“I’ve never heard of Ashara.”
“Well, since you are in Nelar, you should know some of the old tales.”
He slipped off the stool and headed around the counter, making his way over toward them, where he leaned down, resting for a moment, then grabbed something off of a low shelf in front of the counter. He pulled it up, rested it back on the shelf, then stopped. “Unfortunately, I am still a bit weakened after everything that has taken place.”
“I can see that,” she said. “I might be able to offer some help—”
Master Raollet waved his hand. “No help. Not that kind.”
“You don’t have to be afraid of it,” she said.
He frowned again. “It’s not fear. It is more a matter of not needing it.” He shook his head and tipped it off to the side, regarding her for a moment.
“You said Ashara,” Jayna urged.
“That’s the only thing I could think of. Stories, mostly, but they fit. Oh, they fit.” He sighed.
“What are the Ashara?”
Raollet flipped open a book and traced his hand along one of its pages. “Just stories. Myth, mostly. But after seeing what I have these days, myth starts to feel a little more real.” He snorted. “The Ashara are supposed to be ancient beings—powerful, and filled with a specific type of power.” Jayna looked at a drawing he pointed out in the book, one that reminded her of the sculpture she’d seen in Telluminder’s shop. It had wings, a long serpentine body, and a tail that swirled around it. “Some have called them demons. Others, sorcerers. Still others have called them dragons.” He chuckled. “Stories, like I said. I had never expected to see stories come to life like that.”
Eva stood completely still, looking at the book, her hands clenched at her sides, and a deep frown formed on her face.
Jayna looked down, studying the book. “I haven’t heard of anything like this. The Sorcerers’ Society has not mentioned anything about Ashara.”
“Because they’re stories. Or that’s what they’d have you believe.”
There were other stories the Society wanted people to ignore.
Sul’toral.
What if the Ashara were real?
And what if Eva was one of them?
“Why would the Society care?”
“Who knows with any certainty?” He turned a few more pages. “There are some stories that claim the power of the Ashara opposes the magic of the sorcerers, while others claim it eats it, or that the Ashara eat sorcerers.”
The entire book was written in a language Jayna couldn’t read, though from the way Master Raollet skimmed the page, tracing his finger along its surface, it was clear he could.
“But then, something happened,” Raollet said, continuing to read the page. “According to one account, the Sorcerers’ Society banished them, or perhaps the El’aras prevented them from gaining power, or perhaps even the dular.” He shook his head. “Either way, these enchantments are meant to remind people of the Ashara.”
“What are they?”
“The El’aras? I figured that even you would know about the El’aras. Especially given that you are—”
“I know about the El’aras,” Jayna said. There were aspects of them she didn’t fully know, but overall, she understood them about as well as most within the kingdom would. She had experience with them and had seen how they used their power; she even thought she understood the intricate nature of it. Unlike sorcerers, the El’aras possessed a natural connection to magic. Innate. Powerful.
“You called them beings, the Ashara?” Eva asked, stepping closer and redirecting the conversation.
He looked up at her, regarding her for a long moment before turning his attention back to the book. “Well, some stories say they can take human form, but they are not human. I think that’s where the stories of them being dragons come from. All stories say they are filled with power. A dangerous and hot sort of rage filled them.”
Jayna glanced over, but Eva had tensed again, and there was something to her posture that struck Jayna as unusual. Suddenly, Eva spun and headed out of the shop, leaving Jayna alone with Raollet.
“Did I say something that offended her? They are just stories.”
“Stories can hurt,” Jayna said. “But it’s more than that. She’s having a hard time these days.”
“Well, there are many who have struggled lately. The city has been unpleasant.”
“You’re telling me,” Jayna said.
Raollet looked up, holding her gaze, and shook his head. “I don’t need to inform you of that, I suppose. You have seen it firsthand, haven’t you?”
Jayna frowned at him. She wanted to hear more about the Ashara. It was the first time she’d heard anything that might help her understand Eva, even if they were just stories. “What can you tell me about what happened with them?”
“Rumors, nothing more.” He took the book, closed it, and hopped off his stool to tuck it onto the counter. When he was done, he leaned back, stretching. Already he seemed healthier than he had before, as if time had started to restore him. Jayna could almost imagine him filled with magic that recovered him, but she didn’t have any sense of power coming off of him, nothing to make her believe he had any magical potential on his own.
“There have been quite a few rumors in the city,” Jayna said.
“More these days than there have been in the past,” he said. “Unfortunately, many of those rumors have a way of spreading. As I’m sure you are fully aware.”
“As I’m aware,” Jayna agreed.
“There was one particular rumor about a festival that took place. I believe it was shortly after your arrival in the city.”
Jayna watched him, trying to get a sense of what he was after. “There was?”
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the counter. “I believe it was not long after you attacked my shop.”
“Again, I wasn’t attacking your shop.”
“It doesn’t matter. I understand the reason you did it.”
“Do you, now?”
He shrugged again. “You thought to prevent something else from taking place.”
“I thought to free three El’aras you had captured.”
“They were captured for a reason,” he said, his voice low. “If you had any understanding of the power that exists within the El’aras, you would have . . .” He took a steadying breath and leaned back. “Perhaps that’s not the point. You did what you thought was necessary.”
Jayna just shrugged. “Yes, I did what I thought was necessary.”
“And is that why you are here now?”
“I’m here now so I can try to find a better understanding,” Jayna said, being deliberately vague.
“An understanding of what?”
If she didn’t share more with him, she worried she would not find the answers she wanted, and the longer she spent here with him, the more she began to question whether he knew more than he was letting on.
“There was a festival, called the Festival of Mourn. Sorcerers use it to gain dark power—or free it, in this case.”
His eyes widened. “Which one of the twelve?”