Malcor's Story

by Eric K. Barnum

  They walked around Kaia. They walked past Kaia. After a few moments, they turned to look and he was no longer behind them. Looking east, there Kaia stood, same as before. “Told you. You won’t get past me.” The Halfling’s voice had a mocking tone. “Why not let me help you?”

  Off in the distance, Malcor noted the faint mist of a dust cloud, either a column of soldiers like before or a caravan. Either way, Malcor did not want to be seen. Calvin was about to say something but Mal grabbed his arm and said, “We need to get off the road.”

  “I’ll come with you!” Kaia said.

  The three of them sat in silence only occasionally interrupted by Kaia asking them what they want, could he help, or poking fun at something they wore or a facial expression. An hour later, a large merchant caravan accompanied by light infantry rolled past their hiding spot. Once past, Malcor breathed a sigh of relief. He had spent the time prayerfully contemplating what he should do with this Kaia. Nothing came to mind. The knight’s gift of the healing potion and the appearance of this Halfling who knew their business must mean something. His offer to get them to the Temple, was it part of the test? If so, the choice of taking the help or not taking the help, after all the delays, really meant whether they would arrive in time.

  Malcor turned to find Kaia staring at him intensely. It disconcerted him but he matched the Halfling’s gaze and said, “Calvin and I were told to go the Temple at Morbatten unseen. I understood that to mean, travel…”

  “…and I can take you there right now!” Kaia said excitedly. Clapping his hands, a dark rectangular doorway appeared as a slice in the air. “Step through this and you’ll be there, on the steps. Right in front of the Order of the Shield!”

  “…by my own means. I intend to walk. No doubt magic is a daily thing for people like the King or even Dar Shara, but I’m just starting out. I’d rather walk and be reprimanded for not taking your help than to get there early by magic and fail because of the magic.” Malcor looked at Calvin who nodded his head in agreement. “We’re fine. Thank you for the offer Kaia, but…”

  The doorway vanished as if it had never been there. “Okay, so you don’t want to get to the Temple early. Fine. What do you need though? I’m a member of the Circle and was told to come here and give you whatever you needed, by Dar Shara herself. There has to be something! Look at this from my perspective… I can’t very well go back and tell the Circle that you refused my offer!”

  Calvin questioned, “The Circle?”

  According to Morbatten’s long recorded history, the dragon emperor Alerius first appeared to the barbarians sixteen thousand years ago. The first makings of the current empire took several thousand years to appear in the form of language and the theocracy of dragon worship. Since the beginning, Alerius had ruled by proxy through the Circle. The Circle consisted of those heroes, citizens, and persons of such influence and merit that Alerius deemed them indispensable to the rule of the empire. While the emperor invited the elite to the Circle, they were also dismissed just as easily. Still, a few lingered on. The Halfling member of the Circle was part of Morbatten’s legends. It was said that a Halfling appearing to a young hero portended great destiny, and the Halfling always gave a gift.

  Kaia smiled and opened his hands. On the palms of each were tattooed half a dragon, that came together to form an image of the dragon emperor. A rune of sealing wrapped the image. The date key to the rune indicated it to be ancient. Kaia’s smile grew wider as Calvin’s face gave way his recognition of the date and tattoo’s meaning. Kaia began laughing as Calvin noticed the Halfling’s teeth were fanged. When Mal noticed the fangs, Kaia’s laughter became belly laughs.

  “Mal,” Calvin said, “The Halfling came to us. The legends… “

  “I don’t care about legends!” Malcor’s hand cut through the air between the two. He turned to Kaia and added, “My lord Dar Kaia. Please forgive our lack of respect. Dar Shara and Dar Rojo both gave us instructions to be at The Temple. We dare not disobey the King and Priestess. We dare not make a mistake in our obedience. My path is clear. I do not understand your interest in us.”

  Kaia flicked his tongue against his canine fang and chuckled a bit. “It is sooo interesting how things change when you humans recognize me. While I certainly do not outrank the king, it is doubtful the king outranks me. I am here. The legends are true. I want to help. What do you want? Ask anything. You, Calvin, you have something you want. I see it.”

