'So, was she lying about anything?' Darkwind asked, as he pulled the hair away from the back of his neck to let the sun bake into his neck and shoulder muscles. 'Nyara, I mean.'
'No,' Hydona said. 'Orrr-mossstly no.'
'Mostly?' Darkwind said sharply. 'Just how much was she lying about?'
'The one ssshe claimed wasss her massster,' Treyvan said, slowly.
'Mornelithe Falconsbane,' Darkwind supplied. 'Sounds to me as if he really does hate Tayledras, if he's taken a use-name like that.' Most Adepts assumed use-names; the Tayledras did it simply to have a name that was more descriptive of what they were, but the blood-path Adepts did so out of fear. Names were power, though not in the sense that the foolish thought, that knowing someone's 'true name' would permit you to command him. No, by knowing the real name, the birth-name, of someone, you could discover everything there was to know about him, if you were thorough and patient enough-you could even see every moment of his past life, if you knew the spell to see into the past. And by knowing that about him, you knew his strengths and weaknesses.
And most importantly, you could learn the fears that were the strongest because they were rooted in childhood. It was characteristic of bloodpath Adepts that they had many, many weaknesses, for they generally had never faced what they were, and conquered those old fears. There had been cases of mere journeymen besting Adepts, sometimes even by illusions, simply by knowing what those fears were, and playing to them.
But blood-path mage or any other kind, the use-name told the world something about what the mage was now. A name like 'Mornelithe Falconsbane' did not call up easy feelings within a Tayledras.
'I do not like that name, Darrrkwind,' Hydona said uneasily. 'It does not sssit well in my mind.'
'Nor mine, either,' Darkwind admitted. 'I don't imagine he cares much for anything with wings and feathers. Mornelithe, now, that's Old Tayledras; it's actually Kaled'a'in, the language we and the Shin'a'in had when we were the same people-'
'Yesss,' Treyvan said, interrupting him. 'We ssspeak Kaled'a'in.
Fluently. ' 'You do?' he replied, surprised again. that's something to go into with them later. In detail. Where on earth did they ever learn Kaled'a'in? I thought it was a dead language. 'Well, I knew what it was, but what's it mean?'
'Hatrrred-that-returnsss,' Treyvan said solemnly. 'A name that sspeaksss of return over the agesss, not once, but many timesss. It isss not rebirrth, it isss actual returrn, and returrn looking for rrrevenge. It isss an evil word, Darrrkwind. Asss evil as you find'Falconssssbane' to be.))
The words hung heavy and ill-omened between them, silencing all three of them for a moment, and bringing a chill to the air.
'Typical blood-path intimidation,' Darkwind said in disgust, attempting to make light of it and dispel the gloom. 'Trying to frighten people with a portentous name and a fancy costume. Frankly, I'd like to know where they're finding people willing to make clothing like that, those ridiculous cloaks and headdresses. They look as if they were designed by an apprentice to traveling players with delusions of grandeur. Half the time they can't even walk or see properly in those outfits.' Treyvan laughed. 'oh? And who isss it hasss an entire collection of Ravenwing'sss feather masssksss on hisss wallsss?'
'That's different,' he replied, defending himself. 'That's art. Back to the subject; what was it Nyara lied about in connection with her master? Wasn't he her master after all?'
'Oh he wasss her massster, yesss. But he wasss more. Sssomething more-intimate.' Treyvan shook his head and looked over at his mate, who nodded.
'Yesss,' said Hydona. 'But not intimate, asss in loversss. There isss no love there. It wasss something elsssse.' Darkwind tried to puzzle that one out, then gave it up. 'I'll think about that for a while; maybe the connection will come to me. She did escape, though, right?'
'Oh, yesss,' Hydona replied emphatically. 'Yesss, sshe did essscape, and wass purssued. I would ssay that her sstory isss trrrue-all of it that ssshe told usss, that isss.'
'I wish I'd been able to ask her more questions,' he said, chewing at his lower lip as he thought. 'I wish I'd been able to think of more questions.'
'It ssseemss clear enough,' Treyvan said lazily, stretching his forelegs out into the sun a little more. 'Ssshe isss exactly what sshe ssseemsss.
'A Changechild, used to try out the changes her master wanted to perform on his own body-used as a sex toy when he wished.'
'Yesss,' Hydona nodded. 'And usssed alssso to rrraissse and hold powerrr for him. You did not ssssee that upon herrr)' He looked up at the sky in exasperation. 'Of course! I missed that aspect completely! I could not imagine why Falconsbane would allow her to keep her Mage-Gift intact, when an Adept should be able to block it or render it useless by burning the channels. But if she didn't have enough to challenge him-but did have enough to carry power'Ssshe would make the perrrfect vesssel,' Treyvan concluded.
