JULIEN

II

Chapter 5

First Lesson

At breakfast next morning Julien made a point of not mentioning Dillik's misdemeanours: what he had done carried with it its own punishment, and he was quite prepared to let Dillik learn his own lesson without being reminded of his misdeeds. The rest of the company was good enough to follow his example, and as a result Dillik's usual pixie-like smile gradually reappeared.

“Where are we going next?” he asked, licking jam from his fingers.

“If Tannder agrees, I think you're going to be making a little trip to Dak Manarang. You'll be able to say hello to your father. I'll be coming with you, and after that there's something I need to do with Aïn.”

He was actually planning a training session on how to use the klirks. Now that he could travel once more with the expectation of anonymity, it was vital that Julien learn to master his Guide Gift as quickly as possible, and he also had to learn the operation of the complex network of klirks that linked a huge number of places throughout the Nine Worlds. He knew he couldn't ask for a better teacher than Aïn, even if their only previous attempt had ended in a catastrophe that had almost cost them their lives.

There had been plenty of good reasons for postponing this training, and now that Julien was aware of what the Neh-kyong Tchenn Ril had told him he was very glad indeed that they had. But now that he was rid of the tell-tale change to his essence which had made him easy to track whenever he used a klirk, it was clearly time to get on with his training. It was important because, while a Master Guide like Aïn could transport up to fifteen people without difficulty if he was following the clearly-defined network of the klirks, if he left those clear paths he was unable to move more than two or three people without help. He'd managed it once using Julien's unmastered Gift, but it had been touch and go, and it had triggered a number of uncontrollable external phenomena which had resulted in the greatest Guide of his time being unflatteringly labelled 'Aïn the Deafening'. Furthermore, it was unthinkable that Julien, if he was to fulfil his duties as Emperor, should not be able to travel unassisted.

So once the whole company, which now included Niil and Karik, had arrived at Dak Manarang and been greeted by Master Dendjor, Aïn took Julien to the klirk in the main warehouse. Xarax joined them unobtrusively.

The first step, explained the Guide, is quite straightforward. Any Guide simply has to look carefully at the pattern on this klirk and think 'tchoktseh' to be taken immediately to the Orientation Table. That's what you're going to do now. Xarax is safely on your shoulder and you're holding on to me, so we'll come with you.

Julien concentrated on the metal plate and thought 'tchoktseh' (which means 'table') and the world around them changed. They found themselves on a vast circular esplanade surrounded by a wall that was low enough for them to be able to look over it at a landscape of green hills not unlike the wooded countryside of Normandy. A soft scented breeze was blowing some little fluffy clouds through a deep azure-blue sky.

Oh! Where are we? he asked. This looks like Earth!

It's more like your own idea of what Earth looks like. Every Guide sees the Table in his own way. In reality we're nowhere. We've disappeared from Dvârinn; but you haven't yet decided where we're going to reappear. And at the moment we're outside time. It might seem to us that we stay here for a long time, but that period will have no equivalent in what we call the Manifest Universe, which is the reality that everyone usually perceives. Actually this place has a lot of things in common with the Narthex you've been using with Master Subadar. The main difference is that the Orientation Table is an immutable element for everyone who comes here.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of traffic. We're the only ones here.

Actually there are probably a thousand Guides carrying passengers right now. But we can't see them or interfere with them, any more than they can with us. Nobody can really explain how it is that this place is outside the Manifest Universe. Some think it's outside Time, and some say that it's outside Space, but all you really need to know is that every Guide recreates the intrinsic reality of the Table for himself and his passengers.

'Intrinsic'?

A reality based on the essential nature of the Table itself and which cannot be altered in any way. It modifies itself whenever a new klirk is created. Actually the Table is itself the totality of the klirks. The metal or stone the symbols are carved on is completely unimportant – and actually, if you want to be even more accurate, the symbols themselves are only a sort of shorthand that we use to give ourselves access to the true nature of the klirks. They're not actually essential to our purpose. All those lines that you can see carved into the metal or stone and that appear to be random squiggles are actually a map showing which way a Guide needs to go in order to reach his destination.

