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| Volume 2: The Death of Flesh, the Death of Dreams | Part VIII: Between the Candle and the Star |
KATS' first thought on returning to Minbar was that she had stepped into a nightmare. Surely, she thought, surely this could not be real. But it was. All too real.
The sky was dull and grey, far from the brilliant blue she remembered. Dark clouds hung overhead, looming over her. She thought some of them resembled hands, reaching across the sky, taking the gift of light away from the Minbari. The air burned her throat and her eyes began to sting. The ground.... she stopped looking. No matter what she had heard, the reality was worse. Nothing could be as bad as what she saw now.
She preferred not to look, concentrating instead on what had brought her here. She would not have come if she had not been forced to. Even then, no matter how powerful the compunction, she would still not have returned, were it not for one thing: Sinoval. She owed him. Her life, her sanity, more.... Yes, Kozorr had tried to aid her when no one else would, but it was Sinoval's return that had freed her from Kalain's torture. She had sworn fealty to Sinoval, and that was an oath she had intended to honour.
Most of the survivors of her caste had managed to escape from Minbar before.... this. Some however had remained. Out of stubbornness, fear, despair, resignation.... many reasons. Now that the immediate danger was over, they were congregating in Yedor, as were representatives from the other two castes as well. Yedor, they said, was the site of a miracle. The Temple of Varenni had stood untouched throughout the bombing. A sign of Valen's favour, surely.
Yedor was now filled with more than it could have coped with even in its prime. Now.... Kats had heard the death toll was in its thousands. Starvation, disease.... even murder. Some of the warrior and religious castes had resumed the hunting of the workers. Some of the workers were seeking to fight back.
It was a volatile situation. Sinoval was busy doing what he could, and so Kats had come, to do what she could for her caste, and for the man to whom she had pledged her life.
Slowly she began walking through Yedor's devastated streets, and with each step she thought her heart would explode in her chest. She was thankful she had not tried to go to Tuzanor. Apparently it did not even exist any more, consumed by the earth around it.
Each step brought a new sign of horror to her awareness. A priest lying slumped against a ruined house, large swellings bursting over his face. He was whimpering and twitching. The skin on his arms was red and raw, scratched away.
Bodies scattered everywhere, still where they had fallen days ago. Children crying, the sound of prayer, the moaning of the dying.
"Worker!" barked a voice, and Kats turned. A warrior was standing just in front of her, leaning heavily against what had once been a house. His clothes were in rags and his skin bore the same inflammations as she had seen on many others. He staggered forward, lifting a fighting pike. "Your.... fault. All.... your fault! You...." He lurched towards her and swung his pike in a clumsy blow. Kats darted forward, sudden terror lending fury to her movements. Without thinking, she tore the pike away from his weak grip and struck him with it. He slumped to the ground, sobbing noisily.
Kats looked at him and then at the pike in her hands. With an angry cry that was part-pain part-sorrow she dropped the weapon. She was breathing fast, and for a moment - just a moment - she had seen Kalain standing there.
She turned hurriedly and saw the Temple of Varenni over the mass of ruins. It was nearby. Kats had not known Yedor well anyway, but the damage made it nearly impossible to navigate her way to her destination.
She was almost there when the clouds above her burst open with a heavy rumble. The first she was aware of the rain was when something burned through her robe to touch the skin of her shoulder. A sudden heat struck her and she stood stock still, bathed in the light of memory, feeling the entire air around her burn with an unholy fire, hearing again her screams and his laughter and unsure which one she hated most.
The next drop of fiery rain on her skin awoke her and she began to run, always keeping the Temple in mind as her destination. She ran frantically, unable to stop, knowing that to do so would bring back the sound of her screams and of his laughter.
She did not know how long she had been running when she realised she had reached the Temple. The door was open and she fell inside, almost tripping over those lying helplessly in the doorway. Only then did she allow herself a moment to stop and breathe and close her eyes and remind herself where she was.
And why she was here.
