The Butterfly Effect

Lydia dug around the riverbed a little more, finding nothing where the projection had placed it. The boys helped in her search until they were able to find it: a ring with a reflective gem in the center. They decided to head back to the inn and figure it out there.

She let Tim and Henry look at the ring while she wrote down each of the projections they saw. Honestly she normally wouldn’t have cared that their hushed conversation was turning into an argument as long as it didn’t get out of control, but this time she reminded them, “Tavin’s trying to rest.”

“Maybe you can help,” Tim remarked, moving next to her. He showed her the ring which, along with their reflections, showed fragments of another scene. “We think it shows the next clue the warmer it is, but we can’t get it warm enough to show the whole thing.”

“I think we should toss it into a fire and see if it changes,” Henry piped in. “That’s going to make it the hottest it’s ever going to get.”

“Except the rest of this is actual metal that will melt,” Tim pointed out. “Just because it’s enchanted doesn’t mean that the gem can’t be affected by it, too.”

“Let’s give it a little while,” Lydia decided. “I can’t tell anything from what we can see now and I might not even be able to tell when we get the full thing. We can ask Dad about it; maybe being in a warmer place in general will help it show up.”

…

Luckily Diana was out with friends when they came back, so Lydia just gathered her siblings and father to show them what they found. She told them about the projections they saw and showed them the ring.

“The other two seem pretty relevant to each other—people trying to find the treasure and the ones who set it up—but what about the middle one?” Lewis wondered. “What does a woman being chased by Skiá have to do with either of those?”

Elena shook her head. “If it wasn’t in that area, then it shouldn’t even be able to project it. It’s the same thing as trying to explain an event that you weren’t there to see.”

“We couldn’t come up with anything good either,” Lydia admitted. “It mentioned Usiu but that has nothing to do with anything else. Tavin’s guess is that she was the person that the guy talked about setting it up for, but that doesn’t really explain why we’re the ones doing it and not someone else.” There was something off-putting about looking back at that projection, but she chose not to share it, figuring that if it was something important they could figure it out later.

“Let me see the ring,” Andrew instructed. She nodded and handed it to him. After careful observation, he said, “Give it some more time in the sun. It’s almost complete now, but that should make the rest of it show up. I’ve got to go out for a little while but I’ll help you if you need it after I come back.” He got up, sat the ring on a nearby windowsill, and walked over to the door. “Elena, make sure Diana doesn’t move it if she comes back before I do.”

“I’ll try,” she mumbled. He took that as the assurance that he needed and he left. Elena realized how quiet it was and sighed, “Where are the kids?”

“I know two of mine are upstairs doing their own thing and the other’s at the castle,” Lydia remarked casually with a shrug. “So, for the record, if you think anyone’s getting into trouble, it’s one of yours.”

Elena mumbled something then, noticing who else walked in, asked, “Lustris, do you know where Edric and Muriel ran off to?”

“I believe they’re both outside,” Lustris responded simply. “Would you like me to get them for you?”

“No, I’ll do it.” Elena got up and left.

Lustris offered the remaining two drinks, setting the tray on the table beside them. “Andrew requested them, though it looks like he left already. I assume he wouldn’t mind if you had one.” She mainly glanced at Lydia when she added, “But just one.”

Lydia didn’t need a second invitation. She practically downed the whole thing at once. “Did anyone tell you you’re really good at mixing cocktails?”

“Did you ever realize that isn’t a compliment?” Lustris sighed.

“Oh, while you’re here, what do you think the chances are that we could find something from before Qizarn legend?” Lydia thought she might as well ask; Lustris had, after all, come from Idkor. If anyone they could easily talk to knew anything about it, it would be her.

“After Orestis created the world, I’m guessing, because there was nothing before then.”

“Before Eldrianna Fell.”

Lustris treated the conversation with a certain kind of carefulness. “I… suppose it isn’t impossible. The Commandments never say when she was banished from Sanctuary—they hardly even go into detail on why. Vriuh presumably managed the afterlife before Eldrianna’s Fall, but no one can be certain. Not to mention that, without the Angels, a large part of civilization as we know it wouldn’t have existed yet. Or at least, we don’t believe they did.” She paused and made it clear she didn't know if she wanted an answer to her next question. “What makes you think that you found something like that?”

“We’ve already decided that a lot of things have to be a lot older than anything else,” Lydia replied with a shrug. “And, in one of the projections we saw, some guy was talking to someone named Dree and we’re pretty sure that she’s a god. Possibly Eldrianna—they do look pretty similar, except for the wings.”

It was obvious that Lustris was doing everything in her power not to freak out. “Do you ever do anything normal and Commandment-abiding?”

Lewis even seemed concerned. “I don’t really know a lot about those legends and stuff but I’m pretty sure seeing Qizar’s goddess of darkness is not something to be taken as a good thing.”

“The last time was before we went to the Caverns,” Lydia pointed out nonchalantly. There was nothing about this that she found as worrying as they both seemingly did. “She had a hand in what happened to the Minotaur and the previous Keys—it was no wonder that she showed up to taunt us. What we saw with the projection was before then and she didn’t even acknowledge that we were there. I’d say they’re pretty different circumstances, so I don’t get trying to make them look like they’re exactly the same thing.”

“In Idkor, we would consider even seeing a fragment of Darkness as a sign of death and destruction,” Lustris remarked. “There has to be a reason that what you’re doing now involves her and, no matter what it is, it’s inevitably going to be a bad thing.”

“We’re not dead yet, are we? I’m pretty sure we’ve done worse than this and we’re all still okay.”

“There’s nothing I can do to make you consider that it might be worth giving a little bit of thought, is there?”

“Nope.” Lydia decided to change the subject completely to ask, “Do you know where Dad went?”

Lustris shook her head. “Only that he’d be back in an hour or so and that, wherever he went, he thought he might need a drink before going.”

That cleared up very little, though it still gave her an idea of how long she was going to be waiting. Lustris went back on her way right before Elena came in with two of her adopted kids and, after that, Lydia didn’t mind how long it took Andrew to come back.

“Have you seen if it’s changed at all?” he prompted as he walked over to the ring.

“I haven’t thought about it that much,” Lydia admitted. She glanced at it but it was hard for her to see what it was clearly.

He must’ve realized this and let her hold it. “It’s a building of some sort, but through the window right here it’s possible to see what’s outside.”

“Wherever the window is, it’s taller than most of the surrounding trees,” she observed. “There’s mountains in the distance, too, but that… really doesn’t exclude anything aside from the obvious Plains and Pypes.”

“These aren’t Palus mountains and, as far as I know, there’s no building this tall in Pagetri that isn't a lot closer to any nearby towns. Both Tillai and the Mikkel territory don’t have these kinds of trees.”

“So you think it’s in Tramos?”

“It’s worth a shot.” He patted her shoulder and smirked. “Even if it isn’t, I’m sure there’s an adventure to be had there. Maybe you’ll figure out more about where you’re going when you get there.”