{"id":129,"date":"2012-06-08T14:36:18","date_gmt":"2012-06-08T18:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/?p=129"},"modified":"2012-06-08T14:38:05","modified_gmt":"2012-06-08T18:38:05","slug":"zervakan-free-fantasy-novel-chapter-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/?p=129","title":{"rendered":"ZERVAKAN – Free Fantasy Novel – Chapter 17"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\"\"<\/a>
Cover by TJ Lomas.<\/a>\n<\/div>\n
\nI’m posting a chapter from my latest fantasy novel for free every Monday and Friday (click Zervakan<\/a> above for a synopsis and to start from the beginning). It’s in a “pre-published state,” meaning you might find the occasional spelling\/grammar mistake. If you do, please leave a comment below or email me at robsteiner01 [at] gmail [dot] com.<\/p>\n

If you’re uncomfortable getting something for nothing, you can hit the PayPal Donate<\/a> button in the Tip Jar section to the right. If you donate more than $3, I’ll send you a non-DRM ebook once the book is published (summer 2012). If you donate more than $20, I’ll send you a printed copy.<\/p>\n

Thanks, and I hope you enjoy it!<\/em>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ZERVAKAN<\/h1>\n

by Rob Steiner<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 17<\/h2>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153These are our saviors?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d General Myndehr muttered to Dylan as the column marched into Fedalan.<\/p>\n

Dylan was thinking the exact same thing.<\/p>\n

Truth be told, he had begun to worry as soon as he saw the Tuathan guides.\u00c2\u00a0 They were clad in furs and buckskin like three Cossops from the Komenda Steppes, with wild red hair and pale skin.\u00c2\u00a0 They certainly were not the Mystics of childhood stories\u00e2\u20ac\u201dshining white robes with auras of beautiful colors surrounding them.<\/p>\n

The outskirts of the Tuathan \u00e2\u20ac\u0153city\u00e2\u20ac\u009d only increased his worry.\u00c2\u00a0 These were people who had not advanced much beyond the technology of a thousand years ago.\u00c2\u00a0 They lived in thatch huts and what looked like hastily made tents of stitched animal skins.\u00c2\u00a0 Older women tended to small plots that looked to be the corners of larger fields.\u00c2\u00a0 Beyond the small plots, weeds choked what little crops of potatoes, cabbage, and carrots the Tuathans grew.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan had no farming experience, having been raised in a mining community near the Perla Mountains, but even he could tell when a field had not been tended in over a month.\u00c2\u00a0 Most of the small huts they passed were deserted, and their Tuathan guides would not explain why.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153All will be explained by the Seats in Fedalan,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the girl Fatimah had said.\u00c2\u00a0 She seemed to want to tell him more, and ask him questions, but a stern look by Dornal and Ida always closed her mouth.<\/p>\n

When the column had marched to the top of a hill, they saw Fedalan in the valley below next to a small lake.\u00c2\u00a0 The town was made up mostly of the same huts and tents they had passed, which was why the most striking feature of the town made Dylan begin to hope again.<\/p>\n

A tall white obelisk rose up from the town center, twice as tall as the Guardian through which they had passed.\u00c2\u00a0 Gold plating covered the top half of the obelisk\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s point, making it glitter in the meager sunlight.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan wondered how bright the tip would shine if the clouds ever cleared over this depressingly gray land.\u00c2\u00a0 Nearer the obelisk were one-story buildings made of logs, but not much more advanced than the thatch huts beyond the center of town.\u00c2\u00a0 Small chimney\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pumped out smoke from the buildings surrounding the tall obelisk, while the huts and tents outside that town\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s center looked empty and neglected.<\/p>\n

Halfway down the hill into the valley, four men clad in buckskin and armed with spears walked out of the woods.\u00c2\u00a0 All four wore their red hair long with many small braids at the ends, each with full beards.\u00c2\u00a0 They ignored the Shadarlak surrounding Dylan, who immediately put their hands on their revolvers, and went to confer with the Tuathan guides.\u00c2\u00a0 After talking quietly for a few moments, the men warily eyed the column of Shadarlak, then stood off to the side of the road to watch the column enter the town.<\/p>\n

