by Lexy Wolfe
Storm opened her eyes to scowl in Kendle's direction. Sensing her irritated confusion, he explained, "Within the Guardians, factions are a group bound together by friendship and duty. Often they arrive here or become Guardians within a few years of one another, though it is not restricted to only those. At its heart, it is a sense of shared camaraderie." There was only silence, save for the sounds of birds and the wind blowing through the tall, evergreen trees. Kendle bided his time, waiting for the Swordanzen woman to consider his words.
"So it was you I sensed skulking around like a sneak thief since we arrived here. You are not as imperceptible as you like to believe," Storm pointed out, her tones flat and unwelcoming. "Skyfire has sensed your presence. Even Terrence has noticed you, and he was raised sheltered by the treewalkers. The human servants are obvious no matter they try to mimic the Unseen. You have no excuse for being noticed, even if you are not Unseen." Opening her eyes and looking in Kendle's direction without turning her head, she added, "You are pathetic for a divine servant."
"Oh, you wound me," Kendle retorted, his careless tone falling flat at the stinging accusation. He opened his mouth to say something, then shut it again, pressing his lips together. "Your faction is in danger, Swordanzen."
Fury met the simple words. Storm stood, the chitan taking wing from its perch atop her head to settle on the boulder, hissing malevolently. The dark copper-skinned woman scowled at him. "Who?! Who threatens them? I will die before allowing any of them to come to harm. And take as many of my enemy as I can with me!"
"No! You cannot die now!" Kendle got to his feet quickly, daring to put a hand on the one covering the hilt of her sword, staying Storm from drawing the weapon. "Think, Desanti. I know you would, and so do those who seek to unbalance Fortress further. You must not let them use your basic instincts against you!"
Baring her teeth in a snarl, Storm slapped his hand away and grabbed the front of his elegant indigo garments. "Then I should let these desert skinks move unfettered?"
Putting his hands atop hers, he firmly pushed her hands down until she released him, his expression devoid of any hint of mirth. "These 'desert skinks,' as you call them, cloak themselves such that even we divine servants cannot see them clearly." He said in a low voice as she turned away, "Much as mortals like to believe in divine omniscience, even the gods themselves cannot see or know everything."
"I know they cannot," Storm stated, her back to Kendle. "Such had been the Totani's fears, that our lord might be harmed by such lurking shadows while he had been chained." Clenching her fists and trembling with emotion, she murmured, "And those shadows were drawn to Him and to the Knowing One because of me."
Kendle blinked, surprised. "Such things have been lurking for hundreds if not thousands of years. How could a child like you be at fault?"
"I don’t know!" she snapped, stalking away to hit one of the rocks that had sheltered her with her fists, sending the spooked chitan a-wing. A crack raced away from the point of impact, the section nearest her hands crumbling to dust. "I just... know. In my heart."
Starting to negate the self-incrimination, Kendle stopped, frowning. "Did you knowingly lead the shadows to attack Desantiva or Forenta? No," he answered for her when she turned to regard him. "The prey is not to blame for the hunters that track it simply because it is prey. You were unaware of the hunters then. You are not so naïve now."
Teeth clenched to bite back harsh retorts, Storm finally took a deep breath and exhaled. "You speak the truth. I allow my frustration to cloud my thoughts." She looked away, ashamed. "I should know better."
Lightly touching Storm's chin, Kendle turned her face up, waiting until she met his gaze again. "You know the laws we divine servants must obey," he stated, his voice quiet.
"Unless there is a threat to the great balance, mortals cannot be given knowledge or assistance unless they ask for it. And that assistance must be as indirect as possible. Yes, I know quite well." Storm wrinkled her nose. "The Totani were forever interpreting that liberally as I was growing up in their care. Thandar especially." She suddenly narrowed her eyes as she stared at Kendle intently. "You want to tell me something, but you cannot? Why not now? You told me how to save the others before."
Kendle wagged a finger at her. "I never outright told you to attack the Unseen, though they still think I had somehow. I told you about them, and I stated obvious facts." He waved his hand towards her weapons. "You had divinely wrought weapons, and you did not require your sight to deal with them. You were the one who took that knowledge and used it."
