The Knowing One

by Lexy Wolfe

  "I have never seen magic like that," Lyra breathed before hurrying to obediently take the pitcher to the basin and pour the water away. She ran her hands over the unmarred surface of the pitcher appreciatively. "Did the Dusvet Guardian teach you that?" She smiled brightly at his nod. "You are the most powerful Illaini ever, Master Ash! I am so grateful you allowed me to come serve in your house."

  Ash smiled a little, watching her as she refilled the kettle and hung it back on the hook to push over the fire. "What are you doing awake so early, Lyra?"

  The young woman shrugged, stifling a yawn as she tugged her robe around herself and leaned against one of the tables. "Mistress Storm and Master Skyfire are awake but they do not want anything to eat. Master Skyfire said they ate more than they ought to for supper because they wanted to please me, but they said tea would be all right. I still think they don't eat enough and they certainly do not sleep enough. They are very frustrating." Timidly raising her eyes to look at the Illaini Magus, she bit her lip before boldly questioning him in turn. "If I may ask, Master Ash, why are you awake? I tried to be very careful not to disturb anyone."

  The mage smiled faintly, amused and pleased how being in the company of the Desanti for so short a time so emboldened the young woman. "I could not sleep. I have been concerned about the Desanti. They have not been seen since we returned almost a sevenday ago."

  Lyra added another cup to the three on the tray discreetly. "They do not like anyone they do not trust seeing them weak. Mistress Storm especially does not wish anyone to see her when she is infirm. Master Skyfire told me I should be honored that Mistress Storm has accepted me because she has nearly killed herself many times pushing herself too far when strangers' eyes were on her. He said even before Dusvet Almek took everyone to Desantiva, she would disappear for weeks at a time after facing particularly difficult challenges." Once the kettle was boiling, she took it off the hook again, this time successfully pouring the water into the teapot.

  Ash's smile faltered when she turned her attention to the hot water as she spoke of acceptance by the Desanti, repressing an irrational flash of envy for the slender young woman. Schooling his expression to one of neutrality, he watched Lyra as she picked up the tray and began to leave, sighing softly. She paused by the door and looked over her shoulder. "Aren't you coming, Master Ash? I have a cup for you to share tea with us."

  The mage blinked and could not help but smile, following. "The ability of servants to anticipate things has never ceased to amaze me."

  "It is our duty to take care of those we are responsible for, Master Ash," Lyra pointed out. She glanced over her shoulder. "Just like you take care of all of Forenta. It is how we serve the goddess, by serving those who serve Her."

  The young woman started adjusting the tray to balance it while opening the door when Ash stopped her. "Allow me, please." Unused to being given courtesy from such a powerful person in Forenta, Lyra could only nod, blushing brilliant red. Ash could have argued that Lyra had such a fair complexion that she glowed in the dim light of the hall. He almost could not repress outright laughing at being able to see her blush in the muted illumination of the hallway.

  Ash was surprised to see how the inside of the room had been changed. With the harsh light of the magelight lamps covered with heavy cloth, the Desanti's common room was lit with only two small candles, barely casting enough light to be able to see. Once Ash's eyes became accustomed to the dim illumination, he looked around to see that the Desanti had completely rearranged the room. The chairs and table had been pushed into one corner, and all the bedding had been spread out on the floor in an attempt to mimic Desanti style.

  The two Desanti were seated with all their weapons arranged around them, both ritually cleaning the blades one by one. They looked up as Lyra approached and carefully knelt to set the tray on a small stool that now served as a crude table. Then they looked up at Ash as he shut the door quietly behind him.

  Skyfire smiled warmly and nodded in greeting. "Lord Ash. You look rested."

  "I am, thank you." Ash glanced at Lyra with an arched eyebrow as she found another pillow and sat it on the floor diagonal from Skyfire and next to Storm before she knelt at the fourth corner to start pouring tea. The mage looked at Storm, who had returned her complete attention to her weapons. "Githalin Swordanzen Storm," he greeted with a note of questioning in his voice.

  There was no warmth, no greeting in the Desanti woman's response. "I am obviously still here," Storm stated tonelessly, not even raising her eyes to look at him. "You need not come to make sure I am honoring my word." Skyfire frowned at her, saying something to her sharply in Desanti. She paused briefly, and then resumed cleaning the sword in silence.

