Shoren stood in the heart of the Great Forest. Jakob recognized it from the trees, though they were younger now than they were in his time. He’d seen them through Shoren’s eyes before and recognized the ahmaean around them. The air had a sweetness to it, and a hint of decay, and a soft breeze ruffled the leaves. In his time, the trees were so thick that the wind rarely reached deep into the Forest. Only the topmost branches were subjected to the wind.
Do you intend to declare yourself or will you remain hidden?
You recognize that I come? Jakob asked.
How can I not? You come, and your thoughts infiltrate mine. I have visions of this Forest developing into something massive, trees that are nothing like these, that are more like the Old Forest.
In my time, the Great Forest is beautiful. Many find it intimidating, though I think that’s because they feel the presence of the damahne.
You said that the damahne have disappeared in your time.
They have, but remnants of the damahne energy have remained. Even before I was aware of my connection, I could feel it. I think others can, as well.
Shoren strode around the Forest, his feet carrying him quickly, and Jakob realized that he flickered, moving more like the daneamiin than like the damahne.
Yes. I learned the trick from you.
Would Shoren always have learned that trick? Had Jakob changed anything by teaching him, or had Shoren only developed what he was meant to develop?
We’ve gone through this before. You cannot change the past.
I understand that you don’t think I can change the past, but I still wonder if my visits have altered anything.
Shoren fell silent, and as much as Jakob wanted to press him, he doubted that Shoren would be able to answer him any differently.
He needed to know about Raime and wanted to know if Shoren had any experience with him, but still feared that his presence altered the fibers, and somehow made his connection to the fibers of time different. None of the damahne that he had visited believed that it was possible, but then again, none of the damahne he had visited was able to step so deeply back into the past, not as Jakob was able to do.
You’ve come for some purpose.
The same purpose with which I come each time. I struggle to understand.
You are isolated. I think that you will always struggle to understand. There is a disadvantage to your experience compared to mine. In my time, we may not have known what you know, but there were more of us, and we often worked well together, searching for answers.
What can you tell me about the nemerahl?
There are secrets to the nemerahl. They are not mine to share.
I had worked with one of the nemerahl, but he was lost during an attack.
Jakob sensed surprise from Shoren.
Lost? The nemerahl are never lost.
Because of their connection to the fibers?
Jakob sensed Shoren smiling. You said you had not bonded.
I had the sense that he was not interested in bonding. The damahne that he was connected to is the one who passed on to me. I think he was reluctant to make another such connection.
If he shared with you his connection to the fibers, then you are more bonded than you realize.
Only because of the sacrifice that he nearly made. We were attacked by groeliin.
You should not have risked yourself—or the nemerahl—facing those creatures. Doing so upsets the balance, Shoren said.
I don’t know how that would upset the balance any more than simply facing them in the first place. Leaving them to roam, not doing anything to stop them, places everyone in danger, doesn’t it? How can there be peace—or balance—if the groeliin are allowed to attack, and if none are willing to stop them?
The hunters are tasked with that responsibility.
Jakob wished he could see Shoren’s face, and wished he could react to him. Speaking this way was more intimate, but it didn’t give him any way of easily understanding what—or how—Shoren felt about things.
In my time, they are referred to as the Antrilii.
Antrilii?
Yes, why?
You speak the language. Do you not recognize the origin of the word?
I don’t know it well enough to recognize it.
Shoren chuckled. You should ask one of the Antrilii. See what they know about the origin of the name they’ve claimed.
Jakob sensed amusement from him but wished he understood what it was that drove it.
The nemerahl was injured by a very powerful groeliin. This creature not only had its own ahmaean, but was able to manipulate it, and used it to prevent us from shifting.
We have not experienced that before.
Jakob wasn’t surprised. The damahne of this time did nothing to attempt to control the groeliin. They allowed the Antrilii—or their ancestors—to hunt them, but were unwilling to intervene.
That wasn’t entirely true. Some of the damahne must have intervened in the past. When Jakob had shifted back and had the vision where he was first attacked, taking the spear in the shoulder, the damahne had told him that he’d faced many groeliin before.
How many other damahne were like that?
There is another question you wish to ask.
It’s the reason I came back. I am trying to meet with the Conclave of my time.
Conclave?
That’s the name they have taken. It’s similar to the gathering of damahne who chose Aalleyn.
You were there.
Not intentionally. It was one of my first visions, the first time I stepped so far back, and nearly lost myself.
If you were there, then you understand what we faced at that time. There were many wars, and men fought over whether the damahne were deities or not.
You allowed them to think that.
Because it served a purpose. There is value in men thinking us gods so that we can help maintain peace.
But if wars have been fought over it, doesn’t that value change?
It does.
How many sat upon your version of the Conclave?
