Page 39 of A Conduit of Light
Sheflipped through the rest of the book, looking for more than the stories and songs that she had already heard throughout her childhood, but recognizing most.
Therewas one rhyme, however, that the author claimed to have found high in theAttatockMountainsthat she had never heard before:
“Thefollowing poem was spoken generation to generation, having never been written in any form.Infact, due to old superstitions,Iwas not allowed to write it down in front of the old crone who recited it whileIspent my time in theAttatockMountains.Itwas only later thatIwrote it down, for any eyes to witness.Thoughit does not mention theBlightressdirectly, it is believed that it refers to her as the image of a woman and her anger are present in the piece:
‘Withoutanger,Shelaughed in mirth.
Withoutlove,Sheleft them bleeding.
Withouthope,Shewalks the earth.
Withoutfear,Herheart is fleeting.’”
Heart?Thefirst mention of theBlightress’sheart was here in this book just afterAshhad discovered a pulse in theBlight.Thatcould not be a coincidence.Withoutfear,Herheart is fleeting.Withoutfear of what?
Ashclosed the book and gently placed it on the edge of the bench.Shepatted the top of the cover just as it disappeared—right back to the place she found it.Good,she thought, she would need it again.
Sheraced down the stairs ofViridis, questions forming in her mind as she flew, determined now to find the one person inFelgrenwho was most likely to know the poem—the channeler from theAttatokMountains.
* * *
“Donestudying already,Ash?”
“Perfect, you’re just in time to help us brush the thistle out of the lumens.”
ClairanniaandFiguerahwere found right where she expected them to be.Bothof the channelers were grooming the massive wolves,Clairanniabrushing the tail of her white beast andFiguerahtoo busy calling hers endearments to really be doing any of her work.
Atthe sight of her, her small lumen, who seemed to be the runt of the bunch, trotted to her side, nuzzling her shoulder for attention.Ashbrushed her hand down his long snout, and rubbed his ears.
“Figuerah,Ineed to speak with you.It’sabout…theBlightress.”
Figuerahpopped her head up from snuggling in the side of her lumen and narrowed her eyes atAsh. “TheBlightress?Why?IdoubtIknow any more of the stories than you do.Don’tmost of them come fromHyrithia?”
“Yes, but those aren’t the onesI’mtalking about.Tellme if you’ve heard this one:
‘Withoutanger,Shelaughed in mirth.
Withoutlove,Sheleft them bleeding.
Withouthope,Shewalks the earth.
Withoutfear,Herheart is fleeting.’”
Ashbrought her eyes back down from the clear blue sky where she had been concentrating as she tried to remember each line exactly.
“How—how do you know that poem?Ithought it had never been written down.Didsomeone tell it to you?”
“Iread it.There’sa bookIfound inViridiscontaining stories and poetry all about theBlightress.Theauthor said he was not supposed to write it down but did anyway.You’veheard it then?”
“Ofcourse,I’veheard it.Everychild in theAttatockMountainshas heard it.Weblame her for everything, theBlightress.”Shepaused, remembering. “It’sridiculous, actually.Anyrumble in the earth, any crop that dies, any animal found to be malnourished—we blame theBlightress.Andusually, that very poem is recited.”Shesighed and put her hands on her hips, cocking to one side. “Wereally need more conduits up there.”
“Whydo you ask,Ash?Didyou discover something in your research?”Clairanniapatted her lumen and walked across the path to join their conversation.
“Imight have, butI’mnot sure.Somethingstrange happened today whenBaronHeimlentook me to theBlight.Itouched it for the first time and felt a heartbeat.”Bothof the young women skewed their faces into disbelief and disgust. “Butthis poemmentionsa heart.Whatif theBlighthas a heart that can be destroyed and a clue to doing so is in this poem?”
“Itmentions theBlightress’sheart, not that disease—”
“Butwhat if theBlightresswas real and created theBlight?Whatif she gave it life inFelgrenand it now grows due to…due to—”
