The Celestial Paladin

by Gil Hough

CHAPTER 16

  TO RAISE A SWORD

  Rodregas was careful to walk with the confidence due of a new knight eager for his awards. Doi’van and Imeralda followed two steps behind, both playing the role of faithful servants to the hilt. He saw the double, engraved doors ahead of them, a pair of knights on each side of the door. The doors were large enough that the three of them could have entered abreast through the threshold and the doors were solid enough, looking as if they were made out of whole trees. Bound in iron, they looked like they could handle a battering ram better than even the front gates.

  A group of knights stood tall next to the doors, but their heads tracked the presence of Rodregas and his two companions. Rodregas vaguely remembered one as Gorin, an older man who under more prosperous times for the knighthood would now be enjoying his retirement.

  “Gorin!” Rodregas yelled boastfully, “Open the doors, the Grand Marshal says that I may review the choice I must make.” Rodregas walked over and slapped the knight in the arm, laying it on heavy. Luckily, his success on the field had him in a good mood. Rodregas waved at the heavy doors as if wiggling his fingers could open them.

  “Sir Rodregas, you look good for having just completed the tournament this day,” said Gorin. “I would not expect you to be moving around much yet.”

  Rodregas nodded. He could not explain that he already had a minor sigil of healing. He simply smiled and said, “I am too excited to lie down and groan in pain! My mind races with the possibilities. Now that I am officially a knight, I want to bring my sworn men into the chamber and figure out what sigils I will choose.” At his words the men’s faces tightened and they looked at his supposed servants.

  Rodregas nodded his understanding. He also knew from his own ‘illustrious’ career as a guard that the others would follow the rules. They were not officers to be making judgments. “I know you don’t like my servants being a Hellborn and a Nymph,” he said keeping his voice light. “But they are my sworn men and I trust them; and it is my call. Now open the doors.” At the last part he let a sergeant’s voice ring out and it was more order than request. And like all good soldiers they immediately carried out his order.

  The door had a strange mechanism such as Rodregas had never seen before. Gorin lifted a large handle and solid squares of iron slid out of the floor and the ceiling. When both the top and the bottom fully released the guard pushed the doors wide.

  The three immediately pushed through and Rodregas said, “You can close the doors. I will pound on them when we are ready to leave.” And with a nervous nod the doors slid closed behind them.

  As the door closed Gorin hastily added, “Remember not to touch anything until the Grand Marshal is present.”

  Doi’van nodded at the now closed doors and raised his torch. The three gazed around the room in wonderment. In response to the torch the room seemed to respond with a vague

  light of its own, which came from all directions. The chamber was large with a tall vaulted ceiling like some temple, but no rows of seats or prayer mats did this temple hold. Instead it was filled with beasts; lions and wolves and the great mythical animals of the Celestial Realm. Most of these he recognized as the great totems of the Celestial Realm, each representing great power.

  The great beasts were full-size and, but for their lack of movement, Rodregas would have thought that they must have traveled to the Celestial Realm itself.

  “Oh, my Gods, they look real. I thought they would be made of stone like the frog,” said Imeralda.

  Rodregas nodded. The beasts looked to be made of flesh and bone, except they all stood perfectly still on short stone pedestals. Strangely, the room did not smell of damp stone like the rest of the cathedral, but the air smelled of the outdoors in spring.

  Rodregas’ eyes were drawn to the powerful lion that reared up not far into the gathered animals, and just to the right of the center. He walked over to it. It looked like it could have been the twin for the beast that had been devoured by the blue flame on top of Raven Keep. He stepped up close looking up at the beast; he was massive! The beast’s mouth was open, not as if he was going to roar, but simply in relaxed pose. He looked like he had been caught stalking forward on the hunt. Rodregas stepped up and just stared at him. He was beautiful.

  “Don’t touch,” barked Doi’van.

