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Chapter 12

  When Yazadril, Nemia, Hilsith and Alilia arrived at the cottage it was three hours to midnight in First Valley, yet here on Hilia it was an hour and a half after dawn.

  “Good day, and welcome Your Majesties, Hilsith.” Balen gave a quick curtsy with her greeting. “Mark and Talia ask you to join them at the royal beach. But I’m to caution you to not disturb them when you arrive, for they are in the midst of delicate procedures. Here’s the location reference.”

  “Thank you, Balen.” Yazadril smiled.

  A moment later they appeared in a marked arrival circle, its bright blue glow shining in the dimness of a small clearing between an overhanging cliff of black rock and the edge of a jungle. They took a narrow and meandering path marked with a glowing green line through eighty meters of dim tropical forest, then emerged onto the black sand beach. The cliffs on three sides ensured that the sun wouldn’t shine directly down on the beach till later in the morning, so all about was in shadow. The lagoon was calm, there was no wind, and the silence was almost total.

  Halfway down the beach Mark sat with his legs folded beneath him, facing out at the lagoon, his arms wrapped around Talia’s waist. She sat in his lap with her back to him and her legs straight out before her, the backs of her hands resting on his knees, the sword Ria unsheathed and resting on her palms with the pommel on her right, the bared blade on her left.

  Gathered at the top of the beach were Povon, Kragorram, Equemev, and Silaran. The elves silently made their way to join them.

  “Greetings.” Equemev offered, Speaking Elven for courtesy’s sake.

  “And good day to you. What transpires?” Yazadril inquired as he felt Equemev draw all eight into her Speaking.

  “I have been monitoring them passively, as has the spirit of the sword.” Povon reported. “Not that I could help doing so, given the immense magnitude of the psionic energy he is expending.

  “Their Link is deeper and more thorough than I have ever seen before, yet I am sure that Mark has the situation well controlled. His emotions indicate that he is being very cautious, yet he is confident. So far as I can tell, Talia is completely passive. She has given him complete access to her mind, and allows him to do as he wills with her. A very brave trust I think, given his almost complete inexperience.

  “At first he merely studied her, and I think he has come close to knowing the totality of her being. I doubt even you could perform so thorough a Reading in so short a time, Prince of The High People.

  “His interest focused for a while, and then he Set some of his knowledge and experience into her mind in a way that is completely new. I am not certain, but I think he learned everything she knows of wizardry during that time, then taught her all the magecraft he learned from Ria, as well as his years of training as a warrior and scout. Those three processes took about seven minutes in total, during which time neither felt the slightest discomfort.

  “I thought then that I had reached the limits of amazement.

  “Over the next six minutes they reached the thoroughness of Linking they are experiencing now, and he then isolated the curse, establishing quite clearly which parts of her mind and power were her own, and which were the curse. That came through quite clearly, for he had a moment of delighted epiphany about it.

  “Then he... He introduced himself to it. Then he actually enhanced it somehow. You could say that after that they chatted for a while, the curse and him. His recognition that the curse realized that it had been improved was quite clear. After that, well, I could be wrong, but I believe he began to negotiate with it! He continues to do so now, but he is doing something else as well, something subtle, yet profound.”

  “Do you think he is risking harm to my daughter or himself?” Nemia asked, her expression tight with worry.

  Povon took a deep breath as she considered, and let it out with a puff of white smoke and steam. “No. Surprising to say so, considering the bare facts of what he does, and his inexperience. But I truly think he has things well in hand, as you humanoids might say. For now at least. It is the most incredible display of inherent, intuitive psionic talent ever seen on this world, of that I am quite sure.”

  “He truly makes it seem easy.” Equemev marveled.

  They waited patiently for eight minutes, then Mark Spoke to Alilia. The rest heard, since Alilia was still Linked to them through Equemev.

  “Alilia, you are sworn to me, and I now call upon you.” he politely stated. “Please come and kneel close on my left, and open your mind to me.”

  Alilia swallowed hard, and moved to comply as she withdrew from the Link with Equemev.

  “Great missing Gods!” Nemia exclaimed a minute later. “Even I can feel the power of that Link, and I am not very sensitive that way! And we are fifteen meters away!”

  Seventeen minutes later, Alilia rose, and rejoined the seven observers.

  “May I ask what he did?” Povon inquired.

  “He Read everything I have felt about casting the curse since I realized that Talia was innocent in Bezedil’s death.” Alilia revealed in wonder. “He seeks to dissuade the curse from causing hurt, and hopes that my remorse and guilt at casting the curse unjustly will help to convince it.

  “Then, you could say he browsed through my knowledge and experience of wizardry, and availed himself of most of the spells I know! As easy as reaching out and picking a plum from a basket at the market! He would think to himself, ‘Well those look interesting, I’ll take them, and that’ll be useful, I’ll take those ones too!’ And when he does this, he has no need to wait for the information to be integrated into his mind, as he did when Ria passed him her magecraft! The magic he learns himself from the mind of another is fully understood, practiced, usable, in only a moment! Right now he could cast my spells as competently as I could myself!

  “His motivations for both of those are understandable, but what is puzzling is that he then Read my experiences with Bezedil. Mark made sure he had every moment I ever spent with my son, every thought and sensation of it. He was most interested in those times when I was Linked with Bezedil, which I had done often and deeply, both as mother and as instructor of wizardry.

  “All in all, it was a somewhat frightening experience. Already his power, his spellcraft, and his psionic ability may well exceed my own. And with every moment that passes, his abilities grow.

  “I think... I think I love him. That in itself is... very disturbing.”

  “You love him?” Nemia asked in surprise. “Romantically or platonically?”

  “I am not sure.”

  Again they waited patiently.

  More than half an hour later, Mark sighed deeply as he lay back on the black sand, drawing Talia down with him. She turned in his arms and wept as she kissed him.

  “He is finished. He feels that his efforts were successful.” Povon judged, and moved to join the couple with light leap and a single careful wing stroke.

  The rest joined her, gathered around Mark and Talia.

  Talia was whispering; “Thank you, thank you, I love you so much, thank you...”

  “Can we offer you any assistance?” Hilsith asked.

  “No thanks, we’re fine.” Mark grinned.

  “May I ask what you did?” Yazadril inquired.

  “I bargained with the curse!” Mark laughed. “Talia was cursed to be raped by me until the end of days. I wanted to weaken the rape part, and strengthen the ‘until the end of days’ part. Showing it how Alilia felt about it helped a lot.

  “First I gave it temporary access to some of my mental capacity, since it really wasn’t smart enough to bargain with effectively before that.

  “Then I pointed out how it had needed my help to assure Talia’s survival today, and related what I’d learned about how it could’ve been overpowered and defeated. If the attack had been much stronger than it was today, Talia would’ve been beyond saving. And if I hadn’t turned off the tine band, I think we’d both be gone
.

  “If one of us dies, the curse fails, and it doesn’t want that.

  “In order to prevent that, I gave it access to all of Talia’s power, to all of my power, and to all of the power we each gained from the chapel and all the elves with our wedding vows. I think that gives the curse enough power to eventually heal us from anything, even if the dust and mist of our bodies were evenly distributed in all the air and water and rock of Kellaran.

  “In return, the curse allowed me to alter it so that it wouldn’t cause Talia any agony when it comes upon her, she’ll just feel an urge, like a mild hunger or an addiction, though once the urge comes upon her it will grow stronger until the curse is fulfilled.

  “Then I gave it access to all the spells we know, so that it can cast them in our defense next time. The idea being that it can act to save our lives, instead of bringing us back after we’re dead. It will be perpetually on guard, which we can’t be if we’re asleep or distracted.

  “In return for that, I got to modify it so that it won’t prevent Talia from having a baby any more.

  “Finally, so that it can have the speed to act to save us, even if we’re attacked as suddenly as we were today, I gave it the ability to access all of both our mental capacity. In return for that, I asked that I wouldn’t have to hurt Talia to fulfill the curse; that I could just pretend to rape her. Tie her up and such, without actually hurting her. The curse wouldn’t go for that, but we then found a different compromise that the curse would accept, and now I’ll only have to hurt her as much as we did last night. We were trying to prepare for when the curse would strike, and I did hurt her, but it was more like rough play, and it wasn’t bad enough to prevent her from enjoying herself.”

  “Immensely, I might add!” Talia laughed, tears still streaming down her face, her voice still thick with emotion.

  “I’ll still have to spank her and tie her up and such, but I won’t have to physically hurt her as much, and I won’t have to be nasty emotionally! I can be as nice and as loving as I want while I’m doing it!” Mark crowed in joy, whirling Talia around with a few spontaneous dance steps across the cool black sand. “With the added protections it’ll give us, I think I’ve really converted the curse to a blessing!

  “I tell you, it’s not perfect, but I really count it as a victory! The finest thing I’ve ever done, so far at least!

  “And the best part is, the power of the curse is now intermingled with our power, and the limited mind it had is now diluted and distributed among both of our minds. It’s lost its individuality, and is now a much more natural and integrated part of both of us. It no longer exists within Talia, or within her mind, as a discrete entity. Having it there like that was a huge subconscious irritation to her.”

  “It was, and even though I didn’t consciously realize that, it’s a huge relief now that it’s corrected.” Talia agreed. “And there were other benefits from the process! Mark has mastered the spell that the curse uses to re-assemble us!”

  “That’s right.” Mark nodded. “The critical part is having an absolutely complete awareness of the subject. Knowing exactly where every speck of material in the subject’s body is and how it’s moving, and what every spark of energy in it is doing, at least on an intuitive level. Most of the curse’s previous mental capacity was dedicated to knowing all this about both me and Talia at all times, so that it could reconstruct us from our last moment of completeness whenever anything happened to us.

  “Alilia’s subconscious intuitive awareness is so extensive, she had that level of detail in her knowledge and awareness of Bezedil, especially from Linking with him so deeply and so often. For the last few years Alilia was always in psionic contact with her son, if only subconsciously. That’s how she knew when Bezedil fell. And I have Read that knowledge.

  “Talia was incredibly close to Dalia, and knew her incredibly well, and had Linked deeply with her sister many times. I’ve Read her knowledge and experience of Dalia. But her awareness of Dalia wasn’t as complete as Alilia’s awareness of Bezedil. On the other hand, Nemia also knew the moment when Dalia fell, so she was also subconsciously Linked with Dalia at all times, as Alilia was with Bezedil. And I’m sure that you, Yazadril, with your famed ability to consciously retain detail, have excellently detailed recollections of your daughter. So, Yazadril and Nemia, I now ask you to allow me to Read from you both every detail of your every experience and thoughts of Dalia, and that should give me a detailed enough awareness of her.

  “Then we’ll go to Focus Mountain so I can completely recharge my power. And then we’ll go to First Valley, where I will bring Dalia and Bezedil back to life!”

  Everyone stared open mouthed in astonishment, including Talia.

  “You cannot do that!” Povon suddenly exclaimed. “They are almost four days dead! It would be necromancy! It is forbidden!”

  “Then it’s equally necromancy that Talia and I are alive right now!” Mark retorted. “And personally, I don’t give a damn if it’s forbidden! They were innocents who were slain by a curse! I can save them, so I’d be Compelled to do so by my swearing of Osbald’s Oath, since this definitely falls under protection of the innocent! That is, if I wasn’t going to do it anyway, because it’s the right thing to do!”

  “I will allow no one to prevent this!” Alilia stated, her manner determined, her voice hard. “I think he can do it, and if anyone thinks to stop him from saving my son, they will have to kill me first! If it was your child, Povon, do you think you would do any different?”

  “Read me now, Mark, then Yazadril!” Nemia urgently begged. “I would have no delay!”

  “I need to think about this.” Yazadril murmured.

  “How can you say that?!!” Nemia barked, turning on her husband angrily.

  Yazadril flinched, then took a deep breath to steady himself. “My love. You know how much I loved Dalia. You know how much I want her back.

  “But the implications of this are all-encompassing! With this act we may trigger events that lead to the elimination of death on Kellaran! From there, either we institute universal breeding controls, leading to the elimination of youth, or the planet will be stripped of life by the exploding multitudes until there is only cannibalism!”

  “You’re over-reacting, Yazadril.” Mark countered with an obvious exercise of patience. He considered for a moment, then sadly shook his head, and continued in a more restrained tone. “Nothing can eliminate death. I can’t bring back my family, Yazadril. I didn’t know them well enough, no one did, and that’s the case for almost everyone else as well.

  “Only the exceptional qualities of Alilia’s and Talia’s minds and talents and powers allowed the curse to know us well enough to save our lives. Alilia knew her son well enough, and perhaps she knows you and Gorsh well enough, but I doubt that even she knows anyone else well enough for it to work. Talia didn’t know Dalia well enough, but between her and Nemia and you, I’m pretty sure it’ll work. If Nemia helps me and you don’t, I’m still going to try my best to save Dalia.

  “Even if I knew my family well enough, I still couldn’t bring them back, because the material of their bodies would be very widely dispersed by now. Scavengers had been at them, and they were left there for a month, and then given a conventional Finitran burial. Whereas Hilsith cast a preservation spell on Dalia and Bezedil about three minutes after they fell, and then reset their bones and tissues so that they’d be presentable in open caskets. The only parts of them that I won’t have right there is the blood they lost into the ground and into their clothing, and while it’s probably pretty widely dispersed, it’s not really that much material, and I’m pretty sure that I have enough power to retrieve it.

  “So, for me to save anyone with the spell, they have to have been Linked deeply and often with one or more of the best psionicists in the world, and they may need to be Linked with that person at the moment of death, and almost all of their material has to be available, or mag
ically preserved by a Healer who’s a wizard.

  “Furthermore, the spell is incredibly difficult. The way it was created by Alilia as part of her curse was completely intuitive and subconscious, and required a moment of supreme distress and absolute focus, not to mention all of her power. It doesn’t work like anything else, and neither Ria nor Alilia even know any words for most of what it does, especially at the last moment when re-assembly is complete and life is restored.

  “I’m confident I can cast it for two reasons. One is that I’m one of the most talented magic users around right now. I hate to boast, but there it is. More important than that, the spell is part of me now, as the curse is part of me now. It’s almost more like an innate ability than a spell. I doubt there’s even a handful alive who have both the talent and the power to cast this spell at will, even if I was capable of teaching it to them, and I doubt I could. Believe me, I think I could teach you all the magecraft Ria knows in about three minutes, but I couldn’t teach you the re-integration spell.

  “This is never going to be widely available.

  “Now, I am going to save Dalia and Bezedil. Believe me; if you help me, things are going to work out. If you oppose me there’s going to be hurt feelings at the very least, and I don’t really think you can stop me anyway.”

  “No. You could be stopped, but you are right in that none of us want the consequences of that.” Povon stated with determination. “You must be convinced, if not to cease your plan, then at least to wait until it has been discussed and approved by the Assembly of The Just Alliance. And I am not the person to convince you. I will inform Somonik of these events, as I feel is my duty.”

  “Mark, please!” Nemia begged.

  “We’re going to Focus Mountain. You can come along if you want.” Mark stated determinedly, taking Talia and Nemia by the hand, and the three vanished.

  They appeared over the blue bowl of the volcano, hundreds of meters in the air. Nemia was taken by surprise, but Mark caught her with Movement before she had fallen five centimeters, while Talia cast Pure Breath on the three of them. He glanced up at the sun overhead, then considered its visible light reflecting from the broken volcanic glass below, and estimated the location of the reflection’s focus. The three flew there, still holding hands, as he Linked with Nemia.

  The seven who’d been left on the beach appeared moments later and flew to catch up, the unicorns seeming to gallop across thin air. They all drifted to a stop in mid-air as Somonik, Tithian, and Grakonexikaldoron appeared around them.

  “What will you do?” Povon demanded of them in agitation.

  “He is deeply Linked with the elf Nemia right now, as you can tell, even as he regains his full strength.” Somonik observed with interest. “We will not disturb him until he is finished the Reading. After that, we will try to convince him to wait, at least until the possible consequences of his actions are more fully understood. If he will not wait, we will not impede him.”

  “There is no law that forbids what he does, and it is being done for the first time.” Tithian added. “If there is harm done because of it, then we may have the right to act against its repetition in the future, but right now we have no legal basis to prevent him.

