The closer they came, the more the shaped presence pushed upon him.
I will not be able to pass, Maelen.
You can’t pass? As he asked, he understood the reason that the shaping was familiar. He had sensed something similar for years along the border between Incendin and the kingdoms. This was a barrier.
What is this place? Tan asked.
I do not know. There is nothing beyond here for me.
Tan reached for a connection to earth and spirit and probed at the barrier, but detected nothing. He couldn’t be certain that his probing even managed to push past the barrier. Whoever had shaped it had made it stouter than even what the kingdoms had managed.
Asgar followed the edge. The shaping was enormous, and the land contained within was equally enormous. From the shoreline that they followed, it was easily the size of his home continent, and possibly larger.
Do you see an end?
Asgar continued flying along the edge of the land until it began to make its way north. Beneath him, the sea had turned to ice, but the barrier ignored the ice. Asgar banked and started south again, shaking off ice that started forming on his wings, and shot a streamer of flames from his mouth.
Tan turned so that he could watch the land behind him fade into the distance. What was this place? And why would they have isolated themselves?
More questions that had no answer.
He could return to the archives in the kingdoms, but doing that meant that he would share space with the archivists now. When it had only been him, he had enjoyed the privacy of the archives, and would often go there simply to have a place to think. Now that was gone.
And he didn’t know if answers would be found within the archives anyway. The books and journals within the archive were old, some nearly a thousand years old, but the Records of Par were much older than even that. If he wanted to find answers, shouldn’t he go where he would be more likely to find an answer?
They continued south. More land popped above the ocean before disappearing. He thought he recognized the Xsa Isles, though had never visited. Xsa was comprised of a series of a dozen islands, all forming something of a ring. A few other isolated islands appeared, but then they, too, faded into nothing. Farther to the south would be Par, larger than he once had known.
How many lands are there, do you think? Tan asked.
I do not know how many places the Mother created.
The Mother might have created the land and set the people within, but then the shapers had changed what she had made. And he still didn’t know why. What reason would there be to pull Vathansa from the water and to shift the place of convergence? What reason would there be to have the arrogance that man could do more than the Great Mother? For some reason, that bothered him in the same way that he had been upset when learning of the ways the ancients had used the elementals. How much of what the Great Mother intended had been modified by those ancient shapers and turned into something less than what it should have been?
He tried to focus on the journey, and enjoying the flight back to Ethea with Asgar, but his mind kept going back to the troubled thoughts.
7
FINDING A STUDENT
Shadows loomed over the tower in Par. Tan returned with the draasin hatchling on a bolt of lightning, traveling by his shaping and leaving Amia in Ethea with a promise to return for her. Now that he ruled in Par, he didn’t feel comfortable leaving the city for extended periods of time.
When he returned this time, he felt the emptiness left by her absence. Normally, he would be able to use the connection between them, and through that, he would know everything that she felt, sharing a connection that others without a bond would not understand. But that connection was faded. He sensed her there, but she was distant, much like his connection to Honl was distant. Even the connection to Kota had shifted, though now that he was back in Par, he could feel her once again, a bright awareness in his mind.
Asgar remained behind in Ethea as well. Maybe that was another reason that he felt the strange hollow emptiness that he did. Since coming to Par and choosing to accept the title of Utu Tonah, he had always had the sense of the draasin nearby, a protective sort of presence, even if Asgar would never really do much other than observe. Tan had used Asgar as an example and had drawn on his connection to the fire bond, and through that to Asgar, to encourage the young shapers of Par as he taught them.
With a sigh, he strode into the tower and was met almost immediately by Tolman. Tan kept the draasin hatchling beneath his cloak, and for once she remained quiet, seemingly asleep. The older man—an earth shaper who had retained his ability since losing his bond—looked particularly upset today.
“What is it, Tolman?”
“You have been gone for too long, Utu Tonah.”
Tan shot him a look and he flushed.
“Yes, I’m sorry. You prefer a different title.”
Tan glanced down the hall and saw a pair of students chasing each other. One of them worked with a shaping—likely wind, from the gust billowing through here. Tan struggled to reach the wind elemental of Par, though wyln had recently been more accommodating to him.
“I would prefer a different sort of rule than what preceded me,” Tan answered.
Tolman bobbed his head in a quick bow. “Of course. You would be the Maelen.”
Tan smiled. Hearing others say it always brought a smile to his face. Mostly because Asboel had given him the name as something as a slight, but Tan had embraced it. The alternative had been letting Asboel continue calling him Little Warrior. In some ways, that was worse.
“Why have I been gone too long, Tolman?”
“Several reasons, Maelen. First, the students require your attention. There are several making progress, but only a few shapers remain in Par-shon.”
“Par,” Tan corrected.
Tolman frowned.
Tan nodded. “I will not continue to refer to this land as Par-shon. That name belonged to the Utu Tonah. I would have Par-shon die with him, and Par be reborn.”
A troubled expression flickered across Tolman’s face, but he said nothing.
“Out with it, Tolman. I see that something bothers you.”
