As soon as the stone left his fingers, he appeared to faint.

Too late, Linden s.n.a.t.c.hed at his slumping form. But Bhapa was quicker. He caught the old man and lowered him gently to the rug.

Obviously the Cord had known what to expect. All of Linden's friends had known.

"Liand?" she asked in chagrin. "Is he-?"

Liand continued to cradle the orcrest in his palm as though its touch gave him pleasure. "We have spoken of this," he answered quietly, gazing at Anele. "We discern no lasting hurt. He will slumber briefly. When he wakes, he will be as he was. In some form, his madness is kindly. It shields him. In its absence, his bereavements would compel despair." When the young man looked up at Linden, his compa.s.sion for Anele filled his eyes. "This we have concluded among ourselves, for we know not how otherwise to comprehend either his pain or his endurance of it."

Mahrtiir nodded; and Pahni rested her hand on Liand's shoulder, sharing his sympathy.

Linden's knees felt suddenly weak. "G.o.d," she breathed, "I need to sit down." Unsteadily she moved to the nearest chair and dropped into it. Then she covered her face with her hands, trying to absorb what had just happened.

Oh, Anele. How much more of this will you have to suffer?

-that doom awaits you- Sunder and Hollian feared intentions which Linden had not revealed, even to the Mandoubt. She had hardly named them to herself.

And behind them stands Thomas Covenant Now she believed absolutely that it was her Covenant who had spoken in her dreams; who had warned her through Anele in the Verge of Wandering; who had addressed her friends on the rich gra.s.s of the plateau. No one else would have spoken as he did.

-who craves only that I a.s.sure you of his love.

For a while, her friends waited for her in silence. Then Stave said firmly, "Chosen, we must speak. We recognize that you have suffered much. But you propose to combat the Land's foes. You speak of betrayal. And it appears that both the Unbeliever and your son have been lost, when their proclaimed intent was the Land's redemption. Such matters require comprehension."

"Also we are bewildered by the Mandoubt," added Mahrtiir, "who has shown herself able to pa.s.s through stone. She is absent from these chambers, though she was not seen to depart. Her role in your return pleads for explanation."

Linden did not lower her hands. When her friends had come to her door, she had believed herself ready for them. Now she knew that she was not.

"Manethrall," Stave countered, "if you will heed my counsel, we will not consider the Mandoubt until other concerns have been addressed. I do not desire concealment, either from you or from the Chosen. But I deem that the Mandoubt's strangeness is less than urgent. The ur-Lord's fate, and our own straits, hold greater import."

As you will." Linden felt Mahrtiir's nod. The mistrust which he had once displayed toward Stave was entirely gone. "I am content to speak of her when you find it condign to do so."

Promptly Stave continued. "Then I will say to you, Linden Avery, Chosen, that you have been absent from Revelstone for half a moon-"

"Thirteen days, Linden," put in Liand.

"-and have slept for two days more," the Haruchai went on. "In that time, we have feared for your life. And now that you have returned, we fear for the life of Land. Your words give us reason to conceive that the Unbeliever has failed."

Still Linden covered her face; hid from her companions. The spectres of Sunder and Hollian distrusted her. How could she tell her friends that she had come within a few heartbeats of giving the Despiser exactly what he desired?

Gallows Howe demanded a greater champion than Linden Avery.

"Linden," said Liand, prodding her gently, we did not know how to hope. When you had disappeared, Esmer likewise vanished. The ur-viles then dispersed, leaving no sign of themselves-or of the Waynhim. And the Ranyhyn had departed among the mountains, suggesting that you had no more need of them-" His voice tightened momentarily. That you would not return. Yet the Demondim besieged Revelstone furiously. The loss of you filled our hearts with dread."

"It was Thomas Covenant who took you from us," Pahni added as if she feared that Linden might doubt Liand, "the first Ringthane. Now he is gone. Through Anele, we have been promised travails rather than relief. How then should we hope?"

Linden sighed. They were right, of course, all of them. She had to tell them what had happened. Still she was reluctant to answer them. She did not want to reveal what she had become.

Anele's warning scared her because she already knew that she would ignore it.

Soon, she commanded herself. Soon she would face the risk of her story. But she would postpone it a little longer.

