Talismans

by Lisa Lowell

  “You know,” Raimi suggested carefully a week after they arrived at Paleone, when Owailion came out of his meditation long enough to eat something, “it would be faster if you simply asked them instead of searching the Memories for their plotting. They withheld their theft from the Memories when they knew they would eventually be sharing with you. With name magic you'll get a reaction to your questions at the least. Make some excuse…oh, visit them and ask each one to hold a future Talisman for you. You're going to have to hide them…including that set of pipes you still won't show me.”

  Owailion smiled secretively. He had been carrying the pipes for so long he had probably misplaced them at the bottom of his bag, forgotten and neglected, but he still had no inspiration on where to hide them. They were like her palace, still waiting for the spark of an idea that would guide him on how to conceal them. Why would God give him ideas for everything else he needed to do but nothing when it came to Raimi's palace or Talismans? Most puzzling.

  “Oh, very well,” he relented. “I'll go talk to them. It probably would be nice to be sure they're all settling in now. You'll be okay here alone?”

  “You'll come back?” she asked coyly, reminding him of what he would miss if he didn't come back nightly. It was almost like they lived there at Paleone. It was a roof over their heads and had heat, many soft beds to choose from, a kitchen and everything they could desire.

  Owailion chuckled with her teasing, rose and gave Raimi a kiss before he disappeared, headed toward a Memory. He elected to start where he left off; with Ruseval. Owailion knew where the green dragon's mountain was, midway down the Great Chain just southwest of Lake Ameloni, up against the southern plains that had been his responsibility. Owailion had not made an orb of the place but the Memories provided the locale and he arrived on the glacier covered slope in the bitter cold and immediately crafted a bubble of warmth around himself, for he knew this discussion was going to be long and he suspected, tiresome.

  “Ruseval, are you awake?” he asked aloud, not bothering to project, just like when he spoke with Mohan.

  “?” came the distinct impression of some awareness, though the mind behind it sounded terribly sluggish.

  “It's Owailion,” the human announced, pressing his words into the dragon's mind. “I'm sorry to disturb you but I am asking all the dragons to do something for me…make a deal with me.”

  Owailion hoped that the word 'deal' would resonate somehow with the dragon, bringing an image of another deal to mind, but Ruseval's sleepy brain remained stony. “I'd rather make a deal with a demon. At least from them you can expect to have treachery and can prepare. You humans are all bluster and no faithfulness. Leave me be,” he ordered.

  Owailion sighed with regret before he tried the inevitable. “Rusevalnamik, have you made a deal to give the rune stones to another?” Owailion had hoped to not use name magic, but now it seemed necessary. He would never get a frank answer from the irascible dragon otherwise.

  The grumble echoed right through the mountain side. “No, I have made no deals. Now go before I roast you.”

  At least the dragon was honest, Owailion noted, and not the least alarmed that his true name had been invoked. Accordingly, the human made a hasty retreat and pulled himself to Mohan's mountain, farther west. In the interest of being equal to all the dragons, Owailion decided to approach Mohan next. Besides, he needed to hear a friendly voice.

  And he was very concerned. Was premonition part of the Wise One gift? If so he still sensed something would go wrong with regard to those rune stones. Owailion did not want his friend and mentor to feel that he had only been able to handle the stewardship for a few days and now was already seeking advice like a green boy, fearful of making a mistake. Already he had violated a trust; using name magic to find answers he could not achieve elsewhere. But he knew that Mohan would want to know and would care. It seemed petty that he was concerned that someone might be misusing Raimi's name, but there were other lurking issues besides a thief. What had become of the stones? Who would destroy Imzuli's mountain? What could devastate the Lara delta? How had humans, non-magical men, made it past the Seal? How did they stop Zema regrowing its lost stones and letting in demons? How could someone kill Enok just after Owailion had discovered him? All these questions lingered as if connected in Owailion's mind and he wanted the answers. Besides he missed his friend.