Tolman inhaled deeply. “Only that… only that Par was ruled by a council.” He flushed and looked up at Tan with wide eyes. “I do not mean to imply that you have no right to rule, Maelen, but if you speak of your intention to have Par reborn. If that’s the case, you should know that others will remember how Par was ruled, as well.”
Tan nodded. “You have given me something to consider.”
Tolman blinked. “You would consider returning the rule to the council?”
Tan shrugged, adjusting the position of the hatchling beneath his cloak. Did Tolman realize that he carried one with him? “I never wanted to rule in Par-shon… or in Par. It was thrust upon me and I took it out of necessity when I thought all the people of these lands thought as the Utu Tonah did. Learning about Par, and learning of those beliefs, that there are others who would not have tormented the elementals as the Utu Tonah did, and who would not have forced the bonds as the Utu Tonah did, I wonder if perhaps Par shouldn’t rule itself.”
Not to mention that Tan had no interest in ruling. That was for men like Roine, not him. He was a warrior and gifted with abilities by the Great Mother so that he could reach the elementals and use that connection to serve them.
“You… you are an interesting man, Maelen.”
Tan smiled. “Should I take that as a compliment?”
A slow grin spread across Tolman’s face. “I think that you should.”
Tan looked down the hall and back to the students, and the reason that Tolman wanted him to return. “You mentioned the students as one reason. We have earth and water shapers in Par, correct?”
Tolman nodded. “That is what we have so far. None of fire, and none of wind. We had shapers, but…”
He didn’t need to explain. They were lost during the attack on the kingdoms.
“I will work with them,” he said. Only, he couldn’t be with the students constantly, and to learn, they needed instructors who would be able to continue their education and to guide them in the knowledge of the element. More than that, Tan might not even be the best equipped to instruct. Were it not for his connection to the elementals, he might not have learned how to shape the other elements. Earth had eluded him for a long time, only coming to him after working with Ferran, but he was a kingdoms’ shaper. Tan didn’t want to send Par’s best shapers away. Doing so felt like forcing something on them, the same as what the Utu Tonah had done. But he still wanted them to have an understanding and appreciation for the elementals.
The thought gave him an idea. It was one he would need to work through in detail later, after he had more time to consider how it would work.
“Good, Maelen. They always appreciate the time that you give them. Any time, really.”
“You mentioned the students, and then other reasons as well. What else?”
Tolman shifted his feet. “It is the council,” he finally managed to say. “I hesitate to say anything, especially after my previous comments, but after losing the Mistress of Souls, there are some who feel the council is underrepresented.”
“They do understand that she essentially attacked Par, right?” Tan asked.
Tolman flushed again. “They understand that is the way that you saw it—”
“And Elanne. The Mistress of Bonds saw it as well.”
Tolman nodded quickly. “Yes. That is what you both say.”
Tan fought against the urge to laugh. Doing so would only upset Tolman, but he couldn’t believe that he would have to convince the others about what had happened with Marin. She and her followers had nearly destroyed much of the Records. Wouldn’t the council want to know?
“Then I will meet with the council. They deserve a formal explanation.”
Relief washed across his face. “That would be wise, Maelen.”
“And what else?” Tan asked.
Tolman looked at him askance. “Maelen?”
“You said there were several things you needed to see me about. You mentioned the students, and now the council.” Tan raised two fingers, thinking that trying to squeeze time for both would be challenging, and wondered if he even wanted to bother with it, but he was now Maelen and he owed it to Par to rule as best he could until he either passed the rule back to the council or gave it up to someone else. “Had there only been two, I think you would have said that.”
“Well, that is true. It’s a minor thing, but probably important to you. One of our local merchants, a butcher by the name of Balsun—”
At the mention of the butcher, the hatchling began to move, wriggling around his waist, wrapping her tail tightly around him, as if intending to constrict. Tan pushed back with a combination of earth and fire, preventing her from moving too much. Had she actually recognized Balsun by name?
“I know Balsun,” Tan said.
Tolman nodded. “That is good, because he has been coming to the tower and asking about the Utu Tonah. Some thought that his mind had gone. Enough have that problem in Par, and it’s something that even water shaping doesn’t heal. But he seemed quite lucid the last time that I spoke with him.”
“What did he want?”
“He spoke of a delivery, and his supplies. It was all very strange, Maelen.”
Tan made a vow to himself that he would go to Balsun and find out what the man needed. Having a butcher like him who could help with the draasin had been valuable. He didn’t want to lose that access.
But something else about what Tolman mentioned troubled him. “What problem do you have in Par?”
“Ahh, that is nothing you will need to fear, Maelen. It is something that afflicts only those born to Par, never outsiders.”
“What is it?”
Tolman shrugged. “Few understand it. Men and women will be perfectly well one day, and then the next, they are unable to speak clearly, or wander aimlessly, sometimes to the point of wandering from town. Most think their mind has strayed, but none of our healers have found a way to cure it.”
That was another thing he would have to look into. As a water shaper, Garza would know about such things, but that involved Tan finding the time to reach her.
