“Excuse me, Thendin,” said Intellos as he extended his hand, “Allow me to introduce myself, I am,” but before he could say his name, Thendin interrupted him.
“Intellos Sa’ik Sa’ir, Grand Wizard of the University and Seeker of The Scribe,” he said.
“What did you say?” asked Intellos as he shook the man’s hand.
“Seeker of The Scribe. That is who you are, is it not?” responded Thendin.
“Well, to that I am not sure what you mean?” he said as he uneasily smiled. “But more importantly, we wanted to ask you something.”
“Walk with me for a while,” said Thendin as he took a few steps away from the tree. Noticing they had not yet decided to follow him, he turned and added, “We bare no weapons and offer no threat to you.” The four of them looked to each other and after a short moment of silent consideration, fell into step behind him.
They walked in silence until Intellos asked, “How long have you been here?”
“Long enough to have seen and heard a great many things I cannot explain,” he said as they passed a small line of tents. “This is where we sleep,” he indicated.
The tents were very modest and very small. Each of them could fit only one person inside comfortably. They were all made from the same gray fabric. They were well kept, but did have some dirt on the bottoms suggesting they had been in the same location for long enough to weather the changing seasons. The grass around each of the tents’ edges was yellowing suggesting the grass underneath was browning if not fully dead. From one of the closets tents emerged a similarly clothed individual. Thendin acknowledge him and the man returned it in similar fashion.
“How was the morning service, Thendin?” he asked.
“It was well, Petros. I think I counted twenty-three souls that were saved and dedicated to Jesus!” he answered.
“Praise God!” said Petros.
“Yes indeed. Praise God,” echoed Thendin. “Be well and blessed today.”
“Let it be with you also,” said Petros as he returned to his tent.
Again, they continued walking in silence until Intellos broke it for a second time, “Your speech,” he said, “it was quite moving.”
“Thank you, my friend, but my words move not without the presence of My Lord to move them. Without Him, they would have crashed upon their hearts with no more power than a small ripple lapping against the shore,” he said.
“Do you think they were helped?” he asked.
Though the four of them could not see it, Thendin smiled before he answered, “No, I do not think they were helped. I believe they were.”
“What do you mean?” asked Aglascio who was normally not this bold.
“That is a complicated question,” Thendin said as he chucked, “But so we do not take any more time than is necessary, I will say this: when understanding and accessing the power of Jesus, and God Himself, one cannot hope to understand, only to believe. And through that belief, all things are possible. So, I remove my thoughts and doubts allowing me to extend my faith. In that, they have been helped.”
“It sounds like you are saying our beliefs can alter our reality,” interjected Borinth.
“That is exactly what I am saying,” said Thendin as he stopped, smiled and turned to face all them.
“Then what is there to prohibit those bent on evil to exercise the same principle of belief to exert their control and create their own reality?” asked Borinth.
“If it was your mission to debate the principles of faith, then I would gladly sit down and speak with you at nauseum. However, are you not here for a different purpose?” asked Thendin as he resumed leading them through his encampment.
“As a matter of fact, we have come here for a greater purpose than to simply talk,” said Intellos. “But how did you know that?”
“You are not the only one who has been given the gift of purpose,” he said with a wink. “Now, what is it you wish to know?”
It was Borinth who spoke next, “We seek a group of travelers. There would be three robed men leading several women. Possibly with them in chains or other forms of bondage. Have you seen them?”
“I cannot say that I have. Nor can I say that anyone here has. Something like that would have surely drawn our attention,” Thendin answered.
“Then we have no further direction,” said Uuntule.
“Xonyos,” burst in Aglascio, “Do you know anything about someone named, Xonyos?”
“No. I have not heard of him,” he said. After pausing for a moment, he added, “Though I have heard of someone recently occupying an old and previously abandoned castle about two days travel from here. Perhaps you should check there.”
“What direction does this castle lie?” asked Borinth.
“The same we have been walking for the last several minutes,” he said as he smiled again. “In fact, we are now at the boundary of our camp. You are free to stay with us as long as you wish, though I know you will be leaving immediately. Perhaps we will meet again.”
“Do you think we will find anything there?” asked Aglascio, more to his father than to Thendin.
“No,” answered Thendin, “But I believe you will. Now take no more time speaking with me. You have been set upon a mission larger than our words will ever be. Go and save your women. May God be with you.”
“Thank you,” said Intellos.
“Do not thank me. Thank Him,” said Thendin as he pointed up to the sky.
While the four of them were still standing, but before they could thank him again, Thendin turned around and began walking back to the center of the camp leaving Intellos, Borinth, Uuntule, and Aglascio with no other option than to walk back to where the rest of their companions were and report what they had found. If indeed there was evil afoot in the old, abandoned castle, both Borinth and Intellos decided it would be better for the rest of the men to stay within the provisions provided by Thendin. Not only would the inherent threat of four unknown men be much less than ten as they approached the castle, their ruse would be more easily explainable and controllable. As expected, there was much protest in the beginning from the other six men, however, after they saw the resolution in Borinth’s will, they acquiesced. The four of them wasted no time and immediately began their two-day journey in the direction Thendin had instructed them to follow.
