Mirror 04 The Way Between the Worlds (71 page)

have given her up when she went through the gate. But hope would not die.'
He walked over to the window and stood there looking out. 'Maigraith,' said
Yggur. 'I cannot get you out of my mind. I want you more than ever. Will you
come back to me?'
'No,' she said as gently as she was able. 'I can't, Yggur, though I wish you
all the best. Besides, how would it be when I gave birth to the son of your
lifelong enemy?'
'A - bitter - day,' he said haltingly, though it was not clear whether he
referred to that day or this.
Maigraith held her breath. Yggur was going through a terrible struggle. His
strength of character was also his weakness. Would he rise above it, or would
it overwhelm him?
'There was a time when I would not have been able to accept such a blow,' he
said. 'Before Carcharon I would have had to break something; or someoneV He
forced himself to smile and gave her his hand. 'I wish you well.'
He turned and limped away. 'I will go back to Fiz Gorgo for a time,' he said
to Shand.
'Nobly done,' said Shand. 'But who will look after your empire? Who will rule
unruly Thurkad?' 'It's yours, if you want it.'
Shand laughed. 'Of course I don't want it. Give it to your ablest general,
until a new Council can be elected. Or, better still, to Tallia.'
'I'm not up to it,' said Tallia, shaking her long black hair. 'I don't want to
be Magister.'
'You've passed the most important test then,' said Shand. 'And here is a
challenge. Look at the mess Thurkad and Meldorin are in. Who else has the
strength and the wisdom, and the compassion, to right all the wrongs that have
been done?'
'I - '
'Would you not do good things that no other Magister would? What if Thyllan
were to come back? What if there were no Magister at all, and one of Yggur's
generals were to rule, say?'
'They are hard men,' said Tallia, reflecting. 'And Thyllan is a fool and a
monster. Very well, if you ask it and the Council supports it, I will take it
on for a year. But no longer. I have other plans now. We're going to sail back
to Crandor once Lilis finishes her apprenticeship.'
'Maybe we'll come with you,' said Llian. 'Take our baby to see its
grandparents.'
'What do you say, Yggur?' said Shand.
'I can think of no better choice,' he said, and gave her his hand. 'Fare
well.'
'What could I do?' said Maigraith after the door closed behind him. 'It was
over long ago.'
At that moment Malien came in from outside. On seeing Maigraith she went pale,
then, most uncharacteristically, ran and took her hand. 'How fare my people,
Maigraith?' she whispered.
'I did not see them after the construct was destroyed,' said Maigraith. 'They
went back to their own cities. But Aachan is in its death agony. Ten thousand
volcanoes were erupting when I left. I don't see how the Aachim can survive.'
Malien let her hand fall. 'And there is nothing I can do about it.' She
slumped into a chair, staring at the fire.
No one said anything for a full minute. But to Maigraith's surprise, Malien
got up again, and she was smiling.
'Adversity only strengthens our resolve,' Malien said. 'If there is a way to
survive, my people will find it, as they

have always done. And I must be just as strong. I have much to do. Fare well!'
She embraced them all and hurried out.
'So what will you do, Shand?' Karan asked.
Shand smiled. 'Suddenly I have everything to live for.' He embraced Maigraith.
'I was sure I'd lost you too. I'll stay for a while, at least until my

great-grandchild is born, and your child too, Karan. You've no idea how much
I'm looking forward to being a great-grandfather. And then? Back to Tullin I
suppose. That's not so far away that I won't see you often. In Tullin I'll
tend my gellon trees and lay down liqueurs for the children, until my time is
up.'
Llian crawled into bed, looking as gloomy as he had every night since
returning from the college.
'What's the matter?' Karan asked irritably. The baby was already hard work and
his everlasting depression was wearing her out.
'The usual problem,' he said, staring at the wall. Karan couldn't take it any
more. 'Well, find something to do with your life!' she said furiously. 'Our
baby needs a contented father, not a miserable one.' Blowing out the lamp, she
presented him with her rigid back.
