Trillium - Sky Trillium Part 31

Anigel and Kadiya left the others and approached. "Hara," said the Queen. "You

must decide at once what we are to do."

Together, Haramis and Orogastus told them.

Chapter Thirty-One.

SURMOUNTING the palace's golden dome was a lofty pinnacle of red jasper, and within it a narrow spiral staircase leading to the enormous gilded bird effigy mounted at the top. The three sisters and Orogastus went to the small platform at the pinnacle's summit and stood looking up at the spread-winged image.

"Why, it's a voor!" Kadiya said in surprise. "The bird created by the Vanished Ones to be a helper and companion to the Vispi. I thought they were extinct in this part of the world."

"They are," Orogastus said. "Which is why they are held sacred."

"It is appropriate," Haramis said. Then she asked the sorcerer to lift all four of them to the statue's back. He drew the broken sword and held it high, giving the command. The three lobes became eyes, and from the open mouths of the monsters on the coronet shone beams of white, green, and golden light.

They wafted through the cloudy air, from which a light rain fell, and landed upon the broad surface of gold-leafed stone.

"Now we must a.s.semble the Sceptre," Haramis said. She bade her trillium-amber to quit its nest among the wings, attaching it to her neck chain after she removed the wand with its Circle.

For a moment the gigantic statue shuddered beneath their feet. They tensed, but did not lose their footing. The bird swayed very slowly from side to side. Down below, parts of the city still burned, and there were many areas where buildings had collapsed; but most of the devastation in Brandoba was veiled from their sight by smoke and mist and they did not look upon it.

Haramis said to Orogastus, "Tell your talismans that we three Petals of the Living Trillium may touch them freely."

He did so, his teeth clenched in a grimace. Then he proffered the coronet in his right hand and the sword in his left. Queen Anigel and Kadiya stood on either side of him. At the Archimage's command, they laid their own hands upon the talismans they had once owned. The amulets at their throats blazed golden, and an answering throb of light came from the amber on the breast of Haramis.

Haramis inserted the wand into a channel on the sword blade, then guided the Three-Headed Monster inside the Circle, so that it and the coronet formed a meridian and equator. Atop the Circle the wings opened and became large, and at their center shone a great Black Trillium embedded in glowing amber the size of a fist. Haramis took the completed Sceptre and lifted it, while the others stood closely around her, laying a single hand upon hers.

"Come, Trillium," said the Archimage of the Land. "Come, Almighty."

The Sceptre seemed to ignite with a yellow flame. No longer were the individual parts silver or black; they were shining gold. Kadiya, Anigel, and Orogastus felt a marvelous warmth spread from their fingertips, down their arms, and into their hearts.

"Sceptre!" The voice of Haramis was exultant, and the others knew that she felt the magical heat also. "Carry us safely into the sky, high above this place. And banish all clouds, so that we may see the ground clearly."

The gilded bird did not come alive. They saw no flapping wings, felt no sense of motion nor even any wind of pa.s.sage; nevertheless they suddenly found themselves soaring upward beneath an expanse of limpid blue air. Still standing on the statue's back, they came to a halt. The dawn sun was poised above the Collum Range, which was now ominously smoking. Rivers of mud poured forth from the highlands in multiple courses, snaking through the forest, with the greatest flow of all nearly touching the outskirts of the city at the Dob River Watergate. Far-flung Brandoba itself, lying wounded within its walls, smoldered like a trampled campfire. The great harbor still held many ships, and the waters were turgid gray near the sh.o.r.e and luminous aquamarine in the outer depths of the estuary.

In the west, the Three Moons hung low, ready to set. The smoke in the air had turned them a drab orange color.

"Now," said Haramis to the Sceptre, "we call upon the fullness of your magic. Tap the spirit-rich wellsprings of this world, its plants and animals, and all its people. Turn away the mudflow that threatens Brandoba, calm the unquiet earth beneath it, and if the Triune wills, restore the city's broken parts to wholeness. Let this be done without the loss of a single aboriginal or human life."

The Sceptre's glow intensified until it became a near-twin to the solar orb in the east. The four people who wielded it flinched from the radiant power that streamed forth, averting and closing their eyes. A terrible noise smote their ears, grinding and wrenching and roaring, but their touch upon the hilt stayed firm, as did their foothold upon the golden bird so miraculously hanging in midair. When the noise diminished somewhat, all but Haramis removed their hands from the Sceptre. They dared to look down.

Around the city's landside perimeter, where the enclosing wall had been, a high rampart was rising. Thrust up from underground, soil and rock were creating a dike that diverted the advancing mud northward, where it would reach another river valley and there flow harmlessly into the sea. Other land movements, looking like the subterranean burrowings of some colossal creature, transformed hills into valleys and altered the course of minor streams. The terrain heaved and rolled like a shaken rug, accompanied by a mighty rumbling. And then it was still. Directly below them, the city seemed to shimmer. The smoke shrouding it faded away.

