The Girl with No Name Ch. 10

"I...I do, but from the Realm of the Living."

"Oh really? From the Realm of the Living? I can send you companions from the Realm of the Living, if you so desire."

"No. I don't want anything from you."

"So what I say about you is true, isn't it? You are a liar and a hypocrite. You cry about being alone...but then you reject companionship."

"Why would I want anything from you? What kind of companions would you send? The ones who killed my Mistress? Why would I want that? Why? Why? Why?" Danka had become angry from the taunting. "Why don't you just end my Path in Life, if that's what you're planning to do? Why wait? Why? Why? Why?"

Danka realized she was shouting into the dark. The owl had vanished and the ground had released her feet. She was exhausted and actually managed to sleep for a couple of hours before daylight returned and she was able to continue her journey.

----------

She descended along the same path that she had followed with Ervin just a couple of days before. She even passed the birch grove where he had switched her. It was strange to think the scandal on their minds at that moment was totally irrelevant now. However, seeing the birch grove was a relief, because it meant that she only had an hour of traveling ahead of her before she emerged onto an open farm road and could mount her mule.

The pace of her trip picked up as soon as she emerged into the cleared area of the western valley. She avoided Nagorónkti-Serífkti, not wanting anyone to know what had happened to Babáckt Yaga before she had the chance to deliver the news to Fítoreckt. She received numerous curious stares, because a person performing Public Penance normally did not ride animals. Several people even asked her what she was doing. She responded that she had been tasked with delivering the mule to its owner in Sebérnekt Ris and was riding the animal to hasten her journey. Whenever she passed a member of the Danubian Clergy she had to dismount and kneel, something she had to force herself to remember to do, given that the Danubian Church had not had any claim of authority over her for the past 15 months.

Danka rode the entire day and only stopped after dark. She stayed at a village church, where she rested and stabled her mule. The animal needed a break and a decent meal of hay. Danka slept in a room with a couple of other penitents. She spent the next day traveling non-stop and, for the sake of the mule, had to spend the night at another church. She hated having to disguise herself: she would have preferred traveling openly as a Follower. However, pretending to be a Church penitent had its advantages. She had free food and lodging along with the protection granted by her collar. Also, she enjoyed journeying openly in the nude, with the warm late summer sun shining on her body and the breezes caressing her bare skin.

She arrived at her destination in Sebérnekt Ris mid-afternoon, after three days of traveling. Just outside the town she remembered to duck behind a barn, take off the penance collar, and put on her Follower's dress. She re-assembled her skull staff and led her mule through the city gate and into the university compound.

When she found Alchemist Fítoreckt, he was clearly distressed, but did not seem surprised by the news.

"So...this is it. This is the year the Old World vanishes. Your Mistress was correct about that."

"Alchemist? She was correct about what?"

"I'll explain later. Go to the head seamstress, turn in your Follower's gown and tell her to give you a normal dress. You will hand over your staff and Ermin's items as well. Get cleaned up and find yourself a bed-chamber in the student dormitory. After you've done all that, report to the library and speak with the senior transcriber. I want you to describe, in as much detail as you can remember, exactly what happened at Babáckt Yaga's settlement. I need description: who you saw, where the bodies were positioned, the outfits of your assailants, what everyone looked like, and what happened moment by moment from the time you entered until the time you left. He's trained to extract memories and details, so he'll be asking you questions."

While Danka was getting cleaned up, Fítoreckt called his messengers. They were to travel to all of the sites where Followers were working to warn them to avoid going in the direction of the forest settlement. Instead, as soon as they could tactfully break away from their assignments, they were to disguise themselves and travel to Sebérnekt Ris.

----------

Danka spent the late afternoon reliving those awful minutes in the settlement as she described in minute detail everything she had witnessed, done, or experienced. When the transcriber was satisfied there was nothing more he could extract from her disjointed memories, he dismissed her and told her to return to Fítoreckt's study. She was surprised to see him dressed in a civilian's tunic. He told her to close the door and to take a seat. Instead of asking her how she was doing or trying to exchange any pleasantries, he got to the point.

"You remember the details of our conversation in the spring, correct?"

"Yes, Alchemist."

"I wanted to make sure you understood the reality the Followers were facing and the impending demise of the remnants of the Old World. I told you what I believed you needed to know at the time, but there is an important detail I chose not to share with you. I felt it would have done you no good to burden you with that knowledge, even though it was knowledge concerning your Path in Life."