Composure regained, she looked around, and was horrified at what she saw. The Temple was a big building, built around the far older structure of the Starfire Wheel. It was here that Valen had announced his intentions to Minbar, defeating an assault by the false prophet.... one of the warriors, Kats forgot his name. As such this was a holy place, somewhat forgotten in the years before the war, but now one of the most significant places on Minbar.
It was filled with people, the dead and the dying. Members of all three castes huddled around, seeking solace and comfort. Some members of the religious caste were trying to preach, but no one was listening.
Kats looked around, desperately seeking someone she knew. This could not continue. This would not continue. As she wandered through the temple, she looked and saw the pitiful, the forgotten and the belligerent. The warrior caste had occupied the centre of the Temple - the Starfire Wheel itself - and were refusing to allow access to anyone else. The religious caste were berating everyone they saw, claiming that Valen had sent the death from above in punishment for their sins, and that he would return when the sinful had been purged. Kats shivered as she heard that.
At last she found someone she recognised. Lurna, daughter of the former worker Satai, Durlan. Kats had known Durlan a little. He had been.... a good man, if a little formal. He had been wounded at the Battle of Mars and had died a few years later. It was just as well. Kats shuddered to think what he would have said if he could have seen this.
"Kats," Lurna breathed as she saw her. "Valen's Name.... We thought.... hah.... we thought the warriors had killed you months ago. What.... what are you doing here?"
Kats looked at her. Standing in the middle of a group of workers, some pleading for water, some glancing around angrily. Some were even making some effort to fortify this wing of the Temple.
"I.... was captured," she said carefully. "I was taken before the Grey Council."
"There is no Grey Council," Lurna said scornfully. "It ended when they murdered Hedronn."
"Sinoval rules now. He is above us now, doing what he can. He...."
"What do we care who rules above us? Warrior or priestling, it is always we who suffer. The warriors tried to destroy us and the priestlings accused us of being heretics. The old ways are over, Kats. We will take Minbar for our own now. Ah.... I am glad to see you here. Our caste will recognise you. If you can speak to a few of them. Some of them are not listening.... Some of them do not believe that it is our time now. They...."
"I will speak to them," Kats said firmly. "After I have spoken to you." She paused, and then shook her head sadly. "What are you doing, Lurna? We are not the warriors, we are not the religious caste. We do not care who rules, that is true, but we do not care because it is our duty to serve. Do you remember that? We.... They fight, they pray, we build! Why are we not building?"
"They are killing us! They.... We are dying, dying from the rain, from the air we breathe, from our own people. We...."
Kats suddenly grabbed hold of Lurna's robes and pushed her against the wall. She was surprised at the emotions surging inside her mind, but she did not care. "There are the dying, and the dead outside. No one has cared to bury the dead, no one has cared to clear away the débris, no one has cared to begin rebuilding. If we do not care, then who will?"
"Let the warriors do it! You said they rule now."
"NO! We will do it. We serve, we build. Sinoval has promised me that no more of our caste will be hunted and killed, and I believe him. He has done much for us, saving our caste ahead of his own in the evacuation. We can do no less for him.
"They fight, they pray, we build. So, we will build."
Lurna seemed to shrink. "You.... will.... have to talk to.... some of the others."
Kats released her hold on Lurna's robes. "I will talk to them. And then we will build. Together?"
Lurna nodded. "Y.... yes," she whispered. "Together."
* * * * * * *
Death.... I can feel it.... I can sense it.... I can taste it.... Dull, muffled, terrified.... The deep blue of pain.... Closer now.... The transition.... I can see it, rising, shining.... The long exhalation of the spirit....
The Soul Hunter looked at his brother and knew that he felt it as well. The moment they had been waiting for had arrived - earlier than expected, yes, but surely that was all for the better. The glory to be had for the one who took this catch.... it would be inestimable.
And they were on the wrong side of the door. For only the second time since the bargain had been made the Primarch was alone, without one of the Order to safeguard his soul, without a chance to save it. Should the soul be lost....
The Soul Hunter pressed at the door, but it would not open. In a rage he drew his weapon and began battering at it. His brother followed suit, and they began to pound at the door separating them from their glory.
