4 - Mizrak

A morning full of pain was not what Eylara had been expecting. It had started normally enough. In fact, she felt very well rested when she woke up and had even tested her abilities by going with Richard and extending her hearing to where a pheasant was hiding so they could have a good breakfast. Then, as she was sitting by the fire with Zedd and finishing up her food while the others tended to their horses, the wizard pointed out the fact that she had something tangled in her hair. Eylara brought it over her shoulder and found that he was right - a stubby twig had worked it's way into a hopeless tangle at the end of her hair at some point. No amount of pulling or brushing was going to help.

It was really nothing of consequence, except for what happened when she brought out her little silver dagger to cut the thing out. She set the blade against the snarl, pulled it through . . . and promptly let out a yell of pain, dropping the dagger and the hair-wrapped piece of stick as she clapped her hands to the back of her head. Her cry made Zedd jump, and Kahlan and Richard spun around to see what was going on. Eylara, rubbing her throbbing pate, turned around to see if something on the log behind her had caught her hair, or if some crazed creature or insect had smacked into the back of her head before finding a straight path to fly. She couldn't see anything and was extremely confused.

"What happened?" Kahlan asked, dropping to one knee next to her. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know!" Eylara answered in frustration, scanning the woods. "I swear something just hit me in the back of the head . . . but I don't know what it was." Kahlan and Zedd had both spied the dagger and scrap of her hair on the ground, but she didn't notice and picked them up. "Whatever it was, it stung like nothing I've ever felt before. I hope it doesn't swell or something." When she looked up, Kahlan was regarding her with a very odd expression. "What?"

The Confessor flicked a brief glance at Zedd, whose face bore much the same cryptic affect as her own. Eylara noted the resemblance and looked back at Kahlan in consternation. "This happened right after you did that?" Kahlan asked, indicating the dagger.

"Yes . . . Why?"

Kahlan looked at the wizard again, and Eylara did the same. "Oh, it's probably nothing," he said, smiling again. "It could just be your magic acting up. It might do that sometimes, getting the odd nerve firing off at inconvenient moments and whatnot. Here, let's see if this helps." Zedd touched her forehead, and sure enough, the burning sting in her scalp lessened considerably.

She nodded. "That did help. Thank you, Zedd."

"Of course, my dear. Now, we'd better get the last of this stuff on the horse and put out the embers before we get moving."

Eylara nodded and moved off to fetch a bucket of dirt to smother the fire with. Richard came over to help her and asked if she was okay, to which she said yes, she was and thanked him for checking. Still, the way Kahlan and Zedd had reacted to her little incident struck her as odd, and she felt that they were hiding something from her. She could tell that they were surprised and even a bit worried by what had happened, but she could see no reason for it. She eventually shrugged it off and mostly forgot about it.

The hour before noon was when the truly painful thing happened. They had just gotten off the horses to water them when the most sickening pain shot straight through her temples like a fiery arrow. It blinded her, and her body stiffened against it. Then she crumpled to her knees with an agonized scream, pressing her palms against the sides of her head as if trying to hold it together. Zedd was kneeling before her in an instant, grabbing her by the wrists to keep her from hurting herself, which he feared she might. "Zedd, what's happening to her?" Richard asked over her tormented moaning.

"The magic," Zedd replied, his eyes fixed intently on her contorted face. "It's shifting to the Subtractive."

"You can't do anything?"

"No. We just have to wait for it to pass."

"How long will that take?" asked Kahlan.

"Could take minutes, could take an hour; I don't know for sure," Zedd told her. Suddenly, Eylara's eyes snapped wide open, desperately focusing on the wizard's face as another wave of pain tensed her into rigidity. What was happening to her eyes caused him to stare. The color of them was shifting between every shade of the spectrum, and the whites were glowing and sparking. "Hold on, girl, hold on!" he said fervently as her hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. "You've got the will to get through this. Focus through it!" Beads of sweat had formed on her forehead, and her breathing came in rough gasps through clenched teeth as tears of pain streamed unchecked down her pallid cheeks. Even so, he could tell that she was trying to do as he said. After a few more long minutes, the onslaught suddenly ceased, and the pain released its hold on her, causing her to collapse limply into Zedd's shoulder. He let go of her wrists and guided her down onto the ground, laying her flat on her back. She wasn't unconscious, but her eyes were shut. She was focusing on regaining control of her breathing, and he was impressed that she had the presence of mind to do so.

