A Hollow Mountain (The Brightest Shadow Book 2), page 46
Though his words inspired a sense of awe in Tani, they also inspired a desire not to go any of those places and freeze to death. She took a deep drink of her fhoka, wishing that she could buy a fresh cup.
Mantyos had led them beside the wagon, where the mystics spoke to the small crowd around them. Though at first Tani had worried that they would be like the Sages of the Legend, the similarities she saw in their appearances soon dissolved. They advised the people of Torgaadi on crops, medicine, and omens. If the omens seemed strange to her, the medicines they sold looked familiar, no doubt born of a deep wisdom of the lands.
Many of the people asked about the weather and Tani felt slightly relieved that they worried about the snows as well. The mystics predicted that the snow would melt, but after that, the sky would turn cold, and if clouds returned, those snows would remain throughout the season. Tani respected their tradition but hoped that the mystic was wrong about that.
"What do the trees say about the Hero?"
The unexpected question made Tani nearly choke on her drink. She discovered that it was a young man asking one of the female mystics. Lowering her head, the woman was silent for a time before she turned to the older of the two women. They conferred quietly before the elder spoke. "Such tales are beyond our craft, but the signs do speak of a great change."
All around them, the words shivered through the crowd. Though Tani had not known of the Portantese tradition before that day, she still felt a sense of violation. Here in the snowy north, there should be no more talk of the Legend, only cold walks and warm homes.
She drank again, but only bitter dregs remained.
Chapter 33
-
"This Legend is no mere story, it is the death of everything we have worked for. It attempts to set our human brothers and sisters against us and prevents the divide through the center of Wahleen from ever being abolished. How can we stand against Portant when we struggle even to stand with each other?"
- anonymous public letter in mansthein Wahleen
-
Though Celivia had been concerned about convincing Ghalia's superiors to allow her leave, it had been effortless in the end. Ghalia had simply gone to one of Xetsu's officers, an enormous Catai with crocodilian skin, and said that she wanted to join a friend to go battle strong humans. Her request had been granted without a second thought. Finding Reina and Unila again had been the greater challenge.
Their trip to Ith Silvaros, however, had been frustratingly rushed. There was no time to talk to the others or enjoy the city, she had been forced to sprint to make connections before the Voidwalker left again. She had hoped her old connections with Elanian could have given her several Catai, but instead she received only a vague promise to send someone to help. There was no time to press her case.
Now at last they stood in the square, ready to voidwalk across the world again. Unila would arrive to take them soon, so Celivia looked over her friends one more time. "Are you ready? Veartel is extremely cold throughout the year."
"Bah. You've said that enough, Celi." Ghalia had disdained to purchase any other clothing, her chest still bare except for her wraps. Reina, meanwhile was bundled in so many coats that she looked as though she would roll if someone pushed her. Celivia had only visited Veartel once, but it had made a strong impression on her.
"You're here. Good." Unila walked into the square at a rapid clip carrying a dark crate, looking over their group. "No one new?"
"It seems not," Celivia said. "What is the procedure when we reach Veartel?"
"We arrive at one of the secondary centers so that I can unload these. Speaking of which, use your muscles for something useful for once." Unila shoved the box at Ghalia, who easily took it in one hand. "The useless porters left several more on the street outside, so please bring them. Anyway, once I deliver the crates, the only thing I need to do is exchange messages - there are always a lot of them, going to and from Veartel. But I'm going to be exhausted, so I'll take a few days to recover. That's how long you have to find your last friend."
"That won't be hard." Ghalia returned to them carrying all the crates stacked on her arms. "To find Lurimin, all you need to do is locate the largest concentration of books."
"Then huddle close and focus. This path is difficult."
The four of them pressed together around Unila, with Ghalia looming behind bearing all the crates. Celivia found herself pushing up against Reina's many layers and just smiled before putting an arm around the other woman's shoulder. Then the world crumpled up and they fell into darkness.
