The Rossem Project

The University - Part 5

     It did turn out to be a fairly long wait, by human standards, but not as long as he’d feared. The shae re-emerged from the woods three hours later accompanied by about a dozen others. Young and adult, male and female, including one who attracted their attentions instantly.

     Like the others he had a youthful grace and beauty even though he might be centuries old, but unlike them he had a certain something extra that the others lacked. It was impossible to put one’s finger on what precisely it was, but all three of the Gowns felt an immediate desire to venerate him, as if he was a king or a holy saint. The closest Thomas and Lirenna had ever come to this feeling before had been their meeting with Gelrad, a paladin. Derrin, who was feeling this sense of awe for the first time, dropped his eyes to the ground and began trembling slightly.

     Thomas bowed to him and Lirenna did a little curtsy, only partly motivated by their desire to win him over. Instead, they were aware of an undeniable conviction that this person deserved their reference and respect, that he was somehow better than they were. When Derrin saw his father bowing he did the same but much lower and with the fear clear to see in his eyes.

     The shae hung back as the other shae folk came closer, and two taller, more muscular shae men stayed with him, one on either side, obviously to protect him from the possibly dangerous human. Thomas had a strong feeling that the noble shae, whatever he was, didn't need anyone to look out for him, though. There was a powerful aura of strength and wisdom about him, and the wizard found himself under close scrutiny from a pair of sharp, thoughtful eyes.

     Lirenna, still down in her curtsy, stared at the noble shae in stunned disbelief and muttered something under her breath in an awed, almost reverential tone. Thomas turned to look at her, guessing that she knew who, or perhaps what, he was, but before he could ask the other shae folk were coming forward and he was forced to give them his attention. Behind them, the noble shae gave them one final look, nodded to himself, and then returned into the woods, accompanied by his bodyguard. The Gowns rose cautiously and warily, all three of them feeling a great sense of relief. By the Gods, thought Thomas in alarm. What have we gotten ourselves into?

     The shae man who'd spoken to them before them bowed low before them, and the Gowns returned the gesture. "We have reached a decision," he said. "You will be allowed to occupy the dwelling tree on a probationary basis."

     Lirenna made a small noise of joy that earned her a disapproving look from the shae before he continued. "In return, you will be expected to maintain the tree, and one of us will visit you once a day to ensure than you are taking good care of it and offer advice where necessary. If the tree suffers during your occupancy, if you do not keep to your word to care for it, we regret that we will have to ask you to vacate it. Also, we must respectfully ask you not to approach the centre of the woods, where the rest of our trees are located. There is a moonleaf tree growing between your tree and the main part of our community. If you are found on the far side of the tree, at any time and for any reason, you will have to vacate the dwelling tree. Do you understand these conditions?"

     "We do," replied Lirenna, her eyes gleaming with excitement, "and we will abide by them. I swear by my honour and my life."

     Eyes turned to Thomas, who repeated the oath, and then Derrin, the boy barely able to keep the excitement out of his voice. "Very good," said the shae, bowing to them again to acknowledge the oaths. "Toranda here will show you the way, and it will be he who will supervise your tenantship of the tree. May Ramthara grant that your stay is a pleasant one."

     "And may She grant good health and happiness to you and all your people," replied Lirenna, not knowing the correct reply but hoping that her improvised one would be acceptable. Apparently it was, for the shae bowed again and went back into the woods, accompanied by all the others except one; a young male with golden hair and smooth pale skin.

     "I am Toranda," he said, stepping forward and extending his hand. It felt like the hand of a young girl when Thomas took it, but it possessed a surprising strength as he discovered when he felt his own hand being firmly squeezed. "It is a pleasure and an honour to meet you, and I humbly pray that my service will be adequate to your needs."

     "And I pray that we do not betray the great honour that you and your people are doing us," replied Lirenna as she also took his hand. Derrin said nothing as the shae man gripped his hand as well, with as much seriousness and dignity as he'd paid to his parents, but he looked ready to explode with excitement if he didn't find some way to release it soon. Toranda dropped to a crouch to see the boy's face better, and they grinned at each other, an instant and unbreakable friendship formed there and then.

     "I think we might be able to bend the rules a little where you are concerned," said the man. "Children need others their own age to play with. I'm sure Fallindel will agree to let him play with our children if I ask him nicely."

     "Derrin probably won't have much time to play," said Thomas, though. “He's here to work. Hopefully to be a wizard one day."

     Toranda stared at the boy in amazement. "Please accept my apologies!" he begged earnestly. "But he is so young! It must be his human blood, making his mind grow so much faster than his body. Come, I will show you to your dwelling tree before I do anything more to offend you."

     "You haven't offended us," said Lirenna with a smile. "We were worried that we might have offended you with our outrageous demands."

     Toranda laughed, a beautiful sound so full of the sheer joy of being alive that the others couldn't help joining in. "It certainly was an outrageous demand," he agreed. "In all the years we've been here, I don't think anyone else has ever been so bold. Even Athelasta himself was so astonished that he wanted to have a look at you for himself. And yet when you think of it, it is an ideal solution. We have trees that deteriorate unless they are lived in, and there are people like you looking for places to live. It is obvious that a great many problems could be solved by bringing the two together."

     "This Athelasta you mentioned," said Thomas curiously. "Was he the very wise looking man we saw, hanging back behind the rest of you?"

     "It was indeed," replied Toranda, "and you don't know how privileged you were to get even that brief glimpse of him. Few indeed are the humans who have seen one of the Ta-la-lendi."

     "A Ta-la-lendron!" cried Lirenna in delight. "I suspected, but I didn't really believe it possible. In the north, most people believe them to be just a myth. In the past, perhaps, when we still lived in the old ways, but long since vanished into history.”

     “As you say, that may be the case in the north,” the shae replied. “In the heartlands of our race, though, we have managed to retain many things that have been lost elsewhere.”

     “And he came see us! Us!"

     "You must not speak of him to anyone," said the shae seriously. "Only a few of the senior wizards know he is here. If his presence became generally known, my people might not consider it safe for him to remain here. We would probably try to persuade him to return to our homelands."

     "We won't tell anyone," said Lirenna earnestly. "I promise."

     "Excuse me," said Thomas, who was feeling a bit left out. "What's a Ta-la-lendron?"

     Toranda looked a bit uncomfortable, clearly unhappy about speaking of such a delicate subject to a human, but Lirenna came to his rescue. "I'll tell you later," she told her husband. "For the time being, it's enough to know that he's a very special person." She shared a glance with Toranda. "Very special indeed."

     Toranda led the way into the woods, and they found the dwelling tree about a hundred yards in from the edge, just far enough in to make it invisible from outside the woods. The two demi shaes, mother and son, stared at it in rapture. Dwelling trees were only stories in the north. They were barely able to believe that the things were real, and even more amazed that it was to be their home for the next few years. Thomas had never seen a dwelling tree before, but he recognised the description the moment he saw one and could only stand and gape in wonder at one of the strangest living things he'd ever seen.