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The Worlds Within Choose a chapter: Chapter 7 The Seer waited patiently in a comfortable sitting
room for Valen’s return. She
had after much thought sent him to ask Hypatia about the curious double
vision she’d had. Since
Valen had been Hypatia’s choice of companion, it made sense that she
would speak more readily to him. Imloth brought her a light meal while they waited and
Nathyrra stalked the shadows of the room ever vigilant for hidden threats
to the Seer. All three turned toward the door when it opened
signaling Valen’s return. By
his bearing it was obvious that all was not well with the tiefling. His expression was bleak, his shoulders sagged, even his tail
drooped. “We did not drive her away.” The Seer stated, her
voice full of certainty. “What
did she say about this curious vision?” Releasing a slow breath, and straightening a bit
Valen answered. “Hypatia
said that she is a priestess of Mystra.” The Seer shook her head.
“The temple I saw in my vision was not to The Lady of Mysteries.
Although that would explain her hesitance to part with the
Shattered Mirror.” “How so, Mother Seer?”
Nathyrra’s voice came softly from the shadows. “It is my understanding that the followers of
Mystra consider it a duty to their goddess to seek out artifacts and
things of magic for preservation and study.”
The Seer explained thoughtfully. She turned back to Valen.
“You described the holy symbol to her?
It is not that of Mystra.” “No.” Valen agreed.
“She said that the woman who carried that holy symbol is a high
priestess of Sune.” “The goddess of love.”
The Seer identified the name with a slow nod. “But that doesn’t make any sense. If Hypatia is a priestess of Mystra how could she also be a
high priestess of Sune?” “She is not.” Valen answered, obviously troubled.
“Hypatia told me that, Cimmera, the high priestess of Sune in
your vision is her twin sister.” Imloth released a surprised bark of laughter even as
a smile found it’s way to the Seer’s face.
“That would explain much.” “A twin sister.”
The Seer considered this information carefully.
“It is surprising that she did not mention this before now.
Twins share a bond that neither time nor distance can break.
Her sister would be a very important person in her life.” Valen shrugged.
“She doesn’t talk much.” Imloth gave Valen a thoughtful look.
“It has been my experience that women like to talk.” Valen gave Imloth a sharp look, but the drow’s
expression betrayed no censure. “She
doesn’t belong here.” A hint of a smile briefly touched Imloth’s lips.
“Hmmm…yes. I saw
you sparring with her, and she certainly isn’t well versed in the arts
of war.” “She holds her own.”
Valen countered his tail twitching.
“She was never meant to be a fighter.
I have seen the anguish in her eyes at each life she takes, be it
humanoid or monstrous.” “Even monsters?”
Nathyrra’s surprised question stole from the shadows. Valen nodded. “She
is a healer, and she is too soft hearted to be here in the Underdark.
I told her that survival is the first priority of all who live
here. She will not
abide by that rule.” “Has she put you at risk?”
Asked Imloth casually. “No!” Valen
bristled. “But she has an
uncanny ability to somehow know when I am in need of her healing touch.
She will be casting a spell or chasing after some foe and has more
than once broken off to come to my aid.
She will heal me while under attack herself.
I don’t know how she does it.” Imloth gave Valen a knowing look, unsurprised to see
a blush creep up the tiefling’s neck. “I’m just saying that she is not well suited for
this place.” Valen half
growled half muttered. The Seer, who had been listening carefully to
Valen’s words, folded her hands together while pressing the tips of her
index fingers together in a steeple and pressed them thoughtfully against
her lips. She maintained this
pose for several long moments before speaking.
“I believe I begin to understand what it is that sets our Hypatia
apart.” “What would that be, Mother Seer?” Nathyrra stepped out of the shadows. “I think, rare though it may be, that our Hypatia is what we would call an empath.” Valen frowned. “An…empath?
What is that?” The Seer smiled gently.
“As you well know, a telepath can read another’s thoughts.
An empath has a similar ability, though not thoughts, but emotions.
It is a most rare gift and there are those who think it is a weak
ability. If I am correct
though, and Hypatia has survived with her sanity intact for this long,
then she is much more resilient than she appears.” “What do you mean, ‘with her sanity intact’?”
Valen questioned sharply. “Empaths who are not able to control their gift are
usually driven insane by the constant bombardment of emotions that are not
their own. They lose
themselves in a sea of passions, unable to determine what is their own and
what is alien.” The Seer
clarified. “Unlike
telepaths who must consciously reach out to touch another’s mind, the
empath must shield herself from the emotions of others.” Valen shook his head.
“She described it as a type of vision.
She said she could see what emotions others are feeling at the
time.” “She told you this?” The Seer was clearly surprised. ****************** Meanwhile, Hypatia had cried herself out and lay on
the narrow cot surrounded by an emotional grayness. Numb to the world. She
stared blankly ahead, her eyes empty.
