decided it would be easier to get the acolytes to tell him what they knew than to try prying information out of the fathers. So he began with the most obvious question.
“Why is everything blue in this valley?”
There were a lot of blank looks around the large oak-wood table before one of the young men told him, “Nobody knows. It just happened one night about four weeks ago. We woke up, and there were clouds overhead, glowing like that.”
“Father Mekh says it’s some new kind of sorcery,” another voice chimed in. “Something not of the gods—evil.”
“Father Mekh thinks everything is evil,” someone said. Apparently, this was a common sentiment, because a number of the youths snickered.
But Gonim felt certain Father Mekh was right. This magic was not of the gods, or Imen would certainly not need his aid in finding its source. And magic that didn’t emanate from the gods was, by definition, evil.
“If the fathers believe this valley has fallen under evil influence,” Gonim asked, “why haven’t you all left?”
“We can’t leave!”
“Why not?”
One of them lowered his voice, as if fearing he might be overheard. “No one can leave, per order of the dekan and the vek —both!”
“Why is that?”
No one seemed to know, but one young man added, “They say the vönan are all dying! Nobody knows why that is either.”
An elderly caedan cleared his throat noisily as he walked by and gave them all a stern look. The tadu quickly turned back to their bowls of soup. But of course, their obedience was short-lived.
“Have you seen the city?” the first youth asked him quietly when the father had gone.
“Harleh?”
All the tadu laughed at that. “No,” one of them said. “The other city—the one in the forest.”
“Is that a city?” he asked, recalling the towers he’d seen in the mist. “I didn’t get a good look at it. How did it come to be there?”
The first youth replied, “Again, nobody knows. It just appeared—during the siege! It grew out of the ground like a beanstalk, faster than you can snuff a candle. And the forest around it is so thick, nobody can find a way in.”
“That sounds incredible,” Gonim said. “I’m almost sorry I’m inside the walls now. I’d like to get a better look at this city.” It seemed very likely that the answers he sought might be found there.
“You can see it from the observatory tower. At night it lights up like you wouldn’t believe!” The young man looked a bit bashful when he added, “I could take you there after Nemom , if you want….”
Gonim knew he had more on his mind than showing the newcomer an interesting feature of the landscape. The Stronni considered men to be superior to women in many ways, which was why their priests could only be men. They also placed a high value upon masculine beauty. To better please them, tadu were chosen not only for their piety, but also for their physical beauty. If a boy showed a predisposition toward preferring other boys to girls… then that was considered a sign the gods had shown him their favor. This of course made it difficult to prevent the tadu from arranging liaisons, and for the most part the caedan tolerated it with fond good humor, perhaps recalling the days when they’d been given the same latitude.
Gonim preferred girls to boys, but he could appreciate the latter. This young man was certainly attractive. His name was Sheh, as Gonim learned that evening after the bells had rung. Two tadu wandering off somewhere together after dark was a bit too obvious, even given the tolerance for that sort of thing, but the dormitory and temple grounds were laid out similarly to those in Worlen. It wasn’t difficult for Gonim to find the observatory on his own. Sheh was already waiting for him.
He was cute. A mop of light-brown hair, big brown puppy eyes, and an adorable smile. Gonim was certainly drawn to him. But he couldn’t forget his reason for being there. When Sheh stepped out
“Why is everything blue in this valley?”
There were a lot of blank looks around the large oak-wood table before one of the young men told him, “Nobody knows. It just happened one night about four weeks ago. We woke up, and there were clouds overhead, glowing like that.”
“Father Mekh says it’s some new kind of sorcery,” another voice chimed in. “Something not of the gods—evil.”
“Father Mekh thinks everything is evil,” someone said. Apparently, this was a common sentiment, because a number of the youths snickered.
But Gonim felt certain Father Mekh was right. This magic was not of the gods, or Imen would certainly not need his aid in finding its source. And magic that didn’t emanate from the gods was, by definition, evil.
“If the fathers believe this valley has fallen under evil influence,” Gonim asked, “why haven’t you all left?”
“We can’t leave!”
“Why not?”
One of them lowered his voice, as if fearing he might be overheard. “No one can leave, per order of the dekan and the vek —both!”
“Why is that?”
No one seemed to know, but one young man added, “They say the vönan are all dying! Nobody knows why that is either.”
An elderly caedan cleared his throat noisily as he walked by and gave them all a stern look. The tadu quickly turned back to their bowls of soup. But of course, their obedience was short-lived.
“Have you seen the city?” the first youth asked him quietly when the father had gone.
“Harleh?”
All the tadu laughed at that. “No,” one of them said. “The other city—the one in the forest.”
“Is that a city?” he asked, recalling the towers he’d seen in the mist. “I didn’t get a good look at it. How did it come to be there?”
The first youth replied, “Again, nobody knows. It just appeared—during the siege! It grew out of the ground like a beanstalk, faster than you can snuff a candle. And the forest around it is so thick, nobody can find a way in.”
“That sounds incredible,” Gonim said. “I’m almost sorry I’m inside the walls now. I’d like to get a better look at this city.” It seemed very likely that the answers he sought might be found there.
“You can see it from the observatory tower. At night it lights up like you wouldn’t believe!” The young man looked a bit bashful when he added, “I could take you there after Nemom , if you want….”
Gonim knew he had more on his mind than showing the newcomer an interesting feature of the landscape. The Stronni considered men to be superior to women in many ways, which was why their priests could only be men. They also placed a high value upon masculine beauty. To better please them, tadu were chosen not only for their piety, but also for their physical beauty. If a boy showed a predisposition toward preferring other boys to girls… then that was considered a sign the gods had shown him their favor. This of course made it difficult to prevent the tadu from arranging liaisons, and for the most part the caedan tolerated it with fond good humor, perhaps recalling the days when they’d been given the same latitude.
Gonim preferred girls to boys, but he could appreciate the latter. This young man was certainly attractive. His name was Sheh, as Gonim learned that evening after the bells had rung. Two tadu wandering off somewhere together after dark was a bit too obvious, even given the tolerance for that sort of thing, but the dormitory and temple grounds were laid out similarly to those in Worlen. It wasn’t difficult for Gonim to find the observatory on his own. Sheh was already waiting for him.
He was cute. A mop of light-brown hair, big brown puppy eyes, and an adorable smile. Gonim was certainly drawn to him. But he couldn’t forget his reason for being there. When Sheh stepped out
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