Aryndeneth was cool and quiet but for the waters of harmony falling precisely into the crescent pool before continuing their journey through the veins of the earth. It was a sound that he allowed to wash over him until he was conscious of nothing else but its sustaining beauty.
This evening was revered by the Al-Arynaar because of the conjunction of land, sun and sky, and Rebraal was aware of the shifting of the light through his closed eyes. He opened them and watched, from his kneeling position, the amber glow of late sunlight through an exactly positioned tinted window set into the base of the dome.
Every point the light touched on the polished walls glistened, details of murals and mosaics picked out in glory then banished to relative shadow as it crawled by. He watched on, seeing the pool dancing and sparkling in the periphery of his vision. The light reached the statue; part of the diffuse beam pierced the crook of its left arm. In the back of the temple, stone grated on stone as a doorway to learning opened.
It would be brief. Once the light had passed the crook, the door would slide shut and twenty days would pass before it opened again. Some doors opened daily but here was a chance for rare study. This was the tome of Shorth, the fleet foot God. The Death Keeper. He was the balance at the end of life's cycle. He restored the living to the earth and their breath to the sky and their mana to the harmony. Rebraal had barely studied him. Perhaps he would learn enough to ensure this was not his last chance.
Offering a short prayer of thanks to Yniss, Rebraal rose to his feet and paced silently past the statue, his eyes easily piercing the gloom at the back of the temple. To his left, a doorway let into a small, mural-covered cell bathed in warm amber light from a large window above. A single desk and chair faced a double shelf full of texts, some almost too ancient to touch. Rebraal selected a heavy leather-bound book and began to read.
Chapter 5
The look on Ilkar's face when he strode into a kitchen filled with the delicious smells of soup and fresh bread that evening was just as The Unknown had expected. The elegant eyebrows were arrowed in, the lips thin, the high-boned cheeks reddened and leaf-shaped ears pricking furiously. His words stopped the desultory conversation around The Raven's table.
'I've had the most wonderful day,' he said. 'Clear blue skies, warm water, an island a short sail away just for me and the woman I love. Then, to cap off the perfection, I sail back here to find we've handed over control of Herendeneth to Xetesk. Anyone want to volunteer a reason?' He stared squarely at The Unknown. 'Hello, Unknown. At least it's good to see you if not the rest of the passengers that came with you.'
He sat down.
'Great entrance,' said Hirad.
'Some performance,' agreed Denser.
The briefest of smiles registered on Erienne's face, gone in a heartbeat.
'This isn't funny,' snapped Ilkar. 'Correct me if I'm wrong, but we agreed a research party of six. Now I'm not the world's greatest mathematician but I reckon I counted more than six Xeteskian mages on my way through the house. Oh, and I think there was the odd Protector in addition to the half-dozen who were here when I left this morning.'
The Unknown would have laughed under other circumstances – Ilkar's sarcasm was always so perfectly delivered – but this wasn't the time.
'There are thirty mages and one hundred Protectors here. They are here because they fear invasion of this island by Dordover.' The silence around the table was total. 'That is because Xetesk and Dordover are now at war. It is open conflict and it will soon consume Balaia, our country, which is already starving and broken.
'They are here to research dimensional magics across the spectrum and we can't stop them or make demands of them. But we can do something about Balaia. There's a tide early tomorrow afternoon. We have to be on it.'
Soup spoons were forgotten, bread hung from fingers. The Unknown Warrior could hear them all breathing – The Raven, less one notable absentee, the people in whom he had unshakeable faith. They would be tested now, for sure.
'We've fought for Balaia for so long. For peace and for somewhere we can grow old in safety and security. But I've brought my wife and son here because I fear for their lives from starvation, disease or the sword if I leave them there. We can't let it go on. Or everything else we've done will be for nothing.'
'But I thought peace was being brokered,' said Hirad.
'You thought wrong,' said The Unknown. 'We all did. This was just a matter of time.'
In his chair to The Unknown's left, Ry Darrick shifted uncomfortably. The former Lysternan general had been accused of desertion back on Balaia to fight with The Raven but that didn't change the way he felt about his home.
'Lystern?' he said as if fearing the answer.
'Peace brokers with no peace to broker,' said The Unknown. 'They're out of it for now but…' He shrugged. They all understood. He turned his attention to Ilkar. The elf had not been mollified by his answer. 'But there is a chance. We have to restore the balance. Raise the Heart of Julatsa.'
'I agree.' Ilkar nodded. 'Assuming we can find a couple of hundred mages to help.'
'Jevin's going to Calaius next for cargo. We should be with him. Plenty of mages there.'
'Yes, Unknown, and they all returned there for a good reason,' said Ilkar.
'Then you'll have to persuade them to go back,' said The Unknown. 'They'll listen to you.' He stared at Ilkar until the Julatsan nodded.
'And meanwhile we let Xetesk have the run of this place?'
'What else can we do, Ilkar?' asked The Unknown. 'We can't force them to leave and, more important, their research could free the Protectors and send the dragons home.'
'But what about the other results, eh?'
'I know,' said The Unknown. 'And that's why we have to get Julatsa working as a college again. It's the only way to stop the war. I don't see we have any choice. Even if Lystern and Dordover allied, they wouldn't be strong enough. With Julatsa, they just might. But Julatsa needs its Heart. We all need to say our goodbyes and get going. Balaia can't wait. And what Erienne is carrying needs to be taken away from here. I'm sure you all understand.'
Erienne pushed back her chair and stood up slowly, shaking off Denser's protective arm.
'I'm so pleased you've got it all worked out,' she said. 'Ilkar can go and find his mages to rebuild Balaia and, by the by, you can look after poor little me and take me away from those nasty Xeteskians.'
She stopped and glared around the table, daring any of them to speak. The Unknown felt suddenly cold, knew he'd made an error and cursed himself silently. He knew what she was going to say before she said it.
'But any of you who thinks I will leave my daughter here to the tender mercies of her killers and the Dark College deserves nothing but my contempt. I'm sure you all understand.'
She strode from the kitchen.
'That wasn't your cleverest speech,' said Ilkar.
'No,' agreed The Unknown. He'd misjudged the state of her grief and her mind; and though he felt empty for her, he couldn't fathom why she hadn't moved on a day since he'd left. 'But she'll come round.'
'By tomorrow? No chance,' said Denser. 'Her mind isn't rational one heartbeat to the next.'
'Well, you've got to make it so. She isn't safe here. And we need her. She's Raven.'
Ilkar shifted in his seat and narrowed his startling slanted oval eyes.
'There's something else, isn't there? Something's got you spooked because this isn't like you. You're too careful. What is it?'
The Unknown shook his head. 'You weren't there; you didn't feel it. Balaia's dying.'
'What are you talking about?' asked Hirad.
'I can't make you understand. But every Protector here will tell you the same thing. It's like the air itself doesn't taste right. There are forces trying to impose things on Balaia and its peoples that go against the natural order. Not just Selik and the Black Wings; the colleges too. They have stood for two thousand years as deterrents against one another. But now they've turned on each other and they'll murder Balaia too. I will not let that happen.