The weather was with them and worked to ease their journey though bright skies and forgiving terrain. Pushed forth by the oaken endeavor set before them, they tirelessly traversed through the rolling hills of the country side; and could have pushed on beyond the evening hours, but the forest before them presented with a foreboding visage of twisted trunks and eerily darkened leaves. Rather than seeking camp inside the cover of the dismally thickened foliage, they set a fire just on its outskirts. Aglascio hunted for food and returned with a few small pheasants and two small squirrels. Though there was meat for them to share, it was barely enough for the four of them to adequately split. After their dinner, Uuntule and Aglascio laid down and were soon to slumber. Both Borinth and Intellos were used to long journeys and longer nights. As such, the two men sat silently beside the glowing remnants of their dinner fire, each man losing himself in the red-orange embers and hazy smoke.
“Wizard,” said Borinth, who often used that term based on his disdainful dealings with all magic users in his past, “What do you make of Thendin and his God?”
Gazing more deeply into the smoldering ash, drawing up the totality of his experience from his meeting of Lacorion to now, he raised his head and pondered for a moment. When his eyes focused, returning from their initial distance, he said, “I am not sure, to tell you the truth. There was a time, very recently, when I had believed in everything he said so much so, that I wagered my inclusion into the University of Knowledge against it.”
“What do you mean?” asked Borinth.
“There is really no other way to tell this,” muttered the former wizard more to himself than to the man sitting across from him, “So you will ju
st have to endure a more complicated answer than what I am sure you are expecting.”
“Oh, I am quite familiar with the complexities of Wizards. I would not have asked had I not been prepared to hear your tale in its entirety,” he said as he offered a reassuring grin.
“Very well then,” answered Intellos. Over the next hour, the former Grand Wizard recounted, in detail, his story beginning when he first opened the Book of All, to his experience with Lacorion and the trials in the cavern, and The Ritual of The Severing wherein all of his power had been stripped away. Borinth did not interrupt him, choosing instead to listen quietly and intently, for it was a tale of fantastic proportions. After Intellos finished by including the incidents at the Inn, he returned to silence, waiting for Borinth to comment.
“So, Dragons are real?” he asked.
“What?” replied Intellos.
“Dragons. You know, the large reptilian creatures with powers greater than the cosmos itself. You are telling me that they are real,” the warrior said again.
“Believe me, if I had not seen Him with my own eyes, nor felt His awesome presence in every fiber of my being, I would never have believed it either. But I guess, that is the point Thendin was making,” he said as he propped himself back on his elbows, seeking a reprieve from sitting upright.
“So, let me assume there is truth in everything you are telling me. If so, that would mean that your God, this Dragon, and the Man of your vision, Jesus, have tasked you to complete an impossible task while giving you hardly any amount of information to complete it, and then allowed your power to be stripped away, while still expecting you to believe in Him?” asked a very skeptical Borinth.
Understanding how absurd it sounded, Intellos was quick to reply, “I am not quite sure it can be put so simply; but, yes, that is what happened at its most basic level.”
“Well, do you believe still?” the warrior asked.
“I have spent the majority of many lifetimes devoted to only that which I can understand through the means of logical deduction derived from only that which I can see, taste, touch, smell, and hear. To that end, I can tell you that I have never felt anything even remotely as real as what I felt inside that cavern. It was as if all of reality was opened to my mind and I comprehended the vast totality of everything, including that which cannot yet be explained. Do I believe I was standing in the presence of the One True God? Yes, irrefutably so, or at the very least, an aspect of Him. Do I believe He has tasked me with a mission of upmost importance? Yes, just as irrefutably so,” Intellos answered and followed it with a pause. “But do I feel doubt regarding my current situation? I would be lying if I said I did not.”
“That is the question to end all questions is it not?” responded Borinth. “Can you still believe in the face of that which should give you doubt? As for me, I choose to believe in what I can see. And what I see is a vast evil that is coming to this world. If your God was so good and all powerful as you claim, then why does he allow such an evil to exist?”
“That is a question that plagues me as well and is at the center of my doubt. But I do not think neither you nor I will reach a conclusion this night. Perhaps the remainder of our evening should be spent sleeping. If we are to face evil tomorrow, we will need to be well rested. Good night, my friend,” Intellos said as he settled into as comfortable position as he could.
“Good night, Wizard. I will take the first watch and wake the boy next,” He said as standing up.
The night stretched on into the its late hours without any greater interruption than those associated with the normal activity of the nocturnal creatures still brave enough to venture outside of their dens amidst the growing dangers about. There were the occasional eyes lit by the moon peering out from the forest, but other than that, Borinth’s attention was allowed to drift to an internal focus wherein he thought much about Dianali.
