Interlude: Kyrian & Aviana

Kyrian clawed his way out of a feverish dream to find his mother leaning over him, softly singing. The soothing sound brought his nerves back in line, and soon his breathing was normal, if a little raspy.

"You've been sleeping all day," Aviana said, stroking his forehead. "Barak's been treating you, but it doesn't help. May have to sweat this one out."

Kyrian groaned and sat up with some effort. He was in a bed in a shared room; he wondered if it belonged to one of his friends. "Have you been here the whole time?" he asked.

"Pretty much," she replied. "I've had to get up and stretch and have a look around once or twice. This place is amazing!"

Before he could stop himself, Kyrian said "This is my father's school," and a shadow fell across his mother's face. He wanted to apologize, but hadn't really said anything wrong, so a deadly silence crept into the space between them.

"They told me he's dead," Aviana finally said. Seeing her son nod, she said "I'm sure you've wondered why I've never told you about him."

"No," Kyrian lied. "Your reasons are yours alone."

"I want to tell you; I'm just not sure if I can. Your father was... a powerful man, Kyrian."

"He was a god pretending to be a man."

"I believe it," she said, her face showing only the slightest flicker of surprise. "I was drawn to him; all of the women of the Valley were. He'd stopped coming around by the time you and Olena were born, but I could smell his power on you both. I was sure he'd come for you someday, or that you'd go to him. Still, I wanted to hold on to you till that day came. So, I never told you. I'm sorry, it was selfish of me, I know, but..."

"Don't be sorry. He wasn't always the man you and my friends knew. He has another daughter, Demaris... he was vile to her. Every day I thank the gods that Olena and I were raised by you, and not by Nymbus."

"Nymbus!" Aviana exclaimed. "That was his name."

"Yes. Did you... see much of him, Mother?"

She seemed to have a hard time remembering. "You could say that."

"Then you knew him well?"

"No, I wouldn't say that. Unless you mean as a lover; that, I can tell you about." Not sensing her son's discomfort, she went on: "He was exciting... curious, and attentive... but distant. Oh, he feigned passion well enough - maybe he wanted to feel it, too - but he didn't fool me."

"I don't like much of what I've learned about Nymbus, Mother. He's... he was... I'm afraid that I'm becoming like him."

Aviana kissed her son's forehead, and his worries dissipated, if only for an instant. "Why would you think something like that?" she said.

"I don't know... Demaris has renounced her father, which makes me feel like his heir. I don't know, Mother. No matter how smart I might be, sometimes I can barely think at all. My feelings are so confusing! There are times I wish I could just... turn my heart off. And, to me, that sounds like Nymbus. Like someone pretending to be human."

Aviana dragged her chair closer to the bed, and shifted her son's position so that Kyrian's head rested on her shoulder. She petted his head again, saying, "Whatever Nymbus may have been, or done, he gave me you, and he gave me your sister. I've loved you all your lives; I'll love you till the stars turn cold. You two are the best thing that's ever happened to me, Kyrian. Never forget that.

"And take it from me; you'll never turn your heart off. I know it too well, son. Whatever legacy he's given you, use it to become your own man. Make your own luck. Find your own truth."

Kyrian mulled this over, then said, "I'm sorry about the Valley."

"It wasn't your fault."

"That... woman... was looking for the key. The gift that Nymbus gave you. They murdered the Valley trying to find it."

"Why?" asked Aviana.

"I'm not sure. I thought he didn't need the keys anymore; maybe we were the target. Either way, there are more crystals out in the world, getting bigger by the minute... and keys that go with them. We've got to get those keys before any more lives are ruined."

"You sound like Olena," said the naiad.

"I know. She told me about this village that Sulveig's soldiers had attacked... they slew all the men, and maimed the women. Cut their tongues out." Aviana drew a sharp breath, but Kyrian continued anyway. "They were just innocent people, caught in evil's path. Olena and her group were... bothered by that. So they rescued them, and the fellows from Cormyr brought them back here to the school, and taught them to fight."

"Those women were villagers? I never would have guessed. What happened with their tongues, then?"

"Barak. He learned a new power and came all the way back here, just so he could heal them."

"Really," Aviana said.

"You should have seen the women's faces! I've never seen gratitude like that. And he did it without expecting any reward. It gave me a lot to think about. In truth, it just brought new focus to things I'd already been thinking about, for a long time.

"Anyhow, Barak and Jenan were talking before we left the school. They both wanted to go out into the world, to make things better than they are, somehow. Now, I understand what they mean. Now, I want to do the same thing."

Kyrian waited for his mother's reply, continuing when none came. "My psionic powers - I don't fully understand them, but my talents for fighting, sneaking, hiding - killing - are increasing. I'm still not very good, but pitting myself against these enemies is the only way I'll learn. Hunting these... villains who use psionics to hurt others is my true calling. I only wish it hadn't taken the death of our Valley to make me realize it."

"If you hunt villains, does that make you a hero?" Aviana asked.

"No," he said at once. "Just the right man for the job."

Aviana smiled. "I'm proud of you, Kyrian. I know Olena will be, too."

"She's in love, Mother."

"Really?" Sparks danced in the naiad's eyes. "With whom?"

Kyrian told his mother everything that Olena had told him about Oren. "That doesn't sound like the best match," Aviana finally said. "Oh well, she might find something better. Still, as long as she's happy."

"She is."

"And what about you, Kyrian? Did you find someone to love?"

"Me? No." He thought about keeping this secret from her, as he had from Olena, but it was no use. "I mean, I did. But I didn't figure it out in time."

"Tell me about her."

Kyrian did so; though he found it exhausting, it was also liberating. The story grew to encompass his entire journey; he had to punch it up here and there as Aviana's attention span started to wander. When he was done, she said, "So you didn't take any lovers at the caravanserai?"

"What? No."

"And the women here at the school? You didn't claim a little gratitude for yourself?"

"No! Mother!"

"Why not, Kyrian? It's just sex."

"Because it's... I'm..." He presses his fingertips to the corners of his eyes. "Because human women confuse me, Mother, even more than fey women. They're so vague! None of them seem to be interested in me. Or maybe they are, and I can't tell. Or maybe they pretend to be, to get me to do what they want."

Aviana laughed. "Yep, a fey woman doesn't play those games. You'll only learn by playing, though."

"All right, so what if I do land a woman? I'm not... I don't know if I can satisfy one."

"Why not? Don't you remember what I taught you?"

"Of course!" Kyrian could feel his fever coming on again. "But knowing what to do and doing it... for the first time? Very different."

"Again, you won't know till you try. Get out there, son. Sow some wild oats."

Kyrian's eyelids fluttered, and he yawned again. "I don't know if I can do that."

"Why not? Try. Just because your poor sister wants to chain herself to one man doesn't mean you have to do the same. With a woman, I mean."

"Means that much to you, does it?"

"Of course."

"If I promise to try, will you let me sleep?"

"Sure."

"Then I promise."

"Say it, Kyrian."

"I promise," he said, sighing, "to sleep with a girl the next chance I get."

"Don't just sleep with her; have sex with her."

"That's what I meant."

He felt his mother's lips on his cheek, heard her voice, strangely disconnected. "Love you, son."

"Love you too, Mother," he mumbled, as he fell into sleep's embrace again.

He dreamed of flying over a sea of women, recognizing the upturned faces of Jacynth and Hypatia amongst the strangers. He also saw Daine glaring up at him, and next to her was Lorthane, in a revealing outfit, tossing a wink his way.

When he woke, hours later, Kyrian realized that he hadn't seen Ligeia. Stranger still, in the dream, he hadn't even thought to look for her...