Asgotl, flying north to Is’syal

I touched down on an island at the southern end of the Island Swamp because I wasn't clear on what Emily wanted to do. I thought we might pay a quick visit to the Shrine of Gertzpul, but Emily's hand signal indicated that we should keep going north.

“Why are w...we stopping, Blubber Brain?" Emily leaned forward to talk close to my ears because she has a soft voice.

“I was confused as to what you want to do, Grandma. Where are we going?”

I could hear the grin in her voice, “Is’syal, to the Fated Shrine of the fuzzy adorable cat god.”

“Was going to Is’syal also something Galt wanted?”

"I wasn't happy with it, "Emily admitted, “but he found my w...weak spot and bribed me to accept a revelation from him, and he gave me a deadline," there was just a bit of a bite to her tone.

“Was it a good bribe?”

“Blubber Brain, it was a fabulous bribe. I’ve been thinking about glayon vines and had a hunch they might be an Erdos equivalent to something from Earth, just like the stink fish and the mothsbane. Galt told me last night that I was right. Then he said that if I accepted a revelation, he w...would tell me how to process it, which is something I don't know.

"I'm not sure why he wanted me to accept a revelation from him, but doing so will save me several years of experimentation. That's a big deal since using glayon vines will allow me to make better crutches for Kayseo. To seal the deal, Galt threw in dinner at one of my favorite fish restaurants on San Francisco Bay followed by dessert at an old-style diner in Berkeley."

“A fish restaurant? Now I'm envious. In a way, going to Is'syal is fishing since you're getting fish out of it. I just wish I could get some free fish too. So, Is’syal it is, Grandma. Aylem is not going to be happy with us.”

“Yeah,” an evil Emily voice chortled. “It will be interesting to see how she reacts.”

“Arrival in less than a bell, Grandma,” I used a running takeoff to get back in the air.

I don't know if I got to Is'syal in a half bell. Regardless, I flew at my quickest. When I circled the city, I spotted that the processional doors into the Well of Galt were open. Priestesses lined the way up the steps and through the doors. I landed at the base of the steps and climbed them.

Kamagishi was at the top of the steps. She wore her most formal white and red robe, the cloth-of-electrum veil, and wool triple headstall of a high priestess. When I reached the narthex of the shrine, Kamagishi and all the other priestesses dropped to one knee.

“May the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One,” the assembled priestesses said in unison.

“And also upon you,” Emily replied without flinching. “Please rise.”

“Hello, Emily, Asgotl,” Kamagishi said softly as she walked up to us. “Galt visited my dreams just before I woke up this morning, which gave me just enough time to prepare for this.”

“W...was it necessary to call out all the people at the shrine?" Emily didn't sound happy to have a big audience.

“Absolutely necessary," Kamagishi was emphatic. "If you don't know why then I will explain it afterward. Now, as soon as you go through this door into the Well, you will need to be as formal as you can be. A lot of people are here for this, Emily. I know you're uncomfortable when surrounded by Cosm, so if there are too many, don't even look at them. Concentrate on looking at the crystal and ignore everyone. And don't get off of Asgotl until the very last moment."

“What?" That caught me entirely by surprise. Kamagishi wanted me to carry Emily into the Well of Galt?

“Galt was clear that he wanted you to enter the shrine, Asgotl," Kamagishi frowned. "He didn't tell me why. One last thing you two should know: the King, all his ministers, and the High Priestesses Fassex, Irralray, Rakkalbos, and Ashansalt are inside. Now, are we ready?”

"No," Emily replied instantly. "Who could be ready for all of this? I thought we'd drop in and be in and out in no time. I wasn't expecting an audience."

"Well, you have one, and you can't back out now."

“That damn cat god,” Emily grumbled. “Alright, Blubber Brain, let’s get this over with.”

“Just keep your eyes on that fish dinner, Emily,” I tried to encourage her as I stepped through the great bronze doors into the dome chamber. The instant my talon set down on the white marble floor, the crystal exploded with light and sent a beam skyward. I expect it pierced the dome and could be seen many wagon-days away.

The well wasn’t enclosed like the one in Aybhas. There is only a red and white marble railing around the well, which has a floor one step lower than the outside ring. That ring is wide enough to be comfortable for me to walk around it. The four tiers of plain marble seating around the outer ring were full. I spotted the Kas’syo siblings: Oyyuth wearing her chain of office as presiding craftmaster and her brother in his own craftmaster chain. Oyyuth’s son Troyeepay was wedged between them. Imstay and the four other high priestesses were standing in the well.

Kamagishi, who was walking next to me, abruptly stiffened and then knelt. She put her hands together, pressed them against her forehead, and bowed her head to the floor. When I looked up, every being under the dome was doing the same. I could smell a wall of fear rising from them.

It was him: Galt, in his aspect as a cat, sitting on his haunches on top of the pale yellow-brown crystal in the well. The crystal was a long rectangular prism, not a hexagonal column like those at the Healing and Crystal Shrines.

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He matched Emily's description of him: a mostly black cat, with a white nose and snout, white chest and stomach, and white at the ends of his paws. To say he was fluffy would be an understatement. His golden eyes seemed to glow.