While walking into Fedalan, Dylan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s brief hope again turned to despair.\u00c2\u00a0 The small buildings on the outer fringes of the town looked to have been abandoned long ago.\u00c2\u00a0 Many had shutters that were nailed closed, while others had gaping holes in the roofs and collapsed porches.\u00c2\u00a0 Several dogs, skinny and feral, whined at the column as it marched by.<\/p>\n

The closer the column came to the white obelisk, the more signs of community Dylan saw.\u00c2\u00a0 The first commerce Dylan encountered were the noxious odors of a tanner\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shop.\u00c2\u00a0 The shirtless tanner sat on a stool using a sharpened rock to scrape loose hair off a large hide.\u00c2\u00a0 He continued his scraping, but glanced up now and then at the column as it passed.\u00c2\u00a0 Beyond the tanner shop, here and there, candles burned in some of the homes, and Dylan noticed wet laundry\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwool skirts, pants, and blankets\u00e2\u20ac\u201dhanging on lines strung between the huts.<\/p>\n

Near the foot of the obelisk, all of the homes and buildings were occupied and of a sturdier wood construction than the thatch huts they had passed.\u00c2\u00a0 Actual commerce took place here, in addition to serving as living quarters for most of the population.\u00c2\u00a0 A blacksmith, shirtless, sweaty, and wearing a large leather apron, hammered at a small, glowing, embryonic knife.\u00c2\u00a0 Nearby sat a large box filled with unpolished knives that had not yet been fitted with hilts.\u00c2\u00a0 Two other sweaty, red-haired blacksmiths stood in the back of the same shop hammering glowing metal.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan wondered where they got the metal, for surely these people could not have much of a mining industry.\u00c2\u00a0 His question was answered when he saw large piles of rusty metal pots and field tools behind the smithy.<\/p>\n

The column passed a tavern, where six gaunt men in buckskin and wool, with unstrung bows attached to their backs and knives at their belts, stood holding clay cups, whispering to each other while the column marched by.\u00c2\u00a0 Merchants selling potatoes, turnips, cabbages, and carrots, called out to the column in their incomprehensible language, trying to sell produce to their town\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s strange new visitors.\u00c2\u00a0 Most of the Shadarlak ignored the merchants, while some shook their head politely.\u00c2\u00a0 One merchant rushed toward Dylan, holding a wool blanket and talking animatedly about it, but Dornal and Ida pushed him away before General Myndehr or the Shadarlak surrounding Dylan could get any rougher with the man.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan had ordered his men to keep their revolvers holstered, and he was pleased to see them obeying that order despite the strange surroundings.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Not even the Turicians live like this,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lee said in a low voice from Dylan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s right.<\/p>\n

As they drew closer to the obelisk, small groups of dirty children ran alongside the marching Shadarlak, staring at the soldiers with wide, curious eyes.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan saw Dr. Abraeu reach into his pocket and give one of the smaller girls a chunk of hard candy.\u00c2\u00a0 The girl put it in her mouth, smiled up at Abraeu, then ran off.\u00c2\u00a0 Abraeu stared after the girl for a few moments, sadness plain on his face.<\/p>\n

The column rounded a corner in the road and saw the base of the obelisk before them.\u00c2\u00a0 It was even more impressive up close.\u00c2\u00a0 It looked to be ten stories tall, rivaling the height of the Parliamentary Towers.\u00c2\u00a0 It was cut from smooth white stone, without seams that Dylan could see.\u00c2\u00a0 Starting around the third floor, windows dotted the obelisk\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s smooth white exterior, all the way up to where a large balcony encircled the top.\u00c2\u00a0 The obelisk did not have the same weathering that had eroded the arches around the smaller obelisks, and looked to have been built months ago.\u00c2\u00a0 Wide steps led to thick wood doors that were swung inward, and Dylan could see the pointed spikes of a portcullis gate jutting from the ceiling above the doors.<\/p>\n

