The Timeless One

by Lexy Wolfe

  "You... want to be part of my cursed tribe? Even after everything you have learned about it? All the tragedy and ill luck?" Glancing at Izkynder sleeping in Taylin’s arms, she looked ashamed. "After you’ve seen the curse of the bayuli-volsha?"

  "You already consider us part of your tribe," Taylin stated quietly as she rested her cheek on her son’s head. "Why not make it more than simply lip service?"

  "And burden all of you with that pain and grief that comes from the tribal bond?" Storm demanded incredulously. "Are you all insane? You should be counting yourselves lucky you are free of the Desanti's curse." Shaking her head sharply, she got to her feet, starting to walk outside. "No. I swore to protect all of you. I will not curse you with the inevitable pain and grief of it."

  "Pain and grief are not the only things shared through bayuli-volsha, Storm." The Desanti woman froze at Skyfire’s quiet words. He spoke to the others as much to Storm. "There is always being able to reach out to know you are not alone, that there are others. The bond allows you to seek out other members of the tribe, or call to them if you are in need. To share joy and happiness and community. To know a sense of belonging. Of never being alone again." Ash looked at the scar in his palm, the physical reminder of the bayuli-volsha he and Nolyn had forged between them unknowingly as boys, rubbing it with his thumb thoughtfully. He looked up at Skyfire, listening to him speak as he considered his tie to Storm.

  The Desanti man's eyes were fixed on Storm's back. "Yes, when the bond is broken through death, it is agonizing. Normally, it is the tie to others that helps ease the pain and the loss. What happened to you and the na'Zhekali, Storm, should never have happened."

  "I won’t risk it happening again," Storm said flatly, not turning back. "Not to any of you. I should not have cursed either Jaison or Izkynder with it, but it cannot be undone now."

  The others were silent, uncertain what to say to Storm’s unwavering desire to protect them, even if she was protecting them from herself. Quietly, Lyra got to her feet to approach Storm, addressing her as she had when she first came to Ash's home. "Mistress Storm, you are Githalin Swordanzen. That means the chances of something happening to you are... very high. It would leave Jaison and Izkynder to bear your loss alone." Storm visibly flinched at Lyra's eloquently spoken wisdom. "And we... I don't want to risk losing you again. I want to know in my heart that you are well, no matter where either of us are."

  Ash walked over to Storm, putting his hands on her shoulders as he stood behind her. "Beloved, you know one day we will lose each other. If there is the chance I need not bear it alone, I would like that opportunity." Feeling Storm flinch, he slid his arms around her waist, resting his cheek against her hair. "And I do not want you to be alone if I am the one lost first, Aelia."

  "You do not understand!" Pulling away from Ash, she turned to look at the group, all taken aback by the tears streaking down her cheeks. "If I bring you in... if I make the na'Zhekali a living tribe again, I-I would be chieftain. M-my father was chieftain and he... he... he made me run. And they all died! And I-I..." Ash caught the shaking woman, holding her fiercely tight as he recognized the hint of reliving her tragedy again. "I was born Cursed and they all died! I don't want you to die because of me."

  "Not cursed. Blessed, Aelia. You were blessed, and that is why the darkness hunted you." The mage tightened his embrace when the first cut appeared on her skin. "You will not be chieftain," Ash said several times as more cuts appeared, phantom attacks made real, finally getting through the haze of memories. "We will be chieftain. Together, you and I, because we are lifemates." Kissing her temple, he murmured, "We will live for each other and for the tribe. And we will remember those who came before us as we make a new beginning for the na'Zhekali." Tilting her chin up to look into her eyes, he stated firmly, "No longer the oldest tribe of Desantiva alone, but a tribe of all the lands."

  The cuts stopped appearing, finally slowly closing to thin, angry red lines. "A tribe of the Timeless One?" Storm whispered, closing her eyes as he gently wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumb. Opening her eyes, she touched his cheek for a long moment before turning to the others. "This is truly what all of you wish?" Still shaken from nearly losing herself in those old terrors, her voice barely held any inflection. "You must be certain you wish to do this. Once it is done, living without the bond would be... difficult. It might not be not impossible for you born in the outlands, but..." She closed her eyes tightly.

