Maker of Fire

(continued from installment 3.50)

Emily, Three Feathers Camp

Galt's cloud was still circling overhead, an ominous dark bronze and black wall cloud, threatening, brooding, and waiting. My own anger was growing. I felt that these folks had strayed quite far from what the gods intended.

I knew the Tirmarrans had rejected the shrine-based clergy model four millennia ago because it didn't mesh with their nomadic lifestyle of following the fi'irsdeer. Some of the tribes still followed the great herds across the tundra north of the Lake Country northeast of Foskos, but the greater tribes had morphed into a semi-nomadic model, with a handful of permanent settlements that had grown out of trade camps.

The greater tribes employed a form of communal agriculture that was powered by Coyn. The Cosm knew the value of crops, but they considered farming beneath them. They elevated hunting game animals and fighting for territory as the noblest of pursuits. Those who couldn't or didn't engage in those two professions were treated as lesser beings, given meaner accommodations, lesser quality and quantity of food, and poorer animal skins from which to make clothes. In a place where quality clothes were a matter of life and death due to the brutally cold winters, one's place in society was crucial for survival.

A half-circle of Tirmarrans had gathered behind me and Moo. I could tell from the fur and decorations of their anoraks that they were all warriors and shamans. The hearth temple shaman and an eagle shaman faced us. The distance between us was large enough that the Tirmarrans probably couldn't feel the godmarks yet, though I could feel Moo stiffen as my anger grew.

"If the godmarks are flaring, Moo, feel free to put me down and step away. That should help," I told her in Fosk.

"No, I am fine, Beloved," Moo replied, "but I am frustrated about their disregard of you and the gods. I feel compelled to stay with you and protect you right now."

I patted her shoulder and turned my attention to the hearth shaman. "Where is Melk, and where is her rider, Listayodas?" I asked. "If you want your sacred fire relit, you must free both. Bring them to us, now."

"The white eagle can come and go as she pleases, but her rider is in the House of Keeping, where none can free him," the hearth shaman responded, looking up at Galt's cloud and back at us nervously.

"Show me," I commanded.

"Then follow," the hearth shaman replied and turned to walk past the round hearth temple. She led us out of the central compound, which I assumed contained sacred buildings, and then downhill on a broad street into what was clearly a slum. She took us almost to the stockade wall on the opposite side of the city from the gate and stopped at the opening in a wooden fence surrounding a buried house with a disheveled roof.

"Ugh," Moo uttered and shook her head. "That is foul magic."

"Only Melk and talking marmots can enter here," the hearth shaman explained. "If any of the owl people pass the gates, they cannot come back out," she pointed at the carved posts on either side of the opening, each hosting a large crystal of smoky quartz. I noticed that similar quartz crystals sat on top of several other posts at regular intervals around the surrounding fence.

"This is what Landa was talking about," Moo said in Fosk. "Those are crystals of compulsion designed to rob anyone inside the perimeter of their will to use magic and their will to leave. I can also feel charms of confusion and forgetfulness. We use this sort of magic in Mattamesscontess to confine criminals who are mages."

"Can you undo the effect of the crystals?" I asked.

"I'm close to my limit without some rest," Moo said. "Breaking that many large charm gems might push me too far, and then I would be helpless to protect you."

"How hard is breaking the crystals compared to burning down the wooden fence?" I inquired.

"Burning the fence would be easier, but that won't break the crystals," Moo frowned at me. "They will continue to exert their charms of compulsion and confusion even without the fence."

"What are you talking about?" the hearth shaman interrupted us, speaking in Tirmarran.

"Insolence!" I shouted back at her in Tirmarran, temper flaring. "You will speak only when spoken to!" Thunder rumbled from the roiling cloud overhead.

The woman backed away from me and prostrated herself on the ground. "I am not worthy," she cried.

"It's your aura, Beloved," Moo whispered. "It just went silver again. The godmarks have haloed your head, and your eyes are glowing. I would be on the ground too if I weren't carrying you."

"I'm sorry, Moo. I know it's scary," I reached up and caressed her cheek. "Can I ask you to burn down the fence so that the crystals experience the heat of the fire? A wood fire can get hot enough to transition alpha-quartz to beta-quartz. The volume change at the transition temperature can cause micro-fracturing in the crystal lattice, which I'm guessing might destroy the charm the crystal is hosting. Even if it doesn't, forcing the quartz through the transition temperature should make it easier to break."

