The Year of the Lumin (25 page)

              He had successfully led them through hardship to Chiron, despite the confrontation with Kit.  Perhaps going with them had brought the others
more
trouble than if he had stayed behind.

              He somehow knew his time with Noir had ended for now.  The two boys were on their own.  He would return to his people and attempt to help the resistance as much as he could.

              Grandel laughed out loud when he caught himself.  “Resistance.  Heh.  I sound like her.”  His thoughts drifted to Kahmi and he stared at the small box sitting on the nightstand across the room.  After the initial critical wound that her passing had dealt him, he began to feel better.  She had been sick for many years and was suffering by the end.  Plus, he had been able to see her before she passed.  She was a blessing to this world and he would carry on her dream without sorrow.  That was what she would have wanted.  But all the sadness, loss, and troubles that had befallen Grandel recently was hard for him to take.  A part of him wanted to shut down and not try anymore, but Kahmi would have been disappointed in him if he did that.

              He continued to stare at the small box he had carried unopened for so many years.  He knew it was time, but the actual act was so hard to carry out.  Opening it meant admitting to himself that she was truly gone.  Could he go on without her?  Did he have the willpower?

              Grandel stood from his chair and walked to the nightstand.  He carefully placed his hand on the box and walked back to the chair.  He turned the box over in his fingers as he had thousands of times before.

              He gathered up his will and pulled on one of the small time-worn ropes that held it tightly closed.  With some effort, it pulled free and he took off the ropes.  Years of being on the man’s person had indented the rope into the box’s corners.  He tossed it aside and placed his hands on the top and bottom of the box.

              He looked up past the ceiling and said out loud, “Kahmi, you will always be loved.”

              With resolute sadness, Grandel pulled open the box.  As the lid separated from the bottom, it released a crack and hiss.  Frigidly cold mist poured out of the box.  Grandel thought that it must have been enchanted with ice by a din mage.  He had heard of things being held in a sort of stasis in this manner.  This could also explain why the box had always remained in perfect condition even though he had bumped and damaged it many times.  Enchanted materials were nearly indestructible.

Grandel suddenly felt the presence of another’s mind in his own.  He had felt Syeters probe and manipulate his mind before, but this was different.  The presence was calm and wordless, unlike the worried, frantic mind of a human.  However, it seemed scared.  There were no words in the presence, just feelings and emotions.

As the cold mist cleared, Grandel looked into the box.  He saw a sight that he had never in the least expected.  A fist-sized egg rested inside.  It was moving very slightly and Grandel watched as the first crack appeared down the side of the egg.  Though icy mist had just poured from the box, it now felt pleasantly warm in his hand.

Wracked with confusion at the hatching creature, Grandel studied the insides of the box and lid he had just opened.  On the inside of the lid was a short message written in Kahmi’s flowing script.  He read it as the crack lengthened.

My dearest Grandel,

If you held your promise, then I am now gone.  This creature signifies my undying love and devotion to you.  May she be a constant companion to you when I could not.  My love, my hawk, may you live life in joy and not sorrow.

Love, Kahmi

Grandel watched as a beak pierced through the crack and pushed out a hunk of the shell.  Simple, primal feelings of frustration and haste came through the link between him and the animal.  Grandel understood what Kahmi had done.  She could not be with him past her death, but she could replace this loss with another.  The animal sye connection was a thing of legends.  She must have spent her entire fortune convincing and paying a Syeter to do it.

As it broke free, Grandel helped the hatchling hawk with its emergence.  He pulled away pieces of shell and widened the hole with his thumbs.  Grandel looked upon what he knew would be a companion for many years to come, if not for the rest of his life.

Chapter 35

Trial of grievance

Asiada had gone from the Azurite Tower that night to go back to her father’s inn to retrieve Noir and Ratt’s things.  She was also supposed to relay the message to Grandel that they could ensure his safety if he came to them.

Noir searched through the library long into the night for anything regarding the Lumin shrine or the Lumin in general.  Steven had showed him the few books that he had found, but Noir wanted to read absolutely everything available.  If he did not find anything on the Lumin cave or the orb which had started this whole thing, he had no other leads for information.  He had to search through everything.

              Noir and Ratt stayed the night in the Azurite Tower.  Steven had rooms found and converted for each to stay in.  They were small but comfortable enough.

              Noir spent the next morning continuing his search through the rows of books.  He found that a lot of the time, the Syeters were fairly unhelpful, Steven included.  Any time Noir asked something of them, they seemed annoyed to be pulled away from their thoughts.  Noir made sure to wear his Luxin armor and cloak around the Syeters.  It somehow made him feel more confident.

              Early in the afternoon, Noir asked Ratt to help him scan the books since he was up from the enchanter’s workshop.  Ratt brought books that he thought looked like they could possibly be related to the Lumin or the Lumin shrine and set them in a pile in front of Noir.

