Legacy of the Darksword - Margaret Weis [140]
I could not take my eyes away.
The light expanded, spreading outward, banishing the darkness. A globe of light surrounded the tomb, and then a globe of light surrounded those of us standing near the tomb. The light flowed outward, to the grove, the broken city of Merilon , the shattered world of Thimhallan.
The light lit the heavens, encompassed the starships.
The light lifted us up.
I stood in a radiant globe that was bearing me upward. Looking down, I saw the dark rain-wet grass below my feet. I saw Smythe gazing up in wonder and horror; seeing his own doom swarming out of the skies to claim him. Thimhallan, a world founded by exiles, fell away from me.
We would be exiles ourselves, refugees fleeing to some new world, lit by some far distant star.
But we bore the magic with us.
EPILOGUE
Having read and reviewed my manuscript, Saryon suggests that I include a detailed explanation of our time “hopscotching,” for fear that many of my readers may be confused. Certainly, as he said, it was confusing enough just living through it. When Scylla explained it to me later, after we had settled ourselves in our new world, it made much more sense. I have therefore included her descriptions of the alternate time lines in an appendix, which follows.
I have written before about the various Mysteries of Life that existed on Thimhallan. There were nine of them, seven of them which existed in the world during Joram’s lifetime. Two of the Mysteries—that of Time and that of Spirit—were lost during the Iron Wars. It was believed that all the practitioners of these Mysteries died. That was not the case. Scylla herself was of the Seventh Mystery, that of Time. She was a Diviner.
Possessing the ability to look into the future, as well as into the past, the Diviners were said to be closest to seeing the Mind of God.
“We do not view the future as one long path,” Scylla told me. “Rather, we see it as several paths branching off a main road. Mortals can walk but one path at a time, the paths of their choice. The rest are alternate futures, what might have been.”
The Diviners looked into the future and saw the Hch’nyv. They saw the ultimate defeat of Earth Forces, the eradication of human life from the universe.
“That existed in all paths,” said Scylla. “All except one and that in only one of his many paths. If Joram could come to the tomb of Merlyn on the very last night at the very last second of the very last minute of the very last hour and in that second present the Darksword to Merlyn, the greatest of all magi would be able to cast a spell that would save humankind from destruction, transport them to a new world.
“Unfortunately, every path we took to reach that second ended in disaster.
“We generally do not meddle in time, but this was critical. There was a chance, a slim one, but that chance could be obtained only by a manipulation of times—of jumping between times. It would be tricky, for the participants must be rescued from one time before they died and transported to another. The four of you had to be dropped down in the middle of alternate lives you never knew you had been leading.
“It was imperative that two of you—you, Reuven, and Mosiah—recalled the alternate time, even though it would confuse you, for you had to be able to take what you learned in one and transfer it to another.
“As for Eliza and Father Saryon, the tasks each had to perform were so dangerous that I deemed it best, for their own peace of mind, if neither knew of the alternate time. Such knowledge might cause them to hesitate at a critical moment. Also, the fact that they were so comfortable in their own times helped you and Mosiah to adapt more quickly.”
Scylla grinned at me. “Better to have two of you confused than all of you.”
That depends on how you look at it, I suppose.
And this, I believe, wraps up my story. I must put my manuscript aside now, for it is my wedding day. It has been a year to the day that we have spent on this wonderful