The door gave way and they both charged in. The Soul Hunter was gratified to see that he was ahead of his brother. Death was closer now, much closer. The soul was rising. There was still time. It would be quick, yes, hasty, but still....
The Soul Hunter took in the scene in an instant and bowed his head so as not to let the Primarch see the disappointment in his eyes. The Primarch was still alive, kneeling on the floor, cradling the body of a woman whose soul was even now soaring free, lost in the ether. The Soul Hunter contemplated trying to seize it anyway, but then he saw the Primarch moving and he snapped to attention.
"Follow me," ordered the Primarch, and the Soul Hunter knew that this one death was not all there was to be this day.
* * * * * * *
"John.... John!"
John Sheridan at last seemed to recognise her presence and turned to face her. Delenn knew how she must look. After.... the conversation with Sinoval.... the things he had said, she had returned to her work with renewed vigour. John had done likewise, neither of them willing to accept what they had been told. Now, Delenn was. She wanted to discuss this, to confront the matter, to.... to.... do something. Just something.
Each of them worked in different ways. Delenn had returned to co-ordinating the shipments of food and medicine, while John had continued patrol duties, finishing the repairs on the jump gate and on the communication satellites.
She had finally found John in the ready room on the Parmenion. The shuttle journey here had been.... hard. Looking at her home as she soared up into the skies. Seeing Minbar.... broken....
Commander Corwin was with him. He stood up as Delenn entered, and looked at her with a slightly awkward expression. He then glanced down at John, and left. He.... he knew something had happened. Not what. Oh, thank Valen, not what.
"John," Delenn whispered. She did not know what else to say.
He rose to his feet and extended his arms. She stepped into them. "I know," he whispered, as he held her tight. "I know."
She did not know how long she remained there. She was not crying - she didn't think she could, but she.... wished she could. That would be so much easier. Cry, and move on. Cry, and it would all be better. It wouldn't.
"I've.... been thinking about it, Delenn," he said. "I mean.... I always knew I was going to die someday. It's.... it hasn't been that bad a life, really. I'd like.... to.... think I've made a.... difference."
"You have," she said softly, into his chest. "You have, but you could still do so much more."
"I'm not.... afraid.... to die, you know. I'm.... not afraid."
She pulled back. "Then you haven't.... considered.... the cure...."
"Not if it means going to them. Never. I don't know just what this infection will do to me, but I'll leave before it ever gets contagious. I'll.... go somewhere.... I don't know where. I won't infect anybody else."
"Please, John. Don't lie to me. You'll go to Z'ha'dum, won't you? You'll try to.... attack them. There."
"I.... might. It might not come to that, Delenn. Sinoval said there was a cure. Perhaps he'll be able to find one.... without the side effects, or without turning to the Shadows for help. Anything could happen."
She smiled sadly. "We have a saying. 'Faith manages.' If we have enough faith, then.... maybe...."
He smiled too. "'Faith manages.' I like that."
"So do I." She snuggled close to him again, hearing the beating of his heart. She realised that her heart was sharing that beat. Two bodies.... but one heart, one soul.
We are old souls.... I know I will meet him again, but this is.... so unfair.... So short a time together, so much to be said, so much to be done, so....
"De.... Delenn," he said at last. She pulled back and looked up. "Ah.... look.... well.... I.... I don't really know how to say this. I never thought I'd.... feel like this about anyone again. I never.... imagined. I mean.... I.... when my heart says something.... that is.... Aw hell!" He stopped, and breathed in deeply.
"I love you, Delenn. There. I love you with all my heart."
She looked at him, peering into his eyes with a peculiar wonder. She.... she did not know what to say either. Faith manages. But.... this was so unfair!
"I love you, John," she found herself saying. The words just seemed so.... natural. "I love you."
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. That just seemed so natural as well.
Faith manages.
Yes, sometimes it does.
* * * * * * *
Dead.... dead.... died in his arms.... dead, dead, dead.
