you’ll break her heart.’ He smiled a bit wryly. ‘I’d take it as a
personal favor, though, if you didn’t let her turn me into a toad
about midway through the negotiations.
‘Let’s go back a step or two, revered Anari,’ Sparhawk suggested
when they had gathered again in the large, sunken room. ‘i
need to know exactly what I’m getting involved in here. I’m not
going to do anything to injure the Styrics. They’re sometimes a
prickly and difficult people, but we’ve grown fond of them for
some reason.’ He smiled at Sephrenia, hoping to soften her
displeasure. ‘You mentioned a journey of some sort. I get the
feeling that this journey might be central to our discussion.
Where are you going?’
‘We are changing, Anakha. When the world turned against
us, we appealed to Edaemus to protect us.’
‘Your God?’
The Anari nodded. ‘We were a child-like, unsophisticated
people before the war with the Cyrgai, and Edaemus lived
among us, sharing our simple joys and transient sorrows. Of all
the people of this world, we were the least suited for war.’ The
old man looked at Sephrenia. ‘I will not offend thy teacher by
speaking the truth about what led to our being made outcast.
‘The truth is well known,’ Sephrenia said stiffly.
‘Yes, it is, but thy truth is quite different from our’s. You believe
that one thing happened, and we believe that something else
took place. But that, Sephrenia of Ylara, is between us, and it
doth not concern these Elenes. In truth, Lady, neither Styric
nor Delphae were very admirable in that unfortunate affair. For
whatever cause, Anakha, the Delphae were cast out, and the
hands of all men were turned against us. We appealed, ‘as I said,
to Edaemus, and he responded by laying a curse on us.”
‘This Edaemus of yours has a peculiar way of showing his
affection,’ Ulath noted.
‘It was the only way to protect us, Sir Knight. We are not
warlike and have no skill with the weapons with which other
men kill each other, and so Edaemus cursed us to make our
merest touch a weapon. Other men soon found that the touch
of our hands meant death.’
‘Then why am I still here, Codon?’ Kalten asked. ‘I’ve been
helping Xanetia on and off her horse for several days now, and
her touch hasn’t killed me.’
‘We have learned to control the curse, Sir Kalten. That was a
part of the plan of Edaemus when he raised his hand against
our lake.’
‘The lake?’
The Anari nodded. ‘Edaemus could not bear the thought of
laying his curse upon us directly, and so he cursed the waters
of the lake instead. The lake is our only source of water, and
we therefore must drink of it. When first we came to this valley,
the mind of Edaemus was as child-like as ours. In the spirit of
play gave he the waters of the lake that peculiar essence which
doth illuminate us. We drink of the lake, and its waters infuse
our bodies. Out of love did Edaemus make us appear like Gods.
It was a harmless entertainment, and we soon forgave him for
so altering us. When the world turned against us, however, did
Edaemus curse the lake, and its infusing waters, changed by
that curse, changed us as well. The touch of death which doth
hold our enemies at bay is but a small part of the design of our
God, however. Circumstance hath set us apart from this world,
and it is the intent of Edaemus to set us yet further apart. We
are changing, my friends. Our bodies are different, and our
minds and spirits as well. We are no longer as ye – nor as once
we were. With each generation this inexorable change progresses.
Xanetia, dear, gentle Xanetia, so far surpasseth me that
I cannot even begin to comprehend the extent of her thought.
In time, methinks, she will’ equal – or even surpass – the very
Gods themselves.’
‘And then you will supplant us,’ Sephrenia accused. ‘Even as
the Trolls supplanted the Dawn-men and as we are supplanting
the Trolls, so will you despised Delphae become our masters,
putting aside our Gods and kenneling us like dogs in uninhabitable
wastelands while you enjoy the fruits of the earth. We Styrics
have endured such treatment at the hands of the Elenes for
eons, and we have learned much. You will not so easily subdue
us, Codon, and we will not worship you nor fawn at your feet
like whipped dogs.’