For a long time she just lay there unmoving. Slowly the grayness began to fade and she became
gradually aware of the background feel of her sister, followed by
the sense of other living, emoting people in the temple and Lith
My’athar. One by one her
other senses began to send information to her tired brain.
She was hungry and her body was achy with weariness.
The coarse blanket that she’d drawn over her shoulders, the ache
of her scalp from wearing her hair braided up for so long and the oily
feel of dried sweat reminding her that she’d not gotten that bath
she’d wanted. Sounds came
next, the soft footsteps of someone walking down the hall.
The muted noises of the temple and even Lith My’athar penetrated
the grayness. There were
scents too. The pungent odor of
sweat and blood from her unwashed clothes, the slightly damp and acrid
aroma that seemed to permeate the Underdark and the smell of food cooking
all made themselves known. After
a long pause her eyes began to focus on her surroundings.
The small room, the table she’d placed in the corner for her make
shift altar, her pack and equipment, she catalogued the contents of the
room. At last her mind began to function again too.
Slowly at first thoughts began to form, then with increasing
rapidity until she was back to her accustomed rate of ideas and
observations, analyses and conclusions. With a deep breath she sat up and began to take down
her thick braids. Reaching
into a special pouch in her pack she pulled out a beautiful ebony brush
set with pearls around its handle. It
had been a gift to her from her sister.
She paused to admire the lovely brush and a soft smile found its
way to her face as she thought of her sister.
Still smiling she began brushing out her long crimson locks.
First things first. I
need a bath and then something to eat, and I really need to wash my
clothes. I only hope that I
haven’t wasted too much time. Hypatia finished brushing her hair and looked around
determinedly. She was going
to wash her clothes first then find a bath and a meal, in that order. She had just taken the chair out from underneath the
door latch, when to her surprise there was a soft knock. Opening the door, she found Nathyrra with a plate of
delicious smelling food. “I thought you might be hungry.” The drow woman said quietly. Hypatia smiled.
“Very much so. Thank you.” Hypatia ate the food quickly, anxious to get to that
hot bath. She washed her
clothes and slipped into a short cotton shift she’d managed to scrounge
up while waiting for her own garments to dry. She set up her altar in the small sleeping room and
took great pains with her prayers that night.
The morning came all too soon and she had a lot to do. The day started with a lovely hot breakfast with
Nathyrra and the Seer. They
spoke of many things. Hypatia
answered dozens of questions about the surface and her companions were happy to
answer her questions about the drow and the Underdark. After breakfast Hypatia sparred again with Valen.
Once again she was made painfully aware of her lack of ability as a
fighter, though Valen assured her that she was making progress. Following her lesson she spoke with Imloth, Valen and
the Seer about the defensibility of Lith My’athar and what they thought
would be the likely points of attack when the forces of the Valsharess
came. The Seer said she thought the Valsharess would find a
way to send troops across the Dark River.
Valen and Imloth were certain that it would be impossible for such
a thing to happen, but Hypatia rather agreed with the Seer. Following the strategy session Hypatia requested that Valen accompany her to
pick up her armor from the smith Rizolvir.
It was early for it to be ready, but she had a feeling that the
drow had gotten it done ahead of his estimate. She had been correct and to her utter delight was
able to try on her new armor. “Oh!
It’s just lovely.” She held out her arms and looked over her shoulder trying to
get a full view of herself. “You
even made it look more feminine. Really
I didn’t realize you were such an artist Rizolvir.” “It was an extraordinary piece to work on,
Hypatia.” Rizolvir
protested. “I don’t often
get a chance to modify something as remarkable as this.
Now remember, if you are struck while wearing this it will produce
a retributive strike of a spell known as Searing Light.
That’s a sixth circle spell.
The armor can not differentiate between friend or foe, so try not
to take any friendly fire, and warn anyone who is likely to slap you on
the back.” Hypatia looked at him with wide eyes.
“I will remember. This is certainly a very special suit of armor.” Rizolvir nodded and waived them on their way as
another customer approached him. Hypatia chose a route that would take them around by
the docks and past Imloth’s training ground before back to the temple.
She needed to speak to Valen. She watched him out of the corner of her eye before
softly clearing her throat and speaking.
“Valen?” “I am yours to command.”
He answered. A small smile flickered across her face before she
continued in a very serious voice. “I wanted to apologize for…turning
on you like I did last night. You
deserve to be treated better and I am ashamed to have forgotten that, even
for a moment.” Valen gave her a startled look. Before he could say anything she turned to face him,
her eyes pleading. “I beg
of you to forgive me. I have
not behaved like that since I was a young girl and I would be distraught
if you were to bear a grudge against me.
