They mounted up, and the three of them rode ahead of the others along a broad trail heading west as the sky began to lighten. The ride went quickly with conversation. Mengmoshu talked about the Moshuguang's discovery of a gifted Tumatsin child, and the near-tragedy of their mission to save that child from death when the Emperor ordered a threatening ordu destroyed. He talked about Kati's natural abilities, her training, the intervention of First Mother in pushing those abilities to their limits.

Kati told her about the times with Mandughai in the gong-shi-jie, what she'd learned to do there, and how the Empress of Tengri-Nayon had been like a mother to her. She recited the history of the Tumatsin and the truth of the long line of Empresses, some good, some evil, all known as Mandughai.

Goldani seemed wistful. "You speak to Her as we speak now? You've seen Her?"

"When I was a child," said Kati, "I would see emerald eyes and hear a voice in my head, but later, in the gong-shi-jie, She showed me an image of a young Empress when we talked. It was years before I realized She was showing me an image of myself as a woman."

"But you hear her words?"

"Yes."

Goldani sighed. "It has never been so with me. It is more like an instinct, an intuition from something said in a dream. It was also like that with Manlee. You see what I think, so I will say it. Based on my own experience, I'm skeptical about what you tell me. You're saying that only you have direct contact with Mandughai."

"I also have it," said Mengmoshu, "but not in the gong-shi-jie. Only Kati, or Mengnu, as we call her among our people, has the ability to go there. First Mother speaks directly to me and others in the Moshuguang, but only in the way Kati experienced as a child. I've told you her gifts are exceptional and unique. First Mother has chosen her for this reason alone. Kati's abilities exceed even Hers."

"There are Tumatsin who will consider that statement a blasphemy."

"I understand," said Mengmoshu, "but it is truth. First Mother is one of many persons in history, not a G.o.d. Her daughter will soon take Her place, and as a final accomplishment of Her reign she wants Tumatsin and Hansui reunited for the betterment of Shanji. She has chosen Kati as an Empress who will bring change in the way we do things, and improve everyone's life, including those millions who live beyond the mountains."

"I've never heard of such people," said Goldani.

Millions, indeed. I see Toregene in this child, but what is she now? Why is she here?

To show you Mandughai's will, Goldani. I must unite Tumatsin and Hansui as one people.

Goldani sucked in a breath, turning to see Kati regarding her calmly with emerald green eyes. The sky was bright, now, and ahead of them the great sea spread to the horizon. Cl.u.s.ters of gerts were scattered north and south along a sloping plain leading to beaches and rocky cliffs, and several boats dotted the water near the sh.o.r.e.

"You have not heard of the people in the east because the Emperor has forced your isolation, and the time for that is coming to an end. Tumatsin and Hansui must work together if things are to change," said Kati.

"And if we do not?"

"Then Mandughai will force it, or kill us all," said Kati. "In less than two years, She returns with Her armies. She doesn't come as a savior of the Tumatsin, but as a foreign aggressor. If we don't oppose Her together, She will destroy us all, and start all over again. Her main concern is for the millions who live difficult lives beyond the mountains."

"The Tumatsin will not believe this. At Festival next year they will celebrate Her coming. They've awaited it thousands of years."

"I understand," said Kati. "I've come to tell you the truth and give you a warning. I expect your skepticism, your disbelief. My hope is that when the time comes, and Mandughai's armies are burning your ordus, you will join us in fighting Her. We will be ready to help you."

"We?"

"The fighting force of the Moshuguang is moderate in size, but well trained," said Mengmoshu. "We also have considerable numbers of friends in the Emperor's army who will join us. If we can formulate a mutual-defense pact, I can guarantee the use of these forces to defend your ordus if you will join us in defending the city."

Goldani chuckled. "The Emperor himself once made such a promise, but our only defense is a few troopers and a fence he has built to keep us within our own territory. Your proposal cannot be taken seriously by us, but you are welcome to make it."

"May we speak to the ordu leaders as a group?" asked Kati.

"They are all here. Word of your visit arrived weeks ago, and every ordu is represented."

