Freamhaigh

by Donald D. Allan

  His generals were in agreement. The room was filled with an intoxicating excitement that was hard not to miss. Generals smiled and nodded to one another and agreed quickly to move south. They would hit the city with the massed Belkin army and push it into the sea. Their plans were solid and clear. The loss of life would be staggering, but that hardly mattered.

  All that mattered was that the south was crushed.

  Miller rapped the table with his right hand. Conversations around the table ceased and his generals and admirals turned toward him, their faces expectant and eager.

  “Gentlemen, our plans are complete. We are in agreement. All that remains are the logistics and we will leave those details to our juniors to sort out.”

  Heads nodded to his words and Miller couldn’t help but notice how they hung on his every word. This moment was one he was determined to remember for the rest of his life. He swelled with pride and smiled out at his flag officers.

  “In three days’ time we march south in force to Turgany,” he began with a quiet voice. “We will lay siege to Jergen and commence the largest military operation ever seen in this land. We will push the traitorous Turgany Army and the men, women and children who protect them into the sea to drown. We will return this land to stability and growth. We will crush all who stand in our way.”

  He slapped a hand on the table. The generals winced at the loud retort. Miller leaned forward over the table.

  “Enough! Enough I say! We can no longer sit idly by while the south laughs at our rightful rule. The land reels because of the south. They spread lies and rumours and discontent grows.” He looked out at nodding heads. “This civil war is crippling our country and we must hold Turgany accountable. They attacked the innocent citizens of Portsmouth. They destroyed Georges Island with their evil magic. Right now they gather forces in Jergen. An army created for one reason: to destroy Belkin and all we stand for. They would steal our country out from under us and return us to the monarchy we fought to escape. Enough!”

  Miller had raised his voice, and it boomed loud and clear in the large chamber. The stewards filling glasses and seeing to the officers had stopped what they were doing and watched Miller speak, their tasks forgotten. A couple of generals rose to their feet.

  He swept his arms wide. “Belkin’s foundations are laid upon the great truth the Revolution ushered in: subordination to a King is not a natural or normal condition. This, our new Republic government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth: we will bow to no single man who rules alone by the authority of the quality of his blood.”

  Miller thrust a finger into the air. “Look with confidence to the ultimate universal acknowledgement of the truths upon which our system rests. It is the first government ever instituted upon the principles of furnishing the materials of human society. Each citizen has the strength and ability to rise from their low standing to rule this great country. The lives lost in the Revolution reaffirmed and gave power to this unalienable right.”

  Miller smiled out at his generals. They were now on their feet and he could see the pride and admiration on their faces. He paused and looked them in the eye one at a time before continuing.

  “The monarchy was founded upon the principle of the subordination and serfdom of the population. Our system commits no such violation of human decency. We are the moral high-ground. We rise to this challenge with the assurance that we are righteous men, assured that we advance to protect the country from those who would destroy it. President Healy and I spoke this morning. He is aware of our plans and has given us the order to proceed. Gentlemen, you make me proud to serve with you. To victory.”

  “TO VICTORY!” came the thunderous reply.

  Nineteen

  Munsten Streets, April 902 A.C.

  THE CITY OF Munsten spread out before us and fleeting memories came and went through my head. This was the city my mother had raised me in. The buildings blurred with overlaid memories and I blinked to clear my thoughts. Nadine had been correct. She was worried Munsten would bring back painful memories and now they stabbed at me relentlessly. I turned to the side and ducked into an alley to hide my grief and guilt. Nadine and Steve followed in behind me.

  Nadine reached me first and grabbed my upper arm through my cloak. “Will, are you okay? I can sense your troubles. Let it go!”

  “I can’t, hon. It’s too much. I keep seeing the fires, feeling the water, and I feel such tremendous guilt rising within me. It’s overpowering me.” A sob threatened to escape my throat, and I swallowed.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Steve in a rush as he came up behind Nadine. “We need to keep moving.”

  “Will,” continued Nadine. “Close your eyes. Clear your mind. The memories don’t control you.”

  “I’m trying.”

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” demanded Steve, his voice rising in anger. “We’ll draw notice. Get a grip on yourself!”

  “Shut your face, Steve Comlin!” hissed Nadine before turning back to me and speaking in a calming voice. “Will, focus on the bond. Focus!”

  I blinked at her wisdom and found the draoi bond instantly. I found it welcoming me. All the draoi in Belkin reached out to me and gave me their strength. I basked in the support and closed my eyes and sank deep into it. In mere moments, my fear and guilt were washed clear, and the memories pushed away from the forefront of my thoughts. Thank you, I whispered across the bond and felt smiles in return.

  At any other time in my life, I would have died of embarrassment in being so exposed and so weak in front of so many. But the draoi were my family. Together we would always be strong. Nadine pulled me from my thoughts by grabbing my face with both hands and pulling me in for a deep kiss.

  I heard Steve growl. “No time, folks. We must move. Now.”

  Nadine lingered with the kiss to spite Steve and then pulled away.

  I smiled back at her. “Thanks, hon. Ready?”

