Chapter 2 - Arrival

Healing is the way we pray- any priest of Valshin

Nash regained awareness in a small windowless room with an open doorway. The room was evenly lit, though only a portion of the light came from sunlight falling through the doorway, the other source of light was not evident. Lying on a rather rough cot, Nash immediately sensed that his only covering was the sheet coming up to his chest. He assumed all of his articles and clothing had been removed by his captors. Even in that moment of waking up, he understood he was being held captive.

With the exception of a brief memory of extreme agony and remembering trying to stand to confront the twenty or so men who surrounded him, he remembered nothing after attempting to download Alicia’s core files. All his cybernetic sensors were either in shut down mode for protection or had been burned out from the explosion. He vaguely remembered the men who were wearing loose clothing of a time gone past and armed with swords, daggers, and crossbows. They looked like men from a renaissance fair, except these men looked like the real thing, hardened and grisly, not the well-fed desk job imitator he was used to seeing. With the exception of that single horrific memory, he remembered nothing from the time that green glowing orb of energy had lunged out to envelope him until now.

A young man sitting in a chair wearing a sandy white robe was leaning over holding Nash’s arm up checking for a pulse. The man had a terrible haircut, his dark brown hair cut to ear length running even all the way around his head and then angling up sharply to reveal the face, with the cut being straight across just above the brow. Leaning over further to look into Nash’s eyes, reaching down to lift his eyelids up further, he said something that although quite clear, couldn’t be translated by Nash’s database. He just kept talking, the inflections indicating that maybe he was asking questions. He continued to examine Nash - now with his hand on Nash’s chin moving it and all of Nash’s head back and forth.

Assuming the man was a doctor of some kind, Nash spoke up. “I feel fine - and I have no clue what language your speaking in but you may stop examining me now.” Nash sat up. Nash started running internal diagnostics, just to make sure. The man sat back and spoke again with a perplexed look coming over his face. More gibberish. He then stood, and called out into the hallway. Another man, dressed like some kind of medieval warrior, clad in a chainmail tunic, and armed with a rapier at his side, stepped around the corner, turning as if he had been standing guard just outside the door. They exchanged words briefly, then the second man left.

The young man pointed at himself and said, “Ledston,” then motioned for Nash to lay back down. The man then resumed his seat and just smiled at Nash. Nash stayed sitting.

“I assume you’re my doctor and you’ve just sent for your superiors and hopefully a translator.” No response of understanding showed on the man’s face. “Very well. I am,” pausing to point at himself, “Nash”.

“Olivan Nash,” the other said, nodding as in greeting. Then pointing at himself again and with a smile, “Ledston”. Ledston grinned, quite pleased with himself.

Hearing footsteps, they both looked up to see a woman enter the room. She was potentially very attractive, but with her hair being the dark gray of old age and pulled tightly back she gave pause to that immediate assessment. Her skin was quite different. It didn’t look old, having no wrinkles, but it also didn’t have the elasticity and fullness of youth. Because of this, her age was indeterminate. She wore aa voluminous robe colored a dark gray that looked like it had been dyed with blackish-gray volcanic ash. She looked to Ledston, speaking with a very even and controlled tone. “Olivan Stallos Ledston.”

While the two of them exchanged greetings and some information in the language Nash found undecipherable, he noticed the guard had briefly stood in the door and then turned in a way that would indicate he had resumed his post just outside the door and out of sight. Nash paid particular attention to the language they were speaking. His translator programs could not only not pick up the meaning of the words, but the dialect was completely foreign also. Looking at the two of them, he couldn’t place any kind of heritage or nationality either. The medic certainly was in his early twenties, but the woman could easily be anywhere from thirty to sixty years of age.

Looking to Nash now, the woman smiled. Perfect teeth. Scanning his memory, both the medic and the guard also had perfect teeth. And none of them had any facial blemishes either. Despite the primitive surroundings, these three either had access to modern medical technologies or were genetically engineered. The lady started speaking, this time in a chanting monotone while waving her hands in slow and languid patterns in front of her. An image of a witch of folklore immediately came to Nash’s mind.

