A Dance on the Edge of Sanity


Windstar sat with her back against the Fencaeshan's railing. Feeling utterly miserable, she quietly contemplated throwing herself into the sea. The only problem with that plan was there was no way she could stand. The world spun terribly every time she moved.

Grith sat next to her, telling her stories of his life on the sea.

"I used to collect sea shells with my younger sister. We had four shelves full of them by the time I was your age. There were great huge shells shaped like horns, little clam shells of pure white, tiny pink crab shells, little brown shells.. My favorites were little, tiny round shells that were ugly on the outside, but when you turned them over and looked on the inside, they were a lovely purple color. Often, the pretties shells housed nasty creatures. There were truly beautiful shells that were inhabited by awful crabs with huge claws. I-"


He broke off at a groan from Windstar. She looked up at the hertasi, misery written all over her face. "Please, Grith. Kill me now. I can't take it any longer."

Grith grinned. He craned his neck to look over the railing. He smiled. "We're almost there, little one. I can see the buildings on the island now."


Windstar tried to look, but realized she couldn't move her head. It's almost over, she thought. Just a little while longer.

It was easy to say this in her head, but Windstar knew a 'little while' was too long.


~


The sea port of Ularng was a very busy place. There were ships docked everywhere. All kinds of things were being loaded onto or taken of of the ships. Elspeth saw one ship being emptied of yards of brightly colored silk, jewelry, and fine wooden chests. She turned her head slightly and saw fresh fish being placed in barrels full of ice and rushed away. She wondered where the fishers got the ice. Hay, grain, woods, spices, weapons, clothing, she even saw live trees being carried off one of the boats.


Elspeth understood now why the people of Kai-ling were so passionate about their ships. From what Elspeth understood, each of Kai-ling's island contributed something to the whole Empire. If there were no boats to pass between the islands, the people would die. Each island was needed to complete the Empire; without one, the others would not work as well.


The people at the port worked very well together. Each person seemed to have a duty to be performed, nobody stood around idly. The efficiency seemed to good to be true to Elspeth. She knew that no country the size of Kai-ling could not have people who went to waste, people who stagnated, causing unrest for the rest of the population.


Another thing that amazed Elspeth was the cleanliness of the port. She saw very little waste anywhere. There were no garbage heaps in sight, no scum, no mucky build-up anywhere. It looked as though even the dock had been scrubbed. She looked around and saw people dressed in light yellow with buckets picking up trash. Elspeth was amazed by the machine-like efficiency of the place.


Captain Neroshi lead the little group inland off the docks. The Companions walked alongside their Heralds, hooves chiming against the wood of the dock. Now that she was off the boat, Windstar felt much better. They had all changed into better clothing before leaving the ship. Darkwind was carrying her on his back through the crowds, so that her small form wouldn't be lost among the adults.


Neroshi led them off the docks, onto a paved road. The road led straight inland, following a large river. Elspeth could see where the road turned sharply, hiding whatever was behind the bend in the river. Neroshi turned and stopped them.


"If you would like to ride the rest of the way to the capitol, you would be welcome. It is a short distance away, but we will get there sooner if we ride."


Elspeth looked at her group. "I'll think we'll ride, thank you," she said, sliding into Gwena's saddle. "How far is it?"


"It is about ten minutes if we ride, lady." Neroshi answered. He mounted a grey horse that was brought to him. "Follow me."


Elspeth and the rest of the group followed. Rymeer walked easily beside them, Grith on his back. Windstar watched her surroundings carefully from atop Mero's back.


:Mero, this is very different from home,: Windstar whispered with her mind. :Everything here is so well ordered. It seems like everything has it's place. And the people are so quiet. At home, it's always so loud. I feel very strange here.: Mero nodded his head. The people were disturbingly quiet. He didn't know much about the Kailinese, but the calm of these people was unnerving. Mero couldn't remember ever being somewhere calm before.