"Beloved, I didn't understand a word you just said," Moo looked at me with widened eyes. "But I will point out that if we add fuel along the fence, any fire will get hotter faster, and that will help preserve what magic I have left," Moo stated.

"Owl shaman," I addressed the cowering woman, "get wood and oil. I wish to burn this fence."

"I hear and obey, godspeaker," she said, and got up to speak to the crowd that followed us, sending at least half of the spectators off to gather fuel for the fire.

"Shall I?" Moo asked sometime later, once a small horde of warriors and shamans finished piling tree branches and lumps of cooking grease all the way around the fence.

"No, Moo, dearest," I patted her arm, "I think I want to start this fire. You can help once I start it. Let me down, please?"

Then, in front of the Tirmarran Cosm, I walked up to one of the posts framing the opening. I took out the striking stone and a match from my copper match box and dramatically struck a flame so they could all see it. Then I applied it to a smear of solid fat on a tangle of kindling-sized twigs. The reaction on the faces surrounding me was gratifying. Soon, the entire fence was on fire.

A magnificent all-white eagle flew down and landed next to us. "What are you doing, Red Owl Caller?" the eagle addressed the hearth shaman. "What about my rider? Why are you burning his enclosure?" The eagle sounded angry and upset.

"The godspeaker ordered it," the shaman replied and gestured at me.

"That's a Coyn," the eagle said to the shaman while peering down at me.

"Melk, I determined that I was a Coyn many years ago," I said in Fosk.

Melk's head came up as she stared at me. "You are the prophet? But you're a Coyn," Melk replied in Fosk.

"Yes, that too. I'm the prophet, all seven hands of me. I take it you were expecting someone taller? Not my fault. Blame the gods. They're the ones who hired me, like that guy up there watching," I pointed at Galt overhead and smiled at the eagle, enjoying her gobsmacked reaction. It wasn't often I got to tease an eagle. They're usually so aloof.

"I have never seen a silver aura before, and are those godmarks?" Melk asked, with awe creeping into her squawking voice.

"As far as I can tell," I nodded. "I'm just a Coyn, so I can't see or feel any auras or godmarks."

"And your divine warrior has three godmarks," Melk observed, surprising both me and Moo.

"Three?" I looked at Moo. "I was sure you had one, from Landa, but three?"

"I think one must be from Mugash, from when she healed me after the pirate battle," Moo speculated. "But three? Where are the godmarks, Melk?"

"One is on your right hand. One is on your shoulder. The last is over your middle."

"Huh." Moo frowned. "The shoulder must be Mugash and Landa pushed me with his snout in the stomach. I have no idea what god touched my hand."

"Why are you burning the compound?" Melk asked, changing the subject.

"I'm just burning the fence as a way to destroy the magic of the crystals on the fence," I explained. "Moo here has already used a lot of magic today, so I'm looking for ways to make her job easier. A hot wood fire can damage the interior of crystals, so I thought I'd try it."

"Oh," Melk tilted her head. "But you're a Coyn. How do you know about the ways charm gems work?"

"I have no idea how they work," I shrugged, "but I'm an expert on crystals: what they are, how they form, where to find them. Before I got hired as a prophet, I mined crystals and traded them at the fair in Uldlip. And I know that if you physically destroy a crystal, you destroy its magic."

"Wait, how do you know my name?" Melk asked.

"Landa told me," I replied. "I'm Emily, by the way, and this is the One and Only Infanta Moo'upegan nu Mattakwonk, Empress Presumptive of Mattamesscontess, the chosen warrior of Landa."

"I was returning from hunting and saw your fights from the trees by the gate," Melk bowed her head at Moo. "My compliments to your prowess, Exalted One."

"Thank you, Melk," Moo bowed her head in return, "I–"

Moo was interrupted by a cracking sound. We all turned to see one of the smoky quartz crystals with a fracture running up a side.

"Look!" I chortled. "It appears I was right about the effects of a hot fire on quartz. Once the fence is down and the crystals are damaged, Moo can approach the house inside. Then, we can evaluate our next steps in liberating your rider, Melk."

"The house has eight more crystals," Melk said, "and despite being lame, Listayodas is shackled. He can only go as far as the roofed walkway between the back door and my shed."

