Naamah's Blessing

the best paths.”
    I daresay it was true.
    Thanks to Eyahue’s guidance, we were able to make camp the first night in the swamp on land that, while not precisely dry, was merely muddy. After gnawing on stale flatbread, men rolled themselves into their cloaks and dropped into an exhausted sleep. While well watered, our pack-horses went hungry for the night.
    The second day was worse; and the second night worst of all. There was no solid land, dry or muddy, to be found. We slogged through the swamp until the light failed us, and dozed as best we could, soaked and miserable, wedging ourselves in the crooks of the hardy trees that sank their roots deep into the mire.
    On the third day, we won clear of the swamp. Bit by bit, the ground grew more solid, the trees sparser, until a vast savannah of grasslands stretched before us.
    Balthasar Shahrizai whooped in approval, flinging his arms into the air. “Blessed Elua be praised!”
    “We’ve not reached Tawantinsuyo yet,” Eyahue said in a testy manner. “There’s a long way to go.”
    “But you said that was the worst of it?” I asked him.
    He pursed his wrinkled lips. “The worst until we reach the river passage.”
    Although there were hours of light left, everyone was exhausted and the horses were famished. We unloaded them and turned them loose to graze, then set about building a roaring bonfire despite the heat, propping our sodden clothing on stakes to dry, the men tending to their gear. Septimus Rousse made a hearty porridge of sweet potatoes and
maize
from our stores, and all of us felt better for having a warm meal in our bellies.
    “It really does feel like a whole new world,” Denis said in a contemplative tone, gazing across the sea of waving grass. “And to imagine that for thousands of years, no one knew it was here.”
    “Except for the millions of people who lived here,” Bao pointed out.
    Denis waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, you know what I mean! I’ve never been to Ch’in, but I knew it was there, as surely as you knew Terre d’Ange existed before you set foot on it.”
    Bao stifled a yawn. “I never thought about it. I would not have left Ch’in were it not for Master Lo.” He gave me a tired smile. “And I would not have left it a second time were it not for Moirin.”
    “Denis, why did Thierry want to come here so badly?” I asked him. “I know he did, but I never fully understood why.”
    “Glory,” Balthasar murmured when Denis did not reply right away. “Adventure. All his life, Thierry felt overshadowed by the deeds of his ancestors in the past, and stifled by the tragedies that befell House Courcel in his father’s lifetime. He wanted to live life to its utmost, to walk the knife’s edge between terror and exhilaration. He wanted to pit himself against the greatest challenge he could imagine. In our lifetime, that’s the exploration of Terra Nova.”
    There was a little silence.
    “What the Circle of Shalomon attempted didn’t help,” Denis said quietly. “Seeking to explore a different kind of uncharted territory. It further convinced Thierry that Terre d’Ange needed to find a way to seek greatness.” His mouth twisted. “One that didn’t involve loosing a fallen spirit on the world.”
    To that, I had no reply.
    “You didn’t help, either, Moirin,” Denis added. “I’m not saying it was your fault.” He shook his head. “It wasn’t. But when you sailed off on that enormous Ch’in ship in pursuit of some arcane destiny, it fanned the flame within him.”
    I felt guilty. “I didn’t
want
to go.”
    Bao stirred. “Hey!”
    “I’m glad I did,” I said to him. “But I didn’t want to. I didn’t choose my everlasting destiny!”
    “Thierry did,” Balthasar said. “Or at least he tried to. And he would have chosen it with or without you idiots attempting to summon demons, or Moirin’s date with a mysterious destiny.”
    “Why didn’t you accompany the Dauphin, my lord Shahrizai?”Mathieu de Montague asked with curiosity. “It seems you knew him so very well.”
    Balthasar smiled wryly. “Cowardice.”
    Bao scoffed.
    “I don’t think anyone’s going to believe that excuse anymore, my lord Balthasar,” I observed.
    He shrugged. “All right. Mayhap I’m not a coward, but I like my comfort and luxury. I don’t mind a stiff challenge so long as at the end of the day, there’s a hot bath and silken sheets, and some pretty lad or lass begging for sweet discipline. Thierry knew that