Spirit Mage

by Esther Mitchell

  Turning his head, Paduari studied Telyn's sleeping form across the banked campfire. She was an enigma, a myriad of contradictions. His grandam's tales contradicted Telyn's claims. Grandam Tarlae's stories were of a feud so deep it engulfed not only the two Houses, but all those who lived between. Those were tales of bitter fighting and hubris undeserved by even the foulest of villains. She had been firm in her belief peace would never find its way into the Houses of Bathron and Gild, where even the children turned on one another. But her stories were also filled with loyalty and devotion, honor and duty to the bonds of kinship. And still, Paduari could recall no mention ever made of love.

  Telyn, however, spoke of love. She told him about people who believed love a stronger bind than kinship, and she told of betrayal, deceit, and sorrow on both sides. She spoke of the feud as though it was not a curse, but a war, and all wars had endings, didn't they?

  Paduari lay staring up at the stars as he pondered the strange twist of fate which brought Telyn here. He'd never met a true Thracdani – an Outsider. Grandam Tarlae lived among the Lurudani too long before his birth for him to ever see her as anything but Lurudani, even if she hadn't been one by birth. Paduari had never met Sehidhe, only heard of her. To judge from Telyn, however, Thracdani knew more about Lurudan than he did of the outside world. She called what she knew legends. Did people beyond the Eleshau not even know they existed? He supposed it was possible, since few Thracdani ever came here, and even fewer Lurudani ever journeyed beyond the boundary of the forest. The Eleshau was forbidden after darkness settled. There were dangerous things in the forest at night, and spirits were the least of those concerns. It wasn't unusual for Marakai to be so uneasy, earlier. Lurudani youngsters were taught to, if trapped within Eleshau after dark, light fires to hold back the darkness. For the first time in his life, Paduari wondered what was in the darkness to be so afraid of. Marakai would know, if he was here. Now Paduari wished he'd pressed his friend about the Eleshau. What lived in the darkness around them?

  Paduari sighed heavily, pushing the thought away. Now wasn’t the time to ponder such things. He stared at the stars, watching them dance across the darkness, until his mind emptied of all questions, and sleep engulfed him.

  Chapter Three

  Paduari awoke to find Telyn sitting by the fire pit, watching him. Knowing she could have been watching him for some time unsettled Paduari more than he cared to admit. When a warrior watched a sleeping person that closely, wasn't it a sign of mistrust?

  Telyn smiled at his frown. "Good morrow, my cross friend. Sleep well?"

  "How long have you been watching me?" he grumbled, then stretched and yawned.

  "Long enough to figure out you're no warrior, though you carry around a blade in your pack. I bet you don't even know how to hold it properly."

  Paduari flushed at her accurate observation. "How--"

  "Did I guess? Easy signs, my friend. You don't sleep with a weapon close at hand, and you sleep far too soundly. Those aren't warrior traits."

  "So, what have you decided I am?" he challenged, lifting his chin. It didn't matter Marakai observed the same thing. It stunned him how even a complete stranger noticed his inadequacy. But he wouldn't deny her accusation, either. It would be foolish, when they both knew she was right.

  "At first, I wasn't sure. You're no farmer, that's for certain. You've not once glanced skyward for a weather reading, and a farmer would be anxious to get home to his crops, whereas you seem determined to do just the opposite. You're no metallurgist or scout, either, or you'd have picked cleaner-burning wood for the fire. And, obviously, you're not a priest. That left me about out of choices, until I remembered you said your grandmam was a Border wench. You're a Trapper."

  Paduari's eyes widened in surprise. He would never have imagined her hitting so close just by observation. She wasn't exactly right, but close enough to make him distinctly uncomfortable. "How'd you figure me out?"

  "Border folk are famed for their tracking and trapping skills, and I spent enough time among them to know why. With as highly as you speak of your grandmam, I figured you took after her, trying to live a life like she had when she was young. Besides, it was the only explanation I could find for you being in the forest at all. Legend says the Lurudani don't use wood for more than the fireplace, and given how I found you, I don't imagine you cut wood."