  Rodregas nodded, he knew not to touch, but then realized that his hand was raised and had been reaching out to stroke the lion’s mane. He knew that this was the greater sigil that he wanted to gain. It was in a perfect circle. He had taken in the essence of the Celestial Lion back at Raven Keep, and now Rodregas would consume his own magical power with the greater sigil of a Celestial Lion and become a perfect vessel for its power.

  Rodregas forced himself to step back. This was their chance for Doi’van, and he would get a second chance if needed. He looked over at the other two. Once Rodregas had turned around from the lion, Doi’van started to walk between the pedestals joining Imeralda at looking around. He stood in front of the great six-legged stallion, the kind of steed the Gods themselves ride, and then walked over to the Great White Stag of the forest and then to the giant eagle that guarded the Celestial sky.

  It was a sight to take the breath from any mortal, a score of beasts that appeared to have been taken right from the heavens. “How were the greater sigils created?” Rodregas wondered. While the leaser sigils appeared to be simple sculpture empowered by magic, these truly appeared real. Yet what magic could capture such powerful beasts for the use of creating sigils? Had the greater sigils been gifts to mortals from the Gods themselves?

  Rodregas yearned to reach out and touch to see if they felt like flesh or stone. But, to do so would set his path for the rest of his life. If he was truly strong enough for two as Imeralda thought, then he could be a lion and what else?

  “Well, Doi’van, what do you think?” Rodregas asked. “I am going to choose lion, but it would be great to have a pride, or maybe the Moon Wolf or the Mountain Bear.”

  Doi’van nodded and walked over to the bear. It was a kind of bear that Rodregas had not heard of in the mortal world, even larger than ‘his’ lion. The bear actually had a thick tail and its teeth seemed far larger than any bear he had heard of.

  Doi’van stood there looking up at the great beast for a long moment. Then he cocked his head; his nose went up as if he smelled something. He stepped around the great bear and headed toward the back wall. The score of statues, while separated, were clustered in the middle of the great room. The four walls of the room seemed to be set back with the ceiling gently coming down in the form of great arches.

  In one of the great arches was the door they had entered. The stone around the door was the gray of the local granite. The three others had black featureless stone that Rodregas did not recognize. As he followed Doi’van into the shadows of the distant arch Rodregas smelled what had attracted Doi’van, the odor of brimstone and hellfire.

  Rodregas stepped back in shock; what was that smell of the Infernal Realm doing here in the Cathedral of the Heavens?

  Doi’van however, did not step back but stepped forward, reaching out to the stone. When he touched it, suddenly there was a doorway. It was the twin of the main entrance, except here there were no guards. Doi’van reached for the long handle, but Rodregas quickly said, “Stop!”

  Doi’van looked back at him and Rodregas could see that he was under no magical geis controlling his will, just curiosity of what the source of the Infernal smell was down here. But what Doi’van said to him was, “Where is Imeralda?”

  At these words Rodregas whirled around and looked around throughout the great chamber. Both of their eyes were drawn to where they heard a third door being opened. As they had found a door smelling of the fires of hell, so apparently had Imeralda found a door. She was opening hers. They both ran to catch up with her before she got in. They dared not run full out as they dodged around the greater sigils, knowing any touch wo
uld be permanent.

  They were not in time to stop Imeralda from entering through the hidden door. Rodregas could feel Imeralda in front of him, but she and the doors seemed to disappear. His eyes seemed of no use so he closed them and simply walked toward where he knew she was. He felt Doi’van grab onto his shoulder and follow him. When he opened his eyes, he saw that they had entered another great chamber. At first he thought it was the same size as the first chamber until his eyes saw the huge tree in the middle and followed it up and then up. The tree soared above them so high that Rodregas thought it must be far higher than the Cathedral itself. This was, of course, impossible.

  As Rodregas stopped beside Imeralda he tried to see the shape of the leaf to identify the type of tree, but the leaves were so high up he could only see a very general shape. The shape of the trunk reminded him of a white oak, but the color was a darker gray with touches of striped brown. The trunk was huge, thicker than the towers of the keep. But that made no sense to Rodregas. The chamber seemed to be the same size as the one they had entered and if one of the great towers had been in the middle there would be hardly room to fit it, and yet the trunk was not that close to them from the door and was not near any of the walls. So it was either smaller around, which was impossible because of the height, or the chamber must be far smaller. Rodregas shook his head in confusion.

