The Chosen (9 page)

 Chapter 3

Discovery and Desiccation

As Garret and Zorbin were learning the art of battle from their mentors, Seth memorized tome after tome of magical lore. Sara helped Seth whenever she was able, but often during the days she was preoccupied with other tasks and errands assigned to her by Judilanthaliz.

Jud, it turned out, was a very patient man. But even patient men have their limitations, and Seth feared time was growing short. If he was unable to show Jud any sign of a blessing very soon he and Sara would have to run. Sara had already seen to their escape plans, notifying the ever loyal Borrik of their situation.

Seth didn’t want to run. The thought of spending the rest of their days hiding because of his inability to come to terms with things set in motion before his birth left him feeling empty. Sara deserved better, and Seth had already decided on a course of action to ensure that Sara and he were able to remain in service to the king.

Weeks had passed with Seth reading every document he was able to get his hands on. He was fairly certain at this point that he had read everything written on the subject of magic that existed here in the castle city. Now he felt it was time to put the knowledge he had gained from those countless tomes to work.

The sun had already faded from the single window in Seth’s small room. Sara had already visited, exhausted from her day of errand running, and had retired to her room to start again in the morning. Lighting a single magical candle, Seth knelt before his small desk, mentally preparing himself for the task ahead. Unsure if his plan would work, Seth took deep breaths to relax himself before his attempt to summon a god. He had always been fearful of the gods and the way they used people like pawns in a big game, but Seth felt that for some reason in this particular venture he had the upper hand. It seemed to him the goddess had chosen him to carry out some task for her, thus giving him something to bargain with. If he could manage to stick to the plan, in the presence of an all-knowing immortal, he knew that he could keep himself and Sara safe within the walls of the castle, and more importantly, keep them together. Closing his eyes, and imagining himself in the stone chamber with no doors or windows where he had first seen the goddess, Seth called out with every fiber of his being.

“Goddess Ishanya, I seek you out.” Seth prayed into the openness of the world around him.

A long moment passed, where in Seth’s mind he remained alone in the exit-less stone chamber. He began to second guess his attempt at summoning a goddess.

“Open your eyes, stop groveling on your knees, and face me like a man worthy of my presence,” came the goddess’ voice, stern yet musical, startling Seth into motion.

Seth actually jumped from surprise at the reply, but was quick to regain his composure and do as he was commanded by the goddess. Gone was the stone chamber from his mind. As his eyes opened to gaze upon the goddess once again in all her glory, he was unable to contain a gasp of shock. She was as beautiful as was possible for a woman in mortal flesh to be, but it was not her beauty that enthralled Seth, it was her attire. The goddess stood before him, a slender, petite woman with all the right proportions, only this time she came to him dressed for battle. She was covered from toe to neck in polished black armor. So polished was the armor its surface reflected the image from his solitary candle a million times, but so black were its depths that it seemed to suck what light there was in those reflections into itself, leaving the room feeling like a blackened abyss. Her hair hung loose about her shoulders, and in her hand she held a helmet of the same polished metal adorned with two large, curling horns. At her hip was strapped a long, thin blade, much like Seth’s own sword, only hers was obviously the better. The overall image would stay with Seth for all his days, both beautiful and menacing, a force to be reckoned with.

Seth gathered himself, put all his jumbled thoughts back into place, and prepared himself for what he must do. Taking a deep breath once again, Seth began.

“Goddess you honor me with your presence,” Seth stated looking her directly in the eyes before going on. “I have thought long and hard about your offer to serve you, and though I think it may be in both of our best interests for me to do so, I have some concerns that must be addressed before I can make my decision.”

The goddess stood without moving as if a statue newly erected in Seth’s quarters. No hint of life escaped her body but for the hint of a small smirk upon her lips. She was amused, and thus replied.

“Go on then. I have eternity at my disposal but forgive me if I do not wish to spend it here waiting for you to get on with it,” Ishanya said mockingly.

“I am sure you well know my disposition towards the gods, m’lady. They ask much and give little, they demand tribute and prayer, and much more from those who serve them,” Seth continued.

