The cohort, along with Amon but minus Brianna and Atepa/Matthew, meet with their new governor Paul to discuss the Amenti's demands. Amon tells him that the man-- not boy-- that they found in the Tempest is not an Amenti citizen, so he should not be forced to go with the Amenti. Cliodhna adds that right now the man-- Matthew-- is still recovering from his journey into the Shadowlands so he doesn't remember anything, but his memories are slowly coming back, so he will be able to speak for himself soon. Paul listens to what everyone has to say, and agrees that the Amenti cannot have Matthew. The group exhales in relief and thanks Paul. Cliodhna asks for their orders, and Paul tells her that he would like the cohort to go to each of the Dark Kingdom ambassadors, as well as the Renegades...well, perhaps they should skip the Irish...and ask for their aid in the coming Blighted Sun war. They agree to do this, and leave immediately.
First they go to the District of Swar and talk to Veruku Singh...who also happens to be the head of the military, much to Cliodhna's disapproval. She tells him about Paul's request for help, and then Veruku starts getting flustered and pacing back and forth with worry. He says he has 100 warriors, but they will need some brushing-up with their fighting skills. Aaron immediately steps forward and volunteers to train the men, and Veruku sends for someone to take Aaron back to begin the training. Cliodhna and Ray next ask him if he has any Stygian blades for sale. He rubs his hands together eagerly at the mention of buying and selling, and shows them a crate full of Arabian-looking swords. When Cliodhna asks if he has any straight-bladed swords, he tells her regretfully that he only has swords from Swar, which happen to be curved slightly. The haggling begins, but Cliodhna is still short the money she will need to buy the sword she wants. Ray-- who had amassed a humble savings-- offers to buy two of the swords from Veruku for 10 obeli, plus he will give him a slightly lesser sword. Veruku thinks for a moment, and then agrees on the trade. Ray takes one of his new swords and gives it to Cliodhna, who looks at Ray in amazement and thanks him repeatedly for his generosity.
The cohort-- minus Aaron-- goes next to the District of Jade. Jonny has established warm relations with them because of all the concerts he puts on there-- Jonny Brashly being very popular in the Kingdom of Jade-- so Cliodhna has Jonny step forward and deliver Paul's message to the ambassador. The ambassador greets Jonny warmly, as always, and when Jonny tells him Paul needs help, the ambassador replies that he wil send an urgent message to the Jade Kingdom, itself, asking for ships and warriors. They cohort thanks the ambassador and leaves for the District of Ivory.
As they cross the boundary into Ivory, they notice bright colors everywhere-- they seem to be in an African savannah. They walk for a time-- not seeing anyone-- and then the group seems to notice all at once the large lion with two cubs watching them. Cliodhna orders the cohort to stop as the lion gets up and begins walking towards them. They stop and watch, and the lion asks them what they're doing here. Cliodhna tells him about the coming war and Paul's plea to all the kingdoms for any help they can give. The lion tells them that he is the ambassador for Ivory, and he is also the only warrior in the entire district, so he regrets that he cannot help Paul. Cliodhna wonders to herself, as the cohort leaves, why this ambassador didn't offer to send a message to his kingdom the way the Jade ambassador had.
Next the group enters the district of Clay. They walk for what seems like hours through a dry land, when finally they see a man in the distance and approach him. The man is a very tall, elderly Aboriginee, and Cliodhna delivers Paul's message to him. The man tells them that they will have to "awaken the sleeping snake" and speak to him, but only one of them can do this. The man's eyes fall on Ray, and Ray nods that he will do it. The man pulls out a dijerido, blows into it, and to the rest of the group nothing seems to happen, but suddenly Ray's consciousness is transported to a small lake with a waterfall so that he seems to be standing up to his shins in the water...even though the lake is bottomless and deep blue.
As Ray waits, suddenly a large serpent's head breaks the surface of the lake and rises until it and Ray are nose to nose. The snake opens his mouth and his tongue flickers out, and Ray gets the impression that he's supposed to bite the snake's tongue, so he does. Immediately Ray hears the snake's voice in his head. It tells him that it has two messages for him. First, to tell the apprentice that there is a traitor in their midst. And secondly, to tell The Daughter that Turtle can help her no longer. Then suddenly Ray's mind is back in his corpus. He tells the group what just happened, and tells Cliodhna the message about Turtle not being able to help The Daughter anymore because he's 99% sure than Cliodhna is The Daughter. Cliodhna suddenly feels very sad, but figures that this means that her mother really did ascend, and tries to take comfort in that.
