feather-stuffed lavender pillows identical to those upon which the seer reclined. The One Who Sees eyed him just as one would to take the measure of a horse.
"Are you resting well, Magic Father? Is there anything that can be done to improve your comfort? Would you like something to eat or drink?"
"I am as well as I can be and my wives take very good care of me," Llylquaendt assured the man without irritation.
"That is good to hear. What songs will you hear today, Magic Father?"
The illiterate Gheddessii kept all records in oral form, either as lyric poems or songs. Every significant prophetic vision that had visited the seers of this tribe had been put to verse and passed down through the generations. The current seer had boasted that he could sing nearly seven thousand songs without error.
The songs often contradicted or were too vague to have real meaning, but did include sufficient accurate references to things that the Gheddessii could not possibly have knowledge of. This latter characteristic was sufficiently novel to intrigue the always inquisitive Pyrai medic.
Llylquaendt shrugged. "You choose. I have enjoyed all that you have shared with me."
The seer rubbed his stubbly jaw with the backs of his fingers. "Then I will sing today the song of my great-great-uncle, who in the Third Death Winter made a short song about the World Beyond."
The World Beyond was the Gheddessii's term for the lands on the other of the mountains, literally all the world outside of ours .
The seer began in his strong if scratchy voice:
"In the time of the glory of the Gheddessii, P'sn'ghis'thoa will die a lonely death, betrayed by his guiding n'loomq."
P'sn'ghis'thoa was a corrupted Pyrai phrase that meant the one with no legs who flies . This, Llylquaendt had determined, could only be Mar, the magenfolk king of the Mhajhkaeirii. Mar, in the persona of P'sn'ghis'thoa, had shown up with remarkable frequency in the songs of the Gheddessii.
N'loomq was an entirely Gheddessii word that meant spirit guide or ancient master , depending upon context.
"P'sn'ghis'thoa will lead his tribe against the spawn of the sorcerer."
"And the slaughter will be great."
"The spells of the sons of the sorcerer will destroy the boats that need no water of the tribe of P'sn'ghis'thoa.
"And the tribe of P'sn'ghis'thoa will be overthrown."
"Then the archer of P'sn'ghis'thoa will rise up and slay all that come before him, but the sons of the sorcerer will be too many, and P'sn'ghis'thoa will fall."
"In his despair, the archer of P'sn'ghis'thoa will break his accursed bow."
This archer could be no other than Quaestor Eishtren, whose bow was so suffused with flux that even Llylquaendt had been able to sense the disturbance it made in the background ether.
"And the szor'ghi'cha will consume the sons of the sorcerer and all about from one horizon to the next."
"And the sons of the sorcerer will not rise up again."
"And the world will shake."
"And the water will cover the grave of P'sn'ghis'thoa."
"And when the water goes back, the land will be different."
"And the Death Winter will come again."
"And there will be much distress among all the people."
"And the sorcerer will return to claim his prize."
The seer stopped and took a sip of ldgmt , a spirituous concoction made from fermented desert plants, to soothe his throat. "Do you need to hear it again?"
"No," Llylquaendt replied, feeling a moment of sharp concern at the implication of the song. "My understanding of your tongue has improved very much of late. There was one word, though -- szor'ghi'cha. What does it mean?"
"It is an old word that we do not use anymore. I do not know what it means."
Content with the company of his own thoughts, The One Who Sees sat unspeaking while Llylquaendt puzzled over the three syllables.
His intuition led him to first try to correlate them with a Pyrai word or phrase. While the Gheddessii had many
"Are you resting well, Magic Father? Is there anything that can be done to improve your comfort? Would you like something to eat or drink?"
"I am as well as I can be and my wives take very good care of me," Llylquaendt assured the man without irritation.
"That is good to hear. What songs will you hear today, Magic Father?"
The illiterate Gheddessii kept all records in oral form, either as lyric poems or songs. Every significant prophetic vision that had visited the seers of this tribe had been put to verse and passed down through the generations. The current seer had boasted that he could sing nearly seven thousand songs without error.
The songs often contradicted or were too vague to have real meaning, but did include sufficient accurate references to things that the Gheddessii could not possibly have knowledge of. This latter characteristic was sufficiently novel to intrigue the always inquisitive Pyrai medic.
Llylquaendt shrugged. "You choose. I have enjoyed all that you have shared with me."
The seer rubbed his stubbly jaw with the backs of his fingers. "Then I will sing today the song of my great-great-uncle, who in the Third Death Winter made a short song about the World Beyond."
The World Beyond was the Gheddessii's term for the lands on the other of the mountains, literally all the world outside of ours .
The seer began in his strong if scratchy voice:
"In the time of the glory of the Gheddessii, P'sn'ghis'thoa will die a lonely death, betrayed by his guiding n'loomq."
P'sn'ghis'thoa was a corrupted Pyrai phrase that meant the one with no legs who flies . This, Llylquaendt had determined, could only be Mar, the magenfolk king of the Mhajhkaeirii. Mar, in the persona of P'sn'ghis'thoa, had shown up with remarkable frequency in the songs of the Gheddessii.
N'loomq was an entirely Gheddessii word that meant spirit guide or ancient master , depending upon context.
"P'sn'ghis'thoa will lead his tribe against the spawn of the sorcerer."
"And the slaughter will be great."
"The spells of the sons of the sorcerer will destroy the boats that need no water of the tribe of P'sn'ghis'thoa.
"And the tribe of P'sn'ghis'thoa will be overthrown."
"Then the archer of P'sn'ghis'thoa will rise up and slay all that come before him, but the sons of the sorcerer will be too many, and P'sn'ghis'thoa will fall."
"In his despair, the archer of P'sn'ghis'thoa will break his accursed bow."
This archer could be no other than Quaestor Eishtren, whose bow was so suffused with flux that even Llylquaendt had been able to sense the disturbance it made in the background ether.
"And the szor'ghi'cha will consume the sons of the sorcerer and all about from one horizon to the next."
"And the sons of the sorcerer will not rise up again."
"And the world will shake."
"And the water will cover the grave of P'sn'ghis'thoa."
"And when the water goes back, the land will be different."
"And the Death Winter will come again."
"And there will be much distress among all the people."
"And the sorcerer will return to claim his prize."
The seer stopped and took a sip of ldgmt , a spirituous concoction made from fermented desert plants, to soothe his throat. "Do you need to hear it again?"
"No," Llylquaendt replied, feeling a moment of sharp concern at the implication of the song. "My understanding of your tongue has improved very much of late. There was one word, though -- szor'ghi'cha. What does it mean?"
"It is an old word that we do not use anymore. I do not know what it means."
Content with the company of his own thoughts, The One Who Sees sat unspeaking while Llylquaendt puzzled over the three syllables.
His intuition led him to first try to correlate them with a Pyrai word or phrase. While the Gheddessii had many
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