Ground Speech was an odd language. It used the back of the throat to make some guttural noises, but all the words were rounded. There was very little harshness to the things we could say and it made me wonder if a fight in Azabel’s territory sounded more like a creek babbling rather than a storm clashing. They also had less characters to memorize which felt like they had given up halfway through when it came to discovering the sounds they could use.
Ingrasia spoke it fluently. Ground Speech flowed from her easily, all sweet sounds that slipped into each other so it was difficult to tell where one word began and another ended, with only the occasional guttural emphasis from the back of her throat to give the foreign words substance.
Juniper and I were nowhere close to that level as we tried to fit our mouths around the odd sounds without warping them. The characters themselves were simple for me to memorize, but Juniper had little bit more trouble, likely because she didn’t the extra years of experience I had with written language. However, I still struggled to believe Ingrasia when she said spoke about how extensive writing was in the eastern territory. Rather than just using it for labels and reports, they turned it into an artwork—from how it was written to the stories they told. She said that writing was like an entirely new language and she had struggled to decipher it when she came across it even more so than parsing through records that used the ancient dialect. I thought keeping our vocal tradition of storytelling was better to impart meaning and intent to the audience. Tone was difficult to mistake while a word on a scroll couldn’t indicate how it might be spoken.
We tried to ask Ingrasia more about her time in Azabel’s territory since she had obviously been there, but she only gave us hints, like when she mentioned their extensive writing. Otherwise, she said we would learn more when it wouldn’t distract us from the basics.
Nor did we learn what her blessing was, though she was amused when we guessed that it prevented her from losing her balance given how much she liked to perch on the edge of long drops. That was apparently just the result of life long practice and preference. She did say she’d give us a reward if we figured it out on our own, but the simple solution of asking Ziek also fell flat. She refused to give us even a hint, though she did give us an encouraging smile, and said it was a mystery all of Ingrasia’s apprentices were tasked to learn.
I wasn’t enthused to have another mystery put on my plate, especially when I still wasn’t sure what Esie’s blessing was either. But I also couldn’t help but admire them a little for the secrecy. After all, I would have preferred to keep my own blessing secret longer but with how nosy whisper women could be, such a feat was difficult to maintain. Likely there whisper women who knew and would be willing to tell me about either of their blessings, if I could find them and was willing to pay whatever price they wanted for the information.
During our Ground Speech lesson, we gained another possible source of information. One of Ingrasia’s other apprentices, returned from a mission. She had premature gray, wavy hair, wide hips and bust, and a laugh that made others want to laugh with her. She twirled as she approached us, arms held wide.
“Miss me?”
“Ana.” Ingrasia grinned as she jumped down from her perch. “You were supposed to be here days ago.”
Ana stopped just short of our mentor and raised her eyebrows. “Better late than early, right?”
“You might have learned that lesson a little too well,” Ingrasia chided, though she was still smiling as she said it.
Ana laughed. “It is one of my favorites.” Her attention turned to Juniper and me. “Did you finally decide on some replacements for Ziek and me?”
“Not replacements, but additions to the roster. I’m not bored of you two yet.” Juniper and I stood as Ingrasia gestured at us. “Meet Gimley and Juniper, our fresh faced recruits.”
Quicker than I could blink, I found myself swept up in a hug and then put down again before I could protest. Juniper got the same treatment.
“Lovely to meet you,” Ana said. “I’m Anastasis, but call me Ana—it’s simpler on the tongue. Have you met the others yet?”
“Bell’s still on her mission, but Ziek’s been helping with their lessons. I’ll have you step in to help too.”
Ana pretended to pout. “No rest for the weary, I see.” Then her seemingly ever present smile slipped back onto her face. “We’ll have fun together. I’m sure of it.”
Juniper found her words quicker than I did. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Ana’s smile widened. “And I you.”
Ingrasia kept the small talk from spiraling further as she focused on Juniper and me. “Keep practicing. I’ll be back soon.” She turned back to Ana. “Tell me how your mission went.”
“Of course.”
They strode away to a shadow and stepped through it, likely to a more secluded spot than the training yard though I wished I could listen in on what they had to say. Ana’s mission could have been anything from a standard one given to all new whisper women in the sect to something entirely more interesting and worthy of secrecy.
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Just like it was interesting that of Ingrasia’s apprentices, two were new whisper women and, from what I had gathered, the one we hadn’t met was an older Sapling and would likely earn her place among the whisper women sooner than later. Most whisper women didn’t hold onto the mentor/apprentice dynamic that long, but despite how Ingrasia came across at first she seemed to take her duties as a mentor seriously and both apprentices we met so far didn’t seem to mind their continued position as apprentices despite no longer being seedlings.
It made me wonder about Dawnli and Rivon’s motives for placing us with Ingrasia. Had they been worried that soon she wouldn’t have apprentices to occupy her time? And why would they care if she was busy or not?
