Lisaykos, the Royal Palace, Is’syal, Harvest Season, 6th rot., 5th day – Foskos Time

  The beleaguered look on Sidhulboy's face told me all I needed to know because the vision of a headstrong Kamigishi refusing to go home was at the forefront of her thoughts.

  I'm sure I sighed, "Did you threaten the Grace of Mugash?"

  "I tried," the usually composed Sidhulboy looked desperate for rescue. "The Holy One is more stubborn than the Queen and King put together, Mistress. I can manage the royal parents. The High Priestess of Galt is a harder river barge to tow. Your arrival now, Great One, is a miracle of Mugash."

  I handed my flying cloak and leggings to the youngster at the greeting counter, "Thank you, Healer Esteleop." I added my head sock, hat, and mittens, enjoying her fish face. I just love the look in my young healers' eyes when they realize I know their names, every one of them.

  "Alright, Revered One, lead me to your problem visitor," I gestured for Sidhulboy to precede me. She stopped at one door past her office and knocked. I was surprised when the door opened, and Twessera looked out.

  "Twessera?" I blinked. It really was her.

  "I'm here this morning and tomorrow morning, Mistress," Twessera bowed a quick working reverence.

  "Setting up two days of monitoring left me shorthanded," Sidhulboy explained. "Twess volunteered to help since she was in town."

  “How is the visit to the Arnmay household going?” I asked. “Should we sit down to talk about it later today? Kayseo gave me an earful over my ignorance about Onsus, your brother, and your sister.”

  Twessera tried not to grimace, “That might be a good thing to do, Mistress. I’m off after the fifth bell. Before then, however, we could use some help removing the Holy Kamagishi from this chapel shrine.” She opened the door wide so Sidhulboy and I could enter.

  Twessera brought her stool over for me so I could sit next to Lyappis’s bed, which I did. Before beginning an assessment of Lyappis, I cast my eyes on Kamagishi, who was sacked out in the room’s one armchair in a night tunic, a red-plaid housecoat, and slips on her bare feet.

  “She slept in that armchair all night?” I queried.

  “Yes,” Sidhulboy sighed. “She didn’t fall asleep until the third night bell.”

  “Have you any empty rooms?” I asked.

  "I do," Sidhulboy replied, one eyebrow floating toward her hairline.

  I extended a hand and began a light probe. Yes, I guessed correctly: Kamaigishi cast a ward charm so anyone who tried to disturb her would wake her. Well, I had no reservations over riling the kingdom’s most incorrigible gossip. In fact, I was looking forward to using the Grace of Mugash on her if she gave me the slightest resistance to being shown the door.

  “Sidhulboy,” I smiled with malice aforethought, “surely you have some patient bed-stockings available?”

  Sidhulboy’s expression shifted from put-upon to glee. Twessera was grinning.

  "I'll be right back with a pair," Sidhulboy jogged out the door and reappeared moments later. "The nice thing about this little chapel shrine is that all our supplies are stored in one place, making it easy to find what we need when we need it. Who gets to do the honors?" She held up the stockings.

  “Oh, let me, Siddy,” Twessera was bouncing in her shoes.

  “With my blessing,” Sidhulboy grinned back and handed Twessera the stockings.

  "Let me take care of this first," I stated, "before we wake our problem visitor." I placed my hand on Lyappis's bandaged head. Yes, the concussion was every bit as bad as I had been led to expect. The worst, I hoped, was over. The signs of edema inside the skull were present. However, my healers had done an excellent job of minimizing any subsequent swelling. So long as we kept up the surveillance to guard against any new swelling, bleeding, or clotting, Lyappis's head would be fine in a few days.

  The broken leg was spectacular, with a break in the right femur, two spiraled breaks in the right tibia, and one break in the right fibula. The dislocated left hip, now relocated, was an afterthought compared to what Lyappis did to her right leg. Given her age, she would be in bed with splits for at least two rotations.

  I smiled at Twessera and Sidhulboy and ruminated, "Maybe, as soon as her concussion is healed, Lyappis might be better off staying with her daughter."

  “Lisaykos, dear heart,” the Queen said, letting herself into the room, “I’m unsure whether to chide you for making such an evil suggestion or whether to sneak down the hallway to the supply room to have a good laugh over it.”

