The Brightest Shadow, page 75
"Oh, I'm definitely going back to Ith Ire! I want to help the Hero! Don't you?"
"We'll see." Tani didn't have anything else to say, so she simply started walking.
- End of Part 4 -
Interlude
Eraes Tor Yin couldn't have put it into words, but she knew something had changed. One moment she had been seated on the edge of the pier, thinking about the details of the voyage home, and the next... she looked behind her to see if anyone was standing over her shoulder. No one, and she didn't see any signs of immediate danger.
After a time Eraes sighed and decided that she was being irrational. Given everything she had escaped, some psychological trauma was to be expected. Though she had no one to try to explain it to, she was sure that the Hero had been messing around in her head in more ways than she knew. The longer she spent away from him, away from all of it, the better.
She rose to her feet and spent a while just staring out over the ocean. After the endless grass, it looked like paradise. Eraes stared outward, drinking in the rolling waves and the small vessels moving in the bay. Her home wasn't actually in that direction - as far as she knew, there was nothing in that direction - but it was good enough. The ocean meant freedom, or at least escape.
At least, once she removed the last sign of where she had been. She reached under her large cloak and ran her fingers along the iron collar there, as she had many times before. While she had been in the Chorhan Expanse, she'd judged it too risky to remove. That ended today.
In the time before the ship came in, that should be her highest priority. Eraes headed back into town, glancing to either side to find a blacksmith. That was easy enough, as in a decent city there were multiple. The question was who to choose, which was difficult since she had little information.
The slightly shady looking man on the left? He looked like he would do the job without asking any questions, but he also might sell information about her. After getting this far, Eraes didn't want to get wrapped up in anything else exciting. Better to go for something simpler. She found a shop with a woman at the front with the tools and two children helping near the forge. While they might bring her trouble somehow, she was willing to take the bet.
"Hello." The woman bowed politely to her. At least in a port town like this, no one was surprised by her appearance and hopefully no one would grab her hair. "We can't make anything custom right now, but you're welcome to anything you see done."
"Actually, I need something simpler." Eraes stepped forward and pulled the collar of her cloak down enough to reveal the iron ring. "I would like this removed."
The woman paled slightly. "Why do you have that?"
"It's a long story, but a finished one. There's no one chasing me, I'm just going back home and I don't want this attached to my neck. Either I can pay you to help me with this, or I can go on my way and find someone else."
"No... I think we can, I was just surprised. Please wait a moment."
When the woman moved away, Eraes tensed up, but the woman only went back to converse with her husband at the forge. He nodded, wiped off his hands, and approached. "Come in and take a seat. I'm not sure how best to take it off, but we'll figure something out."
They offered a wooden stool, so Eraes sat down on it carefully and pulled off her outer cloak. The man examined her collar from different angles, then barked gruff orders to his children. They ran off and returned shortly after with several tools, including tongs, a pick, and a hammer.
First the smith tried to break open the collar along weak points. He failed, but Eraes felt slightly more comfortable with how careful he was not to let the pick slip and strike her. Eventually he stood back with his hands on his hips.
"That is not coming off easily."
"I believe it was intended to be removed with sein-trained strength," Eraes said.
"Well! We don't have anything that fancy here."
The man folded his arms instead, tapping his foot as he thought. After another set of orders, he was brought an oily rag and a different pick. He began gently working at the bolt binding the collar.
"So, you said you'd be leaving Breilin, huh? Back to Teralanth?"
"I hope so." Eraes closed her eyes and tried to pull her nose away from the oily smell of the rag. "While I've seen some interesting things here, I'm more than ready to go home."
"I can understand that. We get a lot of lonely travelers here. That was how I met my wife, actually." The smith went on to give his story, but Eraes had trouble concentrating on him. Something had changed, she was sure of it. She didn't think she was in any danger, but she did feel profoundly uneasy, the way she did whenever she struggled to think about the Hero.
Eventually the smith loosened the bolt enough to wrench the metal from the end. The collar fell to the floor with a satisfying clatter. Eraes rose to her feet, rubbing her neck. She'd been pinched by the collar several times during the process, but she was glad for those pains now. Her neck felt so much lighter.
The family seemed like they might want to speak more, but Eraes was eager to get away. From everything. She headed back out into the street and checked the position of the sun.
There was still more time. Eraes walked from the street of shops to an older one lined with food stalls and even a few restaurants. After examining everything thoroughly, Eraes walked into one of the larger buildings. She might as well eat a final good meal in honor of Tani. Besides, she had already paid for her voyage and so her local coins would soon become worthless.
Except for a couple reserves for problems that would likely rear their heads, Eraes spent the rest of her money on the best seafood they had. Not only did she get an impressive array of fish, they included kraken meat and two unusual dishes they claimed were shark and jellyfish. Not what she would have usually eaten, but Eraes tried some of everything and in the end sat back satisfied.