  "Well, I do trap, but I'm actually a trail-hunter."

  She looked impressed. "Is that like a lair-Trapper? That takes some patience, and very good eyes."

  "You know what trail-hunting is?"

  She nodded. "I did a little trapping myself, in the Endlands. Only ever knew one Trapper who could follow a trail back to the right lair every time. What do you trap around here? Certainly not Letheri..."

  "What are Letheri? We have no such creatures here. Mostly, I trap winter tardons."

  "What are those?"

  Paduari rose and went to his pack. Opening it, he drew out a limp mass of fur and flesh. At just over a meter long, it was the largest he'd ever caught, and he was right proud of the catch. Its snow-white fur was matted with a rust-colored crust of dried blood from where he slit its long, thick neck.

  "This is a winter tardon. They're called such because their fur is white, and they're dreadfully hard to track in the winter. See this?" He held up the beast's long, bushy, white tail. "They use these to hide their tracks. In the spring and summer, they're easier to track, because they can't completely erase their tracks. In autumn, they cover the tracks with leaves, and in winter--"

  "They can obliterate their tracks with ease," Telyn finished, nodding in understanding. "They sound highly intelligent. What do you trap them for? Just their skins?"

  Paduari shook his head. "They're not wasted at all. Their furs are the softest and most luxuriant to be had, which makes them profitable enough to trap, but their meat is also a delicacy, particularly in the cities, where wild game is scarce. Even their bones are used, or at least, they used to be. They were ground to use in making the sacred burial pastes, until Sehidhe outlawed the burial rites."

  Telyn looked surprised. The question she asked, however, was not the one he expected. "Why the bones?"

  Paduari smiled shakily. "I'm not really supposed to say, but our Rhi states the soul of a pure beast must become one with the soul of the departed before they fully leave this plane. Since the bones hold every creature's soul, they're all that's needed for a burial ceremony. To reach the Danico -- the Afterworld," he translated, sensing her confusion. "The soul has need of wisdom, purity, and spiritual aid. The winter tardon is the purest and wisest creature in Lurudan."

  Telyn smiled. "I won't debate wise, but the purest? Is it because they're white?"

  He shook his head. "Because it does not kill to eat. The tardon are natural omnivores of a sort rarely seen. They subsist only on dead animal flesh and vegetation. They kill neither plant nor animal to survive, which gives them purity of essence. They are cunning, fleet of foot, and very compassionate and innocent. That makes them ideal Danico companions, for all the shame it seems to waste such a perfect existence."

  Telyn nodded slowly. "I can see how. Why did Sehidhe outlaw the rites? I wouldn't imagine her to have a soft spot for the creatures."

  Paduari snorted. "Sehidhe has no compassion for any creature. The priests said the rites were part of a dead religion. They gave us new rites, several eniane ago, but no one much cares for them, and they leave the new rites to Sehidhe's priests, or perform the outlawed rites in secret."

  Telyn's eyes narrowed. "What, exactly, are these new rites?"

  Paduari shrugged, as much to answer her question as rid himself of his anger. "They encase the body in an iron coffin and carry it into Hadvia. From there, it's said the body is released into the sea. No one really knows the words of the rite, other than it has to do with returning to the One Will. But, if we're connected to the land, as the Saphicarhi says, then any souls sent to the waters are lost, unable to find the Danico."


  "Well then," Telyn rose and gathered up her bedroll, "it's high time we set things straight, isn't it?"

  She turned to packing her saddlebags without another word. Then, before mounting, her eyes closed and she muttered a brief series of words, beneath her breath. An eerie prickle raced up the back of Paduari's neck as he watched, and he knew the words she said bore the mark of Majik. If only he could shake the feeling those words were about to change his world forever.

  Chapter Four

  It was a grim trek from the Eleshau to the Baros Mountains, and Paduari glanced at Telyn in concern as they made camp in a small cave. She turned her horse loose before they left the forest, two days ago, filling a pack with only what she said they might need. When he voiced his concern about the animal, she blithely assured him Bloodcloud, as she called the beast, would find his way to safety.

