Tarrin forgot about that, and at Keritanima's request of him, Miranda and Dar suddenly sat back down. "Well, I guess I can, but it won't be as good as the way she told it to me," he replied. "She even used Illusions to show me images from the past, but I can't remember them well enough to duplicate them."
"I'll settle for the words, brother," Keritanima said.
"Yes. I am curious to learn how the Selani and the Wikuni are related," Allia added. "There is no memory of it in the histories of our people."
Tarrin composed himself, smacking at Jasana's paw as her claws dug into the tip of his tail, then began. He didn't go as good of a job as the Goddess did, but he did manage to remember all the relevant information that the Goddess had given to him. They all seemed caught up in the story, even Jesmind, who had her elbows on the table and watching him as he told them all about the First Races, the insurgence of the Urzani, and the circumstances that brought them down. About how the Sha'Kar came to be born, the Blood War, and the circumstances that caused them to split into the three sub-races, one of which was extinct. "That's why you two look so different, Kerri," he explained after he was done. "When the Sha'Kar that sailed away arrived at what's now Wikuna, the gods that adopted you changed you so you wouldn't look anything like you did when you arrived. I guess to make it a clean break, or maybe a fresh start. I guess you'd have to ask your gods about that. Allia's people didn't really change very much. They still look like the Sha'Kar--even the Urzani. If you want to know what the Sha'Kar looked like, look at the Selani. They even kept parts of the original Sha'Kar language as their own. Which is really the Urzani language."
"How do you know that, brother?" Allia asked.
"I've seen an Urzani, sister," he told her. "Remember when I told you about Spyder? She's Urzani. She was alive before the Sha'Kar came to be. The Selani are the same size as Spyder, on the average, but I guess that's because of the desert. I saw images of the Sha'Kar when the Goddess told me the story, and they're shorter than the average Selani. The Urzani were warriors, so they were big. They shrank when they became the Sha'Kar, who were pacifists, then grew again when they became the Selani and went into the desert, with its harsh environment."
"It fits with alot of what we have in our own history," Keritanima agreed with a nod.
"It is a logical conclusion," Dolanna agreed, her expression curiously distant.
"Now that's a story," Dar said with a foolish grin. "I think I'm going to write that down."
"Odds are, we'll read it somewhere in those books we have," Keritanima said. "Or at least parts of it." She looked at Allia. "Well, should I call you cousin or sister?" she grinned.
"We are sisters much more than cousins," Allia replied with a light expression.
"So, everything we call Sha'Kar was probably originally Urzani," Dolanna realized. "That means that the Sha'Kar language is actually at least eight thousand years old, virtually unchanged in all that time. That is a very amazing thing. Time cannot help but change things."
"Maybe the world needed something that wouldn't change over time," Dar said impulsively. "A foundation, or something."
"That is a very enlightened viewpoint, young one," Dolanna said appreciatively. "Sometimes your ability to think abstractly impresses me."
"Either way, I need to go," Miranda said. "I need to get started, since all my time tomorrow is going to be taken up with reading. Come on, Dar."
"Alright," he agreed, standing up with the mink Wikuni.
"Good story, Tarrin. I'll see you tomorrow," she bid farewell as she took Dar's arm and dragged him from the room.
"We'd better get there with her, or she'll dismantle the whole place," Keritanima warned Dolanna.
"I would like to be finished soon, regardless," Dolanna said. "I am still weary from the ordeal of the dome. I am surprised it affected me so."
"It did all of us. About all I want now is a long sleep, but I'd like to get those books organized for tomorrow. We don't have much more time."
"Then let us be off," Dolanna said, standing. "See you in the morning, dear one," she bid farewll to Tarrin.
"And if you're going to bring Jasana, knock her out first," Keritanima grinned.
"She'll calm down. I think the courtyard got to her," he replied, glancing at his daughter, who was happily wolfing down a piece of pie.
"Alright, you little troublemaker, I'm going to be ready for you tomorrow," Keritanima told Jasana with a toothy grin. "Just you wait and see."
