Stone of Tears

Chapter 28

Naked under the sun’s fury, the parched, dead flat ground stretched endlessly before them, in the distance offering up shimmering images to waver and dance in the sun’s furnace glare, like phantom hostages surrendered to an omnipotent foe. Behind, the fractured hills ended in a bank of rocky rubble. The silence was as oppressive as the heat.

Richard wiped sweat from his brow on the back of his sleeve. The leather of his saddle creaked as he shifted his weight while he waited. Bonnie and the other two horses waited, too, their ears pricked ahead, as they occasionally pawed the cracked, dry earth and voiced apprehensive snorts.

Sister Verna sat motionless atop Jessup, scrutinizing the nothingness of the distance as if viewing an event of great import. Except for the way her brown curls hung limp, she didn’t appear to be affected by the heat.

“I don’t understand this weather. It’s winter; I’ve never heard of it being hot like this in winter.”

“The weather is different in different places,” she murmured.

“No it’s not. When it’s winter, it’s cold. It’s only hot like this in high summer.”

“Have you ever seen snow on mountaintops in the summer?”

Richard reversed the positions of his hands resting on the pommel. “Yes. But that’s just on mountaintops. The air is colder up there. We’re not on a mountaintop.”

Still she did not move. “Not just mountaintops have different weather. In the south the weather is not so cold as it is in the north. But this place is different still. It’s like an inexhaustible well of heat.”

“And just what is this place?”

“The Valley of the Lost,” she whispered.

“Who was lost in it?”

“Those who created it, and whoever enters.” At last she turned a bit to peer at him. “It’s the end of the world. Your world, anyway.”

He shifted his weight to the other side when Bonnie did the same. “If it’s the end of the world, why are we here?”

Sister Verna held her hand up to the land behind. “Just as there is Westland, where you were born, separated from the Midlands, and the Midlands from D’Hara, so, too, are those lands separated from what lies on the far side of this place.”

Richard frowned. “And what lies on the other side of here?”

She turned back to the expanse before them. “You lived in the New World. Across this valley lies the Old World.”

“The Old World? I never heard of the Old World.”

“Few in the New World have. It has been sealed away and forgotten. This valley, the Valley of the Lost, separates them, much the same way the boundary used to separate the three lands of the New World. The last of the country we have been crossing has been inhospitable, a desert wasteland. Anyone venturing through it and into this valley never returns. People think there is nothing beyond, that this is the southern end of the Midlands and D’Hara, with nothing beyond but what you see here: an endless waste, where one could die of thirst and hunger and you could have your bones baked by the heat of the sun.”

Richard eased Bonnie up next to the Sister. “So, what is beyond? And why can’t anyone cross? And if no one can cross, how can we?”

She looked over out of the corner of her eye. “Simple questions, but not simply answered.” She relaxed back in her saddle a little. “The land between the New and the Old Worlds narrows somewhat, with the sea to each side.”

“The sea?”

“You have never seen the ocean?”

Richard shook his head. “In Westland, it lies far to the south, and people don’t live there. Or, so I’ve been told. I’ve heard others speak of the ocean, but I’ve never seen it. They say it’s more vast than any lake ever imagined.”

Sister Verna gave him a little smile. “They speak true.” She turned ahead, pointing off to the right. “Some distance that way lies the sea.” She pointed left, to the southeast. “Off even farther in that direction is also the sea. Though the land is vast between them, it is still the narrowest place between the New and the Old Worlds. Because of that, a war was fought here. A war between wizards.”

Richard straightened in his saddle. “Wizards? What war?”

“Yes, wizards. It was ages ago, when there were many wizards. What you see before you is the result of that war. It’s all that remains, as a reminder, of what wizards who have more power than wisdom can conjure.”

He didn’t like the accusing look she gave him. “Who won?”

At last she folded her hands over the pommel of her saddle and let her shoulders relax a bit. “No one. The two sides were separated by this land between the seas. Though the fighting may have stopped, no one prevailed.”

Richard leaned around for a waterskin. “How about a drink?”

With a small smile, she took the skin as he handed it over and took a long draw. “This valley is an example of what can happen when your heart, rather than your head, rules your magic.” Her smile evaporated. “Because of what they did, the peoples of the two worlds are separated for all time. It is one reason the Sisters of the Light work to teach those with the gift—so they will not act out of foolishness.”

