Taylenor

Chapter One

Jaena knew as soon as she set foot in the village that a gifted child lived there.

She opened up her senses and cast wide. Taylen lay over the place like a layer of mist floating over fields on a damp morning.

Her first thought was to run away. She could return to Iryor for help, turn Ears around and vanish on the road leading through the ripening grain, leaving the village of Bless-us-goddess none the wiser that she’d been there. Mother Thara could return with Jaena and take over the burden of convincing the parents to let the taylenor child go.

Jaena shivered. This was her duty, the thing she’d been trained for above and beyond the years she’d studied to be a priest. Now, with taylen so thick in the air it prickled her skin, she wasn’t sure she could complete her task.

Small figures appeared between two houses and shrieked a greeting. Two of the children of Bless-us-goddess raced towards Jaena, braided hair bouncing. Her chance to avoid this task was gone.

In only a few moments more children surrounded her, focused on the donkey pulling Jaena’s utilitarian cart. These children were all too young to be the taylenor.

Her name is Ears, Jaena told them. The children laughed and clustered close to the donkey’s flanks to pet her.

The headwoman awaited them by the market circle. She was lean and sun-browned, with striking silver hair. She invited Jaena into her house to drink tea.

It's been two years since we've seen a priest -- old Priest Mag it was last time, the headwoman said as she sat and poured the tea. You’re very welcome here. We’ve had two babies born since the last visit.

Any deaths? Jaena asked.

The headwoman had brought out her best mugs, blue-glazed treasures from the artisans in Duscapi. No doubt they’d been purchased at great cost to this tiny village and were brought out only to honor guests. Guilt pricked Jaena. The headwoman might not be so welcoming if she knew Jaena would be taking a child away from Bless-us-goddess.

Thank the goddess, no deaths. But we have a newly wedded couple, Sella and Gray, who will need their marriage bed blessed. The headwoman smirked. If we can get them out of it long enough for you to bless it.

All the better, Jaena said. Imn-ashu smiles on eager couples.

The headwoman snorted with laughter. Indeed, we’re glad to see you, Priest! You may stay here, in my daughter's room. We’ll put up your donkey and your cart. No need to camp outside when you’re with us.

Jaena thanked the headwoman. It would be pleasant to sleep in a warm room and have someone else take care of Ears for a change.

The evening was long, filled with tea and then grilled meat, wheatcakes and beer. Jaena delivered news from the capital and gave the headwoman Master Harling’s predictions about weather and crop yields.

In the morning Jaena went to the market circle, and the babies were brought for her to sing over. One child wasn’t really a baby anymore – she walked around on chubby legs and clung to her mother. The other baby grinned up at Jaena, gurgling as she cradled the child and sang the goddess's blessing.

None of the parents complained about Jaena's off-key singing. Nobody asked how a woman with such a flat ear could serve the Goddess.

The heavy sense of taylen had receded this morning. Jaena began to wonder if they had hidden the gifted one; but it was unlikely the people in this little village would know anything about the taylen. Certainly not enough to want to hide their sons and daughters away.

By Jaena’s third morning in Bless-us-goddess, she had come no closer to discovering the source of the talent. She prepared to take her leave, wondering what she should do. As she guided Ears out of town, she noticed a small house at the edge of the village. It stood a little apart from the other houses, in the fields to the north, framed by golden grain.

The sense of taylen intensified as she neared the house. Jaena’s head swam with its strength. She stopped the cart, wrapped the driving rein around a post, and knocked on the door.

The heavy-set woman who opened the door sighed when she saw the green priest’s badge on Jaena’s cloak. I suppose you must come in, she said. I’m Cedon. Make yourself comfortable in the kitchen, Priest, and I’ll get you some tea. She called out to a child of about six who peered from behind a door. Kio, get your father please!

Jaena sat at the scarred wooden table and sipped tea. Cedon’s silence was like a wall. The woman didn’t like priests, or maybe she had a hint of what Jaena was about to tell them.

