‘I am not sure I could survive another. It was Asuryan who protected me then. If ever I meet N’Kari again, I doubt he will be foolish enough to attack me in the Shrine of the Phoenix God.’
‘No doubt you are correct.’
‘You think N’Kari may be behind all of this then?’
‘I don’t know. I do know that it is well past the time when he could have incarnated a new avatar and come back to seek his vengeance on you.’
It was a chilling thought, and most likely the real reason she had wanted to talk with him. ‘I have suspected as much myself,’ said Teclis.
‘Be on your guard, Prince Teclis.’
‘I shall be. I go now to perform some divinations of my own.’
Teclis glanced around his chamber and wished there was something more he could do. He had performed every simple divination he knew and the results had always been bad.
The hexagrams of the Book of Change had given a trigram indicating catastrophe. In the cards, the Plague Lord had appeared over the Changer of Ways, the worst possible conjunction it could display. The blood spray patterns of the White Bird ritual had been particularly ominous. Something terrible was going to happen, perhaps was even happening now.
He would find out soon enough what was destined to be. They all would. The sense of foreboding nagged at his mind. If he only had the slightest hint of what was going to happen, he could perhaps prepare for it, let those around him know. In any dangerous situation, even the smallest possible advantage could prove useful.
He felt like a prisoner awaiting execution for some unspecified crime on some unspecified date. The prospect hung over his head, colouring all his feelings, darkening his days. After performing the divinations, he found it very hard to return to his studies.
‘It is very bad,’ said High Loremaster Morelian. He looked very worried indeed, which given his normally cheerful nature was quite dispiriting. Teclis just stared at him unsure of what to say next. The High Loremaster looked at his notes and then back at Teclis. He steepled his fingers and then ran them through his hair.
‘What did you find out?’ Teclis asked.
‘You were right to bring this to me. And you are right to be disturbed by it. I had not realised you were such a good scholar of the slann language.’
‘I know only the very basics,’ said Teclis.
‘Even that is impressive,’ said the High Loremaster. ‘It normally takes decades for an elf to achieve that. The ancient slann language is not like ours. It is the tongue of a race so alien as to be almost incomprehensible. The hieroglyphs change meaning depending on their position with relation to each other. They imply shadows of meaning projected beyond and above themselves, an entire alien system of logic that it is very difficult to grasp even for one trained in the mysteries of magic. Their runes are language and mathematical and magical notation all rolled into one.’
‘It surprises me that the primitive lizardmen that Tyrion and I encountered in the jungle could grasp such a thing.’
‘I very much doubt that they can. They are warriors and labourers. It is the priestly caste that are literate, and more than literate by our standards. They and their masters, the ancient toad-gods of the race, are the only ones who could comprehend this fully. It is impossible for an elf or a human, or a dwarf for that matter, to grasp their thoughts. Even now I am only guessing some of the content. The only one who ever even came close was Caledor and I suspect that this was one of the reasons he became the supreme mage that he was.’
These words hit Teclis with the force of a blow. He suddenly realised that if it took him a lifetime he was going to need to master this language and he was going to need to begin to study it soon. It seemed like it was the key to understanding so much and might even allow him to surpass those ancient masters of magic who had done so much to shape the modern world. All of this was for the future. Right now he was more curious about what the inscription actually said. The High Loremaster seemed to sense this.
‘As far as I can tell this text deals with our present time. Certain astrological references contained in it allow me to date the prediction with reference to the