  “What is that?” asked Doi’van.

  Imeralda smiled a soft smile, one that for a brief moment brought memories of the two of them back at the farm. “I,” she started and then paused as if caught up in her own words, “I think that is the ‘One Tree.’” At the responding look of confusion she said, “The legendary source of all Nymphs. While we serve the Gods like all mortals, the One Tree is our source. It is to us like water is for a fish. I don’t know how to even explain it to one who is not of our people. But I did not think it was real. It is a concept of what we are as a people. How can it be here off of a chamber for warriors earning the greater sigils?”

  Imeralda started forward. Rodregas caught her arm, holding her back. He was not sure what to say but Doi’van was. “Before you examine it more, can you come look at what we found? And I want to see what might be behind the final wall.”

  At that comment Rodregas felt his head turn around as if to look through the Chamber walls to study the forth wall. As they stepped out of the door the three of them quickly walked over to the forth wall. However, they could find nothing but the black stone of the wall; no door appeared under any fingertips.

  “Well… nothing here,” said Imeralda. “What did you find earlier?” she asked.

  “It is behind that door we have not opened up yet, but it smells of the Infernal Realm,” Doi’van said nodding over to the other exposed door.

  “What door? I see nothing but black stone.” she said.

  “What?” Rodregas exclaimed. “You don’t see that door?” Doi’van and he shared a look of confusion. The three walked back to the door that Doi’van had found, and could clearly see. Rodregas waited as Doi’van touched the handle but stopped him before he opened it.

  “Do you see anything?” he asked. Imeralda eyes opened wide when Doi’van fully opened the doors and revealed the room. It was in style identical to the first room of the Celestial Beasts except instead of great beasts on pedestals, it held crouching daemons in pits. The previous vague smell of brimstone and hellfire wafted fully into the room.

  Doi’van and Rodregas stepped into the room but paused when Imeralda did not follow. He looked back and she looked confused, squinting as if the room was not fully illuminated by the glowing daemons in their pits.

  “Can you not see into the room?” Rodregas asked.

  “No, I can see something, shapes flicking in fire? I think I smell something like rotten eggs, but I can’t see well enough to go in. And I don’t know why, but I really don’t want to go in.”

  Doi’van and Rodregas shared another look and then nodding, stepped out of the chamber. The three of them stood silent for a minute.

  Finally, Doi’van spoke, “Maybe you need a connection to see the doors and the room? All of us worship the Celestials and we were all drawn to their sigils, especially Rodregas. I was drawn to the door here, which makes sense. This room, like the Celestial Chamber, seems to have similar beasts of the Infernal realm. Rodregas was also drawn to a lesser extent, which might indicate that we were right about Ravenhurr experimenting with Infernal power. If Ravenhurr had already included its magic in his own, then Rodregas would have it now. Imeralda though has no connection to the Infernal Realms and therefore is blind to it.”

  The three nodded slowly, caught up in the mystery of the hidden chambers. Imeralda said, “The need for a connection to sense the rooms would be true for the knights as well. We know that neither Hellborn nor Nymphs are usually allowed in. In that case there might actually be another room behind the forth wall that we simply don’t have a connection to and therefore cannot sense.”

  The others nodded. Rodregas thought that they were heading along the right path.

  Imeralda asked, “Does that mean that in this room these are great sigils as well? Ones that require Infernal sourced magic to work? That kind of makes sense if you can have greater sigils that are the shapes of the Celestial Beasts. Why not daemons of the Infernal Realm as well? But what is the One Tree? It is not a beast of a realm, it is the symbol of the Nymph people. It can’t be a sigil, can it?” she asked.

  Neither Doi’van nor Rodregas answered and the three of them stood there, each caught up in their own thoughts. Finally, Doi’van spoke, “I am going to see what lies in this Chamber. Will you be alright?” he asked Imeralda. She nodded and seemed relieved as she headed right for the doorway of the One Tree.

