Lore of Sanctum Omnibus

by Elaina J Davidson

  Teroux would never be comfortable with Elianas. She had tried to explain to him, not only that he misread their relationship, but also that Elianas healed Torrullin in the least stressful manner possible, but Teroux was stubborn about the dark man.

  He thumped the counter top. “Who does he think he is? He is killing what was a great man!”

  She knew from experience that to answer was to fuel those fires. In silence she went about preparing tea, a soothing herbal blend.

  “Quilla must go in!”

  Rose closed her eyes.

  She was a farspeaker and could communicate across distances, as could her husband, but he was more than that. He was a Valla and, if he reasoned as a Valla now, it meant he saw something in those vacant eyes to frighten him.

  A vision of sorts, and it would bother him until he acted to release its hold; Teroux was not generally given to visions.

  “Quilla refuses to interfere,” she murmured.

  His fists thumped down again. “Someone must interfere.”

  “Speak to Tristan, then.”

  “No,” he said immediately.

  The rift went deeper than merely his grandfather; it extended to his cousins also. She would certainly not propose Tianoman if he refused outright to speak with Tristan.

  “What do you suggest?” she prompted.

  “Belun or … yes, by god, Teighlar!” Teroux rose and started to pace. “The Emperor has always had Torrullin’s ear.”

  “Elianas will particularly balk at Teighlar.”

  “Perfect! They will be at loggerheads immediately and Teighlar will not give up. Teighlar will get through.”

  She poured the tea and called him closer. “Teighlar will need a very good reason.”

  He cupped his hands around the mug and sat again. He muttered to himself and drank slowly, giving the matter further thought. Rose did not interrupt his silence.

  “I will speak to Quilla and convince him, and Quilla can go to Luvanor to speak to Teighlar.”

  Rose nodded. It made sense, in fact, and doing something would calm Teroux. Perhaps Quilla would restore his peace of mind better than she was able to. “A good strategy.”

  Teroux smiled. “I know what is going on in your head.”

  She returned the smile. “Then you must know how much I love you.”

  He reached out and brought her face closer. “And you must know that I love you too.” He kissed her and let go.

  She blew him a kiss as he wandered off with his tea, and leaned against the counter. She was not an empath, but even she understood something was off-kilter, and Elianas and his prisoner were part of it.

  Quilla would bring reason to the table, but she hoped Teroux decided to stay out of it, Valla or not.

  Let others deal with that volatile situation.

  Chapter 3

  “When a pigeon flies into smoke, there is sorcery in the woods this day …”

  ~ Unknown ~

  Valaris

  Month of Festwun (Spring)

  Lifesource Temple

  THERE HAD BEEN A recent upsurge in visitors to the Lifesource Temple.

  Situated between two mighty mountain ranges, the Arrows and Assents, it was inspiring and spectacular, but the natural surroundings was not the reason folk visited. The temple suspended over a void in which the Eastern Ocean swirled a far way down, but it was not the sense of danger that brought people to the lightbridge spanning it.

  The Lifesource was renowned throughout the universe for two factors, both dramatic in what they offered, and it brought two varied schools to the lightbridge. The most famous value offered by the Temple lay in its ability to confer mortality upon immortals, to restore the choice of death to those weary of longevity. Mortals did not easily grasp this - who wanted to die, after all - and to the majority of immortals the option of death was abhorrent, and yet there were those who came to have longevity reversed.

  They sometimes came in groups, as the Sagorin once did, and they came as individuals, the latter more frequent. Of course, that brought gawkers.

  The second factor, however, had instigated an upsurge in visitors. The Lifesource Temple was a place of healing. Of the soul, the spirit, the mind.

  Within its ethereal chambers lay the journeys of enlightenment, peace, acceptance, understanding of self and the means to a soul’s freedom. Not death; life. Thus they came and they came daily. There were no guides, for guides were not required. Every step inside the Temple had purpose, even aimless wandering.

  The visitor simply needed to amble, shuffle or walk in a manner he or she felt comfortable with, and his or her soul would follow an inner prompt; everyone who came left altered.

