"And this told you that I would save you from the Navin?" Olaf didn't know what to think about all this.
"I have had these dreams since I was a child. They are not always the same, but I know what they tell me. It is the dream of all the Sarl here that one day the Navin will leave Carrick, and we will be free to visit the Holy Glaciers again."
"You know the stories about the Glaciers, then?"
"Of course. Every year, at the time of the High Feasts, the Honored One gathers everyone into the longhouse around the Clan Fire and retells the stories of the Exalted Warriors of the past. One day, we will see the Sword of Justice for ourselves."
"The Honored One? This is your leader?"
The girl wiped her hands on a towel. "She is."
"Then I need to see her."
At this, the girl's expression grew frightened. "Oh, no. You cannot do that. Visitors never come to Cedarwood of the Countless Rings." She sat on a stool near her work table.
"It is very important that I speak to the Honored One," Olaf said. "I have a message for her. The Sword of Justice was found ten blizzards ago. The Exalted Warrior has reclaimed Carrick from the Navin. It is safe for you all to return to the rest of the Sarl."
"The rest of the Sarl?"
"The Exalted Warrior is back in Cool Trails. There is a Sarl village there. Other villages have grown up all over the Northern Continent of Carrick."
She stared at him, her eyes wide. Then she nodded. "I will tell her you need to see her."
****
The sun was beginning to set when the girl, who had introduced herself to Olaf as Greenblade, daughter of Arrowbreaker and Germian, led him by way of hidden paths to her home.
Her parents sat on one side of the room, holding hands, while Greenblade explained to them how he had appeared in her greenhouse through the Portal.
"He needs to speak to the Honored One," Greenblade said when she'd finished.
Arrowbreaker nodded. "My daughter has spoken often about her dreams of a man with the body of a serpent, but I always thought these were just the imaginings of a child."
"I can't explain her dreams," he said. "I didn't know this place existed, and I didn't know I would be coming here."
"Yet here you are," Greenblade said. "Praise the Holy One."
"If you did not know about the dreams, then why did you come?" Germian asked. It was unusual for Sarl men to speak when their mates were present.
"I came in search of a scroll about the Choosing Rituals of the Exalted Warrior," Olaf said. "Moonrazer is looking for a mate and there is some question about the issue of unworthy Offerings in the rituals."
Arrowbreaker and Germian exchanged glances.
"He needs to speak to the Honored One," Greenblade said. "He is here to save us and take us back to the other Sarl."
Arrowbreaker lifted one shoulder. "I know nothing about these Rituals and the words themselves are nearly foreign to me. It is a matter for the Honored One. We will go to the longhouse and request an audience."
She walked to a trunk in the corner of the room and donned weapons.
"We are not going to war, my love." Germian said.
"I am aware," Arrowbreaker said. "I just want to remind the Honored One of the battles we have fought together." After she was dressed to her satisfaction, she said. "Shall we go?"
As the four of them walked through the village toward the Honored One's longhouse, Sarl warriors, their men, and children appeared in doorways or at the sides of their homes, watching.
Olaf was conscious of stares, both of curiosity and of fear. Several warriors left their men in charge of the children and fell in behind the small group, following them.
"Arrowbreaker," one of the women said, "who is this strange creature who looks like one of the winter demons?"
"Ironscar, this is the serpent man Greenblade has dreamed of. I have told you of this."
"I did not believe he was real."
Greenblade's mother lifted her hands as though in surrender. "Nor did I, until he appeared in my daughter's garden. He says the Sword of Justice has been found, and a true Exalted Warrior sits in the seat of Grayskin."
Ironscar stared at Olaf. "How is this possible?"
Olaf opened his mouth to speak, but the woman looked at Arrowbreaker, who answered.
"He says a warrior named Moonrazer found the Sword of Justice ten blizzards ago and drove the Navin off our world."
"Why has the Dragon Protector not moved our island back so we may join our sisters?"
"This I do not know," Arrowbreaker said.
"But you believe him?"
"Again, I do not know. He is here. He seems to mean us no harm, and he has asked to speak to Grayflower. Perhaps Mother Starsword will have knowledge of these events from the Sacred Writings."
Olaf listened. This isolated group of Sarl had done what they could to preserve their culture and traditions.
By the time they reached the longhouse, their group had grown. At the double doors to the building, Arrowbreaker stopped and turned around.
"My friends," she said, "we are going to request an audience with Grayflower. Olaf of the Unknown Portal has information for her which may change our lives. I hope we can all be at peace."
Murmurs went through the crowd, but no one drew a weapon.
Two guards stood on either side of the longhouse doors, and Arrowbreaker spoke to them now.
