Dara Joy - Matrix 04 (4 page)

Soosha was horrified. "But-but how could you live without those you love around you? Who is there to share
your happiness and woes? Where do you find someone to fight with that you know will have to forgive you?
Who do you irritate?!"

Her shocked, innocent inquiries were exceedingly humorous to him.

He chuckled. "We can always find someone to bother, I assure you. As for our lives, Spoltami believe in the sanctity of the individual. True originality and development can only be achieved when all familial influences are removed."

Soosha was thunderstruck. "That is not right! Familiars are very independent-"

"So I have heard."

"Yet we put great faith in our families."

Daxan shrugged. "It is a different viewpoint."

"Do you not see your parents? Your brothers and sisters?" She could not imagine such a thing.

He seemed to reflect on that for a moment. "Of course we do. We have festivals and visits. But our day to day lives are kept separate."

"And you enjoy this?"

He paused. "It is the way it is."

She was to learn that was a typical Spoltam reply.

Nonetheless, Soosha let him know exactly how it was going to be with them. "Well, my family will always be a part of my life!"

He gave her an odd look. Then tried to explain further. "Our perspective is different from yours. Spoltami put much store in knowledge. A man must study his entire life. Some of us achieve what is called "exalted thinking." We become sanctioned scholars. That is our highest aim."

Such a dispassionate objective was totally alien to her
way of thinking. "What good is this knowledge without a foundation of loving support?"

Daxan opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out.

Her simple question was not so simple. He was impressed with her natural acuity. "I will have to think of a reply to that one."

"You do that." She grinned in a gamin way. Teasing. Alluring.
Catlike.

They continued down a long hallway and through a wide arch which led directly into a massive sleeping chamber.

Daxan deposited her there, flinging her upright with a
whoosh!

"I have something I must attend to. I will be back after the sun sets. In the meantime, the servants will bring you whatever you wish."

"Very well."

"Since you trust me well enough to come willingly to my home, perhaps you can tell me your name?"

She bit her lip as she weighed his request.

Not because she was not going to tell him.

Sometimes, for no discernible reason at all, Familiars hesitated. They were always instinctually, careful.

"Soosha." She finally relented. "It is Soosha."

"Hmmm. . ." He seemed to consider her name. "It suits you."

"How so?"

"I must go." He left before she had a chance to ask any more questions, closing thick wooden doors behind him.

A
click
indicated he had locked them.

So he bid her trust him, yet did not trust her! Soosha was actually more irritated with the locked doors than with the issue of trust. Familiars hated to be confined.

She tried to will herself not to pace.

Mayhap she could distract herself by threshing out the room? A healthy dose of curiosity never killed the cat, for information always wooed her back!

Soosha chuckled as she set out to explore the area.

FOUR

Planet Aviara, House of Sages, High Guild

"I believe that concludes our affairs for today."

The wizard Gelfan, current leader of the High Guild, attempted to put an end to another long, torturous meeting in the House of Sages.

The meeting had been a typical one in that not much was actually accomplished.

The Guild seemed to be achieving less and less as time went by.

Perhaps,
Yaniff thought, I
am being unfair? Matters just seem to take longer these days.

The House of Sages, always rife with endless discussions, ponderings, musings, and bickering, seemed especially ineffective of late. Yaniff wondered why it had come to this. In any case, they were not done for today.

Not nearly done.

"Not yet, Gelfan." Yaniff leaned forward in his chair.

Some of the wizards had already begun to rise from their seats. With Yaniff's words, a general creaking ensued as old bones wearily retook their chairs. Whenever Yaniff spoke, it was known throughout the High Guild that more was coming.

He was a seventh-level mystic- there was no telling
how much more
was coming.

Grumbled murmurings filled the hall.

The sounds of old, responsible wizards in weighty debate were identifiable and predictable.

They were a resigned lot.

Bojo, Yaniff's winged-companion, chortled gleefully.

