Alain let his surprise show, remembering that despairing night on the sixth wall of Dorcastle as the rain fell. “That was a difficult conversation. You can smile when speaking of it?”
“Yes, because we’re both going to live there. You were right.”
“I will treasure being told I was right,” Alain said. “There is something else?” he asked, seeing that she was eager to say more.
“I was thinking,” Mari said, looking ahead, “we’ve got a lot of things to worry about, but the number of people trying to kill us shouldn’t be nearly as high anymore, and if I do my job right we shouldn’t have any more big wars for a while. We’ll have to wait two or three years for things to settle down enough, but we could try starting a family then.”
He felt that same pleasant jolt inside that he had experienced the first time Mari had mentioned such a thing in the Northern Ramparts. “I would like that. Perhaps we would have a daughter who was like you.”
She laughed. “You don’t want that, Alain. Trust me. The last thing we want is to have a daughter who takes after me. If you think I was difficult when we first met, you should have seen me a few years earlier!” Mari paused, her expression growing wistful. "Can we name her Kira? If we have a daughter, I'd really like to name her Kira."
"Kira would be a proud name for her to carry," Alain said, then blinked in surprise at the vision that appeared after he spoke those words.
"Did you just have foresight?" Mari questioned, her voice growing anxious.
"Yes," Alain said. "It was odd."
"Not scary? Odd?"
"I saw before me the map of the world of Urth that the librarians have in their tower. The map was the size of a mountain. We stood before it, you and I and a third person between us who I could not see clearly. Flame and dark smoke burst from part of the map, but the other half glowed with light."
Mari gave an exasperated sigh. "What could that possibly mean?"
"It means there is something from that world, something from Urth, that will offer great danger, and great promise," Alain said. "We will face it someday, along with that other, whoever she—" He paused again. "Yes. The person with us was a woman…or a girl."
Mari stared at him. "Our daughter?"
"I think so. The vision came as soon as we named her."
"You saw yourself. So that's a vision, an allegory, of something that might happen to us? The three of us, facing something together? Something that originates on Urth?"
"Yes, but…" Alain met Mari's eyes. "There was to the girl also a sense of promise, and of danger."
To his surprise, Mari laughed again. "Isn't that true of every daughter and every son? All right. So our daughter might be a handful. I expected nothing less, and I'm sure my mother thinks I deserve nothing less. I guess our adventures aren't over."
“I would hate to be bored,” Alain said. "The vision showed danger but also hope. Thank you.”
“For?”
“You never gave up. Not on me, and not on the world. The day we met I told you that happiness was an illusion, as I had been taught by the Mage Guild elders. You have shown me that happiness does exist.”
She grinned. “I bet you say that to all the Master Mechanics who decide not to shoot you on sight.” Mari came a little closer and grasped his hand tightly. “You’re welcome. I still think I got the better end of the deal. Thank you for not giving up, even when our chances of reaching this day seemed like an illusion, even when it seemed there was no hope left. It looks like we have some more challenges to face someday, but I won't mind dealing with them as long as you're beside me.”
Alain looked ahead, where the road ran onward to where it would reach the city of Altis, and along many paths through the city and to the port, where ships would continue the road across the water to countless other roads. Sometimes you could see where the road was going, but other times you could only guess. Like life, the road took on different aspects, and might wander down strange and unexpected ways.
But it never really ended.
Acknowledgements
I remain indebted to my agents, Joshua Bilmes and Eddie Schneider, for their longstanding support, ever-inspired suggestions and assistance, as well as to Krystyna Lopez and Lisa Rodgers for their work on foreign sales and print editions. Many thanks to Betsy Mitchell for her excellent editing. Thanks also to Catherine Asaro, Robert Chase, Carolyn Ives Gilman, J.G. (Huck) Huckenpohler, Simcha Kuritzky, Michael LaViolette, Aly Parsons, Bud Sparhawk and Constance A. Warner for their suggestions, comments and recommendations.
ALSO BY JACK CAMPBELL
THE PILLARS OF REALITY
The Dragons of Dorcastle*
The Hidden Masters of Marandur*
The Assassins of Altis*
The Pirates of Pacta Servanda*
The Servants of the Storm*
Book 6 forthcoming THE LOST FLEET
Dauntless
Fearless
Courageous
Valiant
Relentless
Victorious
THE LOST FLEET: BEYOND THE FRONTIER
Dreadnaught
Invincible
Guardian
Steadfast
Leviathan
THE LOST STARS
Tarnished Knight Perilous Shield Imperfect Sword Shattered Spear PAUL SINCLAIR/JAG IN SPACE
written as John G. Hemry A Just Determination Burden of Proof Rule of Evidence Against All Enemies ETHAN STARK
written as John G. Hemry Stark’s War
Stark’s Command Stark’s Crusade SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS
Ad Astra*
Borrowed Time*
Swords and Saddles*
STANDALONE NOVELS
The Last Full Measure * available as a JABberwocky ebook
THANK YOU FOR READING
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Jack Campbell, The Wrath of the Great Guilds
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