It was a celebration.
It took all the rest of the day and half the night to carry out the bodies of the slain and give them proper burial a few longspans to the south of the city, where no farming was carried out. But after that was done, a task that civilian and soldier alike were committed to accomplishing before the bodies became a health risk to the city, the celebrating began. Every festhall, inn, and tavern was packed with revellers as they celebrated victory over the enemy, celebrated an end to the fighting, or celebrated the memory of the brave men who had fallen protecting Suld. Though many had died-more than they'd expected-the victory made it impossible to feel too somber for the lost, for the intoxicating wine of victory had flushed the survivors. There was a surprisingly small number of fights, most of them being the Ungardt, and they usually only fought one another when they were drunk, so the revelling taking place out in the city was a generally peaceful one.
Of course, not everyone was celebrating. There had been no civilian casualties, but there had been some damage to the eastern quarter of the city, and those who had had homes or businesses damaged during the fighting were not in a partying mood. That problem had been exascerbated after the rout began, as desperate ki'zadun soldiers broke into the empty buildings and tried to hide. The men that went in after them usually weren't very careful about the building, so alot of internal damage was done to the buildings standing as the soldiers fought to drag the prisoners out of their holes. Though they were grateful that the enemy had been repulsed, those unfortunates who had suffered loss in property were still a bit put out with the whole thing, and rightfully so.
But all in all, given the situation they had found themselves in, everyone agreed that it could have been much worse. They had managed to repel the ki'zadun, defeating a force almost twice as large as the defending force, doing it with magic, fortifications, strategy, and not more than a little luck. Stories had already begun to be recanted about the battle, about how the katzh-dashi of Suld rose up and showed the world the power they kept hidden, the power that had made the other orders of magic so fearful of them. Jenna and Tarrin especially became very highly mentioned in those stories, the Were-cat already being somewhat notorious, but the small, young, dark-haired girl, such a pretty and incredibly brave girl, rose up to prove she was the equal of the menacing, infamous Were-cat. She caught the attention and the hearts of many who had seen her fight. Minstrels and bards had already began composing songs about Jenna and her stand against the dark Wizards of the ki'zadun, and they got more and more outrageous with each draft. Several proposals of marriage had been delivered to the Tower gates as well, though most of them had probably been tendered while the hopeful groom was drunk and flushed with the thrill of their victory.
Inside the Tower there was celebration as well, but it was a bit muted. The Tower had lost fifty-three katzh-dashi in the battle, fifty-three out of five hundred and nine. That was one out of ten, killed in the battle. The cost to the katzh-dashi had been very high, but it had been a price they willingly paid, given the alternative. The Council had survived, but Jinna Brent, the Water seat, and Darrian Goldaxe, the Earth seat, had both been wounded in the fight. They were in their rooms, recuperating from the ordeal of being healed, and so were not present at the grand feast held in honor of their victory. The feast was attended by all the kazth-dashi, as well as the visitors and generals that had called the Tower home since arriving to help repel the ki'zadun. Many of the Arakite military command structure was present, as well as all the surviving Aeradalla. A large complement of Selani were present, as well as the new leader of the Centaurs, after their former one was killed during the fighting. Sathon was present, wearing a splendid white robe, as was Audrey the Were-wolf.
But all of them stared at the large table of empty seats near the table of the Council. That was where the Were-cats were to sit, as well as the core of the people close to Tarrin. Those seats were empty, and nobody had seen any of them since they had returned to the Tower.
But they were in the Tower. The Were-cats were gathered in Triana's rooms, where she still recovered from using her magic during the battle. Jesmind and Jasana were there with the others, but Tarrin was not with them. Sarraya was attending Triana, acting as nurse and healer to the Were-cat matron and speeding her recovery along. Keritanima was recuperating in her bed, with Allia, Miranda, Azakar, Dar, Szath, and Dolanna in close attendance. Jenna was resting comfortably in the apartments claimed by his parents, who watched over her in her convalescence. Phandebrass had forgotten about the feast, and was happily scraping up the residue of the destroyed Demons that had been defeated when they penetrated the fence, fully intent to study the horrific substance to better understand how Demonic physiology functioned. Camara Tal was sitting quietly with Jula, who was still unconscious after her own part in the battle, a part that was unknown to the others yet just as important as anything else that had happened.
Tarrin was in the courtyard, a courtyard whose hedges were mysteriously, magically restored from where the Demons had flattened them trying to reach the Goddess' icon. After everything that had happened, he realized he needed a little time alone, quiet, time to think and reflect on it all. He sat on the edge of the fountain, chin in his paw, looking down at the red bricks laid into the ground that surrounded the happily bubbling, gurgling fountain, and he fretted. So much had went on. Almost too much. And he'd only seen about half of the battle. From what he'd heard from others, the fight between Jenna's Circle and the Wizards and Priest of the ki'zadun had been spectacular, more than just invisible strokes and counterstrokes within the Weave. They had traded magical spells on more than one occasion, and some of the effects had been quite explosive. He'd pieced together the chronology of the battle from the stories that the others told him, and realized that they'd only just barely managed to eke out a victory. Had just one thing not happened when it happened, they'd probably still be fighting.
But there was more to it than just the battle. Tarrin was a bit chagrined, in a way, and the reason for it, he was sure, would seem a bit silly to the others. But it was serious to him, because it had caused him to break an oath. He had sworn an oath not to reveal the name of the Goddess, and yet he had done so. The use of the spell of banishment required that the name of the god enacting the banishment be voiced, and Tarrin had been forced to speak the Goddess' name in the middle of an army. He was absolutely sure they'd heard it. It bothered him that he'd broken his word, bothered him a great deal, even though it seemed a trivial worry, or it had been necessary. He still felt very foolish for not thinking of that first, that his incompetence had delayed him from getting rid of the Demoness, and that men had died on her swords because of it. Had he been thinking and realized that he could do the same thing to her that he did to the others, those men would still be alive. It was even more blood on his paws, and was just as bright and glaring as all the other blood.
But, in his own defense, he still found it hard to believe that he could use Priest magic. It seemed… alien. Sorcery came from the Weave, but partially came from within, and Druidic power from the land. Those were close things, intimate things, things that didn't seem so distant or unusual. But Priest magic came directly from the Goddess, and it required him to chant magical words just like a Wizard. That seemed so inefficient, so clumsy compared to the art of weaving spells, or the simplicity of Druidic magic.
Magic. The Firestaff had revealed itself to the world, just as the Goddess had said it would. It was out there right now, waiting for someone to find it, to pick it up. And he was positive that the seas were already populated with a large number of ships sailing off towards the direction of the Firestaff. He had taken too long to get the Book of Ages, he had dawdled too long in the desert. He had gotten himself shot like some untrained fool in Shoran's Fork, which delayed him even more. The Goddess was disappointed that he wasn't closer to it when it revealed itself, and Tarrin took that to mean that she was disappointed in him. He had blundered three times that day, just another three in a long series of mistakes, mishaps, and downright disobedient standoffs that had put him far behind where the Goddess wanted him to be. He felt that he'd failed her, and that left him feeling humiliated and deeply ashamed.
Shame or not, he wasn't about to quit, however. He would find the Firestaff first, and he'd keep it. He'd protect it from being used, and he'd make the Goddess proud of him again.
"Kitten, sometimes you amaze me in how badly you see everything you do," a voice came from behind him, an audible, physical voice. He turned to look, and saw that it emanated from the center of the fountain. But there was no marble statue of a nude woman there. This was a flesh and blood person, a real being, but her features were absolutely identical to the features of the statue that had been there when he came in. The woman was nude, as the statue had been, but a mere gesture caused a garment of iridescent, shimmering material to garb the figure, almost like stars spun into silk. It twinkled and shone every time she moved, stepping out onto the surface of the water as if it were solid ground. The physical face of the Goddess was just as beautiful as the statue, but now the alabaster granite was replaced by a young, rosy-cheeked face, her complexion light, and her hair a strange mixture of the seven colors of the Weave, hair seemingly made of a rainbow, long and thick and luxurious as it swayed with her movements and the wind. Her eyes were not real eyes, more like pools of amber energy, without whites or irises or pupils, like how Tarrin's eyes glowed green when he was angry, hers glowed with that amber radiance. She looked human, but there were features, like the eyes, that told any who looked upon her that she was much more than a mere human.
Tarrin stared at this flesh-and-blood woman in awe for a long moment, even as she waited imperiously at the edge of the fountain, tapping her foot on the surface of the water impatiently. He finally snapped out of staring at her and offered her his paw, which she took with a smile and stepped down onto the brick. Her hand felt like human flesh, but there was a heat within it that was not normal for a human, and her skin's contact with his pads made his pads burn and throb, but not in pain. More like an awareness of great power, like a tingling he sometimes got from the Weave or Druidic magic. She was shorter than him, about Allia's height, and that seemed so intolerably wrong to him. So he knelt down before her in awe and adulation, staring up at her with both love and reluctance.
She laughed at him. "Oh, my kitten, now you're going to start acting like that?" she teased, reaching down and putting her hands on either side of his face. "I thought you'd be pleased to see something like this. I did it just for you. Now stand up. I'm going to get a crick in my neck looking down at you like that." He obediently regained his feet, staring down at his deity with unease. "That's enough of that, kitten," she said firmly. "I may be disappointed that we're not further along, but that in no way means that I'm disappointed in you. Given everything that's happened, I feel that you've come a very long way. And we're not exactly falling behind, remember? We know where to go, when nobody else does. We have a distinct advantage, for the first time in this game we play."