:It is rather strange, isn't it,: Mero mused. :They all seem so peaceful.:


Windstar just shook her head. She thought it was wonderful. She wanted to know more about these people. :Mero,: she asked. :Could we ride up to Captain Neroshi? I want to ak him a few questions.:


Mero wasn't sure he should walk in front of his elders, but it wouldn't hurt to ask a few questions, would it? He trotted up the line to Neroshi's grey mare. Gwena turned her head in surprise, but she let them pass.


Neroshi started at the sound of hooves near him. He turned to look at Windstar.


"Princess Windstar," he said. "May I help you?"


Windstar nodded. "I was wondering, sir, are the people here always this peaceful? It seems very strange to me. I've never seen a place where everything is so ordered. Or so clean. Is it always like this, sir?"


Neroshi smiled at her. "Yes, Princess Windstar. It is always like this." He looked around him. "You say you've never seen a place where things are so well ordered. Tell me; do your people get most of what they need from the land around them? If you ever run out of something in one place, there will almost always be more of it somewhere else in your country, yes?"


Windstar nodded. Valdemar grew or raised everything it really needed, and her people could always turn to Hardorn or Karse if there was a shortage of something.


Neroshi nodded. "I thought so. Look around you, Windstar. See how many people there are? There are almost more people in Kai-ling than our islands can support. That has always been the case here. We must use every piece of what we have if we want to have enough for everyone. We cannot afford to waste anything. That has become our religion. You see, if we were less disciplined, than we would waste more than we have to waste. Thus, we are taught discipline from the moment we are born. Discipline of the mind, discipline of the body, discipline of the soul. Our order is our strength."


Neroshi looked around at the Ularng seaport. "Look around at my people, Windstar. You see one large collective group, but you also see many individuals. Some are fishers, some are merchants, some are leaders. Each individual person contributes something. That is the order and the peacefulness you feel here. Most places you have been have probably preached self-sacrifice over self respect. Here, we believe that one must love oneself before one can love others. You should be what is most important to you. Self-sacrifice is all well and fine, but what can you offer the world if you have no self? A man is lost if he needs another's judgment to make him feel worthwhile. A man's greatest joy comes from himself. I am me, and whether or not I am happy should be my chief concern."


Windstar frowned. "That seems awfully selfish to me."


"Many foreigners say that. But think with me. If a man is not happy, what can he give to society? If what he does brings him no joy, then that which he produces will not be his best. Here, where we face a constant shortage of everything, we need the very best each person can bring us."


The small princess far from her home frowned again. It made sense to her, but it was very strange. In her land, she was told that she should value the lives and happiness of others over herself. Yet here was a man telling her that her own happiness and self worth should mean more to her than anything else. It went against everything she had ever been taught. She let Mero drift back to the back of the line. She heard a roaring in the distance, a sort of rhythmic pounding, and she let herself be lulled by the sound as she thought.


:Did that make sense to you, Mero?: Windstar asked.


Mero shifted slightly under his saddle. He felt very confused. :I am not sure, little one. It seems very selfish to me, this wanting your own happiness over all else. But it is true; the happy man works much better than the unhappy one. These ways are strange to me. I do not understand how one is supposed to make oneself happy at the cost of others. It seems wrong somehow.:


Windstar was very intrigued by Neroshi's reasoning. Her brain was processing very quickly now. She said: :Mero, I wonder. Does wanting to be happy mean by default that one makes others unhappy? You heard Neroshi, 'A man's greatest joy comes from himself.' The joy would not be coming from himself if he had to make others miserable to obtain happiness, would it?:


Mero shook his head. His mind was overloaded. He thought what he was hearing went against everything he had been taught, but he was not sure. He remembered what one of his teachers had told him.


"Your happiness is not what matters. What matters is the safety of others. Your people should be your chief concern."


