Frozen Prospects

by Dean Murray

  The party of villagers had returned a few hours after the Headman had first talked to Va'del, and it hadn't really surprised anyone that they'd brought only corpses back with them.

  The burial in the village's mushroom medium had taken place the next day, despite the fact that Va'del had to be carried down to take the place of the Guadel's family. At the end of the ceremony, Ja'mi, the healer, had slipped Va'del two leather pouches that had proved to contain a variety of gemstones, some of which had given off soft light.

  As he'd clutched Betreec's yellow sapphire, Va'del had been struck that it was the only legacy the trio was leaving behind.

  The villagers had all shunned Va'del. Even the Headman had ignored the teenager after the ceremony other than to tell him they expected a supply train in the next few weeks, and that he'd be turned over to whichever Guadel accompanied it.

  Despite there being no one to monitor or instruct Va'del, he'd resumed his legal studies as soon as Sleepy and Hungry had appeared at the village with their packs still full.

  The return of the gurra had one last benefit; packed away among Sleepy's bags had been the tiny knife Va'del had secreted in his sling, and carried for so long before that. The knife was once again the teen's constant companion, and he'd taken some comfort in the idea he once again had a way out.

  By the time the caravan arrived, Va'del had been back on his feet and practicing his weapons skills for two weeks. The villagers had left food and water near the guest rooms each day, but always in such a manner as to convey their preference not to talk to him.

  Once the supply train and the Guadel arrived, Va'del's hope he'd be around people who would treat him as I'rone and his wives had was quickly shattered. Va'del's interaction with the caravan had been so limited that an entire week had passed before he realized he only knew one person's name.

  He'd spent enough time eavesdropping to learn a couple of other names since, but none of the rest of the party had ever acknowledged his existence. They all just expect me to catch on as to what needs done, and then more or less pretend I don't exist.

  Va'del found himself stroking the lump underneath his bulky clothing that represented his tiny knife as he remembered the handful of conversations he'd had with Pa'tric after they were on the road. He might have protested his treatment but for the fact that he knew he deserved it. He'd practically killed I'rone, Betreec and Jasmin with his own hands.

  The camp the night before had been the worst. Va'del had once again found himself nudged off to one side, away from everyone else. When he'd begun practicing his sword forms, Pa'tric had come over to watch for several minutes before shrugging, disinterest plain on his handsome face. "I'm not going to stop you child, you may as well keep going. There is always a chance that they won't...well, there is always a chance."

  Somehow, until that moment, Va'del hadn't really considered that he might not get a chance to pursue his education as a Guadel, that they might not give him an opportunity to atone for what he'd done.

  Sleepy paused for a moment, sniffing the wind with anticipation, and then started forward with such eagerness that Va'del was nearly pushed off his feet.

  A few more steps revealed the reason that the gurra was so excited. A combination of wind and unnaturally warm air had scoured the snow away from the gray rock of a mostly natural tunnel.

  We're here.

  Va'del had half expected the Capital to be different than Bitter Rocks or Screaming Wind, but the entryway was nothing more than the same rough tunnels he'd known his entire life. Generations of foot traffic had worn lines into the stone, but other than that he could have been in any other village.

  Va'del followed the rest of the group through the near darkness towards the musky scent of gurra. Once they reached the stables, he unpacked Sleepy and Hungry while the rest of the group ignored him. A pair of boys roughly the same age as Va'del appeared as soon as the two gurra were unpacked and led them away with promises they'd be rubbed down and fed.

  Looking up from the heavy packs, Va'del found that Pa'tric and the others had already disappeared, replaced by a pair of grim-faced guardsmen who looked unsure as to his exact status.

  The older-looking guard stepped forward and cleared his throat, nervously watching Va'del's hands. "We're to see you to your assigned quarters if you're ready to go."

  What would you do if I simply refused to go? Bundle me up and carry me? I don't suppose that I deserve any better. Va'del nodded and shouldered the entire load of baggage. It was obvious neither of the guards was going to offer assistance.

  The walk down the dimly-lit corridors of the Capital towards his rooms was every bit as bad as Va'del's fears from before he'd left home. The trio didn't pass very many people, but the ones they did pass all stopped and stared until they were well out of sight.

  For all its walls were a darker shade of gray he found incredibly depressing, Va'del's room didn't have the look of a prison cell. Still, he only heard one set of footsteps depart, so one of the guardsmen had stayed to stand guard.

  Sighing, Va'del tried to ignore his empty stomach. Instead he walked over to the tiny glow sphere and used one of the nearby cloth coverings to mute the light down to a level where he could still see, but where colors started to lose their distinctiveness. That is why he was looking at my hands in the stables. It was just bright enough for him to see that my skin was the wrong color. One more mark against me. Legacy of a dead lowlander mother.

  After so many weeks of packing and unpacking his gear, it no longer took Va'del very long to put his few things in a semblance of order. After just a quarter cycle, he found himself looking at the remaining packs and wondering what to do with Jasmin's things. I suppose someone will come take them away, and then I won't have anything left to remember her by.

