Valdemar Anthology - [Tales of Valdemar 02] - Sun in Glory and Other Tales of Valdemar (5 page)

If feline expressions could be said to duplicate those of human beings, Khar looked positively disgusted.
:Cats, Reulan,:
he said with monumental dignity,
:are known for their patience. A few more days certainly won't kill me.:

 

And so it had been decided. Reulan had sought out Santon, the village headman, and explained that he would be making a pilgrimage to Sunhame to fulfill his obligation to be present at the Temple of Vkandis Sunlord at the Summer Solstice. Santon, understandably, was somewhat taken aback by the suddenness of this decision, but Reulan had mollified the big farmer by pointing out that the villagers could walk to Two Trees, the closest village, for their own midsummer celebration at that chapel. And if anyone was injured or needed medical care, Two Trees was large enough to have its own healer.

Truth be told, another reason surfaced in Reulan's mind for the journey, and that was simple curiosity. When traders had come through Sweetwater a month ago, they had told the villagers that the tragic and untimely death of the Son of the Sun, along with the inability of the seniormost priests of the Temple to choose his successor, had thrown Sunhame into confused anticipation. From what the traders said, infighting among various factions of the senior priesthood had broken out. Time and again they had sought a consensus, put forward various candidates, but had reached no agreement. It seemed as if something was blocking a decision that would make everyone happy.

Reulan looked on the infighting among his superiors with a certain amount of disdain. Politics! God, he
hated
politics! As a priest, it was his duty to worship Vkandis and to look after the god's people, not to find ways to increase his own standing. But if there was any time to journey to Sunhame, to see the Temple again, and possibly to be present at the elevation of the new Son of the Sun, this was it.

And so, the following morning Reulan set forth, carrying a light pack filled with provisions enough to see him there and back. The villagers had wished him a good journey and smiled to see their priest and his always-present cat set off down the dusty road to the south. Long accustomed to physical activity, Reulan soon settled into his walking stride, an easy gait that would carry him to his stopping place for the night without leaving him exhausted. He glanced down at Khar who trotted alongside, and shook his head. If he hadn't thought his eyes were deceiving him, he would have sworn that Khar had grown overnight. The biggest cat he had ever seen now appeared even bigger.

“Well, Khar,” he said conversationally, “are you happy now? We're off to Sunhame and your fish.”

:And possibly more than that,:
was the cat's reply.

Reulan waited for Khar to continue, but the cat fell silent. Reulan shook his head. Cats. Some of the most secretive creatures ever born, it ill served a human to attempt to pry information from them. Even ones who spoke.

The setting sun to his right, Reulan and Khar entered the next village south of Sweetwater. His black robes and gold chain of office would grant him food and rest wherever he chose to stop, but he aimed for the chapel, knowing that Faroaks' own priest would welcome him for the night. And he was correct, for as he approached the chapel to attend its own sunset service, Dhadi stood at the doors, waiting for the villagers who chose to attend the service.

“Reulan!” the priest said, extending his hand in greeting. “What brings you to Faroaks?” His eyes fell on the cat, who sat at Reulan's side, breathing a bit heavily from the long walk. “God of Light, Reulan! Where in the world did you find that cat? It's absolutely huge!”

Reulan glanced at Khar and started. If possible, Khar had grown even more during the walk from Sweetwater. “He adopted me,” he explained lamely, feeling as if he had blundered into some story. And Dhadi only knew the half of it. Reulan smiled what he hoped was his most disarming smile. “I'm on my way to Sunhame for the Summer Solstice and if I could spend the night with you, I'd be most appreciative.”

“Of course,” Dhadi said. “‘Come in, Reulan. The sun's nearly set and I must light the Night Candle.” He looked slightly askance at Khar. “Does he follow you even to services?”

“He's one of the god's creatures,” Reulan responded. “If you don't mind, he'll come with me.”

For a moment, Reulan thought Dhadi would refuse, but his fellow priest merely shook his head and gestured inside. ‘Stranger things have happened,” he murmured. “You and your cat are welcome, Reulan. The god's blessing be on both of you.”

