“You forget your place Adaryn,” Arlydd warned, dropping the pretence of addressing the Regent with the proper term. “Do not forget to whom that we both owe our allegiance and to the one who made it all possible. Without him, Aynhar would still be King and I would not be leading the order. You are bought and paid for and when the time comes, you will act as we desire.”
“I’ve heard enough,” the small form of Farandir said quietly. She looked visibly shaken by what she had heard and she shook with righteous indignation as Adaryn’s words replayed in her mind. “It seems you were right your Majesty. Adaryn is the true enemy for all of us. What do you have to say for yourself now Daingal?” she asked, the nervous tremor all but gone as she addressed her fellow monarch.
“That bastard! What a despicable excuse for a human being!” Daingal exclaimed furiously. He paced up and down for a few moments before rounding on the table that housed the Fenilax and seizing the device angrily. He hurled it to the floor with all his might where it splintered into several pieces with a loud clang. “I’m going to rip his head from his body and display it on the castle walls!”
“Perhaps you should apologise to Elhara first,” said Farandir, who had remained seated and merely watched her counterpart’s explosive outburst.
“You’re right,” the large man conceded grudgingly. “I apologise for the falsehoods and insults and thank you for making me aware of Adaryn’s deceit. How did you know?”
“It’s quite simple really. Adaryn accused me of sending an agent to Tirgaal to commit heinous murders in my name and used that as coincidental evidence in the attempt on your life and assassination of Fazhrae to implicate me. However, he was proven to be a liar when that same man sent me a message to warn me of his treacherous nature. If he really had been imprisoned, he would not have been in a position to send me a message through the Fenilax.”
“I see. Well then, I’m grateful that you had the foresight to send someone to investigate this matter properly. Now, if you excuse me, I have to confront Adaryn about this treachery.”
“If you don’t mind, might I make another suggestion,” Elhara called after him as Daingal turned to leave.
“Very well. I shall listen.”
“Considering Adaryn sought to manipulate us all I say that makes us allies now. So why not make the most of our new position? Rather than confront him with this and watch as he tries to wheedle his way out of it, we should use our combined strength and put his army to the sword. He clearly had designs on all of our kingdoms and a war between our nations would have made us all vulnerable to conquest. So, why don’t we sign a pact of co-operation right now and then march on his camp and force him to withdraw. That should make him think twice about making a pre-emptive attack since he won’t know if or where we shall invade should we decide to do so.”
“Alright. You’ve convinced me,” Daingal replied with a nod.
“I concur,” Farandir said simply.
“Well in that case, we have a treaty to sign.”
***
Adaryn, Regent of Tirgaal smiled contentedly to himself as his gaze swept over the mass of his troops. He was sat astride a grey mare with Arlydd beside him on a smaller pony with two armoured knights following close behind. The Regent nodded to his counterpart and an unspoken signal of understanding passed between the two as they turned their mounts and rode to the edge of the Tirgaalian encampment. In the distance Adaryn spied the pavilion where he had met with the leaders of the Western Kingdoms the day before and a smug satisfaction settled over him as he contemplated his future. Around his neck hung the necklace that Elhara had sent earlier in the day and he had been all too happy to throw it on almost immediately. To him it was a symbol of Ythelia’s submission.
As he rode out into the middle of the battlefield, something caused his companion to come to a halt and call out in surprise. His head lifted in the direction of her finger and he beheld row upon row of soldiers bearing down the hill. His expression instantly changed into one of blind confusion as the troops marched their way closer and closer and his eye scanned the men for any sign that would help him make sense of what he was seeing. A moment later he saw it. Elhara rode out at the head of her army, her blue dress flowing behind her as her stallion galloped.
“What is happening?” Adaryn shouted in blind panic. “She said she was willing to discuss terms for a peaceful conclusion!”
“I think she changed her mind,” Arlydd countered. “Assemble the men. You must respond in kind and show her that her foolish arrogance will cost her dearly.”
“Doesn’t she know that she doesn’t stand a chance?” Adaryn spluttered wildly.