  Healed.

  TIANOMAN, VALLORIN of the Valleur, cousin to Tristan and Teroux, grandson of Torrullin, husband to Aislinn and father of Lunik, stood alone at the edge of the landbridge joining two ranges, and watched the line of visitors as it wandered over the lightbridge joining Temple to land.

  There was a pass through the Assents, recently upgraded, for the purpose of bringing pilgrims to this point, and it was not dangerous except in winter, but it was arduous and long, and yet they came as if driven.

  He was in awe of their resolve, but also concerned so many required this type of healing. It did not say much for the state of souls out in the great yonder.

  Tianoman was concerned the Temple would lose something intrinsic in this influx. He wondered if the multitudes would negate the magic.

  Quilla knew the answer. He had asked that the Q’lin’la meet with him to discuss the issue. Although the Lifesource was infused with Q’lin’la magic, it remained a sacred Valleur site. As Vallorin it was his duty to determine cause and effect.

  “Deep in thought, Lord Vallorin?”

  Tianoman lowered his gaze to meet the birdman’s. Quilla was a tiny feathered being - wise, but tiny. “Quilla, we have missed you recently.”

  Quilla bobbed his head and shifted to view the line of pilgrims. He studied the phenomenon for a time in silence. “When did this begin?”

  Tianoman pulled a face. “Around the time Elianas interfered.”

  “Ah. Did Elianas interfere? Never mind.” Quilla swung back. “You are concerned what this will do to the Lifesource.”

  “I am. This is unusual.”

  “Chambers within chambers, my young friend. She will cope into eternity.”

  Tianoman’s shoulders lifted and lowered in a sigh. “I am glad to hear it.”

  “On the other hand, we should be concerned so many folk need healing,” Quilla muttered, watching the pilgrims with a frown etched into his brow.

  “Agreed.”

  “It is time we do something. Elianas must be made to see the error of his ways. What started out with every good intention is now untenable,” Quilla murmured.

  “You are saying Elianas has something to do with this influx before us.”

  “I am saying Torrullin’s lack of memory is doing this.”

  “Ah. Maybe.” Tianoman drew a breath and then released it. “I am loath to do anything there, Quilla.”

  “Why is that, young man?”

  “Noble purpose, Quilla. Remember? Elianas and Torrullin have a destiny we can only guess at and if we interfere we may hinder that.”

  “Thus you are suggesting Elianas may in fact be correct in his choices.”

  “I am suggesting only one person knows the real Torrullin and therefore Elianas does exactly what destiny requires of him.”

  Quilla closed his eyes. “Unfortunately I think I agree with you. You are wise, Tianoman of the Valleur.”

  A short laugh. “I am not!”

  “Young years do not mean you have no wisdom, Tian.”

  “Ha, well my wife would argue that point.”

  Quilla smiled, knowing how much this young man loved Aislinn. “It is a wife’s duty to keep a husband in line.”

  “Ha!”

  Quilla’s smile widened into a grin, and then it was gone.

  Tian
oman’s eyes narrowed. “Quilla?”

  “Teroux calls to me from Sanctuary,” the birdman murmured.

  Tianoman made a frustrated sound in his throat. “What has bitten his arse now? That cousin tries my patience.”

  “Teroux knows we all feel somewhat similar about him in the present. He would not call unless he has reason, not so? Perhaps I should hear his words.”

  Tianoman lifted a shoulder, aware Teroux’s prejudice served to frustrate his usual sense of judgement. “Do that, yes, and come tell me, will you?” In the event someone - family - had to step in and curb the kind of crazy scheme only Teroux could conjure up.

  Quilla nodded. He was about to dematerialise, when he halted the process to gaze quizzically up at the young golden-haired man. “Tian, Elianas would talk to you.”

  Tianoman was silent a long time. “He might, yes.”

  Quilla waited.

  “Not yet, Quilla. I do not think Torrullin is ready for me.” And I am not ready for Elianas, the man who killed my father.

  Again Quilla waited.