  It was the last time she spoke to him. Now, her silence seemed severe, even for one who didn't appear to talk much, and yesterday's grim expression had yet to fade. He worried about breaking the silence she unintentionally imposed, but he needed to know her plans, since they were now under a league from Hadvia.

  "So," he ventured at last, "what are we going to do?"

  Telyn turned a speculative gaze on him. "How good are you at climbing?"

  "Walls, you mean? Not very." To his shame, nothing physical came easily. It was a source of constant teasing and ridicule as a child, and an annoyance to those more capable, as an adult.

  "No matter," Telyn brushed it aside with a flick of her shoulders as if she expected as much, and was unbothered by the inconvenience. "You said Hadvia was once a Necropolis. Are there catacombs beneath the city?"

  "Just the Tikesha -- the Hall of Ash," Paduari affirmed. This was what he knew -- the one area in which he never stumbled. The Saphicarhi was as much a part of him as his soul, as easy as breathing. "It's the sacred resting spot of the Saphiu -- our most sacred teachers. Even Sehidhe dares not destroy it, and it's said she won't even enter the Tikesha, and won't let her priests near it either. It's whispered even the Anieni fears disturbing the sleep of the Saphiu."

  "Are there any ways into this hall from outside the city walls?"

  "Into the Tikesha? You must be mad! Only the Listibarocta -- the Sacrament Carrier -- enters there and lives to tell of it."

  "Wonderful. Now, answer the question. Is there a way into your Tikesha from outside the Necropolis or not?"

  Paduari nodded glumly. "The entrance of the Saphiu is outside the walls. But, Telyn, I'm telling you, it's suicide to go in there."

  "And I'm telling you I don't care. If the spirits of your teachers are truly benevolent, and truly wish to see the Lurudani rid of Sehidhe's evil presence, they'll welcome anyone here to help, right?"

  Paduari bit his lip nervously. "I suppose they might. No one but the Listibarocta has ever entered the Tikesha, not in a thousand eniane."

  Telyn's face set grimly, and she stared toward where Hadvia lay in the distance. "Then it's high time someone did."

  The next afternoon, Paduari nervously followed Telyn as she headed down the steps carved into the interior of Mount Via. These steps led deep into a maze of caverns beneath the mountain, which led, in turn, into the Tikesha, if one didn't get lost first. Paduari shivered at the thought of spending an eternity in these dark caverns, and glanced around for his companion again. He could barely hear her moving, which was surprising since he made enough noise to wake the dead, tripping and stumbling all over the place in this accursed dark. Why hadn't she lit a torch yet?

  "Hold, would you?" he hissed, and swore as he walked headlong into another outcrop. "I can't see a blasted thing in this wretched darkness!"

  He heard her turn, and then, a set of glowing eyes lit on him, and a shiver of dread lunged down his spine. Had he been misled by some creature of these caverns? How had Telyn and he gotten separated?

  "Sorry," Telyn's voice reached him then, startling him again. "I tend to forget not everyone can see in the dark as easily as I can."

  His heart began to beat again at last as he realized the glowing eyes belonged to Telyn.

  "You are a Majin!"

  She laughed. "No, I'm half Bathron. All Bathron can see in even the darkest of nights. Most can see better than I can, if truth be told."

  "How?"

  Shuffling sounds reached him, before the blaze of flame touching torch burst before his eyes. Sparks cast about as she handed the lit torch to him. She turned and continued moving forward. "It's part of the Legend of Kalor."

  Paduari's ears perked at the strange name. If he learned one thing from Grandam Tarlae, it was never to pass up on a good tale.

  "Kalor? Who's that?"

  Telyn smiled over her shoulder at him. "Kalor was the First Father of the House of Bathron. He was originally of the House of Ron, the principle House of the Balath padushar. He was a great warrior, perhaps the greatest to ever live." She stopped at an intersection of eight tunnels. "Which way from here?"

  "There, to the right." Paduari gestured toward one of the tunnels opposite them. "Why was Kalor so great?"

