡¯t so sure that the trial would be short. I had other ideas. It depended on if I could repurpose the trial to cover some problems with the law. Kamagishi gave me a warning look. *Please do not make trouble, little one,* she said on the inside of my head. Once the chairs were brought in and all the high-ranking types were seated, Kamagishi came and knelt before me, ¡°Could I have your leave, Great One, to begin the trial?¡± I made a face as if that question required thought, ¡°I suppose I could.¡± *Emily, please,* she gave me an impressive hairy eyeball of a look. ¡°You have my blessing and leave to proceed, Holy One,¡± I said with all the dignity I could muster. Usruldes in his Hessakos the Courier suit spoke up from the back of the room: ¡°I beg forgiveness for my rudeness but we can not hear the Blessed Emily¡¯s voice. She speaks very softly. May I beg a boon from the High Justicar to cast amplification?¡± He then bowed an obeisance. ¡°Yes, you may, Lord Irhessa,¡± Kamagishi answered him. She briefly touched the great polished cat¡¯s eye gem in the justicar''s necklace, appropriately carved in the shape of a cat¡¯s head, and I feft a soft touch of wind on my face. Then it was gone. ¡°Was that the charm?¡± I asked Kamagishi quietly. She nodded. ¡°But my voice doesn¡¯t sound louder,¡± I was confused. I should have been able to hear an amplification. ¡°We can can hear you now, Great One,¡± Usruldes said. ¡°You can hear her, right, Troy?¡± ¡°Yes, father.¡± I was bemused. How did that work without raising the intensity of the sound closer to me? The intensity of sound dropped off by the inverse of the square of the distance. It needed to be loud out of my mouth to still be audible in the back of the reception hall. So why wasn¡¯t my voice louder? ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Emily?¡± Kamagishi whispered, looking concerned at the face of consternation I must have been making. ¡°How does that magic work? It looks like it is breaking the laws for acoustic waves. How can my voice be heard the same here as in the back of the room without a drop in the amplitude? It looks like energy can¡¯t possibly be conserved.¡± I confess the physics puzzle made me forget momentarily that I was sitting in judgment at a trial. ¡°Great One,¡± Huhoti said from her chair on the other side of the Queen who was seated next to Kamagishi, ¡°I can see with my magic sight that the energy of the molecules in the sound wave were translated from just beyond your mouth to just in front of the listeners¡¯ faces. It¡¯s a translation in space, as if the distance it crossed didn¡¯t exist.¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°So where is the energy coming from to make a translation like that and how is energy conserved within this inertial reference and on the governing time line?¡± I looked over at her. Huhoti was probably the only only person present who would even understand why this was a problem. What was the relationship between energy, space, mass and time, and did they co-exist in a relationship where time or space was conserved as well as energy and mass? I started thinking about which relationships from the theory of relativity might be affected by the postulated conservation of multi-directional time. Then my thought process was disturbed by a pinching sensation on my butt. That was followed by a loud sigh from Lisaykos, who was seated one chair down from me on the other side of Fassex. I turned my head to see the look that many erring healer trainees have nightmares about, those steely grey eyes glaring down that formidable beak of a nose as if I were a fly and Lisaykos was a very large and very focused cat. ¡°May I remind the Great One that this is a trial, and not a festival for maniacal masochistic mekaners?¡± Icicles formed and dropped off her words of disapproval. I couldn¡¯t help reflexively swallowing over the magnitude of my misdeeds in the face of propriety personified. Lisaykos can be very scary when she wants to be. It did not escape my notice that Fassex, seating next to me on my left, between me and Lisaykos, was looking at the ceiling with mild interest and a modest grin. Incorrigible! ¡°Holy One,¡± I looked at Kamagishi with as serious an expression as I could manage, ¡°the Blessed Lisaykos has made a cogent observation. We should proceed.¡± ¡°Very good, Great One,¡± she made a solemn bowing obeisance to me. Her straight-man routine was perfect. I was in awe of her composure. I glanced over at Aylem, who gave me a sympathetic look whose silent message to me was: ¡°You did it again, you boffin.¡± Then she made a lopsided smile and rolled her eyes at me. The moment was shattered when a man in the back of the crowd started laughing in earnest. Too many people were in the way for me to see who was laughing. The crowd turned and parted on its own to reveal two people, a man and a youth, in riding cloaks with their hoods up, scarves on their faces, and mittens on their hands. From the flush of red on their noses and around their eyes, they had just come in from outside. "Lord Sopno," Aylem looked at him seated next to Huhoti, "I believe we will need two more chairs for the King and the Revered Garki. "Oh, please, no!" Garki''s boyish voice called out as he pulled his scarf down. "Great One, I am attending the King today. I should stand behind him if he is sitting." This now made sense to me. Imstay was probably the only person in Foskos who could laugh at the farce on this side of the room and get away with it. He slapped Garki''s shoulder, peeled out of his cloak and outerwear, and handed them to a member of the household staff. Another staff member appeared at Garki''s side to do the same for him. Garki blushed at the attention paid him. He was too used to being the servant and not the one who was served. Imstay said a few words to Garki that I couldn''t hear and then both approached my chair. Getting on their knees, they made their obeisance as they said in unison, "May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you." "And also upon you. Please rise," I said. How easily the words now came to me. It bothered me on one level that it had become easy. I told myself for at least the millionth time that it was just play-acting, just so I would never forget that these huge magical giants could squash me like a bug. All this precedence stuff was insidious. "I must beg your forgiveness, Great One," Imstay beamed that used car salesman smile of his at me, "but the look on your face when the Blessed Lisaykos spoke to you followed by Aylem Queen rolling her eyes at you...well, I admit, it was joyful to see all your wonderful expressions again after not seeing you for so long." The fake smile cracked and he looked at me with a face I could not decipher for I had never seen it before, "I am glad to see you alive and well. I was worried you might be harmed." I''m not sure where the words came from, because I found myself saying, "Thank you for your concern, Imstay King. I am glad to be among my friends once again." Holy crappola, I sounded as bad as a small-town politician on a campaign. "Great One," a worried-looking Garki interrupted, "must I sit in a chair? I came in the role of the King''s attendant." He was wearing the red and white riding clothes of a recorder or librarian in training at the Fated Shrine of Galt. I could see Kamagishi frown at him and almost start to say something when I preempted her, "Revered One, did not the divine paw of Galt fall upon your fated shoulder in Black Falls while you were helping me? I was there and I saw it happen. Galt has taken you for his own. You can not dodge a god''s will, Revered One. For this event, you must sit with us in a chair set out for you." His face was a cry of appeal which I had to ignore; but if I was already stuck inside this farce, there was no way I was letting him escape. He crumpled, "your will, Great One." He bowed an obeisance and backed away to where a member of the household staff took him by the elbow and led him to a chair next to Lyappis. Once Imstay and Garki were seated, Kamagishi, who was seated immediately to my right, stood and waved her hand over the recording scroll on a small table between her and the Queen. The magic pen leapt to life, ready to write. Kamagishi then made a signal to a guard with an open-faced sallet and wearing a dress tunic with Truvos facings of lavender and deep yellow: "Bring forth Oyseray of Arkmet Village in the Holding of Truvos, here accused of the attempt to murder a sacred person and sacrilege." The guard returned with another guard in the same uniform. The leather crafter was between them. They placed her about 30 hands in front of me. I looked up at her scowling and belligerent face. "Please have her kneel," I said to Kamagishi. Fassex responded, "it is customary, Great One, for the accused to stand unless the accused is from a noble house." Her voice was just a touch condescending as if I needed instruction. "Thank you, Holy One," I did not let my ire show, "but I refuse to be forced to look up at the person who dislocated my shoulder and threw me into a bush. She will kneel." I pointed my finger at her face and motioned downward to the floor. No one moved. "Guards," I motioned to both of them standing behind the accused. They walked up to the leather crafter and forced her to her knees. "Holy One," I looked at the startled Kamagishi, "I have never run a trial. I must ask your help to conduct the proceeding, please." Kamagishi nodded her agreement and began: "Oyseray, you are accused of attempting to murder the Blessed Emily, prophet, revelator of Tiki, Mugash, Giltak, and Galt, and of sacrilege against her person." Kamagishi''s hand touched the cat head pendant of her necklace of cats'' eyes, "I cast the compulsion of truthfulness upon you, Oyseray. You will speak when we allow you to speak and you will speak the truth without omissions." Kamagishi paused and looked at me, "do you want me to question her, or do you want to, Great One?" "I have questions for which I require answers," I replied, clenching my fists to hide that I felt nervous and unsure of myself. I was about to embark on a risky venture and I did not know how it would turn out. I was glad that Imstay was here because now I would not need to bell the King inside his own lair. I could begin overturning the law of Foskos starting with this trial. I felt a trickle of nervous sweat run down my back under my kirtle and robe. Then I pushed that thought out of my mind and set my mind to begin. Lyappis told me Oyseray''s history days ago when she asked me about how my