You stand there as if there is something special about that book.
I stand here in front of a book that men have worshipped for the last thousand years. Inside this book are the teachings of the Urmahne, guidance that tells of how men should behave, and how they should view the world. My father thought this book the most important work ever written.
There was a sense of the nemerahl deeper within his mind. Your father was a priest of the faith.
He was.
You struggled with this.
I struggled with my own faith. I didn’t know what I was meant to do, what I was meant to be. I didn’t believe the gods had anything in mind for me.
And how do you feel now?
I feel that I have a purpose as a damahne. I’m not always certain what that purpose is, other than right now I need to remove the threat of Raime before he damages anything else.
That has purpose. That is something you can impact.
There was more to it, and he was hopeful that he could find ways of helping that he had not yet discovered, but for now, stopping Raime was the first thing he needed to do.
“What are you doing here?”
Jakob spun, realizing that he had lowered his connection to the ahmaean, removing his concealment. An older woman, short with gray hair hanging loosely around her shoulders and draping over the back of her brown robe stood in front of him. Her dark eyes swept over him.
“Who are you?” Jakob asked.
The woman’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You come to the quarters of the High Priest of the Urmahne and question her?”
He smiled to himself. Why had he believed that the High Priest would be a man? There was no reason that women could not serve as priests, and in Chrysia, there were several female priests, though he had not expected that any had risen to the status of high priest.
“I come to the High Priest seeking a request.”
“And who are you to make a request?”
“Who am I?” Jakob swept his ahmaean around him, using it to conceal himself. He held it for a moment, before reappearing. Her eyes widened, and she dropped to one knee, looking down at the floor.
“Great One. Excuse my ignorance. It has been—”
Jakob took her hand and helped her to stand. “It has been many years since you had any visitors like me.”
She would not look up, keeping her eyes on the floor. “Many years would be an understatement. We have not had the pleasure of one of the gods visiting the temple before.” She hazarded a glance up, before casting her gaze back down once more. “How may I be of service?”
Jakob had contemplated what he would do when he did come to meet the High Priest. He could ask for their assistance, and he intended to have them help keep an eye on those healed from the madness, but he had devoted much time to this, and he needed to return to his mission to stop Raime. It was time for him to head north to discover what he could about Raime there. He needed to find out what Raime planned, and search for more answers.
That meant shifting, and taking the High Priest of the Urmahne with him.
You will prove that you are one of the gods, the nemerahl told him.
I don’t want to prove it; I only wanted to ensure her help.
You will ensure her help, as well, the nemerahl said with a hint of a laugh.
Jakob held his hand out and waited for the High Priest to take it. “I will show you how you can serve.”
She trembled, and as much as he wanted to reassure her that he meant her no harm, he wasn’t certain that he could convince her that she was completely safe. Now that he had shown himself as one of the gods, there was no going back. How long would it be until she shared with others that one of the gods had visited her?
Already, word had spread about what happened in Thealon. There had been no way to hide the groeliin attack, or to mask the destruction they caused. Jakob didn’t think anyone there at the time had been aware that he had entered the Tower of the Gods, that there even was a way to enter, especially since Alyta had sealed it as soon as he, Brohmin, and Anda had entered, using her tenuous remaining connection to the ahmaean.
Anything more that he might do would cause increased chatter about the gods.
What choice did he have?
He shifted.
They appeared on the street outside of the santrium. He was less concerned about others around him, especially as so few people bothered to come this way. The High Priest looked around her, panic in her eyes fading as she recognized the street.
“Why here, Great One?”
“Because this is where I need your help.”
“We have offered these people healing. They are sick—”
Jakob shook his head. “They are sick no longer. They have been restored, and I would like you to welcome them to the temple and watch over them as they continue their recovery.”
The High Priest looked at him for a moment, a question in her eyes that he didn’t think she would even have the fortitude to ask. Finally, she said, “Why these people?”
“Because these people have suffered enough. They are”—Jakob considered how to explain to her what he wanted from these people, and why he wanted it, but nothing clear came to mind—“special to me. Are you willing to watch over them?”
The High Priest glanced from Jakob to the santrium, then nodded eagerly. “Of course, Great One. It will be as you require.”
“Good. You will find them in the lower level of the santrium. Keep them safe.”
He stepped back, using his connection to the ahmaean to conceal himself once more. When he was gone—at least gone as far as she was concerned—she looked around the street before hurrying into the santrium.
Jakob let out a relieved sigh. If it worked, and if she watched over them, he would have one less thing to worry about. At the same time, his presence here, and the fact that he had revealed himself, raised new concerns.
You still worry, the nemerahl said.
I still worry. I fear that having revealed myself in such a way only renews challenges that existed years ago. There has to be a reason that Alyta and others remained hidden from attention for so long.
There were reasons, but were they the right ones?