  Telyn shrugged. "He was wise. It's said he could end a battle with a single blow, for he knew what an army could not fight without. There are many legends about Kalor among the Bathron."

  "So, how did he create the House of Bathron, and what does seeing in the dark have to do with him?"

  "Kalor had a son who was very proud. Varnok. Varnok was so proud, it is said he could boast of his many attributes and accomplishments from Helios' rising until He retired without pausing for breath. Kalor did his best to teach Varnok humility and silence, but the boy refused to learn the value of either. Then, one day soon after Varnok became a man, Kalor took him hunting Letheri in the mountains of Panault, sacred to the Yur Gods, where it was said the Gods often roamed in Their incarnate forms. Kalor hoped the beauty of these sacred beasts would teach Varnok what he had been unable to."

  "What happened?"

  "In the mountains, they spied a Letheri three times the size of any ever seen before, with a pelt as gold as Helios Himself, shot with streaks of red and amber fire. Varnok saw only the prize, and gave chase immediately, intent to kill the magnificent beast and thus add to his glory. Long would he be able to boast of how he claimed this awesome creature's hide." She stopped as they came to a cavern lined with doors. "Which door?"

  Caught up in the tale, it took Paduari a moment to even realize her question was for him. Then, with a frown, he studied the doors.

  "That one, I think," he said at last, pointing to one just opposite them.

  "You think?"

  He shrugged defensively under her sharp gaze. "I've never been further than the last cavern we passed through, and I was a child. Rhi says the Tekisaphiu comes from the wood of the Eslewile tree, so I'd think the door to the Tikesha would come from the same source."

  Telyn's expression wrinkled in concentration for a moment, before she shrugged. "Makes sense."

  She started toward the door. Paduari followed, his mind overflowing with questions about the tale she'd begun, but never finished. "What happened?"

  She cast a quizzical look over her shoulder. "To what?"

  "The Letheri. Did Varnok catch it?"

  Telyn nodded. "It was a long and hard chase, for the beast ran faster than the wind, and flew among the brush and trees like Helios' light dancing through leaves, but he finally caught and killed the creature. And, when Kalor saw what Varnok had done, he wept like a woman deprived of her child."

  Confusion swirled through Paduari's brain. "Why? Weren't they hunting such beasts?"

  "Not that one. Kalor knew his son had slain the incarnate form of the Goddess Lumeris, first-mate of Helios, and She Who Is the Morning Light. Kalor took the body of Lumeris' incarnate from Varnok, and told him 'You have disgraced your name,' for Varnok means 'Helios' Treasure', 'and you have disgraced my House. Be gone from my sight.' Then he took the body to the Temple of Helios, on Mount Sallavas, and there offered Lumer
is' body back to Her Own, weeping for what his son had done. And Helios came to him, with Larsa, His second-mate and She Who Is the Evening Light, and They took keeping of Lumeris' body."

  "What did They do to Kalor?"

  "Larsa took pity on Kalor's tormented soul, and said to him, 'Because your son has spilled the blood of Our beloved, his seed shall never blossom. But because you have grieved for a wrong you yourself did not commit, and returned Our beloved to Us, We grant you new hope, and the fruit of your heart, from this day forward, will never know the darkness of night.' And Kalor, from that day on, saw even when Helios did not shine, and his descendants, of the House he founded, have his gift for seeing in darkness, as well."

  "What happened to Varnok?"

  "Just what Larsa said," she told him, shrugging. "He died lonely, some years later. No woman would have him once they saw the pall of blood Lumeris placed upon him when She returned to the heavens, after the following Moon Dark."

  It was a good tale. Paduari grinned and nodded in satisfaction. "The Bathron probably have a lot of legends."

  She smiled. "With so many gods, it's only natural. To become a Valinstrad, a legend-teller, takes a lifetime of study. The only legends I know are the ones Sala and her kin have told me. I imagine they heard them from my father."

  "Do the Gild have many legends?"

  "Some," Telyn said," but not so many. The Gild are more analytical, more Majikal. They don't record their tales to keep the myths alive. They record factual details of what happened, so if they ever find similar traits in another situation, they are prepared."