Llian lay awake, staring into the darkness as he went through his situation
over and again. It was obvious that there were only two things in the world he
was suited for -being a master chronicler and a teller. But to Llian the two
professions were hand in glove; he had to have both.
I will find something to do! he thought. Damn the college and the master
chroniclers. Damn the old master and the new one too! No one will tell me that
I can't practise my art. I'll make my living by being a teller, and be a
chronicler in secret. I'll begin on Rulke's Tale. The defiance gave him a
powerful thrill, like the time in the Nightland when Rulke had offered him the
forbidden knowledge. I will have it! I can't do otherwise. Maybe I am corrupt,
but I'll have what I want and pay the price, whatever that may be.
In the middle of the night Karan gave a sharp cry and thrust herself up in
bed.
Llian sleepily stroked her brow. 'What's the matter?'
'My bones hurt.'
'You've been lying in the same position too long.'
'You don't understand! When I move it feels like my hips are made of broken
glass.'
He turned her over, settled her with pillows and began to rub her back. It did
not make things any better.
'I think . ..' Karan stopped, sweating and shivering at the same time. Giving
birth was another of her nightmares. She imagined her pelvic bones splintering
under the strain. But far worse, that terrifying craving had come back
stronger than before. She wanted hrux. How she wanted the drug, but she was
afraid of it too. Afraid she would never be free of it - afraid that if she
did succumb it would damage her baby.
'What?' he cried.
'I think you'd better send for Idlis.'
'Right now?' Llian exclaimed, and had she not grabbed his wrist he would have
fallen out of bed. "The baby's not coming already?'
Karan found herself smiling. How ignorant he was. 'Not for another six months,
silly! Send for him in the morning! And ask .. . ask him to bring some hrux
with him.
Llian took her hand. 'Hrux!' he shivered. 'Are you sure?'
She did not respond for a long time. 'I'd forgotten it for months, but when I
woke the craving was back again. I need it desperately, Llian.'
He held her. 'Are you sure?'
She gave a great shudder. 'No!' she raged. 'No hrux!
'Karan?'
'I think I can manage it,' she said. He could feel her desire for it. Her
whole body was trembling. 'Hold me tightly, Llian. I need you more than I ever
have.'
'I'll always be here, Karan,' he said. 'I'll help you. Together we can
overcome it.'
Karan lay back and closed her eyes. 'Yes, Llian. Together we can do anything.
And we will.'
The next day Karan, Maigraith, Llian and Shand were sitting together on the

veranda enjoying the wintry sun. Llian turned to Maigraith, who was staring
dreamily into space.
'Maigraith,' he said.
'Mmm?'
'I do so wonder about the Charon. When you were in Aachan . .. did you ever
talk to Yalkara about her life? Or the other Charon?'
'Constantly.'
'What about the void. Did they mention that place?'
Karan looked up through half-closed eyelids. Llian was sitting forward as if
about to spring from his chair in eagerness. His eyes were shining, a look she
had not seen since Chanthed. She smiled to herself and closed her eyes again.
It felt good in the sun today. She did not want hrux at all. And for once she
had absolutely nothing to do. No one required anything of her.
'Enough to fill volumes,' said Maigraith. She rolled over, cow-like in her
contentment.
'Do you think . .. you could tell me some of those tales?'
By the time the sun went down the floor around Llian was littered in papers
covered in his fine script, and he was still writing furiously. He looked
deliriously happy.
Maigraith held up her right hand, inspecting the strange ring, just four
twisted wires and two blobs of gold.
'Maigraith, you look so fulfilled,' Karan observed.
'That's funny, isn't it,' Maigraith replied. 'I never knew how to be happy
before. I lacked the capacity for it.'
'But you've lost so much!'
'All I ever wanted was to know who I was.'
'What about Rulke?'
Maigraith smiled but said nothing at all.
'You loved him very deeply.'
'I do; and in my memories I will always have him. That is enough.' She paused.
'There is one thing, though.'