  Aylem hung a cloth bag on the door latch. Then, she walked up to the bed, reached around me, and made her own assessment of Lyappis. "That's a lot better than last night," she commented, "when I was worried about mini-strokes." She walked around to the other side of the bed and faced me, "but Healer Kidsodos did an excellent job keeping the bleeding and swelling under control and removing clots. Lyappis will be fine in a few days. Her head will be healed before the rest of her, and given her personality, we may all be better off if she recovers in her daughter’s quarters at the Fated Shrine.”

  “Well, then,” Twessera held up the stockings, “shall I?”

  “With my blessing, Twessera,” I waved my hand, gesturing my consent.

  Twessera plucked the slips off Kamigishi’s feet and started rolling the first of the stockings over the toes on Kamigishi’s left foot.

  “Huh?” Kamigishi’s eyes sluggishly opened and surveyed the room, looking bemused. “What are you doing, Priestess Twessera?”

  “Your feet are bare,” Twessera said with authority. “I am placing stockings on them. Then, I will walk you down to one of the other patient rooms to put you back to sleep, seeing that you’ve not had enough.”

  “What time is it?” She tried to sit up.

  “”It’s almost the third bell,” I said.

  “Lisaykos!” Kamigishi’s eyes popped open when she realized I was sitting just a few hands from her. Her head turned, “Aylem! You’re back already.”

  “This is the third time I’ve been back down,” the Queen said, giving Kamigishi a stern look, “and you’re still here. I told you to head back to your own bed, but no, someone has to be stubborn to sleep in an armchair all night.”

  “But—”

  "Sister Kamigishi," I looked down my long nose at Kamigishi. I held up my hand, gathering my magic in it and shaping the charm, "I have not cast the Grace of Mugash on anyone since I used it on Lord Usruldes last year, but I heard that you have given my healers a bit of trouble."

  “You wouldn’t dare—”

  I cast the Grace of Mugash on the Holy Kamigishi. It was a satisfying feeling, and I couldn't stop smiling. "Sister Kamigishi, you will allow Twessera to clothe your bare feet. She will take you to a patient room where you will sleep. While you sleep, we will get clothes and one of your personal attendants from your Shrine to kit you out once you wake. You will then go home until visiting hours this evening. You may visit your mother this evening but must return to your Shrine at half to the second night bell."

  “Yes, Sister Lisaykos,” Kamigishi agreed through gritted teeth. “I’ll pay you back for this,” she snarled.

  Yes, I was feeling quite happy about how things were settling out. I reached over and brought Lyappis out of her charm of deep sleep.

  "Time to open your eyes, dear heart," I told my old friend and mentor. "Say good morning to your daughter, who spent the night worrying about you before we send her off to sleep in a real bed for a bell or two."

  "Lisaykos?" Lyappis muttered as she opened her eyes. She tried to pick up her head and flinched as she discovered that we restrained her head, neck, and back. "I see," she said without much volume, "full restraints. What happened? I don't remember anything."

  “You fell on the stairs from the nursery to the kitchen,” I said as I squeezed her hand. “You have a splendid concussion, which should be healed up in a few more days. You banged up a hip, leg, and upper back. You’re on continuous monitoring for at least two more days for the head injury.”

  “That bad?” she whispered.

  “That bad, dear heart,” I stroked the back of her hand with my thumb. “If the Revered Garki had not felt your panic as you fell, we might have lost you. But he did feel you fall, bless his heart. He used his fledging clairvoyance to find you and get you help.”

  “Are there splits on both legs?” Lyappis asked.

  “You dislocated your left hip and broke your right leg in multiple places,” I sighed and looked at Lyappis with sympathy. “You’ll be in bed for at least two rotations.”

  “I brought your knitting down,” Aylem said from the other side of the bed, “so you’ll have it handy as soon as the head restraint comes off. It’s currently hanging on the door latch.”

  “The head restraint or my knitting?” Lyappis asked softly. “Thank you, dear.” There was a pause as Lyappis frowned in thought. “Kami? You there?”

  “Mom,” Kamigishi hopped out of her chair and knelt next to her mother, newly clad in bright-blue wooly stockings, “how are you feeling?”

  “Out of it,” Lyappis smiled ruefully. “Did you stay here all night and sleep in a chair?”

  “Of course I did,” Kamigishi lightly patted her mother’s shoulder. “Where else would I be? I was really worried about you, Mom. You had a bad fall.”

  “I love you, too, Kami,” Lyappis said softly, sounding like speaking was a chore, “but listen, my idiot daughter, next time, get some proper sleep in a proper bed. I’m sure they have a spare room you could use. You’ll just be in the way if you stay up all night sleeping in a patient room armchair, so shoo already and get some proper rest — before Lisaykos finds an excuse to cast the Grace of Mugash on you. Now, I think I want someone to make the pain and nausea stop and maybe put me back under so I can sleep through the worst of the hurt?"

