Quests Volume Two

by Barbara G. Tarn

  The Genn welcomed him. He hadn't cut his hair since Aysha's death, therefore his mane was as long as theirs, except it was blue. They didn't mind his wings and his tanned skin, and he was happy to keep his true form for a while.

  He often sat at the mouth of the volcano to look at the world around the mountain. He could see Leland to the south, Zarquon to the west, the ocean to the east, and beyond the jungle up north the tallest spires of Argantael, capital of Rajendra. Sila flew by and sometimes stopped to talk with him, but no mating call hit him.

  And then the Genn started falling sick. He himself could feel there was something wrong in the cavern, but couldn't concentrate enough to figure out what. Besides, there were plenty of Genn magic users and healers in the underground city, why couldn't they understand what was going on?

  And then his half-sister, Starblazer, glided onto the extinct volcano with a purple cub, landing next to where he sat. The big blue dragon blurred into a beautiful woman with brown hair and blue eyes dressed in the southern fashion, but the smaller dragon didn't morph and perched on a rock staring curiously at Raykim.

  "Meet Silverflame," she said pointing at the purple cub who grinned with all his fangs out, much like Bloodfire had done when he'd first met him. Raykim began to think that maybe he should mate with a pure-blooded Fajrulo, since their cubs seemed to like him so much. Silverflame was even smaller than Bloodfire, therefore he must be younger. "I had a mating flight with Firestarter twenty years ago."

  "I was in Arquon twenty years ago," Raykim said as Aysha's face flashed inside him. "After spending a few years with Clawicon. She taught me to shift shape."

  "Yes, she told me you and Keneith were helping her raise Bloodfire. Would you like to help me with Silverflame?"

  "Keneith has his own family down in Leland now. He married a princess of Akkora and has had three living children." It didn't even hurt to say it. Keneith had been luckier than him. He wasn't going to start the blame game now.

  "And you? How are you doing with the Genn?"

  "There's something wrong down there, but I don't know how to help them. I was thinking of getting Keneith here."

  "I don't think Keneith can be better than a bunch of Genn magic users." She stared into the distance. "You know, it's the turn of a century. One thousand and five hundred years since the arrival of the Immortals. That's following the calendar of the Magical Races, of course, not Human calendars."

  "Oh. Must be a long time."

  "You don't sound like you want to live that long." She smiled. "Anyway, not even I could live that long. The first generation of Fajrulo is long gone, and the second is quite old by now. I'm third generation, not yet fully grown, but I'm getting there. And there you have the fourth generation!" She caressed the horned head of her cub who closed his eyes and purred in happiness.

  "Three hundred years to grow, three hundred to live, three hundred to die," Raykim recited, remembering Clawicon's words. "I wonder how long it will take me. I think I'm already dying, though."

  "You're barely one hundred and fifteen! I'm sure you can get to two hundred, maybe even more!"

  Raykim sighed. "Hopefully not alone."

  "Well, if Keneith has found someone..." she said.

  "So had I. And my Sila blood is probably dead."

  "Oh, I didn't know you had... Do you want to talk about it?"

  "No, I do not wish to talk about her." Raykim stared at the Fajrulo's Human form. "Please, help the Genn figure out what's happening here."

  She nodded and resumed dragon form. They both glided to the bottom of the cavern, followed by Silverflame, and again Starblazer turned into human form.

  She sniffed around as the Genn surrounded them.

  "Dark Pond," she said somberly. "It's coming out. You'd better leave this town."

  The Genn gasped and whispered among themselves, but they had no choice.

  "How come I couldn't feel it?" Raykim wondered.

  She stared at him. "Your Sila blood is dead, you said so yourself. The Ponds of Dark Magic affect all the Magical Races except Fajrulo."

  "Oh. I guess I don't know much about those ponds."

  "The Ponds of Dark Magic formed when the Immortals sent all the evil magic underground. They call upon Humans, their lust, their blood. When they emerge, they lure someone to gain their power, asking to sacrifice their most loved thing."