They leave the District of Clay-- not sure if any warriors will be coming from there-- and go to the last, and least-favorite, district, the District of Wire. They know they're not welcome there, but they have to do their duty. The ambassador treats them very coldly, and when Cliodhna delivers Paul's message, the ambassador says he will not help the Hierarchy. Cliodhna argues with him a little, telling him that this district is in New York so if he wants it to stay free and stay his he will help Paul, but the ambassador doesn't budge at inch in his answer. The group leaves, feeling pretty discouraged, and meets up with Aaron on their way through the city.
The last place they go is to Lucky's. Lucky greets Cliodhna, calling her Claudia now, and asks what he can do for them. Cliodhna tells him about the coming war with the Blighted Sun, that Paul is now governor and will honor the Hierarch/Renegade treaty, and is asking for their help with the war. Cliodhna adds that, of course, Lucky isn't obliged to give any help, but he says he'll send some members of his "family" to assist them. Cliodhna is surprised-- those are Lucky's best men-- and thanks him humbly for his generosity. She also makes a mental promise that she won't let anything happen to those men. Lucky offers them dinner, as usual, and as usual they accept gratefully.
After dinner, Cliodhna asks Lucky if he knows of anyone who could read her Fatalism marks. He asks if she means a Strega-- a witch-- and she says it doesn't matter. He asks her why she needs the services of an Oracle, and she says that she's worried about her mother. Lucky nods in understanding-- it is good to be concerned about one's mama-- and directs her to a part of his area where she can search. Cliodhna thanks him and leaves, and soon finds a living girl who she feels has the Gift. She follows the girl, trying to communicate with her, but the girl freaks out and tells her repeatedly to leave her alone. Cliodhna decides that she doesn't need this right now, so she goes over to the festival square and starts peering down the narrow streets running off of it, trying to find the one she wants.
One street appears to be glowing a faint blue, so she starts walking that way. As she passes by doorways, the doors start opening and Oracles start peeking their heads out. As they read her Fatalism sighs, their eyes start getting big and they look terrified. Cliodhna keeps her head down until she sees one Oracle who's not giving her the creepy-treatment, and asks him if he will give her a reading. He looks her over and a concerned expression shadows his face, but he agrees to do the reading, and asks her to come in. He takes her hand and looks into her future, but then suddenly takes his hand away and looks at her with large eyes. "Where you go, death follows!" he says jumping up.
"But ye have'na even asked me what I want ta know!" Cliodhna urges, looking upset. The man doesn't respond, but shoos her out and slams the door after her. Cliodhna waits for a second, and then starts back up the narrow street-- giving the finger and a few choice words to any Oracle who stares at her.
The next day the cohort returns to the governor's mansion to report their progress...all except for Ray. They wait for Ray for a half hour, and then finally decide to go in. When they enter Paul's office, they're in awe because all the anacerons are in there with him working out the battle-plans, and he introduces the anacerons to the cohort. Then he asks how their work went the day before, and they tell him about the Swar, Jade, and Italians being helpful, the Ivory and Clay being ellusive, and the Wire being downright rude. They see Paul running all this information through his brain-- as if trying to calculate how it will help the Heirarchy-- and then he tells them he has one more errand he'd like them to run after they get back from an even more important mission. He says that that he's selected William to be the next Anaceron of the Grim, but that no one's seen William for days so he would like them to search for him because Paul's starting to get worried. But before that, they are to report to the Ulysses and take the ship back to Stygia to request aid for the coming war from them, as well, and Paul said that he would like Brianna to go with them. They nod, bow, and leave to find Brianna and Ray.
