Clear distraction tactic, Ash. You know my tastes too well – that Sundar is something else. Also suspicious as hell is the fact that Marius has volunteered to come with us, Marius, the emanation who has taken it upon himself to be my personal bodyguard. That must mean this mission is more dangerous than it seems.
Holes in the pleroma doesn’t sound good. I wouldn’t want holes in my mind. But then again, according to Malachi, there are already holes. In theory, it makes sense; Ash’s mind would need to have contact with a source of nul-energy to function. The human brain does require an enormous number of calories. I suppose the difference is that a human is a closed system; a Cu’enashti, as a being composed of otherworldly energy, is an open system.
But then it’s possible that something could get through the holes. Demonstrably. Something other than the sparks – the sparks are more-or-less harmless. In fact, they’re all so damn cute…there’s a reason why you have to order felinoids from the genetic banks, and they come pre-sterilized. It’s to prevent people like me from wanting all the kittens. But Ash will let me have all the kittens. Demonstrably.
X’khaim just fended off a telepathic attack. Maybe the holes leave Ash vulnerable? That would explain Marius. But would it explain why Davy is so insistent on producing new emanations?
No sense worrying these guys before time. Chand, Sundar, Simon and Yves are sleeping off the exertion of their human bodies. However, in the pleroma, I have superhuman stamina. Four of them wasn’t quite as excessive as it sounded. I take the hilift down to the train station to meet up with Pallav, Roan and Templeton. I figure I can use the opportunity to give them a pep talk.
« I gave your new companions a briefing, the short version of the truth. I understand that you guys had it a lot rougher. First, I want you to know that the ordeal you were subjected to does not in any way reflect my opinion of you. I consider you all equally my husbands. Second, because you know more of the truth, and you’ve seen the pleroma, I’m counting on you to help the others. They’re going to have a lot of questions. »
I scan for their reactions. Roan is calm, accepting everything I tell him. Pallav radiates the kind of desperation which comes from lack of purpose; he wants to accept, to believe in something which will make sense of this world for him. Templeton seems to be weighing each word gravely and testing out every possible ramification. He’s composed, cool and uber-competent. He’s a little scary, but scary in a good way, like Ailann, or Aran, or maybe even Tielo when Tielo isn’t off his rocker.
Or Balin. Ahhhh, that’s it. Templeton is the Ophion Archon! I wonder if they’ve figured that out. Certainly not Templeton, but do the others know?
They probably don’t. Ahahaha! I’m not telling. It’s rare that I know something they don’t, and I’m going to relish that for a while.
« We want to go to Celadon first, » says Marius. « There are two possible train routes, but the coastal one takes more time because it makes more stops. The route running from Merenis through NEUranus and Shroomtown is actually a bit faster. »
« Aren’t we going to take the mecha? We could fly there directly. »
« The mecha can only accommodate six, and there are nine of us, » says Marius. Pallav breathes a visible sigh of relief. Really, was my flying that bad?
The train trip would be relaxing – NEUranus is beautiful when approaching from a distance – if I didn’t have so many things on my mind – holes, telepaths, grid failures, Frangfrangian diplomacy. I need something to occupy my time – and Roan looks like just the ticket. It turns out that he has quite an imagination, but also those pesky shortcomings of a human body. I am almost ready to move on to Pallav when we catch sight of something amazing: the rainbow bridges connecting the islands of Twelve-Dragon Lake between the State of Enlightenment and the State of Confusion.
« Wait a minute, » says Templeton. « Now that I’ve had a chance to study the list of quest achievements…isn’t there something about bending a rainbow? »
« Good point, » says Marius. « There’s a train stop at Rainbow Crossing. Let’s investigate. »
Roan, Templeton and Pallav head directly to the bridges. The others hang back, staring at the sky, the water. Of course – they’ve never been outdoors before. Not that this is the real outdoors.
The rainbow bridges aren’t curved like normal rainbows; they’re trapezoidal. Like a natural rainbow, there’s no definitive edge – the light just fades away. Roan throws a stone which passes through one and falls into the water. But Templeton has climbed it, and it seems to be solid.
Roan pokes at the rainbow gingerly. « It’s warm and strangely spongey. » He sits on the edge.
Templeton bounces his fist against it. Then he pours a handful of dust, which seems to pass right through. He tries his jacket. For a moment, it lies flat on the base of the bridge. Then it seems to slowly sink, working its way jerkily through the colors until it falls into a heap on the shore. His brow creases. « This doesn’t make sense. »
But I get it. « It’s not made of light. It’s nul-energy. Nul-energy only interacts with bioenergy, not matter. The reason that the jacket took a moment is that there was probably some residual bioenergy clinging to it. I’ll bet that if you dumped enough water on that bridge, you’d get a layer of scum from the tiny animals and plants that would be filtered out. »
« So how do we bend it? » Templeton sets his jaw and steps up to the bridge. He braces himself and pushes downward. It slowly depresses. His hands make an indentation, but when he releases the pressure, it rises back into its original state, like a crushed piece of foam rubber. « The rules say you can’t use your hands, but there’s nothing to use as a lever. » He tries another experiment, pulling at the edge of the rainbow, which stretches slowly in his hand like taffy. « It’s elastic. Maybe we could use a vine to attach it to something with weight which would cause it to bend. » But there are no vines. Templeton pulls the belt from his suit trousers. It’s no good – it reacts like his jacket.