  “Mohan, are you there?” he whispered, hoping he wasn't intruding. No one liked being awakened in an untimely fashion, even the dragons who had absolutely no experience with it.

  An echoing silence sank in Owailion's mind like he had landed in the well of Memories again. “Mohanzelechnekhi?” he called again, this time managing the full name with relative ease. “Can you hear me?”

  The reply seemed to come from far away, as if the dragon had already fallen into deep dreams of distant places. “Owailion? Is that you?”

  “It is,” the Wise One answered. “There is a serious problem here and…and I need a friend's wisdom. The dragon who took the rune stones…we believe he or she has sold them in a corrupt deal. We have foreseen vast destruction for the Land and the breaking of the Seal. The only magic that could have done this awful thing is… We believe it is name magic. Up till now Raimi has not hidden her name. It is hers, from birth. Could…would a dragon use name magic against her?”

  The distance between them again seemed to stretch and Owailion got the distinct sense that his friend was no longer in the Land. Had he left? If so, how? Owailion's gaping fear nearly swallowed him. Was Mohan dying instead of falling asleep?

  “No, my friend. There is another duty we dragons have been called to do. I am like you, the first. I have left to do as God bids me…on a new planet. The others of the conclave will eventually follow; those that are humble enough to come. Perhaps not the thief.”

  “And you have no idea of who it is?” Owailion asked desperately, swallowing an effort to wish away the whole terrible situation, go back in time and start Raimi's life in the Land in a bubble of careful protections.

  Mohan sighed with regret. “I have asked and investigated, but have found few answers. In the Memories, can you read the writings?”

  “It is too small and dim to read,” Owailion replied with regret. “Right now I have no time for such puzzles when I have Raimi's name weighing on my mind. The actual words on the stones aren't worth the worry. I'm more concerned about who would sell them. Anyone willing to cast the stones away would also be capable of selling Raimi's name.”

  “And you say you foresee great destruction in the Land, and the Seal was broken?” Mohan prompted.

  “Yes, the Don Forest is…will be gone. Imzuli's mountain is a hollow and the entire delta area of the Lara River is a flattened swamp. It's unrecognizable.”

  “And when is this supposed to happen?” Mohan asked. “How were you made aware of this destruction?”

  “Do you recall the bowl I made for Raimi? It is a Talisman that shows not only the past but also the future. We looked to the future, asking to see how the Land would change during our stewardship and that's when we saw it. We also witnessed there were colonists and villages all over the Land so we know the Seal is also broken.”

  Mohan sighed audibly through the connection and Owailion could not tell if it was the exhaustion or grief. “Then I would confront Imzuli. Her mountain's loss might be her bitter consequence for this foolishness. She is the one who loves humans more than me. She is the youngest, most excited to see the world. Perhaps Imzuli did not want to go to Sleep. She did not know…” Mohan's tone faded as he fell into deep mourning.

  Owailion knew family ties meant very little in the dragon world but surely this was a father worried for his daughter. “I will speak with her and try to see how I can mitigate the situation,” Owailion promised. “I hope it is not her, for your sake.”

  “For the Land's sake,” Mohan amended and his mental voice faded away as he broke the connection.

  Owailion opened his eyes and sta
red out at the mountains around him. He did not want to believe Imzuli would sell the stones or give Raimi's name to another magician but he had to confront that possibility. Should he tell Raimi of these suspicions? In a way he was grateful that Mohan suspected Imzuli. The white dragon would never sell Raimi's name, no matter how much temptation she had entertained. Perhaps the depression Imzuli had felt was due to regret at what she had done. But how would he question Imzuli about this? How could he be gifted to help protect the Land if there was nothing to do to make this better? Nothing.

  Owailion waited, hoping some Wise One insight would fall into his mind but nothing came other than to return to Paleone and tell his wife that her best friend might have betrayed them. With that in mind, he felt the tug of his love for Raimi. She was Queen of Rivers. Perhaps she could wash away the past and that was what he wanted right then most of all.

