by Olivia Ali
“The fall?” Dante’s fear was now replaced by curiosity and speaking with the old man became easy; as though he were catching up with an old friend.
“I assume you know what happened to Tristan?”
“I know that he lost all memory of his life about three years ago but that’s it.”
“Then let me elaborate. Three years ago, he was betrayed and someone set the Faders upon him. He forgot everything and everyone from his life as a Keeper. I believe he lost a total of three years and everyone who meant something to him and his journey. Not long after he left there was a prophecy reading that foresaw the coming of the Third Dawn. At the end of the reading the Faders descended upon the room and all the Keepers faded…Scribes and Prodicals alike…even the Interpreter disappeared. I returned to Hasaghar shortly after to find Nielson in the ruins where I tended to his wounds and got him to Keeper allies in Venshá. I left him there on his orders, I know that he is alive…but I do not know where.”
“At least I know he’s alive.”
“You say that like you left others behind?” Merlin crossed his fingers, leaning his elbows on the arms of the chair and linking them together.
“You wouldn’t know them!” explained Dante, crossing his arms across his chest and breaking his eye contact to look over at Tristan on the couch.
“I’m not sure you’ve quite remembered who I am.”
Dante looked up at Merlin and thought for a minute. It’s true – he didn’t. He still hadn’t placed the eyes, let alone the name. But it did ring a bell that was for sure, he just wasn’t sure where in his past it belonged. Even before he Faded, he had lived thirty years at least – he didn’t remember how many exactly; thirty something – and achieved many a great deed before his ultimate betrayal.
“I have been gone over a thousand years,” he recalled. “Why don’t you jog my memory?”
“You’ve not changed one bit you know that? I on the other hand…well you’d be surprised.” Dante cocked his head to the side as though he didn’t believe the old man. “I was a doe eyed, sorry faced kiss up of a kid who sucked up to every one of those teachers.” Merlin smiled, shaking his head as he realised how embarrassing he was. “I followed Nielson around like a lost puppy, he was more than just my friend; he was my mentor…as good as any older brother…”
“Hold on, I think I remember you now!” pursued Dante, leaning forward on the table and wagging a finger at Merlin. “You were that pale faced, scrawny little weed who followed my brother around like a shadow.”
“That’s the one!”
“Now I remember you.” Dante sat back in his seat and smiled, resting one leg on top the other and fiddling with a lose piece of thread on his boot. An unsettling silence seeped into the already awkward air as Dante tried to pull the thread free.
“So who else did you leave behind?”
Dante didn’t say anything at first, his forehead and nose wrinkling as he tugged at the thread. Merlin watched him intently, his eyes darting sideways for a moment as Tristan turned over on the couch. He considered how alike Dante was to the Tristan that had been and gone. He tilted his head to the side slightly, watching the smile smooth out the wrinkles as he finally pulled the thread away from his boot and dropped it to the floor. Then he looked over at Merlin and acted as though he had never heard the question and pursing his lips.
“So…what’s your interest in Tristan then?” Merlin asked patiently, his eyes locked on Dante to watch for a response behind the eyes.
“Destiny!” Dante said after a while, looking down once more and spying yet another thread on his boots. “When I came back from the Land of the Faded, I was in this dingy dark room with this man staring right at me. He said his name was Cedar or something like that. Claimed he knew why I was back, why I’d been able to escape.”
“Escape?”
“One day I woke up and darkness wasn’t the only thing I saw. I saw this light on the hillside and I decided even if it meant my death, I was tired of the darkness…tired of the screams, tired of it all. So, I left my brethren betrayers and found solace in the light and it placed me in a dark room. At first I thought it did nothing until I saw the man.”
“What did he say to you?”
“He asked me who I was, so I told him honestly…didn’t really consider at that point that people still might want me gone. He told me about this prophecy that had been read foretelling the coming a Bleak Unwritten I think he said. Said that meant someone that had forgotten everything…become unwritten if you like. According to the prophecy, the Wretched One would bring him forth and everyone knows that means my family. It’s our curse, for being the first of Union to betray. He told me about Tristan and how three years ago someone very close to him betrayed him and he became Unwritten. According to Cedar, this Tristan needed to be written once again…it was my destiny to help him remember.”
“According to this prophecy you say?”
“Not just the prophecy. You see even before he mentioned it, I knew that he was right. Some people say that when perspective Keepers who have a certain potential come in, they have special training that tests their current abilities. Such tests were bestowed upon me and my brothers and we faced three tests. In the first; we had to name all the betrayers based on the glyph on their hands…simple case of trial and error I guess except we got it in one. Second test required us to make an object which could hold dark magic, trap it so that it couldn’t be accessed by anyone who did not possess the key. In the third and final room…Nielson forgot who he was. All these shadows appeared around us, shadows with cloaks and red lights for eyes. With every passing moment they got closer to us and we tried desperately to get him to remember. Balderick used his mind to project images of our childhood in front of him and we all followed suit. Then the creatures reached out to us and I remember closing my eyes thinking it was all so real. When I opened my eyes, the shadows were gone and Nielson was on the floor. I thought he was dead…so I reached out and touched his shoulder. He got up instantly, he said he had a crazy dream that he didn’t remember anything. Said it would be his worst nightmare if it were to come true.
