by Tiger Hebert
“Syhilah was a strong woman for sure,” said Draece with a smile. “A good woman.”
“You know her?”
“I did. She passed on into the Shaded Sands several years ago,” said Draece.
“So, he really is half Drel’thari?” Vacinne asked.
Draece nodded.
“How can that be? How can he have their blood running through his veins?”
Draece chuckled, “What, how come he isn’t evil? Is that what you’re really asking?”
Shame washed over her. Her eyes fell to the bridge below, as she nodded.
Draece reached over and gently lifted her eyes up to his. “The blood that flows through our veins may contain many things, including great potential, but it does not contain a mandate for good or evil. Renlar is a good man, because that is how Syhilah raised him, and because he chooses to be so—even when so many of those around him fail to do so.”
“Then what does run in his veins?” asked Vacinne.
“As I said before the Drel’thari worship two of the most wicked gods in the Pantheon. They also are known as the people of the djinn. They actually believe that No’Sembrell and Kritheo are djinn. That is not a widely shared belief, but it is theirs. So, they worship and revere the djinn.”
Vacinne replied, “But the djinn only exists in fairy tales?”
“Do they?”
“I... well, I don’t know,” admitted Vacinne. “I mean the legends say that djinn are the offspring of angels and demons. They can’t possibly exist, because there is no way that has ever happened.”
Draece said, “I’m no worshiper of the Light, but even I agree that the legends can’t be true. At least not as they’re told. That doesn’t mean that djinn don’t exist.”
Vacinne asked, “Okay, so what are the djinn?”
“Djinns are chaotic evil spirits from the Hells. Sometimes they are mischievous tricksters, other times they are more malevolent, but make no mistake they are servants of the Nine.”
Vacinne asked, “Do they really grant wishes to people that find them?”
“Find them is a misnomer. They are never found unless they wish to be found. They reveal themselves to those they wish to, and yes, they do grant wishes, but things are never as they appear. The wishes always seem to come back to haunt the person foolish enough to create a pact with the djinn. The wishes are always warped and twisted to the doom of the person, or those around them. The wishes are curses.”
Vacinne asked, “So what is really in his blood, then?”
Draece said, “I don’t really know, but the Drel’thari made pacts both with demons and djinns. Some people even believe that djinn blood actually flows through their veins. Now I personally think that is a load of crap, but there is certainly something about him that is different.”
Vacinne went to say something, but she turned to realize that Renlar had stopped ahead of them. He had actually turned his pony around, and he was now facing them. Embarrassment instinctively washed over her, and her cheeks turned red.
Renlar said, “The Drel’thari indeed made pacts with their gods as well as the djinn in their search for power. But first you must understand why. Before the Drel’thari were a race, they were a tribe of humans where albinism was common. Their strange appearance and extreme sensitivity to light combined with superstition and religious fanaticism led to fear and hatred. They were thought to be heretics, demons, or vampires. A thousand years ago, those that were not burned at the stake were cast out of society.”
The timbre of Renlar’s voice shook with an uneasy base. “They were forced into tribes far from the reach of society. They bred among their own kind, keeping the bloodlines pure, and the traits of albinism strong among them. Even as exiles, still they were tracked and hunted and killed out of fear and hatred. Desperate for protection, the elders sought out and found a way to protect themselves. They found the demons known as No’Sembrell and Kritheo.”
Vacinne’s face twisted with confusion. “Demons? As a Warden, we’ve always been taught that the Pantheon was a lie, but you’re saying they are demons.”
Renlar’s answer was quick. “The Pantheon is many things to many people, but No’Sembrell and Kritheo are not just demons, they are demonic princes, servants only to the Nine.”
“So, what happened,” asked Vacinne sitting forward.
“They asked for the power to stop their enemies, but the demon princes returned with an offer for them to be the hunter, not the hunted. It was more than what the Drel’thari asked for, but it was what the false gods offered. The elders tried to bargain with the demons, but they would not change their offer, and the elders couldn’t agree.”
