Child of Releeshahn
Chapter Three
Anna appeared on the patio of Atrus' grand house on Tomahna. Plants surrounded her as she looked out at the red, desert-like canyon just a little ways from the house. Turning, she came to two doors of opaque green glass. One she knew led to her uncle's study. The other, she had no idea. The tried the one that was such a mystery and found it locked. With a shrug, she headed to the study doors and slowly pushed them open. There was no one inside.
"Uncle Atrus?" she called. "Aunt Catherine? Yeesha?" When she got no response, she set the mysterious linking book on Atrus' desk and looked around. She found the linking book to Riven on a stand behind the desk. Opening it, she saw the flashing yellow sparks that had once been Gehn's finest Age. An Age he himself destroyed…slowly. She closed the cover, not wanting to dwell on those thoughts. There were other linking books there, though none were very exciting. Releeshahn was kept under glass with a strong nara padlock both on the vault and the book itself. The walls were hung with tapestries: one of the decision not to rebuild D'ni and another of the Relyimah rebuilding Terahnee to suit themselves.
Clicking her tongue, Anna began to hunt for the D'ni linking book. No one was here, so no one would know. Once, she thought she heard voices outside and froze, but there was nothing. She continued her search. The sound came again, and she followed it this time. It led her right to a linking book with a green leather cover in a drawer in the desk. It, too, had a nara padlock.
"There must be a key somewhere…" she said aloud as she looked all over and through the desk. Finally, fastened underneath the desktop in one of the upper drawers, her hand closed around a tiny stone key. She smiled with satisfaction as it fit perfectly into a slot on the side of the padlock. She twisted it and heard two welcoming clicks as the lock opened. She turned to the linking panel and was surprised by what she saw.
There was a man sitting at a writing desk muttering to himself about Writing Ages. Suddenly, he looked up and fell from his seat. "Who…who are you?" he stammered, looking back at her in fright.
Anna hit her head. She'd forgotten that, not only could the person with the book see into the Age, but the people in the Age could see the person holding the book. She looked back at the man and thought hard about what she should say. He was speaking the language of Atrus' grandmother, Anna--otherwise known as Ti'ana among the D'ni. "I'm Anna," she replied in his language. "Who are you? What are you doing in D'ni?"
"Ah," he said, a smile on his face. "So you are not as old as everyone said you were."
"What are you talking about?"
"Your journal. The journal you wrote about D'ni. I found it and used it to get here. You left it in your house in the cleft."
Anna raised an eyebrow and gnawed on her lower lip. "You found my great-grandmother's journal? How?"
"Grandmother? Oh, so then you are not the one…."
"The one? The one what?"
"The one who knows all about this…this Art the journal speaks of. The Art of Writing Ages."
"You mean Regehstoy?"
"Yes! Yes, that is what I mean!" He clapped his hands together a single time and got up from his place on the floor. "You know it well, yes?"
"As well as the next man…woman…person."
"Ah, then you can come here and help me?"
Anna didn't like the man's expression and tone of voice. Never before had she felt more uncomfortable than that moment as she stood there, staring into his crafty brown eyes. "I really shouldn't. Regehstoy and Rerehm are not for ahrotahntee."
"Ahro-what?"
The girl's face fell. "You want to learn how to Write and can't even understand simple D'ni expressions? Ahrotahntee means 'outsiders,' idiot."
"I do not think your manner is appropriate. I was simply asking for help, not to be insulted."
"If I wanted to insult you I would have cut off your hands. My grandmother lived where you come from. Trust me, I know all about the customs."
"Ah, then you know what happens to a person when they do not listen to their superiors?"
Anna drew a finger across her throat casually. "But, don't think you'll be able to do that to me, my friend. I'm here…you're there. And there's no way, unless the Maker demands, that I'm going to link through with you there. Heh, as if you were my superior…." She closed the book with a snap, hearing a panicked, "Wait! Wait!" as she did so.
She set the linking book down on the desk and returned the key to its hiding spot. She would have to tell Atrus about this, and she would have to tell him the full truth. Though…stretching it a bit never hurt anyone. She left the study with the muffled sounds of the man shouting for her to open the book and link echoing behind her.
Once she was back out on the patio, she closed the doors to the study and took a seat on the stone bench across from the other set of double doors waiting for someone--anyone--to show up. She didn't have to wait long. After a few minutes of swinging her feet and twiddling her thumbs she heard the distinctive click of a latch being lifted, and, suddenly, the doors before her opened, Atrus striding through carrying a book in his hand.
