by Lexy Wolfe
Itena nodded, eyes still averted. "I am an Oracle."
"You are... touched by two gods?" Mureln looked at Emil, elbowing him sharply to shake him from his shocked paralysis. "But we thought... the Swordanzen and Magi were to be the first to bear two divine marks. The Dulain himself said it has never happened."
"Not in recent memory. Save for the Oracles, it has not happened since the Second Sundering, and those journals that explicitly spoke of those with more than a single divine mark had been sealed away in areas that had collapsed during the Second Sundering," Itena said in a low voice. "Only this gypsy clan remembers because of our tradition of oral history. No one among the Guardians of Sanctuary knows what we truly are. Not even her Sentinel. To them all, we are merely servants with gypsy heritage. We are one of the Seeing One and Timeless One's most guarded secrets." Her eyes were filled with worry as she regarded the trio as they assimilate this revelation.
Emil sat down, barely noticing he missed the stone bench and ended up on the ground. Emaris, while shocked, was not quite so overwhelmed. "I thought... that bein' an Oracle was jus' a more important Seer. Like th' difference b'tween Unsvet and Dusvet Guardians."
"The Guardians of Time are the only one of the mortal servants of the gods to have a different rank within them," Pavin stated as he approached with a tray of cups and strong liquor. "And the most numerous. All others have a mere handful at the most."
Mureln put a hand on Emil's shoulder in sympathy. "So, a fortuneteller is akin to the Adept, the Seer to a full Guardian."
"And Oracles are to what the Forentan and Desanti of your group are to become, though they have no unique name," Itena stated. She put her hand on Mureln's knee. "You are to become an Augur, Master Bard." A smile touched the corners of her lips.
The bard blinked several times. "Augurs had only been stories of legend among the bards. I had always dreamed of becoming one when I was a boy, but I had outgrown the hope that fairy tales could become reality."
"But that is why you are here now," Itena stated as she waved to Pavin to serve the drinks, indicating he should attend to Emil first. "All things, alive or inert, are some measure of the three basic energies of creation: chaos, order and time. Whether conscious or unconscious, all things have the chance to set events into motion such that they eventually come to fruition. Those who have the capacity to manipulate time have greater ability than most, especially when the desire is particularly keen."
"So, because I wished to become an Auger as a boy so much..."
"Events occurred such that your path led you here, yes. In true Bardic and Guardian nature, you trusted your instincts and left Dusvet Almek's side to become a true bard, because you must serve the lower gods before serving one of the Ancient Triad." Leaning forward, Itena touched the pearlescent, wavelike curl around his ear, barely visible due to his hair and beard's concealment. "Once you mastered your art, your path led back to Almek to rejoin him."
"And now you are here," Pavin concluded, handing a cup to Mureln. "Such is the power of an intelligent mind, when even in ignorance, enough energy behind hope can bring it to fruition." He sat next to Itena. "And the danger to be guarded against, which is a purpose of Guardians. To correct or mitigate the effects of wild influences on time."
As the weight of Pavin's implications set in their minds, Itena stated, "Such is the burden Guardians bear, knowing how a moment of impassioned, errant thought can have ripples of repercussion for possibly tens, hundreds, or even thousands of years."
Mureln looked bleak, his eyes unfocused as he lightly touched his temples. "Nikkan... it was this reality that made him doubt himself. Made him hesitate. I understand now."
Emil had not bothered to get off the ground, preferring to remain on the solid surface in the face of the unsettling revelations. "So, why are there needin' t'be more Guardians bein' shared by other gods?" he wondered. "If th' Timeless One has you?"
Pavin chuckled quietly. "Do not think that there have been so few god touched because the gods are limited in any way. The gods are very particular about who represents Them. There were times in the distant past that the god-touched of all nations were nearly as numerous as Dusvets had once been to Guardians. If there are none They consider worthy to bear their gifts, there will be none."
"However," Itena stated, drawing their gazes back to her, "the world seeks balance, and that alone can create confluences of power and heart that are whispered of only in legends and spoken in terms of destiny."
Looking in his cup thoughtfully, Mureln said slowly, "One of these confluences was what drew Desanti out of the desert finally…?"
