20

The time that we spent in Kalyzar passed too quickly for my liking. I was still exhausted after using my power and would have loved nothing more than to sleep for a solid week. But tensions were high in Kalyzar and after our first night in Tai Theodora's palace… I understood exactly why Red and his dear "momma" did not get along.

Though The Matriarch was sophisticated, brilliant and remarkably witty... her temper was terrible and her arrogance was a force to be reckoned with. Her treasures rivaled the Warlord's legendary loot and her menagerie of pets put the Elvenking's court to shame but nothing amused her for more than a moment at a time. As Red had often claimed, Theodora was excessive in her drinking and was constantly propositioning the men in her court, sometimes in a particularly crude manner. When no one would amuse her, she would call a dozen entertainers to her throne room in the same night, only to chase half of them away with her formidable broadsword.

After three days in the Matriarch's court, I caught my chance to speak with Tai Theodora alone. She was remarkably sober as I approached her in her garden, gazing at me with a troubling look in her eyes, an expression that seemed very much like amusement. I'd seen firsthand that being the object of Theodora's amusement was dangerous business, so I decided to keep things as formal as possible.

"Hello, Teyame." Theodora grinned. "Looking for me?"

"Matriarch." I bowed. "I have something I need to ask you, before we leave."

"I've already told your friends, I don't want to hear anything more about that idiot creature!" Theodora cut me off. "One day I will go see that damned sphinx myself and demand that she stop sending me all her problems!"

"I'm not here about the sphinx." I paused. Perhaps she wasn't sober after all. "Actually, I've been thinking about Kyura."

"You would be dead now if you'd tried to protect her." Theodora interrupted me for the second time. "The I'Eloshir came for Kyura and they meant to have her, one way or another. Really, I very much doubt they'll kill her. She's a Seer, you understand, and far too useful."

"I don't want them to use her either," I sighed heavily, a little annoyed that the Matriarch had changed the subject. "Kyura doesn't deserve that."

"Why, pity for a demon?" Theodora paused. "How very strange for one raised as an Elf."

"It isn't like that," I argued. "Kyura is my friend."

Her expression changed immediately, and I realized that she'd been testing me.

"Well, Lord Arduh is not the one who has Kyura," Theodora admitted. "It's Lord Aruna and his sons who've imprisoned her. If you want to rescue her, Lord Arduh may well become your ally."

"Do you know where he is?" I asked.

"I have heard." Theodora admitted. "But I confess, I don't know how you will reach him if he has gone where my Seers say."

"And what do your Seers say?" I pressed.

"They say you will save the world. Among other things." Theodora grinned slightly. "Now that we are alone, I have a question for you. Why haven't you risen up to claim your true place?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied.

How did she know?

"Teyame, you pull substance from nothingness! No Mage can do such a thing!" Theodora sighed heavily. "I will not say what I know you are," her eyes met my own. "But I will tell you this. The time is nearing. You will be called upon to do great and terrible things. Remember who your friends are. If you are loyal to them, they will stand with you. If you betray them, you will stand alone. And if you stand alone, even you will fall."

I didn't respond. Having spent my entire life surrounded by magic yet incapable of touching it, I had often wished to be able to call up a little white light to read by. Now, such a thing seemed inconsequential. I could call lightning if I chose to.

Tai Theodora shook her head as if she knew all that was on my mind, and more still. "Will you do something for me?" she asked.

I nodded. "What do you want me to do?"

"What can you do?" She asked.

Anything.

"Well, I was able to raise Raedawn because I was in the same place where it used to exist. So… I reached into the past and brought it forward to me."

"You make it sound very simple." Theodora observed.

"It seems that way to me," I admitted. "How old is this city?"

"Oh, many thousands of years!" Theodora replied. "We Mages were once nomads, but when the northerners began invading, we decided it would be safest if we made ourselves a permanent home. The four great clans united under Tai Ardra," She gestured to her necklace. "Dayor." She pointed to the red stone. "Ayud," the blue, "Narras", green, and "Ilhoyan" yellow. My mother was a Dayor and my father was an Ilhoyan. Fire and wind. A... somewhat volatile combination, you understand. I blame my temperament entirely on them." She laughed slightly and then paused, watching me with a critical eye. "But enough about that. What's your interest in our history?"

"Well, I've heard a bit about your... stockpile of prophesies. How long have you been keeping those?" I asked.