shoulder became injured. At the time, my innate timidity was wishing the Cosm authorities would never discover what happened with the leather crafter. I had no desire to decide another judgment on someone which would probably lead to another execution. It was so hard holding someone else''s life in my hands. I knew I couldn''t dodge this bullet when Lyappis told me they found the leather crafter and had her in custody. I didn''t ask where. I didn''t want to deal with it so I didn''t want to know. Then Lyappis told me about Oyseray''s bad history with Coyn. Oyseray worked in her family''s shop in Yuxvos, which she ran with her mother. She had been married and had three children. After her mother passed away, Oyseray inherited the shop. Without her mother around to manage the shop''s Coyn, the job fell to Oyseray, but she was not good to her slaves. Over eight years, ten Coyn died from either Oyseray''s discipline or her neglect of their health or basic needs. She paid the kill tax every time. When it was clear that Oyseray would treat her slaves with a minimum of decency, her husband left her and took the children with him. Lyappis said they did not know where her husband and children were. Under the Foskan law on Coyn slaves, paying the kill tax ten times triggers an inquiry. If that inquiry finds that the slaves died from other than accidental causes, then the owner is guilty of the crime of cruelty. The punishment has three parts. First, the Cosm in question is barred from ever owning or hiring a Coyn slave ever again. Second, they are banned from living in a community of greater than 200 Cosm, as a way of limiting contact between the criminal and Coyn. Third, the criminal must pay a fine of ten times the kill tax. Oyseray accepted the position of leather crafter in Arkmet, the smallest settlement in Truvos, because the bonus for excepting the position paid for most of her fine. Lord Sopno knew of Oyseray''s history but decided to lease the available leather and shoe shop to her based on the high quality of her work and the prohibition of owning any more Coyn. She had worked quietly and well for four years in Truvos. The Coyn of Truvos avoided her. "Crafter Oyseray, when you picked me up and threw me out the backdoor of your shop and into the bushes, what was your intent?" I heard Kamagishi suck in a breath at my question and Aylem gave me a concerned look. "I did not want you in my shop," she said in a surly voice. "I tossed you in the bushes because I believed you would walk away unharmed but convinced to never return." "Crafter, use the Blessed Emily''s proper title," Fassex commanded. "Your will, Holy One," Oyseray responded, unable to do anything else due to the charm of compulsion. The omission of proper title had been a minor point so I had let it pass. "By Oyseray''s answer, it is clear to me that she had no intent to murder me. Regardless, the..." "Great One, intent through willful ignorance should apply," Kamagishi gently but firmly interrupted. I held up a finger, and looked at her sideways, "Please wait, Holy One. I''ve just begun. Willful ignorance can not apply to this crime of attempt to murder. We will address to issue of intent later." "What?" Kamagishi was startled. "Patience, boobala, patience," I said softly to her without turning my head. I heard her whisper to Aylem, "what''s boobala?" Then I heard Aylem cough to cover the laugh. I''m sure the stillness that followed in both meant they were talking by mindcast. "If Oyseray had killed me, she would be guilty of murder by the precedent of having intent by willful ignorance. This is a problem because it is not consistent. A strong argument can be made that since Oyseray had no direct intent to even harm me, there was no willful ignorance that can be applied to the crime of attempted murder of a sacred person. There is willful ignorance here, but it applies to a different crime. So, my first decision is that Oyseray is not guilty of an attempt to murder a sacred person. "Oyseray, another question for you," I noted she looked shocked. I''m sure she believed she would be tossed into one of the Great Cracks as her punishment. "Why did you throw me out of your shop?" This caused a small stir around the room, though I''m not sure why. Maybe the question was too far outside the expectations of the assembled spectators. "Coyn are trouble for me, Great One," she replied meekly. "I don''t want Coyn anywhere near me. The Coyn of Truvos leave me alone and I''m glad they do so. I didn''t want to hurt you. I just wanted you gone." "I state now my first legal opinion that the application of willful ignorance as a form of intent is inconsistent in Foskan law. This is obvious in the case of Oyseray since it can be argued either way, depending on the level of harm suffered. I have examined the guidelines for recorders and judges. While the guidance allows willful ignorance as a form of intent, there is no detailed discussion of how it applies or its history in previous trials. I believe willful ignorance needs review for how it is applied within the kingdom. A detailed study of the last several centuries of data is my recommendation. Such a study should also look into the possibility of making willful ignorance its own thing instead of an extension of intent because I believe the application of intent is also flawed, as I will show in just a bit." The murmuring around the room grew. "Permit me to ask some questions of the experts here assembled," I took off my scholar''s hat and removed the small packet of note paper I hid inside the hat liner earlier. Then I removed the pencils from inside my arm sling. Aylem went bug-eyed and Lisaykos'' look of resigned exasperation was most satisfying. "Revered Trainee Garki, will you be so kind as to pass these out to those seated?" The boy leapt to his feet, hurried over, and slid to a full obeisance posture on his knees, stopping in front of me. "Your will, Great One," he accepted the paper and pencils after he raised his bowed head. Then he sprang up and handed them out. After he had retaken his seat, I addressed those seated: "Please write down what crime the Blessed Aylem committed when she killed me last year." (Continued in Part 2 Installment 7) 2.7 Innocent by reason of insanity (continued from Part 2 Installment 8; Emily in the reception hall of Manse Truvos) Oh my, it was a show-stopper of a question. The looks of shock that went around the room revealed that I had everyone''s attention despite the dry legalese of my discourse. "Great One," Fassex protested, "I do not see the purpose of this foolery. I will not..." "Sister," Kamagishi interrupted her loudly, "you will do so or you will leave this trial." "This is unacceptable and unprecedented," Fassex argued back. Fassex was such a reliable stick-in-the-mud, incorrigible down to the last word out of her mouth. Before anyone else could jump in, I explained calmly: "The precedent for a poll of opinions during a trial for someone''s life was set during the reign of Imstay King''s great great great grandfather, Imnestal King, by the Holy Ayusk, then High Priestess of Galt, acting in her office as High Justicar." Fassex went silent and studied me with a neutral face. I think she realized I had come armed with facts. Then she applied herself to writing down her answer. When everyone was done, Garki got up and collected the pieces of paper without my asking. I smiled at him, thanked him, and sent him back to his seat. I sorted the pieces of paper and then looked up. The room was silent. "The ten opinions are five who decided it was a murder of a sacred person, four who decided it was sacrilege, and one who opined that there was no crime because there was no intent." The latter opinion was written in Garki''s beautiful calligraphy-quality handwriting. It was an opinion of a young man yet unspoiled by experience or cynicism. "The Blessed Aylem was never questioned under compulsion as to her intent but I believe beyond a doubt that there was indeed no intent to commit either harm or murder. Blessed Aylem, what were you thinking immediately before you cast the charm that killed me? Great One?" I kept my face as neutral as possible. Alas, Aylem''s panicked face told me I had ambushed her. "I¡," she stopped and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "I was trying to get it through that thoughtless griffin''s head that including you in his acrobatic stunts might harm you since you lack magic to save yourself if you fell. He disagreed with me and I lost my temper with him. I was so angry that I now barely remember casting the charm of a thousand stings on him. I forgot you were standing next to him and you were caught up in the casting." She grimaced, closed her eyes, and hung her head. I hated doing this to her but I needed her admission of no intent to be public. "Please forgive me for this next question, Jane," I said in English. "Great One, why did you cast a charm fatal to griffins and Coyn during your argument with the Blessed Asgotl?" Aylem''s face was a study in agony. The room was so quiet that everyone heard Aylem take another deep breath and then let it out slowly. "I lost my temper and when I lose my temper, I often lose control of myself." Come on, Aylem, tell me about living at the Healing Shrine under a healer''s care, I thought to myself. She didn''t. I think it was too difficult for her to talk about and I was forcing her to do so in public. I felt terrible but I had to make this public or my strategy might fail. This wasn''t exactly how I had wanted things to progress, but I needed to run with the balls that came my way. Regardless, I was worried that it would alienate Aylem. "Given your circumstances, what is being done to address this problem?" I tried to word things tactfully. It was better to phrase it this way than to ask how she was being cured of her mental illness. "I am living at the Healing Shrine of Mugash under the care of an experienced mind healer, whose only patient is myself," Aylem stared at the floor as she spoke. When she was done, she closed her eyes and then buried her face in her hands. I was such a cockroach for having done that to her. "Blessed Lisaykos," I looked up at my housemate to see her giving me a death glare. Oh boy, I hoped I survived the day without getting evicted. "Is it your expert opinion that the Blessed Aylem is ill inside her mind?" The look she gave me next was angry exasperation, "Yes." "Holy One," I looked at Kamagishi who was studying me with speculation on her face. "Grant me your wisdom on an interpretation, please. Was the Blessed Aylem insane