"I suspect it is because the Timeless One needs their unique strengths that have long been absent from the Timeless One's domain. She needs warriors. Oracles are observers and advisers. We are few and we are..." Itena looked down. "We are not combatants."
"Don't ye be worryin'," Emil reassured, patting her hand lightly. "Ye don't need t'be warriors when ye got Desanti around. Why, Storm herself be worth ten o' any normal warrior this side o' th' Vodanya." Itena looks cautiously hopeful and curious at Emil's words.
Chapter 6
You cannot put it off any longer, Thandar's voice whispered in Storm's mind. The wide-awake woman grimaced and hid her face against Ash's chest. The soundly sleeping mage only smiled with smug satisfaction after the passionate night they had earlier, hugging her close with one arm. Delaying will only begin to make you ill, and that risks devastating consequences. You know this.
"I just want to know peace for a little while longer," Storm whispered in Swordanzen. "For so long, I wanted to belong to a tribe again. I do not want to lose them so soon."
Ash roused a little, more asleep than awake. "What did you say, beloved?"
Storm hushed him and kissed him lovingly. "Nothing, my heart. Thandar is being chatty this morning." With keen reluctance, she pulled herself out of the Forentan man's possessive embrace. "I must go, love."
'Chatty'? I am not chatty, the Totani stated in her mind, affronted.
"You train too much," Ash yawned as he finally let her rise, stretching as he shifted in bed. He smiled as she leaned down to kiss his cheek and pull the blanket up around his shoulders. Storm lingered for a little while longer, watching Ash until he was soundly asleep before she got dressed, checking each weapon's security before heading out of the room. She flinched inwardly at the finality in the sound of the door's latch falling in place.
"Sta-im!" Startled, the woman looked over to meet the boy's bright eyes as he sat on his small bed, watching her. He held his hands up towards her and she relented, crossing the room to pick him up and settle him on her hip. He put his hand over her heart, tilting his head to one side. "Sta-im, be good?"
The iron-like impassivity fractured and Storm embraced Izkynder fiercely tight. "I have been broken for a very long time, tlisan. Not even gods can fix me." She kissed his forehead. "I love you for trying."
"Love Sta-im," Izkynder staunchly affirmed, kissing Storm's cheek. "Sta-im stay. 'Fire stay." Hand over her heart again, he reiterated, "Be good."
"There is only one thing that will fix this, Izkynder." She looked towards her bedroom door. "I just pray Ash can forgive us." Kissing Izkynder's cheek, she whispered, "I hope you remember me."
"No! No go," Izkynder protested when he was gently placed back on his bed and his hands firmly removed from her person. "Stay!"
Hushing Izkynder, Storm stated in tones that demanded obedience, "Stay here, Izkynder." With one more caress of the boy's na'Zhekali hair, she turned and headed out of the tunnel.
Izkynder looked sharply at Skyfire as the Desanti man emerged from his room. The dark man smiled. "You should be sleeping, Izkynder."
"'Fire, stay!" Izkynder insisted, trying to catch the Desanti man's hand. "No go!"
"Relax, Izkynder. Storm and I will be back after our training is done for today," Skyfire promised. "And then we will take you swimming in the bathing cavern." Ruffling the boy's hair, he chuckled. "I h
ave the feeling with the mood Storm's been in, it is going to be an intensive training session today. We'll need the warm soak." He cheerfully headed out, whistling to himself.
Izkynder stared after Skyfire, as if he could will the man to come back. Climbing out of the bed, he crawled to the archway, staring into the darkness. "Sta-im? 'Fire?" he called several times, growing more and more anxious. Trembling, his little fists balled, he suddenly let out a shriek that seemed to make the mountain itself tremble with its resonance.
All the bedroom doors burst open, everyone startled out of their sound sleep and looking around in alarm. Taylin ran to her son, scooping him up and trying to hush him.
"Good gods, what the hells was that?" Emil asked. Both he and Emaris had their swords drawn. "Felt like something jus' went right through me!"
Mureln put a hand on the inconsolable child's shoulder. "It was a very effective Bardic yell. Apparently, he did inherit bardic traits, but I do not see anything that could have frightened him into using it."