Sinoval paced in a circle around the Hall of the Grey Council, his anger growing with each revolution. He had been angry when Deeron had died. Now he was several steps beyond furious and a strange sort of peace was settling over him, as if he had gone so far into anger he was now out the other side, where he was watching everything with no sense of emotion, only a sense of what was to be.
She had died. In his arms. His warrior's instincts had saved him again. He was a light sleeper. Always had been. Even the potion did not work. He had awakened to see the syringe descending towards him and had reacted instinctively, twisting her arm away, throwing her aside. His mind had not even been sure of what he was doing, but his instincts knew all too well to plunge the syringe into her own arm.
She had died. In his arms. She had said nothing. She had never explained. Never justified. She had died. In his arms.
Something had happened. Something. Someone. No, not someone. Gysiner. A priestling. He had taken her to the Temple. Sinoval knew what was at the Temple of Varenni. A Vorlon. He would pay later too. But for now, the priestling.
The sound of footsteps. The sound of Soul Hunter footsteps. Sinoval looked around the Hall, seeing the two who were on guard. His honour guard. He stopped pacing and turned on his heel to face four Soul Hunters bringing forward Gysiner.
The priestling looked afraid, but he still walked forward. He came to a halt just inside the circle of light. The Soul Hunters urged him on and he stepped, reluctantly, into the centre of the circle. The other lights winked out.
Sinoval had extended Stormbringer and was tapping it against his thigh as he walked. It was beginning to hum gently.
"What.... what is this about, Holy One?" Gysiner asked, managing a fine mix of arrogance and spinelessness. "What...?"
"Former Satai Deeron died less than an hour ago. She tried to kill me. Before that, she was seen with you. You took her to the Temple of Varenni. There, the two of you met the Vorlon. Do I lie?"
"Min.... Minbari do not lie."
"No, they don't. Nor do they kill each other. Do I lie?"
"Minbari do not lie."
"Why? The Vorlon?"
Gysiner started and looked at where he perceived Sinoval to be. "Have you ever seen a Vorlon, Holy One? Do you know what they look like? They are the Chosen, they are...." His face took on an expression of almost divine bliss. "I cannot describe what they are. You have opposed them. You have defied them. You have even attacked one.
"They say you are a heretic. They say you are a blasphemer. They say you will destroy Minbar. I have seen nothing to tell me they are wrong.
"Kill me if you like, Holy One. I am not afraid."
"What did you do?"
Gysiner sighed. "I.... took Satai Deeron to meet Ambassador Ulkesh. He.... revealed to her his true appearance. They then spoke. I do not know what they said. I had done my part."
"Minbari do not lie."
"I do not lie!"
"Then I will soon have an opportunity to find out. Primarch!" The Primarch Majestus et Conclavus shuffled forward. He had been listening, a slightly bemused expression on his face the whole while. "Begin." The Primarch nodded.
"Are you sure you want to...?"
"His fate will be mine soon enough. I may as well see what I have bargained for." The Primarch bowed low.
"I.... I am not afraid to die," Gysiner said hurriedly.
"Nor should you be. After all, when you die, your soul will be reborn, correct? To live another life."
Gysiner's eyes widened in horror. "No! Even you.... you could not.... dare!"
"I will break apart the ties that bind us. I will rebuild a new Minbar, and a new Minbari. I will set new laws, and new judgements and new wisdoms. I will not be bound by the old ways, for I am the future, not the past." Sinoval paused. "Valen's words, spoken at the first meeting of the Grey Council. They apply just as well to me."
"No," said a soft, sad voice. Sinoval turned, as a figure walked slowly into view. It was Kats. "No, Holy One. You cannot do this."
Sinoval paused.
* * * * * * *
Ulkesh drifted through the Temple of Varenni, looking at the people gathered there. They had come here expecting a miracle.
Soon, very soon, they would witness one.
* * * * * * *
Kats stepped forward, breathing slowly. She could see Sinoval clearly. His face was calm, but his eyes.... they were raging, filled with a madness so intense as almost to shatter worlds. It was a very similar madness to that she had seen often in Kalain's eyes.