"I'm not entirely certain." Theodora admitted. "I do know that one of the first records-keeper was Tau Lucas, the fifth husband of my maternal grandmother, Tai Ismara. And my grandmother, she was the sister of the great Matriarch Irene. Irene reigned during what we Mages would call "The Fifth Century" though I'm afraid I don't know how that corresponds to the Elven calender. Nayas, that woman was something! The bitch outlived every last one of her daughters."

"I see," I nodded, not particularly wanting to get into a conversation on Theodora's lineage or the genealogy of the Mage Clans. "About a thousand years ago then?" I paused "That shouldn't take very long. I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" Theodora demanded, but it was too late. I was still in the same place, of course… but I was already in another time.

I proceeded directly to the prophesy office. It looked about the same in the past as it did in the present, except that the metal bins were gone and in their place was a collection of baskets tied with different colored ropes. "Are you Tau Lucas?" I asked the old man at the door.

He nodded, staring at me strangely. "Yes, I am. Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter." I told him. "Can you put something into the Archives for me?"

"A prophesy?" He wondered.

"Sure." I nodded.

"You don't look like a Seer," Tau Lucas observed.

"Trust me," I sighed heavily, looking him directly in the eyes. "I'm the best kind of Seer there is."

The man's gaze wavered. He looked a little ill and reached for a sheet of parchment. "And when will this prophesy of yours be read?" He asked.

"On this day, a thousand years from now." I replied. "Make sure that it's addressed to the Matriarch Theodora Ilhoyan Dayor."

"That's a long time off." Tau Lucas paused. "Theodora, you say?"

Scribbling a quick note on a piece of fresh piece of golden parchment, I signed it with my name and handed it back to the records-keeper.

"Is that all?" He wondered, unrolling it slowly and reading what I'd written.

All the color drained out of his face in that instant. "The… God Teyame?" He whispered fearfully.

"Shhh," I put a finger to my lips.

"Vault number seven," The man very carefully passed me a key. "To be read in a thousand years."

"Thank you, Tau Lucas," I nodded and turned away, sliding forward through time until I stood before Tai Theodora in her garden.

"You've got a prophesy." I grinned, passing her the key. Taking a seat near a rose bush, I waited as she went down the hall. She returned a few moments later, clutching an ancient roll stamped with the date and the vault number, kept in her own guarded Archives and locked with one of the Prophesy Office's carefully guarded keys.

"To our most gracious future majesty, Matriarch Theodora Ilhoyan Dayor." She read the tag on the outside. "Inscribed by the hand of Tau Lucas Ilhoyan this the Seventh of the Month of Storms, the year of 1790."

Unrolling the Prophesy before my eyes, she watched me, obviously very afraid.

I smiled at my own sloppy handwriting on the ancient scroll.

"Teyame was here."

There was a long, uneasy pause as the two of us stared at one another in silence.

"I'll tell you what I know, but I don't know that it will help you." Theodora shook her head regretfully and I felt instantly cheated. "It often is said that I can see the future... but I cannot. I can consult our archives of prophesies, but what has been more useful is what I have seen in my own life, and can sometimes predict how things may turn out from how they appear. Yes, the demons have been killing their traitors and their halfblood children, but this has been going on for some time, perhaps centuries. They seem to be more active since they left the Temple of Esiris, but that's all. To be honest, the rumors of Raedawn flying again are far more interesting to me than the business of the I'Eloshir. I'm sure you can understand."

I nodded. "They're not rumors."

"I thought not," the Matriarch nodded.

"Do you have any advice on fighting with the I'Eloshir?" I asked.

"Avoid it," the Matriarch replied. "Their magic is strong, and the tayu of Lord Arduh's clan, the Ithraedols, is more devastating than you can imagine. I have never gone out to face the I'Eloshir, except small raiding parties. Usually, I deal with their ambassadors, and we come to agreements which generally suit us both. I don't know how you could possibly survive an attack against the great army of Tirs Uloth. I have heard, however, that the Demon Hunters are moving again."

"Demon Hunters?" I wondered.

"Yes." Theodora nodded. "They are a small band of humans who call down the blessings of the God Arion, which spells certain death for the I'Eloshir. The peculiar thing is, one of my scouts reported that Lord Arduh himself was meeting with someone called "Confessor". From the descriptions I was given, I believe this man to be a Demon-Hunter."

"Why would Lord Arduh meet with a Demon-Hunter?" I demanded.

"I do not know," Theodora admitted. "But my eyes and ears are of the very best quality and loyal only to me. They saw what they saw."

"Well, can you contact these Demon-Hunters?" I wondered. "Can you tell me to where they are?"