Mero had been very depressed after that lesson. He had wondered why he should be expected to work for the rest of his life, facing injury, sadness, and maybe even death, without ever wanting anything for himself. His mother had told him that he was being selfish and dishonoring the Companions as a whole.


Yet here was this man, saying that he should place his own happiness first. It went against everything he had ever learned, and yet..


And yet he knew he worked much better when he was happy. He ran faster, he thought faster and more completely; he generally had more to offer to his people when he was happy.


'Maybe it isn't so selfish after all,' Mero thought. 'If my being happy does not bring others down and makes me work better, perhaps it is better even for society when I am happy. I will have to think on this. I need to talk to Gwena.'


Now that he had decided to talk to Gwena, he was more at peace. He picked up his feet and held his head higher. He looked at his surroundings again, and realized they had followed the river for about a mile.. The pounding sound had become louder, like the sound of water falling. There were many mountains on this island, the sea port of Ularng was one of the few places where the land sloped gradually into the sea. There was a bend in the road ahead, blocking their destination from view.


The little group started to move faster. Windstar was very deep in thought. What Neroshi had said was making more and more sense to her. She tried to think of the people who had contributed something meaningful to the world in the past. She thought of the Blues, who created new and useful thing every day, not because somebody asked them to but because they loved the challenge. The Blues loved the process of discovering. That their inventions helped people was wonderful, but they created many things that were simply made for the love of creation, not only to be used.


She thought of some Bards of the past, who where unknown in life but who continued to produce masterpieces because they loved the creating. That others hear and enjoy their works was not their greatest concern, they simply wanted to create, and if it made others happy that was and added bonus.


Finally, she thought of Firesong. Her 'uncle' as she called him had always told her about the joy of magic working, how as a Healing Adept, working magic was the most wonderful thing he could ever do. He had told her once:


"Even if there were no people to benefit from my magic, I would do it anyways. The joy I get from working magic is indescribable. I love it. There have been a few times in my life where I have lost sight of that joy, and I was worthless during those times. There is nothing as beautiful as working magic, Windstar. It is wonderful that other human beings benefit from my work, but that is not why I do it. I do it because I would be miserable doing anything else."


Windstar knew that many once thought Firesong a vain and selfish peacock. She knew that many people still thought that. But she also knew that Firesong had done many great things. If his love for his work made possible all the things he did, then why should everyone else not do what they love as well?


She was jerked out of her reverie by gasps from around her. Startled, she looked around her. Her eyes were drawn to the front, and she knew she gasped as well.


The rhythmic pounding noise had come from the many waterfalls plunging down from the mountain's cliffs. At the top of these cliffs, on either side of the waterfalls, even on little outcroppings of stone in the waterfalls, there stood a city. All of the buildings were beautiful, each one different than the next, each beautiful. The most astonishing building of all was on an outcropping of stone right in the middle of the many waterfalls. It seemed to rise out of the stone, while still being part of the elements around it. Looking almost like a blooming water lily, it was all lines and angles. It sat regally on the stone, surrounded on three sides by water and one side by empty space.


It was the most beautiful thing Windstar had ever seen.


~


The group from Valdemar gaped as the small boats that carried them moved toward the great building in the middle of the waterfalls. There were many little islands in the river before the waterfall, and every island was completed by a building. The buildings rose out of the water with the stone as if they had always been there, as though they were just continuations of nature's thought. They all seemed wonderfully in place and each one was different.


Windstar wondered how she was going to sleep with the roaring of the waterfalls. She supposed she would find a way. Mero had his legs tucked up underneath him in the middle of the boat next to Gwena and Lumiri. He was talking to Gwena about Neroshi's speech.


:He said that a man's own happiness should be his chief concern, Gwena. He also said that happy men give more to society than unhappy men. I've been thinking, and I think maybe he's right. I mean, I run faster and think better when I am happy. Would I not serve Valdemar better happy than unhappy?:


Gwena narrowed her horse's eyes. :You have it backwards, Mero. Better service of Valdemar should make you happy, not more happiness should make you serve better. Do not be selfish. You are not the main concern, Mero. Valdemar is.:


:But Gwena, our greatest joys come from ourselves! Surely we are not to wait for our happiness to come from others.:


Gwena was about to retort when Lumiri butted in to the conversation.