A map? But there aren't any proper directions on it! At home we'd call it a mute map, and so far as I can tell they only exist to allow teachers to torment their pupils!

I see what you mean, more or less. Now, if you'd like to turn round...

Julien turned round and found himself facing the low wall. But about three metres of it had disappeared and it and the green scenery beyond it had been replaced by a view of the inside of the warehouse they had just left.

Now, said Aïn, if you'd like to take a step sideways so that you step off the line under your feet...

Instantly the warehouse disappeared and was replaced by the wall and the rolling hills of Normandy.

That's it, said Aïn. If you step back onto the line the warehouse appears again, and if you back up a few steps... good... you'll see that the wall is continuous once more and the warehouse has gone again. You will also notice that there's a symbol carved onto the wall in the place where the warehouse appeared. That symbol is identical to the klirk in the warehouse. If you look to your left and your right you'll see other symbols on the wall, but if you step off the line you're on to try to get to one of them nothing will happen. If you want to get to another symbol you have to follow your line until you reach a junction, where you'll be able to change direction, and maybe another two or three junctions will enable you to follow a line to the symbol you want.

A bit like crossing Paris on the Metro, then, said Julien.

I don't know what a metro is, but the Table is a bit like a set of roads and paths without any short-cuts.

But how do you find your way? There must be thousands of destinations! And of course it gets even more complicated, because each time you'll be starting from a different place...

That's true, but if you concentrate hard enough on the symbol of the klirk you want to reach, the line and the junctions that lead to it become somehow sharper than the others.

Provided that you know what your klirk looks like!

Exactly. And that's one reason why it takes so long to become a Master Guide.

But... it'll take me years to learn them all!

No, it won't, because you'll be cheating.

How can I cheat?

You'll be able to use Xarax's memory. He knows all the klirks and he can communicate the images to you. It's one of the duties of the Emperor's Haptir. Over time you'll start to remember a number of symbols for yourself, but he's got the whole network stored in his memory. It's a little out of date at the moment because he's been out of commission for thirteen years, but I can soon bring him up to date. Let's try right now: see if you can take us to the klirk you arrived at the first time you went to Dvârinn.

Xarax, said Julien, do you remember that klirk? It's the one that was drawn on my bedroom floor back on Earth.

Of course I do, said Xarax. Here it is.

The complicated pattern appeared clearly in Julien's mind and at the same time the route that he had to follow became clear, just as it had been obvious to him when he was crossing the Palace Square with Niil and Ambar which flagstones he had to step on. Very soon they came to a portion of the wall where the symbol he was looking for was carved, and once they got close enough to it the wall disappeared and they found themselves looking at the prickly bushes that grew close to Tchenn Ril. The light in the sky above them suggested that it was late afternoon. Julien hesitated briefly and then stepped forward past the limit of the Table, and as he set foot on the grey metal of the klirk he knew that he was back in that lost corner of Djannak Island. The smell of the vegetation reminded him intensely of that moment when he had first arrived here some months previously. He turned around and was not surprised to find that the bushes surrounded him in every direction: the Table and the idyllic world around it had gone.

So now what do I do to get back there? he asked.

Just like last time: you simply say 'tchoktseh'.

He did that and took himself and his colleagues back to the Orientation Table.

Before we leave here, he said, I would like you to explain something. You told me that there are thousands of possible destinations, and that each one is carved onto the wall. But there is at least a metre between one symbol and the next. The wall is only around three hundred metres or so in length, and so how is that possible? You could never fit that number of symbols onto it!

You're right, Aïn told him. Well spotted. You need to remember that what you're looking at is a representation of something which is in reality infinitely larger and more complicated This is the easiest way for our minds to handle that complexity. In reality this wall has no finite length, and the same goes for the lines which we use as paths. However, the junctions and symbols do correspond to operations you need to perform in order to point yourself in the correct direction. But the number of symbols that the wall can accommodate is infinite. Now I suggest that we go back to Dak Manarang. We can move on to other aspects of the Art of Passage once you have sufficiently mastered this one.