"I wish I could. But the Demon-Hunters are very secretive. How they come and go is a mystery to me. From what I have seen, I suspect that they are using a kind of tayu. If that is so, you might say that these Demon Hunters are not so different from their prey," Theodora turned away from me, avoiding my gaze, and then looked up slowly, a painful expression warped across her face.

"I am a mistress of magic. It is not arrogance for me to say that there are few in this world who can rival my skill with spells. But there are certain things that will always be beyond my ability. True tayu, the power to bend the world itself to your will, is a gift that only runs in blood. The blood of the Gods."

She gestured to her ceiling. In the midst of a celestial scene, two enormous figures stood locked in combat with one other. The first was a man in white with a wooden staff and a crown on his head that radiated light in all directions. It was my father.

The second was a masked woman with black feathered wings. Inapsupetra.

"Like the I'Eloshir, we Mages are Inapsupetra's children," Theodora explained. "Once, we were all one family, but the God-power in us has waned over the passing centuries. We sought to live in peace amongst the other peoples of this world, which is why we now look like humans, although we didn't always. We never had wings or claws, but... it could be seen in the eyes. My grandmother was our most skilled gold-maker. She died when I was young, but I will never forget how it was to watch her at her forge. When she worked tayu, she became a thing not of this world. I believe you know what I speak of. I believe you have seen it."

I had.

I'd seen it in Red.

"That's what you meant by gifted, isn't it?" I pressed. "Red can work tayu?"

"He is untrained. His Gift is raw, and very strong. There was no one here in Kalyzar who could teach him, not in this ignorant age," Theodora sighed. "I tried to send my son to the one place he could learn to harness his power, but he fought me. He wanted me to tell him why, and I couldn't."

I was beginning to understand what Theodora was implying, and something that had never made sense to me before finally did.

"I am not a chaste woman," Theodora admitted, pouring herself a glass of wine. She took a long drink and then cleared her throat, her eyes meeting my own, her hand shaking only slightly as she spoke. "Elves and humans have the most stupid notions about what ought to go on behind one's bedroom doors. I have had seven husbands, and nearly all of my twelve daughters have different fathers. Sometimes I even wonder about the twins."

"I see," I nodded.

"Did you know Lord Jyrel Ithraedol?" Theodora pressed.

"I met him once," I nodded. "He was kind to me."

Knowing what I knew then, I had a new respect for Kyura's old master. By all rights, he should have tried to kill me when I'd first come to him… and yet for some reason he'd invited me into his house like an old friend.

"Jyrel was a good man. A great man, one of the worthiest that I have ever known. Wise, courageous, patient… infuriatingly patient!" Theodora laughed. "Once upon a time, I thought I had learned everything I could ever hope to know. And then I met Jyrel, and my eyes were opened." She did not say that she had loved him, but the emotion in her voice was unmistakable.

Though I only remembered very little about him myself, the stories Kyura had told about her master had led me to believe that everything the Matriarch had said was absolutely true.

"But Matriarch..." I hissed.

"Do not repeat what I am about to tell you! To no one, do you understand?" Theodora pressed a finger to my lips. "My oldest daughter Atlanta suspects, but Redaris doesn't know. I meant to tell him, before I sent him to find Jyrel's cave, but he was so... irrational. Thought I was mad for having a liason with a demon. Apart from the superficial, there is no difference between us."

I sipped my own wine. I knew what the Matriarch was about to say, but I still needed to hear it.

"And Red... Red is more like his father than he knows."

"Red is Jyrel's son?" It did beg repeating. "Are you sure?"

"When he was twelve years old, I bound him with my own magic. My husband Reynard helped me. The tayu in that boy was killing him. Jyrel had warned me that could happen. The reason there are so few halfbloods in this world is not because others do not feel as I do. It's because so much power can't be contained in mortal bodies. Either it destroys you, or you become a God," Theodora finished. "Is there anything else you need from me?"

I shook my head. "Thank you," I said.

"Don't mention it," Theodora replied. I wasn't sure if that meant "you're welcome" or if the Matriarch was reminding me again not to tell Red something he had every right to know.

Uneasy as I felt after my conversation with his mother, I knew I had to see Red right away, so I snuck down the hall into his room, hiding behind the door as I waited for his sisters to leave.

He was sitting alone in his chamber, clean-shaven for the first time since I had known him, and dressed in a stunning red robe, complete with jewels and embroidery. Maybe it was the color of his clothing, or maybe just the position he sat in, but he looked I'Eloshir, brooding and staring at nothing. It made the truth of what his mother had told me painfully obvious.

