Tarashana Rachel Neumeier (top 10 motivational books TXT) 📖

Plainly he had been following the taksu well enough, because now, facing Aras, he said forcefully in darau, “No, my lord! Bad enough anyone takes the word of this gods-hated Tarashana sorcerer or goes anywhere with her, but you are absolutely not going to go into the land of the shades! I wouldn’t trust this sorcerer to tell the truth any quicker than I’d trust a fancy-fingered gambler to set up a friendly game of sestaket. Tell me you’re not thinking of telling her you’ll do it!”

“I don’t think I can promise that,” Aras said, in the mild way that meant he did not mean to be dissuaded from a choice he had made. “I do have considerable confidence that she’s telling us the truth, and this black tide sounds like a problem someone needs to sort out.”

“Someone, maybe! I don’t see it’s your business to see to it, my lord! Sounds to me like the Tarashana have a big problem, and the inGara might have some kind of problem too, and I’m sorry for that, but no part of this is your problem. This is nothing to do with you or the summer country!” He sent an apologetic glance my way, but finished with some force, “What do you imagine your uncle’ll say if you get yourself drowned in some gods-hated black tide, whatever that is, by people with a name he’s never heard and probably can’t pronounce?”

Aras said gently, “Troop Leader Geras, if this goes badly, I don’t imagine I’ll have to listen to my uncle’s recriminations. I’m afraid you’ll be the one to hear whatever he has to say, as I’m going to have to ask you to take my scepter to him and explain—”

“I will not!” snapped Geras. “You’re not going, my lord, but if you are, I’m going with you.”

Aras began, “Troop Leader, I shall remove you from your position, if—”

“No,” I said, and he stopped. Everyone was looking at me, but now I did not know what to say.

My father had not needed to speak darau to understand some of this argument. He said formally, “My guest, please attend.” When Aras turned to him, surprised, he said, “When my wife and I asked you to come, we asked only for you to speak to this Tarashana person so that by your arts you might explain to us the things she could not or would not say. This you have done, coming all the long way from your country in answer to our request. That journey is as a single step compared to the journey from the land of the living to the land of the shades. This problem is not one that can be properly laid at your feet. No one would say you are in any way obligated to answer this Tarashana woman’s request.”

This had given me time to think more clearly, so I said, speaking to my father, in taksu, “Lord Aras is accustomed to solving everyone’s problems. Many times, too many to count, he has turned aside from his own path to solve some difficulty no one else could solve. The Tarashana have a very big problem, an extraordinarily big problem. He will set himself to solve it if he can. We inGara have been caught up in this problem and he wishes to solve that also.”

Then I said to Aras, in darau, “But it is important that you understand, my father is correct. These problems are not yours to solve. Should you nevertheless step forward, then Geras is right to declare he will go with you. You know that. You should not give a command you know will not be obeyed, especially when you understand perfectly well it should not be obeyed. If you choose this journey, if we all choose it, if my father permits that choice, then of course Geras will come with you. My mother can write to your uncle.”

Aras considered me. Then Geras. Finally he said, “Troop Leader Geras, I should not have tried to force you to step aside from your clear duty. That was an abuse of my authority, and I apologize.”

Geras, unusually for a Lau, dropped his gaze. He said uncomfortably, “I wouldn’t exactly call it abuse of authority, my lord.”

“No? I would call it by that exact term. Of course, I also have no choice but to call your action a plain refusal to obey the direct order of a superior, among other possible charges.” He paused. Then he added, “I do look forward to answering the charges, should a report ever actually go up to your talon commander. I hope you’re looking forward to that as well, Troop Leader.”

“My lord—” Geras stopped, plainly not knowing how to answer this.

“I value your steady good sense, Troop Leader. Thank you. Now, I don't believe I adequately explained my thoughts. Let me try to do that now.” Aras looked around at us all. Aras switched to taksu. “I agree that this is a very different problem than any I expected to face. But I fear everyone may be thinking along too narrow a path. Let us consider that the people of the sunless sea apparently have the strength and ambition to take at least a large part of the starlit lands for their own and the ruthlessness to eradicate a great many Tarashana in order to do so. Now we have seen that they also have the strength to strike an effective blow against the Ugaro in their own country. Consider what Inhejeriel has said: that these people wish to drown all the lands of the world. Given everything these Saa'arii have done already and everything I see in this Tarashana woman's mind, I am genuinely concerned that these people may present a threat to the summer lands as well. Perhaps not at once, perhaps not soon, but eventually. If Inhejeriel Kiolekarian taja-Shalaseriad may potentially hold the key to driving