"You cannot do this, Holy One," she said again, stepping forward. "Has there not been enough death here already?" She reached the border of the circle and, hesitating, she stepped into the place of the Satai. A column of light sprang up around her and she shook, old memories returning. "You.... cannot do this."
"How did you get here?" he asked softly. There was no anger in his voice. It was all in his eyes. "How did you know?"
"I.... saw your Soul Hunters arrive in the Temple, looking for Gysiner. I followed them here. I.... wanted to believe there was a good reason, but I saw that there was not."
"My lady, you cannot understand what...."
"He believes, Holy One. He believes in Minbar, just as you do. He merely has a different way of expressing that belief. If what he did deserves punishment, then punish him, but you cannot do this."
Sinoval looked at her. She wanted to shrink away from the force of his gaze. She did not want to be here. But she stayed. She had to. Some things were more important than fear.
"Why are you doing this for him? What.... what does he mean to you?"
"Personally? Very little. But for you.... I swore fealty to you, Holy One. I swore I would serve and obey and honour you. I will honour you by not letting you tarnish your soul in this way."
He let out a strange laugh. "My soul is already bartered away, my lady."
She did not flinch. "Then give it to them untarnished."
He bowed his head, and when he raised it again, he looked at Gysiner. "Go! Get away from Minbar today. Never come near me again, and remember. You owe your life to a worker. Remember that."
"I assure you, Holy One," Gysiner snapped. "I will never forget this day." He stepped out of the small group of Soul Hunters surrounding him and stormed from the Hall. Kats sighed softly and stepped out of the column of light with a palpable sense of relief.
"You are a remarkable person, my lady," Sinoval said sadly. "A very remarkable person. I just wish I had more to offer you."
She smiled. "You have already offered me far more than you can understand, Holy One. And.... I must return to my work. I was.... worried about you, Holy One. Thank you for making my worries groundless. You would not have killed him."
"Believe that if you wish, my lady. Come, I will take you to Yedor in my shuttle. I must go there as well."
"Why?" she asked, afraid that she already knew the answer. She did. It was two words.
"The Vorlon."
* * * * * * *
It was raining above Yedor, a rain which brought fire and screams as it fell. The scientists had not yet been able to identify just what pollutants the Earthers had used in their bombardment. The effects however were clear.
Still the Temple of Varenni stood, proud and defiant. A place of memories and history, a sacred place, a holy place, a place of dreams and refuge.
A place where the future of the Minbari was soon to be decided.
The actual complex of the Starfire Wheel itself was largely empty. The aisles and naves of the Temple had been filled almost to bursting, but few had dared go near the heart of the sanctuary. Those who did backed away quickly, driven by a revulsion they could not understand.
Only two were present at the Starfire Wheel now. Kalain lay huddled in the shadows, ranting and muttering to himself. His mind had finally been broken by the image of the light which shone directly upon him. Even when he closed his eyes, all he could see was the image of that figure, glowing, ethereal, magnificently beautiful.
He knew at last what he had to do.
As for the other, Ulkesh Naranek came and went. Seldom glimpsed at the best of times, he now appeared rarely, and then only when he wanted to. Gysiner, Chardhay, Deeron, Kalain.... no others had witnessed him since the bombardment, although many wished to. In fact he had been busy, supervising various.... plans being put into motion. A special delivery had arrived from the Vorlon Homeworld, arriving in great secrecy.
All he could do now was wait for the one who thought to kill him.
An hour or so before Sinoval and Kats returned to the Temple of Varenni, some of those huddled there began moving into the sanctum of the Wheel of Fire. Why, they could not say. They simply came, feeling that it was right to be there at this time. When asked, they said only that something important was about to happen.
When Sinoval arrived, bringing with him a worker Satai and two Soul Hunters, something important did happen.
* * * * * * *
Sinoval was not afraid of Vorlons. He did not hate them as such. He just did not like them and did not want them meddling in Minbari affairs. He was pragmatic enough to recognise that they knew a great deal, and that some of that knowledge they even shared. Almost everything known about the Enemy came directly from the Vorlons.
