by Lexy Wolfe
Reluctantly, the healer settled back to her seat, crossing her arms unhappily. She felt herself go cold with outright fear when the statue across the pool moved, opening its eyes to reveal pitch black orbs that made Selina's almost emotionless indigo stare seem filled with warmth. Shedding the pallor of polished grey marble, the goddess slipped into the pool, emerging to perch on an underwater shelf that kept her aquatic half submerged.
"Step into the pool, my Sentinel," the imperious voice of the goddess commanded. "Give yourself unto the waters of time. Let your life become Our life, your visions to become Our visions." Almek nodded obediently, rising to shed his clothing and step into the pool, the water coming to his waist.
Taylin's eyes went wide and she jumped to her feet as a snake of water coiled around Almek, encasing his body from his waist upwards and forcing itself into his lungs. "Almek!" The goddess did not glance at the healer, but another arm of water emerged and struck the woman as she neared, knocking her across the room and into one of the columns. Dazed, she struggled to clear her head as she helplessly watched Almek drowning before her eyes.
As the water flowed away, the Timeless One caught Almek as he collapsed. She gently eased his lifeless body to the ground beside the pool before returning to her place under the waterfall. As the Timeless One's body hardened into a statue once more, Selina returned, immediately going to Almek's side. Taking his face in both her hands, she covered his mouth with hers in a long, desperate kiss. When she released him, he coughed weakly, unconscious, but alive. The mermaid turned her piercing stare onto Taylin.
The healer interpreted the look as permission to approach and rushed to Almek's side, resting her hands on his brow and over his heart. Her hands glowed softly white, the color shifting to a pale blue in the dim light as she mended the damage to his lungs and the strain to his heart. She sighed tiredly as she completed the healing. Sadly touching the new streaks of grey, Taylin murmured, "He is... whole. He will be weak for a few days." She closed her eyes, swallowing. "Provided he takes time to properly recover."
"You are very strong," Selina observed with approval in her voice. "And very gifted. No normal healer could heal an injury given by the Timeless One." She touched the back of Taylin's hand with light, cool fingers. "I understand now why he has taken you as his student. He was wise to bring you here."
Taylin said softly, "If I would have known what he planned, I would have tried to talk him out of it. We cannot lose the last Dusvet!"
Selina looked at the unconscious man, tenderly brushing her fingers through his hair. "Do not blame yourself. He is stubborn. And he knew the consequences of what he asked. He knew I would only have the strength enough to restore his life or restore his youth." With a hint of regret, she said, "But not both."
"Why couldn't She—?" Taylin began to ask, then bit her tongue to silence her impudent question.
"Gods are not as free as mortals like to believe they are," Selina stated quietly. "Not even one of the Ancient Triad. The laws of balance bind all no matter how mighty or how weak. He had to be strong enough to accept Her gift. He was, but he hovered between life and death. I could pull him back to life, but I could not do more because the laws of balance limit me."
"And I could mend the harm he suffered." Taylin sighed, closing her eyes briefly before looking at Almek. She reached out to brush her fingers over his brow to reassure herself. "He is not age addled," Taylin stated with quiet fierceness, as if arguing with those who accused the Dusvet Guardian of being mentally deficient.
"No. He knew he was not, despite the doubts that plagued him," Selina replied serenely, clasping Almek's limp hand in hers as both females sat vigil. "His purpose never was to prove anything to the other Guardians. He sought knowledge." Selina's expression was deeply troubled. "But She Who Rules Here... the Timeless One... even She could only see shadows. Hints of what he has sensed."
"It is... enough," Almek wheezed as he finally roused. "It is..." He shook his head as he let Taylin help him sit up, Selina drifting back and sinking until the water touched her chin. "Difficult to explain. But whatever is disrupting the river of time is old. Old beyond imagination."
"What now?" Taylin asked. "If the other Guardians will still not believe you, what can you do? What can any of us do?"
"You must heal the Sundered Lands," Selina replied gravely.
"Heal the Sundered Lands...?" Taylin echoed the words, puzzling over them. She threw up her hands in exasperation. "Why not ask for the moons and the stars to be strung on a necklace? That would be easier than bringing the four lands back together after the damage the Great War caused!" Almek hushed Taylin gently, patting her shoulder reassuringly.