Without waiting to be prompted Xarax caused the appropriate symbol to appear in Julien's mind, and he was able to follow the path back to the warehouse without any problem. They left the warehouse and went back to the office, where Master Dendjor was proudly showing the others the plans for the ship before taking them out into the yard.

“Did you forget something?” asked Ambar.

“No, we've finished for today.”

“Already? You've only been gone five minutes!”

“We work fast. But we can go away and leave you to it if you want.”

“That's not what I meant at all!”

“I know. Where we were time passes differently. We had plenty of time to do everything we wanted to.”

“I've been showing Lord Niil the plans for Lord Tahlil's new trankenn,” Master Dendjor told them. “It's a wonderful vessel, completely different from the behemoths that are in fashion at the moment. This ship is designed for speed and agility in combat, as well as for handling heavy weather.”

“Combat?” queried Julien.

“You have to scare off pirates.”

“There are pirates on Dvârinn?”

“Anywhere there is sea trade you'll find pirates. It's always been like that. It's the First Lords' duty to see that their activities are kept to a minimum. But the Emperor's Mirror should be especially feared, and he needs to be able to intervene swiftly and in places where he isn't expected. A lot of First Lords are reluctant to risk their beautiful trankenns in dangerous sea-battles. They leave the job of policing to their vassals, who generally take compensation for any damage to their vessels in the form of any loot they can capture from the pirates. But apparently Lord Tahlil sees things differently.”

“Really?”

“Indeed. He thinks that dealing with the issue in that way is a sign of decadence. It gives rise to all manner of corruption. Some people even whisper that it's hard to tell the pirates apart from their quarries. Or, to put it more clearly, they hold the shipowners to ransom under the pretext of protecting them. That's less dangerous than fighting experienced corsairs and can be just as lucrative.”

“And Lord Tahlil thinks he can change that?”

“He doesn't know, but he's not prepared to let things go on as they are now.”

“He'll make some enemies, won't he?”

“Very probably, but he'll gain the sympathy of every honest sailor on Dvârinn. He's got mine already.”

“Good. But if you're going to be the captain of this magnificent ship, what about the captain of his current First Trankenn? Won't he get jealous?”

“Oh, not at all. Master Daldehar is quite happy to stay with his current ship. He's going to be First Captain of the trading company Lord Tahlil is setting up, and that will mean a substantially larger salary. Besides, he's getting on in years, and the idea of fighting pirates doesn't have quite the appeal for him it once did.”

“Well, if everyone is happy, I am too. I imagine you won't mind giving us a tour of this marvellous vessel?”

“I was just about to suggest that.”

oo0oo

Julien was expecting to see a bare frame under construction in a dry dock, so he got a surprise when he was led to a wharf where a large ship was tied up. The masts were in the process of being installed and quite a lot of the deck furniture was already in place. It was already an impressive-looking vessel, and although it didn't match the colossal proportions of the Ksantiri First Trankenn it still looked imposing. There was also something in her general appearance that immediately suggested that it would be highly unwise to challenge her. It was clearly a vessel of war.

“She looks amazing!” said Julien. “But you must have been working flat-out!”

“Lord Tahlil can be very persuasive. He added a bonus from his own pocket for each week the shipwrights managed to shave from the original estimate. All the best craftsmen in the yard are fighting to work on our ship. The other yards aren't happy, though, because they're losing workmen to us. But Lord Tahlil has also declared substantial monetary penalties if there are any accidents, because he didn't want the supervisors turning into slave-drivers. And he seems to know the job as well as the craftsmen themselves, and he's not afraid to crawl into the smallest spaces to check the quality of their work.”

“So when do you think she'll be ready?”

“I estimate that we'll be ready to sail in around forty days. The sail-makers have almost finished their work and the way things are going the rigging should be finished in three or four days. If necessary the onboard work can continue even during the maiden voyage and the first few weeks afloat. In ten days we'll be ready to start transferring the Rent'haliks' administrative services to this vessel. I'm already on the lookout for officers, and I've prepared a recruitment announcement which is currently being posted in every part of the Rent'halik Domain. We've recruited a very capable hold-master and he's already started to get the non-perishable foodstuffs on board. We need to maintain a good trim and so we might need to make adjustments once we've completed the first trial journey.”