I stepped into the Well of Galt and laid down, putting my head on the floor so Emily could slide off. Without warning, Galt was next to my head. I was surprised he was so small, only about five hands high.

He looked up at me, and I heard his voice in my mind. * Thank you for bringing my Emily here, Asgotl. * Then he looked up as Emily made her way down, sliding down my shoulder while gripping the stirrup strap.

* Need a hand, kitten? *

"You need to move, fluff ball, or I might land on y...you,” she tried to keep her volume down.

* No need, * he stood on his back legs and grabbed her around the waist, lifting her down with care. * There, all taken care of. Are you ready, kitten? * He stayed standing, so he was just a bit taller than she was.

“You remember your promise?”

* It was only last night, kitten. Of course, I remember: no headache. I keep my promises. * With one paw still holding her waist, he placed the other paw on her head. * There, all done. How was that, Kitten? Kitten? Emily? Of all the rotten fish! * Galt caught Emily as she slumped onto her knees.

“D...dizzy,” Emily squeaked. “Everything is going sideways,” she apologized.

* Headache? * Galt sounded worried to me.

“No headache, fluff ball,” she smiled even though it looked like she couldn’t focus her eyes. “Dizziness is fine. I can cope with dizziness."

Galt picked Emily up in his front paws and walked up to Fassex, * Daughter, would you please give the Blessed Emily a hand until she recovers her balance? *

Just then, the sky outside turned dark even though it was a sunny cloudless day. I turned my head to see Sassoo in his aspect as the black griffin, lord of the winds. He filled the doorway into the dome. The wall of fear inside the shrine at least doubled according to my sense of smell.

* Just what do you think you are doing, god of windbags? This is my shrine and you are crashing an important occasion. Get out, right now! * Galt sounded angry to me.

* I’m returning the favor of your visit to my shrine two rotations ago. I just need to have a quick word with that griffin next to you. * Sassoo sounded amused.

I stumbled my way to standing and managed not to step on any of the Cosm next to me in the Well of Galt. The Lord of the Winds wanted me?

* Come here, Asgotl, *

I couldn’t stop myself. My mind was both empty and afraid but my legs moved of their own will toward this frightening presence. I stopped only a few hands from him. He bent his head down until his brow was touching mine and we were beak-to-beak.

* I choose you, Asgotl of the Naver Aerie, and bless you as my revelator. Remember! *

Words, music, and images filled my mind, and then I fell into darkness.

I woke up just inside the great bronze doors into the dome chamber of the Fated Shrine, at the spot where I was touched by Sassoo, Lord of the Winds. The doors were closed and late afternoon sun flooded through the clerestory windows. The inside light gems were already glowing. Sitting on a stool next to my head was a young priestess in the shrine’s librarian robes. She was focused on the book she was reading.

I would have picked my head up but it hurt. So this is what Emily was talking about when she mentioned the post-revelation headaches. I can see why she wasn’t thrilled about them.

“Excuse me, priestess?”

“Goodness! You’re awake, Great One,” she closed her book in a hurry and turned her focus on to me. “How do you feel?”

“My head hurts a lot. Might there be a healer nearby?”

“One moment, Great One,” she held up a finger and got that half-lidded look of doing something magical. “Ah,” she smiled at me, “an adept is coming. That should be just as good as a healer for a headache.”

She was right about that. An adept trained at the White Shrine of Landa could do about 80 percent of what a shrine-trained healer could do. The two specialties had a lot of overlap.

“I’m curious, Great One,” this young priestess leaned forward, “how does it feel to be the first griffin revelator?”

“Head achy,” I replied without thinking. Then, what she asked me sunk in. I was the first griffin revelator just like Emily was the first Coyn revelator. Maybe this was my purpose on this world. I had often wondered why the gods chose to send me here with my memories of the oceans of Earth. It irked me that Tiki considered us a threesome. Aylem and Emily were revelators but I was just the taxi. Taxis don’t need memories of a prior life.

“My apologies,” I said to the priestess. She wasn’t to blame for my headache. “I was being snippy. I’m not sure how a revelator is supposed to feel. All that I feel at the moment is this headache. What happened after I passed out?”

“Galt and Sassoo disappeared and people returned to their homes or shops. The Holy Kamagishi took the Blessed Emily to her study along with the other high priestesses. Oh, look, here’s the Holy Fassex.” The priestess knelt on both knees, “may the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Holy One.”

“And with you too. Please rise. I hear there’s a griffin with a sore head?” Fassex entered my field of vision, still in her ceremonial purple robe with the black velvet and cloth-of-gold sash of an adept. She got down on one knee in front of me and put her right hand over her heart, “may the blessings of the eleven gods be upon you, Great One.”

“What?” I squawked. A preview of what I would face for the rest of my life arrived in front of me. “I don’t think I can do this.”

“If the Blessed Emily can, so can you, Great One,” the old crone grinned with amusement. “I’m sure I don’t need to teach you the response.”

“Arg!” My fun-filled life of laziness and adventure was over. “And also upon you, Holy One. What happens if I don’t tell you to rise?”

“Want that headache cured, Asgotl?” Her smile was malevolent. What an awful old lady she was.

"Please rise," I managed to say, and steeled myself for the merciless teasing I knew I was about to harvest from Emily.