  Jaison tilted his head, looking puzzled. "I always believed that bayuli-volsha could only exist in those of Desanti blood? Vodani could forge it, but Desanti are born with it."

  All three Githalin shook their heads. Terrence explained, "Dzee explained to me that Desanti are born with rudimentary bonds to their parents’ tribes. The ceremony that welcomes them into the world solidifies the bond to their tribe. It is necessary because if the parents are of two different tribes, one of the bonds must be severed. Multiple tribal bonds are rare because of the risk of divided loyalties. As the number of na'Zhekali decreased, the intensity of your birth bond grew. But your choice to cement the bond made you more Desanti."

  "You didn't realize that someone without Desanti blood could share bayuli-volsha, Storm?" Taylin wondered, patting the sleeping Izkynder's back as she held him.

  Storm shrugged one shoulder, eyes cast down. "There are many tribal bond rituals in Desantiva, depending on who or what the person is. Rarely, a Vodani chooses to endure the trials to earn a place in a tribe but..." She sighed softly. "Their rituals were largely ceremonial. Enough that others could identify them as accepted into a tribe but never establishing the bayuli-volsha bond. Though we could have. It has simply become practice... to exclude the full-blooded Vodani."

  Ash held up his right hand, showing the star-shaped scar in his palm. "When Nolyn and I were boys, we discovered a ritual that created this same bond between us." He leaned over to kiss Storm's temple. "Storm always considered it more of a Forentan perversion, though."

  She looked up to Mureln and Taylin, deeply apologetic. "You have both been like family to me, and it felt wrong to consider using the superficial rituals. I felt that I would be insulting you." She looked away. "I did not think to ask Thandar, and there has never been a need to know such within Desantiva itself since the Great War. It hasn't mattered. Outlanders never came to Desantiva. Vodani are foreigners to us. It has simply been how it has always been done."

  Skyfire smiled a little, putting his arm around Lyra, his voice matter-of-fact. "Those few Vodani with Desanti blood who earn the privilege of being part of a tribe are considered only Desanti." He looked towards the fire for a moment. "Those not born of the tribes are viewed with distrust and skepticism. They are not wholly welcomed into the tribes because... we do not trust them." Chagrinned, Skyfire continued. "It has been tradition, we forgot the reasons for them. There have been fewer Githalin over the past generation. There had been none for twenty years before Storm."

  "So that is why Storm did not realize that the ritual she performed with Izkynder would give him a bond to her," Mureln mused aloud. Storm looked away shamefully. The bard reached across to put a hand on her arm. "No! You gave us a wonderful gift!" The woman’s expression was openly skeptical. "You gave us the means to protect you. If not for Izkynder, none of us would have known you and Skyfire were... we might have lost you both but for that bond." He quirked a small smile. "And for you training me how to find a Swordanzen when she does not wish to be found."

  Jaison sighed softly. "If I had realized that I was sensing Izkynder as well..." He shook his head. "I doubt it would have changed anything. But I did hear Izkynder. Quite clearly." He looked over at Tyrsan. "Except... Mureln, you said Dulain Tyrsan was already where you found them." He looked back over at the silent man who listened to the conversation thoughtfully. "How could he have known...?"

  "Oh, Izkynder used a bardic technique when he screamed and directed it at anyone to help find his two Desanti." Leaning over to kiss his son's forehe
ad, Mureln said affectionately, "I bet even the Timeless One felt that scream go through her, given how the mountain shuddered." He looked to Tyrsan. "How did you know where to go, Dulain? Even Ash couldn't locate them. I just made an educated guess."

  "I didn’t even know what was happening until I saw them, and it was too late to stop them. I just let my feet guide me," Tyrsan confessed. Not smiling, his expression reflected sympathy as he met Storm’s eyes. "Storm, even the strongest warriors cannot be strong all the time. There is no shame in sharing your burden with others. You have endured more than anyone can truly comprehend. You have earned the right not to have to stand alone."

  Storm closed her eyes, looking at once old and young. "Is this what all of you wish?" she asked, looking at each person in turn as they nodded, finally resting on Skyfire.

