“When they returned to me, it was with a reverence that hadn't been there before. The Sentinels that tended me were quiet and would not look me in the eye. They shivered and wept when they bathed me, and when I ate they would watch as though I were changing food into charms. I suppose I took advantage, and much as I wished to be up and about exploring this new world, my exhaustion held me down. I had broken toes on the climb without even noticing, and two of my ribs were cracked from a fall. So I soaked up their attentions and ate all the good food they brought. They brought drink as well, a fluid so light that it was almost a gas. I drank and breathed it at the same time and it gave me such dreams! They would be there when I emerged from sleep, kneeling around my bed with an expectant look on their faces. Whatever I said they would try to repeat, but their voices could not manage my language. However, I soon began to speak theirs.

“I should have realized I was becoming their god. I did know, I think, though even now I can't be sure. I was vain and filled with self-importance, trying to imagine the glory I could take back to Noreela when I eventually left this place.” Sordon laughed, such a natural sound that it lifted Nomi's spirits for a moment.

“But you never left,” she said. “And they changed.”

“Of course. Time went on, I practiced their language and remained here to learn of their culture, their world. I was an explorer, after all.”

“You are an explorer.”

“No, I was. I'm not sure what I am now. A fool? Destroyer of worlds? Maybe. Certainly not a god. Nowhere near that.”

“And the Sleeping God?” Nomi asked.

“I told you, it's a fallen thing!” Sordon whispered. “Curse it to oblivion, it's a foul thing that they were put here to guard.”

“Who put them here?”