It was difficult for Sophie to fall asleep that night. She lay awake, staring at the ceiling for hours thinking about the mysterious man she had met and the ominous warning he’d delivered. When she finally did manage to sleep, her dreams were filled with images of blue-robed figures chasing after her, wearing cloaks with hoods pulled low.
Several sharp knocks startled her from her dreams, and she watched sleepily as Eolisti answered the door. The Anai talked softly with someone outside for a moment, then held the door open for a young man in brown robes, pushing a cart into the room.
Sophie yawned and forced herself to sit up. She felt more tired than she had when she’d lay down the previous night. Or had it been early this morning? Either way, she was sore and didn’t feel rested at all. She briefly contemplated lying back down and sleeping for a few more hours, then caught the smell of freshly cooked food. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she focused on the newcomer.
The man in the brown robe, so young he must have been an initiate, took a tray off the cart and set it on the low table beside the lounge chairs, along with a pitcher of water and two glasses. The tray was full of delicious-smelling food. Rice, fried bread, fruit, eggs, and what looked like pork in little bowls and plates. Sophie’s stomach rumbled just looking at the food. The initiate smiled at her and bowed his head briefly, then took a small bundle off the cart and set it on one of the chairs. He wished her a good morning that she barely registered and wheeled the cart back out the door.
Eolisti closed the door, then walked over to the chairs and picked up the bundle. “Oh, just our laundry.” She set it aside and sat down in one of the chairs, grabbing a piece of fried bread and sniffing it. Sophie slid out of bed and stretched. The Anai watched her out of the corner of her eye. “Are you still mad at me?” she asked tentatively.
Sophie stared at the Anai, willing her brain into motion. With everything that happened with the stranger the night before and Sophie’s nightmare-riddled sleep, she had almost forgotten that she had even been upset. The feeling of hurt felt distant now. She wasn’t mad anymore, but she didn’t think she could completely trust Eolisti, not yet anyway.
“No,” she said. “Not really.” Sophie sat down in the chair next to the Anai and took a small plate off the tray. Not sure where to start, she took some of everything. “What is this?” she asked, holding up the flakey fried bread.
“No idea, but it’s good,” Eolisti said, taking another bite. Then she went for the fruit. “The guy that brought this said that the Abbot would meet with us after the midday meal and that we should relax until then.” She glanced at Sophie, a sly smile creeping across her face. “I think we should go explore.”
At her words, Sophie almost choked on some rice. If Eolisti only knew about her adventure the previous night... “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” she said through a cough. “It’s really easy to get lost here.”
“Is it?” Eolisti asked, her eyebrows raised. “It seemed pretty straight forward last night. Just go all the way down the hall to that big room.” She stuffed another piece of bread in her mouth. “We didn’t really get a good look at the outside since it was so dark. I think there were more buildings. Do you think the storm has passed?”
Since there were no windows in their room, it was impossible to tell what the weather was like outside. Sophie shrugged. “I’ve never been in a snowstorm before. Maybe it has.” She tried some of the meat, and tasted garlic and sesame oil. All the food was very well prepared.
“I guess we could look around,” she hedged, feeling slightly guilty about going out alone the previous night. It wouldn’t be fair if she told Eolisti she couldn’t do the same. Besides, if Eolisti was with her, she probably wouldn’t get lost this time. “I’d like to take a look at the grounds. Omeran architecture is supposed to be very different from Zo’rahn’s. The buildings in the village didn’t look like anything special, but this monastery is hundreds of years old.”
The Anai rolled her eyes.
“What?” Sophie asked, quirking an eyebrow. “Different things don’t interest you?”
“Of course they do!” Eolisti scoffed indignantly. “But I don’t want to look at a bunch of old buildings. You can do that anywhere. I want to talk to some of the monks. It must be interesting living up here. You said before that a lot of foreigners came through here, right?”
“They used to back when this was a major trading route. Some still do, but not as many as there once were.” Sophie thought about the man she had seen last night. “Though I’m sure there will be some people here that are traveling from other countries. I think I’ve read somewhere that monasteries and churches house people, who couldn’t afford to stay at inns, sometimes. Or, maybe some other people were caught in the storm.”
Eolisti’s eyes lit up, and she wolfed down a hard-boiled egg. “What are we waiting for then? Let’s go explore!” She sprang up, still chewing, and pulled a fresh tunic and trousers out of the bundle of neatly folded laundry.
