He collapsed to the floor and was still.
Torrullin pulled from the square of hands and knelt beside the fallen man. Fingers found a pulse.
The black antechamber vanished.
A new vista opened.
They had successfully entered the realm of Time.
Time Realm
THE TUNNEL OF TIME was no tunnel, not even in the broadest sense.
It was, at this beginning of a journey, a plain of wildflowers. Overhead the sky was a mixture of mauve and pink. New sky. Dawn sky. The tunnel in the painting was thus a prompt, not a rendition of reality.
“Where are we?” Teroux asked.
“That has no bearing, for this is not a place. This is an increment in Time.” Sabian pointed up. “Dancing Suns.”
A meteor streaked across the pinkness, its trail bright and blazing.
“How do you know?” Teroux frowned. “It’s as if you go by instinct.”
Sabian shrugged. “I do. Knowledge helps too, of course.”
Caballa rummaged for fresh clothes. She smelled of vomit and cursed her weakness as she found something else to wear. Without modesty she pulled her tunic off and donned another.
Tristan did not notice, entranced as he was by the view.
Saska, meanwhile, knelt beside Torrullin.
He focused. “Get away from me.”
She pulled back and studied Elianas. “What is wrong with him?”
“You know what he is. He was not created at this point.”
“Gods, is he … dead?”
“No. Go away.”
She gazed at him, rose and left.
Sabian sauntered over. “I was not created at this point. Neither was Teighlar.”
“Fuck off, Sabian.”
“My, my.” Sabian wandered off.
Maple came to sit cross-legged beside Torrullin, crushing wildflowers as he did so. “You share a legendary sword, Elixir. Reach out to him with it.”
“It is not that. He is traumatised. He reached back to a time of personal vacuum, one in which he did not exist, but it will not kill him. I shall carry him until he wakes.”
“He did not expect to feel quite so much, I think,” Maple murmured. “I would gladly share this burden with you.”
“Thank you, but he is no burden.”
Maple leaned forward. “Perhaps you did not expect to feel quite so much?”
Torrullin sighed. “It is not the way you think, my friend.”
“I know, but emotions are emotions.”
A reluctant smile from Torrullin. “True.”
“Well, that was trying. I find I am exhausted. Shall I tell them we are resting here for a time?” Maple suggested.
“Thank you, yes.”
Maple nodded and left Torrullin alone.
When Torrullin looked down Elianas was gazing up at him. Relief flooded into bone and marrow. “Welcome back.”
Elianas’ eyes dropped to Torrullin’s mouth. “It will not happen again, I swear.”
“The connection was necessary.”
Elianas looked away. “It was not.”
One facet of what they were to each other was clear to Torrullin then. “I am the last person you should love.”
“And the first.” Elianas gave a laugh and sat up. “This I did not bargain for. Brothers, yes, since the beginning, a connection deeper than soul, heart and spirit combined. Finding form, however, brought other feelings back. I am ashamed before you.”
Teighlar approached …
Torrullin shouted, “Not now, damn it!”
Teighlar lifted his hands in surrender and backed off.
“You need not feel ashamed, brother.”
Elianas said, “That is like telling me not to breathe, or suggesting I ignore desire.”
“Then I am ashamed also.”
A searching gaze swept over Torrullin. “What are you saying?”
“I felt what you felt,” Torrullin admitted, although there was reluctance in his tone.
Elianas watched his eyes for a few moments, and shrugged. “Reflection, Torrullin. They were my feelings, not yours.”
“What do you want me to say to you?” Torrullin snapped out.
“You should tell me to back the hell away.”
“Then I would be bereft.”
Elianas sighed. “Clever, but I wonder if you know where this goes.”
“Give it up. I do not care how far you go, what you say, or what people think. Shame is a state of mind, not being.”
“And desire?”
Torrullin laughed. “You ask me? Gods, I cannot give myself an honest answer.”
Elianas grinned. “Now that is the truth.”