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “We'll wake you in a few bells, dear heart," I assured Lyappis, then cast deep sleep back on her. "There, she'll be asleep until we wake her again. She sounds better than I thought she'd be."

  “But she didn’t remember falling?” Kamigishi looked worried.

  "That's common for bad head injuries," I explained. "A good bang on the noggin can disrupt the formation of short-term memories, so I'm not surprised she doesn't remember. And now, I believe it's time for the Holy Kamigishi to catch up on her sleep," I said, smiling at her. Oh, the glare she gave me left me feeling so good about life.

  Twessera held out Kamigishi’s slips, “Holy One, if you put on your slips, I can take you to your room.” Behind her professional healer face, Twessera’s eyes were laughing.

  Someone knocked on the door. I listened and then identified the knock pattern. I opened the door with my mind’s hand. “Sister Losnana, come in. Alas, I just put the Revered Lyappis back to sleep.”

  "Sister Lisaykos, Sister Aylem," Losnana nodded at us. She was in the working red kirtle and white gown that the Shrine’s librarians preferred. “I was worried about this one when she didn’t come home last night,” she pointed at Kamigishi, who was stuffing her feet into her slips.

  Kamigishi rolled her eyes, “These kind souls,” she growled at me, “are sending me to bed. I should be back this afternoon.”

  Losnana looked around the room at Kamigishi's grumpy face, my smile, and everyone else's grins. "Ah," she smiled, "I am sorry I missed your casting the Grace of Mugash on my stubborn friend. Kami, I brought Blinda with me. She has clothes for you and everything for doing your hair. She'll be waiting for you when you wake up. Have a good rest," Losnana, who was two years older than me, looked like a beneficent grandmother giving sage advice to the fifty-something Kamigishi.

  We all heard Imstay’s knock pattern at the door. “Aylem?” You there?”

  “Come,” Aylem opened the door with her mind’s hand.

  Imstay walked in and looked surprised at everyone in Lyappis’s room. An even more surprised Senlyosart, on crutches, followed the King.

  “Senlyosart?” I asked, wondering what she was doing in Is’syal.

  “Lisaykos?” Senlyosart’s fish face was exquisite. “Kamigishi? Losnana?”

  “I came to see my mother,” Kamigishi said.

  “I came to find her,” Losnana pointed at Kamigishi.

  “I came to check on Lyappis,” I admitted.

  Aylem shrugged, smiled at Senlyosart, and winked, “I just live here.”

  Senlyosart laughed. Then she looked at Lyappis with concern, "The Revered One will be alright, yes? I heard the fall was a bad one. Both legs are splinted?"

  "She will be fine. She'll be torturing us with that sharp tongue of hers in just a few days," I said. "She dislocated a hip on one side and broke most everything you can break in a leg on the other side. She pulled some soft tissues in her upper back and neck. She’ll be in bed for at least two rotations.”

  "So long as she will recover, putting up with a grumpy Lyappis is a small price to pay," Senlyosart pronounced, looking satisfied.

  "Aylem, we need to meet with Senlyosart in my office. Now, please?" Imstay nudged.

  The Queen studied Imstay and Senslysart and walked around the bed toward the door. "I'll be back down later," she told the rest of us. "Sleep well, Kami," she clapped Kamigishi on the shoulder and grinned. Then, the three left.

  I looked at Kamigishi. Kamigishi looked back at me and shook her head, “Oh dear. I hope Opa isn’t in too much trouble. Whatever could she have done to bring Senlyosart here to Is’syal? See if you can find out, Lisaykos. Aylem tends to be a little too strict with Opa. I worry about those two.”

  “I hear you," I shook my own head. "I worry, too, about Aylem and Opa. I'll have my ears out."

  “Thank you,” Kamigishi nodded. “Alright, Twessera, my former friend, show me to my bed.”

  “Follow me, Holy One,” Twessera held the door open and sketched an elaborate bow. “Your new abode is just two doors down on the other side of the hall.”

  “I have yet to plot my revenge, but I promise you that I will pay you back for this, Sister Lisaykos,” Kamigishi glowered at me some more.

  “Sleep well, dear heart,” I smiled as Twessera and Kamigishi left. “I do believe that this is what the Prophet Emily calls schadenfreude.”

