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k_a_webb‘Why doesn’t Athare know?” Peric asked, because he knew, thanks to Lucille, that if one of the worlds was going to know what was coming it would be Athare.
‘There are other Athares, as I’m sure Lucille has told you, future selves, past selves, numerous alternative Athares, and none of them are going through this, in the same way that we are. For many of the alternative Athares that’s due to the worlds that are within their Webs, because that always changes thing. An example of this is on of the later Webs doesn’t have a Raenarin, thanks to the actions of the Witches, but it was a Web where that Emrys also created a many worlds Gaelom, so the first of his twin worlds took the place of the destroyed world.’ Quiar sighed. ‘We know that the system works, in theory, but that doesn’t mean it will work here if the same sort of things happened, which is, sadly, still a possibility.
‘All of Athare’s future selves have seen people make different choices, so none of them were exactly the same as our Athare is now, which isn’t unusual, although it is irritating. If we knew more it would be easier for us to decide what our next steps should be, but right now we’re all at a loss. None of the other Athares have seen the wards come down around the fae settlements. They don’t have the same Moonjumpers in the same places. Kester isn’t the leader of the Council on any of the others and his sister is. Every single difference between our Athare and them makes it harder for us to see how things are going to work out here, even though it’s something Athare has been attempting to do.
‘You see, one of the main problems we have is contacting our closest future selves. For some reason we haven’t yet worked out it’s almost impossible for us to converse with the worlds who’d know us best and Athare believes it’s because of the way the Web was created – magic is capricious. It often doesn’t work the way you want it to when you do things like this. That’s why the doors have been difficult for us to work with, why there are times when even the doors aren’t in control of themselves, why the shyders evolved… there are numerous examples just within this Web of how magic has taken control and done exactly what it wanted to without stopping to think of the consequences.’ Quiar laughed. ‘That is, of course, impossible for it to do, because, as far as we know, magic isn’t a sentient creature.
‘Honestly, I’m glad it isn’t. I can’t imagine what it would do if it was sentient and could see how it affected the Web, because I have a horrible feeling that it would keep doing things just to see what how it could change things, in the same way the fae have done in a couple of the Webs. When I think of what they’ve done I’m glad they made the choice here to hide themselves away in the settlements, because it does mean they aren’t as much of an issue, although their very existence does make things difficult for everyone. Even us, unfortunately, as we’re always thinking about how the fae would react to certain things and we often end up having to do something different, so we don’t make things any harder than they already are.
‘Within so many of the Webs the fae have caused problems, but the fae not being there can have the same effect. It all depends on the races that are there, the worlds, the choices each of those races make… There’s one Web where the Weavers took control and that went amazingly well, but on three other Athares the Weavers didn’t exist. Eithne wasn’t one of the fae who managed to reach Athare and it was only Eithne who could create the Weavers, because of who she was. As other races were in control of what happened next everything was much harder for those worlds. We don’t get to talk to them much, as they’re almost always busy trying to fix another problem that’s been caused by a race that shouldn’t be in control of the Web.
‘The most difficult Web of them all for the worlds to have any control at all is where the Witches of Raenarin chose not to blank out the existence of the other worlds, but instead chose to take them over, one by one, to increase their power. I don’t know much about that Web, again because the worlds are so busy but also because there’s no Quiar in that Web, and when there’s no Quiar in the Web I have much less of a connection to it. With some of the Webs I wish I had more contact, to learn more about them, and with others I’m glad that I don’t, otherwise I think I’d feel the urge to help them, which is something I really don’t have time for right now. Not with everything that’s happening here and has been happening.
‘Lucille, of course, wants to learn more about the Webs, so that she can teach others, because she knows how easy it can be for someone to step through a door and find themselves somewhere they could never have imagine being with no information about where they are or what they might have to deal with. That’s why Leolin spent his entire life travelling the Web, writing his journals. It’s going to be why she’ll end up travelling the Webs at some point, the same way some of the fae have done, learning everything she can about them, in order to make things simpler for the average person who will find themselves getting lost within another Web. Time travellers have enough trouble getting used to things – Web travellers… I’ve seen a couple and I’m not certain that they ever really settle, although people do their best to help them.’
‘Is there a reason you’re telling me all this?’ Peric couldn’t keep the amusement out of his mental voice. ‘Are you trying to distract me or yourself?’
‘Both of us, really, and I’m telling you because I like teaching people, but it’s hard for us to connect with people, Peric. There are very few people who are open minded enough to believe in the sentient worlds, even though we do our best to get through to as many people as possible. It’s easier for me when someone like Lucille travels here and teaches people about us, because then there are more of you who start thinking that it might be interesting to get to know one of the worlds. When that happens everything is much simpler.’
‘What are you trying to distract yourself from?’
‘The counterfeit ring. If I don’t go looking then I won’t have to see the damage they’re still causing and that makes everything much easier for me, but I can’t help myself a lot of the time. Having something else to do, someone like you to talk to, can take my mind off it all, because I can talk to you about other things, about the Webs and the worlds and how everything works, which helps to stop you thinking about your own problems as well.’
‘You could talk to Lucille.’
‘I am. Fortunately I have the skill to be able to talk to more than one person at a time, so I’m concurrently having conversations with you, Lucy, Merry and a couple of people you have yet to meet. You might meet them during your journey to stop the counterfeit ring, but that all depends on the choices that each of you make. There is still a chance that you might walk away from all of this.’
Peric shook his head. ‘No, Quiar, there isn’t. I might not have wanted this job, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to leave Bertram and Lucille to do this alone, because I know Bertram won’t walk away. Not now. He wants to bring an end to the ring so they can’t hurt anybody else in the way they hurt him.’
‘Bertram’s going to have a difficult time.’
‘What happened to the other Bertrams?’
‘Sometimes there are questions you shouldn’t ask, because there are answers that you really won’t like.’
‘I know I won’t like the answers, but I want to know.’
There was a long silence. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, there are three dead Bertrams – one died, because Lucille chose not to go with him; one died with Lucille, because they weren’t ready to fight the assassins; and one died because Lucille didn’t come with you to Seahorse Port. Neither of you wanted her to be a part of the case. That Peric and Bertram didn’t accept her help in the way the two of you did. Her being there at the right time seemed suspicious rather than useful, so you asked her to stay behind in Sheepshank, and that really did affect how things happened here.’
Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.