"Where?" Moo asked.

"Two set in each doorpost at this end of the house, two at the opening into my shed, and four along the roof beam," Melk replied.

"How hard would it be to pry or chop them out?" I asked.

"The ones who had this house built grew the wood around the crystals," Melk said. "Any Cosm who gets too close to any of the eight crystals will fall under the compulsion charms."

"I guess I'll need to get up on the roof and whack the crystals out with my hacket," I said.

"I can destroy the wood with the same charm I used on the gate," Moo said, "but I must rest first. I could do it now, but that would leave you unprotected while I recovered."

"Silly Moo," I pointed up, "I don't think you need to worry about protecting me today." In the back of my mind, I'm sure I heard Galt chuckle. I think he likes smiting people. He's got the personality of a cat, after all. For some reason, I see him in that old bar joke where the cat orders a shot of whiskey just so he can push it off the bar onto the floor.

"Exalted One, I can also protect the little Prophet," Melk added. "Besides, all she needs to do is walk into Listayodas's house. The crystals don't affect Coyn. Listayodas has several Coyn who take care of him, and they come and go as needed."

"That's good to know. So, Moo, if you burn just the wood around the gems," I told Moo, "I can smash or carry away the ones that don't crack out of the building."

"First, we should wait to see if we've disabled all the crystals from the fence," Moo said, watching parts of the fence collapse. She started to walk the perimeter with me on her arm. Melk followed. As we walked, anyone who got near us fell to the ground and prostrated themselves. "It's the godmarks, Beloved," Moo whispered to me. "You're more than frightening right now."

"It just happens, Moo," I whispered back apologetically. "I have no control over it happening."

"Oh, here's a crystal that's still good," Moo stopped and looked down.

"Can you drop a rock on it using your mind's hand?" I asked.

"Now that's a good idea, but let me improve on that," Moo pulled her axe from off its baldric and levitated it. The axe floated over the crystal, rose up, and then dropped. The crystal must have been at or close to the beta-quartz transition because it burst and threw shrapnel. Several hit the barrier Moo cast on me, which I had already forgotten about.

Melk sqawked as one piece hit a talon. Moo hurriedly put me down, walked over to Melk, bent over, and cast a charm of healing on her. "I thank you, Exalted One. I did not know you were also a healer."

"Not formally," Moo said. "I just have a lot of magic to spare. I'm mostly self-taught."

Melk's gobsmacked expression was a wonder to behold. Moo lazily waved her mittened hand, and her axe returned. "This is a lot easier than destroying the crystals with magic. Let's check the rest." Then she picked me back up and we continued our circuit of the fence. When we finished, Moo had dropped her axe on a total of nine crystals, which survived the fire intact.

When we were finally able to approach the buried house, the path down to the entrance led to a Coyn-sized door. Two smoky quartz crystals bigger than my head were encased in the door lintel.

"I can't get any closer than this," Moo said.

"Moo, how hard is it to stop a fire once it's been started?" I asked.

"A lot easier than starting a directed fire like I used at the gate," Moo said, looking at me as comprehension crossed her face. "It's a simple charm."

I turned and spotted the hearth shaman, who had been following us at a respectful distance. "Your name is Red Owl Caller, yes?" I addressed her.

"It is, godspeaker."

"Please bring me a lot of cooking fat and some kindling, now. Moo, can I get down?"

While the Tirmarrans were scurrying to bring me more fuel, I walked down to the door and walked inside. As my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I saw him. The Foskan named Listayodas was sitting on a box bed, startled at my approach. He was dressed only in layers of qiviut with bearskin mukluks. A bearskin cloak was draped over a stool.

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His silver hair and beard were long and tangled. His face was gaunt, which suggested he wasn't being fed well. I noted the bronze chain attached to a shackle around his left wrist. It was long enough for him to reach Melk's shed, out the other door of the house.

The old man peered at me with grey eyes behind a beak of a nose. Listayodas was a haup Foskos or closely related.

"Is it dinnertime already?" the old man blinked and looked confused. "It's too early. Where is Melk?"

A Coyn man dressed in pieced-together skins, fur-side out, came running up from out of a corner, "It is too early for dinner, Griffin Warrior. I do not know this one who has entered." He shot me a suspicious look. "What are you that you come dressed in a cape and sealskin, with owl feathers on your boots?"