"Arrowbreaker," one of the guards said, "the Honored One has been informed of your arrival."
"Will she see us?" Arrowbreaker asked.
"She has given us orders to admit you and the visitor. Your daughter and man are to remain outside."
Olaf saw anger flare up in the warrior's eyes, but Germian touched her arm.
"It makes no difference, my love," he said. "She rarely speaks to men or children. This comes as no surprise to us."
Arrowbreaker kissed her mate. "I do not like to see you dismissed as unimportant."
"We are not insulted. We know our places in your heart."
She turned to the guard. "Please take us to the Honored One."
Germian and Greenblade moved to a little seating area to one side of the door. This spot had been cleared of snow and pots of flowers stood near benches arranged around a fire pit full of glowing embers.
****
Once inside the longhouse, Olaf's eyes adjusted to the dim interior, and he saw an austere room with a plain wooden floor and unadorned stone walls. A wooden door directly across from the entrance, about forty paces away, was guarded by a warrior who held an ax.
Arrowbreaker approached the guard while Olaf remained near the entrance.
After a few moments of discussion, Arrowbreaker returned.
"The Honored One has granted us an audience," she told Olaf. "She is very interested in what 'a demon' would have to say to her."
"Who are these demons?" he asked as they started across the floor.
"Perhaps this is something you should speak to the Honored One about."
They had reached the inner door and the guard stopped Olaf.
She now held her ax in a battle position, ready to defend herself if necessary.
"You will not speak to Grayflower, the Honored One, until she gives you permission. You are not to approach her in any way. You will not touch any of the warriors, and you will remember that you are male, and therefore, you will submit to the Honored One's decisions in all matters."
"Yes," Olaf said, bowing.
The door opened, and they entered a throne room.
While Olaf had always believed that Moonrazer preferred simple adornments to her surroundings, the Tower at Cool Trails looked almost opulent compared to the longhouse.
This room had no decorations on the stone walls, which had been washed in some kind of white paint, echoing the snow outside the large, uncovered windows to the right of the throne. The throne was itself a study in austerity. It was nothing more than a single seat bench, backless and with no arm rests.
&n
bsp; The woman who sat there was older than Olaf had expected. Sarl warriors who did not have a mate rarely lived long past the age of the Change, and those who did find mates left their battle days behind them.
This woman had clearly passed the Change, and while he couldn't know if she had a mate or not, he was surprised to see her still ruling.
"You are the demon?" she asked him, when he stopped in front of her.
He glanced at the two warriors who stood at either side of her seat, but their faces showed no emotion.
"You must answer," Arrowbreaker whispered to him.
"What kind of answer can I give?" Olaf asked, looking at the Honored One. "I am not a demon, but your people seem to believe I am. Am I the demon? I have no answer for this."
He saw a glimmer of respect in her eyes.
"A wise answer. You look like a type of demon we have encountered in the dormant season in the past. However, you do not behave like them."
Olaf didn't know what to say to this, so he said nothing.
"If you were here to harm my people," Grayflower said, "I believe you would have done so. However, your resemblance to the monsters that frequently enter our village is curious. Do you have a thought on this?"
He took a deep breath. "Honored One, I am the only member of my race that I know of. I was created by the magic of a Dreaming Giant and given life in gratitude for my assistance in helping…" He stopped. This was not how he wanted to tell of the Exalted Warrior.
Grayflower looked confused but interested. She leaned forward. "I know nothing of Dreaming Giants. They have the ability to create life?"
"I only know of the one who created me," he said. "His name was Island of Freedom and his dreams created a maze filled with statues and mirrors and treasures. It was a wondrous place, but while he slept, some evil men stole his eye. It was, to them, a large precious gem, similar to the pearls harvested on warmer worlds. His dreams allowed me to go from being a mere decoration to a living being when adventurers came to the maze to help retrieve his eye."
"You assisted these adventurers?"
"Yes, Honored One, and in gratitude, he allowed me to keep my freedom and live."
"Where is this Giant?"
"On World Afei, in a cave deep in the mountains."
She stared at him for several moments before speaking. "Is it possible another Giant exists somewhere on my island? It would explain the demons."
This woman was, indeed, clever and intelligent. Perhaps this was the reason she had stayed in her position long after others would have stepped down.
"It would be an explanation for other things as well, Honored One," he said.
"Please go on."
"Arrowbreaker's daughter can grow amazing plants," he said, "and I believe it is possible that the Giant is dreaming these and giving them form with his magic."