  Nadine nodded and then stepped back out into the street. I could feel her pull the power of Gaea around her like a cloak and then wrap it around Steve. I pulled power and copied her and followed her out of the alley and into the bustling crowds of people. Gaea’s power made people’s eyes wash away from us. We were forgotten as soon as we were seen.

  I had never seen so many people in one place. Jergen in comparison was dwarfed by the sheer size of Munsten. Streets were crammed on the sides by huge buildings. Sidewalks had people moving in a quick walk, with their heads down, avoiding eye contact. Shoulders brushed in a flow that was orderly and moving in both directions. These people were each alone, lost within themselves and lost to nature, I felt such a profound sadness for them. The city was devoid of life. It was cold stone and brick wrapped up in isolation. I wanted to rip out the stone and tear down the walls and buildings. We had been walking for miles and I had yet to see a park or tree. It was stone and more stone.

  In the late-morning sun, the Munsten Castle loomed high above us. Shortly we would walk under its shadow and I dreaded it. The castle could be seen for tens of miles outside the city and now that we were a mere mile from the base it seemed impossibly large. It was being this close to the castle that had pushed the memories on me. Images had flashed one after another and I had felt so lost and so confused. Grief had come surging upwards from depths I didn’t know I had and surprised me. I had no defence.

  They started with those memories of the early days wandering around in the wild after my mother had been killed by Seth Farlow. The crying and devastating loss had been almost unbearable to that young child. It had almost crushed him. He had longed to die. I remembered all this for the first time. My younger self had plunged into a deep river and swam downwards, swept along and not fighting the current and desperate to reach the bottom. He knew if he reached the bottom he could never rise again. I remembered the burning in his lungs and how he had steadied himself for the sharp pain that would come when he would open his mouth and suck
in the cold river water. At that moment, jaws, sharp and firm, had grabbed his shoulder and pulled him upwards.

  A lone wolf had saved me that day. He had pulled me up towards the surface and I had found a new will to live. I kicked for the bright surface and thrust my face clear of the water to suck in air and scream at the world. I reached the bank and collapsed, alone, the wolf gone and forgotten. Later, as I walked down river along the bank, I had found the body of the wolf. He lay cold and wet, caught by stones on the side of the river. The eyes were open and stared at me accusingly. The wolf had drowned saving me. The guilt of the loss of life of the wolf slapped me hard. I remembered then that my mother had given her life for mine. I was leaving a long line of death behind me. People dying so that I might live.

  The memories had been too much to remember, and I had almost collapsed on the street in Munsten. Now we hustled along the street, staying to the right side and in a single line, fighting to stay with the current of people moving in our direction. The memories returned, and I examined them as best I could. They were almost someone else’s, but I recognised them as my own—just strangely forgotten.

  I had tried to bury the wolf but a young child has no strength to move a wolf of that size and weight. I had collapsed on the wolf and hugged it and cried. I remembered thinking no life should die for me. I didn’t deserve it. After a while, I remembered that I was lying on the corpse of a wolf and I let go and backed away and wiped at my wet shirt. I felt a presence behind me and turned to find a pack of wolves watching me. Whether it was all the shocks I had been through, but I had felt no fear. Only a sense of wonder. The lead wolf stared at me with amber eyes and I sensed approval of some kind. I apologised for the death of the wolf and in response the wolf turned and left, the others following in behind until they moved away from the river and disappeared into the surrounding woods.

  I found a freshly killed rabbit where they had been standing and grabbed it and followed them. This was to be the next few months of my life. I followed the pack wherever they went, and they left kills for me to find. In time, when the colder weather came, I joined them and lay beside them for warmth. I was never truly a part of that pack over the years. I was a tolerated observer who they fed and protected. I traipsed with them across the land and soon found myself looking out over the western ocean in the southern part of Belkin. Only then did I question how the wolves had found their way up to Munsten all those years ago. I had the answer now: Gaea had happened.

  Seeing that ocean had woken something up in me. I made a decision and struggled to recover my humanity. I started with finding clothing, then little items like my first iron knife with the rope handle. My possessions grew and so did my sense of who I was. Throughout it all, I had held on to the sickle my mother had given me. I held it most nights and dreamt of a life that couldn’t possibly exist. One where I laughed and ran carefree within a great stone building with my mother chasing behind me. But slowly I gathered human items and reasserted myself as a person. It was hard, but I managed. I was still only a child, but I grew up faster than I would have liked.

  Walking the streets of Munsten with Nadine and Steve I recognised the stone building up ahead of us with more familiarity: the castle of Munsten, where I had run around inside for years. This is where Gaea wanted me. Back to my roots. We felt the urgency. Gaea needed us there as quickly as we could. We pushed ourselves under the shadow of the castle and used our power to urge the people ahead of us to clear to the side. We rounded a corner and came face-to-face with a soldier of Mushir Adham, from Cian-Oirthear.

  Nadine cried out in fear and I stumbled to a halt. The soldier was looking right at us and a look of hatred crossed his features. Just as he was about to cry out, Steve drove into his side and pushed him into an alley and they disappeared behind stacked crates. Nadine looked at me and just as quickly Steve emerged back out to the street from the alley. He looked both ways on the street and visibly relaxed when it was clear everyone was ignoring us and moving around us like a river around a stone.