  Puzzled at Storm's hostility, the mage was also well used to her temperamental nature. He sat on the pillow Lyra had brought for him, crossing his legs. He was careful to keep his voice mild. "Of course you are still here. I had no doubts you would be. But I have been concerned because neither of you have been seen for days. Everyone is worried about you." When Storm looked up to glare at Lyra, Ash winced to see the utter devastation in Lyra's expression, as if she had failed in her duties somehow. He stated quickly, "Miss Lyra has been quite dutiful in reporting you are well, but I wished to see for myself."

  Storm grumbled under her breath, eyeing the edge of her blade before reaching for its sheath, sliding it back in. "You have seen for yourself now." She fixed a hard look on the man. "Why are you still here?"

  Ash held up a hand slightly to silence Skyfire before he chided Storm again. He examined her closely, noting with relief that the debilitating shaking was gone. Now it was a matter of Storm recovering her strength, but he instinctively knew why she was upset. "I wish to resume my lessons about Desantiva." She narrowed her feral green-gold eyes as he held her gaze.

  "So... You were not humoring me before?" Storm finally asked. "Pretending Desantiva matters to Forenta?"

  Ash felt a twinge of guilt at her question, looking away for a moment. "I will not lie to you. My motivations are purely personal. You matter to me. Desantiva matters to you. I want to learn more about what you love."

  Storm sighed, looking at her knife as she pulled it out of its sheath. "I knew it was too much to hope for. You do not care about my people. We are merely a curiosity."

  The mage frowned slightly, her resigned disappointment pricking his pride. "Until you came here, most believed Desantiva was dead and his people gone. There are many in Forenta who are curious about Desantiva. Who wish to learn more about your people and your land. But," he stated pointedly, "You cannot teach if you do not leave this room, Storm."

  "I will not expose my weakness to my enemies," Storm returned sharply, glaring at him.

  Allowing his exasperation to show, Ash rolled his eyes. "Storm, this is Forenta, not Desantiva. How the hell would anyone here know you are not at your best?" Ash waved an empty hand in the vague direction of Ithesra proper. "You could be on the threshold of death and you would be stronger than most of my people."

  Skyfire looked amused and thoughtful. "He has a point," the man murmured in Swordanzen to Storm. "It would be good to get out and stretch again. Hiding away makes me restless. And there is no room in here to train properly." He tilted his head. "What is bothering you?"

  "He is still patronizing me," Storm stated, not looking at anyone. "And I do not trust they won't use the knowledge against our people."

  The Swordanzen man put a hand on her arm, squeezing lightly. "Th'yala, I know it is hard for you to trust anyone. Ever since the extinction of the na'Zhekali tribe, you cannot trust our own people, much less Outlanders. But... Perhaps one day Lord Ash will stop hearing and start listening. But he cannot do that if there is nothing being said. And you are the one he wants to hear from." Skyfire caught her gaze when she glanced at him sourly. "Trust must begin somewhere, Storm. You are strong enough to give him that much."

  Storm growled, baring her teeth at Skyfire briefly before she raised her eyes, leveling
a look on Ash. "Very well." Ash relaxed a little with her acceptance. But only a little.

  Chapter 12

  "Good morning, Master Almek," two of the servants chorused as the Guardian entered the dining room, setting the last of the serving platters laden with food out on the table. They both offered him deep bows. When Emil reached out to grab one of the rolls, the taller girl reached over to smack the back of his hand. "We do not eat until the master is here," she stated tartly.

  Emil held out both hands towards Almek as the man took his seat. "But he be here! Ye just told him g'mornin'!"

  "Master Almek is an honored guest," the tall girl explained blandly. "Master Ash is the master of the house. Unless he has told us he cannot come to a meal, we await him."

  "But he be late! Ow!" Emil shouted as Mureln reached over to smack the back of Emil's head. The wiry gypsy shook a fist at the bard, who simply waved it off, his sea green eyes dancing. Taylin could not help but giggle behind her hand at the pair.

  Almek regarded the empty seat at the head of the table thoughtfully. "It is unusual. Ash is usually the first here. Perhaps he was called away early to the academy?"

