Eyes Of Alchemist

154 Pages·2016·0.37 MB·English

by  Woods Janet

EYES OF THE ALCHEMIST
By
Janet Woods
Written with love for
<><><>Ali-Bali Boosticks<><><>
© copyright by Janet Woods
Cover Art by Jenny Dixon
ISBN 1-58608-311-2
New Concepts Publishing
Lake Park, GA 31636
www.newconceptspublishing.com
CHAPTER ONE
Had it not been for one of the guardians of the temple, Tiana would have missed the ceremonial start of
her thirteenth season.
She was asleep, lying on a tree-shaded bank next to a stream. Exotic insects with delicate, gaudy wings
fluttered overhead, the like of which hadn?t been seen in Truarc in living memory.
That the stream and all surrounding it was of Tiana?s own creation didn?t escape the notice of the
guardian, who frowned as she dispelled the image with a poke of her stick. The girl had obviously been in
the temple library without permission again. The same stick struck the novice between the shoulder
blades, bringing her scrambling to her feet.
"Dreams are forbidden," she said. "You will recite the fiftieth rule."
Loath to part with her dream, Tiana felt a moment of claustrophobic panic follow as the walled garden
closed in on her. The remnants of the image still clung to her mind, so she almost reached up to catch a
butterfly before it vanished.
The sound of the bells brought her back to reality. The fiftieth rule? Composing her features, she adjusted
the coarse, linen bonnet on her head and sucked in a deep breath. Hands behind her back she went
through the litany of rules in her head, counting them on her fingers.
"Well?"
"A novice, whether awake or asleep, may not indulge in any fantasy which will improve her own
comfort." The rule dampened the rebellious spirit that had taken advantage of her sub-state, but not as
much as it should have. She bowed her head. "I?m sorry, guardian. Forgive my transgression."
The guardian grunted. "You will chant strengthening mantras for one hour every day until your sub-state
accepts self-discipline."
Tiana kept her head lowered. An hour on the mantras would encroach into her free meditation time,
something she enjoyed even if it did get her into trouble. "And how long will that be, guardian?"
"I will tell you when to stop." A bony hand tilted up Tiana?s chin and the guardian examined her eyes for
signs of contrition. There was an in-built rebellion in the green depths, the guardian thought, and more - a
well developed and rare high-sense.
The guardian sighed. "I despair that your nature will ever be molded to the required standard."
A pulse beat an alarm against Tiana?s skull. What was the guardian implying? That she might be sent
away. That was not possible. She drew herself up. "The High One said the augur proclaimed my temple
training."
"None witnessed the proclamation. You must try harder to be obedient."
"Not only will I try harder, I will succeed," Tiana said, and clicked her fingers to bring Atarta to her
side.
The Pitilan came to sit beside the girl. It stared unblinkingly at the guardian, reminding her that Tiana was
high-born - that Tiana?s sire was The High One himself. All Tiana had to do was order it and she - a
guardian of the temple - would be ripped asunder. So much for standing on one?s dignity.
Not that the girl would order her death unless directly attacked, but there had been a certain
unconscious arrogance in the gesture, which stemmed from her bloodline. However badly Tiana
performed, the temple elders wouldn?t dare to reject her, the guardian realized.
She kissed the girl gently on the cheek, glad of the high born connection which kept her safe, for despite
her failings, she had many qualities to please. "Of course you will succeed. Now, go and bathe, and
ready yourself for the life change ceremony." She couldn?t help hoping that she wasn?t assigned Tiana as
a trainee. She didn?t have the patience to cope with such a one.
Tiana stopped to turn and smile at her. "You need not worry, guardian. I would offer my own life to the
Pitilan rather than harm one hair on your head. As for the other matter, there is one called Sybilla who
will train me."
The guardian was so startled she forgot to remind Tiana of the tenth rule. "A novice shall not seek entry
into the thoughts of others." Strange, but that very morning a woman named Sybilla had turned up at the
temple gate - a woman so ancient it was a wonder she still lived. She?d worn the badge of the Grand
Alchemist upon her breast, the highest office a temple guardian could reach - but only a handful did.