  Aylem, the Royal Palace, Is’syal, Harvest Season, 6th rot., 5th day – Foskos Time

  “Patrikos,” Imstay bellowed as he strode into his office. “Where are you, boy? I need chairs set up and tea brewed.”

  I held the door open for Senlyosart as she made her slow way into Imstay’s apartments.

  “Thank you, Great One,” she nodded.

  Young black-haired Patrikos came running in carrying an armchair balanced upside down on his head. He placed it in front of Imstay’s work table and ran back into the other room. He reappeared with another armchair on his head. He set that one down and then fetched a hussock for Senlyosart’s leg.

  Imstay, always a charming host, helped Senlyosart sit down. Patrikos was ready with the Holy One's favorite tea. Then he served me, followed by Imstay. He put a bell next to Imstay, picked up what looked like school exercises, and vanished into Imstay's inner rooms.

  “Was that a little white I spotted in Patrikos’s hair?” Senlyosart asked. “How old is he?”

  "He's ten, but he's a haup Ark’kos,” Imstay replied. “I hope I can keep him around for at least another year or two before I lose him to a Shrine.”

  “He’s one of Fusso’s grandkids?” Senlyosart asked. “Is he one of the ones who are Fassex’s great-grandkids?”

  “Exactly,” Imstay said. “He’s the middle boy. Fusso took in all three boys to raise after their parents died in that freak riverboat accident four ago..”

  “I remember that,” Senlyosart shook her head. “What a tragedy. Fusso’s middle son and Fassex’s granddaughter.”

  “The first boy is already enrolled at Kas," Imstay commented. "It looks like all three will be silverhairs. Patrikos has been making noise about wanting to attend the Bountiful Shrine. He's very into growing things. Soon, I'll bring in his little brother, Samtrivos, as another page. He just turned eight last season. I was also thinking of asking Troyeepay Kas'syo haup Gunndit, who is now nine if he'd like to be a page."

  “Good luck convincing his mother,” I said. “Oyyuth’s not a pushover, and I don’t know if she’ll let him stay at the palace when his home is just down the hill.”

  “I’m sure I can work something out with his mother.” Imstay wrapped his hands around his beaker of tea, “we have another boy we need to discuss.” He shook his head, “When Snow Bear gave me your message last night, Holy One, I had to ask Aylem for a sleep charm. I guess Sassoo wanted to make it plain that he has claimed that child as his own."

  "It does seem to be a pattern for the gods, Imstay," I remarked. "They wanted to protect my life from Convocation, so Tiki made me a revelator at the old age of nine. They wanted to protect Emily from both you and me, so Tiki made her a revelator, with a revelation tailored to all the knowledge stuffed in that tiny brain of hers, so finely crafted in details that it annoyed her for at least three seasons."

  “But what about other revelations? Those aren't protective,” Senlyosart protested, “like Lisaykos’s revelation about gasses? Or Asgotl’s revelation about the design of the Singing Shrine? Or Spot’s revelation about bridges and rail wagons?”

  "Most revelations are teachings, knowledge, or prophecy," I replied. "But Tiki will sometimes use a revelation to gift someone with sacred person status for the purpose of protection. The revelation I received from Tiki was true prophesy, but it was just an echo of the Prophesy of the Great Breaking. Tiki's real purpose was to keep me alive because the Convocation seriously considered killing me when I was a girl. Because it made me a sacred person, my revelation saved my life. Tiki uses revelation as protection.

  “I think the best example of Tiki using revelation as protection was the Priestess Astromage Yud haup Foskos. Her father, the King, made her swear on the Great Crystal that she would not bear children before her brother had an heir. She was thirty when her little brother’s wife bore a princess. Because she could still be fertile, the old King sent assassins to remove Yud from this life. But the High Priestess of Galt foresaw the arrival of the assassins, who the Crystal Shrine ambushed and captured. To protect her from her father, Tiki bestowed a revelation upon Yud. It is the so-called universal revelation, the one that we all read as soon as it’s legal to do so. The part of the joke that few appreciate is that Yud was married after she became a revelator at 31. She had two children, one of whom eventually became King of Foskos.”

  “Great One," Senlyosart nailed me with that keen-eyed look she gets when she's after something, "have you always realized this about Tiki's revelations?"

  "No, it's something that Emily observed after she deduced Tiki's patterns of nonsensical revelations," I admitted. "Once she explained it to me, I reviewed everything I thought I knew about revelations and realized Tiki really did use revelation as a means to protect people.”

  “So, in a way,” Imstay made a sour face, “this is the second time I’ve had a god create a sacred person to protect them from me or others.”

