by Lexy Wolfe
"The baby," Storm replied, as if it were obvious. "I think it is a boy, but it is difficult to tell yet. Your Northerner babies seem to grow much slower than Desanti ones." Skyfire looked up at Storm, glanced over at Taylin briefly, then simply smiled indulgently. He said something to Storm in Swordanzen that made her blink. Terrence bit his lip, busying himself with suddenly checking his boot laces. Storm turned her attention fully to Mureln who had gone pale. "I thought a Vodani would have noticed. But Northerners can't tell when they're able to conceive? Or when they have? I thought you both knew."
The others had gone still, looking between the staring Swordanzen, the fidgeting healer, and the dumbfounded bard. Except for Skyfire, who simply looked incredibly amused, and Terrence, who kept from drawing attention to him at all. Storm seemed to be at a complete loss, unsure what to say now.
"Ah, Taylin, beloved." Mureln went over to the healer and took her hand. "We need to talk." The two walked down the hallway.
A few minutes later, Taylin's voice drifted back to the main room. "What?! I'm pregnant?!?" The healer came out, ignoring the eyes turned towards her, staring at Storm. "How in all the hells could you kn—?"
"Desanti have to know," Storm stated with a shrug. "There are so few of us. And so many children never survive to their adult trials, much less survive the trials themselves." Taylin's anger drained away, staring at Storm as the Desanti woman spoke quietly. "We have no choice. Every child must be protected. Especially the unborn. We have to know. It is needed so we can survive."
The Sevmanan woman looked down, putting a hand on her abdomen. After several moments, she looked up at Storm. "You told Mureln it is healthy?"
Storm smiled a little, nodding. "Very strong, yes."
"Supper is ready!" Kelafy called from the entrance to the dining room. She stepped back as everyone filed in. As Almek brought up the rear, her smile faded to an annoyed frown that she leveled on the Guardian. He waved a dismissive hand absently.
The headwoman was not going to be put off, however. While the others talked about other things, Kelafy fussed over Almek so much he finally exclaimed, "Miss Kelafy! You need not be quite so attentive, thank you!"
The uncharacteristic outburst brought abrupt silence to the table as nearly everyone stared at Kelafy, wondering what had come over her to bother a Dusvet Guardian to the point of such an outburst. Everyone but Storm, who only briefly glanced at Kelafy, then stared at Almek with such intensity he could not help but notice her gaze. "Storm, dear, you need not stare at me so—"
"Lord Almek, are you all right?"
Waving his hand irritably, Almek scoffed. "I'm quite all right, child. Why do you ask?"
After a moment, Storm finally said, "No reason. It must be my imagination."
Ash fixed a look on Almek as well and shook his head. "No, Storm. I see it, too." The mage frowned at Almek, dismissing his now smug headwoman as she went to the kitchen. "You are unwell."
The others all suddenly looked at Almek with worry. Taylin reached over to touch his hand, then covered her mouth in wide-eyed shock, the epithets she uttered barely concealed under her breath. "Oh, Zeridis, how could I let myself be so distracted I didn't see it sooner?"
"You are deteriorating. Your age is trying to catch up to you." Sitting forward, Ash demanded, "Is this because you have delayed in returning to Fortress?"
"Yes, it is a normal affliction of wandering Guardians that is alleviated when within the confines of Fortress. I will be fine," Almek replied, dismissing the concerns. "I told you before, traveling to Fortress at this time of year would be riskier than waiting until spring has settled on the lands." He frowned a little and said sharply, "Don’t worry about me and eat!"
Giving the man dubious glances, the others returned to their meals, subdued.
Chapter 48
Almek stood at the book shelf, examining the bindings of the contents when he heard someone enter the library. He looked over his shoulder, then back to the book shelf. "Miss Kelafy," he greeted without inflection.
"Do not 'Miss Kelafy' me, Dusvet," Kelafy stated flatly. The tray she carried was set on the table more roughly than usual for the headwoman. "My job is to take care of those I am responsible for any way I can. I warned you before if you did not tell them..."
