Book of Remembrance: The Forgotten Gods: Book One (10 page)

Midmorning on the fourth day
Predaki came into view. I rode up to the main gates, the massive Jurpa statues
saluting me in welcome. I was surprised to see the Cha waiting for me at the
foot of the statues. As I drew near, I got off Balder and walked up to him. I
bowed respectfully and he gave a firm nod. “You must give account.”

Without another word, he turned
on his heel and walked back into the village. I breathed a small sigh of relief
that he had not been able to see Markai.
 
As we entered, Breen took Balder from me. I was home.

I had
been to the Cha’s house before, but he led me to the usually forbidden back
rooms and Markai stayed at the front door as if standing guard. The room was
dim, light filtering in through a small sky light above our heads. The air held
a faint smell of herbs and something else I could not quite put my finger
on.
 

We sat on the floor on large
plush cushions. His young assistant brought in tea and sweet cakes. I eyed the
tea suspiciously as the Cha poured some into my cup. I brought it up to my nose
and had a covert sniff. When I looked up, I saw a smile playing on the Cha’s
lips and I could feel heat creeping up to colour my cheeks. To try to hide my
embarrassment I took a tentative sip. To my relief this was not the same as my
Seeking tea.

He cleared his throat and I took
this as a signal that we were formally beginning so I put my teacup down.
“Kadin Aken, you have returned from the Seeking, but we are here now to
ascertain whether you have been successful. Report and leave out no details.”

I told him everything, giving
him a full account. By the time I was done, my throat was dry and I was
grateful for the fresh cup of tea he poured for me.

“May I see Sunder?” I handed my
sword to him.
 
We sat in silence while he
inspected it. He handed it back and started asking pointed questions to elicit
even more detail from me as well as my reasoning for my actions. Again, he sat
quietly sipping his tea.

A couple of times I started to
say something, but he held his hand up to silence me.
 
I started worrying that he may not grant me
his blessing. When he finally spoke, my stomach had tied itself into a tight
ball. “You have learnt much. As with all, the Seeking is but a beginning of the
true journey. This is even
more true
for you than for
most.
 
Quiniewa is wise, even among the
Fae. You were lucky to have her guidance. You bring some disturbing news of the
stirring of Rakadamon. I had not anticipated that he would be able to move so
early. Consequently we must make haste.” He paused, studying me.

He stood and walked over to his
bookstand, pulling out a dusty volume before sitting back down heavily. While
dusting the cover, he continued. “Fighting a powerful enemy as well as his
allies is a formidable task. However, trying to withstand them without even knowing
who or what they are and what they can do…..
now
that
is near to impossible. Generations of Tretakai Chas have handed down this Book
in anticipation of this day.”

He leafed through and holding it
open, handed it to me. I gasped. It was opened to a drawing of a Dyrrendrel.
Underneath the picture, a neat hand had noted down ‘Dyrrendrel – ferocious.
A Twisted One’.
The next page was filled with information on
the creatures, their strengths, weaknesses and origins.
 

I shook my head disbelievingly.
“I thought all knowledge about the Dark Children and Twisted Ones had been lost
through the ages.”

He held up a fist with his
finger pointing up to the sky. “Some knew that one day we may need this
knowledge again. They also knew Rakadamon would do everything in his power to
ensure this information was lost to us. This Book, the Book of Remembrance, was
created in the utmost of secrecy. The Fae put perdurability spells on it to
keep it from rotting over time and entrusted it to the Guardians for
safekeeping. Even so, it has had to be copied several times through the ages both
to update the language used in it and even with the perdurability spell, it
could not last forever.”

Comprehension hit me. “You are
one of the Guardians. I should have realised it before now.”

He smiled enigmatically. “More
like an agent for the Guardians, but yes, chance had nothing to do with you
ending up with us. Even if your parents had lived, you would have come here
eventually. Now though, you must leave. You have work to do. The people
Quiniewa spoke of, the ones you need to find; they must be your first priority.
I have heard rumours of one such person in Medirea, a city north of here. Start
there.”

I nodded. “How will I know
them?”

His grey brows pulled together.
“That I cannot tell you, but I would advise trusting Markai’s instincts.
However, you will need to learn how to let go of Navitas and yet maintain
contact with her. Keeping in touch with Navitas for such an extended time will
make you weak and much too reliant on your heightened senses. You may take a
couple of days to celebrate your success, but then you must go. We will have a
feast tonight at which I will announce your success as well as your imminent
departure.” I reluctantly released Navitas and ruefully felt Markai’s presence
drift away.

We got up and he walked out with
me. I turned and bowed. “Thank you great Cha for the honour of your blessing.”

I started walking away when he
spoke again. “Kadin, Brant will be going with you.” My jaw dropped.

Of all
the people….
“But, why?
He hates me
and I don’t trust him.
If I must have a travel companion,
then why not one of my brothers?”

His face had grown stern as I
spoke. “Brant is not going simply to be a ‘travel companion’ for you. He has a
role to play in events to come. It is of utmost importance that he goes.” With
that, he turned on his heel and strode back into his house firmly shutting his
door on any further argument.

My first stop was to see Moma,
of course because I wanted to share the news of my success with her, but also
because I was starving and ready for a warm meal spiced with more than salt. I
found her in her vegetable garden busily gathering the ripe carrots, squashes
and tomatoes.

She did not seem to hear me
approach. “Moma, I hope you have something cooking inside!” As I had started
speaking, a high squeak had escaped from her as she jerked upright as though scalded.

