Seekers of Nazar

Chapter Fourteen

Dearest Lysander,

Much has changed since my last letter to you. There are still more questions than answers, but now we have hope. We have talked with the locals and have found the source of the disturbance.

I am grateful our journey is nearing its end.

We learned of a woman, a stranger to this area, who arrived a year ago to a small town named Riverbend. Shortly after her arrival, the illness began to spread.

If she is the source, I am confident we are dealing with a Dark Weaver. Storms, violent and uncharacteristic for this area, have slowed down our journey. I was able to quell the most recent attack through much effort. It took all my energy to the point of exhaustion.

As you taught me, we must not reveal who we are before we understand the motives. We need to know what political plot is pulling the strings.

We should reach Riverbend soon. I hope I am not too late.

Your ever-loving friend,

Leilandri

* * *

They had been on the road for several days. Riverbend was not far. The heat from the campfire warmed Leilandri's face as she wrote. Her words flowed effortlessly except when she tried to write about the Zul-Li. She found that her hand froze, and she couldn't bring herself to write a single sentence about the first people.

She remembered the fight she had with Lysander many years ago. The High Priestess didn't want Leilandri to study the Zul-Li language. She had called it a waste of energy and encouraged Leilandri to study something that would help her as a Seeker.

Leilandri almost gave in, but Elleric had encouraged her to stand firm. He was right. Nazar would take so much from her, and she was willing to give it. But this one thing was hers.

Leilandri looked over at Tol-Aka. Even if she could write about the last few days, she wouldn't. The mystery of the first people was not her secret to tell. But it was more than that. Leilandri wanted to keep the memories to herself. In the years ahead, when she took over as High Priestess, she would turn to them when she felt the world pulling her off-center.

Besides, no one in Nazar needed to know that the Zul-Li tended the pattern. Some Weavers might see it as heresy. Leilandri was not blind to the limitations of Nazar. She understood that some studied books and theories. They never had to seek a disturbance or bring back an untrained Weaver. They didn't realize how complicated life was outside the walls of the city.

Leilandri's world hadn't been that simple. She had both loved and hated her parents. When the Weavers first showed up, she had been terrified yet excited to leave for Nazar. Even after she called the island her home, she had continued to ache for her old town. Life wasn't simple then, and it wasn't simple now.

She studied Elleric, who was leaning against a tree, his expression indecipherable as always. She noticed he wasn't watching her like he usually did. He stared blankly, seeing far into the future or far into the past. She couldn't tell which.

The next day they would reach Riverbend. Despite what her letter said, Leilandri didn't feel prepared at all. She sighed and tucked it away in her satchel. She didn't know when she would get a chance to mail it.

As the night wore on, the Seekers asked Tol-Aka about the village.

He threw a stick into the fire. "We always avoided the villages. I wouldn't have gone there on my own.

"My sister and I had been out hunting like we always did. I don't know what happened, but I got lost. I was disoriented for a long while before I found my way back to the city. When I returned, she wasn't there. My father and I went out every day looking for her."