enough when she killed me to be ruled incapable of having the intent to harm?" "In hindsight," Kamagishi picked her words with care, "I now know that the character defect of her sudden temper is a symptom of her illness. If she came into the Well of Galt for trial for the crime of killing you today, she would indeed receive a ruling from me of no intent because of insanity." "And last year?" I pushed. "I would have said she was guilty of sacrilege due to willful ignorance," Kamagishi admitted with a rueful look. "We would have executed her for either murder or sacrilege if the god Mugash the Merciful had not intervened." "In my hand," I held up the pieces of paper, "is the evidence that the definition of intent requires its own review as to its current and past use in Foskos. More than half of those seated here today may act as judges, so we can assume these results in my hand are the opinions of experts in the law. As such, I expected these experts to agree; however, I see not only disagreement on the nature of Aylem''s so-called crimes, but also disagreement on her intent. This is more inconsistency. "My second legal opinion is that the interpretation of intent is broken in Foskan law since it can change even the identity of the crime committed. My recommendation is to research how intent has been used for the last several centuries and how it has changed with time. Then its application should receive clear guidelines so it is uniformly applied throughout the kingdom. "I suggest we take a short break before we judge on Oyseray for the crime of sacrilege." "Why?" Fassex asked. "That crime should be obvious and simple to judge." "You think so, Holy One?" I asked with as guileless a face as possible. If I could maneuver the right opening, I wanted to expose the failure of Foskan law to properly address Oyseray''s earlier crime, which led directly to her current one. Oyseray''s crime was obvious but its judgment was not. *What do you mean, the law failed with her earlier offenses?* Kamagishi mindcasted with a look of deep concern on her face, reading my thoughts. I''m not sure why, but Kamagishi could pick up on what I was thinking without even trying. She was as sensitive to my thoughts as Kayseo was. "I suggest we take a short break before we judge Oyseray for the crime of sacrilege," I repeated. Kamagishi stood and looked at me from above with a frown. Then she addressed the room, "we will recess for a quarter bell. Guards, please remove the accused for now." - - - - - Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Aylem, at the trial recess, Manse Truvos As soon as Oyseray was out of the room, Fassex was after Emily. "Just what are you trying to do, Great One?" Fassex leaned in her chair to do a credible job of staring down at the little Coyn while seated. "This is a trial, not a review of the law. The sacrilege charge should be a simple one to handle. All you need to do is question her and sentence her. There should be no question about willful ignorance in this case." When Kamagishi announced a break, I saw Emily physically relax. Fassex''s verbal attack brought her back to tensing every muscle. "Fassex, please just stop," Emily snapped, eyes closed and her head in her left hand. "I don''t have to justify myself t...to you. I know w...w...what I am doing." "It doesn''t look that way to me," Fassex rebutted, with her cheeks in high color. She''s always like this when she aims to win a verbal spar. "I have decades of experience here and you have..." "I have the instructions delivered yesterday from the deity Erhonsay in her aspect as wisdom, and that''s all the justification I need," Emily managed to be loud. Her fist was clenched as her head started drooping slowly toward her knees. "Just l...leave it for now." "The Holy Fassex has a point, Great One," Imstay inserted himself into the exchange at exactly the wrong time in the wrong way. "A review of the law can come later when..." "Everyone, just go aw...w...w...way and l...leave me a...l¡lone for a bit," the tension in Emily''s voice was not good and the stutter was starting up, never a good sign. "Out of my way," Kayseo''s voice parted the crowd as she thumped her way with clumsy hurried steps toward Emily''s chair. "Out of my way, let me through!" Kayseo was working on sainthood in my book so I stood up and walked behind Emily to help. I used a touch of Voice, just enough to remind every silverhair in the room who was the most powerful Cosm mage on Erdos, "Let the prophet''s healer through. If the Blessed Emily needs some time away from our ungentle selves, then she will have it." Then I glowered at my husband followed by glaring at Fassex. I felt guilty at the fear I saw spring up in both of them but I was in control of myself. I bent down and spoke as softly as I could in Emily''s ear, "Kayseo is almost here. You need out of here, yes?" Emily nodded, her tearing eyes fixed on her knees. Kayseo finally parted the crowd and arrived at Emily''s chair. "Thank you, Great One," she said to me. "Can you get her? I think it would be faster for you than for me with my uneven walking gait. I suggest upstairs to where she is sleeping. I am slow up the stairs so I will meet you there. Is that agreeable, Great One?" I nodded. Then I bent back over to talk to Emily, "Is this acceptable for you, dear heart? I want to pick you up and get you upstairs to your bed. May I?" I waited for her nod and then had her in my arms as gently as I could manage. I was up the stairs three steps at a time and down the hall to the Lord''s bedroom. I set her down on the edge of the mattress, "Emily, I need to take the sling off. Before I do, I want you to do one thing for me, and that''s to keep your eyes closed. I don''t want to set off any visual triggers, so keep your eyes closed for now until you can catch your breath and relax." She nodded her agreement. I had the sling, the hat, her shoes, and her gown off by the time Kayseo arrived. *You''re not upset with her?* Kayseo mindcast. I could read her fear that I would upset Emily even more than she was. *Well, yes, I am a bit upset,* I smiled sadly. *She warned me right before the hard questions and I believe I know what she''s doing. She''s setting up to dismantle Foskan law regarding slavery and the lack of rights for the other races. My discomfort is nothing compared to that.* "Y...you''re mindcasting, aren''t y...you?" "Well, yes, dear heart." Emily made a distressed face and opened her eyes to find me, "Aylem?" I dropped her nightgown over her head so she wouldn''t see me and accidentally get scared. I knew the sight of me did frighten her regardless of her attempts to act normally around me. The size and power difference was just too great between us for her to be comfortable, to my sorrow. "I''m right here but I''m serious about keeping those eyes closed. In a moment, Kayseo will be in her chair and I''m going to put you in her lap for now. Say something if I hurt your sore arm or side when I pick you up." Even with her head covered, she snagged my sleeve, "Aylem, I really am sorry. I didn''t w...w...want to hurt y...you like that, it''s just..." "I think I know what you''re trying to do. You want to make a point about gaps in the law. You also want to make an opening to talk about how the law values life. That''s what Erhonsay wants you to do, yes? And you want to use me as an example, because my example is dramatic and memorable. Am I right?" "How did y...y...you know that?" her left hand was still trembling, the poor thing. "Because I think more like you than I do like any Foskan I know," I wanted to hug her but was afraid of hurting her right side. I continued in English, "You''re a Yank, I''m a Brit and we both think the same about many things, like slavery, and rights, and punishments fitting crimes, and all that. Now close those eyes, miss stubborn boffin, and I am not upset with you. I may be upset because that was hard for me, but I understand why you did it." I removed the nightgown and deposited her on the blanket Kayseo already had ready on her lap. She wrapped Emily in it and draped the edge over Emily''s head so the little one didn''t have to look at our Cosm-sized selves if she didn''t want to. Emily pulled the blanket to cover her head completely. I could tell from the motions under the blanket that she was sobbing silently against Kayseo''s stomach. I pulled a chair next to Kayseo''s wheelchair and cast the charm of tongues on Kayseo. Then I started to sing the songs that I knew Emily liked. I forgot the door was open. "Gay go up, and gay go down, to ring the bells of London town. Bull''s eyes and targets, say the bells of St. Margret''s. Brickbats and tiles, say the bells of St. Giles''. Halfpence and farthings, say the bells of St. Martin''s. Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St. Clement''s. Pancakes and fritters, say the bells of St. Peter''s. Two sticks and an apple, say the bells at Whitechapel. Pokers and tongs, say the bells at St. John''s. Kettles and pans, say the bells at St. Ann''s. Old Father Baldpate, say the slow bells at Aldgate. Maids in white Aprons, say the bells of St Catherine''s. You owe me ten shillings, say the bells of St. Helen''s. When will you pay me? say the bells at Old Bailey. When I grow rich, say the bells at Shoreditch. Pray when will that be? say the bells of Stepney. I''m sure I don''t know, says the great bell at Bow. Here comes a candle to light you to bed, And here comes a chopper to chop off your head." The blanket came flying off her head, "you know the long version!" Emily was excited. "Emily, close those eyes," I commanded. "Do you want me to teach the words to you? I know you already know the tune." "I''ve heard it once already. I''ll remember it now." Her eyes were closed but she was smiling. "Your memory is something else," I remarked. Her near-perfect memory was frightening, to be truthful. We sang the London bells song again. I sang the melody and she sang the harmony as a descant. It was fun. Then we sang the fish and chips and vinegar round. We followed up with Dona Nobis Pacem. She taught me an irreverent version of Dona Nobis Pacem sung to the sole word of "meow." "Consider it a hymn to Galt," she said with maniacal glee. "Emily! That''s blasphemous," I protested. "I don''t think so. The cat god has a huge sense of humor." *PURRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...PURRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...PURRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr* "Gaaaah," Kayseo uttered a frightened little scream. "I think the cat god approved," Emily