Renlar took a deep breath. “The demonic princes left that night, only to return at nightfall on the next night with the same offer. They came with a promise that the Drel’thari would be the hunters, not the hunted. Again, the elders could not come to an agreement, so the demons left. On the third night, the tribe was attacked. As my ancestors died in their own village, the dark princes returned. The elders cried out for the demons’ protection. The blood of men, women, and children painted the earth that night, and the elder’s made the pact.”
Renlar stopped his tale. Draece and Vacinne both sat forward, listening intently.
Renlar said, “The dark princes swept through the village, spilling the blood of the attackers. They reveled in the shedding of blood as they took the lives of evil men. The battle was over in minutes. The dark princes returned to the elders, and they drew all the survivors together. They said it was time to honor the pact. They placed a dark blessing upon the Drel’thari bloodlines, in exchange for their worship, lest they provoke their new gods. Ironically fear, fear of my kin, is what led to their persecution, and it was fear that led them down the dark path they embraced.”
4
Behind Enemy Lines
Night swept over the land and a thick cover of clouds hid the moon and the stars away from view, as Vacinne, Renlar, and Draece made their final approach toward the small village of Kothari. Even in the dark, they could still see the great temple in the distance that towered over the village. With the packs on their backs and the ponies sent back to Drenamere, the trio crept along on foot. The village of Kothari itself wasn’t much to write home about. It was large and sprawling and boasted a population over fifty-thousand, but it was really just a working-class village. Farmers, smiths, tanners, and cobblers worked hard at their crafts, and many of them were quite good, but the city was quite forgettable were it not for the Kothari Temple.
The Towering structure that threatened to rise to the heavens was the home of the local order of Rift Wardens, and it was the only part of the village worth remarking, thought Renlar.
He realized Vacinne probably felt quite differently than he, after all this village was her home. Somewhere in the sprawling maze of stone walls and thatched roofs would be her childhood home, her siblings and her father. It was easy for him to see why she wanted to be a Warden her whole life. It offered her something more. Something to aspire to. After all, once upon a time, he’d aspired to the same thing. Little did either of them know the corruption that had seeped into the order.
Renlar’s eyes settled on the flame lit tower that stood bright against the background of blackened sky. The square tower rose hundreds of feet into the air. Its surface was impeccably smooth sand brown granite and sandstone. Torches, occasional balconies, and large tapestries embroidered with the woven insignia of the order adorned the monolith.
Disgust and rage roiled in his stomach as he stared at the magnificent tower. From the rejection they made him experience as a youth, to the lies they’d spread regarding Lightborn and Hellborn, to the very thought of them aiding the Nine in launching a demonic invasion upon the mortal realm. Renlar hated them with every fiber of his being. He wanted to make them pay.
Cold fingers reached out and touched his left hand. Renlar turned and he saw Vacinne’s slender fingers working their way into his hand
. He looked up and saw her face.
She whispered in his mind, I need you to remember, not everyone here has forsaken their oaths.
“But they will try to stop us, and we cannot let that happen,” said Renlar.
“Renny, I need you to really, truly understand that not all Wardens are our enemy. Yes, they may stand between us and our mission, but they are not the enemy. Some of them just don’t know what we’ve seen.”
Renlar whispered back, “No amount of talking is going to make any of them believe that the head of their order, the Grand Master, is serving the Nine.”
Vacinne nodded. “That is why we need to find ways to stop him, without killing them.”
You’re asking the impossible, he thought.
Vacinne offered a grim smile, I know, but that’s our charge.
Renlar sighed, and cursed under his breath. It pissed him off, but she was right. The tower was the Wardens’ home, their garrison and it was full of men and women who had pledged their lives to the oath of the Wardens, to protect the mortal realm from demonic threats. The truth was that corruption like this, that required one to go against every oath they’d ever taken, was probably very isolated. Renlar had no doubt that there were others, but who and how many? There was no way Masoc was the only one that served Grand Master Jherenon’s true agenda. If that were the case, he wouldn’t have pushed for his plan. He would have worked to recruit more.