  Raykim nodded, thoughtful. He didn't have any Human blood that could be lured by the Pond, that was probably why he hadn't felt it.

  "Norina, the Queen of Darkness, was the first of such minions, and she lived about five centuries, despite being born Human," she continued. "Then she passed her underground kingdom to her son. There was Manusia when you were born. But since his demise, the dark magic has been hiding. Almost a century... and now it's out again."

  Which suddenly reminded him of the conversation with Winged Elsa and Winged Monia. Belfi's death and the fact that he'd probably have to save the world from a Dark Pond. If only this had happened when he was fully himself! He doubted he could do much in his present, depressed state.

  "I don't think I can help here," he muttered, uneasy.

  "Then don't." She shrugged. "Let's help the Genn to pack and leave. There are other underground towns between here and the Central Massif."

  "Or they could go to the southern kings. They don't seem hostile like in the north."

  "Even in the north, some kings have learned the worth of Genn magic. The Varians allow them to live with them. But the Blackmore still think they're demons."

  "Mm. Did both kingdoms expand?"

  He didn't care much about the answer. His friends up there were long gone anyway. But it still reminded him of past conversations – and lost friends. He should stop remembering and start living again.

  "Yes, the Varians own the west, the Blackmore the east. I'm sure soon they'll start fighting among themselves for total control..."

  ***

  Keneith felt the call in his blood. A dark and fiery passion that made him forget his Human family. It was like a call to go home, to the place where he belonged.

  He got out of bed and levitated out of the window, following the eerie call. Mount Flora loomed in the night, but he knew where to go. He might not have wings like Raykim, but he had enough power now to fly himself there.

  He couldn't find the opening, so he used an instant-transfer spell. Hadn't used them in years, but he did it effortlessly and found himself in a small cave. There was a natural basin with a dark liquid in it.

  It was calling his Human blood. Telling him he could be immortal and invulnerable and invincible if he was willing to give up his most loved thing in the world. He should set apart his Fajrulo pride and let the magic take possession of him.

  He could be the new Belfi. He could have a kingdom where half-bloods were revered like gods. If only he gave up his most loved.

  "Keneith!" Raykim's voice startled him. "What are you doing?"

  His non-Human cousin. With his full-blooded half-sister in Human form. Were they trying to stop him? He'd be the greatest king ever! An emperor who would rule Humans and Magical Races alike!

  "Take Neena," he told the dark liquid. Energy flooded him.

  ***

  "Keneith, no!" Raykim screamed as Starblazer in Human form cursed under her breath. The underground city was evacuated, but Keneith had found the Dark Pond and had surrendered to its power. He had looked under a spell and Raykim berated himself for not having understood immediately what was going on.

  Keneith turned to face them, his eyes completely black. His smirk had nothing of Keneith's usual smile.

  "Step back, we need room to fight." Starblazer grabbed Raykim's arm and pulled him outside of the small cavern and into the main one. Silverflame growled, but a silent command from his mother sent him out of the cave. Raykim could see him perched on the opening, staring down at them.

  Starblazer resumed dragon form now that she had room to maneuver a bigger body. Raykim felt Keneith gatheri
ng energy, a new kind of energy he had never felt before.

  "We must stop him," Starblazer said. "Gather your wits, Raykim, we need to kill him now."

  "But he's my cousin!" Raykim protested.

  "Not anymore," Starblazer warned. "That is a Dark Pond minion, he has nothing left of Keneith. In fact he has just killed Keneith's wife to get the power."

  Raykim stared aghast at Starblazer. How could Keneith kill his own beloved wife?

  And then a ball of dark energy hit him in the chest, throwing him back and slamming him against a house wall. One of his wings broke, much like his father's had broken when he'd fallen from the sky.

  Raykim moaned and got back on his feet. His chest burned, so he absorbed the fire energy, hissing in pain. He'd have to fight. Against his own cousin. Fight or die and join Aysha's spirit.