"I am the godspeaker, come to take Listayodas home," I replied. "The Eleven sent me to fetch him and Melk. I advise you to leave this building because I am about to set it on fire to destroy the charms that keep Listayodas captive. I will not warn you twice. Listayodas, put on your cloak because it will soon get cold in here."

"Home? I can go home?" Listayodas asked in a trembling tenor.

"Today, if we're lucky," I smiled at him, speaking in Fosk. "Tomorrow, if destroying the charm crystals takes too long. Now I must go. I will return, Listayodas. Just sit still as we use fire to destroy the charms that imprison you."

"Wait," he held out his hand. "Are you real? Why are your eyes like that? And you have a halo. Are you a spirit or a god? I must be hallucinating again. Go, go away, false vision."

"I am no false vision, Listayodas. Hasn't Melk told you that a godspeaker and a divine warrior would come to take you home? I am that godspeaker. It is time to leave this wretched place. I will be back." And with that, I walked out.

A few feet out the door, something bit me on my head. I pulled down my hood, pulled off a mitten, and snatched at where I had been bitten. I came up with something that looked like a flea. I walked up to Moo. "How hard is it to get rid of fleas and lice and other pests, Moo?"

"You don't have a charm gem for that, Beloved?" Moo frowned down at me.

"No."

"What about the one around your neck?"

"That's for infectious diseases."

"Here," Moo got down on her knees in front of me and placed her big hand on my shoulder. She tranced for a moment. "There, that should be good for a day before it wears off."

"I think the house may be infested, along with its occupant," I remarked.

"I can debug him when we get him out of there," Moo patted me on the head fondly. Damn overgrown overpowered silverhair.

"Let me start a fire first," I said as I began to drag the first crock of solid cooking fat down the path toward the subterranean door.

"Silly git," Moo, still on her knees, waved her hand, and all the crocks floated to the door. "Let me make this easy for you, Beloved." The gobs of fat floated out of the crocks and smeared themselves on the doorposts. "All yours, dear." Moo grinned. So I spent another match. I enjoyed the shocked murmurings of the Tirmarrans as I lit another fire with science rather than magic.

I walked back up the path and sat beside the kneeling Moo. She looked down at me with a mischievous grin, rearranged herself to sit cross-legged next to me, and then picked me up and put me in her lap. I could tell she was pleased with herself as I squawked in surprise.

"Make sure the roof doesn't catch, Moo," I said, watching the flames lick up the front of the buried house. "We just want to destroy the crystals in the door posts, not the whole building, while Listayodas is inside."

"I'm controlling the spread." Moo's attention had shifted to the fire.

"Hey, Moo, if you can move the crocks to the door, could you move something inside the house out through the door?" I wondered.

"Let's take things one step at a time, Beloved. Now, let me concentrate," Moo frowned as she watched the fire eat the door and the wood around it. "I'll put it out when the opening is big enough for a normal-sized person." She sounded smug. I know she was trying to tease me, but I denied her the satisfaction of my rising to the bait.

It was well into the afternoon when Moo was finally able to make a Cosm-sized opening with her mind's hand through the burned wood. I walked down and made sure the two crystals were cracked.

"Moo?" I called up the path. "Can you come down here and see if you can feel the crystals in the roof beam?" I felt her footsteps, but they stopped before they reached me.

"This is as far as I dare go," Moo said from in back of me. I turned and saw she had stopped about ten hands from me.

"Can you see inside, Moo?"

"Barely," she squinted. "It's dim in there. I can see someone on the bed, vaguely."

"Can you stand there and use magic inside the house, Moo?"

"Let me try a light charm," Moo closed her eyes. Speckles of light, like fireflies, winked into existence and then coalesced into a ball of soft, diffuse light in the middle of the one-room house.

The old silverhair on the bed looked up at the light, and muttered in Fosk, "That's not Tirmarran magic. That's not even Foskan magic. But how can there be magic in the cursed place?"

"Moo, with the way the sod roof is built, burning the beam would be difficult, at least between now and sundown," I said to her. "And putting me on the roof to dig out the sod and chop the crystals out would take forever, even if we did ask for help from the Tirmarrans. But if you can use magic inside the house from where you are standing, then I think we can get the old guy out without any more crystal destruction. Do you have enough magic left to destroy just one link in his chain?"