'What?' asked Karan.
'If your daughter and my son were to mate,' said Maigraith, 'triunes both - '
'Begone, serpent!' said Karan. 'We have yet to deliver them, and we don't know
what we'll deliver.'
'I know what I know,' said Maigraith complacently. 'Who else can a triune's
son mate with but a triune's daughter. From our loins spring a new people, a
new species, perhaps with more of the strengths and fewer of the weaknesses
than those that engendered us. Let us agree to pair them, now.'
Karan felt a stab of alarm. Had fate manipulated her all along to bring about
this end? Or had her father, with his experiments up at Carcharon? She hastily
swerved away from that thought.
This had to be stopped at once. She moved uncomfortably on her chair. Though
her own pregnancy was not far advanced, her damaged bones ached all the time.
Remembering Idlis's warning, she did not even want to think about childbirth.
'We are the complement of each other,' Karan said. 'Both orphaned, both
shaped, both triune, but completely different. If you won't learn from your
own life, then at least listen to what I've learned from mine. There's been
more than enough manipulating of children in this tale. Give them the freedom
of their own future. In any case, a new species will still be human - just as
frail and just as foolish as the ones it sprang from. Just as good and just as
evil. How can it differ in its humanity? That's what makes us what we are.'
Maigraith was no longer listening. She closed her eyes, drawn far, far away.
Distantly she heard the blatt of a hunting horn. Fare well! echoed in her
mind. Then the whispery link between her and Yalkara was gone forever.
She looked up. Shand's eyes were on her. His eyes were wet too. 'Just you and
me now,' he said.
'Just the three of us,' she replied, enfolding her glorious belly with her
arms.
The End

Glossary
of Characters, Names and Places
Aachan: One of the Three Worlds, the world of the Aachim and, after its
conquest, the Charon.
Aachim: The human species native to Aachan, who were conquered by the Charon.
The Aachim are a clever people, great artisans and engineers, but melancholy
and prone to hubris. After they were brought to Santhenar the Aachim
flourished, but were betrayed and ruined in the Clysm, and withdrew from the
world to their vast mountain fortress cities.
Aftersickness: Sickness that people suffer after using the Secret Art, or
being close when someone else uses such power, or even after using a native
talent. Sensitives are very prone to it.
Alcifer: The last and greatest of Rulke's cities, designed by Pitlis the
Aachim.
Asper: An Aachim healer, one of Tensor's company.
Bannador: A long, narrow and hilly land on the western side of Iagador.
Karan's homeland. Bannador is the closest land to Shazmak and was ruined in
the war between Yggur's forces and the Ghashad's.
Basitor: A bitter Aachim who survived the sacking of Shazmak and accompanied
Tensor to Katazza.
Basunez: A distant ancestor of Karan's. He built Carcharon,
carrying out forbidden experiments there, and later went
mad.
Benie: Cook's boy at Gothryme Manor. Blending: A child of the union between
two of the four
different human species. Blendings are rare, and often
deranged, but can have remarkable talents. Booreah Ngurle: The burning
mountain, or fiery mountain,
a volcanic peak in the forests east of Almadin. The Charon
once had a stronghold there.
Calendar: Santhenar's year is roughly 395.7 days and contains twelve months,
each of thirty-three days.
Calliat: A philosopher and mystic of ancient times. See Forty-Nine Chrighms.
Carcharon: A walled tower built on a rugged ridge high above Gothryme Forest.
It was constructed by Karan's mad ancestor Basunez at a node where the Secret
Art was especially powerful.
Chacalot: A large water-dwelling reptile, somewhat resembling a crocodile.
Chanthed: A town in northern Meldorin, in the foothills of the mountains. The
College of the Histories is situated there.
Chard: A kind of tea.
Charon: One of the four human species, the master people of the world of
Aachan. They fled out of the void to take Aachan from the Aachim, and took
their name from a frigid moonlet at the furthest extremity of the void. They
have strange eyes, indigo or carmine, or sometimes both together, depending on
the light.