Sophie poured herself some water and drank, then decided to dress more warmly if they were going outside. She pulled a thicker dress out of the bundle and went to wash her face behind the folding screen while Eolisti dressed. After putting on clean clothes, she decided to tie a small pouch with a few coins in it onto her belt, just in case they decided to go down into the village. Once they were both ready, Eolisti set the tray outside the door and beckoned for Sophie to follow.
Unlike the previous night, the halls were bustling with activity. Initiates and monks walked the corridors, smiling and nodding to Sophie and Eolisti as they passed. Sophie didn’t recognize any of the monks, but she nodded back to them all the same. When she’d heard that they were going to a monastery, Sophie had imagined a place where most of the monks would be training or in meditation, but Ta’Shela was livelier than she could have imagined. Both men and women were initiates or monks, with short-cropped hair for the men and simple braids and buns for the women. Quite a few of them looked foreign. Where most people from the eastern continent were typically darker of hair and skin, many of the monks were light-skinned with brown and blonde hair instead of black. Sophie wondered if it had been this way because Bardov was a trading route, or if people from foreign lands came here for other reasons.
Eolisti nudged her, breaking her out of her thoughts. She’d been staring at a pair of women who were looking uncomfortable. Sophie ducked her head and waved at them, her face growing warm. Eolisti seemed to know where she was going, striding confidently in the direction that Sophie assumed would take them back to where they’d first entered the building.
Turning down one more corridor, Sophie thought she recognized the door to the entrance hall that they’d come through the night before. As they approached, her nose filled with the heady smell of incense, and she heard the same low singing as she had the night before. The singing grew louder, and as they pushed the door open, the music poured out into the corridor.
It seemed that morning service was taking place. There were twelve monks next to the altar, singing a deep, melancholy song in a language that Sophie didn’t understand and playing instruments that looked like lutes, except that instead of plucking the strings, the monks used bows. There appeared to be a few people from the village below sitting in the pews, listening to the music. The Abbot stood on the other side of the altar, eyes closed as if he was absorbing every note that echoed around the room. Sunlight poured into the large space, bringing out the beauty of the polished stone walls and floors. Cold air flooded the room, but the storm had passed.
Eolisti strode toward the altar after a curious glance at the singing monks. Although Sophie wanted to sit in the pews and watch the service, she followed the Anai down the aisle and out the front doors. Sophie took a deep breath. The air was lighter and fresher on the mountain than it had been in Zo’rahn. Her cheeks stung in the cold, but it wasn’t unpleasant. The lack of wind made the weather bearable even without her heavy cloak. Snow glittered on the ground, white and glistening in the sunlight. Furrows had been made on the main walkways to make it easier for the monks to work.
Men and women, mostly monks and initiates, strolled through the courtyard and into other buildings. Some carried baskets, others led goats to a building that Sophie assumed was a barn. Now that she could clearly see the structures that made up Ta’Shela, she saw how different they were from those in her homeland. The tall buildings were made of a light, sand-colored stone reaching several stories. The tops of the buildings were domed and painted with a vibrant blue that reminded Sophie of the ocean. There was a wall about six or seven feet tall on the cliffside that wrapped around the property and part of her wished it wasn’t there. The view of the valley below would have been spectacular.
Near the wall by the front entrance was Joel bent over with a shovel, scooping up snow and tossing it into a pile. Eolisti waved, but he seemed too absorbed in work to notice them. The women picked their way through the furrows and across the courtyard.
“Hey!” Eolisti shouted cheerfully when they got closer to where he was. “What are you doing?” the Anai asked, looking around at the snow.
Sophie watched him work and looked around at the ground. Now that she was up close, she realized that he wasn’t clearing the ground for walking but removing a few inches of snow to reveal the tops of plants in neat rows. She moved her foot and saw more plants crushed and hidden by the snow.
Joel looked up at them and smiled. He planted the shovel in the snow and leaned on it. “Morning. Sleep well?” Eolisti nodded and Sophie shrugged, remembering how tired she was. Joel chuckled. “The Abbot said you’ll be here for a day or two. There’ll be plenty of time to rest before you leave.” He spread his arms wide. “Welcome to our garden.” He gestured around at the snow. “There’s not a lot growing right now, but we have a few vegetables that can survive the climate up here. I hope you like cabbage and turnips.” Eolisti made a face. Sophie had to cover her smile. Joel grinned back at them and picked up his shovel again. “The snow was inconvenient. I’m surprised it came so early this year. I’ll probably be out here most of the morning, but if you want to wait until after lunch, I can give you a tour.”
