Soman opened his eyes and sat up, not the least bit ashamed about his state of undress. He took the cup from Keeper Sam’s hand and drank it down. “Joyous day, indeed,” he said and stood up, stretching broadly. “I feel fantastic.”
Soman looked at Numa and smiled mischievously at her. “What a night!” he said, looking just like a child who’d gotten into the beetcakes before they were served.
“Now that it is morning, you will remember that she is my wife,” Gemynd said, coming to stand between them. “And put some clothes on.”
“I think she rather enjoys the show,” Soman teased as he hunted around for his clothing.
“Numa, Director, we will begin the signing ceremony on the dais in just a few moments,” Keeper Sam said. “The locals have prepared trays of breakfast foods for us if you’d like to follow me.”
Numa watched Soman’s eyes sparkle with delight. “Ah, this day keeps getting better and better,” he said, hastily pulling on his rumpled clothes.
Gemynd took Numa’s hand as they began walking towards the dais. “I had a wonderful time last night,” he said and kissed the back of her hand. “Particularly when we went to Nocturiya, however brief it might have been.”
“Me too,” Numa said and felt herself blush. “I was thinking about that very thing earlier.”
As they approached the stairs to the dais, Numa saw Golath and a very disheveled Molly come from around the remnants of the wall. Molly’s long, copper-colored hair stuck up in every direction, but it did not detract from the youthful beauty she’d become over the last several weeks.
“Joyous day,” Numa said to them.
“My children!” Molly exclaimed and ran to them, her arms open wide. “I am so grateful to the Deis. I never thought I would know the day when I had my whole family back together. I will not forget this day.”
Numa and Gemynd both embraced her. “I am happy for you, mother,” Gemynd said.
“If my happiness truly matters to you, my son, you will make this peace council a success,” Molly said quietly. “It is what Todor needs.”
Gemynd did not reply, but instead looked at Golath. “Joyous day, Father,” he said with an almost imperceptible grin.
“Joyous day, son,” Golath replied with the same expression.
“Golath, I would like to invite you to breakfast on the dais with us this morning,” Keeper Sam said. “You were an integral part of the Agreement coming to be and I think it only right that you celebrate its signing with us.”
Golath nodded. “I would be honored,” he said.
“I will join you all in a moment,” Molly said, patting her hands against her head. “First I must find a brush for my hair.”
“I will save you your favorites,” Golath said quietly to her and kissed her on the cheek. As Molly walked away, Golath turned and took Numa by the arm. “My daughter, I must speak with you about a few things.”
“What things?” Numa asked, enjoying this more affectionate version of Golath.
“I would like to have another marriage ceremony with Molly, to mark our time of starting anew,” he said. “Would you prepare her garment in the Aerie tradition?”
“Really?” Numa asked, feeling her Lifeforce surge with Joy. “I would love that more than anything else I can think of right now!” A wedding. Time to focus on love and the future sounded like the exact thing Numa needed to begin to heal her heart.
“Thank you,” Golath replied simply. “Shall we breakfast, then?”
Archigadh and Soman had already cleaned the trays of every crumb of food by the time the others arrived on the dais.
“Wonderful, you are here!” Keeper Fregman said as they approached. “Let us have the signing ceremony now while more food is being prepared. It won’t take but a few moments.”
Ten large pieces of parchment rested against frames at the back of the dais. At the top of each one were the words, “The Agreement of the Peace Council of Todor.” Beneath this heading, written in very small script were all the points the council had discussed and affirmed the day before. At the very bottom of each one were the words, “We, the undersigned, do hereby vow to uphold this Agreement for the welfare of all of Todor” followed by four columns of blank lines.
Numa knew that the top lines of each column would be for the original members of the council: herself, Archigadh, Keeper Sam, and Gemynd. The fact that the scribes had included so many blank lines for future councils to sign, made Numa’s chest flutter with hope. But for only a moment. Then she remembered all too clearly that this was not her vision, but Keeper Sam’s. As much as she now believed in the council, she knew that it must only be temporary.
