should you. And your fortunes might change.'
'And the gods?' Riverwind asked.
'They will show us a way.'
'Whose?'
'Yours, mine, both — it makes no difference. My mother used to say that hope is a gift from the gods we must never lose.'
'My mother has said that, too,' Riverwind replied. 'Well, we must find some way out of here, or it will truly make no difference to our corpses!'
Goldmoon felt him take her hand in his and together they edged their way along the wall. They reached the passageway without trouble.
Wondering if her eyes were playing tricks, Goldmoon asked, 'Is that a light ahead?'
'I think so.' They moved more quickly along the corridor toward the light. Soon it grew bright enough that they could see all about them. Looking for the source of the illumination, Goldmoon saw movement on the smooth cut rock. Looking closer, she realized that the light came from brightly glowing red spots on the insects' backs.
'I think they're fire beetles,' Riverwind said.
'Those are only in children's stories.'
'I think we are in a children's story,' Riverwind said, able to chuckle a little in relief. 'Let me have your crystal globe. These little light legends may not live in other passages, so we will need to take them with us.'
Goldmoon unfastened the crystal globe from her belt and surrendered it. The other two globes still lay on the grass outside. Riverwind gently scraped several of the beetles into the sphere.
'Here's the lid,' she offered.
'I'm afraid they might suffocate.'
'Air will get in. There are tiny holes in the lid,' the priestess explained. 'I've often wondered why. Do you suppose these globes were originally made for this purpose?' she asked.
'This one functions well as a lamp. That is all that is important.' Riverwind held the globe up by its straps, and they made their way safely into the crypts of the Que-shu royalty.
The crypt cavern was so huge that their little light did not illuminate the ceiling or the walls beyond. At the edge of the darkness they could make out the shape of the tombs. The very first they came to bore the inscription, 'Tearsong — beloved of Arrowthorn.' Goldmoon slid her hand along the words and then snatched it back. The rock was cold. 'Cold as death,' she thought, shuddering slightly. She moved hurriedly past the memorial to her mother.
The floor sloped down as they passed the remains of three centuries of the princess's ancestors. At the bottom of the slope, Goldmoon could make out a stone altar, carved with the forever sign of her amulet. Realizing that she shouldn't be able to see the carving in the darkness, she became aware that the light around the altar was blue, not red, and that it came from the altar.
The priestess knew that the moment she had awaited had come. She knelt in front of the altar and sang:
'The red sun has risen
the blue doors have opened.
I kneel here before you,
to sing you my song.
You who have left us,
we ask for your blessing.'
Goldmoon waited patiently in prayerful silence for several minutes, but nothing happened, no one answered. Fear crept into her. Was there some part of this ceremony that her father had not known about, something that Tearsong had carried with her to the grave?
Then a voice spoke, 'My beloved child! What joy it is to see you!'
'Mother!' Goldmoon cried out. Her throat constricted in emotion as all the years of loneliness and longing for Tearsong, of quickly suppressed doubt that she would ever actually speak to her again, overwhelmed the young priestess.
Tearsong's laughter rang through the hall like tinkling glass and filled Goldmoon with a pleasure that was also painful. The air shimmered with light as Tearsong's form coalesced in the air behind Goldmoon. Tears of grief and joy welled in the princess's eyes. A harvest of loving memories, which had long lain dormant in sorrow, filled her. Her mother's sculpted features and jet-black hair were even more lovely than she remembered.
'Mother. This is Riverwind,' Goldmoon started to say, turning around to summon the warrior forward, but all was darkness behind her.
'I cannot appear to Riverwind.'
'But you must! You see, he does not believe that — »
' — that I am a goddess.' Tearsong nodded. 'He is right. I am a spirit only, and I have only a little time to speak with you — so listen carefully. You are a woman now, Goldmoon, and you must hear the truth and accept it. The gods of the Que-shu, the gods I served all my life, are false. It makes no difference whether or not Loreman has written your name in the tribe's Book of the Gods. Men cannot make gods of each other.'
'But I am Chieftain's Daughter!' Goldmoon protested in disbelief.
The spirit of Tearsong smiled at her daughter's arrogance. 'Your status in life, whether chieftain or healer, priestess or shepherd, has no influence on the judgment of the true gods. And the true gods will be your final judges, not your tribe, not your father, not myself. The true gods reward each person in the afterlife according to his or her virtues, not some circumstance of birth.'
Goldmoon shook her head, stunned. After Lore-man's betrayal and Hollow-sky's attack, this was too much to bear. An idea came to her. 'This is some kind of test of my faith. Oh, Mother, I will never turn from our gods. I will believe in you always.'
A sad expression crossed Tearsong's face. 'Your love for me is very great,' she said. 'That is why I was chosen to tell you of the true gods.'
Tears filled Goldmoon's eyes, streaming down her cheeks, dropping onto her robe, leaving dark marks on the blue fabric. 'But the spirits of the Que-shu will not obey me after death if I am not a goddess — ' the princess argued, feeling cheated.
Her mother's tone sharpened impatiently. 'You would do better to be grateful now for the gift of life and all it has to offer you, than to dwell on what power you will have in death.' Death, even without godhood, had not robbed Tearsong of her air of authority. Goldmoon was instantly silent and looked down at the ground in shame.
Tearsong's voice softened at the sight of her daughter's confusion and unhappiness. 'Time grows short. Will you listen to what I have to tell you, daughter?'
'Yes,' Goldmoon nodded, eager to please her mother, lest she leave her.
'This place was really once the temple of one of the true gods, Riverwind's gods, a goddess known as the Great Healer. Long ago, after the Cataclysm, people despaired and abandoned their belief in the true gods. They must believe again, or this world will be conquered by an ancient evil. I have been sent to offer you the first of many tests. If you pass these tests, you will, in time, serve the Great Healer and lead people as her priestess, as a true healer.'
'Tell me what this test is, and I will accept it.'
'It will not be easy. If you pass this test, harder tests will follow, tests that may break your spirit, others that may destroy your body.'
Goldmoon straightened her back and answered proudly, 'I accept that.'
'Very well, daughter. The first test is this. You must sacrifice these three things:
That which hinders healing.
That which hinders loving.
That which hinders daring.
'Let Riverwind guide you. He will be the leader of a leader. It is foreseen that someday he will bring great power to your hands.'
