From Callas de Navarre's Journal, 1/14/1348
1/14/1348Madrid, Spain
early afternoon
Well. That was...interesting.
Lazlo was hunting last night. Dream and I were skipping ahead of him in dreams--Dream was seeming to relish the challenge of keeping one step ahead of Lazlo. Unfortunately, Lazlo caught up with us. Dream shoved me out, but Lazlo kept ahold of him.
It is a very uncomfortable feeling, to have one's familiar captured by an enemy. It's much as I imagine having one's beating heart held in unfriendly hands would feel--very, very vulnerable. I woke and woke the rest of my companions, and explained what I had learned and the current situation as best I could.
We learned from Morrigan's notes that there was an ancient god left from when our current gods killed the ones before them, named Agia. And from my dreams, I learned that Juri was a cleric of this same god, and that Agia is also the one who is behind Sorcha. And what this god wants is to kill all of the gods who deposed his brothers and sisters, and become the only god in the world.
Morrigan's notes also mentioned something called the source, which evidently makes her immune to the effects of the orbs. The source is the source of the artifacts' power...and as we've been destroying the artifacts, we've been weakening the source.
And that power?
Has been taking up residence in us.
We are all now living artifacts, not just Aiden. We're all immune to the orbs' power, as well, we'd just been conditioned to think that were weren't and hadn't tried casting while the orbs were on.
And we have all been dancing to this ancient god's tune--us, the council, even the gods. We were destroying artifacts and weakening Morrigan. The council has been killing gods and concentrating their powers in themselves--and we've been helpfully killing council members. Even Morrigan's been indirectly doing what he wanted her to do. So, as far as we know, the plan was to have us destroy all of the artifacts and extinguish the source, while at the same time the council killed all of the gods except Morrigan, and then let Morrigan kill off the rest of the council members. And when the source was nearly gone and Morrigan was vulnerable, Agia would take up the one remaining orb--Aiden--and kill her, and become the only god. And I fear he is not a god I would want to worship. (Though, I'd be dead at that point, so it wouldn't be an issue for me personally...but I fear for the future of my Order. We celebrate life, not bow down to death.)
We have all been set up. Manupulated from three sides--Agia, the council, and our gods. And there is no way out but down. To avert the bloodshed that's about to occur, we're going to have to do what I've been reluctant to think about. We're going to have to kill Morrigan.
I will follow this down to the very end. There is no turning back, and all of the doors have just slammed shut.
But more on that in a bit. We still had Dream to go rescue.
We debated and finally decided that we would all confront Lazlo in the dream realm, since it would probably be easier to take him out if we were all together, and his body was gaurded by Boltof, the dwarf we met in battle yesterday. Before we transferred to the dream realm, I told everyone that they could have any artifacts there that they had direct experience with, even ones that have been destroyed in the material world. Gemma frowned and said, "Sister, it doesn't work like that. You could summon artifacts, but they would be inert. Their souls wouldn't be intact."
I shrugged. "It's how it works for me. I've been carrying Tuck's staff around in the dream realm with me for ages. And believe me, his soul's intact. He's full of filthy and positively anatomically impossible suggestions."
We tested this and, indeed, it was true. Something about us being artifacts now makes all sorts of interesting things possible. I wonder what else we can do?
I gathered everyone up and transferred us out into the dream realm. Being a guide for that many people at once was a bit of a headache, but I sorted things out. I started following my familiar bond towards Dream, but I'd made a bit of a miscalculation in how wise the others were going to be. Someone--I suspect Riyor--imagined Lazlo there with us, very small, with a silly hat on his head. And he appeared.
He didn't stay small for very long, though. He unfolded to his full size, serpentine body shining in the directionless light of dreams. I tried to flee and take the rest with me, but he kept us there. And so we faced the most powerful dream wraith in the world.
He did keep the silly hat, though.
He split into ten of himself, one for each of us. And it was those pieces that we fought, the land flickering and changing around us as each Lazlo split his concentration and lost control of various parts of the landscape. He did keep a firm grip on me and Gemma, though, preventing us from changing anything, or leaving. He even prevented me from going into Sanctuary, which made me very cranky.
It was that splitting that proved his undoing, as we cut him down one by one. He almost killed Gemma, but Galvin was nearby and dropped the attack he was about to do in favor of healing her.
And finally, Lazlo was no more.