Tarrin couldn't help but take her words to heart, and he felt some of his shame bleed away. "I-thank you, Mother," he said with a heavy sigh. "Your opinion of me matters more than anything."
"Oh, kitten, I'm always going to love you, no matter what you do," she laughed, walking away from him. She seated herself on the bench facing her fountain, and then patted the bench beside her meaningfully. He quickly obeyed her, sitting down beside her. The audacity of it struck him then, that he would be sitting beside the physical manifestation of a god, his Goddess, like she was any other person. But, he reminded himself, she preferred it when he treated her more as a friend and less as a deity. He put his paws between his knees and looked down at them, picking at one of his fetlocks nervously. "I'm sure you're waiting for the hammer to drop," she said with a teasing tone, but he wasn't looking at her face. "Here I've went and done something like this to talk to you, and now you're wondering what could be that important."
"It did sort of cross my mind, Mother," he admitted.
"I just wanted to sit and talk with my kitten," she told him gently. "To me, that's more important than anything else."
He had a guilty flush of pleasure to hear that. That she would go out of her way to talk to him! "I, I hope we did well. With the battle, I mean," he said hesitantly. "I'm sorry I didn't pick up on what you were trying to tell me sooner."
"I understand, kitten," she said gently. "It was something very new for you, so it wasn't easy to accept. I don't blame you for not thinking about it sooner, and I don't blame you for the men who died before you though to try to banish the marilith," she said firmly. "The truth is that the fault is mine. I should have realized that as tired and distracted as you were, your mind wouldn't consider something learned so recently. I should have told you what to do. So, kitten, don't blame yourself for that."
Though the words would have sounded empty from someone else, they came straight from the Goddess, and he found that he could accept her absolution. "I spoke your name out loud, Mother," he admitted sheepishly. "I didn't mean to do it, but when the spell was over, I realized that I'd broken my vow to you. I didn't have much choice, but I shouldn't have done it. I'm sorry."
"My name isn't a state secret, kitten," she chuckled. "Anyone with access to a library and a little patience can find it. So it's not like you revealed some great secret or anything." She put her hand on his shoulder. "And if you recall, I told you that those vows were meaningless. I gave you permission to break them any time you wished."
"I forgot about that," he admitted. "Mother, do I have to learn Priest magic now?"
She looked at him, then she laughed. "I'd say yes and no, kitten," she replied. "I think it would be good for you to learn about Priest magic, just so you have a better understanding of it. But you're already a Sorcerer, so I'm sure you won't be disappointed if I tell you that I won't grant you any magic that duplicates anything you can accomplish with Sorcery first. I will answer your prayers and grant you spells, but only things you can't do any other way but through Priest magic." She patted his shoulder. "So, kitten, I think you should go talk with Camara Tal. She can teach you all about Priest magic, and the spells they use."
"But she worships a different god."
"That doesn't matter," she replied immediately. "A long time ago, when the Younger Gods began to appear and we decided to allow them to give power to mortals, we all gathered together and debated the issue. I won't go into the details, but the result of that was a stricture stating that no god could grant any power that another god couldn't also grant, or conversely, a special power granted to a Priest could not exceed the power other gods granted to their Priests. The short of it, since it's a rather long-winded explanation and story about how we argued about the meaning of that rule, was that the ways in which a god can grant spells to a priest were standardized. That means that the spells that Camara Tal knows to seek power from her goddess are the same spells you would use to seek power from me. You just direct them to me instead of some other god, that's all."
"I didn't know that."
"You would have if you studied anything," she said sharply. "Priests do have one other power not related to spells, and that's that they can use our power to affect the undead and creatures of darkness."
"Like Demons?"
"No Demon could be affected by a power as weak as turning, kitten," she corrected him. "What you used was a spell, a very strong Priest spell."
"Oh. Why did they make up that rule, anyway?"
"To make sure that all Priests were equal," the Goddess told him. "Very early on, the Younger Gods realized that an effective way to reduce the power of a rival Younger God was to kill off his worshippers, so they tried to super-charge the Priests to turn them into war machines. The stricture was placed to give a Priest of one god a fighting chance against a Priest of another god. A Priest of higher rank, naturally, does gain more powers than an acolyte, but his power is equal to a Priest of comparable rank in another god's order. That keeps the Priests balanced and the gods they serve from getting any nasty ideas."
"I never dreamed being a god was so, political," he mused.
She laughed loudly, and for a long moment. "It's a very overrated profession, kitten," she beamed at him. "Sometimes I almost think I'd have preferred being a mortal."
"That explains why you like me to treat you like one," he reasoned.
"Not as a mortal, kitten. As a friend. I value your love more when it's given to me as more than just your god. Your love for me is deep and sincere, because you love me as a friend as much as you do as a god."
There wasn't much he could say to that. He bowed his head and let the moment pass. "When do you want us to leave?"
"As soon as possible,"she replied. "Even if you have to carry Keritanima to a ship on a stretcher. I'd like you to be on your way in two days at the most."
"I think that's workable for us, Mother. We knew we'd have to get to Wikuna before the summer solstice, and with the battle slowing us down, we knew it was going to be close. That we may have to jump on a ship as soon as the war was over. I guess we were right," he said with a rueful chuckle.
"You should think about how you're going to handle leaving," she told him. "You know that you can't take Jesmind and Jasana."
"I wouldn't be able to get Jesmind on the ship," he sighed. "Jenna can keep Jasana throttled, so I've already made those plans. They're staying here, in the Tower, until I get back. They have to stay near Jenna, and Jenna needs to be here."
"What about Jula?"
"I don't know yet," he replied. "That's going to be her decision. If she wants to come with me, she's welcome. I'll have to train Kerri in Weavespinner magic. One more pupil won't be too much of a burden."
"I see. What about the others?"
"Well, you said when we started that Allia, Kerri, Dolanna, Azakar, and Dar had to come, so they're going whether they want to or not," he said. "The others, well, I guess it's their decisions as to whether they come or not."
"I'll tell you now, kitten, Sarraya won't be going with you."
"Why not?" he asked in surprise. The idea of going without Sarraya seemed very daunting. The little bug was a pest, but she was one of his closer friends, and she was very dependable when things got serious. It was just all the other times that one had to put up with her.
"How long has she been with you, kitten?"
"About a year or so," he replied after thinking about it a moment.
"And before that, she was off on her own doing work for the katzh-dashi. She's been out on her own for nearly three years, and she's starting to weaken. She's reached the point where she has to return to her colony and be with her own kind, or she'll get weaker and weaker, and eventually die."
Tarrin remembered Sarraya telling him about that, that Faeries didn't live very long if they were separated from their colonies. Being a Druid, Sarraya was capable of living away from her colony for a very long time, but he didn't realize that she'd been out on her own for so long. If that were the case, then he wouldn't let her come with him. Sarraya's health was more important than his need for her to come along.
"I'm going to miss her," he sighed. "And I don't believe I just said that."
"She's annoying, but she's lovable," the Goddess chuckled. "Are you ready, kitten?"
Despite it being cryptic, he seemed to understand her meaning. "Not really, but I don't have much choice," he sighed. "Now that I've experienced a little domestic tranquility, it's going to kill me to leave Jesmind and Jasana behind."
"I wouldn't call a day in the Kael house very tranquil," the Goddess laughed.
"Well, tranquil for us," he said with a sheepish smile. "If we didn't fight every day, I'd think that Jesmind didn't love me anymore."
"They'll be here waiting for you when you come home, kitten," the Goddess assured him. "Think of it as motivation to come back soon."
"I'll have enough of that," he grunted. "Did we do well, Mother?" he asked quietly.
"Kitten, I haven't been this proud of my children since the Blood War," she said emphatically. "You were wonderful. All of you were."
Tarrin flushed slightly at the praise, then she stood up. "It's getting late, and Jesmind is waiting for you," she told him. "She's still nervous about what happened, and Jasana hasn't quite recovered yet. They need you right now, kitten."
"Alright, Mother," he said, standing himself. They stepped over to the fountain, and he dutifully helped her step up to again stand on the water's surface like it was solid ground. She leaned down and gave him a kiss on the cheek, and the touch of her lips against his skin sent a shockwave through him, scouring away his exhaustion and leaving him feeling refreshed and well. "That was for being my savior today," she smiled down at him, then she kissed him on the other cheek. It too sent a shockwave through him, but didn't change his physical state as the first had. "And that is for being so loyal. And this is for being my friend," she added, then she leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. He bowed his head humbly, feeling beyond blessed, feeling like he was the luckiest Were-cat alive. She put a finger under his chin and lifted his face up so she could look into his eyes. "And this is because I love you," she said with a gentle voice, putting her hands on his shoulders, leaning down, and then kissing him ever-so-lightly on the lips. It was a chaste kiss, but the power within her struck him when her lips touched his, and he felt his knees wobble from it. She looked down at him, then laughed lightly. "Even a goddess likes to see that a kiss from her makes a man's knees weak," she teased, then she actually winked at him. "You get yourself home, young man, and think about what I've said. I'll talk to you later, alright?"
"Y-Yes, Mother," he stammered slightly, putting two fingers to his lips involuntarily. "I'll go now. I love you."
