Quest

by Shannah Jay

  Priannar, our Elder Sister, will guide our steps now. Once more we have reverted to a Sisterhood. The long years of struggle against Discord have left their mark upon us. Even those men of constancy have now been sent to live in the town. A hard decision, but the balance is not right for both men and women to unite in the Quest. Why do men take so much longer to discover their Gifts? Why does violence still flourish more easily in their souls?

  The married Sisters shall pass freely between town and temple, living where the God calls them. Since our Brother granted us the Gift of longer life than other people, our Sisters will be able to return to the temple when their husbands die.

  This Sister will never leave the temple again, nor seek another husband. One who has flown in the arms of the Lord Terraccalliss cannot feel love for an earthbound man. It may be that this Sister will bear another child or two, for the sake of the bloodlines, for her line is an honoured one, fruitful in Gifted offspring. However, foster-mothers will raise the children with their own families, until the time of Choosing.

  It is a joy to us all that already the daughters of Lord Terraccalliss show promise and that the boy has a nobility of character far beyond his years. Their marriages and breeding must not be chance matings, but must be most carefully selected, as they are already aware. In them are vested Gifts essential to our prime lines.

  This Sister will devote the rest of her life to the Archives. More paper needs fabricating, and there are many collections of memoirs and skills which need to be carefully classified and bound into books. Surely this will be a task worth the undertaking! Though the joy is gone from this Sister's life, she shall not waste her days, nor sit weeping for what cannot return.

  Herra III

  The third Herra was known as the Beloved of the God, Soo. And as she was an ancestor of our Herra, that means that our Elder Sister is descended from an alien, the Lord Terraccalliss. Wouldn't you like access to a hospital planet to run some nano-grid tests on their DNA? Even in the Sisterhood, our Herra is longer-lived than usual.

  There must be something special in her genetic inheritance. It was Herra III who designed the beautiful bindings which they still use for the Archives, as well as the whole system of information storage. I wish you could see the Archive Cellars.'

  'I wish I could too.'

  They were both silent for a few seconds, then Davred laid the second parchment reverently to one side.

  'I think most of the Manifestations of the God were aliens, Soo. There are carvings around the Statue of the God in the temple here of eight different Manifestations, some of them not human, and one of them with wings.

  Apparently they're exact portraits of the Manifestations of the God, but no one can tell me how the carvings appear.

  I never saw such skilled carving in my life - you could almost stroke the fur of the Lord Ebrlk - and the stonework hasn't deteriorated in the slightest even after all these thousands of years.'

  He hesitated, then added, 'Soo, it's incredible, but when we got back here after I landed, the darkness at the back QUEST Shannah Jay 104

  of the statue had receded to reveal an eighth form - mine. It was only starting to appear when they left to find me, but when we got back, it was fully finished. I still can't believe it. The honour overwhelms me. How do they do it?'

  Her voice was vehement. 'I'd sell my soul to come down and see such things for myself! '

  'Not your soul, Soo. That's too precious. The God wouldn’t welcome such a sacrifice.'

  He meant that. Every time she spoke to him, he seemed more attuned to another way of thinking, as if he saw life through a different lens to her. He was lean and tanned now, and had lost his diffident, boyish look. He wore a short-sleeved tunic and loose trousers of fine temple cloth in the same soft blue as the Sisters' robes. He even moved differently, like a well-trained dancer, which he actually was now, for he’d had to spend long hours learning the ritual dances of the temple.

  Soo wondered suddenly what kind of dancing could cause such a rapid and visible change in a person's body. It’d have been good to record it from close quarters and then analyse the muscles being exercised by each movement.

  Oh, there were so many things she wanted to know! Damn Robler and his interference! Why had he not been replaced as Exec? Had no one read the reports she and Mak had sent in to Sector HQ?

  To see Davred with Katia was to see two people so completely bonded that Soo would have envied their closeness had she not found deep satisfaction in her own evolving relationship with Mak. They had trouble keeping quiet when Robler sneered at the way Davred had 'gone primitive' and 'pair-bonded himself to a native'.