Torrullin waved absently at their surroundings, changing the subject. “We did well. We came out in the right place.”
Elianas looked up. Another meteor trail trawled across the sky. “Small sparks. I hope we do not encounter the big ones.” He looked down. “We did well, yes.”
“Then let us go forward.”
“Backward.”
“Semantics.” Torrullin stood and held his hand out, and Elianas accepted it to lever himself up.
“You two sorted yourselves out?” Sabian enquired from nearby. “That was some kiss.”
Elianas snarled, whirled and attacked.
Torrullin let him be. Sabian required a lesson and Elianas needed outlet. He required release as well, but he hauled the need inward before he hurt someone close to him.
Maple ambled over and stood beside Torrullin watching the escalating brawl. “He can swing well,” he remarked. “Sabian will have a bruised eye for some time.”
The three Valla cousins closed in.
“Gods, men,” Rose muttered. She watched a moment and then turned her back.
Sabian was laid out cold. Elianas stood over him and then theatrically wiped his hands. He bowed as a round of applause erupted.
He left the man there and rejoined Torrullin. “A man’s man?”
Torrullin grinned. “Absolutely.”
Elianas laughed. “I might have cracked his ribs some. He could need a small - emphasis on small - healing.”
THE PERIOD OF REST stretched into a longer period of discussion. Mauve sky paled and a bright sun shone. Wildflowers opened.
“There is no alteration on the horizon,” Tianoman pointed out. “Nothing here shows direction. Which way do we go?”
“West. Always west,” Torrullin replied.
“Why?” Tianoman said.
“Grinwallin is east; Akhavar is west. It may not look like a tunnel now, but it is. There are two ends, east and west.”
“As simple as that?” Dechend frowned.
“Things are not always complicated,” Torrullin murmured.
“But there’s nothing here,” Tianoman insisted.
Torrullin said, “Interlude. Look at it like this; a river trip from hell, a testing of resolve; crossing a divide, a testament to truth; a doorway, an antechamber, a testing of connection. Now, interlude. This is between. Enjoy it while it lasts. Soon enough something will prompt us.”
“The road is rough,” Sabian said through swollen lips. Torrullin saw to his cracked ribs - three of them - but not much else. Spreading redness around his left eye promised a real shiner.
“Is this an alternate realm?” Teroux asked.
“Here, yes,” Elianas said, touching his head. “It would be foolish and foolhardy to go back and change a parallel’s future, would it not?”
“Then this is senseless,” Rose said. “Are we not meant to do something real so that at least a parallel knows what happened?”
Teighlar was thoughtful as he said, “It makes perfect sense, for a realm of Time allows leeway. While I thought to fix our issues in a parallel, I acknowledge even that will change the future for all of us. Here we can recreate without causing harm elsewhere.”
“I am happy to hear you say that, my friend,” Torrullin murmured.
Teighlar winked. “I have some wisdo
m, you know.”
“But how does that help those who were wronged?” Rose insisted.
“Echoes,” Quilla murmured. “All we need are the echoes.” He glanced at Elianas. “That is what you employed to determine our timing, not so? You were listening to the echoes.”
Elianas nodded.
Rose threw her hands in the air.
There was general laughter.
“What is the first goal?” Caballa asked.
“Finding Nemisin before he ascends the Throne,” Torrullin replied. “We attempt to mute his hunger for power.”
Tristan whistled. “A tall order.”
“Do we stop the symbiosis with Neolone?” Tianoman asked.
“No,” Torrullin said.
“Will we stop the creation of darklings?” Teroux asked, glancing at Sabian. Earlier Torrullin spoke long to fill in the gaps where he could safely do so.
“All those issues have a place in the future. We are simply to prevent or alter an ancient crime.”
“What possible difference will it make?” Teroux asked.
Teighlar answered. “In the real universe many worlds stand on the brink of war. Why? Because the Valleur are seen as the aggressors they once were. You three head the list of necks to sever, the three softer targets that will curb Elixir - the Valla - and his Kaval. If we right this wrong, the Valleur lose most of a bad reputation, Elixir is benevolently regarded and war is avoided.”