  “As well, we have trusted his wisdom thus far, and his arguments seem sound, so I see no reason why we should lose faith in him now. To do so without very strong reason would also be politically unwise, to say the least.

  “There is also the consideration that what he intends is groundbreaking and innovative spellcraft, and personally, I hope to be allowed to observe.”

  “I am relieved.” Povon sighed. “I’m still worried, but I did inform you, so I’ve done my duty and it’s out of my hands, as they say in this language. I’m glad there will be no conflict.”

  “I’m glad as well, and you can’t talk me out of it.” Mark grinned, having no trouble carrying on a conversation while conducting his Reading of Nemia. “Yazadril? What do you say? Will you help me bring your daughter back?”

  “I guess I will.” Yazadril smiled.

  “Do you mind if I look through your spells while I’m at it? I’ll give you your choices of the magecraft spells I have in return if you want.”

  “Certainly!” Yazadril chuckled. “If you can teach them to me as easily as Povon tells me you taught them to Talia, I’ll take every one of them, and you can have as many of mine as you think you can absorb!”

  “I’ll take that as a challenge!” Mark returned.

  To everyone’s surprise, they heard the psionic voice of the Eldest. “I would very much like to see the resurrection.”

  “You may see it through my eyes, Eldest, for I welcome your Link.” Povon offered.

  “Thank you, child.” the most ancient dragon acknowledged.

  Mark finished his Reading of Nemia, and gave her a quick hug. “Thanks. I’m surprised at how many interesting spells you know that Talia and Alilia didn’t.”

  “Thank you.” Nemia smiled. “I don’t know if I can cast any of those magecraft spells, but I’ll work on it.”

  “I welcome you to the proceedings, Eldest.” Mark called.

  “It will be interesting, boy. As Somonik said, there is always something new. And it’s good to see that you’re filling the corners in the big empty room of your mind. Your collection of marbles grows rapidly.”

  “Thank you.” Mark chuckled.

  “Allow me to establish the Link in both directions, Mark.” Yazadril suggested. “I will pass you my awareness of Dalia while you Read my spellcraft and pass me your magecraft. We can save time that way.”

  “All right. I’ll be at maximum power in a few minutes, and hopefully we’ll be done by then.”

  Only seven minutes was required, and Mark was starting to feel a little dazed when they were finished, but the feeling passed as soon as he withdrew from the Link. He’d lingered in the focus longer than he would have otherwise, and sweat ran down his face as he became overcharged with power.

  A quarter second after he and Yazadril ended their Link, he Translocated the entire party.

  “Great screaming gods above and below!” Povon exclaimed as they all emerged into darkness and moonlight. “Now that was an impressive jump!”

  “I’ll say it was, for this is First Valley, and that’s our home below!” Nemia agreed as they began descending, following Mark’s lead. “Himself, five elves, three unicorns and four dragons, halfway around the world on a moment’s whim!”

  “Yazadril, you have an impressive mind indeed.” Mark grinned as he wiped his brow, still panting a bit as he recovered from his exertion. “Your attention to detail, the immensity of your knowledge, and your skill as a psionicist are all masterful. I think I got a third of your spells, and I already had about another third of them from Alilia. I think I could have handled more, but I was overheating in the focus, and I’m pretty sure I got all the ones I’ll ever have any use for. On the other hand, I only took a working knowledge of them. I didn’t bother with learning most of the background and theory, because that would take me about six thousand years, I think. Truly, I don’t have much talent for that kind of theory. Give me a set of steps to follow, and I follow them. And your mind as a whole is truly very beautiful and wondrous in its complexity.”

  “Thank you.” Yazadril nodded, deep in thought, letting Nemia guide his flight. “You are simply astonishing, my boy. Simply astonishing. Already your skill as a psionicist exceeds my own in some ways, and I’ve no doubt your knowledge of spellcraft will as well, likely within the week.

  “And this magecraft from the youth of Visinniria is absolutely fascinating.”

  They landed on the lawn beside Yazadril’s oak, and Mark directed them to stand clear of the place where Dalia and Bezedil had fallen, allowing only Talia to remain at his side. They stood floating with their feet thirty centimeters above the grass.

  He knew the exact location of Dalia and Bezedil’s open caskets in t
he Hall of the Council of The High People, having learned it from his Readings of Yazadril and Nemia and Alilia. He projected his consciousness there, considered the two massive marble sarcophagi and the two who rested within, and Translocated them to the clearing. As he gathered Talia up and settled her in his arms, he Moved the caskets to parallel positions on either side of the impact site, leaving them Levitated a thirty centimeters above the grass.

  “Hilsith, at my direction, please give me a psionic signal as you release the preservation spell.” he asked. “I’ll cast the re-integration spell at that same moment.”

  “At your direction.” the Healer agreed. “I believe it would help if I fetched you the robe she was wearing when they fell, for as you said, much of her lost blood was soaked into the cloth, and a bit of his was as well. Alilia’s apparel was also taken, and a good bit of Bezedil’s blood was absorbed by it as she embraced his fallen form. He was naked when he jumped. The garments were preserved as evidence against the possibility of an investigation into their deaths.”

  With that, she Summoned the bloodstained items to a place on the ground between the caskets.

  “Thank you. We’ll do Bezedil first. I’ll need a few moments to prepare myself.”

  “Quite understandable.” she nodded.

  He settled into a state of light meditation and mentally rehearsed what he was going to do.

  A small crowd began to gather; most still in their nightclothes, and were quietly cautioned to take no action and to observe silently from the ground. Word was spread psionicly by Yazadril and Nemia that no one was to cast even the most minor spell anywhere in First Valley until further notice, and that ban included Flight. They explained that any distraction or any disturbance in the magic field could have critical consequences.

  Finally, Mark opened his eyes and took a deep breath, then stepped over to the foot of Bezedil’s coffin. “Whenever you’re ready, Hilsith.”

  “Now.”

  She released the preservation spells on Bezedil and the robes, and Mark cast his spell, spending so much power that he shone bright enough to hurt the eyes of the closest observers, lighting up the night all around. His illumination made it easy to see the dust-like motes that rushed into the fallen elf’s still form, most of it coming from the ground and the robe beside the coffin, and barely visible bits from the air all around, with slightly more of those coming from the direction of the lake.

  In less than a minute the flow of particles slowed to a trickle. A minute after that, only an occasional mote could be detected, and the light began to increase in brilliance.

  “Ward your eyes from the flash!” Mark called, the stress of his efforts plain in his tone.

  Three seconds later came the silent flash. Mark heaved a deep sigh. His joyous smile shone with a new enlightenment. “Well. That wasn’t as hard as I thought it’d be.” he softly rumbled.

  Alilia ran forward just after the light faded, already reaching for her son’s mind with a Link. “He lives!” she cried as she reached his side, and she clutched his hand as she burst into tears. A moment later she was joined by Hilsith, who quickly cast diagnostic spells, then nodded and smiled reassuringly.

  Bezedil’s eyes fluttered open. “I am alive!” he quietly marveled in Elvish, then suddenly sat up and desperately looked around. “Dalia!” he cried as he saw her in her casket.

  Mark cast Tongues for Elvish upon himself, and smiled to himself at the joy of being able to do so.

  “She will be well in a few moments.” Alilia tearfully assured Bezedil as she threw her arms around him, so overcome with emotion she was barely able to speak. “Oh my son! I cannot believe I have you back!”

  “Please, save Dalia!” he begged.

  “I will.” Mark assured him in Elvish as he nodded and stepped over to Dalia’s casket. “When you are ready, Hilsith.”

  “That human saved me?” Bezedil asked in confusion.

  “Yes.” Hilsith told him with a reassuring smile. “Now hush, while he works his Healing.

  “Now.” she told Mark as she released the Preservation, and he cast his spell upon Dalia. It seemed to work even more quickly this time, and only eighty-five seconds after the shine of the spell lit the clearing for the second time, he called; “Ware the flash!”

  The light burst into maximum intensity, then was gone.

  Talia, Nemia and Yazadril immediately Linked with Dalia, and wept with joy and relief. They gathered around her, Talia and Yazadril each taking one of her hands, while Nemia caressed her cheek. Bezedil rose to join them, and Alilia and Hilsith helped him do so, for he was still weak.

  Dalia’s eyes suddenly opened wide, and as soon as she focused on the faces above her, she reached up and pulled Bezedil down into her embrace. “Oh my love! My destined love!” she sobbed, laughing and crying at the same time.

  “My friend Mark? Are you well?” Kragorram politely inquired, continuing the trend to speak in Elvish.

  “Yes my friend, I am well.” Mark grinned as he walked over to the trunk of the mighty oak and leaned heavily against it. He turned toward The Living Palace and went to one knee, then sat cross-legged. “I am weary and drained, but I am satisfied. Very satisfied.”

  In the distant darkness Stripe roared and Scout cried out with a skreee as Mark mentally called to them. Moments later Scout’s piercing cry was heard again, from just overhead this time, and Mark held his arm out in time for the great eagle to land on it. He brought the bird close and murmured fondly as he gently scratched the feathers beneath the powerful beak with fingertip. Stripe bounded into view and nuzzled Mark’s face in delight. The huge cat lay down and presented his belly for a scratch as Mark greeted him, and gave out a rumbling purr of contentment.

  Dalia was helped from her casket, and as she hugged her family one after another, many approached to greet her. Some of her friends were crying with joy, and some seemed stunned with amazement, while some were tentative, as if afraid to believe her resurrection was real.

  “They are still weak, and will soon require rest to recover fully.” Hilsith pronounced firmly to all. “So please, keep your greetings brief.”

  “Mark, that was an act of greatness.” Somonik quietly rumbled. “Perhaps it was a miracle. I am honored to have witnessed it.”

  “I thank you. I would be honored if you would join us on our beach in Hilia when we are done here, along with all who were with us at Focus Mountain earlier.”

  “It would be our pleasure, I am sure.” Somonik nodded.

  Scout hopped down to the ground beside Stripe so he could receive his equal share of scratches and attention, and Mark gladly obliged as he and the ancient white drake regarded the joyous reunion.

  “Hilsith, what should I do with these caskets?” Mark asked a minute later.

  “If you do not mind doing so, you should send them to the storage cavern just west of the Hall of The Council, which is to the north from here. Here is the reference.”

  “I thank you.” Mark nodded, and cast the spell as easy as thinking about it.

  A few jumped in surprise when the caskets disappeared with a flash.

  “That is so peculiar, Mark.” Yazadril mused. “The light when you cast is given off by you, and not by the object you are casting upon.”

  “Come, let me formally introduce you to some wonderful people, including the one who has Healed you.” Talia grinned through tears of joy as she placed an arm across her sister’s shoulders and turned her around.

  As Bezedil slipped an arm around Dalia’s waist from the other side, the two of them finally took note of the fact that they were in the presence of three unicorns and four dragons.

  Talia tried to suppress her grin a bit. “I am very proud to introduce my dear twin sister Dalia, and Bezedil, son of Princess Alilia.

  “This is Tithian; Speaker and Justicer of the Senate of The People of Morning, Somonik; Eldest of The Ninety Nine, and Grakonexikaldoron; our friend and neighbor to our new
property in Xervia. These are Lady Equemev, Sir Silaran, Sir Kragorram, and Lady Povon, our friends and companions at arms in The Six of Hilia.”

  Those worthy beings bowed politely to the two stunned elves, who stared in amazement for a moment, then remembered to bow and say; “We are pleased to meet you.”

  Then Talia walked them a few steps over to Mark, who rose to greet them.

  “Dalia, Bezedil, it is my great joy to introduce my husband Mark, my dearest, greatest love, he who is Markhan Reginus Longstrider the Fifth, Ranger of Finitra, Knight of The High People, Prince of Hilia, Key to The Just Alliance of the peoples of four continents and all the seas, key to the imminent nexus of the world of Kellaran. He who leads by suggestion. And, one of the foremost wielders of spellcraft in this or any age. He first used magic the day before yesterday, so one could say he is learning quickly, and tomorrow he will be seventeen years old.

  “I think he is a bit bashful about being announced with such formality and praise, but I truly am inordinately proud of him.” Tears of joy were still streaming down her cheeks, and she felt almost overwhelmed with happiness as he effortlessly swept her up and gave her a warm hug.

  “Sweet missing gods.” Bezedil whispered, staring up at the huge youth.

  “And you are our savior.” Dalia murmured reverently.

  “I would not go that far.” Mark chuckled, grinning at the incredible resemblance between Talia and her twin. “I Healed you, but Alilia created the spell I used, and almost everyone who came here with us tonight have made crucial contributions to my ability to cast the Healing. Especially Talia, your parents, and Alilia.

  “And I am very pleased to meet you both.”

  “It was more than a Healing.” Dalia quietly protested. “I died. I remember it all too distinctly. I was dead. There is absolutely no denying that. You have brought us back from the dead. It is a miracle.”

  “I doubt it, really.” he smiled, then chuckled a little. “Actually, now that I have considered it, I could prove that it was not a miracle. Still, I thank you for your kind sentiments.”

  He shook his head and chuckled again. “In truth, I should be thanking you for more than your words. Other than falling in love with Talia, healing you two was the most beautiful experience I have ever had. And not only for the great satisfaction of a good deed well done, in reversing an evil curse to restore two innocent elves. The casting of the spell itself gave me an extremely pleasurable feeling. It was truly a wondrous ecstasy.”

  He directed his next words to Talia. “It was like drawing power at Focus Mountain, only much more so.”

  “And that was pleasurable indeed.” she nodded with a smile of understanding, then sobered a bit. “But it is late, and you are weary, and these two need their rest. And the assassins still lurk out in the world somewhere. Let us go back to Hilia where it is safe.”

  “We are not safe here?” Dalia asked in surprise. “We are within the Wards of The Nine Valleys! What could be safer than that?”

  “Xervia is more strongly Warded, and Hilia even more so.” Talia explained. “There is much to tell you of what has occurred since you fell. Perhaps Mark could show you after we have returned to Hilia, to save some time, but for now we must go.

  “If everyone is ready, I will be honored if you will all allow me to take us there.”

  “Give me a minute, my love.” Mark said as he set her down, then crouched and laid his hands on Stripe and Scout’s heads. “I will work with these fine beasts a bit, to ensure they are comfortable with the Translocation.”

  “And I need a minute to say goodbye to everyone.” Dalia added as she looked to her waiting friends.

  “Balen, Zayobod, Holanam, and most of the rest of our friends who are not here now, all await us at Hilia.” Talia told her. “They will be overjoyed to see you are well.”

  “This place Hilia that you speak of, may I invite my family and friends from Heartwood to join us there?” Bezedil inquired. “They should know that I am well, and once they know that, they will be desperate to see my recovery with their own eyes.”

  “Hmm. Hilia does not yet have a great deal of facilities, and I know you are well liked.” Talia mused. “Perhaps you could Speak to them, inform them of your Healing, and invite the thirty who are most dear to you to join us.”

  “That would be fine.” Bezedil grinned. “Truly, I lack the strength to endure the enthusiasm of more of them than that. And their joy and relief at my well-being will be enthusiastic indeed, for my friends tend to be rambunctious. Perhaps I will invite only twenty.”

  “And I will invite twenty.” Dalia smiled.

  “When we arrive at Hilia, there will be matters discussed that should be kept from public knowledge, for the time being.” Tithian pronounced. “I therefore request that you ask your loved ones to delay their arrival until those discussions are concluded. I expect they will require a half hour at least, and an hour at most.”

  “But there is no need to include me in those discussions.” Bezedil replied, puzzled. “So why should I not be reunited with those I care for while your conference is conducted?”

  “There are two reasons.” Tithian informed him. “The first is that your mother must be included in the deliberations, and at this moment, it would be cruel to her to ask her to withdraw from you beyond her arm’s reach. The same is true of Dalia and her parents. They thought you dead, and now you are restored to them, and they will not risk the slightest chance of losing you again. Their need to be close to their children is paramount now, both for the joy of your presence, and because their protective instincts are in full arousal. Remember, to you, you were only gone a moment, but for them it has been four days of agony at your loss.”

  Bezedil turned and noticed Alilia behind his left shoulder, and she graced him with a smile that beamed with her love for him, tears of joy still streaming down her face. She nodded her agreement with Tithian.