  Like Davred, Soo had begun to wonder which was, in fact, the more primitive of the two cultures. The Confederation might have sophisticated machinery, but the Sisters seemed to have found their own inner peace and meaning in life in a way the 'civilised' citizens of the Confederation might well envy. Was that why the art forms on Sunrise were of such a high calibre, far superior to anything crafted elsewhere in the Confederation? As for the Sisters' personal skills, they were like the magic of ancient history. Why hadn't someone authorised a full-scale Research Project to study Sunrise, as she and Mak had recommended? There was so much to be learnt from this planet!

  Smiling, Davred held up another parchment to be scanned. 'This one is slightly more modern. It's remarkable, Soo. I don't think I've ever heard of a culture which can so easily accept outsiders and aliens. Look at all the problems the Confederation’s had in reconciling some of the different planets! And yet most sentients are descended from Old Terra and physically very similar.'

  'Is Discord bred in us?' she wondered.

  He shrugged. 'One wonders. Anyway, you may find this one amusing.'

  TENEBRAK: THE SPREAD OF DISCORD YEAR 22,542, AUTUMN,DAY 34

  This day did the God honour our temple after an absence of 2,201 years, by sending us His Eighth Manifestation.

  His name is Lord Davred and in this Manifestation he is a being very like ourselves in appearance, though he was raised on a different world and flew across the heavens to join us. So does the God keep his promise to send his Manifestation to help us in times of direst need. (Ref: Encyclopedia - Manifestations of the God, Galactic Confederation, Confex, Satellite, Cathartic Agent.)

  This day there returned to Tenebrak with the Manifestation of our God, Herra, our Elder Sister, and our young Sister, Katia, both of whom had travelled into the wildwoods to bring him back to safety. A Ceremony of Rejoicing was held, in spite of the continuing Discord in the city, and the tale of their deeds was told to all who dwell in the temple.

  The Lord Davred descended to our world in a flying wagon called a lifeship, pursued by enemies who caused him to fall across the sky too rapidly. The lifeship was damaged and the Lord himself sustained injuries, so Herra and Katia went to rescue him. Herra healed his broken leg and discovered that in the Galactic Confederation, which is what his people call their union of many worlds, they have inferior knowledge of healing. His people place their trust QUEST Shannah Jay 105

  in machinery and have little control over their own bodies.

  The Lord who claims Tenebron, one Benner, a servant of Evil, sent out large parties of men in pursuit of the Lord Davred, forcing him and his Sisters to take refuge for a time in a cave. What sad times are these! Herra's life force being badly depleted, she was obliged to enter the Discipline of Deep Renewal without the help and guidance of a Healer.

  As this was her tenth Renewal, the danger was immense, but she succeeded. The God was looking down upon her, as she so richly deserved. And upon us all, for we have great need of her wisdom. She has no equal, and is now the oldest Sister ever known, a direct descendant of Karialla and Deverith. How true that line breeds still! And the blood of the Lord Terraccalliss also flows in her veins. How fortunate we were to be given the Blessing of his line!

  While the Elder Sister was in Renewal, Katia was left to guard the Lord Davred and had to leave the ca
ve to find food. On a sad day, she was attacked by one of the Serpent's followers, an Initiate of the Inner Shrine. I shall not write in this book the threats he made against her, for they do not deserve to be remembered, but he was sunk deep in depravity. The Lord Davred had to kill this person, such need being confirmed by the Elder Sister. (See Memoirs: Katia, Herra IX, Davred I.) How sad that even we of the Sisterhood should be forced to violence!

  During Herra's Renewal, the Great Prophecy (Herra IX: 25) was further fulfilled, in that the Lord Davred and Katia our Sister vowed themselves as man and wife. Of their issue, and that of our other Gifted Lines, shall come those who will lead us along the next stage of our path. The Lord Davred is to be one of the Fathers of the next Stage. Of his seed shall great progress be made, as always happens when we are granted a Manifestation of our God.

  So, in the midst of Discord, does our Brother yet give us hope.