Renlar cursed again.
Vacinne squeezed his hand. We’ve got this.
Renlar nodded and continued to make his way through the partially lit streets of Kothari. Nothing else was said as the three made their way through the city’s dirty streets. They worked their way deep into the city, until they found their way to an unlit hiding spot near the tall stone wall that surrounded the temple grounds. They met the wall at the northernmost part of the perimeter, where it met with the steep face of the mountains. The stone wall towered upward twenty feet, and offered no means of climbing.
Renlar looked up and down the length of the wall. Wardens patrolled the wall at all times. Renlar spotted the nearest sentry. He was a young Warden that made his way toward them from a hundred feet away. Renlar presumed he was a male by the way he moved. The Warden held a heavy crossbow in his hands, and his gaze swept out into the darkness beyond the wall.
Vacinne said, “You remember the plan, right?”
Renlar turned to Vacinne and Draece, “Yes. I’ll create the diversion. Draece, once the guards’ attention is elsewhere I’ll need you to help us defy gravity. And I’ll use my power to get us over the wall. Once we are over the wall, we make a break for the north side of the temple.”
Vacinne added, “There’s a narrow gap between the tower’s north face and the mountain side. If we can slip through, we should be able to get to the west side. There’s a balcony that should be unattended. That’s our entry point. Once inside, I’ll take it from there.”
“Okay, everyone knows what needs to happen?”
Draece and Vacinne nodded.
“It’s show time,” said Renlar with a wink.
Renlar’s lips and hands moved as he drew upon his magic. His eyes scanned the scene before him. He took note of the nearest guards and the torches upon the wall that lit the darkness. Then the wind began to howl.
The storm rolled through the dark of the night like a thief, stealing the silence and stealing the torchlight. Shouting Wardens could only be heard for a moment, before they were drowned out by the sound of howling winds. One by one each remaining torch in the temple complex was extinguished by a raw gust of wind.
“Now!” urged Renlar and he rushed toward the wall.
Vacinne and Draece were on his heels.
Draece’s magic was quick, and it needed to be. For all the splendor of his nature defying magic, it was not one of subtlety. The shimmering golden sphere of magic would easily be seen in the dark of night. Still Draece poured his Spirit into the spell, and reduced the gravitational effects on his companions. Renlar and Vacinne began to float. Renlar’s hands whipped about for a moment, then a swirling buffet of winds came underneath them and lifted them high into the air. Once they cleared the top of the wall, Renlar gave them a gentle push forward.
With the wind at their backs, they were pushed from the effects of Draece’s magic. Gravity returned mid-flight. Vacinne and Renlar fell on the top of the wall, each landing in a crouch.
Vacinne pointed across the complex to the back corner of the temple courtyard, where there was a cleft between the mountain and the tower’s northern face. It was a hundred yards away. As the winds slowly started to die down, the shouting of the Wardens became audible once more.
“Go!” said Renlar as he leapt from the twenty-foot wall.
His body fell with the full effects of gravity tugging on him. Wind surged up from below to meet him, easing his fall. He landed on the grass below, and tumbled into a forward roll. Vacinne was just seconds behind him. Her feet landed softly, never needing to tumble.
By the time her feet were on the ground, Renlar was already up and sprinting toward the destination. Vacinne was quick, sprinting right alongside him. The shouting in the dark reached a fevered pitch. Wardens were trying to relight the torches, and managed to get one lit. Renlar sent another howling gust of wind through the courtyard. The veil of darkness once more shrouded them.
That darkness was only outside though, the torches inside the temple remained lit. Renlar and Vacinne charged hard across the grassy courtyard, when light exploded from the base of the temple. The two massive doors on the temple’s southern side flew open. Dozens of weapon and torch bearing Wardens surged outward toward them.
