The Bonding (The Song and the Rhythm) (26 page)

*
*
*

After finally slaking his hunger on a meal big enough for three people, Vaun found Merdel in the largest of the king’s libraries. The wizard hunched over a tome larger than his head, his nose mere inches from the page. From his position, with his head held up by both hands, the youth thought the bearded mage asleep. He approached quietly, wanting to startle his friend awake.

“You can stop sneaking up on me, Swordsman. I’m awake.”

Vaun sighed regretfully and sat down, disappointed he wasn’t able to pay Merdel back for all the times he’d surprised him. He watched the wizard read for a few minutes, struck again by the casual way Merdel had addressed him by his new title. He didn’t know if he’d ever get used to it, but he liked it. “Having fun?”

Merdel glowered. “Definitely not. It seems like I’ve read every book in this and every other library, and I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”

Vaun looked around, having not yet visited this library. It, like all the others, had bookshelves sunk into every wall of the room. The shelves rose to the ceiling a full thirty feet over their heads, the far walls spaced a good forty feet apart. Shelves also stood in columns in the middle of the room, running the full hundred paces between the front and back walls.

Massive standing candelabra were present everywhere in the library, but because of the late hour none were lit. Every candle and lamp burned during the day to provide light for the sometimes hundreds of people, commoners and nobles alike, who came to read. The only light now came from the oil lamp resting just beside the wizard’s book, so Vaun could not see the fine tables and chairs he knew were available for visitors, nor could he see the exquisite tapestries and rugs that decorated the room. The windows showed the dark, moonlit night outside.

Vaun frowned and shifted in his seat, determined to pry more answers from the wizard but unsure how to proceed.

“What is it, Swordsman?” Merdel didn’t bother to raise his head.

“What exactly are you looking for?”

Merdel glanced up for the first time at the youth seated across from him. He studied Vaun, then nodded as if deciding something important. “A solution to our problem. I want to find out how Elak is weakening the barriers, but so far I’ve found nothing.”

“I thought you already knew.”

The wizard grunted and focused back down at the book on the table. “I wish. I only know he’s destroying them, but I don’t know how. I have a few ideas, but I need to know more about the barriers before I can figure it out. That’s why I’m here. But so far I haven’t found a real clue. Fire, this seems to be getting more and more impossible as our journey continues.”

“Can’t we just kill him? Won’t that stop the destruction of the barriers?”

“I wish it were that easy. It might very well stop it, then again it might not. It certainly wouldn’t reverse it, which is what we really need to do. Without knowing how he’s doing it, I won’t be able to restore the lost energy to the barriers. There’s no telling what might happen if the energy isn’t restored properly. I don’t even want to think of the possibility. It’s bad enough what’s going to happen now that a good deal of the energy has been lost.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, in this particular book there is an account of something similar happening about two thousand years ago. It says that, because of the lost energy to the barriers, certain things went wrong. There was a flood in the Great Sands Desert. The Eastern Marshes almost dried up, and the Sea of Marin, normally a fairly placid body of water, experienced two hurricanes.” He flipped backwards a few pages. “In the north, there were earthquakes where before no such thing had ever occurred. The assassination of the Yardan king was even blamed on the lost energy.” He flipped back to his original page. “There are examples throughout this and other texts. But none of them tell why the energy was lost or how it was restored. For all I know, Elak connected himself to them in such a way that if he’s killed, they’ll collapse completely. I don’t know what to do.”

Vaun nodded. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

“I’m glad you have such confidence in my abilities.” The wizard sounded as if he himself did not. “I wish we could just kill him like you warriors suggest, but we can’t. If I don’t find out how he’s doing it, we may have to ask Elak himself, and I doubt he’d want to tell us.”

“I’m sure Thorne would think of a way to make him talk.”

Merdel laughed and looked up at the youth again. “That’s for sure. What else did you want to ask me?”