Kahlan put a hand to Eylara's forehead. "She's cold," she remarked concernedly.

"She'll be alright," said the wizard. "Just give her a few more minutes."

Presently, she opened her eyes, focusing on each of her companions in turn. Zedd was relieved to notice that they had stabilized to their normal shade of dark blue. Finally, she spoke. "That was awful. I never want to do that again." They helped her sit up, and she looked at Zedd as Richard handed Kahlan water to pass to her. "Is it going to be like that every time the magic decides to switch?" she asked, thanking Kahlan and Richard and taking a drink.

The wizard nodded. "You know what it's like now, and I saw you trying to focus through it. That's the way to handle it, in my opinion, since there isn't much else to be done. Maybe that will help you get through it quicker after the initial attack. On the other hand, it might just get worse the longer you go without being purged."

"Great." Eylara let out a long breath and shut her eyes again for a moment. "I'll fight through it. If it's going to kill me, I may as well look it in the face as I go." Zedd took hold of her temples again. "Now what are you doing?"

"You're centered in Subtractive Magic now," he said. "I just want to see what's most obvious in you on this side of things." After a few moments, he said, "Apathy . . . the counter to your pulsing, just as I suspected . . . weapon disintegration . . . repulsion . . . Those are all I can find in the tangle."

Eylara's body was throbbing with the aftershocks of the pain the switch had caused, and Zedd could sense it. He placed a hand over her eyes and uttered a brief incantation. A flash of heat warmed her eyelids for a moment and then traveled through the rest of her, stilling the lingering effects enough to cause her breathing to noticeably relax further. "Okay," she said after a moment. "Let's get to Mizrak."

"Are you sure you can go on right now?" asked Richard.

Eylara rose before any offers off help could be made. "Yeah, I'm sure. The sooner we can find more quillion, the sooner I can stop dealing with this, and the sooner you can get on with your quest. Let's go."

The next few hours were uneventful. They had come to a point in the woods where the trees were too thick to ride quickly, but Zedd assured them they'd be at Mizrak by mid-afternoon in spite of their pace. Richard had gotten off his horse, offering it to Eylara as he walked along a short distance ahead. Kahlan rode nearby on her right, Zedd on her left. "How are you feeling?" the Confessor asked her after a time.

Eylara gave a shrug and smirked a bit. "Well, I'm saddle-sore. I can't say I did much horse riding back in the other world. Other than that, I've got a tiny bit of a headache, but I'm fine."

Kahlan said that was good. "You know," she said, "for being from another world entirely, you don't seem out of place here at all. You're not intimidated by your surroundings, you're facing all of this with a determination people don't see very often . . . I'm surprised at you, Eylara."

"I just . . . feel like I'm meant to be here. But I've always been pretty good at covering up the fact that I'm scared or intimidated." She looked at Kahlan with a small smile. "To be honest, I'm a little on the terrified side right now. I think I will be until I get past a week."

Kahlan returned a sympathetic smile. "You'll get there. I'm sure of it. Besides, being able to hide your fear can be a valuable skill sometimes."

Eylara glanced up toward Richard. "The Seeker doesn't think I'm very good at it," she said, the corner of her mouth turning up a bit. "I got spooked by an owl last night. He thought it was great." Kahlan laughed, and Eylara joined in a bit in spite of herself. Shortly after that, her thoughts flicked to the incident with her hair that morning. "Kahlan, I have to ask, do you know something I don't about what happened to me this morning when we were getting ready to break camp? I mean, it wasn't a big deal, but you and Zedd acted like it was really out of the ordinary or something."

Kahlan almost involuntarily averted her eyes from the other woman, deliberated for a moment, and then looked back up at her quickly. "I don't think it was anything to worry about, in spite of how we acted," she said. "Zedd was probably right: it had something to do with your magic. It's . . . not something you have to trouble yourself with right now."

