The Alchemists' Council, page 22
“In the name of the Azoth Magen of the 18th Council of Alchemists, in accordance with the Codes of Law and the tradition of Azothian protocols, I hereby declare the dusk of the reign of Ailanthus and the dawn of the 19th Council. Thus, on this night at this hour, in the presence of my Elders, I declare my intention to prepare for Final Ascension. Long live the Quintessence.”
“Long live the Alchemists’ Council.”
vi
current day
Jaden, visibly distressed by the Azothian inquisition, angry at Cedar for insisting she leave, and distraught over Arjan, felt ready to collapse by the time she reached her residence chambers. The instant Cedar had forcibly removed her from physical proximity to Arjan, Jaden lost her ability not only to see him but also to sense his condition. Despite the overwhelming bond she had shared with him during Obeche’s outbreak, their interim pendants evidently were too weak to maintain Lapidarian connection beyond minimal range. Knowing nothing for certain, Jaden could only trust that Cedar and the other Elders would protect him. Surely even Obeche himself — one quick to anger but impeccably rational and disciplined in Council protocols — would desist from further persecuting a fellow alchemist for unspecified and unproven crimes. What had Arjan done beyond revealing his ancestry?
Her hands were shaking as she unlocked and pushed open the door. She crossed the threshold, turned on the stained-glass lamp by the bed, hung her outer robes behind the door, wrapped herself in her shawl, and sat on the balcony bench looking out over Council grounds. The only perceptible movement came from rustling leaves in the gardens and courtyard below. Thankful, even in this time of distress, for the warmth of her Azadirian shawl, Jaden allowed herself to indulge momentarily in a cherished memory: the day Cedar presented it to her. She had gasped at its exquisite beauty, never having seen the likes of its artistry in the outside world.
Yet now its beauty mattered little in the face of her current circumstances. Over and over again, she replayed in her mind the events of Qingdao, of Azothian Chambers, of Arjan’s responses, and in particular of his ancestral revelation. What Jaden knew of Ilex and Melia had come to her solely in fragments, through occasional references in conversations about conjunction. She knew they were alchemists, she knew they had achieved mutual conjunction, she knew they had abandoned the Council, and — most disconcerting of all — she knew that Arjan had purposely chosen to conceal his connection to two of the most revered yet most disputed figures in Council history. If not for being intimidated into submission by the Azoths, he may never have revealed his secret. As much as she detested the possibility, Arjan’s ancestry and his concealment thereof did indeed leave him suspect.
She had been seated on the balcony for a few hours when she was startled out of her reverie by a knock at her door. Her hope for a visit from Arjan was swiftly dashed.
“Magistrate! What are you doing here?”
“I need to speak with you,” replied Sadira.
Jaden did not know what to make of this unexpected visit. She wrapped her shawl even more tightly around her shoulders and gestured towards the sofa near the window.
Sadira took a seat and repositioned a few cushions behind her back. She held her pendant in her right hand, running her thumb repeatedly over its smooth surface. She appeared to be nervous and uncertain what to say, which made the situation even more awkward.
“Why are you here, Magistrate?” Jaden finally asked. “Can I help you with something?”
“Do you remember that day,” she began at last, “a month or so after your arrival, when you witnessed two strangers disappear at the cliff face?”
“Of course.”
“Do you know who they were?”
“Rebels?”
“Of a sort, but not the rebels others suspected.”
“Who was suspected?”
“The Rebel High Azoth and his consort. Even Cedar thought as much.” Sadira sighed before adding, “She has been wrong about so much.”
Jaden remained silent. What was she to say to this revelation? Was she to admit knowledge of Dracaen? How did Sadira know something Cedar didn’t?
“The intruders, as I have learned,” said Sadira finally, “were Ilex and Melia.”
“Arjan’s grandparents?”
Sadira smiled as if amused by Jaden’s response. “Yes,” she said, “Arjan’s grandparents.”
