Honor and Blood

by James Galloway

"Neither have I."

  Jenna took Jasana's other paw and smiled at her. "I've never had a niece before," she told the little girl. "I think Aunt Jenna makes me sound like an old lady."

  "Watch your mouth!" Elke snapped at her daughter.

  "Don't mind your grandmother. She's feeling old today," Jenna winked.

  "Jenna, I'm going to show you how young I still am in just a moment," she said threateningly to her daughter.

  Jasana giggled, and held her arms out to Jenna. Jenna picked her up, bouncing her on her hip. "Mind your claws now," Jenna reminded her as the little girl's claws dug into her shoulders a little.

  "She feels like you do, papa," Jasana told him. "She feels like lots of magic, just like you."

  "She's alot like me, cub," Tarrin told her. "When I teach her about magic, you're going to be there with her."

  "I think we should find somewhere less noisy," Thean suggested. "They can send out messages to all of Tarrin's friends, so they can come to him instead of him trying to track all of them down."

  "That's a good idea," Triana agreed. "Come on, there's an apartment on the fifth floor big enough for alot of people. I think it's one of those apartments they let the important people use. Tarrin can just stay there while he's here."

  "The Keeper may not like you handing out rooms, Triana," Jula reminded her.

  "So?"

  "It's going to be hard to get messengers. The Novices and Initiates are being held in their rooms until the Knights declare the Tower clear."

  "There are servants enough in the Tower to find people to run messages," Triana said dismissively. "Come along, everyone. I know the way."

  Tarrin turned with the others to follow Triana, but a disembodied voice floated through the hall, ignored by all there. I need to speak to you, it called. Tarrin had heard that voice before, and it caused his ears to pick up and turn in the direction from which it came. To his surprise, Jenna and Jasana also turned in that direction, Jasana's ears scanning the back corner of the hall.

  He knew who it was, and he still had not figured out how she did that. He was surprised that she was at the Tower; given who she was and what she was, she could rock the foundations of the Tower by her mere presence. After all, she was an Ancient, and she could easily answer every question about the past of their order that the modern katzh-dashi had.

  "What was that, Tarrin?" Jenna asked curiously. "It was like a voice inside the Weave."

  "Something like that," he said, turning to the others. "I know you're going to object, but save it. I just got summoned by someone you do not ignore. I have to go see what the summoner wants. I'll come find you as soon as I'm done, alright?"

  "Summoned by who?" Jesmind asked.

  "I can't tell you that, my mate. Not even you," he said seriously. "Don't worry, the someone is something of an ally. I'm not in any danger."

  Jesmind looked speculative, but then finally nodded. "Go with your mother, cub," Tarrin told Jasana as he turned back towards the door leading out. He had no doubt that she would guide him to her, because he knew that there was no way he was going to find her by himself. She had done it once before, guided him to her in the desert, where she provoked him into leaving behind the powers of a Sorcerer and gaining the powers of a Weavespinner.

  Bring your sister, the voice instructed. She needs to be here.

  Tarrin stopped immediately. "Jenna," he called, waving his paw at her. "You're coming."

  Elke and Eron seemed about ready to object, but a paw on each shoulder from Triana quelled it. "A-Alright, Tarrin," Jenna said uncertainly, stepping up to him, and then following him back down the hall and outside.

  "Who is doing that?" Jenna asked immediately after they cleared the hall. Tarrin got a sense of the location of her when he came out the door, and he realized she was in the gardens. He realized instantly that that meant that she was in the courtyard.

  Actually, it made sense for her to be there.

  "I'm sure you're going to tell me I'm lying if I told you, Jenna," Tarrin chuckled as he started off towards the garden.

  "Try me."

  "Alright. Remember all the old stories about the Guardian?"

  Jenna nodded, then she gasped. "You mean they're true?" she asked.

  "I'm not sure, but Spyder is very real," he told her calmly. "She's who you heard. I've met her once before, in the desert."

  "What does she want?"

  "I don't know, but I'm not about to disobey," he said emphatically. "Her orders are as good as the Goddess' own orders."