  “I, I want…”

  “Don’t Calvin!” Malcor interrupted him forcibly by grabbing his shirt and yanking him face to face so that he could not see Kaia.

  Calvin pushed back and said, “I want to know what my path is. Ever since Dar Shara said…”

  Kaia nodded and finished, “…that the knighthood is not for you? Well, she is right you know. At least the knighthood and paladin order you are thinking about. I can help you with that. Just ask.” Kaia looked at Malcor, “And I can help you too even though I see you won’t ask. Foolish.”

  Malcor stared at Calvin. “She told you to not be a knight? It is all you have trained for.” Even as he said it, he felt his thoughts turn to too many memories of working at the forge while Calvin went off with others to play, and later, girls to court. He remembered the dance at the Ceremony where Calvin lost tempo and had to stop while Malcor kept pace with the knights. Was Calvin really cut out for the knighthood? Malcor cleared his throat and recited a scripture that came to his mind, “In the mighty days of the children, their sons and daughters shall reach up to grasp the stars. They shall hold the stars and yet fail to see how the Queen orders their paths, and lose their way. The path of the lost leads to shadow.”

  Calvin nodded his head, “Yeah, um, what does that have to do with the Halfling Legend?” He stepped aside and re-addressed Kaia. “You can help me become a knight?”

  Kaia winked. “Actually, I can help you both. Calvin, I will give you a shield recognizable to a certain group of knights who will take you as an initiate. Your choice as to whether you take it, or use it, or not.” A templar shield appeared magically next to the Halfling. It radiated magic and power. It was beautiful. It was not a shield carried by any knights Malcor or Calvin had ever heard of in the empire. “Malcor, you want to be one of those knights known for being a knight. Like the king, you want people to whisper, “That is Dar Malcor! Look! See it IS him! Wow!” and you want your enemies to tremble at the mention of your name. This is a problem because what you want puts you at odds with your destiny. The king’s name is not whispered because he is king. His name is whispered because, well, for other reasons less to do with rulership and more to do with the who and the why of his being king. One of you wishes to be a knight while the other wants to define what it means to be a knight.”

  Calvin walked over to the shield with Kaia’s eyes following his hand. He appeared a bit tentative about picking it up. “Go ahead, pick it up. It is yours. A magical shield. Light as air. A glorious start to what will no doubt be a complete suit of plate armor. It is easily worth all of Klenna.” Calvin picked it up his face changing from dubious questioning to wonder.

  “I accept,” Calvin said eyeing the shield. He traced his fingers along the bright insignia and blazed heraldry. They had seen it before but did not know it meant a paladin order.

  Malcor watched Calvin and had to bite back another reminder to stay the course. “What you say about me Dar Kaia is true, but you missed out on the most important part – that my dreams change and grow. Just days ago, I danced with the king. Today I just want to get to The Temple and honor my king by so doing. Years from now, what I want matters not at all to me now because I hear Her Voice and every part of me aches to obey.”

  “But you do not hear Her Voice now.” Malcor paused and then admitted he did not. “You do not hear Her Voice or have heard it tell you to not accept my help?” Again, Malcor admitted no. “Then, do not tell me what you want right now. Ask for something I can give you that advances your vision of your destiny.”r />
  Ever so faintly, Malcor felt a whisper run through his mind in this moment, “At last, now you can ask for what you need. Wisdom, the River, power…”

  Malcor looked around and then up at the sky. “The great king Alerius smote my hands in the forges of creation and shaped them to be Her Hands. He bent my back with the weight of destiny and proclaimed the untamed world Her Throne. He tore my legs and with molten fire created them to pace Her Steps in the sand here at the river’s edge.” Kaia looked askance at Malcor who continued, “All my life, I grew up not knowing my father. Now I know. All my life, I read these scriptures and they stay with me. I feel their meaning, but do not understand them. I want to understand not just their meanings but the intent of prophets who recorded these as Alerius spoke them. However, my Dar Kaia, I do not ask for this as a gift. I do not want this as a favor. This is what I need to grow and progress. I do not believe these are gifts to be given.”

