Ghostwater (Cradle, #5)

by Will Wight

“People love to follow the strong. You have to show them your power…but not just show them. They have to feel it. You have to grind it into them, so that your strength is as present and undeniable as the sun.”

Yerin was being treated like a prize pig hauled in front of a bunch of butchers. Her hands were manacled in halfsilver and chained to the stone wall behind her, while a bunch of unarmored Skysworn prodded her spirit with theirs. It was hard not to shake like a shaved bear in the snow under the tickle of their scans.

What a spine that took, to shake swords at a girl in chains. They had better hope she didn't remember their faces.

“My master used to leave me to take risks for myself too,” Yerin said. “Can’t make it far without taking any risks.” She hesitated, then added, “Especially if you’re trying to make it…so far.”

Sometimes it felt like it had been a lifetime since he'd left Sacred Valley. Other times, he felt like a child who had just left home. The reality was, he had been outside the Valley for a year and a half. He was overwhelmed by the weight of so much time. Surely it couldn't have been that long. But at the same time, he wasn't sure how he'd crammed so much into such a short time.

“I am the Keeper of the Dream Well!” the construct intoned from within its rusty shell. “I was built right here. Well, not right here in this room, obviously, but down the hall a little. A guide-construct, that was me, made to give people the rules of the Dream Well. 'Congratulations, favored servant! You have been chosen to drink from the Dream Well, so that your labor might serve the great work!' That sort of thing. That's why I have such a pleasant voice.” “But you're...thinking,” Lindon said, still peering into the construct. In the purple sparks making up the construct's true body, he saw what looked like the spokes of a slowly turning wheel. “That's a relatively new development. Some time after I fell in the well, I realized I could put words together in new combinations. Then I realized I'd realized it, and that was the beginning for me, wasn't it? The 'realization cascade,' that's what I call it! I don't call it that.”

“Before landing in the well, I was basically a big ball of memories with the ability to produce sound, so I didn't have much in the way of casual conversation. But they did call me things, let me see if I can remember...garbage, that was a common one. Defect. Junk. Chaff. Waste. By-product of a failed experiment. Failure, that was another favorite. Dregs. Slag. Scum. Refuse. Dross. These aren't very flattering, are they?”

“No, sure, I understand that, but what do you think his odds really are? Ten to one? A hundred to one? Maybe just two to one?” Orthos locked his eyes on the purple-lit gem. “One hundred percent.” “...optimism! Oh, that's a good one, it really is. False courage really does wonders for keeping the spirits up.” “One more word, and I will eat you.”

“Some believe that hope is the strongest force in the universe,” Dross said. “Although that is objectively untrue.”

“The prize is an illusion,” he continued. “The mountain has no peak. You keep climbing and climbing until you fall off and break yourself at the bottom. Highgold is one step, Truegold is another step, but there's no end to it. You could walk forever, but every Path ends in a fall.”

You don't want me poking my head into your Path secrets, say so.” Mercy gave her a surprised look. “I don't keep secrets. Bad for your heart.”

A dragon does not walk blindly into the devil's lair.”

Dragons sometimes lose, but they learn from their losses and come back stronger.”

“Once, you were weak. That boy is long dead, but his Remnant still haunts you.” He turned to drink from the Life Well. “Your weakness, Lindon, is thinking you are weaker than you are.”

“Nothing down here,” Lindon called up. “You can jump.” “Are you certain?” Orthos shouted back. “I'm going to start exploring. If you don't think you can join me, you can leave it to me, and I'll let you know what I find.” A moment later, a dull red meteor crashed into the ground as Orthos hit shell-first. He swung from side to side to right himself, marching over to Lindon. “A dragon doesn't hesitate.”

“Truth does not care for your feelings,” he said.

If the Ghostwater project had succeeded in the way he’d wanted, he wouldn’t have had to think about the question at all. A Presence would have told him the answer.