As she chanted her words slowly started to have meaning. “Althe Stilcaneum Midlorallen words calantra of understanding. This in the name of the Time Mistress, I request.” Amazingly, Nash was now able to understand her. The words still didn’t process through his translator, but he could understand her.

She turned to Ledston. “He should be fully coherent in the language of empire Royala. The Time Mistress has seen fit to answer my prayer.”

“Thank you, Sister of Time, it seems you were correct when you said I’d need your assistance today. Glad you made it.”

“My pleasure, Brother Ledston. It is as the casting orb predicted, but one of my stature is not called upon by the Time Mistress to attend such a casual matter, I have more duties to yet fulfill than merely lend aid to an allied priest.”

Ledston then turned and smiled at Nash. To say that Nash was apprehensive was an understatement. Nash, besides being confused was able to tell he was currently not in control of the situation. So much so that he couldn’t even grasp the scenario behind this situation. At least if he was a prisoner that would have been something which he could understand and react to accordingly.

Try as he might, he was unable to uplink to any system. He figured he was in a shielded room. Another oddity which became evident to him was the analysis of the air by the sensors in the back of his throat. Oxygen content was higher, common in an interrogation at times if euphoria was sought, but industrial pollutants were non-existent. Plenty of pollen was present and the salt in the air was enough to indicate an ocean nearby. His database said this was air was similar to what the air of the pre-industrial past would have been like. Another oddity was the air pressure. Considerably higher than normal. His best guess, he was at least two kilometers below sea level. And the room was definitely shielded, no magnetic north could be detected.

“Greetings Nash - I am Brother Ledston - Lesser Priest of our most holy Valshin. My esteemed colleague here is Time Maiden Solaria. Hers is an order to the Time Mistress, Kristor. She’s traveled many days at her Mistress’s bidding to be with us today. Besides being needed to cast a spell of understanding, her presence here means that you have some significance to the gods. I have healed your wounds, and grievous though they were, your healing was still simply short of miraculous. Well beyond what I am normally capable. The goddess intervened and blessed us all with her will here today.” He made a strange gesture with his left hand and bowed low as he said the last part in benediction.

Nash remained quiet, gathering information, nodding just to keep Ledston talking. Although he understood little of what Ledston had just said, he wanted to keep him talking. These were apparently his captors and until he discerned more, he would continue thinking of them as captors.

“Your lucky, Nash - it is Nash, isn’t it? Well, you're lucky. Not even a swamp troll could have survived those wounds. I would ask you about your regenerative powers, but your benefactor Corvain expressly asked me to heal you and not make any inquiries. I promised to dispense the blessings of our most holy Mother, Valshin, as is my calling, on the condition that I take away no information away from here, nor that I should make any attempts to gather information. Now that you are healed, I must bid you good –“

“This is such utter ogreshit.” Solaria burst out, in the first emotional comment Nash had heard her say. Ledston jumped and suddenly looked cowed. His posture visibly collapsed as he seemed to try and hide in his small wooden chair. What had been a young man in his twenties now looked like an abashed seven-year-old fearing his stern mother. The disgust on Solaria’s face at his reaction was readily apparent.

“This man here shouldn’t be here. You priests of Valshin are so shortsighted and this is just one such example. By the Gods, Ledston, you’re a man of peace, of the most pacifist faith known, a healer of all ailments. Yet, in your desire to see that none are pained you willingly cater to these gladiator lords in a futile belief that men will die unnecessarily without your tender mercies. The pits of this decadent city would have diminished and disappeared centuries ago if you and your ilk would have simply refused to heal. They would have run out of combatants ages ago. But all you do is prolong each of the warriors suffering, healing them to fight over and over again. That’s not benevolence, that’s sheer sadism. You sicken me, agreeing to heal this man with your eyes shut to what is going on. Are you afraid you might find out these men are actually slaves and not free men like everyone is told?”