“Roan Quickbeam, Ipsissimal Runemaster. 61st to emanate, 93 in the color scale, resonates to 487. 1.813 meters tall, cock size 17.87 cm when erect, apparent age 30. Typographic designer. Totem is Sorbus aucuparia, the rowan or mountain ash, fixed star is Sadalmelik, the luck of the king. Esoteric symbol is the Minchiate trump L’Acquario, Aquarius. Dessert is nau’gsh Runeberg torte. Function is adjusting initiation, proto-conscious tendency is iconography, designated Rowan. Blazon is per fess sable and roan, in chief the Ogham letter Luis, roan, in base three pallets, argent.”
Roan jumps out of his seat. We all stare at him. There’s a depression left by his butt where he’d been sitting.
« Not exactly how I’d envisioned bending a rainbow, » mutters Templeton.
Roan stumbles forward, reeling with knowledge that hits him in one powerful wave. He’s drowning and needs a lifeline back to shore. That’s what the Chosen is for, isn’t it? « You’ve been through a lot. I think you deserve a gift. » All I have to do is will it – a box marked 93 appears in my palm, and I pass it to him. Roan’s hands shake a bit when he opens it. Strange, it’s a pouch full of stones. The gift is usually a skill or special ability, taking the form of a blue moth which flies into the recipient’s mouth. No one has received a physical present before.
He takes one from the bag. It’s carved into the shape of a leaf, and has a symbol embossed, some form of ancient writing. « Does it have something to do with my love of typography? » he asks.
« Seth says that those are runes, » offers Marius. « He says they can be used for spell-casting or divination. He seems pretty excited about it. »
« Didn’t the announcement say that you were a runemaster? »
« I’m a designer. I look at the interaction of form and function. I love letters, logic, logos and logos – the word. I’m a rational man. I don’t know anything about occult matters like divination. » Roan reaches into the bag, grasping a handful of the stones. As he is speaking, a blue moth flies out, perching on his tongue. It turns to a powdery dust, and he begins to cough. « Change in plans. I guess I’m a runemaster. But these aren’t traditional runes. They have a similarity to Nordic runes, but they’re using Etruscan letters. They’re supposed to reference the leaves that were used in divination by the Sibyl of Cumae. »
« Wait, Etruscan like in those weird correspondence charts? » says Marius.
Roan nods. « Seth says that the whole system is described in The Hedgemegeton, but I don’t even need to look at the section he’s showing me. Since I swallowed the moth, I know what the letters mean, in my bones and my branches. »
« The gift must have a purpose, » says Templeton. « Why don’t you try it? »
Roan closes his eyes, reaching into the pouch. « Each stone seems to have a warmth and weight which originates not in the stone, but in the empty space which constitutes the inscribed letters. Seth says that there’s a similar concept – tzimtzum – that applies to Hebrew letters, but as far as he knows, it has nothing to do with runes. »
Roan lifts the stone for us to see. The symbol looks like a crudely drawn capital E, but backwards. « Eple, the worker, » he says. « Divinatory meaning is leaf – gathering light or resources, industry, production, skill, acumen. »
« Pallav’s name means budding leaf, » says Templeton. « Is that significant? »
Roan passes the bag of stones to Pallav, indicating that he should take one. It looks like a Y with an extra leg in the center – or maybe a crudely drawn Greek psi. « Kulichna, the wine cup, » says Roan.
Pallav pulls a flask from his jacket. « Um, I’ve still got that Eiswein from the ice bar. Anyone want some? » He takes a swig, passes the flask to me. Delicious – I’m going to have to visit this ice bar someday.
I’m handing the flask to Marius when Pallav stiffens, the hair on his arms standing on end. The announcement takes us by surprise:
“Pallav del Shambhah’d, Victorious Sandal-bearer. 65th to emanate, 35 in the color scale, resonates to 149. 1.825 meters tall, cock size 16.78 cm when erect, apparent age 22. Runner. Totem is Sorbus torminalis, the wild service tree, fixed star is Leaf of the Great Branch. Esoteric symbol is the Etruscan letter 
. Dessert is nau’gsh leaf dumplings with chocumber filling. Function is adjudicative release, proto-conscious tendency is budding, designated Growth. Blazon is sable, a blown leaf bendwise sinister inverted, kelly green.”