Grayflower leaned her chin on one fist, thinking. "The demons only come after the harvest, so perhaps his dreams are controlled the rest of the time. Is it possible that your daughter, Arrowbreaker, is somehow influencing what this Giant dreams?"
"How is that possible, Grayflower?" Arrowbreaker asked, looking horrified.
"She is not Sarl."
Olaf looked at Arrowbreaker and saw tears in her eyes.
"I have raised her to be one of us," the warrior said. "She does not know I found her after her mother left her to die in a stream. She believes she is Sarl."
"But you have not sent her to be trained as a warrior." The Honored One spoke with kindness. "You have always known she is special."
"Yes, Honored One. She has a way with plants, and you yourself have eaten of the vegetables grown in Greenblade's garden."
"I have the greatest respect for your decisions on how to raise your daughter, but you must admit there is a possibility that a Dreaming Giant such as this man describes could be at work in her gardening ability."
Arrowbreaker spoke to Olaf. "Is it possible?"
He shook his head. "I cannot tell you whether it is or is not. I only know of Island of Freedom, and that his dreams could create. However, I feel Giant magic in this place."
"If you could find Greenblade’s people," Grayflower said, "perhaps she could be trained to keep this Giant from dreaming monsters that attack us and eat our grain."
"I believe the Giant himself may be eating your grain," Olaf said.
One of the warriors beside Grayflower took a step toward him, sword drawn. "You are not to speak to the Honored One unless she speaks to you."
"Iceshield, step back," Grayflower said. "I give this man permission to speak freely. I believe he can help us."
"Honored One, when a Giant awakens, he is hungry and must eat for about a moon cycle before going back to sleep. Are your people experiencing shortages of food when the grain stores are attacked?"
As though thinking, Grayflower answered slowly. "No. There has never been a famine in Cedarwood of the Countless Rings since the Dragons moved our island away from the mainland."
Olaf said, "The Giant may be creating enough food for you and for him."
"If what you say is true, then we will leave this matter be. The Giant appears to pose no threat to us. However," she continued, "this this is not why you have come. I have heard from others that you come from the true Exalted Warrior."
"Yes, Honored One."
"My Mother Prioress, Starsword, has studied the scrolls saved from the Temple of Sacred Radiance. There is a test to know if the true Exalted Warrior has returned."
A woman Olaf had not seen before came out of the shadows and approached the throne. She wore robes of a grayish fabric and a hood covering most of her white hair.
When she reached the Honored One, she took three scrolls out of the deep sleeves of her robe.
"Mother Starsword, speak to our guest about the Exalted Warrior prophesies."
The woman raised her head. Her eyes were nearly the color of her robe, and her face showed her to be only a few blizzards older than Greenblade. Olaf wondered what had happened to propel such a young woman into such a position of power.
"The Exalted Warrior will return only when the Dragons are ready for her."
As she spoke, Olaf felt twitches in the Giant magic he'd been trying to ignore since his arrival.
The clear, bell-like voice continued. "’She will be touched by Dragons and threatened by Dragons, and the Exalted Warrior will kill her consort. When these things have taken place, those who were separated will be reunited, and one more worthy will sit on the seat of Grayskin.’"
Grayflower looked at Olaf. "Have these things occurred?"
"I am not one to interpret prophecy. I know the Exalted Warrior has, at times, communicated with the Dragon Protector, even taking on the form of a Dragon when she is with him."
"You have seen this?" Mother Starsword asked.
"Yes, Mother."
The Prioress turned to the Honored One. "I believe this may be one of the signs, but we cannot be certain until we hear that the Exalted Warrior has killed her consort."
Olaf swallowed. Moonrazer would never do something like this.
"Honored One, I am interested in the scroll that speaks of the Choosing Ritual. If I may be allowed to take it to Moonrazer, perhaps there may be a way to prove what I say is true."
"I see no harm in this," Grayflower said. "If she is not the true Exalted Warrior it will not matter, and when the prophecies as you have heard them are fulfilled, perhaps you will return to us with this news."
Mother Starsword handed him one of the scrolls. "This contains instructions only. No prophesies, but it will tell you what you want to know."
"Thank you." Olaf and Arrowbreaker bowed to the Honored One and left the throne room.
Chapter Twenty
That night, back in Arrowbreaker and Germian's home, after Greenblade had gone to bed, Olaf sat with her parents and enjoyed the fire.
"You do not judge us for not telling her about her parentage?" Arrowbreaker asked.
"It is not m
y place to judge," Olaf said.
"She is growing up," Germian said, prodding a log in the fireplace. "She will need to be told."
"And what of the day when we are reunited with our sisters?" Arrowbreaker said. "Will she find a place with them?"
Sword and Illusion Page 26