What would she tell people about her time here, once she returned to Teralanth? She knew the attitudes many held toward what they viewed as a backwards continent and didn't have the strength to fight that battle. As much as she valued the people she'd met - some of them - there was no sense talking about them. Especially if they couldn't escape the Hero and ended up dead.
On that grim note, Eraes left the restaurant and headed toward the pier again. The large ship she had bought her passage on had moved to the central dock, so it was almost time. She had nothing to load - owned nothing at all except what she carried - so Eraes headed toward it.
When the sailors eyed her carefully, for a moment she was sure that it would all fall apart. She couldn't be allowed to leave safely. A new Hero would come charging down the pier, or Deathspawn would attack from out of the oceans, or meteors would destroy the ship. Anything to keep her there.
Nothing happened. She was allowed to board without even any final haggling over the price.
Her cabin was miserably small and shared with three others, but unless they were assassins prepared to kill her, Eraes didn't care. She sat down heavily in her hammock and tried to sleep through the time she had left. It didn't work, and she struggled to adapt to the rocking of the waves. Seasickness had never been a problem for her before, but traveling by airship had been so much smoother. She started to search for her mirror, only to pause as she remembered that she'd given it to Tani.
Giving up on resting, Eraes decided that she might as well watch them depart. Many of the other travelers stood on the deck as well, herded into a small area where they wouldn't bother the sailors. Eraes joined them, leaning against the rail and watching the land as it diminished.
Most of those around her looked sad. A couple held one another and spoke in pained voices. Somewhere in the group a child bawled. Plenty of people looked misty-eyed toward their home.
Eraes could not wait to see it for the last time. As they drifted further away, the ominous feeling that had dwelled in her heart ever since she stepped close to the Legend finally eased. She took a deep breath and it felt wonderful, as if it was the first real breath she had taken in years.
Turning away from the receding continent, Eraes instead moved to the front of the ship and looked out into the ocean spreading in all directions. Slowly and surely, she lost herself in it.
Part 5
Total Victory
Chapter 55
-
"All of this would be much easier if you would explain your intentions to us. I will do what I can to report under such conditions."
-
Acid trickled over stone. The hiss of the stone dissolving, the flow of the acid, the dripping of the liquid into the pool: all combined into a gentle hum of noise that drowned out the rest of the world. Nothing existed beyond the old stone building and the soft sounds and mists that floated within it.
Celivia had always found the preparation calming, even when it wasn't for her, even when she wasn't about to become whole again. Sitting in meditation position, wearing nothing but the ceremonial robe, she felt at peace. It was an illusion, but an illusion she would gladly accept for a time.
This was the last of three rituals, sure to be the most painful but also the one that would restore her. Even her adult rebirth had been less difficult than this. She had gone through the horrible process twice, first to appear human and now to return to herself. Never again. They had reassured her that this process wouldn't inhibit future rebirths, but the discomfort alone was a heavy cost.
But it would be worth it, if all went well at the meeting.
Setting her concerns aside, Celivia returned to perfecting her sein flow. It was critical that everything be right before she went into the pool or the result would be unpleasant. For the previous rituals, she had tried to filter through all her new experiences and training in her pseudo-human form, retain what she wanted, and discard what was unnecessary. This time, she needed to bring everything together and visualize herself in every detail. Even if she received the promotion and rebirth she wanted, a solid foundation would be required.
Eventually everything was in order, but the time had not yet come. Celivia sighed and shifted her legs, trying to remain focused. She couldn't let her internal flow wander or allow memories to distract her. Instead she submerged herself and experienced nothing but sein. And the acid dripping, taking her closer one drop at a time...
"Naena Celivia? Everything is ready, if you are prepared."
"I am." She stood to her feet, for the moment a creature of pure focus, barely seeing the short man who had entered the room. He pulled on the drawstring to the central chamber and she stepped to the edge of the pool of hissing liquid.
This pool was nothing like the grand structures on Orphos, just a marble-lined hole in the stone without any carvings. Then again, it was remarkable that they had a pool of rebirth at all on Breilin. She wasn't sure why she had been sent to the eastern Nol lands, especially since-
No. Focus.
Celivia stepped closer to the edge as she concentrated on the flow of her sein one final time. The air grew still as time seemed to slow around her. Drops of acid hissing down the stone spout crept forward, hung in the air as they fell, created slow ripples in the pool that grew even slower.
She stepped forward and plunged directly into the pool.
The acid began to eat through the thin robe instantly and she felt it burning her skin, but that was nothing compared to the more dangerous liquids. Those surged into her, consuming her within and without. Only her mind and the flow of her sein endured. Celivia let out a scream under the surface and it all rushed in and overwhelmed her.
For a time, she felt nothing.
Then her heartbeat, followed by the throb of sein through her body. She struggled to remember herself and focused on what she could grasp. The taste of water, the sound of wind, the feeling of her body splitting apart, even a hint of light through her closed eyes.
