Disclaimer: I do not own Inheritance Cycle.
"Magic is not a practice. It is a living, breathing web of energy that, with our permission, can encase our every action." -Dorothy Morrison
Chapter Twenty-Five: Wavewaking
Water lapped at Traveler's feet, and he tried to gape like a country bumpkin.
"Wow," he breathed, awestruck. At his side, Guide smiled.
"It is rather impressive, isn't it?"
"I've never seen so much water," Traveler said. And he hadn't. The Land of Water was a thin stripe of gray, pebbly beach, and then ocean.
Vast, glasslike sheets of water stretched as far as the eye could see, from end to end, glimmering pale gold and blue under the dark sky.
It was amazing.
"This is the Land of Water?"
Guide nodded solemnly. "A part of it," he said. "The Land of Water is bigger than the Gray Lands and the Land of Blood. This part is what you must cross, to continue your journey. We shall not go any deeper; no need to wander into the dead's waters."
"Oh," Traveler said, trying not to sound disappointed. He really wanted to explore the water-bound land—he loved exploring, and learning.
As soon as he had that revelation, Traveler seized it and added it to the flask. It mingled, multicolored, with the other fragments of memory.
One piece closer to who I am.
"Very good," Guide said approvingly. "Now come. We cannot linger here."
Obediently, Traveler followed his companion, the gray pebbly sand crunching under his boots.
They walked in comfortable silence for many hours along the bland beach and the smooth sheets of water, quiet and contemplative even though Traveler was dying to ask Guide questions.
Eventually, the came upon two wooden boats bobbing gently in the water, disrupting it with tiny ripples.
"Here," said Guide, stepping into one of the small boats. "Come, come, step in to the other." He gestured at the empty boat.
Suddenly leery of the water, Traveler reluctantly climbed into the boat, wincing as it rocked. The water rustled softly.
Once he was settled, Guide folded his hands serenely, and the boats began to move, cleaving through the still ocean.
Traveler watched in awe and a little discomfort as the boat slipped smoothly through the gleaming water, picking up speed.
The shore and Lands they had already journeyed through dwindled behind them, and soon there was only water on all sides, flashing and rippling around the pair.
The dry air made Traveler thirtsy, so he reached down (very carefully, the water made him nervous), intending to scoop some water into his mouth to cool the thirst.
"No!" Guide warned, and Traveler's boat stopped sharply, nearly unseating him.
Traveler started, and pulled his hand back.
"You mustn't drink the water," Guide said sternly. "No matter how thirsty you are, you cannot drink it. The River feeds everything here, even the oceans."
Traveler nodded, seeing now that the water had the same sickly sheen that the river flowing through the Gray Lands had, and tried not to think about the thirst drying his throat. He frowned, suddenly noticing that, while his boat was stopped, Guide's was still moving.
The Traveler waited patiently for his own boat to move again and catch up with Guide's, but it didn't.
"Wait!" he called to Guide. "My boat's not moving!"
"Then your task is to move it!" Guide shouted back. "As you remembered to keep walking, and to fight, you must remember how to move the boat!"
He was getting farther away.
"Don't leave me!" Traveler cried, suddenly, terribly afraid.
"Peace, young one," Guide called, affectionate. "You will not be alone for long! I shall meet you on the shore, my friend."
And then his boat was pulled away, out of sight.
Traveler was alone.
No, he thought, staring at the water. No, don't let me die here!
(falling, water so much water, pain, lightning, water clogging his mouth his nose his eyes, pressing ever down—)
You're already dead, whispered a dry, icy voice, as Traveler began to panic.
Don't be afraid, said another, warmer voice. In the distance, the water began to move and rise, sheeting up and rippling out, as though something large and strong was moving fast underneath it.
"Hello?" Traveler yelled.
Speak to me here, like this, the warm voice said gently. I shall here you, Traveler.
Who are you?
The voice laughed. You may call me Friend, young Traveler, and I am to be your guide through the Land of Water. Guide sent me to aid you.
You'll move the boat?
No, said Friend, but I will help you remember how to move it.
Where are you? Traveler didn't see any beings at all, only water and the rippling, surging force coming nearer and nearer with the sound of rushing waves.
The moving water abruptly vanished, and then something nudged Traveler's boat hard enough to rock it.
He yelped, startled.
Look in the water, said Friend.
Traveler did, and nearly choked in surprise.
An enormous fish, easily three times as long as Traveler, circled the boat lazily, its body stirring the water. Its scales flashed a shimmering black, shining blue, green, silver, and purple like a raven's feathers.
Fins like wings, elegant, fine, slid smoothly through the sparkling water, and two bright, vaguely familiar amber eyes peered up at Traveler.
Hello, the fish said.
Traveler gaped. You're Friend?
Does that surprise you?
