I dont understand any of this at all, Bheid confessed.
Good. Thats the first step toward wisdom.
This might all make more sense if I knew your sign, Althalus and Eliars as well. If I can cast your horoscopes, Ill probably know just who you are.
Do you actually believe that, Bheid? Althalus asked.
Astrologys the core of all religion, Bheid told him. Deiwos has written our destinies in the stars. The duty of the priesthood is to study the stars so that we can give man the word of God. Whats your sign? When were you born?
A very long time ago, Bheid, Althalus said with a faint smile. I dont think youd have much luck trying to cast my horoscope, because the stars have changed a lot since then. They had different names, and the people who looked at the skies didnt see them in the same combinations that you do. Half of the Wolf was the bottom of something the old sky-watchers called the Turtle, and what astrologers call the Boar now was the top half.
Thats blasphemy! Bheid exclaimed.
I wouldnt worry about it too much, Bheid. Those astrologers all died, so they wont be able to accuse you.
Thats not what I meant.
I know, but theyd see it that way, wouldnt they? Althalus put his hand on Bheids arm. There arent really any pictures in the sky, you know. As I said before, the stars arent connected with each other to make pictures for us to look at, but youve already guessed that, havent you? Thats why youre having your crisis of faith. You want to believe that theres a Wolf and a Boar and a Dragon up there, but when you look, you just cant really see them, can you?
I try, Bheid almost wept. I try so very hard, but they just arent there.
Things have just been rearranged, Bheid. You wont have to look at the sky any more, because Eliars got the Knife of Deiwos. The Knife will tell us where to go next.
Are we going to leave Awes?
Im sure we are. We have a long way to go, I think.
Youre wasting time, Althalus, Emmys voice crackled inside his head. You and Bheid can speculate about the stars on the way back to Osthos.
Osthos! Althalus protested out loud. Emmy, we just came from there!
Yes, I know. Now we have to go back.
Were you talking with Emmy just now? Eliar demanded. Did she say that we have to go to Osthos again? I cant go back there, Althalus! Andine would have me killed if I went back!
Is there something wrong? Bheid asked, sounding very confused.
We just got our marching orders, Althalus told him. Eliars a little bit unhappy about them.
Did something happen just now that I missed?
Emmy just told me that we have to go to Osthos.
Im not sure I understand all this talk about somebody named Emmy.
Emmys the messenger of Deiwos sort of. Its a bit more complex than that, but lets keep it simple for right now. Deiwos tells Emmy what he wants done. Then she tells me, and I pass it on.
Were taking orders from a cat? Bheid asked incredulously.
No, were taking orders from God. We can talk about that on our way to Osthos, though. Emmy wants us to start getting ready to leave. Althalus glanced about. Lets pile some more rocks on top of that dead man so that hes not quite so visible. Then well go pick up your belongings, and Ill buy you a horse. Well leave first thing in the morning.
They concealed the body more thoroughly and started off through the ruins toward the northern end of Awes. Whos this Andine person you were talking about? Bheid asked Eliar.
Shes the ruler of Osthos, Eliar replied. She wants to kill me.
Whatever for?
Well, Eliar replied with a lightly pained expression, I did sort of kill her father, I guess, but it was during a war, and that kind of thing happens during wars. I was just doing my job, but Andine took it personally. I didnt really mean anything by it. I was just following orders, but she cant quite understand that, I guess.
Did any of that make any sense to you? Bheid asked Althalus with a perplexed look.
You almost had to have been there, Althalus told him. It was all very complicated. We can talk about it on our way to Osthos.
They went to the northern end of Awes where the black-robed priests stayed, picked up Bheids blankets and his few other belongings, and then returned to the rudimentary camp where Althalus and Eliar had spent the previous night. Then Eliar and Bheid went to the corral of a horse trader and returned with a mount for their newest member.
Im awfully hungry, Althalus, Eliar said hopefully. Could we have beef tonight instead of fish?
Ill make a fire, Bheid offered.