Yaniff, tried not to smile as he stroked Bojo's feathers in acknowledgment. Yes, they were a predictable bunch of old 'coots', as Adeeann would often say.

Gelfan, a shrewd, perceptive manipulator, raised his brow as if he had mistakenly overlooked this last bit of a problem.

Yaniff knew better.

These days, he watched Gelfan most carefully.

"Ah, yes. The matter of that Familiar girl. . . What was her name again?"

Gelfan had not forgotten her name. Nor the situation. "Soosha." Yaniff replied succinctly.

"Ah, yes, Soosha. I understand she has taken it upon herself to 'run off M'yan. I hardly see where this is a matter of concern to the High Guild, Yaniff. If this young woman decided to go against her king and put herself in jeopardy, it is really none of our concern."

Yaniff raised his eyebrow. "Then perhaps it is
you
who will tell that to her brother who now awaits our decision
outside this very chamber?"

Several of the wizards snickered.

They
all
were quite aware that the robust Familiar was beyond the closed doors of the High Guild chamber. They had been subjected to his constant pacing and grumbling since their meeting began at midday. It was early eve and the man was still out there stomping and, every now and then, vocally letting them all know of his presence.

His select choice of words were attention-getting, to say the least.

Gelfan frowned, waving his hand in dismissal. "Yes, we all know the man is outside the chamber."

Yaniff felt a duty to the distressed Familiar. "Since he learned of his sister's whereabouts on Spoltam, all manner of thoughts go through his head. You should not make light of his concern, Gelfan."

Gelfan showed no remorse at his harsh judgement. "I understand that this brother,
Brygar,
is quite a brash, impatient man. Some say he has the temperament of a
xathu."

Several of the wizards chuckled at the apt description. Even now they could hear the man bellowing out in the hall.

Gelfan could be most charming when he wanted to be.
Such charm is always dangerous.
Yaniff acknowledged that the wizard could become a serious concern...

He pulled himself up out of his chair, leaning heavily on his staff. Some statements required a little higher vantage point.

Especially in this chamber.

"It is true that Brygar can roar on occasion; at times, he is a most daring, impulsive Familiar- but his heart is true.

He worries over his sister. Knowing what captured Familiars endure, does anyone blame him?"

Yaniff's chastising words instantly sobered up the chamber. Ernak, a kindly old mystic, nodded his head in agreement. "Their situation is most dreadful."

Gelfan sighed loudly. "Yes, of course it is dreadful,
however,
let us not confuse the issue with over-sentimentality. We all know the situation of the Familiar. This esteemed council has oft acknowledged our agreement to aid them. Yet this particular incident has been brought about by one girl who took it upon herself to disobey a direct order of their king, Gian Ren. What is more, the brother, Brygar, is insisting that he accompany any Charl warrior we might choose to send. If we decide to send a Charl. And I might add, he is
demanding
that we do so."

Gelfan paused to let his piercing stare capture each member. The knifelike expression clearly conveyed that the Familiar's behavior toward such a revered body as the House of Sages was sheer audacity.

Yaniff watched the scene unfold before him, silent as a stone.

Gelfan continued his speech. "I say we let it be. With his rash behavior, this Familiar is likely to cause a planetary incident that we can ill afford. The ruling council on Spoltam, the Reign, will take immediate offense to what they will perceive as his instinctual, emotional feline temperament."

Wolthanth, one of the wisest wizards in the High Guild, disagreed. "You are wrong, Gelfan. Brygar will undoubtedly go after his sister with or without our aid. Best it be with our aid- if only to have some control over him."

Yaniff nodded to Wolthanth to thank
him
for his support. Gelfan was not known for his strong advocacy of the Familiar. The feline race had no champion in him. Yaniff well remembered that Gelfan had not been happy to discover that Rejar, the half-Familiar son of Krue, had in fact, inherited prophetic Charl powers.