"Yes, I can do that."

"Good." I then walked in to see how Listayodas was doing. He was already in his bearskin cloak. He had a fur hat on his head but no mittens.

"Listayodas, it's me again. Can you walk to the opening?" I looked up at him and gestured to the hole now burned in the wall where the Coyn-sized door had been.

"Who are you?" he peered at me. "I've seen a godmark before, on that dangerous little girl in Yant. But why do you have godmarks? And so many? How can a Coyn have godmarks? I must be hallucinating."

"Melk is waiting, Listayodas. We are going to take you home," I replied cheerfully, hoping he would get up and follow. I could see Moo peeking inside, watching.

"But Melk's shed is this way," Listayodas pointed to the Cosm-sized door on the other end of the house.

Melk stuck her big white head through the opening, pushing Moo aside. "This way, Listo. Walk to me here," she said to him in Fosk.

"Melk? What are you doing there? Shouldn't you be in your shed?" he stood up and picked up a walking stick.

"Today, I'm over here. Come here, Listo. I need you to walk this way."

The old Cosm looked confused as he tried to sort out what was happening around him. The befuddlement charms had to be strong.

"Listayodas, are you my bond or not?" Melk sounded like a wife disgusted with her husband. "You need to trust me on this. Stop thinking about it and just get moving. There'll be a surprise if you do."

"Oh, alright," he started a limping shuffle toward the opening until the chain stopped him just a few hands from freedom. "See? I knew I couldn't go this way." He sounded like a pouting child. "Go back to your shed, Melk. Is it dinner yet?"

"Stay still," Moo said as she moved Melk out of the way so she could see. She tranced and one link in the chain suddenly glowed and then melted. "Now, you are free, Listayodas. We are waiting for you," she called to him.

"No, I can't go this way," he turned and started walking back toward his bed.

"The charms inside are still too strong," Moo frowned and gestured with her hand in its mitten. Listayodas yelped as he floated up and then toward Moo. He floated out the door and into Moo's arms. She gently lowered him to the ground and smiled at the confused old man.

He shuffled forward and winced as he looked up at the sun and then at Melk and Moo. "That's the sun. I haven't seen the sun in . . . in . . . Melk, are we really going home?"

"Yes, my friend, we are going home," Melk rubbed her beak on his chest.

"I have enough magic left to take care of the pests," Moo grasped his shoulder and cast a charm. "Oh my," Moo wrinkled her nose. "Let me do this, too," she cast a second charm, and that strange smell I noticed – like a cross between sulfur and corn chips – vanished. "That will do until we get you a proper bath. I can get the shackle off as soon as I get some rest. And you, sirrah, can't walk far, can you? Melk, can you take his stick? I am going to carry him. Where's that shaman woman? This warrior needs a shave, a haircut, and fresh clothes."

"Woman, I can walk on my own," Listayodas protested.

"I'm bigger, taller, stronger, and much more stubborn, old man with a limp and two lame legs," Moo pointed out cheerfully as she swept him into her arms. "Melk, make sure the little prophet doesn't get stepped on, please."

"Follow the Exalted One, little one," Melk bumped me with her beak, "and I will follow you." And so the three of us walked up the pathway toward the crowd of shamans and warriors who stayed to watch the drama of freeing Listayodas. When we arrived at the top of the path, at ground level, the sun was shining, and all evidence of Galt's wrathful presence was gone.

The hearth shaman approached us and bowed. Then, she looked at me with relief, "Thank the Owl, that strange aura is gone. I know now that the white eagle will leave us, along with her rider. We cannot fight this. But the sacred fire has not been relit yet. Will you do that, godspeaker?"

*I will give Melk a revelation in the morning,* Erhonsay's voice said inside my head. *Rest tonight and tend to Listayodas. Relight the fire after the revelation. Then Landa will come and take you home.*

"I felt that," Moo said. "What just happened?" she turned with Listayodas in her arms and looked at me. "Did a god speak to you again?"

"I felt that too," the shaman Red Owl Caller said. "The Great Owl just spoke to you. Unbelievable. Yet, I just felt it happen."

