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Authors: Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff
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she’d be destined for
nothing greater than the priesthood, and I wouldn’t have brought her here.”
Damek dislodged the motes yet again. “ Brought her? Why?” He twisted in his chair to face the Mateu, his thin hair floating in a
light-filled corona about his head. “Master,
why will you not explain this to me? Why must it be such a mystery—your interest in this
woman?”
Lukasha chuckled. “Poor
faithful Damek. I have been mysterious of late, haven’t I? I hadn’t meant to be. The
truth is, the mystery was born of uncertainty. I wasn’t sure this young woman, this Kassia Telek, had the
necessary gift. I wasn’t
sure that Itugen once more smiled on her daughters.”
“Why
does that matter?”
Lukasha moved to sit in a skillfully padded and draped chair
across from the table where Damek worked. “Polia has not been a good or safe place these last
decades. Least of all have they been good or safe for the shai. When Arik Tamal
crushed the life out of this land, he virtually destroyed the source the shai
drew upon for their powers. You know what they became.”
Damek nodded, lip curling. “Little better than whores . . .
selling potions and amulets and petty charms any Initiate could have
constructed.” He leaned forward in his chair. “Just
as she was doing, Master. She’s
no better—”
“Ah,
but she is. There is depth to her power, Damek. I feel it. Yes, she peddles her
potions and divinations, but her charms are hardly petty. There is power there,
that is a surprise even to her. The channel between Itugen and Her daughters is
clearing. The shai are recovering, even as this ravaged land is recovering . . .
dear God, at long last.” His eyes, which had gone, unfocused, to some point over Damek’s head, snapped to
sudden clarity. “Now,
let me explain to you why this is important to me—to us.”
He rose and moved to the window. Half-closed eyes on the
kites above the rooftops, he formulated his words carefully, measuring how much
to reveal. “You
are not a man of magic, Damek. That is nothing to feel badly about; you have
your own abilities and talents, but it means you are unaware of what has
happened in the realm of secrets during the Tamalid reign. Before Polia was
part of any empire, there was a completeness to the magic bestowed by Mat and
Itugen—a
wholeness. When the Tamalids ruled, that wholeness was shattered.”
“Yet
the Mateu continued,” Damek argued. “Only
the shai were cut off; surely that was a defect on their part.”
Lukasha shook his head. “No defect. Think Damek! You have pored
over these books for years—has
none of what you read touched you? The Tamalids scourged the earth, and it was
the Mother of the Earth whose power was withdrawn, cut off. If they had somehow
found the ability to pollute the skies, Mat’s grace would have ceased. As it was . . .” He turned back to face the other man. “As it was, the Mateu suffered as well. Though the
rain continued to fall and the Sun to shine and the breezes to breathe on the
land, those things were out of balance. The rains washed away the newly planted
seeds and took the soil with it; the Sun scorched the earth; the winds
destroyed rather than refreshing. Worst of all, perhaps, any part of what we
did that depended upon the powers of Itugen was gradually lost. Any wisdom that
was solely or most specifically the province of the shai was, likewise, lost.
The Mateu have served the people of Polia from a half-full vessel for close to
a century. Now, do you wonder at my eagerness to bring Kassia Telek to Lorant?
Through her, and others like her, the magic of the Mateu may once again be
whole.”
Damek’s
face was gray. “I’m sorry, Master. I
didn’t realize
how it was. Had I known, I would have welcomed the young woman with open arms.”
Lukasha chuckled at the image that evoked. “Forgive me, Damek, but
I have trouble imagining that. Yet, you might not have chewed on her so
lustily, and you might have
nothing greater than the priesthood, and I wouldn’t have brought her here.”
Damek dislodged the motes yet again. “ Brought her? Why?” He twisted in his chair to face the Mateu, his thin hair floating in a
light-filled corona about his head. “Master,
why will you not explain this to me? Why must it be such a mystery—your interest in this
woman?”
Lukasha chuckled. “Poor
faithful Damek. I have been mysterious of late, haven’t I? I hadn’t meant to be. The
truth is, the mystery was born of uncertainty. I wasn’t sure this young woman, this Kassia Telek, had the
necessary gift. I wasn’t
sure that Itugen once more smiled on her daughters.”
“Why
does that matter?”
Lukasha moved to sit in a skillfully padded and draped chair
across from the table where Damek worked. “Polia has not been a good or safe place these last
decades. Least of all have they been good or safe for the shai. When Arik Tamal
crushed the life out of this land, he virtually destroyed the source the shai
drew upon for their powers. You know what they became.”
Damek nodded, lip curling. “Little better than whores . . .
selling potions and amulets and petty charms any Initiate could have
constructed.” He leaned forward in his chair. “Just
as she was doing, Master. She’s
no better—”
“Ah,
but she is. There is depth to her power, Damek. I feel it. Yes, she peddles her
potions and divinations, but her charms are hardly petty. There is power there,
that is a surprise even to her. The channel between Itugen and Her daughters is
clearing. The shai are recovering, even as this ravaged land is recovering . . .
dear God, at long last.” His eyes, which had gone, unfocused, to some point over Damek’s head, snapped to
sudden clarity. “Now,
let me explain to you why this is important to me—to us.”
He rose and moved to the window. Half-closed eyes on the
kites above the rooftops, he formulated his words carefully, measuring how much
to reveal. “You
are not a man of magic, Damek. That is nothing to feel badly about; you have
your own abilities and talents, but it means you are unaware of what has
happened in the realm of secrets during the Tamalid reign. Before Polia was
part of any empire, there was a completeness to the magic bestowed by Mat and
Itugen—a
wholeness. When the Tamalids ruled, that wholeness was shattered.”
“Yet
the Mateu continued,” Damek argued. “Only
the shai were cut off; surely that was a defect on their part.”
Lukasha shook his head. “No defect. Think Damek! You have pored
over these books for years—has
none of what you read touched you? The Tamalids scourged the earth, and it was
the Mother of the Earth whose power was withdrawn, cut off. If they had somehow
found the ability to pollute the skies, Mat’s grace would have ceased. As it was . . .” He turned back to face the other man. “As it was, the Mateu suffered as well. Though the
rain continued to fall and the Sun to shine and the breezes to breathe on the
land, those things were out of balance. The rains washed away the newly planted
seeds and took the soil with it; the Sun scorched the earth; the winds
destroyed rather than refreshing. Worst of all, perhaps, any part of what we
did that depended upon the powers of Itugen was gradually lost. Any wisdom that
was solely or most specifically the province of the shai was, likewise, lost.
The Mateu have served the people of Polia from a half-full vessel for close to
a century. Now, do you wonder at my eagerness to bring Kassia Telek to Lorant?
Through her, and others like her, the magic of the Mateu may once again be
whole.”
Damek’s
face was gray. “I’m sorry, Master. I
didn’t realize
how it was. Had I known, I would have welcomed the young woman with open arms.”
Lukasha chuckled at the image that evoked. “Forgive me, Damek, but
I have trouble imagining that. Yet, you might not have chewed on her so
lustily, and you might have
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