  "Kailee says Githalin always had the choice to return to their tribes. Only normal Swordanzen must leave the tribes because the bond often overwhelms." He closed his eyes briefly. "To be part of a tribe... of a family again. I would give my soul for that." He reached out to clasp Storm's hand tightly. "Especially a part of your tribe, Aelia. I would be honored to be your tlisan, th’yala."

  Lyra bit her lower lip. "I would not be your servant anymore, Radisen."

  Skyfire made a noise, waving his hand as he put his other arm around Lyra. "That was a Forentan thing. You were always our friend."

  Terrence held his hand out to Ophilia, the young woman smiling as she accepted it and moved to sit next to him. "You do not have to, you know," he murmured to her.

  "And how better to understand Desanti, hm?" she replied archly.

  Tyrsan put a hand on Bella's shoulder, making the woman jump. "I will... just watch, Dulain. You... you go ahead." She held her arms out to Taylin. "Besides, someone needs to watch over Izkynder, right?"

  The huge man smiled faintly in understanding. "As you wish." He moved to sit among the others around the firepit, all watching Storm expectantly.

  Unable to speak at the gesture, Storm went to fetch a brass bowl from the dinner table, unceremoniously dumping its contents. Kneeling silently by the firepit, she stared at the gleaming bowl, her fingers following the smoothed edge for a long while.

  "The mages say that the energy of magic is the energy of life, a part of our souls. Desanti were never known for the use of magic. Of all of our Totani, only Dzee, First Daughter of the Heart of Desantiva, embraced its energy and the art of using it as Forenten do." Storm closed her eyes, remembering the grief Thandar had tried to hide from her. "She was the gentlest of the Totani, but also the fiercest when protecting her own. Her loss echoed across Desantiva for two thousand years until Ash brought her back to us."

  Drawing her knife, Storm held it up thoughtfully, the fire flickering off its polished surfaces. "The sacred balance is echoed all around us and within us. Before the Great War, Forenten and Desanti became blind to the fact that... we were not so different from one another. Manipulating the energies of time or life requires sacrifice from those who would manipulate it."

  Storm looked to Izkynder who was now awake, staring at her from his seat on Bella's lap with wide, clear eyes. Her voice was soft. "When the cause is worthwhile, that sacrifice can be made without any hesitation, but not without consequence." Taking a deep breath, Storm continued after a moment of silence. "Forenten and Guardian suffer physically when they touch the energies of life and time because they channel it through themselves. It is not so for Desanti."

  They waited when Storm fell silent, realizing how difficult it was for her to reveal some of the deepest secrets of the Desanti people. "Desanti take no energy that is not freely offered to them. We take of our own life energy through our blood before any other."

  Terrence blinked and asked reflexively, "Is that why I did not feel the chlayxin so strongly after I restored the journals?" He held up the hand he had sliced open to call Dzee. "I only felt... exhausted."

  Storm nodded, expression solemn. "Magic is life. Blood is life. What remains of Desanti magic is in our blood." Shaking her head once, she regarded Ash with a small smile. "Since the Great War, where Forenten can grow to manipulate ever increasing amounts, Desanti have been limited by how much of their life they are able or willing to give. We only have so much blood, after all."

  "But if Desanti had magic before the Great War, would they have been similarly limited?" Ash asked quietly, frowning in confusion. "They could have been like Forenten."

  Terrence hissed, putting a hand to his shoulder and grimacing in pain. After a moment, his expression smoothed and he replied to Ash, "The heart of Desanti belief is they are a part of the world around them. They do not command life, they request its compliance by becoming a part of it. The price for their physical prowess is to feel the flow of life around them from all things through themselves. They can feel its conception..."

  "And its end," Skyfire stated quietly. His eyes were more golden than brown as he stared into the fire. "A Desanti who kills needlessly is considered as insane as they are dangerous. That is why when the Totani give Swordanzen their names, their ties to their tribes are broken, so they could feel all things equally, to seek out the imbalances and correct them. For Githalin, we are tied to the land through our Totani. We did not think to ask if triblessness was required still of Githalin."

  "Each tribe has their own rituals for making or breaking bayuli-volsha, because each tribe embodies a different, unique essence." Storm held up her knife. "The rituals are slightly different between children and adults," she explained. "For Izkynder and Jaison, I needed only allow our bloods to mingle through a small cut."