shook her head, smiling and finally relaxed. "Maybe we should find some mid repast. Then I want to consider if I have it in me to face another attack of Fassex this afternoon." "How about the Coventry Carol, and then I will go in search of food? We''ll need to ask Kamagishi to extend the recess, but that should not be a problem." "Deal." - - - 2.8 Stepping on Fassex Lisaykos, downstairs at Manse Truvos I thought that Aylem might go to pieces after Emily''s cruel questioning of her in public. I was surprised when Aylem came to Emily''s rescue, to remove her from Fassex''s bad habit of bullying others. It was one of Fassex''s worst behaviors and one which no one has ever been able to stop her from pursuing. She can be a warm and caring person, a dedicated and reliable friend, and a champion of enforcing the law. She can also be the worst bully you ever met. Fassex had this unquenchable desire to always be on top of every pile and bullying was one of the tools she used to stay there. Unfortunately, few people could rein her in because there were less than two handfuls of silverhairs who could match her in magic. I was one. My daughter was another. My cousin Foyuna was her match in magical power except she was too nice and too timid to stand up to Fassex. Kamagishi was her equal if not her better. I wasn''t sure how powerful Kamagishi was because she hid much of her power. It makes me happy she''s a gossip and not a bully. My distant cousin Senlyosart was Fassex''s match, and of course, there was Aylem. I looked at my daughter and my daughter looked at me. We both looked at Kamagishi, who looked back. All three of us converged on Fassex, who saw us coming and tried to dodge. It didn''t work. Fassex might be able to give me or Kamagishi a good chase, but my daughter is another matter. Katsa had Fassex trapped literally in the corner of the reception hall. "So, it''s the Revered Katsa," as a defense, Fassex tried her intimidation by higher religious standing ploy. "Yes, it is me, the Revered Lord Holder Katsa haup Gunndit, adept of Landa, Holy One," my daughter looked like a sturgeon ready to bite. "Your shrine lives off of my taxes and the foodstuff of my holding. It would profit you to remember that without the holdings, the shrines would be just a collection of starving hovels. But I''m not here to remind you that you live off of my and other Lord Holders'' largesse. I''m here to say that if you intended to send this trial down the great gaping maw of Uedroy, you''re doing a great job, Holy One. Keep it up! We all wanted an extended vacation in Truvos while you bully and heckle a prophet with nine god marks into a wreck of nerves and fright. "Just what is your problem, Holy One? Emily is all of seven hands high and can''t weigh more than 80 stone soaking wet with winter clothes on. A strong wind can knock her over. You are so brave to stand up to this veritable powerhouse of a Coyn while she dispatches her duty under Foskan law despite her inclination to have nothing to do with our courts and our laws. I don''t know why you feel you must bully a tiny helpless Coyn, but from where I''m sitting, it looks really ugly. "I don''t give away a lot of advice as a matter of policy and habit," my Katsa growled, "but I have some for you now. You should either keep your mouth shut when the prophet is speaking or you should leave. Your presence is not necessary for this trial. Why are you even here, unless your purpose is to disrupt what the prophet is attempting to do? If that''s the case, I will be the first in line to petition that you be removed should you disrupt this trial any further. I will also be the first in line to lodge a complaint with the Convocation that there is a high priestess who will not pay the proper respect to the prophet since all you''ve done is bully that tiny Coyn. "May the blessings of the gods be upon you, Holy One, because you might need them," she made obeisance and stormed off. Kamagishi and I watched my daughter stomp past, "Blessings of the gods be on you, Mother, Holy One. The charm will wear off in a moment. Use it well." Kamagishi turned and looked at me, "What charm? I didn''t see Lord Katsa cast a charm." "That''s my daughter for you. She''s a typical show-off Gunndit. She''s so good, you never even see her cast a charm on you. You just feel the effects when it''s too late to do anything to counter her. It was quite obnoxious when she was a teenager. She used to levitate her poor brother all the time when he crossed her and never even touch her crystal to do so." "She casts without a focus?" Kamagishi''s jaw dropped. "All the time," I sighed. "She''s quite vain about it." "Goodness," Kamagishi pondered as she looked back at Katsa''s retreating back, "I don''t think I have ever seen your daughter angry before." "Yes, it usually takes something extraordinary to invoke her ire," I turned and gave Fassex the glare of disapproval from down the length of my long haup Foskos beak of a nose. "You need to stop this, Fassex. It takes a lot to get my daughter angry. Did you hear nothing we said yesterday about the handling of Emily? She isn''t one of your trainees or a lordling you need to intimidate and put in his or her place. Katsa doesn''t joke, Fassex. She will lodge a complaint with the Convocation." "Get me down," Fassex hissed under her breath so only Kamagishi and I could hear. That''s when I noticed that Fassex was floating just a finger off the floor. She could probably move by pointing her toes to reach the floor and pulling herself forward, but it would look strange and draw attention to the fact that someone magicked her into that position and she couldn''t break the charm. I had to restrain myself from smiling. Kamagishi noticed and bit her finger, hard, to stop herself from laughing out loud. Then she got a conniving look and grinned, "I will break Lord Gunndit''s magic if you promise to keep your mouth shut for the rest of the trial." Fassex glared, "If you can break this magic, I will refrain from any further comment; however, if I can''t break this charm, you won''t be able to either, Kamagishi." You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. With a lift of one patronizing eyebrow, Kamagishi snapped her fingers and Fassex dropped. I grasped the older woman''s shoulder as she lost her balance when her feet hit the floor. "Careful," I made sure she was steady since I could feel the pain in her ankles from the unexpected jolt. "Thank you," Fassex reverted to her usually polite self. She then scowled at Kamagishi, "Don''t you realize, girl, that little troublemaker is about to create some serious trouble for the kingdom? She aiming to dismantle the law!" Kamagishi gave Fassex a sympathetic look, "She will. I expect it." Kamagishi smiled, "Sister Fassex, has it not occurred to you that''s what prophets do? Make trouble?" Fassex started to open her mouth to say something when we heard a heavenly duet of two women singing somewhere. I recognized the strange sounds of English words. "Who is that and where is it coming from?" Kamagishi whispered. "That''s Aylem and Emily," I soaked up the sound. "They sing well together and they share a large repertoire of songs from Earth. Senlyosart will be envious. She hasn''t had a chance to hear them sing yet." People were gathering at the base of the stairs to listen. We joined them. My son climbed up to the fourth step and then cast a charm on everyone, "I just cast the charm of tongues, so you will understand the meaning of what''s being sung. The words are in the languages Emily knew from the place where she lived before coming here." "How does the Queen know all the words to those foreign languages?" Oyyuth asked my son. "It''s easy for her," he didn''t even blink, "since she is the second most powerful mage on Erdos." We all got a wonderful unscheduled concert. Emily''s throat was still undeveloped in terms of her singing voice since it takes a few years after the onset of puberty for the adult voice to fully emerge. She sounded like a child soprano because there was no vibrato yet. It was a high and pure sound and with Aylem''s solid alto underneath, the mix was rather unique. They both had good pitch control so it was a pleasure to listen to. They sang that sad but beautiful song of mothers mourning the death of their children in a massacre by an evil king called Herod. I thought they should translate the narrative parts of that song and then release it. It would be very popular. When they stopped singing, the crowd gathered at the bottom of the steps was silent from the emotional impact of that haunting song. Then Aylem appeared at the top of the stairs, with a gobsmacked face at the people gathered. She composed herself, going instantly regal, and walking down the steps as if we had been waiting for her. I saw Lyappis watching, studying the Queen. Aylem didn''t notice. Aylem arrived at the bottom step like a large river boat docking. She had everyone''s attention as she looked at Lord Sopno haup Trovos with solemnity, "Lord Truvos, where might I find the Holy Kamagishi?" "I''m right here, Great One," Kamagishi responded standing next to me. "The Blessed Emily requests the recess extended until after mid repast, when she will reconsider if we continue this afternoon or tomorrow morning," Aylem announced with dignity. "I will extend the recess until quarter past the fifth bell," Kamagishi replied, "then I will consult with her." "Lord Truvos, would you be so kind as to have mid repast delivered to the Blessed Emily, me, and her healer in her room upstairs?" "Of course, Great One," he bowed obeisance. "May I ask, what might we do to convince you and the Blessed Emily to sing some more for us later? Say, this evening?" "What?" Aylem replied softly, turning bright red right to the tips of her ears. "I forgot to close the door," she hid her face behind her hand. "I got Emily to sing because it helps her relax. I had no idea it...oh, my¡," Aylem fumbled her words, which was a rare sight. Her embarrassment was profound and the frozen regal expression of the Ice Queen cracked and fell apart. It was a rather endearing moment to see her blush and be caught off balance. Hardly anyone had ever seen her act so splendidly human. This would be good for the mending of her reputation. I was sure news of it would spread through the rumor webs. "Lord Truvos," I interrupted, "the Blessed Emily is not comfortable in large groups. I doubt she would agree, and I believe she may be upset if she discovers that her private pastime of singing with the Blessed Aylem became accidentally public." Aylem