That one of their novices was to be singled out for special training was a great honor for the temple ...
but Tiana? No, it must be one of the girl?s fantasies. All the same ...? The guardian slowly shook her
head and hastened to inform the High Mother of what had occurred.
***
Thirteen seasons was a life change, a time when Truarc maids put childhood aside. It passed with great
fanfare. Each maid was dressed in a fine gown and paraded through the city. After much feasting they
were handed over to the families of their chosen life mates - though it was three more seasons until mating
took place.
For the temple novices, after the parade the day passed in merriment. It was a day when convention was
relaxed a little, when feasting and dancing took place. After that, they would don simple white robes and
assemble in the hall, where the augur would assign each novice to specialist guardians for training. Some
would become teachers, some healers, some would be assigned to the children?s nurseries, and some
would travel to the far edge towns to serve in the outer temples.
The temple hall was vast, a place full of echoes. Tiana loved its sense of antiquity and could almost sense
the ancients, as if each stone and tile was steeped in the sweat, blood and tears they?d shed.
The floor was flagged with faded, cracked stone tiles, so it resembled a mosaic. Central was the fountain
of knowledge, a covered pool in which the augur slept. Carved columns held up a domed roof and
arches contained statuary - great and fearsome figures sculpted of metal and stone by some ancient
artisan.
Story-tellers said they resembled Cabrilan warriors, who came through a door of swirling blackness that
opened unexpectedly and without warning. The Cabrilan took the Truarc women, it was said. Tiana
thought it odd that the Cabrilan warriors never appeared in the city, just the villages and far edge towns
where the people were superstitious, and where a good tale sold to a story-teller would earn a reward.
Tiana didn?t want to believe in such things. The High Mother said it was a fanciful tale repeated by those
who had nothing better to do than spread rumor. She said if the Cabrilan had been stupid enough to split
the planet asunder, then how did they acquire the skills to open doors in space and travel through them?
Even the cultured and learned Truarc couldn?t do that, and they were descended from scientists and
teachers, not common farmers and rough, fighting men.
Even so, she sometimes gazed up at the Cabrilan world with wondering eyes, and shivered. Had any of
the savage-looking warriors survived? But how could they have, when most of the planet was covered in
dense foliage that kept the sunlight from the surface? The foliage emitted clouds of poisonous gas to drift
or swirl angrily about the atmosphere. Nobody could survive that, and if they had ...
Her gaze went to the nearest statue, a warrior painted in purple and black, who wore silver rings about
his wrists. The diadem on his head denoted he was a lord. He towered over her, his sword a fierce arc of
silver. The hand shaft was studded with stones that shimmered colored light around the great hall.
Handsome as he was, she?d show this Cabrilan lord what she thought of his race. Glancing about her at
the dancing, chattering maids, she slid behind the statue, then hitched her skirt above her knees and
tucked it into her belt.
This warrior lord was her favorite, and was easy to climb. She scaled him on occasion, climbing from
one smooth muscle to the next, especially when the augur was being consulted. With her feet inserted into
the crook of one elbow she could comfortably clasp her arms around his neck and conceal her hands
under the ornament on the cloak. His hair was fashioned with splits in the tresses, through which she
could gaze upon her sire?s face when the High Council met. Although it was forbidden, she?d never been
caught.
She held her breath when beneath her, two guardians came to stand.
"We are doubly honored. The High One is coming for the choosing ceremony," one of them said.
Tiana thought she looked a little like her father with her silvery hair, though he was old and bent and
walked with a stick. She?d heard his hair had been dark before her birth, and his eyes were blue and
sad.
She knew nothing of her mother, so her ears pricked up when the other guardian whispered, "The High
One must have been exceedingly virile to have produced a daughter at such a great age."
"It?s said Tiana?s the offspring of a goddess who stopped in her journeying to rest in the wilderness. The
goddess cast a spell over The High One, filling his loins with an insatiable desire to cast his seed inside
her. When she?d taken her fill of his potency he returned from the wilderness an old man, but full of
wisdom and carrying their baby daughter in his arms. He had no knowledge of how he begat the child,
though their genetics matched. It?s said that Tiana is cast in the image of the goddess, so when the time
comes to fulfill her destiny all may recognize and know her. "
Tiana?s ears burned when the first guardian snorted. "More likely she?s the offspring of a mating
between a rock goat and a gibber monkey. She?s as feisty as the first, as agile as the second and as
untamable as both. She indulges in her fantasies to the point of manifestation, and practices the art of
mesmer on her fellow novices."
"Perhaps that difference is why Sybilla has come for her."
Tiana smiled with delight when her sire came into the temple hall to take his seat at the table, hugging to
herself the knowledge that she might just be the daughter of a goddess. She tried to imagine her sire as a
young man but could not. His face was too lined, his stoop too great, as if all of his energy had been
sucked from his body ... which if the guardian?s words were true, could well be the case. She colored
again, because novices were not supposed to let their thoughts dwell on worldly matters.
There was a disturbance in the corner of her eye. Her glance wandered towards it, but she saw nothing
except a swirl of black dust in a corner, caused no doubt by the draught whistling through the cracks of
the gigantic and solid wooden doors. Figures were carved upon the surface of the doors, of Cabrilan
warriors on horseback and of Truarc scribes and story-tellers in the days before the split.
It was said the doors were carved from a single tree trunk, but no trees of such size existed on Truarc
now, and each season the wilderness claimed more and more of the arable land, so the scientists had to
find ways to supplement the available food.
Her glance went back to the revelry and she laid her cheek against the cool, smooth surface of the
warrior?s shoulder. When she looked down again the guardians had gone, but an old woman was
standing below and staring up at her. She knew without asking who she was and whispered. "Sybilla, I
was expecting you."
"And here I am." They exchanged a smile and a silent bond formed between them. As agile as a gibber
monkey, Sybilla began to climb the statue to join her.
She took her place on the other arm. "I used to perch here when I was a novice, too. Behind this ear I
have carved my name."
"And I behind this ear."
The laughter they shared was a comfortable thing.
A swishing sound caught Tiana?s attention, and it seemed to be coming from the inside of the warrior. At
the same time she noticed it was trembling. One of the underground tremors, no doubt. They were
nothing to be frightened of. They didn?t come to anything.
Her head turned automatically towards the disturbance in her vision, which had grown larger. The black
swirl had become a column, the edge of which buffeted the statue she stood on. Her eyes widened, and
she clung on for dear life as a streak of lightning licked from the disturbance to glance off a jewel in the
sword hilt.
The stone exploded into a thousand fragments that flew across the hall to rain upon the revelers like
purple hailstones. Someone screamed. The High Mother rose to her feet, her hands raised as if to ward
off a blow. "Let us remain calm."
Sybilla?s hand closed around Tiana?s, strangely comforting. "Whatever happens, try to show no fear,"
she whispered.
Novices and guardians alike were looking towards the wall, where a black hole had opened. Inside, a
turbulence of darkness heaved and hissed amongst darting tongues of lightning. A warm sensation rippled
over her skin, then it was gone, leaving her with a dry throat. She swallowed, and tried not to gasp when
two figures stepped out of the darkness and stood either side of it. "Cabrilan warriors," she whispered
when their swords were unsheathed.
The High Mother stepped forward, hands still outstretched as more warriors poured through. They
formed a guard of honor, swords touching above in an archway.
Through it strode a Cabrilan lord, so magnificent that this time she did gasp. Purple eyes flicked her way,
touched on hers, then without acknowledgment moved on. She felt as if she?d been stung, and her eyes
sought out her sire. He was standing at the back of the crowd making no move to intervene. The High
One lost stature when measured against the Cabrilan warriors.
The Cabrilan lord advanced through the warriors and stood in front of the High Mother, his muscular,
black-clad legs slightly apart. "I am Lord Kavan," he said, his purple cloak swirling about him. A beard
of tangled curls fell upon his chest, above which his purple eyes were all seeing. "My troopers will chose
the maids they want. Resistance will bring punishment."
The novices huddled together and cried out with fright when the troopers advanced and began to seize
them. The High Mother stepped forward. "You cannot have the temple novices unless you kill me first."
Her outstretched hands were sliced from her body by one of the troopers. It was done with such
unbelievable speed that the deed didn?t register on anyone?s brain for a few seconds, then a
pandemonium of squeals broke out. The High Mother sank to the floor, blood pumping from her arms.