  Starblazer breathed fire against Keneith who stopped her with a dark shield. Everything around Keneith was dark, the power of Fire had completely vanished from him.

  Raykim pulled himself to his feet. He couldn't fly, but he could throw balls of fire at his cousin's body. Being wounded, he'd rather not shift shape, but he had other weapons. His chest hurt even more than his wing but he didn't look.

  He must fight. No matter how tired of living he was, he couldn't watch his cousin turned into a demon. Starblazer might handle Keneith, but he couldn't just stare. He had to do something.

  He started throwing balls of fire at Keneith who blasted his dark energy both at him and Starblazer in turn. Another black ball hit him and pinned him to the cave wall.

  The dark magic filled him and squeezed his heart.

  EPILOGUE

  "No!" Starblazer screamed, furious. Her half-brother was down and soon the magic fire wrapped him and took his body away. "You're going to pay for this," she muttered, marching on the possessed half-blood.

  If fire didn't stop him, her sheer mass could crumple the frail human body. She boldly stomped him until his bones were crushed into a pulp and the dark magic left the body like black smoke, cursing her.

  Starblazer resumed Human form and knelt next to the broken body.

  "I'm sorry, Keneith, I couldn't let you become the next Manusia. And you shouldn't have killed Raykim."

  Then Keneith's Fajrulo blood claimed him in a quick magic flame that took his body away. Starblazer sighed. Magical Races didn't leave corpses, which meant there would be no warning about the fight that had just happened in the abandoned city. She hoped Humans would stay away from that cavern.

  Silverflame glided by her side and looked expectantly at her. He looked both puzzled and sad. He hadn't had time to actually get to know Raykim, and Keneith was also gone. Starblazer would have to raise him on her own.

  But then, that was what Fajrulo females had done for fifteen centuries. Clawicon had been an exception, allowing two half-breeds in her nursery cave.

  "I need to watch over Keneith's family," she told Silverflame. "Just in case any of his children or grandchildren is lured to the Pond..."

  Silverflame whined and she hugged him.

  "I will hide you in the jungle outside of the town," she promised. "Unless you manage to shift shape to look like an elephant, in that case I could probably take you to town."

  She knew he was too young to have Human form, but his size was more or less like an elephant, and he had fewer things to shift to look like the pachyderms.

  I'll stay in the jungle with the elephants, he transmitted, sounding a little peeved. You won't stay long in the city, will you?

  "I'll go there only once a month to check on Keneith's descendants," she promised, resuming dragon form. "Let's go."

  The Path of Earth

  CHAPTER ONE

  Keshav entered the library of the university of Godwalkar and inhaled the smell of wood, dust, parchment and candle wax. His favorite smell, especially here where the floor was covered with wood, like in Delen. The other libraries had stone floors that made them feel colder.

  Oil lamps hung from the high arched ceiling, currently unlit since enough light came in from the windows. He passed the row of desks close to the windows for the dozen copyists busy with their craft. He headed for the rows and rows of bookshelves set up perpendicular to the walls to form a narrow corridor. He still had plenty to discover in the huge room.

  On the right side there were the tall and narrow windows with pointed arches between the rows. On the left side sometimes a door, sometimes a spiral staircase that led to a gallery with more shelves set flatly against the wall.

  This was easily the biggest library in the world, although even in Agharek there were plenty of works – heaven for a scholar like him.

  He reached a secluded table between two shelves of leather-bound books towards the end of the long corridor. He'd been working his way through the library for months and had found many interesting and sometimes thought-lost works, with the help of the chief librarian.

  The book he had taken down the day before still lay on the table. He sat at the bench, glad he didn't have to carry the mighty tome all the way to the entrance to read it. The leather cover was engraved and the pages were thinner than usual. Not parchment, not papyrus, but light paper for a finely illuminated manuscript in a foreign language, with fascinating miniatures depicting blond androgynous beings with pointed ears busy with daily tasks or mythical creatures.