  "I can't argue with that," Jenna agreed. "I wonder why she wants to see us."

  "We'll find out," he told her.

  They reached the garden relatively quickly, and then he entered the maze. "She's in here?" Jenna asked curiously.

  "Everything about everything is in here, Jenna," he told her. "We're about to go see the Goddess in person. After a fashion, anyway."

  "Huh?"

  As they moved through the maze, Tarrin told Jenna about the courtyard, and told her about how they used it as a sanctuary when he was a student at the Tower. He went on to explain about the fountain and the statue, and told her how the statue was the Goddess' icon, her physical represenation in the mortal world. "Everything that's going on is about that, sister," Tarrin explained. "The armies coming to attack Suld aren't coming to burn down the city. They're coming to try to destroy the Goddess' icon. If they succeed, it'll destroy the katzh-dashi, kill any Sorcerer with even moderate power, and give our enemies a clear path to the Firestaff."

  "Wow," Jenna whispered after a moment of silence. "I didn't know that."

  "Only a few people do," he told her. "And it has to stay that way. Do you understand?"

  "I can keep a secret, Tarrin," she said confidently, then her brow furrowed. "If Amelyn was helping them, why in the world did she do it? Doesn't she realize that what they're going to do is going to kill her too?"

  "You'll have to ask Amelyn that," Tarrin grunted.

  It had been years since he'd been in the maze, but the pathway was still burned into his memory. He unerringly led Jenna to the overgrown pathway that hid the entrance to the courtyard, and then they stepped into the presence of the Goddess.

  The place looked exactly as they'd left it, with a few exceptions. The tent to one side that had served as a sanctuary, library, and second home to Tarrin, Allia, and Keritanima sat encased within a strange dome of what looked like glass. But everything else was the same. The rose bushes and benches surrounding the large fountain that bubbled its merry song of rushing water, a sound that induced peace in everyone who heard it, the stone path and circle that surrounded the fountain with its neat, orderly white blocks of stone. The statue of the Goddess stood at the center of the fountain, on its pedestal, its expression one of gentle benediction. And standing before the fountain, facing them, was what looked like to be a cloak of shadows, hovering in the air almost of its own volition, the wearer within completely concealed.

  Jenna paused to look at the fountain. "It's lovely," she whispered.

  "That, Jenna, is the Goddess' icon. You're as good as looking at her right now." He nodded to the figure in the cloak. "And that, my sister, is Spyder."

  The figure reached up and pulled down the hood, and the haunting features of Spyder were revealed. She looked as he remembered, vaguely similar to Allia with the high cheeks and sharp chin, the scar on her left cheek, those eyes that reflected eternity within them. She stepped forward, then to his surprise, she reached out and took Jenna's hands in her long-fingered ones and smiled at her. "So it begins again," she said in that strange voice of hers, each word pronounced with utter perfection before moving on to the next.

  "Uh, hello," Jenna said with a nervous bow.

  "Such acts, they are not necessary," she smiled. "I called you here to meet you, Jenna Kael. You and I, we are going to be seeing much of one another in the coming days."

  "What are you talking about?" Tarrin asked curiously.

  She looked
at him, slightly disapproving. "You of all, you should understand the great responsibility that comes with the power you possess. Mother has sent me here to train both of you, so what happened at Torrian does not happen again."

  "T-Train us?" Tarrin asked, completely overwhelmed.

  "You have no finesse, no touch," she complained, looking at him. "You are a hammer used to break an eggshell. I thought you would learn much more by now, given how easily you hear the whispers of the Weave." Tarrin flushed guiltily and lowered his eyes. "My arts are unknown to the katzh-dashi," she said in a tone that made it clear that she considered them to be little more than swaddling babes. "They cannot help you learn what you need to learn. And since we serve the same mistress, it is of no business among the other gods if I grant to you my experience and learning." She looked at both of them in turn, seeing that they were both too surprised to say anything to her. That made her smile, a smile that made her seem much less intimidating. "I am not some musty old god standing before you," she teased. "I am a person, just as you. You may think me unique, but are we not all unique in our own way?"