Throwing her hands in the air and uttering a sound of disgust, Storm stalked away several steps. "Fine, fine." Turning back, arms crossed, Storm studied Kendle. "Why can you not tell me what threats my tribe is in danger from?"
Crossing his own arms, Kendle looked mildly annoyed as he drummed his fingers on his arm. "You must be difficult, mustn't you?" Sighing, he finally explained. "I cannot tell you because we cannot see clearly who or what seeks to harm you, or their exact motivations. Even the Timeless One cannot see the possible future events clearly."
Scowling, Storm demanded in exasperation, "Then what do you expect me to do about anything? I cannot fight an enemy I do not know."
"You are not alone, Storm. You have... a tribe." Sadness and regret flickered across Kendle's expression. "Your faction. It is time to stop standing alone, because you are no longer alone." Standing in front of her as she looked away, pained, he cupped her cheek gently. "A good chieftain is not strong standing alone but in standing with the tribe, the one with the vision and heart to know each one's strengths and each one's weaknesses. When one is weak, the rest protect them. It is the way of Desanti tribes."
She pushed his hand away, but without violence. Her eyes were closed tightly against the tears that threatened to fall as she remembered the horrible massacre of her tribe as a child, remembering her chieftain father. "How can I be chieftain? My tribe died when I was a child. The mantle was never ritually given to me. I am not... I can't..." she stammered, suddenly shaking violently. Kendle took several steps back, eyes going wide as bloody gashes started appearing across Storm's face and body.
Kendle looked skyward at a piercing shriek. A golden desert eagle swooped down. As he back winged to hover, his form melted into the human-bird hybrid form of Thandar. Wing-like arms wrapped around Storm protectively, the Totani soothing her. "You are safe, little one," he crooned. "You are with family now." After several minutes, the episode stopped and the sobbing woman passed out in Thandar's arms.
The Totani glared at Kendle. "You have always been a fool, Kendle. I care not what They said. You should have been locked away with the rest of your murderous kind for what you Roylat did."
"Don't you dare start judging me, Thandar," Kendle snapped. "She can't think beyond a constricted point of view. You have poisoned her with your narrow-mindedness!" They both looked up sharply at the sound of movement in the trees, several voices calling Storm's name, and grimaced, both moving back from her. "Things will be made right," he promised the birdman.
Thandar hissed as he returned to his desert eagle form. At what price, Kendle? You have never understood our ways. Nor the prices any of us have paid. Thandar took wing, Kendle fading into the shadows of the trees. We will not lose her just so you can soothe your guilty conscience!
"Over here!" Lyra called, her bow in hand, waving to Emil, Skyfire and Tyrsan who trailed after her. Reaching Storm first, she slid on her knees, carefully rolling the woman onto her back. "Oh, Storm," she whispered, horrified at the multitude of wounds. "Who did this to you?" Fumbling for her backpack, she pulled out bandages to try bind Storm's wounds as quickly as possible.
"Holy sh-" Emil began, staring. "What the hells?! No wonder Avarian an' Jaison passed out, if they was feelin' whatever tortured 'er."
Tyrsan's dusky features darkened with anger. "There are no signs of temporal shifters in this place and these wounds were caused by blades. By human hands!" Clenching his quarterstaf
f, he demanded, "Who would dare attack a Guardian Adept?!"
Skyfire knelt by Storm, reaching out to touch her, but not quite able to. "What happened that your self-control slipped?" he asked the unconscious woman. Finally, he caressed her hair, a soothing gesture as much for her as for himself.
Lyra looked up to stare at Skyfire, going very still. "You mean... she did this to herself?" Her disbelieving tones drew the attention of the other two men. Looking down at Storm, she shook her head. "But that is impossible. These injuries--"
"We call it memory bleed," Skyfire stated tersely. Gathering Storm into his arms, he said, "She has lost a great deal of blood. I will explain once Taylin sees to her." He glanced over at the drizzen. "Just thank the gods they are so deeply asleep. We might have been gored before we could have reached her."
