Halen summoned a Guardian to show them to the nearest Community dining hall where they broke fast in the company of a table full of Members of the northeast Center. There were many questions and requests for news from the four travelers, as visitors from out and about or from other Centers were rare. But Theana and the others were restrained in their answers, touched by an air of suspicion and distrust, and were relieved when they could be shown to their rooms.

Gern was taken to a different residence complex than the females, and Theana and Mir-Ven found opportunity to get to know Rel a bit better. This seemed to be a good experience for the young woman formerly of the Comu Liba, giving her a chance to relax and focus on matters other than her grief. She did talk about Via, as she spoke about her entire life at Mir-Ven’s behest, but it was in the context of positive reminiscence, and it was actually quite touching. Rel did spend some time crying, though, and wished to have time alone.

Mir-Ven, stating that she had not gotten to see Gern alone since the rescue, left with him after the midday meal to explore the various grounds of the new Center. Theana, after cajoling Rel into having more to eat for lunch than she had eaten for breakfast, saw fit to drag her on a walk all throughout the Center.

All in all, this day and night in the different Community was a fresh and intriguing experience, but Theana, for one, was glad when the time came to leave for what had become home. The discussion with Halen had left a bad taste in her mouth and a shadow over her thoughts.

The journey home, across a large portion of south Lorcron, was definitely interesting. It was certainly less harrowing than the experience she and Gern had endured, when he had not been in his right mind. At first, she was glad to have coherent, talkative company in the form of Mir-Ven, and the calm quiet company of Gern and Rel. But after a time, Theana felt that she had seen entirely too much of the same people. Mostly Mir-Ven.

Little things annoyed her, and she found herself avoiding the girl. She ended up spending most of her time with Rel, who was good company even if she did not often feel like talking about anything but her family. Theana found herself wishing to talk more with Gern, but Mir-Ven was a constant presence at the boy’s…the young man’s side.

Somehow that annoyed Theana as well.

She did have opportunity to speak to Gern among the entire group, such as in the evenings after dark when the four of them sat around the fire (a nightly event Theana always looked forward to as the temperature grew cooler all the time). They often discussed what they had learned from Halen and what they might face when they arrived at the northwest Center.

“Why…why is it so bad if those of Pr-A communities act to stop the Comu Liba and the Cha?” Rel asked one evening as she poked at the campfire with a stick, sitting cross-legged on the ground with her cloak draped over her shoulders. “They are among the few who know that the threat has grown to the point that it has. Doesn’t that practically lend them an obligation to take action?”

Gern, also comfortably seated on the ground near to her, was just finishing the last of his dinner of dried fruit and beef from the stores at the northeast center. Theana noted the way his silver eyes reflected the light as he looked up and spoke. “The Pr-A philosophy is one of non-violence, producing change through inner transformation, which means inspiring and empowering individuals to change themselves. This is the only true freedom, and it is the only way that change and Truth can be valid. If that change is forced by an outside influence, it is not valid nor will it last. In any case, the Pr-A, in order to adhere to this philosophy, must not combat threats to society or to itself by forceful means. The One Truth, because it is truth, will prevail, by definition, without the need for force. If it must be forced, it is not truth.”

Rel did not directly refute this, as such was not her way, but it did cause her to screw up her brow and her face almost comically as she attempted to swallow it.

Theana, seated on a convenient boulder, decided to make her contribution. “I just think it makes them big hypocrites. No offense, Gern. The Priests say they’re ready to give equal consideration to all viewpoints, that Truth is not about a detailed system of rules and regulations and irrevocable beliefs, but then they root themselves into just such a system and get up in arms, literally, when that system is challenged. And forcing beliefs on people…it’s just not right.”

“Which is exactly what the Comu Liba and the Cha Paladins are trying to do,” Gern pointed out evenly, staring at the fire rather than at Theana.

“I’ve admitted that,” Theana replied, careful to keep the heat from her tone. “This isn’t about me defending the rebels and the Cha. They’re the bad guys. But the Pr-A is supposed to be the good guys.”

“But aren’t good guys supposed to stop bad guys?” Mir-Ven cut in from beside Gern where she reclined on her bedroll. “That’s the way it is in the stories, anyway. I just feel like letting the rebels move in and take over is…well, it’s just not right, whatever the philosophy of the Pr-A. I mean, it’s not like the church wants to take over Lorcron. They just want things to stay as they are.”

“Because they have a pretty good thing going,” Theana added cynically. “Of course they don’t want that to change.”

“It is a good thing,” Gern said defensively. “The Centers provide a good home for many, many people who would not otherwise have a good home, many children who might not get properly fed and educated otherwise. Why is that a bad thing?”