Then a boy walked into the room, and Jaena knew he was the one she’d been seeking. He still looked healthy and strong, his brown skin gleaming with perspiration from work in the fields. It would be hard to convince Cedon and her husband to let him go.

Sorry, the boy said. I was looking for Da.

Kio went to get him, Cedon said.

Cedon's husband came back from his work. He rinsed his hands in a bucket just outside the door and came into the kitchen still tracking mud from the fields. Kio tagged behind him like a puppy.

I’m Maloc, he said. Kio said there was a priest in the house?

I’m Jaena, priest of Imn-ashu, she said. Thank you for your welcome. I wonder if we could talk for a few minutes.

Cedon sighed. Kio, go outside for a while. Wiel, you go too. Don't go too far, now!

Jaena waited until the noise of the boys' voices thinned with distance. She took a deep breath. I have hard news for you, Cedon and Maloc. News I am sad to have to bring.

Maloc looked puzzled. Cedon met Jaena's eyes. Jaena thought the woman must be expecting the news, or why had she stayed away from the rest of the village during Jaena's visit?

Your older son, Jaena said. Wiel, is it?

Yes.

"I could tell as soon as I approached your village that someone gifted in taylen lived here, and I've spent these days trying to find the child. Wiel has a very strong natural ability. I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but I have no choice."

She expected them to look puzzled, ask what taylen was. So few knew about it these days.

I think you have a choice. Cedon sat very straight in her chair. "We know a little about this taylen. No one else in this village knows anything about it, but we do. Wiel's uncle – she nodded toward Maloc – Maloc's brother, was taken by a Seeker years ago, when they were both young in another town. We never saw him again."

Maloc was in his middle years. His brother must have been taken away as long as a quarter-century ago. They had no idea that the uncle was buried in the taylenor section of the cemetery in Iryor, and had been for probably twenty years.

You suspected then --- about Wiel?

The boy looks just like my brother. Maloc's voice was strained. Every time I look at him I see my brother staring back at me, strong and lean as if he was still fifteen. Of course I wondered if Wiel was like my brother in more than just looks. Of course I did. – He’s Imn-ashu's gift to us, my brother’s soul come back again.

You can’t have him, Cedon said. The older woman's hands shook.

Jaena sighed. You don't understand.

Maloc stood, knocking over his chair. He strode to the door. I can hear you boys under the window. Go! Wiel – get out into the woods! Stay away until I send Kio for you. Go!

There was a scrabble of sound under the window. It seemed the boys had been eavesdropping on the adults' conversation. Now Wiel had run away, fleeing from the house at his father’s command. It would be even harder to explain to him why he must accompany Jaena back to the city.

Maloc returned from the door. He stood with his hands on his hips, feet spread, glowering at Jaena. Cedon sat at the table but her body was like stone.

Jaena closed her eyes for a brief moment. She summoned the memories of what Mother Thara had told her to do. She opened her eyes and faced both of them. If you love Wiel, you won’t put any obstacles to him leaving with me.

That's what they told my ma. We never saw my brother again. We asked every priest, even every messenger that happened our way if there was news. They just looked down their noses at us, man and woman alike.

Maloc went to the city once, before we were married, Cedon said. He said no one would help him.

I looked everywhere. I had to go back and tell my ma I couldn’t find him, Maloc said.

By Imn-ashu, I swear I mean your son no harm.

Maloc swore. No harm, you say. And you, a priest of the goddess, really a Seeker. They say a priest can’t lie, but you are full of lies, you and all your kind.

That was fear speaking, and pain. Jaena forced her anger down. "Let me tell you what happens to the taylenor, and you’ll see why Wiel must come with me." She hummed a few notes of Imn-ashu’s prayer, under her breath, for strength more than anything else.

Maloc slammed a hand down on the table. The loud crack echoed around the humble little kitchen. No more praying. Just speak, will you? Don’t you owe us that?