  The others looked at Jaison in shock. "You’re considered a child?" Taylin asked in surprise. "But you’re--"

  Holding up her hand, Storm said crisply, "Do not question. Just accept it for what it is. It’s a Desanti thing that makes my head hurt thinking about it. It just is." Taking a deep breath, she cut her palm deeply, holding it over the bowl. "Blood calls to blood. You must allow your blood to mingle with mine in the bowl, then I will complete and seal the bond." She held her hand over the bowl until there was a pool of deep red in the bottom. Closing her hand to slow the bleeding, she got to her feet. "Quickly, if you wish this done..." She looked at her hand. "This cut cannot close until the ritual completes, and there are many of you."

  Skyfire did not hesitate. He drew his knife blade across his palm and then allowed the blood to mingle with Storm’s in the bowl. One by one, each person did the same. Ash was last, hesitating only a moment as he looked at Storm in concern, feeling her growing weak. "Beloved, if we are lifemates, do I need to...?"

  "What we share is different. To be na’Zhekali, yes, you need to do this," Storm replied simply, wavering on her feet slightly. "You will not sense the others otherwise, nor they, you." Ash nodded and quickly moved to add his blood to the bowl without any further hesitation.

  Once Ash stepped away, Storm returned to kneel by the fire circle. An unusual serenity settled over her as she held her hand over the bowl again, opening it. "Though our patron Totani, Zhekali, was born of fire, that fire lives within her chosen children despite her loss during the Great War. As with her, the fire of life courses through our veins. Whether it burns or sooths, it always beats within our hearts and souls." Lifting the bowl in her uncut hand, she held it up. She extended her bleeding hand into the flames, drawing everyone to begin to protest. All fell silent, staring as her hand seemed to catch fire, but not burn.

  "Zhekali is lost, but her protection lives on. Never shall na'Zhekali flesh be harmed by the sacred fire. Let us be joined in the living fire that binds all of Zhekali’s children together." Touching the surface of the blood with her flame-encased fingers, they all cried out briefly as the burst of flame from the bowl coincided with the burning of the cuts they had made.

  As the haze of pain faded, they all looked at their hands. "It... is gone," Taylin whispered in shock, staring at her unblemished palm. She looked up when Mureln shook her shoulder a little.
She followed his staring gaze and gaped. The flames over the small bowl were that of a delicate bird with colorful plumage in orangey reds, shimmering golds, and rich bronze. Sharp, green-gold eyes fixed onto the group briefly before it seemed to take wing, vanishing as the flames in the bowl died away.

  "Storm!" Ash caught the young woman as she fainted. As he held her against him, he turned the hand she had cut over. It was as if she had never done anything to it, not even a scar remained.

  "Is she okay?" Terrence asked worriedly. "She bled a lot."

  Ash nodded as he settled on the floor, letting Storm’s head rest on his shoulder. "She is just exhausted because of how much of herself she put into the ritual. My guess is she wanted to bring all of us in together instead of having to do several, smaller rituals." A small smile touched his lips as he caressed her cheek. "My stubborn, impatient Desanti." A small smile curled her lips as she sighed contentedly in his embrace. "She did not want to have to choose who would be first."

  Skyfire sat down heavily on the floor, staring at the space the fiery bird had been only moments ago. "I cannot believe the stories are true." He reached into the fire, eyes wide as the fire danced around his hand, but as with Storm, it did not burn.

  Bella frowned, looking confused. "What do you mean? You did not know fire could not harm na'Zhekali?"

  "There had been stories about the na'Zhekali tribe that most considered myths." Skyfire looked at Storm. "The tribe had been gone from the land for over fifteen summers. But for Storm, and she rarely spoke of them. They were a very secretive tribe." Pulling his hand away from the fire pit, he numbly put his knife back in its sheath. "In the Before Time, each tribe was patroned by one of the Totani. The legends say that Zhekali did not only patron her tribe, she abandoned her immortality to become one of them."

  Ash looked down at the woman he cradled against him, frowning slightly. "That could explain why the darkborn targeted her."

  Tyrsan was silent through the entire ritual, his expression a mask of neutrality. "The Totani are represented by creatures native to Desantiva. What creature was this Zhekali?" he wondered.