Ishanya’s smirk turned into an all-out smile at this point. Seth was playing right into her hands, and being impatient as she was for an immortal being, she finally decided she had heard enough.

“Listen to me boy,” the goddess interrupted. “I know your heart, as it was I who created it. I know your soul as it is I who gave it unto your mother’s womb. I know what it is you want and I know what it is that you desire, and that being so, I have no more time to listen to your petty grievances. This is what I offer you and it should be much to your liking. I desire no prayer from you. As if I want to listen to your constant grumblings! You need not call to me each time you require the power to perform. You need not erect temples for my worship or wear garb depicting my image. Your miracles will be created at your own hands, and you have no need to ever thank me for granting them.” The goddess paused to let the boy with his inferior mind catch up.

“What is the catch, m’lady?” Seth responded immediately.

“What I offer you is a nearly unlimited source of power, though it will take a strong mind and a strong heart to use it. You already have the capacity for its use. I only have to show you its source. I will give you the world as we gods see it and you may do with it as you wish,” the goddess stated in her melodic voice, the smirk returning to her lips.

“And what in return?” Seth asked bluntly.

“In return for the gift, I ask only this…” The goddess Ishanya paused briefly and with a slight nod continued. “You need not pray to me or erect altars or temples as I have stated. However, when you perform any miracle of magnitude where there are witnesses, simply tell them it is by my power and in my honor that you perform them. Also, if asked by anyone whom you serve, you shall tell them simply that you serve the goddess Ishanya. Does that suit you, young Seth?” the goddess asked, her smirk vanishing.

Seth thought it over a moment. This was basically the exact outcome he had hoped for, yet he did not have to plead nor bargain to reach this agreement. It made him all the more uncomfortable to think about it, but the goddess had said that she knew his heart, and as such he should have predicted her terms would be agreeable to his.

“So you do not require my devoted worship, but hope to gain followers through my actions?” Seth asked, already knowing the answer.

“That should be obvious,” the goddess replied. “So do we have an agreement? I have things to do.” Ishanya stated impatiently.

“I agree to your terms, Ishanya,” Seth said simply.

“Then it is done,” declared the goddess. “Go forth into the world and spread my glory through your deeds. If you should have need of me again, servant, then call upon me. But only if the need is great.”

With that Ishanya was gone from the room. No mystical swirls of smoke, no flash of light, nothing but emptiness returning. Seth felt no different, and searching his mind he found nothing different there either. The goddess had told him to go out into the world, but it was getting late and he had a feeling tomorrow was going to be a long day. He quickly undressed and climbed into his bed. Passing his hand over the solitary candle in the room, its light snuffed out and all was left in darkness.

Many long moments passed, Seth daydreaming about having endless magical ability without having to ask for it each time. Remembering the rush he felt on both occasions when he had channeled through him the power of another god, Seth could not help but feel excited. Tomorrow he hoped would be the beginning to a long, happy life with Sara. Now he just needed to decide how to tell her of his decision and discover this great source of power the goddess promised him. One daydream swirled into another as sleep overtook him.

Seth awoke with a start. His eyes popping open he sat up in bed, and he realized that no light was yet streaming through the lone window in his high tower room. Sitting perfectly still, listening to the silence around him, it startled him slightly when the handle on his door turned and Sara glided nymph-like into the room. Though he was always taken with her beauty, nothing could have prepared Seth for what he saw of her this morning. It was a vision, like Ishanya a few hours previous, that would be burned into his mind for the rest of his life.

The realization struck Seth instantaneously of what the goddess had told him the night before. He now had the vision of the gods and could see as they saw. Sara was there, the same as always, with her own natural beauty, only this time Seth was seeing her like he had never seen her before and the sight literally took his breath away. The only visual comparison Seth could imagine was the rainbow hue of lamp oil spilled in a puddle of water. It was as if a veil of millions of tiny gems in brilliant colors had been draped over Sara and infused within her very being. The image was astonishing. The vibrant hues appeared to pulse in rhythm to her heart and course through her veins, illuminating her entire body with such a myriad of colors Seth could not even begin to name them all. Finally able to regain his composure, Seth realized his eyes were watering, his chest was tight, and although his mouth hung wide open at the sight of Sara, he realized he had not taken a breath for several moments.

