“How do you know it was the Lalas?” Liam gasped, shocked by the boy’s revelation.
“I know,” was all Tomas said. His eyes dark and pensive as the memory resurfaced once again.
“Was the woman called Margot?” Liam asked.
“Yes,” Tomas replied not surprised that at least one of the Chosen knew of her.
“She entered the woods where I live and attempted to kill a sister from the Tower. Needless to say, her efforts were thwarted,” Liam explained.
“By the Lalas?” Tomas asked.
“No. By Premoran. The sister from Parth was coming to convene with me and with Oleander when she was waylaid before she arrived.”
“I have also heard of her,” Harton said. “She has taken charge of the Duchy of Talamar.”
“It is no surprise that the spineless son of the dead Duke has relinquished his authority to Colton. I have had my doubts about him from the day he was born,” Carlisle sneered.
“She has also raised a considerable army whose sole purpose is to relieve the trees of their authority. She has somehow convinced the people the Lalas have turned against them,” Liam continued.
“Somehow?” Pithar said. “We raise the same questions. Is it a surprise that those less familiar with the ways of the trees doubt their motives at this point, particularly when they are being urged to these sentiments by one as ‘qualified’ as she is in the art of persuasion?”
“She insists the trees have committed such a series of vile and horrific acts! No Lalas could ever do the things she claims. It can only be the work of one of Colton’s servants.” Liam said.
“The Lalas have allowed the seeds of doubt to sprout in many minds,” Blodwyn said.
“They must have a reason for what they do,” Edmond said.
Dashiel shook his head. “To what purpose?” he asked. “Why would they encourage these sentiments?”
“Would that we knew,” Connor said, perplexed.
“Is it that they are encouraging the feelings, or are they unable at this time to alter them?” Harton asked.
“Neither choice you offer is a good one,” Tobias commented sullenly.
“Why would your bond-mate beguile you in such a way? It is unthinkable!” Pithar asked.
“His purpose eludes me. I cannot imagine why Ormachon would wish to confuse you so,” Crea said.
“There must have been a reason,” Blodwyn said quietly, furrowing her brow. “If you are so certain that it was Ormachon who gave your position away, then he must have had a reason. This would not be the first time we did not understand the motives of the great trees,” she continued, seeking to turn the mood of the group away from such depressing analyses.
“Never have I heard or read of one sacrificing a Chosen in such a way,” Harton said.
“You omit one thing, my friends,” Carlisle said, and the others all turned their attention to their comrade. “The boy is here!”
“Good point,” Connor said.
“A crucial point!” Dashiel echoed loudly.
Carlisle smiled then stared hard at Tomas. “How did you escape from the Dark Lord’s lieutenant? If Ormachon intended you to be captured, do you not think that you would be in Sedahar this very moment?” Pithar continued the thought. “What miracle saved you from Colton?”
“I collapsed and I have no memory of how we evaded the storm that descended upon us. I only just awoke when you summoned me,” Tomas replied.
“So, you did not resist the onslaught?” Carlisle asked, and Tomas shook his head in agreement.
“I was unable to. I do not know how I ended up where I awoke. I assume that my friends saved me and carried me inside this shelter.”
“Is it no coincidence you took refuge in the very same cavern that we chose to convene this gathering in?” Blodwyn asked, sweeping her staff around in a broad circle. “I do not believe in chance. There is a greater plan at work here.”
“Could Ormachon have known? It is possible that he sent this evil one after you so that you would leave your path and seek the shelter of this mountain?” Harton asked, stunned by the thought.
“He could have spoken to me. He could have told me,” Tomas whispered. “When last I was with him, there were things that he withheld from me; information, thoughts. I felt as if he was pushing me away, and I could not understand it then.”
“Speak up boy,” Harton admonished.
“Leave him be, Harton. I felt the same thing the last time I was with Wayfair, as kind and good as he is,” Crea said, recalling the rejection vividly.
“As did I!” Edmond echoed.
“The trees are keeping things to themselves, it seems. I too have felt the distance recently,” Liam said.
“The world is unstable. They are dying! Are they seeking to preserve themselves in ways that they have not attempted before?” Connor asked.
“Or are they seeking to protect us from the pain that they are suffering?” Tobias asked.
“Perhaps. Their reach has been truncated of late. We all know that. They cannot simply pass on everything that they would like to as easily as they could have previously. We do not know just how hampered they are,” Harton said.
“It is possible that Ormachon had no other option but to frighten you into this shelter,” Crea said.
“Why did he not tell me when I was in his presence only a short while before?” Tomas asked, unsatisfied with the possible explanations that had just been given.
“I am convinced that they have a plan!” Blodwyn repeated. “If Ormachon wanted you dead or captured, you would be dead or captured now! You would not have found refuge and you would not be here telling us this.”
“She is correct, of course,” Tobias nodded.
“By revealing your position to the enemy he could have confused them as well,” Pithar speculated.
“What do you have in mind?” Blodwyn asked, and they all turned their attention to the Chosen of Marathar.