"When we're finished, I want to see my father and brother. Do you know where they are?"

"They are also here," said Goldani, but suddenly her mind was closed off from Kati, the familiar blackness when someone resisted a probe.

"What's wrong?" asked Kati.

"You will first meet Baber. He will take you to see your father. We didn't know who this person Mengnu

was, only that she was Tumatsin. I'm sorry."Still the blackness in the woman's mind, hiding something from her. "Is it far?""No. We come to the ordu now. We shall have time for more talk later, when I've a.s.sembled the others.

First, there will be food and drink for you." The trail ended at the edge of the ordu, a cl.u.s.ter of gerts set in three concentric circles, a large, permanent building of logs with a turf roof in the center that was the traditional meeting place for a large ordu. People ran towards them from all directions for a look at the strangers, and there were many children of all ages. Several men sat on horseback, scowling as they pa.s.sed by. Kati looked for a familiar face, but there were none there. The odor of barley cakes and cheese was in the air, mingled with the scent of horses and goats and burning wood.The scents of the Tumatsin.Kati turned, and smiled at Mengmoshu. I feel like I'm coming home.Yes, but it isn't home. Your world has become much larger than this one.

Goldani led them to the log building and dismounted. They went through a doorway with a flap of hide. There were no windows, the only light coming from a partially opened vent made from some translucent animal membrane in the ceiling. In the center of the dirt floor was a stone hearth with freshly set wood beneath a black kettle filled with water for ceremonial tea. Benches lined the walls of the single, large room, and the air smelled like incense and burned wood.

"Our meeting will be here," said Goldani, "and we'll bring bedding for you to sleep on as long as you wish to stay. How long will that be?"

"No more than two nights," said Mengmoshu.

No more? I haven't seen Da and Baber for twelve years!

We must go back before the Emperor discovers we've left the city. But you can return whenever you think it's safe.

"Food will be brought here for you. Tomorrow, I invite you to join me for meals in my ger," said Goldani. "We'll discuss the results of the meeting, then. Our food is simple. I hope you will find it satisfactory."

"I'm sure we will," said Kati, "and I'm happy to see that Tumatsin hospitality hasn't changed while I've been away."

My people are fond of understatement. To say their food is simple means they will serve us their very best.

Goldani nodded, cold and formal, but her eyes were constantly on Kati now. She stepped up close, and said, "I've heard enough to believe you're the little girl we thought was dead so many years ago. I loved your mother, Kati, and I still mourn her. It's her place I've taken, after the death of Manlee, and now her daughter returns to tell me she is to be Empress over all of Shanji. This is difficult for me. I still remember the little girl who would rather ride than eat, but now she's a woman standing before me with the greenest eyes I've ever seen, probing my mind like a Searcher. You are Tumatsin, Kati, yet different. Your aura fills this room in gold and red, always moving, dynamic and powerful. The others will notice this. They will still wonder who or what you really are. They will not believe Mandughai comes to harm us, and will question your motives for telling such a story."

"I'm sent by Mandughai to fulfill Her wishes, Goldani, and all my gifts come from Her. Please tell that to the others before the meeting. Whatever else I am, or will be, I am Tumatsin. This is my first home, and I haven't forgotten it."

"I'll tell them that. Rest now. Food will be brought soon. Our meeting will be after the noon meal."

"When can I see my father and brother?"

"Baber will come for you after the meeting," said Goldani, finally showing a faint smile. "Your brother has become a handsome young man you might not even recognize. You might find him shy at first. I think he will be awed by the beauty of his sister."

Goldani put a hand on Kati's shoulder, and her own eyes were light green. "I'm so happy to see you're alive," she said, then turned, pushed her way past the door flap, and was gone.

Kati was excited, yet worried. "She's hiding something, Mengmoshu. I couldn't penetrate her mind."

"Nor could I. She has excellent control," said Mengmoshu, "but if hostility were there I would have sensed it, and I didn't."

"She remembers me."

"The others will not. Goldani was from your ordu, and she is leader here. She antic.i.p.ates a difficult meeting and has given us extra time to speak to her alone. We need to take advantage of that."

