115 - "Visitation" - Thissraelle 

Thissraelle lay in her bed, her legs and feet tangled in her blankets. One hand draped across her belly and the other wrist rested on her forehead. She stared up at the ceiling, feeling the weight of her limbs sinking deeper into the blankets and mattress below her. In the night's stillness she could hear DeFrantis' steady breathing and an occasional rustle of her blankets.

Most nights, if she were up, she would also hear an occasional snort or rasp from Karendle's more distant mattress, at the other end of the dormitory room. Tonight, however, those familiar sounds weren't there.

What a day. What a strange day.

She rolled over onto her side, feeling her night dress twist a little across her hips. She reached down and pulled her blanket further up, shaking it loose of her leg. She also tried to shake out the exhaustion she felt.

Everyone had been awkward and quiet at dinner tonight. Even Granthurg and Eddiwarth were silent. She had noticed her friends glancing away as she looked around the table. There were words that had hung in the air, not being spoken. Finally, Thissraelle had just hung her head and stared at her food. It wasn't pleasant, but it was also not as tense.

It felt so strange to not have Karendle there today.

Karendle wasn't a very social type of girl and she was often by herself, but in the month and some since the battle, she had been part of the circle, part of the team. Thissraelle half-expected her to just walk back in, like she had changed her mind, or as if nothing had happened. Thissraelle took a deep breath, held it, and slowly hissed it out. Her eyes began to droop, feeling heavy, and finally closed.

Dreams drifted through her mind on a river of cluttered water, washing images and ideas past her unconsciousness like flotsam in the flow. Her inner eye looked up from the stream and she followed her gaze, floating farther and farther upward.

Soon she was aware of rain falling around her. She wore her traveling cloak, the one she'd had on that first night that she'd flown away from her tower, away from her home. It flapped and billowed away from her waist and her dress like a flag in the wind.

Lightning flashed and she jumped. A loud clap of thunder followed, rumbling away into the distance. In the dim light, she saw clouds around her and rain pouring down. Lightning tore through the sky again, closer this time, and brighter, but she wasn't startled. The noise was much louder, however, and made her ears ring momentarily.

She flew through the billows, turning left and right to find a path between the swirling clouds. Where am I? Where am I going? Am I even in control? She stopped flying and spun herself around to see. Yes, it seems I am. I can choose where I go.

She floated, resting still in the clouds for a moment. Lightning continued to flash from cloud to cloud. So, where should I go?

A harsh crack and a blinding flash of brightness struck just before her, tossing her back and leaving her stunned. Her eyes filled with vivid white and she jerked her face away and shielded her sight with her hands.

As she relaxed her arms and opened her eyes, a man stood before her in the air. It was hard to look at him at first, as the radiance shining from his face was too strong. As she looked, however, she could make out his features, his eyes, his beard, and dark hair. He wasn't particularly tall, nor muscular, but was clad in armor and a tunic. His tunic was white, and bore the three shining stars emblem that she had come to recognize. His armor also shone brightly, though it had many scratches, marks, and a few indentations. Before him, he held a broadsword, drawn, with the blade tip at his feet.

He nodded his head in a gentle bow. "Thissraelle, wizard of light," he said in a deep, resonant voice.

She set her head back, with a quizzical look on her face. How does he know me? Who is this?

"I am Ivarr. I have an important request of you."

She drifted away a few feet, unsure of herself. This IS a dream, but I still need to be careful, right?

"What...," she hesitated, "What is this request?"

His eyes looked deep into her. She noticed how he held his shoulders back as he breathed, and his thin lips moved as he spoke. "It's a message from the Creator. It's important that you find the one named Heathrax. Tell him that the dragons stir."

"What? 'The dragons stir'? Just that?"

"Yes. Just that. He will know what to do." His illumination dimmed a little and clouds formed around his feet.

"Hey!" Thissraelle called out to him, "Not so fast! Where is he? How do I find him? I'm not an errand girl! I'm taking my team to Emberfire!"