Vaun sighed, unable to find the right words. It seemed Merdel always tried to be a teacher to him, almost more so than even Drath. “Thorne explained why you felt you had to use magic on me, and I think I don’t blame you as much as I did at first. I think anybody would have done what you did, if he believed the person he’d chosen was the best.”

It was the closest thing to a sincere statement of forgiveness Vaun could make, and both knew it.

“What I don’t understand,” Vaun continued, “is why you thought I was the best choice, and what really convinced you I might refuse to go.”

Merdel smiled. “Still doubting yourself even now?”

“Aye, a little. Old habits are hard to break. But you couldn’t have known I was going to become a Swordsman, so what made you choose a teenager over everyone else?”

“You’re twenty now, remember? To be honest, I don’t really know. I began my search by random selection, but I soon learned that method would take forever. I did learn quite a bit about your world, though, and I consider myself blessed for discovering this previously unknown portion of the Great God’s handiwork.

“To find us a companion amongst your host of peoples, I narrowed my search with the aid of more powerful spells to only those with fighting skills that they could use in a world like ours. Your warriors are now mostly technology-dependent, and so are unsuitable for our needs. After a week of fasting and praying, the Great God put you at the top of the list.

“I had no idea why, because at that time your sword skills were inferior to several other people I also looked at. But the spell I used told me you were the best, so I examined you a little more. Plus, I remembered that the Great God is never wrong. That was when I saw your passion for adventure, as well as your courage.

“I think it was the persistence of the Great God’s voice that made me choose you. I was never certain, of course, but I am comfortable enough following His guidance that I trusted Him. Even before you Bonded, I can honestly say I was proud of my choice, and I was sorry I’d decided to use magic to get you to come with us. I was simply so desperate by that time that I didn’t want to lose you, and you had run away so quickly I thought we could never make you change your mind.”

Vaun nodded. “I’m not sure myself why I ran away. But I do know it bothered me when I found out you had used a spell on me. It was more because it seemed like you didn’t trust me than because I thought the decision hadn’t been my own. I found out later that I really did want to go. I was just so scared of myself that I had almost talked myself out of living my dream.”

“That’s what I based my spell on. I used your own motivations to persuade you to accept our offer. I had no idea you’d figure it out. I still don’t know how you did. It has to be something to do with your Swordsman gifts, which make all such men unable to be magically subjugated. I knew you wanted to come, and so did you. You just weren’t sure of yourself enough to trust yourself or us. And what I said before was true; because I have committed myself to serving the Great God, I am incapable of turning a lie into truth with magic. It is His way of motivating His followers to use their powers for His purposes.

“I think you’ve come a long way over the last several days, and I must say I am honored to know you, Vaun Tarsus. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to explain myself.”

Vaun nodded and made to rise, then sat back down. He had one more question. “Who is this Great God you keep talking about?”

Merdel grinned, apparently glad to have a chance to share his belief. “Only the Creator of all things. Your world knows Him simply as God, or Jehovah in some lands. Some might disagree with me, but I believe the God of your world and the Great God of mine are one and the same. The similarities between our worlds, in my mind, preclude the possibility of the existence of another creator god. Why He chose to prohibit magic in your world is as great a mystery as why He limits your kind of technology in ours. Who knows? Maybe there are worlds that have neither magic nor technology, or even both.”

Vaun cocked his head in curiosity. “What kinds of technology are forbidden? And what is so bad about technology, anyway?”

Merdel grunted, thinking the point should be obvious. “I could ask you the same about magic, because you are proscribed from using it in your world. Even I took a big risk using it. But, tell me, is all your wonderful technology used for good purposes?” Vaun had to shake his head. “No. Just as all magic is not used wisely.” Merdel squinted in thought. “I think the Great God simply loves variety, so He gave different talents and powers to the peoples and worlds He created. Why is a question for Him.”