:Perhaps the meaning of this, young one, is that we should not let our happiness depend on each individual we help. Rather, we obtain joy from the challenge of it all. What is more satisfying than figuring out how to deal with a difficult problem? Perhaps we are to gain happiness from the process of helping others, not only the end results.:


Gwena blinked furiously. :Lumiri, that's terrible! How can you say such a thing? Of course the happiness come from the happy people at the end of the toil! It is the happiness of others that makes it all worthwhile!:


Lumiri looked into Gwena's blue eyes. :Gwena, you are still young, though you do not wish to admit it. Think for a moment. Does your happiness depend only on the happiness of others? If that is so, why then do you not wish to share your lovers? Should not you son also be my son, and the son of all the Companions, belonging to each of us? Why then do you feel pleasure when you solve a problem that affects only you? If only the happiness of others matters, then why do each of us Choose only one Herald? If your happiness depends on others, why do you not share Elspeth with the rest of us, so we may all bond with her?:


Gwena's head shot up. :Lumiri! The bond between Companion and Herald is not something to be shared! It is sacred and cannot be touched by others!:


Lumiri would have smiled if she could. :Is that not a very selfish thought, Gwena? If we should care only for the happiness of others, then we should Choose every person we meet, so everyone knows the joy of the Bond.:


:But Lumiri, it doesn't work that way! Some people are made to be Heralds, some people are not! We cannot bond with everybody!:


:Yes, Gwena. But you are still denying the masses your bond. I believe you have a right to do that. But that is happiness only for yourself. By your reasoning, that is wrong.:


Gwena was silent for a moment. :Fine!: she huffed finally. She turned her head to admire the water. Lumiri turned her head to look at Mero.


:Gwena is very idealistic. She does not like to think of herself as selfish.:


Mero nodded. :I can understand that. But it's not really selfish, is it Lumiri? If I am happy, I serve Valdemar better. My happiness makes things work better. I achieve more by being happy, and by achieving more I become more happy. I do no harm by being happy. I do not cause anybody else misery. My joy comes from me, doesn't it?:


:You are even younger than Gwena, Mero. When you understand better what you are preaching, then you will see that you cannot ask me what makes you happy. That knowledge comes only from you.:


~

Darkwind looked around him, admiring the beauty of Shae-kiyn, capital of the Kai-ling empire. The Imperial Palace stood in the middle of the city, the bright middle of the flower that was Shae-kiyn. Darkwind had seen many cities in his life, he had never liked the huge stone boxes of the north, nor the oddly shaped buildings of Karse. Even in the Palace at Haven, he had often longed for the Vales, where the building were made to be part of their natural surroundings, not to fight nature like the buildings everywhere else.


As he looked around him in the capital city of Kai-ling, he felt that he had finally found a people who understood the need to be part of nature. The buildings were like continuations of nature. They blended perfectly to the world around them, continuing the lines of the world around them. Darkwind thought that the Valdemarans would find these buildings plain, as there was on the buildings other than what was needed. The Kailinese used exactly what was needed on the buildings; nothing more.


"It's very strange here, don't you think, Darkwind?" Elspeth whispered in his ear. She was looking around with a look of awe and intimidation. "I'm not sure I like it. It seems awfully plain."


Darkwind closed his eyes for a moment. He loved Elspeth, but sometimes she could be thick.


"I think it's beautiful," he said to her. "It is beautiful in it's simplicity. See how the buildings use only what is needed? They are their own decoration. I think it sends a message."


Elspeth frowned, looking around her. "What message? That beauty is sinful, like all those radicals up north?"


Darkwind flinched. "No. That we are what we are, and that is what makes us beautiful."