  While Malcor spoke, Kaia’s expression had changed from one of amusement, like a child with a new toy, to a more serious and thoughtful if annoyed one. “I do not serve the Goddess Takhissis but abide here in Morbatten with her permission. I block her voice when speaking with children like you.” His eyes narrowed, “What did she tell you?”

  Malcor maintained his gaze locked with Kaia. “Nothing I have not heard my entire life. I want to understand the River.” Calvin’s blank stare told Malcor he had no clue about the River.

  Kaia looked quickly sideways at Calvin and back at Malcor, “It is the flow of magic from where chaos creates to where chaos destroys. “Good”, such as it is, aligns with the creation process; “Evil” with the destructive. Creation to destruction creates a flow, the River, and that is what Time is. They told me you had seen it. What you do not yet understand or see is that all our magic – ALL of it whether from mages and priests and gods and demons and all the powers under heaven for life and death – hate the River and yet are addicted to it. Even as you drown in it Malcor, you scream out for more. You humans always want the next thing. Like an addict, the River feeds you tomorrow, hope, the future. Sometimes even destiny. Even the priestess Shara when she resurrects a fallen child, she revels in its turbulence. Even the dragon king knows that without the River, you die, we all die. The disease of Time gives us the power we wield between our creation and death. You will only truly understand the River when you have at last drowned in it.”

  “Dar Kaia you asked. I told you. As I said, I do not need or want anything specifically right now.”

  “What is this River? Wait, you can see it Mal?” Calvin asked. They both ignored him.

  Malcor continued, “I want to understand the River. Dying for that understanding is not an offer of help unless you intend to kill me…?”

  Kaia’s eyes grew wide and then the serious look faded back to amusement again. “If I did, they would be most unhappy with me!” He burst in to giggles, “Killing Malcor before he makes it to The Temple! They’d kill me for sure!” Some time passed before he calmed down enough to say, “Clearly, I cannot give you what you want young Malcor. Instead, I suppose I must magnify your capacity to understand.” He stepped forward and touched Malcor’s arm. The Halfling’s touch felt warm and embracing and then like wind blowing smoke clear, the Halfling vanished.

  Calvin asked again, “What is this River you keep talking about?”

  “It is a metaphor within the Queen’s doctrine. Think about it. But it's also a way of looking at Time, maybe even using magic to get around it.” But, Malcor knew with sudden clarity that Calvin would not. He also sensed that it was time to continue on their journey. “I cannot describe it as I am just barely learning what it means. It has to do with how dragon’s age and why some grow strong and powerful with each passing year while others wither and die.”

  Calvin was too distracted by his new shield to keep asking questions. “Check this out,” he said disc-tossing the shield to Malcor. The shield felt barely-there light and though metallic in appearance felt more akin to wood. It felt wrong in his hands though and Malcor quickly gave it back with an appreciative comment. Not just that it felt wrong, but the symbol it bore felt wrong for the Goddess. It suggested protective might where the Queen’s religion and its symbols exclaimed dominance, power, and ability to do anything with strength.

  Though exhausted, they returned to their course and travelled for many hours before another sign of travelers caught their eye. Unlike the other times, Malcor felt it no longer mattered to hide. Unseen could mean so many things and clearly the Halfling found them. As Kaia had noted, he felt an increased ability to consider things and the obvious intent of being “unseen” clearly meant something other than to hide. He remembered the term Innocent and Fallen, but had never considered them as maybe being those people unaware of the River. His teachings always talked about the world as being "fallen" and that Tanians had a duty to protect the innocent. He wondered if they were the same things. If yes, then clearly Innocents meant more than just the people of Tania or even those consecrated to the Goddess. He made a mental note to study it out when time allowed.

  A light cavalry patrol came around a bend. Morbatten routinely made its military visible in all places and this patrol bore all the correct signs but lacked veteran and other leaders. The lead rider nodded to Malcor and Calvin but did not stop. Over the next several days, the boys passed other similar groups where instead of cavalry, merchants or pilgrims or whoever passed by, each group leaving the Capitol on some mission with some sense of purpose or satisfaction.

