When he awoke, he knew she was there before he even opened his eyes. He knew when he did roll over, she would be smiling, and he knew the feeling of peace that would wash over him.
He rolled over and it was just as he had imagined.
“Good morning, Rori,” said Meredith with a smile. She was sitting on a large, ornate, wooden chair made of a dark brown wood. Though when he had first awoken, he had seen the brown wall of his room at the inn in front of him, on this side the room was an empty and spotless white.
“It’s been a while,” said Rori.
“Oh, not so long in the grand scheme.”
Rori stood up and was unsurprised that he somehow had his boots on, nor was he surprised that the bed he was in a moment ago was gone.
“Shall we walk or stay here and talk?” asked Meredith pointing to a chair that matched her own and sat on the other side of a small table, neither of which had been there a moment before.
“Whichever you prefer.”
“Let’s walk then. I enjoy the open sky and the fresh air.”
Rori took a couple of quick steps towards the dark wood door that was now in the wall in front of them. He opened it and held it for her. Outside he could see a green field beside a winding river. The sky was a clear blue with a few pure white puffy clouds scattered across it. In the river a family of ducks swam in a line, and he could hear the noise of various insects hidden all around.
As they stepped out onto the grass, he didn’t bother to shut the door. Neither did he turn around to confirm that the door and the room were now gone.
“Your brother came to see me,” said Rori in as much of an off-hand manner as he could manage.
“Did he?” said Meredith in a neutral tone that revealed nothing.
“I think he is trying to get me to join him.”
“He is ever on the search for talent.”
“Are you really siblings?” asked Rori.
“In all senses of the word.”
“I didn’t tell him I would,” said Rori turning to look into her face. The worry he had begun to feel because she might have thought he was going to leave her disappeared like a snowflake into a fire.
“Rori, we have been through this before. You are not beholden to me. Those who follow me do so because they want to, not because I force them to. If you wish to go off with Malthus, then do so.”
“It would be interesting,” admitted Rori. “But I don’t think it is for me.”
“Why not? It’s what most men desire and contemplate at some point in their lives. Danger, excitement, violence.”
“I have plenty of excitement right where I am. I also have people who depend on me.” Rori bent down and picked up a stone. He skipped it up the slow-moving river.
“How much of what I do is me and how much is you?” asked Rori without turning around. He was surprised that he’d asked the question. It was something he’d spent a lot of time thinking about, but not one he’d ever thought he would be bold enough to dare.
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“Would it surprise you if I said that it was nearly all you?”
“I would be both surprised and doubtful. Surely you are ‘contributing’ in some fashion?”
“A small amount, but not much. I have had my finger in your development, and, assuming we continue on, will do so again. The potter shapes the clay while the wheel spins, but after, the resulting creation need not stay within the potter’s reach. The power to use the things I’ve shown you now lies within you and these things will remain yours to do with what you want.”
“Anything?”
“Well, nearly anything. Because the actions you take will ultimately be attributed at least in part to me, I can take them back again if needed.”
“Smashing the pottery as it were?”
“I would hope it would require nothing so drastic.”
“Speaking as the pottery, I hope that too,” said Rori.
“I do have high hopes for you, Rori. But nothing is guaranteed. I would hope that you and I could continue our journey together for many more miles. But if your path should separate from mine, I would miss you but would not stop you nor chase after.”
The thought of leaving Meredith created a cold ball of ice in the pit of his stomach. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that this feeling was being amplified by her presence. Probably not intentionally, but it was happening, nonetheless.
Of course, there was also the feeling of peace her presence brought as well. It was a feeling he could now summon up just by thinking about her. He realized that the longer their association continued, the more inextricably he was becoming linked to her.
If he ever did part ways with her, he would feel a loss, but he would also survive. However, the longer he stayed the more unlikely such a departure would become.
“I too hope our journey continues.”
“For now?” asked Meredith almost as if she had read his mind. But before he could comment, she continued on. “You know that nearly all of my followers avoid participating in conflict.”
“Not so! Your clerics are on nearly every battlefield on the planet. But I realize that isn’t what you meant. Though they may heal, your followers do not fight. But there are exceptions.”
“A few. The Sisters are the only ones who openly strike out in my name and their numbers are always few. There are only six of them at the moment.”
“Don’t you mean the Sisters and Meri’s Monks?” asked Rori with some confusion.
“I know what I said, and I said it true,” said Meredith. “Right now, their number is less than the Sisters.”
“Just one?”
“Perhaps. But even so, my monks do not strike out. They participate in the fight by redirecting and reacting to the blows of others. Typically, a shove is about the worst they can be convicted of.”
“In the past?” asked Rori sensing the edges of what might be her displeasure.
“I believe you know of what I speak.”
Rori turned from her and bent down to pick up another stone. He threw it up the river after the first. The silence weighed heavily in the air.
“The fight with Yoska,” he finally said.
“Yes.”
“I threw his own knife at him,” said Rori defensively. “It was his attack.”
“It was your attack. And then you kneed him in the arm, driving his sword into his chin. Was that his attack as well?”
Rori tried to keep his gaze steadily in her eyes, but he could not. He lowered his eyes in deference.
“But if we want to split more hairs,” said Meredith with a new lightness in her voice, “it was in the midst of that fight that you finally decided to fully join me. So perhaps we can just call it a novice mistake.”
“One that I will strive to not make again,” said Rori with conviction. “But if I may be so bold, why does it matter? Are they not Meredith’s Monks? Surely you make the rules surrounding them?”
“There are rules and restrictions on everyone. Even the gods. I may have mine, but in any event, these are yours. But as we said earlier, you need not continue to follow me if you can’t or won’t follow them.”
Rori turned and knelt in the grass before Meredith. He placed his fist on his chest over his heart and said, “I swear to you this day, I will follow all of the rules you give me until the day I die, or you give me leave to do otherwise.”
“Thank you, Rori.” Meredith bent down and kissed him on his forehead. As her lips touched his brow he felt a power surge down through him, filling him to his toes, until his entire body seemed to overflow with it.
“Of course, you have to know all of the rules to follow them,” she said standing back up and offering a hand to Rori to help him stand.
“Are there more? Please tell me,” he said taking the hand and rising.
“I have told them before. They are written in the book,” said Meredith, her voice getting softer.
“Where is this book?”
“You will find it exactly where you would expect,” said Meredith in a near whisper.
“And where is that?”
When Rori awoke it was exactly as it had been before, but this time he knew he was alone. The first rays of the morning light were seeping around the edges of the shuttered window. He felt energized, invigorated and ready for anything.
