“I wish I shared your confidence,” the councilor replied. “I have seen many summers of human activity. The open lands between us now drift out as the sands in the hourglass. When you have no frontier left will you not again seek more lands?”
“Mankind will always seek new lands,” Tiberius replied. “But not your lands, Councilor. Our lost brothers across the sea have shown us the way. We look to live in peace with our neighbors and expand to the stars. If you ask me what I see for the future of the Stewardship, I see us in the roll of ambassadors. We mean to prove that we can live in peace as good neighbors to all peaceful fairy folk. The Stewardship can be more than the lands of the Sons of Adam. It can be a place where all free peoples can live and work together in peace and freedom. Already we number gnomes and a few trolls as citizens. Maybe someday when we’ve shown that to you, you’ll see fit to try and speak with our brothers across the sea once more.”
“I fear that day will be long in coming,” the councilor replied.
“La, but you bore me with politics. Have I not done enough work for today? Tell me of the theater in Walsingham,” Salina said, turning the conversation to other subjects. “I hear you’ve become quite a patron of the arts.”
After dinner, Salina had Darras distracted with a tour of the stables. She led Tiberius into the gardens.
“At last we are alone,” she said. So saying she brought her arms around him and kissed him. For the first time since he first saw her that morning, he thought he felt her relax. She led him along the moonlit gardens.
He could see she still did not seem quite right. “What's wrong?” he asked at length.
"Why should something be wrong?" Salina replied.
"You're an emotional wreck. I can feel your soul is in turmoil," he said.
"La, I forget how strong you've become. How much you have learned. You can see right into my heart I suppose," she said.
“I don’t need magic to see you are troubled. Something about the trial?"
“It is not so fun to see you here,” she said. “It’s not you; I welcome your company, but I lied before. We are not alone. I am never alone here. All eyes look to me. The trial was difficult, too, as you guessed. My past comes to haunt me again." She leaned against him, as if to seek strength from his arms.
“I thought I would have forgotten by now, but some wounds never quite heal,” she said.
"Is there anything you want to tell me?" Tiberius asked gently.
Salina stepped away, troubled by the thought. Idly she pretended to examine a flower. "Want to tell you? No. La, I never want to think of it again. But my past won't leave me. And it's better you hear it from me."
She looked back at him, holding the flower, but not meeting his eyes. "Would it surprise you to learn I've been in love before?"
"No," Tiberius answered. "You told me you are a widow. I know you are older than you look."
"La, but you don't know how much older. I don't know myself. I don't count the sunsets, only the memories. I walked long in places where time has no meaning."
Salina drew a deep breath. "My marriage did not work out so well. You'd think a seer would see her own future better, la?" she said with a sorrowful smile. "It did not start out badly, though. We were both young and in love. He was handsome, strong, like you in some ways. He led some of our people against the Spider Lords. Do you know them?"
Tiberius nodded. "I've heard of them. A bit before my time. They were here before the Elizabethan migration. Over three hundred years ago."
"Many people have come to the Anderheim over the years,” Salina said idly, sitting and looking at him now. “Romans, Spaniards, English, Scottish, Irish, but not just Europeans. Some of the South American cultures have colonized the eastern shores of the Anderheim. Aztecs to the south. Where Port Elizabeth now sits used to be the capital city of a people we called the Spider Lords."
"I don’t really know much about them. They mentioned them in my history books though. I believe they were some sort of offshoot of Maya or Moche culture," Tiberius stated. He’d never been all that interested in their culture.
"They had the worst features of all of them, if that is what you mean. They worshiped a spider-like decapitator deity. They fed it blood. Not just of captives, but the blood of their best. They murdered thousands of children. The dark demons they worshiped gave them power. The large spiders you see in the woods now were their pets. Unholy creatures created with their black magic. Finally our king had enough of them. They were becoming well versed in black magic and they had contracted an alliance with a dark sorcerer, a necromancer of surprising power and ability. Together the two of them threatened our very existence,” she explained.
“The Great Father was with us though. The necromancer disappeared quite unexpectedly. No one knows how or why. That left us free to deal with the Spider Lords,” she continued.
Tiberius looked into her eyes and saw a deep sadness as she continued her tale. “You have never seen our anger unleashed, my dear friend, and I do not wish you to see it. It was terrible to behold. We hated them. My lover hated them especially, and I, to my regret, encouraged that hatred. For you see, in the end, he learned to hate all the Sons of Adam. We won the war. We utterly destroyed the Spider Lords. But some of us did not stop hating when the war ended."