  It is further confirmed that Katia is with child, a daughter (prophesied Davred I: 1). Like the others, this Manifestation of our God will also leave his seed among the bodies of those of our Sisters whose lines are judged most compatible. Thus all shall not be lost, whatever the outcome of this unhappy age, and our Gifted Lines shall be scattered and preserved.

  * * *

  It is confirmed with sadness that the Temple at Penerak had to go under stasis a short time ago. This is an effect of a machine brought down by the Lord Davred for our protection. It can still life and set up a barrier over a whole temple. Violence as being perpetrated against the temple itself and this was the only way to save it.

  Surely the greatest Discord ever known is rife among us! Shall Temple Tenebrak also need to seek refuge under such machinery one day? Cold comfort, that! And what of the townsfolk we shall have to leave behind to face Discord alone?

  In many areas the Emergency Scattering is now complete, and the opportunity has been seized for spreading the Gifted Lines more widely, and for moving all the children into families, including our two special charges (Herra IX: 18). These we shall retrieve when better times are won. Then we shall help them to make claim to their holdings so that they may assist us in driving out Those of the Serpent.

  Diona IV, Keeper of the Archives

  'You see, they're able to accept outsiders and aliens and welcome them into their culture, just as they accepted me and fitted me in. And Soo, I did prophesy that Katia and I would have a daughter, before we even lay together. And have been proved right, as you know.' He held out a final manuscript.

  TENEBRAK:YEAR 22,543, SPRING,DAY 90

  This day was Katia, beloved wife of the Lord Davred, delivered of a daughter, who is to be named Siri-Soo, a name partly of her father's people, and therefore new for a daughter of our Sisterhood. Her two names signify her double ancestry and the promise it holds.

  QUEST Shannah Jay 106

  As always, extra care was taken with the birth preparations, for the melding of two species is not an easy task.

  Herra herself was in attendance, with Lara, but no problems were encountered, and Katia was safely delivered amid great rejoicing. We welcome Siri-Soo to our world - first of the line of Davred.

  * * *

  This day had its dark side, also. There arrived in Tenebrak our Sister Fiana, whose act of bravery saved the lives of many of our Sisters in Setheron. (Verified by Sherin, Elder Sister in Temple Setheron, as a necessary sacrifice, loathsome as it was.)

  When her temple went under Stasis, Fiana was one of those who chose to stay outside and continue the fight against Discord. The God put it into her mind to travel, and she made her way across the land.(See Memoirs of Fiana.)

  She arrived here in time to share our rejoicing. But, to our great sadness, she is marked by the sacrifice she made.

  Since that day she has been unable to gather fully with her Sisters, for she carries vengeance in her heart and will not abjure it. She has not only vowed to kill Sen-Sether, but insists that this task is her destiny, set upon her by our Brother.

  Even our Elder Sister has not been able to move her from this vile intention. Herra has decreed, however, that she shall not be less our Sister for that, and so we wait for our Brother to unfold Fiana's destiny.

  Diona IV:Keeper of the Archives

  'I still feel very honoured that you named your daughter for me, Davred.' Robler had just roared with laughter when he heard about it.

  'For you, and for a long-dead Elder Sister of Herra's line, who looks a bit like you. She came from Mer-Halani, where the people could be relatives of yours. Pictures are drawn at each temple of all the Elder Sisters, you know -

  well, it's not drawing exactly, because they do it with brushes - and they don't treat their subjects pictorially, but somehow they seem to catch the essence. You feel that those women could step off the paper and talk to you. You should see the one of Herra!' His face became suddenly sad.

  'What's the matter?'

  'Elder Sisters only have their portraits recorded when they feel they're nearing the end of their lives. I can't imagine this temple, or even this world, without Herra. She is its very pivot.'

  'Has she chosen a successor?'

  'She has chosen an Elder Sister Elect,' Davred corrected.

  'Who is . . . ?'

  'Lara, the chief Healer. Healers become Elder Sisters more often than others. Healing is one of the highest-level Gifts. Herra has also prophesied, by the way, that Katia will one day become Elder Sister at Tenebrak, which means,'

  he said steadily, 'that my Katia will outlive me, for which I thank our Brother. She couldn't stay married to me if she were Elder Sister, and I know that the God wouldn't ask her to leave me were I still alive.'

