***
It was pleasantly warm after the storm. The sea birds had left their ledges and returned to fishing. The air was clear and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. The only disturbing sign was the occasional flicker of black-and-white beneath the waves.
Liala secured the remnants of her dolphin suit about her loins and glanced at the orcas before returning her attention to the strange man who was applying medicinal herbs to the cuts on her body. He said his name was Balduur and he was good at healing wounds.
She asked if he had been a healer in his former realm. He said he had been a warrior and warriors knew how to treat wounds as well as make them. That was puzzling. The Lord of Light was a saintly man whose followers abhorred violence. One would not expect him to have a servant who engaged in fighting.
She had tried to convince herself that Balduur's primitive dress and rough speech didn't preclude him from that role. The prophecies said nothing about the servant's appearance. Merely that he would accompany the good lord on his journey from the Ninth Realm.
His next remark was even more puzzling.
'They are good for curing heads.'
'You mean the herbs?'
'That's right, Princess.'
'You mean when someone has a headache?'
'Nay, Princess. To stop the head from decaying.'
'Decaying?'
'Aye. When you kill an enemy and cut off his head, you have to cure it or the soul light will escape and go back into the Void. You must know that ... everyone does. If you don't trap the soul it could get loose and enter the body of a newborn babe and that could give you no end of trouble when the babe grows up.'
Liala could hardly believe her ears. The Lord of Light and his servant were meant to come from an advanced civilisation that had banished violence and superstition. The prophecies said he would help them achieve the same high goals. That's why his coming was so important. An awful thought crossed her mind.
'Balduur. Where do you come from?'
The little man stopped swabbing her wounds with pulverised leaves and pointed a stubby finger at the horizon.
'Gorm. It's up there past Galboreth.'
'No. I mean which realm do you come from?'
He looked surprised. 'I thought you knew, Princess. You said you was going to take us to safety. It was like you was expecting us ...'
'Which realm, Balduur?'
'The Seventh Realm, Princess.'
'And the big man who was with you?'