Chapter 49
The two days spent walking across Sayhla Island felt endless to Gaeren.
The misty plateaus and valleys were easy enough to cross with their web of creeks and soft grass fields pockmarked with candlenut and breadfruit trees.
But the unnatural silence that fell over the group was both daunting and exhausting.
Whenever the Vendarans tried asking the Sayhleens about the Seer’s Sanctuary, they were met with distrustful, monosyllabic answers. Even Nori, who occasionally attempted to give answers, was often cut off by her peers’ glares.
Gaeren hadn’t expected all the elders to travel with them.
But according to Nori, during one of her rare slips, it was tradition for at least one elder to accompany someone who had invoked their right to visit the Seer.
They made it sound like they’d all come because of Nori’s unique position as the daughter of an elder.
But Gaeren suspected it was more to keep an eye on the Vendarans.
Gellen and six soldiers came along with the elders and their wives, making Gaeren feel like they’d come to ensure his and Riveran’s doom.
“If we weren’t with you, would it have been faster for you to swim?” Gaeren asked the second day, hoping if he didn’t directly mention the Seer, his questions might seem harmless enough.
Nori glanced at her father, who walked ahead with his wife, their heads bent in conversation.
She shook her head. “If we swam, we’d have to go all the way around the island.
Tideholm is on the southern side of Sayhla Island, and the Seer’s Sanctuary is across the northern coast. This is the narrowest part of the island, and it’s a two-day walk from south to north.
We’ll travel by water up the channel to the east to enter the Seer’s Sanctuary on the third day.
I suspect it will be slower with all of you in tow, but we do have some small boats to help you along. ”
He pulled up the memory of the maps he’d seen in Orra’s copy of The Sins of the Stars, wondering if any of the cities labeled on her map were still around one thousand years later. “Is Tideholm your capital?”
She frowned. “All the villages are equal in Paelen’s waters, regardless of their size. Most have fewer elders than ours, but a couple of them have more. For every thousand people, one elder is chosen.”
He raised his brows in surprise. He’d thought there’d been more than five thousand people in Tideholm, but that meant their population in general was a fraction the size of Vendaras or Lorvandas.
But perhaps it had always been that way, since they had such unique physical features that required certain living conditions.
Before he could ask more questions, Gellen came and took Nori away, making it clear Gaeren had already gotten more information than he should have.
By the time they reached the northern shore, everyone was eager to switch to the boats.
The Sayhleens put the Vendarans to work paddling with oars two by two while they transformed and swam alongside them, sometimes disappearing for long lengths of time.
The brief respite from their cold looks allowed Gaeren to momentarily pretend things weren’t so bleak.
As they left the coast of the island, it didn’t take long to spot the coast of another island, its shores far more rocky with hardly any vegetation. They passed a few buildings cut into the rocks, where minimal trees and greenery created a tiny oasis in the otherwise uninhabitable coastline.
Nori surfaced near Gaeren and Riveran’s boat, playing with the rope as if the tie had come loose. But it was clear the knot remained perfect. “That’s the school for progenies,” she murmured.
“Do all the progenies go there to train?” Gaeren asked.
She nodded. “And most stay on as teachers. In a village our size, the only remaining progenies are the elders and a few close to them. They mostly ensure they have access to all the spokes and nothing more.”
Elder Algaen studied her from his place near Aeliana and Cyrus’ boat. His stare sharpened enough to make her dive beneath the water once more.
Something about the way she explained their progenies left Gaeren uneasy. It was almost like Sayhleens kept control over them so they couldn’t rise up and gain power over the people. Maybe that was a good thing. Or maybe it was just a different form of corruption in a different form of government.
Their third and final day dragged on as they paddled past the barren land, until Gaeren questioned if they were being brought to the Seer after all. Maybe the Sayhleens had some sort of sacrificial post where they left food for krakens.
The other Vendarans showed similar unease, especially when they were instructed to bring their boats to shore without anything but rock in sight.
“Where exactly are we going?” Gaeren asked.
Nori pointed to a dark space at the edge of the water.
“The Seer’s Sanctuary is a cavern deep within these rocks.
It’s only accessible from the water. In many ways, the island is like a tree, its trunk rooted deeply in the water and its branches flowing out in a wide circumference.
But when you travel underneath the branches, you’ll find empty pockets for nests.
It’s a space with little light and little to stimulate Lady Merinnia’s highly tuned senses. ”
Gaeren could barely make out where the water lapped underneath the overhanging cliff. “Can we fit under there?” he asked.
Nori hesitated. “We don’t usually take boats. I’m guessing it would be easier to reach it during low tide.”
“When is low tide?” Gaeren asked.
“This time of year…” Nori glanced at the Sun’s descent. “We missed it by a few hours.”
“Of course we did,” Gaeren muttered.
The Vendarans continued paddling, warily watching the rock wall grow near.
At times, it seemed as though they would crash against it and be smashed to pieces.
But the closer they got, the larger the space seemed, and soon it became apparent that if they bent down, they would fit under the rock while remaining in their boats.