Elspeth frowned. "How?"


"I believe you agree that the most beautiful clothing is also the most practical, correct?"


Elspeth nodded. "Yes, that's true.." She had no idea where Darkwind was heading.


"And the most artful makeup accents what is already there, not adds extras, yes?"


"Yes..."


"So, these buildings are built for a purpose. They are for housing. What makes them beautiful is this: they are practical extensions of the land they occupy. They are like our clothing and makeup; they accent what is already there, while making life easier for us."


"But what does that have to do with being who we are and being beautiful because of it?"


"These buildings are what they are. They are houses. Nothing more, nothing less. There is nothing shameful about being a house, no reason to hide being a house behind carvings and paintings. These buildings are beautiful in and of themselves. They need no decoration to acquire acceptance. People accept and admire them for what they are."


Elspeth blinked and looked around her. "Oh." she said. "Okay..."


Darkwind sighed. She didn't understand. Not yet, anyway.


~


Windstar almost yelped as the boat hit the dock. The side of the boat connected with the dock with a thump, jerking her sideways. She tore her eyes from the water where she had been studying reflections to look at where she was going now. She almost gasped this time.


They had stopped right at the front of the large lily-like building. As Windstar looked, she saw the lines and angles all seemed to fan out away from her, making her feel very small. She thought the building looked like it was part of the waterfall underneath it and the sky above it. It was made from polished black marble that reflected everything around it. The sun was setting behind it, and the building and the water around it were red, orange, and purple with reflected light. It was incredible.


Captain Neroshi led them to a set of stairs leading up into the building. At the top of the stairs was a set of double doors, made from the same black marble. As they walked up the stairs, the doors opened slowly. When they reached the top of the stairs, there were people waiting for them. In the middle of the group and slightly to the front was a small young woman. She walked forward as they moved towards her.


Neroshi signaled with his hands for them to stop. The young woman came into the light reflected off the palace, showing her to be dressed in a simple red dress with a black overcoat. She had black hair tied into two loops on either side of her head. Her face was pale, her lips painted red, with her eyebrows and eyelashes painted black. She was very pretty, and seemed to fit in perfectly with the Palace.


She walked until she stood about ten feet away from them, facing Elspeth. She placed her hands together in front of her and bowed to them.


"Greetings, honored guests," she said, rising from her bow. "It is a great honor to have you here. I thank you on behalf of my people for coming here. I am Empress Shikomi. It is my hope that when you leave here our peoples will be allies and friends."


Elspeth bowed back to the Empress. "It is an honor to be here, Empress," she said. "I hope all will go well during our visit. I am Herald-Mage Elspeth, a princess of my people. This is Darkwind K'sheyna, Ambassador from the Tayledras." She nodded to Darkwind. "Grith and Rymeer are here as guides and as representatives of the non-humans in our countries. And this is Princess Lyra, here to observe and learn about your people. She will work with me most of the time."


Empress Shikomi nodded. "This is good. I am glad for this chance at an alliance with your people. Now, I am sure you are weary from your long journey. Let the servants show you where you are to stay. I wish you a good rest, and I will see you again tomorrow for breakfast and meetings. Goodnight, and may you find it welcoming here."


~


The servants led them into the Palace. Windstar looked around with wide eyes. The first room of the Palace was very long. It seemed to stretch the length of the building. There were many doors on either side of the room, each with a different symbol over it. Windstar noticed that the door through which they were led had a white bird with blue wingtips over it.

The door opened and they were led down another hallway. They were led up many sloping hallways. The building didn't seem to have any stairs, which was good for the Companions. Just as Windstar was getting tired, the servants slowed down. They were facing yet another door, one with a yellow and red flower over it. One of the servants opened the door for them, and then they were in a large semi-circular room with seven doors. Each door had another symbol over it.


A small woman with steel grey hair bowed to them.