  Rodregas feared for her. He was not sure what the consequences would be if she touched the One Tree. He wanted to follow her, but he followed Doi’van into the Infernal chamber instead. “Was it his own Infernal power calling him?” He wondered.

  Rodregas and Doi’van circled the chamber. Rodregas was not as familiar with the daemons of the Infernal Realms as he was the great beasts of the Celestial Realm. He sat looking at a wolf with the tail of a serpent but with large beautiful white wings. Then he slowly walked next to a great bull with bat wings and a head that appeared to be very human. While he had been drawn to the Chamber both figures repulsed him. They mocked the natural order. It was not just that they seemed to combine multiple unconnected animals, but the size and shapes were simply wrong.

  Rodregas looked up from his examination of a strange bull daemon and looked for Doi’van. He must have been more familiar with the powers of the various creatures. Doi’van had walked past many of the figures until he stood at one toward the back. The shape was a powerfully built dragon with wings partially spread as if getting ready to fly. But unlike a real dragon this one had three heads at the end of long serpentine necks; one was that of a wolf, one was of an eagle and one was of a lion. “What is it?” he asked Doi’van.

  “A Bunei. They are powerful fighters, but also lead packs of daemons in combat and have powerful magical abilities. Most of these others are powerful and dangerous, but a Bunei is more than a simple fighter of the Infernals. I am actually surprised to see they’re with the other beasts. I thought them a type of Greater Daemon. I think I might see what happens when I touch it,” Doi’van said.

  “Is that wise?” Rodregas asked. He was not challenging him.

  Doi’van was clearly asking himself the same thing. He looked over at Rodregas and shrugged. “We both have the power of the Infernal Realm in us. Is it easier for us to manage following the path of righteousness to let the power burn free or to take on the form of a greater sigil and bind the Infernal magic to a specific form? I think we must choose carefully.” Doi’van said and added, “For me the Bunei seems right.”

  Doi’van paused in that thoughtful way he had, considering all sides before taking action. “If it consumes my
Infernal power I would gain its strengths. If I am lucky, what magic ability I have left will be mortal or Celestial in nature. The Bunei are creatures of magic, they are both great warriors and thinkers and magicians and are even known to sometimes help others. I cannot pass this chance up. I must see what will happen.”

  Rodregas nodded; they both knew they would not get this chance twice. Doi’van saw in the Bunei what Rodregas had felt in the lion in the main hall.

  “See any good Infernal sigils for me?” Rodregas asked. “I should bind my Infernal gift as well, especially as I will never be a great magician.” Rodregas had not really expected an answer, but Doi’van surprised him by nodding his great head and pointing to the far back almost in a corner that strangely was the only one in shadow.

  “I think the Ni’Barrbari, the daemon known as the Night Panther, would add a bit of subtly to your Celestial Lion. While hunters, they are also healers and not as vicious as most of the others. It might also cause less confusion if you are able to gain both Infernal and Celestial great sigils to have ones that share some similarities.”

  Rodregas nodded and walked toward where Doi’van had pointed, having to circle around what appeared to be a bear with the front feet of a stork and the over large head of an owl. Rodregas felt his skin crawl and he almost left the chamber, but then the cat shape behind the daemon became clear.

  The Daemonic shape seemed to be missing the odd combinations of the others. It looked like the large Panthers he had heard of that were found in the southern jungles. It had no mane like the lions he knew and its fur was black. In fact it was the darkest black he had ever seen. This was why, at first, he had not seen the shape in the dark. It seemed to soak in and blend in with the night.

  Unlike the Celestial Lion that seemed to be caught in the action of stalking forward in the middle of the hunt, the Night Panther was sitting and seemed to have been caught in the act of simply watching the world. His eyes were normal golden cat eyes, not the glowing red of most of the other creatures. The only daemonic aspect to the shape was a pair of horns coming out the sides of his head, not that dissimilar to Doi’van’s curving up and back protecting the skull. Only the tips were different; while Doi’van’s curved up, these curled down at the end.