"I didn't cause trouble," Jasana objected through a mouth smeared with apple pie. "I was good, just like papa told me to be."
"Ya ya ya," Keritanima sounded. "We'll see how good you're going to be tomorrow after I bring in my surprise."
"Surprise? What is it?" Jasana asked with sudden, intense curiosity.
"If I told you what it was, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?" Keritanima asked with a grin.
"Meanie."
"That's me, alright. Queen Meanie," Keritanima said grandly. In a flash, Keritanima's entire expression and bearing transformed, becoming stiff and imposing. She drew herself up and assumed an almost frightening expression of disdain and aloofness. Then she motioned imperiously at Dolanna. "Attend me, servant! Queen Meanie wishes to withdraw!"
Keritanima's sudden regal bearing and overbearing manner, her amazing ability to fit herself into different personalities and act them out with convincing believability, were not lost on Tarrin. He chuckled as Jasana giggled, and Jesmind fixed the Wikuni with a slightly challenging look. Dolanna only smiled and decided to play the game, bowing repeatedly in Keritanima's direction as she swept before her and opened the door. Keritanima rose up in a haughty, stiff-backed posture and then swept out of the room like the queen of the world, as if her foot came to rest on a stone that existed only to bear her weight. She stepped past Dolanna and then snapped her fingers loudly three times at the smaller woman, who smiled after her, waved to those left, and then closed the door.
"She's funny, papa," Jasana said with a loud laugh after the door closed.
"My sister is a woman of many talents, little one," Allia told her with a smile. "One of the greatest is the ability to make others smile. It is an ability many overlook in her."
"What Allia means is that Kerri is a ham, cub," Tarrin grinned. "I guess that's a good thing, given that she's a queen and all." He looked around. "I wonder where Jula and the others are. I haven't seen much of them."
"Kimmie has adopted Jula, and they've been slinking around like a couple of little human girls, gossiping and carrying on," Jesmind told him. "Mother still hasn't gotten tired of playing with Thean yet."
"It's good for her," Tarrin shrugged. "Jula needed a friend. I'm sure nobody here has been very kind to her." He said that with a direct look at Allia, who did manage to avert her eyes guiltily.
"I admit it, my brother. I was wrong about her."
"I'm glad to hear that. And I still haven't seen Shiika. I wonder what's keeping her."
"Nobody's seen any of the Demons in two or three days," Jesmind told him. "They must be up to something."
"Goddess help us when we find out what it is," Tarrin growled.
"Truly," Allia agreed with a nod.
The next morning turned into something of an argument in Tarrin's rooms. Tarrin didn't count on Jesmind wanting to come along with him the next day, and no matter how much he argued, or even threatened, she would not change her mind about it. "For the forest's sake, Tarrin, you're just sitting around reading!" she railed at him as the argument began to get hot. "How is my being there going to mess that up?"
He told her, in no uncertain terms, just how distracting her presence was to him. She was his mate, and he loved her. He always had a little trouble concentrating on things other than her when she was so close to him. That did effectively end the argument, but not in the way Tarrin had hoped. She gave him one of those vulnerable looks, then kissed him exuberantly, and then ran off to the kitchens to pack up a nice picnic lunch for the
m, so they wouldn't have to go anywhere. Tarrin muttered some dark curses in the direction of the closed door, but he knew he'd been beaten. When it came down to it, he just couldn't deny anything from his mate. And besides, he did like her to be close to him. The problem was that he liked it a little too much for something as serious as what he was doing.
They arrived to find everyone else there and already reading, the books neatly organized on the table, and Keritanima and Dolanna looking tired but pleased. The pair wasted no time handing him a rather thick book bound with what looked to be sandwood, and Tarrin realized quickly what Keritanima's little surprise was. It brought back quite a few memories, for it was Bandit, the cat that Keritanima had taken to use to pass messages between them back when they were in the Tower. He hadn't really thought of the rather pudgy cat since leaving the Tower, and was surprised that it was still here. But then again, when they left, Bandit was forgotten, left behind in all the confusion and chaos surrounding their departure. Bandit seemed to remember him, greeting him fondly by wrapping around his leg, and then padding over to where Jasana was tugging at the side of the tent. She took one look at the cat and squealed in delight, promptly reaching down and picking it up, carrying it towards the fountain.