“They say these trials imitate the Keeper’s Destiny. And I know it’s just a saying…there’s no physical proof to it…but surely, I am the proof. We all are! Me and my brothers; we wrote in the Book of Names the final names of Dharsi, we created the hourglass for the Heroic Three to contain Gallow for life…we just never got the chance to do the third bit. And that’s why I’m back…to finish my destiny…just like the voice said…”
“Voice?” Dante looked over at Merlin’s interruption; his expression had changed now, like he had just had a moment’s realisation. Dante wondered if there was more to it but he continued anyway.
“As I got closer to the light…back in the Land of the Faded; this voice spoke to me. It said ‘You who have not completed your destiny have been awarded a second chance to do so. Complete it and you will be free…part of the Brotherhood once more. Find the Bleak Unwritten and make it Written.’”
“You remember every word?”
“It’s hard to forget your second chance, especially when it’s handed to you on a plate.”
“Did you ever think about looking for those you left behind?” he asked, changing the subject all too quickly for Dante’s liking; but he went along with it anyway.
“I did for a moment,” he said after a while, his voice containing a longing. “But then I saw a glyph on the Cedar’s palm…Ally! I knew he was Union the moment I saw it so one of the first questions I asked him was what generation he was from. He answered me saying that he was from the fiftieth generation and that his were the last to ever be chosen. Too much time had passed, I very much doubt any of those I left behind are still alive.”
“Nielson’s still alive.”
“That’s different! Even though he was only an ally he was still part of the Brotherhood that betrayed and therefore cursed to live forever while those around him died.”
> “But you left others behind too.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You had a wife before you were banished, didn’t you?”
“Yes! Ana-Maria…was married to her for five years. But we never had any children so therefore there’s no family to curse and seeing as she wasn’t blood...”
“That’s where you’re wrong…”
“The only sibling I ever had was Nielson, I think I’d know if we had a sister…”
“That’s not what I meant,” Dante looked at Merlin with bleeding eyes, almost as if they were hopeful that somewhere out there was someone waiting for him.
“We were married for five years…and you’re telling me that after my betrayal she…”
“Fell pregnant!” he paused, letting the truth sink in for a moment. “She told Nielson the day after you were banished…said she found out the day of your trial but no one would let her see you before your sentence.” Dante gasped, tears beginning to fall from his eyes. “He told her to go somewhere she’d be safe, said that his link to his brothers was too dangerous…too close to protect her. So she went to her brother Aled; you remember him? He was a Hammerite Priest and he took her to the Cathedral at Anderon. That’s the last I heard of her but when I was reunited with Nielson about eight years ago he told me what happened to her.”
“…and…”
“She had a boy, named him Jacob. But there were…complications…unfortunately she didn’t make it.” Dante let the tears run freely now, unable to stop himself as he stared up at the ceiling. “So Aled raised the boy as his own into the Hammerite faction. He told him all about his parents and the legacy you; his father lead…even the bit about the betrayal. Made sure he understood that it wasn’t your fault. Jacob lived a great many years, surviving two wars with the Pagans and outliving nearly all of the Cathedral soldiers. Hundreds of years passed until the Cathedral was attacked by the Mechanists who had grown tired of their placid leader – now was the true Age of Metal and all wood had to be vanquished. Jacob was taken as a prisoner when he refused to join them and they were unable to kill him because of his curse. For years, he was dragged around all of Aberson by them. When they eventually grew tired of torturing him, they left him in a Prisoner of War Camp in the capital. Among the other prisoners there was a woman by the name of Neym who gave him peace when he looked at her…something he considered a gift. She found it odd that he could live forever, helped him heal the wounds the Mechanists had dealt him. And in the time after the war when the Mechanists were finally supressed, he came to forget his vows of celibacy and let himself fall in love with her. He married her and on their wedding night made a killer confession – something he maybe should’ve told her from the start. He told her that their life together would not be able to include children and when she asked why he told her about the curse, said that he wouldn’t want his child to have to live forever and watch all those he loves die like he had to.