As the cohort make their way out into the street, they see a line of legionnaires marching, leading a prisoner in back. It's Ray. Cliodhna hurries over, and after a few quick words to the commanding officer, Ray is released to her. She takes him back over to the group, asking him where he's been and what's wrong. He mumbles that he's just a drone and they should let him be lead away by the legionaires, but Cliodhna and Aaron don't let him feel sorry for himself for long. After a minute of talking to him, Ray's eyes suddenly get a dark look to them and he tells his cohort that all he wants to do it kill. Cliodhna nods and tells Aaron to keep an eye on Ray-- maybe those two can go spectre-hunting soon. Aaron claps Ray on the back and walks with him, the two talking enthusiastically about all the slashing and ripping they'd like to do. Cliodhna wonders what Ray has just gone through, but decides that if he wants to share, he will. As a favor to Ray, she steers the group to a pardoner and pays for Ray to get the full treatment.
After they leave the pardoners, Aaron activates his Lifeweb and is able to track where Brianna is staying. The group sets off after her...but what have Brianna and Atepa been up to for over a day?
Brianna sat next to Atepa, hand lightly covering his as he sat clutching the simple wooden box before him. His eyes stared sightlessly before him, not seeming to focus on anything.
Brianna spoke softly to him, her voice soothing and quiet as her eyes drank in the sight of Atepa�s face. So familiar, and yet at the same time so strange. He did not seem to react to her words, but she hoped that eventually he would begin to hear what she was saying. At least he seemed to recognize her voice now. A small improvement, but it seemed such a vast step from what he was when they first pulled him out of the Tempest.
Brianna stopped talking and fell silent, remembering those horrible moments when it seemed that the roman soldier would wrest him from Cliodhna�s grip, and then later when the Amenti ships bore down on them, also wanting to take Atepa away from her.
Brianna smoothed the hair back from Atepa�s face and kissed him lightly on the temple, watching him closely. His arms still encircled the box and his eyes stayed pointed ahead of him, no reaction. Brianna felt a stab of pain in her belly but suppressed it. Patience, she counseled herself. Atepa waited thousands and thousands of years for her. When she finally came into his life, she did not know who he was but still he had patience. She must be strong enough to do the same for him.
She heard a noise at the window and glanced over. A large black raven crouched on the windowsill, looking in. Intrigued, Brianna moved to the window and opened it. It hopped inside, and she saw two others behind it. They hopped to the windowsill as their brother flew into the room and landed upon a dresser. Cocking it�s head, it peered intently at Atepa, who still sat on the edge of the bed. His eyes were on Brianna now, following her as she moved to the other side of the room. Brianna paused to smile at him, acknowledging that she still saw him. Yes, much improved from those first few days.
She turned her attention to the Raven on the dresser, watching it curiously. She didn�t sense anything wrong about it..but she had never seen an animal like this in the Shadowlands, and its curiosity was definitely centered upon Atepa. Could it be some sort of spy?
As she watched the bird, she heard a scuffling sound at her door. Before she could react, Hope was nosing her way past the door, nickering softly and twitching her ear in surprise at the sight of the ravens in the room. Brianna trusted Hope�s instincts, so when her companion showed no concern over their presence, she relaxed a bit.
Just then, Atepa stood, and walked over to the white horse. Picking up a curry comb that Brianna had purchased at the bazaar earlier, he slowly began to run the brush over Hope�s flank. Her eyes half-closed with pleasure and she let out a big gusty sigh. Brianna chuckled in spite of herself. Hope was so much like a real horse.. she couldn�t help but wonder again where Hope really came from. She moved beside Atepa, picking up another brush and moving it in circles over the hide.
The raven hopped off the dresser and flew to Hope, landing on her back. Hope�s ears twitched again but she made no move to dislodge the creature.
�Very strange,� Brianna heard a voice in her mind. She jerked, and looked around the room fearfully, but saw no one. When she turned her vision back to the horse, she saw it staring right back at her.
�She will begin to speak to you, when the bond has formed,� Brianna remembered the Swarian ambassador saying.
Uncertainly, she looked into Hope�s eyes. �Wh...what is strange?� she asked, feeling a little bit foolish when she expected an answer, glad for the moment that Atepa seemed not to notice when she was speaking or not.
�The birds. I have not seen many like this,� Hope continued. �Only traveling in the Tempest, when I journeyed here on a ship.�
�What are they? Do you know? Are they dangerous?� Brianna asked, turning her attention again to the bird sitting on Hope�s back. It cocked its head, staring from her to Atepa and back again.