We never sat upon anything. We were simply a few who had an interest in ensuring that peace was maintained.
Not all of the damahne wanted that?
Not all of the damahne were interested in intervening. Doing so placed us in danger. You forget that, in my time, we were only coming to terms with the fact that our lives were finite, and that we were mortal. Many of us lived for many years.
What was that like?
The first of the damahne simply came into existence. They had little knowledge of what they had been before, and little knowledge of anything else, only that they were unique in the world. There was a separation between them and the rest of mankind. From them, all of the other damahne have descended.
Did you know them?
They were old even in my time. Their passing marked the beginning of the end of the damahne. They had lived several thousand years, which gave us an idea of how long we would live. Our time is not infinite.
And there are damahne who fear dying?
Do you not fear dying?
I’ve always known that I would die. Death is a part of life, at least a part of my life. My mother died when I was young, and my father died recently.
Perhaps your experience is better than mine. Knowing that you will pass, knowing that you do not have an infinite amount of time, probably prepares you to do what must be done. It is not the same for the damahne of my time. Most think that we have much time and that despite what the fibers show us, we continue to avoid involving ourselves, especially if it places us in danger.
Jakob couldn’t imagine what it would have been like for the damahne but understood why they would not get involved. Had he not seen the same from the damahne that he’d stepped back into before? But he’d had visions in which the damahne had attempted to oppose the groeliin.
You still have not asked the question that you came to ask.
You can tell that?
&nb
sp; I can tell that you hold back. If I push, if I attempt to reach within your mind the way that you reach within mine, I suspect that is what I will see. When you travel back in this way, there is a mingling.
Which is why I fear that I influence events by doing so, Jakob said.
Do you, or do I see what I would be able to see looking forward along the fibers? It could be that all you do is give me the same glimpse of the possibilities I would already have.
When I look forward, I see strands, threads that must be woven together to form the fibers. I don’t see anything with certainty. In your case, what I know has come to pass. I can tell you with certainty what happens, Jakob said.
Along this branch.
What does that mean?
Only that it’s possible there are multiple branches. It could be that the fibers are not one continuous strand, but many strands, that are woven together creating a tapestry of possibilities, and a tapestry of reality.
I thought you said that the fibers are one strand.
Since your first visit, and since you came back with such… strength… I have given much thought to things. I don’t know if our understanding of the fibers is even accurate. It could be that what we think we know and understand about the fibers is not accurate. You have challenged me. As someone who enjoys the study, and enjoys such mental challenges, I have appreciated the opportunity to give this greater thought than I had before.
Jakob couldn’t imagine what it would be like if the fibers were multiple branches, but even that made a certain sort of sense. He could see them as multiple possibilities, but what of his own strand? Were his experiences only one such possibility?
It would mean that he never could change the past. It would mean that his actions could influence only one possible branching, not the entire strand.
Is there a man among you, among those serving the peace, by the name of Raime sen’Rohn?
How is it that you know that name?
You know him, don’t you?
We know Raime. He was one of the first brought into our inner circle. Raime is a man of scholarship and a man of much wisdom, but he seeks power that he is not meant to possess. We have banished him from our inner circle.
By banishing him, you have given him a chance to become stronger than he was before. Raime has learned arcane abilities, and he has used those to not only grow stronger but to control the groeliin.
The creatures cannot be controlled. They feed on darkness.
Something has controlled them. We think it’s Raime.
Shoren seemed to hesitate and remained quiet, almost pensive. We will look into this in our time.
And if you find him?
We are already aware of his desire for power. We already know that he searches for what he should not.
He has discovered secrets of teralin. He has used this to transfer power.
Teralin has many arcane properties. We are learning about them in our time.
You should know that teralin can be used to force the transfer of power. He has used a dark form of it to steal from daneamiin as well as from Magi.
We will remain vigilant. Do you have any other questions for me today?
There are many things I question, Shoren. Today, I came seeking answers about the groeliin and Raime. You have shared much with me, including helping me understand the nemerahl, as well as the damahne and how they serve the peace. I am thankful.
I fail to see how those answers are helpful to you.
I don’t know how they will be helpful, either, Jakob said. I think they’re things I needed to know.
You have changed.
Jakob knew he had changed in many ways, but he was curious to know what Shoren saw. Changed? How have I changed?
I suspect your time walking the fibers has begun to influence you. You have taken on qualities that are more like the damahne. When you first walked back, when you first inserted yourself into my mind, you were very clearly something else. The more time you spend in the past, the more I suspect your hosts influence you.
Is this a problem?
I don’t know. Perhaps no more than the fact that you influence me. You are here, and you speak of dying as a natural thing, something that no damahne ever would. So it would seem we influence each other along the fibers.
And in doing so, I change things.
Perhaps you do.
What does that mean?
