Page 17 of A Conduit of Light
Wrathleads to hate, leads to theBlightress.
Shemust control her anger or invite evil into her heart.
“BaronRevichhas been given a…special task.Oneof whichIbelieve he has fulfilled.Yousee,”BaronHeimlenspoke, unaware or unconcerned at her anger, as he settled his back against the golden railing, stretching his arms out along the sides, settling down to tell a story.
“Afew years ago now,I’mnot sure how many exactly—time moves differently inFelgren—Ihad come to terms with the fact thatIwas in need of an heir, a successor to the title ofBaronas allBaronsbefore me had found.”
BaronHeimlenwas a natural storyteller.Hiseyes, black with hints of gray, seemed to speak with him in their expression. “Andso,IleftFelgrenon a journey that would take me precious months.Icould not train channelers in that time, nor couldIsee to the tasks allBaronsmust perform inFelgren.Don’tworry, you’ll eventually learn of those, too.”
Ashhad just opened her mouth, needing to know more about aBaron’sduty here, but closed it quickly at his premonition of her questions.
“Hewasn’t easy to find, that muchIcan tell you.Hewas a broken young man, alone in the world, just growing into himself as it were.Iactually almost ran over him with my lumen.”Hechuckled and brought his gloved hand to his face to stroke his short gray beard. “Mirewas the name of the settlement, andIdo say settlement because it could not truthfully be called a city, nor even a town.Thestreets were drowning in mud and the people as well.Revichwas so frail and malnourishedIcould have offered him just a crust of bread and he would have come with me.Hewas a seeker then, of course.Everyonein that place was, spending their hard days digging in the roots for rhyzolm.Butit was difficult being young in the profession.Youdon’t have the resources or knowledge of the best places to look.AndRevichwas even worse off, having no family to speak of and few friends.”
“Iassume you gave him anOfferingthen?ThoughIcould also see you grabbing him by the collar and stealing him away toFelgrenon the back of your beast.”
TheBaronsighed this time at her snark, bringing his gloved hands to his lap, bending over them in thought. “You’llhave to find a way through this,Ash’Arah, if you are to fulfill your duty here.Ican see how fresh it is in your mind, but it’s best to get past it as quickly as you can.”
Hestood then and towered over her as he declared his parting words, scolding as if she was a young child, “Youare not leavingFelgren.Youare neededhere.Notin some castle doing the work of a barely accepted ward.Yourtalents are wasted inHyrithia.Youare wasted inHyrithia.Lookaround you.Ihave brought you to paradise.Andyou can visit any time you like.Butyou have work to do, and the sooner you move on from your obstinate disposition, one that you insist on alone, the sooner you can face your destiny inFelgren.”Heturned and stormed away from her, a dark cloud in the place of light.
Ashwatched him leave, thankful for his lack of presence, curious at his story ofBaronRevich, and wondering just what he believed her destiny was.
Sherose and followed her feet down to the central garden ofViridis, wandering the worn paths deep in thought.Itwas only the day before that she had been taken, but it felt like weeks.Anddidn’tSylvasay time moved differently here?Hadit already been weeks outside ofFelgrensince she had left?
Ashscoffed aloud to herself.Alreadyher mind was accepting her fate here.Abetrayal, she felt, since she had never wanted it.Butdid sheneedit?Thetruth of it was,Ashhad never been more at home than in the forest, or as in this sanctuary here.Inher few hours of exploring it,Viridiswas a beacon in her heart already and the thought of ever leaving it behind to go back to what she was…it was too heartbreaking a thought to even entertain.
Andshedidfeel the pull.Thepresence of freedom and fate, a sense of belonging and joy.Thingsshe had heard about in stories but never encountered herself.
Surely, they worried about her at the castle.Surely, theQueenwept at the decision she had no choice but to make.Theyhadn’t even been able to speak before she’d been taken.Andthough she understood her circumstance,Ashcouldn’t help but feel the sorrow of a woman whose lack of fight had given way toAsh’sfuture gone.
Andthe pressure of healing a city…she knew how theQueenmust be spending her hours meeting with her people, presiding over mass graves of the dead, speaking words of comfort to the living.Hyrithiawas cured of the disease, but the loss would linger still.
Shewas glad to be here at least, inViridis, to ponder her thoughts.
Shesat down on a marble bench, the shape of a giant leaf, impossible detail carved into the hard stone.Alapis conduit must have chiseled it.Theywere conduits adept at stonework and finding veins of gold and silver in the mountains.Shewondered if they also harvested rhyzolm.Shetraced the veins of the leaf with her fingers, admiring how much work was placed into this one seat in a sea of natural beauty.
“Hello,Ash.”Clairannia’svoice, light and timid, lifted in the breeze and brought her back to attention. “MayIsit with you?Wouldyou like to read any of these?”Shecame over to the bench, arms full of various sizes and colors of books she was cradling like a newborn babe. “Ifound these in theMedicusConduitHall, fourth level, to the east.”Sheset them down gently and offered a blue-bound book.
“ARefinedHistoryofMedicus:AConduit’sGuidetoHealing,”Ashread aloud from the cover.
“That’swhatIwant to train for.Amedicus conduit,Imean.Iwant to help deliver babies and heal the sick.I’vealways had an affinity for it.”Sheshyly pushed her hair behind her ears.Moreof the thick, straight locks had escaped since breakfast.
Theyread in silence for a while in a sort of truce they had accepted since their strained words that morning.Thebook was interesting enough, butAshstruggled to pay attention, her conversation withBaronHeimlenand her own dilemma weighing on her mind.
“Thereyou two are!”Theirreading was interrupted byFiguerah’sdeep voice, an echo that belonged among the trees.
“Wouldyou like to join us?”Clairannia’sinviting manner was wholesome and infectious asAshfound herself moving over and patting the bench to give room.
“Oooh, what goodies did you two find?”Figuerahasked, picking upPoxes,Boils, andPapules:AMedicusGuidetoFleshDiseases,reading the title, and tossing it aside in audible disgust.
Ashlaughed at the gesture and agreed, “Iwas avoiding that one myself.”
Thebook left their bench instantly in a loud slurp.
“Hey!Iwas gonna read that!Wheredid it go?”Clairannia’sannoyance caused laughter from the other two women as she stood to search under the bench.
“Don’tworry, it went right back to where you found it.BaronHeimlentold me that when we are done with a book, we are to place it down gently andViridiswill put it back.”Sheturned toFiguerah. “Maybemore emphasis on thegentlynext time.”
Shesmirked in unison withAshand apologized toClairannia, then picked up the next book on the pile and opened to a diagram of the bones in a human hand. “Hmm.MaybeIwon’t read with you just now.Definitelynot going the medicus route.”
