01. Spirits of Flux and Anchor (36 page)

"That's right. You see, even though the gates are sealed and guarded, some slight leakage gets through. It was designed that way. It may seem strange, but our basic power source seems to be those machines in the gates, which generate excess energy from the seal as they maintain it and then transfer this excess to the generators in the Temples. Without them we would have no electricity at all, since we really don't know how to generate it on a massive scale. We keep everything working by re- moving parts that go bad and giving them to wiz- ards in Flux who are good at making exact copies of things. Since the art of being a good wizard is mathematical, they can look at a part that they have never seen before and have no idea what it is or how it works, and make a copy that does work. They don't know how they do it, but the only explanation is that the math is wrong on the bro- ken one, and they can figure out where it's wrong and make the equation balance."

"So we depend on these Hellgates for a lot, and Anchors really depend on Flux."

"Interdependence. Flux is a cruel place, subject

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to the whims of the powerful and power-mad. It is by its very nature impossible for more than a hand- ful of people to be free or independent in Flux, or even remain human. It is nice if you're a wizard, but no great discoveries arise in Flux. It simply devours a larger number of people than it can possibly replace. Hence, the trade of people for what Anchors need. Ideally, Anchors should be the seats of learning, where great things are produced by a free and unified people, while Flux produces what is needed. Unfortunately, deep down, it is difficult to tell them apart."

"And the Seven believe that Hell is the only way out?"

"That's about it," he agreed. "You see, in some of the gates, because of that leakage I mentioned, it is possible for Hell to communicate with one in the tunnel. The demons of Hell are cut off from our world, but are immortal, and know how the machines work and the nature of Flux and Anchor. To early wizards frustrated by having godlike pow- ers that were very limited over a finite piece of ground, the lure of ruling all World, as one great Fluxland under their total domination, is irresist- ible. And if it means selling one's soul to Hell, it seems to them a small price to pay. They are the ultimate corruption power brings, and they delude themselves that they will be partners with Hell and not make us all its last victims so that Hell will finally attain its goal to rule the universe --  alone."

They went on like this for more than two days, and in that time Cass believed she gained a true picture of what was going on. Much, as Mervyn had warned, was unknown -- the nature of the Soul Riders, for example. To her, there did seem to be a divine plan for the rescue of humanity and its restoration to greatness, a plan subverted by the weaknesses humans had. Those who now ruled the

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church had all been shown this path, but all, in the end, had been corrupted by their own power or deluded themselves that they were making small changes or reforms and that any major changes would take generations. The forces of Hell were real, and on the march, but it only reinforced the church's resolve to keep things the way they were, thereby substituting the total evil of Hell with a more banal evil done by humans-

Finally, Cass was briefed and prompted on the ceremony to come, and felt she was finally ready, although it still seemed like a'lot of foolishness to her. She felt a little guilty, being used as a lucky icon for a lot of scared and possibly doomed troopers.

The ceremony itself was quite impressive and flashy. A platform had been set up just inside, the gate, and Cass, her horse changed to snow white for the occasion, was led in by Suzl on her black mount, Cass had made several decisions herself on this, one of which was to use her own normal form and make no more pretenses about her identity. She felt any threat to her individually was over as much as it ever would be. The reasons were no longer there.

She entered dressed only in a plain robe of white, as a novice. It was important that she be ordained in front of them, even though the Sister General already assumed it. And the troops were all lined up, as well as a great mass of common people, to see the show.

Diastephanos, who had understood Cass's role in this from the start, made it a long service, with lots of ceremony, all of the sacraments, and lots of scripture reading. It was all necessary not for its own sake, but to show the people of Anchor Logh, long taught to fear the Flux and have no truck with it, that in this case only it was the right thing to do.

Cass participated fully, finding the whole thing

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oddly moving to her. And. once all vows were exchanged and she was fully ordained, it was then time to accept the job, exchanging her whites for robes of lavender satin trimmed with ancient de- signs m gold thread, and to accept a septre only slightly smaller and less ornate than the Sister General's own. It was then concluded, and she turned and looked out at the crowd for the first time. All eyes were on her, and, for the first time, she realized that they had accepted all of it. In every sense of the word, even legally, she was to them and in fact a high priestess of the church.

She stepped down from the platform and went to the troops who would go with them, standing at attention next to their horses. As she passed each, she could see in their eyes the absolute confidence they placed in her. It shook her a bit, to realize the full responsibility she had been forced to take on. And when she stood before them, they all knelt and bowed their heads, and she gave them the blessing they expected, meaning it more than she intended-

"Soldiers of Anchor Logh," she said at last, hop- ing her voice would carry and not tremble. "We set out now on the most important mission in our - long history. Hell is out there, almost at our gates, invading our land at will, killing our citizens and threatening us all- Do not fear the wizardry of the Flux, only respect it, for we have the strpngest wizardry, the righteousness of our cause, and the support of the Nine Who Guard. The divine will is not known, except that victory is assured if we prove worthy of it. The creatures you will fight will be of flesh and blood. Some of you may die, but you will do so in a cause so noble that you will be reborn with greatness- Others will live, to enjoy the great honor that awaits. We cannot know our fate, for only Heaven knows that, but we can know and fulfill our destiny. Will you ride with us now?"

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"We will!" came a chorus of responses that moved her even more.