Slowly she lowered her hands.

Her friends stood cl.u.s.tered in front of her. Pahni's hand remained on Liand's shoulder, gripping him for support or comfort. Bhapa waited near Anele, ready to help the old man when he woke. The older Cord kept his gaze averted from Linden's as if to show that he asked nothing of her; that her mere presence was enough for him. But both Mahrtiir and Stave studied her, the Manethrall avidly, the Haruchai without expression.

Clearing her throat, Linden asked carefully. "How often has Anele been sane?"

"Once only," Liand answered at once. And he retained himself only so that he might command us to grant him the orcrest stone when he beckoned. For ten days and more, he has not touched the stone, or spoken clearly."

The Stonedownor's gaze encouraged her not to worry about Anele-or any of her friends. But his tone held a m.u.f.fled eagerness, a whetted admixture of relief, uncertainty, and excitement. He appeared to feel elevated by the Sunstone, raised to a stature which surpa.s.sed his expectations for himself.

And what about the orcrest7 Linden asked him. The Sunstone? How did you find it?"

In a general sense, she knew the answer. What you need is in the Aumbrie. You'll know what you're looking for when you touch it. But she wanted Liand's confirmation. She could not imagine why Covenant had urged him to go in search of power.

And she had never seen the Aumbrie of the Clave. She only knew that Vain had found the iron heels of Berek's Staff there while she was a prisoner in Revelstone.

But Stave intervened before Liand could reply. "Chosen, I belittle neither Liand nor orcrest in saying that they do not outweigh our need for your tale. In the name of all that we have dreaded, I ask this of you. Speak to us, that we may know the truth of our peril."

Linden did not glance away from Liand. "Just this one, Stave." To her own ears, she sounded as inflexible as the Haruchai. "Please. I'm still trying to pull myself together. Hearing you talk-all of you-helps me."

Their voices, and her concern, reminded her of the woman she had once been.

Stave glanced at Mahrtiir. When the Manethrall a.s.sented, Stave said stiffly, "Be brief, Stonedownor."

Pahni continued to hold Liand's shoulder; but she lowered her eyes as though she sought to mask the fact that where he felt excitement she knew only trepidation.

Abruptly Liand seated himself near Linden. Bracing his elbows on his knees, he leaned toward her; held his piece of orcrest like an offering or demonstration between them. His concern for her crowded against the surface of his attention. But his desire to speak of the Sunstone temporarily took precedence.

"In this matter, Linden, I am not formed for brevity. At your side, I have been mazed by marvels which surpa.s.sed all conception. But until I placed my hand upon this stone, and felt my spirit answer to its astonishment, I had not imagined that I, too, might find myself exalted."

In life, Sunder had wielded his piece of Sunstone skillfully. But he had been educated by the Clave's Rede. Liand had no such instruction; no lore of any kind. Only the inborn resources of his Stonedownor blood might enable him to make use of orcrest.

You must comprehend," he explained earnestly, "that we were distraught to the depths of our hearts. The Unbeliever and your son had rent you from us, promising salvation. Yet the ur-viles opposed them-and were in turn opposed by Esmer, whose disturbed loyalties appear to shift at every occasion. Also a voice had spoken to us through Anele, foretelling obscure needs and burdens. And the Demondim battered Revelstone heinously. The Masters responded valorously, but their losses were grave, and none knew how long they might deny the horde.

"It is your word that you have endured events which defy description. Our consternation also exceeded telling."

Pahni's fingers dug into Liand's shoulder; but she would not meet Linden's gaze.

Liand continued to search Linden's face for an answer to his underlying apprehension. "Galled by helplessness, we endeavored to busy ourselves. Daily we bathed in Glimmermere to banish the bale of Kevin's Dirt. The Ramen tended the mounts of the Masters. And Stave-as he later informed us-labored to acquire the secret of silencing his thoughts. But Anele and I were without purpose or relief.

"He remained as he was, compliant and mumbling incoherently. Of him I knew only that he misliked the nearness of the Masters. I, however-" Liand shrugged at the memory. "I had no place in the defense of Lord's Keep. My presence merely hindered the Masters. The Ramen sought a use for my aid, but their skills eluded me, though I have cared for horses since boyhood. I could discover no trace or trail of the Demondim-sp.a.w.n. And Stave declined to guide me to the Aumbrie, declaring that the Masters would permit no approach to implements of Earthpower.

