“Is it well, Father” she asked him, trying to keep the urgency from her mental voice. “What did your people say? chuckled—she heard it quite clearly within her mind. “Foolish child—think! You know their answer already!” “I do?” Aurian, never at her best on first awakening, was baffled.
Ithalasa chuckled again. “Of course you do. Half of what you sought, you have already been told!”
“My dream! Of course!” Aurian, filled with excitement, ran down the beach and dived into the now cool water to swim close to the Leviathan’s massive head.
His bright, deep little eye twinkled at her. “We thought it the best and quickest way,” he said.
“Oh, thank you, Great One!” Aurian gasped. Ithalasa sighed. “It was not an easy decision, but we pray that it was the right one. I beg you, Daughter—if you succeed in your task, do not forget the vows you made me. We have no wish to create a tyrant from our deeds this day.”
Aurian was sobered. Now that she had seen for herself the scale of the powers that she would be presuming to deal with, she understood all too well what a great trust the Leviathans had placed upon her. Treading water, she reached out to touch Ithalasa’s knobbly head. “I understand, Father. I won’t fail you, I swear it.”
Once again, Ithalasa helped her catch fish for her breakfast. Aurian had slept for half a day and a whole night and was ravenous, her body responding to the needs of the child within her. As she ate, she spoke further with the Leviathan. “Father, I’m confused,” she said. “I neither knew there were four races Magefolk. At the Academy, we were taught that we were the only ones. We call ourselves the Magefolk, rather than Wizards, as you say we used to. What happened to the other races? Why don’t we know about you? What happened to the Weapons?”
“Ah. That, as they say, is another story, within which the swers to all your questions are inextricably linked. It is the tragic history of the Cataclysm, and it is that, to my sorrow, which I migth tell you next.”
But Aurian’s conscience was troubling her. Since she seen her faults through Ithalasa’s Reading, the Mage’s a with Anvar had cooled and congealed into a choking mass guilt. She knew how her arrogance had stung him, and she had no idea of the truth behind the affair with Sara, over which they had quarreled so bitterly. They had both been at fault—but how often had Forral told her never to desert her comrades, no matter what? Aurian was ashamed, and that apart, there was a prompting voice within her, some instinct that insisted she return at once. There was nothing for it. No matter how it galled her, she would have to go back for them. The idiots would never manage on their own, and she had promised Van-nor that she would look after his wretched, faithless wife.
“Wise One, before you tell me this tale, I must find my companions whom we left yesterday. I should never have left them, and I fear they may be in trouble.”
Ithalasa sighed. “Ah, Little One, did I not say that you were learning wisdom? But now, I fear, you must learn something else— him.’ to choose between a lesser good and a greater one. I dare not delay in telling you the remainder of the tale. Though my voice was enough to sway my people, they had many doubts. They may change their minds at any time, and if even one of them should do so, I would be unable to tell you more. That is why we must act with all speed. The tale of the Cataclysm is long, and there would be little point in traveling by night. Besides, you are still weary, and the child within you requires that you rest after such intense mental communication. If you wish to hear the rest, we may not seek your friends until tomorrow.”
Aurian bit her lip, trapped between conscience and necessity. She had to know the rest. The future of the world might depend on it. Anvar and Sara would be all right, surely? had landed them in a safe plate. But that inner voice
Id not be silenced, and it told her that she was wrong, ian shook her head, wrestling with it. I’m sorry, she told it last. I must do this—it’s too important to lose. When I’ve
id out what I need to know, I’ll go back for Anvar and Sara.
Ithalasa waited, as near inshore as he could come, staying
t and detached until Aurian had resolved her dilemma.
The Mage turned to him. “Very well,” she said, “I will stay to hear what you have to tell me.”
“You are right, 1 think. This will give you the knowledge that your people lost long ago. Use it wisely, child.” And with that, Ithalasa’s thoughts overwhelmed her mind, filling it with words and visions that unreeled before her, showing her the terrors and tragedies of a time long gone.
In the days of the golden past, all was peace and harmony. The four races of the Magefolk labored together in their great task, to keep the world peaceful and prosperous and fair. But Chance ever lurks, wolflike, outside the gates of Balance, waiting to swing Fate to a new course. Evil stars heralded the births of Incondor and Chiannala.
Incondor was one of the Winged Folk, his face handsome, his body muscular and lithe. His great feathered wings had the iridescent darkness of the raven’s plumes. Though young, he was mighty in sorcery and showed promise of becoming even greater—until, overcome by his arrogance, he fell. For a wager—a stupid, drunken wager with his wild friends, he stole the Harp of Winds to summon the forbidden Wild Magic, creating a whirlwind to bear him to the heavens, higher than any of his folk had ever ventured before. But the whirlwind, fueled by the errant power of the Wild Magic, proved too mighty for him to control. Its forces tore and smashed his wings beyond repair, before flinging him to earth in a tangle of crushed and broken limbs. It went on to wreak great havoc, killing many, before it could be brought under control by the Wise Ones of the Winged Folk.
As for Incondor, it was deemed that he had been punished enough, for the sky would now be denied him forever, and without the freedom of the air, the lives of the Skyfolk became bleak and without meithing. Earthbound, crippled and disgraced, he was exiled from the lands of his people and sent to Nexis, the greatest city of the Wizards. It was hoped that there, along with the Healing for which the Wizards were famed, he-might also find wisdom at last. The former was accomplished, as far as it could be, although his body would be forever twisted and his wings were beyond saving. Before the latter could take place, however, he met Chiannala, and Chance brought Balance down.
Chiannala was the offspring of a Wizard and his Mortal servant. Such pairings were possible, given the physical similarities between the races, but they rarely occurred because tht brevity of Mortal lifespans could cause the Mage partner much grief. It must also be said that pride being an integral part of the Magefolk nature, the Wizards looked down on the Mortals as lowly, primitive creatures that were powerless in a world where Magic was all. However, not all Wizards thought in this way, and unions did occasionally take place. The offspring of these could favor either parent, turning out to be Mortal or Mage, as chance allowed.
Chiannala favored her father, and at an early age rejected her Mortal mother completely, throwing herself obsessively into the study of magic and the development of her powers in an attempt to eradicate the lowly Mortal stain on her ancestry. But it was not to be. Though she excelled in her studies to such an extent that she became the obvious candidate to be the next Chief Wizard, she was rejected by the Council because she was a half-breed. Bitter and thwarted, she came to meet Incondor in Nexis, and found him of a like mind—and the seeds of disaster were sown. For revenge on the Magefolk who had rejected them both, they plotted to seize power, and rule the world.