Far-Seer Read Online Free Page A

you?”
    “It is my honor to be his apprentice.”
    “I’m sure it is,” said Yenalb. “Afsan, you must take care. God talks to Her children in many ways. To priests, such as myself, She talks directly, in words spoken so only we can hear. To astrologers, such as your master, Saleed, She talks in the complex motions of the stars, the planets, and the moons. To others, She talks in subtler, less direct ways. Has God spoken to you?”
    Afsan’s tail swished in sadness. “She has not.”
    “I see you bear no tattoo. When is your pilgrimage?”
    “I am to take it in the near future, although I have not yet scheduleded a voyage.”
    “You are of the age, though, are you not? You look the right size.”
    “Yes, it has been ten kilodays since my hatching.”
    “Then you must go soon.”
    “I’ve been waiting for the right moment to discuss this with mt master.”
    “If memory serves, I’ve seen you in Saleed’s company before. Somehow, I doubt a moment when you feel comfortable with him will come.” Yenalb clicked his teeth together a few times to show the remark was meant as a jest. Afsan tipped his head in concession. “Well, the Dasheter sails soon. Would you care to travel with Var-Keenir, boy?”
    “Would I! That would be terrific — !”
    A clicked his teeth again. “I have some influence with Saleed. I’ll speak to him.”
    “Thank you.”
    “Not at all. You obviously need some enlightenment, or you wouldn’t have been marching the sinner’s march. And nothing is more enlightening than gazing directly upon the of God.”
    “So I hear.”
    “Good. Now, do the march again, properly this time, then get a mop and clean up the water.” Yenalb turned to go, but then spoke once more. “Oh, and Afsan, you should try to do your hunt before your pilgrimage.”
    “Why?”
    “Well, the pilgrimage is dangerous.”
    “So is the hunt, I’m told.” Again, Afsan regretted speaking so plainly to an elder, but Yenalb dipped his head politely.
    “The hunt is less dangerous,” the priest said, “as long as you don’t join one of those crazy parties that still adhere to the teachings of Lubal. Go after something that eats plants and you’ll be fine. No, we lose more people on the pilgrimage than we do on the ritual hunt. Riverquakes mean there are times when boats don’t return at all. If anything were to happen to you during your long voyage, and you hadn’t participated in a hunt yet, your soul would arrive in heaven without having completed either rite of passage. That’s bad.”
    “How bad?”
    “Well, we all look forward to the afterlife, to a place where we will shed the instincts that keep us from working well together the way a snake sheds its skin. In heaven, at God’s side, with infinite territory, we will constantly enjoy that special camaraderie and those heightened senses that one normally only experiences during a pack-hunt. But you must be primed for that, must have experienced the cooperative spirit of the hunt in this life in order to be able to adopt it as your native mode in the next. And, as for the pilgrimage, well, you must in fact see God in this mortal existence if you are to recognize Her in heaven. She does not — She does not look like one of us.”
    “I’m looking forward to gazing upon Her face,” said Afsan.
    “Then I shall go arrange it.” And with that, Yenalb turned tail. Afsan watched the old priest’s back as he disappeared down a corridor.
    Det-Yenalb made his way out into the blue-white light of day. He paused on the ramp leading down from the Hall of Worship, reflexively sniffing the air. The palace grounds were huge. They had to be.
    The veneer of civilization, thought the priest. He snorted. God had told us to live and work together, but even to this day, it’s hard for us to do so.
    The territorial instinct was strong, and although the creche masters worked to break it in the egglings, no one ever lost it completely. Yenalb could sense the others