Eylara watched Kahlan's eyes as she spoke, hoping to see whether or not the Confessor was telling her all that was on her mind. Abruptly, she realized that her ability to read emotions in other people might not work when she was attuned to Subtractive Magic. Even so, she could tell that there was more to the issue. "I think there's still something you're not telling me," she said, and Kahlan's expression became guarded. Eylara gave a quiet sigh of capitulation. "But if you say I shouldn't worry about it right now, I won't." A pang of fear tugged at her heart for a split-second, but it was enough to find its way onto her countenance. "You'll tell me if it's bad, won't you, Kahlan?"

The Confessor's features softened, her eyes warming. "Of course I will. So will Zedd. You have my word. And his."

Eylara turned to see Zedd looking at her, and he dipped his head in affirmation of Kahlan's words. He had been listening the whole time.

Close to three hours after noon, they came to the edge of the woods. An expansive field stretched out in front of them as they stopped just before the trees ended, and they all dismounted to survey the tranquil scene. Lush green grass carpeted the ground, the evenness of which was interrupted by the presence of several perfectly symmetrical hills. Eylara didn't need to be told that they had finally arrived at Mizrak. "So, who's buried here?" she asked Zedd.

"Oh, several people of high status from ages past," the wizard replied. "Many of them were rulers of an ancient city called Dorivan, the ruins of which are about an hour's ride south of here. However, a few of the mounds contain the tombs of the more respected sorcerers that served one or two of those rulers. One of them, a brilliant man named Tengar, used quillion to ground a lot of his experiments and alchemy. It was said that he owned three quillion artifacts, one of which was destroyed when Dorivan fell. Another was placed in his burial chamber, although it's probably long gone by now. But it's said that there was a secret vault built off the side of his chamber, a fact known only by the other sorcerers of his order - some of whom ended up becoming wizards later on. Which is why I know about it. The third artifact must be there."

Eylara scrutinized the burial mounds carefully. "They're not very big," she commented. "It looks like we could just walk in and out. But it's not going to be that simple, is it?"

Zedd gave a lopsided smile. "Indeed not. The main burial chamber lies a good twenty feet underground, and it can only be entered by following a spiral hallway beneath the mound. After that, who knows how the secret room is connected to the rest of the tomb?"

"We'd better get started then," said Richard. "Which one is it?"

"We'll have to look at the engravings on the entry lintels to figure it out," Zedd answered. "His name should be there somewhere, but I don't know what language it'll be in. It could take some time."

"No." The three turned to look at Eylara, who was staring into the midst of the mounds as if nothing was obstructing her view. "It's the one in the very center. I . . . I can see it. I can see the magic of the quillion coming up out of the ground like a . . . a pillar of light." She blinked, and the trance that seemed to have gripped her fell away, causing her to waver on her feet. Richard put out a hand to steady her, and after a moment, she straightened, looking to Zedd. "How was that?" she asked, smiling weakly.

"Spellsight," the wizard murmured. "Very good, dear one! Quite amazing. But how do you feel after that?"

Eylara's forehead creased a bit. "My headache's a little worse. I'm okay, though."

"Just be careful," Kahlan cautioned her. "Even that made you a little shaky, and there's no telling what anything beyond that might do to you." Eylara agreed, and they started toward the central burial mound.

The granite-sealed entry was embedded in the west side of the hill, and the runic writing on the lintel above it was worn almost completely away. Even so, Zedd told them that Tengar's name was still visible along with the names of the Dorivanite rulers he had served. He was described as having been a key figure during the Dark Times, and his magic had protected much of the city from incursion. Zedd held out his hands toward the door. "Sol-an Tengar'a alshar Mizrak'a, shar-ah keden, shar-ah morath!" With a heavy grinding, the dense stone door slid slowly to the right. The stale air of ages seeped out around them. They followed the wizard into the dark tomb.

Once they were inside, the namesake property of the Dagger of Dawn made itself eagerly known. A flare of blue light warmed from the top of the sheath at Eylara's belt. She pulled it and held it before her, and the sight elicited a low exclamation from Richard. The glass-like crystal blade had become full of soft, blue-white light, enough to illuminate a good deal of the chamber. Eylara gazed at it, transfixed. "Well, I guess that's not surprising," she commented, although she was clearly awestricken by the beautiful manifestation of magic she was holding.

