Amanda stared at the receding island until it became a speck on the horizon, then until it could be no more than a phantom flicker from the bright sun, and then until she was uncertain that the place had ever existed. There was little more she could do. She had gone through the whole gamut of emotions until they were no longer adequate to convey her real feelings.

The wind was cold and raw against her nude body. Norlan had tried to dissuade her from standing at the railing, but he had not ordered her away. It was not even in any hidden defiance that she stood here. She was not sure why she remained.

Absently, she touched the collar around her neck. Her fingertips slid along the cool metal. She found no seams or breaks save for the eyelet where a chain could be attached. It was as unyielding and as permanent as it had been when the halves had been first joined about her neck in a tingling burst of magic.

She turned and let the briny breeze assault her fully, save for one strip of otherwise sensitive flesh that would remain numb to her until they again reached land. It was as if she wanted to emphasize her loss by bringing contrast to it.

A shadow passed over her. Her eyes flicked to it as it slid over the railing, but she otherwise ignored it. She was aware of the presence without having to look.

"You have been here much of the morning, Amanda," said Norlan.

"Yes, Master, I know," Amanda said in a neutral voice. She continued to stare at nothing on the distant horizon.

There was an awkward pause. Which of the two was making it awkward was not clear.

"I have spoken with the Captain," Norlan said. "He believes we will have unusually calm weather for this time of year. He may be able to shave a quarter moon from the voyage."

Amanda did little more than nod her head once in acknowledgment.

She heard a soft sigh escape his lips, then movement against clothing. "Amanda, look at me."

Amanda turned her head. Her lips parted as her eyes fell upon the pearl that Norlan held in his hand. Her gaze lingered before shifting back to his eyes. Now Norlan saw that tiny bit of challenge flash in her dark gaze. He had missed that. It was one of the things that made her so unique, despite having to be trained out of her eventually.

"I still have the pearl that you attempted to smuggle in your body."

Amanda said nothing. She played her role true. Yet her eyes intensified, as if daring him to do what she likely assumed he would do, which was to pitch it into the churning waters. Instead, his fingers slowly closed around it, and his hand dropped to his side. Her eyes turned inquisitive.

Norlan smiled. "Do you know I can tell exactly what you are thinking at all times merely from watching your eyes?"

"Yes, Master, I guess I did."

"Then you have been told this before?"

"Yes, Master. I am sorry if that displeases you."

Norlan could tell that the apology was nothing more than dutiful words. She was not at all sorry, but it was not something for which he felt he could punish her. "Slaves cannot have Farviewing pearls or magical artifacts of any kind. However, I will keep this pearl."

Amanda's eyes widened. She looked as if she wished to say something, but stopped herself at the last moment.

"You may speak freely, Amanda."

"Will you be allowing me to use it under your supervision, Master?"

"What did I say about slaves?" Norlan asked in a mildly admonishing tone.

Amanda tried not to look impatient and failed. "That they cannot have pearls or magical artifacts of any kind."

Norlan shook his head. "Try again."

Amanda was mystified. "I thought that was what you ..."

"You used the wrong pronoun."

"The wrong ... oh ... "

"Now say it again properly."

Amanda let out a small sigh disguised as her reply. "That we cannot have pearls or magical artifacts of any kind."

"Better. It is time you begin accepting what you are, Amanda. I do not believe myself a cruel slaveowner by any means. I like to think I treat my slaves well. But they are slaves, and you are a slave. This is not something I will take kindly to having to remind you many times."

"Yes, Master. But what about the pearl that ..."

"You may no longer speak freely," said Norlan crisply. He held up the pearl again between thumb and forefinger. Amanda could not help but think how vulnerable it was. Someone bumping into Norlan could send it into the water. "I will keep this, but I will have it sealed in Mage-glass once we are back on land. Then I will display it prominently somewhere. You will then be able to see it, and know your former lover is safe and well."

Amanda's eyes shimmered. Former lover. It was as if he believed she could simply turn off that emotion at will like a spigot.

Sealing away the pearl but letting her look at it seemed to her to be a most cruel means of torture. It would have been better to drop it overboard. She was tempted to do it herself. Yet she was sure that he believed he was being nice to her. She had to accept it despite the taste of ashes it left in her mouth.

"Yes, Master, thank you," she said flatly.