  Close by, Dalia was sharing tearfully joyous hugs and kisses and words of farewell with her friends, while Yazadril and Nemia waited to her either side, as close to her as they could be without being inhibiting to her, basking in her presence, their expressions like Alilia’s. Talia shared a one armed hug with Nemia, and her manner was the same.

  “Furthermore, both you and Dalia must be included in our deliberations, and there are indeed very strong reasons why it must be so. I will not reveal the reasons here, for they are themselves confidential.”

  “I see. I will Speak with my family and friends, then.” Bezedil nodded. “I will see them in an hour, which is not very long to wait.”

  Soon everyone was ready, and with a final wave by Dalia to her friends, Talia Translocated the entire leaving group to the secluded beach at Hilia; two animals, eight humanoids, three unicorns, and four dragons.

  “Ha! I did it!” she laughed, then let herself settle to the sand as Scout abruptly flew off, and Stripe loped into the jungle.

  “That bordered on foolish, my love.” Mark grinned. He scooped her up and set her in his lap as he sat on a log by the firepit.

  “Are you well?” Nemia asked in concern.

  “Yes, though I feel like I have run for ten miles.” Talia grinned. “My wizard’s power was recovered from my exertions earlier today, and I wished to cast such a mighty spell on my own, without resorting to the use of Mark’s power. It was good exercise.”

  The rest reclined or sat, each in their way, in a large loose circle around the firepit, the dragons lying on their bellies with their heads close to the pit and their bodies extended across the beach toward the lagoon. Kragorram’s tail swished slowly back and forth in the water.

  “How could you have so surpassed me in such a short time?” Dalia asked in astonishment.

  “You should have Mark show you, for he has the psionic skill to show you everything that has happened in a few seconds, without causing you discomfort.” She hugged Mark and gave him an admiring grin. “I can
borrow some of his power, but I cannot borrow his talent.”

  “Actually, you can.” Mark chuckled. “I will show you how at a later moment.

  “May we Link with you?” he asked of Dalia and Bezedil. “As Talia said, it will only require a few seconds.”

  “I find that difficult to believe.” Bezedil laughed. “But, since everyone else who is gathered here seems unsurprised by the assertion, I will take your word on it. Please proceed.”

  Dalia nodded her agreement, and Mark cast the Link between the four of them.

  He ended it only three seconds later. “There. I could give it to you in more detail, but that is enough for you to understand what has occurred, at least as much as we do. And as you now know, our understanding of recent events is far from complete. Besides that, there are some things that have happened, and, well, it is just not my place to tell you about them.”

  “That was wondrous!” Dalia breathed. “All that in so short a time! And as easy as reminding me of things I have always known!”

  “I can further your understanding of a few things, at least.” Bezedil said thoughtfully. “Regarding the events that led to Dalia and I taking our fateful leap from her bedroom window; Talia, you were deceived by the curse against my mother and Yazadril. You were never my destined love. Dalia is, and always was, as I am her destined love. You must see that now.

  “I was deceived by that curse as well, for in no other way could I ever have mistaken you for her. The two of you are indeed practically identical in appearance, but your respective scents are very distinct. Also, since I had already been Linked with her before you entered her room, I should have noticed the difference between her psionic aura and yours.”

  “You are right.” Talia nodded. “I realized as soon as you were revived that I no longer felt any of what I felt for you that day. I assumed that my feelings for you had been wiped away by my love for Mark, and by the magic of our wedding vows sworn in Laylas chapel. But now it seems incredible that I could ever have felt for you that way.”

  “Of course!” Dalia grinned, and gave Bezedil’s ear a lick. “The destined love of a rake like Bezedil would have to be a flirt like me! Since Mark here has won your heart, he must be as sentimental and as hopelessly romantic as you are yourself, as only such a one as that could truly earn your love!”

  “He is that.” Talia giggled, and gave Mark a quick kiss on his chin.

  “It makes so much more sense that way as well.” Mark mused. “Dalia was Bezedil’s destined love, but I suspect she was prevented from realizing that until just before she left her bedroom and went to Yazadril’s study. It explains why she and Bezedil were so quickly in bed together, and it also explains why she would be so devastated at seeing him in Talia’s arms that she jumped from the window.”

  “You are partly right.” Dalia told him. “I did indeed realize that he was my destined love just before I left the room. I realized it when he asked me if I had dreamt of him, and I remembered that I had. I was troubled by that, because I had been so influenced by Talia’s concept of destined love that I thought it was synonymous with strict monogamy, and I have no wish to so completely alter my lifestyle. That is why I left the room, but after I had thought about it for a while, I realized that even though Bezedil is my destined love, he is hardly the type to object to sharing our bed with others.

  “And I suspect that Mark is right, in that in addition to its more blatant deceptions, the curse was amplifying our emotions.

  “When I returned to my room I was deceived by the curse again. I was not devastated by betrayal or jealousy at seeing Talia and Bezedil only a moment from copulation. I thought that Bezedil was Talia’s destined love, as well as my own, and he seemed to return her love as strongly as he had returned mine. I failed to see the ridiculousness of that. It never occurred to me that he had mistaken her for me. I thought then that we were both destined to love him, and though I would not have minded sharing his love with her, I thought that she was such a monogamist that she would never be able to share his love with me. It seemed that to keep the love of either of them, I would have to lose the love of the other. I could not love Bezedil if Talia would hate me for it, but I could not live without loving him. So I jumped out the window.

  “That entire thought process surely must have been the product of the Finitran wizard’s curse, since it is completely unlike me to do such a thing. In hindsight, it seems more than a little ludicrous. Even if Talia truly loved Bezedil, and he had not jumped in my wake, their love would have been irreparably tainted by my death.”

  “Though I would have preferred to have done the deed myself, it is some satisfaction that the wizard who most likely cast the curse is dead.” Bezedil growled through clenched teeth.

  “I could not agree more.” Alilia nodded with a similarly grim expression.

  “Forgive me if I am inadvertently treading on elven cultural beliefs, but did you experience anything between the moment of your death and the moment you were revived?” Somonik asked. “By that I mean, I know that elves hold that upon their deaths, their souls are gathered by the elven god Heklivmalgiso, to dwell with him and Visinniria thereafter in an elven paradise. There is considerable evidence supporting the truth of this, from the time before the gods withdrew from the world. Did you experience anything like that?”

  “No, not at all.” Bezedil frowned. “As Tithian sensed when she Spoke with me, it seemed but a moment between dying and living again. If my soul went anywhere or met the gods, I do not remember it.”

  “Which proves that when I revived you, it was no miracle, since you were not completely dead, in some way.” Mark stated. “It simply was not your time to go. You were destined to continue living, so your god did not take your souls to paradise. From what Alilia knows of necromancy, if someone dies and their body is brought back to life, the soul is already gone, so they become the undead. They are mindless empty shells, until animated by the will of the necromancer. This is obviously not the case with you, so your soul must have stayed within you.”

  “No. You are wrong.” Dalia firmly insisted. “The other explanation fits the facts far more aptly I think. You are not quite seventeen years old, a barely adult human, and you cast your first spell less than two days ago. Yet you are now first in power among those here, who are all among the mightiest of their races. From your test of strength today, I think you might hold all of us at bay at once in any contest of power. You already have the spellcraft of a senior elven mage and of four of the finest elven wizards, as well as the unicorn and dragon spells of Movement. Your power will likely continue to grow stronger for a long time to come, and with your ability to learn directly from the minds of others, your knowledge will grow much faster than that.

  “And, you have returned the dead to life, including the restoration of our souls. That is a divine act; one of the Prerequisites of Divinity. Another is immortality, and you may have achieved that today, with your enhancement and improvement of the blessing that you have made from a curse. Though the thought may be uncomfortable, you must face this truth; you are a god, or you will be one soon.”

  Suddenly, six incredible figures appeared, striking wonder, awe and fear into the hearts of those who witnessed the Manifestation. Mark and the others immediately bowed most abjectly. In a way that was impossible to explain, they knew that they were in the presence of gods.

  “Rise, and be at your ease.” a goddess said, and when they had, they saw that she was a beautiful tropical human, about a hundred and seventy centimeters tall with straight black hair, black skin, and black eyes. She appeared to be about thirty-five years old, and wore a simple gray dress of course weave, plain sandals, and a string of small seashells as a necklace. She had a smile that made one think she was trying not to laugh at a private joke. “We do not stand on ceremony anymore. I am Neela, whom Mark has referred to as Sweet Mother of All, a charming if inaccurate appellation.”

 
; All the mortals present heard the words of the gods in their own native languages, though most didn’t realize that until they discussed the experience later.

  The next goddess to introduce herself looked completely familiar. “I am Visinniria.” She looked just like Ria, except that she moved naturally, wore gleaming golden armor, and gave a comforting smile.

  “And I am Heklivmalgiso.” said the elf who stood beside her in a fine white silk robe. His long beard and hair were flowing and white, and both hung down to his waist. His sparkling blue eyes were crinkled at the corners with his wise and benevolent smile.

  “I am Falgaroth.” announced the eighth god of The People of Morning. He appeared as a huge unicorn whose mass must have been double that of Silaran’s, for he had the heavy build of a war-horse, and he stood over a meter higher than Silaran as well. Every part of him was exactly the same bright blue as his Truthstone, from the tip of his two meter length of horn to the long hair that grew down from his ankles to almost cover his platter-sized hooves. The hair of his luxurious mane was over a meter long, that of his tail two meters long.

  Next and most awesome was a Dragon god of incredible dimension and beauty. He was at least double Kragorram’s length, and he seemed entirely composed of smooth and flowing liquid quicksilver that was somehow contained in dragon shape. “I am Amirgath.” he stated, and though it seemed that he made some effort to limit his volume, his voice shook the mortals who listened with a tone like boulders of diamond being crushed, and leaves fell from the jungle bushes with its mighty vibration.

  He indicated the being who floated two meters above the black sand to his left. “This is Glup, god of the Zurb who are gone from the waters of this world, first god of Kellaran.”

  Glup appeared to be somewhat like a glossy black lobster almost four meters in length, but he had three pairs of symmetrical claws gently waving before him, and six pairs of legs hanging down beneath him. His twelve pairs of antennas were arranged in two rows down the back of his head and thorax. These appendages whipped back and forth with quick and complex movements whose elegant patterns suggested intelligent action; perhaps sign language, or perhaps dance. The large pair of gleaming black eyes regarded Mark steadily.

  Mark spontaneously bowed again, and found the courage to address the gods. “We are overjoyed and deeply honored to welcome you all to Hilia.”

  “Thank you.” Neela laughed, and the sound brought joy to all who heard it, then she addressed Dalia. “Child, two possible explanations for your resurrection by Mark have been stated; That your soul was not drawn to paradise by Heklivmalgiso because you were destined to continue with your life, and that Mark was able to restore your soul to you along with your life because he has joined us in divinity. But there are other possibilities. A deity may have assisted Mark, or acted through him. Heklivmalgiso may not collect the souls of elves, or take them to paradise, or he may only take some of them. The existence of the soul as an entity separate from the mind may be false. Some time spent in thought upon the subject will reveal further possible explanations.

  “We will not reveal which of those possibilities is the truth of your resurrection, and the answer is irrelevant to you for now. When your mortal life is truly done, then you will know.

  “What is important is that however it was done, you live again by Mark’s doing, and that is indeed one of the Prerequisites of Divinity. You have raised the possibility that he has achieved immortality, another of the Prerequisites. And you spoke crucial words when you said to him; ‘you are a god’.

  “These things have called me here, as Mark’s matron goddess, so that he may be Examined to determine whether he is indeed a Candidate for Divinity. This is a very rare occurrence, and it drew the attention of all the gods. It was then seen that Mark might not be the only Candidate among you.”

  She turned to Mark and gave him a reassuring smile. “Glup of the Zurb is here because you and he are the only two who wield the power of the second source at this time, and though only you two have it, he considers all who do so to be his responsibility, to some extent.

  “Early in my divinity, some of my priests studied what was known of Glup, and of his power as he wielded it as a mortal, before he became god of the Zurb. They had a word for those who wield that power, and it was warlock. Glup has not been many persons’ patron god since his people passed from this world, and it would mean much to him if you would consider him the patron god of warlocks, though you are the only one there is right now, and there have only been a few others in the past. It is a sentiment only, since we are restricted from affecting the affairs of mortals in almost every way, but it would be a kind gesture.

  “I am honored to do so, Glup.” Mark stated sincerely with a bow for the eldest god, and the god of the Zurb floated forward and stopped beside Neela.

  “It is good.” Neela quietly pronounced. “And now, as your patron god and goddess, we will Examine you.” She gave Mark another warm smile of reassurance and reached up to gently lay her hand on the left side of his head, while Glup reached out with his left front antenna and touched it to Mark’s right temple.

  Mark gasped and stiffened at the indescribable ecstasy of their touch, but it was gone in a moment.

  “You are indeed a Candidate, and your Candidacy is very strong. Glup estimates that there is a three in ten chance that you will become a god, and I cannot disagree.”

  Mark shuddered deeply at the revelation, then considered what she’d said. “Then there is a seven in ten chance that I will not become a god?” he asked.

  “That is so.” she nodded.

  She and Glup moved back, and Visinniria and Heklivmalgiso came forward.

  “Though I hesitate to disagree with my companions, I would think that the future is still far too malleable to consider such numerical estimates of the probability of your ascension to be in any way reliable.” Heklivmalgiso chuckled. “And even if they are accurate, their truth only applies to the moment of your Examination. Your Candidacy will strengthen or wane with further events and changes of circumstance, and with your own development.

  “Though it is not official, may I Examine you?”

  “Of course.” Mark nodded as he went to one knee and bowed his head.

  The god of the elves touched his forehead with a fingertip for just a moment, leaving a tantalizing memory of the wonder of it. “Your Candidacy is strong, they have the truth of that without a doubt.”

  He turned his regard to Talia. “Visinniria and I are here because the possibility exists that you are also a Candidate.” he told her with a gentle tone, then slowly turned and met the eyes of every mortal present. “Others of you may be Candidates as well. You must each be Examined by a god of your own race, by your patron deity if you hold to one. Thus this unique gathering, which is completely unprecedented in every respect.”

  Talia could only nod and bow her head. She trembled at the touch of two divine elves, and gasped when it was withdrawn.

  “You are a Candidate.” Visinniria pronounced.

  “She is, but her Candidacy is dependent upon his.” Heklivmalgiso said as he indicated Mark. “If he reaches godhood, it is likely that she will as well. If he does not, she will not.

  “This becomes more fascinating by the moment. Let us proceed.”

  Wasting little time, they Examined Yazadril, Nemia, Alilia, Hilsith, Dalia, and Bezedil.

  “You are all Candidates.” Visinniria revealed, and seemed surprised to find it so as she turned to her companion. “Talia’s Candidacy is not so strong as Mark’s, Yazadril’s and Alilia’s are weaker than hers, Nemia’s, Hilsith’s, Bezedil’s and Dalia’s are weaker yet, in that order. But they are all legitimate Candidates for Divinity!”

  “And what a complex linkage of dependencies!” Heklivmalgiso stated in delight. “Yazadril, your candidacy is partially dependent on Mark’s. If he does not reach ascension, you still may, but you are more likely to gain divinity if he gai
ns it before you.

  “Alilia, the same is true of you, your Candidacy is partially dependent on Mark’s.

  “Nemia, your Candidacy is dependent on Yazadril’s.

  “Hilsith, yours is dependent on both Mark’s and Yazadril’s.

  “Bezedil and Dalia, your Candidacies are dependent on Mark’s, and also upon each other’s. You will ascend either both together or not at all, and then only if Mark has done so first.”

  He and Visinniria withdrew a bit.

  Falgaroth came to the fore with a prancing step. He addressed Tithian, Equemev, and Silaran, though all who were gathered heard him. “I became your patron deity when you swore upon my Truthstone, though you did not consciously choose it to be so. Join me now, and be Examined.”

  The three unicorns moved forward as one, and together touched the tips of their horns to their god’s. The four stood unmoving for over a minute.

