The Secret of the Golden Gods Omnibus Edition

by Pedro Urvi

  “A woman who’s both strong and intelligent. You need great courage to do that.”

  “And that’s the reason why we named her our High Matriarch.”

  “I see,” Ikai said thoughtfully. “What do you mean by High Matriarch? I understand that she’s the leader of you all, isn’t she? I’ve always assumed that.”

  “Now she is, yes, but not at first. She was the Matriarch of the First County. Each county has one, according to the tradition among my people since before we were enslaved. A tradition which the Regent persecutes with an iron fist, just as he does with our beliefs in Mother Earth and her daughters Moon and Sun.”

  Ikai nodded. Burdin slapped his chest with his fist and his face hardened.

  “But we resisted, we always have. We chose our Matriarchs in secret, we keep our beliefs, our culture, in spite of the persecution, in spite of the fact that it’s against the Law of the Gods and punished with death.”

  “In my Boundary the ancient beliefs aren’t approved of either, but they weren’t persecuted like that.”

  “Well, you were lucky. Here many have died for not renouncing our beliefs. In our culture the Matriarch represents the woman who gives life to her village, her county, the one who guides and protects.”

  “I realized when I first arrived that they’re your spiritual guides.”

  “That’s right. Behind the backs of the Proxies who’ve been imposed by the Regent.”

  “They’re risking a lot. They’ve executed several in the time I’ve been here with you.”

  “Those swine will pay, believe me, they’ll pay in blood and pain,” Burdin said, and raised a huge fist.

  Ikai snorted and shook his head. Burdin stared at his sword and seemed to lose himself in his own memories.

  “I don’t know if you’ve already been told this. Some time ago there was a sacred ceremony, with all Six Matriarchies, under the protection of the Three Goddesses, and there Lurama was proclaimed High Matriarch of the six counties. Since then she’s been our Leader, and we follow her without hesitation.”

  “No, I hadn’t been told.”

  Burdin brandished his sword. “The only thing you need to know about my people is that they have strong and pure hearts. They won’t fail you.”

  Ikai nodded. “That I know.”

  “And now you’d better go and see Lurama in her tent, she wants to speak to you,” Burdin said, and sheathed his sword.

  “Very well.”

  Ikai left him to the preparations for the fight, and crossed the forest to the northernmost area, where the command tent was. As he went through the immense forest, he watched the people getting ready for battle. They were just as Burdin had described them, and now he was able to understand them better. He passed a group of young boys and girls who wore the pelts of wolves and other animals over their everyday clothes. They were tending to their spears and shields. Wolf-Warriors, he thought, and saluted them. They stopped what they were doing and saluted back. They all knew who he was and treated him with the greatest respect. Higher up he identified several groups of men and women who wore no skins over their clothes. They’re not warriors, but they’ve joined the rebellion and they’ll fight just the same. At last he reached Lurama’s tent in the deepest and steepest part of the forest. It was surrounded by twenty Bear-Warriors on guard duty.

  “Liberator,” the one apparently in command greeted him. He was bigger than Burdin and looked even more threatening. Ikai saw that the others were all the same size. Those men, with the bear pelts they wore, heads and all, would terrify the most daring. Ikai was glad they were on the same side.

  “Lurama wants to see me.”

  The Bear-Warrior went into the big tent and came out a moment later.

  “You may enter,” he said, as he held the flap open.

  Lurama received him inside with a warm smile of welcome.

  “Come in and make yourself comfortable, Liberator,” she said, and gestured toward a rough wooden stool beside a brazier.

  “Thank you,” Ikai said, and sat down. His body was grateful for the pleasant warmth from the brazier.

  “One of the advantages of being a High Matriarch,” Lurama said with a wink.

  Ikai smiled, getting closer to the brazier. “I can’t seem to get used to the dampness of your land.”

  “Is your land warmer?”

  Ikai nodded.

  “Man gets used to everything, this experienced woman can assure you of that.”

  “Well, let’s hope this man gets used to it soon.”

  They both laughed, and Lurama offered him a glass of hot wine.

  “It will do you good, it comforts the spirit and the bones.”

  Ikai took it and tasted it. “You wanted to see me?”

  “Yes. I wish to ask you something, but first let me thank you for leading us here. So close to freedom that it’s within reach. This is something I’d only dared to dream of.”

  “You and your people had already been preparing for this rebellion for years. All I’ve done is help you by sharing what I learnt in my own Boundary.”

  Lurama smiled. “Don’t forget that you bring us that brilliant intelligence of yours. Without your plans we wouldn’t be here today, however long we might have been planning and preparing for it. And I’m not at all sure we would have succeeded. My people have strong arms and great spirit, but there aren’t many among them with a mind like yours. This old woman grasps these things, I’ve always had an eye for people, for knowing their strong points and their weak ones, so don’t try to deny it.”

  “I’ll accept the compliment,” Ikai smiled back. “Thank you.”