"You know, I've been thinking about something," Keritanima said as Tarrin sat down near the fountain with Jesmind. "The Keeper told me once that the Book of Ages wasn't written in Sha'Kar. She said that it was written by the priests of Denthar. She also said that it didn't have anything in it after the Breaking. But Dolanna did know the truth about it. I wonder how long she's been holding out on the katzh-dashi."
"Maybe nobody asked her," Tarrin shrugged. "Maybe the Keeper had it wrong, and never bothered to ask. And remember, she's a katzh-dashi from the Tower in Abrodar. They probably know things the Sorcerers here don't, and the other way around."
"Maybe, but that seems like a pretty big hole."
"I learned what I know of the Book of Ages from Phandebrass," Dolanna told them as she glided up to them. "He may seem erratic, but Phandebrass is the most learned man of ancient artifacts I have ever met. I am surprised he has not camped himself at your door to look at it, Tarrin."
"So am I," he agreed. "Kimmie wanted to talk to him, to be his apprentice. Maybe she's distracting him."
"Possible. We have not had much time to see the others since we began this. I feel like it has been a year since I last spoke with Camara Tal or Phandebrass."
"Me too. It must be a side effect of that spell," Tarrin agreed. "My sense of time has been all screwed up. My mind tells me it should be the middle of winter, when it's just into summer. We were in that thing for months, but only days passed out here."
"Speaking of time, let's get cracking," Keritanima said, sitting on the bench before the fountain beside Allia and opening the book in her hands.
"Months? Explain this one to me," Jesmind said as Bandit tore across the courtyard, with Jasana chasing after him.
Tarrin explained the dome of altered time to Jesmind, describing how they had spent months inside to learn Sha'Kar when only days passed on the outside, and then he described the physical effects it had had on him. Then he quieted her with another conjured book and bent to his task.
They stayed there through the morning, ate the lunch Jesmind packed for them, and continued. At least until Dar suddenly flew out of the tent, waving a book in his hand. "I think I found it!" he screamed excitedly, rushing out in the courtyard and literally jumping up and down. "I think I found it! I think I found it!"
Tarrin's heart raced a little, but it was Dolanna that restored order as they all gathered around the Arkisian. "Calmly, Dar," she told him in a soothing voice. "Show us."
Dar dropped to the ground and opened the book to a place he'd held with his finger. "Here!" he said, so shrilly that it sounded like a whistle, as they all knelt down in a circle around the book. "Right here!"
"Calm down, boy, and either read it to us or hand me the book!" Keritanima snapped anxiously at him.
Miranda took the book from him with an apologetic smile, then picked it up and scanned the page with her eyes. "It's definitely about the Firestaff," she agreed, finding a place to start reading. "Here we go. 'After the Blood War, the Gods decided that the Firestaff was too dangerous to leave out, even though it no longer held any power, for it would always be a representation of the horrors of the Blood War and the temptation of power. They charged the katzh-dashi to locate and secure a place to leave it where it would disappear from the memory of the peoples of the world, so as not to cause more chaos and strife. The katzh-dashi created a suitable hiding place for the notorious item, taking the object out past the Stormhavens, even past the Dark Continent which was rumored to have become the refuge of those Sha'Kar who had fled from the horror of the Blood War, deep out into the trackless expanses of the empty, endless sea, and hiding it behind the wind. To this day, some three thousand years since the Blood War, the location of the Firestaff remains a secret, known only to those who hid it away.'" She looked up at them. "Well, it's not an exact location, but we do know now that it was hidden somewhere overseas."
"What's west of Wikuna, Kerri?" Tarrin asked immediately. "The Dark Continent has to be Wikuna."
"There's nothing but about four thousand leagues of empty ocean, brother," she replied uncertainly. "There's absolutely nothing out there. Not an island, not even a rock. The only thing separating Wikuna from Shen Lung is a few thousand leagues of open ocean."