  “Tithian, you are a strong Candidate in your own right.” Falgaroth declared as they stepped back from him. “Equemev, Silaran, your Candidacies are as Bezedil’s and Dalia’s. They are dependent on Mark’s ascension, and on each other’s. You will join the gods together and after he does, or not at all.”

  Amirgath Examined the four dragons with no more than a glance at each of them. Then he spoke, his voice as awesome as before. “Somonik, I have waited a long time to tell you that I am very proud of you. Your Candidacy is strong.”

  Somonik bowed. “Thank you.” was his simple reply.

  “Povon and Kragorram, you are the third mated pair whose Candidacies are dependent upon Mark’s, and upon each other’s. Together and after him, or not at all.” Amirgath informed them, and they bowed in acknowledgment.

  He turned then to the unicorn god. “Falgaroth, bring the stone.”

  Falgaroth nodded.

  His great Truthstone appeared hovering a meter above the sand, and the translucent green form of The Eldest appeared with it. He floated down before Amirgath and crouched on all fours with his snout touching the sand. “My Lord.” he intoned with reverence.

  “Ah, but it is good to see you again my friend, face to face, so to speak.” Amirgath chuckled as The Eldest rose to face him. “It is good for us that you and Somonik hold me as your patron deity, and that these other three do not presently hold to one, thus it is I who have come here today to represent the gods of our people.

  “Your Candidacy is almost assured. Unless you are killed, you will ascend, either within the next three years, or during a more minor nexus some twelve hundred years hence.”

  “I have recently become aware of that, my Lord.” The Eldest informed his god, and there may have been a trace of smug satisfaction in his tone. “It became apparent shortly after I bonded with the Truthstone.”

  “Then you are also aware that there is a great deal of progress required of you, and in a very short time, particularly if you are to join us before the imminent nexus has passed.”

  “I do know that, my Lord.” The Eldest thoughtfully replied. “Yet I am unsure of how I can accomplish it.”

  “You will know soon.” Amirgath assured him. “When the chance comes, seize it.”

  He turned to the last mortal to be addressed by a god. “Grakonexikaldoron, you alone among these here are not a Candidate for Divinity at this time, though that may change in the future.”

  “Thank you, my Lord.” the gold drake chuckled, her voice almost as impressive as his.

  “You do not wish to achieve divinity?” Amirgath asked.

  “Not for many eons yet, my Lord. My learning is slow but deep, and I still have much to learn, and much to do. For now, I covet not the power, nor the responsibility, for I have a sufficiency of both. Beyond that, swearing on the Truthstone of Falgaroth has changed me and given new meaning to my life, and I very much wish to remain on the mortal plane to enjoy it for some time yet.”

  “That is good.” Amirgath agreed, and turned a bit to address all the gathered mortals.

  “This is a day that will never be forgotten. Never has more than four Candidates been discovered in any given millennium. To find fifteen in a single place, on a single day, is a staggering and incredible event. Even to the gods. As well, you are the first Candidates to be discovered in thirty-two thousand years. It is an indication of the importance of the coming Nexus. Thus you have been graced by our visitation, the first Manifestation of the gods upon Kellaran since we withdrew from the world. In every other instance since Glup discovered me when I was the first Candidate, the Candidate was Examined from afar, and was never made aware of any part of the process, whatever the result.

  “However, it has been decided by all the gods that it would be beneficial if there were more of us. Thus we encourage you Candidates to strive with your utmost effort to achieve this promise and potential that you have, and we sincerely hope that every one of you succeeds in becoming one of the new gods.

  “But heed this warning: About thirty thousand years ago it was determined beyond doubt that dependence on the gods was weakening the peoples of Kellaran. Religion was stifling growth and creativity, and contributing to war and social stagnation, though we did not wish it to be so. And so we prepared, and then we withdrew from the world. We made it absolutely clear to everyone that from that time forward, we would take no part in the affairs of mortals. Everyone knows that if they pray to us, we may be listening, and we may not, but in either case we will not answer, and we will not act. Thus it must ever be. We will allow no effective religion on Kellaran, and in this matter alone will we act to affect the mortal world.

  “Since the withdrawal, there have been those who have falsely declared themselves to be gods, and those who have falsely declared others to be gods. That is blasphemy, for only we can decide who is a Candidate, and who has joined us in divinity, and Glup is the final arbiter of such decisions.

  “We act against such blasphemies with the subtlest practical methods, to hide our actions from mortal minds, but we do act swiftly and with finality. Thus, there have been no new religions, or worshipers at the alters of false gods.

  “Since you are legitimate Candidates, the first since the withdrawal, your situation is entirely different. If any mortals declare you to be gods before you achieve divinity and are recognized by us, assuming that you will, that is blasphemy. We expect that you would act against that as we would, with the most subtle method you can use that is also swift and final. If you must sacrifice subtlety for swiftness and finality, you will do so. If you fail in this, and any significant number of mortals begin to worship you or pray to you, we will force you to withdraw from the world, and we will erase your existence from the mortal plane. You will be more than gone from the world, it will be as if you were never conceived, and every effect of your life and existence on mortal reality will be erased.

  “We will not allow you to reveal your Candidacy. Among yourselves, you may discuss our Manifestation and what we have revealed here, but you will be unable to speak of any of it, or to communicate it psionicly, if any other mortal can hear or intercept your communications. Grakonexikaldoron, we include you in this.

  “If any other mortals discover that any of you are Candidates by methods that are beyond your control, you will do what you must to prevent them from spreading the information. Again, if you fail, you may be forced to withdraw from mortal affairs. We would not be required to erase your existence from history in that case, so long as you are not worshiped as gods.

  “Now you may ask questions of us, though we will not answer all.”

  “Thank you.” Mark said after a moment, and swallowed the lump in his throat as he struggled to organize his thoughts. “I would like to know, if one of us does manage to become a god, we would have to withdraw from the world, right?”

  “Not necessarily.” Neela responded. “So long as no mortal who is not a Candidate recognizes that you are divine, and no mortal worships you, and no mortal prays to you, you will not
be required to withdraw from the mortal world. It is religion we have banned from Kellaran, not the presence of gods. We who are already gods must remain withdrawn, as to do otherwise would ensure the revival of the religions that were devoted to us.”

  “I see.” Mark nodded, furiously trying to think, knowing that this was an incredibly valuable and totally unique opportunity. “What exactly does it mean to withdraw from the world?”

  “It means that you do not live among mortals, and when you go among them, you must be unrecognizable, unnoticeable, or undetectable.” the ebon goddess replied. “You would also refrain from conspicuous acts of divine power. You would be unable to do otherwise, since all the gods enforce the withdrawal co-operatively.”

  “But where would we live?” Mark asked.

  Neela smiled. “That would be entirely up to you, so long as you do not dwell among the mortals of Kellaran. You would find that there are many fine choices available to you.”

  “I see. What of the nexus, and the conspiracy, and the assassins and all of that? Can you give us any advice on any of that?”

  This time the smile of the goddess was tinged with regret. “We may not, for to do so would be to act upon mortal affairs, and would thus violate the withdrawal.”

  “I thought it might be so.” Mark nodded. “Can you can tell us why you want there to be new gods, when you do not want there to be any new religions?”

  “I am sorry. We may not reveal that to any who have not reached Ascension.”

  There was a moment of silence while Mark racked his brains for something pertinent to ask, to no avail. His thoughts seemed clouded, and he gave his head a shake in irritation as he tried to clear his mind. He realized that he still had the translation spell for Elvish activated, so he dismissed it. That helped a bit.

  “My Lord, I know my enemy lives.” The Eldest pointed out to Amirgath. “I know he is fully recovered now, and he will not have wasted his time since we last struggled. If he thinks that I am dead, he will consider himself to be the Eldest, and he will have taken you as his patron deity as tradition demands. He may be a Candidate. Perhaps it would be wise to Examine him. He will have an entourage of other beings of power gathered to him, and you may wish to Examine those as well.”

  The dragon god closed his eyes a moment, then considered the Eldest carefully. “Have a care, my friend. You verge on being too clever for your own good.”

  The Eldest bowed, and made no other reply.

  “Are there no more questions?” Neela asked, and received no reply. “Then our official duties here are finished.”

  “Just a minute.” Mark said in Common with an irritated tone as he stepped over to the Truthstone and touched it with a fingertip. He flinched a bit as the god-power started rushing into him, but maintained the contact, hummed a slow descending arpeggio to find the right note to bring himself in tune with the stone, and smiled as he succeeded. He carefully laid both hands flat on the stone, and pressed his cheek to it as well.

  Talia moved to join him, and he picked her up with one arm. She also pressed one hand and her cheek to the stone, her forehead touching Mark’s. Speaking together, they recited Osbald’s Oath. “I swear forevermore that I will not break the peace, that I will defend the innocent, and that I will uphold justice.”

  As they fell silent again, Amirgath became alarmed. “They are drawing immense power from the stone! They have shielded us from their thoughts! Falgaroth, separate them from the stone!”

  Falgaroth snorted and tossed his mane, his mighty horn waving in the air. “I will not.”

  “Now we are blocked from the mind of Quewanak as well!” Amirgath roared, becoming angry, tossing his head back and blowing two thin jets of white-hot fire from his nostrils.

  “He has given me your name, Eldest.” Mark chuckled.

  “Quite all right, my boy!” the Eldest laughed. “I would have told you within days, when you began your training with me.”

  Mark turned with Talia and placed his back to the stone, keeping his palm in contact with it, while Talia lifted hers and replaced it when they’d turned.

  Mark regarded the gods, then spoke. “Remove the Glamour.”

  “What?” Neela demanded in consternation.

  “The Glamour, the Charm, whatever you want to call it.” Mark stated with determination. “The wonderful feeling of nirvana that we’re experiencing from being in your presence, the one that’s fogging my mind and preventing me from thinking straight. Remove it. Remove it from all of us.”

  “I’m afraid that’s not possible.” Heklivmalgiso patiently told him. “It’s a natural condition of our divinity. This feeling you describe radiates naturally from us, just as the heat of your body radiates from you.”

  Marked frowned. “Now you’re lying to me. You’ve already said that you can go undetected among mortals, and that means you can prevent them from feeling the Glamour. You will remove it from us, now.”

  “Now you go too far!!!” Amirgath roared in rage. “You will step away from the stone immediately, or I will utterly destroy you!”

  “Perhaps.” Mark nodded. “And perhaps not. I’ve no wish to earn your enmity, Amirgath, but I feel a responsibility for every innocent person in The Just Alliance, every one of whom is threatened by the insidious conspiracy. I didn’t choose to be Key to the Alliance, but I am, and whereas yesterday I was little more than a figurehead, now I’m a force in this world. I now have the power to really do something to stop the conspiracy, and to protect my people.

  “Then you gods come here and tell me that I’m a Candidate for Divinity, which I really couldn’t care less about right now, since it does nothing to help me with what I have to do.

  “You’ve threatened that if anyone discovers that I’m a Candidate, or calls me a god, or worships me, regardless of whether or not I took part in it or even approved of it, that it will violate your strictures against religion on Kellaran, and you’ll remove me from the world. Thereby preventing me from fulfilling my responsibilities, in addition to being a crime against me. Your stricture against religion is none of my concern, nor is it my responsibility to enforce it, it’s yours. In my mind you’ve no right to come here to our realm and threaten me for failing to carry out your responsibilities.

  “That’s the most important of many things that are seriously wrong about this situation, but I can’t think of the rest because of the Glamour you’re holding over my mind. There’s too much at stake to pass up this chance for a meaningful interaction with you, nor can I let the threat against me stand. I can’t do my duty if I have to run around all over the world searching for those who may be so foolish as to wish to worship me.

  “Remove the Glamour.”

  “And if we do not?!!” Amirgath demanded.

  Mark gave him a glare of grim determination. “None of us wants a conflict here, Amirgath. But you should consider that Falgaroth is not the weakest of gods, and I know from the Eldest that when Falgaroth made the Truthstone, he poured his power into it for tens of thousands of years. It holds millions of times more power than he could call upon from within himself at any given moment. Talia and I now control about half of that.”

  “This is unbelievable!!!” the quicksilver dragon god exclaimed, his tail lashing in the air. “Are you actually threatening me?!!!”

  Mark kept a firm grip on himself and fought down his fear with a hard swallow. The air practically reeked with power and danger, and it took all of his own will, bolstered by Talia’s loving belief in him, to face Amirgath’s wrath. “I’m trying to negotiate with you.” he patiently explained. “A person likes to negotiate from a position of strength, and I’m smart enough to know that that’s not possible when dealing with the gods, even with the assistance of the Truthstone. But I also know that there can be no meaningful negotiation between us if I’m in a position of absolute weakness. And that’s not the case right now.”

  “This is becoming a very d
angerous situation.” Heklivmalgiso stated, seeming more than a little concerned. “We should depart.”

  “You will not, until our business here is concluded.” Mark stated with quiet determination.

  “Dear boy, do you truly think you could hold us here?” Neela asked with a loving smile.

  “The Wards of Hilia are keyed to me and Talia.” Mark told her. “I’ve drawn their many layers together into one mighty shield, and inverted them. All of their barriers and defensive spells now face inward, rather than out. And they are now as completely aware of your presence as I am. You could get past them, but not without an expenditure of energy that would kill every living thing on the island, which now includes thousands of people from almost every race in The Just Alliance. And that would surely count as a massive interference in mortal affairs. Even for you gods, that would be a difficult thing to cover up.

  “But look, all of that’s unnecessary. You said you ended religion on Kellaran to help prevent war, and to allow your peoples to grow and to fulfill their full potential. We stand for the same things. All I want is to have an uninhibited discourse with you, like civilized, rational people.

  “On the other hand, I don’t know you, and I know very little about you, so there’s only one of you I can trust.”

  “Thank you, Mark, I...” Neela started with a smile before Mark interrupted her.

  “And it’s not you.” he stated.

  Neela’s smile faded and she fell silent. A nasty little part of Mark wanted to chuckle at the sight of the first goddess of humans so suddenly and completely discomfited.

  “Of all of you, Falgaroth is the only one who I know to have taken concrete action to uphold truth and justice, and he has done so by the creation of the Truthstone. He invested a great deal of time and effort to do so. His character and intentions infuse it, and are obvious to any who’ve sworn upon it. He also refused Amirgath’s order to separate me from the stone. Him I can trust. Though he is not of our race, Talia and I have now taken him as our patron god. Until the rest of you prove by your actions that you stand for justice, I cannot trust you.

  “Now, remove the Glamour. I won’t ask again.”

  There was a long, strained silence, then suddenly Visinniria laughed as she addressed her fellow gods. “We might as well admit it, he has us by the short hairs. You’ve all considered tens of thousands of possible responses in the last moment; the same as I have, and you know that co-operating with him is the least dangerous course of action. I warned you all that your arrogance would get you into trouble someday, and now your bright new kitten has turned out to be a tiger.

  “Mark, I am containing my aura, ending its effect on your mind and emotions. Glup and Falgaroth did so when you first asked. You have obviously succeeded in disregarding most of our auras’ effects already, or you would never even have been able to consider questioning our will in any way. An incredible act of willpower from an infant like you, facing six gods.”

  “Thank you.” Mark nodded, and turned to the other three in turn.

  Neela shrugged, and Heklivmalgiso raised an eyebrow. Mark could feel it when they contained their auras, and he met the dragon god’s fierce glare without flinching.

  “You have no idea what you’ve done.” Amirgath growled. “This was unforeseen. It was not included in our visions of the future, and now our knowledge of what will be lies in tatters.”

  Mark gave him a shrug and an apologetic smile. “Well, I’m sorry about that, but a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. Besides, you guys started this, not me. You should’ve stuck with the traditional plan, and examined me from afar, without notice. You must’ve given in to curiosity, or perhaps to the temptation to act like gods to a bunch of mortals for the first time in thirty thousand years.”

  Amirgath held his glare for a moment, then suddenly chuckled. “So we did.

  “I’ll give you this, child; you’ve no lack of courage. And if your actions did not flow from concern for others, including those of my people, I would destroy you for your arrogance. Despite your holding so much power from the Truthstone, you lack the speed of thought to stop me. You would be destroyed before you even realized my attack had been initiated.

  “As it is, I will contain my aura.”