  While Doi’van had seen a lion’s head on another man-like shape in the distance, and of course Doi’van’s dragon had a lion’s head, he felt drawn to this shape. While he was not as attracted as he had felt with the Celestial Lion, he guessed that this was as good a match as he would find among the Infernal Daemons.

  Rodregas looked back toward Doi’van, but could no longer see him. He knew he should check on him and Imeralda, but he also knew that they had all chosen to walk this path. It had ended up being a more interesting path than expected, but they all wanted to see where it went. He reached up and petted the powerful black head of the creature. Its ears had the only hint of non-black on the beast, a slight touch of silver. The fur was not as soft as it looked and was actually rough to the touch.

  Rodregas realized his hand was sinking into the skin. He tried to pull back but felt himself being drawn into it. He was being pulled physically into the panther. He started to pull away, but then he stopped and let himself sink into the shape of the great beast.

  Panic set in as his mouth started to sink into the creature’s head. He tried to hold his breath, but he was too late for such an action. Rodregas tried to move but his arms refused to reach out and push the Daemon away. His arms felt wrong, like he had no arms to push.

  Then, true panic set in and he tried to fight his way free. Something was wrong, the greater sigil was not becoming part of him, he was being made part of the sigil. Maybe these were not like the Celestial sigils at all but some kind of Infernal trap. He choked, as instead of breathing air he felt liquid enter his mouth and pour into his lungs. He was drowning in the beast! He had to get out or he would die. He was unable to move and unable to breath and was trying to do anything to live. His panic faded into anger. If he was to die, he would die fighting.

  Rodregas roared his defiance for the Infernals to hear. He reared up and swiped his claws at any that would try to take on a powerful Ni’Barrbari! Let any who would fight him know they took on the night itself and the night had claws! He gathered his powerful hind quarters and pounced free with a roar and felt his body soar out of its confinement! As he landed he realized that he could feel his arms and legs again. They were human again. But he knew he had been a cat, a Night Panther, for a moment. He stood in shock. Was this what it felt like to take on a greater sigil?

  Rodregas stood up. He felt strength and other things he was not sure how to describe. He looked around the room and the dim light now seemed far brighter. He started walking over toward where he had left Doi’van, and this time he got to see the result of taking on a greater sigil as the dragon reared up. All three heads roared and the wings started to beat and the dragon seemed to actually fly for a second. For just a brief moment there were two daemon dragons. Then one of them fell toward the ground only to sink into the shape of Doi’van.

  Doi’van staggered and Rodregas reached out and caught him to keep him from falling. Apparently, being a three headed daemon dragon did not include a cat-like ability to land from a fall. Rodregas steadied him and then Doi’van shook himself and looked around, confused.

  “Are you all right?” Rodregas asked.

  Doi’van nodded and then said, “Let’s get out of the chamber.” Rodregas nodded, as he wanted to check on Imeralda. Doi’van seemed to have his balance back. Rodregas wondered if Doi’van had lost his balance because he had been trying to fly instead of walk.

  As they stepped out of the room of Infernal sigils and carefully closed the door behind them, Doi‘van still seemed unsteady and Rodregas wondered if his own experiences had prepared him more naturally for this. Rodregas had changed bodies before.

  “Doi’van, why don’t you sit down and rest for a second? I will check on Imeralda,” Doi’van nodded his thanks and sank down on the floor. Doi’van seemed to need to think more than rest, but either way Rodregas made sure he was ok and then went to check on Imeralda. He hoped she had not touched the One Tree.

  As he approached where Imeralda had shown them the door he was dismayed to see only black stone. “Damn,” he said quietly. He went to the middle where the door had been and was relieved when he was able to step through the invisible but open doorway. He felt nothing as he stepped through the illusion and quickly looked around the chamber for Imeralda. But she was nowhere to be seen. He ran to the base of the One Tree finding that it took longer to run from the door to the tree than he had expected. It was huge. He felt like he was approaching a mountain, not a tree.