  Keshav carefully turned the colorful pages, frowning in concentration. He was still trying to figure out what the book was about. The most interesting books he had found here, at the end of his journey through the southern kingdoms and closer to home.

  He studied the manuscript, quickly forgetting that his father had already written to him twice in the past five years, telling him it was time he put an end to his education and came home. To what, Keshav wasn't sure and didn't want to think about it.

  Son of a diplomat from the Islands Empire and an Amrendran noble woman, Keshav had grown up bilingual in Delen, capital of Amrendra. His father was a clerk for the Emperor's ambassador at the Amrendran court and his marriage of love had almost thrown him out of the country with his beloved.

  Keshav could have been born in the Islands Empire if the ambassador and the bride's brother hadn't intervened, and the king hadn't allowed them to stay and keep working at the court. Keshav's family wasn't rich, but Keshav had been particularly bright, thus King Daruka Dahana had admitted him to the local university, where he'd been the brightest student. He had studied languages, grammar, mathematics, philosophy and public administration.

  The crown of Amrendra had trained him to be a clerk, but he was too bright to just work for the king. Thus Keshav had started traveling on the dime of his uncle, Lord Hitendra – now a member of the High Council of the Amrendran court – who had decided to sponsor him in his trip to the universities of the southern kingdoms.

  He'd left at twenty-five, spent almost a year in Jevina, capital of Lakeshi, six months in Arquon where the university was just starting, another year or so in Agharek, capital of Akkora, that had a big library and a thriving university, a few months in Argantael, capital of Rajendra, and now here he was, in Gajendra, and definitely not ready to go back yet.

  Keshav was thirty, by now, and loved his life as a scholar. He wasn't good at communicating what he learned, therefore he couldn't really teach. He had tried to tutor some young noblemen, but never felt at ease. In Delen, students ran the school, which put the teachers under a lot of pressure, while in Godwalkar, it was the teachers who ran the education system.

  He didn't feel he could be a professor, though, and would rather just be a learned person anyone could consult or hire for specific tasks. And the contents of this library seemed to be a treasure trove for his thirst of knowledge more than any other library of the southern kingdoms.

  The university of Godwalkar had been founded by the king's best minds a couple of centuries earlier. It was the first of its kind and the other southern kingdoms had soon followed suit, but Gajendra had the oldest university
of the continent. And the biggest library of the time where monks of the God Vedas with shaved heads and dark-blue robes meticulously copied books and documents.

  Keshav had made an arrangement with a family – renting a room at a fixed rate for the time of his stay that was now nearing a full year – much like he'd done in the other towns. The family lived near the university compound, a monastery with the library attached, in a quaint suburb of merchants who didn't mind making extra money by renting room to foreign students. He even had a discount if he helped with accounting, although calculus wasn't really his forte.

  He hadn't looked for a teacher so far, but after this manuscript discovery, maybe he should. Godwalkar trained its students also in fine arts, medicine, astronomy, politics and the art of war. He could take on a new subject, or maybe a new language and learn something about the people who left those precious written records.

  He leaned on the book to take a closer look and his black hair fell in front of his eyes. He quickly tucked it behind his ear, straightening his back. Squinting at the miniature wasn't going to help. He needed something to magnify it. He caressed his clean-shaven chin and the little scars of a childhood fall, thoughtful.

  Maybe a glass globe with water could be used to read letters no matter how small or dim. Where could he get such a lens? Maybe at a glassmaker's shop. But even if he could see more details, he still couldn't read the text. There must be someone in Godwalkar who knew what it was and who those beings were.

  The chief librarian shuffled his feet on the creaky floor as he came into view. Bald with age, the wrinkled brown face smiled at Keshav as the man stopped by the table. The blue-robed monk had spent most of his life in the library and knew everything about it. Every couple of days he came to check Keshav's research and give him information on what he saw on the shelves.

  "What have you found today?" The librarian's voice was so frail he didn't need to whisper.