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Topiara - Chapter 58
Lyara lay with Jilan curled at her back, his hand draped over her waist and holding her close, and stared into the absolute darkness that surrounded them. She had managed to sleep a little, warmed by the light robe, after dining on the vivid red and green fruit that had been brought to their table by silent servants while they had been changing clothes. The darkness that had fallen at the toll of a loud, clear bell hadn't discouraged her slumber at all. But something in the silence that accompanied that darkness had penetrated her sleep eventually, like a low thrum that caught her attention and finally dragged her back to consciousness.
Behind her, Jilan shifted and tightened his hold on her, and she smiled softly. He was her security, and he was behind her and loving her even as he slumbered. And someday, when this quest was long behind them, she would have to apologize for ever having doubted him and try to find some way that she could forgive herself. But that would be something that would happen after they were safely away from this strange and unworldly place – this City of the Ancients.
In the back of her mind, Topiara began to whisper and give glimpses, much the way it had previously prepared her for challenges that were ahead. The whispering had an odd hint of sadness in them, however, that only made her sense of unease more acute. Her inner visions held shadows of loss – of a parting – that was growing stronger with every moment. She was certain that when the time came for her to leave this place, something that mattered very much to her would be left behind.
She sniffed and put her hand over Jilan's as it held her at the waist. Was it him she would lose? After everything they'd been through, losing him again would be almost enough to kill her. He was her other half – her i'ilim – life without him would be meaningless. She closed her eyes against the penetrating and overwhelming darkness around her and once more petitioned her Wolf-Faced One to protect her, and to protect Jilan – to lead them both safely through whatever it was that faced them in this place and then lead them safely home again.
Home where?
She sighed. The list of places to choose from when thinking of where she would like to spend the rest of her life with Jilan was longer than she would have thought. She could see him in a Master Scholar's robe, founding and administering a new school in Tandri dedicated to the truth about the lands and peoples they'd visited. She could see them both clad in shi'ili, occupying a small corner of some h'suni'il. She could even see them working as a team for Master Lyndon, staying on the road and leading other travelers safely from one place to the next…
No, that last vision was evaporating even as she tried to bring it back. Topiara was putting another vision up in its place – that of an infant with dark hair and clear, blue eyes. Our son, Lyara realized with a jolt – the son she carried inside her already. The son you created together just that afternoon, Topiara whispered to her as it filled her mind with wonder and happiness, when the two of you finally – FINALLY – touched each other's soul.
Lyara let her hand stray from Jilan's to her abdomen. She would wait, she knew, until the signs were undeniable before telling him. It would be her secret – but it would be a secret that would comfort her in the days and weeks ahead, Topiara added to her thoughts. The wonder and amazement faded slightly back into the sense of unease and apprehension she'd been battling all along.
Suddenly very tired again, as if her discovery had drained all of her energy away, Lyara gave a deep sigh and allowed herself to drift back to sleep.
A bell, clear and loud, sounded – as if from every corner of the vast city – and brought Jilan sitting almost straight up and reaching for a weapon he wasn't wearing. Then, as if the bell had been a signal, the little globes in the walls burst into light, dispelling the deep and pervasive dark as a whisper of wind extinguishes a candle. Beside him, Lyara stirred and put out a comforting hand to his back. "It's just the bell," she soothed him. "It announces their day and night – their Dark and Light. They have no sun to rise and set…"
"By all the Gods!" Jilan relaxed and let himself slump back down on the mattress next to her. "It reminds me of the alarm that used to sound in the university to get all the students up in the morning." He smiled as she snuggled her head onto his shoulder and threw her arm over his waist. "Good morning," he said and kissed her forehead. "Sleep well?"
Lyara smiled back and turned her head to kiss his pectoral muscle through the light robe. "Better than I thought I would," she replied honestly, her soft smile deepening when she remembered the amazing news Topiara had given her during her moments of wakefulness. "You?"
"I haven't slept so well since we left our sleeping nets," he replied with a contented yawn. "I suppose we should get up, so that when they come for us, we're ready."
