The World Walkers: Quiar: The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments (part 9, 100th continuation)
Part 1
Part 9, 99th continuation
Landing Page
“I really do hope Lucille writes at least one book about the worlds,” Sini said, sounding wistful, which was something Bertram could understand as he was beginning to feel the same way. “No matter how conversations we have about them I know I’ll never be able to learn everything that I want to this way and I can’t go back to it at a later date, which is something I really would like to be able to do. The magic that can be used to record conversations isn’t good enough - I know from experience, as I tried to use it a couple of times before to record tours for tourists, but it didn’t pick up what I was saying very well, so when I played it back I was missing words and there was ever a whole paragraph that went missing for some reason. After that I decided the extra income wasn’t worth the hassle.”
Bertram looked between her and Meriwether, wishing he’d learnt more about the different types of magic, but it was never something that had seemed important before. Like Peric Bertram had truly believed he’d spend his whole life in Sheepshank. It had never once crossed his mind that he might travel to Seahorse Port and yet it was possible that they might end up going all the way to Fasach. Sighing, he tried not to think about why, or about his wing, because good things had come from bad before and he was certain they would again, even though he was just as certain that he would never be able to use his wing again.
“The worlds and their magics,” Bertram replied, trying to stop the two of them looking at him the way they were. He didn’t need their worry or their pity - he was going to learn how to deal with what had happened, no matter how long it took. “Although we’d have to make certain that it wouldn’t fall into the hands of the Council as I’m certain there are plenty of races who don’t want the fae to know what magics they have.”
Meriwether nodded. “I get the feeling that the fae, by then, will be a very different race, but you’re right. If the book, or books, fall into the wrong hands there might be a problem. We’ve had the same issue with Leolin’s journals and they seem, so far, to have been fine.” He rubbed his antler. “Yet…” He shook his head. “There is a chance someone within the settlements does have a copy - I just don’t think there’s much they can do about their existence now, especially as there have been copies made, and I believe Leolin had his actual journals protected, so they can’t be destroyed. It’s what I would have done, if I was in his position, because they are very important, and losing them would change the way the Moonjumpers work, because it’s those journals that have taught them about the doors.
“When Tegan became the first Council Moonjumper I remember how hard it was for her to get to the places she wanted to go. The doors then we’re still in flux, so they’d change semi-regularly, and there was no rhyme or reason to it, unfortunately. Slowly things did begin to settle down, but for a long time everything was more difficult than we thought it would be, especially as we ended up having to teach them about all of the worlds, just in case. During the first year we lost six Moonjumpers, the second ten, and the third…” Meriwether shook his head. “That was especially bad. We’d thought the doors had sorted themselves out and they may well have been better than they were, but we lost eighteen Moonjumpers. None of them were ever seen again, so they might have travelled through time, gone to another Web, found themselves on one of the lost worlds… I don’t know, for certain, and there isn’t really any way to find out, unless I happen to come across one or other of them during my lives and deaths. So far I haven’t, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.”
As Bertram’s thoughts turned once again to the idea of learning more about the lives he might have led in the past he studied Meriwether. “Maybe the time has come for you to write about these things, Merry, so the peoples of all the worlds can learn more about them, because I really do think it’s important for us to learn how the Web was created and the fae who actually did the work. Then it might be easier for some of us to let go of our anger at a race who really did seem to be doing the only thing they could think of in order to survive… and Athare agreed with the idea, which I think is an important thing to know.”
“You might be right.” Meriwether shrugged. “I think I’ve just always been a little worried by the fae, and what they might do if they find out that I’m telling people I was once fae, but I shouldn’t have been. There’s nothing they can do to me, apart from send out a warrant for my arrest which isn’t going to do any good, so really I think I’ve been letting my fear of who my race once were affect me, even though I should know better. The wards will be coming down, if the worlds are to be believed, and when that happens it’s the fae who are going to be in a difficult position, not me. I’ve already become a part of the Web, I have allies on multiple worlds, so the time has come for transparency. I’ll teach anyone who wants about the true history of the Web.”
“Good for you, Merry,” Sini said, smiling. “The sooner you write it the sooner I get to read it, so I suggest you get started today, and I know plenty of people who can help us to distribute it.”
“Sini, I do have other things to do with my time.” Meriwether smiled back. “Like look after my guests, until they have to move on, and I know you’re going to say they don’t take much looking after, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t my job.”
“I know, but…” She shook her head. “I guess I’m just really excited about the thought of reading your life story, because you’ve lived for so long and on so many worlds.”
“You might have done the same thing. There are very few souls who stay on one world for their entire existence, as travelling is how you learn. I think there are three souls I know personally who have stayed on the same world for multiple lives and they’ve all lived here, because Emrys created a world with so much to explore that it’s possible to learn more about yourself here by choosing a different race each life than if you travelled to eight worlds of the Web, but most people, when they find themselves here, aren’t ready for that yet.” Meriwether rubbed his antler again. “Souls can be born. We created them, as that was really our only option, but when there are more bodies than souls the two people who created each lose a tiny part of themselves, for less time than it takes for a full fae pregnancy, and those tiny parts become a new soul. Bronwen told me about it when I asked her, because I had no idea how all these babies were being born when we only created a certain number of souls - I can’t remember how many it was in the end, but it was nowhere near enough to fill them.
“I’ve heard that’s part of the experiments they’re doing on Kankirin, because of a couple of people who are intensely interested in learning more about the different between the two types of soul, and I once again ask myself if we did the right thing by leaving the fae who travelled there trapped, as they’ve had so much of an effect on the races who were placed on the two worlds. Taithmarin didn’t want us there, so she got rid of us as quickly as she could, but the other two worlds… I don’t know what their decision was in the end, but I get the feeling they didn’t have a problem with us being there.”
“Or they did have a problem, but didn’t know how to get rid of you,” Bertram suggested, wondering what life would be like on one of the lost worlds, and he realised that if his wing never did heal he had another option. If he asked Kaito very nicely he might be able to get a charm so he could travel the worlds, without wings, and then he’d hopefully never have to think about the damage again. “That’s what the rest of the Web had to deal with and it’s only Taithmarin who managed to make you leave her alone.”
Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.