  “Thank you.” Mark nodded. “Though there’s a big part of me that wishes I hadn’t had you do so. It was really a wonderful feeling.

  “But now my mind is clear, and I realize what I could not while under your aura’s influence.”

  He took a long moment to gather his thoughts, then addressed Neela. “You know, the thirty thousand years since the withdrawal may not seem like a very long time to you, but to my people it’s been eternity. I thought I knew a lot of history before I left home, but all I knew was the major events in the northern kingdoms over the last six thousand years or so. Those who lived with me in Shinosa Valley didn’t even know that there was ever a time when the gods were active in the world, or that there were any other gods than you. Most of us were unconvinced that there ever were any real gods at all. We didn’t even know your name, though I think that for it to have been lost, there must have been a time when it was forbidden to speak it. We also pictured you as a northerner, with light skin and auburn hair and brown eyes.”

  “Understandable.” Neela smiled, her good humor restored. “They would have long forgotten that when I was a mortal, we were still a new race. There were only a few tens of thousands of humans then, all living on the shores of a tropical sea, and all of us were colored as I am to protect us from the sun.”

  “I see.” Mark nodded. “Our traditional beliefs said that you really were the mother of all, that you had created the sky and the stars and the world and everything on it, including every kind of life and every kind of people. But now I know you’re not like that.”

  He looked around and met the eye of every god and goddess. “None of you are like that. You didn’t create the universe or the world or any of the races of people. Every one of you were once mortals, just like the rest of us.

  “And while you may be far greater than us in power, and knowledge, and understanding of reality, you’re really no smarter or wiser for it, or any less vulnerable to character flaws like arrogance or racism. If you were, you would’ve realized the truths that I’ve realized recently. The truths that The Just Alliance was founded on; that there must be justice for all people, and unity and camaraderie among all people of good will, for therein lies our best chance to avoid war and to fulfill our potential.

  “When there were religions, I’d bet that no one ever prayed to a god of any other race than their own. And with the possible exception of Glup, I’d bet each of you considers yourself to be a god or goddess of your own race. That Neela, you are a goddess of humans, and Amirgath, you’re a god of dragons, and so on. I think that situation should end.

  “Just as I’m informally the leader of all the good people of The Just Alliance, regardless of their race, I think each of you should strive to be a god of all who are good and just, regardless of their race.

  “I think your policy of non-participation with religion is wise, to some extent, but not completely. I don’t see that it does anyone any good to spend their time and effort on religious ceremony, or building temples, or prayer as a matter of course, unless they truly enjoy the activity for its own sake. Nor do I think it’s a good idea for you to take a hand in the everyday affairs of individuals, except for very rarely, and then only under the most extreme of circumstances. But then, the same could be said of me, or of any of the leaders in The Just Alliance, or of any of the senior wizards or sorcerers.

  “But as to whether it’s a good idea for all of you to remain withdrawn from the world, that all depends on what you would do. If you were to come back and cause harm and injustice, that would of course be a bad thing. But if the gods were to return to the world, and you all declare yourselves united in favor of the principles of The Just
Alliance, I don’t see how there could be any harm in that.

  “I can understand why you might be unwilling to protect the innocent and uphold justice on an individual basis, so that your peoples can come to their own realization of their need to do that for themselves. But I can’t see any justifiable reason why you shouldn’t act to prevent war.

  “I doubt any of you is willing to stand by and see your own race exterminated to the last individual, despite your withdrawal from the world. With the power available in the world today, it’s a possibility that at least one race could be exterminated if any major war occurs. Big wars grow from small wars, and if you act to stop wars when they’re small, you eliminate the possibility of needing to engage in a massive intervention later to prevent an extermination.”

  “Unfortunately, things are not so simple, nor is war the only way for a race to become extinct.” Heklivmalgiso countered. “Without war, populations would grow unchecked. When their numbers became so great that the world cannot produce enough food to feed them all, there would be mass starvation. Then, there will be conflict over the remaining food supplies, either as organized war, or as a war of anarchy. This could happen much sooner than you might think. Given the present populations, it could be less than three hundred years from now. Over the long term, too little war is as dangerous as too much.”

  “I refuse to accept that.” Mark stated emphatically. “The races have been around for millions of years, and still most of the world is pretty sparsely populated. There’s got to be more reasons for that than war. Beyond that, we can choose to have fewer children until the populations are stable, and we can learn to produce more food with magic, freeing the food supply from the limits of the availability of arable land. Eventually we can find new worlds and learn to Translocate to them.

  “If necessary, we can make new worlds from scratch. I’ve been given to understand that there are huge chunks of the materials of worlds floating around in the sky, and if we use those to build new worlds, we won’t have to worry about them crashing into Kellaran anymore. Perhaps you gods should take up that task as a fitting challenge, since you don’t seem to be doing much with your immense power right now.”

  “A worthy suggestion, if somewhat impertinently phrased.” Neela laughed.

  “You know, now that I think about it,” Mark mused, “I think the best thing that could happen would be if all of you gods were to give up your claims to divinity, admit that it’s just as true to say that you’re just incredibly powerful spell-casters, join The Just Alliance, and swear Osbald’s Oath upon the Truthstone of Falgaroth.

  “Learn to treat people as friends, instead of as lesser beings. If all the people and all the gods could be truly united in friendship, united in truth and openness and justice, Kellaran could be a paradise for all of us.”

  Visinniria laughed. “Surely you are the Prince of Audacity! Those are some wonderful suggestions, but what if you are wrong? What if we are more than powerful spell-casters, and the differences between a mortal and a god are as profound as the difference between yourself and a pine tree?”

  “I still don’t think it should give you any greater rights than any other thinking person of any race.” Mark insisted. “The differences between a dragon and a sprite are pretty extreme, but each have the same individual rights in The Just Alliance.”

  “I see. Let’s suppose then that I do as you suggest. I declare myself to be a person like any other, and I swear on the stone to not break the peace, to protect the innocent, and to uphold justice. Assuming that I am bound by my vow, I would strive to protect the innocent, but from what? If it is within my power to protect them from every form of hurt and harm, to protect them from any danger, to protect them from death itself, should I do so? Should I protect them from heartache, jealousy, frustration, or boredom, if I can do so?”

  “Yes!” Mark stated emphatically. “If you can do so in a healthy manner that is respectful of their rights! As I’ve said, everyone has the right to engage in reasonable risk, but beyond that, I aim to completely eliminate needless suffering and death from Kellaran!

  “If I can teach people to make wise choices in life so that they can completely avoid heartache, jealousy, frustration and boredom, I will do so! If you used your power to assist in this education and training of the people, you can help eliminate those problems without violating anyone’s rights! If I could cast a spell that would make sure that no one ever dropped a frying pan on their foot and broke their toe ever again, I’d do it! And I’m definitely not worried that people would become so dependent on the spell that they’d stop trying to keep from dropping frying pans on their feet!

  “If I could save everyone from death, I’d do it, and deal with any challenges that arise from it afterward! If everyone is truly immortal, we don’t have to worry about the overpopulation problem that Yazadril talked about earlier. We can breed as fast as we can make enough of the facilities that people need to lead healthy lives, and if we reach the limits of the world to support more people without causing unhealthy conditions, then we can stop breeding until we find new ways around the limits. If people are immortal, you never need to tell them to not have any more children; you only need to tell them to wait until it’s practical to have them. And they shouldn’t mind waiting too much, since they’d have all of eternity ahead of them. Everyone can have as many children as they wish, the only question should be; how long will they have to wait to have them? If it’s as long as it takes to build a new world for them, then so be it!”

  Visinniria, Heklivmalgiso, Neela and Amirgath all seemed to be absolutely flabbergasted. Falgaroth seemed to be chuckling to himself, though no one could be sure when trying to read the body language of a unicorn god. Glup was as alien and inscrutable as ever. Mark kept all his attention on the gods, afraid to let his concentration slip the slightest bit, and disregarded for the moment the other mortals present.

  “I must say, that’s not the response I thought you’d give.” Visinniria quietly stated.

  “There’s another factor you’re all going to have to consider as well.” Mark continued firmly. “The Truthstone of Falgaroth is charged with millions of times the power it would need to have its designed effect on any mortal. Any mortal. There’s only one reason why it would be charged with that much power, and that’s so it would work on gods. I’m absolutely positive that any god would be bound by a vow sworn upon it, and any god would be unable to lie while in contact with it.

  “I’ve sworn on it, and I won’t be released from my vow when I become a god! These others here have all sworn on it too, and all of them except Grakonexikaldoron are also Candidates for Divinity, and they’re not going to be released from the vow when they reach godhood either!

  “If the rest of you gods have existing agreements among yourselves that aren’t consistent with Osbald’s Oath, we won’t honor those agreements when we become gods. That includes the withdrawal. We don’t have any choice about it. We are bound by the stone, and by our own honor and morality as well. And we don’t want a conflict among the gods, since I’m told that it could destroy all of reality.

  “So the rest of you have until we reach divinity to come around to our way of thinking. Considering the progress I’ve made in the last two days, you might not want to take too much time making up your minds.”

  The obvious truth of those points struck the minds of everyone present like a thunderbolt.

  “Now, concerning your threat against me. I know I’m not a god, so until I am, if anyone says I’m a god then they’re lying. I will publicly declare them to be lying, according to the laws I’ve suggested. If it’s seen that any harm comes from the lie, I will act against them, up to and including Compelling them to publicly admit to their lie upon The Truthstone of Falgaroth, and to swear to cease their lying. I will not harm or kill them for it under any circumstance; because calling me a god isn’t a serious enough crime to warrant it, in my view.


  “If someone says I’m a Candidate for Divinity, they’re telling the truth according to you, so I won’t do anything about it beyond asking them politely to keep quiet about it. If you choose to do something about it, it had better not be anything that harms them in any way for telling the truth, or you’ll have broken the laws of The Just Alliance, and we will do what we can to hold you to account for it. We will uphold justice.

  “If you decide to act against me unjustly, by removing me from the world or by any other method, while knowing that I am Key to the Just Alliance and Key to the Nexus, you may risk the survival of every life on Kellaran. Any consequences will be on your heads; any blood will be on your hands.

  “Now, having said all that, I’d like to repeat that I’ve no wish to earn your enmity. I feel that I had no real choice about anything I’ve said or done here today, being bound by my vow, and forced to respond to your actions. We want the same things, prosperity and peace for all our people. We only differ so far in our methods. I hope you’ll forgive me if I’ve upset you or offended you here today, but I stand by what I’ve said.”

  With that he took a deep breath, and suddenly seemed very tired. “We’ve restored the original orientation of the Wards. You can go if you want to.”

  Amirgath turned to Falgaroth. “You have much to answer for! The casting of a spell to bind a god is banned by unanimous agreement!”

  “The stone was crafted long before such agreements were first proposed.” Falgaroth replied, and now his vast amusement was obvious in his tone. “Even were that not so, still the agreement would not be broken, for no god could be forced by power or might to swear upon the stone. Should any god choose to swear an oath, I have merely provided a way to ensure that their adherence to their oath is reliable.

  “Besides, you are changing the subject in order to avoid facing difficult thoughts.”

  “Such as the fact that due to your meddling in the way of things by your crafting of the stone, we may be forced to annihilate these Candidates in order to prevent conflict between the gods?!!!” Amirgath demanded in irritation. “You know that some of us will demand it, and you know who they are!!”

  “That will not happen, for I will not allow it, and they will not break the unanimity!” Falgaroth retorted, letting his own anger show.

  “And if the alternative is that we are forced to abandon the agreements that have cost us so much effort to forge, in order to follow the policies of this barely-born infant ape?!! What then, Falgaroth?!”

  “Then so be it!!!” The bright blue unicorn god’s mighty form assumed a stance of challenge. “I have been arguing for similar policies for eons, as you well know! Those of us who have any wisdom at all have been forced to enact the agreements in order to prevent even greater foolishness and stupidity! It is more than past time for arrogance and injustice to be stripped from the gods and peoples of Kellaran!

  “The Nexus approaches, Amirgath, and there are three paths that we may follow! There is the way of the foolish, there is the status quo, and there is the way of justice! Consider which of these three would best prepare us for the Nexus!

  “And consider the price of failure, eldest of the dragon gods! Now is not the time for pride or ego!”

  Amirgath glared for a moment. He spoke in a rumbling and dangerous tone of quiet threat. “You have forced me, Falgaroth. You have forced us all. How much of this did you plan when you crafted the stone?”

  “Nothing more than knowing that the presence of the stone in this world would eventually tip the balance. Its presence and permanence could only have been countered by the existence of an equal token of injustice. Even if a being of dark intent were capable of crafting such an item, they would never consider spending the effort to do so. They act out of selfishness, and it serves no purpose of theirs to cause injustice in the world that has no direct benefit for themselves.

  “Thus, I knew that my crafting of the Truthstone would eventually prove to be decisive in the struggle between good and evil.”

  “Unfortunately, that has yet to be decided.” Heklivmalgiso asserted. “There is no guarantee that The Just Alliance will prevail against those they refer to as the insidious conspiracy. If they lose, particularly if Mark falls, it is almost certain that none of these Candidates will ascend before the nexus is upon us. And if they fail to ascend, and we fail to deal with the nexus, the rest will be moot.

  “Falgaroth, it is as Amirgath has said; you have forced us, and the Nexus forces us as well.

  “The others will be discussing this already. We must be there to represent our views. I go now.” The elven god was suddenly gone, as were Glup and Neela.

  Amirgath glared at Falgaroth, then at Mark, before he too disappeared.

  Suddenly Visinniria was laughing. She dropped onto a sitting log and laughed till tears started running from her eyes. Her humor was so infectious that the mortals present started to laugh along with her, even though they didn’t know what she was laughing about. Falgaroth seemed to be silently chortling to himself as well.

  “Oh my stars.” Visinniria finally chuckled as she collected herself and wiped her tears away with the heels of her hands. “That was rich. I never thought I’d ever get to see that pompous old lizard’s nose tweaked like that! And the old elf was ready to choke on his spit, though he doesn’t show it so much!”

  “I thought I would choke myself, from trying not to bray with laughter!” Falgaroth revealed. Suddenly he sat on his haunches and parodied Amirgath’s outraged voice and mannerisms perfectly. “This is unbelievable! Are you actually threatening me?!”

  This sent Visinniria into fresh paroxysms of hilarity, while Falgaroth sat like a dog with his forelegs braced wide, so overcome with the unique huffing laughter of the unicorns that he once almost rolled over backward.

  “Now see here.” Somonik finally rumbled in irritation. “It can’t be that funny.”

  “It can, and I’m sorry you are not in a position to see it as such.” Falgaroth chortled, but he and Visinniria did make an effort to pull themselves together.

  “You must understand, Somonik, that there are less than four hundred gods, which makes for a very small community.” the elven goddess explained as she wiped her tears away again, still grinning. “Like any small community, we learn each other’s tiniest foibles and personality flaws. The elder dragon gods like to think they’re above everyone else, though they truly know that they’re not, having no more power or say than those of us of the younger gods. This leads to a great deal of blustering on their part, which the rest of us generally tolerate, simply to avoid the endless haranguing that results from any supposed infringement on their dignity. Thus, we can’t help but find it funny to see him discomfited a bit.”

  “I know that Amirgath was your patron god while you thought you were the eldest mortal, Somonik, and that our mirth bothers you because you think we are disrespecting him.” Falgaroth added. “We truly do respect him a great deal, and we love him dearly. Since the withdrawal, the gods have had no one to talk with or interact with except each other, and we have all become as close as family. The withdrawal is a lonely thing for us, and it is a time of trepidation for us as well. We’ve let our children strike out on their own, and we are as anxious as you were when your son Ekmangar first tried his wings. So we have our little family squabbles, and sometimes we bicker and grumble, just to vent our frustration.”

  “Amirgath’s favorite thing to say to us at such times is; I was a god when your ancestors were rodents!” Visinniria chuckled.

  “I see.” Somonik stated dryly. “Actually, I remember quite clearly when your ancestors were rodents. I also remember the very first time I saw you in your father’s war camp, during one of my many fruitless attempts to negotiate a truce to the War of the Segregation. You were perhaps three years old, and were running from your mother in order to avoid being bathed.”