“Were you attacked? Did the enemy in fact seek you out?” Pithar asked.
“Yes, I felt the approach and I saw the skies darken. The smell upon the wind was unmistakable.”
“They took the advice of a Lalas and sought you out based upon what Ormachon told them?” Pithar asked.
“Yes, most certainly,” the boy replied.
“Does that not strike you all as strange?” Pithar asked the group. “Why would one of Colton’s Possessed ever heed the words of a Lalas unless they were words of warning concerning their own welfare?”
“It strikes me as strange,” Blodwyn said emphatically.
“I did not have a chance to even think about this,” Tomas said. “I only just regained my senses. The last thing I remember is the horrid, sickening feeling that engulfed me after I realized that the enemy was informed of my whereabouts.”
“And yet, though you fell to the ground senseless, you were not overcome? You ultimately escaped and found your way here?” Pithar continued.
“Yes, all that is true,” Tomas said. The terrible feeling of loss and abandonment that had not left him since that fateful moment was slowly abating somewhat. “You think that Ormachon gave my position away for a reason other than that he has forsaken me?” the boy asked, his green eyes wide and pleading.
“Yes, I truly do. There is no other explanation for why you survived, and for why you are here with us now,” Pithar said.
“Do you think that Ormachon knows of this meeting?” Harton suggested.
Crea drew back. “If he does, than they all do!”
“I doubt that the trees know we are here. They would not have needed to resort to such deception in that case. They could have simply advised each of us that we needed to find Tomas and bring him here,” Connor said.
“Well then, we are facing one of two choices,” Blodwyn summarized. “Either the betrayal was real and Tomas escaped regardless of his Lalas’ desire to see him captured.”
Tomas visibly paled at that comment, and Liam went to his side to offe
r him support and comfort.
“Or,” Blodwyn continued, either unaware of the boy’s discomfort, or simply unmoved by it. “this was planned, and he sought to drive the boy into the mountain for some other purpose.”
“What other purpose than meeting us could the Lalas have had in mind?” Dashiel probed.
“Why did we choose this place to gather?” Crea asked, and the others looked at him immediately as if he said something terribly important.
“We chose this cavern because it is a place that is sheltered and protected from the outside,” Harton said.
“Exactly! Is it not sheltered from both the trees as well as from Colton?” Crea inquired.
“I believe we have our answer!” Blodwyn concluded. “Ormachon knew that he could direct Tomas here and that he would be safe within the caves. At the same time, by accurately revealing the boy’s whereabouts to the enemy he has garnered their trust, so to speak. He must have needed to do that for some reason.”
“Colton must be elated thinking that the trees are starting to break ranks and offer him assistance. In his arrogance, he probably blames the woman he sent after you for not capturing the boy, and he has not even suspected the greater plan,” Liam said.
“You are so certain that there is one?” Pithar questioned.
“I will hope and pray to the First that there is,” Liam responded.
“When has there not been?” Connor asked. The others nodded in agreement, though Pithar’s expression remained stoic.
Tomas listened intently to all that was being said around him, and he felt much calmer and much more at ease as the speculations of the Chosen unfolded. What they were saying made perfect sense to him, and though he was still hurt by Ormachon’s secrecy and deception, he no longer suffered from the terrible pain that his initial suspicions had caused him. He remained silent while the others continued to analyze the situation.
“What must we make of that ominous passage in the Tomes that refers to the ‘Chosen?’” Dashiel queried.
“The Chosen shall die in the darkness alone, bereft and far away from home,’” Blodwyn recited.
“Yes, that one,” Dashiel confirmed.
“It seems that one or all of us must perish,” Harton replied.
“Must?” Tobias asked.
“Will. Must. Shall—it is all the same in the end,” Harton said.
“Perhaps not,” Crea said, grim-faced.e The others turned toward him now and waited for him to elaborate. He recited:
“‘Who shall choose, and who shall be Chosen?
The fabric weaves, the fabric is woven.
The First to come, the last to go,
The rivers run from the melting snow.
And all of those who deem to know
What purpose belies this unwholesome show
Are surely wrong,
They need not guess.
Who is so noble to pass this test?
Who will bond with the very best?
Who will breathe a dying breath?
Who will remain after all the rest?
Who, my friends? Who?
Can you guess?’”
No one spoke for a few moments, as they contemplated the words.
“Why do you think this section sheds any more light upon the previous one?” Dashiel asked.
“I am not sure. It seems though that the Tomes are trying to tell us that the answer we are seeking is far removed from what we might expect. I am accustomed to riddles, but the tone of these words is quite different from what I am used to hearing in the great books, as if the writers were toying with the reader,” Crea replied.
“Will there be a new one Chosen? Do you think then that it is neither really one of us nor all of us after all?” Connor asked.
“I suspect that we shall not be able to figure the riddle out yet no matter how hard we may contemplate. Nevertheless, there is enough doubt for us to believe that the outcome anticipated is by no means certain,” Crea summarized.