“Neym replied by asking him if he knew what a Nym was. As I’m sure you know, marriage and then consummation of the marriage to a Nym breaks any curse on that person. It can’t just be a marriage to break the curse…it has to be true. The reason she was telling him this was because she herself was a Nym and therefore capable of breaking any curse placed on his family and those to come. All he had to do was consummate the marriage with her upon the promise that he loved her more than anything in the world. And so, he did; about a year later came a son…three years later came a daughter. Jacob died in the next war to be had when a band of rogue Keepers erupted thought to be followers of Dharsi. Neym moved the children to Anar, a secluded little village she thought would be safe for them. And who should she bump into in the market, none other than Nielson himself who just so happened to recognise the medallion of which the son wore. Jacob had left it to him…it belonged to you. And when the woman confessed that she was Jacob’s wife he took them to where he was staying in Anar and they lived with him for about three years. When the girl was eight and the boy eleven, Neym died. She contracted a disease somehow and never really recovered. Once Nielson was sure the children had no symptoms, he moved them to Ashdowns coincidently enough. The children showed great promise having been born with Keeper abilities so he trained them to control their magic.
“When the boy turned twenty-one, he was offered the role of First Keeper…I guess he was as gifted as his grandfather. He accepted the role and the three of them moved to Dilu where they lived out their lives.”
“Are they still alive?”
“I’m afraid not! The son was murdered by Dharsi who had enough of living in the dark and the daughter fell in love with a young Keeper who was full of promise. He too had a great Destiny before him and after his Scribe training finished, he took her back to his hometown. After a couple of weeks, she returned to Dilu so that he could put his affairs in order. A year later he travelled to Hasaghar where he was reunited with her upon the start of his training as an Acolyte. They were married by the end of the year, but unfortunately, she did not survive a year of married life. She died protecting him after Dharsi tried to kill him…”
“He was Union!”
“How did you guess?” Dante shrugged; his tear-stained face still full of hope. “But don’t worry, all is not lost for he is still alive.”
“I don’t understand.”
“About three months before her death, the daughter had given birth to your great granddaughter who’s somewhere out there.”
“Really?” he wiped away the tears, managing a smile. Merlin nodded slowly in receipt; his expression still unreadable. “What’s her name?”
“I’m not going to tell you that.”
“Why not?”
“Because of the man who married your granddaughter…who bore your heir…”
“Why does he matter?”
“Your grandson they named Xavier…and your granddaughter…they named Dagnen after your mother. Dagnen married Tristan and together they had a daughter…and that…that is your legacy…”
Chapter 14 - Duty and Destiny
The words hit Dante like a ton of bricks; somewhere out there his legacy lay in the hands of a tiny young girl who was Tristan’s own blood and making the men family. He stared over at him as he lay on the couch, seemingly sleeping peacefully. Gasping, he let a single tear escape his eye – how could it be so? In his wildest dreams of being reunited with his family, he had never imagined it would come this close to home. He looked up at Merlin, a sort of pleading in his eyes that almost begged him to turn around and say he was only joking.
“I am sorry Dante…but it is true,” Merlin said quietly. “So you see not only is it your destiny to help Tristan…it is your duty.”
“And Dagnen…my granddaughter…she is dead?”
“I’m afraid so! She died three years ago when she sacrificed herself to save Tristan. God knows what she was doing there but what is done is done. Your great granddaughter is alive out there somewhere at least.”
“You don’t know where she is?”
“Unfortunately not. Until rather recently I believed she too was dead. But if he is alive then she must be too.”
“Who’s he?”
“Cedric.” Merlin rose from his chair and headed over to the oak wood dresser next to the couch. He lifted a box from off of it and bought it back over to the table. “He was Tristan’s best friend when he was a Keeper – he trusted that man more than his own brother.”
Flipping open the lid of the box, Merlin lifted a small pile of photographs and began flicking through them. Oddly enough, the box seemed to be a lot smaller than it looked from the outside but there was something about it that seemed familiar to him. The box itself was made from rosewood, the ripples of the wood giving off a shiny effect. Sculpted feet gave the box some height at the corners and upon the lid was an ornate engraving of a white dove holding a golden key. Along the border was a pattern in two tones that made the dove and the key stand out that little bit more. Something
about the dove though made his heart flutter, striking him with fear; but he couldn’t be sure why.
As he came back from his thoughts, Merlin slid a photo under his gaze, hovering his finger over a man. Dante followed the notion, noticing a slightly younger Tristan standing amongst five men whom he assumed were his fellow brothers of Union. The man Merlin was indicating wasn’t as tall as the others and he seemed younger too. He had long locks that trimmed off at his chin leaving a cleanly shaven face. His eyes gleamed an electric blue that oozed a sort of greatness – like his regal attire told him something of the title of the man in question.
“I know that man!” Dante gasped before Merlin even had chance to say who he was.
“That’s Cedric…how do you know him?” asked Merlin, tying his best to be patient.
“That’s the same man who I came back to…that is Cedar…I must’ve misheard his name.”
“So you mean to say Cedric was the man who was in the room when you came back from the Faded worlds?”