Darkvision - Bruce R. Cordell [97]
"The evil woken by your grandfather is called Pandorym. It is a powerful entity, kept safe and sealed away by the ancient Imaskari for good reason. And…"
A far more unpleasant revelation had to be made, and she didn't want to do it. But speed was important, and she felt obligated to tell them before she could ask Warian for aid. Her stomach fluttered as she prepared herself.
"I, um…" Ususi stammered, her voice nearly breaking, "what is your relation to Eined Datharathi?"
"She's my sister," said Warian. "Why? Have you seen her?"
Ususi cast down her eyes. She said, "I knew her briefly."
Warian looked past Ususi, to the nexus of the three paths. His hand went to his mouth as he stared, and recognition of what he saw penetrated his soul. He made no sound, but his quivering shoulders communicated a terrible grief.
* * * * *
Iahn helped Warian and Zeltaebar Datharathi prepare Eined for burial.
The boy, Warian, wept quietly as he worked. Zel's eyes were bright with restrained tears and his fingers shook. Neither quailed from what had to be done. The vengeance taker respected them for that stability of character. They'd obviously both been close to the girl, in their own ways. For his part, Iahn was impressed with the strength of personality that had propelled Eined as far as she'd gone, even without martial skill or magical aid. Without her, he and the fugitive wizard would still be casting about for a way to regain Deep Imaskar.
That was their destination, and they needed to move quickly. Ususi had glared at him when he demanded she take them straight to Deep Imaskar. Apparently he'd failed, once again, to observe protocol. He sighed. He recognized that she knew more about Pandorym and what to do about it than he, a strong-arm vengeance taker. She was a wizard, Imaskar-trained. She said they needed Warian's help, and therefore, his good will.
So they aided the young man in paying final respects to his sister. Ususi magically produced rolls of fine white linen for funerary wrapping, along with fragrant oils and a tome titled The Writ of Adama the wizard somehow managed to draw from the sunlit world into the lightless artificial void. Ususi's Celestial Nadir expertise, plus her knowledge of spells and sorceries, made her a potent force. Potent enough to deal with Pandorym? The vengeance taker shrugged. Time would tell.
Before long, Eined was fully wrapped and prepared according to the Vaelanites' wishes.
Ususi lit a brilliant magical light over the three paths. They stood around the tiny form that lay at the nexus's center, their heads bowed. Many moments passed.
Warian bent down on one knee. "Good-bye, Sis," he breathed. "I'm… I'll miss you…" He couldn't finish. In one hand he clutched Eined's blue sash.
Zel stepped forward and laid his hands on Warian's shoulders. He said nothing.
Ususi swallowed. Her eyes glistened. With a taut voice, she said, "The Celestial Nadir has seen its share of burials. The remains of powerful emperors drift within this great dark, in grand mausoleums of granite and crystal. But it is not the style in which our loved ones are given over to the great gulf that matters. It is our memory of the departed and the esteem in which we hold them that lets them live on."
Ususi coughed slightly and continued. "In the short time I knew Eined Datharathi, I found that her character was among the finest and strongest I've known. She was willing to endanger herself to accomplish what she thought was right, and for that willingness, she made the ultimate sacrifice, despite our best efforts to guard her."
Ususi paused, leaned down, and laid her hand on the wrapped figure's forehead for a moment. She straightened, and a tear traced a sudden line down her cheek. She said, "Eined Datharathi's sacrifice in bringing us here, to the Celestial Nadir, could be the difference between the extinction of the rest of her family and its survival. Moreover, had she not risked all to guide us here, Deep Imaskar would have no chance at all for salvation. If we survive to record it, Eined Datharathi's name