“Yes. When Bodann died, I was released. Jason, I am so sorry for attacking you. I tried to turn away, but I couldn’t. Please forgive me.”
It’s okay. I know he was controlling you just like he did Delani. Don’t worry about it.
“Still. I should have been stronger.”
Well, at least we don’t have to worry about him now. I doubt he’s coming back from what Lenai did to him.
“That is good. I do not wish to be taken from you again.”
Me either.
The door opened, and Lenai and the Loremasters entered the room, along with Nyala and Nivek.
Reyga rushed to the table, a broad smile on his face. “I told you we would see each other again. I knew you could do it.”
“Thanks,” Jason said, as Reyga and Lenai helped him into a sitting position. He looked around at the Circle. Most of them were smiling at him, and even Brin’s and Delani’s normally stern demeanors had been replaced by expressions that he would almost consider happy. “But it wasn’t really me. Lenai is the one who took care of Bothan.”
“We are well aware of Lenai’s role in this,” Seryn said with a smile. “Her bravery and strength has not gone unnoticed. But you were the one who made it possible. Teleria owes you a great debt of gratitude.”
“So, did we win? Are Regor and Airam gone?”
“They’re gone,” Nyala said. “The only remaining Altered are Nivek and myself.”
“So, then, I guess it’s over?” Jason frowned as he considered the situation.
“Jason?” Reyga asked. “You look troubled. Is something amiss?”
“Well, I don’t know. Maybe not. But you remember the prophecy, right?” When Reyga and the others nodded, he went on. “Well, it said ‘for our land to live, the far land must die.’ If this is all over, what does that mean? I thought the far land was my world, because it said Jaben would come from a far land. Now I don’t know what to think. Is it really over? Or is there still more to come?”
Now Reyga frowned as he looked at Seryn. “Could it be? After all of our efforts, are there yet more struggles ahead?”
Seryn shook her head slowly, a puzzled look on her face. “I do not know. Although I have not studied the prophecy as extensively as had Tal Vardyn, even he assumed Jason was the ‘Jaben’ from the far land mentioned. However, we never had any intention of going to this far land ourselves, even had we the ability to do so.”
Nyala stepped forward. “This prophecy. Although I am aware of it, I am not overly familiar with it. What can you tell me about it?”
“It is a prophecy given by a seer named Taleth centuries ago,” Seryn said. “In its entirety, it states:
~~~
From a far land, Jaben shall come.
The last to arrive, he will already be here.
Powerful and powerless,
Our hope and our doom are in his hands.
His destruction is our hope.
His denial is our doom.
For our land to live, the far land must die.”
~~~
Nyala pursed her lips as she considered the words of the foretelling. “Well, I can certainly understand Jason’s misgivings,” she said. “When, exactly, was this prophecy given?”
“It would have been around 850 P.D.” Seryn said.
Nyala nodded. “Let me see what I can find out.” She stepped forward and lightly grasped Jason’s arm. “Thank you, Jason. You were everything I hoped you would be. Your father will be proud.” Then she stepped back. “I’ll let you know as soon as I find anything that may explain that part of the prophecy.” She moved beside Nivek. The younger Altered gave Jason a grin and a wink, and then they were gone.
“Hey, speaking of my dad…”
“He should be here soon,” Reyga said. “We wanted to be sure of your condition before we sent for him.”
“Well, do you think I could go back to my room? Or is there some reason I need to stay here?”
“I see no need for you to remain here if you wish to return to your quarters,” Seryn said. “Are you able to walk?”
“Yeah, sure.” He started to get up and then stopped, wincing, as his movements rekindled the fiery pain from his battle with Bothan. He took a couple of deep breaths. “Oh, man!” He looked at Seryn. “No offense, but I think you may be losing your touch.”
“Jason, I must apologize,” Seryn said. “You have not received the normal care we would ordinarily provide. With the substantial increase in your powers, I felt it best to forego treatment, at least until you were awake, to minimize any possible adverse reaction to such treatment.”
“By which you mean, you didn’t want me to blast someone in my sleep.”
Seryn looked mildly embarrassed as she gave a slight shrug. “Essentially, yes.” She straightened. “But, if you wish, I will treat you now.” She looked around at the others. “I would ask everyone else to leave the room as a precaution.”
He shook his head. “No. It’s okay. It’s probably best not to take any chances. I’ll just try to move slow.”
“We do have a healing ointment that also helps alleviate pain, if you would like that.”
“That would be awesome. Thanks.”
“If you are able, we will meet again tomorrow, after Second Meal.”
“Sounds good.” He winced again, as his body reminded him of its recent abuse.
With Lenai’s help, he slid off the table onto his feet. Holding onto the edge of the table, he waited for a wave of dizziness, and his battered body’s complaints, to fade. Seryn retrieved a small, stone jar and gave it to Lenai. Once Jason signaled he was ready, he and Lenai slowly made their way to his room.
*****
Seryn awoke the next morning to light streaming through her window, the sounds of the outside world coming to life…and the feeling that something was missing. A small crease formed between her eyebrows as she searched her thoughts. After considering it for several moments, she realized what it was. There was no sense of impending doom looming over the keep; no worries about what the Altered or Bodann were going to do next.