Sophie looked around. There was still so much snow from the night before. Joel would be shoveling for hours. She fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve. They were out of Zo’rahn now, so it should be safe to use magic, but deep down, she was still afraid. Would they still be able to find her? “Would you like some help?” she asked hesitantly.
“Well, there are more shovels over there,” Joel said, pointing to the barn. “But you don’t need to help me. I’ve done this many times, and it’s not the most fun project.”
“Yeah,” Eolisti said, eyeing Sophie. “That doesn’t sound fun at all. I wanted to explore, not be roped into manual labor.”
Sophie shot her a withering look. “I meant really fast help. Then he can give us that tour now instead of later.”
A look of realization passed over Eolisti’s features. “Oh. That would be much quicker.” She tucked a strand of hair behind one of her pointed ears. “Well?” she asked. “Get to it. We haven’t got all day.”
Joel looked bemused as Sophie sighed in exasperation. “What are you…?” He trailed off as Sophie lifted a hand and concentrated on the air directly above the snowy garden. She expended some of her power, heating the air and at the same time, pressing it down into the snow until it began to melt. Steam rose from the melting snow, and she had to be careful not to roast the plants beneath. With a flick of her other wrist, she created a protective barrier for the vegetation even as the heat pressed down on it.
Within minutes, most of the snow had disappeared and the soggy earth below was exposed. Sophie released the spell, and the hot air dissipated. Joel just stared at the ground where the snow had just been. The hardy winter sprouts glistened with droplets of melted snow in the sunlight. After a few moments, he seemed to shake himself out of it and looked up at her. “I’m guessing you’re a mage?”
She nodded, slightly embarrassed. Magic was so commonplace where she had grown up, it was hard to remember that not everyone was as familiar with it as she was. Even here, so close to Zo’rahn’s borders, Joel had been shocked by the casual use of it. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I probably should have asked if that was all right first.”
He let out a bark of a laugh so loud that it startled her. “You don’t need to apologize! You’ve just saved me an entire morning of work. And don’t look so upset.” He winked at her. “It’s not like I’ve never seen magic before. We have a few healers here, after all.” Leaning the shovel against the stone wall, he pulled off the gloves he was wearing and shoved them into his pockets. “I guess I owe you ladies a tour. Shall we?”
Gesturing for them to follow, Joel began to walk away from the garden. Eolisti practically skipped after him. She seemed to be almost quivering with excitement. Sophie knew how much Eolisti wanted to explore Ta’Shela. She walked a little behind Eolisti, allowing her to ask Joel questions about the monastery, while Sophie looked around at the buildings. While there were definitely similarities in the designs, these structures had a liveliness to them that she’d never seen back home.
The monastery was bigger than Sophie assumed it would be. Even though it was a shadow of its former self, it was still an impressive display of what Bardov had once been. She counted at least fifteen smaller buildings that served various purposes, from water filtration to storage. They saw a few people on the grounds. Added to those she had seen inside, she guessed there were less than a hundred initiates and monks in all. She was beginning to wonder if most of the rooms she’d passed in the halls were empty. There seemed to be much more space than the current occupants could use or maintain. There were a few people like Joel out and about as well, dressed in normal clothing and probably employed by the monks.
“I came to Omer about twenty years ago from Morigael,” Joel explained. “I lived in a small village that didn’t have a lot to offer. I had some relatives down in Bardov, so I came here to work with them on their farm and ended up helping the monks after my uncle passed away. They have a few people who aren’t in service to Samar that take care of things like trading and fetching pretty young women from the town.” He grinned and winked at them. “So, I get to live here, and the monks pay me to handle whatever they might need. There’s not a lot going on right now, so I just help out wherever I can.”
“What was Morigael like?” Eolisti asked as they walked around the back of the main building. “How long did it take you to get here? Did you have to take a ship? Was it a big one?”
Joel chuckled. “You remind me of my sister, so curious about everything. Things are about the same in Morigael as they are here,” he said, answering her first question. “There’s more rain there, so it’s much greener and it’s to the north, so you get a lot of snow in the winter.” He gestured around them. “Though being up in the mountains, you get a lot of snow, too, so there’s not much of a difference to me. Oh, there’s also a king. Which is different from Omer.”
“Humans,” Eolisti sighed. “A council is much more practical. What if the king is some sort of crazy person?”
“Zo’rahn has a council,” Sophie said, giving her a pointed look. Eolisti rolled her eyes back.