  * * *

  Raimi watched Owailion go to speak with the dragons and felt a sense of hopelessness. Why did she have the premonition that name magic and the rune stones would be their undoing? Was the bowl Talisman supposed to show the future or had she manipulated it? Well she intended to find out. Deliberately she set aside her landscaping plans and turned to her Talisman bowl. She wanted to see again the moment those rune stones had been stolen. Perhaps the bowl could show what the natural eye could not see.

  Raimi sat on the cold marble floor of the kitchen at Paleone, ignoring the lack of a few amenities like chairs for a table. Instead she sat cross legged, tucked her skirts in under herself and filled the bowl magically from the water of her memory. She stilled her mind at the same time as the water steadied and then concentrated on what she wanted to see. “Show me the minutes before and after the Zema standing stones disappeared from the Land.

  Unexpectedly the image resolved to a warm summer sky overhead and not to the forest at Zema. Instead the sea swelled, changing Raimi's perspective. More alarming, she saw a ship. It boasted three masts and was manned by a few dozen men, all working hard to bring the vessel into a mooring spot, transitioning from ocean to river. They dropped anchor and waited just outside the Seal and the main flow of the river; the Don River if Raimi's instincts told her properly. How had this changed from the Zema forest? This wasn't the same view of when and where the stones were stolen.

  Then the image lifted and a dragon wheeled out of the sky, silver and white, blinding the men in the bright sunlight. Imzuli alighted delicately on the bowsprit, keeping her wings spread so that she could rise again instantly if the sailors proved dangerous. Raimi felt her hand trembling and she almost dropped the bowl in her shock. Imzuli would not have done this, surely. Give her the benefit of the doubt, advised a little voice in Raimi's head.

  Thankfully, in the empty stone kitchen Raimi could easily hear the men aboard the ship. The captain and a robed man, probably a sorcerer, walked solemnly to the bow to speak with the dragon while the rest of the crew cowered beyond the wheelhouse. “Welcome, Lady Imzuli,” the sorcerer called, as if the dragon could not hear his every thought.

  “Stylmach,” Imzuli addressed the man, “Were you able to read the stones then?”

  The sorcerer acknowledged the name with a bow and then replied. “Your curiosity does you credit. If the images you shared with me are true, they speak of sixteen guardians of the Land. They will come and protect the Land when…and it says this on the stones…when the dragons leave the Land in a great Sleep. I have interpreted that to mean they die.”

  Imzuli growled and Raimi, just watching this little scenario in the Talisman's surface growled with her.

  “I very much doubt that,” Imzuli replied imperiously. “I require the entire translation and then I will agree that you have fulfilled your part of the deal.”

  Without much of a fanfare the captain held out a rolled up scroll and unfurled it. Stylmach began to read aloud. Raimi listened to the prophesy, enraptured and yet terrified. All the Wise Ones, their future and powers laid out for a sorcerer to hear. No wonder the outlanders were so determined to break into the Seal and acquire the magic of the Land. The Wise Ones would be glorious, powerful and the Land would thrive under their gentle hands. They were not to be rulers but stewards and guides.

  Finally, when Stylmach ended his recitation he looked up at the dragon. Imzuli stared down at the parchment with an intent eye and it dissolved into ash.

  “Very well, the stones are yours then,” the dragon announced and a thunderous weight of granite appeared on the mid-deck space, evenly placed so as to not capsize the fragile boat.

  “Surely there is more we can do for you, Lady Imzuli?” the sorcerer asked with a barely contained smile, desperate to continue the business dealings with the young dragon.

  “I doubt that, as well,” the white dragon replied in a cool tone. “I was only curious. Now the human has arrived and I shall not need your services again.”

  “Oh?” called Stylmach as Imzuli lifted free from the ship's bow. “Perhaps we can meet these new ones? Or I can help you avoid your fate. I only wish to be of help.”

