“What do you mean that I am yours?” Thad asked, his voice low yet still held a great deal of strength.
“That is a long story and I think all of it must be told if you wish to understand the truth of those words,” the scion said with a small smile on her ruby lips. “I remember the day you were born, I instilled in you then the spark that would make you the mage you are today. I watched as you grew and was angered at how you were treated. When you were sold, I led you to the books; the ones I had kept safe over the years until a child was born that was of use. I watched and guided you when I could and in the end you became everything I wished for, though many times I wished I could have protected you when you faced the wrath of others, but I was limited in what my powers could do in your world. In many ways you could say that I am your mother. I can see why you might resent me for what I have done in your life, but I needed something I could only find in your world.”
“And what is it you needed?” Thad asked his eyes looking coldly on the woman in front of him.
“Someone to fix the balance…I need a strong enchanter. I started with your grandfather, and worked on your family’s blood until you were born, but I might have done so too well,” her last words slipped out of her mouth as her eyes focused on his son. “If your blood had not been so well suited for magic, your son might have not had to go through so much pain. As it is, I fear what shall happen in the end.”
Thad didn’t feel like pressing the scion on what she meant about Bren. He knew that it had to do with his turning into a god, but in the end he knew that was not her fault; at least he hoped that it was not. In the end, Thad knew it mattered little; it was done and looking on the past did nothing for the future.
“Any other questions?” She asked and Thad could almost see a trace of fear on her face.
“No,” Thad said watching her closely. “I am satisfied for now.”
“Then I will begin,” the scion said then looked to the other three who stood behind Thad, her eyes falling on each one. “I think it will be best if you joined us. This will involve you too, though not in the same degree.”
“So nice of you to include us,” Belaroan said with a hint of ire in her voice.
“What I need and what you need are much the same thing,” the scion said, her voice slipping into a colder tone. “I am the voice of the ether, or a being made of it to solve a problem that has plagued it. Long ago, the veil between this world and the center of the ether was opened, but it was quickly closed. We knew that it could never be completely repaired, but we were happy to know that it had been closed. Then it was reopened.”
“When did this happen?” Belaroan asked, but before she could continue her voice was silenced like her brother’s.
“I do not have the same grasp of time as you do, so I cannot answer that question other than to say that it happen before Thad grandfather was born. The ether spread through the tear and enveloped this world and its people. The scions, with no way to close the tear, moved to make sure that it could not be harmed, but those on this side had learned to use the power of the ether and fought back and beat back the forces sent against them. Over time the world became a home of the ether and those that were fit became scions, though not ones that were meant to be. Those of strong power kept who they were and moved to take control of the ether and its power. They used its power and knowledge to open more tears in the veil between worlds and conquered them. This was when the ether created me, but I if I move to close the veil, they will take control of my form and my purpose is lost; that is why we needed you. We will show you how to close the veil and restore the balance, but there will be sacrifices. Only Thad will be allowed to go back to his own world.”
“Why?” Thad asked, his voice nearly a shout as the shock of the statement ran though him. He cared little for the two gods, but he had promised his wife that he would bring his son home.
“Because he is no longer human and the veil can never truly be closed while he is on the other side. He must return with me to the ether and protect it as the scions who came before him did. That is the will of the ether. If you refuse, then I must do all in my power to see that he never leaves this land. He knows the truth of my words.”
“She is right father,” Bren said, his voice edged in sadness. “I cannot go back home. I knew it from the moment I stepped through the doorway. The others know it as well, though they fight against that truth.”
Thad looked to Humanius and Belaroan and the looks on their silent faces told him the truth. “My wife will kill me for this,” Thad said with a groan.
“She will be mad, but she will forgive you over time,” the scion said. “This is my fear. Your son was never meant to be what he is. I feared that should you learn the truth then you would refuse my offer.”
“How many veils are torn?” Thad asked, trying to work through everything in his mind.
“Five, and each one is guarded by a usurper. They must each be closed before the veil to the ether is closed, otherwise it will tear back open. The doorway to your own world is still weak, so it can wait until you have finished, but you must return to it on your own Thaddeus.”
“So we must fight five scion mages and close these gateways,” Thad said more than asked. “How are we supposed to close the veils?”
“Blocks of glass must be made with crystal inside absorbing the energy that slips past and pushing back the rest,” she replied. “There is a place full of glass and my children will gather it for you, but Thad is the only one who can enchant them. That was the reason he was born.”
“There are plenty of enchanters back home, any of those could have done this,” Thad said, anger touching his voice.
“That is not true,” the scion said, reaching her hand out and touching his cheek lovingly. “Only those with a strong affinity for energy can do this and that is rare among any of your people. For a time, I thought that one of Belaroan’s energy children could do the task, but none of them had the mind for enchanting.”
“Just why is enchanting so rare?” Bren asked. “Even now, less than a few dozen have been found.”