  Soo shivered. 'Don't talk like that, Davred! It's - unnatural - morbid!'

  His eyes were luminous and his smile was unshadowed. 'I meant it joyfully, Soo. Death is the twin of life, and one cannot hide from it. Those of the Confederation are wrong in that. We shun the very thought of death. We even force our tortured bodies to live on in cages of machinery to escape it. My hope now is to climb the Ladder of Life -

  if I can grow wiser and earn that privilege. I no longer believe that death is a final ending and it's a wonderful comfort in such times.'

  Soo opened her mouth to speak, then make a quick gesture of farewell and broke the contact.

  Davred sat with head bowed for a moment, as he had been taught, fixing the scene in his memory so that he could recall it at will. He was never word and gesture-perfect, like Katia, but he could fix the essence now, without QUEST Shannah Jay 107

  any blurring of events. Herra said that because he had been dependent upon machines for so long, his memory was impaired and it would take many years to recover; yet if he were back with Confex, they would marvel at his present capacity for remembering things.

  In the other Disciplines he did better. Soon he would move to the final class of novices. His speed of learning was, he knew, creating a legend of its own. To him, the process seemed slow. He had not been brought up with the habit of patience, though he was acquiring it.

  He was the first man to be trained inside a temple for thousands of years, the first since the Second Age of Discord. The other Manifestations hadn’t needed training - they’d brought new Disciplines and Gifts with them - but he was different. He considered himself lacking in so many ways, but every now and then the God would whisper within him, and he would be reassured that he was here for a purpose, because the things he prophesied always came true. Always.

  His presence caused many anomalies for the Sisters, though. How do you treat a Manifestation of the God when he is the most ignorant of the novices? How can you bow your head to him one minute and chide him for inattention the next? Only Cheral had no trouble chiding him. She didn’t hesitate to scold anyone, Herra included, and Herra was a far more awesome figure nowadays than the Lord Davred. Since her last Renewal she seemed to have distanced herself from her Sisters and had become an autocrat, working everyone in the temple, Davred included, to th
eir utmost limits.

  Remembering which, Davred stood up, rang a chord-chimer that was a masterpiece of the silversmith's art, and waited for the Sister on duty to resume her place. He was late for Meditation practice with Herra.

  Herra waited patiently for Davred to arrive. She’d decided to help him to perfect his skills herself. It was of vital importance that he learn to hear clearly the words of the God who had sent him to join their Quest.

  It was also of vital importance, though she did not explain this, that she watch for signs of what the Lord Davred's Gifts would be. He was an unknown quantity, this latest Manifestation of the God. A hard puzzle even for the formidable Elder Sister to unravel.

  But then, the Path of Wisdom had never been an easy one to tread.

  #####

  Chapter 17: TENEBRAK - DISCORD RAMPANT

  It became more and more difficult for Soo to communicate privately with Davred, thanks to Robler's increased vigilance, and she could only watch in sorrow as Discord escalated and violence spread across the beautiful planet.

  Some of the carefully-planted tracers stopped working, for no obvious reason; others worked only too well, and what they showed sickened her.

  Robler ordered that the random sweeps made by the satellite's observation devices should focus on the shrines of the Serpent until they could plant permanent tracers in some of the major shrines. He frequently came to watch what was happening in the shrines, and although he expressed disgust at the barbaric practices, Soo couldn’t help feeling that he was excited by what he saw. Afterwards his eyes always gleamed and the way he looked at her, though he did nothing but look, made her shiver.

  * * *

  Tenebron, alone of the older claims, was not yet so totally dominated by Those of the Serpent that the temple was in danger of assault, but even there, Sisters wearing the distinctive blue robes had been attacked in the streets.

  Little by little, people became afraid to seek the services of the Sister Healers openly; women not wearing the drab, all-enveloping garb which Those of the Serpent deemed appropriate for outdoor wear found it risky to walk the streets QUEST Shannah Jay 108