"I love you too, kitten," she smiled, and then the slightly discombobulated Were-cat managed to turn around and meander in the general direction of the entrance to the courtyard. He vanished into the brush without making too much noise, and the physical form of the Goddess looked on for a moment, then smiled knowingly. She too put her fingers to her lips, but for an entirely different reason than he had.
Her kiss had been for more than love. Or, more to the point, it would serve him well in the trials to come. It was a kiss granted in love, but its effect wouldn't be obvious to him for a long time yet. When that time came, she hoped it would be all he needed to succeed.
With that same light smile, the flesh and blood figure stepped back up onto the raised dais at the center of the fountain, and then shimmered. The star-cloth garment disappeared in that flash, and as it faded, it left behind nothing but cold, white stone. A statue of a breathtakingly beautiful woman, her arms held out in welcome and a gentle, loving expression on her face.
Waiting.
Tarrin could have gone to Kerri's apartment, where most of his friends were waiting, but instead he went back to his own. It was empty and dark, except for a light coming from the room in which Jasana slept, and inside sat Camara Tal on a plush chair near the fireplace, reading from a book. Jula lay on Jasana's bed, covers pulled up and resting comfortably. Tarrin felt a little sorry for Jula, that everyone had forgotten about her in all the craziness following the battle. With Triana exhausted and Keritanima in a similar state, everyone had flocked to their bedsides, had checked on them. But nobody had come to see Jula, or to check on Jula. That seemed a bit unfair to him, but he knew that some of his friends still didn't trust her, still wouldn't accept her because of the history between him and her. Jula was truly alone in the Tower, since most of the Sorcerers wouldn't even talk to her. All she'd had was Triana, and then Kimmie. But Kimmie was with the other Were-cats, not sitting by the bed of her friend.
The Amazon nodded to him as he came in, and he sat down by the edge of the bed and brushed the hair back from Jula's face in concern. She didn't looked out of sorts, like she was sleeping naturally. Tarrin looked down at her and searched his feelings for his bond-child. He didn't completely like her, mainly because of what had happened between them. But she was his daughter, and he still felt duty-bound to watch over her and protect her, nurture her and make sure she was going to be a well-adjusted Were-cat before turning her loose. After she was on her own, even he wasn't sure how he'd feel towards her. But for now, she was still a child, still his child, and he'd care for her just as carefully and tenderly as he cared for Jasana.
"Has she moved at all yet?" Tarrin asked softly to the Amazon.
"A bit," she replied. "I checked her condition. She's just sleeping, Tarrin. If you shook her, she'd wake up."
"I don't think I'll do that," he replied. "She's had a very trying day."
"What happened to her? Jesmind's answer was pretty vague."
"The Goddess took command of us directly," he told her. "Used us to strike at Val when he tried to break the Weave. It was too much for Jula."
"She feels different to my magic," Camara Tal said, putting the book on the chair she just vacated and coming over to them.
"That's normal. Jula became a Weavespinner today," he said with not a little pride. "That causes some physical changes."
"She did, did she?" Camara Tal mused. "I thought that Weavespinners were special."
Tarrin sensed the veiled insult there, but he ignored it. "There are two types of Weavespinners, Camara. Ones like me and Jenna and my daughter, and then there are da'shar. Any Sorcerer can become a da'shar, but ones like me are born with it."
"I'm glad someone finally explained that to me," she announced.
"All you had to do was ask."
"The only one with the answers is Jenna, and she's been too busy with that book to talk to anyone," she grunted.
"I'm surprised you're here," he told her. "I thought everyone forgot about Jula."
"Miranda asked me to watch her," Camara Tal told him. "Given that whatever happened between you happened before I joined you, I think Miranda felt I was a safe choice."
"Probably," he sighed.
Jula stirred, groaning softly, then she opened her eyes. Tarrin smiled down at her gently, taking hold of her paw as her eyes slowly came into focus, then she bent her head a little to regard him. "Tarrin," she said weakly, "what happened? When did I get inside?"
"It's a long story, cub," he said gently, patting her paw. "The short of it is that the battle's over."
"We won?"
"We won," he assured her.
"What happened to me? I, I don't remember anything."
Tarrin calmy and slowly explained what had happened to her, and Camara Tal listened intently behind him. Jula's eyes widened when he explained that she'd crossed over, become a Weavespinner, and that it had been the circling with Tarrin and Jasana that was the main reason it happened. "I guess we won't have to worry about pushing you over the edge again, daughter," he told her. "In a few months, you'll be right as rain and learning how your powers have changed."
"I, I was used by the Goddess?" she asked in disbelief. "She trusted me enough to use her power through me?"
"Of course she did," Tarrin told her. "I'm sure she was a little angry with you at first, but you've proved yourself in my eyes, cub, and I think in the Goddess' eyes too. I don't think she's holding a grudge. Not that I'd presume to know the mind of the Goddess, but that's my opinion," he said quickly.
Strangely enough, that made her start to cry. She wiped at the tears with the back of her paw. "I'm sorry, I must seem like a little baby to you," she apologized. "But I've been scared that the Goddess was going to reject me after I betrayed her trust. I've tried to atone for what I've done, but-"
"That's enough, cub," he cut her off gently, putting his other paw over her mouth. "If you didn't prove yourself to her today, then you never will."
She sniffled a few more times, Tarrin wiping away a tear from her eyes with infinite tenderness, and then she looked up at him. "Maybe the Goddess does care about me," she offered in a small voice. "She had you find me. You've been so good to me, Tarrin, when nobody else believed in me. I can't ever tell you what that means to me."
"I won't lie to you, cub," he said with a rueful smile. "I wasn't very happy about taking you at first. But now, after I have a chance to look back on it, I'm glad I did. You've been a good daughter, even if I haven't been here to teach you what you need to know. Triana told me that you've done very well, and that makes me proud of you."
Jula smiled up at him foolishly. "You mean it?"
"Would I say it if I didn't mean it?" he asked flintily.
Jula looked at him sideways, then she laughed. "I guess not, but I'm not used to hearing people praise me. All I ever hear are nasty insults, when I hear anything at all."
"Silence from Triana is a good thing, cub," he said with a wink. "If she's not berating you, then you must be doing things right."
"I kinda figured that out," she agreed with a sheepish smile. Then she yawned widely, showing off her impressive fangs. "I'm still sleepy," she complained.
"Then you need more rest," he told her. "We'll get out of here and give you some time to sleep it off, cub. When you wake up, come and find me. We have alot to talk about."
"Alright," she said with a little nod. "Tarrin?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you," she said with great sincerity. "For everything."
"No thanks are needed, cub," he smiled. "You'll always be my daughter, even after I let you go, and I'll always be there for you when you need me."
She gave him a glorious smile, and then reached up and touched his cheek. Then she closed her eyes and settled into the bed, and was asleep almost immediately.
Tarrin stood up, and then the two of them crept quietly out of the room. Tarrin closed the door slowly, and then he turned to find Camara Tal staring at him. "Quite a change from the Tarrin I remember," she told him.
"I guess so. I've mellowed a bit since then."
"I noticed. I have to admit, I was one of the ones that was on Allia's side, that we should get rid of Jula. But I'm woman enough to admit when I was wrong. I was wrong about her. Now I feel like an ass for treating her so coldly."
"I appreciate that."
"She almost does seem like a little girl," she mused as they left his apartments. "A scared little girl, trying to cling to those around her."
"That sums up how it feels to be turned very well, Camara," he told her. "It's nothing I'd wish on my worst enemy."
"Speaking of old enemies, did you hear about Jegojah?"
"No, he was here?"
"Here? Tarrin, he turned the battle in our favor!" she laughed. "I'm surprised nobody told you!"
"No, not yet," he replied. "I didn't hear anyone talking about him, either. Where is he?"
"Gone," she replied. "He killed Kravon, and got him right before he was going to use that artifact to raise more undead. Kang told me about it. He caught Kravon and cut him with a sword, then watched him bleed to death. Then he told the men watching to tell you that he got your man, and then dropped dead on the spot."
That made Tarrin feel a little warm. Jegojah had finally caught up with Kravon. Tarrin was glad he didn't kill the man.
"Oh, and Kang said that Jegojah said that he cut Kravon for you," she added. "I think that means something."
"It does indeed," Tarrin laughed. "Jegojah came through in the end, and I'm happy for him. He's finally free of this world, and can go on to his final reward. I wish him well."
"They gave him quite a funeral," Camara Tal chuckled. "He's a hero now. If anything, Tarrin, Jegojah's memory won't be for what he did to us, but what he did for Suld. He went out in style."
"Then that's for the best," Tarrin said soberly. "Jegojah was a man of great honor. It's only fitting that the world remembers him as a hero. In my eyes, he was one."
"How so?"
"He was trapped by the ki'zadun five hundred years ago and forced to serve them," he explained. "His soul was imprisoned in a magical device that sought to twist him and make him evil, but he somehow managed to fight it. For five hundred years, he fought it, and though it did influence his actions, it never broke him. That, my friend, is courage."
Camara Tal was quiet a moment, then she nodded. "I see what you mean. And you're right."
"I'm just glad he can rest now," Tarrin sighed.
"Uh, where are we going?"
Tarrin stopped, blinking. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "Where do you want to go?"
She looked at him, then she laughed helplessly. "I think you'd better go see your family before they come looking for you," she told him. "Jesmind came by the room at least ten times to see if you'd been there, and to check on Jula."
"Jesmind checked on her?" he asked in surprise.
"Something like that. She just asked if Jula was dead or not."