Please forgive me?” Her eyes
were large and full of entreaty. It took Valen a moment to find his voice.
“When you look at me like that, my lady, I would be hard pressed
to deny you anything.” Hypatia’s jaw dropped as a very naughty vision of
Valen and herself in a large sudsy bath suddenly dominated her mind.
She closed her mouth and licked her suddenly dry lips before
choking out, “thank you.” Then
before she could totally embarrass herself she turned toward the temple. Confused, Valen watched her leave. Imloth, who had been watching the pair out of the
corner of his eye, excused himself from his training troops and approached
Valen. Hypatia glanced back to see Imloth and Valen
speaking. She had a sneaking
suspicion about what or rather whom they were discussing.
A suspicion that was confirmed when Imloth’s laughter reached her
ears. Blushing furiously she
increased her pace. She entered the temple and after a brief conversation with The Seer she made her way to her room. Once there she took out a quill and an inkpot, along with several sheets of parchment. She spent the rest of the afternoon praying and
writing. By the time the
evening meal was being served she had made several scrolls.
Smiling to herself she went to seek out The Seer. She found her at a table with Valen, Imloth and
Nathyrra in a large common dining room. Smiling brightly, Hypatia sat down next to Nathyrra
and across from The Seer. With
a somehow shy and at the same time proud expression she set four scrolls
in front of The Seer. “What have we here, Hypatia?” The Seer did not hide her curiosity. With a shy smile Hypatia explained.
“It is considered a joyous duty among the clergy of Mystra to
create new magics. I have
spent the afternoon working with an idea for a spell or two that I had
while traveling with Valen. The
Lady of Mysteries has seen fit to bless my new spells and I have made up
scrolls of them for you to use. I
believe they will be helpful during the coming battle.” The Seer was not the only one who’s eyes widened in
surprise. “You created new
spells? And you have given
them to me?” Hypatia ducked her head in embarrassment.
“I thought that it might be helpful if, in battle, a cleric or
healer could be aware of the vitality of a given person, like a general or
someone like yourself. So
that they would know when that person might need healing without having to
stand watch over them every moment. Such
a spell might free up the healer to help others until the one needed
healing. I have found that I
am able to do that with Valen, somehow, and it has been…very useful. That is the first spell.
I made three scrolls of that one.
The second is a similar type of spell, but covers a larger number
of people. It is meant to be
used when there are large numbers of wounded so that the cleric might know
who needs healing most and who can wait.
Too often warriors die on the battlefield because their injuries
are hidden or do not seem as severe as they really are.” The Seer picked up the scrolls almost reverently.
“Thank you Hypatia. These
will indeed be most useful.” Hypatia blushed with pleasure. “It is only my duty as a priestess of Mystra. You should
have a scribe make copies, I would not want them to be lost.” “How is it,” Nathyrra asked, “that you are a
priestess of Mystra while your twin is a priestess of Sune?” Hypatia frowned deeply.
“She is not like that.” Nathyrra was taken aback.
“Forgive me. I was
not trying to imply anything about her character.” Hypatia searched the drow woman’s eyes before
nodding. “I am sorry. I should not have assumed.
My sister has a unique vision.” “You mean she’s an empath like you?”
Nathyrra queried. Hypatia gave them all a searching and slightly wary
look. “I believe she is,
but her ability leads her in a different way than mine does.” “How so?” The
Seer was honestly interested. With the smile that softened Hypatia’s face every
time she thought of her twin she spoke.
“Cimmera is able to see what hearts belong
together----which two people of all the teaming masses around her are made
for each other. In this she
serves her goddess by uniting these people, be they old or young.
She makes matches of truest love.
It is true that occasionally and very rarely she has taken a lover,
but she is not so free with herself as others who follow the goddess of
love. She has ever dreamed of
finding her one true love, and waits for him. I had much more difficulty than Cimmera did finding
my calling. At first I
thought to follow Oghma or even Deneir, but time and again I was drawn to
a small shrine almost hidden away in a forest.” “Why Oghma or Deneir?” It was Valen who voiced
the question. Hypatia gave a little shrug. “I was always curious.
I thought perhaps Oghma, the god of knowledge or Deneir the lord of
glyphs and images might be pleased with my thirst to know things.” A look of wonder crossed her face as she continued.
“Yet it was Mystra who called me.
It was she who found a place for a scruffy woman-child who dared to
wield twin katana.” Hypatia paused and gave Valen a sly look.
“Wield them badly it seems.” A blush crept up Valen’s neck and he said a bit
gruffly, “You’re getting better.” Hypatia laughed softly.
“Now, that is enough about me.
I do not wish to bore you.” |
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