"Erhonsay, god of war and wisdom," I pronounced, "will give Melk a revelation in the morning. After that, I will restart the sacred fire. Then Landa, in his aspect as a dragon, will come and take us home." I looked up at Red Owl Caller, "We require a meal and a place to sleep. We also require new clothes for the warrior Listayodas, so we can bring him back to his hearth in honor. We also require that he receive a haircut and a shave. Melk, do you need anything before tomorrow?"

"I will sleep in my shed one last time, and will see you in the morning." Then Melk turned to the shaman, "You will clothe him in honor, in new qiviut, dire wolf, and wolverine, and give him a cape of eagle feathers, as is his right as a warrior. Outfit him to travel." And with that, Melk flew off.

Listayodas, Three Feather Camp

As a young warrior girl put a bowl before me, I realized I did not know what day it was or where I was inside Tirmarra. My memory of being captured and then spared was the last clear thing I remembered.

Melk had refused to cooperate with the Eagle Tribe if they killed and ate me. So began my long captivity as a hostage for Melk's good behavior. I lived only because the Timarrans coveted my eagle's battle precognition and hunting clairvoyance. And her all-white plumage was considered special in their mythology, a sign that great changes and fortune were coming for the tribes. The Eagle Tribe deliberately targeted Melk during the war because they believed she would bring them luck.

Yes, Melk was the best of all eagles, and the best of friends. She kept me alive. The charms cast on the ground house where I lived had kept me confused. I lost track of the days and the years. But I had lived without hope of ever escaping. Coyn slaves fed me and kept me. The chain that shackled me to the ground house was long enough that I could sit with Melk in the roofed space between her shed and my confinement. Thus, an unknown time passed before the miracle of my liberation.

The fi'irsdeer meat in my dinner bowl had been cooked with magic. No one could start a fire anywhere in Tirmarra right now. Without magic, the houses would have been too cold to sleep in. But in the ground house of the chief of the Eagle Tribe, the inside was heated with a polished sphere of rose-pink opal.

The men of the house had taken me to their steam lodge. There, they cleaned me up and trimmed my beard and hair. I would have preferred to be clean-shaven, but that is not the Tirmarran way. They don't use razors.

Once I was dressed, I was led to a place of honor and given dinner. At the high place, which should have been taken by the tribe chief, sat a Coyn girl dressed in silver-spotted sealskin. Her cape of purple dragon scales was draped across the back of her chair. She sat on three folded blankets so she could reach the table to eat. Seated on her right was the divine warrior in a magnificent anorak of great snow bear fur with ermine tails woven into it to denote her prowess. I was seated next to the snow bear warrior.

As the meal progressed, I felt more of my wits returning to me. I had so many questions I wanted answered. I started with the big silverhair lady in the great snow bear fur who looked to be in her twenties.

"I believe Melk called you Exalted One." I caught her attention and spoke to her in Fosk. "But that's a title used for the ruler of the Empire of Mattamesscontess."

She smiled at me in a friendly way, "That's because I am the Empress Presumptive of Mattamesscontess. I am the Infanta Moo'upegan nu Mattakwonk. When I return to my empire, I will take up my rule as the oldest surviving member of the imperial house and rebuild my lands."

"That sounds like you have experienced some disaster," I remarked, marveling that someone of her stature was here in Tirmarra as one of the two who ended my imprisonment.

"It's a long story, sirrah," she sighed. "Vassu sent the prophet," she pointed at the little Coyn, "to warn my father and his court to forsake the false worship of the impostor Cragi and to free the enslaved Chem. They did not listen, and so the Chem invaded, led by this little prophet and her partner, Tom, as their general. The Chem were joined by insurrectionists who were faithful to the old gods. The fleets and legions of the empire have been defeated, and most of the nobles and followers of Cragi have been thrown down. That's the short version."

"The Chem invaded?" I was gobsmacked. 'The peaceful lizard people who have never left their hot swamp? They built a fleet?"

"I feel that if we answer all your questions," the little Coyn said, breaking into the conversation, "we will forget to eat. I also have some questions for you. The gods told me your name is Listayodas, and you and Melk have been captives here for twenty-two years. But who are you? And what were you doing to be captured by the Tirmarrans?"

"I am Listayodas haup Foskos, Prince of the lesser degree. When Melk and I were captured, I was the commander-in-chief of my cousin's armies, and we were at war with the Tirmarran tribes, who were trying to push into the Kaggas River Valley north of Kas."