“What were they fighting about?”

“What do wizards ever fight about? They fought over which wizards should rule.”

“I was told something about a wizard’s war over whether or not wizards should rule at all.”

She handed back the waterskin and wiped her lips with one finger. “That was a different war, yet part of the same. After this place separated the two sides, some of each camp were trapped on the New World side. Both groups had gone to enforce their rule on those who had traveled to live in the New World, and on those who had always lived there.

“Once trapped, one side went into hiding for centuries and worked to build their strength before they attempted to seize power over all the New World. The war that had burned long ago flared again, until their force was defeated, except for a few who fled into their stronghold in D’Hara.” She lifted an eyebrow to him. “Kin of yours, I believe.”

Richard glared at her for a long moment before finally taking a swig of the hot water. He dribbled a little on a strip of cloth—something Kahlan had taught him—and tied it around his head, both to cool his brow and hold back his lengthening hair. Richard hooked the waterskin back on his saddle. “So what happened here?”

She swept her hand once from the southeast to the southwest. “Where the land was narrowest, here, not only armies but wizards did battle, and sought to prevent one another from advancing. The wizards laid down spells, conjuring every sort of magic, in an attempt to snare their opponents. Both sides, equally, unleashed wickedness of unspeakable horror and danger. That is what lies ahead.”

Richard stared at her glazed expression. “You mean to say that their magic, their spells, are still out there?”

“Unabated.”

“How can that be? Wouldn’t they wear away? Fade?”

“Perhaps.” She sighed. “But they did more. To maintain the power of their spells they built structures to sustain the force.”

“What structures could do that?”

Sister Verna still stared out at nothing, or perhaps, to things he couldn’t see. “The Towers of Perdition,” she whispered.

Richard stroked Bonnie’s neck and waited. At last, Sister Verna seemed to dismiss her private thoughts with a deep breath and continued.

“From one sea to the other, both sides built opposing lines of these towers, invested with their power and wizardry. They were begun at the sea, and came together here, in this valley. But because of the force of the towers each side built, neither side could get close enough to complete the last tower in their own line. What they had wrought ended in a stalemate, with each side prevented from completing their last tower. It allowed a weakened place in the magic. A gap.”

Richard shifted uneasily in his saddle. “If there’s a gap, then why can’t people cross?”

“It’s only a lessening in the full strength of the line. To each side, all the way across the hills and mountains, to land’s end, and beyond, out into the sea where it somewhere diminishes, Perdition’s line is impenetrable. To enter is to be claimed by the storms of spells, the magic. Any who enter would be killed, or worse—they could wander the brume forever.

“Here, in this valley, the deadlock prevented the completion of the last tower on each side that would have sealed the line. But the spells wander and drift between the gap, like thunderclouds drifting on the wind, clashing and coming together in places. Because of the weakness in this place, there is a maze that can be passed through by those with the gift. The clear passages are always shifting, and the spells cannot always be seen. They must be felt, with the gift. Still, it is not easy.”

“So that’s why the Sisters of the Light can make it through? Because they have the gift?”

“Yes. But only twice at most. The magic learns to find you. Long ago, Sisters who went through to the New World and returned were sent again, but none ever returned a second time.” Her gaze left his, seeking the distant emptiness. “They are in there, never to be found, or saved. The Towers of Perdition and its storms of magic claimed them.”

Richard waited until her eyes came back to him. “Perhaps, Sister, they became disaffected, and chose not to return. How would you know?”

Her expression sobered. “We know. Some who have been through have seen them”—she inclined her head toward the shimmering distance—“in there. I, myself, saw several.”

“I’m sorry, Sister Verna.” Richard thought about Zedd. Kahlan might find him, and tell him what had happened. He had to push away the painful memory of Kahlan. “So, a wizard could make it through.”

“Not a wizard of his full power. After we teach those with the gift to control it, they must be allowed to return before their power is fully developed. The whole purpose of the line is to prevent wizards from getting through. The fully developed power of a wizard would draw the spells as a magnet draws iron filings. It is they that the magic seeks; it is for them that the towers were built. They would be lost, just as would anyone who didn’t have some use of the gift to feel the gaps in the spells. Too little, or too much, and you are lost. That is why those who created the line could not complete it; the domain of the spells from the other side prevented them from entering. Their creation ended in deadlock.”