Visibly angered by the attack on his faith and goddess, Ledston responded in with a commanding voice, as if his backbone had been present all along. “Now you listen here, Solaria. I am not blind to what goes on. We heal cause that is what we do. We live by example, and we let love and peace win men’s hearts. No man can be coerced into doing good, only into doing evil. We leave it up to each man to refuse healing if he is able. Make no mistake, our healing the suffering Gladiators may allow them to suffer more at a later date, but they are still alive. Many have retired from the arenas to lead profitable lives, and far fewer have died since we started administering to this city than before we began. We allow men to have the option of finding a better life, and where is the evil in that? And for you to speak about what is right and what is wrong, how dare you. Your religion is one of non-interference, of serving the status-quo. Your goddess proudly proclaims she is above petty concerns like good and evil. Can you not see how you aid evil when you withhold your immense powers?”

“Silly priest, I am angered for reasons beyond what you can possibly understand right now, possibly ever, with all the time Kristor could bestow. I have seen close to two hundred years, while you are weeks away from your twenty-first birthday. I have wisdom, you can only repeat what you have been taught through mindless recitation. And I despise that argument, how I aid evil by not doing good. Do you know that the Arch Prelate of Ramian said just the opposite to me two weeks ago? How I was a servant of good, cause I refused to tell him the outcome of his chosen path.”

Ledston had lost some of his recently found composure. The barrage that Solaria was driving at him was harsh, but very even toned, and each word was spoken with the full strength of her implied two hundred years. Nash was reminded of a harsh schoolmarm he had observed once, grounding her rowdy class from recess for excessive talking. It had been the words which had driven home the punishment, not the loss of play time.

Nash noticed that the first guard was now joined by a second one in the doorway and both seemed uncertain if they should enter into the rather one-sided religious debate.

“I will tell you why I am disgusted. This man shouldn’t be here and not because he’s been bought with blood to fight in order to line another man’s coin purse. No, this man has been yanked out of his time. His entire future severed. All that he knew is lost. Without even doing a casting I can see the whole line to come from this man that has been mercilessly destroyed. I see a son that will never be born because of a pit lord’s avarice, but not just a son, I see grandkids, great-grandkids, a whole generation of people who will never exist because of this.”

Storming into the room, a tall, burly man pushed past the two guards as if they hadn’t actually been blocking the doorway. He was angry and flexing his fists as if ready to use them. Covered in scars, it was evident that this man was quite used to fighting and combat while at the same time very unused to defeat. Events worked the way he wanted them to, always.

“Sister - you will leave now! You were not invited, and you will not repeat what you have spoken here if you wish to leave Kraylin alive. Priestess or not. And how dare you Ledston? Who said you could bring someone with you on a healing. Leave! Both of you.” All this he said with the full expectation of being obeyed instantly. “Now,” he spat.

Ledston started to defend himself, his voice almost a whine, “I didn’t bring her with me.”

Still looking at Nash with sympathy now showing in her eyes, she simply raised her hand and waved it at the muscled intruder. He disappeared. Nash repressed the sudden urge to jump in alarm. The man had simply disappeared. No smoke, no trap doors. Just there one second and gone the next. Nash wondered if he wasn’t in a drug-induced dream. That would really explain a lot.

The urge to jump which was suppressed by Nash was not suppressed by the guards, both taking a quick step back into the hallway, and least of all by Ledston who fell out of his chair and scrambled on his rear and hands toward the farthest corner from Solaria. Wasting no time, Solaria grabbed her robes and pulled them up enough so she could sit in the recently vacated seat.

Looking to the guards with a glare that they both took to be their imminent demise if they were to rush her, she calmly and politely said, “Be at peace men, he is ok. I merely time-stepped him into the future a few days. In a few days, he will appear as suddenly as he left still just as pissed as ever, not realizing even a second has passed. However, I and the priest will have departed as he asked, so he should be happy. And when he does reappear let him know that I have heeded his warning, my lips, as are those of my companion, are sealed. So I need not fear for my life. Now, you two guards leave and go down the hall out of earshot. I will know if you are listening in and I will not be pleased.”