As she looked at the parchments, ten Terrene men holding small trays walked across the dais, each one coming to a stop next to a copy of the Agreement. On each of their trays was an inkwell and a sharpened reedstick.
“Attention everyone!” Keeper Fregman called out to the crowd in city square below. “In just a moment the four founding members of the Peace Council of Todor will sign the Agreement, making this the official governing body of our land. This is an historical moment. From this day forward, Todor will live in complete peace. All inhabitants here are equal and never again will there be a need for any one group to rule over another. The days of separation are behind us. Times of war are relinquished to the tomes of history. We will rebuild and prosper! We are united! This is Todor!”
The crowd below cheered loudly and Numa was impressed with their enthusiasm despite their long night of celebration.
Then Keeper Fregman turned to the people on the dais. “Numa, because this is all a result of your vision, you sign the Agreements first,” he said.
Numa looked all around, not knowing where to rest her gaze. She knew she was risking enough by continuing with all of this, and she could not imagine what catastrophe would occur if she openly claimed this was her vision by signing first. “I would like Keeper Sam to sign first,” she said, hoping she would not face a rush of questions for doing so.
Keeper Fregman nodded graciously and walked to Keeper Sam. “Keeper Samyga of Aerie, will you begin the signing?”
Keeper Sam bowed politely and walked over to the furthest parchment. He picked up the reedstick, dipped it in the inkwell then carefully scratched his name on the first line. Once again, the crowd erupted in cheers.
Archigadh went after Sam, followed by Numa and, finally, Gemynd. The entire process took roughly fifteen minutes and Numa felt that she had held her breath for the duration. What would come next? A great windstorm that would blow even the keep down and scatter bodies to every corner of the land?
Numa rubbed her temples, knowing she must excuse herself soon to have some time alone to sort all of this out. She still had no idea how to make the Todor of her perception match the one in her vision, but she knew she had to figure it out quickly.
“It is done!” Keeper Fregman announced to the crowd who shouted their cheers once again. “Let breakfast begin!”
“Second breakfast. My favorite!” Soman said cheekily, amusing mostly himself.
Terrene workers brought in more trays of food as the people on the dais took their seats around the table.
“I know it has been a tiring few days,” Keeper Sam said. “But I request that we begin the rebuilding of Todor as soon as possible. Numa, with your help especially, we could have it done in no time.”
Numa nodded her silent consent, knowing she could not continue this fiction. But Keeper Sam’s words triggered an idea in her mind. She could use the rebuilding time as an opportunity to reclaim her vision. She could just go through all of Todor and make it exactly as she saw it! Numa giggled aloud as she thought about the simplicity of it all. Why had she been making it so complicated? She was Empyrean. She did not need to figure out how to create the Todor of her vision, she could just do it. How foolish she had been! And with the people of Todor already expecting her to rebuild the land, she would not encounter the problem of forcing anyone’s will.
“I will do it now,” Numa said, lifting her head as an enormous smile spread across her face. She closed her eyes and once again recalled the vision the Deis had shown her of her perfect Todor. She saw the beauty of Aerie and watched it spread until it touched every corner of Todor. As she held this image in her mind, she willed it to be so.
A collective gasp ran through everyone on the dais as well as the crowd below. Numa opened her eyes and saw that the city of Tolnick had returned to its original splendor. No longer were the members of the peace council sitting on a fallen section of city wall, but were now three hundred hands higher in the middle of a perfectly-intact wallwalk. Numa stood and looked out across the Great Wide Valley. The fields were green and full of crops ready to harvest. Then she looked to the east and in the far distance she could see the cliffs of Aerie. And atop that was the glorious Baldaquin tree, even bigger and more wondrous than it had been before.
Numa felt raw power flood her being as she gazed at her creation. This is what her mothers and Radine had been talking about. She had made the choice to reclaim her creation.
“Marblefruit?” Gemynd asked from her left, absently handing her a plate piled high with the juicy, white fruit, while he, too, gazed at the horizon in wonder.