Niil who had been listening in silence up to this point, sighed.

“I really wish I could swap the Ksantiri First Trankenn for a vessel like this,” he said. “Unfortunately my great-grandfather was serious about quality when he had the ship built. She's just about indestructible! And I can't even do what you did and convert her into a merchant vessel, because about half the clan has taken up residence aboard – at least, the ones who are too sensible to try to show off by building their own trankenns have. Master Dendjor, I hope you really enjoy commanding this beauty.”

“Thank you, Lord Niil. The First Trankenn of the Ksantiris is a good ship. It's true that she's a bit too big, but at least it was built before the overblown and pretentious style which we have now and which seems to think that size is the same thing as elegance.”

He turned to Julien.

“My Lord,” he said, I wouldn't want to inflict a full visit on you, because I know that this sort of thing can be terribly boring for those who are not great fans of ships...”

Julien was a great fan of ships, and so he allowed himself to be taken with Niil on an extensive guided tour of great detail, while Tannder and the others, who didn't share his enthusiasm for all things maritime, headed off to a nearby beach to make the most of the splendid weather and warm sea.

oo0oo

Chapter 6

Yiaï Ho

In the depths of the hold Master Dendjor was demonstrating the clever system the ship used to balance its ballast to his two fascinated visitors when he was interrupted by a young midshipman who, from the way he was gasping for breath, had run very fast to get there.

“The Honourable Master Tannder,” the young man eventually managed to say, “presents his compliments and requests the presence of Their Lordships whenever they are able to attend.”

That clearly meant that Tannder had an emergency on his hands and needed them to get to him as soon as possible, and so they followed the young officer back through the maze of passageways and stairs until they reached the main deck. Here they found Tannder and the others, still wet from their interrupted swim, waiting for them. Tannder led them off to one side to explain the reason for the urgency of his summons.

“My Lord,” he said to Julien, “I've just received a message from Master Subadar. Despite your request not to do so he showed your father the weapon taken from the assassin in the Tower Of course he didn't explain where it came from, and nor did he give the least hint that an attack had taken place – he simply asked if the weapon could have come from Earth.

“Your father examined it carefully and then said that he was fairly certain that the device had not come from Earth, but that we should be careful with it because it looked a bit like an Earth weapon called a 'hand grenade'. He said that he might be wrong about the nature of the object, but he was confident that it wasn't from Earth – the few signs carved into it didn't look like any Earth language with which he was acquainted. The fact that your father seems to have been able to detect the nature of the device suggests that he's probably also right about its origins, and consequently we now have to consider the possibility that the attack on you at the Tower had its origins outside the R'hinz.”

“But I thought there was no contact with any world outside the R'hinz,” argued Julien. “Well, apart from Earth now, obviously.”

“That's what we have always thought. But it looks as if we have been found by someone whose intentions are hostile.”

“But didn't you say that the woman who attacked me came from Aleth?”

“Yes – we now know who she was, and her family has been identified. They are honourable people and they couldn't possibly be involved in a plot against the Emperor. We sounded their minds, obviously, but there was nothing to suggest that they are anything but loyal to you. What makes it even more worrying is the accuracy of the attack: they knew exactly who you are and where to find you. The enemy, whoever it is, wanted to destroy the head of the R'hinz, which proves that he knows just how unique and irreplaceable you are.”

“And even more irreplaceable now that the spare bodies have all been destroyed.”

“Exactly – which leads us to think that whoever was responsible for the attack on your person was also the one who destroyed the Sleeping Bodies.”

“Well, I hope so – things are bad enough without more than one unknown enemy to deal with. So what do you think we should do now?”

“I think we have to keep moving. If they're capable of corrupting or coercing a member of the Bakhtar Tower staff, they'll be able to do the same thing to other people. For now you'll have to stay only in places where nobody is expecting you to be.”