  "No, I merely lost track of time." Instead of entering from the entrance that led to the master's hall, Ash came in from the common room. He stepped to the side and made a welcoming gesture to Storm and Skyfire who followed him. The Desanti pair startled when everyone stood abruptly in surprise, all effusively greeting the two.

  Skyfire smiled as he accepted Emaris's arm in greeting, then Emil and Mureln's before he sat at the chair the tall servant girl brought for him, the other servant quickly setting places for both Desanti. Unused to such affection, Storm was dubiously uncertain. She flinched when she felt her hand being taken and looked up to meet Ash's sympathetic gaze. Gritting her teeth in annoyance, she pulled her hand away from him sharply, taking the seat to his right.

  "I see you have managed to lure the elusive Githalin Swordanzen from their lair," Mureln said teasingly. The mage did not smile, but his expression reflected his self-satisfaction. Skyfire chuckled at the comment. Storm merely glowered sullenly. "Where is Lyra? I would have expected her to be hovering near the two of you still."

  "She sleeps." Skyfire reached for the pitcher of water to fill his cup as if it were the finest vintage of wine. The taller servant girl snatched the pitcher and poured for him, determined to follow the Forentan cultural tradition of those of lower social status serving their betters. He shrugged and did not argue, looking back to Mureln. "We only sleep for four hours at the longest. Two normally. She tried to match our sleep patterns, but it exhausted her." Skyfire shook his head. "Northern people are odd. You sleep so much!"

  Emil snorted. "Look who be talkin' about odd. Man who rose from th' dead after takin' enough poisons t' put down five horses. Ye scared the geebas out of us!" Skyfire only flashed his teeth in an unrepentant grin, raising his glass to the mercenary in a salute.

  "You have been up all night, Ash?" Mureln looked at Ash curiously, recognizing none of them had the haze of the recently awoken. "What have you been doing all this time?"

  "He wished to continue the lessons we began before we left to see the Knowing One..." Storm's voice drifted off as she visibly shuddered, remembering what had passed. Green-gold eyes fixed on her cup, avoiding the looks of sympathy. Raising her gaze to meet Taylin's, Storm stated defiantly, "It has been too long since Skyfire and I trained properly. There is no space to properly train without damaging something."

  Taylin looked the two over critically. "Actually, it would probably do you both some good to get in some sword work." Both Swordanzen regarded Taylin with open surprise. The healer smiled faintly, shrugging. "Sometimes physical activity will help burn toxins or their lingering effects out of the blood." Pausing a moment, she added, "It could not hurt. Just be mindful not to push past your limits yet. You are still healing and you need to reserve energy for that as well."

  Storm clenched her fists when Taylin spoke openly of their debilitated states in front of everyone, particularly the servants who were still strangers to the Desanti pair. Ash recognized the expression and reached over to put a hand on the back of Storm's wrist. "Servants trained by Naveene are schooled in the art of discretion. My people can be trusted not to speak to any outside of the house about your... lapse of full health."

  As Storm's flash of temper subsided, Ash shot a meaningful look at Kelafy. The headwoman nodded and disappeared into the servants' hall to make sure the servants knew the consequences would be most dire if they betrayed Ash's confidence in them.

  Mureln pushed the food on his plate idly with his fork, thoughtful. "Storm, I had lived among the Desanti at First Home twice in my life. I have come to realize that my understanding of your people is pitifully minimal to what I thought I knew." He looked up to meet her eyes. "Would you honor me by sharing your knowledge with a foreigner like me? I would like to honor your people by sharing their stories with others so they may understand Desanti better."

  Storm blinked at Mureln in some confusion. "But Skyfire and I had been teaching you... Oh. You mean beyond what we have usually allowed to foreigners and outlanders." She considered the request, sipping her water but ignoring her food. "Of course." She began to push her untouched plate of food away when Skyfire reached over to pick a piece from it and ate it in the Desanti tradition of proving that food was untampered with. Giving the man an annoyed look, she pulled the plate back and started eating slowly. "I do not teach the unwilling."

  A young boy ran into the dining room and skidded to a stop by Ash, holding out a message scroll resting on both palms. "From acting Se'edai Magus Ellis Avarian, Illaini Magus," the runner said formally.