A smile crept across her face as she lay in bed, reveling in the feeling of being able to relax, even if only for a little while. Although there would still be issues and problems to deal with, Teleria would go on, as it had for centuries, under the Circle’s guidance, and without the threat of imminent destruction casting a constant pall over their everyday lives.
Her thoughts returned to the previous day, and her smile faded. Not that there was nothing to smile about, but so many had paid the price to give them the hope she felt today. Her thoughts went to Bodann’s first victim, Tor. There may have been more before the young man, but he was the first of whom they were aware. The image of daggers impaling her student’s body hung in front of her eyes, until it was blurred by unexpected tears. She had not allowed herself to mourn anyone other than Tal during this time of crisis. Now, it appeared her tears refused to be denied any longer. Warders, craftsmen, children, face after face drifted through her thoughts, victims of a greed for power that refused to be denied. All passed through her mind, surfacing and submerging in the currents of her memories, until one face remained, refusing to move on.
Lenai.
After Seryn treated her injuries, Lenai had remained in the healing area, not willing to be away from Jason. There had been a minor disagreement between them when Seryn told her she was not going to treat Jason’s wounds, although, in the end, the Shanthi girl had grudgingly seen Seryn’s reasoning. While they waited for Jason to awaken, Seryn and Reyga had slowly been able to draw out the details of Lenai’s encounter with her brother. Even without her Diamond training, she would felt the conflicting emotions inside Lenai when she spoke of driving home the killing blow, even though she gave no sign of those emotions on her face or in her voice.
Then Jason’s sleep had become restless, his body twitching and his head turning from side to side. Small bursts of power sparkled from his fingers; waves and ripples of di
msai danced up and down the length of his body. Although it went against everything she had ever learned and taught in the Diamond Order, Seryn had immediately ordered everyone out of the healing area. She was not just the Diamond Loremaster now. She was High One of the Circle of Nine. The safety of those under her care took precedence, and, in her new position, those numbers included far more than just her patients.
Lenai had refused, insisting that she stay beside Jason.
“Lenai,” Seryn had said, “you do not know what may happen. If his power erupts further, you could be harmed, possibly killed.”
“My place is here,” the girl maintained. “He is my ch’nai. I will not leave him.”
“And if Jason harms you in his sleep?” Reyga said. “Do you believe he would want to hear that when he awakes?”
Lenai shook her head. “He will not. I am his ch’nai as well. He will know, and withhold.”
In spite of their pleas, Lenai adamantly refused to leave Jason’s side. Considering what she had just been through with her brother, Seryn had not tried to force the issue, instead leaving Lenai with the instruction to summon them once Jason regained consciousness.
She stared at the ceiling, her thoughts going back to Lenai’s struggle against her own flesh and blood. If it had been her in that situation, facing her sister, would she have been able to do what Lenai did? Even for Lore’s Haven? Even for Teleria? She wished she could say yes, but her heart told her that was an answer she could not give. Lenai had been strong enough to do what had to be done. I only hope she is strong enough to live with it.
She took a deep breath, pushing the troubling images away. There would be time enough later to dwell on what had taken place. Now was a time for a new beginning. They had survived. Their lives would go on, even if so many of those they had known and loved would not. The best way to honor their memories was to repair the damage, rebuild what had been lost, and do everything in their power to see that such a thing never happened again.
She pushed the covers aside and climbed out of bed. There were duties to which she must attend, and changes she wished to propose. Things needed to change. For the Circle, for Lore’s Haven, and for Teleria. Things that should have changed long ago.
Once she was dressed, she went in search of the other Loremasters.
*****
Jason’s eyes snapped open, and his gaze ran desperately across the ceiling from one side to the other. He gave a quiet sigh of relief when he realized that the day before had not been a dream; he really was back in Lore’s Haven. It’s really over. Well, maybe it was. There was still that part in the prophecy about the far land.
“How are you feeling?”
He turned his head to see Lenai getting up from a chair by the table in his room. She came to the side of the bed and laid her hand over his.
He cautiously shifted, and moved his legs, arms, and head. When there were no fiery protests of pain from anywhere, he nodded. “Better. At least I don’t feel like anyone’s poking me with branding irons this morning.” He shook his head and said, “Never mind,” to her confused look. Guess they don’t have branding irons here, either. He pushed himself to a sitting position, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.
“I—”
“Jason? Are you well?”
He smiled as he heard his friend’s voice in his head. “It’s Crin,” he told Lenai. Then, to Crin, Yeah, I’m a lot better now.
“Good. Nyala has asked me to let her know when you’re awake and can see her. Should I tell her now, or would you like to wait? I think it has something to do with that prophecy.”
Yeah, give me just a few minutes to change. “Nyala has found something out about the prophecy,” he said to Lenai. “I need to get dressed.”
“I will wait outside,” she said, and, with a squeeze of his hand, she turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.
“Change to what?”
Different clothes.