It was the first time Jakob had heard the nemerahl question Alyta’s judgment, and her choices. I don’t know that I have an answer for that. All I know is that wars were fought over the damahne, and I’m not eager to restart those.
Then do not.
That seems easier to say than to do.
You fear, but you fear for good reasons.
I fear because I don’t know what I’ll need to do.
You will do what you need, damahne. Come. Let us take the next step in your journey.
Jakob hazarded another look at the santrium, wondering whether Scottan had returned. Even if he had, did he want to see Jakob? His older brother had been disturbed by what he’d learned from Jakob, and he had struggled with what Jakob needed from him. More than that, Scottan struggled with the idea that he was no longer a soldier. Jakob didn’t have an answer to what his brother was now, but it was something else. He could serve the santrium, and if he had a hint of the same power Jakob had detected with the woman he’d spoken to in the santrium, perhaps they were not as different as Scottan feared.
With a sigh, he closed his eyes, focusing on where he wanted to travel next, and he shifted.
Chapter Nine
The winds of the northern mountains swirled all around him. The last time he had been here, he had come with Brohmin and Salindra, and he had known very little about his abilities. They had searched for Avaneam, a place that somehow allowed one to access the Unknown Lands in the east from the mountains in the west. Now that Jakob understood his abilities, he suspected that Avaneam was a place that triggered a shifting, but set for whom?
You chose an interesting place to appear, the nemerahl said.
Jakob glanced down at the creature. He was enormous, possibly large enough for Jakob to ride, but
he could only imagine how the nemerahl would react if he suggested that to him.
I would not react well, the nemerahl said, flashing his teeth.
You make certain that I know the nemerahl are a noble race.
We are among the first, he said.
The first of what?
Of all things.
Jakob waited, hoping as often happened that there might be more explanation, but as usual, none came. With the nemerahl, Jakob was never certain how much would be shared. It seemed as if the nemerahl had the ability to reach into Jakob’s mind, but Jakob didn’t have the same ability to reach into his, and was thus at a disadvantage when trying to communicate with the nemerahl. It was often the same way with Shoren.
He climbed along the rocks, thinking back to when he had been here before. Why had he chosen this place? There were memories here, that much was certain, but they weren’t necessarily good memories. He’d had his first encounter with the groeliin when he had been here before. And the first time he’d seen who he later learned was Alyta. That had been another time when he had stepped too deeply along the fibers, when he had lost himself. There had been many such times before he had begun to master his connection to the fibers, and he still hadn’t completely mastered how to travel them.
He found a pile of ash where the groeliin had once attacked. Was this Brohmin’s work? He imagined the other man incinerating the groeliin, not wanting to leave any of the remains.
Were you here with her then? Jakob asked.
The nemerahl prowled alongside him, sniffing at the air. I was here.
This was before her capture?
The nemerahl flared his nostrils, showing a flash of teeth. This was before the capture, the nemerahl answered.
Jakob looked over. There was a hint of resentment in the comment. You were there when she was captured, weren’t you?
I was there. She sent me away, asking me to find help.
I’m sorry you didn’t find us sooner.
She knew her time was nearing an end, the nemerahl said. She had planned for it, though I think she would have preferred more time. She would’ve enjoyed working with you.
Jakob smiled to himself. That was a nice comment, something that was rare from the nemerahl. Most of the time, he preferred to harass Jakob and speak in riddles. He had been unwilling to share everything that Jakob needed, though he wondered if it was possible for the nemerahl to share everything that he needed to know. Maybe the bond the nemerahl once had to Alyta, a bond that had since been severed, prevented him from effectively sharing.
As Jakob made his way along the rock, he found a wide clearing. From a distance, it would have appeared as nothing more than natural stone, but standing in the middle of it, Jakob had a sense of something else. The rock had been moved, pushed away, creating this clearing. There was something else here, almost a vibration, that pressed upon him.
How did they trigger the shifting? he asked.
The nemerahl made a slow circle and pawed at the ground as he did. There is an ancient power here, the nemerahl said.
I can tell. But I can’t tell what it is, or how they managed to create it, Jakob said.
It is the same as how all power is created, the nemerahl answered.
Jakob frowned, studying the stone. When he had been here before, he had been injured, and unconscious after having been speared by a groeliin. Alyta had been the reason that he had shifted then, transporting them from Avaneam to the Unknown Lands.
But why was the connection here?
It seemed that there could have been many other places for a transfer to take place. They could’ve placed it in the heart of the Great Forest. That was as difficult to reach as Avaneam, unless… Jakob made a slow circle, closing his eyes, and pulled ahmaean inside him.
As he did, he drifted backward along the fibers.
