Bloodkin (Jaseth of Jaelshead) Page 18

  The half-hour stretched interminably. At one point Donnick gave a little snore, then started awake. Well, at least I hadn’t fallen asleep! I had had maybe a minute at most of empty breathing in between mind wanderings. Gawd, this meditation business was hard. Finally Myr Billy raised his hands and spoke quietly, “So mote it be,” and we opened our eyes.

  “It’s difficult at first, I know, but like anything, practice does make perfect. I bet you all had screaming headaches after yesterday, yes? Well, this will help. Come, back to your desks.” Myr Billy stood from his seat with more grace than any one hundred and fifty year old should have and returned to the front of the classroom. The rest of us Bloodkin struggled to our feet and wobbled over to our desks, readying pens and paper for the lecture.

  Myr Billy lectured about the Leaving for the rest of the morning as we scribbled furiously, giving us only a short break for coffee somewhere in the middle. He talked about the young Queen Lilbecz, newly elected, and the taint that had begun to devastate the underground waterways, causing widespread illness in the Enclaves. We learned about the refugees that started arriving from villages near the surface, bloodied and weary after groups of Humans had broken into the tunnel system and attempted to massacre the Nea’thi populations. Queen Lilbecz had struggled valiantly to convince the Enclaves that something had to be done, and with the help of her Advisor she organised scouting parties from each of the Enclaves to go Outside to investigate the Human activity that threatened the Nea’thi.

  Myr Billy described the horrors that greeted the scouts out in the Human world. What was now one country was then a number of smaller ones, mired in sectarian violence, priests and mullahs and power-hungry princes and presidents were ravaging the land. The industry of war was pumping pollution into the lakes and rivers that had seeped down and poisoned the water. Horrified by the reports she received, Queen Lilbecz gathered her supporters who enlisted regiments of Nea’thi, and in a concerted effort these armies opened the tunnels and went Outside to confront the warring Humans. The Humans reacted, predictably, with terror as the Nea’thi bore down on them, not using weapons, but Hầұeӣ to disarm and subdue fighters. The regiments swept through the countries from tunnel entrances in the north, south and east, as Humans fled west, away from these nightmare invaders from the deep, with their red eyes and magic, to meet in the giant port of Allyon, the seat of the most voracious of the city-princes. Warring factions of Human refugees reached an uneasy truce, but religious leaders began to preach about the end of the world, apocalypse, that the Nea’thi were vampires or demons of hell, unleashed by the wickedness of their traditional enemies.

  Regiments of the three Enclaves met outside Allyon as the riots started and the city began to burn. Queen Lilbecz ordered her troops to quell the violence and put out the fires, and with one great push the regiments cleared the city walls. In the confusion of the fighting however, the Queen was captured by a group of Humans and taken to the Prince, who shaved her head like a slave and paraded her from the walls of his palace. His High Priest, insane with fear, wanted to prove that the Nea’thi were immortal demons, fallen angels who had followed an evil god named Satan to hell, to rally the rioting Humans into fighting the invaders for the glory of God, so they would achieve their places in an afterlife called Heaven. He convinced the Prince to conduct a public beheading of the Queen on the steps of the palace, in full view of the crowds of Humans that had gathered below.

  “Myr Billy?” Telgeth waved his hand around. “Why didn’t she just stop them? You know, with Hầұeӣ and stuff.”

  “Ah yes, good question Telgeth. Now she could have, of course, created a shield or escaped or called for aid from the regiments who were just arriving. But she didn’t, which is why we revere her memory to this very day.”

  Queen Lilbecz realised that the Humans needed to understand that the Nea’thi were not immortal demons. Longer lived than Humans, yes, but not creatures of Satan that could not be killed, so she made the ultimate sacrifice – her life. She gave a speech to the crowd before she was led to the block, a speech my tutors had made me learn by heart. She spoke of the Nea’thi, the Enclaves, Hầұeӣ, which wasn’t really magic, and her desire for nothing but peace for both races. As she was led to her death she called out the ancient Nea’thi words of ending and acceptance “So mote it be,” and was then beheaded on the steps of the palace, in front of a huge crowd of Humans and Nea’thi.