Sabian wheezed laughter. “Who are you fooling, Emperor?”
Elianas smiled, noting Declan and Quilla glance at each other.
“Why is he here?” Teighlar snapped at Torrullin.
“Sabian is right, my friend.”
“Tell the truth,” Elianas murmured.
Teighlar glared at the two of them. “Fine. Truth. The Diluvans were slaughtered, among them dear ancestors. It is wrong; it changed Luvan future on a new world. We demand redress. Here is a place redress may safely be applied.”
Dechend groaned.
“Or?” Tristan prompted.
“Or I leave Grinwallin by another route and thus unleash her,” Teighlar said.
“Cutting your nose to spite your face,” Sabian laughed.
“Grinwallin unleashed will wreak havoc on Akhavar, Sanctuary and Valaris,” Torrullin said.
“Is he holding you ransom with this threat?” Teroux demanded.
“No, son.”
“Ancients feel the stirrings of time, Teroux.” Teighlar rubbed at his face. “We feel the undeniable need to change things. We seek those changes or we succumb to antiquity without a place that will hold us longer. I am not threatening Torrullin; I am stating the form my change will take. While I am able to remain aloof from the need to implement it, I am here, seeking a way around unleashing Grinwallin, which means redress. Here. Only echoes of redress, and yet it will be enough.”
“And you, Quilla?” Tianoman asked.
“I feel the pull of another universe, young man. I do not want to return, thus I seek to alter, if possible, the future as we know it. It might stem the siren song.”
Torrullin sighed. “You never told me that.”
The birdman shrugged. “I have now.”
“And you, Sabian?” Teroux asked.
“I felt the pull to become one person and I have achieved it. Now I feel the burden of mortality, and do not like it.”
“What of Ritual?” Teroux frowned.
Sabian shook his head and then winced at the pain. “That is beyond me. I was darak fallen and, thus, in receiving this new form, I also had to pay a price. I lost immortality. If, however, I aid in redressing a crime of universal nature, the gift of longevity will be returned. Give to get.”
“Selfish of you,” Rose said.
“Yes, but I shall give of every ounce of my strength and will. Is that not worthy of a gift?”
“Quilla doesn’t seek a gift,” Rose pointed out.
“Of course he does. His gift is the retaining of place. Mine is the retaining of years. Teighlar’s is the retaining of his fair city.” Sabian grinned as he added, “What Torrullin hopes for, you must ask of him.”
“All this retaining and yet you say you feel the pull to change,” Rose said.
“Sharp girl,” Teighlar smiled.
“A pull is not choice, my dear,” Quilla murmured. “And reversing a pull is, in fact, change. With Sabian’s ‘retaining’ comes new appreciation, new peace, a new drive and desire for the future. That, too, is change.”
“The only certainty is change,” Declan put in.
“Very philosophical of you, but what do you really achieve?” Rose insisted.
“Life,” Elianas said.
“Sanctuary is populated, Valaris more so, and Luvanor has most. Life. Grinwallin must not be unleashed,” Teighlar said.
“She has been our great conscience for aeons,” Torrullin murmured.
“How?” Rose asked.
“You saw the void,” Elianas said. “That is real and can swallow worlds.”
“Rose meant how is Grinwallin long the great conscience,” Tristan said.
Elianas shrugged. “She is old, and the void was there before her.”
“Grinwallin was built after the Diluvan massacre. How does she know?” Tristan said.
Torrullin said, “She was built in the imagination long before she was physically raised.”
Teighlar lifted brows at Torrullin.
“Fine, Emperor. I imagined her.”
“And deeper into the void we go,” Sabian said.
“Do you want another hiding?” Tristan snapped.
Dechend held an admonitory finger in the air. “Wait, wait, wait. You all talk as if you were there. Dancing Sun time.”
