Watt-Evans, Lawrence - Annals of the Chosen 01 (39 page)

And
the
rain
stopped,
as
if
some
mighty
being
had
turned a
tap.

The
Archer
froze
wher
e
he
was;
no
one
dared
speak
as
the wind
sank
away
again. Then
the
Archer
turned
and
looked
out
the
door. "I
don't
believe
it,"
he
said,
"I
won't
believe
it."

"Believe
it,"
the
Seer
said.
"He
knows
where
we
are
as well
as
I
do—and
he
doesn't
need
to
watch
every
second;
he can
give
the
bound
ler
who
serve
him
enough
of
our
true names
to
identify
us,
and
tell
them
what
to
do."

"I
don't
like
it!"

"None
of
us
do."

"Is
it
going
to
rain
like
that
all the way to the Galbek Hills?
"

"I
don't
know,"
the
Seer
said.
"
I
profoundly
hope
not."

"He
needs
to
get
the
moisture
from
somewhere,"
the Scholar
said.
"He
can't
just
conjure
it
from
nothing.
So
he may
well
run
out,
in
time."

"Can't
he
get
it
from
the
ocean?"
Breaker
asked,
as
he tugged
his
fresh
breeches
into
place.
"I've
never
seen
it,
but I've
heard
it
goes
on
forever,
all
around
the
world,
covering everything
but
Barokan
and
the
Uplands.
I'd
think
that
was enough
water
to
rain
on
us
forever."

"If
he
could
get
it
all
airborne,
of
course
it
would
be,"
the Scholar
sai
d,
"but
I
don't
think
his
magic
is
that
powerful.
I think
he
has
to
wait
for
clouds
to
form
naturally
before
he can
direct
them
against
us."

"Are
you
sure
of
that,
Lore?"
the
Seer
asked.

"No,"
the
Scholar
said.
"It's
just
a
theory,
it's
nothing
I've been
t
old.
Oh,
and
Sword,
there
are
other
lands
besides those
you
mention—there
are
unknown
realms
south
and east
of
the
Uplands,
and
there
may
be
more
beyond
the
sea, as
well.
There's
much
more
to
the
world
than
just
Barokan and
the
plateau."

"Barokan
is
more
t
han
enough
for
me,"
Breaker
said. "I've
been
traveling
all
summer
and
most
of
the
autumn
and still
only
visited
a
small
part
of
it.
I've
never
even
seen
the sea!"

"Nonetheless,
there
are
other
lands."
Breaker
shook
his
head.
"Amazing,"
he
said. "Indeed,"
t
he
Scholar
said.

"So
do
you
mean
the
Wizard
Lord
can
rain
the
entire ocean
down
on
us,
whenever
we
set
foot
outside?"
the Archer
demanded.

"No,"
the
Scholar
replied
mildly.
"I
don't
believe
he
can.

But
he
can
certainly
cause
downpours
and
gales—and
you saw
the
ice
forming
on
the
trees,
and
surely
you
feel
the cold;
he
can
do
that,
too.
Let
us
hope
he
can't
do
anything too
drastically
unnatural—I
do
not
care
to
experience
earthquakes
or
lightning."

"You
mean
those
are
real?"
Breaker
said,
astonished.
"I alw
ays
thought
they
were
just
scary
stories,
like
the
soul-eater,
or
the
dead
lands."

The
Scholar
grimaced.
"I
regret
to
say,
Sword,
that
there are
indeed
dead
lands,
and
yes,
there
has
been
a
soul-eater— though
I
can't
say
for
certain
one
still
exists.
And
e
arthquakes
and
lightning
are
both
real
natural
phenomena
that the
Wizard
Lords
have
suppressed
for
these
last
five
or
six centuries."

"But
...
oh,"
Breaker
said.
He
opened
his
mouth
to
say more,
then
simply
repeated,
"Oh."

"Fire
from
the
sky?"
the
Leader
s
aid.
"That's
natural?"

The
guide
spoke
up
unexpectedly.

"The
Uplanders
say
it
happens
frequently
above
the cliffs,"
she
said.
"Sometimes
I've
seen
a
flickering
up
there myself
that
the
Uplanders
say
is
lightning.
And
there's
no true
magic
up
there,
is
ther
e?"

"I
don't
know,"
the
Scholar
said.
"My
magic
is
tied
to Barokan,
and
does
not
tell
me
what's
true
in
the
Uplands."

"Well,
that's
what
they
say,"
the
guide
said.

"It's
probably
true."

"So
in
theory,
the
Wizard
Lord
could
strike
us
down
with fiery
bolts
f
rom
the
heavens?"
Breaker
asked.

"Lightning
isn't
exactly
fire,"
the
Scholar
said.
"It's
something
else.
But
in
any
case,
no,
the
Wizard
Lord
cannot
strike us
down.
Our
own
magic
protects
us—lightning
will
not harm
us,
any
more
than
the
plagues
he
used
in
Stoneslope did."