Rejar's first act as a newly indoctrinated Charl had been to align Gelfan's house to him by accepting his Cearix. It had been a shrewd maneuver and Yaniff had later commended his student for it. In time, Rejar would learn to read that dagger's 'truth'.

Yaniff sighed. It was unfortunate that when the Familiar needed the guiding hand of the Sages the most, a man such as Gelfan led the High Guild. His powers of persuasion were strong. He could turn many of the Sages; and they would cast their votes with him.

Zysyz, the newest member of the House of
Sages interrupted the path of Yaniff's thoughts with his first
interesting
comment.

"Excuse me, but, how does Spoltam stand on the issue of Ganakari?"

Yaniff raised his eyebrows. Mayhap he had passed over Zysyz too soon? Mayhap there was yet a future ally here...

With the proper underpinning, of course.

Gelfan, somewhat surprised at Zysyz astute question, answered. "Spoltam shares a Tunnel annex point with Ganakari. The Spoltami, with their highly developed systems of lucid reasoning, naturally feel that the Familiar, a race that relies heavily on instinct and emotion, are somewhat inferior."

Yaniff noted Gelfan's use of the word 'naturally'. Bojo brushed the edge of his beak lightly against Yaniff's
earlobe.

"They are biased, but not overtly hostile to the race as a whole. So far, they have not joined into a pact with Ganakari. Although, that could change at any time. Which makes this situation all the more delicate."

Yaniff corrected Gelfan's glossed over summary. "They do allow slavers access to their planet."

Several of the wizards frowned disapprovingly.

Wolthanth stroked his chin. "I have always wondered how the Spoltami manage to allow their lucid' reasoning to condone such a thing; yet, it seems they are equally enamored of
privilege."

"They are not part of the Alliance," Gelfan shot back. Slavers were strictly forbidden in the Alliance. "If we ever hope to bring them into the Alliance then we need tread carefully."

"This is a crucial balance." Ernak added the obvious- but in a wise-sounding voice.

Yaniff groaned inwardly. Ernak was an extremely kind wizard who did not have the heart for decisive action.

"Spoltam favors us." Gelfan pressed his point. "Let it be known that their scholars spend much time interpreting adages from the House of Sages."

Wolthanth winked at the table. "Yes, I have heard that a Spoltami scholar can cheerfully spend years interpreting a single sentence of Charl
mystic-chatter.
Knights, our quest for obscurity is well met!"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, they all laughed. Even Bojo cawed.

Immediately, a deep voice bellowed outside and the complaint reached them clearly in the council chamber-right through wooden doors that were almost as dense as
the tree trunks in the Towering Forests.
"Laughing?! They laugh while my sister languishes on a pretentious planet of kiss-slavers!"

Many of the wizards raised their brows.

Yaniff winced.
He helps not his cause.

He knew his assessment was correct when Brygar's tirade against 'overly prudent, dawdling wizards' rose to new heights.
"I dare not ask myself how long it takes them to relieve themselves, for surely they must discuss the function for hours before finding the proper direction to do so!"

Several of the Sages began to frown. Deeply.

Yaniff saw the time was upon him. He quickly stepped forward to divert their concerns and lead them to the cause.

"Wolthanth is right; let us have some control over the incident. By carefully choosing an emissary from the Charl, we will remain in command. The key is to send someone to Spoltam who will not only find Soosha, but who will also be more than capable of
tempering
Brygar. Thus we will master the situation. I call for a first vote."

It was a brilliant tactical maneuver, coming at such a time in the daily deliberations. Late in the day, nearing the evening meal.

The words 'temper', 'master' and 'control', served up all at once, was a dish any wizard could chew on. Especially if it hastened the meeting. (Thus, the process of how some mystical decisions are ultimately rendered is revealed: Old men do not favor late evening meals.)

Most of the mystics quickly spoke in assent, giving Yaniff the quorum he needed to proceed.

Gelfan had cautiously remained neutral.