"Well, that does describe empty, trackless sea," Allia pointed out. "If the ocean there is indeed that empty, it fits the description in the book."
"I don't understand it saying they hid it behind the wind," Dar said, his brows furrowing in thought, as the others nodded in agreement with Allia. "What does that mean, anyway? How do you take something and hide it behind the wind? It has to be some kind of metaphor."
"They did not want it to be found, so they were deliberately vague, Dar," Dolanna reminded him. "It probably is a metaphor of some sort. A poetic description."
"Well, it's something, at least," Miranda grunted. "So now we can all start looking for more references to this behind the wind nonsense. Maybe one of the other books will have a more sensical description."
"Maybe it is a literal description," Allia proposed, her eyes distant. "The Ancients of that time had a great many secrets we do not. Maybe they knew a spell that allowed them to literally hide the Firestaff behind the wind." She looked up at them. "Though I do not see how that could be done. The wind is invisible. If you hid something behind it, it would still be seen."
"Maybe that's the metaphor," Miranda said brightly. "Maybe it means that they hid it out in the ocean, but they hid it in plain sight. Sometimes that's the best place to hide something."
"Let's just hope that they didn't take it out in the middle of the ocean and throw it over the rail," Keritanima grunted. "I really don't feel like swimming for it."
Tarrin chuckled. "Well, unless anyone has anymore ideas, let's go back to our books. Keep reading that one, Dar."
"And read it carefully," Keritanima added. "There may be another remark in there about it."
"I'll read it slow and careful," Dar told her with a nod, taking the book from Miranda. "And after I'm done, one of you read it after me to make sure I didn't miss something by accident."
"Good idea," Miranda nodded.
That turned out to be the only excitement of the day. Nobody else found anything of interest, and Keritanima found nothing new in the book Dar had been reading after she read it after him. They left the courtyard at sunset a little more hopeful than the day before, having found at least one clue. Tarrin excused himself from his family after eating and visited with Dolanna and his sisters for a while, then tracked down Jula to make sure that she was still doing alright. It turned out that she and Kimmie had indeed become thick as thieves, the Were-cat Sorceress finding a kindred spirit in the turned female. On the way back to his rooms, where Jesmind and Jasana were wait
ing for him, a familiar face appeared around the gentle, curving bend in the Tower passage, a redheaded female with exquisite beauty, and a pair of leathery bat-like wings. Shiika had finally reappeared, leading two of her Cambisi children. One of them he recognized as the blond Anayi, the halfbreed that had appeared and saved him from an army of Trolls at the edge of the desert. Her expression brightened when she saw him, marching right up to him and taking hold of his wrist. "Well, they said you grew," she noted. "They said I did it to you, too. I think it's an improvement."
"Hello, Shiika," he said cordially. He wasn't entirely happy to see her, but she was helping, so he had to be nice to her. Tarrin didn't hate Shiika, but like every other non-Demon around, he felt just a little uncomfortable around her. She had that effect on people. "Anayi," he said with a nod.
I'm surprised you remember me, she replied in her telepathic manner.
"I told you to talk," Shiika reprimanded her.
"Sorry, Mother," she said with a bow of her head. "Well, I've got everything set up," she told him. "We'll be ready for whatever they throw at us. The Wikuni even managed to get my Legions here in plenty of time."
"What were you doing, anyway?" he asked.
"Oh, just organizing my support," she said with a strained look. "I had to go to the Abyss to do it, though. I hate going there."
"You did what?"
"I'm a Demon, Tarrin," she said conversationally, stating the obvious. "When I need to talk to other Demons, that means I have to go where they are. They're in the Abyss. Eh, it was a good learning experience for my daughters, anyway. They've never been there, and I'm pretty sure they never want to go there again."
"That's the truth," Anayi said fervently. "I never realized that we had it so good here."
"Wait a minute. You're securing the help of Demons to fight other Demons? Won't they just get on the same side and attack us?"
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