And death shall have no dominion,
Dead men naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.
-And death Shall have No Dominion, Dylan Thomas
?They will come, of course, now that we gathered up those five,? Elder Hlars gave a nod to indicate Ewan and the other five men who had been sent to the monastery before him.
?It was an error, of course, but perhaps in our favor. We have their knowledge and strength now, and surely the numbers that come against us will be of them.? Kaptu?s dark blue eyes scanned the faces of the six across from him.
Ewan?s mouth moved and the voice was his own. He could hear it in his little corner of his mind. The guide of that voice, though, was not him. ?My laral?s memories confirm much of what you say, and those that try to cross us will be known.?
Elder Hlars frowned, ?Still you have not bonded fully??
A slow shake of his head, ?Not much longer, Elder, I promise you.?
?Yes, it will come in time. None have held against us for long once the infection occurs. None, except those wretched people of the island,? Valsin, once a recruit of Ewan?s, spoke coarsely.
Kaptu interrupted, ?They knew something was wrong in that monastery,? now turning back fully to Hlars. ?They sent six men to investigate.?
?Seven if you count the man we killed for being too near.? Hlars corrected.
?The question is how much do they know?? Kaptu said firmly getting to the heart of his concern.
Hlars sighed and nodded. ?Enough now to, as we said before, seek out the issue with greater numbers and less subtlety. Our first battle comes upon us, and we should prepare.?
The men around Ewan were like pictures from the past come to life before his eyes. He, too, had seen his reflection in the water barrel this morning. The fine lines of tattooing in filigree over his face. In discovery of the rest of him from that small view in the back of his mind, he saw covering his body from head to foot the swirls and patterns of inky blue rose up to stain his skin. He remembered the picture Kiema had shown him and knew now more than they had ever learned in a book. He had become Sedlaral.
Dead men naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.
-And death Shall have No Dominion, Dylan Thomas
?They will come, of course, now that we gathered up those five,? Elder Hlars gave a nod to indicate Ewan and the other five men who had been sent to the monastery before him.
?It was an error, of course, but perhaps in our favor. We have their knowledge and strength now, and surely the numbers that come against us will be of them.? Kaptu?s dark blue eyes scanned the faces of the six across from him.
Ewan?s mouth moved and the voice was his own. He could hear it in his little corner of his mind. The guide of that voice, though, was not him. ?My laral?s memories confirm much of what you say, and those that try to cross us will be known.?
Elder Hlars frowned, ?Still you have not bonded fully??
A slow shake of his head, ?Not much longer, Elder, I promise you.?
?Yes, it will come in time. None have held against us for long once the infection occurs. None, except those wretched people of the island,? Valsin, once a recruit of Ewan?s, spoke coarsely.
Kaptu interrupted, ?They knew something was wrong in that monastery,? now turning back fully to Hlars. ?They sent six men to investigate.?
?Seven if you count the man we killed for being too near.? Hlars corrected.
?The question is how much do they know?? Kaptu said firmly getting to the heart of his concern.
Hlars sighed and nodded. ?Enough now to, as we said before, seek out the issue with greater numbers and less subtlety. Our first battle comes upon us, and we should prepare.?
The men around Ewan were like pictures from the past come to life before his eyes. He, too, had seen his reflection in the water barrel this morning. The fine lines of tattooing in filigree over his face. In discovery of the rest of him from that small view in the back of his mind, he saw covering his body from head to foot the swirls and patterns of inky blue rose up to stain his skin. He remembered the picture Kiema had shown him and knew now more than they had ever learned in a book. He had become Sedlaral.