I decided it was past time I used my resources out the sect to learn more, even if I’d have preferred to discover everything on my own. There were too many moving parts and secrets for me to parse through it all quickly, and it was becoming apparent that if I wanted more answers than questions, I’d have to adjust my methods for obtaining information. Mishtaw might not have all the answers, but she’d be likely to know things we didn’t, or at least have a different perspective about everything that was going on.
Juniper and I finished our language lesson and then I sent a whisper on the wind to Mishtaw. She responded quicker than I expected and said I should meet her at her home after the evening meal. I had half hoped that she might have been out on another relic inspection already, but her message said I had reached her just in time since she would be leaving in the morning.
I told Juniper where I was going but I hinted it’d be best if I went on my own and she seemed to have her own plans. I wasn’t sure if my mind was being overactive with all my suspicions about what was going on in my sect and among my mentors, but it seemed like Juniper agreed to us splitting up a little too readily. I was tempted to follow her as she hurried off, but Mishtaw only had so much time and I didn’t want to lose my chance to talk to her.
It was just her and I when we settled down at the table in her home. I wasn’t sure what to think when I saw that the alcove Prevna and I had slept in. We had taken our bedrolls with us, obviously, so there was little left in that corner, but Mishtaw had also neglected to make use of the new space. It looked like I could put my bedroll down and sleep there as if nothing had happened.
Mishtaw gave me one of her direct looks. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”
And I did. More than I ever meant to. I told her about my meeting with Dawnli and Rivon, Ingrasia’s appointment as my new mentor and meeting her other apprentices. I told her about the meeting I had spied on at Esie’s request and my concerns about her and the Lady of Calm Waters, but how I wanted to use all the resources I had. I told her about Juniper and what I knew of the situation in the delta. The words just poured out in a way they never had and I hated it even as there was some relief to get all the suspicions and whirling thoughts out of my head. Mishtaw was someone I could trust to give me a direct answer, at least.
“Now I see why you wanted to speak with me.” Mishtaw drummed her fingers on the table, once. “Let’s start with your new mentor: Ingrasia. She’s known as the Infiltrator. She’s completed more missions in the eastern territory than any other living whisper woman. From what I understand, she’s taken a break from those missions for the past five years or so in order to raise up a new crop of whisper women who can match her skill in that area. If you’ve been placed under her then they are planning to use you across the border.”
“Do you know what her blessing is?”
“Language.”
I blinked. “What?”
“Her blessing gives her the ability to understand and speak any language or dialect like a native. We worked together a couple times when there was a relic I couldn’t reach because the locals and I had trouble understanding each other. With the animosity between the two territories there hasn’t been much of an opportunity to learn the language over there and that has hindered our ability to infiltrate and gather information. She was able to bypass that difficulty and has since taught the language to others, though she is still the most fluent.”
It made sense, though I hadn’t expected her skill with Ground Speech to come from her blessing. It also made me wonder if the Envoys from Azabel’s territory had a similar method to learn our language or if their jewelry couldn’t allow them to understand another language at a moment’s notice. From what little I had seen their trinkets helped more with physical enhancements.
Mishtaw added, “From what I’ve seen and heard, she’s a fair mentor who treats her apprentices well. I don’t know as much about the inner workings of the Hundred Eyes sect, but my guess would be that the sect head and second don’t appreciate how much they are forced to depend on her for their intelligence from the east—and that those she trains tend to hold a strong measure of loyalty to her rather than simply to the sect.”
Her expression darkened as she moved on her next point. “I’ve already warned you about Esie and your patron. They have their own agenda that’s often more closely guarded than even most top Hundred Eye secrets. If they are comfortable involving…certain creatures in their plots than there is little they’d likely shy away from. If the High Priestess is also involved, then I can only advise you to be as careful as possible despite your tendency to take risks.”
I pressed, “Why do you think they are interested in the delta? Or, at least, why would they have me listen in on the meeting?”
Mishtaw considered. “It might be that they want a new perspective like they stated or even an outside judge who see the whole picture since they aren’t directly involved. But I think it’s just as likely that they want you invested in the delta—in part to bring Juniper in and also so they can more easily call on you if something dangerous arises so they can curb their losses.”
That matched my own worries, though I wished Mishtaw had some concrete bit of information I could use. But with how tight-lipped Esie could be when it came to something she didn’t want to discuss or draw attention to, I knew it had been a long shot. As it was, talking things out with Mishtaw helped me feel more settled, even if I didn’t get all the answers I wanted.
“Gimley?” Mishtaw continued when she saw she had my attention. “Tell Ingrasia about Kaylan’s offer. It could be genuine or it could another why to pull you into Esie’s circle—either way it’ll be best to keep Ingrasia informed than hiding it behind her back.”
I nodded, though I wasn’t sure if I’d actually tell Ingrasia about the offer yet. I was glad Mishtaw trusted at least one of my other mentors, but it felt odd to be open with someone I had barely known for a week. Perhaps, though, I could get past the discomfort like I had with Juniper.
My conversation with Mishtaw didn’t last much longer after that. She wanted to wake up early for her mission in the morning and I wasn’t willing to vomit out any more words, though I was glad to have gotten her insight.