  “The second time?” Senlyosart asked.

  “The first time was Tiki’s revelation to Emily, which protected Emily from both me and Aylem.”

  Senlyosart gave me a disbelieving look.

  "When I rescued her, my motives toward Emily were not pure, Sister Senlyosart. I recognized her genius and wanted her and all she could create. I didn’t really see her as a person. She was more like a commodity or an investment for me. Tiki’s revelation to Emily protected her from me. Otherwise, I would have forced her to stay at the Villa, at least until the next Planting Season, to steal whatever I could from her amazing mind. My motives were entirely selfish.”

  “Well, at least you got better, and Emily got used to us," Senlyosart commented.

  "Yes, she has improved somewhat," I conceded. "Speaking of problem children, how is Sid doing?”

  "He swore on the Singing Crystal this morning. A deal's a deal, so I swore my own oath to protect and defend him. I need to warn you that I also swore not to reveal his identity, so I may need to maneuver around that oath in the future. His sense of safety depends on your not finding out he's an Impotu refugee."

  “Did the god have anything to do with the boy swearing?” Imstay asked.

  “Everything,” Senlaysart replied. “The gist of their conversation was to convince Sid to enroll and accept adoption as a ward of the Shrine. Now, I have a new set of problems with Sid.”

  “We need to hide him from his mother,” I said the obvious. “And we need to introduce another person with a blessing to the Convocation, and this one can play the lithophone. They’ll all want to meet him. But we need to protect his identity.”

  “Oh, gods,” Imstay’s eyes popped open. “Losnana!”

  “Yes, she’s his great-great-aunt,” I noted. “I don’t know if she’ll recognize him. The Empress cut Losnana off from the rest of the Ugi family.”

  “Maybe this is simpler than we think," Senlyosart said. "I could just embargo anyone meeting him for two or three years. After all, he is shy and easily spooked after fleeing Impotu. And he's just eleven. I think I may get stubborn and deliberately shield the boy until I decide he's up to meeting our frightening collective of divine avatars. That could take years," she grinned.

  “Do you think you could make it work?” I asked. “The Kamagishis and Fassexes of this world can be persistent.”

  “And I can be more stubborn than either of them,” she smiled sweetly. “Sid is now legally my ward. If I think my minor ward needs to be protected from the scrutiny of Convocation, then that's what I'll provide him. He's under sixteen, so no one can force me to present a minor if I don't see fit to do so."

  “Convocation members can attend other Shrines’ enrollment and blessing ceremonies,” I pointed out.

  “That’s nice, Great One,” Senlyosart beamed. “They can sit in the back row or watch from the gallery. They won’t block anyone’s view that way because they’re too tall.”

  "The Holy One has a good point, Aylem," Imstay smiled. I could tell he liked the idea. "She's his adoptive parent, Aylem, so she can keep him from public exposure for five more years if she wants. It sounds like a workable plan to me.”

  “I will announce the presence of a new Revered One at the next Convocation meeting,” Senlyosart said, “along with my restricting access to him. Fassex will have kittens!” Senlyosart had a look of happy anticipation on her face.

  “You do realize we need a cover story for why you’re here,” I pointed out. “Kamigishi won't rest until she knows or thinks she knows."

  "We can tell them a good half-truth," she said. "After all, you will overreact when I tell you Opa started a food fight and recruited Sid as her shield man. Now she gets to feed Lord Black’s hogs for the next season as her punishment.”

  "My daughter? Started a food fight?!" This would not do. Opa knew better than to lead others astray. "And that's all the punishment you're giving her?"

  "Yes, Great One, who needs to remember her daughter is now fourteen and the leader of her peers. Your courageous, kind, charismatic daughter seldom gets into trouble. The trouble she does get into is the right kind of trouble, like starting food fights and taking the blame for misdeeds in order to protect a classmate."

  “But she’s a haup Foskos,” I smacked my knee with my palm. “If she doesn’t set a good example, who will?”

  “Oh dear," Senlyosart shook her head at me, "Kamigishi's right about you, Great One. You really don't understand what fun is, do you? See? I was right. I told you that your daughter had some healthy, age-appropriate fun, and you overreacted. Now, let's turn this into a good cover story for my visit. Your amount of outrage is just right. The King and I will have our hands full to calm your infamous temper." Senlyosart smiled at me with understanding. "You do need to start treating your lovely daughter as the splendid adult she's becoming. She's not a child anymore. And when can I get you to visit for lithophone lessons?"