  The Prince and High Priest, upon seeing her blood, just as red as theirs, spill onto the stones with no release of demonic spirit, realised they had made a terrible mistake and fell to their knees, weeping. The rest of the Human crowd, their emotions reinforced with Hầұeӣ from the grieving regiments, followed suit. Queen Lilbecz’ Advisor, a wise and ancient Nea’thi gentleman, had picked his way through the tearful crowd and climbed the steps to the palace, where he proclaimed a new republic for all the people of the land, and an eternal peace in the memory of their courageous Queen. The rest, as they say, is history.

  Telgeth waved his hand again. “Myr Billy, how could the people understand what they were saying?”

  “Another good question, Telgeth. Queen Lilbecz’ scouts had reported that the Humans spoke a language quite different to Nea’thi. It had taken the regiments almost a full year between the Leaving and the final events at Allyon. During that time, the Queen had made every effort to learn this strange language. Not all Humans had fled west, of course. Some more open-minded individuals had listened to the Nea’thi as they met and were swayed by their message of a non-religious future of peace and democracy. Many of these turned out to be Nea’thi-Bloods, like yourselves, their ability to use Hầұeӣ a pleasant surprise to the Queen and the regiments that detected them. One of these, a girl named Haylithia, not much older than yourselves at the time, became a particular friend of the Queen, and indeed later became the first Human Queen to be elected when order was restored and voting was held.” I knew all about Haylithia, of course, she had been a Jaelshead girl and we were particularly proud of the district’s contribution to the foundation of the country.

  “She was the one who commanded the establishment of the Academies and provided for the proper education of the Nea’thi-Bloods. Of course I’m sure that this will be common knowledge for most of you.” Myr Billy waggled his eyebrows at the class. “You will be receiving more nuanced lessons on the Leaving, and indeed on pre-Leaving society from our friends in the History department later on in your course. But I think that is enough talk for one morning, yes? Tomorrow we will be looking more closely at these new systems the Nea’thi instituted.” Myr Billy wrote some names on the board, followed by chapter numbers as our required readings for the night.

  “Now I’m sure you all practised with your candles last night, hmm? Good, well, this afternoon we will begin learning about Ћieл, in the form of oxygen-proof shields – the type used to douse fires. See you after lunch!”

  Back in the classroom later on, the Journeymen had cleared away our meditation seats and placed candles in holders on our workbenches. Myr Billy had written the words Ћieл and Θлờϖ on the board and he waited for us all to take our stools before speaking.

  “These are the Nea’thi words for what we are learning about today.” He tapped the first word. “Ћieл is a general word used to describe a change in the air brought about with Hầұeӣ. Can you say that with me?”

  “Schiyell,” we attempted, and Myr Billy jerked his head in satisfaction.

  “Now this,” he pointed at the second word, “Is Θлờϖ, the specific type of Ћieл commonly used to douse fires. Say that with me please.”

  “Thllyowh.”

  “Good. Take more care with the cadences though. Θлớϖ is quite a different thing altogether. A Θлờϖ is an oxygen-proof air shield, but the word can be more literally translated as “the slowing down,” which should give you something of an idea of how we create them. Now, if you would all be so kind as to light your candles, your Mentors will create this Θ�
�ờϖ around the flame for you. I want you to study the quality of the air when they have done so. Go on, try that now.”

  I concentrated on my candle and soon it was burning happily. Charlie blinked at the candle and it guttered and went out, and as the smoke collected I could see that he had a created a circular shield around the tip of the candle. I looked into the air Charlie had constructed the shield out of and I saw at once what Myr Billy meant. The air particles, instead of floating around freely, had slowed and pulled in together, creating what felt like a solid barrier. Charlie looked at me expectantly and as I nodded he released the Θлờϖ. I watched the atoms begin to move normally again and drift apart, and the smoke began to float towards the window.

  “How hard can it be?”

  Charlie laughed. “Go on then, give it a try.”

  I lit the candle again, then tried to concentrate on the air around the little flame. I pulled some Hầұeӣ out and felt about in the air, willing the atoms to slow. They obeyed for a second, pulling together before breaking apart and spinning away.