About a dozen Tuathans descended the steps as the column approached.\u00c2\u00a0 They also wore buckskins, wools, and furs, although their clothes seemed better made than the Tuathan masses.\u00c2\u00a0 And more colorful.\u00c2\u00a0 Some of the Tuathans wore sashes dyed a light green, while some wore sashes dyed scarlet.<\/p>\n

Two of the Tuathans led the group, an older man and older woman walking side by side down the steps.\u00c2\u00a0 A hush fell over the people in the square, and all eyes trained on the two Tuathans.<\/p>\n

Dornal, Ida, and Fatimah went to the two, bowed, and said something in their language.\u00c2\u00a0 As the Tuathan leaders proceeded down the steps, Dylan ordered the Shadarlak standing in front of him to move behind him.\u00c2\u00a0 Infuriatingly, the men first looked to General Myndehr before moving, who nodded.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan turned to Abraeu.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Doctor,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Dylan said.<\/p>\n

Abreau nodded, falling into step behind Dylan.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan hoped the good doctor was about to earn his keep on this mission.<\/p>\n

Fatimah stood between the two Tuathan leaders and Dylan, then said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Speaker Dylan Edoss, may I present Ollis Gray, the Worldly Seat of the Beldamark Tuatha.\u00c2\u00a0 He oversees the worldly administration of Tuathan affairs.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Ollis Gray, with more white than red in his beard and on his balding head, wore a light green sash with several gold symbols over his buckskin tunic and breeches.\u00c2\u00a0 He regarded Dylan with narrowed eyes, as if Dylan had just tracked mud into his home.\u00c2\u00a0 Reluctantly, Gray gave Dylan a quick bow of the head.<\/p>\n

Fatimah then pointed a hand at the older woman and said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153May I present Melahara of Fedalan, the Holy Seat of the Beldamark Tuatha.\u00c2\u00a0 She is the Tuathan spiritual leader and the leader of all Ahura priests in the Beldamark.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Melahara was a tall, handsome woman who looked to be in her upper-middle years.\u00c2\u00a0 She had long, reddish-gray hair tied in a single braid that hung over her right shoulder.\u00c2\u00a0 She wore a red sash with gold symbols over her buckskin dress.\u00c2\u00a0 She bowed, smiled warmly at Dylan, then said something to Fatimah.<\/p>\n

Fatimah said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Holy Seat welcomes the Tuatha\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Recindian children back to the Beldamark.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Children…?\u00c2\u00a0<\/em> Dylan thought.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153On behalf of the Recindian Compact,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Dylan said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I thank the Tuatha for inviting us into your lands, and I look forward to a long lasting partnership<\/em> between our two peoples.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

The Compact would not be subservient to anyone while he was Speaker, Mystics or not.<\/p>\n

Fatimah translated Dylan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s words to Melahara and Ollis, and if they had any objections, their faces did not show it.\u00c2\u00a0 Melahara continued to smile warmly, while Ollis still wore a sour face.<\/p>\n

Translating for the two Seats, Fatimah said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Your men are free to set up their tents on the lawn in front of the Heiron.\u00c2\u00a0 You and your advisors are invited to stay inside the Heiron, if you choose.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Dylan nodded to Fatimah, then bowed to Ollis and Melahara.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Thank you for your kind offer, but my place is with my men.\u00c2\u00a0 I will camp with them.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Ollis and Melahara nodded at Fatimah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s translation, then Melahara said through Fatimah, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Though you must be exhausted from your long journey, we regret we have much to discuss that cannot wait.\u00c2\u00a0 You and your advisors are invited to join us for dinner as soon as you see to your men.\u00c2\u00a0 Is this acceptable?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Dylan looked at Myndehr, who said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We will have our camps set up within the hour, Excellency.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Dylan said to Fatimah, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I look forward to joining you within the hour.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Melahara smiled, while Ollis had already turned to walk back up the stairs to the open doors.<\/p>\n