I led us to Dream, who was being held in a cage of reality intruded on the dream realm. I saw both Galvin and Gaviao do a double take, and realized that nobody but me knew that Dream's form in the dream realm is a human male, rather than the draft horse he appears on the material as.
And then I realized *exactly* what conclusion Galvin probably just jumped to. After all, I spend all of my nights in the dream realm, with Dream. Now, I've never thought of Dream like that. He's my familiar and I'm his; it's a relationship much more like brother and sister. All right, he *is* somewhat cute, but...um, no. Our relationship doesn't encompass that, and as far as I know, he's never entertained those sorts of thoughts about me.
(Of course, now I'm wondering if he has. Okay, stopping with this line of inquiry right now. These are things I don't need to think about.)
This should be an interesting conversation with Galvin. I'd like to think we've both learned something from the episode with Armand. I'll have to address this head-on with him, before it has time to fester and explode like it did last time.
So the cage of reality was around Dream, and he was chained in the middle of it. There were four things anchoring the cage, covered with an odd sort of cloth. When Gaius made the cloth invisible...underneath was Loth's Whip, an artifact.
Yet, Aiden said that he couldn't speak to it.
We puzzled at the cage for a while, and then Arnie tried a Dismissal, which successfully sent Dream back to his body. After checking and making sure he arrived safe, I took everyone to trace that shipment of plague cure that had made Gaviao's father immune to all of the strains of plague that Dushela had been attempting to infect him and his shipmates with. We traced the barrels back to a halfling named Morela, in Libson. We're going to have to go look more closely at her, later.
Aiden kept changing things, including making the sky polka-dotted. And then turning me into a boy. I rolled my eyes and turned myself back. I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for not taking the opportunity to turn Aiden into a fluffy little bunny at that point, but I didn't want to escalate things.
Back in Madrid, I was happy to see Dream safe and whole, and we dug under the straw in his stall and found four more artifacts, the anchors for that cage he was in. Evidently, there are only eight more out there in the world.
One way or another, this will be finished before the month is out. Possibly before the week is out.
We elected to tell Tennant and Tarn (through Riyor) about how destroying the artifacts was weakening Morrigan's source and making us stronger. The council has been badly misled and betrayed, and we're expecting chaos to erupt as a result.
And Morrigan's probably going to start breaking the rules, at this point. Which means that all of our gods will have their hands untied. If we are canny and careful, we may have a chance at her before she unleashes whatever it is she's been holding in reserve on the world--and I have no doubt that she has reserves we're not even dreaming of.
And the Ancient and Sorcha are probably smiling right now. We've all been playing right into their hands; and it turns out that the council and we have been working towards the same ends all along. I am not, however, sure that we could convince them not to kill us long enough to join forces with us to do the one thing that we both desire--killing Morrigan.
All hell is about to break loose.
The only question is, are we going to survive the flame?
And one more note before I put down the pen and go find Galvin. I heard the voice of the Ancient in my dreams.
It's the same voice as the deep dragon that Arnie and Aiden freed several months ago. Who killed Aiden and shoved him into Arnie's head. Which is why Aiden ended up in the orb in the first place. He was always an artifact, but now he's the only orb that might be able to overpower Morrigan, because he's the only artifact orb in existence.
The mind quails at the planning this has taken, how every step we've taken has been taken advantage of. Nothing has been chance, nothing has been coincidence.
Here's to the hope that now we see the tapestry, we can weave our own ending.
**************************
Callas finished writing, blowing gently on the ink of the last page to dry it, and then closed her journal and wrapped the cover around it once more. She murmured, "I've almost filled this one; I should start carrying one of the new ones with me." She tucked the book back into the pouch at her side.
Galvin was sitting at the desk in the room they shared, sorting through some papers and making notes. She leaned on the doorframe and asked, "How are things going?"
He looked up. "Elata seems to have things well in hand. Peter's backing her up when she has trouble, but mostly she's handling things. She's a good Headmistress, she's got the kind of vision needed for it."
"She seems to be working out well. I'm glad." She wrapped a lock of hair around her finger and pulled on it absently. "If we have to, I think we can safely leave her in charge."
Galvin nodded, turning back to his notes and scribbling one or two more lines. "There, I'm done for the moment. Did you want something?"
"Actually, I wanted to come talk to you about today."
He raised an eyebrow. "About what?"
