“You are very old if you knew the Kemir,” Alusin said.
Elianas faced him again. “Your point?”
“None. It has been a long time since I met someone who knew of the Kemir and it feels odd.”
“I have the same reaction about the Danae,” Elianas nodded.
“Time is a bitch,” Alusin muttered.
Elianas grinned. “No argument.”
Alusin smiled in response and then waved at the screen. “I shall let you get back to it. Nice meeting you.” He moved away.
“Likewise,” Elianas murmured, and moved to Tristan and the screen.
Belun rolled over and started snoring again.
Tristan lifted an eyebrow.
Elianas winked at him. “Can you home in on the Graveyard? I am wondering if tourists make their way there. Torrullin will not like that …”
AN HOUR LATER, Torrullin strode in.
“Elianas tells me there are tourists in the Graveyard,” he said as he approached the console, going past Tristan and Alusin at the slab. Both were reading.
“Hello to you too,” Belun muttered, now at the lights. “Jonas, bring up the Graveyard, will you?”
Swiftly the view of the ancient crypts was there. A few forms weaved through the old stones.
Torrullin stared at the image. “I guess I need to be more accommodating,” He found Tristan behind him, with the white-haired man trailing him. “Ah, Tris. Keep an eye on that. If anyone defaces the crypts, read the Electan the riot act.”
“Agreed. Torrullin, meet Alusin, our new member.”
Torrullin moved before Alusin could, extending his arm and closing in. “Belun told me we have a new face. Well met, Alusin.”
“My Lord Elixir.” Alusin bowed and accepted the clasp.
Tristan gave a wry grin, which only Belun saw, but understood it was in response to the two different methods Elianas and Torrullin employed.
“Torrullin will do. You are tall. The only Kemir I ever met was a dwarf.”
Alusin blinked rapidly and then he laughed. “There were a few in the older days, yes.”
Torrullin grinned at him. “What is your speciality?”
The man shrugged. “Many call me a soothsayer.”
“A seer.” Torrullin rubbed at his face. “I’ll be damned. Lowen and Erin move on, and a goddamn seer comes forward.”
“Torrullin,” Tristan growled.
“It’s fine, Tris. I am merely astonished by the parallels.”
Alusin stared at him. “I doubt my sight matches yours.”
Torrullin lifted one shoulder. “I do not look anymore. Your abilities will be the greater, no doubt.”
“Tell us something you have seen,” Belun suggested to Alusin.
The man shook his head. “It does not work in that way.”
“It does not, no,” Torrullin said.
“I have seen that we shall meet once more only,” Alusin said, his blue gaze unwavering.
Torrullin’s eyes narrowed. “Oh?”
“I find it odd, considering you are Elixir and the Kaval is your creation. We should bump into each other at least infrequently, but there were only two meets in my visions. This one and another. Very odd.”
Torrullin folded his arms and remained wordless.
Belun snorted, knowing that stance.
Tristan plunged into the breach. “When, Alusin? When is the second meeting?”
The man offered an introspective smile. “That is the question, isn’t it? And thus you have answered mine. Everything we know is about to change because Elixir is moving on as well.”
“In five days, yes,” Torrullin said. “I assume this second meeting is not in the next five days.”
Alusin bowed again. “It is sometime later.”
“When?” Tristan whispered.
Blue eyes flicked at him. “I shall answer when you are ready to hear me.”
It became markedly silent then.
Belun scratched his chin. Jonas now listened in avidly.
Tristan was ashen.
Torrullin grinned. He bounced once on the balls of his feet and then he laughed aloud. “Oh, excellent! Keep it up, Alusin. That kind of contrariness will get under his skin.”
Alusin inclined his head, but he did not smile, for he watched Tristan.
The Kaval leader was expressionless. “I hope you know how hard I am able to slap someone.”
Torrullin laughed again and gripped Tristan’s arm to drag him to the view screen. “I almost wish I could stay to see you two go into battle,” he chortled.
