Jon laughed. “Serve you right if I just let you starve,” he quipped, but he stood and moved aft, then quickly returned with some hardtack and salted pork, plus a skin of fresh water. Gwaynn ate it all in silence and without pause. Jon had to fetch food two more times before Gwaynn felt sated. When he was finished he promptly fell into the deepest sleep in nearly a year.
ǂ
Nev woke him late that evening. Gwaynn was surprised that he had slept the entire morning and afternoon away, and was even more incredulous when he realized that the Carol-Anne had already left the dock and was well across the harbor. Stars were just beginning to appear in the sky with regularity as Gwaynn hobbled over and leaned against the railing next to Nev and together they watched the lights of Euter disappear in their wake.
All around them, the crew of the Carol-Anne were hard at work, some pulling oars and others working the rigging until they cleared Noble Island and moved out farther into the Inland Sea. Jon was barking orders while handling the steering oar himself. He guided them smoothly along the northern shore of the island that had been Gwaynn’s home for the past year, and except for the lights of Euter, it was an indistinguishable dark mass gliding slowly past.
“Jon tells me you’ve been doing tricks,” Nev said leaning carelessly over the railing in order to watch the spray of the sea in the moonlight.
Gwaynn smiled, but in the darkness no one noticed. “Just one,” he answered softly.
“And?”
“It nearly killed me,” Gwaynn answered, exaggerating.
“And?”
“It is not something to be done lightly.”
“No, a talent used only when necessary, to finish a fight or run away from one,” Nev answered. “It would be disastrous otherwise.”
Gwaynn nodded, completely agreeing. If he had moved through the fabric of time much longer he was sure he would have lost all his strength.
“We will practice on Lato. You must be able to concentrate while otherwise distracted.”
“When will we get to Lato?”
Nev smiled. “Not long, maybe three hours. We will be there long before sunrise, but Jon will not dock until daylight. One more thing, you must not perform any tricks for the Scholars even though at times you may want to very badly.”
Nev paused for such a long time that Gwaynn thought he was done making his point, but then with a deep breath he continued.
“Most Scholars are a bit full of themselves, and though they possess great knowledge, they are undisciplined, timid and mostly avoid any kind of action,” he explained. “They will not hesitate to share their opinion, however, nor will they hold their tongue if they believe you are in the wrong. Don’t let their arrogance bait you.”
“I won’t,” Gwaynn answered, his mind already churning over the strange warning.
ǂ
Gwaynn wasn’t sure he would be able to sleep that night, but he did, and well. However he woke while it was still dark, with the sun just bringing a hint of light to the east. He limped up on deck surprised to find both Jon and Nev already awake.
“Ah, come lad. You must see this,” Jon barked in the stillness of the night. “Awe inspiring it is.”
Gwaynn joined them at the rail and waited. No other words were spoken. The three of them watched as the sky slowly brightened and illuminated first the dim outline of what was to be the new island in Gwaynn’s life. He could just make out the circle of the harbor which surrounding the ship on three sides. Taking his cue from the two older men, he remained quiet.
Little by little the land before them came into focus in the cool morning air. Gwaynn could make out the forested hills plainly against the brightening sky, colorless at first but then the sun broke the horizon and flashed a spotlight on the tips of the highest land mass. First the greens of the trees, brilliant in the clear morning air, sprang out
against the dark, then as the sun moved higher still, dazzling white buildings of marble appeared, strung all along the hillside like pearls on a necklace. But Gwaynn had eyes only for the building near the top of one hill, enormous and blazing white. It was a massive rectangular building with a large portico and vaulted roof, completely surrounded by large majestic columns. Gwaynn stood blinking at the bright building, ignoring the rest of the island as it lit up before him.
It was beautiful, all of it, the deep greens of the trees sprinkled with bright colored flowers, set off the white marble buildings, and all framed by sparkling white beaches. But Gwaynn’s attention kept returning to the large building at the top of the hill.
“It’s called the Parthenon,” Jon explained. “They say it’s a perfect copy of a famed building from Old Earth.”
“It’s amazing,” Gwaynn answered, meaning it.
They docked an hour later and were met by Master Renault and a large group composed equally of men and women. Master Renault was the highest-ranking Scholar of the group, second only to Master Putal, who was still on Noble Island for the last day of Competition week.
Gwaynn immediately noticed that Master Renault was much younger than Putal, maybe even younger than Tar Endid. The man was tall and thin, with long dark hair pulled back and tied with a leather thong. He wore a simple white shift, which hung down well past his knees, and was tied in place with a dark purple sash at the waist. On his feet were sandals that laced high up onto his calves. In fact his entire entourage, men and women were dressed exactly alike. The only thing that differed was the color of the sash. After looking about at the welcoming party, Gwaynn was surprised at the young faces he saw sprinkled within the middle aged and the old. For some reason he believed all Scholars to be ancient, wizened old men.
“Jon Baal!” Master Renault stepped forward greeting the much larger man with a smile and a brief hug. “It has been too long.”
Jon returned the hug and nodded. “Nearly a year Renny, nearly a year.” Others also greeted Jon, who was clearly as welcome and loved here as much as he was on Noble. Finally Renault looked to Nev and Gwaynn.
“My brother Tar Nev,” Jon said by way of introduction and all the chattering stopped and as one the Scholars bowed, which Nev returned, “and his student Gwaynn of Massi.”
With this announcement a murmur began, then subsided. Tar Nev’s refusal to take on a student these many years was known all across the land. The group bowed to Tar Nev, and then they all turned and bowed to Gwaynn, who, though slightly nervous, returned the honor. Master Renault stepped forward and bowed once more. “Master Putal has sent word ahead of your pending arrival. We are honored.”
Renault clapped. “Kent, Elise,” he said and two young Scholars stepped forward. “Please show Master Gwaynn his quarters, and give him a quick tour of our fair city. I have things to discuss with Tar Nev.”
Kent was shorter than Gwaynn with such blond hair and blue eyes that for a moment Gwaynn was reminded of Mille and the rest of Leek family. Kent smiled and Gwaynn noticed that the sash about his waist was yellow. Elise was also short, extremely, with long brown hair also tied in ponytail. At first Gwaynn took her to be a very young girl, petite in all ways, but then he saw that her breasts were well formed. She noticed his attention and poked them out a bit farther. Gwaynn quickly looked up, slightly embarrassed. She smiled at him knowingly, and he quickly realized that though she was petite, she was probably older than he was. She bowed, a green sash at her waist, then reached out and took Gwaynn’s hand.