  Before Va'del could sink further into depression, he heard a loud clap just past the privacy turn.

  The pair who walked into the room at Va'del's invitation were obviously married, and just as obviously Guadel in a manner that went beyond the paired weapons at the man's waist or his sheer size.

  Va'del found himself backup slightly without meaning to. It wasn't that either of his visitors was overtly threatening, but something in their carriage seemed to demand respect. The man was nearly as hulking as I'rone; he towered over the woman who looked old and frail enough to be blown away by a strong wind. Despite their differences, Va'del was struck by how similar they looked. It goes past their white hair and wrinkled skin, it is almost like a similarity in purpose.

  The man moved with the grace of a snow leopard and an air of command, but he was polite. "May we sit?"

  Va'del nodded, taking one of the low metal chairs once the other two were seated.

  "My name is Javin, and this is my wife On'li. You are named Va'del are you not?"

  The teenager nodded, but found that he was reluctant to say anything. Almost as if sensing this reluctance, On'li smiled gently. "I know that you've had a hard time of things, and I doubt that Pa'tric and the others helped by doing anything as mundane as treating you like a real person, but we need to hear your story from the time you left your village."

  Just the thought of relating the painful series of events was nearly enough to make Va'del refuse, but the tiny woman before him smiled once again, and pulled the loose sleeves of her tunic up past her elbows in an unconscious act that seemed to indicate she was willing to get to work to fix whatever needed fixing.

  Va'del started haltingly recounting the days as he remembered them, and if tears oftentimes came, even Javin didn't seem to think that they were unwarranted. When the teenager finally told the story of the ambush that had resulted in the death of his adoptive family, he completely broke down.

  "It was all my fault; if I would have stayed next to Jasmin and Betreec, I would have been able save them."

  The Guadel let him cry for several minutes before On'li cleared her throat and asked for clarification on one last point. "You say I'rone told you to protect Jasmin and Be
treec?"

  Va'del nodded, feeling a stab of pain at the fresh reminder of his failure. "He didn't say specifically that you were to stay with them, just that you were to protect them?"

  After the teenager had once again nodded, On'li sighed. "Va'del, I hate to ask this of you. I know that it will feel like an invasion of privacy, and I'm little more than a stranger to you, but I need to look at your mind the same way that Jasmin and Betreec did."

  Javin cut in before the teenager could respond. "You should know that you are not longer truly one of the villagers, and as an apprentice to I'rone no one can do this without your consent."

  Va'del found himself inclined to like both of the Guadel before him, but the thought of someone strange inside his mind again filled the young man with something closely related to terror. It had been bad enough with Jasmin and Betreec, both of whom had believed the best about him. How much worse would it be with someone who knew he'd killed all three of his new family?

  "What happens if I refuse?"

  On'li was quiet for several seconds, but when she spoke she didn't seem offended at the question. "There are a number of questions currently that need answered. One is whether or not you need punished for the events that led to the death of I'rone and his family, and if so what the punishment should be."

  How can there be any question? I killed them.

  "That question must, for the most part, be answered by Javin and me. The other matter before us is whether or not you are suitable for continued instruction with an eye towards becoming one of the Guadel. Ordinarily that is a matter left to the individual Guadel family until training is complete, at which point the entire Council must approve or reject the candidate."

  Va'del's mind was reeling with questions he wanted to ask about all of the reference to things he'd never heard about, but On'li continued before he could open his mouth.

  "Given the unusual nature of all of this, there are those on the Council who will argue that you should be rejected now rather than waiting until a lengthy apprenticeship has been completed. For those individuals, a refusal to allow me to examine your mind will serve as evidence you're hiding something."

  Javin appeared on the verge of saying something, but his wife placed her hand on his and shook her head.

  Looking back and forth between the two, Va'del felt his desire to be punished war with the slim hope he might be able to continue the work that I'rone and his wives had been doing. That would allow me to hunt down men like those bandits who deserve death.

  The teen finally shrugged. "Do what you have to do and I'll try not to fight you."

  On'li nodded and then scooted her chair forward carefully to avoid catching her flowing pants. As the frail old woman placed gentle hands on Va'del's forehead, he started to run through the exercises Jasmin had taught him.

  Just as the teenager felt himself relax mentally, the barest hint of alien presence at the edge of his mind caused him to tense and fight the intrusion. Va'del immediately felt sick but he fought to relax, to endure the intrusion. Fighting her won't accomplish anything.

  Time seemed to stand still as Va'del fought to suppress the reflex to mentally shoulder On'li aside, but it seemed it was somehow slightly easier than it had been with Jasmin that first time. Even so, when the Guadel finally sighed and sat back in her chair, Va'del was almost completely exhausted.

  Wiping away a thin trace of blood that had made its way down her face, On'li looked over to Jasmin's bags. "Are those their things?"

  Va'del nodded. "Most of what was found. I think Pa'tric has a few other odds and ends, but that's everything else."

  Suddenly remembering the gemstones in the pouch hanging from his neck, Va'del dropped his eyes for a moment. "There are also these."

  Taking the proffered bag, On'li looked inside and then looked up with a smile. "What is it?"

