Blessed Be the Name

Mishael had just finished the final notation when Danel stopped him.

"Wait."

Hanan looked up sharply. "For what?"

Danel did not answer him. Not immediately. Something in him had gone still in the moment between the dream received and the rush toward using it. A line. A warning. The old lesson returning in a form the last month had finally taught him how to hear.

If he took the dream and ran first toward survival, the order would be wrong.

Not strategically. Spiritually.

He set the wax tablet down on the low stool and knelt again.

The others stared at him.

"Danel," Hanan said, more than a little frayed, "this would be a bad time to become mysterious on purpose."

"I am not."

He closed his eyes.

"Blessed be the name of God forever and ever," he said softly, and the old words felt less like recitation than recognition now. "To whom belong wisdom and might."

The room quieted around the sentence.

"He changes times and seasons. He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and hidden things."

His voice steadied as he spoke, not because the danger lessened, but because gratitude had finally entered the room and fear, for all its force, did not actually know what to do with gratitude once it arrived intact.

"To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise," he said, "for You have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of You."

No one interrupted.

When he finished, Hanan exhaled slowly.

"That," he said, "was better than the speech I thought you were about to give."

Azaryah shook his head once and looked away too quickly.

Mishael said nothing. But he knelt too.

No window opened for Danel.

No rank advanced.

For one suspended second he wondered if he had mistaken the urgency entirely and wasted precious time bowing when motion was required. Then Mishael made a soft, surprised sound from somewhere just above a whisper.

Danel turned.

Mishael was staring at the air just above his own hands.

"No," Hanan said at once. "Not you too."

"Be quiet," Mishael murmured, which from him meant wonder had overridden even irritation.

He read silently for several moments. Then, because the room had earned the right to hear it, he spoke aloud.

COVENANT STATUS

Bearer: Mishael of Judah
Rank: E - Awakening
Sealed Bonds: 1
Active Bond: Stayed Clear Under Pressure
Veiled Sight: Dormant
Authority: None

System Note: Faithfulness is not always loud enough to notice from outside.

Azaryah sat back hard on his heels and stared between them all as if the room had become too crowded with invisible objects.

"I hate this," he said, and there was no resentment in it now. Only the ache of still waiting.

Mishael lowered his eyes from the window and looked at Danel with something like apology for having become the second surprise of the hour.

"I think," he said, with unnecessary restraint, "that the asking was counted in me because I stayed in the asking without being able to see."

Hanan barked a breathless laugh.

"You mean to say the thing in the most Mishael way possible even while awakening."

"That seems consistent."

The room's brief, incredulous joy moved through all of them at once and left something cleaner behind it.

Danel looked toward the door.

Dawn had reached the threshold.

"Now," he said. "Now we move."