Once the Shadarlak set up camp, Dylan gathered Lee, Abraeu, and General Myndehr.\u00c2\u00a0 Fatimah stood nearby, but out of earshot, talking to an elderly woman with long, thinning white hair tied in a braid that draped over her right shoulder.\u00c2\u00a0 The older woman seemed to be one of the Holy Seat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s priests, for she wore the same scarlet sash as Melahara.<\/p>\n

Dylan turned to his men and said in a low voice, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Do not let the appearance of these people fool you into thinking they are weak or unintelligent.\u00c2\u00a0 They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve shown that they have some of the powers attributed to them in legend\u00e2\u20ac\u201dby healing Dr. Abraeu and by those arches we walked through.\u00c2\u00a0 We live in disturbing times, times that are challenging some of the beliefs on which our civilization has been built.\u00c2\u00a0 Keep your eyes\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand minds\u00e2\u20ac\u201dopen.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Abraeu nodded his agreement, while Myndehr and even Lee seemed uncomfortable anticipating what they would hear and learn in their discussions with the Tuathans.\u00c2\u00a0 He did not care if they were uncomfortable\u00e2\u20ac\u201dMercy, he had not breathed easy since the rings appeared!\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbut he expected them to obey his commands.<\/p>\n

Dylan marched up the steps to Fatimah and the elderly woman, who stopped talking when he approached.<\/p>\n

Fatimah said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Speaker, this is my Master, Eblin of Luesing.\u00c2\u00a0 She has taught me your language and much about your culture.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Leaning heavily on her walking staff, Eblin gave Dylan a kindly smile and bowed her head.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Speaker,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said in flawless Recindian, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I have looked forward to meeting people of your nation face to face since…well, my entire life.\u00c2\u00a0 Welcome to Fedalan.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Dylan thanked Eblin, and then introduced Lee, Abraeu, and Myndehr.<\/p>\n

Eblin smiled at them all, then said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I will take you to the library.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Eblin turned and walked through the obelisk\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s large doors with the slow pace of someone with terrible leg pain.\u00c2\u00a0 For a moment, Dylan wondered why she was even on her feet, or why the Tuathans had not healed her like they had healed Abraeu.\u00c2\u00a0 But he realized that if she was a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Recindian expert,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she would have climbed out of her deathbed to meet Recindians.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan saw the same thrill in her eyes that he saw in Abraeu\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s.<\/p>\n

The steps leading up to the large double doors were well worn with age and the footfalls of countless Tuathans.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan marveled at the thick wooden doors, almost two stories tall and banded with iron.\u00c2\u00a0 He suspected they could have withstood three or four canon blasts before buckling.\u00c2\u00a0 Above the doors, a large iron portcullis was withdrawn into the ceiling.<\/p>\n

A long white hall with lit torches in stone sconces stretched beyond the doors.\u00c2\u00a0 The ceiling was maybe twelve feet tall, and the width of the hall could have comfortably held three wagons side by side.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan noticed slits in the hall on either side.\u00c2\u00a0 Arrow slits, to be exact.\u00c2\u00a0 He was beginning to think this obelisk\u00e2\u20ac\u201dor Heiron as the Tuatha had called it\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwas not only the location of the Tuathan leadership, but the last refuge of its people should the town ever come under attack.\u00c2\u00a0 From what little Dylan had seen of it, the Heiron was a formidable fortress, albeit one that would not last long against a battery of modern cannon.<\/p>\n

Thirty paces into the obelisk, the hall opened into a large, circular anteroom lit by skylights at ten pace intervals on the walls two stories above the floor.\u00c2\u00a0 The white walls were adorned with aged and fading tapestries with incomprehensible pictographs similar to what had adorned the Markers on the border of the Beldamark.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan glanced at Abraeu, who was studying the tapestries with keen interest, his lips moving as he read the symbols printed on each.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan made himself remember to ask Abraeu later what the tapestries said.<\/p>\n