“But I saw two people. Ilex and Melia are conjoined.”
“You heard two people. You saw only one body — one body shifting between two essences mutually conjoined.”
Jaden tried to recollect the details of the event. Had she only heard two people? She remembered her view being obscured by leaves and branches.
“What were they doing here?”
“Laying the groundwork of their plan — setting the stage, casting their players.”
“I don’t understand,” replied Jaden.
“You aren’t supposed to understand — weren’t supposed to understand — not until now anyway. But Arjan’s ill-timed revelation of his ancestry in Azothian Chambers today has necessitated a change in schedule. The entire Council is virtually pulsating with conjecture and innuendo, debating whether Arjan is aligned with the rebels.”
“Why are you telling me this, Magistrate?”
“I need your help.”
Jaden waited, eyebrows raised.
“I need you to take something to Arjan.”
“Where is he? Is he all right?”
“He is healing in alembic waters deep within the catacombs.”
“You want me to go with you to the catacombs?”
“No. I want you to go without me to the catacombs.”
“What? No!”
How could Sadira make such a request? Jaden had entered the catacombs only once since her arrival in Council dimension. Linden had escorted a small group of Junior and Senior Initiates through the catacombs’ labyrinthine passages as part of a lesson on Council history. Jaden had been terrified the entire time. She could barely imagine navigating the complexity of caverns and pathways on her own.
“I cannot come with you, Jaden. Amur and I have been summoned to meet with Ruis and Ravenea to begin preparations for our conjunction. Despite recent events — because of recent events — Cedar has requested the conjunction proceed. The Azoth Magen has granted her request. In four days, I will be conjoined with Amur. As you know, Jaden, conjunction strengthens the Lapis. The Azoths fear, especially in light of the breach and elemental disturbance, that the rebels will attempt to stop the conjunction. So, tonight I am to be sequestered with Amur under Azothian supervision until the Sealing of Concurrence tomorrow. Already the Azoths will be wondering why I have not immediately heeded their call. I know you care for Arjan. I know you can help him.”
Sadira paused to observe Jaden’s reaction. Jaden sat perfectly still but radiated fear.
“I realize my request is a lot to ask, Jaden. But the Alchemists’ Council is in jeopardy. Arjan has a critical role to play in saving us all. And you can play a critical role in saving Arjan. You need only find him in the catacombs.”
“If I succeed in navigating the catacombs, if I am able to find him, how am I to wake him? Is he not suspended within the alembic waters?”
“You are not to wake him. You are to reach into the alembic and place the contents of this pouch under his tongue.”
Sadira reached into her pocket and held up a small leather pouch.
Jaden froze. She recognized the pouch immediately. It had contained — or perhaps still contained — a fragment of the Dragonblood Stone, the fragment Dracaen had given to her at the bus stop in Vancouver and requested she keep with her at all times. Over a year had passed since she had lost it in the altercation with Obeche. Of course, in the aftermath of Kalina’s erasure, Jaden had forgotten the incident entirely until the restoration of her memories in Qingdao.
“I know you are frightened. I know you would prefer that I elaborate, explain the details of all I have touched upon tonight. But you must trust me, Jaden, I have already told you much more than I was sanctioned to disclose. I promise you will eventually come to understand everything. For now you must trust me. You must trust me just as you trusted Kalina.”
“You know of Kalina?”
“Yes, I know of Kalina. And I know that you know of her. You told me yourself when you inscribed your name under the Viburnum opulus — the Kalina tree — in Sapientiae Aeternae 1818.”
“You manipulated the manuscripts?”
“No. Kalina manipulated the manuscripts, years ago as a Senior Initiate when her rebel alliances increased the possibility of her erasure. Do you recall being drawn to the word cruentus in Serpens Chymicum 1414? Kalina inscribed that single word with Dragonblood-infused ink; thus, it triggered your memory of another Dragonblood fragment: Kalina’s parchment inscription citing Sapientiae Aeternae 1818. By removing her own name from an image of the tree in Sapientiae Aeternae for which she was consecrated, Kalina opened a space for someone to find her, to utter her name, once again. And you, by inscribing your name in her absence, left me a means of securing an ally. Until recently, even I did not remember Kalina, but when I regained my memories of her, finding your name in that manuscript gave me a means of knowing I could trust you.”