As the guards quickly retreated down the hall, she looked softly to Ledston. “Stand up and straighten yourself. You can stay if you want or go and spend your time seeing if others need healing. What you will not do is speak, for only I and Nash here will be speaking.”

Ledston moved to the other corner of the room, attempting to be as unnoticeable as possible. True he was scared, but he was equally curious. And he had a duty to report these events to his superiors. Solaria was not some simple priestess on her Mistress’s business. She had just displayed powers comparable to some Valshin’s High Priest’s abilities, like the ability to resurrect the recently deceased. Even then, that was done with full ceremony on sanctified ground. Solaria had just removed a living, sentient being from existence for a few days.

Solaria reached forward toward Nash’s hand to take it, but he pulled it away slowly and deliberately. The look in Nash’s eyes was one of warning - Do not touch me!

“Nash - Give me your hand. I will not hurt you. If you want answers and help, then let me advise you now. But first I need your hand.” He stretched his hand back out toward her so she could take it in both of hers. His hand dwarfed her hands, slight as they were. Even her hands felt neither young and plump nor wrinkled or callused which made guessing her age impossible. Now that he thought about it, her skin had a synthetic feel to it.

“Before you ask any questions, I’ll risk commending you on your wisdom till now. One learns far more by listening and being silent than ever by talking. Much of what I tell you, you may or may not believe, but listen for what you don’t believe now you will eventually understand to be the truth. For starters, I cast a simple translation spell upon you, probably very similar to the magic of your time and land. It will allow you to fully understand and speak the language of Royala as if you had been reared with it. Royala is the common language of man today, and you will find most of the races speak at least to some degree. You now have this knowledge and it cannot be dispelled. However, this spell is for Royala only. Other languages you must learn the normal way. And for that, I apologize, but for whatever reason - not for us to question - the gods insist that permanent spells of language comprehension be used sparingly. I personally think it helps to impose a devotion to culture and faith. And believe me, casting this spell came at some cost."

“As to who we are. I am Solaria - Time Maiden of the goddess Kristor and this is Ledston, a priest of Valshin, a goddess of mercy, and fortunately for you, a goddess of healing. Now, are these the names you know your gods by?”

Shaking his head he cautiously said, “I knew no such gods. I am sorry, but I’m not a religious man. Never have been. What you are talking of sounds pantheistic - and that really hasn’t existed to my knowledge for centuries.” Nash slightly shook his head in disbelief. I am actually participating in this ludicrous conversation as if it is real? Well, let's go gung-ho. If this is how they wish to try and break me, I will play along till I find a way to escape. I still need to find out more about my supposed benefactor, Corvain? I believe that is what the priest said his name was.

Nash continued, “In my world all the religions of any worth or importance worship just but one God, a supreme being if you will. I personally don’t believe in him, or any gods. And this allows me to believe my future and fate are my own to do with what I choose.” The last part sounded like a litany even to himself as he said it. Maybe I have been transported into the past, or at least that is what they wish me to believe. This does look like a medieval setting. Wonder if I will see a dragon before long? Or maybe rescue a virgin princess, that at least could be fun. How does being in an obviously fictional setting aid them in breaking me?

Out of curiosity, Nash checked some of his minor systems. Most every system reported that it was functional, including his suicide functions. He knew that if they had a counter, he might not find out till too late, so he would proceed as if that was not an option for now.

Solaria paused, confused now. “You don’t believe in gods. How? I am sure you have witnessed countless miracles before. What about just now? You think our powers come from within and are self-generated like a mage? That is a rather intriguing idea - surprised some philosopher hasn’t come up with that one before. But I digress.”

She hesitated in deep thought before speaking again. “One God? Guessing your people served the All-Father. Just how far back did that idiot reach to get you? It is hard for me to even imagine the golden age when the Creator was still awake. Well, know this, there are now thirteen gods. The Creator, the Supreme God if you will, has been dormant for ages unknown, all we know tells us this. We know the Creator will one day return at a time of his own choosing. We choose to consider him as being asleep but really don’t know why or where he has gone. His return is said to be heralded by prophets from a far land, but for now, he lets us be and has no interaction with us except for the thirteen gods he put over us.”