The bearded mage shifted in his seat. “As for what is forbidden, it is mainly that kind of innovation that takes away our involvement. The best example is your electricity. It’s a wonderful invention, and I do at times wish we had it. But I can see the complacency it has fostered in the people of your world, much more so than wind or water power.” Merdel’s brow furrowed. “It’s as if the Great God decided that, because we can use magic to accomplish great things, we should be ‘encouraged’ to perform menial tasks with the strength and sweat of our bodies.

“Yes, we have simple machines and devices that make labor easier, but nothing which allows us to simply push a button to get something done. Even the amazing plumbing that the Overlord is having installed throughout the city requires careful placement of water supply, so that the pull of the earth provides the water pressure, rather than an electric pump, as in your world. Neither system is more noble or intelligent than the other; they simply reflect the truth that we are all subject to the will of the Great God.”

Vaun shrugged. “I’ve never really had much use for religion.”

Merdel chuckled. “Now you sound like Drath. Though he believes the Great God exists, he doesn’t think He is much involved or concerned in our affairs. I’ve tried to convince the stubborn lout otherwise, but he rarely listens to me. I’m sure you have the same type of people in your world.” Vaun nodded. “In the end, Vaun, you can only trust that the Great God is there, that He loves you, and that He wants to guide you. If you ask Him, He will tell you what you need to do, and it will always be the right thing, even if it doesn’t seem like it at the time or you don’t like it.”

“You sound so certain.”

The wizard grunted. “I do because I am. Most people have faith in the Great God, but I
know
. All wizards do. It is His power, after all, that we touch when we use magic. It is only when we surrender ourselves to the Great God’s enemies, as Elak did, that turns magic to evil purposes. Even Elak knows the Great God. He has just decided to fight against Him, rather than with Him.”

“So what about the elves? They claim to be so pious, but they’re thieves. Are people in this world not forbidden from stealing?”

Merdel raised a brow. “That’s a question I’ve asked the cousins a dozen times, precisely because the Great God is very specific about stealing being wrong. They always argue that they don’t take anything from someone who can’t afford it or doesn’t deserve it. And, admittedly, they do give away a lot of their ‘earnings’.” The mage shook his head. “However, that doesn’t alleviate their guilt, but they staunchly claim their talents are gifts used in the service of the Great God. Whether or not they are is a question I have given up trying to answer. It is up to the Great God to reward or punish them according to His wisdom.” He winked. “Personally, I think He’ll do a little bit of both.”

Vaun nodded and stood, at last satisfied about why he was chosen and what his companions believed. He didn’t understand the specifics of it, but figured that really didn’t matter. He felt now he understood better why the wizard had enspelled him and decided that perhaps he wasn’t as bad as that made him seem. Still, it seemed a lot of trouble to go to for just one extra companion, and that one barely an adult, at least by his world’s standards. But Merdel believed in him, as did the others, so Vaun decided he could believe in himself, too. He decided not to share the certainty in the Great God he’d felt at his Bonding, a certainty that seemed similar to that felt by wizards. He just wasn’t entirely sure it wasn’t his imagination.

*
*
*

Vaun Tarsus walked through the darkened palace gardens lost in thought. He limped slightly more on his left leg than his right, it being more deeply cut than the other. Fortunately, the Jaga’s claws were not poisonous, so he didn’t have to go through the sickness and unconsciousness that Drath had when the Chattul had injured him. He crossed his arms and lowered his head as he contemplated the course his life had taken since he had accepted this quest.

The half moon turned the roses, lilies, and other flowers into pale hints of their daytime beauty. King Dobry loved flowering plants and had a wide variety of them decorating all of his gardens, including a few cacti. Many of their talks had been while strolling casually along the paths, with the king inserting comments about the beauty around them into his efforts to boost the young man’s self-esteem. This was, however, probably among the last ten days of their blooming, for soon the weather would turn cold and kill them. Vaun had enjoyed walking through the gardens during the day, and the night gave the same flowers he’d admired before a deeper, more serene beauty. His sword was strapped to his back, as always, and it was this that the eyes set into a lovely face gazed at from a balcony high above the gardens.