Gathering her wits, Tiana placed a whistle to her lips and blew a long, silent note. Seconds later her
Pitilan was amongst the warriors, its slavering jaws tearing and ripping at the intruders.
"Withdraw," Lord Kavan shouted to his troops. His eyes swiveled towards her hiding place. "Call off the
Truarc abomination, girl."
Atarta tore the throat from one of his troopers before she could comply. It was the first time she?d been
forced to put the animal to the test, and she shuddered at the carnage. "Only if you call off the savages
you command."
"They are already called off," he said, his voice tight with anger.
She clicked her fingers, placing the Pitilan on guard. It fixed its unblinking eyes on the Cabrilan Lord.
Suddenly, its tongue curled from its mouth to delicately lick the jelling blood from its snout. She had
forgotten its appetite for blood, something it had been deprived of lately, as its pale color demonstrated.
Lord Kavan looked amused when she shuddered. She slid from her perch on the statue to land lightly on
her feet. She experienced no fear. Sybilla had mind-joined with her to guide her though the situation. She
glanced at the High Mother and bit her lip. "That was an act of unwarranted barbarism."
"It was necessary to maintain order." His breath hissed in his throat when their eyes met. "By my beard,
you are fair. Such eyes are not mortal, though the bonnet you wear is unflattering."
With that she agreed. It was worn as a punishment for her misdeeds and seemed to be a permanent
fixture.
"It is written that one such as you is to be taken as my mate."
"I would die rather than become the mate of a Cabrilan savage."
His cloak flared around him when he turned slightly from the hip. "Do not anger me further, child. I am a
lord, born of the gods."
"My Pitilan has the advantage," she warned. "Tell your troopers to unhand the temple maidens, or Lord
Kavan ... whether born of Gods or mortal, will be minus the appendage required to mate with anyone."
Her ears burned crimson. Had she uttered such a crudity? No, it was Sybilla who had put the words in
her mouth. Silently, she begged her to stop.
Lord Kavan?s eyes filled with amusement when his troopers began to laugh. They were not averse to
the humor of the situation. "And if I don?t?"
"The Pitilan?s saliva is venomous. Those of you who have been bitten will die in agony if the wounds are
not dressed and the antidote not administered. That includes you."
He gazed down at the mark on his hand and shrugged. "I have received worse ... " His troopers had
cupped their hands over their crotches in a crude, defensive gesture, and he grinned at them. "... but I
have never been threatened with such dire punishment." The troopers laughed again, a mocking sound
that angered her.
Atarta threatened him with a savage snarl when she gave the signal. "On your own head be it. My Pitilan
will make short work of you and your troopers."
She detected a spark of admiration in his eyes. "You are brave for one so young. Any of my troopers
would sacrifice himself to save his lord. The beast is pale. He?s been deprived, and could not withstand a
massed assault whilst he concentrated on the sacrifice. Javros step forward."
A youth came from out of the ranks and knelt at Kavan?s feet. Golden-haired and green-eyed, he was
fair of face and body, and about her own age. "Would you lay down your life for me?" Kavan asked him.
"Aye Lord." The youth kissed the hem of Kavan?s cloak and there was no fear in his face.
"Then so be it. Take on the Pitilan."
Atarta growled softly in warning when Javros unsheathed his dagger.
She rushed between them. "Stop! He is too young to perish." She prostrated herself in front of him. "I
beg you Lord. Do not harm him. Kill me instead."
One of the more badly wounded troopers groaned, and fell forward to his knees. He staggered upright
again, retching. His face was waxen.
Lord Kavan?s laughter faded as he stared at her. He was a big man, his appearance agreeable to gaze
upon, his features as strong and as hawk-like as the bird he carried on his wrist. Pain was evident in his
eyes, and she knew the Pitilan?s venom had begun to work.
"Your death would be as much a waste as that of Javros," she murmured, "and his family would grieve his
loss."
"True, and you would never hear the last of it from my mother, however large the posthumous medal you
awarded her on my behalf," Javros said agreeably. The troopers began to laugh again.
Kavan held up his hand and the laughter stopped.