"Yes, yes, I know." Almek yanked out a book then went over to the large chair. "I am more irritated at myself than you." He sighed, closing his eyes and resting his head against the back of the chair. "I miscalculated. My students needed time to rest and recover, and I thought it would be safe enough to wait."
"You do not seem to be a man who makes that sort of mistake, Almek." She put a hand on his arm. "Something must have altered. You believed you had time. What changed that? Why would this... this deterioration accelerate faster than what you expected it would have? And why can't your goddess do anything about it?"
Sitting on the plush chair, Almek sighed, resting the book in his lap. He shook his head. "The gods are strongest within their own domains. All gods, even The Timeless One, are bound by laws I cannot explain easily." He shook his head again. "It is my own fault. My need to discover the source of discontinuity that is shaking the security of the great balance drove me to leave without taking even a fraction of the recovery time a wandering Guardian requires. My vision surrounding Ash and then Storm was blurry at best. I could not see the possible risks. If I had not needed to use my skills as extensively, my decline would not have quickened." He shook his head wearily. "My decision to stay—"
Kelafy put her hand on Almek's shoulder. "Dusvet, I am not blaming you for choosing to stay. True servants are all alike. We put our duty and those we serve before ourselves. But if anyone can help you, those children who follow you... they are the ones who can. I just wish you had told them sooner." She looked away as he looked up at her. "I don't want to see you die, Dusvet."
Smiling a little, Almek reached up to take Kelafy's hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss gently. "You are a good woman, Kelafy. We are all fortunate to have you watching over us."
The woman knelt beside Almek's chair, looking at him seriously. "Is there anything any of us can do to help you?"
"I would appreciate a cup of tea and perhaps you could tell me about your husband. He must have been a fine man if he won your heart."
"Distraction, hm? Very well." Kelafy smiled and rose, pouring and handing Almek the cup of tea, then she sat in the chair across from the Guardian. "He was a great man. He was no mage, being of the servant class, of course. But he was a gifted huntsman and a fine father. We had three children. Two sons and a daughter."
Almek sipped the tea, listening. "They must have been handfuls having you for a mother."
Laughing, Kelafy blushed. "Oh, they were. The boys took after their father, though they moved off to some of the smaller, outlying villages. Ithesra is so crowded, few huntsmen can make a decent living anymore. Our daughter, though..." She sighed softly. "Ophilia was the explorer. If only she'd had any mage talent, she likely would have stayed and attended the Magus Academy to learn everything there was to learn. But there's little room for those who wish to learn as much as mages but have no magic talent."
The Dusvet Guardian frowned, sipping his tea, refraining from comment on Kelafy's daughter being one of his former student's students. "It is troubling that there is such a divide in Forenta between those with strong talent and those who are not so strong." Almek looked at Kelafy sadly. "There is value in the observations of those of different perspectives. I think I learned more from those deemed 'unimportant' than I did from the acknowledged learned."
Kelafy chuckled softly. "There are good highborn families. The Avarians are most notable for embracing their duties to all, including the lowborn. That is why they are so sought after to serve."
"I can completely understand that sentiment." Almek tilted his head. "But I gather serving was not what your daughter wished to do."
"It was not about being a servant to the mages for her. She has a mage's insa
tiable hunger to learn, but an inability to manipulate magic as a mage. The education the servant class receives is generally... limited to their future duties. Unless they are attached to a highborn family who chooses to fund beyond the standard. Most... do not." Kelafy sighed. "Ophilia decided Forenta was not going to serve her hunger for knowledge, so she left when she came of age." The headwoman looked down at her hands. "The last letter I got from her was from an interior border town, saying she was going to head to the World Spine."
Almek frowned, concerned that there was a breach in the rule that those outside of Fortress knew about its students. "The World Spine? Did she say who she was traveling with? What she was going to do?"
Blinking a few times, Kelafy frowned as she thought. "She was traveling with several others, but she didn't go into much detail. She did mention one person specifically. I think... it was someone named Jaison. Said he was a rather handsome Vodani man who promised her adventure. It was a short letter and she promised she'd write as soon as she could." Smiling wanly, Kelafy said, "I can only hope she's doing well. It has been nearly two years since her last letter."