“I was,” Quilla said. “I had recently left my universe.”
“Sabian has been explained, but you two?” Dechend eyed Teighlar and Torrullin.
Teighlar sighed. “I am connected to the Dancing Suns by Nemisin’s foray into the future, but I was born an eon after the Suns.”
“My Lord?” Dechend gasped.
“High King of Orb, Dechend. Reincarnate as Luvan King, reinvented as Senlu Emperor.”
Dechend stared. “That changes everything!”
“Rose’s change on a silver platter,” Teighlar said. “Here there is no room for lying.”
Tristan leaned forward, gazing at Torrullin. “And you are the reincarnate of which historical figure?”
Elianas drew Tristan’s attention. “The recent seven times born reincarnate cycle your grandfather underwent was a means to attain true immortality. That was the only time he was reincarnated.”
Torrullin frowned at him. “You said I was reincarnate of another.”
“You wanted to hear it at the time. You are reincarnate only of yourself, and only seven births.”
“Why don’t I remember?”
“I remember for you. We made a deal. You forget, I remember; you keep form, I hide.”
Torrullin stared at him. “Gods. Tell me.”
“No. Telling does not make it real.”
“Why not?” Quilla snapped. “Torrullin knows he is of the Suns. Now he needs to know who he was.”
“Are you not listening?” Elianas snapped back. “He is himself. As you are.”
“Why does he not remember?” Quilla said.
“Because he can make and break worlds, and has. His sanity required a lengthy period of amnesia.” Utter silence. “I said too much,” Elianas murmured.
TORRULLIN STOOD, HAULED ELIANAS up and marched him away. He did not give a damn what the others thought about it. “This deal, the forgetting and remembering. It means you lived and were already aware before the Throne.”
“You already know I am not the sentience within that seat. If you imagine it, it is created, not so?” Elianas challenged.
“I did not imagine you.”
“You imagined your Throne; Nemisin simply cast it. We employed it as a vessel, but I am, as you said to Teighlar, self-conta
ined.”
“What a quicksand,” Torrullin moaned. “How long have we known each other?” He bent, hands on knees.
“Ask Lowen when we find her; she knows,” Elianas said. “She knows because she is a true immortal.”
Torrullin jerked upright.
“She came late to the fray, yet her timing was perfect. She unsettled you, she was part of the Becoming, as she is now part of remembering. She is also Nemesis, is she not? She is the other side. You need both of us to shield you. She brought you here and now I guide you. If she tells you, she may hasten your remembering. I dare not do so, for my reasons are selfish.”
Torrullin understood something else. “How is Nemesis a good thing?”
Elianas smiled into his eyes. “For you, how is it not?”
“Who am I, Elianas?”
“The Animated Spirit.”
Torrullin placed a warm hand at Elianas’ neck and leaned forward. “Who are you? Tell me why I am drawn to you. I am not speaking of brotherhood.”
Elianas flinched and moved away from that hand. “You will remember.”
“What of Saska? Where does she fit in between my two shields?”
Elianas’ eyes hooded and he refused to answer.
“And I flounder in the darkness filled with shades and shadows.” Torrullin watched him intently and crossed arms over his chest.
“You are not getting more,” Elianas murmured.
“Make and break worlds, you say?”
“An example? Akhavar. It did not become a waterless desert on its own.”
“Puny. Tell me this; were you with me in the beginning?”
Elianas looked away. “That would tell you everything.”
“Do I not need to know everything?”
“What are you really asking?” Elianas demanded.
“Why did I require a lengthy period of amnesia?”
“Ah, the crux of Elixir.”
Torrullin hissed through clenched teeth. “What did I do?”
Elianas did not respond.
“I could probably make you talk.”
“Probably. Would you go that far? And the consequences?”
Torrullin looked away. “Perhaps the time for that approaches.”
Elianas moved, striding back to the team. Over his shoulder he said, “You are not prepared for what you will find. Beware this game.”
Lore of Sanctum Omnibus Page 49