"Linden, the thought that I was barred from that which I had been advised to seek became anguish. In your company, I have encountered the greatness and import of the Land. But in your absence, I was no more than a foolish Stonedownor, superfluous and ignorant. Even the benison of Glimmermere gave me no solace. Were it not for Pahni's attentiveness and generosity'-he smiled quickly at the young Cord-"I might have flung myself against the Demondim merely to relieve my futility."

With an aborted snore, Anele raised his head, peered blindly around the room. Then he appeared to catch the scent of food. Muttering, "Anele is hungry," he braced himself on Bhapa's prompt support, climbed to his feet, and went at once to sit near the tray so that he could resume his interrupted meal.

If his temporary lucidity had left any aftereffects, they lay beyond the reach of Linden's senses.

"Briefly, Liand," muttered Mahrtiir in a low voice. "The Ringthane's heart is sufficiently fraught. Do not dwell upon griefs which have pa.s.sed."

At once, Pahni turned to the Manethrall, apparently intending to defend Liand. But Mahrtiir silenced her with a frown, and she ducked her head again.

"I crave your pardon," Liand said to Linden. The Manethrall speaks sooth. Your sorrows indeed defy utterance, for the fate of the Land rests with you. It is plain that the Unbeliever's purpose has failed, and your son is lost to you. I speak of my plight only so that you may comprehend my transformation"- again he looked at the Ramen girl- "and Pahni's dread."

"Don't worry about it." Linden's tone resembled Stave's stoicism. "It's going to be a long night, and there isn't much that we can do until morning." She might not be able to leave Revelstone until she found a way to help the Masters defeat the Demondim. "We don't need to hurry."

Liand's countenance revealed his grat.i.tude-as well as his alarm at her manner-as he resumed his explanation.

"On the fourth day from your disappearance, Stave approached me to announce that the time had come. He had learned to conceal his thoughts from the Masters. And the Masters themselves were heavily engaged by the Demondim. He conceived that we might therefore approach the Aumbrie without opposition. His kinsmen were too few to guard us closely.

"I accepted at once, though Pahni protested. I required some task or deed which might offer meaning to my days.

"Leaving Anele with the Ramen, we descended into the depths of Revelstone, where no lamps burned except that which Stave bore, and the neglected dust of many and many years had gathered heavily. There we entered a pa.s.sage which appeared to serve no purpose, for it ended in blank stone. Glimmermere had refreshed my discernment, however, and when I had studied the wall for a time, I perceived a faint residue of glamour or theurgy.

"Though it was veiled from simple sight, a tracing of red outlined the shape of a portal. I have no knowledge of such matters, as you are aware. Yet to my senses, the tracing flowed toward a place of accentuation in the center of the lintel. Testing me, perhaps, Stave offered no counsel. Nonetheless I dared to set my hand upon that accentuation. And when I had done so, a door became evident within the pattern of the lines."

Linden listened closely, trying to prepare herself; bracing her resolve on Liand's story. Some of its details begged for examination. Surely the Masters knew that he now held a piece of Sunstone? And they must have sensed Liand's entrance into the Aumbrie. Why had they not taken the orcrest from him as soon as he found it?

His tone intensified as he continued. "Moved by an ancient magic beyond my ken, the door opened of its own accord, admitting us to corridors thick with dust and dank air. Thereafter Stave resumed his guidance, for the pa.s.sages gave no hint of their design or intent. Soon the air grew nigh too foul to breathe, and Stave's lamp faltered. Ere it failed, however, we came upon an iron door, heavy and dark, lying discarded upon the floor. And from the chamber which the door had once sealed shone the lumination of the moon at its full. Also I discerned an aura of eldritch vitality as poignant as Glimmermere's, but immeasurably more complex. Indeed, I recognized nothing except that the atmosphere was compounded of Earthpower in a mult.i.tude of forms.