“Adaryn, snap out of it.”
A deer horn hung by Adaryn’s saddle and Arlydd pointed to it emphatically. He suddenly snapped to his senses as he caught sight of the mage and heard her frantic calls for him to take action. Mutely, he took the horn in his hands as he locked his gaze on the mass of troops that were marching in perfect formation. He raised it to his lips and blew through it. The horn blasted a call to arms and it quickly had the desired effect. In the distance he could hear the voices of men clamouring and the thud of hundreds of feet as they worked quickly to get themselves ready. Time passed agonisingly slowly as he watched the mass of Ythelian soldiers march ever closer.
Off to the right by the banks of the Utharne river the noise of his horn had been heard and the dark specks of the Ljarthaalian and Ciphearyn armies began to form up, the mere sight of them doing much to quell the panic that had threatened to rob him of his senses. A faint rumble rolled over the hill as the Tirgaalian cavalry appeared alongside the infantrymen and they burst forward like water breaking over a dam until they almost equalled the number of their foe. Arlydd shouted at the Regent and he turned to see her motioning for them to move to one side. He nodded in understanding and they kicked their heels into the flanks of their horses.
After Adaryn and his entourage had retreated to a safe distance they turned to look as the Tirgaalian soldiers formed up into small clumps while the shouts of their commanders corralled them into order. The Ythelians marched in unison as they turned as one and came to a halt. They merely waited for their adversary to get into position while ragtag groups of Ciphearyn and Ljarthaalian infantry clustered about. They gradually pushed forwards as more men joined the ranks at the rear of their various columns until two huge swathes of men and women from the Western Kingdoms once again faced down one another in a prelude to a second contest. The ranks of his allies continued to swell as the seconds faded into minutes. A wide grin gradually crept across the features of the Regent as he mentally contemplated the slaughter that was to follow. The Tirgaalians halted in their advance and waited expectantly for the signal from Adaryn to push forwards and wreak havoc upon their foe.
The Ythelian lines remained motionless as the Regent watched his troops close the gap between the two huge formations. He licked his lips in anticipation as his forces closed to just a few hundred yards. Finally, he raised the horn to his mouth again and blew into it triumphantly, the signal that his troops had been waiting for. Abruptly, they rushed forward and the sounds of the melee drifted up to his perch on the wind. The Ythelians closed ranks and once again formed the defensive line as they allowed their opposition to hurl themselves against their shields and parried their attacks with well-aimed thrusts. Metal crashed against metal as swords clashed wildly in the frenzy of combat and for a time the outcome of the battle seemed uncertain.
Adaryn laughed uproariously as the hordes under Farandir and Daingal’s command moved forwards. The Regent waited in anticipation of them wheeling around to join the attack. To his horror, rather than joining with the ranks of Tirgaal’s finest warriors, they swept to the left with military precision to encircle them. Suddenly they crashed into the rear of the Tirgaal left flank and the men unfortunate enough to be met with the onslaught were not cognizant enough to react to the new danger. They realised much too late that their supposed allies had turned
against them. The Warriors of Ciphearyn and Ljarthaal threw themselves headlong at their Tirgaalian adversary with devastating effectiveness. The front lines immediately buckled and they cut a bloody swathe through them like a hot knife through butter.
Adaryn could only watch in useless indolence as his men were slaughtered. Next came the turn of the Ythelians who, at a single command, lowered their shields and heaved themselves forward with overwhelming force. Panic quickly set in and the men in the front lines desperately ran to avoid the blades of their enemy, causing havoc and confusion to reign supreme. A retreat suddenly turned into a rout as terror gripped their hearts and in the bloody confusion, they hacked wildly at any soldier who got in their way, friend and foe alike falling to the deadly strikes of the now thoroughly demoralised Tirgaalian army.
“Your Grace, sound the retreat,” a Tirgaalian commander yelled at his Regent desperately. “We must fall back!”