Jaena told them the story her mentor had told her after she’d been rescued from the harsh winter alone in her parents' homestead and brought to the mothers in the hospital. She’d heard it again when she was chosen as a priest and then a Seeker. She’d been taught several different ways to tell it, depending on the emotional state of her listeners. She threw out all those techniques and decided to be only blunt and honest. Nothing else would do.

"Taylen is the gift that allows people to learn magery. In the old days there was always great hope when a taylenor was discovered. Mages taught the children to use their gift – in fact Mage Herrein still does, just in case such a child manages to escape his fate and live to become a mage."

Maloc cleared his throat. His posture slackened, became less belligerent. What do you mean, Seeker – if they live?

Jaena sighed. This was the hard part. "Somewhere in the body of a taylenor when he is born, is the potential for magery. It lies dormant until they reach the age when they can be married – then it blooms. But tied to that potential is a Dark Twin. When the taylen blooms, so does the Dark Twin. It’s a sickness that follows the emergence of the taylen like a toddler follows its mother, hanging on to her skirts. It kills the taylenor slowly, over a period of months or years. No one has found the cure for the disease, though Mage Herrein and the mothers at the hospital don’t give up hope."

So. My brother has been dead for many years, Maloc said.

Cedon stood and took her husband's hand.

Jaena nodded. "I’m sorry. Yes. Seekers were commissioned to find the taylenor. We take them back to the city for two reasons. First – someday we might save one. Mage Herrein was such a child, you know, and it’s said that any taylenor who lives beyond his growing years may become a Mage."

The sunlight had slipped across the room since Jaena arrived.

And second? Cedon asked.

Jaena forced herself to go on. It was hard to speak like this to middle-aged people who were about to lose their son. She felt young and uncertain. "We make them comfortable, Cedon. The mothers care for them. They have medicines for pain. They have therapies to help them stay on their feet longer, so they won’t waste away in bed. They spend every moment making things comfortable for the taylenor. It extends their lives, and it gives them ease. You can’t do that here."

"This is his home. Maloc paced across the floor, ending up in the square of sunlight. We’ll take care of him. He is Imn-ashu's gift to us, and there is nowhere he will be better off than right here."

Cedon's hand rose to cover her mouth. Tears shone in the older woman's eyes.

There was a lump in Jaena’s throat. She wished Mother Thara were here to handle this. I’m trying to speak with you honestly about what must be. I can’t force you, or Wiel. Please think about everything I’ve told you. I swear to you on the goddess I serve – it’s best for Wiel.

Priest or not, you’re young. Cedon wiped tears from her cheek. Not long past twenty, I think. How can you know what it is to lose a child? How can you know what’s best for him?

"I’ve known other taylenor. My dearest friend was one. And the mothers have taught me about what they do. But of course I can’t know what it’s like to lose a child. I’m truly sorry."

Maloc reached out and grasped Cedon's hand. His knuckles whitened; it wasn’t a gentle handclasp. His other hand covered his eyes.

Jaena pushed back her chair. I’ll stay another day. I won't impose on the headwoman again so unexpectedly – I'll stay in my cart, just outside the village. I’ll come back tomorrow.

I’d think twice before coming back here uninvited, Seeker. Cedon’s eyes flashed.

As if his wife’s words had energized him, Maloc shoved to his feet, his chair skittering backwards. He came around the table and grabbed Jaena’s forearm.

Her heart skipped as the man hauled her towards the front door. She stumbled and recovered.

Out, he gritted. Stay out. Set foot here again and you’ll be sorry. We aren’t defenseless here, you know.

Maloc! She’s a priest!

I don’t care if she’s the Mage Defender. She can’t have our son! He thrust Jaena onto the front stoop and slammed the front door in her face.

Jaena gasped at Maloc’s sudden rage. Staring at the planks a few inches in front of her nose, she tried to catch her breath. She didn’t blame Maloc and Cedon. But she must figure out a way to help Wiel before the Dark Twin began to claim him, even if the headwoman set the whole village in her way.

