Meri Read Online Free PDF

the well-studied or the thoughtful or the hard-working.”
    “Yet,” argued Meredydd, “Osraed Morfinn, in his ‘Commentaries
and Meditations,’ says, ‘If men thought of God as much as they think of the
world, would not all attain liberation?’ Is that a purely rhetorical question,
then? Are we not intended to think of God; to think of the Meri and to strive
for understanding? And in striving for understanding, must we not question our
own beliefs to make certain they conform to the truth?”
    Ealad-hach fiddled with the sleeve of his robe, winding a
stray strand of thread around one finger. “What is your point, Prentice?”
    “Merely that if the Meri is, indeed, our living Link with
the Creator, then the fullest knowledge of Her should be sought.”
    “If you will recall,” said Osraed Ealad-hach, “this
discussion began with the advancement of a theory, by Prentice Lealbhallain,
that the Meri has a physical nature which is—how did he put it—subject to the
physical laws of integration and disintegration. Do you support his theory?”
    “I support no particular theory, Osraed. I have yet to be
certain.”
    “You are of an age for Pilgrimage, Prentice. Don’t you think
it prudent to be certain of what you believe you will find at the end of the
Journey before you get there?”
    “I suppose—”
    Ealad-hach pounced. “I think you must do better than
suppose, Prentice. I think you had better be certain that it is not a merely
physical creature you seek.”
    “I never suggested that She is merely physical. I simply shared my perceptions of the Corahtic references.”
    “Your theory, Prentice Meredydd, will appear on my desk
tomorrow morning. I will meditate on them over Cirke-dag, while you meditate on
the nature of the Being you claim to worship and adore—oh, and along with that,
Chapter Twelve of the Book of the Meri.”
    Meredydd’s cheeks flamed. “But Osraed! I advanced no theory,
I—”
    “No, you advanced careless, inconclusive thinking. It might
serve you to recall another passage from the Book of the Meri. The one in which
we are told that the Meri is not reachable by the careless. I want more than
perceptions from you, cailin. I want conclusions!”
    “Only if they match your own,” Meredydd muttered.
    “What?”
    She blushed all the way to the roots of her hair. “Nothing,
Osraed. Nothing.”
    “I thought,” murmured Lealbhallain during a break between
sessions, “that you were being open-minded, not careless.”
    They stood in the circular concourse where the three great
wings of Halig-liath’s academy met, waiting for the Osraed Ealad-hach to vacate
the classroom. It was cool there and the breeze was fanned by the passing of a
myriad lively young bodies. Their laughter, talk and scuffling was carried
upward into the shallow conical vault where it circled like an invisible but
noisy flock of birds before fluttering out through the open casements.
    Meredydd sighed, savoring the caress of air against her
still flaming cheeks. “Thanks, Leal. I wish you were the Osraed. I’d have much better marks.”
    “What’s the matter, then, Prentice Meredydd?” Brys-a-Lach appeared unexpectedly at her shoulder, making her jump. “Don’t
know how to handle old Scir-loc, of a sudden?” He grinned at his crony Phelan,
who had materialized behind Lealbhallain.
    “You shouldn’t call him that, Brys. It’s...disrespectful.”
    “Eh?” said Brys, feigning deafness. “Eh? Wha’s-at? What
shouldn’t I call him, cailin?”
    “Scir-loc!” she whispered fiercely.
    Brys made a comically horrified face and glanced over her
shoulder. She could hear Phelan wheezing frantically behind her. She turned, a
scowl creasing her face, and saw old Scir-loc, himself, barely a yard away and
glaring at her. His bony face was red as a chicken’s wattle and she could
almost see him shaking in rage. He said nothing, but turned on his heel and
disappeared into the Northern Wing.
    Meredydd whirled on Brys.