breathed a sigh of relief, "what the Blessed Lisaykos said is indeed true. I will ask the Blessed Emily if she will sing with me this evening, but I caution you that she will likely refuse." "That is more that I could hope for," he smiled. "You have my thanks." Aylem started walking toward Imstay but both Lyappis and I cut her off from two different directions. "Are you alright," Lyappis asked softly. "Why? Do I look ill or out of sorts?" Aylem tilted her head at us in bewilderment. "You''re not upset at all?" Lyappis was surprised and so was I. "About what?" Aylem looked from Lyappis to me and back, eyebrows raised. "Emily and those degrading questions she asked you," Lyappis snorted, still angry for Aylem''s sake. "Oh," enlightenment crossed Aylem''s face. "I am a bit upset. That was difficult for me. Those were unpleasant questions, and I certainly do not want to experience that again," her brow clouded, "though she warned me right before she started that it would be hard. She was upset upstairs because she thought I would be upset with her." She smiled sadly, "I''m not happy about it, but I didn''t want to scare Emily. I know what Emily is doing. I will endure it. I think there will be a bit more when we resume. Please don''t chide Emily over this. She''s having a hard time trying to keep herself together right now. Don''t make it harder for her." "Aylem," I snatched her sleeve when she tried to turn away and escape, "dear heart, I do not understand what the two of you are doing, that you should feel this way and that she should attack you in public like this. Please explain this to us. This isn¡¯t like either of you." "Ah," Aylem blinked. "Erhonsay directed Emily to examine how we value life. To do so is to lay the legal foundation for the abolition of chattel slavery. Emily and I both want this. She has the power and the intelligence to succeed where I failed fourteen years ago. I think she might be directing her legal discourse in reaction to the statements from the leather crafter, so she doesn''t know what she will say ahead of time. She just knows what points she wants to make. She''s constructing her arguments as she goes, so I have no idea where she will end up." "Surd save us," I was left in a state of doubt and worry. - - - 2.9 Igniting a revolt Emily, dreaming I fell asleep after mid repast and dreamed of the second time I was with a large number of other Coyn since Aylem dragged me out of my valley. Galt took me to the Coyn in Salicet at my request during our road trip out east, a few hours after the fire at Shrine of Galt and the great library of Salicet. I had to wonder about a cat god who volunteered to play taxi for me, but I wasn''t in a position where I could complain. Would anyone in their right mind tell the god of wrath they didn''t want his help? To be honest, it looked fun. I slowly faded into view on Galt''s back in the middle of the largest slave pens inside the slave yards in Salicet. The Coyn fled until there was an empty circle of mud around me. I looked at the crowd of slaves in simple unbleached tunics. This pen was for women who were young but did not have children. From my perch on Galt''s back, I could see the next pen over was filled with young men. There was nothing but slave pens as far as I could see. In the distance, the palace and library in Salicet still burned. If the wind kept up, the fire would burn this way. Since the wind tended to increase every afternoon during the growing season, I think it was just a matter of time. Because of the wind and the scarcity of mages, attempts to put the fire out failed. "Listen to me," I shouted. "The fire may burn all the way to the pens. You must run away if that happens or you will die. "How can we run with charm stones of compulsion on us?" a young woman called back in an accent I had never heard before. "This morning, the crystal in the Shrine of Galt was destroyed. They can no longer compel you to do anything because the giant crystal at that shrine that made the compulsion charms possible was shattered. Thirty years ago, the crystal at the Shrine of Landa in Suapsepso was destroyed by a fire, which was when charms of control began to fail in this country. "Unless the gem in your hand was made in Foskos, Mattamesscontess, or Jutu, you should be able to walk out of here without the gem preventing you. If your gem still works, someone should knock you out and drag you out of here. The fire is coming this way. You must flee. Spread this news to every pen and lead the Chem to safety because they are blind. "You don''t have a gem," another voice accused. "How could you know the agony we have from these cursed things?" "I once had a gem," I shouted back. "On the day that I resolved I would rather die than bear a charm gem one minute longer, I bit it off my hand and spat it into the sewage ditch where it belonged." The woman who yelled the first question looked at me with a scowl, lifted her hand to her mouth, and bit down. We stared at each other while her teeth scraped the skin from the back of her hand as she bit it off. She dramatically spat it into the dirt. She held up her hand for her companions to see: "It worked. I just bit the gem off my hand!" "What?" "No!" "Yes, it worked!" "I did it!" The voices of the women rose as one after another, they bit the gems off their hands. The chaos lasted a long moment. "What now?" the young woman asked, "and where did you get a giant cat trained to let you ride it?" "Well, he''s not a trained animal," I scratched behind his ear. "He''s a friend and he''s taking me around because I have short legs and can''t travel quickly. As to what happens next, that''s up to you. I won''t be back this way this year or even next year. The year after is when I will come to the Coyn fighting for their freedom on the east side of the Stem River. Those who are free should try to reach a place called Uldlip on the west side of the Blue Mountains. A place north of there is an empty country ripe for settlement, full of timber, and good conditions for mushrooms, root crops, and excellent pasture for sheep and goats. The streams are full of fish and the mountains full of metal ores. I know because it is my home." "Who are you that you can promise this?" someone male yelled from one pen over. "My name is Emily," I called out. "The gods sent me to see that the five enslaved races become free once more." "But how can we fight the Cosm? They are giants with dreadful magic." "Not all Cosm approve of slavery. Some want to abolish it. I have some partners in this endeavor, and one of them is the greatest Cosm mage ever born. No one is powerful enough to oppose her. She already abolished mandatory slavery for the three flying races in Foskos and created rights for flying slaves to stop the mistreatment. Her start of reforms has prevailed for almost 15 years now. No one dares oppose her. I may bring the news about your freedom but she has the power to make it stick." The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "I won''t believe it until I see it," someone yelled. "Then I say that you should save up your patience because when you see the Foskan army, that will be the day you meet Cosm who will protect you from slavery instead of enslaving you. I can''t promise that there won''t be fighting and bloodshed. I can''t promise that some of us won''t die in the march toward freedom. We can fight the Cosm face-to-face but only through stealth, intelligence, and weapons they can not protect against." "What sort of weapons can fight against magic?" Galt felt my intent and carried me to the fence between the pens so I could be seen by more people. I stood on Galt''s back, pulled out a match and the striking stone, and waited until I was sure most were watching. I lit the match, protecting its flame from the wind with my body. The number of gasps told me enough people had seen it. "They call me the Maker of Fire," I put the striking stone away. "I make things that explode and can make fire that magic can''t put out. Let me give you a gift for the future. Save the bones of the pigeons and rabbits and squirrels you eat and clean them as clean as your can. Dry them and warm them on the side of your cooking fires to get all the fleshy bits off them. Then grind them up into a powder. Make a vessel out of the clay you use to make the bowls you eat out of and fire it so it won''t leak. Put the dried bone powder in this vessel and fill it with piss. Boil the two together. The solid that forms is dangerous but you can make bombs with it. "Don''t touch this stuff. Make leather or animal skin clothes to protect yourselves --- mittens too. This stuff is dangerous. Don''t get it on your skin and if you do, wash it off and keep washing for a quarter bell. The powder itself is a poison so don''t breath it in and keep food and drink away from it. When you boil the bones, start the fire and walk away. Do not return until all the liquid has boiled away and the powder is caked and dry. You might die otherwise. This is really nasty stuff but if you need to fight Cosm, it''s a powerful weapon. This stuff will kill and injure Cosm. You can destroy wooden gates and bridges with it too. To get it to burn and explode, you add water to it. "Make separate ceramic containers for the powder and water, wrap them together and throw them at Cosm, or wooden building to burn them down. Or you can dig a little shallow hole, put in the bomb, and cover it up in a place where a Cosm will step. If you put sharp pebbles and metal scrap in the bomb wrapping, you can do even more damage to Cosm when the bombs explode. We can only fight with weapons like this since we can''t fight the Cosm face-to-face and survive. "You''ll need to experiment to get the proportions right on making these bombs and with making the containers to keep the water and powder apart until you want them to go off. But be careful because the bomb powder is very dangerous and it lets off a poison gas when it burns so don''t breathe it in if the powder accidentally ignites while you''re making the bombs. "Now let me teach you a song to sing while you escape today." Then, I taught them the ''We not gonna take it'' song by Twisted Sister, because it was simple and easy to learn and very to the point. It spread so fast that it was in Foskos before I arrived home. - - - Emily, the resumption of the trial of Oyseray of Arkmet "The charm of compulsion is still working, Holy One?" I asked Kamagishi. She nodded as the guards brought Oyseray the leather crafter back into the room and made her kneel. The magic pen and scroll were already