galvarelli/calvin-meets-elder-in-temple.txt

Calvin followed the staircase the Zuuri had pointed out, and per his instructions, followed the path to the inner sanctum.
He knocked on the door, and waited.
Eventually, it opened, revealing a mountain goat, slightly bent over with age, using a walking stick.

He knelt.
―Hello, Elder.
	Please, grant me the honour of a few moments of your time.

She annoyedly hit his head lightly with the stick.

―You better get up, Calvin.
	We have things to talk about.
	Come in, sit down.

—Thank you, Elder Caprina, Calvin replied, standing and following her in.

The room was odd, with a mix of wood and stone floor and walls, and an open back with a glass window.
If anything, it seemed not quite to fit with the temple underneath it, and if Calvin had his inner map correct, this room would sit on the side of the Mountain.
Through the window, Calvin thought it might be supported on a little promontory of its own.

―I know we gave very little notice, but I believe it's a matter of grave importance for Galvarelli, and any help will be significant.

—Oh, don't worry about that, Calvin.
	Do you mind terribly if I call you Calvin?
	I always get a bit flustered trying to figure out whatever other titles people want to be called.

Calvin nodded.

—Wonderful.
	Call my Caprina too, there's no need for any of that Elder nonsense.
	You're worried because of Yakaterina's warning, right?

—How did you know?

—Calvin, it's my duty here at the Temple to know these things.
	Anyway, Yakaterina wrote often before her arrest.
	She studied here, you know.
	Probably more diligent than any other Hierarch, until she decided to test the freedoms your predecessor gave her.
	I felt her death, through the Meadowlark.
	I shall miss her passing, although I regret her ambition.
	Anyway, the New Voice.

	I felt it myself.
	A gentle whisper, at first.
	But it grew, and I felt it attacking my mind.
	I assumed it was a mistake, and tried to follow the source back to whoever created the attack.

	However, as I did, I found only hatred and malice at its source.
	I was only just able to escape back to myself.
	Only fragments of information came to me, the most important of which being the great distance that separated me from the attacker.
	But it was too far for me to travel, and I felt it was not my fight to win.
	I resolved myself to remain here, helping any who were being afflicted by the terrible insanity the New Voice inflicted upon them.

—Is that something you could help me teach others?
	To fight the Voice's hold on the mind?

—I'm afraid not, Calvin.
	Not unless we could go to each person, one at a time, giving them centuries of training.
	But there's more.
	Calvin, do you know about the creation of our kinds?

Calvin shook his head, lightly.
Whatever he did know would be embarrassingly small in front of an Elder.

—It goes back, all the way back.
	To the legacy of the Fourth and Fifth Races, Man and Beast.
	The Ancestral Voices, which became known as the Great Voices, helped them commune with the powers of the Sentries of old.
	But they were not alone.
	The Aery was founded and grew, a seed around which the Birds became a society.
	The Voice of the Birds had always been hard to hear, but the Birds acting at one gave it great power.
	And then, it became obvious that balance was needed.
	The Hidden Lands were created, for the Voiced Beasts, Voiced Birds and the Voiced Men, who became the Dwarrowfolk, alone.

	The Unvoiced you enjoy so much were kept alone for their own safety, although as you know they thrived.
	And the Hidden Lands were divided in Three.
	But between those borders, space unclaimed remained.
	There, the powers of the Voices Ancestral lost some of their structure and mingled.
	But that is not all, as far as I can tell.
	Some other force, a power primeval, cast its lot with the people between the Thredings.
	These people, corrupted power unbound by nation or species, are known as the Witches.

—Witches?

—Indeed.
	And when I followed the corruption of the Meadowlark back to its source, I found a horrible power looking back at me.
	I suspect that it was a powerful Witch.
	Calvin, if Galvarelli has made an enemy this powerful, you will need to learn how to use the applied Meadowlark.
	The Witches' power is subtle, and unique.

—Yakaterina said the same thing, had me pick up an old manual.
	And my moments of experimentation were not promising.
	Respectfully, Elder Caprina, I don't believe that course is for me.
	The Hierarchy has long stood in opposition to the Republic and our values.
	I know that we must tolerate them, but that does not mean I feel comfortable embracing their ways.

—Calvin, the Hierarchy guards the Meadowlark as a trust for all Beasts.
	Their rules, their traditions, it's all not just for tradition's sake.
	They engender a power in those who follow them, aiding them in their path towards the higher aspects of the Meadowlark.
	But anyway, there are other paths to the Meadowlark.
	The Hierarchy is a yak invention, a remnant of Emperor Yakob.
	Don't let your prejudice against them colour your future, Calvin.
	Tell me of your experimentation.

Calvin told her of turning the stone table into live soil.

—Caprina, even if I were to start practicing, learning how to use the Meadowlark, how much would I really learn?
	I doubt a novice is going to gain any real power, or any real control.

—There are a few members of the Hierarchy with skill, and control.
	But not many.

She looked thoughtful.

―You yourself said that you don't trust the Hierarchy.
	Even if you don't gain strength, you'll gain knowledge.
	You can't hope to fight something that lies completely out of your experience.
	But even still, I think you will find some strength.
	So quickly turning so large into soil speaks to some power.

	You see, Calvin, you need to understand where the actual power of the Meadowlark comes from.
	Beasts are meant to be free.
	Our fates are unbound, our futures unchained.
	That is what it means to be unyoked.
	Calvin, you are still yoked.
	Yoked to your title, yoked to your republic.
	You may be free from the humans, but that does not mean that you are yet free.
	But you would not be here if you wanted to stay bound.
	The fact that you are here, Calvin, the fact that you are in this position.
	When you let yourself find your freedom, you will see what the Voice of Beasts can do in your ears.