  “Yeah, see, that’s the idea. Keep concentrating and force them together. Keep trying,” Charlie encouraged, as my candle still burned brightly. I tried again, forcing the air to slow and gather, but I could only hold it for a second before the particles dissipated. By the mid-afternoon break I had only managed to pull any amount of air together for a few seconds, and not in the full spherical shield I would need to totally choke the flame of oxygen.

  Lolitha had managed to douse her flame twice and was looking rather pleased with herself, but everyone else seemed dispirited. Many of the other Bloodkin were rubbing at their temples as concentration-induced headaches began to rear.

  “This is a much more difficult use of Hầұeӣ than the Πiầ we were doing yesterday,” Myr Billy told us kindly, smiling down at our despondent faces. “It does take an awful lot of practice at the start, so please be patient.”

  By the end of the day I had a splitting headache and had come no closer to putting out my candle. Once I had managed to encircle the flame with my Θлờϖ, but it slipped from my control before the lack of oxygen could douse the flame, and when Myr Billy finally let us go I was feeling thoroughly defeated.

  Back in my room I threw myself into an armchair and cradled my fragile cranium in my hands.

  “Charlie, I think I’m dying. How much longer does this go on for?”

  He laughed quietly. “Only a couple of weeks. You’ll get used to the concentration soon, I promise. Come on, shall we go have some White on the roof?”

  “Oh sweet Lilbecz, yes please,” I croaked and he laughed again and led me up to the top floor.

  Telgeth and Lolitha had beaten us to it. Lolitha had already borrowed Jimmy’s pipe and filled it with the White moss and now she was struggling with a sparklight.

  “Oh Charlie, you’re here. Good. Would you be a dear and light this for us?”

  Charlie and I squeezed onto the empty seats and when Charlie sparked the pipe we three Bloodkin passed it around.

  It was another glorious late-summer afternoon. We could see straight down over the wind-ruffled lake that glinted like chainmail. Down past the Quarter the last of the fishing boats were unloading their catches at the dock. We were all too weary to talk much, but Charlie tried his best to jolly us along, asking the others about their impressions of the Academy.

  “Well it’s alright for you Loli, you got the Θлờϖ to work,” Telgeth complained, as Jimmy appeared from the door.

  “Ugh, call me ‘Litha would you? I hate Loli, I’m not some sort of confection.”

  Jimmy had come to stand behind her, and ruffled her hair. “But you are, my darling, a sweet little confection!”

  “Oh, sod off Jimmy.” She waved him away but a pleased little smile tickled one corner of her mouth. He really was the perfect Mentor for her, I realised, fully of joy and generous with compliments. Even in the few days I had known her she had lost some of the impenetrable, bitter defensiveness that I had noticed when I first arrived at the Hall. Then of course I got to wondering if my time with Charlie would alter me so much. I doubted whether Telgeth would ever stop being trouble, but Thomas was so mature and reliable I was sure some of that would rub off on him eventually. Hopefully.

  “Are you kids feeling better yet?” Charlie asked us, looking around. I did actually feel better, Telgeth had stopped rubbing his head and Lolitha had some colour back in her cheeks. “Come on then, if you go do your readings now I’ve got a pack of cards and we can play some games after dinner.”

  So we all got up and followed Jimmy through the door and down to our rooms to get started on our homework.

  594 A.L.

  he days at the Academy stretched into weeks and we fell into the pattern of Hall life. After meditation in the mornings, Myr Billy would lecture us on the basics of history, law, Nea’thi culture and the ethical problems surrounding the use of Hầұeӣ. Some of the most interesting pieces of information stemmed from Telgeth’s incessant questions.

  “Myr Billy? What were all the Nea’thi-Bloods doing before the Leaving?”

  “Ah, good question Telgeth.” Myr Billy always began his answers the same way. “Well without any training they were limited to what they could figure out on their own, if anything. Have you ever heard of the old legends of witches or wizards? Well, Humans were terrified of the unknown and those with apparently supernatural powers were treated very badly.” And thus Myr Billy launched into a history of the pre-Leaving witch-trials that religious leaders had instigated every so often.

  “Myr Billy? Did no Nea’thi ever go Outside before the Leaving?”

