Honor and Blood

"What kind of things?"

"Things only you and me and one other person can do," he smiled. "We are Weavespi

"Oh, yes!" she said happily. "Teach me, Tarrin! Please?"

"Alright," he smiled. "What I'm doing now is part of something that you can do now. We can separate our consciousnesses from our bodies and make them enter the Weave. Before I came to see you, I entered the Weave, and used it to find you. Then once I did, I created this Illusion and put myself into it. My real body is back in the desert, but I can't see or hear or smell anything back there, because my consciousness is here, with you, in this Illusion."

"So, I can send myself directly into the Weave?"

Tarrin nodded. "You did it once before, remember? When you lost control, you found yourself flying, and then you were in this huge black void, surrounded by stars and strands, and you saw yourself looking into this brilliant light that seemed to have eyes. Those eyes looked down at you, and you suddenly felt better than you ever had in your life, as if someone had touched your soul."

Je

"It was so beautiful," she whispered. "I thought it was a dream when I woke up, but a part of me told me that it couldn't have been."

"That was the Goddess, Je

"It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" Je

"Well, you can go back there any time you want," he told her. "All you have to do is send yourself into the Weave."

"How do I do that?"

"It's a matter of concentration," he told her. "It helps if you're in physical contact with the Weave, but it's not absolutely necessary. I have to be in physical contact with it to do what I'm doing now, because I used my powers across a thousand leagues, but to just join with the Weave and go to the Heart doesn't require it."

"How do I do it?" she asked, more urgently.

"You just close your eyes and relax," he told her. "Relax and use the tricks father taught you when shooting a bow, about emptying your mind of stray thoughts. Then you reach out and feel the Weave, with all your senses. And when you do that, when you can feel every little thing in the Weave all around you, you simply let yourself merge with it. When you do that, your consciousness joins with the Weave, and you can travel all over it with your mind."

"Can, can I wake up when I want to?" she asked.

Tarrin nodded. "You can always wake up any time you want, just by wishing it," he assured her. "You can also find the Heart any time you want, because you'll always be able to feel it when you're joined with the Weave. It will guide you to it whenever you want to go there."

"I want to try it," she said immediately. "I want to go back to that place."

"Not right now," he told her. "I need to ask you a few questions first."

"What?"

"Did Mother have Grandfather stop the fighting with Tykarthia?"

"No, Mother didn't do that," she answered him. "A few days ago, a Wikuni ship stopped us and sent over a man with some papers for Grandfather. When he read them, he told the Wikuni to tell the other Ungardt clan chiefs what was going on. Then the Wikuni left, and their ship sailed off. Yesterday, three of their big-what do you call them, clapper ships?"

"Clipper ships."

"Clipper ships, they joined Grandfather's longship and they're going with us to Suld. Mother said they're escorting us, to make sure nothing tries to sink us on the way."

"Good old Kerri. She doesn't miss anything," Tarrin chuckled.

"You mean that Wikuni girl sent the ships?"

"That Wikuni girl is the Queen now, Je

"I didn't know that," Je

"When did you meet Kerri?" he asked curiously.

"It was when we visited you at the Tower," she replied. "I thought she was a mean jerk. She was really nasty to Mother."

"That was an act, to confuse her enemies," he told her. "Kerri's really nothing like that. She's a total sweetheart."

"Well, that's how she seemed to me," Je

"That's how she wanted you to think of her, so you felt the right way," Tarrin told her with a light grin. "When are you going to get to Suld?"

"I think Father said we'd get there in a few days," she answered.

"Good. Just be careful when you get to Suld, Je

"Mother wants to spend the time there with Master Tomas and Mistress Janine," Je

"That's a good idea," Tarrin agreed. "You'd have Janette there to play with."

"I like her. She's a nice girl."

"She's a wonderful girl," Tarrin said warmly. Memories of his Little Mother never failed to cheer him up. "She means alot to me."

"I can't see why."

"Because she saved my life," he answered honestly. "If Janette hadn't have found me, I'd have died."

"You never told me about that."

"I will someday, but not now," he todl her. "I can't do this for very long, because it tires me out very fast, and I can't afford to get exhausted right now. I'll have to abandon the Illusion in a minute."

"But I wanted to try to join the Weave!" she protested.

"I can't coach you, Je

"Understand what?"

"It's not as easy as you think to do what I'm doing," he warned. "It does take a little practice. If you get surprised or lose your focus, you'll find yourself back in your body before you realize what happened. Odds are, the first time you manage to do it, you'll be so surprised you'll lose it and end up back where you started. So if you can't make it to the Heart tonight, I'll understand perfectly. It's not something I expect you to just do the first time and be perfect." He shook a finger at her. "And do not push yourself too hard, young lady," he warned. "It takes effort to do this, and the more you push yourself now, the longer it's going to take for you to regain your powers. So if you can't do it tonight, then wait a day or so before trying again. So you can rest."

"Alright," she promised. "I'll try tonight, but if I can't do it, I'll wait a day before trying again."

"Good. I'm going to dissolve the Illusion now, so I'll wait for you in the Heart. If I don't see you, then you take care of yourself, and I'll come over and talk to you again in a few days, alright?"

"Save it for when we're in the Heart, brother," Je

"We'll see," he replied. "See you soon."

And he withdrew from the Illusion, allowing it to unravel.

He returned to the Heart and did exactly what he said he would do. He waited. He wanted Je

He didn't have long to wait. Je