While the light from the Dagger was substantial, Richard still lit a torch. The beginning of the descending hallway was in the left wall of the chamber. Richard went first, followed by Kahlan, Eylara and Zedd. After they had gone around the second bend, the walls became noticeably mossier and damp. Carvings covered the blocks, and niches appeared every twelve paces or so, some obviously meant to give the illusion of doorways. It was only a still, quiet tomb, and while being inside of one was unnerving no matter whose it was, there was something about it that was making the hairs on the back of Eylara's neck stand on end. She felt as though they were being watched - very closely. "Something isn't right," she said, raising the Dagger to cast a bit more light ahead.

"How do you mean?" Richard asked, stopping and turning to look at her.

"It's just a feeling I have," she answered, aware that she was sounding more nervous than reasonable. "Like someone doesn't want us here."

"It isn't every day people decide to wander into an old tomb looking for something important, unless they're robbers," said Kahlan. "It's bound to feel unsettling. Don't worry; we'll be out of here soon." Eylara wanted to insist it was more than that but decided to hold her tongue. Perhaps she was making more out of her general unease with the place than she needed to. They pressed on.

After turning four more corners, they came to a dead end. Richard set his hand against the apparently solid wall they were facing, brushing his fingers over the rough surface. "This shouldn't be here," Zedd said, his brows drawing together in confusion.

"The way in must be one of the false doors further back along the passage," Kahlan suggested.

"Are you sure you saw the quillion here?" Richard asked Eylara.

"Yes." Her eyes drifted shut for a moment, a subtly glowing sheen of gold coloring them when they reopened. She turned her head slightly down and to the left, seeming to look through the stonework. "I still do. It's here, I promise." She blinked the spellsight away, and the group turned back around, stopping at each false doorway as they went to test it.

It was when they came around the first turn going back that they heard the low whistle of wind. Richard stopped them abruptly, and they listened. Shadows seemed to condense and come alive further up the hall. Eylara's nerves went on edge. "This is feeling way too much like the last tomb we were in," said the Seeker. Eylara knew what he was talking about. She had read about the extremely close encounter he and Kahlan had had with the spirits of an ancient Seeker and Confessor in a similar place.

Suddenly, the unearthly gale shrieked around the corner up ahead, carrying a cloud of undulating white light that was anything but benign. It sped directly for Richard.

"Look out!" Without hesitating, Eylara dashed the few steps forward and knocked the Seeker out of the thing's path. As Richard hit the wall, the cloud engulfed her. She cried out as it began to absorb into her.

"Zedd, what is it?" Kahlan shouted over the roar of the wind that was still filling the corridor.

"A spirit, of course!" replied the wizard. "Just like the ones you and Richard dealt with in the ancient Seeker's tomb. But why it's here, I don't know!"

"Why isn't it taking her over?" asked Richard. The three watched what was happening before them. Eylara was frozen in place, her fists clenched, her arms bent and stiffened at her sides and her shoulders squared against the entity that shrouded her face and chest. Tendrils of energy probed at her, searching, but each time they appeared to meet resistance and shrink back.

"She's fighting with it," Zedd breathed, his eyes widening.

"How?" questioned the Confessor.

"She's using the Subtractive Magic," said Zedd. "She's taking the connections the spirit is trying to use to get into her and turning them back on themselves, choking them off."

"Did she catch it too late?" Richard wanted to know.

"Maybe. We'll be able to tell in a few . . ."

Abruptly, Eylara's frozen state melted, and she lurched forward with a strangled shout. Her hand shot out into the cloud, and had there been a person there to grab, she would have had him by the neck. She was breathing heavily, and her voice came with effort. "Who are you?" she asked the thing before her. "Why did you try to attack the Seeker?"

The other three could hear nothing, but Eylara heard the words quite clearly. A world-walker? A man's deep voice echoed through her mind. This is unexpected. There hasn't been one of you in this world for millennia.

"Never mind that. Answer me!"

You would do well do show some respect, girl. You address the High Sorcerer Tengar of Dorivan. That one has violated my peace!

"Forgive me, Sorcerer, but it's a little difficult to show respect to someone who attacks you for no apparent reason. And apart from that, how can you have peace here? Why haven't you passed to the Underworld?"