"Forget your pride lord, and accept the antidote," she urged. "There is no honor in this type of death."
"It?s true that I haven?t fulfilled the task the gods require of me. But why should you care if I live or die?
You are my enemy." The words were spoken roughly, but his voice was pleasing in its refinement.
The turbulent blood running through the Cabrilan lord?s veins needed calming for him to accept her
reasoning. Her eyes engaged his and she drew on Sybilla?s power. Lowering her voice to a whisper she
applied the art of mesmer. "The Truarc are not your enemies, Lord Kavan. Were we not one race before
your ancestor invented the device that split the world asunder? With that act, the Cabrilan eradicated
nearly all life. That some Truarc survived was a matter of good fortune. We prospered as well as we
could."
"Well spoken, child," one of the guardians said. "Your stolen hours in the library were put to good use."
A weary disbelief came into Kavan?s eyes. "My rogue ancestor is long gone, his infamous deed
acknowledged by the Cabrilan. Why squabble about something that happened in the past, when with
your help it could be undone? Neither you nor I had any hand in it. Should not each generation gather
wisdom as we progress from our past, and should we not contemplate the future with a sense of
urgency?"
"You speak the truth, Lord," she conceded a little grudgingly. "But in deed you do not act upon it."
"If the Truarc elders constantly ignore the petitions for unity I send, what can you expect? My mission is
to save the world from destruction and my people from extinction."
She frowned. "Our people know of no petition. Indeed, we understood that the Cabrilan were extinct
and your lands dead from lack of sunlight. Is not the atmosphere poisoned with noxious gas?"
"The gas you refer to is water vapor drawn from the land by the sun." He gave a faint smile. "Your
ignorance is hardly surprising when Truarc men pay little heed to the counsel of anyone but themselves.
Their prevarication places you in the greatest danger."
She gazed to where her sire stood, surprising an expression of shame on his face.
She turned again to Kavan, and knowing she must keep him under control sought to calm the fire in his
eyes. Pain winced across his face and his breathing quickened. One of his troopers doubled up in pain on
the floor, and this time he did not rise.
Kavan ignored him. "As for your statement that the Cabrilan have eradicated life?." Glancing around at
his audience, he gave them a pitying smile. "A falsehood. I seek to save both tribes from destruction. The
Truarc mismanage the environment. They have turned the land they inhabit into dust."
"The land has been dust since I remember," she said, which when all was said and done was not that
long a span, and a foolish statement to make.
His knowing grin was unsettling, yet she returned it, because somehow she couldn?t help herself.
"Visit Cabrilan with me," he murmured, "I will show you how beautiful life is there."
A warning from Sybilla lodged in her mind. It is not the time. He has much to learn, and so do you.
"I?ll not be tricked into leaving the temple." She gazed at the other young novices, who like herself were
dedicated to the temple of the chaste. Some were held tightly in the arms of their captors and were
sobbing quietly in fright. "If you speak the truth, the time has come to put an end to the violence, Lord
Kavan. If you are serious in your quest for unity call your troopers off and let us tend to the wounds of
the injured."
He nodded, and both she and Sybilla stepped towards the High Mother. Without thinking, Tiana took
up one of her bloodied, twitching hands, and held it against the raw stump. Sybilla did the same with the
other. Quickly, they recited a mantra. Power engulfed Tiana, and she fell into a dream state.
The High Mother knelt by the side of a bloodied pool, her arms dangling into the water. The mantra was
a swell of sound inside her head. The water began to swirl, slowly at first, then faster and faster. It turned
from red to pink, then began to clear, the swirling liquid becoming a crystal clear pool. The High Mother
lifted her arms above her head. Water cascaded from her arms, washing away the blood.
There was an uproar of voices behind her, and Tiana realized her head was aching. She opened her eyes
to discover the High Mother gazing unbelievingly down at her restored hands.
"Come," Sybilla said. "It is done."
Kavan grasped her by the shoulders and hauled her to her feet. His eyes bore into hers. "How did you
do that?"
"I cannot, say ... I do not know."
He stared at her. Some expression on her face must have satisfied him, for his suspicion gradually
cleared. "If you value your life, do the same for my troopers."