“Fuck off,” Tristan muttered, but a reluctant smile climbed into his eyes.
BELUN, AFTER GLANCING AT Torrullin and Tristan in conversation, nabbed the Kemir.
“When?” he demanded in an undertone.
Alusin touched his shoulder in sympathy. “A long time.” He swung away and returned to his book.
Belun glanced at Jonas, who stared back at him with wide eyes.
Chapter 73
How old is this thing? It stinks!
~ Tattle to his scribe ~
Avaelyn
Trezonadr Region
SABIAN CRASHED BACKWARDS in his chair and slapped hard upon the table’s surface.
All gods.
Convulsively, he leaned over the book again. He had to be certain. Here was no room for error. Shep Lore, asleep in his, Sabian’s, bed after he questioned the man exhaustively, groaned and rolled over.
“Shep!”
The rotund form rolled the other way.
By all gods, how could the man sleep when …? Grinding his teeth for patience, Sabian shouted, “Shep!”
Finally the man sat up. “Have you not yet had enough?” he asked sulkily.
“Shep, here is recorded the fourteen sacred sites for Ardosia, world beyond the Rift. How did you know?”
“The survivors told me. What is the matter?”
“But it is written in at the time of building, not after the scatterlings came to Valaris.”
Shep shrugged. “I have explained that the book keeps the timeline better than we are able to measure it. When something needs to be inserted, the book opens to where it must be. Always there is a space available.”
Sabian read aloud, “Hexagonal Lifesource, Lakeside Gathering Centre, Gallery for Lost Creatures, Valla Lineage Wall, Remembrance Repository, Healers Enclave, the Graveyard, Sundial of Ardosia, New Oracles, Second Chances Park, Monument of the Last Vallorin, Heart of Hope, University of the Rift, Ardosia’s Maze.” He looked up. “Explanations for every site follow.”
“I am aware,” Shep frowned.
“The Lineage Wall is incorrect,” Sabian stated. “It says here the first name is Nemisin’s and the last is Dantian.”
“According to Ardosia’s scribes and the known history of the time, it is correct. I do not see the problem.”
Sabian rose to lean on his hands. “I went to Ardosia in the days before it was resettled. The sites were still there, although the University was badly damaged. Shep,” and Sabian drew a breath, “the Lineage wall did not read according to what you have recorded here.”
Shep Lore stared at him. “How do you mean?”
Sabian hung his head. “I was Agnimus then, seeking leverage against Torrullin, and that wall enraged me. A list of the mighty Vallas to prove their arrogance.” He looked up. “Agnimus’ memory is not as intact as I would like, although until now I believed it was better for me.”
“What did it say?” Shep demanded.
“Nemisin’s name did not head the list.”
“Please do not tell me Torrullin was first.”
Sabian grinned. “No, I can spare you that, but knowing what we know now of Lorin time, of Immirin and Jacastu, is it any wonder the Valla lineage begins before Nemisin?”
Shep shook his head. “Which name, Sabian?”
“I have Valla race memories, of course, but at the time I was unaware of them. Today I know of them and yet my access is limited. Unassail
able knowledge comes to me as if I see behind a veil. There, but indistinct.”
Shep threw his hands up. “Do historians always talk this much? Without getting to the actual point?”
Sabian started making coffee. “I am trying to work it into logic, just bear with me. We are aware Jacastu went back and fathered his brat Rivalen, but otherwise he died childless. The older Valla line is therefore not of his making, for Rivalen, as we know, was exiled. Soon after Immirin vanished into so-called obscurity, from a records point of view, the Vallas as a family began to rise to prominence, because other Lorin wed other Vallas. This prominence eventually led to Nemisin’s father and then Nemisin himself. And yet Nemisin goes into record as first, not his father. This has more to do with Nemisin’s Enchanter status than it has to do with being the First Vallorin. Who then was Karydor? I know for a fact he was not Nemisin’s father.”
“I have no idea,” Shep whispered.