Eylara could feel the spirit glaring. It seems that every time a Seeker is named, my spirit is drawn up from the Underworld to return to Mizrak as its protector. After a thousand years, I was convinced I would be left in peace for eternity. It appears I was mistaken! Tengar's spirit raged against the restraining magic Eylara held him with, trying to break toward Richard, but she remained stronger. She gritted her teeth and tried to steady her breathing as the power burned from her like flames from a torch.

"How is that possible? Were you cursed?"

Not cursed. Bound, by the seventh King of Dorivan. It seemed an honor at the time. I should have guessed how much of a toll it would take on my spirit, being pulled back and forth between realms so often. Surely you can appreciate that.

Eylara was still for a moment, her own spirit sympathizing with the disembodied sorcerer for a split second. The instant she felt Tengar attempt to move against her again, she renewed her hold. "If we release you, will you leave us be - especially the Seeker - and let us get to the quillion artifact?"

Tengar laughed ruefully. The quillion? Is that all you're after? Eylara felt spectral eyes search through her. Ah, but I can see why. The world-walker shall walk no more without it.

"This world is my home now," she said, lowering her voice a fraction. "I don't want to world-walk for the rest of my life. I just want to have a rest of my life. I want to help the Seeker . . . and I want to help you. A soul shouldn't have to linger in a world it's no longer meant for."

The wind died to half its original intensity as the spirit regarded her calculatingly. I do not understand you, world-walker. You do not know the people you travel with, you do not know this world, and you know nothing of who I am or what I am capable of. Yet, you walk here with such purpose in your heart, though you fear what coming here has done to you. You would still risk your life for the Seeker, though you die, and even so would venture to help a trapped soul. Why? Are you so desperate for this quillion in order to save yourself?

Eylara swallowed. "It would be easy to think that I'm only offering to do this for my own ends. I guess that's true, in a way. But even if I weren't dying, I would offer to free you. Whatever is right should be upheld. If you have the means to help someone out of a bad situation and into a good one, you should without question. I've always believed that."

After a few minutes, Eylara felt the anger and animosity in Tengar's spirit relax into a cautious yield. Tentatively, she loosened her grip. The cloud lifted from her and spread outward from her hand, congealing into the blurry outline of an imposing man with long hair drawn back into a tail and a somber face. In life, I was a hard man, he said, but not without compassion. I think you may yet be of some use in this world. The King used an artifact called the Watcher's Eye to bind me to Mizrak. It still rests in a tower in the ruins of Dorivan. The tower is magically sealed in such a way that it looks solid, with nowhere to enter. You have the power to see the entry; you will find it. Destroy the Eye, and I will be free. Return here once you have done this, and I shall let you and your companions pass unharmed to where the quillion is. Go now. Sunset is coming, for this day and for you. With that, Tengar dissolved into nothingness, and the wind ceased.

Eylara collapsed onto her hands and knees, trembling as the magic she had used to fight the spirit receded back into her as a wave might roll back into the sea. Kahlan helped her sit back against the wall as Zedd clasped her hands in his. She heard him mumbling old words again, and she suddenly felt a cool ripple of energy pass over her. Her breathing became normal, her muscles released, her waning strength stabilized. When Richard told her that she had been talking to the air, she was surprised. She told them what Tengar had said, and what they needed to do in order to get to the quillion.

"If we ride fast, we can make it to Dorivan before dark," said Richard.

"There's a problem. Would you care to guess what?" asked Kahlan.

Richard rolled his eyes. "More D'Harans?"

The Mother Confessor nodded. "Rahl's been using Dorivan as a supply outpost for almost a year now. There's a small barracks there that houses about a dozen soldiers most of the time. There's no telling how busy it might be, even though this time of year is usually pretty slow. Not to mention there are three possible towers to choose from. We'll be guessing which one holds the Eye, and the D'Harans won't give us time to poke around all three trying to figure it out."

"We won't have to," said Eylara. "Tengar told me I have the ability to see the entry to the tower that holds it. We just have to get close enough for me to sneak in and grab it."

"I think we need to have a look at what we're dealing with before we get the idea that it might be that simple," Richard warned. "Let's ride down to Dorivan and see what's going on."