"I'm sure she is fine," Almek replied, relaxing. Both fell silent as he sipped his tea. He studied Kelafy for a time as she sat, eyes on her hands as she thought on her lost child. "Have you grandchildren?" Kelafy smiled brightly at the welcome change of subject, happily elaborating on her extended family.
Chapter 49
The day was brisk, chill gusts of wind blowing through the forest of denuded trees. Brilliant sunlight gleamed off the snow, the snow glittering as if it were littered with millions of tiny diamonds. On the horizon, the dark, brooding line of clouds promised more snow.
At the corral, five people were gathered for an unusual archery training lesson. Mureln leaned on the fence rail with Taylin standing next to him as they watched the Swordanzen and their Forentan assistant. The fair-skinned young woman was explaining how her bow worked, her hand following the line of the wood over the arch to the tips. The bard could not help but smile at the perplexed expressions of the two Desanti. "That the Desanti revere trees to the extent they never use wood for weapons still amazes me. Though I suppose nothing grows substantially large enough to be useful as a weapon."
The growl next to him made him smile more, looking over at the healer who stood with him. "I can't believe they want her to shoot arrows at them." Taylin sourly pulled her cloak around herself tighter when the wind gusted again. "It's madness. If they want to learn how to use them—""
"It isn't using them that they're interested in so much as facing them." Mureln chuckled softly. "Desanti are a 'learn by doing' culture. Swordanzen are no different than the rest of them. In fact, Swordanzen epitomize their people in their actions." He moved closer to put his arm around Taylin, pulling her near. "Don't worry, beloved. I doubt they'll get any fatal injuries." The healer glared daggers at him. He merely grinned as she punched his shoulder.
The Desanti went down range to stand across from the target, Skyfire raising his hand to signal Lyra she could begin. The pair watched intently as Lyra shot a quiver full of arrows at the target in rapid succession. The two discussed something in Swordanzen, then went to pull the arrows out and returned them to the young Forentan woman. Storm turned to return downrange, but this time stood in front of the target. "Again."
This time, the young woman hesitated, going paler than normal. "Mistress Storm." Lyra looked uneasy. "I-I don’t want to shoot at you! I might kill you!"
"You won't kill me." The Swordanzen stated flatly to the expected next argument, "And Taylin is here in case I get injured." Unconcerned about injury, Storm snapped at the girl. "Now, do as I ask! Again!"
Skyfire put a hand on Lyra's shoulder reassuringly when she flinched at Storm's harsh tones. "Have faith in yourself, Lyra. And her. Storm never extends her trust blindly." He gave Storm a meaningful look about her harsh tones. The Desanti woman ignored him, her posture shifting slightly in preparation.
Lyra took a deep breath, closing her eyes a moment, a quiet prayer on her lips. Seeing the longer she hesitated, the more irritated Storm's expression grew, the girl pressed her lips together, raising her bow and drawing back an arrow. Blocking her emotions from her mind, she mechanically fired arrow after arrow until her quiver was empty again. When she lowered her bow, the girl could only stare at the Swordanzen who held all but three buried in the target behind her, having opted to dodge than try to catch. "Mistress Storm! You-you caught almost all of them!"
Storm grimaced a bit, holding out one hand as she transferred all but one of the loose arrows to one hand. Between the finger bones of the first and second finger, the shaft had passed completely through. The bleeding was minimal, the shaft itself staunching the flow. "I was a little slow on the last one." Calmly, she walked over to Taylin and held out her injured hand. The Sevmanan woman scowled at her before she focused on removing the arrow and healing the wound.
Lyra could only stare at Storm, eyes wide. Her hands shook as she looked at the bow in her hands for several moments before she held the weapon close. Uncertainly, she approached the three at the fence, gaze lowered to the ground. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. "I suppose we will need to keep practicing, Mistress Storm?"
Storm looked over at Lyra, the hard expression softening into a smile for the young woman. "Perhaps tomorrow. The cold is slowing me down. I need to thaw out a few hours."
Staring incredulously at the Desanti woman, Mureln exclaimed, "Slow? That was slow?!" Mureln made an exasperated sound under his breath that might have been Vodani cursing, drawing a giggle out of Lyra. Skyfire grinned, putting his arm around the archer affectionately. "Storm, your idea of 'slow', and my idea of 'slow' are two entirely different animals."