She turned around, a broad smile
blossoming on her face. “Oh, Kadin, you’re home!” She hugged me so tight; you
would have thought I had been gone for seasons, not mere days. She stepped back
from me and playfully swatted my arm. “That is for scaring the life out of me.
I am sure you shortened my life by at least a few days there.”

I grinned. She took me by the
arm and led me inside. “Come inside. You must be hungry. I assume you have
spoken to the Cha already and that he gave his blessing, otherwise you would
not be so chirpy. No doubt the whole village will be astir shortly in
preparation for the celebration tonight.”

She started bustling in the
kitchen and soon wonderful aromas were drifting through the air making my mouth
water. I was not permitted to talk about what had happened during my Seeking
and Moma did not ask.

“So do you think you will now
start full time with Triak?” Triak was the master huntsman and most of my
hunting and tracking skills had come under his tutelage. Although I had enjoyed
working for him in his tannery, it had never been what I wanted to do. Of
course I knew I would not be staying, but I was dreading telling her.

I grimaced which made her frown.
“Come on, Kadin. Out with it.” Reluctantly I told her I would be leaving in a
couple of days.

I expected her to protest, to
try to convince me to stay at least a while longer, but she gave a firm nod and
a tight smile. “From the day I was sent to recover you, I knew your destiny was
great.” Her smile turned a little sad. “And with greatness comes sacrifice.
Remember that.”
 

She put a plate of steaming
rabbit soup and fresh bread in front of me. I hungrily ate it all and helped
myself to a second serving. Between mouthfuls, we talked of small things. I
knew it was times like these that I would miss the most.

When I had finished my food, she
stood up. “I need to go help prepare for tonight’s feast.” She gave me a quick hug
before leaving. I cleared away my dishes and stored the Book of Remembrance in
the stout wooden chest at the foot of my bed, locking it securely.

Desperate for a wash, I went
back out to fetch some fresh wash water. I pulled out my small mirror and ran a
hand through my now substantial beard. I had never let it grow before and I was
not all too impressed with the itching. It was a relief to shave it off.

I went to look for my brothers
and found Wilm in his father’s inn. It was the only one in town, but they still
put a lot of effort into making it as attractive as possible as if they had
three other local inns to compete against. His father was a well-travelled man
and throughout the dining area and bar were memorabilia from the places he had
seen. My favourite piece had always been a heavy wooden chair, intricately
carved and depicting strange animals I had never before seen or read about.

Always before when I came in
here, I would dream about one day visiting some of these far off places, but I
never really believed that I would have the opportunity. Now looking at them,
it filled me with excitement knowing that I will be off soon.

Wilm was supposed to take over
from his father one day, but for the moment, he did and was whatever his father
needed him to be. I found him behind the bar mopping the floor while muttering
about clumsy women.

He glanced up as I approached
and went back to mopping before jerking his head up for a second look. The
scowl dropped from his face, replaced by a sheepish grin.
“Kadin!
It is good to have you back. I take it congratulations are in order. When did
you get back?”

We shook hands.
“Just a few hours ago.
What is all this muttering about
clumsy women?”

His scowl came back and clouded
his face. “My
da
has hired Jerea as the new serving
girl. She walks around here as if she is walking on eggs and every now and
again one breaks under her feet resulting in what you see here.” He gestured to
the broken bottle and spilt drink at his feet. Jerea was Aliana’s youngest
sister, she had always been as nervous as a newly saddled filly. “If her nerves
don’t settle I don’t think my da will be able to keep her on.”

I shook my head. “So why is she
not cleaning up her own mess?”

He smiled humourlessly. “With
the way her hands were shaking I think she was likely to cut herself. Let me
just finish up here and we can go find Jamber, Jench and Prea. We can start the
celebration early.” His eyes twinkled with mischief as he poured a glass of
wine for me and I took a seat at the bar.

We found Prea just finishing a
lesson with Master Drayer, Predaki’s master biologist and healer. His face lit
up when he saw us. Jamber and Jench were working on the roof of Jamber’s house.
Brak was lying in the shade of the house. They were the local handymen, which
meant that their own homes were always the last to be mended. They quickly
clambered down when they saw us approaching.

We went down to Lake Uzuri and
sat at the water’s edge. With exclamations of wonder, they looked at Sunder.
They knew not to ask about where I had gotten it from, but I could see
curiosity burning in their eyes. Somehow, over the last few days, the feel of
the sword on my hip had become a part of me and I was glad to sheath it again
when they were done.

With a grin, Wilm produced bottles
of wine from his shoulder bag. We spent the afternoon talking, drinking and
joking. I realised that this may be the last time for a long time that we would
all be together. I was reluctant to spoil the jovial mood, but I knew this was
the best time to tell them that I would be leaving soon.

Ever observant Prea must have
noticed that I had gone quiet. Quietly he said, “Are you troubled?”

I gave him a weak smile and
answered in a loud enough voice to draw everyone’s attention. “The Cha has told
me I am to leave in two days’ time.” They were all looking at me with surprise.

Prea recovered first. With big
round eyes and worry etched in his eyes he said, “You were successful weren’t
you? Fiery skies! We all just assumed….what?” I held up my hands to stop him
from getting himself even more tangled up in worry.

With a reassuring smile, I
replied. “Hold yourself together. I passed, but now I must embark on another
journey. There are things I must do and time waits for no man.” I grimaced
before continuing. “Brant is coming with me.”

Wilm snorted. “Is this the work
of the Kichwa? It has the smell of his filthy meddling hands all over it!”
Jench grunted in agreement.

I shook my head. “I would have
thought so as well, but this came directly from the Cha. I don’t believe the
Kichwa had a hand in it. Still, it rankles to know we will be travelling
together for heaven knows how many months!”