Danka wasn't sure how to respond, so she waited for Fítoreckt to continue.

"During my time in the Realm of the Living, I have known a single person who was able to predict the future. Knowing the future is a curse I would not wish on any soul, that I can assure you. Your Mistress was the one cursed that ability. When she made a prediction, she never made a mistake. Of course, she was sparing with what she shared, even with me. She understood that knowing the future is something not to be desired by anyone. Anyhow, she told me some things about you; predictions that turned out to be completely accurate."

"...of things that have already happened, Alchemist?"

"Yes. For many years she had suspected that she was the final guardian of the remnants of the Old World. She also knew that a single person would bear witness to both her death and the destruction of the realm she represented. From the moment she first saw you, she knew the Ancients had designated you to be that person. In your face she saw her own death. So, over the past year, she and I have been preparing for the end. What happened in your Mistress's settlement came as no surprise to me at all."

"But...the men...who were they?"

"Mercenaries...hired by the Priest of Nagorónkti-Serífkti. He's a True Believer, you know..."

"...but I thought he always treated us well."

"Yes...he did. A perfect ruse, wasn't it? He found out everything he needed to know about us and our habits and, when the moment came, he sent his people to destroy the settlement."

"But...why?"

"Hubris. He wants to become the Arch Bishop of the True Believers. If he can extend his control into the forest and seize control of our holy sites and destroy them, think of what that would do for his reputation...not just among the True Believers, but for the Roman Church. I understand he's been in contact with them. He fancies himself as the Christian leader of the entire Duchy, and as such, feels that it is his Path in Life to annihilate the Cult of the Ancients. He plotted this for many years."

"So what do we do?"

"First, we safeguard our people. The True Believers are planning to move against any Follower they can lay their hands on, but we are popular in most places and they'd have to capture or kill us in secret. That gives us a few days. Also, Ermin (and you) complicated their plans by killing so many of their mercenaries. Those men will take a few weeks to replace. Meanwhile, we send out our messengers, disguise our members, and bring them to Sebérnekt Ris. We will assume new identities and go back out, but not as Followers. So, the Cult of the Ancients won't survive, but its people will."

"After 5000 years? You're giving up after 5000 years?"

"It is our Path in Life. It's what the Ancients desire. The Old World is no more: it died with Babáckt Yaga, its final guardian. But no, we are not giving up. We will exact revenge on our worldly opponents and we will safeguard the Duchy's future. We can only accomplish that by first safeguarding ourselves, starting with you."

Fítoreckt handed Danka several documents. One was a forged identity certificate from the Senior Priest in Starívktaki Móskt confirming that she had braided her hair with the blessing of the Danubian Church under the name Jadránka. Another paper, which she'd have to take to the local cathedral for a signature and a stamp, would confirm her enrollment in the local university under that name.

"I am very pleased to have you with us, Student Jadránka. Go ask the Priest for his blessing, then report to the professors to receive your class assignments."

Danka dumbly looked at the papers, then at Fítoreckt.

"Do you have a question, Student Jadránka?"

"I...I guess not, Director Fítoreckt."

"Then run along and finish your registration. You've already missed a week of classes and you have some catching up to do. I always thought the people of Starívktaki Móskt had a reputation for punctuality. You're setting a poor example for your city by showing up a week late. Under normal circumstances I'd not let you finish enrolling, but I understand you encountered problems during your journey here, so I will make an exception for you."

"I...thank you, Director Fítoreckt."

"Now, run along. Obtain the signature and report to your professors. I don't have the patience of Job."

Danka reluctantly left her dean's study and made her way to the cathedral. She no longer was Danka the Follower of the Ancients. In an instant she had become a totally new person, Jadránka the university student from Starívktaki Móskt.

----------

The Cult of the Ancients mysteriously vanished from the Realm of the Living during the first week of September, 1752. Throughout the Duchy, Followers quietly left their assignments and were never heard from again. By the middle of the month, the familiar black uniforms and skull staffs that identified the Duchy's leading medical practitioners had completely vanished. In most places where they had worked, the Followers left very little evidence they ever existed at all.

The fate of the Cult of the Ancients became a favorite enigma of Danubian society and lore. The Followers always lived in mystery and, after 5000 years, they vanished in mystery.

"So...what happened to the Followers of the Ancients?"

"Well, what happens to a breath of air, after the words which it carried have been spoken?"