Richard felt his hopes sag. If Kahlan carried out his request to seek out his old friend, Zedd could not do anything to help him. Swallowing back the numbing loss of hope, he reached up and felt the dragon’s tooth hanging on the leather thong at his chest. “What about going over? Could something fly over?”

She shook her head. The spells extend up into the air, as they extend out into the sea. “Anything that can fly cannot fly high enough.”

“What about by sea? Could you sail far enough out to go around?”

Sister Verna shrugged. “I have heard tell that a few times throughout the ages it has been accomplished. In my life I have seen ships leave to attempt it, but I have never seen one return.”

Richard glanced back over his shoulder, but saw nothing. “Could . . . someone follow you through?”

“One or two, if they stayed close enough, as you must. Greater numbers would surely be lost. The pockets between spells are not large enough to allow many to follow.”

Richard thought in silence, at last asking, “Why hasn’t anyone destroyed the towers, so the spells could dissipate?”

“We’ve tried. It cannot be done.”

“Just because you haven’t found a way, Sister, that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.”

She gave him a sharp look. “The towers, and the spells, were created with the aid of not only Additive but also Subtractive Magic.”

Subtractive Magic! How could the wizards of old have learned to use Subtractive Magic? Wizards didn’t have command of Subtractive Magic. But then, Darken Rahl did. Richard gentled his tone. “How can the towers keep the spells from dissipating?”

Sister Verna worked her thumbs on the reins. “Each tower has a wizard’s life force in it.”

Despite the heat, Richard felt a chill. “You mean to say that a wizard gave his life force into the towers?”

“Worse. Each tower contains the life force of many wizards.”

Richard stared in numb shock at the thought of wizards giving up their lives to invest the towers with their life force. “How close are the towers?”

“It is said some are miles apart, some only yards. They are spaced according to the fabric of lines of power within the earth itself. We don’t understand the sense of this alignment. Since entering the line to find them would be death, we don’t even know how many towers there are. We know of only the few in this valley.”

Richard squirmed in his saddle. “Will we see any of the towers when we cross?”

“There’s no way to tell. The gaps shift constantly. Occasionally, on the way through, the openings take you close to a tower. I saw one on my first journey through. Some Sisters never saw one. I hope never to see another.”

Richard realized he was gripping the hilt of his sword with his left hand. The raised letters of the word TRUTH bit into his flesh. He relaxed his hand, releasing the hilt.

“So, what can we expect to see?”

Sister Verna broke her gaze into the distance and redirected it to him. “There are spells of every sort. Some are spells of despair. To be snared in one is to have your soul wander in despair for all time. Some are spells of joy and delight, in which one is lost in enchantment for all time. Some are pure destruction, and will tear you apart. Some will show you things you fear, to make you run into the clutches of things that lurk behind. Some tempt with things you hope for. If you give in to the desire . . .” She leaned closer to him. “You must stay close to me, keep going. You must ignore any desire you have, both fear and longing, to do otherwise. Do you understand?”

Richard finally nodded. Sister Verna returned her gaze to the shimmering forms. She sat motionless, watching. In the distance, beyond the wavering light, he thought he saw thunderheads, dark and ominous, drifting across the horizon. He felt more than heard their thunder. Somehow, he knew it wasn’t clouds, but magic. When Bonnie tossed her head, Richard gave her a reassuring pat on her neck.

After watching awhile, he looked over to the Sister. She sat still and tense.

“What are you waiting for, Sister? Courage?”

She answered without moving. “Exactly. I am waiting for courage, child.”

He felt no anger this time at her calling him “child,” but rather that it might be an appropriate characterization, as far as his abilities were concerned.

In a whisper, and still without looking away from the sunbaked inferno ahead, she went on. “You were still in swaddling clothes when I came through, but I remember every detail as if it happened yesterday. Yes, I am waiting for courage.”

He gave Bonnie a squeeze with his legs, urging her ahead. “The sooner we start, the sooner we’re through.”

“Or lost.” She walked her horse after him. “So anxious to be lost, Richard?”

“I’m already lost, Sister.”