  Moving even faster, Malcor encouraged Calvin to keep up and skip the frequent breaks they had enjoyed while hiding from normal foot traffic.

  Chapter Seven – Morbatten's Northern Road

  Finally, late at night, they crested a hill offset by a glow in the distant horizon, and saw the Soldier’s Fort. Hundreds of lit windows created a vague texture against the dark stone outline by lights atop its battlements. Even higher and behind, the eminent glow of the dragon king’s throne chamber sat high in the night watching over the City. At the same height and to the side, the Temple at Morbatten radiated wondrous lights cycling through the different color representations of dragon’s breath weapons. The lights had danced that way for more than a thousand years now. After what their history termed the First or Tanian Cascade, Alerius had ordered the children to rebuild the Temple. Since that time, the second temple’s lights glowed continuously.

  Calvin had been here many times with his father on government business. He happily pointed things out to Mal as they descended the road to the city’s outskirts. Though Calvin spoke nonstop, Malcor rejoiced that he had picked up and maintained a much faster pace for nearly two days now.

  “Soldier’s Fort used to be a shrine but fell into disuse when the Temple was built… to our left is where the wealthy heroes and nobility live… this road will dead end at the great fountain in the Bazaar where all merchants do their business… Alerius’ mountain is about 2000 feet taller than the Soldier’s Fort. It is actually taller than the Temple, but the emperor’s throne faces the Temple at eye level with the altar there… Morbatten is the only unwalled city this big here because magic and the dragons and other flyers allow us to secure the passes quickly and the emperor did not want to hedge his people in… did you know there are over a hundred thousand people who live here in addition to the 15,000 soldiers? …did you know that when Alerius selected this as the Capitol there were only 300 barbarians living here AND that almost all of us are related through those three hundred to everyone else?”

  Calvin excitedly talked and Malcor just enjoyed taking it all in. The Temple called out to him. If he had come here before now, Mal would no doubt be just as excited as Calvin. He tried to show interest but the magnetic draw of the Temple made it difficult. Soon, the outskirt road – paved though it was – forked. The southern route continued to the Great Bazaar and Fountain. The northern fork rose into the estates and manors of Morbatten’s wealthiest. A guard station serving as a s
hrine sat at the fork with guards paying close attention to those traveling north. The more travelled southern route not so much. “What happens if we go north?” Mal asked. “Will we get to the Temple faster?”

  “I don’t know,” Calvin admitted. “My father and I never went north. He always said we needed special papers to go that way.”

  “Lets try,” Malcor said as they turned out of the throng to the almost empty northern route. “There must be side access roads or something for service and the like right?” he wondered aloud.

  Calvin nodded and gulped when two heavily armored knights stepped out from the shrine. The gauntleted fists looked menacing enough without holding a weapon and they waved the boys over. Calvin unconsciously let Malcor step forward first.

  “We are traveling to the temple as knight initiates. Is this way faster than the Bazaar road?” Malcor asked as bravely and unflinchingly as he could. Somehow he knew that any sign of uncertainty would not bode well for them. Since they did not wear the clothing of nobility, their attitude had to make up the difference.

  The two knights stared at the boys, one walking right up into Malcor’s face till their eyes were scant inches apart. “Yes, this road connects to the Temple, but you see this road is not for anyone except those who live in the northern quarter.”

  The knight had a drawn out almost slurred way of talking. It caught Malcor’s attention. The Temple healed most wounds received in war. The only time wounds were left to mend on their own was when dishonor, misconduct, or the nature of the wound itself prevented magical healing. Malcor could not tell. It seemed the wealthy would not want their estates’ road guarded by dishonored and misbehaved castoffs. It had to be the magical nature of the wound, which meant undead, which meant Bloodstone.

  “Tell me, are you so recently returned from Bloodstone that your wounds have yet to heal? I myself hope to serve there as part of my training.”