When they arrived in a bleak room, they could have been in a Voidwalker chamber anywhere in the world... for a few heartbeats. Warmer air from Ith Silvaros rushed out from them only briefly before the native air closed in with a vengeance, biting every exposed scrap of Celivia's skin.
Ghalia grunted irritably and almost dropped her crates, while Reina whimpered and pressed into Celivia's side. Though Celivia could mostly endure it, the cold went straight through the core of her tail. She pulled it back through another layer of robes and wrapped it around her waist as tightly as she could.
Only one old woman in a Voidwalker uniform sat in the chamber, shifting back and forth in a rocking chair. That was mildly strange, but what struck Celivia was the cloud white of her Vear skin. Despite her age, her hair still fell jet black around her, thinner but just as dark as a young woman.
"There you are." She nodded absently to herself when she saw them. "Are those the reagents or the medicine?"
"Reagents," Unila said, walking forward and giving the old woman a deep bow. "Where should we take them?"
"Just set them down beneath the second rune there, if you please. I have some nice young teeth coming by today to carry them all to their proper places." With that, the old woman went back to rocking as if they were of no more concern to her. Celivia wondered if she spent the entire day here, alone in the freezing chamber.
Normally Ghalia resisted being ordered around, but she quietly went to set down the crates in the marked space where the old woman had requested. Meanwhile, Unila turned back to them. "That will make this easier. Follow me so that you don't get lost, but once we get inside Veartel proper, you can go where you want."
They headed for the doorway, which bled cold even as they drew close. Though Celivia had visited Veartel once before, she was still curious to see what their destination would look like, since the city was a vast complex of underground caverns.
When they opened the door they were hit by a bracing wall of cold, snowflakes curling around them. The old woman shouted for them to close the door, so they hurried out even as they froze. To Celivia's surprise, they stood atop a craggy hill with a vantage point over the surrounding land.
A forest of evergreen trees, most encrusted with snow, stretched to the horizon. When she turned to look in the other direction, she saw the trees end in rising hills that led to fearsome mountains. Many Sotunn peaks were capped with snow, but these appeared to be cut directly from the ice. Part of the horizon appeared strangely blurry and she realized that it was a snowstorm of terrifying proportions, engulfing the landscape itself.
The others seemed more interested in getting underground, which she admitted was perfectly reasonable. As they headed down a staircase carved in the rock, Celivia still found herself looking out over the forest. She could see a brilliant silver line that must be a frozen river. Since a river supposedly passed beside Veartel, then the underground city was much larger than she had known.
"Fuck!" As they went, Ghalia rubbed her arms against herself violently. "It's cold as balls!"
"Are those usually cold?" Reina asked. "You may be doing something wrong."
"You know what I mean, Rei!"
Reina smiled sweetly. "Do I? I'm not familiar with that sort of thing."
"Fuck you too, Rei! Get your swaddled ass moving before my nipples freeze off!"
Once they descended into the dark entrance, however, it didn't grow much warmer. They didn't go far before they met guards standing stiffly outside a door. Ghalia grumbled at them as they checked identification, but they refused to be hurried until they had confirmed everyone, then allowed them to pass into Veartel.
Her previous visit had been in a very different part of the city, yet Celivia immediately saw many similarities. The vast caverns, the soft blue sein spheres, and the crowded echoes. Above all, it felt strange to be surrounded by Vear mansthein. Everywhere she looked, she saw dark hair, impossibly white skin, and pale red eyes. Their group attracted more than a few stares, but no one came near them.
In Bundlin, Celivia had seen Zeitai Sepultus, who looked as though he'd made all the Vear in his image. To her knowledge, there had never been credible rumors of him having a partner or even friends, yet the resemblance was undeniable.
Except for one thing: Sepultus had blue eyes. Unnatural eye colors might look attractive on Tani or Slaten, but Celivia had found them incredibly unnerving on the Zeitai's face. She examined everyone she saw, just in case some rare Vear had unusual eyes, yet saw nothing but the same pale red.
