Discordant Harmonies 3: Measure of Resistance

Chapter Fourteen

There were not enough hours in the days. Asthané sighed as he noted down the next set of journals the border Temple post had with mention of teaching. He remembered from some vague, nearly-faded memory of history books claiming humans came from a planet whose days were divided into twenty-four hours of only sixty minutes apiece and contrasted it with the Chraesti day of twenty-eight hours of sixty minutes apiece, or twenty-four hours of seventy minutes each. As he recalled, that same history claimed how, once they'd Transcended, the Gods had changed humans' physiology to enable them to function efficiently on that twenty-eight hour day. And yet there weren't enough hours in the day. He couldn't help but wonder how anybody had gotten everything they needed done with less time in the day. As it was, Asthané couldn't find the time to study, create questionnaires for Géta, and write the letters to Zéth and Éethin he absolutely had to without staying up past curfew now they were attending to proper watches and training exercises.

Curfew was one of the changes Esqué had instituted. No one was restricted to their rooms, precisely, but as the Proxy had explained it to Asthané after one of Géta's early therapy appointments—when he'd still been in the infirmary—it was meant to encourage discipline. Esqué's reasoning was that if he wanted everyone to be at their best and most rested, he needed to ensure everyone got an opportunity to have plenty of sleep. This, however, was one of Asthané's two nights of the week when he was allowed to stay up past curfew—everyone had two such nights each week—and he had pass chits naming the nights he was allowed to wander freely past curfew and the following days, when he wasn't required for any duties aside from those he chose to assign himself. Géta's free nights and days were the same, because he was Asthané's musician. And Esqué had not made allowances for anyone. He'd passed out the chits, those were the nights and days a person was given, and trading chits or requesting other days was not permitted and would be firmly disciplined if Esqué learned such efforts had been attempted. Téus had been unhappy his (and his Healers') free nights and days were different from those assigned to Géta and Asthané, but he understood why he couldn't change the days. Everybody did.

They were on war-watch.

Esqué's arrival seven weeks ago had marked for everyone here the fact Éethin was taking the threat of war very seriously, even if the International Council wasn't. That was one of the most important changes Esqué had made. He'd commanded Asthané to share all he knew about the Army-on-the-Border debate. The Proxy wanted everyone to know what was at stake here. Though some things were kept secret—Asthané hadn't heard a single whisper regarding Téus's Gifts, for instance—Esqué thought it extremely important to be as honest as possible about things like the political Situation back at the Capitol which put them at risk. According to Esqué, he'd been encouraging those who had complaints about the Situation to write to the Grand Matriarch and the Empress—and some who had written had even been addressing some of their letters directly to the International Council at large. Just this week, Asthané had begun receiving letters from Zéth regarding these missives, which were apparently making the rounds of Court—in actuality as well as by rumor—and Asthané had relayed this to anyone who'd thought to ask him for an update on the Situation back Home.

Not only that, Esqué had been scrying and had all his Communicants out since before arriving out here. In fact, he didn't stop working. His secretary had free hours and days, but the Proxy continued toiling on his own in his office, in a workroom—he didn't stop working. This was, Asthané knew, one of the Gifts bestowed upon Mages as advanced as Esqué happened to be, and, in fact, Esqué had told him during their first romance that as long as Esqué got outside during the day to have a little natural light on his skin—even if it was cloudy, this Gift worked—he didn't need to eat, drink, or sleep. It was something Esqué had explained he preferred not to rely upon too much, but which he employed when the situation required. So, Asthané knew, if Esqué was using his Gift of photosynthesis, the Situation here was dire.