“The Tomes write about what will be, not what has been. Of course they are uncertain,” Pithar said.
“However we wish to interpret the many passages referring to the Chosen, we can be sure of some things at the least. We can be sure that the Chosen will play a significant part in whatever develops. Thus, either one of us, all of us or someone not yet bonded will be a material component in what will be,” Liam said.
“There is a new tree in Pardatha,” Tomas blurted out.
“The boy makes an interesting point,” Carlisle replied. “Soon, presumably, it will choose.”
“We must watch carefully how this unfolds,” Blodwyn said. “I propose that we organize ourselves in that regard.”
“A very good idea, Blodwyn,” Harton said. “Why should we not act in concert when we recognize situations that merit our attention?”
“Shall we vote on this, or is a simple ‘Aye’ sufficient?” Connor asked.
“A voice vote is fine with me,” Liam said.
“And with me as well,” Crea echoed.
“Harton? Would you be so kind as to systematize our approach to this observation? You have the most experience at statesmanship and delegation amongst us all,” Edmond asked.
“It would be my pleasure,” Harton replied, flattered. “That is, if everyone agrees?”
All of the others agreed that a formal vote was not necessary, and they quickly and without hesitation sounded their unanimous approval.
“We must have a more efficient means of communicating with one another in the fixture. The method of summoning this time was much too cumbersome,” Blodwyn said.
“Yes, and we must keep in contact more often,” Connor emphasized.
“We can no longer leave it up to the trees to inform us,” Dashiel glowered.
“The balance has shifted. We must face that reality,” Crea said reluctantly.
“The trees are fighting a battle of their own,” Liam said. “There will be much in the days to come that we will not understand, I fear. We can support one another during these dark times, as we did today.”
“I am grateful for all of your words,” Tomas said humbly to the group. “I would have been unable to see my way clearly through this alone.”
“This meeting was a success if only for that reason We must make certain we can always assist each other when crises arise.”
“No longer can we afford to allow our communication to be governed so tightly by the trees,” Tobias said. “Sadly, they are withdrawing more and more, as we have all become aware. It is time now for the Chosen to act.”
“He is right! We all know it. We must continue to meet and to converse. The battle that the Lalas are fighting may not be one that we can participate in now,” Blodwyn said.
“They must exclude us from some of what they are going through. I cannot imagine how difficult it must be for the trees to suffer the continued losses of their own. We can only begin to feel what they must feel. If they require distance, we must give them that distance,” Dashiel said.
“It is so hard to do, nevertheless,” Edmond said. “I care not if I die anymore. I just want to die with hope in my heart.”
“We have reason to hope now. We have done something unprecedented, which has generated much anxiety and trepidation. But it was necessary. We have forged a new union, the need for which the times have thrust upon us. May the First forgive us if we are mislead by the signs all around us. Of this we are certain; our hearts are pure,” Crea said.
“The trees conceal from us what they must. We conceal from them what we must,” Tobias said cheerlessly.
“If we work in concert, perhaps we can serve the people better than we did before this gathering,” Blodwyn said.
“The people and the heir,” Crea exclaimed.
“And Tomas here, too,” Liam said, laying his arm tenderly on the boy’s shoulder and reminding all of them that he was as crucial to the future as was his brother.
“We shall help you whenever and however we can,�
� Blodwyn said to Tomas. “But, we must be careful not to reveal too much, even to one another. Secrecy is your best protection. The more knowledge you disclose about your whereabouts or your destinations, the more you increase the chances of that knowledge falling upon the wrong ears. Traitors are rampant upon the land in these times.”
“Your friends are strong and loyal. They will assist you on your travels too,” Edmond encouraged.
“The dark clouds are amassing everywhere. Colton is thwarted in one city and he then attacks another. The disbelievers grow in number as the Lalas’ influence wanes. We must do whatever we are able to. It is our duty,” Liam stated. “Today, we have trod upon a new path. Need has beckoned to us. Know that we will be with you wherever the weave takes you.”
“Our method of communication with each other must be secure and it must be foolproof. We cannot depend upon the trees to spread the news as easily as they did in the past. Besides, we have a different agenda now,” Harton said.
“How shall we contact one another in the future? We all agree that the means we utilized this time are not ideal,” Dashiel agreed.
“Has anyone something better in mind?” Crea asked. “Secrecy is essential. We have few choices if we wish to conceal our contact with each other from both the trees and from the Dark Lord.”
“If we cannot keep this cooperation secret, than its efficacy will be impaired,” Connor said.
“I know of no way other than the method we used. It seems that everything else we might avail ourselves of requires a Lalas or a relic or vestige thereof,” Liam said.
“Neither do I. I have never needed to contemplate a means that would bypass the awareness of my bond-mate. And now that I do, I am at a loss. I thought this day would never come,” Pithar scowled.
“None of us anticipated such a need. It is time though that we attempt to function independent of the trees. They must know this even as we do it,” Crea said.
“Do you think, Crea?” Tobias asked. “Do you really think that they would understand?”
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