  Tianoman glared at him. “What? You want me to explain that? Torrullin needs to shake his Rayne persona off before he can again hear his blood speak. That is why I wait.”

  “And if Rayne continues to hold sway? We may be at the point where the universe demands his recall of self.”

  “Have faith, Q’li’qa’mz. Rayne is the weaker of the two. The time comes.”

  Quilla’s eyes narrowed again and then he loosed a soft expletive. “Teroux is insistent, sounds urgent. We shall speak of this later.”

  He vanished upon his magical transport to Sanctuary, leaving Tianoman to stare at the pilgrims entering the Lifesource Temple one by one.

  It occurred to him, if he went to Avaelyn, he would be the pilgrim.

  A penitent.

  THOUGHTS OF THE confrontation on Echolone, which led to Torrullin’s loss of self, months ago, soon had Tianoman staring at the serenity seekers present on Valaris without seeing them.

  The Valleur Throne felled Torrullin that day and employed Elianas to achieve the destruction of Destroyer, the dark entity inside Torrullin. It was a symbiosis - perhaps perceived and conceived spontaneously in the tension of those moments - to rid Torrullin of an unnecessary evil, but it served also to shatter the remaining sanity of Torrullin Valla. Elianas might have been cognisant of the potential result before the fact, but perhaps it was one the Throne had not foreseen … or chose to embrace.

  Maybe the real Torrullin knew the truth of it.

  Only Elianas understood how to put him together again. According to Quilla, Elianas chose to employ the milder persona that was Rayne, Torrullin’s final incarnation. No one knew if it had worked, or how long it would be before the regression delivered the desired result.

  Tianoman’s thoughts moved back to the Valleur Throne. He admitted in the aftermath to Aislinn he was afraid of the power in that seat. It meant he rarely sat on it. More than a few remarked upon his reluctance.

  Sighing, he prepared for a transport back to the Keep. Seeing Aislinn and Lunik always put him in a better frame of mind. He sent a last glance at the line snaking over the lightbridge, and moved …

  … unseen fingers gripped his mind …

  … and stole his body also.

  Chapter 4

  “We hear of the men who brave all for the good of others, but we are not such as they. We say we love our mates, but love is not sufficient impetus to stand up in the face of a gathering storm. Live and let live, we say, and if that is a compromise … well, so be it.”

  ~ Glory Mahone, President of Beacon, the Year of Democracy ~

  Somewhere

  TIANOMAN GAZED OUT of the window over a watery vista, his mind in turmoil.

  The transferral had been instant. From the Lifesource to this chamber in an eye blink. Thereafter nothing. Not a word, a stray thought, no sight of anything resembling a kidnapper. Darkness took him then; someone or something switched his consciousness off.

  Water was everywhere. Slate grey and restless. He wondered where in all gods’ names he was. He had the clearest feeling the view before him was meant to obscure what was actually there, to hide from him his location. What he now beheld was not reality of place. This was a state of ignorance.

  He had put his mind and hands to every manner of escape already, but the window and door allowed no egress whether by magic or physical force, and sorcery aided no other method of release. Hours had passed, but he had no idea how long he lay in the darkness before awakening to this. How long had he been away already? Aislinn had to be worried. The Throne did not respond to his calls either; it meant this place was thoroughly shielded from every kind of communication.

  The watery vista, in fact, could be the presence of that shield.

  Whoever took him possessed unholy power.

  Biting back an oath, Tianoman admonished himself to think with logic and reason, rather than frustration and anger.

  This was a gilded prison. The chamber at his back was comfortable, warm, and his every need was met. Whoever took him, had not sought his death. Someone known to him, perhaps?

  It was also a cell. He did not yet know who his gaoler was, but let the man, woman or creature just show face.

  Where was this?

  Why? Why? Why? Tianoman smacked a hand on the sill and did swear aloud in frustration.

  Thereafter he was maudlin. Aislinn would worry herself sick. By god, he missed her. He should be safe and warm with his beloved at the Keep, cuddling sweet and smiling Lunik, being a decent father and a proper husband. He could cope with anything as long as she was at his side. She was his anchor.