Numa took the biggest piece and ate it with relish, feeling an excitement she had not known before. She sat back down at the table and took a second piece before passing the plate on to Golath who sat at her right. A din of chatter grew in the crowd below until it became cheers and then music and celebration began once again.
“You have done it,” Keeper Sam said, staring openly at Numa.
“I have never been so honored to share a table with anyone in my life,” Archigadh said.
“Let us eat,” Numa said, giving everyone at the table permission to stop staring at her and begin their new lives of perfect Joy.
More plates of food were passed round the table. Some Numa knew well like beetcakes and honeyed bread. But there were others she did not recognize. Strange strips of striped meat; blocks of what appeared to be hardened cream, and tiny purple fruits that were perfectly round.
“I did not create these,” she said, holding one of the fruits aloft. “Where did these come from?”
“Those are from the Keepers’ own rations,” Keeper Fregman answered. “We will never again hoard any of our food away.”
Out of politeness and curiosity, Numa tasted each one of the unfamiliar foods and found that they were all delicious. Just as she was about to manifest drinks to wash them down, Molly came onto the dais carrying a large tray stacked with wooden cups and pitchers. She walked around the table, handing out the cups to each person. Then she set the pitchers in front of Numa.
“My dear, would you be so kind as to fill one of these with water and one with tea?” Molly asked, sounding very tired.
Numa nodded and the pitchers were full. She grabbed one in each hand and stood to serve them. It had been a few years since she’d been a server in the Eating House at Aerie, but she had always enjoyed it. She turned to Gemynd first. “Snapshoot tea or Iturtian water?” she asked.
“Water, please,” he said and she filled his cup with a smile.
Numa went around the table, filling everyone’s cups. They all wanted water, so she refilled the pitcher several times with fresh Iturtian water. When she finally reached Golath, having come all the way around the table, she said the phrase she’d said seven times before: “Snapshoot tea or Iturtian water?”
“Snapshoot tea,” Golath answered. “I have not had it in many years.”
As Numa leaned over and filled his cup, a twinkling caught her eye. She looked up and saw that it was coming from Gemynd’s belt. A strange beam of sunlight pierced through the sky and landed right on the hilt of Gemynd’s dagger, sending colorful patterns of light into Numa’s eyes. She had to squint to keep from spilling the tea.
“Numa?” Gemynd asked, lowering his eyebrows in concern.
“I am fine,” she answered. “Just some sunlight playing tricks with my eyes.”
Suddenly Golath jumped to his feet, a look of horror on his face as he peered inside his cup. “What is this?” he asked and poured out the tea, his gaze still locked on the inside of the cup.
“Snapshoot tea,” Numa answered, looking at the contents of the pitcher she held in her hand.
Golath dropped his cup then, his hands clutching at his throat. His eyes were unnaturally wide and his face had turned the color of mashed beets.
“Golath?” she asked and took a small step back, frightened by his sudden change in appearance.
Golath made a sucking sound at the back of his throat and gagged violently. Numa realized then that he was choking and she ran to him pressing her hands against his throat. “Let me heal you,” she said in a rushed whisper. “Just nod your consent.”
Golath nodded and Numa closed her eyes, willing him to be healed. But her powers had no effect on him and he dropped to his knees as blood began oozing from every pore in his body.
“Father!” Gemynd cried and caught Golath in his arms.
“Put him on the table,” Numa commanded. “I just need more time to heal him.”
In a single motion, Gemynd swept everything off of the table and laid his father down upon it. Numa leaned over the table, her elbow slipping in the blood that seeped from Golath’s body, and placed her hands at the crown of his head, the place where she could see his Lifeforce most clearly. Again, she closed her eyes and focused all her power there. Heal, heal, heal, she repeated in her mind.
Numa opened her eyes and smiled to see the blood droplets disappearing from Golath’s skin. The healing seemed to be working at last!