Taylin looked at Mureln worriedly. "I don't know what is wrong! He isn't hurt or ill, and he has never acted this way before." She grunted when the boy tried to lunge towards the tunnel, tightening her hold to keep from dropping him. "Where are Storm and Skyfire? He keeps calling for them."
Ash, rubbing sleep from his eyes, frowned at the question. "They are probably training as usual." He shed the last vestiges of sleep when he looked at Mureln's odd expression. "What is it?"
"Something Storm said to me yesterday. I didn't think anything of it at the time." Watching his wife and son as Taylin took the boy to their room to try to calm him, he said, "She said she had nothing left to teach Skyfire. And Izkynder does seem to share a bond with both Desanti. He has been particularly fussy towards Storm."
"You think he is sensing something from them?" Ash frowned in confusion. Closing his eyes for a moment, he tried to seek out his lifemate through their bond and found nothing. "She's shielding," he muttered, oblivious to Lyra's approach. "Though it reminds me of the days before we bonded when I could not sense her at all." Terrence and Ophilia were just behind her, Terrence outright worried, Ophilia confused. "I have no idea what they could be doing that would upset Izkynder like that--"
"Oh, no!" Everyone looked at Lyra as the slight archer covered her mouth with her hands, eyes wide in horror. "They wouldn't have… not after… to perform the shli'zarii?!"
The color drained from Ash's face at the word and what it meant sank in. "No. They can't... Almek said if they fought as equals, they would both die. Storm couldn't... she wouldn't risk..."
"Er... Ash." Terrence looked up, biting his lip. "I... Do you remember back home in Ithesra when Storm said she had too much honor to challenge Skyfire because he was not her equal? I do not think Storm and Skyfire are training right now." The others looked at him blankly. "If Storm told Mureln she has nothing left to teach Skyfire, then she considers him her equal. The shli'zarii is a contest of mastery that-that is ingrained in the Desanti. They can't not engage in it if it is time."
Mureln moved to block Ash from running down the tunnel blindly, the Forentan mage wild-eyed in abject fear. "No! I have to stop them. We can't lose them! Not now!"
"How th' hell can we find 'em?" Emil wondered as he put his sword away. "Ain't no way t' find Swordanzen who ain't wantin' t' be found."
Ash looked blankly at Lyra's tear-streaked face as the slight woman shoved his clothing into his arms. "Storm," he whispered, agonized as he tried and failed to locate either Swordanzen through his bond or magic. "Where are you? You can't be dead. I would know if... if you..."
Mureln joined him, stamping his feet into his boots. He closed his eyes for several moments. "Of course," he said when he opened his eyes.
Ash looked at the bard. "You can sense where they are?"
"No. Storm is not kidding when she says no one can find her if she doesn't want to be found, and I think that curtain that conceals her has encompassed Skyfire as well. But think. The shli'zarii is sacred to the Swordanzen. There is only one place on this mountain they would go. One place that is more sacred to them than anywhere else. But we must hurry." Ash nodded and the two ran out, leaving the others behind with the inconsolable Izkynder.
Chapter 7
As the sky began to brighten with the dawn, Skyfire pushed through the brush to enter the hidden ledge that was home to the su'nalia tree. He approached Issonia, touching her broad trunk in silent greeting, smiling as the branches rustled in response. Stepping away from her, he walked to Storm where she sat on the stony, south-facing prominence, methodically cleaning her single-edged swords.
Skyfire smiled warmly as he sat beside her. "Here you are! You certainly made it challenging to find you this time. I was beginning to think you did not wish to train today." He frowned slightly when she remained silent, not looking at him. "I am prepared for today's lessons," he stated, unable to conceal his puzzlement at her behavior.
Carefully sliding the swords back in their sheaths, Storm meticulously tucked the suede square she used to clean the blades back in her hip pouch, gazing into the distance, her voice utterly without inflection. "There will be no more lessons."
Skyfire felt himself go cold at the simple statement, not wanting to accept its implications. "What-what do you mean? There is plenty more for you to teach me. There has to be, I am certain of--"
"You have learned all I have to teach in weapon mastery. You have acquired all that I know. The rest is learned between you and Kailee." Slipping off of the rock, she turned to face him, an infinite melancholy in the depths of her green-gold eyes. "You are Githalin Swordanzen in both skill and name now. We are equals. I tried to delay for as long as I could. But I cannot any longer." She closed her eyes and stated formally, "Githalin Swordanzen Skyfire, Chosen of Kailee the Silvery, I challenge you to shli'zarii."