She walked over to the desk, clearing a spot and seating herself on it, one knee drawn up to her chest. "I had forgotten that none of you knew that Dream was a human in the dream realm. I saw you do a double-take when you saw him."
Galvin shrugged, looking up at her. "It probably isn't any of my business what you do in the dream realm--or who you do it with." His voice sounded strained, as if he were biting back something he didn't want her to hear. "I just...thought that Dream was a horse all of the time, is all."
"And it bothers you, doesn't it? I saw that, when you were looking at him."
"I..." His voice trailed off, and he shook his head. "It's of no moment, Callas."
"Don't give me that, Galvin. I *don't* want a repeat of the Armand episode. Love...please? Talk to me?" Her voice softened on that last question.
He sighed, and shook his head again. "It's just...too convenient. I trust you, you know that, but every time I turn around you have another man following you. I understand your need to be close to Dream, he's your familiar, but." He was playing with his quill pen, running his fingers down the smooth edge. "I don't know if you're a different person in the dream realm than you are here. And I sometimes wonder if you take after your mother."
Callas reached over and plucked the pen out of his hand, then entwined his fingers with her own. "See, that wasn't so hard. And now I can answer you. Dream's my familiar, Galvin. I swear to you that until today I had never even considered the possibility that he might be anything other than a brother to me. And, no, I don't take after my mother in the fidelity department, I promise." She chuckled. "Besides, I'm not such a prize that every single male I meet wants to bed me. I think Dream has as little interest in me as I have in him. Though I think he might be casting a speculative eye at my little sister. She's a bit young yet, but she absolutely adores him."
"You're spoiled by the Order. Girls Gemma's age are married off every day, you know."
Callas snorted softly. "She's younger than her years suggest in a lot of ways. And can you imagine me attempting to explain that my little sister's married to my horse? I mean, the Order's a bit more openminded than most of the rest of the world, but that would seriously strain even our tolerance. Not to mention how weird that would be for *me*."
A soft cough came from the doorway. Gemma was standing there, arms crossed. She asked, "Is this a private conversation, or can anyone come and speculate on where my affections might lie, sister?"
Callas and Galvin both started at the sound of her voice. Callas slid off the desk, standing up, and she realized that something was very, very odd about Gemma.
She was standing.
On her own.
And had evidently walked to their room. When she had barely been able to take three steps, before.
Callas tilted her head slightly, and met Gemma's eyes. And suddenly reeled in shock.
Her sister's eyes were solid green from corner to corner, with neither white nor pupil.
Dragon eyes.
Callas gasped, "Gemma! What--"
Her sister grinned. "Oh, the look on your face is priceless, sister. It was very convenient that you killed Lazlo's soul in the dream realm. It left his body alive for a little while. I needed a new body, and his was handy." She lifted her arms and twirled around. "How do you like it? I had to make some adjustments, but it knows how to walk, and how to dance, and all sorts of things."
Callas found her voice again. "And do you...ah..."
"Have a dragon form? Yes. I have everything Lazlo had, except for his soul. It's a very nice body. I really like it. It's easier to be in this body than my old one." She paused for a moment. "I left my old body behind. We should probably go explain before someone finds it and starts screaming."
Callas remained dumbfounded for a few seconds more, and then began to laugh. "Oh, how appropriate. The enemy I feared the most gives us a gift I couldn't have expected." She crossed the room, catching Gemma up in her arms and hugging her. She even felt less fragile than she had before. After a moment, Galvin joined them, all three of them laughing together.
When they finally all calmed, they walked down the hall together, towards the room where Gemma had left her old body. Callas thought, listening to the sound of all three of their feet on the stone floor, Even here, when everything might end for all of us, even here there are miracles.
And just for the moment, for Callas, it was enough.
you're not alone in this story's pages
the light has fallen amongst the living and the dying
and I'll try to hold it in
try to hold it in
The world's on fire, it's more than I can handle
I'll tap into the water, try to bring my share
try to bring more, more than I can handle
bring it to the table
bring what I am able
I watch the heavens but I find no calling
something I can do to change what's coming
stay close to me while the sky is falling
I don't wanna be left alone (don't wanna be alone)
The world's on fire, it's more than I can handle
I'll tap into the water, try to bring my share
try to bring more, more than I can handle
bring it to the table
bring what I am able
--Sarah McLachlan, "World On Fire"
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