  "You're not exactly your normal person," Tarrin accused.

  "Are you?" she asked pointedly. "Face it, younglings. People such as we cannot find understanding among others that lack our gifts. You will find yourselves speaking more and more to one another, if only because the other can understand you and your art. The others, they will not understand. At least not now. In time, with the return of the old powers, they will. But for now, they will not."

  "That's all you wanted to say to us?"

  "Is it not important?" she asked.

  "Well, yes, but it could have waited," he accused. "I just got back. I haven't even seen some of my family yet."

  "That is the other reason we are here," she said. She motioned towards the dome. "This place is holy, as you know. This is where you will use the Book of Ages. Out of respect for our mother, you should not reveal this place."

  "I didn't plan on it," he replied. "The only ones I was going to have come here to help were Kerri, Allia, Miranda, and Dar. They've all been here already, and they've kept it a secret."

  "You choose well," Spyder nodded. "But for now, they cannot know about me, or what we do. You must keep me as secret from them as you kept this courtyard from others."

  "That seems a bit harsh," he complained.

  "Think about it. If the Wikuni knew, she would intrude herself upon your training. Unable to comprehend what I teach, it would make her cause harm to herself. You understand her. She cannot abide being unable to do something. And should you tell Allia, she would tell the Wikuni. Allia keeps nothing from either of you. It is not in her nature."

  Tarrin couldn't argue with that. He nodded in agreement. "They would do those things," he admitted. "Alright, we'll keep it secret. I don't like it, but we'll do it. I feel like I'm betraying my sisters' trust."

  "Part of the reason I called you here now is because you have not seen your sisters yet. You will be very hard to separate from them after you reunite, and being called away would have arisen suspicion in them. But do not fear. Hiding this from them must only last until we are done. When I am finished teaching you, you are free to tell them about it."

  "That's something, at least," Tarrin grunted. "When do you want to meet for the first lesson? I'm sure you didn't intend to start now."

  "I will call you," she smiled. "As I called you here. But our lessons will not take place here. I suspect that this courtyard will become crowded very soon."

  "How do you do that?" he demanded.

  "It is but one of the many things I will teach you," she assured him. "When I am through with you, you will be proper Sorcerers. I would not be embarassed to admit that you belong to my order."

  "I can't believe this is happening," Jenna finally said. "I'm going to be taught magic by an ancient!"

  "It is impolite to remark about a lady's age," Spyder told her with a faint smile.

  Jenna blushed furiously. "I didn't mean--I meant--It's what we call--"

  "Calmly, child," Spyder actually laughed. "I understand that that is how the modern katzh-dashi refers to those of my time." She put a hand on Jenna's shoulder. "For too long, alone have I been entrusted with the secrets of our order, the memory of what we were. Now, it is time for those secrets to be returned to the world. And it is through you, my sister, that those secrets will become a part of the world once again. It is a great responsibility I set before you, child. Do you feel you are ready for this burden?"

  "Me? You mean it's my job to teach the others about Weavespinners?"

  "You," she smiled. "Tarrin's tasks will not allow him to be the teacher that our less enlightened brethren require. It will be you, my sister, who will be the new guiding light to return our order to what it once was. It will be a difficult task, one that will consume much of your life. But it is a task suited for you. Will you accept it?"

  Jenna stared up at Spyder in absolute awe. "Uh, yes, I guess," she finally said. "I'll do whatever the Goddess needs me to do."

  "Then that is all you ever need to do," Spyder said with a gentle smile, patting her shoulder fondly. "When I have taught you what you need to know, I will leave, and it will fall upon you to teach our poorer brothers and sisters about the glory of the Goddess and the true power of the Weave."

  "Why not you?" Tarrin asked curiously.

  "I have my own tasks, as do you," she said dismissively. "It is not my burden. It would not be a burden I would be suited to accept. Too old, I am, to suffer the trials of training the inept. Our sister here has much more patience and a more gentle demeanor than either of us, Tarrin. For the task ahead, she is the most suited." She smiled at Jenna. "I think that the order will be placed in good hands, my sister," she said reassuringly.