“As does Omer. And Morigael, for that matter. The king in Morigael leads the council, but he doesn’t control it.” He scratched the back of his head. “That’s the simplest explanation. It’s actually a bit more complicated than that, and I’m not really one for politics.” Joel glanced up at the sky. “The morning service should be over by now. It’ll be time for lunch soon. There’s not much more to see, so we should probably head back.”
Sophie nodded. It hadn’t felt like that long, but the sun was at a high point in the sky. They must’ve been out here for an hour or two. Ta’Shela was a very interesting place, but Bardov was so small that she was surprised it had been a major trading town at one point. Joel had said that they were only going to be here for a day or two. She wondered where they were heading next. Would they go further into Omer, or were they headed somewhere else?
Their tour ended near the small chapel Sophie had stumbled upon the night before. Joel explained that it was said to be the original chapel that was built on the exact spot where Samar herself had sheltered travelers. These people became the first monks of Ta’Shela. As their little group passed back by the open archway to the chapel, a monk inside looked like she was standing to leave. Abruptly, Eolisti turned and walked into the small room. Moments later, Sophie heard the rapid-fire series of questions she’d come to expect from her excited Anai companion, and she smiled despite herself.
“You have to love her enthusiasm,” Joel said with a grin.
Sophie smiled wryly back at Joel and shook her head.
With a sigh, Joel walked a few paces farther down the hall to where a long bench had been placed against the wall. He sat and gestured an invitation for Sophie to join him.
As she seated herself next to him, she noticed for the first time that the opposite wall of the hallway bore the faint traces of what she guessed had once been another mural. She tried to follow the sweeping curves and lines that she could make out, but her mind couldn’t piece together the remnants into any distinguishable patterns. It was a shame that this ancient place was being swallowed by time, almost before her very eyes. On the other hand, she mused, some things should stay lost to time.
Joel cleared his throat, drawing her out of her dark and melancholy thoughts. “I don’t mean to pry, but you seem...” Joel paused, struggling to find the right words. “You seem sadder than most of the people that the Anai escort to Ta’Shela.” Seeing her slight frown at his words, he explained, “Most of the people are scared, but they are also happy—joyful even.” He tilted his head as he studied her face for a few long moments before he added gently, “You seem haunted.”
Joel’s insights surprised her. As she thought about it, Sophie realized that she was sad about leaving home. She couldn’t deny that there were things and people she missed. Zephan came to mind and she smiled wistfully. What was he doing right now? Was he safe?
“Yes, like that,” Joel said as he gestured at her face, drawing her attention once again.
Sophie took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she collected herself. “Yes, I suppose I’m a little sad. It was the most difficult choice I’ve ever made—leaving—but I know it was the right choice.”
Joel nodded and leaned back against the wall, studying the faint mural opposite them. “My sister and I were about your age when we left home. There wasn’t really much for us to leave behind, but I can understand striking out into the unknown. When you don’t know what lies ahead, there is a comfort in the familiarity of even the worst circumstances.”
He was right. As sure as she was that she had done the right thing, part of her did still long to go back. As she thought of the home she missed, she realized that what she wished for was to return to the time before her hidden “talent” had emerged.
A crash that sounded like the toppling of a candelabra came from the ancient chapel. Startled by the sudden noise, Sophie leapt to her feet.
“Excuse me,” said a deep voice right behind her, making her jump for a second time.
It was the man, the one she had met last night while exploring. He loomed behind her, dressed the same as he had been, with the hood of his cloak pulled down to his nose. How could he see like that?
Eolisti, who had just emerged from the chapel, looked him up and down, eyes narrowed. “Who are you?”
“The one the Abbot sent to find you,” he said in a flat voice.
“I thought we were meeting after the midday meal,” Eolisti said, sounding even more suspicious, “and you still haven’t answered my question.”
“Food will be brought for you,” he said to Sophie, completely ignoring Eolisti. “The Abbot is waiting for you.”
“It’s okay,” Sophie said quickly as Eolisti bristled. “Let’s just go.”
Eolisti glared at the man. “Fine.” She wrapped her arm around Joel’s and pulled him to his feet. He just looked at her, surprised. “But Joel is coming with us in case you try anything funny.”
If that concerned the man at all, he gave no indication. He just turned around and walked toward the doors of the main building.
The Anai watched him walk away, eyes still narrowed. “Who the hell is that guy?”
Joel watched him as well. “I’ve seen him around here before, but I’ve only spoken to him once or twice. He doesn’t seem to like other people.” He looked back down at Sophie and smiled. “I’m sure he’s a good man. Otherwise, the monks wouldn’t let him stay here. Come on. The Abbot’s expecting us.”