 

After assisting Dhadi in celebrating the rising sun and sharing a wholesome breakfast with his fellow priest, Reulan set out on the road again. He had not even reached the fields when he noticed several villagers following after. With the breeze at his back, he overheard snatches of conversation, not a bit of which was devoted to him. No, it was Khar they spoke about. Finally, curiosity triumphed and one of the men trotted up to Reulan's side.

“Begging your pardon, Sun's-ray,” he said, dipping his head in an abbreviated bow. “Me and my friends, well, we've never seen such a cat as the one you've got. He's near big as my dog.”

Reulan shrugged uncomfortably. “You think
he's
big? You should see the mice in Sweetwater!”

The farmer simply stared, oblivious to Reulan's attempted humor. “Maybe so, Sun's-ray, but he's one blessed big cat.” He dipped his head again. “Sunlord guard you on your journey.”

“And bless you and your endeavors,” Reulan replied automatically, sketching the Holy Disk symbol to include them all.

He turned away and set out on the road again, Khar trotting along at his side. Once he was out of hearing range, he glanced down at the cat. “You've grown again,” he accused, shifting his pack on his shoulders to a more comfortable position. “And don't try to deny it.”

:Perhaps,
Khar replied.
But maybe you're only seeing better.:

Reulan made a face. “Inscrutable as always, sir cat. I must admit you're beginning to make me nervous.”

If a cat could snort derisively, Khar did just that.
:Spoken by a man who for days now has been conversing with a “dumb” animal.:

A faint blush heated Reulan's cheeks. “Maybe so, Khar, but something's going on here that I don't understand. Why did you ‘adopt'
me?
And, for the love of the Lord of Light, how is it that you talk?”

Khar flicked his tail in high good humor.
:You've been initiated into mysteries, Priest Reulan. And aside from your initial shock, you've adapted very well. Who better to ask for fish?:

 

Three days into his journey, Reulan found the road becoming more crowded. No longer did he simply meet farmers going out to their fields, or the occasional horse-drawn cart filled with vegetables headed off to market somewhere. Now he shared the road with well-dressed folk who rode horseback, or those who walked in groups, all seemingly headed to Sunhame for the Summer Solstice. As the riders passed, bowing in their saddles to a Sun-priest, he had to endure their comments about the size and beauty of the cat at his side. A few even made offers of purchase, proposing sums that made Reulan's head spin.

As for Khar, despite his dissembling, he
had
continued to grow. The farmers outside Faroaks should see him now, Reulan thought. Though he had become somewhat accustomed (if that word fairly described his state of mind) to Khar's company and to sharing conversations with what everyone else deemed a speechless animal, he felt he somehow skirted the edge of mystery.

That evening, stopping in a large village, he once again sought out the local Sun-priest, arriving just in time for the lighting of the Night Candle. He knew the priest here very well; his former master Beckor had apprenticed Jaskhi at one time, before Ruelan's entry into the priesthood. Reulan and Jaskhi had become close friends after Beckor had died, the young priest turning to the older man for wisdom and support.

“So, Reulan,” Jaskhi said, dinner over and the two of them sitting for a moment in the well-lit room behind Jaskhi's chapel. Khar had curled up at Reulan's feet, purring like approaching thunder. “You're making your pilgrimage, eh? Better early than late, I say. You've timed your journey well, my friend. You should arrive in Sunhame the morning of the Summer Solstice. All the inns will be full, but you can always find a place to sleep at the Temple.”

“Unless it's too full of quarreling priests,” Reulan murmured.

“Ah, that!” Jaskhi waved a dismissive hand. “‘When Vkandis wills, they'll find their choice obvious. And what better day for that to happen than Summer Solstice? I envy you, Reulan. To be present at such an event is something no one would ever forget.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Now, tell me about your cat.”

Reulan sighed. If one more person asked him about Khar, he thought he would choke. By this time, however, he had come up with a story of how Khar had “adopted” him he could recite without even thinking about it.

“There's still something strange about that cat,” Jaskhi said, unconvinced, “and I think you know more than you're letting on.”

“What do you mean?”

