Distant Communication

The man sat on his circle for what seemed like an eternity. His hands moving across the polish stone, while the candles burned and he chalked up strange symbols on the floor, on the edges of the circle he sat on. He mumbled strange words and took sips of the amber coloured liquid in the vials so often.

Shalia had seen this before. The Bonecaster would try and connect with another of his kind across vast distances. Once contact was made, she would sit inside the second circle he drew. On the other side Koshnem would do the same. By placing their hands on the stones they would be able to speak to each other through the Bonecasters.

It was always fascinating to watch how they could communicate across vast distances. Same old Odonine myths even claimed that Bonecasters of old could send messages across time. But this was of course unfounded.

An hour later Shalia saw the Bonecaster's eyes turn white as if rolling in the back of his head and reaching out to touch the stone. She moved into her circle and sat down reaching out with her fingertips to touch it also.

"I trust all goes well and the treaty has been accepted?" She heard the Bonecaster saying knowing he spoke Koshnem's words.

Hearing the indirect voice of the War Chieftain was music to her ears. Almost. Shalia could imagine the growly, gravelly harshness of his voice booming into the air and she remembered how comforting of a sound it was to her, like a blanket of security. She nearly smiled. So close she felt like she could reach out and touch the leader.

But they were miles apart and right now she had the feeling she’d only disappoint him. Her flurry had dissipated before the Bonecaster arrived, but that feeling stung enough to threaten its return.

“The treaty is currently on the table. If all ends of it are upheld and Ostiarium falls, the foreigners suffer a massive blow and Odsier land will be given to us and the Ozainae.” Shalia swallowed hard with a knot in her throat, the scroll sitting rolled up in her lap for reminder as if its words weren't pounded into her skull by this point. "Though, I have developed some deep concerns after my inquiry..."

"Firstly, the Sand Horde will only be of any military assistance to us if Sister Locust chooses to raise them, and in order for that to happen, we will have to wait for her next incarnation to take action. The current one doesn’t find it her duty for some reason. I am told that the process is long, complex, and unpredictable. No one knows when it will happen, therefore we will never know when the Horde will be available to us until it is, which greatly weakens our planning stability. We also do not know how long until our tensions with Ostiarium rise or the alliance crumbles. The emissary stated there are agents working to target their infrastructure, but that will not be enough.”

“Second, just this morning, the slave I recently acquired and an Aghul guard were sent to the market while I was at the meeting. There the guard was attacked and wounded, and my slave was then kidnapped and interrogated. Both were delivered back to my quarters eventually and I am unsure of the guard's condition other than that he is currently alive. The Sand Horde is responsible as they shamelessly told my slave. I do not trust them after what has transpired this day. Not at all.”

She paused with a heavy breath. Her fingers on the stone began to have a slight tremble and her heartbeat thumped louder in her ears. The words she would speak next she never could have thought herself saying aloud to him after everything.

“I have been loyal to you for years now, and I have never once disagreed with your wishes. This time things are different…so much uncertainty. I advise against this treaty, Koshnem, but I mean that with the most respect to you. This is not what you wanted to hear as it would derail your plans moving forward, but in the end it is your call.”

As if a fixture in the room, Islana remained quiet and still, having years of practice in such things helped.

The young woman got up once to check on the guard, who hadn't woken up yet, but her movements were so subtle they likely wouldn't have been noticed. Then it was back to stillness, so, much so it would have been easy to forget her presence.

The ritual was watched with an intense curiosity. There had been no description of what was occuring but there was a certain amount of figuring it out and some guessing. Islana might have picked a word out or two of what Shalia said, but overall couldn't make it out, not that it likely mattered.

Looking towards the nesting falcon, Islana realized, given the wing injury what likely happened was that the guards found Kaithak and brought him back here. Maybe, just the one that has taught her some Odonine had brought him back, either way, it was far more kindness than the young woman had expected from them. She had no idea what to even do with that thought process, first Shalia, now this - they were getting to her.