If man is to brave the Heights of Aer, to face the Throne of the Most High, he must endure the seven baptisms of fire. The soul-bond is the first baptism of fire. The second is the passage from Earth to the Lows of Aer. The third is the shedding of the skin of the old man. The fourth is the first death. The fifth is the great sacrifice. The sixth is the second death. The seventh…is a mystery.
-From “On the Emulation of the Powers” (The Sayings, Book VII, 7:1-7)
CHAPTER EIGHT
The SirinThe song of the Sirin rang out, drowning out the noise of the pilgrims. Everything else faded from Voran’s mind. It was even more intense than in the forest the first time. He left his horse in the hands of one of the warriors. He felt it would be somehow blasphemous to encounter a Sirin on horseback.
“Le