A little, Traveler muttered, and the fish chuckled.
There are many strange and wonderous things in these realms, he laughed. You will doubtless find stranger beings than me.
Did you die as a fish?
No, Friend said, circling, circling. Now, young Traveler, what must you learn to continue your journey?
Guide said I have to move this boat, said Traveler, and some of his earlier panic returned. I have to find Guide, I don't want him to leave me, I want to get out of here—
Very well, Friend soothed, swimming in his broad circles. Try to relax. Guide will not leave you. He has sworn to lead you until your journey's end, and I have known him for many centuries. He has yet to go back on his word.
Traveler forced himself to calm down a little.
Now, Friend murmured, how to move this boat?
I don't have any oars, and I can't touch the water.
I suppose not. The Lord of these Lands would very much like to keep you here, after all. How did the boat move before?
Traveler thought for a moment, brows furrowed. Before, it just… moved on its own.
I thought so. The fish continued swimming in endless, lazy circles. An interesting problem, then.
Traveler watched his new friend anxiously.
Well, said Friend, after some time. Perhaps you should meditate.
Meditate? Traveler couldn't help but sound doubtful.
Aye, Friend murmured. It has always helped me. You know how, yes?
Traveler thought about it, and was startled to realize that yes, he did know how to meditate. That sounds… familiar.
Try it, then.
Traveler settled down in his boat, breathing and listening to the water rippling in Friend's circular wake. He tried to clear his mind, force it to settle.
At first, he was too distracted. Fear and thirst prickled in his throat and chest, and he couldn't block out the tingling in his limbs, or the creak of wooden timbers.
But Friend circled the boat, creating a soothing water sound. Track my energy, the fish suggested. Feel me, in your mind.
Traveler reached out, feeling out the mental connection that allowed him to speak with the fish, and to his surprise felt power—
(life death energy, trees blooming from song, fire bursting from breath, wind groaning, wood snapping, objects lifting and moving without hands touching them—)
—circling around him. It was Friend!
Excellent! Now follow my energy, he said. Follow me…
And Traveler did, closing his eyes and letting his companion's energy circle him, around and around…
Around and around…
Gradually, Traveler fell away. His fear faded, his thirst ebbed, and a hundred shouting thoughts quieted and fell asleep.
There was only Friend's energy, circling around and around…
And then, different energy, hot, singing, familiar, bubbling up inside Traveler—
There you go! Friend shouted, and Traveler's heart laughed as he came back down to himself, holding the bubbling, surging power in his chest.
Magic, Traveler said, awed, and felt it beat in him like a heart. This is magic, isn't it?
He remembered magic. He didn't know where it came from, or who had taught him to wield it, but he knew magic. It was his tool, and with words he commanded it, and he knew those words.
Friend broke his elegant circles and leaped clear out of the water, scales flashing, to land on the other side of the boat with a tremendous, joyous smash.
Traveler whooped, letting the power—magic—build and build, until his very being sang with it.
I am a magician, he thought, marveling.
Aye, said Friend. Now, magician, use your magic. Move the boat.
Traveler grinned fiercely and reached for his again-found magic, letting streams of it slip through his fingers in torrents.
"Move," he commanded, in a language he knew but was not born knowing, and the boat lurched forward suddenly, pushed by the magic.
Traveler laughed and laughed, and Friend leaped in and out of the water as the boat picked up speed, guided by the Traveler's strength.
I did it! he shouted joyfully.
Quickly, before he could forget, Traveler took his new knowledge and added it to Guide's flask. The memories inside pulsed magic-white, and swelled tremendously.
Friend laughed with Traveler, and together they sped through the Land of Water, carried by Traveler's woken waves.
Soon—in no time at all, it felt like—there was a shoreline, less gray than before, and Guide stood on it, a smile crinkling his face.
Traveler's boat hit the shore with a thud and he staggered out, and Guide smiled.
"You see?" he said gently. "I knew you could do it."
Traveler beamed at him.
"So you know that you are a magician," Guide said, and lit a flame in his palm.
Traveler stared at the flame. "Brisingr," he whispered, and an identical flame shivered in his own hand, above a silvery scar he'd never noticed before. He blinked at it, fascinated.
"Very good," Guide hummed. "We are getting closer. Come. Now that you have learned what the Water Land could teach you, it is time to move on."
"Which Land is next?"
"My own home," Guide said. "The Land of Forests."
Eager to continue his learning, Traveler turned out to the shimmering water and waved, shouting to Friend.
Good bye! Thank you!
I will see you again, young Traveler! Friend called, as War had. Do not forget what you have learned!
I won't, Traveler swore, and then turned and faced the beach, where the sand gradually changed from gray to pale, gleaming yellow.
Guide smiled. "Come," he said, and Traveler did.
Thanks for reading!
~WSS