"Here we are." Unila stopped them in a smaller chamber, the walls and ceiling carved with Voidwalker sigils, and pointed toward a row of desks built into one wall. "You go this way and ask them your questions. They'll tell you where to go if you need somewhere to stay. I'll be going down a level and you won't see me for a few days, but stay close for when we need to leave."
"I understand, Unila." Celivia smiled at her as she turned to go. "Thank you again for this."
"You weren't so heavy." Unila shook off the conversation and turned away, vanishing into one of the smaller corridors. That left them standing in the room with dark-clad bodies moving around them. Here with the Voidwalkers, there were many more non-Vear mansthein, but it was painfully obvious that they were not at home here.
Just when Celivia was about to lead them to the desks, Ghalia moved first, stomping up to a small Vear official. "Yo! We're looking for someone named Lurimin. Short, pretty little runt, you can definitely miss her but you shouldn't."
"Ghali!" Reina followed her, shaking her head. "You think you can just ask like that? Do you have any idea how many people live in Veartel?"
"No. Do you?"
"Well... no. But it's tens of tens of thousands, isn't it? They won't just have her in the other room."
After looking between them with a mild gaze, the official bowed politely and then turned to a shelf of roughly bound books. "You are looking for a foreigner? What is her division and specialty?" After Celivia gave the information, the official spent only a short time combing through a certain book, then looked up from it. "Vearnan Lurimin is currently stationed on Setanel for intensive training."
"Setanel?" Ghalia glared down at the official. "Where the fuck is that?"
"Setanel is an island off the west coast of Fareshel. Zeitai Sepultus maintains a research base on it, and one legion is stationed there for special operations. If your acquaintance is on the island, I am afraid that she can only be recalled by an order of critical importance."
"Dammit! We came all this way to freeze our tits off for nothing!" Ghalia stormed away, slapping her biceps for warmth. Though Reina started to follow, Celivia found herself looking down at the book curiously. It was written in what appeared to be a very strange form of Futhik, too hard to read upside-down, so she decided simply to voice her question.
"You called her Vearnan. Lurimin isn't Vear."
The official looked at her, looked down at the book, and then looked back up with the same bloodless gaze. "The record states that Vearnan Lurimin has conducted herself admirably. It would be impolite to forbid her a title when she has been welcomed to Veartel."
But not welcomed enough that she wasn't listed in a book as a foreigner. Celivia nodded politely and went to join the others as they walked back into the city proper. Though Celivia tried to think of any way they could contact Lurimin, disappointment slowly gained a stranglehold on her thoughts. It would not be possible for the four of them to reunite, this time.
"At least Luri will fit in with all these pale bastards." Ghalia didn't bother to lower her voice, not that anyone seemed offended. "But these Vear had better have some good meat. They do eat meat, right? They don't... drink newly melted snow or some shit?"
"Luri told me that they use sweet flavorings," Reina said, smiling fondly. "They sound delicious. I know that it would be better to eat with her, but at least we can enjoy ourselves, right?"
Though that might have been a slight balm to their disappointment, it proved impossible. After arcing through several large caverns, the group realized that they stood at the far end of a military portion of the city. To get through the barracks and administrative centers would require a long walk through unfamiliar territory.
Eventually they found a Vear who offered them quarters, and Ghalia bullied a quartermaster into supplying them with an allotment of fresh meat. Aside from the blood, the smell was strange to Celivia and she found herself wondering where it was from. Game hunted on the surface, bovals adapted to living underground, or some stranger cavern creature?
She managed to start a fire in their room when Ghalia abruptly slapped her on the back. "Celi, cook for us! I'm sure you can do better than some Vear!"
"I can try," Celivia said, "but I don't exactly have any ingredients."
"They seem to use chits for everything here, but money has to be worth something. I'll just find a - Rei, stop eating that!"
