‘Yes, Master.’
Calis said, ‘The Lifestone is Midkemia, in the purest form, a reflection of all life that has gone before, is now, or will be, from the dawn until the end of time.’
All fell silent as Calis considered his words.
‘At the beginning, there was nothing and then came the universe. Pug and my father bore witness to that creation, as I have heard the story.’ He smiled at his father. ‘Several times.
‘When the universe was born, it was aware, but in a fashion so far beyond what we comprehend that we have no adequate concepts to understand that awareness.’
Nakor grinned. ‘It is like ants carrying food to their nest, while overhead a dragon sits atop a mountain. The ants have no concept of the dragon.’
Calis said, ‘More, but that is not an entirely faulty comparison.’
‘This awareness is more than any of us - all of us together - could comprehend. It is so vast and so timeless . . .’ He paused. ‘I don’t think I can say more about it.
‘When Midkemia was formed, it was home to powers, basic forces of nature. Mindless, they were forces that built up and tore down.’
‘Rathar and Mythar,’ said Tomas. ‘The Two Blind Gods of Creation.’
‘As good a name for those forces as any,’ agreed Nakor.
Calis said, ‘Then came a reordering of things. Consciousness arose, and the beings that were mindless became purposeful. It is we who define the gods, in a fashion that makes sense to us, but they are so much more than this.
‘The order of the universe is like a gem with many facets, and we see only one, that which reflects the existence of our own world.’
Pug said, ‘It is shared with other worlds?’
‘Oh yes,’ said Calis softly. ‘With all worlds. This is one of the key reasons why what we do here has a profound bearing upon every other world in the cosmos. It is the primal struggle between that which we label good and that which we call evil, and it exists in every corner of creation.’
He turned to look at the others in the great cave and said, ‘I could speak for hours, so let me distill what I think I have discovered.’
Calis composed his thoughts, then continued. ‘The Valheru were more than just the first race to live on Midkemia. They were a bridge between immortal and mortal. They were the first experiment, if you will, of the gods.’
‘Experiment?’ said Pug. ‘What kind of an experiment?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Calis. ‘I can’t even be certain what I’m saying is true, only that it feels true.’
Nakor said, ‘It’s true.’
All eyes turned toward the little Isalani. He grinned. ‘It makes sense.’
Pug said, ‘What makes sense?’
Nakor said, ‘Has anyone besides me wondered why we think?’
As the question came seemingly from out of the blue, everyone exchanged astonished glances. Pug laughed. ‘Not recently, no.’
‘We think because the gods have given us the power of apprehension,’ said Dominic.
Nakor shook his finger at the Abbot. ‘You know that’s dogma, and you know the gods are as much the creation of mankind as mankind is the creation of the gods.’
Pug asked, ‘So, then, what is your point?’
‘Oh, just wondering,’ said Nakor. ‘I was thinking of that story you told me, about when you and Tomas went to find Macros, and you saw the creation of the universe.’
‘And?’ asked Tomas.
‘Well,’ began Nakor, ‘it seems to me you have to begin at the beginning.’
Pug stared at the little man and burst out laughing. Within seconds everyone was laughing.
‘See,’ said Nakor, ‘humor is a property of intelligence.’
‘All right, Nakor, ‘said Miranda, ‘what are you talking about?’
Nakor said, ‘Something started it all.’
‘Yes,’ said Dominic. ‘There was a primal urge, a creator, something.’
‘Suppose,’ said Nakor, ‘it was a self-creation?’
‘The universe just decided to awake one day?’ asked Miranda.
Nakor pondered the question a moment. ‘There is something I think we should always keep in mind: everything we talk about is limited by our own perceptions, our own ability to understand, in short by our very nature.’
‘True,’ agreed Pug.
‘So to say the universe woke up one day is perhaps at one and the same time the most apt and the most incomplete way of putting it,’ said Nakor.
Dominic said, ‘This sort of debate is common in the courts of the church. The exercises in logic and faith can often be frustrating.’
‘But I think we have something here few of your brothers have, Abbot,’ said Nakor. ‘Eyewitnesses to creation.’
‘If that is what they saw,’ said Dominic.
‘Ah,’ said Nakor and he could barely contain his glee. ‘We cannot be sure about anything, can we?’
‘ “What is reality?” is a common question in those moot courts I spoke of,’ said the Abbot.
‘Reality is what you bump into in the dark,’ said Miranda dryly.