Sabian brought two steaming mugs to the table. Shep joined him there.
“Unfortunately I think I know who he was,” the fair man said after taking a sip.
“Who?”
“I need to confirm it first,” Sabian muttered. “And I believe that wall on Ardosia needs fixing, or destruction. To leave it as it is invites future generations into incorrect conclusions.” Sabian slammed his mug down. Coffee sloshed out, but he ignored the spill. “No, wait. Agnimus saw the name because Agnimus has Valla memories. The Lineage Wall will read as it is on record to other eyes. This begs the question - will Torrullin see the name, were he to view it? Or does he already know? By all gods, this is a minefield.”
“Why?” Shep sipped delicately at his brew.
“I sense Karydor was Valla and Danae via the less strict marriage laws of earlier ages. Nemisin is the one who forbade the Golden from marrying the Dark Kind. I suspect Karydor was technically Valla, having been born into that family, but possessed more Danae.”
Shep’s eyes rounded. “Now I begin to see where you are headed.”
Sabian stared at the mess on the table. “It occurs to me that Torrullin does not know.”
“Or he does not want to remember.”
Sabian’s head jerked up. “Or he does not want to remember,” he repeated. “Indeed, Shep, indeed.”
“Is it important?”
The Master Historian stared into the distances of introspective thought. After a while, he said, “I am uncertain.”
Shep nodded. “The book is calling me again, Sabian. It tells me I need to update it and a final copy must go forth before we leave.”
Focusing, Sabian asked, “Which updates?”
“Avaelyn and her sacred sites. Also the ending of the fourteenth cycle.”
“How long do you need?”
Shep Lore smiled, knowing how much time Sabian spent with this book. “A day to insert; much longer to copy.”
“We do not have ‘much longer’,” Sabian stated. “I suggest you use sorcery for the final copy and send it direct to the Vallorin.”
“It will not last if created magically,” Shep frowned.
“I am aware, but Tianoman will ensure proper copies are made.”
Lifting an enlightened finger, Shep went, “Ah, good idea. Shall I get to it?”
Sighing, Sabian rose from the table. “It is all yours. I am going to see Torrullin.”
“Will you tell him?”
“I have no idea,” Sabian muttered.
Grinwallin
TEIGHLAR WAS WITH his horses.
He looked up from stroking a foal in the stables. “Shh,” he whispered and slowly rose. Backing away carefully, he unlatched the half door and sidled out. Only once the mare and her young one were contentedly snuffling together did he turn to his guests. “She will be a beauty one day,” he said fondly.
Torrullin nodded. “Her markings are extraordinary.”
“How are yours coming along?”
“Relaxed and happy,” Elianas murmured.
“Make sure to exercise them or they will get fat,” Teighlar admonished.
Both men grinned at him.
Muttering, Teighlar strode for the yard. Once there, he pointed at a chestnut stallion. “That one is the brother to one of yours. We shall compare notes soon.”
Silence answered him.
The Emperor eyed them. “I was right. You intend leaving me to succumb to boredom all by my lonesome. All that talk about seeds got me to thinking.”
Elianas laughed.
Torrullin said, “You could come with us.”
Teighlar smiled. “Thank you, but no. Alik will never forgive me. Besides, this is my home and these are my horses.”
Torrullin laughed. “As opposed to monkeys?”
“Watch it,” Teighlar teased. “I propose a dinner and we can discuss all those final issues while having a few drinks.”
“We accept,” Elianas grinned.
“Two hours? Go plague Alik for a time, while I get organised.”
Smiling, the two men veered away.
Unseen, Teighlar closed his eyes.
ENGAGED IN INSTALLING A medical device of some sort at her practice, Alik did not at first see them.
They watched her fiddle and watched too the Senlu helping her. He could not get enough of an eye-full of the Emperor’s daughter.
She looked up. “Oh. Good to see you. Just give me a minute.”
Many minutes later, she thanked her Senlu helper and then approached. “For blood work,” she said. “But I need Mikhail to set it for me. He will be here tomorrow.”