recording. "This is the resumption of the trial of Oyseray of Arkmet Village," Kamagishi announced, an action that quieted the room. "The preceding is yours, Great One" she made a bowing obeisance to me. Thank you, Holy One. Oyseray, please tell me, what do you think of Coyn?" I found the heavy amount of murmuring that followed my question interesting. "Coyn are worthless, not worth the money, and better off removed from Foskos entirely, Great One," she briefly glanced at Fassex with nervousness and then looked back at me. "Now," I sat up in surprise, "that is a novel opinion I have never heard before. Please explain: why you think this way?" "A trained Coyn costs 50 to 200 silver from the training schools run by the Shrine of Surd, but even a trained Coyn can''t carry more than one large skin of bovine leather at a time. He or she needs a special bench or a special chair and table to do any work, and tools scaled for smaller hands. That costs even more money. Then, they need to be fed, and they need clothes and covers in the cold season and a place to sleep during the cold too. And for all that money, they still don''t produce enough to pay for their upkeep. Chickens are more useful. Chickens are smaller than Coyn, but at least you can eat them and their eggs." Kamagishi caught my attention, "May I?" She had some questions. I cupped my hand for yes. "Oyseray, you just said you needed to provide a place for Coyn to sleep in the cold season. What do you mean by that? Did your shop inYuxvos lack sleeping quarters for the household Coyn?" "Oh, we had places inside the shop for them to sleep but I didn''t want them in the shop overnight, where they might get into things or use up too much firewood. So I had them sleep in the storage shed." "In the cold season? Did the shed have heat?" "Oh, no, Holy One. We used the shed only for things which wouldn''t be affected by the cold." "How many Coyn died of the cold in your shed, Oyseray?" I had to ask. "Four." "How many Coyn died after you disciplined them, Oyseray?" "Four." "How long did it take them to die?" "Three immediately, and one was paralyzed, so I just took care of it." "How?" I was feeling sick to my stomach. "I snapped his neck." I was silent and unmoving for an entire sixteenth mark on Lord Sopno''s water clock as I fought to keep the contents of my meal inside of me. I waited until I was sure I could speak, and then I began to state my third legal opinion, which argued that Foskan Law shared the guilt for the deaths of those ten Coyn. (continued in Part 2 Installment 10, the conclusion of the trial) 2.10 Tearing Down the Law (Continued from Part 2 Installment 9) "Today, the value of life is implicit, not explicit, in the law," I stared at the upper door jamb of the hall to avoid all those eyes watching me and ignored my queasy stomach. "Coyn under the law have no rights and their lives are governed by laws either for property or for livestock. That being said, one can surmise that the life of one Coyn is valued at least as high as quality goats and sheep, since a proven breeding pair of either animal from the best breeds fetches at least 100 silver. "Oyseray sent ten Coyn to the grave. Since they were property, this was not murder under Foskan law. Because they were livestock, she was fined for cruelty committed ten times. There is, by the way, no fine nor penalty for cruelty to Coyn when committed nine or fewer times. "Foskan law, in general, forbids wrong acts, punishes wrong deeds, and attempts to prevent wrong actions from happening. Treating your slaves cruelly is forbidden. Cruelty may be punished if committed too many times, and a repeat offender can not own or contract slaves ever again. Nor may a repeat offender live where there are many slaves nearby. "Prohibition, punishment, and prevention are the three main goals in Foskan law. Why this is germane will become obvious in just a bit. "Oyseray came to Arkmet unable to own a slave and forbidden to live where slaves were plentiful. These provisions were designed to prevent the repeat of a previous crime. But the law of cruelty is broken. It could not prevent a further incident between the violent Oyseray and a Coyn. "One could argue that the fine failed as a deterrent. One can argue the limitation on where Oyseray could live also failed as a preventative measure. The sad irony is that Oyseray learned she should not be around Coyn and she took her own steps to prevent that. All this failed because no measure prescribed in the law was sufficient to prevent what happened between me and Oyseray. "No one posted a sign on Oyseray''s door saying: ''No Coyn Allowed. Beware of Hostile Cosm. Coyn Do Not Enter.'' Surely, in hindsight of Oyseray''s status as a ten-time killer of Coyn, this was willful ignorance on the part of the Foskan system of justice because the Kingdom of Foskos should have known and acted better. "One could argue that Foskan justice was remiss in trying to remove Oyseray''s potential victims instead of removing the killing tendencies of Oyseray herself. In a place where magic can compel a change in how a person acts, why did no one compel Oyseray to act differently? She is no silverhair or halfhair who could oppose or resist a compulsion to never touch a Coyn ever again. Why did no one consider that? "There is more," I held up a hand at the growing murmuring. "I present to you the case of Aylem Nonkin. She escaped both childhood and a shrine education with a potentially lethal mental illness. The Convocation agreed in hindsight last year that they should have intervened to prevent the violent temper in the most powerful Cosm mage known to history. One could argue that the Shrines were remiss in not healing the illness in Aylem Nonkin when she was young, before an adverse pattern of behavior was established. Consider what a compulsion to delay acting on anger might have done for the Blessed Aylem if imposed before the power of her magic became too great to resist. "Granted, the Convocation did discuss the extreme remedy of removing Aylem from this life because of the danger she posed to others. Before that decision could be made, it was taken out of their hands when Tiki made Aylem the first revelator in six centuries at the age of nine. Regardless, when Aylem killed me, the justice system was ready to try and execute her for the crime of killing a sacred person despite her status as a sacred person herself. "Hence, the gods intervened a second time. The gods valued the life of Aylem Nonkin higher than the Kingdom of Foskos did. This should inform us of something that the kingdom has ignored: if the gods intervene to prevent the law from acting contrary to divine will, then the law is broken. That''s because the first purpose of the law is to align the actions of the sapient races with the will of the gods. "Do not make the mistake that sacred persons are above the law because normally they would not be. Up until now, there were no revelators who were not Cosm mages. The law currently errs on the side of execution for powerful mages because it is practical. The magic to incapacitate the magic of a powerful silverhair is much more difficult than execution. The Convocation considered the extreme step of execution for Aylem Nonkin last year because it was practical, and because it is human nature to desire retribution for extraordinary wrongs. In doing so, the Convocation did not consider the value the gods had already invested in Aylem''s life, nor did it consider trying to cure Aylem of her illness until after the gods intervened." I had made my opening. Now it was time to start pulling the house down. "Holy One," I looked at Fassex, which startled her. "Would you be so kind as to cast a compulsion upon me to speak only the truth without omission? There must be no doubt about what I say next." I just loved the look of disbelief she gave me as she grasped her crystal from where it hung around her neck and wordlessly cast the charm. I felt it pass through and it was strange, like being tickled from the inside out. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "Thank you," I nodded and smiled, and then went back to addressing the small crowd of large Cosm: "A criminal silverhair is close to impossible to control or imprison and presents a clear danger to society. The gods themselves were prepared to remove Aylem from this life during the worst of her recent illness because it would be too dangerous to allow her to live if she were incurable." Despite the small number of people in attendance, the noise this generated from those both standing and sitting was surprising, though I should have expected it in hindsight. I held up a hand to quiet the crowd. Aylem''s face had gone white and her eyes were round with fear. She was looking at me as if she had never seen me before. I don''t know what was going through her head but it was nothing less than profound, at least to her. "This is why, Great One," I looked right at Aylem, "the gods woke me in the middle of the night to visit you in Black Falls. Galt said that if you had fled a second time from your troubles, you would have been lost to incurable insanity and they would have taken you from this life. Preventing your flight from Black Falls was nothing less than saving your life. Erhonsay warned me about this in advance three seasons ago, on the day after Cold Season Midday." Those bits of previously-unrevealed knowledge almost brought the roof down. Even the unflappable Lisaykos dropped her public stone face and was looking at me with round eyes. I had to ask Kamagishi to quell the crowd so I could continue, which I did once silence reigned again. "In the case of Oyseray, the law valued a Cosm life higher than the lives of ten Coyn, whose true worth we will now never know because Oyseray destroyed her own property, as was her right under the law. We can not try her for the crime of ten murders because killing livestock is not murder. Yet the law begrudgingly concedes there is more to livestock than just being property, which is why the cruelty law exists. "Were I just another Coyn, Oyseray would have been fined for throwing me in a bush, for both the loss of my labor due to injury and for the cost of my healing. The fine would be split between my owner and the Shrine of Mugash. If I was just another Coyn, she would also not be on trial today for her life. But Tiki made me a revelator to give value to my life in the eyes of Cosm because Coyn in Foskos are valued no higher than goats and sheep under the law. Many Cosm in Foskos, like Oyseray, do not value Coyn at all. "So now, I arrive at my