Troy Denning - The Obsidian Oracle

The noble pointed to the ship’s starboard, where a craggy, crescent-shaped island rose out of the dust haze. Although it was several miles distant, he could see the zigzagging line of a path traversing its precipitous slopes. The trail crested the ridge near a jumble of blocky white shapes that could only be buildings.

Kester shook her head. “That’s Mytilene, a giant stronghold,” she said. “Ye’ll have to keep Damras awake until we can make a safer island.”

Agis laid his hands on top of the floater’s. Her knuckles felt as hot as sun-baked stones. “Damras will never make it to another island,” he warned, moving the floater’s hands back toward the center of the dome.

“Neither will we, if we land on this one,” replied Kester. “Ye’d know that if ye had ever seen how giants treat strangers.”

Damras focused her jaundiced eyes on the noble’s face. Can’t last, but Kester is right about Mytilene , she said, too weak to speak the words aloud. Help me .

I’ll go after Tithian right now , Agis said.

The floater shook her head. No. The Shadow Viper will be under dust by then. I need you here .

Tell me how , the noble answered, swallowing in apprehension. To Kester and Nymos, he said, “Damras is going to teach me how to float the ship.”

Kester and Nymos both winced, then the jozhal said, “We’ll see to Tithian.”

“No,” said Agis. “The king has obviously recovered from his ordeal, and he’ll attack you with the Way. Neither of you are powerful enough to resist him.”

“I have my magic,” the reptile insisted.

“And Tithian has his,” the noble replied. “You can’t open that brig until I’m there to counter his mental abilities. Otherwise, he’ll take control of the crew again.”

“The brig stays closed,” said Kester. “I’ll not have another mutiny on my ship.” She stepped toward the helm, motioning for the jozhal to follow her.

Once they were gone, Damras placed her hands on top of Agis’s, leaving his palms in direct contact with the obsidian. An eerie chill spread from his fingers and into his wrists as icy tendrils of pain writhed up his arms. They spliced themselves into his bones, drawing the strength from his muscles and the heat from his blood.

Let the dome draw on your life-force . Damras’s thought came to him distant and weak, and he felt her hands slip away. See the ship’s hull in your mind .

Gritting his teeth against the numbing pain in his arms, the noble pictured the weathered planks of the Shadow Viper’s hull. At the same time, he opened a pathway to his nexus, allowing the dome free access to his spiritual energy. A warm stream of life-force rose from deep within himself, coursing through his body and down into his arms. The tendrils in his arms grew warmer as his energy flowed into them, then a golden glimmer flashed beneath his palms and sank into the depths of the dome. Suddenly, it seemed to Agis that the ship had become a part of him.

You must witness the sea as it was .

Inside Agis’s mind, the dust curtain engulfing the ship suddenly lifted, replaced by a sparkling expanse of grayish blue. He heard the lapping of waves, then felt himself rocking back and forth to the gentle sway of the ship. The sky turned the color of sapphires, and a briny, wind-blown spray stung his cheeks. The noble licked a few droplets of the liquid off his lips and tasted water, salty as blood, but water nonetheless.

The sight took Agis’s breath away. In all directions, stretching to every horizon, he saw nothing but water, as endless as the sky and as featureless as the salt flats of the Ivory Triangle. This sea was a stark contrast to the real one, alluring and majestic instead of foreboding and bleak.

When he had finally recovered from his shock, Agis asked. What is this?

The Sea of Silt, long before the sorcerer-kings , Damras explained.

That can’t be , Agis replied. The time before the sorcerer-kings was that of Rajaat. The world was green and covered with trees. I’ve read descriptions-

Your descriptions were wrong , Damras interrupted. But we have no time to argue. The world was covered with water. You must accept that .

Very well.

As the noble spoke the words, a primeval attraction stirred deep within his spirit. He felt a restless longing as painful as it was powerful, and he almost did not notice as the crack of flapping sails sounded inside his mind. An instant later, a floater’s cockpit materialized around him. Agis found himself seated in a chaperon’s seat within his mind as well as that of the Shadow Viper .

Slowly, the rest of the ship began to appear inside Agis’s mind. An unimaginable weight settled upon his spirit, so terrible that his heart, stomach, and all his organs ached as though they would burst. He cried out in alarm, but his pain prevented anything more than a strangled gurgle from escaping his lips.

You are the water , instructed Damras. Your strength carries the Shadow Viper.

As the floater spoke, the foul odor of rot rose from the craft inside Agis’s mind, and his stomach churned in protest. The planks of the caravel’s hull turned filthy dun, and a dark stain of adulteration began to spread outward from beneath the ship’s keel, changing the color of the sea from sparkling blue to vile brown. The stench of decay grew stronger than ever, filling his nose with such fetor that he had to fight to keep from retching.

What’s happening? Agis asked.

The fever , Damras replied. It comes from the ship .

You mean from Tithian , said Agis. He’s poisoning us through the ship’s hull .

Then he’s very powerful. He’s fighting against the dome’s natural flow , replied Damras. I’ll help you resist as long as I can .

You should rest , replied Agis. You won’t be any good to the ship if you die .

You aren’t ready to do this alone , she retorted.

They fell silent, and Agis concentrated on the task at hand. Although he tried to keep the Shadow Viper floating high in the water, the horrid stench of Tithian’s attack and the dome’s steady drain on his strength were difficult to endure. Soon, he found himself feeling light headed and dizzy.

I think I’m about to fall unconscious , he reported.

That’s not surprising , Damras replied. Despite the respite Agis had given her, she still sounded sick and weak. It takes many days of practice before you can control the flow of your life energy into the dome. You rest and let me take over for a few minutes .

Agis felt the ship lift off his spirit as she took its weight. The dark stain of Tithian’s adulteration began to fade from the sea in his mind, and though he still felt tired, he began to feel less sick to his stomach.

The Shadow Viper sliced through the dust as usual, until Damras suddenly cried out in fear. A horrid death rattle escaped from her throat, then she pitched forward, and her hands slipped off the black dome. Before Agis could catch her, the floater slumped to the deck, her lifeless eyes staring into the sky.

The Shadow Viper lurched and slowed, then began sinking like a boulder. Agis caught it, visualizing the caravel riding upon the waves inside his mind. The ship’s weight seemed even more crushing than before, and his stomach churned in protest as Tithian’s foul stain of decay spread over the blue sea. It was all Agis could do to keep his thoughts focused on the lapping waters of the ancient sea, instead of the agony in his chest or the terrible nausea in his stomach.