  “It’s true that we’ve spent more than ten years preparing warriors clandestinely, instilling courage in the people so they may rise against the tyranny of the Gods, but we didn’t have a leader who could guide us in that final stage, to the actual day of the rebellion. That’s why I waited, waited for the right moment, for the right person. And then you arrived, and the sky opened before my eyes. I had no doubt of what I must do, I knew it at once. The waiting, the preparation, were over, it was time to act. And look where we are! At the gates of the capital, at the gates of freedom.”

  “You’re a wise woman and a great leader,” Ikai said. His admiration for her grew every day. She was leading the revolt and all her people more or less on her own, and she did it with remarkable temperance and intelligence.

  Lurama sat down beside him. She wore a thick gray woolen tunic and a cape with a pelt hood. Her long straight hair had lost the blond of its youth and turned gray, but her eyes were still young and keen.

  “We’ve worked hard and achieved a great deal. We can’t fail now that we’re so close. The people have arisen, as you said they would, and now there’s no way back. Not now we’re so near our goal. It’s victory or death.”

  “That’s right. We’ll make it. Your people are strong, they’ll succeed.”

  She nodded, her eyes filled with hope. “Tell me, Liberator, how long has it been since you came to me?”

  “Three long years.”

  “To me it’s been like the blink of an eye. Times passes quickly when there’s so much to do.”

  “I remember when you first met me you nearly ordered Burdin to cut my head off.”

  Lurama laughed whole-heartedly.

  “I took you for a fool. Presenting yourself before me like that, talking about freedom, rebellion, about facing the Gods, without being one of us, was crazy, to say the least.”

  “I had to take the risk. There was no other option. It took me a long time to travel this Boundary without being found out and work out whether it was the same system as ours, whether the organization, the structure and the Boundary itself were the same. Whether the Gods repeated their plan of slavery or whether there were variations.”

  “You convinced me that they were.”

  “They’re practically identical. The Gods use the same pattern for every Boundary. The only thing that’s different is the race
of the people and their location within the great continent. My Boundary is in the north-east of the continent. This one is in the north-west, more or less at opposite ends. I had to cross the great continent to get here. In the east the weather is warmer and the land is flatter. Here in the west, the weather is wetter and the region more mountainous.”

  “What is there further West? I’ve always wondered.”

  “The sea. The great continent is surrounded by sea. To the west of this Boundary is the ocean, just as it is to the East of mine.”

  “And how did you get to me? Who gave you my name? For years I’ve been fighting in secret, since my youth, but very few people knew I was the leader of those who sought to rise against the Gods. You’ve never told me: why?”

  “Getting to you was complicated. I had to use certain methods…which you wouldn’t approve of… I’d rather not reveal them to you…”

  Lurama looked into his eyes, as if she were reading his soul in them.

  “I know there’s no evil in you. What you did was necessary. But I would like to know one thing, which is why I called you.”

  Ikai sighed. He feared the question she was about to ask.

  “You’re not a common man, Liberator, my Matriarch’s instinct tells me that and it’s not often wrong. Am I right?”

  Ikai considered his reply. He could not afford to lose Lurama’s trust, he must be honest.

  “It’s true, I’m not like most men.”

  “The mist…the thing that covered the edge of the forest and hid the trap against the Regent’s army… wasn’t a natural one. I know the climate of my land very well, and I’d never seen such a solid, heavy mist on the edge at this time of year. Was it you?”

  “Yes, it was me. I had to hide the trunks. If the soldiers had seen them they wouldn’t have fallen into the trap.”

  “How did you do it? There’s nobody in my village who can do that sort of thing. Only the Power of the Gods can do something which is impossible for men.”

  “You’re not mistaken. I did it by using the Power of the Gods.”

  For the first time since they had known each other, Ikai saw doubt in Lurama’s firm, serene eyes.

  “You can trust me. I’m no God, and nor do I serve them.”

  “Then what are you? Help me to understand.”

  Ikai realized that he might lose the trust she had bestowed on him, so he decided to tell her the truth.

  “What I’m about to tell you isn’t easy to accept, but I hope you do.”

  “Go ahead. I’m listening.”

  He told her about the Gods, about the hybrids, and about what went on in Alantres, the Eternal City. He explained the extraordinary anomalies: the hybrids with power. He told her about Adamis, the Discs, and the Power. Lurama listened in silence, without interrupting, hanging on every word. When Ikai had finished, she poured herself a glass of wine and drank slowly.

  “You’re a hybrid with power.”

  Ikai nodded. “The Power runs in my blood, in my family’s.”

  “Can you show me?”

  “Yes. Don’t be frightened.”

  Lurama tensed, breathed deeply and relaxed her shoulders. She nodded in assent.

  Ikai took out the disc and placed it over his hand.

  When she saw it Lurama tensed once again. “The Eyes use those against us!”

  “And we use the discs against them. This one belongs to the God-Prince Adamis. It contains his Power. He made five for us and in each one, in the center, is a tiny pip with his power.”

  “Give me a demonstration, please. I want to understand.”

  “Very well.” He activated the disc, and it rose above the palm of his hand. He concentrated and searched for Lurama’s aura. He perceived it clearly in his mind; it was a strong, clear one, although it no longer shone with the intensity of youth. Softly and carefully he raised her into the air, two hand-spans above the ground. The leader of the People of the Highlands choked back a cry. Ikai raised her another hand-span, until she was almost touching the roof of the tent.