"It is a good thing that our ideas of singing are the same," Storm replied blandly as she rubbed her newly healed hand. "You can and I certainly cannot." The bard snorted his opinion. Offering a bow to the healer, she expressed her gratitude with grave sincerity. "Thank you, Taylin."
"I would prefer you not get injured at all, but I suppose that is asking too much of a Desanti," Taylin said in droll resignation, earning a grin from Storm.
Skyfire moved to stand behind Lyra and rested his hand on her shoulder encouragingly. The girl unstrung her bow to carry it inside. "It-it is not easy to do this. This shooting arrows at someone I-I care about. But-"
Storm reached over, putting her finger on Lyra's lips, hushing her. "I know it is not easy. I am asking much of you." Smiling gently, she ran her finger along the girl's cheek lightly. "And you do everything I ask and more. Thank you." Lyra turned bright red at the praise, looking up at Skyfire with a sweet, shy smile.
The wind gusted mournfully, and both Swordanzen, the bard and healer all looked up at once, frowning. "Mureln, how long until the weather is warm enough to travel?" Taylin asked quietly.
The bard closed his eyes, the Vodani silent for a time. "I am no weather wisdom, but from what I can tell, the weather should begin to ease up in a few weeks," he replied unhappily. "At the soonest."
"It will not be soon enough," Storm stated flatly as she tugged her gloves on. "Even if we could leave today, I fear it is not enough time. Lord Almek is deteriorating faster than he wants us to be aware of." She reached for Taylin's hand, holding it in both of hers. "Can you help him? Is there any way to fix how time injures a body?"
Taylin bit her lip, looking towards the house, then back. "I might be able to. I have never tried it. The problem is his many years are catching up to him swiftly. When he took me with him to see the Timeless One, Her servant—"
"You have seen the Timeless One?" Mureln stared at her in surprise. "I did not know that!"
Taylin nodded. "Almek took me with him when he sought the Timeless One's wisdom and sight." She closed her eyes. "The price for the Timeless One's aid nearly cost Almek his life. Her handmaiden Selina said she had not the ability then to save his life and ease his age at the same time. Even then, she could only ho
ld him to life. I still had to heal the damage to his lungs." She hugged herself against the memory. "I was the only one who could heal wounds given by the goddess of time. But aging is not really an injury."
"Almek always said the wanderers had to return to Fortress periodically to recover from their time away from Her protection." Mureln looked bleak. "And he remained with us and with the burden of his years weighing on him."
The healer sighed, closing her eyes. "If he allows me to try, I will do what I can to reverse the deterioration of time on his body." Taylin looked down at herself, putting her hand on her abdomen.
Storm frowned, watching Taylin. "This healing would endanger your baby?"
"Possibly. No... probably. I must be careful. Normal healing draws on my own strength. Healing across time draws even more, and Almek is very, very old. Such healing could draw on my unborn child's life energy and possibly... likely... kill him." The pain of having to choose between the last Dusvet Guardian and her unborn child was unmistakable.
Skyfire murmured in Storm's ear. Storm looked up at him and nodded. Both removed their cloaks and gloves, handing them to the Forentan woman. Storm met Lyra's eyes. "If we do not return before nightfall, come looking for us."
Lyra's eyes went wide. "What? Why? What are you going to do?"
"We go to seek the wisdom of the Totani," Skyfire said, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "Lord Ash will know how to find us if we need to be found." The two Swordanzen turned and walked into the forest as snow began to fall.
"Take your cloaks at least!" Lyra took one step after the pair, holding the garments out.
"We must be as if we were in Desantiva." Skyfire smiled sadly at Lyra. "This is important. We will be as quick as possible."
Storm paused long enough to turn to regard the three dismayed people. "Do not seek us any sooner than nightfall. Disruption could be fatal to us."
After the pair vanished into the forest, the three left behind traded worried looks. "What can they possibly do?" Taylin leaned against Mureln as the bard tightened his arm around her. "They are just warriors! They don't even have a spark of magic."