Selina did not react save for a slight frown. She looked to Almek, moving closer to the edge of the pool again. "Take with you this." She held up a small, wire-wrapped bottle that fit in Almek's palm easily. "Use it when the greatest rift can begin to close and allow true healing to begin." With a final caress of Almek's hand, the mermaid dove beneath the water and disappeared.
In the silence after Selina's departure, the healer realized how poorly she had behaved before the goddess and her handmaiden. "Dusvet," Taylin began, dropping her eyes in shame. "Forgive me. I meant no insult to—"
"Do not apologize, my dear. Selina is not human, but neither is she as cold as she seems. She and others of her kind serve as the bridge between us and our mistress. She is not insulted, merely puzzled by our landbound thoughts." Almek stumbled a few steps, leaning on Taylin. "Come. I promise I will rest to recover fully. But She has confirmed where we need to begin." Pausing to catch his breath, he said, "We must go to Forenta."
Chapter 4
"DUSVET," a deep voice rumbled from the arched doorway.
Almek looked up from the journal he wrote in, his pensive expression softening as he waved the bull of a man in. "Dulain Unsvet Tyrsan. I did not expect to see you so soon."
The large man snorted softly as he entered, shutting the door behind him. He headed for the small cabinet to take out two glasses and a wine bottle. "I suppose I should be grateful you did not think I was so heartless or callous that I would not come as soon as I heard of your... adventure with our mistress."
"You are a busy man, Tyrsan. You've many responsibilities as the caretaker of Sanctuary." He accepted the offered glass, taking a long sip. "Especially with the challenges of balancing the ones rooted in tradition with those who seek answers and possible change."
"Just because you are Dusvet does not mean your welfare is not as much a part of my responsibility as the Unsvets and Adepts that call Sanctuary home." Tyrsan sat heavily in the chair opposite Almek. "Bella and Jaison are beside themselves with worry, and you know how difficult it is to unsettle the Vodani born. Hells, Jaison and Dremmen nearly came to blows again when the dolt implied your 'illness' was due to Bella and Jaison's 'needless worrying of an age addled old man' in my presence." Draining half of his glass, he grumbled, "I was sorely tempted to beat him myself."
"Ah, yes. Jaison does reflect his childhood raised among Desanti with that un-Vodani-like temper of his," Almek said mildly. Tilting his head, he regarded the younger man with less levity. "Have there been no others who could take over the duties as your second?"
"Dremmen is unfortunately quite good at the job, and it keeps him where I can keep more of an eye on him." Pinching the bridge of his nose, Tyrsan said with tried patience, "You're trying to distract me from why I came here."
"Pity." Almek was unrepentant as he sat back, sipping his drink. "I nearly succeeded, too."
Barely repressed anger flushed the Sevmanan man's dark tan. "Do not start with me, Almek! I may only have three hundred or so years to your five hundred, but I am not an idiot." Tyrsan's look was hard as he fixed Almek with his dark-eyed stare. "You've only just returned from your latest wanderings, and the toll of being away from Sanctuary is obvious even to the naïve."
"I'm just a little greyer at the temples," Almek said dismissively. "A few more years
away from Fortress Mountain and from Sanctuary will not harm me."
"I am not so sure of that," Tyrsan stated grimly. "I have scryed the flames, and all the possible paths I see, eventually your journey becomes... obscured." He shook his head sharply. "I have never seen anything like it, and it bothers me."
Almek waved his empty hand aimlessly. "All the more reason I should go. Lives may depend on not delaying this journey."
With a growl, Tyrsan stood abruptly, smacking the top of the table with both hands, the light catching the metallic slash of color beneath his right eye that marked him an Unsvet Guardian. "To the hells with others' lives! I am worried about yours!" He waved his hands towards the door. "You know very well Guardians cannot endure outside of Fortress's territory without needing to return and recover! The drag of time is stronger there than here, and at your age, it will drag at you even more. Especially if you need to wield the time energies at all! Just going to the Timeless One has marked you." He smacked the top of the table again. "I will not let you carelessly throw your life away!"
