Vacation VII (The Word That Ends The World)

((CHAPTER 16, THE WORD THAT ENDS THE WORLD))

Very often, Alyssa had asked Jacob questions only to have him reply with a mysterious smile. She knew now, thanks to Richard, that her mentor had been trying to get her to think of these strange things on her own. She felt like she'd been a slow learner, but recent events seemed to indicate that Jacob's technique was paying off.

The best part, she'd decided, was finally confounding him.

As he'd done so often in the past, now Alyssa walked away with a faint grin on her face, and Jacob shook his head and laughed before following her. He took up a position in front of her, insisting that he'd see (so to speak) threats before she would.

Close up, the shack was in even further disrepair than it had initially appeared. Briefly, Alyssa found herself wondering if Yael might not have sent them somewhere else. She didn't think the councilwoman would feel so much against their task that she would take such steps without simply vetoing the idea in council. It wasn't as though they were doing this without blessing.

Jacob opened the door and Alyssa peered in. The interior of the shack was empty, as small and cramped as it appeared to the outside world. A hatch was on the floor and even before Jacob opened it, she knew what it would reveal.

Stairs, made of rough stone and unlit, faded a few feet into the darkness. The walls of the stairwell appeared to be made of the same stone it consisted of. This was also, Alyssa found herself noting, the same stone that the further reaches of the chamber were built out of. Places like this, she could sense, and the chamber, she realized now, were closer to Chaos than the ordinary world. It was a careful balance – on the one hand, they were more flexible when it came to protection, but on the other it allowed easier access to the creatures which would besiege them.

She said none of this. Instead she gestured gallantly to Jacob and said “After you.”

Jacob made no noise of objection as, blindfolded – Alyssa was constantly forgetting – he led the way down the stairs. Alyssa followed and, within a few steps, was encased in near total darkness. As a child, she vaguely remembered the dark had scared her. Now,even darkness was calm compared to the seas of chaos she'd swam in.

The dim light from the entrance fled them quickly, despite the fact that they were being quite careful in their descent. Silence greeted them again, only their footfalls sounding and even them seeming somewhat muffled.

She didn't know how long they walked. Initially, she'd attempted to keep track of the number of stairs, but the information wouldn't stay within her mind, as though part of the chaos she'd immersed herself in remained with her. All she knew was that, after an interminable amount of time, she started to hear the noise of water running. At first it was so faint she thought herself imagining it, but as they continued and it did not relent, she finally realized they were heading somewhere. The stairs, though consisting of stone, were man-made, so she supposed the chances of the water being naturally occurring were similarly low. Truthfully, though, she knew nothing about the geology that might form such a place. It could be the stairs just led to otherwise natural caves.

This turned out to not be the case. A warm orange light slowly suffused the rock which surrounded them, and she could see the source of the light below. She restrained the urge to go faster, though it was more because Jacob was in front of her and he hadn't done so than for her own sake.

They emerged in a large room, filled with the warm light they'd seen from above. It didn't seem to come from any particular source, but illuminated everything softly. A man was seated, lotus-style, at the bottom of the stairs. He was seated against the wall next to the opening, and he stood up as soon as they'd entered the room.

“Greetings, and welcome to our home. It has been some time since we have had emissaries from the Gifted. Our pleasure.” he bowed.

Jacob returned the bow formally. “We wish to see one who came to this place nearly thirty years ago. We knew him as Craig, though he may have adopted another name upon arriving.”

The greeter frowned. “I will have to speak to the leader of our order. Please, make yourself comfortable.” He gestured to a number of chairs off to the side, there apparently specifically for guests' needs. After being sure they sat down and had no objections to waiting, he hurried off.

“You get the idea that maybe we should have called ahead?” Alyssa asked Jacob.

He shrugged. “Apparently so. I don't think anyone back home has their number, though.”

They sat in silence for a while. Alyssa's chair was not all that comfortable, but it felt like the most relaxing thing she'd ever known. She was more than willing for the monks to speak among themselves while she relaxed.

They quieted as their greeter returned, leading another, elder monk along with him.

“Emissaries of Yael,” the elder spoke. The greeter took his place back by the door. “If you wish, I can take you to brother Craig. I think you will find him indisposed, however.”

“We would still see him.” Jacob spoke up, coming to his feet. Alyssa followed his lead.

The elder frowned, gazing hard at Jacob. “Your kind have no sight, abberation. Only the mad whispers of the Unknown.” he turned to Alyssa. “Why have you brought this onto my doorstep?”

Alyssa resisted the urge to bite back. Keeping her tone calm, she said “He is not a Sightless. His name is Jacob Keynes , and I count him as my closest friend.”

The elder seemed to think for a moment. “Who are you, to vouch for him?”

“My name is Alyssa D'Eldess.”

