by Kyle West
“How do we get more information without actually going there?” I asked. “There’s only so much you can learn from books.”
“You leave that to me,” Isandru said. “In the meantime, I will need both you and Isaru to continue your training. Both of your performances in the tournament were encouraging, but you must become stronger still. If all goes well, there will be little fighting. But one thing is for certain: the Prophecy must be secured if there is to be any hope of knowing the purpose of Anna’s return.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
THE NEXT MORNING I AWOKE to find that Isaru wasn’t at breakfast. I didn’t think anything of it and proceeded to go through my day. He wasn’t present at Judge Kais’s lesson either, or Sage Alan’s. By lunchtime, I sat next to Ret and Samal to find out what was going on.
“Have either of you seen Isaru?”
They both exchanged a glance, as if they had been discussing this already.
“You haven’t either?” Ret asked.
“No...”
“We didn’t see him when we woke up,” Samal said. “Didn’t see him at breakfast. I assumed he was just in the library. Sometimes, he wakes up early to study.”
“It’s not like him to miss lessons,” I said. “Have either of you checked there, yet?”
Both of them shook their heads, and neither of them seemed as concerned as me.
I headed for the library. When I walked in, there was no apprentice on duty, so I was free to climb up the stairs to the second floor unimpeded. I had never been up here, so I didn’t know the first place to look. The library’s second level was just as large as the first — if anything, it seemed larger because the stacks were packed tighter in seemingly random arrangements. As I turned down one of the aisles, I quickly found that it was a labyrinth, utterly empty. The light from the dome hardly reached this far, making it seem far dimmer than it should have been for this time of day.
I wove through the quiet stacks, trying to find a likely place where Isaru would study. In various nooks were desks and chairs, but all were empty.
“Isaru?” I called. “Isaru, are you up here?”
There was no answer as I found myself in a far corner of the library. I kept walking down the stacks, until the lane ended at a window with white curtains blowing in the breeze. A desk was situated in the corner, over which spread books and notes taken on paper. Somehow, I knew I had stumbled upon Isaru’s study hole, but Isaru himself was absent.
I considered leaving to find Fiona, but something made me stay. His notes were all in disarray, slightly shifting in the breeze. I knew I shouldn’t look, but the notes were right there, and I wanted to see what he was working on.
I began going through the notes, my curiosity getting the better of me. Isaru had been up here for weeks on end, reading and piecing together seemingly disparate subjects. Every time I asked him what he was researching, he was always vague, saying it was either history or politics, which were a part of his lessons.
I knew for a fact that even the most stringent instructors didn’t assign the workload Isaru was claiming. This was his personal project, and I wanted to know what it was. I sat down and flipped through the thin paper, finding about a hundred pages of his small, neat script.
Reflections of the Xenofold. Hyperborea a threat to the Elekai consciousness? Last recorded telling from Elekim, 2082 P.Y. by Anna. Disappearance of Anna in the same year. Hyperboreans searched for her remains, but she was lost to the Sea — as she had been for one hundred and fifty years. Would have been circa 2215 P.Y. Note: search for the writings of Sandra Keener, Brevian Archives. I saw it referenced in Trails. Must gain ambassador status with the Shen Collective. Perhaps by becoming an Augur? Research Seekers who ascended before the usual age of twenty (may not have that much time).
There were approximately twenty things in those notes that I didn’t have a clue about. I wanted to make notes of several things to research on my own later. There was also a woman named Sandra Keener. I didn’t know anyone named “Sandra,” but it sounded like a feminine name. Even though I’d never heard it, it sounded strangely familiar, as if I should know it.
Then, there were the Brevian Archives. I’d heard of that before, but it was far from the Sanctum, in California. Brevia was a small city that was once part of the Colonian Empire, before it was invaded by the Shen during my grandparents’ generation. Seekers have been known to enter Brevia on occasion, but only for a limited amount of time and rarely at that. The Seekers’ expertise was sometimes called upon by the Shen for the translation of old English texts, but the Shen, from what I understood, were mostly interested in the ancient cities and technology of the Old World. Apparently, Isaru wanted to get in to find this Sandra’s writings.
No outsider was ever allowed in Shenshi or any of their other settlements. Brevia was the only exception, and an exception usually only extended to the Seekers.
I noticed that many of the pages, as I flipped through them, contained the names of locations. Possible Prophecy sites? Brevia was listed, along with Hyperborea and Shenshi. Hyperborea was underlined. Apparently, Isaru believed it the most likely place.
Also on that list was a place called Nova Roma, but I’d never heard of it. An archaic name for Nova, perhaps. I remembered Anna and Samuel discussing it extensively in my previous dream.
But also on that list was the Red Bastion, but it wasn’t underlined.
I checked around the corner to make sure no one was coming. The lane was still empty, and there wasn’t a sound, save for the gentle breeze coming through the window.
I went back to the notes.