He tried to do so with a light touch, not wanting to place himself too firmly in the past. What he wanted was a glimpse, an ability to see what had come before, and to understand. He realized now that was the reason the damahne who had come before him had been granted the ability to use the fibers. It was that connection that Shoren encouraged. He wanted Jakob to be able to look back and learn, but not attempt to manipulate or change the past, even if it were possible.
He followed the fibers, holding on to an image of Avaneam, using that as a sort of anchor as he drifted backward, searching for answers. Would there be any answers for him?
He walked backward a long time. Hundreds of years. Perhaps over a thousand.
And then he saw it.
A city had once existed here. These rocks were the ruins of the city, the bones of what had once been a comfortable place, a mountain home to both damahne and daneamiin. In the vision, he saw them both in the streets and saw them both within the homes. This was a place where they all felt welcome and wanted.
Jakob lingered, allowing himself to remain within this vision, and within this time.
“Are you only going to stand there?”
He looked over, and a young daneamiin looked up at him, smiling. “No, Georgie, I’m only enjoying the view.”
Jakob remained within the back of his host’s mind, not exerting too much influence. He didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that he was here. That he could find answers here told him that he must have a relative, however distant, who had once lived in this city.
“What view? There’s nothing but rocks around us.”
“Rocks? I see life here, Georgie.”
Through his host’s eyes, Jakob saw what the host saw. He saw the way the homes were built into the side of the rock, and he saw flowers growing here that did not exist in Jakob’s time. There were other plants, some with fruits hanging from them, and an entire garden that helped this place thrive and prosper. There was life here, and much of it reminded him of the Unknown Lands, the kinds of fruits and vegetables that he had seen growing there.
“When I’m older, I’m going east. I’m going to stay with the others.”
His host smiled. “That is your choice. As it is the choice of all who live in Avaneam. This place is a crossroads. You may go from here to there and then back again.”
Staying within his host’s mind, Jakob understood why Avaneam had existed. There had been a desire on the part of the daneamiin to have the ability to return. Not all had been content going to the forest and building their city. Not all had wanted to separate from the world. This had been the connection, a place that allowed them to move freely, even though the daneamiin could not shift.
Jakob took one more look, forcing himself into the forefront of his host’s mind, and studied the rocks, and the city that had once been here, concealed by the mountain itself. It was an exquisite construction, much like the fallen city on the other side of the Valley had been an exquisite construction. Both had been made by people who no longer created such things.
Jakob separated from his host and traveled forward along the fibers. He drifted, maintaining that connection, gliding forward and simply studying the fibers. There was peace to searching this way, and there was comfort in his ability to walk along the fibers and search for answers.
A familiar sense caught him. You return.
Jakob frowned, thinking about why he recognized the voice. Gareth?
The damahne chuckled. The same. You haven’t visited in some time.
I didn’t think you would have me visit. When Jakob had last come, Gareth had been in the Tower. This time, it was Avaneam, and the city had fallen. He couldn’t tell why Gareth was here—the damahne hid that from him.
You are welcome to visit.
What happened here?
What happens to all places in time.
Jakob had a sense of the city falling into disrepair. It happened gradually, the city fading as fewer daneamiin came to this side of the Valley, until it was nothing more.
Why are you here?
Gareth sighed. The same as you, I suspect. To understand.
Jakob tried as
serting more control of Gareth, but there was none for him to claim. The damahne refused to grant him greater access to what he knew.
I will leave you.
You should visit again.
Would you allow it?
Gareth seemed to smile. I would appreciate it if you did.
With that, he was pushed forward, and out of Gareth. He had more control than the last time it had happened and found himself more easily. When he reached his own time, he stepped out and opened his eyes.
Did you find your answers? the nemerahl asked.
I found the secret of Avaneam, he said.
Is that the only secret you have discovered?
What other secrets should I be searching for?
You will learn in time.
Why must I wait? Why not tell me now?
Some things are difficult to learn. Some things require you to be prepared.
And how do you intend to prepare me?
You expect me to prepare you?
I thought you were here to assist me.
I will assist, but that is not the same as doing. You are responsible for what must be done.
And what is that?
The nemerahl snorted. As I said, you are responsible for discovering your path.
Did the nemerahl intend for him to walk along the fibers, to look forward and find what he was supposed to do? Jakob still wasn’t entirely certain that was beneficial. Doing it posed some danger. Learning about the future made him fear that he might be influenced in how he acted and made him question whether he would make the right decisions.
His reluctance was more than that, though. The nemerahl watched him, and Jakob suspected even the nemerahl knew why he hesitated. He didn’t want to be influenced, but nor did he want to believe that everything was predetermined. He wanted to believe that he had choice, and that his choices mattered. If the fibers played out in a specific way, if there was only one pattern for him to follow, did he—or anyone—even have choice? Perhaps everything was already decided by the Maker.
The Last Conclave (The Lost Prophecy Book 6) Page 8