In the center of the room were two freestanding arches about twelve feet high, both at sixty degree angles to each other.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan immediately recognized them as the same style and construction as the arches in the forest, for the rooms he saw through them did not exist on the other side of the arches in the anteroom.\u00c2\u00a0 On the right was a shadowy, torch-lit room without any daylight streaming into it, while on the left was a room lit by the gray sun, but with different shadows than the room in which they stood.\u00c2\u00a0 Eblin shuffled through the arch on the left, followed by Fatimah.\u00c2\u00a0 Through the arch, Dylan saw Eblin walk toward another arch set at a sixty-degree angle from the one she just walked through.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan glanced at his men, all of whom stared at the arches with wonder and a bit of fear\u00e2\u20ac\u201dexcept for Abraeu, who looked at Dylan impatiently, waiting for him to lead them.<\/p>\n

Fatimah turned, smiled at them from the other side of the arch, and said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The builders of the Heiron thought this would be easier than stairs.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Dylan smiled, and then strode through the arch.\u00c2\u00a0 As with the arches in the forest, it was like walking through a normal doorway.\u00c2\u00a0 The new room he entered had a shorter ceiling, and was lit by windows at the end of three hallways thirty paces from the arches.\u00c2\u00a0 Through the large windows, he could see the tops of the trees on the hills surrounding the town, so he knew he was at least two stories above the ground.\u00c2\u00a0 He turned and followed Eblin and Fatimah through the second arch, entering a room much like the one he just left.\u00c2\u00a0 They seemed to be walking in circles, always walking through an arch on the left that was connected to the previous arch, with both arches at sixty-degree angles.\u00c2\u00a0 It would have been like a spiral staircase right up the center of the Heiron if the arches had been stairs.<\/p>\n

After passing through the seventh arch, Eblin turned left toward one of the hallways that led out of the circular arch room.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan was startled to feel like he was in the Parliamentary Towers, for the architecture\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwhite stone walls with gray, tiled floors\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwas very similar.\u00c2\u00a0 Even the tapestries and paintings that hung on the walls were of a similar feel\u00e2\u20ac\u201dvistas from the mountains, the sea, and the plains.\u00c2\u00a0 But where the paintings and tapestries in the Parliamentary Towers depicted Recindians, the paintings and tapestries here showed ancient Mystics in iconic poses standing before masses of people who seemed to be worshiping them.\u00c2\u00a0 Other paintings showed Mystics with flaming swords fighting shadows that reached out to them and wrapped the Mystics in misty tentacles.\u00c2\u00a0 There were many alcoves in the walls, some holding small busts of men and women who were obviously important, while others displayed porcelain bowls of all colors and sizes with beautiful etchings of various shapes and patterns.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan marveled that people who lived in such primitive conditions could create such works of art.<\/p>\n

At the end of the hall was a large oak doorway that Fatimah had to push open for Eblin.\u00c2\u00a0 The elderly woman smiled at her pupil, then walked inside.<\/p>\n

The room was large, at least three stories tall, fifty paces long, and twenty paces wide.\u00c2\u00a0 Each wall was filled with books, scrolls, and loose sheets of parchment, with ladders leading up to each of the three levels.\u00c2\u00a0 Two more rows of shelves ran down the center of the room, each at least ten feet tall and having its own ladder on rollers so that one could move it up and down the row.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan was no scholar, but he knew this was a library to rival the Library of the Compact in Calaman.\u00c2\u00a0 He only had to look at Abraeu\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s awed face.<\/p>\n

Eblin led them to the right, past tables filled with books and scrolls, where six young female priests in their teens wearing scarlet belts stared at the Recindians.\u00c2\u00a0 An older woman in her middle years near the table said something in the Tuathan language, and the young priests quickly put their heads back down to their parchments.<\/p>\n

