Draig

Siarad

Dane stood, a bit embarrassed by the room full of Majisters kneeling. All honoring him. The Song swelled in his mind, like a shout of joy and triumph. Then the moment was over. The Song faded to a nearly imperceptible hum in Dane's mind. The majisters stood and drifted amongst each other, talking animatedly. They had heard the Song too, Dane realized. He heard booming laughter toward the back of the room. Dane shouldered his way through the small crowd to find Theo, with two other Majisters, reminiscing.

Theo was florid and barrel-chested, with a wide smile and a mischievous glint in his eye. His companions were more the type of man Dane thought of when he heard the word, "majister." One was slender, with a long white beard, white hair, a dark robe, and a pointy hat. The other was very tall and quite handsome. He had shoulder-length red-gold hair, green eyes and a quick smile.

"Dane! Come and meet Léonin and Tal,"said Theo. Theo's voice echoed, giving it a depth and majesty that had not been there a moment before. It was amazing. "Léonin is our Arch Majister. Gentlemen, This is Dane."

Léonin gave him a warm smile, "Thank you for bringing us home, dear boy. You and your faisant are to be commended."

Léonin's voice reminded Dane of a warm drink of spiced wine on a winter night. It was rich, and very comforting. Peace radiated from the man into his voice. Dane thought he might listen to anything the majister said, just to hear him say it. His voice filled Dane with goodwill. It was almost alarming. What would the man sound like if he sang?

Tal said, "We have so much work to do, now." His voice was beautiful as well, but lighter, like starlight shimmering in a night sky. "I hardly know where to begin."

"We begin at the beginning," said Léonin. "Subduing the island and marshalling its resources. Then we move on to the greater world."

"Yes, Majister," said Tal.

"Will you start accepting stu...?" asked Dane. He cut off, startled. His own voice sounded so beautiful! Like a vielle played by a Master. "What?...my voice!" He looked at Theo in shock. Léonin and Tal laughed, their voices blending in harmony. The sound sent a shiver up Dane's spine.

"'Tis a side effect of the Song," said Theo, "And the mark of a true majister. You are one of us now."

Tal smiled at him, and said gently, "You shall get accustomed to the beauty. It does take some time."

"To answer your question...Perhaps, if warranted," said Léonin. "But just now we need to know what is going on in the world, before we try to contribute." Tal nodded in agreement, as Dane tried to recover from the shock of pleasure he felt at hearing their voices.

"I shall coordinate the repair of the island, Master," Tal said, bowing. He gave Dane a wink as he strode purposefully up the stairs.

"Come Theo, Dane. Walk with me," said Léonin. "Tell me all the news."

***

"High King Tenneth has been on his death bed for months," said Dane. They sat in a large room, well furnished. Books lined the walls. They had ascended the Inner stairs. All of the platforms now had doors leading off of them. They stopped at the last platform. It was empty, but for an arched door on the right hand side. Dane was sure the doors had not been there before, during his trial. But these were majisters. They likely all still had magic offices and laboratories, bedrooms and even pets. Even after 500 years, they seemed to have a lot of resources at their disposal.

He had been sharing what he knew of the world since the Breaking, the day the World Tree had split into two halves and Dissonance had entered the world. Every once in a while he would get caught up in the beauty of his own voice and lose his place. He wished furiously he had paid more attention to his history lessons. He and Theo had talked to Léonin for hours, answering questions. Now finally he had caught up to the present day. "While Siles and the Conclave have been plotting. I fear they are only waiting for his death to put their plan into motion."