Almek merely arched an eyebrow at the other man. "I am not doing anything carelessly, Tyrsan. You know my reasons."
"Then at least take Jaison with you. He is due to go out again to patrol Sevmana anyway." Tyrsan emptied his glass and refilled it. "You should not be traveling with a mere Adept who has not had formal training and is nowhere near earning her colors."
The Dusvet asked mildly, "So you feel my training would be inadequate for Taylin?"
Tyrsan scowled darkly. "Stop putting words in my mouth, Almek. We've been friends ever since I came to Fortress."
"And you've done well for... how did you call yourself? An ignorant foot soldier?" Almek tsked. "Which you were not by any stretch of the imagination, by the way. And if you had been, you'd not have earned your place as the Dulain." Smiling tiredly, Almek said, "Have a little faith in me, Tyrsan. Taylin is not a typical Guardian potential. She's already a master in her skills. Half the formal training is no different than the training for any other art. She's the discipline. She merely needs to learn to identify and embrace time as she has healing."
Tyrsan drummed his fingers on the table, clearly unhappy. "Fine. I won't argue with you. But you will not leave until you've at least recovered your strength from this latest brush with death. Understood?!"
Almek smiled warmly at his brusque friend. "Perfectly, Tyrsan. Now sit, would you? Tell me how it goes with Jaison's newest student. She's a Forentan, I hear? Been over fifty years since one has come out of the northern forests."
"They're rather well matched," Tyrsan stated blandly. "She's as typical for Forenten as he is for Vodani. If you wish, I can have her brought to you to discuss the current temperament within Forenta's borders." Looking vaguely irritated, he added, "If you insist on heading to Forenta, you'll want to leave before the start of summer. It will take you months to reach their borders, and the roads are treacherous if passable at all in the dead of winter."
Considering, Almek finally nodded. "Yes, it would be good to speak with her. But for now, I'd prefer to catch up with an old friend who doesn't put me up on so high of a pedestal as most." Tyrsan smirked, shaking his head as his anger slipped away.
Chapter 5
IN the distance, the giant, ancient trees of Forenta rose like an ocean swell of deep, vibrant greens breaking around the bald, rocky peaks of age-eroded mountains. As the sun began to set, tiny motes of light appeared among the greenery.
Awed, Taylin stopped her horse to admire the sight. "It looks like the stars came down to sit in the branches! I never realized so many actually lived in the branches of the trees. I thought most lived close to the ground, just... surrounded by trees."
Almek chuckled in amusement, patiently waiting until Taylin got over her awe to resume the ride towards the great, green monoliths. "Only the very brave or the very unlucky live on the forest floors. Forenta is very rich in native magic, which affects all things that live here in many ways." Nudging his horse into a faster walk, he patted the mottled grey gelding's neck as it reluctantly obeyed and took hesitant steps onto the ramp that began the climb upwards.
Taylin looked down at the sound of a snapping twig. Below the bridge, a trio of tri-tailed deer dashed beneath them. The animals were easily twice as massive as either her or Almek's horses. "If those are the deer, I would hate to see what preys upon them." As if on cue, five wolves that were just a hand smaller than their horses surged out of the brush after the deer. "By Zeridis!" she cried, invoking the name of her temple's patron.
Almek looked bemused, a touch of pity in his eyes. "From my past experiences in this territory, those lupine are less of a worry than other predators who go about on two feet." He ignored Taylin's quizzical expression, his attention drawn forward.
"Hold, Foreigners!" a strident voice commanded in trade common. A guardsman dressed in black and gold emerged from the hollow of the nearest tree trunk they were approaching. "Identify yourselves and your business in Ithesra, capital of Forenta and home of the Edai Tredecima!" The 'or else' was evident as archers made themselves visible from various surrounding branches and walkways built into the tangle of trees.
Unhurried, Almek lowered his hood, offering a patient smile to the guardsman. Light reflected off his Guardian marks on his cheek, causing the other guardsmen to react, their aims faltering as they whispered in awe, "Guardian!" "Dusvet!"
