“You should tell that to Ta’sradala,” I said, unwillingly amused by Nalan’s philosophic ruminations. “Some of us are pretty bigoted on Recca, I admit, buthersense of superiority is truly out of thisworld.”
“Well, of course, sheisTua,” Arala said, but stopped herself when she saw me bristle. “Oh, well, it’s not likely we could ever agree on that. You don’t know enough about us to have an accurateopinion.”
“That’s true, I guess, but I can’t respect anyone who blatantly abuses their power,” I said. “I guess there are good and bad Tua, just as there are good and bad mages or humans. But a bully is abully.”
As we continued the discussion, I was impressed by how quickly they grasped concepts and ideas based only on what they’d seen in my mind. Broghan was curled up on a bench nearby, and his eyes flicked back and forth between us attentively, as if he were following the whole conversation. I wondered if he understood everything that was beingsaid.
“I am especially interested in meeting your absent friend, this Polar/Fenris individual,” Alara said. “He is like you in some ways, Sunaya, and yet so very different, judging by his memories as compared toyours.”
“Oh! Right,” I said, remembering belatedly that they would have looked at Fenris’s memories too. No wonder they’d been so fascinated—he’d seen much more of the world than I had, and was a scholar of magic and magical history. “Hopefully I’ll get to see him again soon. I was so relieved when he called Iannis and confirmed that he was alive andwell.”
“I’m certain he’ll return to you soon, no matter the danger,” Nalan said confidently. “He cares for you and Iannis very much—he will not abandon youentirely.”
After the meal, we continued our conversation with a walk on the grounds. Broghan accompanied us in eagle form, soaring overhead as the Tua led me through the gardens of their giganticestate.
“I would like to learn more about this First Mage that your mages worship,” Alara said as we walked along the edge of a shimmering purple pond. Giant red water lilies floated along the surface, and I caught a glimpse of multi-finned green fish swimming beneath the surface. “Fenris knew a lot about her teachings, but he had little information about her early life and origins. Does anyone know where she camefrom?”
“That’s a better question for Fenris or Iannis,” I said ruefully. “I’m still very new at being a mage and only learned about Resinah a yearago.”
“Hmm,” Nalan said, a distant but thoughtful expression on his face. “It seems that Fenris has heard about some memoirs written by her first disciples. Some of them have been lost forever, and others are kept locked up as sacred relics by their descendants. He has never been able to get at these records, though they are on his…bucket list, you callit?”
I suppressed a laugh—the Tua had expressed bafflement at Northian slang terms more than once. “A bucket list is a list of things that you want to accomplish before you die,” I said. “Fenris is a scholar, so of course something like that would be on thelist.”
“What if Resinah was one of us?” Alara asked suddenly, her face brightening at the possibility. “She might very well have been amongst the first Tua to cross over to the human realm, and may have taken it upon herself to bring magic to yourpeople.”
“There seem to be reports that she was extraordinarily tall for a human,” Nalan said. “Perhaps she adjusted her size to fit inbetter?”
“You mean like Ta’sradala did?” I asked. “She’s tall, but nothing like you guys when I first sawyou.”
Nalan nodded. “She would be taller than even us in our realm, since she is much older. But we would frighten you if we walked through Recca in our natural forms, so it is only natural that we would shrink down to a more manageablesize.”
I snorted at that. Eight feet was still considered freakishly tall by anyone’s standards, especially for a woman. But, admittedly, it wasn’t unheard of, whereas a thirty-foot tall giant would definitely attractattention.
“I don’t know about that theory,” I said after I’d thought about it for a moment. “The mages believe that Resinah’s power came directly from the Creator, and by all accounts, she wasn’t the type of person to create a whole religion based on a lie.” The mages back home would be outraged at the very suggestion. Could the same race have produced a Resinahanda Ta’sradala? They were like night andday.
Nalan shrugged a broad shoulder. “I don’t see how it is a lie. Our own powers come from theCreator.”
So they believed in the Creator, too. “Is Resinah a Tua name?” Iasked.
“Well, no. And your magic language, Loranian, does not resemble ours at all. But she would have used an alias while on such a mission and made up an entirely new language,” Nalan speculated. “That would be as easy as a child’s game for any ofus.”
“It would be very out of character for a Tua to go live amongst humans and pose as one of them,” Alara admitted. “But we too have our share of curious and eccentric individuals, and Resinah could have been one of them. If mages are descended from our race, it would explain why they have longer lifespans than ordinary humans. And why mages from Manuc, where we Tua most often visit, live so much longer than those in othercountries.”
“About that,” I said warily, looking them up and down again. “Given your huge size, it is a bit surprising that you can have children with humans atall.”
“Why?” Alara said. “We can take any form or size at will—just look at Broghan. We are able to breed with any race we run across, no matter how exotic—not that we would necessarily careto.”
“Coming back to our original subject—the legend that the First Mage did not die, but merely vanished during an ocean voyage, implies that she may very well have returned to the Tua realm,” Nalan said in a reasonable voice. “Or perhaps she has gone on to explore another worldentirely.”
I scowled. He spoke as if she was still alive, when the First Mage had died over four thousand years ago. “If that’s the case, then why is it that she still responds to petitioners in her own temples?” I asked. “I’ve personally spoken to her on more than one occasion. If she’s gone off to some other world, or back to the Tua realm, then how is it that she still hears and answersus?”
The Tua fell silent for a long moment. “You make a very good point,” Alara finally said. “We shall have to investigate this further. Surely there are records that will tell us who went missing from the Tua realm within the relevant timeperiod.”
“Yes, I believe there are,” Nalan concurred. “What a delightful little mystery you’ve given us, Sunaya! This will keep us busy for some time. And if we are right, then you are our very remote relative.” He grinned down atme.
“I still don’t know that your theory makes sense,” I pointed out, not wanting them to get too attached to the possibility. “Only some mages are direct descendants of the First Mage anyway. Legend has it that she was able to transmit her mage power to the other disciples, which is how power was passed down through other family lines. Are the Tua able to dothat?”
“Of course we can,” Nalan said, sounding a bit miffed. “It is no trouble at all to gift a small measure of power to someone else—our own magic regenerates quickly enough, so it is no loss tous.”