"For Jesmind, that is checking on someone," Tarrin chuckled.
They went to Triana's apartments, and found out that it was quite crowded inside. Triana sat at a chair facing the fireplace, in a room and apartment identical to his own except for the furniture, and there were quite a few Were-cats attending her, so many that some had to stand or sit on the floor. Thean stood by her chair, and Sarraya hovered in the air on the other side of her. Jesmind and Jasana sat on the couch closest to her. Kimmie sat beside them, and Rahnee was beside Kimmie. Shayle and Singer sat on the other couch with Sathon, and Jeri stood behind the couch, leaning against the back. Nikki stood beside him; being the two youngest Were-cats, they'd lost their bids for the available seats. They greeted Tarrin loudly as he came in, standing up and taking his paw in turns, clapping him on the back. Tarrin greeted his Were-cat friends in turn, seeing that they were all well and whole, and still worked up over the battle. He finished with them and knelt by Triana's chair, taking her paws in his and smiling up at her. "Mother," he smiled. "I'm glad you're recovering."
"I'll be up and around by tomorrow, causing everyone trouble," Triana told him with a slight smile.
"At least I'll welcome it," he told her.
"How is Jula?"
"She's sleeping, mother," he replied with a nod. "She'll be just fine after she gets some rest. Just like you."
"Why don't you and Camara take a seat?" Triana offered. "We were listening to Jeri brag about how many Trolls he killed."
"I can't stay too long, mother," he told her regretfully. "I haven't seen Kerri yet, and I'd like to go see her."
"If it's all the same to you, Triana, I have another patient to check on," Camara Tal told her. "I want to go check on the Wikuni. Neme only knows what kind of barbaric medicine they use around here."
"If that's what you want, Camara," Triana told her with a nod. Camara Tal and Triana were old friends, and the tone she used with the Amazon showed it.
Camara said her goodbyes to Tarrin and Triana and left the room, and the Were-cats sat back down. Tarrin sat closest to Triana, with Jasana in his lap and Jesmind beside him. Kimmie got displaced by Rahnee, and was forced to stand behind the couch upon which they sat. Jeri went back to his story, about how him and a Were-bear named Yvan single-handedly beat back a pack of at least twenty Trolls. Jeri described it in lurid blow-by-blow detail, and Tarrin suffered throught it rather well. When he was done, Triana looked to Tarrin. "So, cub, did things go the way you expected? The stories I heard have been fragmented."
"Pretty much, they did, mother," he replied. "The Tower was all that mattered. It's still standing, so we did our job."
"I heard some impossible things about you, Tarrin," Nikki said. "I saw you at the wall, but yet they also say you defended the Tower from Demons. How did you get back and forth so fast?"
Tarrin chuckled. "I can be in two places at once, Nikki," he told her. "Literally. What you saw over the wall was a projection of me. It's complicated, so I won't go into details. But think of what you saw as a shadow of myself, capable of using my powers. The real me was here in the Tower the whole time."
"Oh. I don't understand, but I'll take your word for it," she admitted.
"That must be confusing," Jeri laughed.
"That's one of the old powers, one of the ones the books talk about," Thean said. "And that sister of yours is almost like a folk hero now," he chuckled. "They're singing songs about her already."
"She did do a good job," he said proudly.
"A good job? Tarrin, that little girl almost single-handedly pushed back the ki'zadun. If she hadn't been there, we would have been slaughtered."
"That's my sister," he said grandly. "I need to go see her," he added to himself.
"That can wait until after you tell us your side of the story," Singer told him. "We heard some of it from Jesmind, but she didn't see everything. So tell us!"
"Yes, tell us!" Jeri agreed.
"Later," he said dismissively. "Actually, I just came to see mother and gather up my family. I have to go see Kerri, my mate," he told Jesmind. "Do you want to go with me?"
She looked to her mother, then she nodded. "We'll go with you," she agreed. "Then we go home."
"Alright. I'm sorry to cut things short, but I have a few more people to see tonight, and we don't have much time."
"We have all the time in the world. We won!" Jeri objected.
"Tarrin has something else to do, Jeri," Triana told him. "I felt it, and I know what it means. I'm surprised you're not herding everyone on a ship and leaving right now, Tarrin."
"I have two days," he told her. "We have to leave by then, but I'm going to aim for tomorrow afternoon."
That made Jesmind's eyebrow rise, and he could tell that she was going to have something to say about that when she got him alone.
"Well, I won't slow you down, cub," Triana told him. "I know you probably have alot of things to do, so I'll let you get to them."
"I appreciate that, mother," he said with a grateful smile, standing up. "I'll have time to tell you the story tomorrow, at least I hope so," he told his Were-cat friends. "Until then, you'll just have to wait."
"You're mean to us, Tarrin!" Jeri laughed.
Jesmind collected Jasana and stood up, then gave Tarrin an impatient look. She obviously didn't feel like waiting until they were alone. Tarrin stood up, and looked to Thean. "Do you know where my parents' apartment is, Thean?" he asked.
"Yes, I do."
"Would you do me a big favor and either go there or tell one of the others how to get there, and tell my sister and parents to meet me at Keritanima's apartment?"
"I'll do it for you, Tarrin," Rahnee offered. "I know where their apartment is."
"I appreciate it, Rahnee," he said with a nod. "Camara, I hope you don't mind, but I'd like you to come with us. We have to make some plans."
"I figured as much," she said. "I'll come see you tomorrow morning, alright, Triana?"
"I'll be fully rested by then," she scoffed.
"Well, I'm going to go with you, Tarrin," Sarraya announced, finally speaking. "I have to talk to you."
"That's fine with me," he assured her.
"I'd better go track down that mad Wizard," Camara Tal sighed. "I'm sure we'd rather have him with us."
They left, and Tarrin could tell that Jesmind was bristling. She didn't want to go off on him in front of Sarraya, as it was a purely personal issue, but he could tell that she was mad. Jasana could as well, holding onto her mother's neck tightly to reinforce her contact with her mother, the contact that helped her control her parents when necessary. Tarrin had noticed that about her; she could calm either of them down by touch alone. Jasana's calming influence kept Jesmind from losing her temper, and Tarrin suddenly hoped that he wasn't going to be alone with his mate any time in the near future.
It took only a few moments to reach Keritanima's apartment. Like the others on that floor, it looked almost exactly the same as his own, with the large common room with the two bedrooms split off from each side and the glass-paned door leading out onto the balcony across from the entrance. But where Tarrin's apartment had three couches, Keritanima's had two plush chairs flanked by two couches, with a tea table in the center and a small stand between the two chairs. All of the furniture was upholstered with soft, shining leather, leather that contained feather cushions. Keritanima sat on one of those chairs with her feet propped up on a footstool, with Szath and Azakar standing behind her chair protectively. Miranda sat in the other chair, her lap full of knitting. Dolanna and Allia sat on the couch facing the door, and Dar and the Keeper were sitting on the one before them.
They all greeted him loudly and happily as he entered without knocking, but the happiness died away when they saw the pensive look on his face. "Whatever is the matter, dear one?" Dolanna asked.
"I hate to break up the festivities, but I need to talk to all of you," he said immediately. "We'll wait for Jenna, my parents, and Camara Tal to track down Phandebrass, though."
"Uh oh, it sounds serious," Keritanima said with a weak grin.
"How are you feeling, sister?"
"Weak as a kitten, but otherwise fine," she replied. "I do feel a little, weird, though. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I think it'll clear up after I get some rest."
Room was made on the couches, and Tarrin and Jesmind were sitting on the very long couch with Allia and Dolanna. His Selani sister touched his face warmly in greeting, smiling at him, then patted him on the leg and allowed Jasana to climb up into her lap. "We were trading stories, trying to piece together a complete chronology of the battle," Keritanima told him. "Now that you're here, you can add your part of it."
"It wasn't much, sister," Tarrin said. "If you want to talk to the one who did it all, talk to Jenna."
"We were with Jenna, Tarrin," Allia reminded him. "It was what happened here on the grounds that we have missed."
"It wasn't all that much, sister," he shrugged.
"I think you are not being honest, dear one," Dolanna said with a light smile.
"I really didn't do much, Dolanna," he objected. "I defended the icon from a few Demons, then I projected out to the wall to help you, then I helped Camara Tal defend against the final assault. That was about it."
"You are being vague, dear one."
"I know I am," he said simply. He didn't want to get sidetracked quite yet, so he wasn't about to go into detail about what happened to him during the battle.
The door opened, and Tarrin's parents came in. Eron was carrying Jenna in his arms, who was in a nightshirt. She looked drawn and exhausted, but she did manage to smile as she was carried into the room. Tarrin rose and greeted his parents with warm hugs and a slap from his mother for not visiting them sooner, and then more room was made. Elke and Eron Kael found seats on the other couch, but Miranda gathered up her knitting and gave Jenna her chair, then pulled a simple wooden stool from one of the bedrooms and set it on the other side of Keritanima's chair and seated herself.
"You look tired, sister," Tarrin noted.
"I feel tired, Tarrin," Jenna grinned wearily. "I've never worn myself out like that before."
"You want me to fix that for you?" Sarraya asked.
Jenna stared a the Faerie for a long moment, then she laughed. "That has to be Sarraya."
"I forgot, you haven't met her yet. Mother, father, Jenna, this is Sarraya. She's the Faerie that helped me get across the desert. She's a good friend of mine."