  "Indeed," Ash replied as he took the scroll, unfurling it to read in silence for a time. Mild annoyance touched his features.

  "Bad news?" Almek wondered with some concern.

  "No, nothing dire." Taking a pen from Kelafy, he quickly wrote a reply and blew on the ink to dry it. Satisfied, he rolled the small scroll back up and handed it to the boy. The runner bobbed a quick bow before running off. "I must go to the Academy to speak with acting Se'edai Magus Ellis. The presence of all of us is unnecessary for this; it is a trivial matter." Ash smiled in amusement at the varying expressions of gratitude. Taking a bite of food from the plate sat before him, Ash looked over to his journeyman. "Terrence, take a rest day today. You have earned it many times over."

  The journeyman smiled hugely. "Thank you, Master Ash!" Quickly finishing his breakfast, he glanced over at the Swordanzen and noticed them scanning the room as if they had seen something. He groaned inwardly when he saw Petal trying to hide behind the tapestry by the common room archway. Knowing the understandable antipathy the Desanti had for the forest sprites, Terrence shoved the last of his food in his mouth and stood quickly, knocking over his empty glass. He offered a sheepish smile. "I do not want to waste the day," he explained. "My friend Jaline had asked if I would visit her when we returned and I would like to surprise her."

  "Oh, ho! Our boy does have himself a girl!" Emil crowed. "Now I understand why ye not be wantin' t' go to a brothel!" The others chuckled when Terrence's cheeks colored. Emaris elbowed the smaller man hard, scowling good-naturedly at him. "Good gods, man, are ye trying t' cripple me?!" Taking advantage of the distraction and Ash's hand-wave dismissal, Terrence grabbed Petal and shoved her in his pocket, hurrying out of the dining room.

  Chapter 13

  "I just want to change!" Terrence called to the overly helpful servant. "I really don't need any help with that." Ducking into his room, he closed the door quickly, quietly sliding the bar in place. He took a moment to exhale in relief of avoiding discovery, resting his head against the smooth wood of the door. Finally, he reached into his pocket to take the forest sprite out, letting her fly out of his hand. Petal hovered in front of Terrence with a contrite expression, hands clasped behind her back.

  The young man looked at her in exasperation. "Are you trying to get us both in
trouble?" he hissed. "I told you that you can't go anywhere near the Desanti! If they knew you were here, they may try to kill you! If anyone discovered you were here, goddess knows what they might try to do!"

  "But Petal wants to see warriors!" the small creature said plaintively. "All Mother not knowing much about warriors and I wanting learn more!"

  The young man covered his eyes with one hand, sighing. Being a servant of the goddess of knowledge, the pursuit of knowledge tended to override all reason, no matter the species, and Terrence could barely bring himself to scold Petal. "Look. I know you want to learn more about them. So do I! But I do not think they would be very happy seeing you at all, even if you were supposed to be here. Which you aren't," he reminded her. "They're still recovering from the poisons you and the others used when you tried to kill them!" Quickly changing to a new shirt, he reached for his heavy cloak, settling it about his shoulders and fastening it. "We're very lucky they did not die. Master Ash might have killed you himself."

  The sprite looked sorrowful. "But Petal would never hurt warriors now. Illaini Ash loves warrior woman. All Mother say must protect her, not hurt her. Petal wants to see woman son of All Mother cares for so much." She delicately landed on Terrence's offered hand. "All Mother had worried hurt in Illaini Ash's heart never heal. Warrior woman must have much healing skill. Not knowing warriors can heal, too!"

  "Ash's 'hurt' is not like getting a cut or burn. And Swordanzen do not forgive easily, Petal. Few people have given them any reason to start now. The attack on the Desanti by you and the others certainly did not help matters. Swordanzen Storm is especially distrustful." He held up his hand for Petal step onto his shoulder, then touched his temple, bracing himself against the door as a wave of dizziness hit him when he touched Dzee's memories still in his head. "I do not know how, but the Desanti can see living energy like we Forentan can see the weave of all things to use our magic on. They will spot you if you are not careful, and I do not want to have to face their blades if they realize you are here."