“To be a true enchanter, one must be able to commune with the ether. They must form it and shape it. It is a trait that is decided upon birth and even with the power granted to me by the ether, it took me a long time before I was able to make one that served my purpose.”
“I still don’t see how we are going to fight five scion mages and reach the veils when you are powerless against them,” Thad said skeptically.
“There are ways to fight them that I know, but I will only tell you when you and the others have agreed to my conditions. They must agree to stay with me and return to the ether when it is time,” the scion said, her face taking on a stern feature and Thad nearly laughed when he thought that it looked as if her face had been carved out of stone, because in many ways, it had been.
“I agree,” Bren said without hesitation.
Belaroan looked to her brother and nodded her head reluctantly and surprising Thad. Humanius was the last to nod his approval.
“Then after all of you rest, I shall revel everything that I know that could be of use. ‘Levinia please show them to a place that they can rest,’” the scion said.
A female scion stepped forward and bowed to the other scion. “It would be my pleasure mother,” Levinia said, as she started walking down one of the side tunnels.
“Not you Thaddeus,” the scion said, as she gestured for Thad to stay seated.
Thad noticed that Bren was looking at him, but he signaled for him to follow the other scion. “Do you need something?” Thad asked, turning his attention back to the scion in front of him.
“Yes,” she said, giving him a warm look. “First, I wish you would think of me as mother, or if that doesn’t suit you, another name of your choosing, but not just scion. It feels odd to me, but I have watched you your whole life and I wish you to think well of me.”
Thad looked at the scion and frowned. He had a mother,
or a woman who had given him life, though she had never lived up to the name as far as he was concerned. In the broad sense of the term, the scion was a mother to him. “Mother will work, though I must admit, that name holds little meaning for me.”
“I know,” she said with an apologetic smile. “I wished to hurt her when she sent you away, but there was little I could do about your fate. I had to work with subtly so that the usurpers wouldn’t notice my actions.”
“Was that all you wanted mother?” Thad asked, now slightly confused.
“I just wished to spend a few moments with you alone,” she said, smiling again. “The ether gave me what it thought I needed to accomplish its tasks, but at the same time I was left…open. I have memories of being a mother in my past life though I cannot tell what memories are mine and what the ether had sought to give to me. I look at you now and I wish to hold you, but at the same time I do not know what to think of such things.”
Thad laughed. “I think I can understand you mother. I watched my son grow without every touching him, then once I was brought back to his side I was lost at what I should do.”
“I watched you,” mother replied. “It was hard to see you in such pain, but it was necessary to bring you to me though I wish it had not been your son that had to be the catalyst.”
“I am sure that we will have plenty of time to talk over the next few days,” Thad said stifling a yawn.
“That is true,” mother said with what Thad thought to be a touch of sadness in her voice. “Heratio will show you to your quarters.”
“Please to meet you Thaddeus,” the scion said with a slight bow. “Mother has told us much about you and I am pleased to finally get to meet you.”
Heratio showed Thad to a small section of the tunnel that had been converted into rooms like one would find at an inn. Thad was surprised to find that some of the scions had rooms as well. Shortly after entering the room, Thad found the bed and was happy to find that it was not made of hard crystal, but was made of some soft material that he didn’t recognize. Within moments of his head resting on the soft pillow, Thad was fast asleep.
CHAPTER XIV
Thad was woken early the next morning by Heratio. The scion knocked lightly on the door and Thad was more than a little surprised to find the scion smiling as he opened the door to let the scion in.
“Heratio, I didn’t expect you,” Thad said stuttering as he pulled on his gloves.
“Master Thaddeus, I can see that you are changing,” the scion said as Thad quickly pulled on his gloves. “I remember my change, it was not pleasant though it was very slow.”
Thad looked at the scion and looked at him again. While he could see no outward difference with the other scions, he had seen the way he moved and talked seemed more human. “You remember the change?” Thad asked, hoping to learn a bit more.
“Yes, though it happened more years ago than I can count. I was once one of the leaders of this land. Like the ones you travel with, though I didn’t agree with Costigain. That is the reason I am here now fighting for balance with mother.”
“Then you can use magic still?” Thad asked.
“Yes, I and the others will be going with you, though we don’t have the same level of power as the others guarding the veils, we can help in many ways.”
“Why are you not as strong?” Thad asked, still more than a little confused.
“That is hard to answer but I will try,” Heratio replied. “Costigain and the others tap into the very ether and force it to their will. They corrupt the ether with their touch, but gain power from it. I and the others refuse to use the ether. Even though our motives would be pure, our touch would still corrupt it.”
Thad reached in his robe and clutched the ring that was linked to the mass of crystal that the world had become and after a few moments of thought brought it out. “I am afraid to use this, but it might be useful to you,” Thad said holding out the ring.