Norlan himself was puzzled at what he saw in her eyes. It fascinated him as much as it had the capacity to frustrate him. He slipped the pearl into his pocket. "Come along, Amanda," he said, his voice dropping to a more businesslike tone. "I have promised you to the Captain just before the midday meal."

"Yes, Master," Amanda said in a soft voice. She turned away from the railing. Her heart lurched. It was as if she had not felt truly disconnected from her former life on Narlass until now. It was like leaving Earth all over again. She felt the same wrenching sensation in her gut, the same horrible sense of disorientation.

It was fortunate that Norlan allowed her to follow him rather than lead him. It gave her the chance to blink away a few final tears.

A fine mist had settled over the landscape, covering the railing with a sheen of cold moisture and gathering as fog that obscured the gardens. The sun had never quite penetrated the gray that morning, and only the temple had been visible to Jollis. He shivered despite the stillness of the air allowing the heat from his apartment to roll unchecked to his back.

Shella was gone, and he felt her absence greater than the chill of the winter air. There had been no acrimony whatsoever. She still cared for him, but Jollis' words had apparently made her reconsider her life path. It was no reflection on him, yet he still felt a twinge of guilt. It was, perhaps, a selfish guilt.

Faintly, the door chimed. Jollis did not turn. "Be welcome," he called out. "I am on the balcony."

Shortly, a robed Cohort appeared at his side. "The one called Sirinna has been safely transported from Oceanus, my Wanderer. I thought you should know."

Jollis nodded once, still staring out over the fog. "How is she coping?"

"Not well. She appears to believe that Amanda will contact her by Farview. That is not possible, is it?"

"No, it is not," said Jollis a bit sharply. "Not after I warned the Lord Ambassador that Amanda would be hiding a Farviewing pearl on her person."

"Ah, I see. Very wise of you, Master."

Jollis was not so sure, but he let it pass. "Have you more news?"

There was the sound of parchment sliding against cloth. Jollis turned and gave the Cohort a curious look.

"This scroll was found in the Oceanus Imperial archives, my Wanderer," said the Cohort as he handed it to Jollis. "Master Kyllos thought you would want to see it. He said it would help you understand."

Jollis smiled faintly as he accepted it. "Understanding is always a noble goal. Is that all?"

"Yes, Wanderer."

"You may go."

The Cohort bowed and left.

Jollis turned from the railing and unrolled the scroll. At first he did not see its relevance to anything. It was a receipt from the Mage Guild for services rendered, in this case for teaching a particular spell to Kenris V'haas, the brother of the former Oceanus Emperor and the man that Jollis had killed in such a distasteful way.

Jollis paused. The spell that had been taught was Shadow Hide, used to temporarily cloak an object or an image from view. It was not a very strong cloaking spell, good only for those things that were already in shadow or were not wholly substantial. This was supposed to make sense to Jollis, but he had to think carefully. His only contact with Kenris had been that day Jollis assassinated him.

The memory sprang unbidden into his head. It was still as vivid as if he had done the deed that morning. He recalled every detail, including where the Lord General had been standing when Jollis had confronted him. He had stood in a far corner of the room, just turning around. Jollis could not recall seeing anything of import in that corner. The only explanation was that Kenris had been taking a Farview audience that he had concluded just as Jollis arrived.

Or he had used the Shadow Hide spell to mask the presence of a Farview. And thus Jollis was enlightened.

His lips curled into a broad smile. It was the final missing piece. Now he understood exactly what had caused his original plans to go awry. It had not been his fault at all, simply a combination of circumstance, luck, and fate. Perhaps the Goddess had a hand in it. Perhaps she had allowed Z'haas to see Jollis as a final test of the Wanderer's resolve later.

Jollis let the scroll roll up. If that was the case, he had passed the test, and he could look forward only to better things.

Out of the corner of his eye, something gleamed on the railing. He looked up. A ghost of a sun glowed against the thinning gray as it started to burn through the canopy of clouds. It was going to be a good day after all.

The man had aged much since he had last stood here. The crumbling edifice towered over him as it had before, though it seemed far less majestic to him now. It once held the fascination of the past and the lessons of history. Now, as he gazed up at the tallest of the spires that faced the ocean, he failed to see anything more than a heap of weathered stone.