"These are your rooms, honored guests. Each of you has a separate set of rooms." She walked to the second door on the left, which had a silver circle painted over it. "These are your rooms, Herald Jovel. The next rooms are for Princess Lyra; notice the pink rose over the door. The middle rooms are for you and your family, my lady," she said, bowing to Elspeth. This door had a copper triangle over it. "The next rooms are for you, little lord," she said this bowing to Grith. "And this room is for you, winged one." She looked apprehensively at Rymeer. "There is only one very large room in this suite. If you do not find this sufficient, please tell us and we will move you."


Rymeer studied the room. "I think this will be good," he said. The door to his room was larger than the others. It had a silver crescent over it. "How do I open the door?"


"The doors to these rooms will open, close, and lock to your commands. Only you, the mage who created the doors, and myself can open the doors. There are also locking doors that lead from each room to the next, and ones to lead to the balcony outside. Those also will only open at their resident's command."


Elspeth looked at Gwena and the other Companions, then at the woman.


"What of the Companions?" Elspeth asked.


The woman started. She blinked at the Companions for a moment, then straightened her back. "They will be staying in the two rooms on the far sides." She pointed to the two rooms in question, one with a yellow sun over it, the other with a golden lightening bolt. "Those rooms will open to mind command, of which I am told your Companions are capable?"


Gwena blinked at the woman. :Yes. We are capable of Mindspeech.: The servant seemed surprised. She blinked, then said, "Very interesting. I should like to speak with you sometime, if that is possible, my lady?"


Gwena nodded. :I would be delighted. But not right now. I am very tired.:


"Right," Elspeth said. "Thank you very much. If you don't mind terribly, we are very tired and would like to rest."


"Of course!" The servant said. "If you need anything at all, call for me and I will come. My name is Pae-kim. Just call my name if you need me, and I will come." With that she bowed and left.


Windstar walked to the middle door. She made sure it was the one with the copper triangle, then opened the door. She walked into the room, not knowing what to expect.


She certainly wasn't expecting what she got. It seemed their suite only had four walls. The wall with the door, the two walls one either side separating the family from the others, and the back wall, that had long, thin windows with the wooden shutters thrown open, and a door leading to a deck outside. There were two couches in the front of the room, a shelf full of books and scrolls, and two beds in the back.


Darkwind looked around. "Don't believe much in privacy, do they?"


Elspeth frowned. "I guess not," she said. Windstar walked further into the room. She noticed strange grooves in the floor. Her brows furrowed. Her eyes followed the tracks to the wall, where she saw something poking out at about eye height. She tugged at it, and a folded screen of paper fell out of the wall, it's wooden frame sliding on the groove on the floor. She looked over at her parents.


"Here's our privacy," she said. "Look." She pulled the screen to the other wall, then said through the screen, "Now we have separate rooms!"


Elspeth pulled back on the screen from the other side. "Did you say something, honey?"


"Yes, I said: now we have separate rooms!"


Elspeth put her hand up to the screen and closed her eyes. "There's some kind of sound blocking spell on these," she said. Darkwind walked up behind her. "That's interesting. The people here seem to have their magic under better control than us. I would like to know how they got over the Storms so quickly."


"I would to. I bet we could learn a lot from these people."


"Hey, Mother, Father! Come look at this!" Windstar had opened the door that led outside. She waved to her parents. "Come on!"


Darkwind and Elspeth walked to the door. The door led to a balcony. The balcony was home to a small garden with small trees and many flowers. Windstar wasn't looking at the garden, however. She was standing at the edge of the balcony, looking down at the view. Their rooms were located at the edge of the waterfall. As they watched from the balcony, the river plunged from the cliff around them. Past the waterfall they could see the sea port, and past that the had a view of the open ocean. The mist from the waterfall sprayed them lightly, making everything look slightly other worldly.


"Oh, my," Elspeth breathed. Darkwind nodded.


*~*~*~*~*~*~*


"Masster, the girl and her family have reached Kai-ling."


The mage turned his head. "Have they? Good for them. I hope the girl falls off a boat and saves me the trouble of killing her. I do hate having blood on my robes."


Tathil watched his creator carefully. "Why do you wisssh her dead, Masster? That hasss never been clear to me."


The mage looked at his creation. "Do you know what my name used to be, Tathil?"


Tathil blinked. "No, Masster," he said.


"Fifty years ago, I was born into the K'Vala Vale. My name was Icestorm. For years I was considered the best mage in all the Vales. Whenever there was a problem, it would be brought to me. Then, something happened."


Tathil fixed his unblinking eyes on his master. "Yesss," he prompted.


"All of a sudden, nobody came to me anymore. I was second best, good for minor problems, but nothing more. I was abandoned for my little brat of a student. The arrogant upstart was powerful, certainly, but he never wanted the discipline that would have made him truly great. That brat took what was mine, and left me with what he did not want."


"Masster, what doess thiss have to do with the girl?"


The mage spun around and slammed Tathil into the stone wall. "I am tired of being replaced by upstarts!" The mage hissed in Tathil's face. "Windstar was to be my tool to finally kill that blasted student of mine, then I would control her and she would show the world what it meant to be afraid. She would have been my tool, and the world would have feared me for I would have controlled her every move."


"Master," Tathil choked. "Why then do you want her dead? You have stretched her abilities, she and Eclipse would make powerful tools. Why kill her?"


The mage dropped Tathil to the floor and turned away. "My gods cursed student interfered with the process. I can never be sure Windstar is completely under my control. I do not want an enemy I do not know."


He walked quickly around the room, Tathil watching him the way he would watch a rabid animal. "They stopped coming to me for their problems, Tathil. Then the Storms came, and everyone was confused. Nobody asked me for help, even though I have never been outdone in magical theory. No, they all went to my student, who nearly lost his mind to the Storms."


He looked around. "After the Storms, nobody knew what to do; not even said student. The idiot boy looked straight at the answer to the world's lack of magic, and he didn't recognize it for what it was. Or maybe he did, and was to afraid to acknowledge it's existence."


"Master?"


"The Void, you fool! The place where magic is born, the place where magic dies! Rules do not apply there, and many things that should not be possible can be done! How do you think you where created, Tathil? I went straight to the beginning and end of everything, and took enough raw magic to create life! So much potential, and nobody has noticed it! Nobody but me. I won't be second to anyone now, Tathil. All will bow before me, ask me for the answers to problems. And if there are no problems, Tathil," he hissed at the creature. "I will make them. Then everyone will know and fear me. Even my student."


Tathil was shaking. His master had a crazed look in his eyes. It was the same look he got when he hurt Eclipse, Tathil realized. Also the same look most people had during sex.


'He thrives on pain,' Tathil thought. 'Pain and fear. It is what makes him run. Please don't let him turn on me,' the winged serpent creature prayed. Then something occurred to him.


'When the world is at his feet, I will be there with him! The people will bow to me as well! I will be feared.' Tathil smiled, as much a a serpent can smile.


"Master," he asked. "What is the name of the student you hate so dearly?"


The mage turned to Tathil. His eyes were narrowed to slits; utter hatred boiled in those eyes. "His name," the mage whispered, "is Firesong."








A.N. I don't know if this chapter will stand the test of time. It could be that I will change it later on in the story. There was some plot development, some new characters, and we learned some knew stuff. I'm not sure I like this chapter; it gives a basic idea of the future plot, but I think the part about the mage and Tathil is a little vague. Please tell me what you think, I would love to know. Remember, I may change this chapter at a later date. I'm really sorry it took me so long to post. I went on a long vacation, and spent a long time reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Major sad angst going on in that book, people. I cried at the end. I kept crying the whole day. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter. I tried really hard to have a point, and I think I just may have done it. Se you next chapter!


~Kestrel