�I do not know what they are, only that I have seen them before. I do not think they are dangerous. This one likes you,� Hope�s soft voice spoke.
�I wonder why they are here,� Brianna mused, hand resting on Hope�s withers near the raven. The horse nickered softly again, pushing her head against Brianna�s side. Brianna smiled and stroked the horse�s soft cheek. �Thank you Hope,� she said, watching Atepa patiently grooming the animal.
Atepa finally tired of what he was doing, and turned to Brianna, his arms outstretched. Brianna immediately walked into his embrace, holding him tightly. His grip was strong and Brianna could feel the whipcord muscles beneath his skin as he held her to him. She looked up, and saw the same nearly vacant expression that graced his face. When he looked down at her, she was struck by how innocent, how naive his gaze was. There was no guile in his expression, no guilt or torment or sadness or age.
She wondered if he had come back this way on purpose, as a way of forgetting the guilt that plagued him for what had been done at La�Hrago. But then she shook her head. He would not avoid his responsibilities. He did not have to come back, but he did, because there was still work to be done. Markova still roamed the lands, intent on destroying everything. Either something had gone wrong with Atepa�s rebirth, or this was done for a reason, he must have had some other plan. Brianna wished again that she might have had more time with him before his death, that he might have been able to confide in her.
Waves of loneliness washed over her again as she remembered those first moments of realizing that Ahuru had been taken from her. She clutched at him more tightly, burying her face in his chest, reminding herself that he was here with her, they were together at last, time was now all that was needed to bring him completely back. Atepa instinctively hugged her back, then let go and pointed to the quarterstaff that Brianna had placed in the corner of the room.
Brianna turned her head to see what had caught his attention, and reluctantly left his side to retrieve the weapon. Moving the hidden latch along the carved wood released a sharp blade that clicked into place at the end of the staff, turning it into a long, deadly looking spear.
She handed it to Atepa, curious as to why this had caught his attention. He looked it over then handed it to her again and watched her expectantly. Unsure of what he wanted, Brianna began to whirl the spear around her in practice forms, showing him how the weapon was used. Before she had completed the circuit of moves, his hands were out, reaching for the spear.
Brianna handed it to him again and stepped back, watching in awe as he began to effortlessly swing the weapon around himself, displaying some of the moves she had just run, and adding more, moving with such fluid grace that the weapon became a part of him. Soon he tired of that game, and was pointing to the gladius propped up in the corner. Brianna brought it to him, and watched as he did the same with the sword.
As she watched him, it was easy to forget the way he was. His face was a mask of calm, as if he didn�t need to think at all about what he was doing, the moves were so ingrained in him that it required no concentration. Brianna ached to rush to him, to take him in her arms and listen to him speak her name. She turned to the window, unable to continue watching Atepa. She looked out in surprise. The two ravens still sat upon the windowsill, but outside, perched on power lines, trees, and anything else available were thousands of the birds.
�Who are you?� She asked no one in particular, and was surprised to hear another voice in her head.
�He is trying to talk to your soul but your mind is in the way.� Brianna whirled, and saw the first raven peering intently at her.
Before she could say anything, she felt Atepa move up behind her. She turned around to see him with his hands out, asking for something else. Brianna looked around the room, but had no more weapons with her. Not knowing what else to do, she pulled the fine, gossamer strands of her scrying web out from a pouch at her waist. She carefully placed them in his hands, and watched as he began to move them between his fingers. She saw the web writhe beneath his hands as the Fatalism awoke within.
His eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed to the floor. His body began to convulse in some sort of seizure, and Brianna dropped to her knees beside him, helplessly trying to hold him down so he wouldn�t injure himself. Watching him with Usury, she saw that his body was unharmed, but she was helpless to determine what was happening inside his head.
�He is trying to talk to your soul but your mind is in the way.� the voice insisted again.
Brianna finally understood. Staying at Atepa�s side until he finally calmed down, she waited until he was again still. His eyes were still shut, and he seemed to be sleeping, but he did not wake up when she called to him. She took deep cleansing breaths, closing her own eyes, sitting so her knees touched Atepa�s side. She called up the voice of her grandmother, listening to her as she ran her through the steps of a deep meditation.