  “I’m going to do something,” he warned her. “Don’t be afraid.”

  “Go ahead,” she said from where she was floating above the ground.

  Ikai gave the order to the disc. It shone, and Lurama began to turn gently on herself, as if she were a top. The Matriarch laughed and let herself be carried. Ikai changed the direction of the turn and kept her rotating for a moment. Then he put her delicately back on the ground.

  “It’s… it’s…fascinating. And the possibilities…”

  “I’m glad you understand it that way.”

  “I won’t try to hide it from you, I felt fear, and that Power frightens me. But I can also see its advantages, the opportunities it could bring us, as long as it was in good hands… if we used it against the Enforcers…”

  “Others won’t see it that way. They’ll fear the Power, because it comes from the Gods. That’s why I keep it hidden.”

  “Yes, that’s true. There are many among my people who wouldn’t understand, or accept it. We must be wary and not use it openly. But let me assure you that you needn’t worry about me. I accept it, and I accept you, just as you are.”

  “Your people couldn’t have chosen a better High Matriarch. Your wisdom and understanding are a blessing for all.”

  “It is you who are a blessing for my people, Liberator. What else can you do with that disc?”

  “Not everything I’d like to, as yet. Learning to use the Power has required a lot of practice, and I’ve only discovered a minuscule portion of what I believe it can do. I haven’t had the good fortune to have a teacher to learn from. All I know I’ve learnt by trial and error. I’m still trying to learn every day. It’s a hard task, and often frustrating, but when I learn a new skill it’s a unique and glorious feeling.”

  “And from your face and the passion you show when you talk about it, I believe you must find it very satisfying.”

  “I certainly do.”

  “Well, go on trying. In this life, all professions require years of apprenticeship. Very likely it’s the same with the Power. Go on learning. We’ll need it.”

  “Unfortunately, that’s true.”

  The flap at the entrance of the tent opened and one of the Bear-Warriors came in with an air of determination.

  “Matriarch, everything is ready. As you requested.”

  “Very well.”

  He held up his horn. “Shall I call the summons?”

  Lurama sighed heavily. “Yes, summon them all. It’s time.”

  “At your order,” the warrior said, and went out.

  A moment later all the horns sounded throughout the forest.

  Lurama turned to Ikai. “We’ll carry on with this conversation. Now it’s time to fight.”

  “I hope we may survive to finish it.”

  “You’ll guide us to victory today, I’m sure of that.”

  Ikai sighed and said nothing. He was not sure, and deep down, nor was Lurama. But the leader did not want to reveal the fact.

  “To battle!” cried Ikai.

  “For the three goddesses!”

  Chapter 4

  “Will they come?” Kyra asked Lone Wolf.

  The warrior shrugged and was silent.

  “They’ll come,” Quiet Spirit assured her.

  Kyra turned and smiled at her friend.

  “You see?” she said to Lone Wolf. “There’s no harm in saying something nice every once in a while.” The warrior heaved a deep sigh and went to look after the horses. Quiet Spirit giggled and went after him. Kyra watched them enter the gully where the animals were resting, drinking from a narrow ravine. That small wood of elms was the only cover in leagues. The meeting point. If, that is, they deigned to come.

  She scanned the horizon. Nothing. Not a trace. Only steppes of dry grass in every direction, with small rolling hills here and there in the distance, decorated with a few lonely trees. This land was beautiful, but it made her feel a curious sense of lonelin
ess. She felt strange in the midst of an immense plain that did not wish to take her to its heart. For Lone Wolf and Quiet Spirit that was their mother earth, the steppe, but for her it was a long way from the blue embrace of Mother Sea. Or perhaps it was because she felt lonely. Yes, maybe that was it. Seeing Lone Wolf passing Quiet Spirit the water-skin he had just filled at the ravine, barely looking at her, and her shyness as she accepted it and thanked him, looking away from the warrior’s body, made her think of Adamis. And the sense of loneliness settled on her like a dark cloak that subdued her spirit.

  She recalled how the Prince-God had nearly lost his life in helping her, and intense feelings, sweet and at the same time terribly bitter, overwhelmed her. Sweet because of the love Adamis had shown her, not in words but in his actions, by sacrificing himself for her, by helping her when everything was lost. They would not have gained their freedom if it had not been for him, would not have survived the Enforcers. And bitter because of the consequences of his sacrifice. In helping her, in intervening on behalf of the rebels, he had doomed himself in the eyes of his people. His own father, the High King of Ether, had sentenced him to death. The sentence had been carried out. Adamis had been executed, the Slayer of Kings buried in his stomach. Death awaited him and pursued him. He had not been able to dodge it, and it would chase him until it caught up with him.

  Kyra remembered the terrible moment when she thought she had lost him forever. The unfathomable pain she felt. And the overflowing joy she experienced when she had him back, barely alive, and dreadfully injured. She recalled, word by word, the conversation with the Witch of the Lake which had changed her life, when the Witch had appeared to her and taken her to her dwelling: an underground temple beneath the lake.