“I did not mention it to upset you, Maelen,” Tolman said.
“You didn’t upset me. It’s that I realize how little I know about Par. If I am to remain here, I should learn as much as I can. If we can find time, would you share with me what you can of your history?”
“I… I would like that, Maelen.”
Tan nodded and pushed on the draasin to keep her from wriggling too much. “Now. I need to find Molly.”
“Molly? Why is that?”
“There is something that she’s been helping me with.”
“Ahh, that explains much.”
“Explains?”
Tolman nodded down the hall and waited for Tan to go with him. “She has been very preoccupied, but I haven’t been able to get anything out of her. Neither have any of the other students. Some feared…”
“What did they fear?”
“They feared that she had attempted to bind fire. She would not have been the first since you defeated the Utu Tonah, but with the Mistress of Bonds now tasked with preventing such attempts, we have stopped most.”
Tan found that interesting. And surprising. He hadn’t realized that Elanne had stopped bonds to the elementals, but was pleased to hear it. Tan had thought her a potential adversary in Par-shon, but she had proven to be his staunchest ally, even if it had taken time for that to develop.
“I doubt that she would have forced a bond without me knowing,” Tan said, but maybe that wasn’t true. Would he know if any of the elementals were forced into a bond, or would the bond prevent him from discovering?
Tolman took the stairs carefully, guiding them up a level. “That is good to know, Maelen.” Surprisingly, his voice didn’t sound as if it fit what he said. “Especially with Molly. She can be precocious, and when rumors started to spread…”
“What did you do, Tolman?”
“I had to know whether they were true, Maelen. You have made your feeling on harnessing elementals quite well known. I would not have her endanger herself unnecessarily.”
They stopped at a narrow door. A wide bar of metal blocked it closed. The edges of the door were singed, as if the person inside had attempted to burn their way out—or shape. Which, if it were Molly, she very well could have.
“You locked her in here?” Tan asked.
Tolman paled before straightening his spine. “I would not have Molly harm herself.”
Tan suppressed a groan. Here he had thought that by asking her to help him with the draasin, he had been giving her a position where she could learn more about fire, but maybe he’d only caused her more trouble. Saa viewed her as having potential with fire, and coming from saa, especially in these lands, that was high praise. That had been the reason that Tan had thought he could ask her to help with the draasin.
“Neither would I,” Tan said. With a shaping of earth and wind, he tore the bar from the wall and pulled the door open.
Inside the room, Molly sat curled against the corner of the wall, a frightened expression on her face, much like it had been when he first met her. At least then, she hadn’t known what happened to her and didn’t know what it meant that she could call to saa. Since that time, and since Tan had taken a special interest, she knew fire better than anyone else in Par other than himself.
“Maelen,” she whispered, starting to stand, but then seeing Tolman, she cowered back against the wall. The corners of Tolman’s eyes sagged in a distraught expression.
“It’s okay, Molly,” Tan said.
“He… they think that I’m hurting them, Maelen.”
“I know. And I’ll fix this.”
She shook her head and tried to crawl even farther against the wall.
This was Tan’
s fault. He had left her here, in the tower, but had assigned her a task that would draw attention. He had to make it right, even if it meant revealing to Tolman more than he intended.
“Molly,” Tan said, settling to the ground across from her. “I still need your help. Fire still needs your help.”
“They won’t let me, Maelen.”
“I’ll fix that too,” Tan said. “But look.” He pulled open his cloak and the hatchling uncurled herself from him and stretched. Behind him, Tolman gasped softly. Tan ignored him, keeping his attention on Molly. Will you help me with her? he asked the draasin.
She seeks fire?
Seeks, but has not bonded. Saa sees much potential in her.
The draasin crawled forward a few steps and then sniffed. The spikes on her neck appeared to flex, something Tan had never seen one of the draasin do before. Something like a shaping built, and then faded. Tan realized that it wasn’t a shaping—not really—but instead came from the draasin’s connection to fire. And maybe spirit.
She reaches fire now.
Tan frowned. Was Molly shaping, and he didn’t know? She speaks to the elementals?
Not elementals. She uses fire. Shapes. Like you, but different.
Tan scooted forward, more interested. How would Molly be shaping but he didn’t know? With shaping, there was a sense from the shaper, a recognizable pressure that he felt within his head, when someone shaped near him. He sensed none of that with her.
“Do you see her?” he asked Molly.
She hadn’t taken her eyes off the draasin from the moment the hatchling crawled out from beneath Tan’s cloak. She reached a hand out. The draasin sniffed at it and then lunged forward as if to bite. When Molly didn’t draw her hand away, the hatchling twisted her long neck and glanced back at him, amusement glittering in her golden eyes.
“She’s beautiful,” Molly said, “but she’s different than the others.”
“Others?” Tolman asked.
Tan ignored him. “She’s different. I’m not sure how, just yet, but you’re right. When she hatched, she was sick. I had to heal her to allow her to survive.”
Broken of Fire (The Cloud Warrior Saga Book 9) Page 6