Sara stepped quietly into Seth’s room, and hearing him gasp she froze just inside the door to allow her eyes to adjust to the pitch black. She stood unmoving for a moment as Seth came into sight. He sat upright in bed, apparently staring at her. Sara swept her hand over the enchanted candle upon Seth’s bedside stand causing the wick to once again ignite with a small crackle and wisp of smoke. Returning her attention to the man she adored, she was immediately worried. Seth sat there, open mouthed, his eyes were bulging in their sockets and his flesh had taken on an unnatural bluish hue. Sara lunged towards the bed in an attempt to help in any way she could. Landing bodily upon the bed, half beside and half on top of Seth, Sara wrapped him in her arms.

Seth realized his current state at the same instant Sara had lit his candle. However, Seth had not been prepared for her lunge at him. The same moment Seth attempted to take his first breath, Sara landed bodily on top of him, knocking what little air he had managed to inhale right back out of his lungs, causing him to gasp yet again and begin a fit of coughing. Sputtering like a halfwit, Seth attempted to calm Sara who was beating upon his back with her fists as if he were choking on something, which is precisely what Sara thought was happening. Finally holding up his hands in an attempt to signal her to stop, and shifting his weight to dislodge her, Seth was finally able to take a full, uninterrupted breath. Feeling the tightness in his chest ease, he hurriedly gulped several deep breaths to fill his lungs as Sara looked on in utter bewilderment. Seth was not a small man and could not help himself but smile at the thought of the tiny, petite woman whom he loved trying to save him, and using every ounce of her body to do it.

“I’m glad you find this so amusing,” Sara said with mock seriousness. “I thought you were dying.”

“Perhaps I might have had you weighed a little more,” Seth laughed causing Sara to give him a stern look.

“Are you trying to say I’m fat?” Sara questioned, almost able to keep a straight face.

“Oh, you are absolutely enormous!” Seth replied, snatching Sara into his arms and rolling over to pin her beneath his weight and beginning to tickle her. Sara squirmed and giggled beneath Seth, half-heartedly trying to escape, yet all the while enjoying the one-on-one time with Seth they so rarely had these days. Seth too was enjoying himself, but he was also discovering things he never knew before. The first thing he discovered was when Sara’s heart sped up, so did the pulsing of the spectral light that infused her. The second thing was that Sara’s third rib was much more ticklish than her second or forth, of which he took full advantage.

After several minutes of laughs and giggles, Sara was panting heavily and begging for the cessation of Seth’s tickling with which he reluctantly complied. Plopping down beside her on the bed Seth pulled Sara into his arms, allowing her to calm her breathing, all the while feeling her heartbeat slow as the pulsing of her ethereal glow followed suit.

“I feel terrible,” Sara finally stated after she could breathe normally again.

“Why, my love?” Seth asked genuinely concerned.

“You are in such a good mood, when lately you have been so tired and stressed. I am afraid the news I have will spoil your mood, and I don’t want to ruin it,” Sara replied, worry sounding clearly in her voice.

“What is it?” Seth asked, and as she had predicted his light-heartedness began to fade.

“It's nothing we haven’t discussed a hundred times before, but we are running out of time,” Sara said.

“I know,” Seth replied. “What causes you such concern now, though?”

“I was running errands for Jud, and on one of my passes through his personal library, I overheard him talking to the head of the healers about you. I continued with my duties but paused in the hall long enough to overhear him say that he had obtained a position for you in the king’s library, seeing as you seem so fond of books.” This last part she said with a smile before continuing. “I asked around at the castle later this afternoon, and the current Royal Librarian rarely sees the outside of the library. Even his personal chamber is within the library itself. Seth, we have to leave now or we will never see each other!” With her final statement, Seth noticed she could hardly contain her tears.