Misty billows gathered around his arms and chest. "The Creator has much to teach you. Follow your path, but remember that the strongest leader is better the servant." He faded into the clouds.

"Come back here!" she shouted, "Come back! I'm not through yet! I have more questions!"

Another crack of lightning split the air around her and her eyes jerked open. The quiet darkness of the dormitory room rushed in on her. She glanced around, taking in the shadows of the familiar things in the room; the old wooden candelabras hanging from the ceiling, the fading tapestries on the walls, the moonlight coming in through the open window, the table against the wall. She noticed that her legs were stretched and tense; she was gripping and twisting the blanket in her fists.

After another slow breath, Thissraelle eased the tension from her body and relaxed her grip. She slid her fingers through her hair, wiping away the sweat on her forehead.

Well, what on the Creator's shaking earth does THIS mean?

116 - "Not Much Help" - Thissraelle 

The evening sun was tossing its last rays over the horizon and past the trees. The light was barely making it through the monastery's open windows to dimly illuminate the shelves along the walls in the library. Crickets and tree frogs sang a quiet chorale of chirps and whistles that faded into Thissraelle's empty mind. She slumped low in the large, cushioned chair, with her legs crossed up in front of her. She had so much to think about, so many questions that she'd been asking herself all day. Now, she was tired of it all.

She mindlessly twirled her hair around her finger, then unwound it. Twirling, then unwinding. Granthurg will be up here soon, right? I need to sort through all of this. He'll help me clear it all up in my head. She smirked and laughed to herself. Hopefully, Eddiwarth won't try to bring me dinner again!

She let go of her hair and waved a pointed finger in the air. A small point of light formed above it and slowly rose, shining around her and brightening the room a bit. Absently, she swung it back and forth with her finger, making the shadows in the room sway. He called me a Wizard of Light. Nobody's named me a wizard, before. Not even my father. At least, if they have, I can't remember it. The only other times I've been called a wizard is by people who are afraid of me.

She dropped her hand to her knee and let the light fade out. For now, she preferred the dark.

The door clicked open and a ray of lantern light swung into the library as Granthurg stepped in. He paused for a moment when he saw her sitting there, waiting for him, then said, "I was hoping I'd find you here. Everyone missed you at dinner."

She smiled. "Yes. I've been hiding today."

Granthurg stepped in and carried his lantern to the table near her. He shifted some of the books on the table and set the lantern down. Thissraelle sat up in the chair as he approached, then asked, "Is everyone mad at me?"

He turned a raised eyebrow to her. "Mad? Why would we be mad at you?" He sat down in the chair next to hers, making it creak under his weight.

She shifted in her chair to face him. "For chasing Karendle away."

"Did you?"

"I don't know," she sighed and dropped her head to her hands. "She sure thought so. I was only trying to help her learn!"

Granthurg just shrugged, not knowing what to say.

"But now, only a day later," she continued, "I miss her. I'm worried about her."

The giant nodded his head in agreement.

"I mean, we fought a lot and she frustrated me, but she's one of us. She's part of our team! I don't trust those men she's going to meet. She told me all about them. She's going to get hurt! I know it! How can we let that happen?"

"So, are you saying we should go find her, help her?" Was there a hint of something in his voice?

"Granthurg," she whispered, "What are you saying?"

"Well," he said, looking away, uncertain how to proceed. "Well--ah--honestly, I, myself, wouldn't mind if we--uh, that is-- we went back to the city."

Her face drew back in the dim. "Granthurg!"

"I would like to find out what happened to Rinkmorr!" Granthurg breathed the words out quickly.

"Go back!? Granthurg! I can't go back to Twynne Rivers!" She was almost shouting. "The Wizard's Guild has eyes all over! I would be locked up in that old tower in a heartbeat! And whatever happened to our plans? You were going to ferry me upriver! I still want to get to Emberfire!"