He looked out over the water. Once, he could conjure in his mind in an instant the entire fleet that had approached this shore so long ago, and he could see the entire Battle of Selemas Keep play itself out in his head. Now the ocean remained empty. The beach was once more pristine. Even the memory of the blood that had stained it had finally been washed away in his mental landscape. It meant nothing to him now.

But it was not empty. He could indeed see something, but personal rather than ancient history. He could see his love walking among the edge of the beach. He could picture her exactly as she looked. He could see every nuance of her movements as she walked, both delightfully feminine and resolutely confident.

And yet it was more history from which no one would learn.

"Lord Tarras."

He paused a deliberate moment before turning around. "I am no longer of that title any more than you are an Overlord."

"Well, we have to have something to call each other by," said Rennis in irritation as he picked his way among the craggy rocks before reaching Tarras' side.

"Perhaps we need better forms of address in this brave new world we find ourselves in," said Tarras. "Where is Trennan?"

"At a safe location not far from here," was all Rennis would offer. "We thought it best not to risk the both of us coming here."

"That was quite wise. It is good to hear that he is safe."

"What of the other Noble Lords?"

"I am sadly the only one." Tarras smiled humorlessly. "It seems I now know what Emperor Z'garon feels like."

Rennis looked at him oddly.

"He felt that the Emperorship was thrust upon him, a burden that he had not sought, that he wished he could have avoided. I appear to be forced in similar vein to keep my 'title,' for whatever it is worth anymore."

Rennis frowned. "I cannot believe he is still on the throne. I would not think he would be willing to collaborate with these ..."

"He is not collaborating. He is acting in the best interest of the people of Oceanus."

"Fine line between the two, if you ask me."

"Perhaps, but ... ah, I believe we have another guest."

Rennis turned and looked on in surprise. "I did not think you could get away, Clan Leader."

"And since when did I give a damn about what my Guild Hall thought?" thundered Uridon as he plodded across the sands towards them, slightly winded. He frowned deeply. "They seem to care not about what the Inonni have done!"

"Were not their kidnapped merchants returned to then?" asked Tarras.

Uridon glowered. "Yes, and you can bet that platinum exchanged hands as well. All calls to stand on principle have fallen on deaf ears!"

"I would suggest you don't rock the boat too much, Clan Leader, lest the Guild Hall ousts you."

Uridon waved a hand of dismissal. "My clan brings in far too much profit for the Guild to consider that."

"So what are we doing here, Tarras?" Rennis demanded. "It's hard enough to stay out of the way of those damned Cohorts, never mind the ..."

"Rennis!" Uridon hissed in shock and despair as he stared towards the opposite end of the beach. All three of them turned and stared.

A man approached, wearing the all-too familiar garb of a Cohort. None of them really knew quite what they were. Spies, enforcers, some strange form of soldier, the guesses ran the entire gamut. As the others tensed, Tarras was the first to tilt his head slightly in question.

Finally, the man stopped, paused, and lowered his hood.

Rennis let out a ragged sigh. "Do not do that to us again, I don't give a damn if you are a Guildmaster!"

"My apologies," said Uroddus. "This was the only way I could be given a sufficiently wide berth on my travels so as not to arouse too much scrutiny."

"That is not a true Cohort robe, is it?" Tarras asked.

"No, it was merely tailored to look like one. It was done based on a magically preserved Farview image."

Tarras nodded. "It is very close. It will fool the peasants, though unlikely other Cohorts."

Uroddus adjusted his spectacles. "You have a keen memory for these things, Lord Tarras. Would you consent to assisting us in improving the design?"

"I would."

Uroddus nodded once. He looked at Rennis and Uridon. "So are there others?"

"Trennan," said Rennis.

"Some displaced minor Lords and Ladies," said Tarras.

"I have tried to find Vanlo, Roquan's former Healer," Rennis said. "No luck. He disappeared into retirement and apparently does not want to be found."

"At his advanced age, it is perhaps best."

Rennis sighed. He clenched his hands into fists. "I just want to know what they did with the other Overlords. I can't find out anything about them. I'm pretty sure they're still alive, but ..."

"Roquan most certainly is," said Uroddus as he drew out a Farviewing pearl. It was pristine. "But he will not answer."

"I am not even sure what these Inonni want," Rennis continued. "They're not acting like typical conquerors."