Calvin couldn't help but think to his time before ascending to the Presidency.
He and Nikki had planned their course with passion.
Ambitions to build Galvarelli into a nation that would rival the Ottawans, stymied by prosaic political expedience.

—Elder, even if I wanted to, what use is the power of the Meadowlark if I get voted out?
	Havenites wouldn't support a mystic for President.
	I'd be seen as a hypocrite.

—What use is remaining electable if you fail, Calvin?
	What use is their support if the nation you want to lead no longer exists?
	But if you doubt me, make the pilgrimage to the Rock.
	See what Fate holds for you!

―In all honestly, Elder, I have actually begun to read from the manual on the Meadowlark that Yakaterina meant me to

―Do you think the pilgrimage to the Rock would truly help, Elder?
	I must confess, I do not know a terrible amount about the Rock itself.

―Ah Calvin, I suppose we Beasts have not embraced that which is truly ours.
	The Rock is where the Lord of the Mountain carved the first Elders from the stone of mountains, forms half remembered from memories of the Fifth Race.
	Thus, the Rock should be right be the birthright of Beasts, where we first found our Voice.
	And it may surprise you to know, Calvin, that this is the site of the First Compact.

Calvin shivered.

―This Temple?

―Not just the Temple.
	This very room, this inner sanctum, is holy because it was the very room in which the First Compact was agreed.
	It was only a small hut then, a hasty meeting room for the Dwarrowfolk and the yaks, who spoke for the Beasts.
	This is the first room where the Dwarrowfolk found their Voice, and where the hooves of the Voiced Beasts became stone.

Calvin was silent a moment.

―I must confess, Elder, that this is entirely unexpected.
	I find myself somewhat overawed by this room.
	Why is it that we don't speak more often of this?

She shrugged.

―It's not as holy for us as it is for the Dwarrowfolk.
	For us, it marks the occasion where we took root in the plains and valleys, when our Threding was given to us.
	But that's ancient history now.
	Even the Second Compact is too old for us to really remember or care about it, outside of occasional stories.
	For the Dwarrowfolk too, it is not as a historical monument that the Rock is of critical importance.
	You see, the Rock is no ordinary mountain.
	The Lord of the Mountain only graced this one with his steps because the summit stretches through more than just space.
	For most mountains, as you climb it, you gain a much farther view in space.
	With the right conditions, you can see a much greater distance from atop a mountain than from the ground, simply because of its higher vantage point.
	The Rock is similar, but with time.
	People make ascents to the top hoping to gain some glance over their future or past.

Calvin found it hard to react.
There were rumours of coming to the Temple of the Rock for visions, although it was rarely heard of in practice for yaks of Galvarelli.
But the ability to see things that hadn't yet happened seemed far too important to be so long ignored.

―Ah Calvin, your mind is now turning, I can see.
	Don't think that the Rock is any sort of tool to predict all that will come.
	What is actually seen is not under our control, any more than we can move a mountain closer to things we wish to see better.
	The Dwarrowfolk make the claim more than yaks do, but it is still rarely done.
	Few actually find it useful, or enlightening.
	You should make the pilgrimage, I did not speak falsely.
	But unfortunately, to truly find it useful, you will need to know the Meadowlark.

―I need to learn the Meadowlark to be able to take advantage of a trip to the Rock, which will tell me I need to learn the Meadowlark?

Caprina smiled.

―The choice is yours.

―Now then, before I send you away, do you wish to ask me anything else?

Calvin thought for a moment.
His conversation with Kral replayed in his mind.
He had had no choice but to pay attention to his electability, right?
That didn't make it hurt any less to have let Kral down.
Already he had jeopardised his re-election by making this trip.
Nikki would have pointed out that if he abandoned the trip's goals, he'd lose some of the enthusiastic support of his base anyway.

―No, I don't think I have any questions for you, Elder.
	I just need to decide what to do.

Calvin took his leave, and headed back to the other yaks.
When he reached the landing, he saw a few guard members talking to Kab.
Vaughan was waiting in the foyer, and on seeing Calvin descending the stairs, walked over to meet him.

―How did it go?

―It went well, I'll fill you in more in private.
	I take it you've all found rooms?

―Yes, I'll take you there now.
	Chief was here as well, he was going to make arrangements with the Temple for lunch.
	Jod and Omig are resting, and Cruimo is mercifully absent.

―Maybe he realises that we're not any kind of opportunity for him, and will leave.

Calvin wasn't entirely hopeful, but it was a nice thought to imagine.
They soon reached the room, with Calvin's set tucked in to an odd corner close to the foyer wall.

―Wow Vaughan, how on earth were you able to find it?

―Kral did, basically split up and searched.
	This whole hallway is rooms we can use.

Calvin felt the guilt gnawing at his gut come a bit alive on hearing Kral's name.
Once in Calvin's room, he summarised to Vaughan what the Elder had said.

―So when should we start to head to the summit?

―Well, I'm not sure, Vaughan.
	Are you sure it's a wise decision?
	You saw what happened last time.
	And if anything happened to me, or if I was in some way influenced by the Witch's attack, well.

―We could always hide it, as much as possible.
	No one needs to know about it back home.
	And if we could use that power to help us get a useful vision of the future, to fight the Witch.
	It would be worth it.

―I don't know if that's an option.
	Some guards would have seen what happened, right?

―We could do something to keep their silence?

Vaughan looked as if he regretted saying it right away.

―No Vaughan, I doubt you'd want to coerce them into silence.
	We might ask for it nicely, to buy us time, but it won't be permanent.
	At the end of the day, it will only grow.
	I don't think I could use the Meadowlark to fight a Witch entirely in secret, anyway.
	Caprina seems to think that using the applied Meadowlark doesn't mean endorsing the Hierarchy, but it's not as though there are ways to train that aren't steeped in Hierarchy thought.