“I’m glad you were here, Jaerod. I’m glad the Mages let you come. It…helped. Truly, it did. Just knowing you were there.”
“I know, Thealos. I know. I wanted to bid you farewell before I returned to Safehome. Do you remember the night after I took you from Tannon’s band? When I said we were alike in more ways than you were ready to accept?”
Thealos chewed his lip. The memory brought tears to his eyes. “You were right, I think.”
“You had to learn it, piece by piece. Not everything that you grew up knowing was as you knew it. Some of your assumptions, especially, were entertaining.”
“Like how doubtful I was that you were able to make it into Avisahn so secretly? Now I understand why you couldn’t tell me. For I’ve taken some of the Nine Oaths myself.” He cocked his head. “What else haven’t you told me yet, Jaerod?”
Another wry smile. “Plenty, Thealos. There is still plenty. Some of it you must wait for. Until you find Safehome. Until you become a true Ravinir. It won’t be easy. It will pull your heartstrings. As it already has. The Mages warned you about it. Let me tell you as one who already knows. Staying on the path will be more difficult than you realize. But I will also say that it is worth the effort. Worth any effort.”
Thealos folded his arms. “Do you know what Laisha intends for me?”
Jaerod smiled and nodded.
“If I’m to be governor, then I’d like to open up the city. To anyone. Human or Shae. I’ll even accept Drugaen who are tired of fighting in the Ravenstone. I want to make it a place where the Kilshae of Sol and Dos-Aralon can come and be part of Silvan society again. I want to make it more… like what I imagine Safehome being.”
“You haven’t told her any of this?”
“Why would I allow her to countermand me before it’s done? She’s been in Avisahn her entire life. I could see it in her eyes, Jaerod. She needs to leave this city. To see that there are other parts of the world. Truly, this place is her prison.”
“Sometimes the past is a prison, Thealos.” The look he gave was telling. “Don’t let it happen to you either. Walk the Crossroads again. Learn from the Oath magic. Your skill with it will grow with time and practice. The Mages have given me one last thing to tell you.”
“Yes?”
“You are assigned to this part of the world. These valleys are your homeland, your birthright. You are the Ravinir here, not me. I was sent to put you in place. I have done that. The rest will be up to you. For those who are worthy, who you feel are worthy, you may train in the Way of Ice and Shadows. But not the Oath magic.”
“Or the Nine Oaths?”
“No, you do not have the authority to administer the Oath magic to others. Not yet. But we need more Ravinir, Thealos. Too many have fallen. Much will happen in the years ahead.”
“How will I tell you when I’ve found others who may be ready? How can I call for you?”
“You’ve already been told that, Thealos. Be ready.”
A thought struck him. A memory.
“I asked you before which of the Shae gods you worshipped. You told me none of them. Should I worship none of them as well?”
“You know that as well, Thealos. Before you get too frustrated with me, let me explain. The Shae do believe that there is another, a most high God. It is blasphemy to even mention the existence to an unbeliever. It is why the Shae worship the Three. The Three represent the One. One whose name is too sacred to speak or even to inscribe. Yet it is an odd distortion of history that you call your fathers after His title. I serve Correl. As do the Mages of Safehome.”
Thealos nodded slowly, unsure what to do with the knowledge he had been given. “Who was the Mage of Safehome that visited me in Landmoor? What is his name? Or do they even have names? I never heard you mention it.”
“Oh, him?” Jaerod said. “That, my friend, was Vannier.