« Wynne says that was #54, “Follow the advice of a divination,” » Marius explains. « Also, Suibhne is bitching that Pallav’s arms break the rules of tincture. »
« The rules of tincture were a rudimentary form of the rule of contrast – and Pallav’s arms have plenty of contrast, » Roan defends. « Besides, they look really cool. »
O-kay, now we’re cooking with plasma. Something’s wrong, and the normal means of communication – Malachi, Lens, Ace – don’t seem able to articulate it. These runes are definitely a clue – maybe I should give a gift to Pallav, too? I hold out my hand, and a box marked 35 appears.
Pallav opens it, and when the moth flies out, he sticks out his tongue. As it lands, something sparks in his eyes; he laughs and starts running, waving his arms in the breeze for the joy of it. He’s fast, even without trying.
« Holy compost, » says Marius. « Look at that. »
Anywhere he has stepped, things are growing. New blades of grass. Tiny flowers.
« Jamey says he can help with the Ipsissimal Gardens, » Marius relays.
As Pallav returns to us, he isn’t the least out-of-breath. « I didn’t make those plants, » he says. « The seeds were already there. It’s like my contact with them inspired them, gave them a chance. »
« That’s a beautiful gift, » says Roan.
Beautiful, but seemingly unrelated to this situation. Is Ash out of options? I can hear another train approaching; maybe we should take the hint. « We know that three of the sparks are in unexplored zones. Normally, I don’t put much faith in mysticism, but inside the pleroma…divination is supposed to be a way for the gods to communicate to you, and the only god in here is Ash. »
« So you’re saying that Roan is receiving the direct word of the Mover, » says Marius.
« Which makes sense, » agrees Templeton. « Roan is the emanation connected to language and letters. »
« Draw another stone, » I urge.
« It’s Nensa, to descend. The symbol is mushroom – meaning secret allies, backchannels, plots, intertwined roots, things which grow in darkness. I think it’s saying that we shouldn’t be doing the obvious. »
Marius goes to the platform and scans the posted train routes. « We have to change trains at Shroomtown. We were planning on transferring to the Celadon route, but there’s another train whose end of the line is Moss Harbor in the State of Matter. It’s unexplored territory. »
« There’s an achievement in the Moss Harbor Caves, » says Templeton.
« Manan just chatburled, » says Marius. « He says that two of the sparks are in the State of Matter, and now that he can see the train map in my branch, he can tell that one of them is in the vicinity of Moss Harbor. »
Pallav adds a confirmation. « Cyrus has a rough idea of where the holes are. Two are in the State of Matter. One’s in Moss Harbor, and one is in the mountains farther south. The third is significantly north of Mt. Ouroboros. »
« Holes? » says Templeton. « What holes? »
« Well, it looks like Roan was right, » says Marius. « If there’s a hole in the pleroma at Moss Harbor, it’s much more important to go there. »
« What hole in the pleroma? » Templeton repeats, more emphatically. « What are you hiding from us? »
« There was a security breech, » says Marius. « We didn’t want to worry you guys… »
« The hell you didn’t! » says Templeton. « This mission is a lot more dangerous than you made it out to be, and we weren’t informed. »
« Templeton, it’s going to be okay, » says Roan. « I wish I could explain it, but I and I is looking after all of us. »
« Ash swore to me that no emanation is expendable, » I add. « You may not be recognized, but you’re still part of the pleroma. Nothing is going to happen to you. » I say this while looking pointedly at Marius because he’d damn well better confirm that.
« Julian having his chest torn open by a wild animal is nothing? » accuses Templeton.
« Don’t speak that way to Tara, » says Sundar.
« Nothing is going to happen because Tara is with us, » says Marius. « Do you think I’d let her be here if I didn’t think I could protect her? »
« The holes probably aren’t dangerous, » says Roan. « Malachi just told me that we need to block them so that nothing else gets in. We need to check out the sparks that have already entered and either accept them or escort them out. It’s not a big risk, and we get a chance to get our achievements and to do something useful. »
« That’s easy for you to say, » Templeton responds. « You’re one of them now. You can’t be hurt. »
« Are you afraid? » asks Yves.
« I’m not. But I’m looking out for our interests. »
« Well, I want to go, » says Simon. « I’ll take the risk if it means a chance of advancement. »
« Beyond our personal concerns, » says Chand, « it seems that it will have a positive benefit to society. So I’m in. »
« If Cillian were here, he’d cut you into topiary, » says Marius, but he’s really talking to Templeton. « This isn’t a democracy. You sprouts don’t get a vote. »
Sundar ignores him, saying, « The decision belongs to our Mistress. »
« I’m not afraid of Cillian or Marius either, » says Templeton, smoothly. « But Sundar has a point. » He turns to me. « What do you think? »
I think you’re definitely the Ophion Archon, hon. That’s not what I tell him, though. « I want to follow Roan’s divination. This fits together so perfectly, it must be what Ash wants us to do. »
And it’s so damn rare that I know exactly what Ash wants us to do. I wish I had a set of those runes.