Rhistmaege

Round Trip

Almost imperceptibly, Dovinicus MaCabre became aware of his breathing once more. The blackness was still there, but there was no doubting his breath had returned. He was at ease. All was well.

Thwack!

Dovi bolted upright in his chair. The brightness of life reached up and shook him out of his fogginess.

"Mr. Gelifan, I'm not sure how they did things at what's left of that backwoods school you came from, but here, at the House Vigor and Virtuous Vocations, sleeping in class is not tolerated. Detention, for the next five days. Be here an hour before class starts. Tardiness gets you another week," said a slip of a woman holding a teacher's rod, her silver hair wrapped tightly in a bun at the top of her head. Narrowed, deep set brown eyes peered down beneath well manicured brows. "Understood?"

Dovi felt as if he had swallowed a bug. I don't understand. How could I be here? This is impossible. He stared blankly around, finally noticing all the other students gawking and smirking at him.

"Let's try this one more time. Maybe a little more slowly for you. Un - der - stood?" The silver haired woman's cheeks flared crimson.

Still Dovi could not bring himself to speak. It was all too much to comprehend. A dream?

"Okay, that's another week Movinicus. I won't forget this insolence."

Movinicus? What the? How does she know that name? "Um, my name, it's not-" Smack. Someone sitting behind him slapped him on the back of his neck.

Dovi turned around as he reached up and rubbed at his neck.

His eyes grew twice their size. There sitting behind him was none other than Nemi Sooth. She narrowed her eyes tightly, pressed her lips together, and shook her head in a warning manner.

The teacher returned to stand next to Dovi. "Your name is not?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"Well, it- it's not worth uttering. I'm sorry I'm such a disappointment. I-I'll try to do better." Dovi smiled weakly.

"No more interruptions Mr. Gelifan, or I'll send you back so quickly to that idiot Orbillister Puck, you won't know which was is up. Now, if we're done with the interruptions, let us proceed to the Mind Melees. And no, you are excluded today Movinicus. We'll not have you beating up on the class today." The students, much to Dovi's surprise, let out an audible sigh of relief.

What's that all about? Dovi squirmed for the rest of the school day, watching the strangers sharing a classroom with him. What's happened? Why did she call me Movinicus? Why did they seem happy I wasn't in the Mind Melees?

Finally the last bell rang and the students started to file out of class. Nemi followed close behind Dovi, making sure none of the others were able to separate them.

"Follow me," she whispered. She started down a long, crowded hallway, picking her way past throngs of chattering girls and boisterous boys. Dovi followed her up two flights of stairs, down another hallway, and then stopped in front of a wooden door. She opened the door and Dovi followed her in.

"What's going on? Why did she call me Movinicus? Am I Dovi or Movi? I'm so confused." Dovi sat down on a bed off to his left.

Nemi pulled a folded piece of parchment out of her pocket and handed it to Dovi. "Here, it's from Tuck."

Dovi took the note, opened it, and began to read.

Movinicus is who you must be, for now. Nemi has been completely briefed on what your background is to be. I spent much time working on adjusting the memories of those who you would encounter at Triple V's. Don't be angry with us for not telling you what we had planned. Bisby made a great sacrifice to allow Nemi to regain her physical form. He volunteered to bring Craeve and Ruenwall to Meregrund. I have them trapped, but I'm not sure how long Gearda and I can hold on. You must take advantage of their absence and make your way to Falfergast Sanctum. There are those who are captive there who can help. I'm sorry it had to be this way, but Rhist has a mind of it's own, and we must walk down the path it takes us. This may be the last time we communicate, as I don't know which way the Four Winds will blow. Craeve and Ruenwall must be stopped, or all is lost. Please tell Nemi that I love her. Take care Dovinicus.

"That's it. I'm sorry, but I let our enemies attack us without warning me. Tuck is a goddamn liar. Why should I do anything right now?" Dovi crumpled the paper up and threw it on the ground. "And you knew about this? You didn't tell me. No warning. Nothing? I am so pissed right now." He stood and paced about the small room.

"There was no other way. If you had known Craeve and Ruenwall were coming, you would never have reached your Rhist. You would have been so preoccupied with preparing to face them- you would never have found it. When you finally did reach your Rhist- you opened the gateway for them to find Meregrund. Tuck and Bisby allowed you to reach it knowing Craeve and Ruenwall would be alerted to Meregrund's location. They sacrificed everything for you. Bisby gave his life for me. Tuck will probably die for giving us both this chance. You are always so quick to judge Dovi. Think about what I just said. They waited for you to gain your power, in exchange, they lost everything. Go ahead, blame me for not telling you. Blame all of us. You're the selfish one. All Dovi, all the time." Nemi wiped away the tears from her face.

"I didn't know." Dovi scuffed his shoe against the floorboards. "This is just all too much right now. I have no idea how I got here. Why are they calling me Movinicus? How could I have taken classes? I wasn't here."

"Tuck has been rewiring your past since the day you entered Meregrund. He has retooled the lower consciousness of hundreds, no, maybe thousands of people. You won't find many who know the name Dovinicus MaCabre anymore. Movi played the part for you while you were with us. The two of you, are once again one, but you must forget your past Dovi. It is not safe to bring it up anymore. I wish that was all, but there is one more thing." Nemi pulled a small looking glass out of her pocket and handed it to Dovi.  "Look."

Dovi looked into the mirror.

The mirror held not only his reflection, but a reflection of others. Men, women, children. All crowding about in such a mass of humanity, that Dovi could not ascertain how many there were. His hand shook. Finally, he averted his eyes.

"What devilry is this?" he asked.

"What Tuck did to get you here. All this. The adjustments. He needed strength. Dovi, he's passed his ancestors on to you in order to make this transition work. He couldn't get you back here any other way. They all are a part of you now. Their memories are your memories." Nemi took Dovi by the hand. "I can help you- manage this."

"What do you mean manage?"

"There are some who are not satisfied to remain memories. They'll- try things. Tuck has shown me what to do," said Nemi.

Dovi looked back into the mirror once more. It was only his reflection this time. He blinked and his eyes changed from gray to blue. He blinked again and they changed to almond brown.

"We can't allow anyone to see this Dovi. Let us start on what Tuck explained to me. You must gain control of your eyes."

Dovi looked to Nemi and then back to the mirror. There staring back at him was a hideous image of man with a large puncture wound between his eyes. His one eye lazy eye bore into him. Muck Sooth.