Chapter 181: A Divine Touch [11] (2/2)
Druya must have seen it, for she smiled.
”You wonder why I wear Xian Xia's symbol, yet I walk in Mystra's path?”
”I think I understand.”
Chang Chang said.
”Sometimes I pray to Mystra too, though I know your dwarven divine can't hear. What I wonder is, does Xian Xia mind that you stay here, instead of walking the halls of her temple?”
”Your blood divine and I have an understanding.”
Druya said, her gaze lingering on the statue even as she gripped Xian Xia's holy symbol in her fist.
”I put my faith and trust in Mystra, the divine dwarf, to guide me and my people, but what kind of servant would I be if I were so easily able to cast aside our ancestral divine after she entered limbo. Although most of us dwarven folk gained the gifts of oracle through Xian Xia, she understands, even if that lasts for millennia. The loss of Mystra is a weight on ours heart that can never truly be removed.”
”I'm sorry,” Chang Chang said. ”We don't have to speak of it.”
”It's all right.”
Druya said, smiling.
”Speaking Mystra's name keeps the divine's memory alive.”
She steered Chang Chang to an antechamber off the main hall. White orbs lit the interior, their sconces situated beneath red windows. Cut in the shape of anvils, the ruby-colored glass cast red glows all around the room that mimicked the light of the forge. Stone benches filled the room, but someone had stacked these against the adjacent walls, leaving the middle of the floor empty but for pools of red light.
”This is your chamber, isn't it? It's lovely.”
Chang Chang said as Druya led her to the center of the room. She looked up at the ceiling and found herself tilting her head far back to stare at a dome lit by small clusters of lichen affixed to the interior like stars.
”The anvils of the forge symbolize our home beneath the earth. But the constellations mimic the world of Wujin above. Between the two stand the people of Mystra. In answer to your question, it is a room for all, but I am the only one who comes here now. I thought it appropriate to bring you here. I have news to share.”
”What news?” Chang Chang asked, her heart thudding against her ribs. ”Is it Feng?”
”Word came not long ago of the first of the survivors. He is among them. He and the others, including the wounded, are on their way back to the city even as we speak.”
Chang Chang closed her eyes and swayed on her feet. Druya's strong arm on hers kept her upright.
”Heaven's tears,” she breathed. ”What of your family—your father and Orban?”
”They live, Chang. His comrades say Orban is having the heavenly oracle touch now—whether that heralds a miracle or the end of all things, they cannot say, but clearly there's a tale to tell of what they went through in the battle.”
”Thank you for telling me.”
Chang Chang said, her throat tightening around the words.
”Are you all right? I thought this news would make you happy, yet your face is so full of sorrow. What's wrong?”
Druya asked, looking suddenly concerned.
”It's nothing. I think I'll go for a walk, if you don't mind my leaving you.”
”Not at all. Go out the rear door of the temple and circle around the waterfall. There is a hidden garden attached to the temple. Few go there, especially now. It is a good place to be alone with your thoughts.”
”Thank you.”
Chang Chang passed out of the red-lit chamber and exited the temple. She did not look around her or pay attention to the people she passed. Ju Feng was safe. Unspeakable relief washed over her, making her dizzy, but coldness had settled in her stomach. Ruen would return, and she'd have to tell him that she intended to stop searching for a cure for her bloodscar.
What would he think of her? What would happen to her in regards to the prophecies foretold? What would be her fate? Chang Chang thought as she walked around the outside of the temple until she saw the waterfall Druya had mentioned. It enclosed the garden on three sides, creating a private little space accessed by a walkway.