That wont be necessary, Althalus told him. Then he called up a fairly large beef roast and several loaves of bread.
Bheid jerked back with a startled oath.
Makes your hair stand on end, doesnt it? Eliar chuckled. I was almost afraid to eat the first supper he made that way, but the food he makes with words is really very good. Eliar started to eat with a great deal of enthusiasm.
How do you do that? Bheid asked Althalus in an awed voice.
Emmy calls it using the Book, Althalus replied. She taught me how to do it back in the House at the End of the World where the Book is.
Which Book?
The Book of Deiwos, of course.
Youve actually seen the Book of Deiwos?
Seen it? Althalus laughed. I lived with it for twenty-five hundred years. I can recite it from end to end, forward or backward, and from side to side, if youd really care to hear it that way. I think I could even recite it upside down if I put my mind to it.
Exactly how is it that the Book of Deiwos makes it possible for you to perform miracles?
The Books the word of God, Bheid. Its written in a very antique language thats sort of like the language we speak now, but not exactly. The words from the old language make things happen. If I say beef, nothing happens, but if I say gwou, we get supper. Theres a little more involved in the procedure, but thats the core of it. I spent a lot of years committing the Book to memory. He tapped his forehead. Ive got it in here now, so I dont have to carry it with me which isnt permitted, of course. The Book has to stay in the House. It wouldnt be safe to carry it out into the real world. Youd better eat your supper before it gets cold.
Eliar had several more helpings, then they talked a bit more before rolling up in their blankets to sleep.
It was Awes. Althalus was sure that it was Awes, but it had no buildings. He could clearly see the fork of the River Medyo, but a grove of ancient trees had somehow replaced the ruins. He wandered for a time under those mighty oaks, and then he looked toward the west and saw people far off in the distance. As he watched them coming across the grassy plain toward the place where he stood, he seemed to hear a faint wailing sound coming from very far away. There was a lost, despairing quality to that wailing that seemed to wrench at his very soul.
And then the people hed seen reached the far bank of the river, and he could see them more clearly. They were dressed in the skins of animals, and they carried spears with stone points.
He rolled over, muttering and groping under his blanket for the rock which had been gouging his hip. He finally located it, threw it away, and slid easily back into sleep.
There were crude huts under the oak trees now, and the fur-clad people moved among those huts, talking, talking, talking in hushed and fearful tones. He comes, he comes, he comes, the people said. Make ready for his coming, for he is God. And the faces of some of the people were exalted, and the faces of others were filled with terror. And still they said, He comes, he comes, he comes.
And Ghend moved among them, whispering, whispering. And the people pulled back from Ghend with fear upon their faces. But Ghend paid no heed to their fear, and his eyes burned, burned.
And Ghend lifted his face and looked upon Althalus with his burning eyes. And the eyes of Ghend seared at the soul of Althalus. And Ghend spoke then, saying, It is of little moment, my thief. Run, Althalus, run, and I shall pursue you down the nights and down the years, and the Book shall avail you not, for I shall deliver you up to the throne of Daeva, and you even as I shall serve him down all the endless eons. And when the eons end, we shall turn and follow them back to their beginning. And then shall we turn again, and behold, they shall not be as they were before.
The wailing sound rose to an awful shriek.
Althalus started up, sweating profusely. God! he exclaimed, trembling violently.
Who was he? Bheids terrified voice came out of the darkness. Who was that man with eyes of fire?
You saw him too? Eliar asked, his voice also trembling.
Step aside, Althalus, Emmys voice inside his head had a crisp, no-nonsense quality about it. I need to talk to them.
Althalus felt himself being rather rudely thrust aside. Eliar, Emmy said, tell Bheid who I am.
Yes, Maam, Eliar responded. Bheid, he said, thats Emmy talking. She does that now and then. Althalus might still be there, but shes using his voice.
The cat? Bheid said incredulously.
I wouldnt think of her as a cat, exactly, Eliar advised. Thats just the way she hides what she really is. Her real form would probably blind us if we looked at her.