              After Ratt set down the large book he was carrying, he asked, “So why exactly are you looking for stuff related to the Lumin shrine?”

              Noir realized that he had never actually told Ratt about how he, Steven, and Aimee had ended up in this world.  He felt bad for never having told him.  With all that was happening now, he felt confident that Ratt would believe and understand the story.

              “Well, what I’m looking for has to do with how we got here.”

              Ratt sat down next to the small tower of books and said, “Well, I know they said you’re from a different world, but
really
a different world?  Is that even possible?”

              “Yeah.  I think so at least.  As far as we know, our world could actually be the same as this one, just in the future or the past.  I don’t know though because nothing in our history says anything about vigors or anything about the places here.  Although, it's odd.  Legends of dragons do seem to be in my world in lots of different cultures.”

              Ratt said, “Well, maybe you’re just from the really distant future or something.  Heh.”

              “I really have no idea.”  Noir held up a book and pointed to a rough sketch of the Lumin shrine that the author had done.  “The shrine seems to be the only link between our worlds.  Ignoring the surroundings outside, the cave behind the shrine here is almost identical to the one back home except for one key thing.”

              Ratt hurried Noir along, “Well?  What?”

              Noir wasn't sure how to say it.  “In my head I've been calling it the catalyst.  It was a strange glowing orb on a pedestal.  It’s what started all of this; our being here.”

              “Catalyst, huh?  Could it be some sort of enchant?”

              “Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking.  In our world, I embraced lux for the first time and channeled it into the catalyst.  That’s when the world changed around us.”

              “Strange.”  Ratt took the book that Noir had been holding and skimmed its pages.

              Noir sighed.  “So far I haven’t found anything about an enchant being in the cave.”

              Ratt said, “It says here that the cave predates the shrine.  They have no idea what the cave is for other than its connection with the Lumin.”

              “Right.  That’s what all the books say.”

              Ratt put down the book after a moment and struggled with how to say something that he had been churning over in his mind.  Noir picked up on the emotion and said, “What’s wrong?”

              Ratt started hesitantly, “Well, it’s just… I was wondering.  Let’s say tomorrow you figured it all out.  You figured how to get home and could do it.”  There was a long pause.  Ratt did not finish the thought but the question was obviously there.

              “I don’t know what I’d do, Ratt.  The whole point of all of this is finding my way home.”

              “So you’d just leave?” Ratt seemed agitated as though this had been on his mind for a while.  “There’s a lot going on here that you are a part of.”

              “I don’t know, Ratt.  I’m not really sure of anything.”

              Ratt sighed then said, “If the, as you said, 'whole point' of all of this is for you to find your way home, then why would you nearly give your life defending those people in Talik?”

              Asiada came into view around one of the bookshelves and was walking toward the two.  Ratt said in an exasperated way, “Look, just forget I brought it up.”

Asiada walked up carrying the sacks that they had left at the inn.  When she approached, she said “You two sure have a lot of junk.”  She slung them off of her shoulders and set them in front of the two young men.  She picked up on the mood and said, “Whoa, did I walk in on something, boys?”

Noir looked up at her and said, “No.  It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

She said sarcastically, “Riiight.  Anyway, your friend wasn’t at the inn.”  She meant Grandel.

The news broke the tension.  Noir asked, “What do you mean?  Where was he?”

“He left a note with my dad.”  Asiada presented an envelope that was already ripped open.  “I took a peek out of curiosity.  Hope you don’t mind.”

Noir took the letter from her hand and asked, “Was it sealed when you got it, though?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Okay.  That means no one found out who he was.  Good.”

Ratt said, “Read it out loud.”

Noir looked around and saw no one near in their row of bookshelves, so he read.  “Dear friends, I have left to go back and help where I can.  I brought you here successfully, so you have no more need of me.  Remember that you promised to come back once you found them.  May we meet again soon in good spirits and health.”

Noir guessed that the brevity was for security’s sake.  He also was surprised at the last part.  He had assumed that Grandel had released him of his promise to come back and use his gifts for Talik.  But once he thought about it, the man never had said anything of the sort.

Ratt said, “Well, I’ll miss old beardy pants.  Even if he did mess with me all the time.”

Noir asked Asiada, “Anything else?  Any news?”

Asiada replied, “Nothing more than the usual news of another small battle along the Tierian boarder.  I don’t know why they keep trying to invade our towns.  What’s the point?”

Ratt replied, “Hey, Missy.  The Tierians are just defending their land.  It’s you all who took it years ago.”

Asiada took a step toward Ratt and let out a mocking laugh, “Oh, ho ho!  So now he’s a Tierian, is he?  The little rat’s story becomes more clear now.”

Ratt smiled despite the insult.  “At least I didn’t stay under Daddy’s wing until I was seventeen.”

“First of all, bud, I’m eighteen.  And second--“

Ratt cut her off with a mischievous grin.  “Even worse!  You’re
eighteen
and still living with Daddy!”

