The chamber was soon packed tightly, but there was no rudeness or impatience. All seemed content to settle and wait. A line of older men and women sat at a table on a dais to themselves. There were seven of each gender, all with the varying features of the Steppes folk. The Circle, Rhanu figured. Shama and their male counterparts, Shado.
"How often do you come here?"
"On special celebrations and occasions. The first moon of spring. The Winterfest. Anointment of Circle members and other leaders. I was pronounced a Shama here, not more than three winters ago." Ayna smiled. "I envisioned you, and here you are in the flesh." Her golden eyes glowed dimly in the dying light.
"Did you envision us together?"
She gripped his hand. "I did not. For that I am grateful. If one knows everything that is to happen, there are no pleasant surprises."
Rhanu pressed something into her palm. "Then perhaps you did not see this as well."
Ayna held up a small medallion on a silver chain. "This is beautiful."
"It is made of green jasper. The carving is of a scaraboid, a thing holy to my people. I gave it to my sister long ago. It was still with her when she died."
"Rhanu…I cannot take this."
He gently closed her fingers around it. "It is all that remains of Tameri. I want you to have it. I know she would have loved you as a sister. This is the best I can do."
She fastened the chain around her neck. "I will treasure this, Rhanu."
The crowd stirred. Gray Brother strode up stone stairs to a large hunk of rock that served as a pedestal. He spread his arms wide.
"The moon is full, my brothers."
The chamber erupted in howls and cheers until he held his hands for silence. "We come here for special occasions. And this is a grand occasion indeed. You may have heard that Shama Ayna has chosen a mate, and he has surrendered gracefully."
Laughter filled the hall. Gray Brother gestured to them. "Let the couple step forward for our blessing."
The crowds roared, waving hands as they cheered and shouted their congratulations as Rhanu and Ayna walked hand in hand to stand before the Circle. It was as though the announcement made the pact binding. It became real, not just some words he had spoken. He felt dizzy as the impact struck him. You barely know Ayna. What makes you think that she is good for you, or you for her?
Gray Brother gazed at Rhanu, looking decidedly amused as though he read his thoughts. "Rhanu of Hikuptah, do you vow to become as one with Ayna Tlalli, Shama of the Northern Steppes?"
Rhanu met her eyes. Her crystal diadem winked in the light, casting glimmers across her face, and the scaraboid medallion rested against her bosom. His wife. Rhanu smiled as the doubts shattered. You don't deserve her, but she believes in you. All you have to do is believe in her.
"I do so vow." As soon as the words left his mouth, he relaxed. There was nothing better than what he did at present. Ayna was more than he deserved, and he would not walk away from what he knew to be true. For the first time in his life, he felt completely at ease.
"Then take the hands of your bride."
After he folded his hand over Ayna's, a dark-haired maid stepped forward with ropes of white flowers in her hand. Blushing prettily, she wrapped the flowers around their wrists before retreating to her place.
Gray Brother continued. "Shama Ayna Tlalli, do you vow to become as one with Rhanu?"
Her eyes never left his. "I do so vow." There was no doubt or hesitation in her voice.
Grey Brother clasped his hands together. "Then give to one another a new name, and let the power of those words bind you for all time."
For some reason, Rhanu's throat seemed very dry. He cleared it roughly. "My homeland is surrounded by an ocean of sand, and heat that can kill a man before he knows he is dead. Yet out in that desert there is said to be the amisi, a flower pushing out the sand alone in the middle of nowhere. Should one find it and give it to the one he loves, they will never know death. Youth will never abandon them, and the gates of Janadaus will open at their command. Many have gone in search of the amisi, but it only appears to those whose love is worthy." He raised their bound hands. "It would appear I have found my Amisi."
The gathered crowd cheered their approval, but Ayna's smile was all the reward he could have asked for. "You are a man of many hidden talents," she murmured. "I fear I cannot match your poetic expression, Ludari."
"Ludari." Rhanu spoke the word softly. "What does it mean?"
"In the Old Tongue, it means "eternal man."
Rhanu smiled. "So am I to live forever, then?"
She placed his hand over her heart. "Here is where Ludari lives forever."
The gatherers cheered anew when their kiss sealed the event.
After the merrymaking died down, Gray Brother raised his hands again. "This night, we mark more than a union. A year ago to the day, Shama Ayna visited Everfell. The Eye revealed a man, a Nahgual from a distant land who would bring change in the time of the approaching storm."
Rhanu stood frozen, aware of all the eyes in the chamber looking in his direction. No one made a sound as they gazed at him in expectation. He felt Ayna's hand grip his tightly, and the pressure eased a bit.
Gray Brother went on. "When a Sage falls, an ancient child is born. This man from beyond the Sea of Sands has recovered Titien, the medallion worn by Raakhi, one of the Five Sages. This is no coincidence. Sages are chosen, not elected. Already Shama Nyori carries Eymunder, which belonged to Teranse the Reader. A new Age is beginning. And with it comes new Sages, who will lead us against the forces of darkness once more."
The spokesman for the Sha rose. He was a short, stout man with white hair and beard. "Your word has always been trusted, Gray Brother," he said in a resonant tone. "It is trusted still. Yet this is a matter that is beyond you or I. It is in Everfell that such things are decided. So into Everfell this man must go."
Gray Brother looked at Rhanu questioningly.
Rhanu hesitantly stood to face the Council. The elder Shado looked at him gravely. "Brother of the Sands, do you stand ready to face this test?"
"I do." The words were shocking in their lie.
"Then come."
They led Rhanu to an adjoining chamber. "You didn't tell me about this," he whispered to Gray Brother.
"It's only a small matter of bonding with the Geod and conversing with the stored memories of the previous wielder," Gray Brother said. He clapped Rhanu on the back. "I hope you can prove I know what I'm talking about."
Rhanu could only stare in shock as Gray Brother walked away.
Rhanu was instructed to lie on a stone table, where he was encircled by several of the Sha, including Ayna, who stood at his head. She placed her hands on his temples.
"Close your eyes, Ludari. We will guide you to focus on the Inner mind."
The Sha chanted softly in foreign words, and heavy incense smoke filled the air from a censer that was gently swung by one of the Sha. As the potent scent filled his nostrils, their hands pressed on his chest, abdomen, arms and legs, moving in time with his heartbeat. In time with his breathing. His eyes grew heavy, and soon he teetered between the world of wakefulness and sleep. Without warning, he swiftly fell…
HE WAS WEIGHTLESS WHEN he opened his eyes. The ground whirred underneath him at an accelerated rate. He floated, no, soared over the land like the swiftest of birds. Plains and rivers came and passed in seconds. He saw towering, snow-capped mountains, and then a glowing city cut from the very stone. The grounds were abuzz with people milling about, human ants gathering an army together. Rhanu flew above the highest spire, and for a brief moment saw Marcellus atop the tower. Marcellus looked up and his eyes widened in shock, but Rhanu could not slow.