"To my inquiries," Liand said, "Stave replied only that the chamber was the Aumbrie of the Clave, that the door had been wrested from its mounts by the ur-vile-made man or creature named Vain, and that none had seen a need to repair the door, guarded as it was by its outer theurgy. Then he did not speak for a time. Rather he appeared to listen for the inward speech of the Masters so that we might be forewarned if we were threatened. In silence, we entered the Aumbrie together."

His effort to contain the wonder of what he had seen was plain: it showed in his grasp on the orcrest. As his fingers tightened, the stone began to glow softly, white as washed cotton, and clean as his heart.

"The chamber was large, perhaps twice the size of your quarters taken together, and clearly a storehouse for implements and talismen of aged puissance. Indeed, I was hardly able to advance against the radiance of Earthpower on every side.

"Tables crowded the floor as shelves covered the walls, their surfaces laden. Everywhere I saw scrolls and casks, amulets and torcs, periapts beyond my naming of them, swords of many shapes and fashions, staffs which compelled me to imagine that they had once been clasped by Lords. The light itself was emitted by three munificent caskets upon the shelves, as well as by some few objects upon the tables. Yet wherever I turned my senses, I beheld potencies of such transcendence that my spirit was dazzled by them."

Suddenly Liand stopped. Easing his grip on the Sunstone, he let its light fade. Then he sat up straight, tucked the orcrest away in its pouch, and faced Linden with his hands braced on his thighs. An unexpected anger sharpened his tone.

"Linden, the proscriptions of the Masters no longer appear arrogant to me. Now I deem them madness. I comprehend that the Haruchai eschew weapons, trusting solely to strength and skill. This they deem necessary to their vision of themselves. And the Ramen are the servants of the Ranyhyn. They find no use in the exercise of theurgy, for the great horses do not require it of them. Yet the sheer waste of that which the Aumbrie contains staggers me. I discern no conscience in the denial-"

Linden interrupted him. Defending herself as much as Stave and the Masters, she stated heavily, "It isn't that simple. You don't just need the instrument. You have to know how to use it."

"Yet-" the Stonedownor tried to protest.

She did not let him go on. "Liand, what happened to you in that room? How many of those things did you have to examine before you found what you were looking for?"

"Many," he admitted uncomfortably. Some felt inert to my touch, though their power was visible. Others refused my hand entirely. The markings upon the scrolls conveyed no meaning, and the radiance of the caskets forbade me to open them. For a time, I craved a sword or a staff, but they proffered no response."

"You see?" said Linden more gently. "Maybe the Masters were wrong. I think they were. But it doesn't matter now. All of the old knowledge, the lore of the Lords, even the Rede of the Clave. Its gone. Its been lost. And without it-" She lifted her shoulders in a stiff shrug. "I can use the Staff of Law because I made it. But I can only call up wild magic because Covenant left me his ring." In a sense, she had inherited it from him. "fm surprised you found even one thing that felt right to you."

Although he seemed unconvinced, Liand nodded. "And all that the Aumbrie contained bewildered me. The orcrest I would have ignored without Stave's counsel. When I beseeched his aid, however, he observed that I am a Stonedownor, and that therefore some object of stone might serve me."

Glancing around at her friends, Linden saw that Mahrtiir's impatience was growing, and even Bhapa appeared restless. Pahni held herself motionless with her hand on Liand's shoulder and her body stiff. Only Stave remained impa.s.sive, studying Linden with his single eye. And only Anele ignored the tension in the room.

Linden sighed. She could not postpone her own explanations much longer.

"But you found it," she said to hasten Liand. "As soon as you touched it, you were sure. It makes you feel like you've come to life. We can all see what it means to you." His heritage glowed within him as though the blood in his veins had taken light. Now I need you to skip ahead.

"Tell me why the Masters didn't stop you. From their point of view, it was a major concession when they let me keep my Staff and Covenant's ring. And they remember orcrest. They remember everything. Why didn't they take it away from you'?"

Liand glanced at Stave. When we returned to the door of theurgy," the Stonedownor told Linden, "Branl of the Humbled awaited us, barring our pa.s.sage. He demanded of me that I must replace the orcrest in the Aumbrie." Then the young man's grave eyes met hers again. "Stave dissuaded him."

Linden caught her breath. Staring at Stave, she asked softly. "Did you fight him'?"