Eblin and Fatimah led them to the far end of the library where an ornate, dark wood staircase led up to the second level.\u00c2\u00a0 Fatimah helped Eblin climb slowly, and when they reached the top, they saw Melahara and Ollis standing next to a large red and white clay bowl on a white stone pedestal.\u00c2\u00a0 They argued in low tones, but stopped when they saw Dylan top the stairs.\u00c2\u00a0 Melahara put on the same warm smile she had used to greet Dylan earlier, while Ollis seemed more frustrated than before.<\/p>\n

Eblin and Fatimah led Dylan and the other Recindians to Melahara and Ollis.<\/p>\n

Eblin said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Translating between the Seats and yourselves might get tedious, which is why we suggest that you all touch the Crucible so that we can all hear each other\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s words as they were meant to be heard.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Dylan looked at the bowl, then at Eblin.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You mean touch that bowl?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yes,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Eblin said.<\/p>\n

Predictably, General Myndehr said to Dylan in a strained voice, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Excellency, I have no problem with the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dctediousness\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 of translation.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Which Dylan heard as: There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no bloody way I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to let you touch a bloody supernaturalist bowl in this bloody supernaturalist land.<\/em><\/p>\n

Before Dylan could say anything, Abraeu stepped forward and said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What do I have to do?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Eblin guided him over to the bowl, while Ollis and Melahara put their fingertips on the bowl\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rim.\u00c2\u00a0 Fatimah stood beside Melahara and touched her fingers to the rim, along with Eblin.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Just place your fingers on the bowl like this,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said.\u00c2\u00a0 When Abraeu did so, Melahara said something in the Tuathan language.\u00c2\u00a0 Abraeu\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eyes widened, and he said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I can understand you perfectly.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Eblin laughed and said something else in Tuathan.\u00c2\u00a0 Abraeu looked at Dylan and the others and gave a wry smile.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153That is true.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve come this far…,<\/em> Dylan thought, then stepped toward the bowl.\u00c2\u00a0 Before he could touch it, General Myndehr put a hand on his shoulder.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Excellency, at least let me do it first.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

He turned, saw the firm set to her eyes, then nodded.\u00c2\u00a0 It was one of the first lessons drilled into him when he became an officer\u00e2\u20ac\u201dlet your people do their jobs.\u00c2\u00a0 General Myndehr\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s job was to protect Dylan, and Dylan had not made her job easy during this journey.<\/p>\n

She stepped forward, swallowed once, then put her fingertips on the bowl.\u00c2\u00a0 When Eblin said something to her in Tuathan, Myndehr yanked her hands away from the bowl, then said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yes.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

She turned around stiffly, walked back to Dylan.\u00c2\u00a0 He asked, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Well?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

She looked down at him with wide eyes.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I can understand them now.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 She shook her head. \u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153This is all a dream…or nightmare…\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Dylan said to Lee, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not going to order you to touch the bowl.\u00c2\u00a0 There will be no shame if you choose not to.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Without a word, Lee walked over to the bowl and placed his fingers on the rim.\u00c2\u00a0 A moment later, he nodded at the speaking Tuathans with an uncomfortable grin.<\/p>\n

The last to go, Dylan placed his fingers on the bowl\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rim as Melahara was saying something in Tuathan to Abraeu.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Gal da rianki hra\u00e2\u20ac\u2122mora<\/em> working when the Blessed Rings appeared in our sky.\u00c2\u00a0 Ever since then, many of the artifacts we considered simple bowls have come alight with the Aspects of Ahura.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Dylan stared at Melahara.\u00c2\u00a0 One moment she was speaking Tuathan…and the next she was speaking Recindian without an accent he could detect.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan pulled his fingers away from the bowl, and he continued to hear her speaking to Abraeu in flawless Recindian.\u00c2\u00a0 Once Dylan had touched the bowl, Melahara, Ollis, Fatimah, and Eblin took their fingers off of it.<\/p>\n

