them, the conceptualization of peace after battle, of positive change, and law and order. I was the embodiment of the genesis of the new telepaths: the son of the Green Goddess, Her protector, and Her consort. Now do you see the differences?"
What he was saying had a ring of the familiar about it. It was what Noni had said to him. As he began to feel uncomfortable, his anger started to wane.
A purr of pleasure. "You do understand! It's the next stage in your spiritual development, Tallinu. Without understanding this, you cannot go forward."
"Very well. There are only Entities," said Kaid abruptly. "What has this to do with me? Why did you call me here? To tell me you're more powerful than any God?" Even he could hear the trace of bitterness in his voice.
"So you could dream-walk, Tallinu. There are those among the Guardians who'd prevent you from learning this skill."
"Guardians?" He frowned, ignoring for now the negative comment. He'd not heard the title before except when applied to Guardian Dhaika as head of the Retreat.
"Wheels within wheels, Tallinu," said Vartra, getting up from the table to fetch the two beakers and jug that stood on the dresser behind him. Returning, he placed them on the table and sat down. "The Guardians are people who are one with our land, who guard and monitor the whole of our planet."
"How many more layers are there controlling us?" demanded Kaid. "Why have we at Stronghold never heard of them?"
"Those who need to know are aware of them, never fear. And now, like the few others who are permitted to dream-walk to our realms, so are you."
Mind working furiously, Kaid forced himself to lean back in his chair, letting his hands relax again. Sunlight from a side window dappled Vartra's tunic, making it appear first dark gray, then black as it almost merged into his tan pelt where he sat in the shadows. Compared to the person he'd met in the Fire Margins, this Vartra looked fitter and had gained weight and muscle. No longer did he appear the aesthetic Doctor of genetics, now he looked the part of the God— or Entity.
"Varza was from the plains, just as I am," Vartra said quietly. "We became one Entity."
"Why would I need to dream-walk? And why would anyone want to prevent me from doing it?" Guardians, protecting the soil of their world: it had the guildmark of the ravings of the Human mystic, Derwent, yet this was coming from Vartra.
Vartra leaned forward. "If you're called by an Entity, given permission to enter their realm, then you have power, Tallinu. The power to speak to them, to learn from them— to negotiate with them and change the way things might otherwise be. As Ghyakulla negotiated with me to bring you here."
His unease grew as he remembered that physically he wasn't in a highland cottage, he was actually meditating in the temple of Ghyakulla at Vartra's Retreat, deep in the heart of the Dzahai Mountains. "Where's here exactly?"
"It's a stepping stone," Vartra said, reaching for the jug. "A starting point, where one such as you begins your journey."
Kaid felt his temper rising again. It always came down to this: more work for Vartra. "I've done enough for you," he said warningly, the rumble of anger obvious in his voice. "You've used me once too often, Vartra. It ends here."
"You came here of your own free will," Vartra pointed out as he poured water from the jug into both beakers. "Into my realm, and my home. Your choice."
Kaid made a derisory noise. "So what? It means nothing to me. You tricked me into believing Ghyakulla had called me."
"She did," Vartra reminded him, picking up one of the beakers and taking a sip. "She called you because She knows what I need of you."
His anger finally dispelled his unease. He slammed his open palm violently against the top of the table, making the jug and the remaining beaker jump and shake. "What is it now, Vartra? You've taken everything from me, even my faith in you!"
"I was driven to do what I did during my life, Tallinu, by
What he was saying had a ring of the familiar about it. It was what Noni had said to him. As he began to feel uncomfortable, his anger started to wane.
A purr of pleasure. "You do understand! It's the next stage in your spiritual development, Tallinu. Without understanding this, you cannot go forward."
"Very well. There are only Entities," said Kaid abruptly. "What has this to do with me? Why did you call me here? To tell me you're more powerful than any God?" Even he could hear the trace of bitterness in his voice.
"So you could dream-walk, Tallinu. There are those among the Guardians who'd prevent you from learning this skill."
"Guardians?" He frowned, ignoring for now the negative comment. He'd not heard the title before except when applied to Guardian Dhaika as head of the Retreat.
"Wheels within wheels, Tallinu," said Vartra, getting up from the table to fetch the two beakers and jug that stood on the dresser behind him. Returning, he placed them on the table and sat down. "The Guardians are people who are one with our land, who guard and monitor the whole of our planet."
"How many more layers are there controlling us?" demanded Kaid. "Why have we at Stronghold never heard of them?"
"Those who need to know are aware of them, never fear. And now, like the few others who are permitted to dream-walk to our realms, so are you."
Mind working furiously, Kaid forced himself to lean back in his chair, letting his hands relax again. Sunlight from a side window dappled Vartra's tunic, making it appear first dark gray, then black as it almost merged into his tan pelt where he sat in the shadows. Compared to the person he'd met in the Fire Margins, this Vartra looked fitter and had gained weight and muscle. No longer did he appear the aesthetic Doctor of genetics, now he looked the part of the God— or Entity.
"Varza was from the plains, just as I am," Vartra said quietly. "We became one Entity."
"Why would I need to dream-walk? And why would anyone want to prevent me from doing it?" Guardians, protecting the soil of their world: it had the guildmark of the ravings of the Human mystic, Derwent, yet this was coming from Vartra.
Vartra leaned forward. "If you're called by an Entity, given permission to enter their realm, then you have power, Tallinu. The power to speak to them, to learn from them— to negotiate with them and change the way things might otherwise be. As Ghyakulla negotiated with me to bring you here."
His unease grew as he remembered that physically he wasn't in a highland cottage, he was actually meditating in the temple of Ghyakulla at Vartra's Retreat, deep in the heart of the Dzahai Mountains. "Where's here exactly?"
"It's a stepping stone," Vartra said, reaching for the jug. "A starting point, where one such as you begins your journey."
Kaid felt his temper rising again. It always came down to this: more work for Vartra. "I've done enough for you," he said warningly, the rumble of anger obvious in his voice. "You've used me once too often, Vartra. It ends here."
"You came here of your own free will," Vartra pointed out as he poured water from the jug into both beakers. "Into my realm, and my home. Your choice."
Kaid made a derisory noise. "So what? It means nothing to me. You tricked me into believing Ghyakulla had called me."
"She did," Vartra reminded him, picking up one of the beakers and taking a sip. "She called you because She knows what I need of you."
His anger finally dispelled his unease. He slammed his open palm violently against the top of the table, making the jug and the remaining beaker jump and shake. "What is it now, Vartra? You've taken everything from me, even my faith in you!"
"I was driven to do what I did during my life, Tallinu, by
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