“Fine,” said Julien. “Do you think Aïn could be persuaded to invite us to visit his place?”

oo0oo

Aïn took no persuading at all: he thought that a visit to the Emperor's Mirror on Yaï Ho was a good idea, but he suggested that it should not be an official visit but a low-key affair with no publicity. He also suggested that Julien should do the actual Guiding, using Aïn's family's private klirk. This was the first time Julien had tried to act as a Guide to people who didn't have the Gift and who, unlike Xarax, were not able to see the Orientation Table and the strange non-space in which it stood. He found himself transporting a group of obedient zombies who clearly had no awareness of their surroundings, and who would afterwards retain no memory of the journey. Of course he wasn't actually leading them across the paved surface of the Table: that was simply the way in which his mind chose to view the complex process of the transfer. Their luggage followed them as if magnetically attracted to the group of travellers.

They appeared on a hill in Yaï Ho close to Aïn's residence. If Julien had been familiar with the works of Tolkien he would have thought that they had materialised in a hobbit village because, although the Guides had attained a high degree of civilisation and developed a refined culture, they had nonetheless retained their fondness for underground dens of the type originally used by their distant ancestors. So as far as was possible their habitat was at least partly underground and melted inconspicuously into the landscape.

Their society grouped families into vast clans in which every member found his place according to criteria which were absolutely incomprehensible to humans, and where actual genetic relationships held only a subsidiary role. In other words, a young Guide might be raised by adults who were not his blood parents, but he would nonetheless be considered by everyone, including himself, to be their son.

Of course in view of the prevailing danger Julien had erased his Marks and was standing a little to one side. And apparently his attempt to look anonymous was working nicely, because while Aïn and the members of his clan were exchanging greetings, he was approached by an apparently fearless young Guide barely bigger than a puppy. Julien recognised straight away that the guide had taken up that posture which his species always used to invite communication, and so he bent down and put his hand on the silky silvery fur of the young Guide's neck.

Are you here to serve? the Guide asked him.

To serve? No, I'm one of Master Aïn's guests Who are you?

I am Yalil Wilah ek Aïn. You owe me respect. The Great Master Aïn is my father, you know. So do you serve Lord Niil of the Ksantiris?

I don't serve anyone. Lord Niil is my friend.

And the Noble Brother Ambar – is he your friend too?

Yes.

And Karik shel Tannder – he's Master Tannder's student?

Yes.

What about Dillik? Is he your servant?

No.

So who are you, then?

I am Julien.

So why are you here, if you're nobody's servant?

Do you promise not to tell anyone?

Why?

Can't you keep a secret?

Of course I can! But why don't you want me to tell anyone?

Because if you do I won't get a moment's peace all the time I'm here.

All right, I won't tell anyone.

Well, Master Aïn invited me here because I'm a Master of one particular Art.

What Art is that?

Tickling!

The young Guide jumped and tried to escape, but Julien easily rolled him onto his back and began tickling him in a way that only a nimble-fingered primate can achieve. The Guide's hysterical yelping attracted the attention of his father, who glanced in his direction for just long enough to see what was happening and then abandoned him to his fate. And his protests, which were in any case not serious, ceased when Julien stopped tickling him and started scratching him behind the ears instead.

Julien had wanted to do this since the first time he had met a Guide, and he'd had to struggle hard against the temptation to do so. Only Aïn's status had spared him this indignity so far. But the young Guide was clearly enjoying it, because after a few seconds he closed his eyes with an air of complete happiness and pushed up close to Julien. He was obviously totally satisfied with the situation.

Tannder laughed, bringing Julien out of the trance-like state into which he had fallen.

“Julien, you've fallen into the oldest trap there is on Yaï Ho,” he said. “This good-for-nothing has had you under his thumb for quite some time now. Young Guides try it on with every human they meet who is naïve enough to pet them. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but with you it's worked like a charm.”

Julien stopped scratching at Yalil's head and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck instead. He was both amused and annoyed at the same time, and the stiffness in his legs when he tried to stand up indicated that he'd been crouching next to the juvenile Guide for quite a long time.

You didn't need to do that! said Julien.