  Aislinn made his world whole.

  Valaris

  The Keep

  AISLINN WAS WORRIED, but not yet unduly so.

  Tianoman frequently spent time away, usually conferring with others in varied places about diverse matters. Last she heard, he was at the Temple to see the pilgrims for himself and intended to have words with Quilla about it.

  She smiled up at Sirlasin as the Elder approached her and Lunik at the breakfast table next to the mosaic pool. “Any news from Tian?”

  The Elder was clearly troubled, more so than her. “Not yet, my Lady. You wanted to see me?”

  “I need to go into Menllik. A delegation from Fortani has recently arrived, I hear, requesting audience.”

  The Elders in general hoped the Vallorin’s wife would take a greater interest in state affairs, but Sirlasin was reluctant. “It is better if they come here, my Lady.”

  Aislinn frowned up at him. “Why are you opposed now? After all your prodding? Tian is busy and I can do this. An academic delegation, Sirlasin? At the Keep? We may as well prop the Dragon doors wide to every visitor then. No, I shall go into Menllik and meet with them at the manor. Set it up, please.”

  Sirlasin bowed over his hands, but he was made of sterner stuff and was not about to surrender. Having taught Tianoman, an impulsive and often crazy young boy and later man, for years, he felt able to deal with one pretty young woman.

  “My Lady, it is not safe.”

  She possessed a backbone also. “Why is it not safe? What has you worried?”

  “A feeling, my Lady.”

  Aislinn nodded. Valleur dealt in feelings and omens and the like. “I hear you, but I will not hide behind these walls based on a feeling. It is time the Vallorin’s wife becomes more visible, don’t you think? My husband cannot always do everything. Lunik can stay here with his nurse; he is old enough now not to need me every minute of every day. Set it up, Sirlasin. Two hours. I am going to get dressed.”

  She rose, collected Lunik, and made her way to the stairs, and Sirlasin had no choice but to follow her command.

  Menllik

  THE MANOR IN THE city was bigger than the Keep in the valley, a huge place where Samuel and Curin raised the three cousins Tristan, Teroux and Tianoman as brothers.

  Samuel and Curin had passed on and their ‘children’ we
re now grown men with adult responsibilities. Tristan was leader of the Kaval in the Dome, Teroux was responsible for Sanctuary and Tianoman was Vallorin. They would be so proud, those two.

  Tianoman frequently used the manor for entertainment of offworlders, and thus was the huge space well cared for. Retainers lived on site and, when Aislinn arrived, everything was prepared.

  The ground floor audience chamber was well lit, a fire blazed in the ornate fireplace and an informal repast was laid out on the expensive walnut cabinet in the nook beside the arched windows.

  Sirlasin insisted on accompanying her, and she was secretly glad. Until now Tianoman and Lunik had taken her time and attention, and she needed to catch up on the nuances of being queen of the Valleur, which was why she chose an innocuous delegation from Fortani. Dealing with academics, when those academics did not expect her to understand everything they had to say, was easier than fielding the intricacies of politics and economics at this point.

  She smiled her appreciation at the housekeeper and asked her to show their guests in when they arrived.

  Taking a seat in the arrangement of armchairs near the opposite arches, she said to Sirlasin, “Exactly what are they asking?”

  He shrugged and gave a wry smile. “I am not an academic, my Lady. Something about archive protection.”

  Studying him, she asked, “Why are you so anxious?” Clearly he could not shake his feeling of impending doom.

  Sirlasin was not given opportunity to reply. The great brass knocker sounded in that moment. Their visitors had arrived.

  Aislinn drew a breath, flicked imaginary fluff from her cuffs, and straightened in her seat in preparation. She could not believe how nervous she was.

  It was not the Fortani delegation that entered, however.

  A young man wearing red pants and an oversized tunic decked out in blue, green and yellow diamonds, a high red hat with feathers cockily stuck on one side, and bearing an equally colourful, oversized cloth bag, entered, remonstrating with the housekeeper tugging at him from behind.