:I understand,: the Firecat told her with surprising gentleness. :Please believe me, Lady Elspeth. What I have been ordered to tell you is not meant to manipulate you all like so many game pieces—it is to ensure that you have the opportunity to exercise your free will.: He sighed, and somehow conveyed the impression of a burden of terrible grief. :The future holds the secrets, not I, Solaris, or even Vkandis. Ulrich should have been here. He was an Adept, although he seldom made that known. It would have been he who accompanied the gryphons in the east, Elspeth and Darkwind together in the south, and An'desha would have gone north with Firesong. This is not optimal; now Florian and I must serve as the suppliers of power—you have not enough Master Mages to cover all the minor points and send two with An'desha. Besides, there is another consideration. Karal is the most acceptable substitute for a—a guardian—that must be placated by a presence it will understand. The guardian is not intelligent, but it will recognize Karal. I am not yet permitted to tell you why. Be assured that when I can, I will—although —: His ears twitched. :—I have the feeling that by that time, you will have deduced the reason for yourself.:
'Guardian,' Elspeth muttered to herself, and her eyes dropped to the Firecat's hindquarters—or rather, where those hindquarters were set. 'Bright Havens!' she exclaimed. 'Iftel!'
The Firecat bowed his head to her. :Precisely. Check Master Levy's calculations. You will find that the middle key-point stands at the exact joining of the three countries. Because of the mages who are available at this moment, this key-point requires a certain diplomacy where that guardian is concerned. You will be working Great Magics that will become one with the border of Iftel, after all; the guardian must be reassured that this will cause no harm. Originally, this would have required two Adepts, or Ulrich and the gryphons. Now it requires a balance of four workers. Two will stand in and for Valdemar—:
'That will be Florian, obviously,' Elspeth stated. 'The other would be An'desha?'
:Yes—and two will stand in and for Iftel. That must be Karal and myself. The Vkandis Priest-mages still in your land would not be recognized by the guardian as legitimate; although they are good men and women, they are mages first and Priests only as an afterthought. Talia—: the cat paused. :If Karal were not here, Talia might possibly be an acceptable substitute, but I am not willing to risk the chance of failure. It must be Karal; he is the only one besides myself available that the guardian will allow to pass the border. And since he is not a mage, but is a channel, he can support An'desha with help from myself and Florian.:
'This is beginning to sound like a religious ritual,' Prince Daren said, finally, with a chuckle. The chuckle died when Altra turned those fiery blue eyes on him.
:You are not entirely wrong,: Altra replied. :The circumstances are extraordinary. If Karal had died along with Ulrich—: he paused again :—it is possible that Solaris herself would have been with you at this moment, at whatever cost. The situation is that grave.:
'Oh, no.' Elspeth said hastily. 'No, no, no! Talia has told me quite enough about Solaris, and I don't even want to think about that possibility!'
Altra actually shrugged, although a cat's body was not particularly suited to that gesture. :Think on this, then. It is also true that if you had been able to learn the magics for the breakwater-shieldwall before this last wave, the key-point would have involved only the borders of Valdemar and Hardorn. If you wait until this wave is passed, however, the next will involve only the borders of Valdemar and Iftel. You will still need Karal, which means you would still need me and Florian.: He shrugged again. :This is simply the way that things fell out. There is no Great Destiny involved, if that comforts you any.:
'Great Destinies generally involve great funerals,' Elspeth muttered, as if she was quoting someone. Both gryphons laughed. 'All right; I can accept all this, then. Thank you for taking the time to explain.'
:Well,: Altra replied, standing up again and walking carefully to the edge of the table. :Your dislike of manipulation is well-established. Infamous, even. Had I not explained, you might well have found some way to subvert my orders entirely. In this case, that would have been a disaster for all concerned.:
'I guess he does know you,' Prince Daren whispered roguishly to his stepchild. Elspeth blushed.
'Cats,' Elspeth muttered. 'They always know. Why don't we get back to the business at hand, then?' she added hastily.
'I don't care what that cat is, or what it says it is!' Firesong said waspishly. 'I do not like the idea of you holding the middle key-point all by yourself!'
An'desha suppressed the response that had been second nature to him; to give in to Firesong and defer to his judgment.
We can't afford that now, he thought, chillingly aware of how little time they did have. As blithely as Altra had spoken of 'waiting until the next wave,' he and Master Levy both knew that would be a very bad idea. The wave that was approaching would have intersection-points in several populated areas.
He knew, as no one else did, what that would do to the humans in those areas—and not all of those populations were in places that could be warned in time.