"Pleased to meet you," Sarraya said, bobbing slightly in the air before landing on Tarrin's shoulder and making herself comfortable. It had been a while since she'd used him for a chair, but it immediately felt right to him.
"I guess we should thank you for helping our son, Sarraya," Eron said mildly. "I know he can be a handful sometimes."
"You have no idea," Sarraya said in an obviously melodramatic turn of voice. "Anyway, like I said, yo want me to pep you up, Jenna?"
"Ah, no, thank you all the same," Jenna said carefully. "I'll be fine after a night's sleep, Sarraya, really. Thanks for the offer, though."
"If you need me, just call," she offered.
"I'll remember that."
"Now if Camara could drag Phandebrass up here, we could start," Tarrin fretted. "It's starting to get late, and we're all tired."
"I saw him crawling around on the ground where the Sorcerers are mending the fence," Sarraya chuckled. "What was he doing?"
"With Phandebrass, you can never tell," Tarrin laughed.
"And you may not want to know," Keritanima added.
"Have you met Phandebrass yet, mother, father?"
"I don't think so," Elke Kael replied. "From the sound of it, I'd have remembered him if I did."
"No doubt," Dar chuckled in agreement.
"He is, rather unique," Allia said mildly. "But he is a solid, dependable man."
"No argument there, but he is a bit eccentric," Tarrin nodded.
"We're all eccentric in our own ways," Eron said sagely. "Some just aren't afraid to show it, that's all."
"Then Phandebrass must be fearless," Miranda giggled.
They spent the time waiting for Camara Tal and Phandebrass by trading short descriptions of the parts of the battle they'd seen. Most of them overlapped, for everyone in the room aside from the Were-cats had been together on the field. They only split into smaller Circles afterwards, and it was there that they traded information. Jenna actually nodded off as Dar described for the fifth time how Keritanima had managed to avoid being Consumed, a subject that seemed to embarass the Wikuni, but it was cut short when the door opened, and Camara Tal led Phandebrass into the room.
Phandebrass hadn't changed his robes yet, and they had some dried blood on them. They also had grass stains, and a few black smudges that looked like ash. "I say, we made it," he prattled as soon as he came into the room. "I hope we didn't miss anything!"
"If we did, it's all your fault," Camara Tal snapped at him.
"Good, we're all here," Tarrin announced. "Find somewhere to sit down, if you can, and we can get to the heart of the matter."
Camara simply stood by the hearth, but Phandebrass retrieved the chair that sat in front of a dressing table in Keritanima's room and set it by Jenna's chair. Tarrin leaned back on the couch and drew in his breath. "I'm sure everyone here either felt it or was told about it," he said immediately.
"That wave of magical power?" Dar asked.
Tarrin nodded. "That was the Firestaff," he said grimly. "It's revealed itself to the world." There was a long silence, broken when the Keeper blew out her breath. "The Goddess told me that everyone around the world felt that, and most of them will realize that it was the Firestaff that did it."
"I could feel what direction it came from," Camara Tal grunted. "That means others did too."
Tarrin nodded. "Exactly. They don't know precisely where it is, but they do know in what general direction it is, so that means that we're going to be racing any Wizard or Priest with a ship."
"So we leave tomorrow," Keritanima announced. "Our information won't do us any good if someone stumbles across the Firestaff by sheer luck."
"I was thinking of tomorrow afternoon," he said. "Me, Kerri, Dar, Allia, and Dolanna are going. No arguments," he said with a slight smile. "I know Miranda and Szath will at least go back to Wikuna, but the question is, who else wants to go?"
That caused a little bit of laughter in the room. "Tarrin, you nit, we're all going!" Keritanima told him with a laugh." Well, everyone but Jenna and your folks, anyway."
"I, I can't go," Sarraya said in a small voice from his shoulder. "I can't be that far away from my colony. I'm sorry, but I need to go home for a while. I hope you're not disappointed, Tarrin. I know I am. I wanted to go on another adventure with you."
"I understand, Sarraya. The Goddess told me that you've been away from home a very long time, and that you need to go home and rest for a while. As long as you're here waiting for us when we come back, I'll be happy. I'm sorry you're not coming, but at least you can rejoin us later."
"That's a promise, Tarrin," she said strongly, patting his neck with her tiny hand.
"If you're not finished, I'm not finished protecting you, Tarrin," Camara Tal told him. "I go."
"I say, you think I'd miss the chance to study the Firestaff up close?" Phandebrass announced.
"I've been with Kerri this long, I'll see it out to the end," Azakar announced.
"Alright," Tarrin said, nodding. It was as he expected; everyone was going to go. "I'm going to offer Jula the chance to go with me. She needs to be trained."
"I want Jula to stay with me," Jenna told him. "You train Kerri, and I'll train Jula. Besides, I think I may need a Were-cat Sorcerer on hand. I may need Jula to help me with Jasana."
Tarrin hadn't considered that. "Good point," he said. "Alright, Jula stays."
"Count me in as well," a voice said from the doorway. They all turned to look and saw Kimmie pad into the room. She was back in her peasant dress, and was all cleaned up. "Master Phandebrass agreed to take me on as a pupil, and I can't very well learn from him if he's with you and I'm still here."
"I say, you'll be a good student, my dear," Phandebrass told her. "I sense a great deal of potential in you."
Kimmie beamed at the Wizard, then gave Jesmind a curiously neutral look. "It's not exactly like I'm inviting myself. Triana decided that she's not letting Tarrin go without another Were-cat along with him to help. We fought over who was the lucky one after you left," she grinned at Tarrin and Jesmind. "I won."
"You fought over it?"
"Well, not real fighting," Kimmie explained. "I just proved to Triana that I had the most personal interest in going, since Master Phandebrass was probably going too. She said I go. Rahnee was very disappointed," she grinned. "I get the feeling she was looking forward to the idea of getting to spend all that time with you separated from Jesmind."
That seemed to hit a nerve in his mate, and she narrowed her eyes at the sedate female Were-cat, and very nearly growled in her throat.
"Well then, it sounds like everyone but Sarraya is going," Keritanima announced.
"Don't rub it in!" the Faerie growled at her. "Just make sure you have good stories to tell when you come back."
"This may not be the right time, but since your parents are here, Jenna, I guess I should tell them now," the Keeper finally spoke up. "Eron, Elke, I've appointed Jenna to the Council. She'll be taking Amelyn's place as the Mind seat." The Keeper smiled at the young woman. "She's the youngest katzh-dashi to ever hold a Council seat. You should be proud."
Eron and Elke did not look proud. They actually looked rather unhappy about it. "We were going to return to Aldreth, Keeper," Eron explained.
"I can't go with you, father," Jenna sighed. "My place is here now. If you and mother want to go back to Aldreth, then by all means, go. Don't hold yourself here because of me. I'll be fine, I promise. I have Jesmind to be my guardian, and I have my niece Jasana to keep me company. Don't I, Jasana?" she said to her.
"Umm," Jasana agreed.
"Don't you trust Jesmind to keep an eye on me, mother?" Jenna asked innocently.
"Are you staying here, Jesmind?" Elke asked directly.
It hung there for a long moment. "Yes," she finally said, which made Tarrin literally sigh in relief. "I don't want to stay, I want to go back to Aldreth myself, but Jasana needs to be near Jenna. If Jenna is staying, then I have to keep Jasana here too."
Eron and Elke exchanged looks. "We'll talk about this later, Jenna. In private," Eron told her. "You can stay, but we have to decide if we're going to stay with you, or go back home."
"That's fine, father," Jenna assured him.
"I'm a little tired now, but I'll arrange for our ships," Miranda spoke, standing up. "I'll get a squadron ready to move. If the seas are going to be crowded, I think a little show of force will get us back to Wikuna safely."
"That's a good idea, Miranda," Keritanima agreed. "Tell the Admiral to have twenty ships ready to sail on the afternoon tides."
"They'll be ready," she assured them, then she filed out of the apartment with Azakar following closely behind, to protect her if needs be. Szath closed the gap behind Keritanima's chair protectively, his black eyes continuing to stare at those arrayed before the Wikuni queen.
"Well then, if that's what we needed to talk about, I'd say that it's time to start packing," Keritanima said brusquely. "That, and the fact that I'm still very tired, and I'm about to fall asleep on you all. So, excuse my bluntness, but I'd appreciate it if you all let me go to bed."
"That's a good idea," Dar said with a yawn.
"Let us meet tomorrow for breakfast," Dolanna proposed. "So to be organized to depart."
"Good idea. But let's make it lunch," Keritanima said. "The way I feel right now, it would take a Troll looming over me to get me out of bed any time before noon."
"An early lunch," Dolanna pressed. "We will have much to do, and little time to accoplish it."
"Alright, an early lunch, you slave driver," Keritanima complained.
They all stood up, and then said their goodnights to one another warmly, trading hugs and kisses. Tarrin left the apartment and started down the curving passageway that would lead them back to his own apartment with Jesmind, Jasana, and Kimmie in tow. The younger female Were-cat was silent a moment, then she spoke up. "I won't touch him, Jesmind," she announced in promise. "I'm going for the things Phandebrass can teach me, not to steal Tarrin away from you."
"If it were anyone else, I'd be alot angrier," Jesmind said through clenched teeth. "Now I think you'd better go to your room, Kimmie. I have some words for my mate."
"Ah. I'm glad my room is on another floor," she chuckled. "I'll see you tomorrow. Maybe."