But then Golath shuddered and cried out, “So much pain!” And his body began shrinking and shriveling right before Numa’s eyes. His hands wrinkled up like dried fruit, his skin turned translucent. His face turned to leather then faded to the color of dried out bones, the scars upon it turning to craggy, grey lines. His black hair turned grey then white then fell from his head in soft wisps. Where only seconds before there had been a vibrant, strong man now laid a man of ancient age. His watery, clouded eyes looked at Numa and his hands found hers. He brought Numa’s fingers to his quivering lips and placed a kiss upon them. “Cease your healing, my daughter,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. “There is nothing more to be done.”
Numa shook her head and squeezed his hands, tears spilling from her eyes. “No, I won’t give up,” she said. “It was beginning to work, I’m certain of that.”
“Let it be,” he replied. “I treasure the moments I’ve had with you. It pleases me that you love my son as you do. I have truly come to love you as my own, my daughter.”
Numa had no chance to reply as Golath released her hands and his old eyes searched the area until they found Molly. “My love,” he said in a raspy breath, reaching out to her. “My heart will always be yours.”
Molly covered her mouth with both hands but did not move from where she stood.
Golath let his hand drop then looked up at Gemynd who stood like a stone next to Numa. “My son, come here,” he said in the same airy, raspy voice. Gemynd stepped into Numa’s place and leaned over, tears dropping on to Golath’s cheek. Numa pinched her eyes closed, unable to bear seeing her husband in so much pain.
Golath put his hand on the back of Gemynd’s neck, pulling him down until their foreheads touched. “Words are not adequate to express how much I love you. You are the one constant spot of Joy in this desolate land. My entire life has been for you.”
“Father, we have many years yet together,” Gemynd said, his voice constricted.
“Listen to me now,” Golath said. “In all of Todor, there is no greater power than your mind. Use it to find your freedom. Claim your destiny.”
Golath’s arm fell from the back of Gemynd’s neck and he exhaled one final time. Numa, at last, saw upon his face a look of per fect peace. He was finally at rest. Then Numa saw the most amazing thing
happen. Suddenly, where there had been no Lifeforce before, Golath’s entire body was filled with it as though it had merely been covered by a veil that was now removed. And as she watched, the Lifeforce began to grow and expand and it moved out of Golath’s body. It grew rapidly, and it grew and grew and grew until it filled the wallwalk, then the city square, then the entire valley and then all of Todor. It was everywhere and became part of the Lifeforce of everything. Numa marveled as she watched Golath’s Lifeforce enter her own body, mingling with her own, and she gasped when she heard his strong voice in her ears say the single word: “daughter.”
“Father!” Gemynd cried in anguish and jumped onto his father’s frail, lifeless body, pounding on his chest the way he had with Soman. “Do not leave me!”
Numa placed her hand on Gemynd’s back, wanting more than anything to take away his pain. She clung to his arms, even as he continued his beating, and tried to will his grief away.
Gemynd turned and looked at her, his face twisted with raw torment. “Heal him,” he said then grabbed her arm pulling her down onto Golath’s body. “Heal him!”
Numa shook her head, not trying to hide her sobs. “My love, I cannot,” she said. “If I could, I would. I would do anything to spare you this pain.”
“Heal him!” Gemynd shouted again, his lips trembling violently.
“He is gone,” Numa said and reached out, placing her palm over Gemynd’s heart. “Let me hold you, my love.”
Gemynd pushed her roughly away. “You poured the tea,” he growled and blinked fresh tears down his cheeks.
Numa felt her mouth fall open and she shook her head again. “Gemynd, you cannot mean that,” she said and felt a wave of grief grip her heart.
Gemynd looked around him as though he was searching for something. He looked like a young boy, lost and afraid.
“Gemynd,” Soman said and took a step towards him. “I will help you find who did this.”
Gemynd ignored Soman and once again returned his gaze to his father’s body. He reached out and tenderly touched Golath’s cheek. When he did, Golath’s body made a strange crackling sound and a spider-web pattern spread out from where Gemynd had touched him. It moved out slowly, eerily until it covered his entire body. For the space of a heartbeat Numa stared, horrified, at Golath’s shattered body. And then it fell into a pile of ash.
Disintegration: The Todor Trilogy, Book Two Page 26