Far-Seer

He opened the door. Inside was Saleed’s living room, like its owner, stern and hard-edged. There were four ornate day-slabs, one in each corner of the room; shelves of books; an intricate lastoontal board with playing pieces made of gold and silver distributed across it, a game half finished. Afsan hurried through into the sleeping chamber. There, prone on a stone pallet, was Saleed. He looked old and weary, the skin hanging loosely on his face, the black orbs of his eyes shot with red. There were soft leather sheets piled on the sleeping pallet, and a blanket of what looked like thunderbeast hide covered most of his body. The room was dim, no lamp lit, the windows covered by curtains.

On a table next to the bed sat Saleed’s favorite porcelain drinking bowl. Afsan noticed that it was cracked. It must have been dropped at some point after Afsan last saw it, then glued back together. Unfortunately not everything could be repaired so easily. He looked down at Saleed. “Master…”

The tired bulk stirred slowly. “Afsan?” The voice was dry, husky. “Afsan, is that you?”

Afsan bowed low. “It is I, master.”

Saleed coughed, as if the effort of speech had disturbed his condition. His throat sounded raw, and his words were little more than protracted hisses. “You were long in returning.”

“I’m sorry, master.” Afsan felt a pain in his chest, a sadness. He realized now that he had missed Saleed—was going to miss Saleed. “But you taught me well. I discovered many things on my voyage.”

Saleed coughed again, forcing his throat back to life. “I hear from Keenir that you sailed around the world.”

“Yes, master. Not everyone believes that, though. They think we’re confused. Or deluded.”

Saleed’s teeth clicked together weakly. “I’m sure they do.” His breathing was labored, loud. “But I believe you.”

“You do?”

“Of course. You saw the Face of God?”

’’Yes, master.”

“And—” Saleed’s body racked with another cough. Afsan moved closer to the old astrologer, almost invading his territory. “And what did you discover?”

“Master, this isn’t the time. When you’re well—”

Saleed coughed once more. “I will never be well again, Afsan. I’m old, and I’m dying.”

Afsan knew that Saleed was telling the truth, but he hoped that in the dim light of the room, the discoloration of his own muzzle would go unnoticed. “No, you’ll be all right. You just need rest—”

“Tell me what you learned.” For an instant, there was the sharp edge Afsan was used to hearing in Saleed’s voice, the edge that demanded to be obeyed.

“Yes, master. I—you won’t agree with me, I know—I’ve come to believe that the Face of God is—forgive me—a planet. Like Carpel or Patpel or any of the others.”

Afsan prepared for Saleed’s rebuke, but it did not come. “Good. That’s good, Afsan.” He coughed again, and when he was done, he said softly, “I knew you were bright enough.”

Afsan was startled, felt his tail swish in a wide arc. “What? Then you already knew this?”

Saleed coughed several times. When the fit subsided, he spoke again, even more weakly. “Yes, I have known. But I was too old to do anything about it. You—you’re young.” Another cough. “You’re young.”

“But without the far-seer, how could you know?”

“Keenir brought me a far-seer kilodays ago, before you’d been summoned from Carno to Capital City.”

“But I heard you reject it from him—”

“You don’t survive as long at court as I have without learning how to put on appropriate performances. I wanted you to discover it all for yourself. I could not tell anyone what I’d learned—even Keenir did not know the details, although he agreed to help me entice you.” Saleed’s tail moved slightly. “Creche-mates are as one.”

Afsan stared into his master’s eyes, eyes that were dark as night. He wondered where Saleed was looking. “I don’t understand.”

Saleed coughed again, and Afsan waited for the old one to gather enough strength to continue. “If the Face is a planet,” said Saleed, “then the religion of Larsk is based on a misunderstanding.” The sheets heaved as he drew in breath to push on. “It will take a young person to fight that battle, to tell the world the truth about itself. I combed the vocational test results from every Pack, and still I ended up going through six apprentices before I found you. I’d almost given up hope. I knew if you wouldn’t dare to defy your master for the sake of finding out the truth, you couldn’t possibly be expected to go against Yenalb. I needed to test the courage of your convictions.” Saleed’s muzzle turned toward Afsan. “I see now that this time I chose well.”

Afsan dipped his head, accepting the compliment, although not yet quite understanding. “There’s more, though, master,” he said. “Do you know of the rings around some of the planets?”