She unwrapped Ears' tether from the post. She climbed into the cart and slapped the rein against the donkey’s flank, and headed for the green tree line beyond the standing grain.

Chapter Two

Jaena sat on the single step of her cart. She was camped in a clearing, but there was ripe grain all around, too close and dry to risk a fire. The dusk had brought an unexpected chill with it, and she was shivering.

As soon as she finished her dinner of bread and cheese, she stepped up into the cart and came back wrapped in a cloak, with her flute in her hand.

She was far better at the flute than she was at singing. The flute was her favorite means to pray to the goddess – there was little danger she would wander off-key and mar the purity of her prayer. She grinned as she remembered the faces of the village newlyweds as she sang the goddess' blessing on their marriage bed. They had expected a better voice from a priest, that was for sure. Their old priest, Mag, had a clear and youthful baritone in spite of his age.

Their faces had cleared when she brought out the flute. And when the goddess’ blessing had descended on them, pure as a drift of snow.

She tilted the flute before her lips and let a trill of notes fall into the sweet-smelling dusk. She would pray to Imn-ashu for Wiel and his family. And maybe also for some warmth while she was at it. The goddess took care of her priests, and might calm the breeze a bit for her.

A rustling in the grass nearby stopped her.

Who's there? she asked. She glanced over at Ears, who grazed nearby, but the donkey showed no sign of alarm.

A tall shape emerged from the grain. Priest Jaena? I’m Wiel, Maloc's son. I need to talk to you.

I’m glad to see you. Jaena put the flute aside. She’d hoped he would come. She’d thought maybe a boy almost grown would be unwilling to accept the decree of his parents without looking for answers of his own. Her shoulders tensed with nerves. She hoped the ingrained village respect for priests still held true.

I heard you want to take me away from my family.

You were listening outside the window, weren't you? Then you only heard part of the story. Please sit down, Wiel.

Wiel backed a step or two away.

Don’t worry. I won't take you against your will, and you’re a young man of what, fifteen or so? And much stronger than I am. Sit, please.

I might be stronger, but you have the power of the goddess, Wiel said. He sat down on the ground cross-legged, keeping a good distance between them.

This isn’t the goddess' concern. This is the business of mages. Do you know what a Seeker is?

He nodded. Da told me, just now. Why haven't I ever heard of them before?

Seekers are rare. Right now, I’m the only one Mage Herrein employs. She remembered the day Herrein asked her to be a Seeker. Until that day she’d never heard of them either.

Why were you looking for me?

"You’ve inherited a gift called taylen. It first shows up in those who have it around the time they’re old enough for marriage."

I think I know what you’re talking about. Wiel pushed his hair off his forehead. Things look different to me sometimes. Like they’re deeper than they used to be? And sometimes it feels like if I just reach out and grab, something might happen.

"That’s taylen. The first thing most taylenor notice is a feeling they can pull things with their minds. You have a strong gift; I felt it as soon as I got here. Unfortunately, it comes with a high price. Along with the taylen comes an illness that will make you very sick, and probably even cause your death."

Is that what happened to my uncle? Wiel looked down, a lock of his dark hair falling over his forehead.

Yes. Jaena sighed. This is hard news for you to believe, I’m sure. You’re young and I don't see any signs of the illness in you yet. You seem strong and healthy. But before long you’ll begin to feel weak, and it’ll progress from there. At the Mothers’ Hospital they can care for you, make you comfortable, and maybe prolong your life.

The Mothers of Arifell?

Yes.

They’re supposed to heal the sick. Why can’t they just cure me?

I wish they could. I lost a friend to the Dark Twin, years ago. She paused, watching him. Maybe Wiel had heard all this already, from his overwrought parents; if so, it was surprising he seemed so calm. It was almost dark now, and she could barely see the boy's expression.

But then he glanced up. Fear glittered in his wide eyes. He crossed his arms across his chest, shoulders tense.