“But they expect something in return,” Theana argued.

“Just that those people abide by the rules of the Center and contribute their fair share,” Mir-Ven broke in.

“And that they be preached to about the church’s beliefs,” Theana pointed out.

“But they’re not required to listen or buy into it,” Gern said, some emotion actually entering his tone. “Small price to pay for a good life. And what if they do learn something and believe it? It’s not a bad way to live.”

“But for them to learn it under those circumstances…who can say whether they believe it for the right reasons? It’s not as if they are given other options as to what to believe,” Theana asserted, feeling inspired. “Maybe if the Pr-A would meet with the Cha peacefully, perhaps discuss a possible collaboration…The Members of the Communities could be given a more well-rounded viewpoint.”

Gern and Mir-Ven looked…well, flabbergasted was the best word Theana could come up with, as if she had just sprouted a third eye or something.

“Maybe we should drop you off back at the rebel base,” Mir-Ven said, but she laughed, strangely enough.

Theana, thinking on what she had said, laughed as well. “All right. Perhaps I got just a little carried away. The Cha are not about to sit down for tea and cake and discuss sharing a home. And honestly, I don’t believe in their cause any more than any other. I think they’re up to something, joining with the Comu Liba as they have done.”

“And the Comu Liba…” Rel spoke up, “they might have started out with noble ideals. I mean, it’s understandable that all of the independent citizens of Lorcron, those who are doing just fine with their farms and businesses and so on, would want to protect and preserve that way of life. But somewhere along the way, the methods became too desperate, too extreme. And the goals changed, I think.”

“When the Cha moved in,” Gern supplied grimly. “I do agree with Theana on that point, that the cult is up to something beyond helping the rebels ‘preserve the freedom of the Realm.’ They have dealings with the Lombe family up north as well. Interestingly, Kaevan, the eldest Lombe son, spoke as if his family supports the New State. He did not have a high opinion of the rebels, from what I recall.” Most of what she recalled regarding her encounter with Kaevan involved intense anger, but she wasn’t going to bring that up at the moment.

“So they’re playing both sides,” Gern mused, throwing a handful of leaves at the fire distractedly. They burned up with a series of crackles, sending a fresh wash of embers toward the branches that were silhouetted by the night sky. “Seems a bit risky, if their support of the rebels becomes open. The Lombes will know that something is going on.”

“The Lombes are pretty likely playing both sides as well,” Theana opined, remembering their deception and betrayal. “A family doesn’t get to that status in the community, and maintain it, through wholly honest dealings. I mean, with an agent like Wue-Drae in their employ…”

Gern frowned deeply at the mention of the dragon-man. “What does he want from me, anyway? It seems like he sees me as a lot more than an escaped servant or slave, for him to have hunted me down like that. And the fact that he found me makes me wonder how he found me. Could he have followed a psychic trail like the one Mir-Ven followed to find me?”

Theana shrugged, hesitating in her answer, but then Rel forestalled her.

“Gern told me something of your former experience with this creature,” Rel said musingly. “But what I wonder is what led Paladin Resk to intervene, perhaps even sacrificing himself, to prevent Wue-Drae from taking Gern. I know that he did not do it out of courage or kindness. He had some deeper motivation.”

“That’s…a very good question, Rel,” Gern said evenly, but Theana could tell it disturbed him deeply. It bothered her, too. First Wue-Drae, then Neel, and now a Cha Paladin. Neel had admitted outright that it had to do with the Power that could unify the Realms; such could obviously be of interest to other parties, whether they were for or against unification.

“I suppose you are a much-wanted man,” Rel declared. “Perhaps it is related to this power you have to travel through that dream world?”

“Perhaps,” Gern said, giving no voice to the numerous thoughts that had to be flying through his brain.

Theana, leaning her chin on her hands, decided to redirect the subject. “Plans upon schemes upon plans. It’s quite a tangled web.” Gern glanced at her oddly when she said this for some reason. “I don’t know, Mir-Ven. Maybe you’re right about the good guys versus the bad guys. The rebels, whatever their intentions, are kidnapping, torturing, and killing people to achieve their ends. And the Cha are helping, for Brun knows what reason. Somebody has to stop all of that. Who will do it if not the Pr-A?”

“I don’t think she has much response to that,” Gern murmured, indicating Mir-Ven’s fully reclined form. She lay with her head in his lap, sleeping soundly. He stroked her hair back from her face gently with his long fingers.

“I believe I will follow her example,” Rel announced, punctuating the statement with an appropriate yawn. She unrolled her bedroll and settled herself, obviously accustomed to sleeping out of doors. Theana assumed such was due to her experience on patrol for the rebels.