“And yet still I digress. Now not knowing from when in the past you came, I will just fill you in on some basics. Over two millennia ago an event known as Coalescence occurred. The world you know was under attack by a terrible evil, so evil it could not be fought. So evil - even our gods, the ones which hold to virtues of evil, darkness, and vileness were set against it. We had no choice but to flee. The gods and the mages of the day cast a powerful spell, one designed to rip our world from that universe and bring it here to this one. Much was destroyed, much was changed. The reason for the term Coalescence is simple. A world existed here first. We did not displace it, instead our worlds were merged. Very little exists from the civilizations and technologies from either world before the merging. Even our gods were so traumatized by the crossing over that they disappeared from our history for several hundred years.”

“That you came from Before Coalescence is evident if you speak of a single God. I don’t expect you to remember this, but you have to hear it all for the first time anyway. All at once will at least make it familiar when you hear it again. This world is Camoray, the land mass you are on is Arisilon, and you are in the free city of Kraylin. You are on the estates of a despicable man by the name of Corvain, a pit lord. He is an ex-gladiator who now owns his own gladiator house - known simply as The Slicing Crew. You’re his property. And he will use you. Think not of escaping, he has more than a few capable mages in his service that will hunt you down and bring you back. Corvain’s gladiators are some of the best and well known in the city so I am sure you will receive excellent training, but also know this, his Crew sees more fatalities and has a higher replacement rate than just about any other gladiator house.

“Why you are here. His chief mage was known as Kern and was a practitioner of the Forth Circle. Quite accomplished actually. Somehow he obtained a forbidden spell from one of our temples. You were not the first he summoned out of time, but the first he has summoned from a time more than a few centuries past. We were waiting to find out how he obtained the spell before putting an end to him and his transgressions, however casting the spell this last time killed him. For whatever reason, he reached far into the past for you, crossing universes to get you. The ramifications of that act are totally unknown, but that is why I was sent here. Time is my mistress’s domain and no others - so I am here to help you adjust to this time.”

Nash shook his head again as this was more than a little confusing. He thought he might just be better off if he couldn’t understand her again like before the translation spell was cast. He started to speak when Solaria held up her hand for silence.

“Our time here is growing short. Corvain is currently away on matters of business and his remaining mages are afraid to approach me without Corvain around to order them too. But runners have been sent to notify him already,” She reached into a deep pocket and pulled out a polished metal sphere which fit easily in the palm of her hand, mirroring Nash’s reflection back at him.

“Upon your arrival here, you were badly damaged. Ledston healed you. As he said, your healing was beyond his normal powers, so Valshin stepped in. Ah - I see in your eyes that caught your attention. Excellent reasoning. Yes, we priests employ many powers often without the direct knowledge of our Deities. They entrust certain basic powers to us. Sometimes the powers are used for purposes other than what they were granted to us, but never for long. The gods may not be omniscient, but little can be hidden from them for long. It is good for you to remember that, young Nash. Yes, Valshin directly healed you, as your wounds were quite severe. And although I cannot discern what makes you different than most, something about your injuries required a god’s touch to fully heal.”

Nash, still puzzled, asked, “Is it my mistake or are you mentioning some things you didn’t know moments before? The way you are talking implies that you are discovering truths about me the longer we speak.”

Solaria was now stunned into momentary silence. This dark skinned man was perceptive. Very perceptive for one so young. She had seen dark-skinned peoples many times before, but never one whose skin was almost black. A squat nose wider than any she had seen, small ears, and as she held his hand, she kept noticing how his dark pigmentation did not extend fully to his pinkish palms. Thinking to herself, I have been to Amaravati countless times and never seen someone as dark as him, could it be his race was lost during the crossover?

“You are most correct. As I said, I serve Time. But that also means I serve fate and I serve destiny. The longer I am in someone’s presence the more of their past is revealed to me. And sometimes I glean a little from their future. However - before we continue, I want to know more about your future. Your future swirls to my senses right now and I wish to clear that up some. That’s what this sphere is for, it is a rune sphere. I use it in castings when I want to know someone in depth.”