I need to learn more about Anna herself. Shanti is the greatest source, but she only gets her visions at random intervals. Nevertheless, she is the key to any knowledge that today is lost. It was said Anna and Samal (or Samuel) founded Colonia at the end of the Ragnarok War, and it was Anna herself who founded the Seekers. It’s more than strange that we know so little about her as a historical figure. I know many records were lost during the Uprising — the Great Library was burned to the ground, and the Annarans reshaped their goddess to their chosen history. But that doesn’t explain why we don’t know much. As Elekai, as Seekers, we should know the truth of things...only we don’t. I suspect that we went through our own similar revision, but for different reasons. It has to have something to do with Hyperborea, which was founded a mere two years following the Elekai’s loss of Colonia. Everything gets muddied there. All I would need to find is the history. I need to know who Anna really was. I’ve been through every row of this library, and have found little to nothing outside of Trails of the Exiled. I want to believe they recorded nothing following the fall of Hyperborea, because the alternative...that they have erased it...is far more terrifying.
I paused for a moment, taking in what Isaru had written. Somehow, he believed it was possible that the story of Anna wasn’t merely forgotten, but destroyed. It seemed as if he believed more could be discovered in Hyperborea — that even the Prophecy itself might be there.
Then, a thought came to me that was so crazy that it couldn’t be real.
If Isaru believed Hyperborea was the key to finding the Prophecy, and if he wasn’t here right now...
“He wouldn’t...”
Jorla had been hanging about the Sanctum, so it wouldn’t be hard for him to ride her north. The alternative was that he went to Brevia, which had also been mentioned in his notes.
Quickly, I gathered up all of Isaru’s notes. The fact he had left them behind for anyone to find had been an enormous oversight on his part, and for a moment it made me believe that he was still here. Whatever the case, I took the notes with me, placing them in a satchel nearby.
The next step was finding Fiona.
“HE what?”
It had taken an hour, but I had finally found Fiona in the very same place I had started: the library. There was no telling how many places I had missed her before she went there.
“Look,” I said, showing h
er the notes. “I haven’t read it all, but from everything I’ve seen so far, and from what Isaru has told me, it all points to him thinking that the Prophecy is in Hyperborea.”
“Okay,” Fiona said, “but why would he go on his own? He’ll get himself killed!”
“Maybe he’s figured out a way to get there safely.”
“How?” Fiona asked. “No one has returned from Hyperborea alive since the day the city was destroyed.”
“Maybe we can learn more from his notes,” I said.
Fiona dropped everything she was doing to help out. We read quietly for an hour or so. A lot of the notes had nothing whatsoever do to with Isaru’s leaving, but dealt in extreme detail on the workings of the city. Where had Isaru found all this stuff?
“We have to take this to Isandru,” Fiona said.
“If he finds out Isaru’s done this...”
“He’ll find out, anyway,” Fiona said. “Half the Sanctum must know he’s missing already. What they won’t know is where he’s truly gone.”
All I could wonder was what in the world would possess Isaru to do this. Even if he knew for a fact that the Prophecy could be found in Hyperborea, why go on his own?
“That he would risk his life for this demonstrates he truly believes it’s there,” Fiona said.
“He kept this hidden from us all the while,” I said. “Even yesterday with Isandru, he seemed to be going along with the Red Bastion.”
“Isandru must be told,” Fiona said. “This goes beyond the fact that Isaru will be severely disciplined. His life is in danger. And with dragons about in the immediate area, he might not even live long enough to survive the day.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
WE FOUND ISANDRU IN HIS office, and it was lucky that we did because there was no time to lose, because Isaru had left sometime in the night. Already, it might be pointless to try and catch up, so all we could hope for was that Isandru would know what to do.
The Elder listened as Fiona and I explained the situation, but only for a moment. His calm expression became one of alarm, and before we both knew it, he was up on his feet and heading for the door.
“Where are you going?” Fiona asked.
“After him,” Isandru said. “And I have to leave now if there’s any hope of catching up.”
Fiona and I kept pace as he shut the door of the office behind him.
“How will you ever catch him?” I asked. “Why did he do it?”
“I don’t know the answer to either of those questions,” Isandru said. “But the Prince will not reach the city. Let us all hope he comes to his senses before he is killed.”
“Elder...what do we do?” Fiona asked.
He turned to face us both. “You are both to remain here. Fiona, you can be in charge of Shanti’s lessons while I’m gone.”
“I planned on traveling to Sylva as soon as I could,” Fiona said.
“That must be put on hold. I want neither of you to leave the Sanctum until I return. If I’m not back in a week’s time...well, I’ll need you to tell the others what has become of me. For the gods’ sake, don’t tell them where I truly went. Not yet. That would lead to far too many questions. Only say that I went to find Isaru. In fact...no. Don’t even say that much. Officially, you know nothing of my departure, just as surely as no one else will.” He looked from one of us to the other. “Do you understand?”
“Yes, Elder, but...”
“Peace, Fiona. All will be well...you’ll see. There’s reason to believe Isaru might not know the way north, while I do. If that’s the case, when I return, it will be with the Prince in hand.”
We continued to follow him, but he held up a hand, forcing us both to a stop.
“This is where I leave you,” he said.
“Elder...” I said. “Why would he do this? Does he think the Prophecy is really there?”
“Whether it is, or isn’t...it’s no matter. The Prince will die before he reaches the city.”