Eblin put a gentle hand on Dylan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s arm.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153How do you feel?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Dylan did not know what to say.\u00c2\u00a0 Her words seemed crisper and contained less of an accent than they had before.\u00c2\u00a0 He asked, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Are you speaking Mystic right now?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Eblin smiled.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We do not refer to ourselves or our language as \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcMystic,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 but yes, I am speaking my native Tuathan, although with a Beldamark dialect.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Dylan asked Eblin, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Can I understand anyone who speaks Mys\u00e2\u20ac\u201der, Tuathan?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Eblin shook her head.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You can only understand the words of the people who were touching the Crucible when you touched it.\u00c2\u00a0 We are working on ways to enhance the effect so that you can understand languages rather than people, but there is so much about the Aspects of Ahura that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve forgotten.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 She shrugged and said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It has only been a month since the Barrier fell.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Abraeu, listening to Eblin, said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I keep hearing that word.\u00c2\u00a0 What was the Barrier?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Ollis said in a gruff voice, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153That can wait.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

He strode past Melahara and walked to a small table in the corner of the balcony above the library.\u00c2\u00a0 The table sat beneath a stained glass window that had a stylized map of the entire Recindian continent.\u00c2\u00a0 Gray light from outside illuminated the map, which did not show borders, but did show mountain ranges, lakes, forests, and other natural features.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Right now there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something the Speaker<\/em> needs to see,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ollis said.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Follow me, Dylan Edoss.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Ollis said this without turning to see whether Dylan followed.\u00c2\u00a0 The Tuathan stopped in front of the small table and put his hands on it while looking at the stained glass window above it.<\/p>\n

Dylan was never a stickler for diplomatic protocols, but neither was he used to being ordered around like a drafted private fresh out of the mines.\u00c2\u00a0 Melahara must have noticed the frown on Dylan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s face, for she gave him an apologetic smile and said in a low voice, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ollis is not the most…delicate speaker, but he is a good man and he wants to help you.\u00c2\u00a0 You need to see what he has to show you.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Dylan walked to where Ollis had placed his hands flat on the table.\u00c2\u00a0 The man\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eyes were closed and he mumbled something under his breath that Dylan could not make out.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Bloody Mercy,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lee breathed from behind Dylan.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan turned, cast a questioning look at Lee, and saw that Lee\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eyes were focused on the stained glass window above the table.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan looked up at the window and saw it moving.\u00c2\u00a0 The glass silently rearranged itself from the map of the Recindian continent, focusing slowly on the lands of the Compact, then onto the state of Gahall, and then the city of Calaman.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Since you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been gone,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ollis said with his eyes still closed, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153there have been developments in your government.\u00c2\u00a0 I just need to find…ah, there.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

The glass continued to rearrange, until it found a particular street in Calaman next to the Parliamentary Towers, then focused on a caf\u00c3\u00a9, then a sidewalk table where a man was reading a newspaper, and then the newspaper itself.<\/p>\n

Dylan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s heart grew cold when he read the headlines:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

DYLAN EDOSS DEPOSED; PATHIST MINISTER KIRICIA ASSUMES SPEAKERSHIP ON PURITY CLAUSE<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s impossible!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lee shouted.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Adellia would never do such a thing.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been one of your best friends since you first ran for Parliament.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 Lee turned to Ollis, and said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153This…window is wrong.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Ollis opened his eyes and glared at Lee.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Window<\/em> does not lie.\u00c2\u00a0 This happened yesterday.\u00c2\u00a0 Dylan Edoss is no longer Speaker of the Recindian Compact, therefore we will not negotiate with him.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cover by TJ Lomas. I’m posting a chapter from my latest fantasy novel for free every Monday and Friday (click Zervakan above for a synopsis and to start from the beginning). It’s in a “pre-published state,” meaning you might find the occasional spelling\/grammar mistake. If you do, please leave a comment below or email me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,28,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-free-stuff","category-novels","category-zervakan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}