However, they would be at the mercy of the Sayhleens to pull them in the right direction without their oars for guidance.
Gaeren shivered, imagining the Sayhleens abandoning them and trapping them.
It would be easy for them to do. Velden was the only one who seemed completely at ease with their position, and Gaeren vowed to follow the other man if boats were tipped.
Just in case his amphibious instincts gave him a leg up.
After they’d been pulled under the rock for a few feet, darkness encompassed them, leaving flickering luminescent algae beneath the water as their guide. It reminded Gaeren of his walk through the sprites’ cavern, and he grew more tense.
The claustrophobic paranoia settled to discomfort as the rock above them rose, allowing them space to sit up a little taller and look out a little farther.
The cavern remained dark, but more luminescent algae, and possibly sea creatures, left bright imprints along the cavern walls, like a rainbow’s reflection on the rock.
It showed the cavern they entered was far larger than Gaeren had imagined.
The pool of water they slid across led to rocky steps that the Sayhleens began ascending, their scales and fins falling away for skin and limbs.
Just beyond the steps rested a dais with as much headroom above it as any chamber in his parents’ home.
Stalagmites rose from the pool’s edge in crystal formations, beckoning them closer to the dais, where at least eight women stood, their statuesque stances more intimidating than soldiers at arms.
As the Sayhleens pulled the boats the remainder of the way to the stairs, the women continued staring straight ahead, their long white dresses eerily reflecting the luminescent glow.
Their bare feet were covered in scales, the water lapping at their toes.
Each one wore a necklace, their starlocks in plain view for all to see.
The unusual transparency left Gaeren uncomfortable, like they were partially undressed, and he avoided looking at each starlock’s individual shape.
As if they’d been instructed to do so, everyone kept silent—even Cyrus.
But their eyes wandered the entire length of the room, taking in the way it felt intentionally arranged even though everything appeared to be natural formations.
Stalactites hung in mirrored patterns, and plants Gaeren couldn’t identify rose from the water to line the cavern walls, their blossoms seeming to defy nature without the Sun’s light.
When all the Vendarans stood on the dais, surreptitiously stretching out sore muscles from their cramped ride in the boats, the women turned as one, leading them to the back of the cavern.
The glow from their dresses seemed to grow, likely a trick of their magic.
But it allowed their guests to see a hall leading to another cavern.
The sanctuary seemed to grow in opulence the deeper they went, making questions build up in Gaeren, fueled by the fact that he knew he couldn’t ask them.
It was as magnificent as his parents’ palace, but in some ways it felt like far more, because it seemed to be formed by the Sun’s own hands rather than by the people.
When they reached the next cavern, it was far smaller, barely fitting their twenty-eight travelers and the eight women. Chairs and refreshments were given to all, but the elders remained standing, speaking in hushed tones with the women.
Nori sat near Aeliana at a table, and Gaeren found a chair across from them, leaning in to hear what Nori might be explaining.
“But who are they?” Aeliana was asking.
“They’re the acolytes of the Seer. Each one of them is a possible replacement for her, but they don’t expect it.
There’s no method to the madness of a new Seer being chosen.
It’s simply seen by the former Seer and decided.
Sometimes it comes after mere moons of one Seer being in place; other times it’s years.
Lady Merinnia has been in this position since before some of the elders were born, so we all expect her to pass it on in the near future. ”
The acolytes kept glancing at Gaeren and the others, their sharp gazes intimidating as he wondered how much they could see. If each of these women were trained to be the future Seer, were they sifting the visitors’ futures even now?
“What happens next?” Gaeren asked.
“From what my mother told me, this is where only one of us moves forward. I suspect they’ll take us one at a time to see her until her patience wears out.
We could be here for days getting through everyone.
” Nori’s face grew troubled. “I don’t know of any instance where this many have come to see her at once.
I thought it was forbidden, but it seems it was tradition for it to be an individual’s journey. ”
Gaeren took a sip of the fresh water they’d laid out, then grabbed some sort of seaweed roll that looked more edible than the other things on the table.
Despite his practice at multiple ambassador meetings with strange customs and foods, he still made a face and set the roll down on an empty plate, desperate for a place to spit out the little he’d eaten.
“You don’t care for the octopus intestine rolls?
” Velden asked, slapping Gaeren on the back and making him choke on the slimy substance.
Velden picked up the remainder of the roll and shoved half of it in his mouth in a single bite.
“My mother made these for me when I was a boy. I’ll have to get the recipe before we leave. ”
Gaeren felt sick watching the other man eat, but he was saved from responding by the elders and the acolytes turning to face the group, their gazes solemn. For the first time, the elders seemed nervous, and Elder Algaen sought Nori out with his eyes, his expression pained.
One of the acolytes stepped forward to address the group.
“Lady Merinnia saw your approach. She is unhappy with your decision to come with so many, but she has seen that the result is good. She is willing to sacrifice her comfort to see all of you for the sake of the people. Once you have had your fill, we will take you all to her chamber.”
Nori and Gellen both balked. “All of us?” Nori asked. “At once?”
The acolyte turned her way. “It has been foreseen.”