"Some might remember me from Festival, when I got my first horse."

"This will not help them believe you come as future Empress, or that you're chosen by First Mother. You must give them a sign, Kati. Use your powers when there's an opportunity."

They sat down on a bench and waited only a few minutes before food and drink arrived, verifying what Kati had said about Tumatsin understatement. A line of women, girls, and young boys entered the room, carrying bowls, plates and jugs which they arranged on a hide by the hearth, then two cushions of soft hide stuffed with wool for them to sit on. There were barley cakes and fruit, small potatoes and slabs of lamb steamed with herbs, and a small bowl of honeycomb to finish the meal over tea and ayrog.

Both of them ate greedily, for they hadn't had anything in their stomachs since the previous evening. The silence was interrupted only by people coming in to retrieve empty dishes, and finally to give them moist cloths to clean their hands and mouths. The people did not speak or look at them, even when they voiced their pleasure with the meal.

"It's the Tumatsin way," explained Kati, when Mengmoshu seemed worried about the people not responding to a compliment. "We're treated as honored guests, and what we say or do during our meal is considered private, as if n.o.body else were present."

They finished everything and sat on the benches, dozing after the early start of the day. All too soon, Goldani was standing in the doorway, and light was pouring in from outside.

"I have the others with me. Are you ready?"

"Of course," said Kati. "Please come in."

Ten women filed solemnly in behind Goldani, and seated themselves along the benches on the other side of the hearth. All eyes were on Kati and Mengmoshu. All eyes were red with wariness, and Kati breathed slowly, deeply, to calm herself.

These are my people. I love and care about them.

She knew her eyes were green, for she saw some eyebrows raised, and a few women looked at each other as if to verify what they saw. Or was her aura the thing that intrigued them? Their own auras were heavily laced with blue, and close to their bodies, while Goldani's seemed normal, extending outwards an arm's length in yellows and red hues.

"I bring you greetings from Mandughai," said Kati. "and I come at Her request to bring you important news about Her coming to Shanji. I'm called Mengnu in the Emperor's city, but my birth name is Kati, given to me by my parents Toregene and Temujin. I was born in the ordu without a name that the Emperor destroyed, and taken-"

"I have given them your history, Kati. All of us knew your mother, and some remember you as a child," said Goldani. "We welcome you as a Tumatsin, but need to hear from your own mouth about your relationship to Mandughai, and the reason you are here."

Don't speak for me, Goldani. She's a Searcher, altered to look like one of us. One of the women interjected the thought, harsh and peremptory.

Kati stiffened. "Very well," she said. For several minutes, she gave them a running account of her contact with Mandughai, beginning as a child, and then her later training with the Moshuguang, the times in the gong-shi-jie, the things she'd been taught by the Empress of Tengri-Nayon herself. Mengmoshu broke in once to explain why Kati had been saved from death, how the Moshuguang had seen her special gifts even when she was a tiny child.

The women listened politely until she was finished, and then voices came from the gloom on the other side of the hearth.

"You come here with a Searcher. They've been our enemies for a thousand years."

You are spy for the Emperor. Mandughai will destroy all of you if She comes again.

"They searched out truth when the Tumatsin were in rebellion against the Emperor," said Kati. "Their influence prevented the Emperor from destroying all of us! They understand the importance of the Tumatsin on Shanji. You have your own lands because of them. There are millions of people on Shanji who have nothing, and the Moshuguang, or the Searchers, as you call them, work to change that. They are not your enemies. The Emperor is your enemy, and his reign is coming to an end. Shanji is stagnant. It will not move ahead unless there is fairness and justice for all people."

That same voice again, and now Kati saw a brightening aura from a woman three places away from Goldani.

"We're told that Mandughai has proclaimed you Empress when the Emperor is gone, yet you must fight Her army for this to happen. I, for one, do not believe this. It makes no sense, and seems convenient if Mandughai is really coming with Her armies. She will rid us of the Emperor, and establish Her own rule. I think you're attempting to usurp this by getting us to help you fight Her, and then take power for yourself! You're barely a woman. How can we believe what you say without direct verification from Mandughai, The One who is always with us?"