Then it was over and Celivia lay at the bottom of a pool of black water. All of its strength spent, the liquid no longer burned, but her lungs demanded air. She struggled to her feet, found the rough stairs on the opposite side, and climbed her way back into the world.
As she emerged from the water, she felt whole again. Normally she would have wanted to examine herself, but she didn't dare to do that here, in a strange place with only nominal allies. The staff of the pool had been respectful enough, but they might be watching her through the mist. Celivia took the black robe that waited for her on the other side and wrapped it around her still dripping body before tying it tightly at the waist.
They hadn't left a hole for her tail, as most clothes didn't. Celivia simply stabbed her tail through the fabric and found that it pierced surprisingly easily. She curled her tail around her side to look, though she was distracted by the pleasure of having her tail back. While pretending to be human she'd been afraid she'd wiggle her hips strangely searching for the limb that wasn't there.
She ran her hand along the tail, reveling in how smooth her new skin felt. It was mostly the same as before except for the blade at the end, which had grown to nearly the length of her hand. When she tested the edge, she found it much sharper than before. No doubt due to Veron's training in explosive force.
Celivia strode out of the room, enjoying the flow of new strength through her limbs. They had placed a mirror in the waiting chamber, but she saw that the staff were waiting just outside it. Rather than play to stereotype, she quickly checked her teeth in the mirror before leaving. Those might be sharper too, though she was uncertain after so long with dull human teeth.
"The ritual was a success, Naena?" The man who had spoken to her before approached her politely and Celivia nodded to him.
"Yes, I feel myself again."
"It must certainly be a relief to be free of those vestiges of their filth. Would you like something to eat or drink?"
"I think I'll go into town. Is there any word of my contact?"
Another one of the chamber staff stepped forward at that, clearing his throat. "Several messages, actually. Apologies, Naena, but there appears to be some confusion. Your superior was delayed by something, yet is now rushing to arrive? The message from the Voidwalker suggested that you would be meeting with people you knew on your way here. And finally..." The man extended her a thin scroll with a black seal.
Celivia carefully wiped the last of the liquid off on her robe and took the scroll from him. Only a few words in an elegant hand. There were delays that I have expedited. Deal with personal and military matters first. Our meeting will be noon, local time. She shivered, realizing that he would actually be coming personally. Though she'd hoped for a chance to speak with him again, their first meeting had been so brief that she hadn't been sure she would get another.
"It seems I have several meetings today, then." She glanced out the door and saw the sun far from its apex. "Get me my things. I'll take some time to prepare myself, then return to meet with them."
"We have a voidlink platform, Naena."
"Ah, I'll go there, then."
They ushered her into a small room on the side of the temple where her personal items had been left, then she was finally alone. Celivia finished drying herself with the robe and quickly changed into her clothes. Before picking up her weapons, she lifted the necklace slowly and placed it around her neck. It felt so much heavier than it had at the beginning.
Since she was alone, Celivia couldn't help but take a moment to check herself. Her nails were neat and trim and sharp enough to take out someone's throat. She experimentally jumped and her hair floated up around her to brush the ceiling. Just for fun, she lashed her tail behind her a few times. Now that she had a proper body back, she wanted to test herself, to....
If she was honest, she wanted to spar with Slaten. She closed her eyes and tried to dispel such thoughts.
Celivia wondered what the humans would think of her, to see her like this. With just a few superficial changes, the boy had gone from idolization to hatred. Slaten had seen the changes and not cared. Tani had not seen the changes at all and looked straight through to the lies Celivia now deeply regretted. It had been such a small thing, so easy to do, yet it had ruined her chances of connecting with Tani.
Perhaps forever. There was no point thinking about them now, since she would be reassigned somewhere completely different and never see them again.
Good mood gone, Celivia picked up her weapons and left the temple. As she walked beneath the entrance arch, she glanced up at the letters written across the front. She felt like she could almost read the characters, but not quite. Whatever this temple had been to or for, it existed only as a pool of rebirth now.
To distract herself from thoughts of humans, Celivia headed down the steep path into town and considered the meetings ahead of her. First, she would finally report to a military superior - given that she had helped destroy the Coran resistance, that meeting should go well. The message with people she knew was ambiguous and could be good or bad. But both of those paled in comparison to meeting Zeitai Teirsan...
It was fortunate she'd rushed through her rituals or she wouldn't be prepared to meet with them. As she was, she still felt drained. She needed a moment to clear her head and prepare, so she was doubly glad she could go into town.
Just being able to walk down a street filled with mansthein was refreshing, though that was superficial. She had very little in common with the people here, mostly Feinan merchants and aides. They had been established here in Tur-Nol for some time and had peaceful human contacts. Nothing like the tension she had experienced before.
Celivia entered a restaurant that smelled good and was escorted to a table by the owner. A rather old man, scrawny but with visible scars on his arms. Retired military, perhaps. Once she paid, he left a plate and knives at her table, then gestured for her to go the central grills herself. Traditionally the meat should be served to her, but she was far from home here. Besides, the meat smelled too good to complain.