Leave me alone!

Julien could tell that these words came with a sort of mental pressure which was supposed to force him to obey, but the youngster hadn't yet mastered the technique.

Stop that at once! responded Julien. Listen, you look like a nice kid, and I'm quite happy to scratch your head any time you like, provided I don't have anything else I should be doing. But don't ever try to mess with my head again, you understand? Don't forget I'm a friend of your father's, and I don't think he'd like you doing that at all.

Julien was immediately aware that the young Guide was now feeling distressed.

“Don't worry,” he said aloud. “I'm not mad at you, and nor is Master Tannder. I'll say no more about it – and actually I'd look a bit of an idiot if I did, wouldn't I?”

Yalil took that to be a rhetorical question, so Julien let go of him and dismissed him with a light swat to his rump. Then he stood up and looked at Tannder.

“Where is everyone?” he asked.

“They're inside – except Xarax, who is probably hiding in the grass somewhere close by. I wonder why he didn't decide to intervene.”

“He didn't need to – there was no danger, and if he had he'd have terrified the poor kid. Actually that mind routine is quite impressive. How old do you think he is?”

“I'd guess no more than five cycles. I don't think he'll do it again.”

“That's what I told him. Anyway, he said he thought I'd come to serve, or something. What did he mean by that?”

“It's a very old story, as old as the Nine Worlds, in fact. I should have told you about it before this.”

“We've had other things to worry about.”

“Well, to keep it short, the Guides decided to help humans once the humans said that they were willing to use their manual dexterity to help the Guides. Basically, humans do everything that the Guides can't do for themselves because they lack an opposable thumb. The humans make sure they're comfortable, cook the sophisticated food they prefer to the berries and raw meat they would otherwise have to eat – though they can get by on that sort of fare when they're away from home – and generally look after them. In return the Guides make their services available to the whole of the R'hinz and, because they charge quite a lot for transporting people, they can afford to pay their human servants very good wages. In fact it's counted a privilege to spend time serving a family of Guides. But the humans here on Yaï Ho are only here for a fairly short time and have to maintain a home on their native world. The Guides insist on this, and obviously they're in a position to be able to make sure people stick to the rule. The idea has been to discourage any thoughts of humans settling here and forming their own colonies, and that's basically kept the Guides safe from being taken over for thousands of cycles.

“The Guides might not use writing, but they do have a very well-developed high culture. They are essentially philosophers and poets, but they have also produced some mathematical geniuses, and they are the only race who have been able to come up with theories regarding the physics of the Outside.”

Julien gave a whistle of admiration.

“I'm glad I didn't go scratching Aïn's head, then,” he said. “And that boy of his seems quite gifted. Has he got any other children, do you know?”

“Four others, I think. Two are already adults but they don't possess the Gift. Yalil has a brother a little older than himself who has started his training, and a younger one who isn't old enough to verbalise yet.”

“Sorry?”

“I mean he can only communicate by yelps and emotions – a bit like a human baby who hasn't started to talk.”

“And does Yalil have the Gift?”

“They don't know yet – he's still too young. They'll have to wait at least two more cycles to find out. And in any case not every guide who has the Gift actually becomes what we think of as a 'Guide'. They won't be authorised to travel unless they are strong enough to learn how to control their own minds. It's called 'Opening the Gift'.”

“Well, you seem to know all there is to know about Aïn and his family. Do you know everyone as well as that?”

“No, but I'm doing everything I can to learn about anyone who gets close to you. The rest of it, though – the Guides' culture and way of life – more or less everyone knows about that.”

“I don't. I'll have to start doing some serious research.”

“Then I'll give you a little more information: the Guides have two spoken languages. They can mangle Tünnkeh the way you've heard Aïn do, but they also have their own language which they use for communication when they can't get close enough to touch each other and so communicate mentally, which is what they prefer to do when possible. They don't use their spoken language when they're away from home, but as this is their place you'd better prepare yourself to put up with a lot of yelping. It's really rather unpleasant.”

“Thanks. I'll try not to put my fingers in my ears while anyone's watching...”

oo0oo