Dream of a City of Ruin: Dreams of QaiMaj Book II

Chapter 7: Sunset: Stasia

After the ancient Khell crone handed Stasia the orb, the tension in the egla dissipated, and the gathering became much like the cozy gatherings of the Liathua women during the storms. The circle broke, and the women gathered in smaller groups, and a susurration of quiet chatter filled the egla. The fire in its center blazed high, but a soft pelt was placed against the far wall for Stasia to sit upon, and several of the women gathered around her. With Stasia's permission, the woman with tiny braids began to work Stasia's hair into the same style, adding in beads of abalone. Another Healer brought her a bowl of salty green broth.

To Stasia's surprise, the conversation around her grew prosaic. One Healer spoke of how she missed the sun, which had not shown its face yet this spring on the entire continent of Khell. Others spoke of how small the boareal gathering was this year, that the late spring must have been hard on them as well. In the group nearby, women were exchanging pouches of lichen and seaweed and discussing healing techniques.

Stasia listened to everything with half an ear, fingering the object in her palm. The woman had not asked for it back, and although Stasia disagreed with the Khell about what it meant, she knew she would not part with it for any reason.

Neither Maia nor the other Healers knew any more about the orb than what the ancient Healer had said, that it was a child orb, and the Khell prophecies said the Child of Ice would reunite it with its mother.

The orb fairly resonated T'Jas, evidence, perhaps, that there had been T'Jas users on Khell long ago. It felt incomplete to Stasia, as if there were parts to it that had been separated from it for a very long time. Stasia was tempted to reach toward it with T'Jas, but she did not know how it would react, and she did not dare waste another vaerce trying to find out.

No matter how long she stared at it, listening absently to the voices around her, picking up the gist of the conversation through her limited understanding of Khell, she could not discern its purpose. Was it a weapon, like a globomb, something that would go off under just the right conditions? Or was it something subtler? Was it like a sealed gold plate, containing some kind of crucial information? What would happen when, or if, Stasia "reunited it with the mother orb?"

Stasia was still not convinced of Maia's claim that she would save all the Khell, but the information from the ancient Healer seemed conclusive. She will come as a maiden and leave as a grandmother . . . The memory of the words sent a chill up her spine.

" . . . City of Ruin? I heard tales of such a thing in my youth." Stasia was startled out of her thoughts by Maia's question, posed to the other Healers gathered around.

"The legends say it lies to the north," said the woman braiding her hair.

"Everything lies north to you southerners," scoffed the north coast woman who had given Stasia the broth. "It lies on the deadland, across the Stormbirth waters. I had an uncle once who traveled there and back on a polloon."

"That's absurd," said another north coast woman from a different tribe. "You couldn't cross the Stormbirth on a polloon. But the legends do say the city lies across the water. They say our destiny lies there."

"Polloon?" Stasia asked. "You have some sort of boat that could get us across?"

"No one can cross the Stormbirth waters except the birds of Dhuciri," Maia said, coming over to join their circle. "Are you convinced, Child of Ice?"

"Not that I'm the savior of all the Khell," Stasia said tersely. "That there is more here than I suspected, yes. T'Jas has touched these lands. There must have been Icers among you once, long ago. There must have been a Dreamer among them who left the foretelling. Perhaps they foretold my coming to Khell, but they must have been mistaken about me saving your people. I intend to continue as planned, Maia. I will travel north with these tribes, and somehow cross these uncrossable waters to find the city."