answered. Then he brightened up a bit. "Which reminds me, her birthday is coming up so I think I'll go do some window shopping and find something nice for her. You want to come with me?"
"Maybe you should lay low today, just in case."
"Oh yeah," he said glumly. "That's fine. I'll catch up on my reading. Smarten myself up for Aolani."
"You do that. I've got duties to attend to at the temple anyway. I'll see you around," he said, standing up.
"Sure. I'll come by and we'll go get drinks some night."
"Sounds good. And please watch yourself, Donnan."
"I always do."
Blake shot his friend a worried look that Donnan didn't see, and then left the apartment. Donnan picked up a thick tome and started to read. After an hour, he put it down and picked up his book on mind magic. His conversation with Blake about Adrie had given him an idea.
"Maybe I can't make Aolani stop seeing those other guys," he thought, "but I can make them stop seeing her. I've used that kind of magic on people without even knowing it. They were drunk guards, but still, it shouldn't be too hard."
It was a week after the equinox. Eliora was staring at the jar of soil she'd picked up from the Charred Lands. There was another jar next to it with a scoop of soil from Tallis Marrom. It looked about the same and felt about the same, but when she closed her eyes and ignored the texture, there was something different about the Charred Lands soil. There was no life in it, and she didn't understand why. There was an unexpected knock at her door.
"Come in, Jomei," she said.
The priest walked in, looking a little confused. "How did you know it was me?"
"I just did."
"Can I have a word with you?"
"Certainly. Please sit down."
He looked a little uncomfortable. "Eliora, what are you going to do?"
"About what?"
"You've met the Dark Avatar. You know exactly what he looks like. I understand you want to know what he's doing, but why haven't you told the Hunters what you know about his appearance? It would make it much easier for them to find him."
She sighed. "They'll try to kill him, or want me to kill him. I don't think I'm ready to take another life."
"But it makes no difference if they find him tomorrow or in two months."
"Why are you bringing this up now? I've known what the Dark Avatar looks like since I went to Mulago."
"The Hunters have done a great deal of work for you. Their goal, if you didn't realize this, is to destroy the Dark Avatar and return to their lives with a little more honor and glory than they would have merely defending the demians."
"I did know that."
"So what are you going to do with them, and about the Dark Avatar? What are you going to do when this is over?"
"I don't know, Jomei. I thought when I gathered the Hunters that the Dark Avatar was going to be some great warlord out to conquer and destroy. What I've found is that he's a young man my age who is at worst involved in some unethical politicking in the city-states. This is nothing new for the city-states. This is not what I thought I'd be combating. It doesn't even appear he's trying to take over. He may be helping certain guild leaders get things done, but that's hardly worth my involvement. There are likely dozens, perhaps hundreds of people who are doing the same underhanded things he is and I'm not charged with combating them."
The priest sighed. "You do bring up a good point. I, too, thought the threat would be a bit more direct."
"Which is part of the reason I wanted the announcements on the equinox. Jomei, it sounds terrible, but if I'm expected to take a life, I want there to be good reason. I don't want people to get hurt, but I'd at least like evidence that this young man is doing darker deeds than those around him. So far I haven't seen that, which is why I'm reluctant to help the Hunters move any faster."
"You're buying yourself time."
"Yes, I suppose you could use that phrase. Time isn't exactly bought. I'm trading the Hunters' time for my own, which is probably very selfish."
"You must do what you feel is right, my Lady."
"I know, but I could be wrong about what is right, which is why I want time. My father was a soldier. He told me it was a terrible thing to take another life. Everyone is someone's child. Everyone is someone's friend. Everyone means something to someone else, so to take a life is not only terrible in its own right, but it hurts so many others. To kill is to invite Darkness into one's soul. It takes great strength of character to be able to do that and not turn too Dark. He told me about fellow soldiers who became callous toward their duties and stopped caring when they had to take a life. They were trained men, strong of body and mind and heart, and they fell into that Darkness. I have learned how to handle a weapon but I have not learned to fight. I'm not strong. What if that one life taken without cause invites in so much Darkness my soul is no longer Light enough to be the Avatar of the Light One?"
"Goodness, Eliora. I had no idea you'd thought so much about this."
"I know I seem rather absent-minded and shallow and content to let things happen as they will, but it's not quite so. There comes a time when I have to make things happen and I want to make sure I make the right choices. I don't have much experience to draw on for this kind of thing. I know politics, so that's what I've used. I thought gathering the Hunters was the right choice not to so much to help me find the Dark Avatar and find out what he was doing, but to give these people here a sense of purpose instead of feeling forced into service for a cause they didn't believe in. And then I had to assert myself as leader to fulfill their expectations of their new purpose. Hopefully once this fight is finished, they will feel they've gotten what they wanted out of this and can return to their lives as an even stronger community."
"And what about you? Once you win this, you will still have the power of the god."
"I know that. And then I must decide what to do with that. I thought I would be charged with undoing the damage of the Dark Avatar and removing his influence, but if it's nothing more than a bit of politicking, then that will straighten itself out with time and I'm not sure it would be good for me to interfere like that." She looked at the two jars. "I think I need to figure out where my heart lies."
He smiled. "I can't help you with that, but I suspect you already know and are perhaps a little be afraid of acting on it."
"That's probably true. But it also seems selfish to try to be part of someone else's future when mine is uncertain."
"Well, Eliora, isn't that his choice to make?"
"Of course it is. I just want to make sure I'm not putting undo pressure on him to make the choice I want."
He stood up. "You are stronger and braver than you give yourself credit for, my Lady. You have traded the Hunters' time for your own, and it may be all you have. Don't let fear keep you from using it well."
She considered this. "Thank you, Jomei."
"Thank you, my Lady. I'm quite relieved to know you've thought your actions through like this."
"I'm just doing my best."
"That is all any of us could really ask, my Lady," he said, and left her alone.
She turned her attention back to the jars of soil.
After a month, Donnan began to feel his paranoia due to the announcement on the equinox was unwarranted. There were some interesting conversations for a week or so after the event, and the Temple of Night was vandalized by persons unknown who painted nasty comments on the main doors, but by and large interest gradually waned and people generally assumed the Avatars were someplace else in the world. The only person he was really concerned about was Alain. His brother had come to see him the day after the equinox and since then seemed nervous every time they met and would obviously avoid any discussion of the equinox announcement even though Donnan was sure Alain would know how ordinary people felt about it. He got the hint and dropped the subject with his brother and out of his mind.
He was bus
y with other matters anyway. He had poured over his books on magic and found a spell that was very complicated but would achieve his desired results. Basically the spell made the target regard Donnan as their best friend and therefore any suggestions Donnan made seemed very reasonable. He sent his silver companion to spy on Aolani so he knew who her suitors were and the performed the spell on them. He simply suggested to the suitors that they really weren't that interested in Aolani and that there was no reason to really tell her why, which kept his name out of any awkward conversations. It worked so well he started to perform the same type of mind magic on her friends so they couldn't take up her time either. Soon he was seeing her twice or even three times a week.
"Aolani, what's wrong?" Donnan asked as they enjoyed an evening coffee. "You seem really down tonight."
She was stirring her coffee absently. "I've just been thinking about things."
"What things?"
"Life. Career. Family."
"Oh, nothing big," he said with a smile.
She gave a weak smile in return. "Seriously though, I am a bit old to be living in my parents' house, even if it's not that uncommon for the children of wealthy parents. I should strike out on my own and break away from my family. I've got enough saved up. I could buy a small house."
"I think that's a great idea."
"You do?"
"Sure. Independence never hurt anyone."
"But I'm not sure what to say to my parents. Father's having such a difficult time politically right