Hush, Eliar, Emmy said gently.
Yes, Maam.
What youve all just experienced, gentlemen, wasnt exactly a dream, Emmy told them. Althalus has met Ghend before, so hell be able to tell you about him after Ive finished using his voice. What you saw just now wasnt a dream, but it wasnt real, either. Its what Ghend and Daeva want to make real.
Who were those people we saw? Bheid asked in a trembling voice.
The Medyos the first ones who came to this part of the world ten thousand years ago. They brought the worship of Deiwos with them when they came here, but Daevas trying to change that. Hes trying to alter things so that the first Medyos worship him instead of his kinsman, Deiwos.
But thats impossible, Bheid protested. Once somethings happened, it cant be changed.
Keep a very firm grip on that thought, Bheid, she advised. It might help. Daeva doesnt seem to agree with you, though. He believes that he can change the past by changing the present. Thats why were being gathered together. Were supposed to prevent what Daevas trying to do. This will happen again. Youll see things that didnt really happen, and you wont always be asleep when you see them.
This just stopped being fun, Emmy, Eliar complained. If these wide-awake dreams come popping out of nowhere the way that one did, how can we tell whats real and whats not?
Because of the wailing, she replied. When you hear that wailing off in the distance, its a sure sign that Ghends trying to alter the past. Youll also know when the wailing starts that youre not in the present. You may be in the past or in the future, but you arent in the place called now.
Althalus looked off to the east where the first faint hint of the new day was touching the horizon, Its almost daybreak, he told his companions. Lets gather up our things and get ready to start.
We are going to have breakfast, arent we? Eliar asked in a worried tone.
Althalus sighed. Yes, Eliar, well have breakfast.
The sun was just coming up when the barge ferried them across the west fork of the river, and they rode toward the west. After theyd gone a few miles, Bheid trotted up beside Althalus. Can we talk? he asked.
I guess thats permitted, Althalus replied.
How did you find out where the Book of Deiwos was located? Bheid asked. Ive been hearing stories about it for years now. Arguments about that Book have been going on for centuries. Most of my teachers said that the Book was actually the night sky, but some said that it really did exist. Evidently those were the ones who were right.
Yes, Althalus replied, there really is a Book.
How did you find it? Did God come to you in a vision?
Althalus laughed. No it wasnt God who came to me. It was Ghend.
Ghend?
He looked me up and hired me to steal the Book for him. It was Ghend who told me where the House was.
Why would any honest man agree to something like that.
An honest man probably wouldnt have, but I dont have that problem. Im a thief, Bheid.
A thief?
Thats a man who steals things. Im probably the best thief in the world, so Ive got a good reputation. Ghend tracked me down and told me that hed pay me if I stole the Book for him. Then he told me where it was.
The House at the End of the World?
Well, thats what its called. Its built on the edge of a cliff up in northern Kagwher, and its the biggest house Ive ever seen. Its almost completely empty though. Theres only one room that has any furniture in it. Thats where the Book was. Of course, Emmy was there, too. She scolded me for being late, and I thought for certain that Id gone mad. She told me to stop being silly, and then she taught me how to read.
From the Book of Deiwos? Bheid asked reverently.
It was the only Book there.
What does it look like?
Its a box covered with white leather. The pages are stacked inside the box. Emmy used to come all unraveled if I mixed up the pages. Anyway, I learned how to read the Book, and then Emmy and I found a way to speak to each other without using our voices. Then we left the house to go find the Knife. We discovered that Eliar had it. Hes a mercenary soldier, and he was fighting in that war between Kanthon and Osthos thats been going on for forty or fifty generations now. Eliar was leading an attack on the walls of Osthos, and he killed the Aryo during the fighting. The Aryos daughter, Andine, didnt like that at all, and, since Eliard been taken prisoner, she started thinking about all sorts of interesting things to do to him. I posed as a slave trader and bought him from her. Then we came here to find you. Now were going back to Osthos to find somebody else.