Nyori picked up Eymunder. There was a glyph carved in the amber orb on top. It looked very much like an eye. Numerous other glyphs were engraved along the length of the wand as well.
"What do you mean by 'bonded'?"
Ayna tapped the tabletop. "Set it back down."
Nyori obeyed. Ayna stretched out as though to seize Eymunder. Her hand stopped just short. Her arm stiffened, but nothing more happened. It was as though an invisible barrier prevented her from touching the rod. She finally winced and withdrew her hand. "My fingers have gone numb. You see what I mean now. No one can touch the fusorb except you. It belongs to you and you alone."
Nyori picked Eymunder up again, staring at it in wonder. "It seems impossible. Why me?"
Ayna continued to flex her fingers. "Some of the fusorbs were reportedly handed down from one generation to the next. Perhaps it is as Leilavin told you. You might well be a descendent of the Elious. The ancient blood still exists in some family lines. I too descend from their line, which is why I have been able to master a crude understanding of some of their arts. The Glyphs are all that remains of the craft of Apokrypy, and any relics that still bear those runes are few and widely scattered."
Nyori continued to study the rod. "If Apokrypy is truly lost, what am I to do with this? Without knowledge of its use, it is only a crystal wand."
Ayna dropped her gaze to the tabletop and was silent for a long moment. Long enough for Nyori to cease staring at Eymunder and look at her mentor in concern.
"Mistress Ayna?"
Ayna lifted her head. "You will have to leave, Nyori. That is what you are to do."
Nyori stared. "Leave? You mean Halladen? What did I do wrong? I didn't mean to—"
Ayna placed her hand on top of Nyori's. "It is nothing you did, little sister. Had I a choice then I would take this burden upon myself. But Eymunder has bonded to you. And it must leave this place. All of Halladen is threatened the longer you remain here. They are coming for you, Nyori."
Nyori felt her heart quicken. "Who? Who is coming?" She knew the answer before Ayna spoke. A bloodless face with glimmering blue eyes gazed balefully from the recesses of her memory.
"The Pale Lord has long waited for this moment, Nyori. He has had his will fixed upon this day, ever impatient to reclaim what was snatched from his grasp. He will stop at nothing to possess Eymunder. And he will bring fire, blood, and death to any who stand in the way of his obsession."
Nyori felt sweat bead upon her brow. She distractedly wiped it with the back of her hand. "But it happened only days ago. How could he have planned anything in such a short amount of time?"
Ayna gazed at her with pity in her eyes. "Where do you think you went, Nyori? Were you not told that time held no sway in Everfell?"
Nyori clutched her fingers together to keep them from trembling. "What are you saying? What does time have to do with this?"
"The man you saw was without a doubt Alaric Aelfvalder, the Pale Lord and king of the Co'nane—the True Blood as they call themselves. They were once Aelon before they chose to remain behind when the rest of their kind departed from our world. Cut off from their source of immortality, they foolishly accepted a pact with Leilavin to regain it. In turn, they became akhkharu—soul drinkers and the bane of mankind. They gained immortality of a sort, but at great cost — it could only be sustained by feeding on pran—the life force of human beings.
"Enraged, they warred with Leilavin in an attempt to cure themselves of their terrible curse. Alaric believed Eymunder was the key to doing so. But Leilavin was not one to stomach rebellion. She crafted the Reavers, near-indestructible golems that were resistant to the Crafts of the akhkharu. Their mission was simple: to destroy the akhkharu entirely. They were almost successful."
Ayna looked at Nyori directly in the eyes. "You know some of this because you saw Alaric. You heard him speak of defeating the Reavers with the sword Mothros. What you do not know is that the battle between Alaric and the Reavers occurred ages ago. The Age of Chaos, to be exact. Before the Age of Despair, before the Age of Kings. Hundreds of years in the past, Nyori. Closer to a thousand, I would believe."
Nyori stared at Eymunder. It was as though by concentrating on the wand, her sanity would have an anchor to prevent it from being dashed to pieces against the bombardment of revelations Ayna continued to drop upon her.
Ayna's face was empathetic, but her words were not. "You encountered the Pale Lord across the valley of time, in a place where time does not exist. Or if it does, it operates as a bridge from one time to another. That bridge is burned now, the Eye shattered. Whether it was a trap or a predetermined action that sent you into Everfell is inconsequential now. Whatever the case, to you it has only been days since you encountered Alaric. To him, it has been centuries."
Nyori shook her head, trying to take it all in. "But how could he know where I am? As far as he knew, I could have gone anywhere in the world once the Pool took me."
Ayna looked around the room and lowered her voice. "The akhkharu have eyes everywhere. Ears that listen from the shadows. That is why you have been secluded since the incident. They have agents that are completely under their spell. They are called Thralls. Ordinary and undetectable, people you may have known your entire life. They can be anywhere. From the meanest village to the grandest palace. And yes, even here. You are not safe, Nyori. Nor are any of us so long as Eymunder remains here."
Nyori saw the flames in her mind's eye. The screams of people she knew, slaughtered by shadowy attackers with eyes that blazed with unearthly light. Bodies strewn across the grounds like toppled statues. People she loved, bleeding and broken.
"I won't put anyone in danger because of me." She swallowed the fear that clung like brambles in her throat. Where will I go?"
"I have met with the Circle of Sha. Together we have searched all we know of the akhkharu through history and legend. There are not many known ways to defeat them, but we must make ready regardless, for they are sure to arrive. There is a place of safety we know of. A forgotten city where the Tome of Apokrypy is hidden. It belonged to Teranse the Reader and is a companion to Eymunder. With it, you will be better equipped to understand the use of Eymunder and its related Crafts. My brother and another guide I trust will accompany you."
"Only two?"
"The fewer that know, the better. A larger company would only attract unwanted notice. At first light, you can slip away with them on a scouting jaunt and none will be the wiser. You will not return until it is safe, Nyori."
Nyori swallowed, and her eyes blurred. Somehow she managed to hold back the treacherous tears. "Then I must leave before my training is complete? Will I see you again, Mistress?"
Ayna smiled and gently squeezed Nyori's hand. "This is a parting, dear sister, but not a permanent one. We will see one another again, I promise."
Nyori scrubbed her eyes, nodding. "Why is this happening? Norna told me everything has changed. I didn't know what she meant, but now—"
Ayna's face was without expression. Only her eyes seemed alive, glimmering like liquid gold. "What you experienced is only a thread of a much larger tapestry. The akhkharu stir, and where they advance, like a shadow is the Reaver. Events shift around us even as we speak. Events that will affect us all. And despite your inexperience, you will have to play a part. Perhaps the most important part of all."