Careful! She sees Mandughai as a G.o.ddess!

"One moment," said Goldani. "Mamai has arrived to light our fire for tea. Please come in."

A boy entered with a bag of tinder and lighted candle, kneeling at the hearth to perform his duties while everyone sat in silence. He lit the tinder at strategic places within the tent of wood beneath the water pot, and hurried out of the room.

"I will answer you with a question," said Kati. "Suppose you suddenly heard the voice of a woman proclaiming herself to be Mandughai, and the woman told you you must give up your isolation to work and live with the other people on Shanji, move from your land if necessary to be in harmony with the Hansui. Would you do it?"

Bright, blue spikes appeared in the woman's aura. "I-I would obey the will of Mandughai."

"Even though it's against your will? I can see it in your aura, and hear it in your thoughts! You despise the Hansui! Yet you would live and work with them if Mandughai ordered it?"

"Yes-if I knew it was Mandughai who ordered it. You have entered my mind without-"

"Your permission, yes. I also have the powers of a Searcher, you see, but any woman in this room can see the truth in your aura. Now, tell me how you could be sure it was Mandughai ordering you to do something you didn't want to do. It could be anyone's voice: a Searcher, perhaps, or other impostor. How could you know it was truly Mandughai speaking?"

"I would know," said the woman stubbornly.

The fire in the hearth had caught, but burned slowly, and smoke circled the room.

Now is a good time to show them something.

"By faith? Or by a sign of her power?" Kati pointed a hand at the fire. "For example, I may direct my aura-so."

The entire wood pile on the hearth burst into a column of flame reaching half-way to the ceiling, and was consumed in seconds. The women gasped at the sight and the abrupt, almost unbearable heat, and pressed their backs against the wall.

"Or, I may open a path to the gong-shi-jie, the place of creation, and draw a piece of its infinite energy to heat our water for tea. Watch, now."

Kati's aura snaked to the water kettle, flattening into a dish-shape just above it. She kept her eyes open, let them see the blaze of emerald green as she made the connection to the world of purple light, drawing out a trickle of radiation, and directing it into the kettle. In one second, the water was at a roiling boil. The room glowed green with the light from her eyes, then subsided.

"Would this be enough? Must I heat this room to the scalding point, or burn down an entire ordu with the light you've just seen? Are these the signs you look for? I show you signs, yet I do not claim to be Mandughai, but I tell you She has sent me here to proclaim Her will. Goldani has given you Her message, and I need not repeat it for you. In less than two years Mandughai comes as a foreign aggressor to force Tumatsin and Hansui together in opposition to Her.

"She is a woman, like you or me, a good woman determined to see Shanji advance and expand to join the rest of Her worlds. She has chosen me to lead this change, and to make a better life for all the people, but I must first unite Tumatsin and Hansui. Her armies come to enforce this, or to destroy us all. We can work together now, and agree to meet the confrontation in a united way, or wait until Her soldiers are burning your ordus. The choice is yours."

"You speak blasphemy!" snarled a woman.

"A trick, with one of the Hansui light weapons!" said another.

"Nonsense. We all saw her aura. The source of power was right in this room," said still another. "But what can we do now, when the Emperor is in power, and our border is fenced and guarded?"

"We can agree to mutually defend each other against foreign aggression," said Kati. "We can come together as equals to plan a better life for the people on Shanji. But you must understand that the greatest need for change lies beyond the mountains where most of Shanji's people live. It means giving up your isolation."

"The Emperor has imposed this on us!"

"It will not be so when he's gone."

"We only have your word for that!"

"This is true," said Kati. "Trust is necessary for what we do together."

The women were now whispering to each other, and Goldani said, "Kati, suppose we cannot agree to what you say, and when Mandughai's army arrives they attack our ordus, and we see you have spoken the truth. What happens to us then?"

The women were suddenly silent.

"If I hear you're being attacked, I will come with Moshuguang soldiers to help defend you."

"Even if we will not help you defend the city?"