The Return of the Dragonhawk

Chapter 37 -- Partings

Will they never stop their cavilling? Alyx thought, his impatience mounting. It has been two days already, and no progress that I can see. He was tired and hungry, and the sun was ready to sink behind the horizon, but the wise ones of Helion were still disputing the meaning of the runes laid out on the altar of Kyra.

After finishing his teaching for the day, he had gone to the courtyard to observe the proceedings. He had quickly lost patience and sought to tame his jitters by walking back and forth along the wall. He could not fathom how anyone could believe that the position of symbols on a cloth could reveal anything beyond what could be learned by careful observation and astute reasoning. Even if the runes could reveal the full meaning of the present and predict the future, their interpretation was more art than science.

When he told Rhoz what he thought, she quoted Hekla: Where there is no light to see, faith unveils our secret thoughts. Even if the runes had no meaning in themselves, she explained, they provided a focus for those who were struggling to determine a course of action. He asked her what she would do if no agreement was reached, and she shook her head and said it would not come to that.

His armpits were growing sore from his crutches, but he was reluctant to stop moving. The more his body healed, the more restless he became.

He stopped walking and looked out over the parapet. The fields, the forest, the sky and the mountains -- all were as beautiful as he remembered from his childhood days. But his soul craved the earth and sky and mountains of home.

He had sent a message to High Duidd Faraight the day before, detailing everything that had happened. However, he had neglected to specify when he would return. He needed no runes to tell him that leaving Praxenkyr meant leaving Rhoz, and much more. Without the companionship of Alyn and Martenn and his pupils, he would be alone again.

A treble voice broke into his thoughts. "Magister?"

Alyx came perilously close to losing his balance as he pivoted to face the slender figure standing behind him. "Shivanna! What brings you here?"

Her face was solemn. "I have come to beg your pardon for trying your patience the first day."

He smiled down at her. "You have more than atoned for that. Your work is superb."

"Better than the boys'?"

"Sometimes." If truth be told, she was by far the best in the class, but it did not seem wise to let her know that.

"Can girls learn to do everything boys can?"

Alyx considered the question seriously. "I believe so," he said with some reluctance. Much as it irked him to admit it, he could not uphold the principle of male superiority without compromising his honesty. "Some things seem easier for boys, and some seem easier for girls, but that is no reason for either to limit themselves."

"Father says that women are delicate flowers in need of constant protection. I want to have adventures, like you."

His heart twinged. "I hope that your adventures will be more pleasant than mine."

"The boys want to be like you. So do I."

"Beware of seeing me as more than I am," he said. It hurt him to disillusion this child who thought so well of him, but the truth would serve her better than romantic fantasies. "For too many years, I lived in the forest like a beast, and narrowly missed becoming one."

"You have done vile deeds, then, and made mistakes?"

He squirmed. "Yes, I have. More than I care to remember."