She turned back down the passage, heading for the stairs, and Tarrin found himself dreading reaching the door to their apartment. It was but a short walk, but it seemed to drag out infinitely before him, heightening his anxiety. When they were finally there, he quickly opened it, motioned for his family to enter, then closed and locked the door.
Jesmind was angry, but it turned out that she only wanted to fight to vent her frustration. She railed at him for only giving her one more night with him, raged at him for pawning off his daughter like a trinket, and for not talking to her about any of those things beforehand. Then she shouted at him about how insensitive he was. Tarrin endured the tirade until Jesmind seemed to scream herself out, and then took her paw. "Feel better now?" he asked conversationally.
She glared at him, then laughed helplessly. "Damn you, Tarrin!" she said without much conviction. "I knew you'd have to leave us again, but I didn't think it would be tomorrow!"
"Things are getting tight, love," he told her seriously. "We need to get there first, so that means we need to get going. I don't know how long I'll be gone, probably about six months or so, but I'll be back. Hopefully, that'll be the last time I have to leave you, my mate. If everything goes well, I'll be back to stay when I return." He reached up and brushed her hair from her face. "And who knows? Maybe a few months apart will mean that we'll have a couple of extra years together."
"I don't care about then, I care about now!" she said in frustration. "I want you with me right now, beloved! I'm going to go crazy without you here with me!"
"You'll have Jenna and Jula to talk to, love," he told her. "That reminds me. Jula is sleeping in Jasana's bed."
"I'll share with her tonight, Papa," Jasana said quickly from where she'd been sitting on the couch, waiting for her parents to finish fighting. "I like Jula. She's nice."
Jesmind clearly seemed uneasy about that, but then she sighed and nodded. "For tonight," she said. "Jula's in no condition to cause any mischief anyway, so Jasana will be safe enough."
"I'm glad you trust my daughter enough to let our daughter sleep in the same bed with her."
"I don't really, but these are extenuating circumstances," Jesmind admitted. "Alright, it's been a long day, cub. Into your room and get ready for bed. We'll be along in a bit to tuck you in."
"Alright, Mama," she acquiesced, getting up and padding to her room.
"And you," she said, looking at Tarrin. "I don't care how tired you are, beloved. I have only one more night with you before you leave. Don't plan on wasting it by sleeping."
"I didn't think you'd let me," he said with a teasing smile, taking her paws and looking down into her eyes. "I'm glad you're not going to really fight about this, love," he told her. "This is important."
"I know it is. It's the only reason I'm letting you do it," she replied seriously. "I don't like letting you leave me, but even I can understand that this is more important than what I want."
"Triana got to you, didn't she?" Tarrin asked after a pause.
Jesmind gave him a rueful grin. "Yah," she mused. "She told me to be graceful about it, or she'd kill me."
"I don't call all that screaming very graceful, Jesmind."
"I can't just let you go and do whatever without letting you know how I feel. Besides, if I just knuckled under here, you'd think I was getting weak, and you'd just start doing whatever you want all the time." She tapped him on the cheek. "I may lose, but you still have to fight for it, beloved."
Tarrin stared down at her, then smiled. "That's the Jesmind I know and love."
"Of course it is. Who else would it be?"
The next day dawned, for the city of Suld, with one massive hangover. Almost everyone in the city had been celebrating, and they were feeling the effects of it the morning after, as many picked themselves up out of the streets in which they'd passed out. But not everyone had been partaking in the joy. The Wikuni fleet, after gathering up their sailors from the taverns and festhalls, quickly and quietly prepared their ships to leave. By morning, a squadron of twenty clippers was prepared for departure, including the Royal ship, a clear indication to anyone coherent enough to see that the Queen of Wikuna was preparing to leave Suld. Ungardt ship captains dragged their crews out of tavern floors, streets, and the beds of victory-flushed young women, and they too began to get ready to pull out. A large portion of the Arakite Legions too looked to be preparing to return home, but a portion of the Arakite forces had settled into barracks on the Tower grounds, making it apparent that they were going to remain in Suld to either train with the Knights or supplement the defense forces of the city and give Suld time to call in more Sulasian troops for her defense.
Tarrin threw the drapes back to let the morning light into the common room, and paused to look down over the city, stepping out onto the balcony. All the fires had been put out, and from the parts of the city he could see, it didn't look like the city had just come through a major battle. He looked up, seeing from the sun that it was nearly noon, as the sun just began to creep over the top of the Tower and start on the waning portion of its daily cycle. He could see the Wikuni ships out in the harbor, and though it was too far away to tell, he could only guess that they were either being prepared or were prepared to sail.
He'd be getting on one of those ships today. He'd get on that ship, and it was going to sail away, to the southwest, to seek the Firestaff. He'd be leaving behind his mate and both of his daughters, his parents and bond-mother, his little mother and a close friend. They all had to remain behind, because they were too young, or they were needed, or they had to return home for their own health and well being. Or they simply had no interest in going. He would leave again, leave a place in which he had come to feel comfortable, would abandon it all again to obey his Goddess and continue the mission.
But for every one that was staying, another was coming along. His blood sisters would be with him, as would Dolanna. Kimmie would be there to talk to, talk to someone that understood him in ways nobody else really could, and he'd have Camara Tal to teach him and Phandebrass to amaze him or surprise him or shock him every day. It would be a long journey, but he wouldn't get bored.
But it still didn't change the fact that Jesmind wouldn't be there. Jasana wouldn't be there, and Jula wouldn't be there. They were his family, just as much as Jenna and his parents and his sisters and his bond-mother. He'd have some of his family with him, but others would not be there, and Jesmind was the most important of them all. He loved his fiery mate, and the idea of leaving her was like a rock stuck in his belly. But he had no choice. He knew it, she knew it, and they both had to live with it.
Jasana had taken it surprisingly well. His little girl seemed a little, different. She showed signs of her usual self, but there was something else in her eyes now, a maturity, a knowledge that shouldn't be there. Tarrin got the feeling that the joining with the Goddess had caused that to be, and it had changed his daughter. But she was still Jasana, and she showed signs that whatever had changed her would not change her too much. It was just something extra in her gaze now, and there were times when she showed unusual maturity. The fact that her father was leaving her was one of those areas. He had told her when he'd gotten up, told both her and Jula, and where he expected her to plead and wheedle and cajole him into staying, she had simply nodded gravely and asked when he was going to come home. That had surprised him, nearly so much so that he almost forgot to tell Jula that Jenna wanted her to stay in Suld, and he wanted her to stay as well and help watch over Jasana. Jula hadn't been too pleased, since she would be much happier away from the Tower and the people in it, but she only sighed and agreed when he told her that it wasn't a request, it was an order. It was even worse for her because Kimmie was going with Tarrin, who was her only real friend. Without Kimmie, Jula would only have Jenna, Jesmind, and Jasana. And Tarrin knew that Jesmind wasn't going to warm to Jula very quickly, so that was going to be an unpleasant period of adjustment for both of them.
They would manage. He hoped that they would be alright while he was gone. Jasana would get bored alot, and Jula would be very quiet for a while, and Jesmind would be a royal, total, complete and utter bitch to everyone she saw for the first few rides, as the separation from him reached it peak before she started to calm down. Tarrin was very glad he wouldn't be around to see that. Jesmind was a woman of passion, and she was also a woman of frank directness. When she was unhappy, she made sure everyone around her knew it.
Putting his paws on the rail, he looked over the sea, out into the vast blue emptiness, his eyes making out the horizon. Somewhere over that horizon, the Firestaff was waiting for him. Waiting for someone, waiting for whoever reached it first, no matter who it was. He wasn't the only one going to sail out over that horizon in search of it, and he just hoped that they wouldn't get in the way too much along the way. For the first time since he started this, for the first time, he didn't feel like he was chasing some intangible fable. He had felt its power, and now they were going after the Firestaff itself. It felt more real to him than ever before, and that made him feel much more sober about what he was doing. That power had touched him, and it had seemed almost limitless. That was the enticement luring them to it, the promise of the power, power enough to make someone a god. Even Tarrin felt that allure tugging at him, but it could find no real purchase within him. Everything the Firestaff offered, he already possessed. He already had great power, and he already had immortality. The only thing that the Firestaff could offer that he lacked was peace. Peace… well, he doubted such a thing could give him peace. Its very nature made people fight over it, and the world had exploded into war over it over the last couple of years. Absolute power… it did indeed corrupt absolutely.
Noontime. It was almost time for them to meet and make sure they had everything ready. They'd be leaving soon, and though it may take Keritanima a few hours to prepare, Tarrin would be ready as soon as he picked up his simple pack, a pack that had never really been emptied. Maybe some part of him knew that he wouldn't be at Suld very long. Even so, all it really held in it were his clothes and some small personal effects, like the little doll that had once been his and Janette's favorite toy. He was more or less ready to leave now, but he didn't want to go. He didn't want to leave Jesmind.
I can help with that, kitten, the voice of the Goddess touched him. He felt an odd surge of magical energy, and then felt something suddenly in his paw. He looked down and saw a trio of black steel shaerams, one with a longer chain than the other. Give those to your mate and daughters. With them, you will never be out of touch.
"Thank you, Mother," he said gratefully.
They are just like yours, able to do anything yours can do. They are also linked to your amulet in a way that makes it impossible for others to hear what you say. And I created them so it doesn't require Sorcery to use them. All Jesmind need do is hold the amulet and call your name, and you will hear it.