"Mmmmmm," Lyara complained and tightened her hold on his middle. "Stay with me for a while yet," she countered in a sultry voice.
Jilan raised himself up on an elbow and looked down into Lyara's face searchingly, caught by the expression in her gaze. Slowly, as if mesmerized, he bent and kissed her – softly at first, and then with more feeling and desire as her arms twined around his neck and pulled him down to her. He would have reached for the hem of her robe when a smaller chime sounded in the outer room of their quarters. Reluctantly, regretfully, he pulled back. "How much do you want to wager that's breakfast?" he asked rhetorically and rolled to the side of the bed to sit up.
Lyara sighed and sat up too. "I suppose they don't believe in sleeping in from time to time either," she commented in muted frustration, then rested her open palm against her lower abdomen. 'Our child,' she thought to herself disbelievingly. 'Our son.'
"Are you all right?" Jilan asked, standing and turning to look at her in time to see her hold her stomach with an odd look on her face.
Lyara shook herself and stood as well, dropping her hand to her side. "I'm fine," she reassured him in the most confident voice she could manage. "Let's see what they've brought us."
"Hey!" Jilan reached out to her as she tried to walk past him and pulled her close. "Hold the thought you had a moment ago until later – when we can have some time alone."
She smiled up into his face. He'd made a good father, she knew instantly. Topiara agreed, flashing a vision in the back of her mind of Jilan cradling their dark-haired son and gazing down at him lovingly. "You have a bargain," she announced and stretched up to brush her lips against his as he released his hold on her.
Their discarded jerkins were gone from the table, and the platter of red and green fruit had been replaced with slices of warm bread and mugs of a hot and tantalizing brew. They sat at their places at their table and nibbled carefully – and then dined on the hearty bread that seemed both very tasty and quite sufficient to make a start to a new day. Even as they were finishing up the last sips of their drink, the small chime sounded again, and the door to their quarters opened to admit two new golden-haired men.
"I am Gendrican," the older of the two greeted them with a slight inclination of the head. "My brother is Uthariel. He will take care of the remains of your meal – and you will come with me to the Great Hall."
Jilan and Lyara glanced at each other, then rose in unison and pushed their chairs back into place before joining hands. "We will follow you," Lyara announced as she had the day before.
Gendrican again gave a slight incline of his head and then led the way through the tall and narrow doorway out into the wide, clean and brightly lit streets. Lyara looked all about her for several moments as they walked, looking at the walls of the towers past which they were moving for signs of the little fist-sized globes of light. But try as she might, she couldn't see either the globes or any other source for the light that illuminated the street without leaving the slightest shadow. "How is it you have so much light?" she asked curiously.
Their escort paused in his steps and pointed upwards. "The efforts of many, in the time that belongs to the Darkness that hides the beginning of Time itself, implanted Light in the roof of our world and energy enough that it will shine for a certain length of time before needing to recharge for a similar length of time. As you probably have noticed, we mark the changes with a bell."
Jilan looked up, as Lyara had, and saw that the roof of the massive cavern itself was glowing. Their eyes met as both looked down again, and then Gendrican was leading them onward through the maze of streets, past one towering spire after another. Those they met on the street all stopped and saluted them with the raised and open palm before returning to their tasks and business.
"Why is it that our people know nothing of yours?" Jilan finally voiced the question that had been on his mind since the prior evening.
"Because our worlds only barely overlap," Gendrican told him without turning. "Our world has provided Oracles for your world since the beginnings of Time – those members of our society who are willing to dedicate their entire lifetime to service to the lesser races. Only a very small number of your people have ever found the entrance to our world, even fewer followed it to our city – and never without the guidance of the signs you each carry with you."
"But don't those who've been here, with you, tell of their time here?" Lyara frowned, confused.
Gendrican shook his head gently. "The Mists of Forgetfulness close in on the minds of those who find us before they can tell their stories to others – again, the result of efforts of the many who founded our city. Our city is protected in this manner." The tall escort halted his steps in front of a particularly ornate gate. "This is the Great Hall of the Ancients. Within will be the answers to all of your questions."