With that, he turned and departed the Hall of Elders as Fiona and I remained behind.
THERE WAS NOTHING LEFT to do, so I had to return to my lessons. I walked to the Seekers’ Dome, to Karai’s office, only to find it empty. I went downstairs to the clinic and found her and her students tending to those injured in the attacks. Every clinic bed was occupied, and when Karai saw me, her lesson came to a dead stop.
“Shanti! Where on Earth have you been? Have you seen Isaru?”
I shook my head. “I’ve been looking for him, but he’s...gone.”
Samal and Ret exchanged a look — for the first time, they seemed to be concerned. Karai caught their expressions.
“What’s going on, Samal?”
“It’s like we told you before,” Samal said. “He wasn’t there when we woke up. We just thought he was in the library, and we looked for him there after breakfast. Nothing, though.”
Karai looked at me, her face tight with worry. “Where could he be, then?”
I shrugged, and tried to look as in the dark as everyone else.
By now, Jaim and Nabea had come over to see what was going on. For a moment, it didn’t seem as if Karai knew what to do.
“If I find that boy, I’ll skin him alive. This can’t go unreported any longer.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I must go to the Elders at once.”
“What about the wounded?” Nabea asked.
“Continue doing what you can. Several Clerics should be back within the hour. They were working all through the night and I thought this might be a nice way for them to get a break.” Karai sighed. “It appears that that will no longer be the case.”
“Where do you think he’s gone?” Samal asked.
“Truancy isn’t unknown of in the Seekers’ Sanctum,” Karai said. “I couldn’t imagine why Isaru would feel the need. Let’s just hope he is still on the grounds.”
The initiates’ eyes widened at that; apparently, they hadn’t thought of the possibility of him being outside the Sanctum.
Karai left, and once she was gone, I turned to Ret. “Did you not even hear him leave during the night?”
Ret nodded, seeming a bit guilty. “I did, but I thought nothing of it at the time. He came to bed late, as he usually does, and got up shortly after the final hour. He does that sometimes. One time I even followed him, to see what he was doing. I’ve never told anyone this before, but that night he went to the wall and was talking to a Radaska!”
I felt a stab of anxiety. Ret might know. At least a little bit.
Ret was looking at me. “Shanti...do you think he ran away? He’s been known to fly all over with that Radaska of his...”
I hesitated a moment, knowing I had to take care in how I answered. “I’ve seen him with that dragon, too, Ret. Her name is Jorla. I just couldn’t sleep one night, and I had to hide behind a tower. Maybe he was...planning something.” I knew I couldn’t say anything more than that. “Jorla was the dragon who took Isaru to Colonia when he rescued me.”
“The very same?” Ret asked.
“I can only assume, but the dragon was clearly a Radaska. The only Radaska Isaru would speak to is Jorla, unless he has been keeping even more secrets from me. She might help him get away from here, though I don’t know what would motivate him to leave.”
“They say King Taris is coming to the Sanctum,” Samal said. “And I’ve heard that the king and the Prince don’t always see eye to eye on things.”
That was something I hadn’t considered. Indeed, from the few times I’d seen Isaru speak with his father, the relationship did seem to be a bit strained. Perhaps even more than a bit.
“You might be onto something, Samal,” I said. I wondered if Isandru had caught on to that possibility. He likely did, being more familiar with Isaru and King Taris, but probably hadn’t felt the need to mention it. “That means if he did try to run away, he’ll be gone for a week or two — long enough for the king to depart again.”
“I imagine Taris is comi
ng to take Isaru home,” Ret said. “Only, Isaru likes it here.”
I looked at Nabea and quiet Jaim, both of whom had yet to say a word.
“I know nothing of this,” Nabea said. “Isaru, though, has his secrets. He looks like someone who carries a lot of secrets.”
Jaim nodded shyly, seeming too embarrassed to say anything himself.
“I thought of anyone here, you might know the most,” Ret said, looking at me. “You seem to know him best.”
I shook my head. “I knew nothing about this. What Samal said made sense, though.”
I also realized that Isaru’s going to Hyperborea and his wanting to avoid his father could be true at the same time.
“What do we do, then?” Samal asked.
“Nothing we can do but wait,” Ret said. “The Elders will probably send a search party after him.”
“Search where?” Samal asked. “The Red Wild is a large place, and with a dragon, he could be anywhere.”
“Good point.”
We all stood there for a moment, until Karai reappeared in the doorway. This time, she was with Eldress Karu and Elder Aurelius.
“I’ll need you all to come with us,” she said. “The Elders have some questions.”
I swallowed, and only hoped I could be as convincing to the Elders as I had been to the others.
WE FOLLOWED THEM INTO the Hall of Elders, at the back of which was a small room with a round table and seven chairs, which the Elders used for private conferences. It didn’t seem like a place others often went to.
Apparently, there was no prohibition against us being there, because the Elders gestured to the open chairs. We took them up, and there were just enough for all of us. Seeker Karai remained standing.
“It is our understanding that Prince Isaru has gone missing,” Eldress Karu began. “Would any of you know anything about this?”
“Nothing, except that he must have left in the night,” Samal said.