I don’t know. I’m not sure that we can know. As I said, I didn’t think it was possible for the fibers to be influenced in such a way. You have begun to convince me that such a thing might be possible. As with the other idea you have brought to me, I must spend time thinking on them.
Jakob hoped that he wasn’t influencing the fibers in a way that was detrimental to the damahne, or in a way that was dangerous to Shoren, but it was possible that he needed to influence him, and that he needed to find a way to influence the future. If he could, could he change things for himself?
And if he did, was that what he wanted to do?
There are many things that Jakob would have changed over time, but there were very few that he thought were necessary changes. He would love to have had more time with his mother, and he would’ve loved to not have lost his father in the explosion at the temple, but when he thought about the loss of his father, he realized that, had he not died, Jakob would never have traveled north, which meant that he might never have learned of his abilities. He might never have continued training with the sword. And Raime might never have been stopped and would have taken Alyta’s abilities.
If given the opportunity, what would he change?
Perhaps he would only change Raime’s strength. If he could limit how powerful the man became, wouldn’t that allow Jakob to defeat him more easily?
Or would it change other things in the future? Would it make it so that he never had the opportunity to stop Raime?
There was so much that he didn’t understand about the fibers, and he suspected Shoren didn’t understand, either.
If Shoren didn’t understand it, how was Jakob to understand?
I need to return to my time, Jakob said.
Think about what we’ve talked about, Jakob. You have a bright mind, and you must use it. Apply yourself to thinking through what you have learned, and what you have seen, and trust that you will make the decision that is necessary.
Thank you.
With that, Jakob pulled on his ahmaean and traveled back to his time.
Chapter Twenty-Six
When he opened his eyes, Jakob was sitting in the clearing, amidst the buildings of the Conclave. He was aware of his ahmaean, and how focused it was, turned inward so that he could travel back along the fibers. He pressed out, sending it toward each of the buildings, curious how many others were here.
He remained alone. Novan had not returned, something that he suspected should give him pause, but for which he was thankful. Had he not been left alone, he would not have had the opportunity to look back, and to walk along the fibers to speak to Shoren.
Jakob looked up at the sky. The sun was bright and warm—much warmer than it had been in Vasha, though Vasha was warmed less by the sun and more by the teralin deep within the mountain. A hint of a wind blew through here, and it carried the scents of flowers and of grasses, neither of which was familiar to him. There was something foreign about the way they smelled, but something pleasant, as well.
He felt movement nearby and turned to see the older man who had greeted them at the door. He watched Jakob with an interested expression. A simple gray cloak hung from his shoulders, and Jakob noted the sword strapped to his side. Had the man worn a sword when he had greeted them? He couldn’t remember.
“Did you really train with Endric?” The man asked when he realized Jakob was watching him.
Jakob nodded. “Endric was the first instructor who allowed me to progress. I was never much of a swordsman before then.” That had always been his brother. Now, he wondered how much skill Scottan would rega
in as he healed from the madness. As he put on weight, would Scottan become more like the man he once had been, or would he always remain less, weakened in some ways?
“What kind of instructor was he?”
Jakob thought back to the days he’d spent with Endric. “When I first learned from him, he was patient. I was apprenticed to Novan then, and while I was not a soldier, Endric had willingly allowed me to learn from him.”
“You teach those who want to learn,” the man said.
Jakob smiled. It was something that Endric would have said. “You must have known him.”
The man nodded slightly. “I know him.”
“Did you train with him, as well?”
Jakob thought that this man could be Denraen, which might explain the way he’d treated Novan. Many within Vasha had been annoyed by Novan.
“You could say that.”
Jakob glanced to the man’s sword. “Do you still practice?”
“Not as often as I once did.”
“Would you care to spar? I could blunt the blades so there would be no risk of injury.”
The man smiled slightly. “There’s no need.”
Jakob nodded. “I understand.” He started to turn, thinking the man was not interested in sparring when he heard him unsheathe his sword. When he looked back, the man had stepped into a ready stance, the beginning of many of the catahs that Endric had taught him.
Jakob studied him. “We shouldn’t fight with sharpened blades.”
“I did when working with Endric.”
Jakob couldn’t imagine Endric working with anything but the practice staves. When the soldiers came to him each evening to practice, he could not imagine Endric willingly facing them with a weapon that could harm them. Endric might have control, but how many of the other soldiers had enough control?
He looked at this man with a renewed interest. He must have been an incredibly skilled swordsman once.
“Did you ever practice with Brohmin?” Jakob asked. Here with the Conclave, he expected that many would have experience with Brohmin.
“Brohmin is skilled.”
Jakob nodded. “He is.”
“It has been a long time since Brohmin needed practice.”
The Last Conclave (The Lost Prophecy Book 6) Page 21