“The pouch — does it still contain a Dragonblood fragment?”
“Yes. Kalina gave it to me. I now know that it used to be yours, but you did not lose it on the day of Kalina’s erasure; she purposely took the Dragonblood fragment from you to protect you. But now I return it to you and request that you give it to Arjan. Will you do this, Jaden?”
Despite her apprehension, despite her fear of the catacombs, Jaden agreed. “On one condition.”
“Yes?”
“Let me read your pendant.”
Sadira appeared startled. She hesitated before replying. “You have not been trained to read pendants, Jaden. I have carried my pendant for one hundred and eighty-eight years. Its essence is strong. Its power will overwhelm you.”
“Let me read your pendant,” repeated Jaden. “Let me read your intentions.”
Sadira stood up and walked to the bed, sitting on the edge and gesturing for Jaden to follow. She held out the pendant and placed it in Jaden’s hand. Jaden shook as she pulled it towards her by its silver cord. She held it first against her chest, and then her lips, and finally her forehead. The intensity of sensation was indeed overwhelming. She struggled against the desire to take Sadira herself into her arms.
“Search for only what you need, Jaden. Distinguish from the panoply of my knowledge and experience and emotions and intentions only the threads that will help you to weave your destiny. Take only what you need to trust me. Take only what you need to help you understand your role in saving both Arjan and the Council.”
But Jaden could distinguish nothing in particular. Rather than individual threads, she perceived a chaotic mess — flashes of sight and sound and taste and smell and touch.
“Seek my intentions in regard to Arjan. Think only of Arjan.”
“Arjan,” Jaden repeated. “Arjan. Arjan.”
She used his name like a mantra — a means of navigating through the sensations that coursed from the pendant through her mind and body. And when, after several minutes, she finally absorbed a fragment of Sadira’s pendant memory, when she understood beyond a doubt that Sadira loved and trusted Arjan, Jaden fell backward, unconscious, onto her bed.
By the time she came to, the entire night had already passed. She lay against the pillows under a cotton quilt, the pouch containing the Dragonblood fragment tied to her wrist with a silk cord. The room no longer glowed from the light of her bedside lamp but from the pink and purple skies of early dawn. Sadira was long gone. And Jaden knew she must make her way to the catacombs to help Arjan before her absence from the daily Council routine could be noticed.
As she moved quietly along the residence corridors listening for signs of Wardens or Elders, Jaden thought about Sadira. Without Sadira’s agreement to her request today, Jaden most likely would not have read another alchemist’s pendant until well into her Elixir years. Ritha had told her of Senior Initiate lessons in pendant reading — presumably such lessons included advice on maintaining consciousness. Despite Jaden’s ineptitude at the practice, and despite having been overcome by the pendant’s power, Jaden had awakened from her stupor knowing with certainty that Sadira had only benevolent intentions regarding Arjan.
Of course, to help Arjan, Jaden first had to find him, which required her not only to traverse the grounds without being caught but also to navigate the catacombs. Once outside the residence building, she stayed in the shadows, moving cautiously along the courtyard and garden walls, under trees, and out of the sight of early risers. After twenty minutes of stealthy progression, Jaden reached the staircase that led down to the catacombs. Though reading the pendant had given her confidence to trust Sadira, it had not given her the courage to confront her fear of the catacombs. Her heart was beating so rapidly that she questioned whether she would survive long enough to find Arjan.