Reina did not stop chewing on the piece of raw meat in her mouth. "I don't have so much bulk to feed off, Ghali. This cold is going to make me skin and bones unless I get something in my stomach."
"I eat your weight every day, girl! If you don't leave me my fair share, I'll eat you."
"Be my guest. I'd enjoy it more than you would."
Celivia smiled at the sound of them bickering. In the past there had indeed been some conflicts, though only the struggles of family. But this was not even that, only another sign of how much they had missed one another. It was a shame that Lurimin couldn't join them, but Celivia resolved to do what she could. The quality of the meat was decent, so if she could just find some salt...
Unila appeared in the doorway, panting for breath.
Ghalia turned to her with a mock scowl. "If you want any, go buy your own meat!"
"No." Unila leaned against the wall and rubbed her forehead. "There weren't just messages when I arrived. Well, some. But there was one specifically for us."
Dropping the meat, all thought of a meal forgotten, Celivia stepped up to the Voidwalker. "What message?"
"We need to go back, right now. The Zeitai has received credible reports that the Hero has been sighted."
Chapter 34
-
"The Zeitai gazed at the many marvelous birds brought before him, but said nothing. Finally Fasilin brought forward his egg and begged for the Zeitai's forgiveness because it would not hatch. And the Zeitai rose with a smile, proclaiming to all that the eggs he had given had been dead. Out of all the young warriors, only Fasilin had been honest, and he was trained to be the Zeitai's successor."
- Seinan version of The Zeitai's Egg
-
Slaten marched at the front of the group, just after Melal, and felt the weight of all those who came behind him. It would have been easier if he believed he was marching somewhere.
When he glanced over his shoulder, he saw many who by most standards deserved his position more. Patule and some of the other Bloodskins had all his advantages but with more raw power. Some of the errants wore Steeljudge bands, thus were judged superior to him by an objective system. Yet they didn't seem to care, eyes alight as they looked forward, and that was less than a comfort.
In fact, the only comfort was that he seemed to be mostly ignored. Some of the female errants regularly engaged Tani, and some of the older warriors doted on Laeri, but only a few Bloodskins even greeted him. Since Melal looked toward no one, they might as well have had no leader at all.
"I wonder if I should have concentrated on nothing but this." Tani spoke quietly to him, proving his thought wrong. She dangled one of her knives from her hands by an invisible thread of sein, swinging it back and forth in front of her as they walked. "We had nearly thirty days. If I had focused solely on this art, perhaps I would be more confident in it now."
"You don't seem to struggle with it," Slaten said. Tani shook her head.
"No, it isn't coming naturally. When I focus my sein, it's a strange mix of Nelee teachings, suggestions from Olondris, and memories of our travels. It hasn't unified into a single technique."
"I understand. It may be safer not to attempt it, especially if you have enough ground to fight." He remembered more than a few occasions when something had gone wrong and the movements of Tani's hand had sent her knives flying wildly, sometimes back toward her. Perhaps thinking of the same occasions, she caught her knife and smiled at him.
"What about you? You seem to have mastered this hammer stroke."
"Mostly. It is not as comfortable as more familiar techniques, but I no longer hesitate in grasping the blade."
"It's curious that it has such a simple name. I have spent some time amongst errants along the Oestiid River, and they seem to have very few grandiose names for their arts."
Slaten had wondered the same and asked Olondris, so he had an answer ready for her. "Errants do not consider it respectful to speak openly of their arts, so their names are kept secret. Even the hammer stroke is a general term that refers to several related arts. The most she has given us is the name of the Ironmonger's Path, which I consider a sign of respect."
"Ah, that makes sense. The errant concept of 'respect' is still somewhat difficult to grasp. I wonder wh-"
"Both of you, quiet." Melal abruptly looked over his shoulder, after so long in silence. "We are close."
With a deep breath, Slaten accepted that the marching order would soon be the least of his problems. "Do you mean to the mine? Surely it must be further."
