The Elder Gods. David Eddings

peculiarities after she joined them. So far as they could determine, she never slept, and she could remain under the surface of Mother Sea almost indefinitely. It also seemed odd to them that she showed no interest in the schools of fish which swam in the waters around the Isle. Zelana tried to explain to her friends that sleep and air and food were not necessary for her. Her periods of sleep and wakefulness were much longer than theirs; she could extract the essential element of air from the water itself; and she fed on light rather than on fish or grass. But the dolphins could not quite grasp her explanation.

      Zelana decided that it might be best to just let it lie.

      The man-creatures of the Land of Dhrall knew full well just who – and what – Zelana was. She held dominion over the West, but there were others in her family as well. Her elder brother Dahlaine held sway over the North, and he was grim and bleak. Her younger and sometimes frivolous brother Veltan controlled the South – when he was not exploring the moon or contemplating the color blue – and her prim and proper elder sister Aracia ruled the East as both queen and goddess.

      The ages continued their stately march, but Zelana paid them no heed, for time meant nothing to her. Then one day her dearest friend, a matronly pink dolphin named Meeleamee, surfaced near the place where Zelana sat cross-legged on the face of Mother Sea playing her newest musical composition on her flute. ‘I’ve found something you might want to see, Beloved,’ Meeleamee announced in her piping voice.

      ‘Oh?’ Zelana said, setting her flute aside in the emptiness just over her shoulder where she kept all her possessions.

      ‘It’s very pretty,’ Meeleamee piped, ‘and it’s exactly the right color.’

      ‘Why don’t we go have a look then, dear one?’ Zelana replied.

      And so together they swam toward the stark cliffs on the southern margin of the Isle, and as they neared the coast, Meeleamee sounded, swimming down and down into the depths of Mother Sea. Zelana arched over and followed, and soon they came to the narrow mouth of an underwater cavern, and Meeleamee swam on into that cavern with Zelana close behind.

      Now reason and experience told Zelana that this cave should grow darker as the two of them went deeper and deeper into its twisting passage, but it grew lighter instead, and the water ahead glowed pink and warm and friendly, and Meeleamee rose toward the light with Zelana close behind.

      And when they surfaced in the shallow pool at the end of the passage, Zelana beheld a wonder, for Meeleamee had led her into a grotto unlike any other Zelana had ever seen. There was a rational explanation, of course, but mundane rationality could not tarnish the pure beauty of the hidden grotto. A broad vein of rose-colored quartz crossed the ceiling of the grotto, filling that hidden cave with a glowing pink light. Almost in spite of herself, Zelana feasted on that light and found it delicious beyond the taste of any other light she had savored in the past ten eons. And she shuddered and glowed with pure delight as she feasted.

      Beyond that shallow pool at the entrance was a floor covered with fine white sand touched with the luminous pink of the prevailing light, and there was also a musically tinkling trickle of fresh water in a little niche at the rear, and all manner of interesting nooks and crannies along the curved walls.

      ‘Well?’ Meeleamee squeaked, ‘What do you think, Beloved?’

      ‘It’s lovely, lovely,’ Zelana replied. ‘It’s the most beautiful place on all the Isle.’

      ‘I’m glad you like it,’ Meeleamee said modestly. ‘I thought you might like to visit here now and then.’

      ‘No, dear one,’ Zelana replied. ‘I won’t need to visit. I’m going to live here. It’s perfect, and I deserve a little perfection.’

      ‘You won’t stay here all the time, will you, Beloved?’ Meeleamee squeaked in consternation.

      ‘Of course not, dear one,’ Zelana replied. ‘I’ll still come out to play with you and my other friends. But this beautiful place will be my home.’

      ‘What is “home”?’ Meeleamee asked curiously.

      It was on a day much like any other when Dahlaine of the North came up out of the passageway that led to Zelana’s pink grotto to advise his sister that there was trouble in the wind in the Land of Dhrall.

      ‘I don’t see how that’s any concern of mine, dear brother,’ Zelana told him. ‘The mountains protect the lands of the West on one side, and Mother Sea protects them on the other. How can the creatures of the Wasteland ever reach me?’

      ‘The Land of Dhrall is all one piece, dear sister,’ Dahlaine reminded her, ‘and no natural barrier is completely insurmountable. The creatures of your lands of the West stand in as great a danger as all the others. I think it’s about time for you to come out of your little hide-away here and start paying attention to the world around you. How long has it been since you last surveyed your Domain?’

      Zelana shrugged. ‘A few eons is all – certainly no more than a dozen. Have I missed anything significant?’

      ‘The man-creatures have made a bit of progress. They’re making tools now, and they’ve learned how to build fires. You really ought to look in on them once in a while.’

      ‘What in the world for? They’re stupid and vicious, and they stink. My dolphins are cleaner and wiser, and their hearts are large and filled with love. If the creatures of the Wasteland are hungry, let them eat the man-creatures. I won’t miss them.’

      ‘The people of the West are your responsibility, Zelana,’ Dahlaine reminded her.

      ‘So are the flies and ants and roaches, and they seem to be getting along well enough.’

      ‘You can’t just ignore the world, Zelana,’ Dahlaine told her. ‘There are changes taking place all around you. The creatures of the Wasteland are growing restless, and it won’t be long before the Dreamers arrive. We need to be ready.’

      ‘It’s not nearly the age of the Dreamers yet, is it, Dahlaine?’ Zelana asked incredulously.

      ‘The signs are all there, Zelana,’ Dahlaine said. ‘Mother Sea and Father Earth move to their own schedule. They won’t wait until it’s convenient for us to do what needs to be done. The ruler of the Wasteland is preparing to move against us, and we aren’t ready to face it yet.’

      ‘We should have destroyed that hideous creature as soon as we realized what it was.’

      ‘We can talk about all this some other time, dear sister,’ Dahlaine smoothly changed the subject. ‘What I really came here for was to give you something I thought you might like.’

      ‘A gift – for me?’ Zelana’s irritated humor seemed to vanish. ‘What is it?’ she demanded eagerly.

      Dahlaine smiled. Somehow the magic word ‘gift’ always seemed to bring his brother and his sisters around to his way of thinking. Zelana in particular always responded in exactly the way he wanted her to. A gift wasn’t really a form of coercion, but it served the same purpose, and it was a nicer approach. ‘Oh,’ he said in an off-hand manner, ‘it’s not much, sister dear. It’s just a little something I thought you might enjoy. How would you like a new pet? It occurred to me that you might be getting a little tired of your dolphins after all these eons, since they can’t come out of the water to play with you here in your lovely grotto. So I brought you a pet that should be able to share your home.’

      ‘A puppy, maybe?’ Zelana asked eagerly. ‘I’ve never owned a puppy, but I’ve heard that they’re very affectionate.’

      ‘Not exactly a puppy, no.’

      ‘Oh,’ Zelana sounded disappointed. ‘A kitten then?’ she said, her eyes brightening once more. ‘I’ve heard that the purring sound kittens make is very relaxing.’

      ‘Well, not quite a kitten either.’

      ‘What is it, Dahlaine?’ Zelana demanded impatiently. ‘Show me.’