After what seemed an eternity, all the voices in here head were stilled. She could hear one final growl of irritation as even her Shadow was silenced, then at last she was at peace. Mentally she reached forward into Atepa, and with a flash she was inside of him.
She saw from his eyes as he looked at her. She was herself, but she was different. Unfamiliar, a stranger. Then she was handing him the web, which Atepa began to use instinctively. Suddenly bright flashes filled Atepa�s vision, then he was being pulled out of the dark, forbidding waters of the Tempest.
An impossibly tall skeletal figure dragged him onto a small boat, face hidden within the deep cowl of his black robe. He was wounded, green glowing ichor seeped out of a deep gash on his chest.
�You must take these, and resume where I left off,� the reaper instructed Atepa.
�But..I�I can�t!� he protested, still cold and confused, not understanding where he was, or why he had not appeared with his Pharoah before Ra.
The reaper ignored his protests, instructing him on what he should do with his last breaths. When the reaper died, Atepa sorrowfully took up the cowl, scythe and lantern, pushing off deeper into the Tempest.
Brianna gasped and opened her eyes, still reeling from the vision she experienced. She still felt the confusion and sorrow as Atepa realized he had not followed Cheops into the afterlife as promised, and the fear of facing an unknown future in a strange land.
Brianna looked down and saw that Atepa was awake again, staring up at her with a confused expression. The hint of tears gathered at the corners of his eyes, but did not fall. She leaned down, kissing him softly on the mouth.
To her surprise, he returned her kiss. She sat up, searching his face, hoping that finally now she would see recognition in his eyes. But he still started at her with the same lost expression, and her heart broke.
�Come Atepa,� she said distractedly, still feeling his mouth pressed on hers, her heart still pounding wildly against her ribs. Flashes of memory from a time long ago when Ahuru had held her in his arms rise up around her and she has to stop to catch herself. Atepa stands obediently and she leads him back to the bed. �Lay down, you�re not well,� she tells him gently, unable to help herself as she sees a double image of Ahuru imposed upon Atepa�s body laying on the bed. She feels dizzy and has to sit, clutching Atepa�s hand tightly.
She hears a rustling of wings, and a black form darts in from the window, striking Atepa directly in the chest. A dark flash and the bird is gone, and Atepa begins to convulse again. Frantic, Brianna holds Atepa, keeping him from spasming and falling onto the floor. She looks wildly at the birds crouched along the window.
�He is trying to talk to your soul but your mind is in the way.� the voice insisted again.
�What?!� Brianna cried, �What are you doing to him!!�
�He is trying to talk to your soul but your mind is in the way.� the voice replied.
Unable to think of anything else to do, Brianna folds her legs beneath her and blocks out all sound. She can feel Atepa moving on the bed next to her, but soon even that is blocked as she falls deep into a trance.
She sees Atepa lying before her, and she begins to fall into him at a dizzying speed. Flashes of light sparkle and burn before her eyes, then she is standing near a bedside. A woman, his wife, is laying down, surrounded by midwives and a surgeon. She cries out in pain, and he looks worriedly at the head midwife. �Something is wrong,� she says in a low tone, brushing by him. Atepa moves backwards, hand resting firmly on Amon�s back as the boy clutches at his father�s leg.
The woman on the table cries out a final time, then all is silent. Atepa feels sorrow, and looks down at his son�s face. The boy stares back at him, eyes trusting that father will make everything all right.
Another flash and Brianna is back. She blinks her eyes, disoriented, and looks around her. Before she can do anything more, another bird flies in through the window, and straight into Atepa�s chest.
She takes a deep breath and again enters Atepa�s mind.
The rest of the afternoon bird after bird flies in through the window and merges with Atepa. After each time, Brianna delves deep into her mind and reaches out to Atepa�s, sharing the memory with him, experiencing it as he does.
She watches as he reaps souls, bringing them where they belong. Then one soul appears on the waters, and begs to be taken to L�Harago, a mytsical paradise, a vision had been sent to him by his dead wife, that is where she had gone and he would find her. He gives instructions to Atepa the Reaper, who poles his way through the tempest until they reach the shining shores. Atepa looks on in amazement as the beautiful city rises up from the ground. The man thanks him, then runs up towards the gates.
Atepa feels such joy and happiness that there is a place such as this. From now on, all those he reaps shall be brought here to paradise, to live out the rest of their time here in peace.
