Wings Over Talera - Charles Allen Gramlich [33]
From what I had heard of the Asadhie, I had my doubts about the kindness of any of them. I didn’t interrupt Valyan’s story, however.
“Ivrail was one of only two goddesses among the Twelve. The other, her mortal enemy, was Vohanna. Out of jealousy and spite, Vohanna attacked Ivrail. Their followers joined them in the war, and eventually all of the Twelve became involved.”
He glanced at us. “I know you’ve all heard of the God War, the destruction from which swept three-quarters of Talera into ruins. That was thousands of years ago. Afterward, the First Gods left Talera.” He motioned about, his gesture clearly indicating more than just this tavern. “I was always told that Vohanna’s earthly empire covered this sector of Talera. Perhaps that is why parts of Trazull seem so ancient and so much finer than one would expect pirates and outlaws to build.”
“And why, in the northern plains of Nyshphal, there is a ruined city called Vohan,” I added.
“It was supposedly the capital,” Valyan said.
I considered what Valyan had told us. There were, I thought, inaccuracies. But no more than one would expect of religious traditions. The Asadhie had surely existed. But they had never been gods, merely scientifically advanced beings who delighted in manipulating more primitive societies. I knew this from Jedik Ver Lha Yed, a friend who was dead now but who had, himself, been born of a scientific people.
And though there had been a “God War” as Valyan mentioned, it had been only hundreds, not thousands of years ago, and it was not clear at all that the Asadhie had left Talera. Jedik had been convinced that they still shaped this world, though with greatly diminished powers.
I glanced once more at the tattooed symbol inking the Nokarran assassin’s chest. Thoughts that had been stirring coalesced. A few moments earlier I had recognized the tattoo for what it was, a perfect representation of Talera, complete with sun, moons, and atmospheric shield. Now, while not exactly a secret, the true nature of Talera as an artificially constructed world is not generally known. None of my companions knew it. And I was aware of no maps that showed the connection between the atmospheric shield and the Taleran surface. Except one. This tattoo.
So who had designed the tattoo? It had to be someone who knew the truth of Talera. Someone like an Asadhie. My mind took the leap that it wanted to take.
I walked over to our prisoners. Three of them looked up at me, fear in their eyes. The fourth was still unconscious.
“Where would a man go if he wanted to worship Vohanna?” I asked them.
Two of them quickly shook their heads to deny any knowledge. I believed them. The third man turned pale and stiffened before he, too, shook his head in denial. I squatted before that one.
“Tell me,” I whispered, and Valyan later said that my voice sounded like the purr of steel shredding silk. “Tell me, and you’ll live.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
KELLET’S BAY
The brush around us dripped with night fog; the grass clung wet to our boots. Kreeg, Valyan, Diken Graye, and I stood at the edge of a marsh and looked out upon the small settlement named Kellet’s Bay, which lies southwest of Trazull near the craggy tip of the Rosjavik Peninsula. It seemed a typical fishing village. There were no pirate ships anchored here, only skiffs and a few bigger boats. Already the lights were out or dim, though it was barely the sixteenth dhaur, when the drinking would just be starting in Trazull. But these were working people, with hands callused by fishing lines and the handles of scaling knives rather than the hilts of swords. They went to bed early, and rose before dawn.
Yet, there was also a temple to the Goddess Vohanna in this village, at least according to a would-be assassin from a tavern in Trazull. “Tell me and you’ll live,” I’d said to him. And he had. He’d been afraid to tell. But he had. I wondered what he was so afraid of.
We started forward, the four of us spread out slightly, hands on weapon hilts. Fog swirled around us, patting our faces with slick fingers.