Oh, no... he must be afraid that when the Final Storm hits, these ghosts of his are going to be destroyed or hurt in some way. Karal interrupted him. 'Firesong, I hope you weren't planning on asking me to exorcise them. I mean, I'm sorry that one of your ancestors is physically bound to the earth, and if I could, I would be glad to help him, but I don't think it's possible. I told you, all I would be able to do without the spirits being ready, is to force them out of the place they were bound to. Even so, I doubt I could do anything for them at such a great distance.'
Now it was Firesong's turn to interrupt him. 'No, Karal, that was not what I had in mind!' he exclaimed, but he seemed more amused at the conclusion that Karal had leaped to than annoyed. 'Hear me out. An'desha, Sejanes, and I all agree that we simply need more mages here at the Tower, powerful mages, and we're just not going to get them here to us in time. We need Adepts at the least, and every Adept within physical range of the Tower is needed right where he is. We can't build Gates to bring in human or nonhuman Adepts from farther away, and Altra can't bring in anyone mortal—but what about ghosts?'
Ghosts. One of Firesong's ancestors. North of Valdemar. And an Adept. The trend of the questions suddenly formed into a pattern, and Karal stared at him in mingled horror and fascination. 'This ghost—this ancestor—it wouldn't be Vanyel Ashkevron, would it?' he asked, his voice trembling in spite of his effort to control it. He felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. Discussing Vanyel Demonrider in abstract was one thing. Seriously discussing bringing him here was another!
He wanted to beg Firesong to tell him that it was not Vanyel Ashkevron he was talking about, but one look in Firesong's face told him differently.
:I think it would be a very good idea, Karal,: Florian said diffidently. :Vanyel is an Adept. If it is possible, I think it should be done.:
'I won't ask how this came about,' Karal said flatly. 'I won't ask how you discovered that Vanyel Demonrider was still... in existence.' He closed his eyes and shook his head. 'I cannot believe I am hearing this.'
:Boy, if you require more votes on this, you have mine,: said the sword Need. :I've met the man, though I doubt he'll recall it. He and Stefen would be a tremendous asset to the group here. They might even give us that edge we need to beat this thing.:
Firesong smirked. 'The sword is saying that we need an edge. How appropriate. In any case, the Avatars actually suggested it. There are some things in the cube-maze notes that suggest we're going to need—well, more skilled people than the last time. The only way we can think of to get the spirits down here is to send Altra,' Firesong said. 'We think that Vanyel, his Companion, and his friend can link themselves to something small enough for Altra to transport.'
'We?' Karal asked weakly. 'How many of you discussed this?'
'All of the mages,' Firesong told him. 'That included Need and the Avatars. And we all agreed. We think we're about to find our answer on the cube-maze device, which is our first choice, but we need more help to make it work.'
Karal looked down at Altra, who gazed back up at him with interest. 'And what do you have to say about this?' he asked the Firecat.
:Seriously? I think it might work, but I don't know for certain. I'm not a mage as you think of one, but the others seem convinced. There is only one consideration, and that is why they wanted to talk to you.:
'So you were already a party to this?' Karal sighed. 'I might have known. What's the consideration?'
:A very practical one. This borders on interference; if I were to just do as you ask, I would be exceeding my own authority. In order for me to do this, we would need permission from a higher authority, and I cannot be the one to ask for permission.:
'I have the feeling that you are not referring to Solaris when you speak of needing permission from a higher authority.' Karal bit his lip.
:You are correct, and you are the only Sun-priest here,: Altra said calmly :So you are the one who must make the petition. I cannot, and I cannot do such a thing without that permission. I may advise, guide, and run limited errands up to a point, but this is past that point. I hate to sound like a copper-counting clerk, making a fuss about a technicality, but if these spirits were Karsite and not Valdemaran, there would be less of a problem.:
'Because of the old enmity?' Karal asked, surprised. 'But it was the Sunlord Himself who ordered truce with Valdemar in the first place!'
:No. Because these spirits were bound where they are for a reason, and I don't know that this reason has been fulfilled. They may not even know that. Now, even if their purpose not yet fulfilled, they could choose to come here anyway, disobeying the One who offered them the task. But without first receiving permission of Vkandis, I cannot choose to help them come without the risk that I would be disobeying as well, and I do not choose to take that risk.:
'I wouldn't ask you to,' Karal replied. 'I suppose that means I don't have much choice in the matter.'
:Judging by the way your friends are staring at you, I would say not.:
