close as they walked away from the stable.
"Erund, you're supposed to know all about
Khesh, remember?"
"Fine, but no one here is going to care. Plus,
I would not put it past Davin to realize who I really am."
Soria grinned at that. "So who are you,
really?"
Brannis glared back but could not argue. He had been
caught thinking of himself and Kyrus interchangeably, just as Soria had
predicted he would. There was no way Davin could know he was Brannis Solaran.
"I was in a bit of a rush last time I was here.
Do you think we could go a bit out of our way? There's someplace I want to
see," Soria asked.
"Sure, where are we heading?"
"Temple Square."
While not technically on the way, it was also not
far from it. Centuries prior, the old square was the heart of Golis. The paving
stones they walked across were the only part that was maintained by the
Acardian government. The statuary was all original, hundreds of years old—their
precise age lost to the poor recordkeeping of an earlier era. Brannis could
little help but gawk up at them.
"Moloun, Ptaw, Eziel, Jharoun," Soria
began counting them off, pointing to each two-story statue in turn.
"Hanrah, Melethaw, I think the ruined one should have been Anpah; he would
have been a fat one in a ram-headed helm; Tolosha, Mtar, Renru, Dhakoun. And of
course, Tansha, Goddess of Mercy." Each of the statues stood alone atop a
marble block the size of a wagon, with steps leading up on all sides. Brannis
followed Soria up to the statue of Tansha.
"Was she ... I mean was that—"
"Yes. My parents were worshipers of
Tansha," Soria said, reaching up to caress the statue's foot. She stared
up into the goddess's face, which appeared to stare back. Each of the gods was
posed to suggest some aspect of their dominion. Tansha was a patron of the
meek, thus she gazed down upon them.
"I never thought much about the old Garnevian
gods. Hard to imagine folk still believe in them."
Soria's head whipped around, brow furrowed. Brannis
was shocked by the sudden change in her demeanor. He stumbled back a step,
nearly losing his balance on the stairs.
"I suppose I should expect that, even from
you," she said. Soria took a breath and relaxed her features.
"You ... believe in them?" Brannis asked.
She nodded. "As far back as I can
remember."
"But you know how magic works. How can you
still ascribe that to divine powers?"
"I don't know how magic works," Soria
replied. "Neither do you. We know it works, we can use it, but I'll be
gutted if I know how."
"So ... Tansha?"
"No, it's not that simple. It's just that there
is more to magic than a draw and some thoughts. I don't need to know how it
works, just trust that it does."
"What makes you so certain? If I knew magic as
a boy as Kyrus knows it now, I certainly would not seek any further power
beyond it."
Soria looked about. The square was nearly empty, but
she came halfway down the steps to stand right next to Brannis.
"Two things I've asked her for—two things that
would never have come to me otherwise. I asked for plenty of greedier and more
selfish things too, but these two convinced me."
"What things?"
"First, I asked her for a playmate. Someone who
didn't care that I was different, someone to make me feel safe. I was a little
foreign girl being raised among Kheshi. She gave me Juliana."
"Yes, but that—"
"No 'buts,' you don't know how we became twinborn
any better than I do. The other thing I asked her for was you." She
reached up to kiss Brannis and he put his arms around her, feeling the tension
ease from her muscles. She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder.
"I don't know how she does it ... doesn't matter."
Soria pushed herself gently away from Brannis. He
looked down and matched the smile he saw. A sharp blow to his shoulder startled
him from his reverie.
"Ow. What was that for?" Brannis asked. He
rubbed at the spot she had struck, wishing that he had thought better of
traveling without armor.
"For making me wait five
"Erund, you're supposed to know all about
Khesh, remember?"
"Fine, but no one here is going to care. Plus,
I would not put it past Davin to realize who I really am."
Soria grinned at that. "So who are you,
really?"
Brannis glared back but could not argue. He had been
caught thinking of himself and Kyrus interchangeably, just as Soria had
predicted he would. There was no way Davin could know he was Brannis Solaran.
"I was in a bit of a rush last time I was here.
Do you think we could go a bit out of our way? There's someplace I want to
see," Soria asked.
"Sure, where are we heading?"
"Temple Square."
While not technically on the way, it was also not
far from it. Centuries prior, the old square was the heart of Golis. The paving
stones they walked across were the only part that was maintained by the
Acardian government. The statuary was all original, hundreds of years old—their
precise age lost to the poor recordkeeping of an earlier era. Brannis could
little help but gawk up at them.
"Moloun, Ptaw, Eziel, Jharoun," Soria
began counting them off, pointing to each two-story statue in turn.
"Hanrah, Melethaw, I think the ruined one should have been Anpah; he would
have been a fat one in a ram-headed helm; Tolosha, Mtar, Renru, Dhakoun. And of
course, Tansha, Goddess of Mercy." Each of the statues stood alone atop a
marble block the size of a wagon, with steps leading up on all sides. Brannis
followed Soria up to the statue of Tansha.
"Was she ... I mean was that—"
"Yes. My parents were worshipers of
Tansha," Soria said, reaching up to caress the statue's foot. She stared
up into the goddess's face, which appeared to stare back. Each of the gods was
posed to suggest some aspect of their dominion. Tansha was a patron of the
meek, thus she gazed down upon them.
"I never thought much about the old Garnevian
gods. Hard to imagine folk still believe in them."
Soria's head whipped around, brow furrowed. Brannis
was shocked by the sudden change in her demeanor. He stumbled back a step,
nearly losing his balance on the stairs.
"I suppose I should expect that, even from
you," she said. Soria took a breath and relaxed her features.
"You ... believe in them?" Brannis asked.
She nodded. "As far back as I can
remember."
"But you know how magic works. How can you
still ascribe that to divine powers?"
"I don't know how magic works," Soria
replied. "Neither do you. We know it works, we can use it, but I'll be
gutted if I know how."
"So ... Tansha?"
"No, it's not that simple. It's just that there
is more to magic than a draw and some thoughts. I don't need to know how it
works, just trust that it does."
"What makes you so certain? If I knew magic as
a boy as Kyrus knows it now, I certainly would not seek any further power
beyond it."
Soria looked about. The square was nearly empty, but
she came halfway down the steps to stand right next to Brannis.
"Two things I've asked her for—two things that
would never have come to me otherwise. I asked for plenty of greedier and more
selfish things too, but these two convinced me."
"What things?"
"First, I asked her for a playmate. Someone who
didn't care that I was different, someone to make me feel safe. I was a little
foreign girl being raised among Kheshi. She gave me Juliana."
"Yes, but that—"
"No 'buts,' you don't know how we became twinborn
any better than I do. The other thing I asked her for was you." She
reached up to kiss Brannis and he put his arms around her, feeling the tension
ease from her muscles. She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder.
"I don't know how she does it ... doesn't matter."
Soria pushed herself gently away from Brannis. He
looked down and matched the smile he saw. A sharp blow to his shoulder startled
him from his reverie.
"Ow. What was that for?" Brannis asked. He
rubbed at the spot she had struck, wishing that he had thought better of
traveling without armor.
"For making me wait five
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