“Oh, yes. I sometimes forget you humans have to do that. Seems a waste of time when you have a perfectly good coat of skin.”
Jason chuckled at Crin’s remark. Well, we humans tend to like to keep our skin covered most of the time.
“Odd. Although, I suppose your skin is not as becoming as my feathers, so perhaps it’s understandable.”
Yeah, that’s it. He finished changing clothes and told Crin, Okay, I’m ready.
After a few moments, Nyala appeared in his room.
“Good morning, Jason. Crin tells me you’re feeling better. I’m glad.”
“Me too. Crin said you found something out about the prophecy?”
“Yes. If you have some time, I’d like to show you.”
“Where are we going?”
She gave a little laugh. “Again, it’s not so much a matter of ‘where,’ as it is of ‘when.’”
“Oh, time travel again, huh? Okay, just a sec.” He went to the door and looked out. Lenai was standing against the wall across the hallway. “Hey, Nyala is going to take me to show me what she found out about the prophecy. She said it wouldn’t take long.”
Lenai nodded. “I will let the Circle know.”
“No need,” Nyala said from behind him. “We won’t be gone long enough for you to take three steps.”
Lenai raised an eyebrow. “Very well. I will wait here.”
“All right, then,” Jason said. He looked at Nyala. “Let’s do this.”
Nyala put her hand on his shoulder, and, without transition, he found himself looking at the outskirts of a small village on an open plain.
“So, where and when are we?”
“This is the village of Prenal. The year is 847 P.D., approximately eight centuries in what we would consider the past. The village no longer exists in our time, but in this time it is a thriving community.”
Jason turned to look at her and was shocked to see a blonde haired woman he didn’t recognize. “Nyala? Is that you? What’s up with the disguise?”
“We are in a time where the Altered are at full strength. The only thing restraining them right now is the Covenant. If I were to be seen, one of the Altered of this time might think the Nyala of this time was trying to circumvent the Covenant. Changing my appearance, and subduing my power as much as possible, is the best way to avoid that. Although I may have been unaware of the prophecy until recently, it doesn’t mean none of the other Altered knew about it.”
“Gotcha. So where is this Taleth lady?”
“She is meditating at the moment. We will go into town as if we were merely travelers. As long as we don’t draw any attention to ourselves, no one should pay us any heed. In just a little while, Taleth will come out of her home, in a trance, and begin wandering the streets, repeating the prophecy again and again, until finally someone will think to write it down.”
“So we’ll hear it firsthand?”
“Exactly.”
“Awesome.”
They made their way to the town center. Although not as busy as Drey’s Glenn had been, the town was clearly a place for commerce. Jason spent a few moments taking in the surroundings, and then turned to Nyala.
“By the way, there was a question I wanted to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“You said the present couldn’t be changed by doing something different in the past. That it always finds a way to come back to how it was. But if that’s true, why did me sending a note to myself in the past work?”
“Did it work? Did it actually change anything? Or did it just speed up what would have happened eventually anyway?”
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe your ancestor was destined to be killed by someone else, and your actions simply changed the method, but not the outcome.”
“I guess. But who could have stood up to him with the kind of power he had? Even I couldn’t beat him.”
“Well, actually, Jason, it wasn’t your power that stopped him. It was one girl, Lenai, and a sword. Who’s to say someone else with a sw
ord might not have done it later? Or maybe Lenai would have done it to avenge your death at his hands.”
“Maybe.” He remembered the first time he saw her in battle against the Trellin. “She’s definitely got a temper if she thinks someone’s done her wrong.”
“Or, on the other hand, perhaps my analogy of the lake is correct, but the ‘stone’ you dropped in the lake was close enough to the shore to change things. Maybe only changes further back in the past get countered.”
“I guess it doesn’t really matter. Bothan’s gone. That’s the important thing.”
“That, and the threat of the Altered.”
“That too.”
He turned as he heard a soft but growing commotion coming up one of the village lanes.
“Here she is,” Nyala said. “Time for you to hear the prophecy for yourself.”
They moved forward through a crowd gathered around a grey-haired lady, draped in a pale blue shawl, shuffling one way and then another, all the while mumbling to herself. Jason could only catch bits and pieces over the murmuring of the people around them as she kept changing directions.
“…Jaben shall come…powerful and powerless… in his hands….our doom…for our land to live…”
He glanced at Nyala. “I can’t hear everything she’s saying.”
“Don’t worry. She’s about to get louder.”
As if she’d heard Nyala’s comment, Taleth’s voice rose in volume. Her words became louder, more distinct, and Jason could hear each one clearly. His jaw dropped as he turned to Nyala. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. Really?”
“Kind of puts things in a different light, wouldn’t you say?”
“Yeah, no kidding it does. All this time…” He shook his head.
“Speaking of time, now that you’ve heard the prophecy for yourself, we should get back to our own,” Nyala said.
“Yeah, you’re probably right. No sense pushing our luck.”
“Before we return, I would like to ask a favor of you.”
“Sure. Anything. What do you need?”
“I have spoken with Nivek, and we both agree.”
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