Sinoval was also intelligent enough to realise that just because the Vorlons said something, that did not make it true.
As he made his way to the Temple of Varenni with the full intention of killing a Vorlon, he was remembering all his past dealings with them. It was not a long list, but it was certainly a memorable one.
Kats was with him and her presence gave him a certain sense of comfort. He had heard of her actions here and they pleased him. He knew that he would be placing his people in capable hands when his soul passed from his body into a globe.
When he arrived at the Temple of Varenni, he looked around at those resting there and his eyes darkened. They were his people, his responsibility, his purpose and duty and honour. He would give them a better world than this, a better fate than this. If necessary he would ascend the stairway to the top of the universe and challenge the Gods of old for their future.
They shrank from him, fleeing from his honour guard. Kats walked beside him, her eyes filled with pity.
Sinoval could sense something - the world turning beneath his feet, his fate revolving and twisting, the paths of his future no longer clear and straight but a labyrinth, bending and winding with many turns.
As he entered the heart of the Temple, he discovered why.
Kalain was here, shuffling from the shadows, a bitter madness in his eyes. He looked at Sinoval and raised one thin arm, pointing one torn finger.
Kats gasped and stepped backwards slowly, but Sinoval could not see her. He could not even see those of his people gathered here, watching. His people. His future. His destiny.
A new heaven and a new world below. A new people, a new creed, a new hope.
The Starfire Wheel began to open....
* * * * * * *
Memories.... a human, a Minbari.... the one, the other....
A name.... did he have a name? Did he have more than one? Did it matter?
Waiting.... a game nearing its end.... or perhaps a beginning....
It speaks in his mind, an image of an angel....
Nearly, it says. Soon, now.
Fire and darkness....
* * * * * * *
Sinoval looked at Kalain and then at the Wheel. The Vorlon was nowhere in sight, but he would be here. This was all a part of his game, a fine web drawing closer. Kalain, the Wheel, the Temple, Sinoval himself.... and was this the end - or was there more?
"False prophet!" That was Kalain. Sinoval looked at him and sighed. Kalain had once been.... so much more. He could have been so much more. This should not be his destiny. "You have deceived, and lied. You are no Chosen, you are no saviour!"
"I am.... as I am," Sinoval said softly, stepping forward. He lifted Stormbringer from his belt and extended it. He had needed to bring it, of course, but he could not remember actually putting it there. The weapon was a part of him now. "I was chosen by no one save myself. I rule in my name, no one else's."
"Then prove your will to rule. Prove yourself!" Kalain gestured to the Wheel, sliding open a little more. The column of green light shone brightly, illuminating the sanctuary. Kats visibly shrank from it, and she had reason to. Kalain had modified the radiation from the Wheel to torture her. The light of Minbar's sun filtered through machinery that had been old a thousand years ago. The willing would remain within the circle of the Wheel, sacrificing themselves to it so that their faction would win.
For Sinoval, death was not an option.
"Holy One," Kats whispered, stepping forward. "You need not do this. You do not need to prove anything, least of all to him."
"I have my destiny," Sinoval said slowly. "As do you, my lady. You.... you will do well. I chose well. If.... if this does not go well, then I will regret we did not have more time to talk. Valen walk with you."
"And with you," she said softly.
Sinoval strode forward, looking neither to right nor left, but only at the Wheel. He stopped when he reached it and looked at Kalain. He was saddened by the look of hatred in his friend's eyes.
Sinoval stepped into the Wheel, and Kalain joined him.
It opened a bit further.
* * * * * * *
"I love you," said John Sheridan. "I.... love you." It was easier this time.
Delenn smiled, and kissed him.
"I love you." Yes, much easier.
* * * * * * *
Sinoval had been expecting pain, and so he was not particularly surprised to experience it. Certain things were surprising him, though. He had not expected the stench, nor the stinging in his eyes, nor the smouldering heat that singed his clothes. Stormbringer crackled and hissed, vibrating angrily, almost as if it were alive.