"Jesmind finally gets to shapeshift without losing her clothes," Tarrin mused with a smile. "This is a wonderful gift, Mother. Thank you very much. It'll make me feel much better."
I dare say it'll make Jesmind less bitchy, she said winsomely. You won't be here, but at least she'll be able to talk to you, and that should ease her loneliness.
"I hope so," he said.
He found all three of them in Jasana's room. Jula was still very weak and wobbly, trying to get one of Jesmind's shirts on without much success. The ordeal that had barely slowed Tarrin down for more than a couple of hours had destroyed Jula, and he worried if she would ever recover or be alright again. Jesmind was handing Jasana a pair of breeches as the little Were-cat girl picked at the fur at the end of her tail, combing out a burr. Tarrin shook his head and stepped over to Jula, grabbing the tail of the shirt and pulling it over her head.
"Thanks," she said with a weak smile, sitting back down on the bed and breathing a little hard to recover. "I was going to try the pants first, but I thought the shirt would be easier. Proves how smart I am," she said with a weak, rueful laugh.
"Well, this may be soemthing a little easier to put on," he told her. "Jesmind, Jasana, here," he called, making them come over. He handed Jasana her amulet first, then Jesmind, then reached the last back to Jula.
"What is this, Tarrin?" Jula asked, looking at the amulet. "I feel… something about it."
"It's a gift," he told them. "A gift from the Goddess."
"A gift for me? The Goddess gives a gift to me?" Jula asked in wide-eyed reverence. "After everything I did to her, she gives me a gift?"
"The only one punishing you over what you did is you, Jula," Tarrin told her. "The Goddess forigives you. Can't you see that?"
"I, I guess so, but-" she said, but then she broke off and wiped a tear from her eye.
"These are like mine," he told them, looking at Jesmind. "They'll let you shapeshift without losing your clothes, and as long as you wear them, nobody can find you using magic. They're also linked to my amulet," he explained, touching his own. "All you have to do is hold it in your paw and speak my name, and you can talk to me no matter where I am."
Jesmind stared at the amulet a long moment, then squealed in delight and gave her mate a deep kiss. "Tarrin, this is perfect!" she beamed. "Now I can keep in touch with you. And I can shapeshift any time I want!"
"Oh, wait," he said, realizing something. "The Goddess said that they were exactly like mine. I'll bet that means that if you put them on, you won't be able to take them off. So it's your decision if you want to wear it."
"So?" Jesmind countered. "This Goddess of yours seems to own you and my daughter. If I can't trust her with you two, I have no reason to trust anyone. I'll wear her symbol proudly." And with that, she quite deliberately put it over her head and settled it into place.
"I never dreamed-" Jula said, then she sniffled. "I haven't worn a shaeram since the night I abducted you. I've been too ashamed. But if the Goddess does forgive me, I'll wear this and never take it off," she said adamantly. She put it on slowly, and when it was settled around her neck, Tarrin clearly saw the concave star design at the center of it transform itself, growing the leg-like extensions that made it appear to be a spider, and marked the amulet as belonging to a Weavespinner. She looked at it in wonder for a moment. "It didn't look like this before. It looks like-" she cut herself short, looking up at the amulet around Tarrin's neck.
"That's right," he said with a gentle smile. "It's like mine. You're a Weavespinner, daughter. Jenna is going to teach you what that means. Listen to her and learn from her. She'll teach you well."
She ran her finger along the outside circle adoringly, admiring her new amulet. "I'll never take it off."
"You won't be able to," Tarrin reminded her, then turned to Jasana. "Well, cub? Do you trust the shining lady enough to wear her gift if you know it can never come off?"
"Umm," she nodded. "The shining lady loves me. She said so herself. She's like Mama." She fearlessly put the amulet on, and then looked down at it. "She wouldn't give me something bad."
"Alright then," he said with a gentle smile. "Just as I promised, Jesmind. An amulet to let you shapeshift without losing your clothes."
"You didn't make it," she teased.
"No, but I delivered on my promise, didn't I?"
She looked at him, then laughed helplessly. "You did," she admitted. "You know, if I really can talk to you no matter where you are, it makes you leaving seem not as bad."
"I'll always be as close as a touch and a word, love," he promised. "And if we're not moving, I can come and see you personally with a projection."
"It will seem weird. Maybe you should just learn the spells of travel that mother knows," she said with a hopeful look. "You could get back here in a matter of hours."
"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Jesmind. I'll be a on a ship. If I travel here and the ship moves while I'm gone, how am I going to find my way back to it?"
She gave him a look, then snorted. "You just had to go and ruin a good idea, didn't you?" she accused.
"Look at reality, love. If Triana is the only Druid I've seen that can travel like that, the odds are that the spell is beyond my ability."
"Well, maybe," she grunted.
Jula was still staring at her amulet in wonder, still running her finger along its border. Jasana put her paw on Jula's leg and smiled up at her, and Jula smiled back and ruffled her hair. "I'm glad you don't seem so sad anymore, sister," Jasana said with a loving smile. "If all it took to make you happy was give you one of these, I'd have got you one last ride."
"It's more than that, little cub," Jula told her with a strangely devoted look. "This means that the shining lady isn't mad at me. I was so afraid that she would be, and that she didn't love me anymore. I'm glad I was wrong."
"All you had to do was ask her. You didn't have to be afraid. Mother always says tackle your fears, or they'll tackle you."
"Well, I guess I should have," she admitted. "But sometimes fear seems much bigger than you are."
"Then you get a running start," Jasana told her seriously.
"I'll remember that, little cub," she said with a rueful smile, tapping Jasana on the nose in the way she'd seen Tarrin and Jesmind do so, which made the little girl giggle.
Tarrin happened to be looking at Jesmind, and he saw her eyes visibly soften as she watched Jula and Jasana. "Why don't you help Jula finish getting dressed, cub?" Jesmind told her. "If she had that much trouble putting on a shirt, she'll fall over if she takes a foot off the floor."
"Alright, Mama. Where are your pants, sister?"
"Jesmind brought me those there," she said, pointing to the floor near the writing desk. "I hope they fit. The shirt seems to fit well enough, but your mother is taller than I am."
"Then go without them," Jasana said. "I go without clothes all the time at home."
"Well, I could, but all the boys would stare at me if I left the apartment," she said with a wink.
"Why?"
"Because of something you'll understand when you're older," she replied.
"Papa doesn't stare at you."
"That's because your father is my father too," she replied. "Among humans, you just don't look at a child that way, and children don't look at their parents that way. And remember, little cub, we were both born human, so it's still very strong in us. If he looked at me that way, I'd be very worried."
"Oh. Alright. Let me get your pants."
That one statement seemed to bleed all the remaining hostility right out of Jesmind. Tarrin realized that Jesmind had probably seen Jula as a rival, since she herself had taken her own bond-son for mate. Hearing that Jula had no interest in Tarrin in that manner made her visibly relax. Tarrin looked at his bond-daughter and couldn't deny that she was very pretty, and since she had no sense of modesty around him, it left little to his imagination. But his animosity towards her before taking her for a child would poison any intimacy they may share. Tarrin could love her and forgive her as a daughter, but never as a mate. Besides, his strong human side saw her as a daughter, and that made any thoughts of her as a mate repugnant.
"Get moving, you two," Tarrin told them. "We have to go see the others."
"We'll be along in a bit," Jula promised, and then Tarrin led Jesmind out of the room. When he got her out in the common room, he spun her around and gave her a sound kiss on the lips. "That's for what I just saw," he told her as she breathed a bit heavily and fanned the neck of her shirt.
"Kiss me like that again, and we're not going to make it out of this apartment," she said huskily.
"Just be good to her, love. Jula is very fragile. Treat her well while I'm gone, please."
"For you, beloved, anything," she promised. "She'll be welcome in my den. She can stay with me while we're waiting for you to come back to us."
"That makes me very happy," he said, looking down into her beautiful eyes. "Now let's get ready to go, before they come looking for us."
The lunch was as much a chance to be together one more time as it was a session to prepare to leave. Everyone was there that mattered to Tarrin; his family, friends, Janette and Tomas and Janine, Sevren, Lula, the Sorceress that had taught Keritanima, all the Were-cats, the Keeper and the Council, Shiika and two of her Cambisi, Anayi and Thalia, General Kang, Lord General Darvon and Ulger, a ferret Wikuni introduced as Admiral Torm, and most appropriately of all, an empty seat was left at the table for Faalken. It was a large group, and they took over one of the largest dining rooms, reserved for the highest-ranking officials and functions, with astoundingly expensive furniture and a meal set by servants and served on expensive china. Tarrin listened as Keritanima and the Keeper fenced over how many troops she was going to leave in Suld until more Sulasian forces arrived, then watched as Chopstick and Turnkey, attracted to the youngest at the table, begged shamelessly for scraps from Janette and Jasana. And were eating more than the children because of it. He saw Kang and Darvon talking warmly with one another, seeing a friendship form there, and saw Miranda chatting with Tomas. He had no doubt there were some business dealings in the making there. Miranda did things that Keritanima didn't know about, and he was sure the mink Wikuni did some brisk business on her own, outside of Keritanima's influence.
But, inevitably, the question came up, tendered by the Keeper. "Are everyone who's going ready?" she asked.
"I'm ready," Camara Tal answered.
"They're almost done packing our things," Keritanima replied.
