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."You have not answered my question.""About your lir! But I have.I sent him ahead, to Clankeep."Response was immediate."Teel does no man's bidding! Teel can be sent nowhere, unless I do the sending!""Ah, but the lir answer to a higher power than that of the Cheysuli.They can be sent wherever we say.""There is only one other power—" Aidan broke it off.He stared hard at the man, daring him to repeat the oblique claim, but nothing was forthcoming.The wind, for a moment, rose, then died away to nothing.Storm clouds peeled away, leaving behind a clear sky.It was, abruptly, spring, not summer; grass grew, trees budded, the air was warm and light.Even as Aidan sat there, braced against the ground, a flower grew up between the fingers of one hand.And blossomed.The Hunter's smile was mild."Perhaps you begin to see."Aidan snatched his hand away.The denial was absolute."No."The Hunter nodded in silence.I am mad.I am.I must be.Or sick in the head; the fall—it was the fall… I landed on my head, and everything is a dream—yet another dream… first Shaine, now this Hunter—Aidan squinted fiercely.If I look at things more closely—What he looked at was a man who claimed he was a god.Spring dissolved itself.It grew cooler as Aidan stared, until he began to shiver.It was cold, too cold; in winter he wore fur-lined leathers, forsaking the linens of summer.But now he was caught, bathed by winter's breath.The ground around him hardened.The trees sloughed leaves.The grass beneath was dead, and all the flowers gone.But a moment ago it was spring… Aidan shivered.And then it was warm again.When he could, he cleared his throat.Perhaps if he proceeded with extreme caution… "Why did you send Teel away? If he is of your making—""Oh, not of mine—I do not do the making.That is a task for others, though all of us, of course, have some say in the matter." The Hunter's expression was kind, as if he understood all too well what Aidan was thinking.Which perhaps he did, if he was what he claimed."As to why I sent him away, the answer is simple enough.This is a thing between you and I, Aidan, not among you and I and the raven.Even the lir are not privy to all we do."The seasons, without fanfare, continued changing.Grass grew, then died; flowers bloomed, then died; trees changed their shapes; the sky was day, then night; then night and day again.And all without a word from the brown man watching Aidan.Without a single gesture to say he realized what he did was not done—could not be done—by anyone but a god.Think about something else…Aidan stirred, then ventured another question."Why are the lir not privy to all you do?""Oh, they are quite arrogant enough without requiring another reason.They are familiars, not gods—they cannot know everything, or they become quite insufferable.""No," Aidan said faintly, letting it sink in."Teel needs no more cause for any additional arrogance.He has quite enough as it is."White teeth gleamed."I thought you might agree.I think any warrior would, faced with such a course." The Hunter rose, stretched legs, moved to a shattered tree stump.As he sat down, a tiny sapling sprouted at the base of the broken stump."Teel is—different.I thought him well suited to you."Aidan sat upright carefully, holding himself very straight.I will say nothing of this to him—all these wonders he performs.Perhaps I am not meant to notice.But that seemed incongruous.How could he not notice?Once more, Aidan focused."Why? Why is Teel suited to me? Why not another warrior?""Because you also are different." There was no sting in the quiet words; from a god, they were revelation."You will spend much of your time questioning things; that is the way of you.Many men act first with little thought for result—rashness is sometimes a curse, sometimes a virtue—but your gift is to think things through before acting." The Hunter smiled."You will make mistakes, of course—you are man, Aidan, not god—but you are also exceedingly cautious.Some might call you reluctant, others will name you afraid, but cowardice is not your curse."Aidan wet drying lips."What is my curse?"The god looked down at the sapling trying mightily to be a tree.He bent, cupped its crown in his fingers, murmured something quietly in a tongue foreign to Aidan.Then, in clear Homanan, "Not so quickly, small one… there is time for you to grow.For now you must wait on men." He took his fingers away and looked again at Aidan."You are simply you.Try to be no one else.Let no one force you to be.""But—" Aidan, staring at the tiny tree, did not finish, forgoing the question he meant to ask in a flood of others like it."Is that all?""All?" Brown eyebrows arched."Trying to be himself—or herself, as Keely learned—is one of the most difficult tasks a human can face."Aidan waited a moment."But I have to be Mujhar."The Hunter was very solemn."That, too, is a task.Not every man succeeds." He shifted on the stump."I am here to tell you nothing more than I have.It is not the nature of gods to tell their children everything—man does not learn by being told; he must do.So, you will do." One leather-clad shoulder lifted and fell in a casual shrug.Aidan, who felt in no way enlightened or casual, scowled at the Hunter."Are you really here?""Are you?"In spite of himself, he smiled."With this pounding in my head, I could not begin to say."Brown eyes glinted."Horses are made for riding, not for falling off of.Now you must pay the price." He paused."You might have flown, you know.""I might have," Aidan agreed."There is nothing so free as flying… but riding a good horse has its own brand of magic."The Hunter laughed."Aye, well, we gave you free will… choosing to ride instead of fly is one of the smaller freedoms."Aidan shifted restlessly, then surpressed a wince."That is all—? You came merely to say I must be myself?""Enough of a task, for now.But since I am here, you may as well tell me about your dream."Ice encased his flesh."You know about my dream? You know about the chain?"The answer was oblique."I mean the dream you dreamed just now, before coming to yourself.Your eyes were wide open, but you saw nothing of the day.Only inside yourself."Aidan felt moved to protest."But you are a god."The Hunter looked annoyed."You are a man," he said plainly."We made you deliberately impulsive and idiosyncratic, and gave you minds with which to dream… do you think we also put thoughts in your heads? Why would we want to do that when it defeats the purpose of living?""My heads hurts," Aidan replied."That is my only thought."The Hunter displayed white teeth."We gave you the freedom to rule yourselves, Aidan, because we wanted children, not minions.Devotion is appreciated; respect we honor highly.But we do not want fanatics and zealots.That is not why we made men." He paused, then softened his tone."Now, tell me of the dream."He did not want to, any more than tell Niall.But he had spoken to the Mujhar [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]