"Show us now a closer vision of Brandoba," Haramis commanded. They seemed to swoop down, still secure, until they hovered above the pleasance and the palace. The imperial edifice itself and all of the surrounding buildings gleamed whole in the sunlight. Streets and boulevards were no longer blocked with rubble.

But the bodies of those killed and injured in the riots and tremors remained.

"Sceptre," Haramis whispered. "Can you not restore the broken people?"

Not the dead. Only those who live may be brought back to health, when touched individually by my parts.

"There is no time for that," said Orogastus. "If we fail to mend the greater imbalance, those who have perished will be the lucky ones."

"He's right," Kadiya said, with grudging respect.

"We shall help the wounded later," said Anigel. "If we can."

"Very well." Haramis addressed the Sceptre: "Let our golden bird take us higher." And then: "Higher!... Higher still, and keep us safe!"

They rose to such an alt.i.tude that the sky became deepest indigo blue. Stars were visible together with the sun and the Moons. Neither chill nor lack of breath afflicted them. The world-continent with its shining white Sempiternal Icecap, beautiful and deadly, lay curved upon an azure sea streaked with clouds. Mysteriously, there were no clouds above the land.

"If the Sceptre tries to right the imbalance and fails," Orogastus said to Haramis, "we may die up here as our golden steed tumbles from the sky. But withal, you have chosen a right proper place to attempt the magic-where we will know at once. He was standing before her, Anigel and Kadiya being on either side, and she smiled at him. "Whether we succeed or not," Haramis said, "I am glad that at the end the Flower blessed our love."

"I would marry you," he said. "I would live and work with you forever, if this were possible."

"I desire it with all my heart and soul, my dearest, but we dare not think of such things now."

"Still, I wanted you to know."

Haramis nodded. Behind Orogastus, the Three Moons hovered at the western horizon in a tight group. She bade the others lay their hands upon her own once again, lifted the Sceptre, and spoke to it.

"Now do the deed for which you were made! Fulfill the hopes of those long dead, of those departed into the outer firmament, of those who sleep in limbo, of those who caused us to be born. Fulfill our own hopes as well, now that we come finally to wield thee, and heal our wounded world in G.o.d's good time. Defeat the imbalance that would condemn us to the Conquering Ice. Summon all that is magical, beautiful, and true from our hearts and from the land beneath us. Do it now!... Come, Trillium! Come, Almighty!"

This time there was no storm of light and noise, only a whisper like a sighing of stars that sounded and then faded to silence. The feeling of magical tension that had pervaded the Sceptre drained away. Its luminescence was extinguished as the three wings closed about the great piece of amber and shrank to their usual small size. The Sceptre became a depleted thing. The three eyes in the pommel closed and the carven monstrous faces were l.u.s.terless and inanimate.

At the same time another sort of illumination sprang into being in the deep blue western sky.

Haramis's eyes widened in astonishment, and the other three, seeing her staring, let their hands fall away from the drained Sceptre and turned about to discover what had happened.

The Three Moons in their close conjunction had changed color from wan ocher to a pure, effulgent silver. Sketched about the orbs were three enormous petals of vibrant rainbow radiance. The central one extended almost to the zenith, while the other two seemed to embrace the horizon.

"Dear G.o.d," whispered Anigel. "What is it?"

"A Sky Trillium," Kadiya said.

Orogastus blurted out, "But is that all?"

"We asked," Haramis said, "that the healing take place in G.o.d's good time... Look down at the ice cap."

They did, and saw countless tiny puffs of cloud rising everywhere from the gleaming surface. These expanded as they watched, forming a vast cloak of cloud that hid the continental interior from view. The ma.s.s elongated, caught by the prevailing winds, and began a slow progress eastward.

"What is happening?" Anigel asked.

"I'm not quite sure," Haramis replied. "But... I think it is beginning to melt."

She spoke to the Sceptre. "Are you able to return us safely to the imperial palace in Brandoba?"

Yes. We will fly somewhat more slowly.

They began to descend. The bird-image's back was almost as wide as the floor of a cottage. In their curiosity Orogastus, Anigel, and Kadiya peered down at the world below while Haramis, emotionally spent, sat quietly at the center.

"Perhaps," Orogastus said, when they came lower and had a better view of the ice's margins, "the fires within the world, which would have burst out volcanically under the imbalance, have now focused in a more moderate way beneath the continental glacier. Those plumes of vapor-they will become rain-clouds. Even though they dump most of their moisture in the sea, there will still be mighty storms and floods in the eastern lands-especially in my old home, Tuzamen, and in Raktum."

"Poor old Ledo," Kadiya said. "Still, his nation has a plethora of ships. And here in the western part of the world there is much empty land for the pirates to colonize. As for Tuzamen, it is spa.r.s.ely populated and a marginal place to live at best. I doubt that its people will be too miserable leaving it."

"Then perhaps the aftermath will not be so bad after all," Anigel said.