‘How may we supplant thee and seize thy lands, Sephrenia
of Ylara? We are bound to our lake and may not long be away
from its waters. Thy submission, moreover, would have no’
meaning for us, for we will not be here. We journey toward the
light, and we will become light. My Xanetia, who will be Anarae,
could join with the light even now, but those of us who have
not yet reached her perfection hold her back. When we are dead
there will no longer be any reason for her to remain, and she
will lead the Delphae out to dwell among the stars with
Edaemus, who hath gone before us to prepare our home.’
‘Where you will be Gods,’ Sephrenia added with a spiteful
sneer.
‘That is a word without meaning, Sephrenia of Ylara,’ Xanetia
said quietly. ‘All of us, Gods and men, move toward the same
goal. Edaemus hath gone before us, and we will go before thee.
We will await thy coming with love, and we will even forgive
thee for the wrong that thou hast done us.’
‘Forgive me?’ Sephrenia exploded. ‘I spurn thy condescending
forgiveness!’ She had lapsed, probably without realizing it, into
archaic Styric. ‘I will never forgive thee nor accept any of thy
forgiveness. ‘
‘But thou wilt, Sephrenia,’ the glowing woman disagreed.
‘Even now is thine heart doubtful within thy breast. Thou art of
two minds, gentle Sephrenia. I know thee well, and I know that
this hatred of thine, like winter frost, doth lurk in the dark, shaded
places of thy soul. I do assure thee that it will melt in the warm
sun of thy loving nature – even as mine own hatred doth even
now begin its painful thaw. But make no mistake, Sephrenia of
Ylara, I do hate Styrics even as thou hatest the Delphae. An hundred
centuries of enmity is not lightly cast aside. I do hate’the perfidious
Styrics, but I do not hate thee. I know thine heart, dear
sister, for it is even as mine own. In time will we both put aside
this childish hatred and live together in peace.’
‘Never.’
‘Never, dear sister, is a long, long time.’
‘i think we’re getting a little far afield here,’ Sparhawk cut
in. ‘This sealing up of the valley isn’t intended to be eternal, I
gather?’
There would be no need of that, Anakha,’ the Anari replied.
‘Once we are gone, Edaemus will lift his curse from the lake,
its waters will return to normal, and other men may freely come
to this valley without fear.’
‘I should probably tell you that if I seal the valley with Bhelliom,
I will seal it. I can absolutely guarantee you that no Delphae
will ever leave. If you’re going to turn into moonbeams or sunlight,
that won’t inconvenience you, but if you’ve got some other
notion hidden away, you might as well forget it. And if this
Edaemus of yours has a secret agenda involving some sort of
retaliation against the Styrics, you’d better tell him to drop it.
Bhelliom eats Gods for breakfast – as Azash found out. Do you
Still want me to seal your valley?’
‘Yes,’ Codon replied without hesitation.
-‘How about you, Sephrenia?’ Sparhawk asked. ‘Would that
kind of guarantee satisfy you?’
‘They’ll try trickery, Sparhawk. They’re a deceitful race.’
‘You know the Bhelliom, Sephrenia – probably even better
than I do. Do you really think anybody – man or God – could
trick it? If I tell it to keep the Delphae in and everybody else
out, nobody’s going to cross the line – not you, not me, not
Aphrael, not Edaemus – not even the God of the Elenes. Even
if all the Gods of this world and of all their worlds combined,
Bhelliom would still keep them out. If I seal this valley, it will
Stay sealed. Even the birds and angleworms won’t be able to
leave. Will that satisfy you?’
She refused to look at him.
‘I need an answer, little mother, and I’d rather not have to
wait all year to get it. Will it satisfy you?’
‘You’re hateful, Sparhawk!’
‘I’ve got a lot on my mind just now. Think it over and let me
know what you decide.’ He turned to face the Anari. ‘All right,
now I know what you want. The next question is what’s in it
for me? What do I get out of this arrangement?’