"You understand. I cannot restore the dead one to life."
He nodded.
"You first then," she said. "Someone, fetch the green bottle from my herbal chest. The rest of you can
bathe and bandage the wounds of the injured."
His troopers formed a protective, outward facing circle around him when she anointed his arm with a
healing salve. He swallowed the foul tasting antidote without grimace or question.
"I?m honored you place your trust in me," she said, bestowing on his troopers an ironic glance.
"It?s not a matter of trust. I see no difference between dying from Pitilan venom or the venom you ask
me to swallow. If I perish you won?t enjoy your fate," he said, and indicated the bird on his wrist. "She
will seek you out. First, she will pluck your eyes from your head, then she will tear strips from your skin
until there is nothing left to contain your insides. You will remain alive until the flesh rots from your bones."
The bird made a soft trilling sound. Gently he ran a finger over her head. "Hush, little hawk. We will hunt
together soon."
"You will not perish, I promise."
The same finger tipped her face up, his dark eyes searched over it. "You have the courage of a Cabrilan.
What are you named?"
"Tiana, lord."
"Ah .?" He smiled to himself. "The legend is making sense." He tugged the bonnet from her head and
sucked in a breath when a torrent of fine silver fell to her waist. "By my beard! Your hair is spun from the
breath of the star goddess herself."
"You attribute too many goddesses to my creation, lord," she said dryly.
"Why do you cover it?"
"By order of the High Mother. She said it encourages my vanity." She gazed up at him, an entreaty in her
eyes. "I beg you, do not allow your troopers to molest any more of my people. There are so few of us
now."
"And even less Cabrilan." He brushed the hair away from her face, smiling as he scrutinized her. "You
are indeed an unexpected prize." Fear prickled through her. "But you are still a child. I shall wait until
you?re grown before I claim you."
She blushed under his regard. "I?m not for the world, lord. The augur has prophesied I shall spend my
life secluded in the temple."
"That?s not your destiny."
"Because the great Lord Kavan decrees it?" she scathed. "You can take another for yourself."
"I have claimed you, Tiana."
"I urge you to seek counsel with my sire, The High One. He will consult the great augur on your behalf,
but only if you agree to abide by the augur?s decision."
Kavan?s smile was ironic as he curved a silvery lock of her hair around his fingers. "I?m of a mind to
indulge you. What price do you place on peace, daughter of light?"
"Whatever the augur demands of me, savage." She lowered her eyes, pleased her small skill with
mesmer had calmed his tempestuous nature.
"Then so be it. Summon your sire from where he skulks, and we shall see what the augur advises."
Laughing now, he threw his arms wide. "Let all bear witness. I, Lord Kavan of Cabrilan, swear to abide
by the augur?s wisdom. Swear you also, Tiana?"
"I so swear."
His eyes fixed on The High One. "Your daughter?s courage does her credit. Come, time is short, let?s
get this over with. Consult the augur to determine her fate."
Her sire was trembling from head to foot, yet he had a strange dignity about him as he shuffled forward.
She wanted to scream with frustration when he slowly went through the rituals of opening the fountain of
knowledge. For a few seconds nothing happened, then there was a disturbance in the middle of the water
and a crystal ball emerged. It began to pulsate with sound, slowly at first, then faster and faster. The High
One lifted his arms and a beam of light came down from the roof to hit the crystal. Prisms of light
shimmered.
Beside her, Lord Kavan drew in a deep breath. A quick glance showed his eyes were fixed on the
crystal. A smile played around his mouth.
Consulted, the augur advised that on the next seven orbit convergence, Tiana would become the mate of
Kavan.
She was horrified, warning Kavan the event would never come about.
"You called me a savage, yet you seek to dishonor your promise," he said, turning brooding eyes on her.
"If your people want proof of my good intent you must act on the augur?s advice. If you do not, you will
discover exactly how savage I can be." He stooped to gather up the body of his trooper.
His warriors parted as he turned. He swept away, his cloak swirling about him, his unkempt hair and
beard flying into the cosmic turbulence that swirled at the entrance to the portal.
There was silence after the portal abruptly collapsed into a swirl of dust. Exhaustion flooded through her
when the guardians and novices crept towards the High Mother.