  Imzuli looked down from higher than the masts now. Her regal glare spoke full well how little she trusted this sorcerer. “I'm sure the Wise Ones will meet you one day, Stylmach, and you will regret it to your dying day…as humans often do die as well.”

  As if desperate to keep Imzuli's attention he tried once more to bargain with her. “I can guarantee you a way to not die,” shouted the sorcerer as he watched his dragon leaving him, flying back through the unseen barrier of the Seal.

  But Raimi had been bidden the bowl only to show when the stones had left the Land, not how Imzuli might have answered. Raimi's hands could no longer bear to hold the vessel and she dropped it, spilling water all across the marble floor of Paleone. She could not move, could not think. She wanted only to freeze and make that vision go away. How could her friend betray the Land in such a way?

  At that moment Owailion reappeared, standing before her. They looked at each other and in tandem spoke one word.

  “Imzuli.”

  Chapter 17 – Night of Dreams

  Since they had both come to the same conclusion in different ways and for separate reasons, they felt the need to share, as if this way they could split their grief over what they had learned. They spoke quietly, as if someone might overhear them.

  “But taking the stones does not necessarily mean she shared your name as well,” Owailion qualified. “I cannot imagine Imzuli would ever betray us. Only weeks later she was your escort and not once did she harm you. We need to speak with her.”

  Raimi's voice froze like ice. “How? She's asleep…hopefully.”

  Owailion gently comforted his wife. “They are all asleep, preparing to travel to a new world, like we did. That is all. Mohan assured me of that.”

  Raimi sighed with regret dripping from word. “I couldn't bear to confront her about this. She knows my name. Perhaps she was just foolish and young, curious. Maybe that was why she was so gloomy toward the end. Now that I look back at it, when we were approaching Zema was when she grew so aloof. It makes sense now.”

  “The clearest path is the one behind us,” Owailion replied.

  “And the one ahead is darkest,” his wife added. “If we challenge her actions, won't she defend herself? Can we find some other way to make sure she didn't sell my name? I don't know whether to be sad or angry.”

  Owailion, in his deepest heart wanted to wait to speak with Imzuli as well, but he also knew it was foolish to ignore the possibility of a betrayal. “I can justify letting all the dragons go to sleep and see if Imzuli had joined them. I'll put a sensor of some kind on her mountain to see if anything has changed there.”

  “I already did,” Raimi admitted miserably.

  “I suppose, technically Imzuli has done nothing wrong except in judgment; giving the stones away for an interpretation of them seems a silly motive for endangering the Land. It benefits no one; not the dragons, not the Wise Ones and it remains to be seen how it will in
fluence the outlander sorcerer who purchased them. Very well,” he sighed, finally acknowledging that his Wise One instincts held no answers for him. “We will let sleeping dragons lie and see what happens.”

  Raimi nodded in relief.

  And so Owailion reluctantly went back to building palaces as if nothing alarming hovered in the back of his mind. He asked Raimi to continue landscaping the palaces and seeking for her second Talisman even though she knew exactly where it was at the moment; still in Owailion's bag. And together both of them would seek some way to make sense of what Imzuli had done and hope she had not done more. Without actually discussing it, they mutually agreed to never look in the bowl again for fear of what they might see; an image too horrible to contemplate.

  Owailion began work on the palace at the mouth of the Don River during the winter and named it Waild, after the draconic word for forest. He then moved on up the river to the palace meant for the base of the Great Chain. This one, animal themed, he named Fiain after the dragon's word for animals. Occasionally he would even travel to Zema to witness for himself the strange eerie growth of new stones, like fingers stretching out of the ground. He never sensed any of the demons that must have come through the portal. The new stones now stood almost waist high in the barren circle. Still he dare not check on the dragons, for he had not reached the mountains quite yet. He justified his delay with reluctance in disturbing them. And each night he returned to Raimi who remained at Paleone finishing the gardens there.