  “I remember that day.” Visinniria glar
ed, all humor gone from her expression. “We could spare neither the power nor the firewood to heat the water, and bathing was a damned cold experience.” She paused as the memory swept over her, then continued in a quieter, more dangerous mien.

  “It took me almost twelve thousand years to dispel the dark mood of that war from my mind after I reached divinity. And I was enraged with the other gods, for I knew they could have stopped that war at any time, if only they had chosen to do so. During those years, even Amirgath hesitated to approach me, for fear my wrath would get the better of me and I would strike him down without caring if I broke the universe to do it.

  “Don’t test my patience, Somonik.”

  The ancient white drake bowed deeply, without another word.

  Visinniria regained her smile as she regarded Mark and Talia, who still stood in contact with the Truthstone, Mark holding Talia like a child in one arm, she with one arm on his shoulder.

  Visinniria stepped over and laid her hand on the stone beside them. “Ahh. This is a wonderful thing, Falgaroth.”

  “Thank you. It was a great deal of work to make it, as Mark has pointed out.” he chuckled in response.

  “If I may, I would be pleased to visit you here another time, but for now duty calls and I must soon be off.” Visinniria said, speaking directly to Talia. “Before I go, may I have the sword for a moment?”

  Talia drew Ria and presented her hilt-first to the goddess.

  Visinniria stepped clear as she considered the blade in her hand, then danced through a blindingly fast sequence of combat moves.

  As the elven goddess of war stilled with the blade held high before her, the stiff Illusion of Ria appeared. Excepting her rigid stance and their armor, the two appeared to be identical.

  “My Lady, it is bliss to feel your caress again.”

  “As it is bliss to dance with you again, my love.” the goddess smiled. “And it is interesting to see you personified in this way. I like your new name, Ria, as well. But I fear you look too much like me, and I cannot risk you being mistaken for me upon the mortal plane, should your new lady invoke you within the view of others.”

  Suddenly Ria’s rigid red hair became as silver as her blade.

  “There. What do you think of that?”

  “I would prefer my hair to be black, if it must be another color.” Ria stated with firm decision, and then it was so. “Thank you. I can sense that you have altered me in other ways, as well.”

  “You will no longer forget what is more than a century past. Your personality is no longer tainted with the dark mood of the war. And I have impressed into you the physical skills I had when I was still a mortal.” Visinniria told her. “This much I am allowed to do for you, my love, because you are not mortal.”

  She handed the sword back to Talia. “Take care of her, and she will take care of you. I love her very much, for there were centuries when she was my only friend.”

  “I... I will, my Lady.” Talia stammered as she bowed her head, then sheathed the blade, and the figure of Ria faded away.

  Visinniria floated up and hugged the pair, and gave each of them a quick kiss, while murmuring softly. “You have won me over. Keep up the good work. Stay the course. And Mark, when my children come to you to show their appreciation for what you have done this day, let them do so in their own way.”

  He nodded.

  She did the same with each elf, the embrace, the quick kiss, the private message. Then she was gone.

  Falgaroth was the only god remaining among them. He laughed with deep huffing sounds. “Mark, you are either the most brilliant being that has ever lived, or the most foolishly courageous. Most likely, there’s some truth to both of those, eh?

  “You have done today what I could not. I am immensely proud of you.”

  The bright blue god trotted over and touched the tip of his great horn to the center of Mark’s forehead. “This is between the two of us, all right? Don’t use it for a few days. Let them think you conceived of it yourself.”

  Falgaroth passed him a spell, then stepped back. “Quewanak, when you are finished here, the Truthstone will return to the Hall of The Just Alliance. None there will have noticed it was missing.

  “I am very proud of all of you.” he told them with a toss of his mighty head, and then he was gone.

  Mark’s knees almost buckled as the tension drained out of him. He staggered over to a log and dropped down to slump against it, holding Talia with desperate affection. He took a deep breath, let it out, and began to weep with great wracking sobs.

  Hilsith quickly stepped over, casting diagnostic spells as she moved.

  “He’ll be fine, he’s just emotionally overwhelmed.” Talia told her as she caressed Mark’s cheek. “He’s still so young to bear such burdens.”

  Yazadril came and sat beside them, and Nemia came with him and sat in his lap. “Today, even I feel too young to bear such burdens.” he sighed as Hilsith sat beside him, and the trio shared a hug

  “Hhmff. And I feel too old for it.” Somonik rumbled, and lay down full length on the sand.

  “Here, let me give you a rub, old boy.” Grakonexikaldoron chucked, and started giving the scarred ancient white a rubdown, beginning at the tip of his tail and working up.

  Povon and Kragorram crouched together on the sand, pensive and subdued, hugging each other with their tails and necks entwined.

  Dalia and Bezedil came to sit at Yazadril’s feet and embraced as desperately as the young dragon couple, sharing their mood as well.

  Only Alilia seemed to burn with nervous energy, and she paced around restlessly as Somonik groaned in pleasure from the gold dragoness’s ministrations.

  “I can’t believe he faced down the gods!” she ranted in consternation, her white-blond hair waving in the slight breeze. “I thought I had some courage, but I couldn’t bring myself to say a word, even after they contained their auras! For the first time in my life, I was struck dumb with fear and awe! And he faced them down!!! Foolish or not, no one has ever shown such courage!”

  “You don’t know the half of it.” the Eldest snickered. “He was bluffing.”

  “What?!!”

  “He and Talia were holding enough power from The Truthstone that if a hundred gods had laid hands on their bodies and all sworn an oath at the same moment, those gods would have been bound by it, the same as if they’d sworn directly upon the stone. But there’s little else that could have been done with it. The power of the stone is immense, there’s no doubt of that. But it is of a decided nature and is fit for but a single use; that being the enforcement of truth. Mark was bluffing, he could not use that power against the gods and he knew it.

  “Furthermore, he is sworn to protect the innocent. He would not have risked harm to the innocent citizens on the island, so if the gods had insisted on leaving, Mark would not have impeded them by the inverted Wards. That too was a bluff.

  “He faced down the gods with nothing backing him up except his courage and his confidence in the rightness of what he was doing. They were almost completely certain that such was the case, of course, but not absolutely certain, so they couldn’t take the chance.

  “I’m more than a little proud of the boy.”

  “But that means he lied to the gods!” Alilia exclaimed. “How could he do so when he has sworn upon the Truthstone?! Especially considering they were pressed against it and holding half the stone’s power at the time?!”

  “He is sworn to peace and protection and justice. The stone holds him to that vow, ensuring that he spoke the truth when he swore it. He did not swear to always speak the truth. Because of this, he is allowed a little leeway, and he can be misleading, so long as he does not speak any blatant lie, and so long as he believes that doing so serves his vow. He said they held power, but he never actually threatened to use it, that was merely implied. He described what he’d done with the Wards, and said that he doubted the gods could pass the
m without causing all our deaths, but he never said that he would prevent the gods from leaving by their use. Again, that was implied.”

  “But if he couldn’t use the power of the stone, how did he shield his thoughts from the gods?!” Alilia demanded.

  “Oh, I showed him that. Because of my bonding with the stone, I could privately communicate with Mark directly through it while he was in contact with it. I showed him my best psionic shield spells, and they are the very best, I assure you. Since psionics generally require very little raw power, and he has an abundance of power, he was able to cast my psionic shield spells with such strength that the gods themselves couldn’t see past them. Then he did the same for Talia, and they had enough power left over to lend me a sufficient amount of it for me to do the same. It took almost every bit of his immense power, and Talia’s, but he blocked the gods from our minds.”

  “I had more than courage and rightness backing me up.” Mark quietly revealed, his outpouring of emotion having run its course. “I had Talia’s love and belief in me, I had the Eldest’s solid confidence in me, and his private council.”

  “Which you needed none of.” the Eldest pointed out.

  “Still, you all have to understand that courage really had nothing to do with it. I knew what I did was the right thing to do, and so I had no choice but to act to fulfill my vow. The Compulsion of the Truthstone would accept nothing less. That’s why we swore the vow again, just to make sure it would give me the courage to do what was right if I lost my nerve.

  “And I couldn’t have cast those psionic shields without Talia. They’re draconian spells, and you have to have two kinds of power to cast them. Her abundance of power was just as necessary as mine.”

  “Hmm. Since your vow upon the stone drove you to act, and not your courage or your character, I wonder how it is that none of the rest of us were driven to confront the gods, or even to speak out to support you while you did so?” Yazadril chuckled. “After all, we have all sworn upon the stone.”

  “I imagine it’s because only I saw the need to do it.” Mark mused. “You all have a lot of intelligence, and a lot of knowledge. But the six months I spent trudging through the wilderness, often concentrating fiercely on the nature of justice and the most desirable state of the world in order to avoid thinking about my grief, well, I think it gave me a different perspective on things.”

  He paused, then spoke even more quietly. “This doesn’t seem real. I mean, things were starting to seem pretty unreal three days ago, and every time I almost get used to it, it gets a whole lot more unreal. I’m starting to wonder if any of it’s real, if any of you are real. I think I’m starting to lose my mind. That sure seems to make a lot more sense than me being some kind of supreme wizard and some kind of world leader and having faced down the gods.”

  “Don’t I seem real to you?” Talia quietly asked.

  Mark chuckled, and hugged her warmly. “My perfect elven princess, my magic love, the temptress of my dark desires? No, you’re far too wonderful to be real. Being with you is a far too beautiful dream to seem real to this simple woodsman’s son.”

  “Doubting reality is the first step down the road to insanity, and it’s a road you must choose to step away from.” Hilsith insisted. “Philosophers have been known to drive themselves insane, pondering the infinite nature of time and reality till they lost their grip on the tangible reality around them. If you start doubting reality and follow that thinking to its ultimate expression, you end with the supposition that yours is the only consciousness that exists, and that you are hallucinating everything that you experience, and you do not realize this because you hide that truth from yourself to protect your sanity, or perhaps because you are already insane.

  “Now you must admit, that seems ridiculous, though it cannot be proven to be false. But any doubting of the reality your senses show you is equally ridiculous. We either trust our senses, or give up completely on ever knowing what is real. Just because life is incredible doesn’t make it less real.

  “If you ever do experience an artificial reality, for instance because a psionic spell is muddling your mind, you will eventually figure it out because of internal inconsistencies. Truth lies in consistency.”

  “Bah! Trust your guts, boy!” the Eldest advised. “This is real and you know it. You can feel the truth of it in your guts, no matter how hard it is to accept.”

  “You’re right.” Mark admitted with a sad shake of his head. “I’m just feeling sorry for myself, like a foolish child.”

  “You are allowed to be imperfect, you know.” Talia teased, tickling his ribs a bit. “And besides, it is no weakness to vent your emotions when they are overwhelming you.

  “In hindsight, it’s easy to see why I felt that all of us here needed to be here, for this occasion.” Tithian mused.

  “You didn’t know, did you?” Mark asked. “Why Dalia and Bezedil needed to be here, that is. You only knew it was necessary, by your power as a seer.”

  “Exactly. Now we know it was so that the gods could name them Candidates.” Tithian nodded.

  He nodded, then took a deep breath to center himself. “Well. While it’s still fresh in our minds, let’s review a few things. Whether they meant us to or not, we learned from what the gods said that the problems with the insidious conspiracy have little to do with the events that will cause the Nexus. And I get the impression that the Nexus is a problem so huge that even the gods may be unable to deal with it, and that’s why they want there to be more gods. Therefore, it’s our responsibility as Candidates to achieve divinity as soon as possible so that we can help them deal with the threat.

  “First, as discretely as possible, we have to research everything that’s known about the process, and the nature of the gods.”

  He fell silent as he absorbed all those thoughts a little more, then muttered; “I feel like I’m gonna throw up.”

  “I do too.” Yazadril nodded. “What could possibly be such a huge problem that the existing gods would be unable to deal with it?”

  “Other than researching ascension and divinity, we can’t think about that right now.” Mark asserted. “As if we weren’t reasonably sure of it already, we can deduce from what the gods said that the conspiracy is far from defeated, and that they’re planning something big. Big enough to be a challenge to The Just Alliance. And it will be something violent, since the gods mentioned the possibility that I could be killed.

  “And while we’re on the subject of the conspiracy, do you want to tell me whatever it was that you and Alilia didn’t want me to know about when I Read you?” Mark asked.

  “How did you know about that?” Alilia demanded.

  “Well, you did hide the knowledge from me completely, but while Yazadril also hid everything that related to it, you forgot to hide the Spoken conversation you had with Yazadril, Somonik, and Tithian in which you revealed your news, and the four of you decided not to burden me with it. What you told them was hidden, but not the part before that where you told them you had important news, or the part where you decided not to tell me.”

  “I see. Sloppy of me, really.” Alilia nodded. “We didn’t want to distract you from your work. Then when you asked to Read me to help with the curse, I was too surprised and distracted to hide the knowledge effectively.”

  “Distract me from my work?” Mark asked in surprise. “I haven’t done any work since I left Shinosa Valley!”

  “Perhaps you have no assigned duties, my boy,” Yazadril chuckled, “But you have accomplished great feats of statesmanship and magical research on your own initiative! So much so that it was decided that we would be wisest to continue to allow you to choose your own course as much as possible.”

  “And the news that you hid from me?”

  “It’s troubling news indeed, but so far as we can see, there’s nothing to be done about it right now beyond what we’re already doing. So we saw no reason to trouble you with it,
at least until you’ve finished your honeymoon. It’s plain that you have enough on your plate already, and enough on your mind as well.”

  “Ah. Well, all things considered, I think there’s a chance I might think of something to do about it, even though you haven’t.” Mark firmly replied.

  “The acts of statesmanship I’ve done since the founding meeting have been in my capacity as Prince of Hilia, not as Key to The Just Alliance. It’s been made plain to me that the other leaders expect me to provide some sort of leadership, or at least guidance, as Key to The Alliance. But that role has been left completely undefined, both in what my duties are, and in what other people’s duties toward me as their leader are. If I’m to be nothing more than a figurehead, I need to know that, but that’s definitely not the impression I got from Overlord Senchak and Empress Emeroth and the rest. They expect me to do something.”

  He considered for a moment before he continued. “I do appreciate your concern for me. But I’ve been given a huge responsibility, and I’ve sworn that I won’t shirk it. I won’t be a figurehead, and I can’t act if I’m kept ignorant. So it’s time to define exactly what it means to be Key to The Just Alliance.

  “My only duty in that role is to make suggestions based on the information I’ve been given. It’s an advisory position. You and the other leaders of the Alliance have a duty to me as Key to keep me informed of important developments, to listen to my suggestions if I have any, and to consider those suggestions with all seriousness before you decide to follow or reject them. And that’s it. If you and the other leaders can’t or won’t fulfill those duties, then I’ll resign as Key to the Alliance. I won’t carry the responsibility if you won’t give me what I need to do so. And you can tell the other leaders that as well.”

  “Ah. Quite right, and I’m sorry that we never looked at it from that perspective.” Yazadril nodded, abashed.

  “Yes. And as Communications Director of The Just Alliance, all important developments are routed to me for distribution to the other leaders.” Somonik stated. “I will consider it part of my duties in that role to inform you of what is known as soon as I learn it, or as soon as it is practical to do so. When this gathering concludes, I will also announce to the other leaders what you have decided about the role of the Key to The Just Alliance, and it will be included in the official records of The Alliance.”

  “Thank you.” Mark said as he rubbed his eyes. “So, what are the latest developments?”

  “As you know, King Sorrin of Venak was killed while attempting to flee Osbald’s hall without swearing to justice.” the white dragon reminded him. “He was one of those who were fetched there by forced Translocation. His heirs were his twin sons Kenem and Renem, and he had not yet designated which of the two of them were to inherit the crown.

  “They took the position that their father had been kidnapped by Osbald, which they consider to be an act of war. They further maintain that their father had only his kidnapper’s word that the spells on the Imperial Sword of Thon would do no more than enforce his vow of justice, and so their father was murdered for refusing to submit to a mind-controlling spell of unknown nature.

  “Still, they made no mention of these conclusions when informed of their father’s death and the conditions surrounding it, saying only that we would be contacted when the succession of the crown of Venak had been decided.