  "I don't really have anything to remember them by. Betreec was working on the yellow sapphire. She said it was still a long way from being done, so I'd hoped I could keep it."

  Va'del wanted to curse himself for stupidity as soon as the words left his mouth, but it was too late to take them back.

  On'li poured the gemstones out into Javin's massive hands, and then picked through them until she'd found the yellow sapphire and a slightly larger ruby. "The ruby is also unfinished--I assume it was Jasmin's. I can't promise you'll be able to keep them indefinitely, but for now I think your sponsors would have wanted you to have them."

  The rest of the jewels went back into the tiny gurra-skin bag. Va'del tried to scramble to his feet as the Guadel rose, but On'li waved him back into his chair. "You need some sleep after all that's happened.

  Javin reached down and easily shouldered the harness containing all of the packs. After they disappeared, it took several lonely cycles before Va'del finally managed to fall into a restless slumber.

  Chapter 8

  On'li followed Javin into the empty Council room and took her usual seat at the round, stone table next to him. This early they were all but guaranteed some privacy in which to fine-tune their approach to the coming meeting.

  "It's days like this that make me wish we didn't head up the Stephens bloodline. For all that sometimes I hated being out on circuit, it was a walk in the park compared to dealing with the Council."

  Javin snorted, "We're too old for anything else."

  "You're right. Too old, and Mar'li would be miserable out there among all of those strangers. She's never had the disposition to do field work. We're like pack gurra that are too old to carry anything so we've been retired back to just producing wool for the last few years of our lives."

  Javin shrugged and turned back to business. "The boy isn't helping his case."

  "You're right. He's all but begging to be the whipping boy for what happened to I'rone and the others. We'll have to be very careful to keep him away from the rest of the Council or we'll never have a shot at getting him through to his final vows. Of course if something like that hadn't left a mark he'd hardly be the kind of lad we'd be interested in getting sponsored again. Still, we'll have to manage him carefully. If he displays even a touch of arrogance or callousness over the next few months, it's done for.

  "At least we can see to it he's not punished."

  There was steel behind her husband's tone, but she knew how much it would cost him to lay out the arguments they'd spent the last day or so perfecting. He'd made enormous strides in the last thirty years, but at heart he was still the shy, retiring young man he'd been when they'd first met.

  They sat in silence for several seconds as On'li absently leafed through Jasmin's journal. The document made a compelling case for having Va'del sponsored, but ultimately they couldn't use it to that end. After seeing I'rone and his wives cut down, it was all too likely that Va'del was going to experience some drastic personality shifts. She'd already detected a mind that was much more driven than what Jasmin described.

  It was almost scary to think of sponsoring someone who could change so drastically over the next few years, but the boy held such potential. Spending more time inside his mind would increase her understanding of his character, but only at an increased risk of ruining him later on.

  No person could endure the utter invasion of having someone they didn't trust inside their mind on an ongoing basis without eventually strengthening their reflexive defense to the point where it was simply too strong to overcome.

  Javin rubbed slow circles on her back, sensing the serious bent of her thoughts.

  "Things will work out."

  "How can you be so sure? We're down to just three families in the bloodline now. That's got to affect my desire to sponsor the boy. On the other hand, the repercussions of sponsoring someone with his potential if he goes bad are almost unimaginable."

  "It'll work out."

  They passed the remaining half cycle before the others arrived in companionable silence, and then all too soon the other members of the Council began drifting in and taking their seats at th
e table. They all tended towards more experienced, if not downright old, but had very little physical similarities otherwise.

  The men ranged from the impressive physiques of true warriors to the slender build of scholars or diplomats. The women were likewise disparate in form. Some of On'li's counterparts were even more fragile looking than she was while others were clearly eating far more than their share of the People's limited resources.

  A'vril, currently serving as the Goddess' Heart, stood and took charge once the last pair had taken their seats.

  "In my capacity as head of this Council, I call this session to order. The Arm will please seal the chamber."

  A'vril's husband, Jas'on, nodded from the doorway and then swung a massive stone door, the only real door in the entire Capital, closed.

  The Council ran through a number of minor items before A'vril opened the floor for discussion about Va'del.

  Javin stood to be recognized, and then made his case. "With regard to the discipline of young Va'del, we, as the head of his bloodline, feel he was not directly responsible for the death of I'rone and his family."

  Ja'dir jumped to his feet and pounded his well-manicured hands on the stone table. "I object to your assuming responsibility for this matter. This Va'del is clearly unsponsored, and consequently does not fall under the oversight of a specific bloodline. The question of whether or not his cowardice resulted in the death of three very promising members of the Guadel should be a matter for the Council as a whole to decide."

  Javin looked at his colleague calmly, but On'li had known her husband long enough to know that he wanted nothing quite so much as to put Ja'dir in his place. "At the time of the incident, Va'del was sponsored by I'rone and his family. The decision is ours."

  A'vril held up a hand for a second and then nodded. "Javin has the right of this. Ja'dir, you will quit trying to contest this matter and allow Javin to apprise the Council of his decision."