The guardsman's demeanor changed dramatically as recognition set in. He nearly fell off his perch as he tried to wave the archers to lower their weapons and bow deeply in respect at the same time. "Dusvet Guardian Almek! Forgive us! Word had not reached us that you would be arriving in Ithesra—"
"Forgive me my negligence in sending word sufficiently ahead of my visit." The formality of Almek's words belied his concern for his error in following Forentan protocols. "I could find no messenger who would have arrived well enough ahead of me before I arrived myself."
Recovering his composure, the guardsman lightly hopped down several branches to the wooden bridge near the horses. He bowed deeply to Almek once again, but seemed completely oblivious to Taylin's presence. "I understand, my lord. Tell me how Forenta may serve the esteemed Guardians of the Fortress of Time?"
"Ah, yes. My visit is purely one of a personal nature." He raised his hand slightly before Taylin could utter a sound in argument, sensing the sharp turn of her head at his nonchalance and her pointed stare.
The guardsman nodded once. "Of course, my lord. Naveene's Rest—" he began, when one of the others interrupted in Forentan. Looking apologetic, he corrected himself. "Forgive me. One of the Great Families is celebrating the marriage of one of their own. Only Visitor's Hollow has any space left for forei- er, visitors." His look at Taylin, while professional, was also disdainful. "The Sevmanan is with you, I presume?
"Yes. Master Healer Taylin is my student," Almek confirmed, his voice taking the sharp edge of cool disapproval. "And a Guardian Adept."
The guardsman flinched slightly at the rebuke, pressing his lips together and squaring his shoulders, but offering no apology. "Your mounts will be tended to. Come with me." A boy came to carry Almek's gear, but Taylin was left to manage her own by herself.
The slight did not go unnoticed. Almek did not budge, forcing their escort to return for them. "I would appreciate if you would accord my student the same respect you so kindly show me, regardless of whether she bears the Guardian's mark or not." Almek's distinct disapproval brought a flush to the guardsman's fair features.
"Of course, my lord. Please, forgive me." The guardsman snapped his fingers and another boy emerged and nimbly climbed down the trunk of the tree itself before hopping over to the main bridge. Once Taylin's gear was collected, Almek turned to follow the guardsman finally.
The boy carrying Taylin's gear winked at her, making a rude gesture at the guardsman's back before hurrying to catch up with the other boy. She coughed, hiding a small smile before she fell into step with Almek to continue the clim
b into the trees. "I have never seen anyone dare to be so rude to someone from the Fortress of Time!" Taylin whispered in Sevmanan to Almek.
"It is something that has become more common in recent years," Almek admitted. "The mages of Forenta have always been a strong, proud breed, but they do tend to hold themselves as better than others, especially those not of Forentan blood." He shook his head. "Fortress does not impose its will on the four sovereign lands, and the current head of the Edai Tredecima has had a particular distrust of Guardians over the past fifty years."
"Why don't they? Impose their will, that is." Almek arched an eyebrow and she coughed a bit. "Not because I would want to punish anyone for... anything."
"The Fortress of Time has served the Timeless One since before the First Sundering. Regardless of some latent attitudes of what nation a Guardian was born to, Guardians serve all peoples equally, regardless of whatever measure various lands use to order their social hierarchies."
"Perhaps they do not see Guardians as powerful because no one has really seen what time magic really means," Taylin said thoughtfully.
"Perhaps. I prefer not 'to flex my muscle' as it were, simply to earn respect." Almek offered a nod in greeting to several young people who gasped and stared in awe at him as they passed. "And for now, my longevity seems to serve well enough. I am known over several generations by many in the Sundered Lands."
A wide ledge and overhang marked the entrance of Visitor's Hollow, small windows and balconies dotting the trunk both upwards and downwards where travelers rooms were within the great tree.
Visitor's Hollow, like most places in Ithesra, was carved out of the interior of the great tree it occupied, around the living central heart and following the curves of the exterior wall with undulating concave and convex waves. When the guardsman led them into the main room, the crowded room fell silent as everyone stared in shock not only to see a Dusvet Guardian, but that he would be here. "If we had known you were coming," the guardsman said with sincere apology, "Naveene would have assured you... and your student... would have had a place waiting for you."