  “They were later invited to the founding meeting of our alliance, and warned that their attendance was conditional on their swearing Osbald’s Oath upon The Truthstone of Falgaroth. They eventually told us that Kenem would be the next King of Venak, and that he would lead his nation’s delegation at the meeting.

  “We now know that for a lie. Renem won the crown, and he ordered his brother to attend the meeting and to falsely represent himself as king in order to gather intelligence. Unbeknownst to us, nothing had been revealed to the people of Venak at that time. Sorrin’s death and all the rest was kept secret there, and only the remaining senior members of the government were privy to this knowledge.

  “When Kenem returned to Venak after the founding and reported what had transpired, he pleaded our case to his brother, for we had won him over, and he had sworn Osbald’s Oath on the Truthstone. He asked that they reveal that it was actually Renem who was king, and that Renem swear the oath upon the stone, thus legitimizing their membership in the Alliance. The rest of their delegation supported this as well.

  “King Renem declared that Prince Kenem and the delegates had been tainted by the mind-controlling spells of The Alliance, and further declared them to be traitors for advocating that any of the sovereignty of Venak be surrendered to their enemies. Kenem and the others of their delegation were executed for treason six hours ago.

  “At their hanging, Renem announced his version of Sorrin’s death and his own succession to the throne, along with the other events. He told the people there that the Xervians, under the leadership of Tithian and myself, have taken over the world by means of a powerful and evil Compulsion spell, hidden under an ineffective vow of justice, and that the proof was in the fact that Sorrin had been killed for refusing to go along with it, and that Osbald had faced no censure or prosecution for the act. He declared Venak a refuge for any who wished to escape the Compulsion spell of the alliance.

  “It was a passionate speech, and it’s a convincing argument to those who don’t know that Sorrin was an evil person and a leading member of the insidious conspiracy, who have murdered many. Renem may even believe it, but I think it far more likely that he has inherited his father’s place in the conspiracy along with the crown.

  “He’s closed his borders and declared martial law, since he considers the murder of his father to be tantamount to a declaration of war by Thon and its allies. He controls and restricts all movement of persons and information out of Venak. And he’s had Readings and transcripts of his speech widely distributed. Every criminal and evil-doer in the Just Alliance are all trying to find a way to get to Venak with their ill-gotten gains, along with a few of the gullible who have been swayed by his speech, and most of them are succeeding.

  “We have publicly refuted him, re-iterating that Sorrin was a leader of the insidious conspiracy and therefore shared responsibility for dozens of murders, and declaiming any interest in war with Venak. Our forces are on alert, but we have made no redeployment in response to these events, in order to deny him any opportunity to accuse us of initiating hostilities.

  “Renem has psionic sensitives listening for any who call his name, and they offer the callers Translocation to Venak. And, since the number of Translocations being cast is far beyond our estimates of the capabilities of all the spell-casters in Venak combined with those who have gone there or gone missing, we conclude that the unseen backers of the conspiracy are assisting them.”

  “Bah. The identities of the backers of the conspiracy are now obvious.” Quewanak declared. “The people of the world at this point fall into four categories; those who are with the Alliance, those who are with Venak and the conspiracy, and those who are so isolated that they remain ignorant of recent events. At this point the ignorant are a very small group. The cohort of the undecided is almost non-existent. The fourth category are those of the Dark Continent.

  “My enemy lives, and he is hale. If he is ignorant of my survival he will consider himself to be The Eldest. He always opposed The Pact of Kraka, and before it was signed, The Eldest ruled dragonkind. So he likely considers himself the rightful ruler of all dragons, and besides, he is not the type to accept second place in authority, or in anything else.

  “Right now there are Wards around Serminak that are so formidable, even I cannot get so much as a psionic probe beyond them. A similar barrier is forming around Venak as we speak, which I think proves my case. The conspiracy is a product of the Dark Continent, and I would wager my claws that my enemy is behind it.”

  “All right.” Mark sighed. “So far as I can tell,
the sun hasn’t moved since the gods appeared, so they put this place into some kind of stasis to avoid their being detected here. Am I right?”

  “You are, though it is a time-bubble rather than a reverse stasis field.” Grakonexikaldoron nodded as she kneaded Somonik’s shoulders.

  “It will end when one of us leaves here, or I call to Falgaroth to replace the stone.” Quewanak confirmed. “Even those who are in the midst of swearing upon it in Xervia will not notice the infinitesimal fraction of a second during which it was missing.”

  “Whatever.” Mark said impatiently. “My point is that we know no one is eavesdropping on us, right?”

  “Right.” The Eldest replied.

  “All right then, there’s no reason for you not to tell me everything I need to know about your enemy, is there? And everything that’s known about the situation in Serminak?”

  “Nothing is known of the situation in Serminak! For over two thousand years, not one person has passed the Sylvan Boundary in either direction, so far as we know!” Somonik growled. At Mark’s quizzical look he expanded on that. “They claim the seas for eight hundred kilometers beyond their coastline in every direction, and that frontier is called the Sylvan Boundary. It is Warded and heavily patrolled by a vigorous Sylvan naval blockade force of fearsome military capability, both physical and magical. Until today, we were unaware of the additional Wards along the continental coastline that the Eldest has discovered.”

  “And almost everything that matters about my enemy has to do with the Pact of Kraka.” Quewanak explained thoughtfully. “There are many millions of years of history involved, but I’ll try to keep it succinct. Before the Pact of Kraka, Draconian population and society was cyclical for hundreds of millions of years. Each cycle had four stages; expansion, stagnation, war, recovery, expansion, stagnation, war, recovery, over and over in a seemingly unstoppable cycle. As to why this was so, the crucial fact is that only about twenty seven million dragons can live on Kellaran without infringing on each other’s hunting territories to an intolerable degree. Our territorial instinct is so strong that over the long term it is unignorable and undeniable. Territories were taken during expansion and held during stagnation, then when the population became so numerous that there were no territories available for the next generation of young adults, there was war for territory, and then for revenge. When enough had been killed in war that there were many unclaimed territories available, eventually the war ended and there was recovery.

  “The Eldest Draconian enjoyed absolute rule, as I’ve mentioned. We are somewhat solitary folk, and we did not have the concept of ‘military’ yet, and so our wars consisted of millions of single challenges, though they often took place simultaneously on the field of battle. We were the only people on the world then, for my ancestors had exterminated without mercy the few intelligent races that had emerged in our distant past, as potential threats.

  “Just before I was born a war began that was particularly fierce and long-lasting. Only one in ten adult dragons who had lived when it began still survived at its end, and our society was devastated.

  “During the long, slow period of recovery that followed, The People of Morning emerged on Xervia. They were careful to escape our notice, and by the time we recognized that they were sentient, there were tens of millions of them, and they had developed powerful magics, and two of them had become gods.

  “You might wonder how we failed to notice their sentience for so long, but since unicorns use no spoken, written or gestured languages, used no tools, and to that point had produced no artifacts, it was easy to miss. Their equine ancestors had always been prey for dragons, and they were as well when they first emerged. Much of their culture dealt with their fear of us, and with escaping our notice. Besides, my people had not yet developed psionics then. We only did so after learning of the concept from them.

  “It seemed we must be natural enemies, and it was thought by both races that eventually, one must cause the extinction of the other. Though our race was still only partially recovered, we made war upon them. They were the ones who gave us the concepts of co-operative military combat, guerrilla warfare, siege warfare, and finally, total warfare. They soon developed fearsome battle magics.

  “Eventually it was seen that neither side could prevail. Until then it was thought that only the extermination of one of the two races would end the war, but our populations had both become so meager, dispersed, and hidden, that neither side could kill the other faster than they could reproduce. We were stalemated. Between the last dragon war and the war with the unicorns, our population was reduced from almost twenty eight million to less than one million. An uneasy truce was forced upon all by necessity.

  “There were those of us among the younger dragons who were fascinated by the unicorns, and a few of us cautiously sought them out, and eventually dialogs were established, and then friendships. From them we learned of group rule, and of population stability, and a movement began among us advocating that we adopt those systems in order to break the terrible cycle of our history. Thus we formulated and proposed The Pact of Kraka, which established the rule of The Ninety-Nine, and a voluntary limit on our population of ten million less one, and formal permanent peace with the unicorns.

  “The debate raged for many, many millions of years, and she who was Eldest before me took no position for or against, but declared that the pact would not be signed unless almost all of my people agreed with it, nor would it be dismissed until almost all our people opposed it. It seemed that consensus would never be achieved. I believed in the pact very strongly, and so when I became second-eldest I challenged her, and was victorious, and became Eldest. I then ruled dragonkind, and it was within my power to arbitrarily commit us to the pact, but I feared that doing so would lead to war, organized military civil war, among dragonkind.

  “Instead I declared myself to be determinedly in favor of the pact, and advocated for it vigorously as Eldest, and that eventually turned the tide. Even so, many individual challenges were still fought over the issue, perhaps the most famous of which was Somonik versus Kergok. They battled nearly continuously for over three years before Somonik triumphed.

  “Finally, a consensus of ninety-nine one-hundredths of our population declared themselves to be in favor of the pact, and a great gathering was planned at Kraka for the signing, but before that day came my enemy, who was second-eldest at the time, challenged me. She who was then third-eldest had declared for the pact, so I knew that it would be signed whether I was victorious or whether I died, so long as my enemy was destroyed along with me. Only a clean victory by him could lead to the downfall of the pact.

  “This was important, since he was mightier than I in most ways, and it was very unlikely that I could defeat him cleanly. Only by sacrificing most of my own defenses could I breach his, and so it was a short and gory struggle indeed.

  “We were both on the verge of death at the end, but I had pre-cast spells that would activate in the event that I was critically injured or rendered unconscious, and ensure my escape. I was still aware when they brought me to my most secure refuge, but I lost consciousness within seconds after that, before I could begin Healing myself. I hoped that my enemy had died.

  “For an unknown time I dreamed as others dream, but then I became aware that I was dreaming, and I learned to shape my own dreams. Eventually, I learned to create entire worlds in my dreams that are as detailed as the real world, each filled with their billions of imaginary citizens, each living out their imaginary lives. Thus I kept my mind sharp and developed many new capabilities, until the power of The Truthstone intruded on my dreams when the leaders of The Just Alliance swore upon it, and I was finally able to focus my attention on the real world again.

  “I’ve since learned that my enemy also disappeared after our battle, and with us both gone, she who was then declared Eldest did indeed sign the pact.”

  “So what’s your enemy’s name?” Mark as
ked.

  “I don’t know. Only his mother knew it, and he killed her soon after he became adult. He used to maintain that he could never be defeated so long as no one knew his true name. He’s truly a despicable villain, and he was my enemy in the last dragon war, long before our disagreement over the pact.”

  “Oh. Well, what’s he like?”

  “He was born a very pretty light blue, but when he became adult he magically colored himself black, a completely non-reflective flat black, largely because he thinks it makes him look more sinister. He is small, smaller than I, and so now when dragons are much larger, he is probably the smallest living adult dragon. I doubt the distinction has improved his disposition any, since he was always defensive about his size, and quick to challenge any who slighted him. He fought many, often to the death, and was formidable despite his size, for he is very quick, very strong, very vicious, very intelligent and skilled, and one of the greatest spellcasters who has ever lived. And his fire was unmatched in temperature, intensity and duration. He was never defeated, nor even injured until I fought him. He has a towering ego, and a cruel disposition. He considered The People of Morning to be nothing more than vermin, so I doubt he has any greater consideration for any of the new peoples who’ve emerged since then.”

  “So if no one knows his name, what did you call him?”

  “Many things, but to his face he preferred to be called The Darkest Black, though he would suffer to be called Darkest. During the last million years before we fought he was most often called Quewanak’s Enemy, as our enmity became rather well known when I became Eldest. He rather hated the term, since it defined him by his relationship to me, rather than by any merit of his.”

  “I see. And what can you tell us about him right now, other than that he’s healthy?”

  “He is active, which is to say that he is not hibernating or sleeping; he goes about his daily affairs. And that is all I can tell, I have no idea what he is doing. Only my unique state, combined with being highly attuned to him from eons of observing him before our fight, allows me to ascertain that much through the impressive Wards around Serminak.”

  “So we really have no evidence that he’s involved in anything?”

  “Only that I know him very well, and it would be out of character for him to not be involved in such things.”

  “Or rather it would’ve been out of character for him forty million years ago.”

  “That is the case, though he was already over fifty-five million years old then, and it is unheard of for anyone’s personality to change significantly after so many eons to stabilize.”

  “My personality has altered radically in the last few days, due to the power of my oath upon The Truthstone, and I’m nineteen million years old.” Grakonexikaldoron pointed out.

  “Granted.” The eldest nodded.

  “We’ll leave the question of Darkest aside for now.” Mark said as he looked around the group. “What are the chances that we’ll be able to learn anything about the involvement of those in Serminak with the insidious conspiracy, without the assistance of someone there?”

  “Nil.” Yazadril stated decisively.

  “I agree.” Somonik nodded.

  “All right.” Mark said. “I formally suggest that we try to establish contact, and diplomatic relations, with the Sylvan and the Dark Dragons. If we can, inform them of the formation of The Just Alliance, and invite them to join. We might get lucky. Of course, we have to retain the condition that they swear Osbald’s Oath on The Truthstone of Falgaroth.

  “As for the situation with Venak and King Renem and the conspiracy… Do we have any proof that his father, King Sorrin, was responsible for any crimes, other than the testimony of the conspirators that were caught?”

  “Those conspirators’ testimonies were Compelled, or sworn on The Truthstone, or Read directly from their memories.” Yazadril pointed out. “So no, I doubt that Osbald has spent much effort to find corroborating evidence.”

  “Then I strongly suggest we find some. If we can’t prove conclusively that the conspirators who were killed were responsible for capitol crimes, public opinion in Venak will always be against us.”

  Mark considered for a moment, and his face gained a grim expression. “Also, Venak will be rapidly becoming a very ugly place, over-run with criminals and evildoers. We need to find a way to present our case to those of the original citizens there who had no part in the conspiracy. The Venakians… is that right, Venakians?”

  “Citizens of Venak refer to themselves as Venaks.” Alilia informed him.

  “All right, the Venaks who are just good, ordinary folk are almost certainly in a lot of trouble right now. All the villains who are going there will be making hell of their lives, and taking what they can. Besides that, their king seems to be a really cruel bastard, uh, pardon my saying, and a king who’d hang his own brother is likely to be engaging in a program of brutal repression as he consolidates his power.

  “We really need to know what’s going on in there!” he almost shouted, and forced himself to calm down a bit. “And if any good people there need to leave, we’ve got to find a way to get them out!”

  “Unfortunately, the new Wards around Venak are completed, and strengthening by the moment.” Somonik reported. “We can’t even see if the sun still shines in there, for their Wards are a black wall towering over the land as high as the airless void!

  “We have been unable to see beyond it with any form of psionic probe, and to magically attack the Wards of any country is universally recognized as an act of war! We are not presently at war, and we have all sworn that we will not break the peace!”

  “We didn’t swear to always behave peacefully, no matter what provocations we face, we swore to not break the peace! “ Mark insisted. “I’m sure Osbald worded it that way to allow us the use of violence, if necessary, to defend ourselves, and to uphold the other two parts of the vow, protecting the innocent and upholding justice! We’re not presently engaged in battle, but King Kenem of Venak has declared war on Emperor Osbald of Thon, who’s part of The Just Alliance, and protected by our vow of mutual military assistance! So the peace is already broken, and we’re already at war!

  “Furthermore, when I swore the oath I wasn’t thinking like a ruler who might break the peace by starting a war, I swore it as a private citizen who might break the peace by attacking or harming someone else without just provocation! The peace is already broken on that level as well, by the murders and other criminal acts of the conspirators against my people and everyone else they’ve killed!

  “Furthermore, we swore to protect the innocent, all the innocent, not just those of our own countries, so if innocent people are being hurt in Venak, the peace is broken again, and we have to find a way to help them!

  “And even if they’re not, we swore to uphold justice, and I’m not going to allow those who slew my family and friends to get away with it! They will not escape justice!!!”

