“My lady,” said Japheth. “What is the Watch going to do now that Xxiphu has appeared?”
“You saw the activity in the courtyards?” Erunyauve asked. “We are preparing to storm the void and go after the city, of course. We must eject the Eldest from the Citadel, and Malyanna, and take the Key of Stars from them.”
“May I accompany you?” said Japheth. “I’m worried what has become of our companions. And my power is useful against these foes.”
Erunyauve turned her eyes on the warlock again. Under their regard, he reddened, but did not look away.
“Yes,” she said. “You are touched by the void, but not consumed by it. The Throne tells me you have a part to play too, but I can’t tell for good or ill-your pact corrupts my sight. It is allied with the same power that inhabits Xxiphu.”
The court murmured at the lady’s words. She flicked her gaze out across them, and the voices quieted. “But if Raidon counts you as an ally, I do too,” she said.
The monk thought of the time he had tried to stab the warlock with Angul, but kept his peace.
Japheth coughed. “Thank you,” he said. “Then, we should go after Xxiphu as quickly as possible!”
“The hours flow more slowly here at the Edge than in the world or its echoes,” Erunyauve said. “Beyond the discontinuity, they move slower still. This has been our one advantage over the centuries, as we’ve watched. It means we have the luxury of preparing a force large enough to have some hope of winning through.”
“How much time before we leave?” Japheth asked.
“Not long, but … enough to present you both with gifts.”
“What?” Japheth said.
Erunyauve motioned with one hand.
Two courtiers parted from the press of the court and advanced. Each carried a chest.
The Lady of the Moon said, “Raidon, as I said, I saw there was a chance you would arrive here, you and at least one ally. I had planned on relieving you of the burden of the Cerulean Sign, but I suspected you might still wish to accompany the forces I sent, since I would have personally been leading them.”
“You?” Raidon blurted out
She smiled. “From where do you think you got your fighting instinct?” she said. “Before I took this seat, I was considered the most accomplished warrior in the tower.”
“Oh,” Raidon replied.
“Anyway, I prepared a couple of things,” Erunyauve continued. “Even though I won’t be with you, these may help you in the Citadel of the Outer Void.”
The courtiers set down their burdens.
The first chest contained a pair of matched gauntlets, thin and supple, and dyed the color of the sky.
“My son,” Erunyauve said, “these will increase your already considerable strength. You may call upon their power three times before it is spent.”
Raidon accepted the gloves, and drew them on over his hands. They fit perfectly, and he could feel vitality tingling at his fingertips. “Thank you, Mother,” he said.
She nodded, then pointed to the second chest.
It contained a rod of darkly oiled wood. Japheth pulled it forth. The rod flashed with the green of leaves in sunlight, or grass blowing across a rain-wet plain. The smell of growing things and cool wind briefly played around the chamber. The warlock gave a tentative smile.
“This is the Rod of Silvanus,” said the Lady of the Moon. “It is a reminder of the natural world. Its mere presence unsettles aberrations. However, for you, Japheth, I foretell it will serve an even more important function-it will anchor you to Toril and its echoes. When you stand before the Far Manifold, and your pact pulls at your mind, remember the Rod of Silvanus.”
Japheth blinked. “I … I shall,” he said. “Thank you, lady.”
Erunyauve clapped, and a bell chimed in synchrony. The note hung in the air, swelling until it was a thunderclap that must have been audible across the Edge and in the other watchtowers.
“Listen to me now; listen!” she said, her voice somehow energized by the bell’s lingering volume.
“The forces of the Watch are marshaled and ready. The time has come to cease our preparations, and act! The battle over the Edge is about to begin. Upon this fight depends the survival of more than just our own lives; upon it depends the welfare of the world itself. And against us is arrayed an enemy whose power is beyond measure, whose fury and might would rip asunder any lesser force.
“The Sovereignty sees its chance to open the Far Manifold. If successful, all the world and its echoes, including the Feywild, will be washed away as if they had never been. All will be lost, forever.
“We do not fight against simple oppression, or mere dominion. We fight for our right to live! Our right to exist!
“So take up your lances and your swords, your wands and your spells, and your courage. Fight with all of your heart and all of your mind. If we succeed, the continued survival of world and its echoes will be your badge of honor! And forever after, until the world is renewed, the wise will say, ‘they were the saviors of us all!’ ”
A throaty yell reverberated through the court. Raidon found he was cheering just as loudly as the eladrin knights. A grin was plastered across Japheth’s face. And Erunyauve smiled. She raised her arms to receive the court’s appreciation.
When the noise died away, the room cleared as knights found the exits.
Only a few servitors, Raidon and Japheth, and the Lady of the Moon remained.
“Raidon,” said Erunyauve.
The monk leaned into another embrace. Her smile slipped. “As skilled as are the forces of the Watch, and the various wardens who will lead our knights, you are more powerful still, in part because you bear a Sign,” she said. “It may be that in the end, the conflict will come down to you and your compatriots. Do your best to … keep Malyanna from opening the Far Manifold.”
“That is our goal,” he replied.
She nodded. Raidon made to pull away, but she held his hand. “It’s truly good to see you again,” she said. “Despite seeing the possibility of your coming here, I couldn’t let myself hope in case that future played me false.”
Raidon had no words for her. He just held her hand. In his grip was the culmination of a quest he’d begun the day she’d left him. Neither of them wanted the moment to end.
The pain he felt at her revelation, that’d she’d chosen the Watch on Forever’s Edge instead of him, was already fading. Erunyauve had chosen duty over parenting, but standing here at the far end of that decision, it didn’t seem so poor a choice. He brought her hand to his cheek, and though no words passed his lips, he forgave her.
Lightness blew through his soul like spring’s return.
“Mother, you’ve given me even more than you know,” he said. “I feel revived. That you’d never forgotten me was always my fondest hope. Knowing it’s true is a boon of incalculable value. Thank you.”
Fresh moisture glistened in Erunyauve’s eyes. “I’m so proud of you, you know,” she said.
“I know,” Raidon replied.
“Well, then,” she said, squeezing his hand hard. “Though time is on our side, it still slips away without pause. I wish …”
“I’ll go.”
“But come back to me, Raidon. I’ll be waiting for you. We have so much to catch up on.”
He kissed her forehead. Without his focus, he would have been unable to leave the presence of his mother. As it was, his arms shook inside their silk sleeves as he left the chamber.
Japheth walked at his side down the stairs. The footfalls and voices of the knights who had preceded them still rang in the shaft.
“Amazing that your mother is here,” Japheth said. “It’s too much for coincidence.”
“It was Erunyauve who gave me the Cerulean Sign,” Raidon replied. “Had she given it to another, perhaps that one would be here. It actually explains many things about my life. I wish she had contacted me, though, even via a messenger …”
The monk shook his head. “But I’m just grateful I’ve found her finally,” he said. “Though it would have been …” He couldn’t get out the words that he wished his mother could have met Ailyn.