Chapter 35 #2
I couldn’t handle more deaths on my hands. Not now.
But Valen laid a gentle hand on my knee. “Regardless of where you think you should be,” they murmured, quietly enough that only I could hear, “consider that perhaps you are meant to be here with us. Would I have had a vision of you convening with us here otherwise?”
Protests weighed heavy on my tongue. But when I caught sight of S?ren and Sonja ducking into a tent, both with the same genuine, star-defying smile on their faces, I decided. “Right.”
Valen sat back. “Then let us begin. What is the purpose of the Tapestry gifting Lurae to humankind?”
A teenage Seeing One sitting to my right shot their hand in the air. “The Tapestry considers itself a guardian of sorts, responsible for helping humankind progress. Aloisa believed it was a collective consciousness created from the souls of all who have lived and died before us.”
A young man not much older than me huffed from across the fire.
He wasn’t wearing the same garb as the other Seeing Ones.
“It may call itself a guardian, but do we truly believe that? Maybe it gave the world magic, but that included Callum. And all the priests. Even the last King and Queen of Bhorglid. If the Tapestry is truly all-knowing, then it should have known not to give such power to so many terrible people.”
Valen locked eyes with me and explained, “Rasmus is a refugee from Bhorglid. He joined us a few years ago after the last of his family was killed by the priests.”
I turned to the young man. “I’m so sorry.”
“He makes some excellent points, too,” Valen continued. “Who has thoughts on this?”
A Seeing One raised their hand. “I once heard a story from a distant land, told by a merchant who crossed the sea to trade in faraway places. He spoke a tale of magic’s creation that he insisted was entirely metaphorical—it speaks of a weaver who created a tapestry.
They worked with only light-colored yarn at first. But when they finished and looked it over, they were unhappy with the result.
It was impossible to see the design when all the colors blended together in only a few shades.
They took the tapestry apart and began it anew—this time with both light and dark thread. And when they finished…”
I picked up the gist. “The design was more beautiful for the contrast. So you’re saying the Tapestry gave Callum his abilities on purpose.”
“It’s possible. But it’s also speculated by some in the caravan that perhaps the Tapestry didn’t know what Callum would become.
After all, it can see the future. But can it control our minute decisions?
Unlikely. Perhaps Callum took a turn so unexpected even the Tapestry had no idea it placed unlimited power in the hands of a dictator. ”
“I don’t think that’s true,” I added, surprised to feel so many eyes on me, my new companions listening in carefully.
“When I’ve spoken to the Tapestry, it says there are many threads leading to many different futures.
It won’t tell me how to achieve the outcome I want, but it’s been more than willing to show me the past as I make my decisions.
I think it sees all the potential the future holds but refuses to push anyone in a specific direction. ”
“It won’t choose for you,” the Seeing One who told the merchant’s story murmured.
“Exactly.” I nodded. “It does seem quite determined to show me exactly what happened with Aloisa, though. She defeated Callum in battle with her sword, and the priests immediately began worshiping her instead of him.”
Valen tilted their head. “Do you not know the story of the first Bloodshed Trials?”
“No.”
A woman spoke up this time. “The priests pretend it was a divine order from the gods. But really, they consider Aloisa and Callum’s final confrontation to be the first Bloodshed Trials.”
The information suddenly clicked in my mind. “The priests thought they were competing…for godhood?”
“Yes,” the teenage Seeing One said, excitement evident in their briskly tapping feet.
“Callum taught them to believe that the strongest were the ones who deserved devotion. When Aloisa was able to kill him, they did exactly what he had taught them to—they turned their devotion to her. So much so that they named her and her six sons their pantheon.”
“And that’s why they worship the gods while still revering Callum as a revolutionary,” I finished. It all made sense now. “Despite Aloisa working for so long to destroy Callum and everything he worked for.”
Valen concluded. “When it came time for the first King of Bhorglid to pass the throne on to one of his sons, the head priest at the time remembered what had happened when Aloisa killed Callum. And he suggested the king at the time adopt the same practice with his children. Whoever was left alive in the arena at the end of the Trials would take their father’s place on the throne.
The people had been coaxed to bloodthirstiness for years with no war to show for it; they were all too willing to accept a battle to the death for succession. ”
My mind was reeling. “And the priests just…pretended this never happened?”
Valen laughed. “They still revered Callum, even if they’d lost faith in his godhood. Telling the truth might have turned some people against their leader.”
A hand came to rest on my shoulder. S?ren looked down at me, a soft, weary smile on his face. “It’s getting late. We need to get some rest before tomorrow.”
He was right. I stood, stretching, mind racing with everything I’d learned. “Thank you,” I said to Valen and the small gathering of caravan members. “For sharing your knowledge with me.”
Valen smiled. “We lift each other up. Rest well, Revna. Tomorrow, we begin the real work.”