The catacombs were dimly lit with small lanterns hanging at intervals along the complex web of pathways. Terrifying carvings, designed to resemble human skulls, lined the stone walls. Linden had expounded upon their symbolic intention — each skull was a figurative memorial to death in the outside world, each carved into stone on the day its respective Council member turned thirty, received Elixir, and thus officially renounced his or her former life for life everlasting. Someday a replica of Jaden’s own skull would reside in these walls. She shuddered.
She knew the catacombs housed eight alembics — all of which were used intermittently for healing. She need only find the one emitting light to find Arjan. But the catacombs were extensive, descending deep underground to the ancient wells. These same wells supplied the restorative channel waters that flowed through all of Council dimension, but intensive healing transmutation was best achieved in the natural alembic baths nearest the wells’ source. Arjan’s placement within a catacomb alembic rather than merely a visit to the Albedo waters for a recuperative bath suggested the damage inflicted by Obeche had been extensive. His healing required the elemental minerals that seep into the water from the walls and base of the natural alembics.
Finding the alembic corridor itself took Jaden almost an hour. Once in the corridor, she found that two of the eight alembics glowed with hues of red and orange. Jaden thought once again she would collapse when she peered through the glass of the first alembic chamber and saw Ailanthus stretched out on its altar. She jolted backward into the corridor, momentarily afraid that the Azoth Magen would awaken and find her. But she understood rationally, based on Linden’s catacomb lesson, that once an alchemist had entered an alchemic chamber for healing, he or she was prone to its elemental laws. Thus, although she could not fathom why Ailanthus would be in need of alembic healing, she nonetheless knew he would remain unconscious until the chamber lights shifted from hues of red and orange to blue and green.
Arjan appeared to be peacefully asleep on the altar of the second alembic chamber. Unlike the alembic vessels depicted in various alchemical manuscripts both within and outside Council dimension, these alembics were shaped more like oversized bathtubs than globular bottles. Each alembic was situated within a natural alcove, its opening accessible by steps carved into the stone walls. Heavy drops of water clung to the curved walls of Arjan’s alembic. Jaden could barely stand the heat. She moved carefully, slowly climbing the steps, moving through the streams of golden light and hot vapour until she reached a position from which she knew she could readily touch Arjan, whose head rested, exposed, in the hollow of a stone pillow, and whose torso, arms, and legs were completely submersed in the alembic waters.
Retrieving the leather pouch from a pocket within her robes, she carefully extracted the Dragonblood fragment. Momentarily observing it in the palm of her hand, she realized two things that had failed to occur to her during her conversation with Sadira: first, Sadira herself must already possess a Dragonblood fragment and, second, Sadira must know that Jaden possessed one. Jaden wondered if Sadira knew that her fragment now existed as a minuscule replica of the Flaw in the Lapis — a fragment that could not be lost or discovered precisely because of its inherent absence. As Jaden was about to place the Dragonblood fragment under Arjan’s tongue, an idea occurred to her. Would it not be wiser, safer, less prone to detection if she were able to provide Arjan with an absent flaw rather than a physical fragment — if she were able to purposely duplicate on his pendant the transformation she had accidently exacted on her own pendant in Qingdao?
Thus, rather than reaching for Arjan’s mouth — which, she realized, would have been an exceptionally personal intrusion — she reached for the braided silver chain around his neck, pulling it and its pendant just above the surface of the alembic waters. She hesitated briefly, concerned whether the potent conjunctive effect would throw her off her feet once again, propelling her through dimensions. But she was reasonably certain her interdimensional travel had been the result of the Ritual of Return and not of the Dragonblood and Lapis conjunction — a coincidental timing that would not be replicated here in the catacombs. Weighing potential benefits against possible dangers, Jaden decided to take the risk. She held the Dragonblood fragment against Arjan’s pendant. The effect was indeed intense enough to throw Jaden off balance, but she remained grounded within the catacombs of Council dimension. Before departing, she reached into the alembic waters once again for Arjan’s pendant, bringing it to her lips momentarily to place one gentle kiss against its nascent, blood-red fissure.