Lyara stared. "Aren't you coming with us?"
Their escort shook his head. "My duty was to lead you here and answer those questions you had on your short journey. Inside are those who hold the rest of your answers." He stood back slightly from the doorway and saluted them with his open palm held high. "May the Ancients light your way."
Jilan bowed in the formal Vri'ia'ani way, with Lyara mirroring his actions only a moment later. "Thank you, Gendrican." He tightened his hold on his i'ilim's hand and turned to enter the tall, narrow gate. "I wish I had one of my pens and some paper," he whispered into Lyara's ear. "I don't want to forget this."
Lyara's mind was rolling the thought of the 'Mists of Forgetfulness' around as well. Am I to forget that I carry a child once I leave here – until the signs are without question, she wondered with a pang of anxiety. If I told Jilan now, so he could share in the wonder of what I know with me, would he forget as well?
The gate opened into a courtyard very similar to the one Lyara had looked down upon the evening before. Those sitting at the benches rose and saluted them before returning to their individual discussions. The ground at their feet was of pale cobblestone, without the slightest sign that any grass or any other plant grew in the area. At the far side of the courtyard, a tall man beckoned to them and then waited patiently for them to make their way across the courtyard before holding up his open palm in a greeting. "I am Verigon," he announced in a deep and warm voice. "Please follow me."
This time, the interior of the tower into which they were led was of a golden stone, lit by globes that glowed a warm gold. While Jilan was aware that a slender spire stretched high above them, he was astonished to discover that Verigon was leading them toward a staircase that took them down into the ground below the golden cobblestones. "Down there?" he asked nervously.
"Below lies the Great Hall," Verigon answered with a slight nod. Even as he continued down the stairs, a deep bell began to toll very slowly.
"What's that?" Lyara asked nervously.
"The time of the Gathering is upon us," Verigon replied without turning. "Soon all will be in attendance of this event."
"What event?"
"The Choosing, of course," Verigon answered as if the answer should have been self-evident. "You two were chose, of all of the peoples of the lesser races, to be the escorts to the next Oracle. Now the time of Choosing, when those of us who abide in Helm, must decide on who will accompany you."
"Why must we be there?" Jilan demanded. "We cannot help you choose…"
"You each bear the signs," Verigon answered as if confused. "Those signs are essential to the Choosing – and as the minds and bodies of the signs, your participation is essential." He turned to stare at them. "Were you not told?"
"No," Lyara replied. "All I – we – have had has been riddles and hints from Nilyaron and visions from our… signs… to guide us."
Verigon frowned. "That is very strange. Nilyaron was very carefully instructed on the proper instructions to leave and where to leave them so that the chosen ones would be able to find their way here without too much bother."
"He did," Lyara defended the old Oracle. "His letters told me to find the mate to my… sign… and that when I came south, I would need to bring my mate with me – the one who bore the other sign. We – I – was told very specifically to come to the mountain of fire and ice."
"But nothing about what you would be doing there?" Verigon asked sharply.
Lyara shook her head.
"What part do we play in the Choosing?" Jilan asked, his curiosity and caution getting the better of him.
"Why, to become the eyes and ears and voice of the signs, of course," Verigon exclaimed as if the answer was a foregone conclusion. He shook his head as if to clear cobwebs. "We are a very long-lived race, but we have none of the skills that a true Oracle requires without the active participation of the signs." He gestured towards the stairwell that led below ground. "I'm certain that those who await you down there will be able to instruct you in the proper manner to become Living Signs – and I think the sooner you ask your questions of THEM, the better."
Jilan and Lyara exchanged wary glances and clung a little more tightly to the other as Verigon began leading them down the very long and very steeply spiraled staircase. Lyara was glad for Jilan next to her, for the idea that Topiara would be taking over a body that sheltered a baby within was not comforting at all. Her free hand found and caressed the fetish in her hair as she prayed very quickly and fervently for strength to make it through whatever awaited her and luck that her child would come through the process unharmed.
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