  “Close one, keep going,” said Steve, wiping a spot of blood from the back of his hand.

  Nadine had a look of distaste on her face, but she nodded and soon we were rushing towards the main entrance to the castle. It loomed larger and larger and suddenly we were through and inside. The people thinned but kept moving with purpose toward some goal. In a moment we entered a large open courtyard filled with people milling about and forming queues. Each queue ended by a small desk where a man or woman would listen to the person and write something down in journals. Some people were then escorted deeper inside or escorted out of the castle. It was orderly, and the people seemed content with whichever direction they were told to go. I didn’t understand any of it and felt lost.

  I looked at Steve for guidance and found him looking toward the sides of the courtyard. “This way,” he said and hurried toward a shadowed area where the courtyard disappeared under the stonework. Many people were relaxing here and there and leaning up against the wall. Steve looked back once at Nadine and me to make sure we were still following. He stopped by a large wooden door and looked around. Sure that no one was paying attention he tried the latch, but the door was locked. He beckoned me closer.

  “Hide me,” he whispered.

  I nodded and pulled power and cloaked Steve. I watched him work. He pulled some short pieces of twisted metal from a pocket and knelt by the latch and worked them into a keyhole. I watched him stick his tongue out with the effort and then he twisted the metal pieces hard to the right. I heard a metallic click and Steve rose and opened the door. We followed him inside and he closed the door behind us and twisted a locking mechanism locking the door behind us.

  No sooner had the door closed when a tremendous push of power pulsed across the entire land of Belkin. It rippled through me and threatened to tear me apart. I screamed and heard Nadine scream behind me. The pain was everywhere. Every part of my being felt under attack. And since I was the Freamhaigh, I felt it from every living thing in Belkin. My draoi across the bond screamed along with me. Part of me felt Steve collapsing beside us, unconscious. It was an attack that struck from deep within.

  Pain was something I was used to. I was a healer after all. I could follow pain to the source and I was determined to stop it. I followed it through my body and then out into the world. There! It was right above me deeper within the castle. Determined to stop it I forced myself along the path of the pain and emerged into what was clearly the castle council chamber. The room was full of rows of seats and held a throne. A wild-looking woman was holding a long black staff and standing beside her was a growling dog. They were facing the throne and Erebus. Power radiated from them in waves and I watched as the waves reflected off each other. It looked like the intersection of two ripples caused by thrown rocks racing across the surface of a pond. The pain was the result of the reflections. Wave after wave poured outwards and rushed across the world.

  It was then I recognised the two figures before me. I cried out in recognition. “Katherine!” The shock at seeing her alive ran through my body.

  Erebus and Katherine both looked over at me in surprise. Dog barked. Erebus looked to be in pain and he growled at me and bolted behind the throne. Katherine scowled at me and fled after him.

  “Wait!” I cried and then found myself back in the corridor lying next to Steve and Nadine. In a moment, the pain stopped, and we lay there panting with relief. Nadine reached out to Steve and touched his forehead. He stirred and blinked open his eyes. Nadine wiped the sweat from his brow off her fingers and looked at me.

  “What happened?”

  “I don’t know. Katherine was fighting Erebus. We have to follow them. I saw where they were, and I think I know which way he was headed.”

  Steve squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his temples. “Wait, what? Did you say Katherine? Are you sure it was her?”

  I looked at Nadine. “I’m sure. Her and Dog.”

  Nadine looked angry and struggled to
stand up. In moments we stood and checked each other over. Steve wiped away a trickle of blood that ran from his nose and stared at it.

  “This is why we are here,” I said. “Hurry and follow me. Stop for no one.”

  I rushed away into the castle. My memories told me where we were and where Erebus was running. It was into a rarely used area of the castle along the southern wall. It was where the Archbishop used to live when I was a child.

  As we raced through the corridors, we saw that everyone in the castle was unconscious. They lay crumpled on the floor, but alive and breathing. Some were stirring, but most were completely out of it. We rushed along corridors stepping over the unconscious and moving deeper into the castle. The walls rushed by and I felt a sense of disconnection. My memories had the walls and ceilings so much higher than I remembered and sometimes I doubted myself and where we were headed. But in a moment, we were moving along a corridor I knew led to where the Archbishop used to live. As children in the castle, we talked about how the location was haunted. We feared the Archbishop would find us and capture us.

  And as children, we had heard many tales of the Archbishop. We all feared him. He ate children or tortured them. We all had friends who had heard one tale or another. One thing we all agreed on: some children did go missing from time-to-time and often the Archbishop had been seen near them. It was enough to honestly fear him, and we stayed clear of this corridor unless on a dare.

  I rushed down the corridor and then past a heavy door that was already partially opened and into the room the Archbishop had claimed. It was deserted but looked lived in. It was here that Erebus had headed; I was certain of it. Gaea had brought me here: right here, to this chamber, and right now. I spun around looking for anything to give me a direction but all I saw were walls and a large desk.