"Your cousin?" the little Coyn asked, tilting her head in a way that reminded me of griffins when they ask questions.

"Yes, my cousin," I frowned, because this was common knowledge. "Imnokos King."

"Oh," the little Coyn nodded, "Imstay's father."

"Imstay?" I asked. "Who is Imstay?"

"He's the current king," the Coyn said in her quiet voice. "I believe his name as a prince was Heldstayas."

"Heldstayas? That young punk? What happened to Nostadas and Fellotep?"

"Succession fight. The other princes lost," the little one shrugged. "I don't know all the details."

A gulf of twenty-two years suddenly opened in front, and I realized that my world back in Foskos might not exist anymore. After all, I was eating with a Coyn without a control gem on her hand, who was obviously favored by the eleven gods – despite how absurd I found that to be, because only Cosm were the blessed race. But even the Tirmarrans acknowledged her as a prophet, and the godmarks were unavoidable.

If I stepped back from the confusion of the last several bells, I had to admit that the Coyn prophet and the Empress warrior were more like beings who had stepped out of the tales of miracles from four millennia ago. What else had changed? Did I even have a house anymore? Were my children and grandchildren still alive? With each passing moment, my thinking became clearer and my questions grew. I began to feel apprehensive about going home. What would I find there?

"Little prophet," I asked the tiny Coyn, "what do I call you? I've only seen one godmark before now, on a little girl from the White Shrine of Landa, but you have eleven. What title should I use?"

"Here we go again," the Empress Presumptive rolled her eyes and shook her head.

The little Coyn beamed, "You would make me happy if you called me Emily, Prince Listayodas."

"Emily is a title?" I had never heard that term before.

"No, it's my name," she looked hopeful.

"I can't do that," I disagreed. "You're obviously a sacred person."

"Skip that part," she looked vexed. "The protocol guards aren't around to stop you. Just call me Emily. It's a perfectly good name, and it needs to be used more."

"In my part of the world, we call her the Beloved," the Empress Presumptive said, giving me a knowing look. "This little one is too humble. She is always trying to convince others to abandon proper address. I advise you to ignore her, though many of her friends do use her name when out of the public eye, to indulge her. I believe the Foskans call her the Great One, because she has received multiple revelations."

"The Beloved," I weighed the words on my tongue. "That has a nice feel to it. I think that will do for now."

"Moo!" the Beloved protested while her face pouted.

"Yes, Beloved?" the Empress smiled, victorious in both proper etiquette and teasing. It was apparent these two had a dynamic going. In my first moments of clarity in too many years, it was refreshing and encouraging. But other matters had already begun to nibble at the back of my mind.

"Beloved, can you tell me about my children? Do you know how the High Priestess Akoep of the Crystal Shrine fares? And her son, Listarkas haup Kas?" I asked, "And Seslekal haup Kas, who is married to Lord Pinisla?"

Her horrified face told me the answer would be painful. "The High Priestess of Tiki is Foyuna haup Foskos," the Coyn's eyes pitied me. "Foyuna has been high priestess for six or seven years now. I do not know a Listarkas haup Kas, nor have I heard of anyone by that name. And everyone in Pinisla died four years ago when a mudslide destroyed the town."

"Ugh," I had to close my eyes. I took a breath and struggled not to weep in front of the Tirmarrans, who disapproved of public displays of grief. I felt a hand on my shoulder from the Empress Presumptive. Then I felt the charm of peace blunt the pain of knowing that my two daughters and my grandchildren had gone to Gertzpul's gardens before me.

"Perhaps you would like to retire for the evening, Honored One," the Empress Presumptive said kindly. "You have had a long day and are still recovering your wits after years of charms of confusion." She turned to look at the hearth shaman and the chief of the Eagle Tribe, who were sitting across from her. "Where will we be sleeping tonight?" she asked. "It may be best if the three of us slept together, and Listayodas needs to rest soon." She looked at the Coyn, "Are you done eating, Beloved?"

"I am, Exalted One. I, too, would like to retire."

"I will show you to your guest house," the chief stood up, a silverhair lady in an eagle-feather mantle and headdress.

Once again, I was embarrassed that the Empress Presumptive carried me to my bed for the night, but I was also grateful for her kindness. Mattamesscontess was lucky to have such a woman as their future ruler.