  “Imeralda!” he yelled. “Where are you?” Rodregas started to circle the tree, something that he quickly realized might take a while to accomplish. Then he saw her. Rodregas had been trying to look into the tree, thinking of his experience of being pulled into the Night Panther. But then he heard a noise and looked up and saw that she was on a branch high above, looking incredibly small. She seemed to be trying to reach something.

  “Imeralda!” he yelled at her. But she seemed caught up or could not hear him. How had she gotten up there? The branches were way beyond reach. Of course, she was a Forest Nymph and he had seen her move in trees like a squirrel. Still she seemed very vulnerable high up there; he had to get to her.

  Rodregas took off his harness and boots and grabbed the ridges of the bark. He had climbed walls where you stuck your toes in the crack left by old mortar worn away. The bark of the tree, like the rest of the tree, was on an epic scale and actually provided good leverage for climbing. He did not look at how high he had to go, but instead simply started to climb. The climb took far longer than he hoped and he could not see Imeralda as he climbed. He was finally getting close to the first of the branches of the tree when he heard Doi’van yell.

  “Rodregas, what in the nam
e of the Celestial Winds are you doing?” He paused in his climb, his toes caught in the bark. Rodregas could feel the wetness of blood on his toes and he felt like he was going to slip at any moment.

  He breathed deep and yelled, “I am climbing the damn ‘One Tree,’ what does it look like? Now, shut up before I fall.” He continued his climb, finally reaching a branch. The branch was on such a scale that he had to climb the branch coming up its side. The bark of the branch was smoother and offered less of a grip. Finally he got to the top, which was broad and actually rather cup-like against the main trunk. Though he worried about Imeralda, he let himself rest for a moment to recover.

  After a few minutes Rodregas got up and looked around for Imeralda. He saw that she was actually far out on another impossibly think branch. By the Infernals he swore to himself. She was a Forest Nymph. He thought he should just leave her there. She could do this far easier than he. Rodregas had an urge to leap from his branch to the other like a cat. Maybe he could have made it, but if he missed it was at least a hundred feet down. So he climbed the bark over to the other branch and then walked on the top, which was very easy. He followed Imeralda out on the branch until it started getting thin and began swaying. Then he sat on the branch.

  He did not know what to do next. His body relaxed when he heard Imeralda’s voice. “Are you trying to kill me?” she asked, “and are you really trying to rescue a Forest Nymph from a tree?” The laughter that followed was pure and open and even he had to laugh with it.

  “So,” he asked, “what are you doing?”

  “Well, I decided that if this was a greater sigil I should touch it. Even though I do not want a greater sigil to consume my magic, this is the One Tree. And well, I am a Nymph. So I reached out and touched the tree and nothing happened. But trees speak to me. Speaking to the One Tree was wonderful; the One Tree is here and not here. Somehow it can be reached from here I think is the best way to describe it. But there is no sigil to be had. The tree ‘spoke’ to me as trees do, and it explained about the ‘Blessing of the One Tree,’ that is probably why it was here like the greater sigils.” Imeralda spoke in a conversational tone but also like she was amazed by her own story.

  She continued, “I think for a Nymph the Blessing of the One Tree is like a sigil. It directs your magic and focuses it as the Tree of Life wants it, but not by binding it into a shape. It heals your spirit and makes you more…, well, more of a Nymph,” she said, her voice was a tone of sunlight and happiness. For reasons Rodregas did not understand he felt great.

  “So, why do you have to climb up a hundred feet to the end of a branch to get a blessing from a tree?”

  Imeralda laughed and then yelled down to Doi’van, “Take your boots off and your harness and your weapons and climb up on the top of one of the big roots. That should work, you have to be on the One Tree and then I will show you the blessing.”

  Doi’van looked like he wanted to argue but with Rodregas’ nod of encouragement he followed her request, and Imeralda stepped closer and she held three golden fruits. The fruits looked like giant acorns, but rounder and softer. She handed Rodregas one and then waited for Doi’van to follow her instructions. Then, warning him to be ready, she dropped down one of the fruits which he caught with his normal grace.