third legal opinion, which is: Foskan law is not aligned with the divine will of the gods, and thus is broken. The law must be fixed so that verdicts and punishments take into account the value of life. All lives for all the people in all six races have value in the eyes of the gods. An enslaved griffin has less value under Foskan law than a free griffin. This is not the will of the gods, who do not care if someone is legal property or free. It is an artificial distinction inserted into the law 14 years ago in reaction to the backlash by certain Lord Holders at the end of the Mounts'' War when they objected to giving enslaved mounts too many rights. "Some lives are viewed by the gods as having greater value than others, but outside the small group of sacred persons, the gods'' view is that all other lives are equal regardless of race. The laws punishing crimes against all members of all six sapient races must value lives the same way. Under the current broken law, killing a free mount is murder but killing a Coyn is no crime: it''s merely the disposal of property subject to a tax penalty. This practice must end." "It may be argued, and I am sure some will argue, that a Coyn life has less value than a Cosm one because of the obvious differences between size, strength, and magic. That is a short-sighted view made solely from the Cosm perspective. Can Cosm fly like griffins and winged horses if they are not silverhairs? Can silverhairs fly for more than a bell if they are not Aylem Nonkin? Can Cosm live indefinitely both underwater or on land like the Chem? Can Cosm can see as well as roc eagles? Can Cosm cut 100 threads per finger-width in a metal fastener or weave 500 count linen like the Coyn? Can Cosm can live on less than 10 stone of food in a rotation like the Coyn and the Chem? "Each race has its own strengths and weaknesses. The law should not value life on a Cosm standard but on a standard that values each race for what it can do best, whether it is flight, agriculture, aquaculture, magic, detailed crafting work, or many other things that I am sure I will think of later when I do not need to speak off the top of my head. "Today, over seven of every ten statutes in Foskos are to protect the rest of Cosm society from the powers of the silverhairs. The rest deal with taxation, property, labor, and shrine affairs. None of the statutes, except for the treaty with the winged races, deal with the other races except as livestock. For the Cosm race tasked with the oversight and protection of the other five races, this is a grievous flaw in the law. Nor is this limited to just Foskos. This must change in every country until all laws everywhere are aligned with the will of the gods. "Oyseray, in hindsight, your fate and the fate of the ten Coyn you killed should have been different. Those offenses are done and past and I will not judge your crime based on those deaths. Regardless, you have been the source of great suffering. I know their suffering was great because I too have suffered the cold, without shelter, and lacking enough food to eat. I too have skirted injuries close to death at the hands of Cosm. Without the rescue provided me by Aylem Queen and the generosity of the Shrine of Mugash, I too could have died like your ten Coyn. No Cosm can know this suffering because no Cosm will ever walk a wagon-day while wearing Coyn feet. "Oyseray of Arkmet Village, I find you guilty of sacrilege due to willful ignorance, because it is absurd to think that throwing a Coyn a distance of 40 hands into a bush would not result in injury. For your penalty, you will be stripped naked and chained to a boulder larger than you can move inside a lava cave on the edge of the Great Cracks. The location of your punishment will be known only to the adept of Landa who is your punisher. You will be given three rotations of water but nothing else. The entrance to the cave will be sealed so there will be no light to mark the passage of time. There you will be left alone in the cold and the dark to make your own peace with the gods. If the gods see fit to grant you the means of life, then so be it." "Holy One," I looked at a disturbed Fassex, "please remove the compulsion." I turned to an equally-disturbed Kamagishi, "Holy One, would you please conclude this trial?" I gave Aylem a look of appeal to get me upstairs so I might escape the beehive I had just knocked over. She looked as if she was waiting for me to do so, and without a word, she complied. - - - 2.11 After the trial Imstay King, Manse Truvos, 7th rot., 7th day, immediately after the trial Aylem rose up from the chair next to me, lifted Emily out of the Lord Holder¡¯s chair, and vanished with her upstairs. I wasn¡¯t surprised. Emily looked like someone had stepped on her by the time she finished. She could barely hold her head up. Aylem¡¯s snatch-and-grab wasn¡¯t unexpected either, at least not by me. Those two had been in their own shared space for most of the trial, a space that the rest of us couldn¡¯t see into and didn¡¯t understand. The guards took the miserable criminal away to wherever she was kept. Emily¡¯s punishment was unique and disturbing. What a terrible slow death, dying of starvation alone in the cold and the dark. The three rotations of water was a calculated cruelty since without water death would come much quicker. With water, a person could survive without food for about three rotations. Few people would be able to stop themselves from drinking to shorten the agony of their death. I caught Kamagishi¡¯s eye and she strolled over. ¡°Seven-tenths of the law is to protect the rest of society from the power of the silverhairs?¡± I raised an eyebrow in question at my High Justicar. ¡°I didn¡¯t know the numbers worked out that way,¡± Kamagishi plopped down into the chair vacated by Aylem, ¡°but it sounds about right. Emily stayed up late last night researching my brother¡¯s copy of the law so I suspect that number is real.¡± ¡°We need to suspend all hearings, trials, and tax penalties involving slaves immediately, even if they were committed last season or last year,¡± I said. ¡°How fast can you do that?¡± ¡°You can still treat those matters under the old law, Imstay King,¡± Kamagishi looked vexed. ¡°You will have trouble with owners if you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°We will have slave riots if we do,¡± I opined. ¡°The unrest from south Impotu is spreading here. We¡¯ve already had some incidents in Surdos and Weirgos among Coyn slaves and in Kas among mounts.¡± ¡°Then I advise we hear slave property cases on a case-by-case basis in Is¡¯syal with either you or me presiding. That will create a desirable backlog. We can draw the proceedings out and treat each case with maximum care. We can then control, delay, and dilute the effect of those hearings on public order. We may need to buy some slaves in cases of proven cruelty and grant pensions to families if we find and need to execute another Oyseray. Gods, what a horrible woman. We will also need to examine all cases immediately in case we need to separate slaves from potentially-dangerous owners before trial. ¡°I never realized nine or fewer acts of cruelty, which includes killing, went unpunished other than the kill tax,¡± I felt a headache growing between my temples. ¡°How fast do you think we can rewrite the law?¡± ¡°It depends on who does the rewriting,¡± she grinned. I got a bad feeling looking at the grin. ¡°What does that mean, Holy One?¡± The headache was getting worse. ¡°If Emily did it, one to two days¡± she chuckled. ¡°If I did it, four to five days. If Aylem did it, five to seven days, but only because she would go back and double-check her work. If you did it, one rotation, and then two more days because Aylem would double check your work.¡± I broke up laughing, ¡°oh, gods, you really do understand her, don¡¯t you? Yes, she would, wouldn¡¯t she? But, Holy One, do you know how much money we have kept in the treasury because how those annoying habits of hers?¡± I grinned at Kamagishi. She smiled back and continued: ¡°If the Convocation got involved with anything other than approval or veto of the law rewrite, a season.¡± ¡°And if the Lord Holders stick our noses in, at least a year,¡± Lord Katsa said as she and Lord Sopno walked up. I groaned. Katsa was right about that. That was how the Mounts¡¯ Treaty got derailed and almost unraveled. ¡°You look like you have indigestion, Mighty One,¡± Katsa remarked sympathetically. ¡°I expect a case any moment now,¡± I grimaced. ¡°To be truthful, what I have is a headache that¡¯s getting worse by the breath.¡± Katsa gave me a funny look, held up a crystal mounted on a ring, and cast a charm. My headache went away. ¡°Oh!¡± I blinked. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± she pulled two chairs over and she and Sopno sat facing us while the crowd broke up and milled about murmuring. ¡°Given how thrilled Emily is about Foskan courts and law, I doubt you could convince her to revamp the kingdom¡¯s law. If you tried, she¡¯d be off with the Blessed Asgotl to spend the next year fishing somewhere in the Fenlands. ¡°I suggest you and the Holy Kamagishi sit down together and do the task. That way, you can claim the interests of the courts, the land holders, and the shrines were all represented, and the rewrite was overseen by the most experienced legal expert available, namely the High Justicar. ¡°Then present the results, along with the trial transcript, to all the parties involved and tell them it¡¯s not negotiable. Any details in the rewrite that turn out to be unworkable can be fixed later. It doesn¡¯t have to be perfect right away, so long as it can be amended. That should go a long way to keeping down slave unrest.¡± ¡°Not negotiable? Lord Katsa, I¡¯ll have the conservative Lord Holders up in arms, literally.¡± What was she thinking? ¡°Imstay King,¡± she smiled malevolently, ¡°has it not occurred to you that the trial transcript from today is now scripture? Scripture is not negotiable, and that makes certain changes to the law not negotiable.¡± ¡°Surd save us.¡± That had not occurred to me. ¡°She did that on purpose, that little half-horn-sized troublemaker.¡± ¡°Yes, Imstay King,¡± Kamagishi nodded, ¡°with malice aforethought. Everything Emily did today was planned, everything excluding her physical state, which took a beating. I don¡¯t think she planned on her sour stomach or the bad case of nerves. Poor thing. She really would be happier if she could be home in her little valley across the Great Cracks.