“What, what is happening?” Adaryn jabbered maniacally as he watched his men die by the score from the withering fire of the Ythelian archers and the ranks of pikemen whom he had believed were his allies. By now the soldiers of Tirgaal had been fully broken as those at the front beat a hasty retreat back towards their camp, many being trampled by the crush of men. “They didn’t stand a chance,” the Regent murmured ineffectually to himself.
“Adaryn!” Arlydd snapped at the Regent. Her face came into full view and she unleashed a left hand that smacked Adaryn full in the face. “Snap out of it! Sound the retreat you fool!”
“Retreat, of course,” he replied absentmindedly and yet his hand did not move to the horn at his side.
“I’ll do it,” Arlydd screamed and she snatched it from the Regent’s side, the leather strap snapping as she ripped it from his body and blew into it a few times. Below, those that were in a position to react to the sound retreated from the blades of their opponents and they scattered in any direction they could that did not end in their immediate deaths. “Get him moving,” the mage shouted at one of the commanders. “He’s not thinking clearly and we can’t stay here.”
“Where should we go?” the commander asked in desperation.
“Just move!”
Arlydd snatched the reins of Adaryn’s mount and tugged on it furiously. His mare whinnied in alarm and they wheeled about on the spot, kicking up a cloud of dust as their hooves dug into the soil. On the battlefield below the remnants of the Regent’s army fled in all directions while hundreds of their compatriots lay twisted and broken in bloody heaps. A scant few of them saw their leader running away and what little fight that remained within them vanished. Cries of desperation filled the air as the melee descended into bedlam. The Ythelians and their allies pressed their advantage as the might of Tirgaal lay in tatters on a foreign field.
***
Ydari locked a fierce stare on Raelynne who did her level best to avoid acknowledging it. Instead the mage rounded on Feraal and seized him by the shirt and began to shake him vigorously while the loathsome man cackled with delight. The Watch Captain walked over to them and slammed his hands down onto Raelynne’s shoulders before shoving her bodily into the cave mouth. The rest of his companions merely watched in terrified awe at the drama that was unfolding. Raelynne waited for Ydari to direct his anger toward her. Instead however, the Captain rammed a closed fist into Feraal’s gut, the blow dropping him to the ground and he sputtered and coughed roughly for a few moments.
An uneasy silence settled over the turgid state of affairs, no one among the group feeling comfortable enough to weigh in. Ydari stood over the crumpled form of Feraal aggressively, taking sharp breaths as he got his emotions under control. Raelynne’s expression too radiated nothing but pure loathing but even she had the sense not to speak until Ydari had calmed down and she merely waited for his next move. Around them life continued much the same, an oasis of anger and violence in a serene world that was indifferent to the volcanic fury that threatened to consume them. Nobody moved for a few seconds until Raelynne’s footsteps crunched on the ice that clung to the rocks at this altitude.
“Ydari, let me explain,” the mage said hopefully.
“I don’t want to hear you speak,” Ydari interrupted curtly. “You!” Ydari shouted at the downed cultist, nudging the man lightly with his foot as he did so. “Tell me everything.”
“It will be my pleasure,” Feraal coughed. “The order of magi that Raelynne so vaguely refers to goes by another name. The Circle of Etheniel. They have long travelled the lands of Efealtor, disguising their activities as trading caravans and vagabonds but they have been keeping secrets longer than the Draconis Legium have existed.”
“Go on,” Ydari said simply as Feraal got back to his feet.
“That was until a few years ago they decided that they should have a more permanent base of operations. They lobbied the old King of Ythelia, Palios, for access to a site that they said they wanted to use as a college that would teach the next generation of initiates. That became the college of Avalor. The real reason though was that the ruins had been built over a much older construction where a gem shard of the Heartstone lay buried. The Circle laboured for years to unearth it and when they did, they sought to understand its power.”
“Is he telling the truth?” Ydari asked, cutting off Feraal mid-sentence. He swung his head over to the mage who had slinked back into the mouth of the cavern.
“Yes, he speaks truthfully,” Raelynne answered.