"There is nothing typical about this," Tarras said. "Which is why we are here."

Rennis shook his head. "I still don't see what we can do."

"It is called 'resistance,'" Uroddus said. "I have been researching history. It was not uncommon for resistance groups to form in the wake of a regime change."

"Yes, and how many of them succeeded?" Rennis countered sourly.

"Not many, I am afraid," said Tarras.

"And I will bet they did not have Portals that can be opened anywhere working against them."

"And you would have us simply roll over and accept this?" Uridon boomed.

"I am wondering why you would care, frankly," Rennis said. "You are a merchant. You're supposed to be above such things and trade with whoever is in power."

"Trade with a power that can open Portals so easily and cheaply and thus deliver goods faster than merchants can?"

Rennis fell silent for a long moment. "I hadn't considered that."

"Neither do the other merchants, it would seem! Oh, they'll still want overseas merchants, of course, since they can't do this trick into the Urisi Nation. But this will be the end of overland merchant clans given time. The Guild is stupid if they do not see that!"

"It is not clear that the energy expenditures have been sufficiently reduced to allow for replacement of merchant service," said Uroddus. "And there are other services that merchants offer besides mere transport of goods."

"Yet we know little of the Inonni culture, Guildmaster," Tarras said. "Until we do, we cannot make such statements."

"Look, we all don't like what happened and want the Inonni out," Rennis said in frustration. "But what do we do now?"

"We continue to find places to meet," Tarras said. "We keep each other informed. We start planning. And we find others that are willing to resist."

Rennis snorted. "Sure. Simple."

"Nothing is simple," said Uroddus. "But the alternative is to allow this occupation to continue. For if we do, it would be only a matter of time before the Inonni turn their attentions to other nations."

Uridon stared. "You don't mean the Urisi Nation?"

"History shows that conquerors are never satisfied," Tarras said. "So long as conquests remain successful, they continue to conquer. It is only when their reach extends their grasp, or when conquered lands foment rebellion, or both, that the conquest comes to an end."

"All right, I get it," Rennis said. He let out a windy sigh. "You know, we didn't have a perfect system. I guess Roquan was right on a lot of his gripes with the Overlords. But, hellfire, I don't want someone else coming in telling us what we should do."

"Nor were the Lords perfect. But we ruled the lands more or less with some degree of success. The question of the merits of Monarchism was settled some time ago. The argument does not need to be reopened in this manner."

"Okay, fine, you convinced me. I'll do what I can." Rennis looked at Tarras. "What are you smiling about?"

Tarras was indeed smiling, and quite broadly. "It is an ironic smile, my dear former Overlord. I find it ironic that one of Emperor Z'garon's tenets is for the Nobility, the Overlords, and the Imperium to work together for the common good. He appears to have achieved it and more." He glanced at Uroddus and Uridon for a moment. "But not quite in the way he intended."

"The thinking is still quite sound," said Uroddus. "There is little hierarchy left among us anymore. We must cease to think in terms of social standing."

No one said anything into the silence that followed. An idea that once would draw vociferous debate from all quarters now left only an uneasy quiet in its wake.

Tarras nodded. "Very good. In that case, we should go our separate ways for now and contact each other later by Farview. Then we can find a place to meet again. Good day to all of you, and good luck."

Rennis caught Tarras as he was about to turn away. "Wait, Tarras. Why not keep meeting here? It seems out of the way enough. And, well, the symbolism ..."

Tarras paused. He raised his gaze to the towers, then let them fall to the ramparts just at the edge of the trees. He shook his head. "This place has no significance anymore. It is a relic of the past. Even its ghosts are no more. Forget it."

Rennis slowly nodded. He cast a lingering gaze out over the ocean before heading away. Tarras waited until they were gone. He was once more alone.

He let his eyes play out over the sands of the beach. He looked towards the rock where he had met Janna. He could still see her sitting there, wondering if she would ever wrap her head about the enormity of the task before her, looking for either a way out or a way in.

"Perhaps there is one left," he murmured.

He turned away. In his mind's eye, Janna remained behind, and continued to stare out over the ocean into an uncertain future.

END

Feedback

Did you like this story? Hate it? Printed it and lined the birdcage with it?

Please take a moment to send me some comments about this story. Your comments may remain anonymous if you prefer, or you can include an email address in your comments if you wish a reply.