Chartomancy

The relentless dripping was enough to drive him mad, so he did his best to shut his mind to it and concentrate on his predicament. By agreement with Anaeda Gryst, the Stormwolf’s captain, Jorim had communicated nothing of his discovery to his grandfather. No one in Nalenyr knew where the expedition was or what it had discovered. Besides, in his most recent attempts to reach his grandfather, he’d been unable to make mind-to-mind contact. He knew that his grandfather was out there-and his brother as well-but both of them were distracted enough that he couldn’t even be certain they noticed his attempts to reach them.

It would not have mattered much if they had, because he still could not have gotten across the whole of his experience. As part of the Stormwolf expedition, he’d sailed on Nalenyr’s largest ship into the vast Eastern Sea. At its far edge they’d discovered a continent no one in the Nine knew existed. The people who lived there called themselves the Amentzutl, and believed Jorim was the incarnation of their god Tetcomchoa, who had returned to save them in a time of dire peril.

To complicate matters, the Amentzutl identified the threat as the rising of a demon-god, Mozoloa, in the west. Iesol Pelmir, the Stormwolf’s ship’s clerk, had noticed a curious linkage between one of Mozoloa’s secondary names and that of an old Imperial prince, Nelesquin. Iesol said there were stories that Nelesquin, like Empress Cyrsa, would rise again from his grave and return to the Nine-but only to wreak havoc.

A howling shriek broke his concentration. He turned his head and saw a small, stout creature spi

“Jrima, Jrima, glad, heart-glad.”

“Me, too, Shimik.” Jorim grabbed the Fe

The Fe

“A bit more gold. Not unexpected.”

“Actually, Jorim, it’s surprising he remains that much the same.” A tall, slender woman with dark hair and hazel eyes walked along the bowl’s edge. She wore the robes allowed her as the captain of the Stormwolf, this one of deep blue with white wolf’s heads embroidered on them. “He was fairly frantic when they took you away and went hunting in the jungles to find you.”

The Fe

“Not lost, just away.”

“Jrima found!”

The Fe

Jorim looked up at his visitors. “You wouldn’t be here if the maicana had not allowed it.”

“No, they agreed. They’re an interesting lot.” Anaeda sat on the bowl’s lip and let her feet dangle. “While they all profess agreement with our plans to leave inside a week, they are doing little to see my ships provisioned. Day after day they agree that things will be finished in a week, but that week shows no sign of ending.”

“Really?” Jorim frowned. “We were very clear on our intention to leave. I wouldn’t think they would deceive us this way.”

The clerk raised a hand. “I don’t believe, Master Anturasi, they are being deceptive. As the Master says, ‘A tree is tall save when the eagle passes over it.’ ”

“You’re quoting from Urmyr, not the Amentzutl Book of Wisdom?”

“No, but there are parallel sayings.”

Anaeda raised an eyebrow. “And, Minister Pelmir, your thoughts about deception are?”

The clerk stiffened. “Forgive me, Captain. It is just that a week for us and a week for them may be different.”

Anaeda shook her head. “I’ve seen their calendar. Their weeks are nine days long, just like ours.”

“But, Captain, we are in centenco. We are outside their calendar.”

Anaeda frowned. “In what way?”

Jorim sighed as Shimik wandered around the platform, head back, tongue out, trying to catch droplets. “The Amentzutl figure time on a cycle ru

“But our festivals last a week, then we are back to another trimester.”

“Right. For the Amentzutl, centenco lasts only a week, but may have many more days than nine. It lasts however long it takes for the new cycle to begin. I gather there have been times when it has lasted years.”

Anaeda scowled darkly. “So when they agreed they would train you and give you back your divine powers ‘in a week,’ they meant by the end of centenco.”

“Right.”

“That is not acceptable.” She shook her head. “We are on an expedition for Nalenyr. Just having discovered the Amentzutl and their continent is of very great importance. I ca

Jorim stood slowly. “I don’t disagree, but we have two other considerations to keep in mind.”

“Such as?”

“The original reason we agreed I would not inform my grandfather about what we had found is because knowledge of it could create chaos back in Nalenyr. Countless ships could be launched toward Caxyan without reliable charts, and those who made it might well cause harm to the Amentzutl.” Jorim hooked his hands behind his neck. “Other nations might see this as something that will make Nalenyr so rich it ca

“But, Captain, if I may, we have a greater difficulty.”

Anaeda and Jorim both looked at Iesol, so he continued. “If this threat is real, then the Amentzutl believe that Tetcomchoa-reborn is the only way it can be dealt with. Jorim must be trained to accept his powers, else all the warning in the world will be to no avail.”

“But they could be wrong.”

“True, Captain, but you are picking and choosing which parts of their beliefs you will validate with no information to help you make that decision.” Iesol shrugged. “The understanding I have of their history, meager as it is, suggests they are not wrong.”

She snorted. “I know.”

Jorim smiled. “Anaeda, you just don’t want to be stuck here doing nothing. I can feel the restlessness in you.”

“It’s not just me, it’s the whole expedition. While we were exploring, we had a purpose. Without purpose, the crew will fragment. It has already begun.”

“Really?” Jorim frowned. “What’s been going on while I’ve been going through these rituals?”

She raised her chin, her face an impassive mask. “Ships’ crews are superstitious. Rumors have flown that you are to be made maicana. You’ll be learning to use magic, and many tales are being told of the vanyesh.”