"I know, I know," he muttered, "I just... I keep wondering..."

She slumped back in her chair and the two sat in sullen silence. She absently played with the hem of her shirt. He wiped his forehead.

"Do the others," she said, with a shaking voice, "want to go, too?"

Granthurg shrugged. "I don't know. Nobody has talked about it."

She let out a long sigh. "Some team. Some leader." She shook her head and mumbled, "The strongest leader is better the servant."

"Hmmm?"

She looked back down and ran her hand through her hair. "Nothing. I heard it in some fool stupid dream."

117 - "That Fool Stupid Dream" - Thissraelle 

"A dream?" a familiar voice said from behind Granthurg, "Lot of that happening lately, I guess." Eddiwarth stepped into the lantern's glow, followed by Antonerri and DeFrantis.

Thissraelle and Granthurg looked back toward the open library door. DeFrantis stepped in front of the table to answer the question on Thissraelle's face. "We just came in. We're not trying to eavesdrop. You've been... well... troubled the last few days."

Antonerri moved behind DeFrantis. "We're just a bit worried about you. And"--he took a breath-- "Karendle, too."

Thissraelle nodded and looked away. DeFrantis quietly took the open chair next to her, opposite Granthurg. Thissraelle could feel the kindness and concern of her friends, but right now it also brought an oppressive awkward silence crowding around her in the dim light.

Eddiwarth coughed, making everyone look. "So, uh... what's this dream?"

Tension broken, breaths taken, Thissraelle explained, "Oh, nothing, really. This knight appeared to me and told me things."

"A knight?" Antonerri said, with curiosity.

"Yeah! Tell us about it!" Eddiwarth nudged, as if he was glad to have the heaviness of the moment broken. He leaned his elbow up on Granthurg's chair and crossed his ankles.

"Well, it's nothing, like I said. I was flying through a storm, with lightning flashing all around me. Suddenly this knight in armor appears and he's glowing and everything. He tells me that I should go take a message to someone. Then he gives me some advice and goes away." She shrugged. "Just some fool stupid dream from deep in my subconscious."

No one was quite sure how to react. DeFrantis just reached out and put a kind hand on Thissraelle's shoulder.

"What did he look like?" Antonerri asked, thoughtful.

"What?" Thissraelle shook her head back to the moment.

"What did he look like?" he repeated, then, "How was he dressed?"

"Oh, well, uh, he had silvery armor. It was nice, but it was scratched and dented a lot, like he'd been in battle for years. He wore a tunic over it, a lot like the one you used to wear, and the ones the brothers here have, with the three lights symbol on it. Like I said, it's just a silly dream."

Antonerri shook his head. "No, it's not."

All of the group shifted their surprised eyes to him. "He appeared to me, too."

Thissraelle's heart skipped at this revealation.

"I was helping the brothers tend the sheep in the hills and meadows east of the forest. This was not long after we returned from the summerfest. As I wandered, trying to keep an eye on all of the herd, this knight rode up and greeted me, introducing himself as Ivarr. He was dressed as you described. I assumed he was travelling to Twynne Rivers, so I pointed him to the path, to the main road. He dismissed that and we talked."

Eddiwarth pressed, "Talked? About what?"

Antonerri hesitated and looked at DeFrantis, "He said that certainly the Creator was pleased with what I had done to help free the children. He blessed me to have a happy life." Antonerri took DeFrantis' other hand. "Then he bowed in his saddle and rode away."

He continued, "It left me feeling both wonderful and a bit confused. Later, the brothers celebrated the feast of Saint Ivarr and I wondered about it more." He looked directly at Thissraelle. "But this happened to me in the middle of the waking day. This was not a dream. It was real."

Thissraelle looked at each of their faces, feeling the kindness, and knowing what she had to do. She saw them looking to her for a decision. Am I their leader? The strongest leader is better the servant.

She took a deep breath and straightened in her chair. "So, I guess we go after Karendle. She is one of us and she will need our help."