She walked to her horse and mounted it, then held the septre high. "Then mount and follow mei'^

In groups, they passed through the west gate and out onto the apron. A way had been cleared from the dugger shantytown to the Flux, and they again formed up. Suzl and Mervyn, still in his old man's role, rode out of Flux to meet her, then turned to form a threesome leading the way. Suzl leaned over and whispered, "Wowl You really look great!" Cass smiled and winked, although she was aware of the enormous weight she was now carrying, and held the septre up, then angled it forward. The troopers, she'd been assured, had been briefed by Suzl and Mervyn as to how to ride the void. She hoped so, for they were off.

Mervyn dropped back to the rear as the entire column entered the Flux, just to make sure there were no stragglers or unexpected surprises. Cass did not need him to lead. She felt the power of the Flux instantly, and the glowing strings of energy came crystal clear. She decided to ride as far non- stop as prudence said the horses could take, so that there could be no last-minute defections. Suzl, still dressed in stringer fashion, checked out the formation and felt every bit a stringer with a very strange train. She wished, however, she had a dozen or so duggers to help out.

They finally stopped at a water pocket, a small area undistinguished from the rest of the void ex- cept for a wizard-created pool of clear water large enough for people and horses. Mervyn, who was well practiced in elaborate magic, created the spartan food for them all. They were quite impressed, but many of them had already lost a good deal of their fear in the boredom of the void. The terrible Flux was proving only a wasteland, and the only wiz- ardry so far was entirely on their side. By the end

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of the second day, Cass guessed, they would be getting both cocky and itchy from too little threat and too much boredom.

Sentries were posted and they bedded down for the night, with Mervyn agreeing to sleep first and then take over from Cass. She readily agreed, and just sat there by the pool for quite a while, looking at her reflection in the water and absorbed in thought. Suzl, acting the old hand, checked out the rest and then came over to her. "You seem pretty quiet," she noted. "Problems, or does it - come magically from putting on the robe?"

Cass smiled. "Thanks. I need you, Suzl, to re- mind me just who I am and where I've come from. Any problems?"

"Nope. Not really. A couple of 'em made passes at me and I had a good deal of fun letting them discover why I was along and what was so different. Now they're scared silly of me. It's fun giving orders to guys the smallest of whom are a head taller than me."

She looked at Suzl. "You know, when.that curse backfired I figured you were out of luck, but the more I look at the way this whole thing is turning out I think you got the best of the deal in many ways."

Suzl suddenly looked at her seriously. "What's wrong with you? Only weeks ago we were two naive farm girls scared of getting sold as slaves, who knew that if we didn't we'd be pressured into marrying some ignorant farm boy, stuck having a mess of kids and stuck in a boring job for life to boot -- or joining the priesthood and having our brains mashed and everything worthwhile a no-no. You know deep down that you would never have accepted it. It would've killed you. Me, too, which is why they decided my number would come up. 'Psychologically unfit for normal socialization' they once called me- I snuck in and read the teacher's

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report. I'm eighteen and a half and I've already lived more than I would have in ninety years of Anchor Logh."

Cass nodded. "What you say is true, and I don't deny it. I'm not longing for what was. I simply said that you have the best of the deal. You're free, independent, and tough. You'll roam all over World and see everything and have a ball. I envy that."

"Well, why can't you? Hell, you're a wizard. You don't even need a stringer."

"Partly because I am a wizard," she replied, then added, "and partly because I am a priestess."

Suzl looked at her oddly. "Now aren't you tak- ing the show just a little bit too seriously? Me, I'm stuck as I am. Lucky for me I don't mind a bit. But you -- you can be anything, do anything you want to do."

Cass sighed, knowing that she could not explain it, particularly to one such as Suzl. Still, she said, "No, Suzl, I'm trapped just like these poor soldiers and all the rest who got thrown out of Anchor. I'm just beginning to realize how trapped I am. You remember us talking about little people becoming important by accident? Well, I'm discovering (hat when you become important you get trapped as well. That's okay for now, let's drop it. I'm being forced by Mervyn and the rest to make a decision, a big one, and I'm not ready to make it. I'll have to settle it within myself."

Suzl just shrugged and shook her head. Finally she said, "I wonder what a battle in Flux is like?"

18

BATTLE

It was understood by the officers and men that the Adjutant would not lead them into battle, but would direct it instead from a command post. They didn't mind, since harm to her was the worst thing they feared. She did visit with them, though, informally. She really felt like they were her people, after getting to know some on the trail. It was now a major duty of hers to hear their confessions, because, as battle neared, they began once again thinking of this less as a new game. Unconsciously, perhaps, she wove a spell, finding that she could remember all the details of each of them.

This was far different than playing priestess back in Anchor Logh. For her, too, this was no game, and they needed her desperately. She left the strat- egy and tactics to others, leaving her troops only when she had to consult Mervyn on a particular spell to ease a young boy's problems. She found no trouble on an individual basis; they seemed to believe and accept everything she told them, in- cluding cautions against prejudice towards those not quite human and of Flux.

And many of them were strange indeed- The Flux wizards had strange tastes and bizarre imaginations, it appeared. And they kept coming down the road from Globbus and from the direction of Anchor

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Bakha, and from trails that came to the far side of Persellus as well. A mighty army had been assembled, the mightiest, perhaps, ever seen on World since Hell was sealed. A mighty army to meet an unprecedented challenge to the failure of World, the one thing all of the forces, no matter how strange or inhuman, had in common.

Suzl went off for a while to see if Nadya and Dar had returned yet. Cass didn't know how long she was away, for time had lost all meaning to her in her single-minded devotion to what she saw as her" duty, but one day, as Cass was walking back from another full round of counseling and confessionals', she spotted the familiar figure on the hill near the local command post.