Chapter 14
Everyone looked up as Taylin came out of Storm and Ash's room, the healer quietly pensive. "She is sleeping, but I am not sure what else to say. I have never encountered anything like this in my life, nor have any others of my healing sect." Walking over to the couches surrounding the fire pit, she touched Jaison's brow. The Desanti Unsvet met her eyes and smiled weakly at her, raising his third glass of wine to her in mute gratitude. "The wounds were old and new at the same time. If I could not touch time, I would not have been able to close them."
Ash sat with Lyra and Terrence on either side of him, both worriedly studying him. Looking ragged, the older mage looked at Skyfire's profile. "She's going to be fine. I'm fine, Jaison's fine. Could you explain what happened now?" Running his hand through his hair, he observed quietly, "You had never seen that before."
Skyfire closed his eyes, shaking his head. "Not in Storm, no. In others... yes. There are many names for it. Memory bleed. Living nightmares. Relivings. Whatever their origins, the results are the same." Straightening, he pushed himself to his feet, walking towards the glass doors to stare outside, feeling the eyes of everyone on his back. "When... a Desanti suffers a terrible event in their life, sometimes they will relive that event, if something triggers remembering it. Storm relived the massacre of her tribe."
Tyrsan looked between Ash and Jaison. "But how could it affect them? And how can we prevent it from happening again?"
"They are affected because they share bayuli-volsha with her," Skyfire explained. "It is what ties the soul of one member of a tribe to another's, or in Ash's case, lifemate to lifemate, and all Desanti to the living land." Shaking his head, he said, "The only way other memory bleeds have been mended before was to heal the sufferer's mind of whatever afflicts them, or block the memories entirely. But not even the Totani have been able to mend this, and Kailee has told me they have tried since the massacre that made Storm a Cursed child." He pulled out several golden feathers from inside his vest. "Thandar was here. He kept her from succumbing to the memory bleed by resolving it as it had been then, with his presence. It was he who had rescued her before she, too, was murdered."
"Storm doesn't know how to live a normal life," Ash said in a low voice. "She lost everything she knew and everyone she loved during that massacre, and holding onto those memories is holding onto her family. Forgetting her tribe... Even as much of a risk to her leaving things as they are now, I would not ask that of her." He closed his eyes. "I would give anything to be able to remember my own family, even if it would risk my life like this."
Tyrsan frowned. "Wait. You said this bond thing ties Desanti to the living land. Do you mean that you Desanti sense what people feel even if they are not of your tribe?"
"All living things, Dulain. People. Animals. Plants. It is more intense for Swordanzen because Swordanzen must shed those ties to feel all equally." Skyfire looked towards the chitan as it landed on Ash's knee, growling at Terrence's forest sprite. Petal stuck her tongue out at it, eliciting a baleful hiss. "It requires great strength to inflict death on another when one must suffer their pain and not falter. Were it not for the good of those we protect... it would drive us insane."
"A risk you must forever face." Ash carefully put his hand around the chitan, expecting it to take a significant chunk of flesh from his hand. Instead, it turned in a circle, folded its wings and curled in a ball small enough to fit his palm. "I am beginning to understand." Scooping it up, he placed the small reptile on Jaison's leg. "What it means to be a Desanti."
Wobbling on his feet, Ash paused to get his balance again. "There has to be an answer. Somewhere in the archives. Something that could... could help her." Shaking off the concerned hands of the others as he passed them, he paused at the door to his room, bowing his head a moment before entering.
Rubbing his face, Jaison flopped back on the couch with a groan. "It seemed different this time, though."
Skyfire frowned, looking at the other Desanti man. "What do you mean?"
Glancing to Tyrsan, Jaison admitted, "Back in Sharindel, I had pushed Storm and she shared her memories of that... event. I did not realize at the time I was feeling her emotions right before that sharing. Her rage and despair were like... the building of a violent summer thunderstorm. That ominous pressure before a lightning strike. But that wasn't what I sensed right before all hell broke loose in my head."
