athletes and of thieves.)
Hanse went avisiting the house of gods, and came the time there he felt his hair
quiver and start up while his stomach went chill and as if empty, for he felt
sure that one of Them spoke to him. A god, aye.
Us Himself? Shalpa His son? (Considering his recent drinking, Hanse later
wondered if it might more likely have been Anen. He was firstborn of Ils and
Shipri, and he was patron of bibbers and taverners.)
Whoever it was spoke to him in his head, it was not Vashanka, not there in the
house of the gods of Ilsig.
Hanse of the Shadow, Chosen of Ilsig, Son of the Shadow.
We exist. We are here. Believe. And look for this ring.
He saw it. The gaud appeared from nowhere and hung there before his eyes. Now it
was as if solid, and now he seemed to see through it, into the temple
appointments beyond. A ring that seemed a single piece of gold, unfused, and set
all about with twinkling little blue-white stones like stars. In its center a
big tiger’s-eye, caged in gold bands. And that orange-yellow gemstone, that
tiger-eye-seemed to stare at him, as if it was more than merely a chatoyant
stone of quartz fibers.
And then it was gone, and so was the voice that had been inside his head,
addressing him- hadn’t it? Had it?-and he was left slumped and slick all over
with sweat. He had to apply his mind and then make conscious effort even to
close his mouth. The temple’s coolth had become chill.
After a while he felt strong enough to move. Move he did, for he was not minded
to remain there in that joint temple ofllshipri. He departed, all prickly still