  Jenna glowed under the compliment.

  "And too long have I kept you from family and friends, Tarrin," she announced. "Our business for tonight is concluded. Listen for me, and when I call, come to me. And then you will learn the true extensions of the power of Sorcery, and you will become true sui'kun. I will be waiting until next we meet."

  She took a step back, lifted the cowl of her cloak over her head, and then she simply disappeared.

  Tarrin blinked as the traces of her scent evaporated like smoke. Where did she go? He'd felt nothing, no weaving, no power, absolutely nothing that would explain her obviously magical, dramatic exit. How in the furies did she do that?

  Jenna suddenly laughed. "Well, I always knew that your coming back was going to be eventful," she told him.

  Tarrin couldn't help but find that funny. "Come on, let's go find the others before Jesmind and Triana come looking for us. We can come back tomorrow, and I'll let you look around all you want."

  "How are we going to find them?" Jenna asked curiously as they turned around and started out.

  Tarrin touched his nose with a finger. "I'll take care of it," he chuckled.

  "I keep forgetting about that," Jenna said as they slipped back into the overgrowth that concealed the entrance to the courtyard. "I really want to look around in there, Tarrin. It feels so, peaceful."

  "You will, trust me," he assured as the brush stopped rustling, and the courtyard fell silent once again.

  Chapter 30

  They were both rather quiet as Tarrin tracked the scents of his family back through the halls of the Tower, circular halls that surrounded the central Heart with other hallways that served as spokes in a wheel, connecting the circular hallways together. They both had alot to think about. Meeting Spyder again had startled him, nearly as much as her revelation that she was going to teach them the secrets of Sorcery. That made him feel daunted. Spyder was probably the oldest living thing on Sennadar, and she'd forgotten more about Sorcery than he'd ever known. To be trained by a living legend, a being from the mists of antiquity, it made him feel both very intimidated and extremely honored. He would learn from her, learn everything she would teach him. He would not disappoint her.

>   He could see that Jenna was similarly shaken by the Urzani's declaration. She was a little pale, and her fingers trembled in his paw. It was alot for such a young girl to be expected to absorb. Not only would she learn Weavespinner ways from the greatest Sorcerer that ever lived, she'd also learned that she would be the one to pass those secrets on to the other Sorcerers. That was a serious task, a very involved one, and it would place Jenna in a position of tremendous power. He realized at that moment that Jenna was going to be the next Keeper. She would have to be in order to accomplish what she had to accomplish. Only from a position of power could she be the great teacher that Spyder made her out to be, the new light to guide the katzh-dashi back to the power they once held in the world.

  His little sister, the Keeper. And not just the Keeper of the Tower of Suld. She would be the Keeper of the Tower in Sharadar as well, the new leader of the katzh-dashi of both continents. He realized that Jenna would unify the two Towers, bring them back into intimate communication with one another, join the fractured order of the Sorcerers back into a unified whole. A grand destiny for a little girl whose hair he used to pull and dolls he used to strip of their clothes and hang by their ankles from the ceiling of her room.

  Tarrin stopped them at the foot of a set of stairs, then knelt in front of his sister so they could see eye to eye without her breaking her neck to look up at him. "Jenna, you have to calm down," he told her gently, holding both of her hands in a single paw. "If you show up in front of mother like this, she's going to grill us until we tell her what happened. You know how she gets."

  "I'm sorry, but I just can't stop shaking for some reason," she said with a nervous laugh.

  "It's not every day you meet someone right out of a fairy tale," he smiled at her.

  "You seem to be taking it well," she accused.

  "Jenna, I've had so many shocks, I really can't be surprised anymore, by about anything," he said with a rueful smile. "Ever since I left home, it's just been one shock after another. I'm numb now."

  She looked at him, then laughed. She pulled on one of his thick fingers, a finger nearly as long as her hand, until the claw at the tip slid out from its hiding place. "I think I can understand that," she grinned, looking down at the claw curiously. "How in the world did you end up with Jesmind? Last time I remember, you wanted to kill her."