Another memory, this time a body flounders in the water, trying desperately to get away from the island. �Why do you flee?� Atepa asks, confused. The man begins to babble about the tortures he suffered, about how the place is a twisted Hell of perversion, torment and terror. �This cannot be!� Atepa exclaims, and after he drops the man off somewhere safe he makes his way back to L�Harago as fast as he can. When he arrives, he steps upon the shore, and looks at the city with newly awakened eyes. The place is not the paradise he had believed. He watched as souls were dismembered, tortured, killed, more horrible things that could be imagined were happening here, were happening to the souls that HE had brought. He had delivered the helpless souls of the newly dead to this place of horrors.
Face twisting in rage, he brought up his scythe and began to wade through the torturers. Killing anything in his path and freeing the innocent, he screamed in rage, guilt, and horror. The creatures fell before him like stalks of wheat, until a soldier in gleaming armor of the ancient Romans stalked forward, cutting off Atepa�s rampage.
�YOU!� Atepa calls, his deep voice echoing in the now-empty streets.
Markova and Atepa join in battle, weapons clashing as the powerful men rush at each other, each intent on destroying the other. It is quickly apparent that Markova is the stronger of the two, and as Atepa pulls back to swing his scythe, Markova impales Atepa on his blade. Atepa looks at him in shock, slowly falling to his knees.
Another memory, this one immediately follows the last.
Atepa is washed up on a beach, still reeling from a Harrowing. A beautiful woman approaches, helping him to stand and leading him to her cottage. She helps him to heal, and teaches him many things. Years and years pass, finally Atepa tells her that he is leaving. Armed with the knowledge of his Fate, he walks back out into the world, searching for something.
The birds finally stop, and though there are many still perched around them, they are given a brief respite. Hope raises her head and whinnies a warning. Brianna quickly gets up and goes to the window. Below, she can see a stream of specters going through the door, up towards her apartment. Hardly pausing to think, she directs Hope out the window. With a great leap the horse clears the building and lands below. Brianna feels a brief ripping along her back and two wings, feathers as white as an owl�s, sprout from her body.
�Atepa, come with me!� she calls, and he quickly rises from the bed and follows her to the window, still carrying the box. She grabs her staff and gladius from the corner, then encircles Atepa with her arms and tells him to hold on to her tightly. She leaps from the window, straining to hold onto his weight, and begins flying West, towards Swar. Hope canters beneath them, and when Brianna judges them to be a safe distance away, she flies lower and lands. �Quickly Atepa, onto Hope,� she says, then pulls herself up behind him. Wrapping her arms around Atepa she nudges Hope with her knees, and the horse is off at a gallop.
Distantly, Brianna can hear the howls of rage as the Spectres find her home empty. Keeping her arms tightly around Atepa, she speaks to Hope, asking her to take them back to Swar. The horse is eager to return, hopeful that it will see some of its old companions in the stables. When they reenter the lands of the Swar, Brianna slows Hope to a walk. She is amazed again to see the brightly colored flowers that line the road. Her grip on Atepa relaxes slightly and she rests her head against his back, so content to feel the nearness of him that at the moment she wishes for nothing more.
They reach the gambling house and a small boy leads Hope back to the stables. When she enters, she immediately spots the proprietor. Brianna tells him that she needs a room, and would like bodyguards posted outside. His friendly face brightens into a grin and he looks between Brianna and Atepa. His eyebrows raise suggestively. �Ahh lovely Brianna, you have finally found someone worthy of you, have you?� He eyes Atepa and slaps him on the back, nearly making him lose his balance. �Well I congratulate you sir! Though Brianna I am hurt that you could not find what you were looking for here. You will be breaking the hearts of many men! They all had hopes you know,� he continues, shaking his head sadly.
Brianna, used to his good-natured teasing, ignores the jibes, but still feels a small hurt that Atepa seems not to notice what the Swarian was speaking about. He is staring off at the brightly colored gaming tables, face intent on the different people there. �Come on Atepa,� Brianna says quietly, taking Atepa�s arm and leading him up the stairs. His neck cranes as she leads him up, turning to watch the people and lights and colors before she draws him to the darkness of the rooms upstairs.