When I came upon him, he was lounging back on a pile of pillows smoking something that smelled very sweet out of a green glass pipe. My fingertips brushed the blessed flower medallion Sitri had given me. I'd promised to wear it so that she could always recognize me, but I was very curious how Red would react if I pushed him with a little ta'ud. It was a dishonest thing to do, but I wanted to gauge just how powerful he might be.

"Hey Red." I began casually, stepping back a little as he stood.

Even if he wasn't a demon, he was still "Tau Redaris" and that made him dangerous enough.

"Hey Teyame," Red grinned. "How ya doin'." He laughed, slipping into his favorite character, the persona I now knew was nothing but a clever façade.

"You don't have to put on an act for me," I sighed, shaking my head heavily. "Believe me, I couldn't care less."

"I suppose not," Red remarked dryly. "Before this trip you were the one who held the dubious distinction of "most likely to be assassinated"."

"That's probably true," I laughed uneasily. Disgusted with myself for the trick I was about to play on my friend, I rubbed Sitri's medallion and cursed under my breath.

"I came here to give you something," I sighed, slipping the necklace off my neck. "It was a present from Sitri, but I think you should have it." I explained.

"Why?" Red glanced at me uneasily.

"You know how we Elves do things. I want you to have it because I want you to know that I still trust you. We all have to trust each other, Red," I said.

"Thanks, Teyame," Red slipped the medallion around his neck with a smile.

The power I'd tied to the medallion fluttered around Red. He didn't seem to notice it, and for a moment it looked like an insect cut out of the night sky. He scratched his nose, sensing how it touched him, and swatted at the magic which should have been invisible to anyone not capable of perceiving ta'ud. When he missed it, he settled back down in his seat. Then, when I'd almost relaxed, thinking that Theodora was mistaken, a coil of shadow whipped around Red's back and smashed my little ta'ud "butterfly".

I grimaced. There was no mistake. What I'd just witnessed was the reaction of a God of the World, completely unaware of his own nature. Given time and training, Red could become a devastating adversary, even for someone like me. I supposed that there was a line somewhere between really, really powerful and omnipotent, but I wasn't sure where that line was… or which side of it I actually stood on.

"Have you seen Zelda?" Red wondered.

I shook my head. "Not since this morning."

"I feel bad about this," He muttered. "Do you think she'll ever trust me again?"

"She will," I nodded. "Just give her some time."

"Ah, I wish I could see things like you do, Teyame." Red sighed. "You sure you don't work for the Gods like your sister?"

"Oh, maybe I do," I laughed, attempting to brush off his joke without seeming too awkward. Red laughed.

"Well, you know what I'd do if I were a God? I'd fix stuff. Maybe I'd add a few more stars to the sky," Red shrugged. "Isn't that what you'd do if you had limitless power?" He laughed, juggling a sphere of flame around his fingertips.

"What if you messed up trying to make things right?" I wondered.

"Gods don't make mistakes," Red argued.

"Sure they do!" I laughed. "How else do you explain Alucad?" I teased.

"Well, if I were a God and I made a mistake..." Red sighed and scratched his head with a grin. "I'd just turn back time and set things right."

"What would the other Gods think of that?" I pressed.

Red shrugged. "Why should I care what any of em' think? What're they gonna do, throw me out of paradise?" He laughed. "From what I hear, the hereafter ain't nothin' worth braggin' about, what with all them 'holier-than-thous' parading around up there and keeping the dead from having any fun."

I immediately thought of Arion.

Red paused. "You sure have some weird thoughts in your head, Teyame."

"You have no idea," I told him.

I stared out the window.

Not for the first time, I considered reclaiming my place as one of "the powers". I knew what I had to do, and I was tired of being exhausted all of the time, feeling fragile and taxed while my other selves ran amok causing all sorts of havoc.

I turned to look out the window. I could smell a storm rolling in. Black clouds were all around us. Thunder rumbled. I thought of lightning, and the sky flashed. There's nothing that says "I am a God" quite like a lightning bolt.

I kind of wanted to throw one for old time's sake.

"Teyame?" Red wondered.

"Teyame?" Red wondered.

I blinked in surprise as he interrupted me from my reverie.

"Are you all right?" He whispered uneasily.

"I think so." I nodded. I hadn't even been thinking like myself! Was that the penalty of remembering? Was I already on my way to becoming the monster I'd once been?

Theodora had echoed Jyrel's long ago warning… that the time of great changes was at hand. Sooner or later, I'd have to take my gloves off. I'd have to fight other Gods, demons, and probably Wanderers... but before I reached that point, I had to do something much more frightening.

I had to tell my friends the truth.