“Of course, I do,” Feraal responded with a smug grin. “Raelynne here had begun to be trusted with their secrets and she was so keen to prove herself to her masters. She believed that she could cast a ritual and access its power. After all, she had been studying dragon artefacts for some time, which is why her father gave her that medallion. It is attuned to those ancient magics. Well, one day the Circle decided they would act on her ideas and so they cast the ritual.”
“Then what happened?”
“I’ll tell you,” the mage interjected. “I thought I knew better than everyone else around me, even when they advised caution. I believed I could do what no-one else had been able to achieve and so yes, misguided as it was, I cast the ritual. But the power of the shard was too much, the wards protecting it were too strong. I was able to cast a sigil to prevent myself from being killed in the resulting explosion and fire but, others were not so lucky.”
“That’s because they were not even aware it was happening. You think you’re so much better than we are but the Legium seeks to further its own ambitions and yes, people die, but only those that deserve it. You however have the blood of innocents on your hands,” said Feraal.
“So, you are the reason my sister died that day?” Ydari asked as if to confirm everything he had just heard.
“Yes, ultimately I was the one who was responsible.” The mage replied after a pregnant pause. She averted her eyes ashamedly as she said so. “I’m so sorry.”
“I don’t want your apology,” Ydari countered brusquely. “I want you to leave. Right now.”
“Don’t do this Ydari, you’re making a mistake. You need my help to control that gem,” she replied as she tried to plead her case. “I cannot change the mistakes of the past but I can help you.”
“I don’t care. Lothram was right all along about you. You can’t be trusted.”
“Think about it Ydari, just take a second to…”
“Just leave!” Ydari’s voice thundered. He clenched his fists and the blue gem lit up in his chest in response, sending brilliant blue light pulsing down his arms. “Take that snake with you,” he bellowed angrily, pointing at Feraal. “You two deserve each other.”
“Ydari, think about what you’re doing,” Kael chimed in suddenly.
“And what would you have me do Kael?” Ydari roared, rounding on his brother. “She comes into my life and changes everything. After this happened,” he shrilled as he pointed at the gem, “she comes to the Watch House to tell me I am now integral to a prophecy that only I can fulfil and it will
likely kill me. She spends months trying to gain my trust, pretending to be a friend when all along she killed our sister. How can you take her side?”
“I’m not taking sides,” Kael assured. “But none of us know more about it than she does. We need her help.”
“No, we don’t! I may have no choice but to find the rest of the Heartstone but I can choose who I bring along. If you want to throw your lot in with her then I do not have any problem with doing it alone!” the Captain exclaimed wildly. As his voice rose into a crescendo the light from the shard grew tenfold as it rippled throughout the entirety of his body.
“Nobody has said anything to that effect,” Idrahil added.
“And now you’re not thinking rationally. You’re letting that thing consume you and let you forget who you really are,” said Lothram, trying desperately to reason with his Captain. The Sergeant held his hands up placatingly. “Just take a minute to think clearly.”
Before anyone else could speak the air electrified around them. Suddenly, thick clouds formed up in the sky overhead until the sun that shone down on them was obscured with a dense carpet. The sky cracked and the clouds blackened. Everyone cast their eyes up at the sudden display, lightning crackling in the sky and crashing around them before they turned back to the ominous form of Ydari. Abruptly a thundercrack resounded deafeningly around them and the air became heavy. Feraal held up his arms and laughed uproariously at some unknown delight while Raelynne’s features drained of colour as something occurred to her that had not yet registered on those around her.
“I’m afraid you’re out of time,” Feraal laughed happily. “He has come!”
The air rippled close to where Teobrin stood beside Lothram and the two of them backed away from the phenomena swiftly, crying out in alarm. Kael moved in front of them and withdrew a dagger from his hip, holding the blade aloft. The space in front of him folded until a black spot appeared and gradually grew in size, the rippling motions scything through the air getting faster and faster. Idrahil shouted a warning to her friends and all of them retreated from the orb step by step. Suddenly, Feraal moved with lightning quickness as he sprinted forward with his arms held aloft.
The Fractured Heartstone Page 33