Kalain seemed to be.... enduring the pain. It could surely be no worse than that he had experienced as a result of Jha'dur's infection. He might even be welcoming death. For him, death would be a merciful release. For Sinoval, it would be.... difficult.
The Wheel slid open another notch and the renewed onslaught of radiation almost sent him to his knees. He dropped Stormbringer before him and began to lean on it, gritting his teeth. Kalain's arms were flung wide, his head tilted back. He was staring directly upwards. In an instant his sight was stripped away, his eyes burned completely through.
The Wheel slid open again and Kalain let out a cry of what might have been pain, might have been ecstasy. Sinoval shielded his eyes and managed to straighten himself. His tunic was burning, and Stormbringer's hum was growing louder and louder.
Kalain let out a startled cry, this time definitely one of pain. He staggered back, clawing at his face, his fingers clawing deep furrows through his eyes and down his cheeks.
The Wheel slid open.
Kalain fell backwards, staggering out of the circle of the Wheel. He was crying out in pain. Falling to his knees, he crawled away. He was a pathetic, desperate figure. Sinoval almost wished he had died within the Wheel, rather than live on like this.
But that would not have been practical.
Sinoval could leave now. He had endured the Wheel, proven his courage, outlasted his opponent. His point had been made, and no one would doubt his ability to rule.
But that was not the way it worked. Valen had endured the Wheel, and so must he.
Sinoval looked beyond the boundaries of the Wheel, seeing his surroundings as tinged with a dark haze. Kalain was only barely visible. He was staggering away into the shadows, returning to where he felt most comfortable. His position here was now finished.
It was a shame.
Kats was watching. Sinoval could not be certain, but he thought there was a pained expression on her face. The Soul Hunters were beside her, and they betrayed the reality of the situation. They were not moving forward, not railing in despair at losing the soul they had been promised. They knew the truth.
There was to be no death here now.
Sinoval looked further beyond, witnessing a hint of light in the shadows of the Temple. The Vorlon would be there, watching. Did the master manipulator begin to realise, even now, just how much he himself had been manipulated?
Slowly, each movement an effort, Sinoval raised Stormbringer above his head. The Wheel was nearly open. The pain was.... exceptional, but he endured it. He had to.
A new heaven, and a new world below.
The Wheel slid open the last notch. The radiation filtering through reached lethal levels. It would destroy flesh, destroy metal, destroy skin and bone, destroy clothing, destroy light, destroy dreams.
Not this time.
The radiation faded as the Wheel slid shut, its purpose fulfilled. The trial that Valen had endured and Marrain had not, was over. And, still standing there, weapon raised above his head, was Sinoval. He had endured what should have killed him.
As Valen had, a thousand years before.
Sinoval strode from the boundaries of the Wheel. He said nothing. No words needed to be said. This had been seen by many. Word would spread, old legends would be raised, old stories re-told.
A new heaven, and a new world below. Sinoval's heaven, Sinoval's world below.
The legacy of Valen fulfilled, his prophecies come to pass, his place fulfilled.
Almost.
Light filled the Temple. The beating of angelic wings filled the air. All heads turned, to see the being of light who flew above them all, a radiant glory spreading from its wings, a beautiful touch reaching from its fingers.
The name Valeria was on every tongue. The ancient deity had returned to bless his Temple.
And someone else had returned alongside him. Walking beneath his enfolding wings there came a figure, robed and hooded, clad all in grey. It carried a staff, like the staff of the Grey Council, the one used by Hedronn in murder and broken by Sinoval on his return. This was not that staff. If anything, it was even more worthy than that one had ever been.
The figure stopped before Sinoval. For a moment, time ceased.
The figure removed his hood. Minbari eyes stared from a Minbari face. Except this was no Minbari. Not.... true.... Minbari.
"I have returned," he said, his voice sure and solid. Above him the angel hovered, great wings flapping slowly.
Sinoval paused, awaiting the three words which would change the Minbari forever. Soon enough, they came.
"I am Valen."