Chronicler: A historian. A graduate in the art and science of recording and
maintaining the Histories.
Citadel: The Magister's palace in Thurkad, an enormous fortified building of
baroque extravagance.
Clysm: A series of wars between the Charon and the Aachim beginning around
1500 years ago, resulting in the almost total devastation of Santhenar.
College of the Histories: The oldest of the colleges for the instruction of
those who would be chroniclers or tellers of the Histories, or even lowly
bards or king's singers. It was set up at Chanthed soon after the time of the
Forbidding.
Compulsion: A form of the Secret Art; a way of forcing someone to do something
against their will.
Construct: A machine at least partly powered by the Secret Art.
Council; also Council of Iagador, Council of Santhenar, Great Council, High
Council: An alliance of the powerful. With the Aachim it made the Nightland

and cast Rulke into it. After that it had two purposes - to continue the great
project and to maintain the watch upon Rulke.
Crandor: A rich, tropical land on the north-eastern side of Lauralin. Tallia's
homeland.
Dolodha: A timid messenger girl to Yggur, now promoted
to adjutant. Dunnet: A secluded land within Elludore Forest, now
Faelamor's hideout.
Elienor: A great heroine of the Aachim from the time when
the Charon invaded Aachan. Ellami: A Faellem woman, Hallal's sister. Elludore:
A large forested land, north and west of Thurkad. Emmant: A half-Aachim,
librarian at Shazmak, who conceived
a violent lust for Karan and attacked her. She killed him
in Thurkad.
Faelamor: Leader of the Faellem species who came to Santhenar soon after
Rulke, to keep watch on the Charon and maintain the balance between the
worlds. Maigraith's liege.
Faellem: The human species who inhabit the world of Tallallame. They are a
small, dour people who are forbidden to use machines and particularly magical
devices,
but are masters of disguise and illusion. Faelamor's band
were trapped on Santh by the Forbidding, and constantly
search for a way home. Festival of Chanthed: An annual festival held in
Chanthed
in the autumn, at which the Histories are told by the
masters and students of the College. Fiz Gorgo: A fortress city in Orist,
flooded in ancient times,
now restored; the stronghold of Yggur. Flute; also golden flute: A device made
in Aachan at the
behest of Rulke, by the genius smith Shuthdar. It was
subsequently stolen by him and taken back to Santhenar.
When played by one who is sensitive, it could be used to
open the Way between the Worlds. It was destroyed by
Shuthdar at the time of the Forbidding. Forbidding: See Tale of the
Forbidding. Fortress: Yggur's headquarters in Thurkad, a plain old
building which looks down on the Magister's citadel. Forty-Nine Chrighms of
Calliat: A series of linked enigmas
and paradoxes so complex that, thirteen hundred years
after Calliat's death, only one had been solved. Maigraith
has recently solved many of them. Fyrn: The family name of Karan of Bannador,
from her
mother's side.
Galliad: Karan's father, who was half-Aachim. He was killed
when Karan was a child. Gannel: A river beginning near Chanthed and flowing
through
the mountains to the sea at Ganport. Garr, Garrflood: The largest river in
Meldorin. It arises to the
west of Shazmak and runs to the Sea of Thurkad east of Sith. Gate: A structure
controlled by the Secret Art, which permits
people to move instantly from one place to another. Also
called a portal. Gellon: A fruit tasting something between a mango and a
peach. Gethren: A Faellem man.
Ghashad: The ancient, mortal enemies of the Aachim. They were corrupted and
swore allegiance to Rulke after the Zain rebelled two thousand years ago, but
when Rulke was put in the Nightland a thousand years later they forgot their
destiny and took a new name, Whelm. Roused by Rulke through Karan's link to
Maigraith, they became Ghashad again and sacked Shazmak just before the
Conclave.
Gift of Rulke; also Curse of Rulke: Knowledge given by Rulke to the Zain,
enhancing their resistance to the mind-breaking potencies of the Aachim. It
left stigmata that identified them as Zain.