The man could only stare uncomprehendingly, unable to say a word. She merely stood, waiting for him to respond. "I... th'yala." He closed his eyes, looking away from the woman. "Does it have to be this way?"
"It has been our way since before the Great War. To be drawn to test ourselves. To prove ourselves fit to bear the sword for our god," Storm responded simply, sadness in her voice apparent. "Even if I could deny the call within me to challenge you, to turn our back on generations of tradition would be spitting on the pyres of our ancestors."
"I know," Skyfire agonized. "But--" He startled, feeling her hand over his heart. He clasped it tightly, pressing her hand against his cheek.
"Th'yala. I would rather this be done without envy, hatred or insecurity driving either of us. If we must die..." Her words drifted off as he embraced her with fierce desperation. She returned the embrace with no less intensity.
Voice tight with emotion, Skyfire loosened his hold on her, looking into her eyes, brushing the tears off her cheeks. "I do not want to kill you, Aelia."
Storm brushed the tears off his cheeks with a gentle touch. "Nor do I want to kill you, Radisen. But if this would be my last fight, I would die with honor at the blade of my equal."
"But for the shli'zarii to be truly consummated, it must be witnessed," Skyfire protested weakly. "There is no one…" His words drifted into silence as Storm looked towards Issonia. The tree rustled, branches drooping slightly.
"There is Issonia. She is the only one we have left who understands us, who respects the old ways of Desantiva."
"I..." Skyfire sighed. "Yes. I understand." They stepped away from one another, walking to the wide, grassy expanse to face each other. Storm drew her twin blades, crossing them in front of her and bowing to Skyfire, her eyes not leaving his.
"Githalin Swordanzen Storm, Chosen of Thandar the Golden, I accept your challenge of shli'zarii." Skyfire returned the gesture of crossed swords, crisp and sure, though his expression was anything but convinced. "Our friends will not be pleased. The Dusvet will be very displeased. None of them have accepted our customs. Especially this custom."
"They do not underst
and." Storm and Skyfire circled each other, grimly waiting for the other to attack. "As much as they try, they will never fully accept our ways. Never understand them." She looked towards Issonia. "Shli’zarii has not happened between Githalin since before the Great War and the near death of Desantiva." Sadly, she stated, "At least our ancestors may witness our final test. It is all I know to do to honor them."
Skyfire could not argue with the statement about understanding, pausing to consider. "You chose this place on purpose. To be as close to Desantiva as we could manage." With the certainty of a promise, he stated, "I will do my best to outlast you so I need not kill you."
Storm smiled faintly at his confidence and inclined her head slightly. "As I will do my best to outlast you. But do not hold yourself back. You know I will not."
The man’s ghost of a smile matched hers. "Of course not."
The pair continued to circle one another. Just as they lunged at one another, Tyrsan burst into the clearing, skidding to an abrupt stop. The Unsvet swore under his breath as the air rang with the clear sound of metal on metal, startling the birds from Issonia's branches and surrounding brush. Spinning away from one another, the two paused only long enough to size one another up again, coming together over and over with merciless determination and steadily increasing pace in the deadly dance, oblivious to the Sevmanan man.
Only moments later, Ash and Mureln broke through the tree line and stopped against Tyrsan's blocking arms, eyes wide as they saw Storm duck a wide swing from Skyfire, the tip of his blade catching her cheek. Skyfire, in turn, only just avoided her low sweep, a thin red line betraying the touch of her blade. "Damn it," Ash growled, "I should have realized sooner..."
Tyrsan grabbed Mureln before the bard could run out, clapping a hand over his mouth. Mureln glared at Tyrsan as he pulled the Dulain's hand off. "What the hell is wrong with you? Do you want them to kill each other?"
"At the speed they are moving, any distraction could kill one of them or both of them," Tyrsan stated harshly, his eyes never leaving the pair as the two Swordanzen moved in and out of attack and defense. "Look at them! If we did not have Guardian sight, their movements would be a blur to us."