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Else thou wilt fail
To find the Jaded Soul. "
And then Arin slumped forward as Lysa
CHAPTER 24
And that is the whole of the rede?" asked Sage Arilla. "Yes," replied Lysa
The Dylvana nodded. "I remember it all, now. Why I forgot it, I ca
"Chide not thyself, Arin," said Rissa. "It was a grim vision. Enough to shake all souls."
"Rissa is right, Dara Arin," concurred Lysa
"Mayhap time is what we have little of," said Vanidar Silverleaf.
"Perhaps it is too late even now," agreed Arin glumly.
Lysa
Rissa turned to her and frowned. "Vexing?"
Lysa
Arin held out a negating palm. "We ca
Lysa
They sat in a cluster of comfortable chairs in the common room of the guest quarters, the Elves and the two Mages. The Ryodoan warrior, Aiko, sat against a wall some distance from them and directly behind Arin.
"But the rede," said Perin, "what does it mean?"
"A complete mystery, that," added Biren.
Lysa
Melor looked at the white-haired Mage and said, "I agree."
Biren turned to Melor. "And that is…?"
"Yes, do tell," added Perin.
Melor shrugged, then said, "Dara Arin has been given a mission."
"Mission?" asked Biren.
"To do what?" asked Perin.
"To find the Jaded Soul," said Melor.
Both Lysa
Biren glanced from one to the other. "And this so-called Jaded Soul…?"
"The Green Stone of Xian," said Arilla.
"The Dragonstone," said Lysa
"Hmm," mused Perin.
"But why would it be called the Jaded Soul?" asked Biren.
"It looks like jade," replied Perin.
"Mayhap there's more to it than that," responded Biren.
"And mayhap not," said Perin.
Arin took a deep breath and exhaled. "If we only knew something of the stone and why the Dragons fear it."
"There is a legend," came a voice from behind. It was Aiko. She sat in a lotus position, her back against the wall, her eyes closed.
Arin turned about. "Legend, Aiko?"
Aiko opened her dark, almond eyes. "To the west and north of Ryodo lies an ancient land called Moko. The soshoku of Moko, all o
Arin held out a hand to stay Aiko's voice. "Aiko, thou didst use words in a tongue I speak not."
"Forgive me, my Lady." Aiko paused in reflection, then said, "Ah. Yes. 'The soshoku of Moko are all o
Arilla said, "And the people of Moko believe that a Mage warrior-king will one day lead them in the conquest of the world, and he will have Dragons at his command?"
"Forget not the talisman," said Lysa
"The missing Dragonstone," growled Rissa.
Lysa
"Perhaps it is just fancy," said Biren.
"Mage warrior-king or no," said Perin, "we've got to find the Dragonstone and keep it from the hands of those who would use it for ill, whatever it may do." He turned to Arin. "Where will we start? In Moko?"
Vanidar Silverleaf leapt to his feet and paced back and forth in agitation; he clenched his fists white-knuckle tight and he shook his head in ire. "Perin," he gritted, "we do not start at all."
"Not start at all?" asked Biren, shocked. "Whatever dost thou mean, Vanidar?"
Silverleaf stopped and turned, his gaze sweeping over everyone there. "The rede. Arin's rede. If we go with her, she will fail."
"What?" barked Ruar.
Silverleaf looked at Arin. "Say the rede again, Dara."
Arin spoke quietly:
"The Cat Who Fell from Grace;
One-Eye in Dark Water;
Mad Monarch's Rutting Peacock;
The Ferret in the High King's Cage;
Cursed Keeper of Faith in the Maze:
Take these with thee.
No more,
No less,
Else thou wilt fail
To find the Jaded Soul."
Now Silverleaf turned to the others. "Heed the words of her vision: 'Take these with thee, no more, no less, else thou wilt fail to find the Jaded Soul.'
"Dara Arin's mission is to find the Jaded Soul, and she must take with her only those who meet the terms of the rede and none else. And although I know not the answer to the conundrum of her vision, this I can say: not a single person among us suits the riddle of the rede."
"Not true," called Aiko. All eyes turned her way. She had a peculiar look on her face, something akin to guilt, as she stood and moved to come before Arin. Aiko knelt at Arin's feet and lowered her gaze and would not meet the Dylvana's eyes. Then she buried her face in her hands and lowered her head to the floor in shame, and her voice could but barely be heard. "Forgive me, my Lady, but this you must know: I am the cat who fell from grace."
CHAPTER 25
Arin leaned down and took Aiko by the shoulders and raised her to a kneeling position, but the Ryodoan kept her eyes downcast and would not meet the Dylvana's gaze.
Perin said, "Aiko, thou art no cat."
"Aye," added Biren.
"How couldst thou be the cat of Dara Arin's vision, the cat who fell from grace?"
Her eyes focused on the floor, Aiko bleakly said, "I betrayed my father."
Hiroko died giving birth to Aiko, and Arinsmaster Kurita was left with the care of her, his only child. Grieving, he departed the shiro of Lord Yodama and took his newborn and household to live in his home in the Kumotta Mountains.
The Arinsmaster had always wanted a son to follow the warrior tradition, and in spite of the fact that Aiko was a girl and in spite of the law of the land, he raised her in the ways of senso o suru hito. He taught her the bow and stave and spear, and the way of the two swords; he taught her the throwing of daggers and of shiruken, the riding of horses and the ways of the lance; and he taught her the art of unarmed combat as well-for in Lord Yodama's shiro, Kurita had been master and mentor in all these things.
When she had reached but sixteen summers, war came unto the province, and a messenger rode to the mountain, and Kurita once again do