Renlar cursed.
His hands shot out toward them. A violent burst of wind roared and slammed into them like some violent storm dragon. The gust of wind extinguished the torches and threw the Wardens backward into each other. The toppling mass of humanity cried out in the dark, as Renlar and Vacinne crossed the last bit of distance to the cleft.
Renlar reached the small place between the mountain’s sheer face and the polished surface of the tower. There wasn’t much room to pass between the two, but they had to make it through. Renlar made himself skinny and squeezed through the narrow gap. Vacinne handed her shield and pack through to him before doing the same. All of the commotion carried on at the other side of the tower, while they slipped through to the back side. It was the one side of the temple that was not defended, due to sheer faced cliffs that were adjacent to it. No invader would approach the tower from this direction.
Until tonight.
Renlar studied their surroundings. The cliff faces were smooth and nearly a straight vertical. There would be no scaling them. The temple towered high above them, its smooth surface offering no hand or footholds. However, there were some terraces up above, several stories off the ground, on the western side. Renlar reached back and pulled an all-black grappling hook from his pack. He untied the black rope that dangled from it and dropped it to the ground.
While he used his magical power to lift the grappling hook into the air with precision and silence, Vacinne secured her shield to her pack, and tossed it on her back once more. By the time she was done, Renlar had fixed the grappling hook to the stone railing of the balcony, three stories above them. Renlar tugged on the black rope, and nodded his satisfaction. He handed the rope to Vacinne. With the rope in her hands and a strong wind at her back, she began to scale the wall, one step at a time. With his aid, she was climbing over the railing in no time. Renlar grabbed the loose end of the rope and thrust the wind violently underneath himself. The gust of air shot him upward about twenty feet with lightning speed. Renlar reached out and snatched the dangling black rope. Wind currents hit him from all sides in an effort to stop his momentum, to keep him from swinging or swaying. Once stilled, he allowed those winds to die and the wind from below to aid him in the final feet of his climb. Vacinne reached out and helped pull Renlar up over the railing.
Renla
r breathed deeply, trying to catch his breath, while Vacinne’s fingers raced to draw up the last couple feet of dangling black rope, then to unfasten the grappling hook. She worked fast. Her fingers flew, and soon the hook was not only free, but tied up neatly and stored back on Renlar’s pack once more.
“We’re probably going to need this again,” she whispered.
Renlar nodded with a smile. “Okay, let’s move.”
Vacinne led the way from the balcony. She peered into the temple, and when she was confident the coast was cleared, she darted into the unlit room. Renlar wasted no time following her.
Vacinne quickly realized that the room was one of the lower kitchens, and was long since closed at this time of night. They moved with care as to not disturb anything that would make noise. Sidestepping pots and pans, they moved through the large room when a loud conversation broke out in the hallway just outside the room.
“Hold your damned horses! Let me drop these off, and then we can go. It’s not a big deal.”
“That’s not the point, Deek. Every damn time we’re in a hurry, you’ve got to make a pit stop,” barked the second voice.
“You’ll live, you impatient dolt,” retorted Deek.
Vacinne and Renlar scrambled.
The wooden door swung open from the man’s kick. Yellow light poured into the kitchen as a tubby, bald headed Warden lumbered in with a large sack of potatoes slung over his shoulder. He was muttering and cursing as he made his way to the pantry. A second Warden with about the same build now stood in the door, his arms crossed, clearly perturbed.
“Deek, let’s move!”
“Shut it, Crel. You nag me more than your mum,” said Deek.
“I told you to keep my mum outta your mouth,” snarled Crel.
“You need to tell her that. I’ve tried, but she don’t listen,” quipped Deek.
“I’m tellin’ you Deek, one of these time’s I’m going to pop you right in that smart mouth of yours.”
“Promises, promises,” said Deek with a dismissive wave of his free hand, before setting the sack of potatoes down on the floor. “Alright, now let’s get out of here.”