“This is,” the scion said haltingly, as he looked down on the ring with awe. “Powerful. Where did you get such a thing?”
“I created it,” Thad said, as he held the ring out to Heratio again. It holds so much power I am afraid it would speed up my…Crystallization.”
“I think it would do that indeed,” Heratio agreed. “That is, if it didn’t kill you. Do you think you could make more?”
“No,” Thad said. “I thought about it, but this ring is connected to the world itself that; is why it has so much power. I can’t link two rings to the same source of power…There would be feedback and they might explode, or the gem powering them could, and that would be tragic.”
Heratio looked at the ring and Thad could have sworn that fear passed across his face. “That is disconcerting. We only had a few enchanters surface in our world and most of those were looked down upon because they could never obtain our level of power. We never knew that it could be used for such means.”
“If there were few enchanters then how did they close the first rip in the veil?” Thad asked, his curiosity piqued.
“I do not know the answer to that question,” Heratio said with a shrug of his crystal shoulders. “It happened long before I was born and in a time of science. I do know that science and the ether did not mix. The more magic that entered our world the more science failed us. I do not know the reason for such a failure or the marvels that the world once held, but only know what has been passed down through the ages, but the doorway between the worlds was not a story I know.”
Thad let out a heavy sigh. It didn’t look as if the information would just fall in his lap. He knew of how to close them, but there had to be more than one way and Thad always like to have options. “Shall we go meet the others,” Thad said, moving toward the door. “I am sure they are waiting for us.”
“Yes you are right, but what of the ring?” Heratio asked as he moved to let Thad pass.
“Keep it,” Thad said as he moved to the hall. “As you said, I can’t use it and it would be a waste to just let it gather dust.”
“As you wish, master Thaddeus,” Heratio said as they headed toward the main hall of the cave.
Within the main hall, Thad found the other members of his group; each one of them had been paired with one of the scions that had been gathered around the mother the night before, leaving only one scion standing alone.
“I hope that you each had a good night’s rest,” the mother said once Thad had entered the room and took his place among the others.
“That we did,” Humanius said with a bow to the mother. “I am surprised to find a place the crystal had not touched and I must admit I found it more relaxing than I could have imagined.”
“Yes, many of my children feel the same way. It is part of their lingering affection for their past life,” the mother said with a warm smile. “Now that everyone is here, I think it would be best that we plan for what comes next.”
“Yes…We heard a little of what you meant for Thad and the rest of us to do, but there was little substance in what you said,” Humanius said.
The mother never looked at Humanius or the others, her eyes remained fixed on Thad. “As I told you there are five gateways that must be closed before you attempt to close the one to the center. The closest of these gateways in located near the city to the north that used to sit on the water.”
“Before we decide on a path do you mind if I ask how you were able to find us?” Thad asked the question having lingered in the back of his mind most of the night. “It wouldn’t do for the usurpers, as you call them, to know of our coming.”
“I didn’t know the locations of the others, but I followed you,” she said looking at Thad. “I told you that you were mine and no matter how you tried to hide yourself I would find you. You can sit your worries aside, the usurpers are now blind to your movements.”
“What do you know of the leader in Coren?” Humanius asked.
“I know little of him other than that he holds open the hole in the veil. My children know more and I
believe they will be of great help to you in completing your task.”
“Yes I am sure they will be,” Humanius said dismissively. “But what if they are discovered and taken control of. Is that not why you have not tried to do so yourself.”
“Their mind cannot be taken as mine can be,” the mother said with what Thad could have sword was annoyance in her voice. “They are not of the ether as many of my other children are and the usurpers can make no claim on them. Humanius, I know you have many questions. I can see them burning in your eyes, but they hold little sway over the future and, unless time permits, should be held in silence. Each day that passes, the more is lost and the harder your task will become. I will keep Prudence with me so that she can talk with the ones that travel with you and we may talk when you have time. But I would suggest that you make due haste and close the first of the doorways before the king of the usurpers understand why you are here.”
“King…What King?” Thad asked, not having heard they followed a unified ruler.
“Costigain,” Humanius and Belaroan said almost in harmony. “We can talk about that another time. One thing that is the truth is that we better get on the road as soon as possible.”
“I am surprised that your sister hasn’t complained about any of this yet,” Thad said, watching Belaroan closely. He don’t know why he had brought it up, but he had expected someone to complain about their decided course and she seemed the most obvious.
“She was livid about it at first until she heard the name of Costigain,” Humanius explained. “Having been the one who betrayed our father and caused his death, she is for anything that would cause that man…Or scion, as it is, pain.”
I still think you are all fools if that makes you feel better. It would be best if you left this all behind. I told you women were nothing but trouble. This mother of yours has been the one controlling you since before your birth.
“I see Thuraman does not approve of me,” mother said, looking at the staff in Thad’s hand.
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