"We cannot allow this to be used against Storm." Terrence stood up, looking more like Ash in that moment. "We must figure out why it happened this time so we can prevent it from happening again." Blue eyes flint hard, he demanded, "Describe what you sensed."
Taken aback at the sudden transformation from the mild, gentle boy to the determined man, Jaison stammered a bit before he collected his thoughts. "She was afraid. But not for herself. For you." When the group looked at him in bewildered alarm, he held up his hands. "For those she considers her family." Chagrinned, he pointed out, "She thinks of all of you more as her tribe than she thinks of me as part of her tribe."
As the others traded looks of comforted surprise, Terrence demanded tersely, "What else? I have never known Storm to let her fear overwhelm her. Ever. Anger has been her shield. She should have been as angry with whatever made her remember that dark time as she had been with you before. What was different?"
Jaison opened his mouth, shut it, and finally said, "Shame. Inadequacy. Her mind briefly felt like a child's, not a warrior's, before everything went..." He made an explosion gesture with his hands around his head before letting it drop back. "It was brief. Normally, I do not sense much of anything when her emotions are building up."
Skyfire put his arm around Lyra as she put her arms around his waist and her head on his chest. "Shielding. It is a technique we Desanti learn when we need to be stealthy because there are things not human that can sense such energy radiating from us. Most within a tribe only shield the bayuli-volsha for hunting or during, ah. More intimate moments." He smiled, sensing Lyra turning a furious red. "Other times, we simply dim them so as not to be too overwhelming to others. Storm lived among the Totani. She only learned how to completely shield, not simply dim."
His smile faded. "But just like you could not honor your father's heritage and still conceal the na'Zhekali traits, she could not shield you or Ash when she was reliving her tribe's massacre, because you are tribe, and he is lifemate." Kissing the top of Lyra's head gently, he sighed. "If there were more than you in the tribe, the impact would have been less harsh because it would have been divided among numbers. Joy shared is doubled, despair shared is halved."
"Yeah," Emil said quietly, staring at a spot on the floor. "It be too bad there ain't more of ye na'Zhekali."
Silently listening to the discussions, Tyrsan cleared his throat. "Needless to say, this... incident will be kept only among us. I do not wish to inspire some of the more spiteful and less ethical Guardians to try to trigger another episode." Dryly, he added, "Because I am certain they would only succeed in getting their own blood spilled, and I do not wish to punish any of you for others' idiocy."
"Ye be a kind an' wonderful man, Dulain, truly," Emil praised effusively.
Tyrsan snorted. "I
'm not paying off your debt to Samshen, Adept Emil. You were the one fool enough to challenge her to a game of chance. She is one of the best among us." To Skyfire, he said, "If she is up to it the day after next, I would like to see you and Storm at the training circle in the main courtyard. I think you've both had enough of book learning for now. Otherwise, today and tomorrow are rest days for all of you."
As he walked out, he paused to fix Taylin with a stern look, eyes flicking to the large swell of her abdomen, the shape of a small foot appearing briefly. "Especially you, Adept Taylin." As the others teased the healer, even Terrence being drawn into the banter, Tyrsan paused by the tunnel archway, looking over his shoulder with a troubled expression before he disappeared into the darkness.
Chapter 15
Seated alone on a bench by the massive central fountain in the main courtyard, Terrence watched the sun glitter off of the water as it cascaded down the statue of the goddess of time as he mulled over the thoughts that troubled him while rubbing a small, water worn stone. He startled out of his reverie when Jaison's adept Ophilia shouted heatedly, "I don't care what you say! I am going to become a Guardian even if it takes until the end of time!" She turned to stalk towards the dormitory building along the cliff wall.
"Adept Ophilia?" Terrence called, arching an eyebrow when she jumped several inches at his call. He waved her over to join him. "Are you all right?"
"Oh, I'm fine," Ophilia said sourly as she dropped to the bench beside him. "Just Unsvet Meredith keeps insinuating I should give up and go home a failure because I'm still having trouble with some of the more complex techniques after all this time." Looking in the vague direction the Guardian and her entourage went, she shouted, "It's just going to take time! We study that here, after all! Time!"