¡± ¡°Please,¡± I groaned again, ¡°I¡¯ll be doing penance for that for the rest of my days. How did I get to be so lucky to be the king with a prophet underfoot? Why me?¡± ¡°Well, Why-Me-King,¡± Sopno leaned back in his chair, ¡°you probably should also call the commanders of the garrisons together along with the High Priestess of Erhonsay. You need to strategize on how you¡¯re going to deal with both the inevitable slave riots and the inevitable uprising of certain lord holders we all could name.¡± ¡°I heard the incident in Surdos did not end well,¡± Katsa prodded. ¡°Working out a strategy before another incident happens might be a good idea. Those several hundred Coyn did a lot of damage, destroyed a granary with the cold season on our doorstep, and died for their trouble. We can¡¯t afford losses in goods or labor like that in the middle of a war with Impotu.¡± ¡°They rebelled and destroyed property,¡± I countered without thinking. ¡°I know what the investigation by the White Shrine found, Mighty One,¡± she frowned at me. ¡°A third of those Coyn were underfed and suffering the physical effects of too much discipline. Where was the right action in killing people that desperate?¡± I held up my arms and grimaced, about to reply when someone put a glass mug of dark ale in my hand. ¡°Mighty One, this is what I could find on short notice for you,¡± the Revered Garki said. ¡°And for you, Mistress,¡± he passed Kamagishi another glass mug of dark ale. ¡°Revered One,¡± he passed Katsa a steaming beaker of tea. ¡°Honored One,¡± he gave Sopno a bowl of spiced wine. ¡°Shall I schedule a meeting of the garrison commanders and the Holy Irralray for you, Mighty One?¡± Garki asked. ¡°You have the afternoon available the day after tomorrow and I know the first-floor small reception room is open.¡± I scowled at Garki, who smiled back as if I wasn¡¯t making a face at him. ¡°Yes, take care of it, please.¡± ¡°Oh my,¡± Katsa sat up, ¡°Are you for hire? I¡¯ll double what this king is paying you.¡± ¡°Oh no, you don¡¯t,¡± Kamagishi sat up defensively, ¡°He¡¯s my precious first-male trainee and he¡¯s not moving out of Is¡¯syal.¡± ¡°I¡¯m teasing, Holy One,¡± Katsa smiled with a playful edge. ¡°We all know about the amazing Revered Garki, the Chosen of Galt, who built the first slide rule outside of Omexkel and who smuggled the Princess out of the palace to take her shrine exams. I doubt the cat god would allow him to go anywhere before he reaches his priest¡¯s vows.¡± I sighed, ¡°If only my problems were as simple as someone trying to steal my Garki from me.¡±
Dearest Blubber Brain, As I look across this expanse of the ocean from the deck of a Mattamesscontan fishing boat, I am reminded of your former existence as a large ocean-going mammal. And then, on the feet of that thought, I was further led to the memory of the time that Usruldes dunked you in the ocean when we were on Ud¡¯s beach. You claimed you couldn¡¯t swim, which is a bit unbelievable given that your former life was spent as a champion swimmer. How long did it take you to dry out after that? Did Ud need to rescue you, or did you manage to swim to shore? You see, Blubber Brain, this is what happens when you try to steal my fish. Trout me on this. You know I would never tell you any bass lies. I''m also reminded of what you said about the taste of plankton, and wondering where I could find you some really salty shrimp so you might feel a little more at home here on Erdos. I''m sure you haven''t lost your taste for shrimp, Mister Round-around-the-middle. Since I am on the subject of your existence as a large ocean-going creature, I have a question for you. The Prophesy of the Great Breaking says that you are something known as Dag Gadol. What do those words mean? Do you know? When I discussed the prophecy with Usruldes, he noted that the words were not from any language he knew on Erdos. Granted, Erdos doesn¡¯t have the hundreds of languages like Earth had. I¡¯ve never quite figured out how that works. Given how words and usage drift over time, Erdos should also have hundreds of languages, so why doesn¡¯t it? What¡¯s preventing languages from evolving? As far as I can tell, there are less than ten languages on Erdos, which makes no sense to me. There should be hundreds. Why don¡¯t languages drift like they did on Earth? This is my last piece of paper, and it is smaller than everything I''d like to tell you, so I will save some of that for the next letter, in case I''m not home in a rotation or two. We''re heading back to Mattamesscontess from Sussbesschem now after delivering all the former Chem slaves from Toyatastagka, which is now a pile of rubble, by the way. I seem to have a knack for leaving ruined cities in my wake, though Aylem does get most of the blame for Mattamukmuk. The city of No''ank will be next on the destruction list, or at least its bridge crossings and riverfront. Then I''ll be home, I hope, in time for Thuorfosi to give birth. Before I go or run out of room, whichever comes first, let me ask you a question to ponder before I get home. Can griffins do loops or barrel rolls? Or would you fall out of the sky? I have no idea what the different flying mounts can do in the air. We can chat about this when I get back. See you soon, Baleen Breath hugs and beak bonks, Emily Afterword: Is Aylem screaming yet?Aylem read the last four words, put the letter down with exaggerated care, clenched her fists, and spoke so loudly that the dome echoed back at her, "That conniving little fiend. That diminutive demon of Uedroy! Oh! Just wait until I get my hands on her! Am I screaming yet? Ahg! That...that¡!" ¡°That counts as a scream for me,¡± Foyuna grinned, happy to see the Queen acting so human and unreserved. ¡°Close enough for a tow road barge,¡± Lisaykos said, showing one of her infamous evil smiles. ¡°I bet she wrote that small because she suspected I would be the one to read it to Asgotl,¡± Aylem grumped. ¡°Maybe she''s paying you back for teasing her over the camera," Lyappis pointed out, looking up from her embroidery at the four sacred persons in front of her. She found it reassuring that these four powerful beings could relax and behave like a bunch of first-year shrine trainees. ¡°What?¡± Aylem replied, looking confused and vexed at the same time. ¡°Aylem, dear," Lyappis smiled, "you tease that poor little thing more than you tease Asgotl or Lisaykos. You don''t tease anyone else except maybe your daughter. When you tease someone, it''s normal for friends to tease you back." Lyappis watched in satisfaction as her words hit Aylem with all she had implied. Aylem''s eyes grew wide at the thought of Emily teasing her because they were friends. No one had dared to tease Aylem until recently. No one had ever treated the Queen as a friend before, except for Lisaykos and Foyuna, but they were more like family than friends. Both were the King''s cousins and Aylem''s kin-by-marriage. Foyuna behaved like a cousin to Aylem, and Lisaykos was her mentor in classical magic. Lyappis noted that poor Aylem didn¡¯t know how to react to these new thoughts. She decided not to let the Queen ponder too deeply. The days held time enough for long, slow thoughts. The thinking didn¡¯t need to happen today. ¡°We should send Asgotl''s letter up to Pinisla," Lyappis changed the subject, "or at least a copy. It would greatly amuse our newest mother." ¡°Emily will be disappointed she missed the birth by only a few rotations,¡± Lisaykos sighed. ¡°Thuorfosi delivered a little early, but babies will do what babies will," Aylem shrugged. "I can''t wait to see her. I bet she''s cute. I wonder which nose she''ll get and which eyes." ¡°Thuorfosi is now under my patronage, so I will visit Pinisla to inspect my new ward. I would say come with me to any other locale, but you''re not too far from popping yourself. They''re still living in log houses up there, and what passes for a manse is just a big pole lodge. No, Aylem, wait until there is a proper place to sleep with a real stone foundation." ¡°Seriously?¡± Aylem gave Lisaykos a look of frustration. "Dear girl," Lisaykos looked down her long, beakish, and royal nose at the Queen, "The big bed chamber in the manse was given to Thuorfosi, her little girl, and a healer when necessary. Otty and Kayseo are now sleeping in a small bedroom, on a bed, thank Giltak, but they must use their wing''s communal bathing rooms and necessaries. The builders should have most of the new manse finished before Coldtide. Good and plentiful accommodations will arrive soon. Until then, please resist the temptation to visit. You''ll either end up sleeping in a draughty bread box and sharing a spoot pot, or you''ll force the eviction of Thuorfosi from the only decent bedroom in the holding." The look Lisaykos gave Aylem when she finished quashed all resistance from the Queen. Aylem knew that Lisaykos would cast the Grace of Mugash on her if she persisted in visiting Pinisla. She wasn''t sure if she could resist the Grace of Mugash if it was cast by Lisaykos, Mugash''s own avatar, revelator, and high priestess. Raw power wasn''t everything there was to magic. The direct backing of a god could not be discounted. ¡°How many letters do you have, Lisaykos?¡± Foyuna asked, a little glum that she didn¡¯t get one of the coveted envelopes. "Eight more," Lisaykos sealed the rest of the letters back into her pouch. "If I leave soon, I can still be in Pinisla in time to dress for dinner. I''ll stay overnight, or maybe longer, and then drop by Omexkel and Is''syal. I would like to meet the infamous kitten named House. I also have letters for the Holy Kama-gossip and the Kas''syo haup Gunndits. Then, maybe I''ll go and inspect this concrete stuff on Sutsusum''s new road." ¡°That¡¯s my new toll road,¡± Aylem retorted. ¡°I can¡¯t even see it yet.¡± "Nothing''s stopping you. I just don''t want the mother of unborn royal twins staying overnight in draughty pole lodges this close to delivery. Get a good night''s sleep and come up in the morning to Pinisla for a day visit with Lyappis and Foyuna. I''ll wait for you. We could go to Omexkel and then Is''syal together. I will warn you that once I''m in Is''syal, I plan on spoiling my grandson. I also want to take my daughter-by-marriage shopping." ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Lyappis put down her embroidery and studied Lisaykos. ¡°You¡¯re actually taking a few days off from your Shrine? Are you feeling alright, mistress?¡± ¡°Is that sarcasm I smell?¡± asked Foyuna innocently. ¡°Very funny, you two,¡± Lisaykos grumped. ¡°You just want to meet Kamagishi¡¯s kitten,¡± Aylem winked. ¡°Alright, Lisaykos, dear, I will meet you in Pinisla in the morning.¡±