He stopped abruptly with a look of surprise as Anna stood to greet him. "Where the devil did you come from?" he asked, quickly getting over his shock. "You weren't supposed to come for another few days."
"I know, Uncle, but the Council sent me early on urgent business."
He motioned for her to follow him into his study. She obeyed, chewing on her lower lip, hoping to the Maker that the desert man would not start shouting again.
"What business is that," he asked, placing the book he carried on a shelf. "Oh," he said when he looked down at his desk. "What in the Maker's name--"
"It's what I was sent here with. It's an odd linking book that Guildmaster Oma found among the books brought back from D'ni. It links to a fully stable Age as far as any can tell, just…there's not much description for what's there. The writing seems to be a combination of D'ni, Terahnee and something else that no one could name."
"I see that," Atrus replied, leafing through the pages. "And why is my D'ni linking book on the table?" His voice held no emotion, but Anna knew that the wrong word choice could land her in big trouble.
"I heard voices," she said. "I thought it was you and Aunt Catherine at first, but when I listened, it was only one person speaking a language used by ahrotahntee. I looked around, following the sound, and found the D'ni linking book to be the source. I found the key to the nara padlock and looked at the linking panel.
"There was a man there--a man from the desert place Grandmother Anna came from. He said he'd found her journal in the cleft and used it to get to D'ni. He wants to learn Rehgestoy, Uncle Atrus! And he didn't at all seem like a worthy pupil for anyone."
"You gave him a piece of your mind, didn't you?" Atrus asked with a knowing smile as he picked up the D'ni linking book.
"Perhaps a little," Anna said in a muffled tone, rubbing the back of her neck in slight embarrassment.
"Did he begin to threaten you?"
"I think there was a little of that coming from both sides."
Atrus chuckled. "Well, then. I suppose we ought to go and chase him out, but first," he reached up on the shelf beside his desk and took down a small flask of red liquid, "drink this." He put it in her small hand.
"What is it?" she asked, pulling out the cork and taking a whiff of the fluid. There was a bitter odour to it, but it otherwise smelled quite sweet.
"It's a vaccine Catherine developed against the bacteria that destroyed nearly two whole civilizations. I'd like you to take it before we link through…just as an added precaution. I'm sure the disease wouldn't affect you, considering that we've all built up an immunity, but I don't want to take any chances."
"Understandable," she replied. She downed the liquid in one go, sputtering and coughing a bit as it burned the back of her throat.
"You alright?"
"Fine," she wheezed. She gave the vial back to him waving her free hand before her face as if to cool it off. "That's liable to kill any disease!"
The man laughed. "That's always a good thing. Now…I'll leave a note to tell the others where we've gone, though this trip shouldn't take more than a few minutes to an hour. Then, we'll be off." He scratched out a brief letter to Catherine on a scrap of paper and set it on the desk. He then grabbed a small linking book from the shelf and opened the link to D'ni.
"What others? Catherine and Yeesha?"
"Yes, them and my friend." Atrus was looking curiously at the man Anna had been talking about, and the man, once he spotted Atrus' form, darted from the room after gathering up all his belongings.
"The friend that helped you on Myst, Riven and J'Nanin?" Anna's eyes were wide with wonder.
"The same," Atrus replied smiling at her and showing her the link. "Look. Your friend decided to run off without even saying hello."
"Should we go after him?"
"I should think so. The last thing we need is another Sirrus or Achenar running about." His eyes looked sad at that thought.
"Or Gehn for that matter…" Anna added under her breath, not wanting to increase Atrus' pain.
"Besides," the man continued on a higher note, "I know how badly you've always wanted to see D'ni, so I see no harm in a short visit."
Anna's face lit up like it never had before as she hugged her uncle hard enough to make him cough. "Oh, thank you! Thank you!"
He hugged her back and held the panel out for her. "Care to link through first?"
Her excited expression turned to one of uncertainty. "Could you? I'd rather not come face to face with that man by myself before you showed up."
Atrus chuckled. "Of course, of course." He placed the book on the desk and linked through, his body shimmering and shrinking as it was swiftly sucked into the very page. As soon as his form was gone, Anna did likewise, biting her lip and closing her eyes, readying herself against the sickening lurch that always came.