  “Oh ho, yes. Good question Telgeth. Actually, a few adventurous young Nea’thi managed to get Outside, and by all accounts they made quite an impression on any Humans they discovered. You would have heard of vampires in folklore, yes? Immortal creatures with red eyes that couldn’t stand sunlight, performing magic and drinking Human blood? The references are unfavourable, but the origin of these stories is clear.”

  In the afternoons we would practise our Hầұeӣ. We finally conquered the Θлờϖ and then Myr Billy taught us about other kinds of Ћieл, beginning with protective shields like the ones Charlie had constructed when we had camped on our way to Lille. We worked on creating barriers to sound, then light, each requiring a different way of manipulating air particles. With the meditation and practice the headaches that plagued us in the first couple of weeks, as promised, lessened, then stopped coming altogether. In the evenings at the Hall I developed something of a routine. I would do my practice and any readings as soon as we returned home from the Academy so that after dinner I could relax in the common room with the others, playing cards or just hanging out and chatting. In the weekends I would sleep in until Charlie got bored and roused me, and he would make me meditate with him, seated on cushions in our shared rooms with our backs resting against a wall. Meditation was still a chore, but I realised the number of times I had to pull my concentration back from wandering lessened every time, and soon I could almost go the full half-hour with my mind clear of everything by my breathing and Hấњấρ Ờѫầρ. Afterwards I would take a leisurely bath and we would spend the day exploring the Quarter, relaxing at a café with some of the others or shopping. I got myself fitted for some new footwear at a Nea’thi-Blood cobbler: a pair of knee-high boots in black leather that bristled with buckles and had been cured with Hầұeӣ to make them waterproof, and another pair of light court shoes also in black leather, but picked out with a pattern of tiny holes. My good new robe arrived from the tailor and when I first tried it on I spent a good quarter of an hour admiring myself in the bathroom mirror before Charlie banged on the door, demanding to know if I was alright.

  Most Saturday nights we would have a few drinks at the Hall with our dinners before heading down to the Shivering Thistle to smoke Red and dance. Therefore Sundays would often find us nursing hangovers, and we would share pipes of White and commiserate before Myn Eve
would find us and encourage us strongly to visit the Temple. We went over to Nallow on the ferry a couple of times, and once Mantilly invited us all to her family’s farm for an early lunch before the service there, but mostly we would go to the large Temple attached to the Academy’s school of Solastry. Sometimes we would bump into Hayoum, Jimmy’s previous Bloodkin, and after the ritual of gratitude he would invite us to his small apartment in the Quarter – a lovely, airy space on the third floor of the same building that housed the bookshop. He was undeniably a weird chap, with a rather deviant, black sense of humour; his interest in Solastry seeming to stem from some affinity with all things gruesome and macabre. But according to Mantilly, after his two years with Jimmy he was veritably normal compared to his formative years in Nallow. These days he seemed perfectly content to pass around coffee and pastries and tell us about his training with the Temple and his own time in the Hall. Dunkerle in particular questioned him endlessly about Solastry, he had already decided that was what he was going to do once he had finished at the Academy. Personally, I thought being a Solast sounded awful. Digging around in Human bodies with Hầұeӣ seemed way too intimate, and more than a little bit gross.

  Often, after visiting Hayoum, we would potter down the street and visit Fiona at her shop, where she would test out her new blends on us willing subjects. She was constantly experimenting with different ways of receiving the healing benefits of moss, brewing teas or infusing it in clarified butter that she later used to bake sweet treats. Her biggest success was with one particular blend of White that was fruity and sweet and a potent anti-inflammatory, and she used it to bake chocolate brownies and apple and cinnamon buns, demanding that we sample some of each. Opinion was split as to whether the moss butter tasted better with chocolate or fruit, which left her in something of a dither. She had a plan to make these pastries for Humans who had delicate respiratory systems or were elderly, who wanted the healing properties of the moss but were unable to smoke it without the use of matches or a sparklight. She showed us how to spark a pipe with Hầұeӣ correctly, heating it until the point the active chemicals were released but before it actually caught fire, so we could inhale clean, sweet vapour instead of the rather unpleasant smoke of overheated moss.