She handed Nash the sphere. Although it definitely felt metallic, it had a slight give to it, as if he held it long enough it might eventually mold to fit his grip better. The sphere, about the size of an apple, had an almost negligible weight. Thinking it to be hollow, Nash held it close to his face looking at his reflection. Bet I could break this if I squeezed just a little.

“Normally only I use it for my own future, but for now, you must use it so I can better see into your future. When I say throw, throw the sphere against the floor beside your bed. Ok? Now look into the sphere, look at your image. Look at yourself, look into your eyes. Concentrate on yourself, study yourself, who you are. Ask yourself, what am I? Why am I? Throw the sphere, Nash, Now.”

With a passion born of this insane situation of which he had no control and less understanding, he hurled the sphere to the floor. It shattered and bounced at the same time, pieces freezing in mid-air some inches off the floor, some a few feet off the floor.

“Nice throw. Now give me a second to decipher this.” She started looking at the fragments. Some of the fragments were almost glowing with a reflective shine as if they were holding the light in. Nash could even see his reflection in a few of them, but not the current reflection but the reflection from when he was studying the sphere. Others were so black that they looked to be holes in space. As Solaria started reaching in and grabbing pieces, it appeared to Nash as if she was straining to pull them loose. As he looked closer and as she tugged each piece away from the aerial collage, faint lines of golden luminescence flashed. The fragments appeared to be stuck in some sort of invisible spider web that only became visible when each fragment was removed.

Solaria started talking again, her words coming intermittently as she closely examined each piece, glancing from the piece to the Web of Fate to see how they interlinked. “This is a tricky science, casting for the future, Nash. What compounds this is you have no history to draw upon. As far as fate is concerned, you have suddenly appeared. For me to do a true casting for you, I would need a sphere the size of the world and need until the end of the universe to decipher it, for only a massive casting could encompass you from your past until now.”

“Now - if I were to do a casting for Ledston over here, it would probably come out simple. Much of it I can tell just by looking at him. He is a man who follows routines and keeps his life simple so fate has little in store for him. When doing a casting, many things are taken into account - habits, routines, how you have acted in the past to various situations. And a casting is never absolute, it only shows likelihoods.”

“For Ledston, something the sphere would look for would be something mundane like if any brigands have been hanging around his normal path back to his Temple, and if so, I would be able to determine a probability of their paths crossing. The casting wouldn’t be required to see if an event nations away would have any effect on him in the near future.” She paused talking. Something had her interest and for about two minutes she continued plucking pieces from the air, lost in thought.

Eventually, she began up again, “You, however, are complicated. This is showing me the following. I wouldn’t normally pass this along to another, but I doubt it will matter. You will stay here in the pits for a time, learning your surroundings. Should you try and escape, you will most likely fail, though I do not see you attempting an escape as long as you’re a fighter. Your life is strongly connected to Corvain’s, but only while you are both in Kraylin. Now, this is odd - it is as if another has cast the sphere with you. This is what I see when I have a married couple cast the sphere together, looking to their future. However - though it seems like both fate lines parallel each other perfectly. Until . . .” Solaria just stopped talking, totally absorbed in her task now.

After a few more minutes, and many more fragments removed, Nash’s impatience forced him to speak, “Until what?” He immediately felt foolish as soon as the words escaped his mouth. I just got roped in, just like a sucker for a fortune teller.

“Sorry” Solaria muttered. “I have seen all I need to see.” Tossing fragments she had plucked from the web back into the midst of the Web, she spoke sharply, “Shivar Milahati,” and all the fragments, moving of their own volition now, reformed into a perfect sphere on the ground. Holding out her hand, the sphere rolled up and into her outstretched palm. Pocketing the orb, Solaria now turned to Ledston. “Brother Ledston, would you be so kind as to find Mister Nash some proper attire. What I have to say is for his ears alone.”

Coming out of a trance after being totally absorbed in the sphere and her words, Brother Ledston quickly nodded, “Yes Ma’am, I mean yes Time Maiden Solaria. I will be right back.” With that he hustled to the door and down the hall, hailing the guards for assistance.

