He nodded. “Early attempts weren’t successful. Notes from those experiments remain, classified as portal research, not Shadow research. She doesn’t think they would ever have thought of moving the way I move—for what she hopes are obvious reasons. Not that it wasn’t tried in earlier times—for war,” Terrano added. “But those intrepid researchers didn’t survive their early attempts.
“This, however, is different. One of the strongest elementalists of our race—a fire mage—found that he could walk through fire. With will and effort, he could use fire as a portal; the fire existed everywhere, or could. I believe Ollarin is powerful enough he could do the same: he could walk through the water to a destination of his choice. That’s Serralyn, by the way.”
“I guessed.”
“She’s thinking that Shadow might once have been very much like an element—but a different force, a later force. Life didn’t depend on it—or not our lives. Not the lives of the races we know and interact with. It’s possible that the Wevaran or the Ancestors touched Shadow as a primal, early force—a transformative force.
“That part, she’s less certain of. Whole races were born, and whole races went extinct. The library was not yet created, andthe notes about those vanished early races were... not like our books.
“There is evidence that some of the Ancients were aligned with all the elements, and Shadow was one—either discovered or created. Starrante thinks it was actually discovered, but he does not share a language with the archive itself, and attempting to decode the ancient recording has proved difficult. There are archives that are calledbooksby the librarians—but they’re not books at all. They’re not writing in any way we understand writing. Starrante has been focused on Shadow as an elemental force, not as the heart ofRavellon.
“Shadow as it exists now seems to be a primal force with will, intent, command. Just as earth, fire, air, and water have crude will and intent.”
Kaylin frowned. “I’ve been to the Keeper’s garden. The whole purpose of that garden is toquietthe destructive intent of the wild elements. But that intent—and the enmity of each element for all the others—exists as part of their nature; they desire dominance and total control. Which would pretty much kill all of us, no matter which won, if there was a winner.
“We don’t fear the wild elements. We don’t fear their attempts to control us. But they exist. You’ve never seen the garden when things are unstable. I have.”
“And your point?”
“Shadow isn’t part of the garden. Maybe there are no boundaries and no cages that have stopped that primal force—if itisa primal force—from gaining dominance.”
“But if that were the case, the Shadow in the green would have had some intent, some will, surely?” An’Tellarus seemed almost annoyingly amused. “Yes, Severn, I think I definitely understand why you never thought to mention the young lady.”
Terrano cleared his throat. “Serralyn thinks there’s some merit to what you’re suggesting.”
“What was I suggesting?”
“That Shadow exists in a fashion similar to elements. There’s Shadow as we perceive it, which is what the Towers were created to cage, and Shadow as elemental force, as something that can, like fire or water or earth, be used as a source of power. Arbiter Starrante’s research implies your guess could be true.”
Kaylin frowned. “You think Yvonne’s injury wasn’t an attempt at invasion?”
“It was definitely an attempt to injure—but you’ve seen the effects of Shadow that breach the barriers surroundingRavellon. It’s transformative; it takes over, mutates, and changes physical forms. People don’t summon fire elementals to transform things. They summon them to destroy, or threaten to destroy, things.”
“So it might be likely that the Shadow used is, for want of a better word, inert?”
“Serralyn considers that not a better word, for what it’s worth.”
“Helen, would you sense that?”
“You carried something that definitely contained Shadow into the house, at least according to your memories. And Terrano’s and Mandoran’s. I cannot sense it. Hope believes it is not a danger to you.”
Kaylin frowned. Eyes narrowed, she turned to Terrano. “Is it still there?”
He grimaced. “I can’t see it from where I’m standing.”
“Could you see it if you were standing in a different place?”
“Helen?” Terrano asked, the name suspiciously inflected with whining.
“We’ve been experimenting—carefully and judiciously—since Terrano’s return,” Helen said. “But the paths used by the assassins—for want of a better word—aren’t Terrano’s method of travel. I did not judge it wise to attempt to reach that space from within my own perimeters except when heavily supervised.”
Kaylin opened her mouth. Closed it again. She could hear voices, now. She glanced at Mrs. Erickson; Mrs. Erickson was trying very hard not to stare at Yvonne. To Kaylin’s eyes, Yvonne hadn’t changed. But sound had changed in this room, and the scent of the air was heavy with growth.
“I think those of us who can should head upstairs.”
“Annarion’s not going to let everyone in.” Byeveryone, Terrano clearly meant An’Tellarus.
She felt Severn’s hesitation, but he said nothing. Yvonne, to Severn, wasn’t dangerous in the way An’Tellarus could be—but she wasn’t safe, either. Was it the ghosts Mrs. Erickson could see but couldn’t touch or speak with? Was it Yvonne’s interaction with the Lake, or before it, the green?