Jaena stepped up into her cart. She found her tinderbox and lit her shielded oil lamp, then hung it from the hook set into the frame of the cart, where it cast a yellow glow around them. She found a rug and handed it to Wiel to sit on. Here. It’s getting colder.

He settled himself on the rug. The little interruption allowed them to look away from each other and take a few calming breaths.

"The better news is that Mage Herrein has been working for a long time on how to save the lives of the taylenor. He’ll work with you there, at the hospital. There’s always a chance – a slight one, Weil, I won’t lie to you – a slight chance that you’ll survive the illness and become a mage. That’s how Herrein became a mage – he survived the illness, many many years ago. It’s not impossible that the same could happen to you."

Why can’t I just stay here? I don't want to leave my family.

"I can hardly blame you. I can tell they love you. But they can't take care of you here. You’ll require a lot of care, Wiel. Your parents will wear themselves out with worry. They’ll spend their money on cernen who won’t be able to do anything for you. Can they afford that pain, that stress? – And how will it be for Kio, watching you die?"

It had been terrible, watching Marki die. She must convince this boy to come with her. Maybe Herrein and the mothers could save this one. There was always a chance. Imn-ashu, help me make him understand.

Wiel stood. He began to pace up and down in the narrow area before the cart where Jaena sat. The lamplight illuminated his skin and gleamed off his shiny dark hair. He moved with the liquid ease of a healthy young animal. It was hard to believe that in a few months he would be like Tia, the only taylenor child at the hospital right now, who grew weaker every time Jaena saw her.

Why should I believe you? Wiel snapped. You’re a stranger.

A priest, Jaena said calmly. We don’t lie.

My Da says you can lie as well as anyone else if it suits you. He glared at her. So I’ll wither away and die, useless in my bed here or in the city. What’s the chance I’ll live to become a mage?

She shrugged. "Not much. I’ve seen three taylenor children at the hospital since I came to Iryor to live. Two have died, long since. One’s still alive, but very ill. It’s hard to hear, Wiel, but you’ll most likely die here or in Iryor. But Mage Herrein was a taylenor child like you, and he survived the illness. He’s an old man now, Herrein the Strong."

The Mage Defender of Cassahn. Wiel stopped pacing, and his eyes glittered in the lamplight.

Yes. He’s shielded us from the ancient demons for more than two hundred years.

I don't know anyone in the city, Wiel said.

Your family can visit you.

He made a short angry gesture. They can’t. Da doesn’t have any help but me. He can't leave his crops and go off to Iryor for weeks. Ma can't leave Kio. And I’d hate for her to bring him along.

Then you should sleep on it. I’ve been as honest with you and your family as I know how. I won’t force you. It’s truly to your benefit – to your family's benefit, even – that you come with me. Jaena's head was beginning to hurt. There was too much emotion in the air. Wiel’s shock and anger troubled the goddess' peace like a gale introduced into a calm summer day.

The boy shoved his hands into his pockets. His shoulders slumped. I’ll come with you.

Jaena caught her breath. She hadn’t expected the quick decision. Thank you.

He shook his head, turning the thanks away. There’s no choice. You must report to someone. Won’t they just send someone else out to take me?

If you decide to stay here, they’ll never know about you. Failing to report that she’d found a taylenor would mean breaking faith with Herrein, but there had been too much emotion in Maloc and Cedon’s little kitchen. She wouldn’t betray Wiel.

I'll tell my family I’m going. I don’t want to be a burden to them. Will you come back in the morning and answer any questions they have?

Yes, I’ll do that. If they wish to see me.

I’ll tell the headwoman that I’ve decided. But you should beware. She was angry when I left.

"I’ll take care. I don’t think they’ll harm a priest."

What should I bring to Iryor? Wiel looked very young all of a sudden.

She smiled. "Bring anything you can’t replace, books if you like to read or an instrument if you play. A change of clothes, whatever you need for the journey, but not