118 - "Returning!" - Eddiwarth - A Tale of Heroes

With a creak and rattle, the carriage rolled to a stop on the cobblestone street along the Dirae waterfront. It shook from side to side, as Granthurg stood and jumped off the rumble in the back. After steadying themselves, two of the monastery's brothers climbed down off the perch. While one went forward to tie the horses, the other came back to open the door. A cool breeze of the late morning off the river swept through the car.

Inside the carriage, Eddiwarth smiled at Thissraelle, sitting next to him. Antonerri and DeFrantis sat across from them, facing the rear. The carriage had a small interior, so they'd all had to sit pretty close for the long ride through the woods. When hearing of their decision to go, the Father Abbott had greeted them, thanked them, and insisted they take his carriage. Eddiwarth hadn't minded. He got to sit, pressed close up to Thissraelle. It was nice, but it had been kind of awkward. He'd tried not to stare at her, so he had to constantly glance away. Antonerri and DeFrantis sitting right there didn't help, either..

Antonerri got out first, then turned back to the door as DeFrantis rose and stooped to pass through. He held her hand as she easily took the steps to the street.

Eddiwarth shifted forward in his seat, then half stood, half stooped to step down and exit the carriage. Now what do I do? I should help her down, too, like Antonerri did. Right? Would she like that? Or would she be mad at me? She could easily get down by herself. I should let her. But then, I would be ignoring her. Oh, this is complicated!

He spun around to face the carriage door just as Thissraelle walked past him toward DeFrantis.

Oh, well... I guess that's okay, then...

The monastery brother walked around from the back of the carriage bearing a number of bags, bundles, and bedrolls. Granthurg was already halfway down the pier toward his barge. Thissraelle and DeFrantis embraced, tightly, gently swinging from side to side. Thisraelle wore a simple travelling tunic with clean, but plain leggings and boots. DeFrantis was in her normal daily working dress.

"I'm so sorry I can't go, Thiss."

Thissraelle broke the embrace. "No! Don't be sorry. I understand."

DeFrantis gently held on to Thissraelle's arms. "I've told you how I grew up on the streets. I didn't have any sisters. Thank you for being my sister." They embraced again. "Stay safe."

Eddiwarth stood and waited, not sure what to say or do. Thinking he might be helpful, he leaned over and picked up a couple of the bags and slung them over his shoulder. One of them slipped off and slapped into his leg as he bent down to pick up another.

Thissraelle stepped away and wiped her cheeks. "Take good care of Antonerri and the kids."

She stepped onto the pier with reluctance. Eddiwarth stumbled after her, carrying several bags and dragging another behind him. Antonerri stepped up to the other bags and called out, "I'll help with those." He picked up a few and followed after them.

When they got to the barge, Granthurg had already untied the lines holding the barge to the dock. They stepped on board and dropped the bags in the mostly empty cargo space in the middle.

He watched Thissraelle step up onto the steering platform at the stern. Granthurg was there, kneeling over something under the floor. Thissraelle sat down next to him, focused on the same thing. "Watch this!" Granthurg said and held his hand out.

Eddiwarth's focus was on Thissraelle. As had happened so often, he stared at her, following her long white hair flowing easily over her shoulders and her back.

The barge suddenly lurched in the water and Eddiwarth almost lost his footing, shaking him out of his trance. It moved backward, floating away from the dock. Thissraelle laughed and clapped for Granthurg, then patted him on the shoulder.

"Hey! Wait for me to get off the boat!" Antonerri shouted, then jumped the short distance to the planks. DeFrantis had walked down the pier and joined Antonerri as they waved and called out their farewells. Eddiwarth waved back, then went to sit on the platform. He smiled as Thissraelle sat next to him, but saw that her attention was on the dock, on DeFrantis.

Finally, she did look at him and smiled, but it was a kind of sad smile. What does THAT mean?

She spoke. "I'm hungry. Is anyone else hungry?"

End of Part 9