“Aside from his size, which is enough in itself to set anyone back, there's a touch of mystery about him, as if he's a gateway into somewhere we can't go.”

Reulan stared. “What are you talking about?”

“I really don't know,” Jaskhi admitted. “But, I'll tell you right now . . . this is no ordinary, if simply oversized, cat. Cats don't grow this big, and I've never heard of one walking beside a human all the way to Sunhame.” He held up a hand. “No, don't say anything. I'm sure I'm not the first to comment on your cat. Just remember this, Reulan . . . there are more things in this world than even we Sun-priests can see. And I think you've walked straight into one of them.”

 

When Reulan set out on the last day of his journey, he was only hours away from Sunhame. By now the road had grown congested with people from all walks of life. As had become the case yesterday, Reulan was surrounded by a crowd of people who, for all their deference to a Sun-priest, couldn't refrain from making comments about Khar. Reulan set his face in a proper priestly expression, refusing to acknowledge the remarks supposedly made out of his hearing. Khar, of course, remained oblivious to the commotion he caused.

The outskirts of Sunhame came into view around a bend in the road, a road that was now broad and paved with large flat cobbles. As had been the case when Reulan had seen it first, the capital of Karse seemed overwhelming. Born and raised in the country, Reulan had found it hard to believe so many people could live in one place. The six months he had spent in his final studies before being elevated to the priesthood had not lessened that feeling. Today was no different. The buildings were huge. The press of people amazing. The noise, the confusion, the smells . . .

And now, people were pointing in his direction. The crowds created so much noise that Reulan could not hear what was being said. From the expressions on people's faces, some great lord and his escort had been caught up by the press of people behind him. But when he looked over his shoulder, all he saw was a sea of faces, and each one of them seemed to be staring at him.

Or, he admitted uncomfortably, at the cat.

He glanced down at Khar, who walked very close to him now to avoid being stepped on by the unwary person or horse. The cat's appearance was slightly different . . . his tail, face and legs appeared a darker shade of cream. But that plume of a tail was held straight up and there was a spring to Khar's step that Reulan had not seen before. Fish. It had to be fish. Close as Sunhame lay to a broad, slow moving river, and to both Ruby Lake and its smaller companion, Lake Mist, fish would be readily at hand.

The buildings loomed taller now, over three, sometimes four, stories. The closer one drew to the center of Sunhame, the more impressive the architecture. The capital was laid out in the shape of a wheel, or a Sun Disk, with the Temple holding the center and twelve main roads leading out from that center. Reulan glanced up and saw faces looking down from many of those windows. The noise of the crowd grew even louder and people leaned out from those windows, pointing downward. Vkandis Sunlord! What was going on? Once more, he glanced over his shoulder, certain he would find a procession or something of the sort that could be causing all the commotion. Again, he saw nothing but wide-eyed faces staring at him and the cat that walked at his side.

There are more things in this world than even we Sun-priests can see,
his friend Jaskhi had said.
And I think you've walked straight into one of them.

Reulan quickened his pace. The sun was near its zenith and he wanted to be standing with the rest of the people at the Temple when the Solstice occurred. He knew from past experience he was too late to attend the service inside the Temple. And with no Son of the Sun to lead the ceremonies, the great sanctuary would be packed by senior priests and those who had staked their claims on the best spots to see and be seen.

He heard someone cry out, but couldn't distinguish the words. Nervous now, he kept his eyes straight forward and concentrated on ignoring the growing noise of the crowd. Though he walked down a clogged street, no one bumped into him or, for that matter, even came close. He and Khar walked in a small circle of emptiness and that fact alone made Reulan more jittery than ever.

Vkandis Sunlord,
he prayed.
Protect me!
He didn't include Khar in that prayer, quite certain the cat could more than take care of himself.

More shouting broke out, but Reulan couldn't see far enough ahead to tell what was happening. But when the road rose upward toward the Temple at the highest point in the city, he began to see what was going on. A crowd of Black-robes, Red-robes and White-robes plowed through the crowd, swimming upstream as it were against the tide of travelers headed toward the Temple. Reulan swallowed heavily. Something was happening here . . . something of great importance. And he didn't have a clue as to what it was.