When he felt himself growing drowsy, too drowsy to properly watch over the safety of the other three, he stood up and walked over to Aglascio. The boy was resting peacefully and comfortably. He was not used to life in the wild and had not built the skill to sleep restfully, but lightly. Borinth knew all too well the dangers just on the fringes of safety. Sleep too deeply and one could find oneself in the belly of a beast or at the tip of an enemy’s blade. So, while most nights spent within the familiarity of one’s own home allowed for deeper moments of slumber, the potential for danger in the wild, and certainly in these times, was enough to prevent it. Still, Borinth felt for the boy. He too, wished to be home, if he would ever truly have a home, and sleeping soundly in a bed shared with the woman who was sent to kill him. Funny, he thought to himself, she had been intent on sending him to his grave, but when their first night ended, the first night of infinitely more nights, not only did she spare him, she allowed him to wake to the sun as if it was the first time he had seen its light or felt its warmth; a warmth he desperately needed to feel again. But his indulgences into the what ifs of a simple life were interrupted by a broad and bold voice.
“Well met, friend!” it said from the forest, startling Borinth, instantly provoking him to draw his weapon. “How goes the night?”
“Who stands there?” Borinth replied calmly.
“Oh, I apologize for startling you, friend. It was not my intent,” answered the voice.
“Be you friend or foe, if you do not identify yourself, you will find yourself at the end of my sword. Now, who stands there?” said the warrior again.
“I am Lord Artus. I am Lord of these lands,” said the man.
“Lord? What is a Lord doing out and about in these dangerous times during the middle of the night?” asked Borinth suspiciously. Intellos and Uuntule began to rouse, drawn from their dreams by the boldness of Lord Artus.
“Do I not have the right to walk my own lands during any time of the day I choose?” he asked, directly challenging Borinth. “I should be asking you that very same question, friend, seeing as how you are trespassing within my boundaries.”
The sound of voices caused Intellos and Uuntule to rise quickly. The former grand wizard stepped to Borinth’s side while the father roused his son hastily. “We were under no impression these lands were governed by any but the High King himself. They stand outside of any defined boundary limits, and by default, are property of Pretago Cor,” answered Borinth.
“Yes, indeed there are. Or were. As it stands now, I have claimed Lordship and occupy the castle whose boundaries include the very grass upon which you chose to sleep. Many years ago, much beyond your memories, these lands flourished and provided a much-needed reprieve from the harsh countryside for weary travelers. The castle itself was named Osin Thion, The Oasis of the Soul, for that very reason. I seek nothing more than to return these lands to a worthiness befitting that great name,” said Lord Artus as he extended his hands in a show of peace.
“Yes, The Osin Thion was indeed a place of refuge, but that was under the direct influence of Lord Calabrin, last in the line of his family. He had no heirs upon which to bestow his lands and title. So, unless you can verify that your direct line of descendance extends from his, then you are no more a lord than I am a wizard,” answered Intellos.
“I am not in the habit of carrying my official documents on my person while I am still within the boundaries of my lands,” said Lord Artus with a slight chuckle. “But if you will indulge me and accompany me to my home, I will be able to satisfy your inquiry and sate your uncertainty.”
By this time, both Uuntule and Aglascio had joined Borinth and Intellos to confront Lord Artus. Because of the dimly lit night by the waning sliver of a crescent moon, none of the four noticed that Lord Artus had not been unaccompanied on his journey into the lands surrounding his castle. As any good lord worth his salt knows, his safety, and that of his line of succession, is paramount for the health of the lands he rules. And judging by the number of soldiers that had taken positions surrounding the participants in the continuing conversation, Lord Artus understood this very
well.
“We will not be accompanying you to your castle tonight, Lord Artus,” answered Borinth.
“Yes, you will,” countered Lord Artus. “That was not really a request,” he continued as his contingency of soldiers revealed themselves.
“You mean to take us captive for trespassing?” asked Uuntule.
“Certainly not. I do not mean to take you captive at all. All I want to do is legitimize my claim of Lordship, but I cannot do that unless you accompany me to my castle. So, please, follow me and be my guests,” he said as he turned and began walking back the way he had come through the forest. After a few steps, he turned back to them and added, “I insist.”
Had the light been better and the numbers been a little more in their favor, Borinth might have tried to refuse their escort, but because they were on their way to the same castle they now found themselves being escorted to, albeit under force, he and his other companions joined Lord Artus without incident.
The journey through the forest carried with it an extension of the ominous threat they felt while encamped on its edge. Perhaps enhanced by the dim moon, and no doubt enhanced by the presence of an imposed armed escort and its inherent implications, the lingering doom settled inside each of them causing none of them of them to speak to the others. While Intellos, during his time as a Wizard, often sought the comfort and peace of his own mind, ever since his magic had been taken from him, he found his thoughts unable to naturally settle on those things bringing him solace. That is not to say it did not focus on the same things, because it did; but rather, he no longer found joy in the contemplation of things related to wizarding. Built upon lifetimes of consciously creating a habit wherein his mind focused only on the deep contemplations only wizards were privy to, he was finding it almost impossible to insert any other habitual thoughts in its place. And that was quite possibly the worst effect of The Severing. However, he was not so defeated that he lost all overriding ability. When he consciously asserted his will, he was able to avoid the torturous thoughts of loss and lack, at least for a short while. But eventually, even when he was thinking about Lupara, his mind always drifted back to that which he sought to avoid.
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