Several minutes passed. The fire crackled and Mir-Ven began snoring softly. Rel’s breathing slowly evened out as she drifted off, the long day’s walking having taken its usual toll. Theana had been wanting to speak with Gern alone, but now was not sure what it was she wanted to say. She opened her mouth to speak, only to be forestalled by a shifting log in the fire, its disintegration unbalancing it and sending it toppling. She shoved at it with her boot to keep it from leaving the perimeter of stones she had circled for the firepit.

“It’s…good to travel with you again, Theana,” Gern said quietly, smiling shyly. “I hope I’m better company this time.”

Theana smiled as well. “Actually, I was thinking of that very thing earlier in the trip. You’re much more pleasant when you’re not catatonic or rambling incoherently.”

“Well, I’m not as incoherent, anyway,” Gern quipped.

There was more silence. Theana stared into the fire and could feel Gern’s eyes on her at times, but he also stared mostly into the fire. She remembered what Shul had said once about Gern having a crush on her. Was that what made her feel so nervous around him now? But then, he had always unsettled her, in a way. Even though she had always felt a certain connection, an interrelatedness, as well.

“Thank you,” he said suddenly. “For coming after me, that is.”

Theana shrugged. “How could I not? I mean, after all we’ve been through. You’re like…” She was going to say my brother, but for some reason changed her mind. “We’re connected, now.” That was better, but was more than she had intended to say. Gern’s eyes lit up with adoration in response to the statement.

“Yes, I—I feel that way too,” he told her. He might have been blushing, but it was hard to tell in the firelight. “But I guess, lately, I mean, back at the Center, you spent so much time with Shul…Which is okay, of course, but I just kind of wanted to see you sometimes and…maybe I thought you didn’t want to see me.”

Theana considered carefully how to answer. “It wasn’t about me not wanting to see you,” she told him earnestly. “I guess I felt you would want to spend time with…friends closer to your own age.”

“Oh.” Gern’s face fell a bit, at that. Theana had reopened that gap between them in his mind. “I suppose that’s becoming a difficult judgment call, these days.” He held out his palms and regarded them, likely comparing them to the smaller hands he had been accustomed to seeing. “I probably spent more time with the Priests than with my peers.”

Theana felt a rush of warmth and pain for him, perhaps thinking for the first time of how difficult it must have been to have the already difficult teenage years further complicated by what Gern was going through. And Gern, especially, had not been able to live the typical teenage life. He had experienced so much, lost so much… “Gern, I’m so sorry that I have been so…absent. I suppose you needed a familiar face through all of this…and maybe if I’d been there, you might not have left…”

“No…I mean, I accept your apology. I did miss you, but I understand…” He looked toward Rel’s sleeping form. “But if I hadn’t left, where would Rel be? How could we know about the plans of the rebels and the Cha? I also had some…revelations on my journey. I took more steps toward…the awareness I need to discover the secret of…of the Power.”

Theana was, in one sense, glad to change the subject to one not having to do with emotions. On the other hand, the Power was not her favorite topic either. “I—I won’t pretend to fully understand what exactly you have to do to achieve that…but I’m glad you feel you’re making progress,” she offered.

“I know you have trouble believing in the validity of my work with Am-Te,” Gern told her seriously. “You really couldn’t possibly understand without undergoing a similar experience. But then, you were in soulspace.”

“If discovering the Power involves going there…” Theana began, leaving the thought unfinished, not counting her shudder.

“It’s not so scary after you’re used to it,” Gern said, chuckling. “The scariest part is taking a real look at yourself, admitting things to yourself that you don’t want to admit, and…thinking about things you’d just as soon forget.”

Gern appeared sobered by his thoughts, and Theana nodded. “That could be very scary,” she said, though she wasn’t entirely sure what she meant by that. Without warning, her mouth widened in a jaw-stretching yawn. “Sorry. Guess my body’s trying to tell me something.”

“Or maybe it’s telling me something,” Gern said, grinning. “’Stop talking and let Theana sleep.’”

“Could be,” she said, grinning back at him. She undid the ties on her bedroll and found a relatively even, rock and root free space to lay it out. Gern, meanwhile, repositioned a sleepily protesting Mir-Ven so that he could prepare his own bedding.

Once Theana was settled, she looked over at Gern who was positioning himself for the first watch. She had actually forgotten that someone had to stay awake, still in the midst of adjusting to life “on the road.” “I’m glad we found you, Gern. Are you all right to take the first watch?”

He smiled. “I’m fine. And I was glad to be found. Good night, Theana.”

“Good night, Gern.”