“But—but that is simply untrue,” said Ceralt, his brow creased with the effort to follow the obscurity spoken by S’Heernoh. “The Snows—the ‘parallel sequence’ has been reached by many of our people, my brother Lialt included among them.”
“And the wench,” said Mehrayn, nodding toward me where I sat. “She, too, is able to reach the Snows, as you know yourself, S’Heernoh.”
“Yes, I do indeed know these things,” said S’Heernoh, amused. “That happens to be another reason why your planet is of special concern to us. That drug your Pathfinders use—all by itself it’s entirely innocuous—harmless—and can’t do a thing to breach the dimensions. Somehow, though, it encourages certain of your minds to do the breaching, something my people can’t accomplish until they’re taught. We would love to know what your Pathfinders could do if they had the proper training—but we can’t interfere to the extent of giving them that training. Your people from the Union, by the way, have never found the same ability, so if you were to mention it to them, they would have no idea what you were talking about.”
“That is truth,” said I, recalling the converse with Aram and Kira. “When Aysayn and I spoke of the Snows, the strangers took the word for snow, that which falls from the skies and mounds white upon the ground. I had meant to correct their misconception, yet found no opportunity to do so. ”
“It’s much better that you didn’t try,” said S’Heernoh, a sobriety upon him, his hands clasped together before him. “Telling people about something they can’t reach or see for themselves just makes trouble for everyone—or causes jealousy if they happen to believe you.
“But to continue with my story. What our twisted children had seen on the Snows was the same seen by all of your Pathfinders: if Jalav didn’t make the trip to Sigurr’s Peak, everyone on your world was lost. Your Pathfinders took that to be absolute, unbreakable prophecy, but the twisted children knew it for what it was: a prediction handed down by the computer based on available knowledge. It had given the prediction a high probability rating—it was guessing that what it predicted was most likely true—and that was something the children didn’t understand, because of their lack of greater learning. The computer had guessed that Jalav would be needed to unite all the warriors required to find victory over the intruders, and without her the intruders would probably win. The children, however, didn’t know if they would be lost right along with everyone else, and that was the only thing really concerning them. Since they had failed to kill Jalav through the Silla, they decided to wait and see what happened once she reached Sigurr’s Peak. Again the one calling herself Mida pretended to be the prime mover of the entire sequence, just to make sure Jalav stayed in line.
“Once Jalav reached them, the twisted children began thinking about ways to get what they wanted through her. They had joined forces only to make things easier for themselves, not because they liked each other, and began looking for ways to rid themselves of each other, while at the same time preparing for the arrival of the people from the Union. They made an emergency healer—a device developed for those of my people who often found themselves in dangerous and harmful situations, but who didn’t have the strength to heal themselves—and placed it on her. The twisted children had twisted even that useful device, and meant to render it inoperable—turn it off—as soon as they decided they wanted Jalav dead. They expected her to come to rely on it, you see, and start taking foolish chances in the belief that whatever happened to her, it would be healed almost immediately. The one calling herself Mida hated and feared Jalav, but had to use her to get what she wanted. The one called Sigurr had decided he wanted Jalav as his personal slave, so he didn’t press the point of killing her when he could have done so. Because of these two reasons, Jalav was allowed to leave Sigurr’s Peak alive and unharmed.”
The male’s narration had grown grim, his voice turned nearly to a growl, his gaze now inward rather than upon me. We three sat and looked upon him as he spoke, yet were we silent in the face of his anger.
“Jalav joined the nine clans of her sister group, became their leader, then led them against Bellinard,” said S’Heernoh with a sigh which returned him to our midst. “Once Bellinard was secure she rode to Sigurr’s city with four of the Sigurri, overcame the trouble she found there, and raised the Sigurri the way she thought she was supposed to do. The truth of it was she was never expected to be victorious with the Sigurri, and when she was, the twisted children became frightened. They thought they knew where the people from the Union would land—that’s why they ordered the taking of Bellinard—and also considered the nine clans already there wild enough and blood-thirsty enough to destroy the Union people as soon as they appeared. They expected the Sigurri to take Jalav captive and hold her as a slave until the Unioners were killed, and then they would be able to reclaim her at their leisure. When Jalav emerged from it not only free but leading the Sigurri warriors as well, the twisted children decided it was time for her to die.
“The start of their plan for her death was to tell her she had to gain the leadership of the enemy clans,” said S’Heernoh, his dark eyes once again resting upon me. “They used their long-speaking device to get Ladayna to steal her life sign, then arranged things so that she would follow the gray-clad, so-called warriors of the Serene Oneness. It was a trap they set and one she fell into—but they weren’t including me in their planning. I helped Aysayn find the emergency healer and get it to her in time to save her life, made sure the twisted ones couldn’t turn it off, then went forward with my own plans to join her traveling group. The twisted ones were now determined to see her die, and I didn’t want to be too far away to prevent that.”
“These—followers of the Serene Oneness you speak of—” said Ceralt, a great disturbance holding him close—“From the Sigurri have I heard other references to them, and I find myself unable to understand what occurs. I—I am a follower of the Serene Oneness, and never would I or any I am acquainted with behave as they are reported to have done. For what reason did they do such things?”
“For the reason that they were being influenced by the twisted children,” said S’Heernoh, his visage again going grim as he looked upon Ceralt. “In the north there are many people who follow the teachings of the Serene Oneness, but in the south the main deities are Mida and Sigurr. The twisted children sought out every malcontent among the Sigurri, every misfit who thought he should have been chosen to be a warrior, every incompetent who blamed those around him for his own lacks, and gave them the idea of founding a city dedicated to the Serene Oneness. There were a few who tried to imbue the image of the new god with honor and strength of character, but the twisted ones preferred a god of viciousness, deceit and warped self-seeking. Their preferences won out, of course, and would have spread everywhere if the children had been allowed to continue unopposed.”
“So those who follow the Serene Oneness in the north are not as those of the south,” said Mehrayn, a thoughtfulness to him which seemed to be filled with gladness as well. “I had begun to suspect that that was so, yet am I pleased to have the belief confirmed.”
“And I have learned that the Sigurri of the south are not like those called Sigurri beneath Sigurr’s Peak,” said Ceralt, returning the grin Mehrayn sent to him. “Fully as honorable as followers of the Serene Oneness are they, and this I was pleased to have confirmed.”
“There is a thing I fail to understand,” said I, looking upon S’Heernoh, who grinned with as much enjoyment as Ceralt and Mehrayn. “As the Feridani had already decided upon death for me—and were clearly the cause of the various mishaps upon that journey—for what reason was I given into the possession of Mehrayn? And for what reason was a pit dug for me, the pit which aided me in avoiding the enemy Midanna who hunted me, and also allowed my healing? Had that pit not been there, I would surely have died.”