This seemed to get a reaction out of the inscrutable man. “Ah, are you a relative of our silent friend?”

“Relative? No.”

“It is no matter.” The elder waved the issue away. “On your honor, we will allow your friend passage. Should he in any way act his nature, however, both of you will be evicted.” Warning given, he started walking back to the hallway.

Jacob followed Alyssa, now, and was careful not to say anything that could be construed as evil. The elder, after giving Jacob a careful look, began to speak again.

“You may, upon your return, tell Yael all the details of your visit, we do not wish to keep secrets from her.” the way he said this made Alyssa think there had been some sort of tension between the monastery and the chamber.

“When Craig came to us, it was the first time in a very long time that a Gifted had been sent to study here. We always welcome the opportunity, for there is much we can learn from them, and we like to believe that there is much they can learn from us as well.” he paused, cleared his throat, “He was not prepared to share his knowledge with us, but I feel satisfied we have reached him.”

Something nagged at Alyssa. Craig hadn't been very talkative when he'd been at the chamber. “You said earlier he was silent?”

The elder nodded. “Understandably, this is why we were unable to learn of his gifts or teaching. He took a vow of silence upon arrival, his last words he spoke here were the words of his oath.”

Alyssa was unsurprised. Given his neurosis for silence, it seems like something he'd have thought to do early.

She hadn't been keeping track of their movements, concentrating more on what the elder had been saying – or rather, what he was omitting. There was a subtext there, a history between the monastery and the chamber, that she wasn't privy to. So it took Jacob's sudden intake of air to catch her attention.

“Something's strange here.” he said simply. He shut up suddenly as the elder glared at him.

The elder turned back to Alyssa, gesturing to a man sitting in the center of the room. “Here is Craig D'Eldess, your silent castaway.”

Craig was dressed in a simple robe, like the other monks, and as he stood up Alyssa was relieved to see that there were, apparently, no familial resemblances. For one, she was taller than he and her hair was lighter. For another, she wasn't about to erupt in rage.

“You!” he yelled. His voice was weak but it certainly had an impact. The other monks in the room gasped, came to their feet. Some dashed from the room, others stayed to watch. The elder himself seemed at a loss for words.

Craig's voice returned to him, rusty from disuse. “What are you doing here?” he croaked. “Or rather, I should ask, why haven't you come here long before?”

“Brother Craig, your vow!” The elder reminded him.

“I shall take penance, as required.” his eyes seemed aflame in eagerness. “But I have to speak to her.”

“You're not related to me.” Alyssa stated, voice sounding more confident than she actually was.

He shook his head. “Not to my knowledge. Still, there is much we must speak of, before we return to silence.”

More monks were slowly filing into the room, ostensibly with the reverence and grace of their order, but it was obvious that whatever Craig was about to say was something they wanted to hear.

“Return to silence? I'm sure my partner would like that.” Alyssa spoke up, her voice feeling inadequate from the task. That Craig had spent years saying nothing only to start a conversation immediately upon seeing her gave everything they said a strange weight, and she didn't feel like what she was saying measured up. “But no, I speak all the time.”

Craig's brow furrowed as he glared toward Jacob. “I don't care if they know what we speak of, we shall speak freely here.” That cryptic remark made, he turned his attention back to Alyssa. “You speak at all times, but you know the word? How do manage? I took my oath because I feared that I would accidentally speak it, that it would slip out and end us all.”

“The word?”

His eyes widened. “I recognized you because you're like me, I can tell. You're Gifted beyond that of even those who have gifts. You have power over order in your claws, and you've gained power over chaos.” Her claws had not been out since she'd battled the Soldiers above, how he knew of them was beyond her. “But you're telling me that you do not know the word?”

She could only shake her head.

“It is important. There is a word that, if spoken, can end the world. Only those with mastery like ours can speak it. Others, they could say it a thousand times with no reaction.” he leaned forward to her. “I know this word. I'm not exactly like you – I have my own minor mastery over order, but have not tested myself against chaos. I do not do this because, if I did, then I would know for certain that I was one of the people who could speak the word with meaning. If I speak the word that ends the world, even by mistake, everything ends. Everything remains in my memory, for me to forget or remember, for me to destroy or immortalize.” He turned to Jacob, smiling and speaking much less harshly than he had before. “This, of course, is why I do not fear your eavesdropper. I know the word, and if the agents of the Unknown and Unknowable come to fight me, I will speak it. Neither side will win, and they cannot stand that. They must be victorious. Ending of everything, as appealing as that would seem to be to agents of Chaos, would leave its agents nothing to rule. There is order, and there is chaos – there is constant change and there is constant stability. In both cases, there is something. This is a third thing – it is simply, nothing. An epitome of both Order – in that nothing shall ever change – and Chaos, in that it would claim all and fill everything with madness. This is what I hold within me.”

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