Free The Persistence of Memories - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe by Jon Chaisson

all dessert
trays were taken away, and goblets of wine were offered. Nehalé
sipped very slowly from his, relishing the moment.
    Ampryss stood then, silently watching over
her Council of Elders. She commanded such respect that, seconds
later, all talking had ceased and the entire table fell quiet. Even
the trees in the distance seemed to calm to her request, all silent
except for a breeze rustling through branches. “Peace, Love and
Light to all of you,” she said, nodding slowly at everyone. “I
bring to you the Mendaihu Gharra who brought forth the Ninth
Embodiment of the One of All Sacred, Dennise Jeannette Johnson.
Nehalé, please introduce yourself.”
    Nehalé managed a thin and nervous smile and
bowed to the twenty or so people in attendance. “Peace, Love and
Light to all of you,” he said in the best voice he could muster. “I
am Nehalé Usarai si Dhumélis si Kariktas, and Warrior of the One of
All Sacred.”
    Peace, Love and Light, Nehalé , they
said in unison.
    He shuddered from the effect; he hadn’t
expected them all to respond within like that. He cleared his
throat and continued. “Sa’im taftika, emha si edha. I'm honored to
have been welcomed so warmly to Trisanda, to our ancestral
home.”
    A heavyset bearded man leaned across the
table and offered his hand. “Welcome, sehnadha. I am Roshan
Eiyashné si Dhumélis si Shaleii. I'm a Mendaihu for the ARU up in
NewCanta. Seems we're close neighbors. You did an excellent job on
the Awakening ritual. Best one I've ever witnessed.”
    Nehalé warmed to the man instantly and shook
his hand, thanking him multiple times for the ARU’s assistance up
and down the eastern shore. He felt the twinges of Mendaihu emotion
flashing through him, more intensely than before. He felt more
relaxed now, to the point that he was beginning to believe the
Council of Elders really had accepted him. Perhaps not as an equal,
but at least an ally.
    “Thank you, Nehalé,” Ampryss said, smiling at
him. “My dear sehnadha, as I am sure you are aware, we have brought
you here to discuss the fate of the One of All Sacred.”
    “Odd choice of words,” he replied.
    Bemused, Ampryss tilted her head at him, as
if he had spoken out of turn. “You believe the One is above the
whims of fate? We are all tied to fate, in one way or another,
edha. But we must constantly remind ourselves not to be ruled by
it. The One of All Sacred has not ascended. Though she has the
mastery of Lightwalking and wielding energies of Light and Spirit,
she is still a vulnerable fifteen year-old Gharné. I have summoned
all of you here because I have reason to believe that the Shenaihu
nuhm'ndah are going to make their next move very soon, and we need
as many Protectors of the One as we can possibly have, to surround
her at all times.
    “What about her sister?” Nehalé asked. “She's
a Protector. Why isn't she here?”
    He detected a hint of sadness in her eyes.
“She is not yet ready to visit Trisanda. Although she has fully
awakened, and she has shown considerable improvement in her
Mendaihu abilities, she is not yet ready. She won't be until we
have more sehndayen-ne of the Mendaihu set up around the city. I
applaud your efforts so far, Nehalé, but I'm afraid we need much more, and in a very short amount of time.”
    Nehalé nodded, and slowly eased himself back
into his seat as Ampryss laid out her plans to move as many
sehndayen-ne volunteers towards Bridgetown as soon as possible. He
only half-listened though, because he’d already guessed what her
plans were. She did what she could from a distance, relying on this
Council of Elders to take action. She could not leave Trisanda, not
while she was the Watcher of Worlds. And that was her downfall.
    Ampryss was avoiding the obvious: whatever
the Mendaihu did, the Shenaihu answered back with equal force. Each
side would throw a volley, the other would reciprocate. Every
Mendaihu-Shenaihu skirmish had ended exactly the same way, with
damage to both