  “Stay on the root,” she warned him. “You cannot take one of the blessings off the tree; it will wither and die if you try.” She winked at Rodregas as she said this.

  Imeralda then proceeded to eat the acorn shaped fruit; it took some work. It seemed to be a bit harder than any ripe fruit Rodregas knew of, but he followed her example and found that while it was tart it was amazing. It tasted of... Rodregas did not know what to call the flavor; the words that came to mind were sunlight and rain and the smell of a forest at night. When Rodregas finished the fruit completely he felt more whole but was also sad that it was gone.

  Imeralda seemed in great humor. “Come on,” she said. She dropped to her hands on the edge of the branch and then dropped down as if she was only feet from the ground which, strangely she was. Rodregas saw her standing on the ground. It was not that she had floated down. It was as if she had she had been in a regular sized tree. She smiled and waved at him to follow her.

  Rodregas decided to follow her example. If it did not work, between his Celestial essence and now the Night Panther’s sigil, he probably would not die. Sure enough he was on the ground like he had dropped a few feet and not a hundred.

  Doi’van looked at them; he seemed amused and with a deep laugh of his own made a big show of jumping off the root he was standing on. The few feet of his jump seemed to lack any magical qualities.

  “So, other than making the most memorable snack of my life, you say this was the equivalent of a greater sigil for the Elemental realm. So, am I stronger, faster or what?” Doi’van asked.

  Imeralda shrugged and said, “No. You are more, well, I think the only way to describe it is more nymph-like. There are tales of eating the blessings of the One Tree, most of the greatest Nymphs of our history all claim this. A Forest Nymph simply becomes more connected to the forest, and some also claim to gain more than one elemental power. There are only a few stories of those people who have been adopted as Nymphs who have earned the blessing, but I have no idea what effect it will have,” she said. With a shrug she added, “But I do not think it will help much on the battlefield.”

  Rodregas nodded. It might have little practical effect, but he knew that while a greater sigil might make him a great fighter and that while fighting was necessary, it had no real inherent value. It simply made one better at fighting. Somehow he knew the blessing was inherently a positive thing. He remembered on hot sunny days as a kid the wonderful pleasure of lying under a tree when the city would be so hot in the summer, but in the shade of the tree it was just perfect. It was a random thought, but a good one.

  Doi’van interrupted his memory by asking a question. So like Doi’van, always thinking, Rodregas thought with a smile. “So first I make my infernal side more structured and then I become a part Nymph, a strange combination for a Hellborn.”

  Rodregas said, “I think we both feel the importance of the blessing and I thank you for sharing it.”

  She nodded and said, “I am so happy that I decided to go with you to sneak in, otherwise I would never have been able to receive the blessing of the One Tree. No matter how successful we are now against the Immortalists, I have been blessed as few of my people have.”

  Imeralda looked like she wanted to talk and Rodregas hated to break the mood, but they needed to get back to business. “We should return to the main chamber. The Grand Marshal will be coming soon for the official moment for me to take on a greater sigil, and I don’t think we want them to find these chambers.”

  As Rodregas walked from the chamber of the One Tree he felt more regret than when he had left the Infernal chamber; though in all likelihood the sigil from the Night Panther would prove to be of more use on his quest.

  The three walked as one to the Celestial Lion. They looked first at the great beast and then at Rodregas. “Are you sure I have the magical strength to take on two greater sigils?” he asked Imeralda.

  “Few have such strength; taking a second greater sigil seems to consume far more power than one. It is not just twice as much, but far more. Only the most powerful have such magic, but you have the power of an Immortalist mage. I can’t promise it, but you should have such magical strength.”

  Doi’van and Imeralda watched silently as he reached out to touch the Celestial Lion, his hand again drawn to its mane. This time no voice spoke up to warn him away. The fur of the mane was surprisingly rough to the touch, and strangely, Rodregas smelled grass.