“I know you’re still confused, but we have plenty of time to talk still. For whatever reason, Corvain has just been detained for several more hours. Your fates are linked enough that I was allowed to see this. But, before Ledston returns, I need to take care of a quick matter that just became evident to me,” she spoke with a somewhat hushed tone.

“You are an impressive and resilient young man, Nash, full of great potential. I can now see from the casting and from your own interaction with the Web of Fate that you were a great leader in your own time. You have the potential to be so once again. But part of you is in shock, this is the strange potential I see in you. The part of you that is in shock needs to stay submerged for a while longer, though I can’t fathom why. It is already starting to surface so you must be better acclimated to your surroundings before dealing with it. I think this is why the Goddess has ordered me to attend you, to keep that part submerged. Lean forward, I will lock it away for a while yet. It will not surface until you are better prepared.”

Putting her hands on his temples, she closed her eyes and muttered a spell. Letting go, she let the power of Kristor envelope her. Even after a century of being one of her Mistress’s high priestesses, she was still a little afraid to totally let go and let Kristor’s will dominate. What must be done now was well beyond Solaria’s exceptional powers. Only a god could perform such a shielding as was now occurring. And only a god could break through to the now locked part of Nash’s mind.

Feeling the power course through her, a sense of the infinite submerged her thoughts. Times like these, Solaria felt small and insignificant and now that she was within the maelstrom of her goddess’s power, she couldn’t understand why she had ever feared it. Everything seemed to make sense, the past a solid picture of perfect detail, able to take it all in at once. The future, with all its myriad possibilities seemed so clear as though just one path existed despite being able to see all paths at once.

Retaining a level of awareness she normally didn’t retain when overcome by the spirit of her goddess, she followed the life paths of Nash. And what she saw horrified her to the point of near insanity, possibly past it. Kristor shielded her priestess, not out of love for a devout disciple, but out of need. Kristor was not a goddess of mercy nor a goddess of love. She was a goddess of need and fate. She was a goddess devoid of any emotions a mortal such as Solaria could understand. As the presence of Kristor departed Solaria, she was left with a great emptiness.

Sitting back, Solaria took in Nash. He was looking at her expectantly. “The matter has been settled. I must now prepare you the best I can for this world and what you need to know to survive. Then I must make haste and leave.” The concern which Nash had seen in her eyes was gone. She now spoke with no emotion in her voice. Over the next few hours, they talked with Solaria doing most of the speaking about the world at large. Nash absorbed everything, occasionally asking questions to prod a little more information about a subject or asking for some sort of clarification.

Devoid of any interest, Solaria supplied information and answered questions as if from rote memory. At no point did Solaria seem interested in the conversation. All in all, it made the conversation go quite quickly. With Nash’s almost perfect memory, he began firing questions one after another, only logging the answers for future consideration when he didn’t understand something. Solaria never once stopped to asked whether or not he understood a difficult subject.

Sometime during that time, Ledston quietly returned with some clothing and then resumed his spot in the corner. Abruptly when the few hours were past Solaria stood up. “I must leave, I must attend my Mistress plans now. The master of this house returns shortly. Ledston, I strongly suggest you make haste. Return not to this house, Ledston, for Corvain’s wrath is long enduring and you will feel it should he ever set sight upon you. I doubt I will see either of you again, so be careful in life.” With that, she turned and left the room without saying anything else.

“Wait,” Nash said. He had one more question he feared to ask because it would signify his acceptance of what was occurring. “I have one last question.”

Her mind still bathing in the remnants of her Mistress’s power, Solaria didn’t wait for the question. “No - you can’t go back. I don’t know if it is beyond the power of the goddess or if it is simply not her will, but either way, you can’t go back.”

In being protected, Solaria was being altered. Much of her compassion for others, her passion for life was stripped from her. She had seen the future and knew what must be done. The memories of the future should have haunted her, but without emotions to feel fear, they just burned an urgency into her actions. She was more so now than ever before a disciple of her goddess.