"I say, I have everything ready to go. I have a few more books, and some new spell components, and a few interesting things to experiment on, but I'm sure I'll find room for it all," Phandebrass answered.
"I think we are all ready to go," Dolanna said, cutting off a person-by-person reply. "We have had all night to prepare, after all." She gave Keritanima a sharp look.
"I'm a Queen, Dolanna," the fox Wikuni challenged. "If I didn't have alot of stuff, how could I be queenly?"
"Alright, then. I'll send porters to all of your rooms and have them take your things to the harbor. Admiral, are you going back with her Majesty?" the Keeper asked.
"Aye, Keeper," he replied in a gravelly voice. "Her Majesty can't go about without proper escort."
"You don't need to inflate her ego any more than it already is, Admiral," Camara Tal scoffed. "She's been strutting around here like she owns the place."
"Give me two years, and I will," Keritanima teased.
"And it'll be a cold day in all nine hells when that happens," the Keeper retorted. "When will you be leaving?"
"We should be leaving now, the tide is about to turn," the admiral announced. "But the tides will be going out for another three hours. We have until then."
"That should be enough time," Keritanima assured him.
"It's going to take them that long to move your things," Dar teased.
"I hope they have enough room for us," Allia mused.
"Will all of you stop picking on me?" Keritanima snapped waspishly. "So I'm a materialistic little spoiled monarch! There, are you happy now?"
"Are we happy, Dar?" Allia asked mildly.
"Yes, I do believe we are," he replied with a straight face.
Tarrin smiled. It wasn't often that Allia participated in humor. Most thought her cold, but they didn't understand her. She had a rich sense of humor, but her honor told her when it was alright to enjoy humor, and when it was not. That made her seem aloof to most, for it was unseemly to laugh in front of strangers. Among Selani, that was disrespectful. But here, now, she was among friends, so it was perfectly acceptable for her to pick on her sister a little bit.
"If you do only have three hours, then it would be best if you left as soon as we're done," the Keeper prompted.
"Are you trying to get rid of us, Keeper?" Keritanima challenged.
"Yes," Triana said flatly. "You have serious business to attend to, Wikuni. Don't treat it like a game. Alot rides on this, and the Keeper is more than right to be pushing you. She understands the penalty if you fail."
That took the wind right out of Keritanima. She knew better than to argue with Triana. Everyone knew better.
"When we finish eating, you leave," she announced. "Anyone who wants to argue about it can come to me."
"Uh, no thanks, Triana," Keritanima said blandly. "I'd like to keep my tail on my butt, where it belongs."
Her tone made Janette snort, and then burst out into helpless laughter, spewing a mouthful of wine all over her plate.
"She strikes as such an eloquent queen, doesn't she?" Miranda said with a cheeky grin.
"If anything, that was a good metaphor," Thean chuckled in reply.
Though Tarrin enjoyed the meal, he sighed quite a bit. Now their departure was set in stone. Anything Triana said was set in stone. He knew he had to go, but he was leaving behind too much to make him look forward to it. He'd talk to his mate and daughters, and even see them, but it wouldn't be the same. Not without him being there, to have Jasana in his lap, hold Jesmind in his arms, be there with an understanding shoulder for Jula.
The time went by much too quickly to suit him, until Triana stood up and said in no uncertain terms that the meal was over. She told all of them to go back to their rooms and make sure they didn't leave anything behind, then meet by the west gate of the fence in ten minutes. She was very graphic about how unhappy she'd be if she had to come looking for anyone, so they were all quite motivated to go look and then meet at the gate as quickly as they could. When that was done, when Phandebrass, who was the last to arrive, ran to the gate holding his robes up to keep them from tangling his legs, exposing a pair of bony knees, they filed down to the harbor in a series of carriages. Tarrin held Jesmind's paw the entire time, enjoying what little time they had left, had Jasana on his lap and Jula on his other side. It seemed likt they no sooner than got into the carriage than it stopped, and they piled out onto a wooden wharf, with a very large, grand Wikuni clipper moored to it. They seemed to be loading the last of the supplies, securing barrels on deck with ropes, and the gangplank was immediately lowered when Keritanima appeared stepping out of a carriage.
They stood on the dock beside the clipper and said their goodbyes. Sarraya was all weepy when she hugged Tarrin's neck, demanding that he find some way to talk to her. He told her to go find a shaeram, and he promised to talk to her when he could. He hugged his little mother goodbye, and accepted warm farewells from Tomas and Janette. He kissed his mother on the cheek and shook his father's hand, then hugged Jenna and told her to take good care of Jula. He didn't shake the Keeper's hand, but he didn't glare at her, either. He was still angry with her, but he could be civil in this situation. He gave his bond-mother a strong hug and a kiss, and endured a long moment of suggestions and direct threats of what she'd do to him if he got himself killed. He then said goodbye to all the other Were-cats one at a time, but thought there was going to be a fight when Rahnee slapped aside his paw, grabbed him by the neck, then gave him a very passionate kiss right on the lips. He pulled away from her in surprise, ready to pull Jesmind off of her, but Jesmind did nothing but watch on with a mysterious look on her face.
Then, as he knew he must, he turned and faced Jesmind. She had tears in her eyes, and she hugged him fiercely, drawing blood from his back with her claws. "I want you to talk to me every day," she whispered fiercely, then she kissed him with all the emotion she was feeling at that moment. "Every day. I'll go crazy if I don't know you're alright."
"Every day," he promised. Then he reached down and picked up Jasana, hugging her tightly. "I want you to be good for your mother," he told her. "Don't give her any more gray hair."
"I'll try not to, Papa," she said diplomatically, sniffling. "Come home soon, alright?"
"As soon as I can," he promised, handing her to Jesmind. Then he turned to Jula, and to her surprise, embraced her. "Listen to Jenna, daughter," he commanded. "And listen to Jesmind. While I'm gone, she speaks with my voice. Obey her like she was your mother."
"I will," she said with a sad smile. "Come home soon. Father."
He smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek, then looked at the ship. It was grand, clean, luxuriant, everything a ship had to be to carry the monarch of Wikuna. It woudl be his home for the next month, and then on another ship for the journey to find the Firestaff. Try as he might, he couldn't deny that the time had come. It was time to go.
Strange, how things turned out. Before reaching Aldreth, he wouldn't have cared to go, but now he did. Now he had a mate and two daughters waiting for him to come back. Now, he had a family. So much had changed in his life. He had conquered his ferality. He had discovered a daughter he never knew he had, and rediscovered a mate he thought he'd lost. He'd found newfound strength inside him, found new friends, and protected his Goddess from great harm. Too much.
He looked back at them. They were all there, but there were some missing faces. Ariana, for one. And Var and Denai. He hadn't so much as seen them during the whole time at Suld, and he hoped for a moment that they were alright. Then again, odds were, Denai was already pregnant, the way those two carried on, and had had to return home. A Selani would not fight pregnant, and the woman's husband also would not fight to protect the interests of the child. Three of the five Cambisi weren't there, and Ulger hadn't come down to see them off.
And there was no Faalken.
Sighing, he kissed his mate goodbye one more time, then turned to follow Keritanima and Allia as they started for the gangplank.
One more thing, kitten, the voice of the Goddess reached him. I want you to give the Book of Ages to Jenna. It belongs to her now.
Without batting an eye, he paced back over to his sister and parents. "Jenna, you take this," he said, taking the book out of the elsewhere and then handing it to her. "Guard it, sister. It holds many secrets we don't want falling into the wrong hands."
Jenna looked reverently at the book, then cradled it to her breast. "With my life, brother," she assured him with a serious look. "With my life."
"Then it's in good hands," he smiled. "Be good," he told his parents, kissing his mother on the cheek one more time, then hugging his father. "I'll keep Jenna up to date on what's going on," he told them. "So you won't be out of touch."
"Be careful, my son," Eron said seriously.
"Come back to us, Tarrin," Elke pleaded.
"If I have to swim back," he assured her. Keritanima shouted at him that he was keeping them at the dock, so he turned and padded away from friends, family, and people he did not want to leave. Jesmind made sure to pull away, step back so she wouldn't try to stop him, and part of him wanted her to do it. He stepped onto the gangplank, and it was pulled as soon as his feet were off of it, on the deck. Wikuni sailors moved quickly and efficiently, slipping the hawsers, and the grand ship immediately began to be pulled away from the quay, pulled out in the direction of the open sea.
Tarrin stood on the sterncastle with his companions, and they all looked back to their friends on the dock, waving to them and hearing them wish them safe journey. But Tarrin's eyes saw no one but his mate and his daughters, standing at the back of the group, his mate having trouble looking in his direction. When she did, he saw her tears, and that almost made him jump over the rail and swim back to her. But he couldn't do that, and he knew he couldn't.
Rewards, the Goddess said. There would be rewards. He knew of his reward now, and it stood on that dock watching him leave. All the reward he ever wanted was his mate and his daughters. His family. There could be no greater reward than that.
But they were behind him now. He turned slowly, deliberately, and looked over the length of the ship, out over the open ocean. It was all going to happen out there. Everything that he'd been doing for the last two years was upon him, and the end of his quest now had a solid, definable conclusion. Now he wasn't chasing after some misty dream, he was pursuing the very object the Goddess needed him to find. He would find it, he would find it and defend it, keep it out of reach of those who wanted it until the appointed day came and gone, and it posed no more threat. He would not fail the Goddess.
He would get his reward.
To: Title EoF