The manner in which she smiled revealed how pleased she was with the impending visit. The Bannerman lad might still discover love was not as unrequited as he believed. Perhaps it would work. It was not their business, though.
“Are you happy, Alik?” Torrullin asked.
“That is a strange question, but I am, yes. Drink?”
They followed her into her office and accepted a brandy each. Sitting, all three sighed as the liquor warmed their insides.
Alik set her tumbler down. “What brings you?”
“Farewell,” Elianas said.
“Dad was right. When?”
“A few days,” Torrullin responded.
“Are you happy, Torrullin?”
“I am.”
“Elianas?”
The dark man smiled. “Yes.”
She leaned into her elbows on her desk, lacing her fingers. “Except for one thing, not so? You are happy with each other and I am glad to hear it, but there is something undone. Am I right?”
Elianas stared at her and Torrullin nodded.
“Dad said something about noble purpose. He expounded on how your leaving was that, but it is not enough, in my opinion.”
Elianas drawled, “In your opinion, what have we left undone?”
“Well, besides courage, patience and justice - the traits of a noble person - there is chastity. You two have given justice and courage and I suspect ages of patience. Chastity? Hmm. And yet I will agree you are at that point now, for you have committed to each other. Noble purpose is achieved, except for the greatest factor of all. Sacrifice.”
Torrullin stared at her from under lowered lids and did not say a word.
“I hear Lowen in your words,” Elianas snapped.
“Lowen and I had many deep conversations, yes.”
Elianas shoved his brandy aside. “Explain sacrifice.”
“Sacrifice is an offering to a higher purpose, or divine entities, as an act of penitence. I speak of the bloodless kind. Divine entities, though? That will earn me a snort of derision.”
“It will not. We understand and know of guardians unseen,” Torrullin murmured. “Continue.”
“Very well,” Alik said. “Real sacrifice must cost you, hurt you and empty you. You kneel as a penitent and rise in the aftermath as a clean soul.”
“I have done this,” Torrullin said.
“The Hounding? It came to pass before your memory was restored. It counted
then; it does not count now.”
“We are sacrificing all we know and love,” Elianas hissed. “When we leave it will cost us, it bloody will hurt and it will empty us also for a damn long time. It will not be bloodless. We will bleed grief.”
“But it isn’t personal, Elianas,” Alik said.
“Of course it is personal!”
She shook her head.
Torrullin sat up in his chair. “What did Lowen say?”
She stared at him. “I think you already know.”
Elianas shifted to stare at him as well.
“An offering to divine entities? Penitents? We have to release both Lorinin and Danae.”
Alik nodded.
Elianas lurched to his feet. “Only now do we begin to understand what it means! We have hurt each other to find it, to accept it, and now we must relinquish it … ah. Sacrifice. Cost. Hurt. Empty. Personal.” He sat and crossed his arms.
Torrullin stood. “Thank you, Alik, for your insight. Are you joining us for dinner later?”
“Not after this, no, but I hope you remember me more kindly in the future. Go well, both of you.”
Torrullin leaned over her desk and kissed her cheek. “You did nothing wrong. Have a wonderful future.”
She touched her cheek. “Thank you.”
“Keep your father entertained, will you? The man doesn’t like boredom.”
Alik grinned. “I’ll try.”
Elianas sighed. “Sorry, Alik. It hit home; you are not at fault.” He rounded the desk to touch his lips to hers. “Be happy.”
She swallowed. “Thank you.”
He could have kissed her properly, knowing she wanted him to, but she was right. They had made a commitment to each other.
Elianas turned away and faced Torrullin. “To eternity, beloved.”
Torrullin smiled.
The Great Hall
DINNER WAS SUBDUED AT first, but Teighlar soon had them laughing as he kept the Senlu red flowing.
After their meal, Teighlar had a gift for them. He placed a plain leather pouch amid the debris of dishes. “Put that in your Universal Shrine.”
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