Asiada’s mouth hung open and her eyes darted all around as if trying to find something to help her.  In the end, she just let out a grunt, flipped her hair, and walked away.  She called out, “Rodent!” as she walked away.

Once she was gone, Ratt saw Noir’s jokingly disapproving look and said, “Oh, come on.  I
know
you’re thinking exactly what I’m thinking.”

Noir let the self-control go and burst out laughing.  “Okay, you’re right!  She’s cute when she’s angry.”

“What!?”  Ratt joined in the laughter. “I was thinking she’s fun to mess with, but whatever you say lover boy!”

The two went back to their job of finding and scanning books.  Once Ratt had left to search for more books, Noir thought more about what they had talked about.  The three of them were very good friends, even though they had just met Asiada.  He realized how much the two of them meant to him, but this wasn’t his home, his world.  He couldn't stay here with them.  He shook his head, dismissing the growing dispute for another time.

~~~

              A few more days passed with Ratt spending much of the day gone with Godo.  Noir was becoming frustrated with his search since he had now scanned every book in the library that was related to the Lumin.  If he wanted to continue his search, he would have to actually read the related books, or flip through
every
book in the massive library.  Through his studies, he had learned much about this world, but he was beginning to feel like the library was a dead end.

              Early that evening, Steven asked Noir to come over and join the Syeters.  They had not formally requested his attention since his first day there.  Noir put down the book that he had been skimming, and followed his uncle out of the rows of books to the sye circle.  All of the Syeters had their hoods up and sat perfectly in the circle.  There seemed to be more in the room than he had ever seen before. Steven sat in his usual spot in the sye circle.  Jotunar was awake signifying that something was out of the ordinary.

              Noir felt his mind being opened and entered.  He had mixed feelings about communicating through sye connections like they did.  The benefits were that you never had to strain to hear or understand someone.  Their words were simply implanted in your mind.  You could also communicate with Syeters in other areas of the Tower as if they were right there.  However, Noir had found it hard to filter out unwanted thoughts, though the Syeters seemed to have no issues with it.

              “Welcome, Noir,” he heard Jotunar’s voice ring in his head.  “We have much to discuss.  Take a seat.”

              Noir found a spot in the circle that was unoccupied.  There was another empty seat next to it.  Noir lowered himself onto a pillow designed for sitting.  Another Syeter’s voice came to him, “We have discussed and decided on what to do about the Azurite Knights.”

              Syeter Taleem's voice said, “After much calculation and pondering, we have come to a conclusion.”

              Steven’s voice said, “We’re calling them to trial and we want you present, Noir.  Ratt has been summoned as well and should be here shortly.”

              Noir thought, “What exactly is the trial about?”

              “We are trying them under suspicion of treason against the Syeters of the Azurite Tower.”

              As Noir had found a few times before, it is easy to filter spoken words, but it is hard to disallow thoughts.  Despite his efforts, Noir thought, “It took you nearly a week to decide that?”

              Steven replied confidently, “Noir, we use our connection to determine all possible future outcomes and scenarios.  Every branching possibility has been examined.  There is not a possibility that we have not gone over collectively.  This decision yields the best results.”

              Again, Noir tried to stop his thought process, but it was already in motion, “So instead of actually
doing
something about it, you
thought
about it for a week?  They could have captured Ratt with him being away like he is, or done anything in this amount of time.”

              Steven cautioned, “Easy, Noir.”

              An unseen Syeter responded, “To a laymen, it may seem foolishly dawdling, but every decision must be carefully weighed before action is taken.”

              Noir’s mind started another thought that he was sure to regret when the main hall doors opened.  Noir turned and looked at the distraction.  Ratt entered and closed the doors behind him.

              “Ah, he is here.  Then we can begin.”

As Ratt walked forward, he suddenly shook his head in surprise and said aloud, “Ahh!  Stop
doing
that!  Warn me first or something.”

A Syeter's voice said out loud, “Come in and sit, Ratt.  You must partake in this.  We have already summoned the knights.”

Noir heard Ratt’s voice in his head.  It was slightly deeper and more gruff than his real voice.  “So what’s the deal?”  He closed the huge doors behind him.

“The Azurite Knights have broken their code of honor and a trial of grievance will be held.”

“We must gather all the information from them that we can in this trial.”

Ratt’s voice came to Noir’s mental ear again, “Wait.  What?  Aren’t you all mind readers and stuff?  Just dive in and find out what you want.”

Noir felt the mental equivalent of a sigh come from many of the Syeters.  He had read in one of the books a short section on the knights in preparation for Ratt’s new armor.  The helmet section of an Azurite Knight’s armor did two things.  It connected the other parts of the armor to the wearer’s consciousness so they could each be activated with simple thought.  It also shielded the knights from any sye attacks, scans, or attempted takeovers.  The only trump the Syeters had on the Azurite Knights was their telekinesis.