‘Perhaps,’ said Macros. ‘Or something that simply is because it needs to be.’
Dominic had remained silent but now asked, ‘Why this strange and incomprehensible place. Pug?’
Pug said, ‘Because it is perhaps the only place we may speak freely and not fall prey to the agency behind all the woe and destruction unleashed upon our world.’
They moved over a vast square, many times the size of the city of Krondor, where city-size tiles changed color in a hypnotic pattern. As they approached the surface of the street, they saw the pattern echoed in streets that left the enormous square.
Miranda said, ‘It’s a city. It has buildings, what look to be houses, and yet it is devoid of life.’
‘Don’t make that assumption, Daughter.’ Macros pointed. ‘That fountain may be a decorative creation, or it may be a life form so alien to our understanding that we will never communicate with it.’
‘What if the city is the life form?’ asked Nakor.
‘Possible.’
Dominic said, ‘Why would the gods create such a place?’
‘Depends on which gods we’re talking about,’ said Macros.
The orb settled across a gulf of the void, onto a lush green lawn surrounded by trees and plants, all beautifully tended. Then the orb vanished.
‘This may be the most remote corner of reality,’ said Macros. The Garden.’
Pug said, ‘Now we may speak, but first there is something I must do.’
‘What?’ said Miranda.
But Pug had already closed his eyes and was mumbling an incantation. Everyone present felt a fey energy gather around Pug, then suddenly it was gone and he opened his eyes.
Miranda’s eyes narrowed. This is a powerful spell of blocking. Why do we need protection from eavesdropping in this remote corner of reality?’
‘All will be made clear,’ Pug answered. He looked at the Abbot. ‘It is time,’ Pug said to Dominic.
‘What would you know?’ asked the Abbot of Sarth.
‘The truth,’ said Pug. ‘Ishap is dead.’
Dominic nodded. ‘Since the time of the Chaos Wars.’
Miranda said, ‘Ishap, the One Above All? The Greatest of All the Gods is dead?’
Pug said, I’ll explain. Nearly forty years ago, an agency of some unknown origin sought to destroy an artifact of the Ishapians, a magical gem known as the Tear of the Gods.’
Dominic nodded. ‘This is not widely known. Only Prince Arutha, a few of his trusted advisers, and Pug knew of the theft.
‘To understand the importance of that attempt, you must know something of the nature of the gods and their role in Midkemian life.’
Macros said, ‘Dominic, explain to Miranda and Nakor.’
Dominic spied a bench nearby and said, ‘I’ll sit, if you don’t mind.’
They followed him there. The old Abbot sat, Nakor and Miranda sat at his feet, and Pug and Macros remained standing. Dominic said, ‘At the time of the Chaos Wars, a new order came into existence on Midkemia. Before the Chaos Wars, a primal force of creation and one of destruction ruled hand in glove; these forces were worshiped by the Valheru as Rathar and Mythar, She Who Is Order, and He Who Is Chaos, the Two Blind Gods of the Beginning.
‘But with their raiding across the heavens, the Valheru were an unintentional agent of change. For each realm they visited, each realm they connected with the one of their birth, they created ripples in the time stream and changes in how the universe was ordered.
‘The Chaos Wars were an upheaval on a cosmic scale, as the universes sought to reorder themselves in a fashion more finely drawn, more clearly delineated than before, and as a result, the gods arose.’
Dominic looked from face to face. ‘Each world in the cosmos, each planet and star in the multitude of universes shares a common property, energies existing on a multitude of levels. Many of these worlds gave form to those energies as consciousness, while others formed what we call magic. Some have no life as we think of it, while others are teeming. In the end, each world sought out its own level.’
Nakor seemed riveted by this. ‘But they are all connected, right?’
Dominic said, ‘Ultimately, they are, and therein lies the heart of this matter.
‘When the gods came into existence they ordered themselves in ways we can only guess at; but as time passed they took on properties that dearly revealed their natures. For the most part, they were organic things, if energy or mind can be called organic, that is to say, without consciousness as we think of it.’
Macros nodded. ‘I know that for certain.’
Dominic continued. ‘Seven beings existed, who had ultimate responsibility for the ordering of Midkemia. They were given names by mankind, though what they think of themselves is beyond our ability to know. They were Abrem-Sev, the Forger of Actions; Ev-Dem, the Worker from Within; Graff, the Weaver of Wishes; and Helbinor, the Abstainer.