"The sea will rise," Orogastus said, shaking his head. "It will slowly encroach upon coastal cities in every nation of the world, as well as drowning the low-lying islands. Vast numbers of humans and Folk will be forced from their homes. The rivers will change their courses, inundating the old farmlands. Enormous lakes will be born again, where they existed before the Conquering Ice. Your Mazy Mire, Queen Anigel, was once such a lake."

"Oh!" she said. "Oh..."

"New mountains will rise as the interior land is relieved of its glacial burden," he continued. "This will alter the pattern of the seasons. It will be a frightening time for the people, perhaps even a Dark Age, even though we explain to them what is happening, and that it is for the good. A universal despotism might have kept the people under control and supervised the rebuilding. Without one... who can say?"

"I am sure," Queen Anigel said stoutly, "that you, Hara, and Iriane will do your best."

"We may find our talents thinly spread," he said, with a sigh.

"Other helpers will aid us," Haramis said suddenly.

They turned to her in surprise. The golden bird was plummeting down above Brandoba; but as before, those who rode it had no sensation of rushing through the air.

Kadiya said, "What helpers? Do you mean the sindona? But there are not very many of them left."

"In one of the Three Moons," said Haramis, "nearly a million persons lie in an enchanted sleep. They are the ones who were unable to Vanish-our ancestors- members of a civilization much more advanced than ours. Denby Varcour could never bring himself to release them. Their numbers and their superior abilities would have disrupted our simple way of living irreparably. He knew it would be both unjust and cruel to revive them in a world such as ours. After all, their war had caused the original imbalance.

"But Denby never lost hope that one day he would be able to undo the damage. He knew that in the aftermath of the Sempiternal Ice-if it ever came to pa.s.s- those sleeping geniuses would be able to lend us invaluable a.s.sistance in healing the land and sea. And so they will, guided by a new Archimage of the Firmament, an old Archimage of the Sea, and an Archimage of the Land who is presently weary unto death, but expects to feel much better tomorrow."

"Yes!" cried Orogastus jubilantly, and he swept her into his arms.

The golden bird touched the top of the palace spire, becoming as solidly attached as ever. Anigel and Kadiya slid down from its back and found King Ledavardis, Emperor Gyorgibo, and Prince Tolivar, who had climbed out onto the pinnacle roof to await their return.

"Mother!" the boy cried. "You will not believe what has happened!"

"Yes, I will," Anigel said, caressing his cheek fondly. "There have been wonders and there will be sore pain, but in the end all will be well." She touched her abdomen and felt a gentle flutter. Her three babes would be born into a strange world indeed, where magic and science would be allied. Would the boys be princes-or would they be something else?

Well, that was in the hands of the Lords of the Air. Offering her arm to Ledavardis, she started on the long walk down.

Kadiya shot an amused glance at the two who were still aboard the bird. "I think we'll leave them to their conjuring," she said to the new Emperor. "I must find my aboriginal friends Jagun and Critch, who were left on a small boat in Brandoba harbor. Do you suppose you can lend me a fronial to ride?"

Gyorgibo bowed with a flourish of his tattered and dirty sleeves. "Lady of the Eyes, I'll drive you myself in the imperial chariot-if anyone down in the stables recognizes me."

"If they don't," Kadiya told him in a comradely fashion, "we'll steal the d.a.m.ned thing."

When they had gone, Orogastus helped Haramis to alight. She still held the Sceptre as they stood together, looking down on the city. "There will be so many hurt people to tend to."

"We can summon sindona from the Place of Knowledge and the Moons," Orogastus suggested. "They can come through the viaduct out at the villa. You can use the Sceptre to transport them here-"

"No, love," Haramis said to him. "Let the sindona walk into Brandoba by themselves to do their good work. The Sceptre must be disa.s.sembled here and now and never used again."

He bowed his head in chagrin. "Of course you are right. And you must take charge of the three talismans."

She was taking the magical instrument to pieces, tucking her own amber back amongst the now-empty wings of the Circle. "I have a better idea." She handed him the coronet. "You keep the Monster, Archimage of the Firmament." A mischievous smile touched her lips. "For more reasons than one!"

"Thank you."

"We will bond the Three-Lobed Burning Eye to Iriane. She is such an easygoing soul that the people-and the Unvanished Ones-might occasionally require reminding of her authority."

He settled the coronet onto his head. "I'll fetch the star-box. I hope the Blue Lady will forgive me for the freezing, and for the shameful way that my Guildsmen treated her small Mere Folk."

"We will go together to the Hollow Isles, release Iriane, and tell her everything. I think she will want to come back here and supervise the sindona, as well as using her new talisman to a.s.sist in the healing. You and I will share that work- but first, we must go to the Moons."

"To begin the awakening?"

She smiled at him. "Among other things."

He took her hand. Side by side, they looked into the west. The Sky Trillium was setting, but she had no doubt that it would rise again the next day, and each succeeding day until its work was done.