  “So, you are saying that we should attack the Wards around Venak?” Somonik demanded. “I warn you that any such attempt would be extremely dangerous to anyone within a great distance, perhaps hundreds of kilometers, and so it will require the evacuation of an immense area of populated land! As well, those Wards are like nothing we’ve ever worked with, as the only other example of their kind is the ones around Serminak! Judging from what we’ve learned of them by passive study, and that’s damned little, we would need a full quarter of all the spell-casters in The Just Alliance to have a reasonable hope of breaking through, and every one of them would be risking their lives!”

  Mark heaved a deep sigh. “Look, I’m not saying we should attack the Wards except as a last resort, but I am saying that we’re justified if we do!”

  There was silence for a moment before he continued. “Look, how high are the Wards, and how thick are they? I mean, they can’t just keep going up forever, can they? And they can’t form a roof over Venak, or the whole count
ry would be in perpetual darkness, and all the plants and crops would die. So if we fly up high enough, we should be able to look over from our side of the border with an astronomer’s spell that magnifies our sight. And since we’ll have line of sight, we should be able to use a spell that allows us to hear faint or distant sounds, so we can hear what we’re looking at. Then we’ll at least be able to get a rough idea of the state of the country.”

  “Our scouts flew up the wall until they could no longer breathe, over eighty kilometers up, and still the top of the Wards was nowhere in sight.” Somonik informed him. “At the altitudes higher than that, there are strange energies from the deep void that are deadly, as is the freezing cold, and the lack of air pressure, besides there being nothing to breathe. Even the sunlight is deadly there, without the air to filter it. Some of our scouts are dragons, and they flew as high as any living being has ever flown. No one could survive at the top of those Wards.”

  “I don’t see why not!” Mark returned. “A good spherical Battle Shield spell is designed to be proof against energy attacks of any kind, so that should take care of the sunlight and the energy from the void. And we’d have to add an inward-facing layer of Force or Movement to it to keep the air and pressure inside, like Talia did when she held me down the other night. If the air inside gets stale, you’d have to be able to Translocate some more in from near the ground. And The Warm People should be able to give us a spell to protect our scouts from the cold. But it could be done.”

  “The scout would need to be able to cast all those spells, as well as the Flight spell, and the spells for seeing and hearing at a great distance, all simultaneously.” Yazadril mused. “This is further complicated by the fact that Flight, Battle Shield, and Translocate are all compound spells, with twenty-seven component spells between them. First we’ll have to contact the many magic users of The Just Alliance, to find the most appropriate versions of all those spells. Then assemble a team to cast them during the mission, for I doubt that even I could maintain concentration on so many disparate spells, and still make effective observations.”

  “It’d be safer, and harder for the Venaks to notice, if only one person could do it all.” Mark thoughtfully stated. “I could probably do it myself, if we don’t have anyone else who’s more qualified.”

  “Heh-hem!” Talia’s theatrical throat clearing was followed by her teasing giggle.

  “Ah, right, I mean Talia and I could definitely do it together!” Mark corrected with an abashed grin.

  “I will initiate the effort by contacting Osbald and the organizations of spellcasters of The Just Alliance.” Somonik nodded. “Excuse me for a moment.” He closed his eyes and tried to cast a Multiple Speaking. “Ah. That will have to wait. I can contact no one until the gods’ timespell about this place is broken by one of us leaving.”

  “Oh. And by the way, we do have something that could probably cut through any Wards, if it comes to that.” Mark smiled grimly as he touched his sword hilt.

  “GrimFang could probably cut the Wards, I’ll give you that.” Yazadril nodded with a slight shudder. “But as Somonik said, I’d hate to be anywhere near when the attempt was made.”

  “I know why you are Key to the Nexus, and Key to The Just Alliance.” Alilia stated. “And it has nothing to do with your ability as a warlock.” She was staring at Mark with an odd look.

  This sudden change of subject, combined with her expression, struck him as funny, and he chuckled. “I’ll bite. Why?”

  “Because you believe you can do things that no one else believes they can do. I did not believe I could stand before the assembly of The Just Alliance and tell them all to drastically change all of their laws and their ways with any real hope that they would do so. You did. We both swore Osbald’s Oath, yet I could never believe that if I confronted the gods, it could result in any benefit for me or for anyone else. The oath does not compel me to do that which I judge to be impossible, or to do that which I judge to be completely impractical. So I did not confront the gods, and the oath did not demand it. But you thought that if you confronted the gods, and threatened them and faced them down, it would help your cause and your fulfillment of the oath. And so that is what you did. I think that your belief in your convictions is so strong, you would have done it whether the oath drove you to it or not.

  “And that’s why you are Key. Truly, I am humbled by the knowledge.”

  “It’s good to know.” Mark chuckled. “I’ve been asking ‘why me’ quite a bit lately. And now I know it’s because I have more audacity than anyone else.”

  That got a laugh from everyone and broke the tension of the gathering.

  “You’ve upheld my faith in you, my boy!” Yazadril laughed. “For a moment I was afraid you wouldn’t find a humble way to answer Alilia’s assertion!”

  “Thanks.” Mark grinned, and there the conversation paused for a moment. Then he slowly lost his grin, and shook his head. “Look, I’m not near as humble as everyone seems to think I am. What I really am is scared to death. It’s not so much that I’m afraid of all the responsibilities I’ve suddenly found myself with, as much as I’m terrified I’m going to fumble it all horribly, and let everyone down, and cause a bunch of people to get hurt. So I find myself trying to minimize people’s expectations of me. Deep down, I still feel like everyone is expecting a lot more of me than I can really deliver. If I just went around agreeing every time someone started telling me how great I am, their expectations of me would be even less realistic. Not to mention how easy it would be to get as egotistical as Verzaclon the First!”

  There was another somewhat awkward pause.

  “Uh, pardon me for asking, but is there anything else to be discussed?” Bezedil hesitantly asked. “Officially speaking, that is?”

  There was no response, as everyone looked to everyone else to see if they would speak.

  “I take it that there is not.” Grakonexikaldoron commented in her gravely rumble as she nodded. “That being the case, I will take my leave, so that those who have been returned to you can celebrate their recoveries with their loved ones. It’s been an incredible day, and I am honored to have been privy to such astounding events. Thank you, and farewell until we meet again, which I hope will be soon.”

  “I share those sentiments, and I am certain that none of us will ever forget what we’ve experienced today.” Tithian nodded with a whinny. “I’ll Speak to you again tomorrow, and I eagerly await the learning of the new and amazing discoveries that I’m sure you’ll have made between now and then! Farewell until that time.”

  “I go as well, and I thank you.” Somonik rumbled with a regretful sigh as Grakonexikaldoron ended his massage. “I will remain in frequent contact with you, ensuring that you are privy to all important developments, and that your suggestions are promptly passed to their intended recipients. The implementation of your suggestions for observing over the Wards of Venak requires only Osbald’s approval, diplomatically speaking, and I’m sure he will eagerly support the mission. Initiating diplomatic relations with the peoples of Serminak is a greater matter, and inviting them to join The Just Alliance is a serious move indeed. I will forward those suggestions to all the leaders of the alliance.”

  “I agree.” Mark nodded as he rubbed his eyes. “It wouldn’t be fair to go ahead with that without a complete consensus, since ending the isolation of Serminak would affect everyone, sooner or later. I also suggest that once everyone’s had a chance to think about it, we should have a meeting at The Hall of The Alliance.”

  “We dare not wait too long.” Alilia declared. “Things are moving quickly, and Venak is far too close to my nation for my comfort. And besides that, it will not take very long for the leaders of the world to decide on a position on the issue.”

  “Good point.” Mark agreed.

  “I will call for the meeting in thirty-six hours.” Somonik decided. “By that time the observation mission may tell us
of conditions in Venak, and if that effort is successful, we may consider using the same method to observe Serminak as well. It would be useful to know of conditions there before finalizing the decision to contact them.”

  “That’s true.” Mark said, and paused to collect his thoughts. He looked around at the gathering as he continued. “You know, it just struck me that I’m still a long way from taking the presence of elves, unicorns and dragons for granted, even after everything that’s happened in the last few days. Every moment I spend in your presence is an honor that I truly treasure. And that’s true for every one of you.

  “Somonik, Tithian, Gran, Eldest, thanks for coming. We’ll contact you at least daily.

  “Farewell till then. We’ll see you at the meeting, if not before.” Quewanak told them.

  “Could you bide a moment?” Bezedil asked, and when they paused he shared a quick thought with Dalia. She smiled, and they rose and stepped to the Truthstone. They each placed a hand upon it, and swore Osbald’s Oath together.

  “Thank you.” Dalia smiled, and she and Bezedil bowed deeply to the four great and ancient beings, then laughed to see the markings of The Just Alliance on each other. Dalia’s were small, and appeared just below the hollow at the base of her throat, while Bezedil’s were smaller yet, but boldly placed in the center of his forehead, just above his brow.

  “You are most welcome.” Quewanak grinned and nodded.

  Then, with a quick series of flashes the four great elders were gone, as was The Truthstone of Falgaroth.

  “The time bubble is undone.” Yazadril observed.

  “Then let’s head back up to the cottage.” Mark decided as he stood and extinguished the fire with a glance. “Dalia, Bezedil, you can inform your kith and kin that they can come and see you there. I’ll ask Sheramiv to have refreshments prepared, and to assist with the Translocation traffic.

  “And right now I’d just as soon let someone else take us up there. Anyone feel up to doing the Translocate?”

  “Allow me.” Povon chuckled. “The grounds around the cottage are crowded, so I’ll bring us in high. Be ready to Levitate.”

  They suddenly appeared six meters above the patio, which was crowded with Healers of every race, since those who had been there already had been joined by many others. They suddenly ceased their rapt conversation as Mark’s party appeared above them.

  “Thank you, Monarchs of Hilia, for your hospitality.” the copper dragon called up to them. “We will take this discussion to my lair, and return here when the facilities of your Faculty of Healing are complete.

  “Colleagues, here is the location reference.” he said as he broadcast the information to every mind present with a draconian psionic technique that was new to everyone in Mark’s party. The Healers rapidly began to vacate the area.

  Hilsith glanced from the departing Healers below to Yazadril and Nemia and back again. “You must excuse me, loves.” she stated as she reached a decision. “I hate to be apart from you at this time of new beginnings for us, but this meeting will be as important to the field of Healing as the founding meeting of The Just Alliance was to politics, and besides that, it will give you time to devote to your appreciation of Dalia’s return.”

  “Of course Dear.” Nemia smiled as she and Yazadril shared an embrace and a quick kiss with their new lover.

  “Elven Healers could ask for no better representative than you.” Yazadril added. “Be sure to get a good Reading of the event, for I’ll be eager to review it whenever I finally find the time.”

  “I’ll see you in a few hours then.” Hilsith said. “Would you help me with the Translocation?”

  “I’ll get that for you.” Talia told her, and sent the white elf on her way with a single moment of concentration.

  “Now just one moment!” Dalia told her parents with a laugh as they descended to the vacated patio. “Am I to understand that you two are now a bonded trio with Hilsith?!”

  “We certainly are!” Yazadril chuckled as the three alighted and shared a hug.

  “Well, that’s lightning from a clear blue sky, I think!” Dalia giggled. “I never suspected you and she had feelings that way!”

  “Life is full of surprises!” Nemia gaily declared.

  “Well congratulations! Of course she is adorable, and a fine addition to the family!”

  “Well, we had lost you, and we almost lost Talia, and then we did lose her from our household to her own.” Yazadril explained with a wistful smile. “Hilsith was there for us in every way, with comfort and love and pleasure, and it took all of that to make me fully realize what a wonderful, beautiful girl she is. And of course she has a brilliant mind, that being the aspect of her that I recognized from the moment we met. Though it is only a mild shade of the love I feel for Nemia, I do love Hilsith.”

  “As do I.” Nemia giggled. “Your father has expressed my own feelings quite closely. We all know that she will probably not stay with us beyond a century or three, before finding her own great male love. But for now, we are wonderful together.”

  “And now I am returned, so you finish with more than you started with!” Dalia laughed.

  “We do indeed!” Yazadril laughed.

  “I also have news, though it is not so pleasant.” Alilia calmly told Bezedil. “Your father and I have divorced. We had planned on remaining apart while we adjusted to it, so you will understand if we are somewhat aloof to each other when he arrives here to see you.”

  “I knew you would do so, eventually.” Bezedil nodded with a reassuring smile. “You have too little in common with each other. That your marriage endured for over four millennia, sustained on love alone, is an incredible accomplishment, but it couldn’t last forever. I’ve known that for two decades.”

  “Thank you for understanding.” Alilia sighed with quiet relief, and they shared a long embrace.

  “And now, let us commence with a small but heartfelt celebration!” Talia laughed. “Dalia, Bezedil, if you’re ready with your lists of invitees, please give them to Sheramiv, here, who will promptly communicate your invitations to those worthy elves, and arrange Translocations for any who need such assistance.”

  Bezedil immediately began reciting his list, having already decided on his choices and memorized them. “Gorsh, Barucana, Similmon…”

  “Most of my choices are already here, there on the lowest lawn.” Dalia laughed as she directed their attention downslope with a glance. Those of The Volunteers who knew her personally were indeed gathered there, almost seventy of them, and were politely pretending to be absorbed in their own conversations while they awaited the signal to approach. The rest of the Volunteers were placing the finishing touches on a buffet that could feed two hundred elves.

  “I see.” Talia laughed. “Of course they’ve had word from First Valley of your return to the living and of this impending gathering, and so they’ve been waiting patiently. And since they were given leave to be here before we decided that you would be visiting here, it would be cruel to send all but twenty of them away. Tell me, how many more would you like to invite?”

  “Perhaps another ten, most of whom are our instructors from school, and great-aunt Idan and great-uncle Joshan.”

  “All right, call it ninety. Bezedil, if you’d like to invite more, I’m sure we could accommodate a hundred of your choices.”

  Bezedil had finished reciting his first set of choices a few seconds before, and now he nodded his thanks with a smile as he turned back to Sheramiv and listed another thirty off the top of his head with no hesitation.

  He had just barely finished when the first of his guests arrived, that being his father Gorsh, who was so overcome with emotion that he could barely keep his feet as he hurried over. “My son!” he gasped as they embraced.

  This was seen by the Volunteers, and Balen took it as a sign that they could approach. She Translocated to the lawn just below the patio and lightly ran up the steps and into her tutor’s arms.
“Oh Dalia, I have missed you so much!” she cried as she burst into tears of joy.

  Mark picked up Talia and murmured into her ear. “This seems to be going well. How about we make a quick trip to Focus Mountain? And then maybe get some sleep?”

  “Of course, love.” Talia returned. “You tell Sheramiv and Relgemit, while I say goodbye to Dalia.”

  When that was done Talia Translocated them to high above the bowl of the volcano, quickly casting Flight and Pure Breath on them both.

  They were rocked by a thunderous sound and their eyes were drawn by motion to the north, where a huge volcano was in full eruption about one hundred and eighty kilometers away.

  Mark immediately cast Battle Shield and Force Sphere, then gently guided them to the focus of the reflection. His extreme power depletion allowed him to comfortably remain in it for over half an hour. The feeling of pleasure the recharge gave him was a wonderful experience for them to bask in it, deeply Linked and sharing every aspect, while gazing in rapt fascination at the immense spectacle of the eruption. A dense black column of smoke and ash extended skyward, shot through with frequent lightning strikes, and the top of it was gradually flattening and spreading far overhead. Lava glowed yellow as it shot out in sprays and fountains, which must have been colossal to be visible at such a distance, while huge orange rivers flowed down the flanks of the mountain.

  After a pair of minutes Mark altered his Shield to block most of the sound, since the noise was continuous and deafening, though the source of it was about a hundred and ninety kilometers away.

  When Mark later realized he was sweating profusely he slowly lifted them above the focus, reluctant to leave the pleasure of it and the incredible show they were seeing.

  “You are almost asleep in the air.” Talia teased. “And I’m not much more alert. Come, let’s go home, while we’re still capable of it.”

  He laughed in assent, and she brought them directly to the master bedroom in the cottage at Hilia. He informed their staff of their return, and she closed the shutters and drapes against the sunlight and the noise of the continuing gathering. They’d barely shrugged out of their clothes, cleaned up with a quick spell, and curled up together beneath the covers before sleep took them.