The Haruchai shook his head. "There was no need. To some small extent, the indulgence which the Masters have granted to you, and to Anele also, wards the Stonedownor as well. But that alone-" Stave shrugged.

"However, an uncertainty has been sown in the hearts of the Masters. They have not forgotten your words when you argued for their aid. In addition, the ur-Lord Thomas Covenant urged the Voice of the Masters to persuade you from your purpose against the Demondim. Yet it is apparent even to the least tractable of my kinsmen that only your quenching of the Fall, and thus of the Illearth Stone, has enabled Revelstone to withstand the horde.

"Afterward"-again Stave shrugged- "the Unbeliever took you from among us in a manner which encouraged doubt. And when the Unbeliever and your son had removed you, the siege remained. The unremitting attacks of the Demondim demonstrated that the ur-Lord had not accomplished his purpose-or that his purpose was not as he had avowed.

"Therefore the Masters have become uncertain. They do not yet question their own service. But they inquire now if they have justly gauged your worth. For that reason, Branl was reluctant to strike down even the least esteemed of your companions."

Between her teeth, but quietly, Pahni exclaimed, "He is not the least. He is the first of the Ringthane's friends, and the foremost."

Involuntarily Liand blushed; but Linden kept her attention on Stave. "Are you telling me," she asked, "that Branl let him keep something as Earthpowerful as orcrest because the Masters are uncertain?"

"No, Chosen," replied Stave. "I have said only that Branl felt reluctance because the Masters have become uncertain. He did not reclaim the orcrest from Liand because I challenged him to the rhadhamaerl test of truth."

Linden's mien must have exposed her incomprehension. Without pausing, Stave explained, "In your sojourn with the ur-Lord, you knew only the Clave and the Sunbane. Your knowledge of the Land does not extend to the time of the Lords, when the stone-lore of the rhadhamaerl was the life and blood of every Stonedown, just as the lore enriched and preserved every Woodhelven. You are unacquainted with the test of truth.

"It was performed with orcrest, or with lomillialor, to distinguish honesty from falsehood, fealty from Corruption. Such testing was known to be imperfect. At one time, Corruption himself accepted the challenge, and was not exposed.

Among such lesser beings as the Ravers, however, or those who are mortal, the test of truth did not fail.

"I observed to Branl that Liand himself had met the test, though the lore of the rhadhamaerl has been lost for millennia. He held orcrest in his hand and suffered no hurt. And I proposed to endure the test as well, if Branl would do likewise."

Liand nodded. In his face, Linden could see that Stave had surprised him then. He was not accustomed to thinking of any Haruchai as a friend.

"That challenge he refused," Stave continued. "He did not doubt its outcome for himself. But such matters have too much import to be decided by a single Master when the Masters together have become uncertain. They have spurned me. In their sight, I have betrayed their chosen service. If I failed the test of truth, I would confirm their judgment. But if I did not, much would be altered. Therefore Branl permitted us to pa.s.s unopposed.

"Now Liand is suffered to hold the orcrest just as Anele is suffered to move freely, and your own actions have not been hindered. We are warded by the uncertainty of the Masters."

Linden shook her head. "I'm sorry, Stave. I don't understand. What would be altered?'

"Chosen," Stave answered without impatience, "the Haruchai have not forgotten their ancient esteem for those dedicated to the rhadhamaerl and lillianrill lore. My kinsmen recall that the Bloodguard honored the test of truth. If the orcrest did not reject me, the Masters would be compelled to consider that mayhap they had erred when I was made outcast. Thereafter other doubts would necessarily ensue.

Then would their uncertainty burgeon rather than decline.

"The Masters in conclave might perchance have accepted the hazard. Branl alone could not. And the extremity of Revelstone's defense precluded careful evaluation."

"All right," Linden said slowly. "Now I get it. I think." She could never be certain that she grasped the full stringency of the Masters. But her own circ.u.mstances demanded all of her conviction. And she had already made her companions wait too long. "Thank you."

She suspected that the doubts of the Masters would eventually make them more intransigent rather than less. And she did not know how to tell her friends that she had become as rigid and unyielding as Stave's kindred.

Instead of standing to meet her own test, she allowed herself one last distraction. With as much gentleness as she could summon, she said. "Pahni."