"He became a Redcap?" Tiberius asked.
"La, not a Redcap. He was a prince among Redcaps. You think I dally with common folk? La, only the best for me. Or, it seems, the worst,” she joked though her tears. “He said nothing of this to me. He thought me weak. Would that I had been. A seer is not blind forever. I found his cap one day, and confronted him. He called me a fool and told me to mind my place as his wife. This I did. Seeing an evil spirit had taken hold of my lover’s heart I spoke with our elders and sought help for him. I did not yet guess the depth of evil that had gripped his heart. They sought to speak with him and he met them with fire and violence. He became a kin slayer. I was found blameless; la, it was I who had turned him in. As countess, too, it was my duty to sign his death warrant. I watched his execution. Then I took a walk in the forest.”
“That war was over three hundred years ago. How long a walk?” Tiberius asked in surprise.
“I told you I walked where time has no meaning. There are places in the forests like that. Beautiful places where I tried to forget about him and the pain. It is rare that our people ever return from such walks. Something held me back from the deepest paths, though.
One day a few years ago, the king sent for me and I returned. Reluctantly, I resumed my duties as countess. I could see the king was right to send for me, though. My ability to see has not lessened over the years. Far from it. I could see, and still do see, terrible dangers facing my people. All free peoples. But I could see hope as well. I heard of the prophesies, and then I saw you,” she said, smiling at last.
“You make my heart both strong and weak, you know. Looking on you gives me courage. Courage that we may yet overcome the darkness that surrounds us. La, you’ve taken the first steps already. But you weaken me as well. My heart longs to be with you. I’ve no desire to rule anyone. Gladly I would renounce my title and stay by your side.”
“Or maybe it is I who should stay by your side,” he said.
She gave him a sad smile. “You treat me as befits a lady. But pray do not say such things. If I thought for one moment that I was distracting you from your duties…
“Part of me longs to take your offer. But you have your duties and I have mine. I am countess here. I have duties, as do you. If we wed, one of us will have to abandon our position. For now, neither of us can do this. If we take the final pleasure together I will have your son or daughter, our hearts and souls will be bound together, and we must wed or incur the anger of the All-Father. Again this is not possible now. And so we must show some little restraint. More than a little. You make my life difficult, beloved.”
“Having a Son of Adam for a companion causes you some trouble, I gather.”
“As a companion?” she said with anger, though not anger directed at him. “No, I may treat humans as playthings to my heart’s content. That I should treat you with honor. That I would think to marry one of you. That is another matter,” she said. “If I were to abandon my throne to marry you, that would be considered a political statement, however personal my motives really are.”
“What do you want to do?”
“What do I want? La, I want to bid them all farewell and leave them to their own folly. I would like for the two of us to go off somewhere quiet and beautiful and spend our time raising children together. If I did this, though, I would not be the lady you care for. To do this I must abandon others. Would you have the Redcaps take over? Would you have a countess abandon her post in a time when her people need her?”
She drew herself up, and Tiberius saw her as she truly was, possibly for the first time: a true princess among her people.
“What I want is for you to understand that we cannot now be lovers. It is not my wish, but it is what we must do to serve the All Father. You must heed my head and not my heart in this. I’m a seer; I have known all along that you will have other loves. I shall outlive them, if the Father wills. When the darkness is past we may have time together, but not now. For now we must withdraw a bit or we shall tear one another apart with longing.”
Tiberius stepped up and took her hand.
“I am familiar with duty coming between me and my intendeds,” he said. “But know that you will always have a place in my heart and my friendship.”
“La, say no more or I shall not have the strength to tear myself away from you. Go, go as my friend and think on the future.”
Tiberius took a step back and she turned and almost ran from him.
He sat in the garden a long time before returning to his room. He had much to pray about.
The next morning Darras met him at the stables.
“How did it go last night? You don’t look so well.”
“You’re right, Darras. Her being a countess is causing complications. We must only be friends now it seems. Duty has an annoying habit of interfering with my love life.”
“God has tests for all of us,” Darras replied. “Nothing harder to find than a good wife.”
Chapter XIII
Dallen and the Dragon
They rode again down the elf roads; at least the journey was quick. Tiberius returned with mixed emotions. He did love Salina deeply as a friend. In other circumstances they could be great lovers, but it was not meant to be for now. At least he finally understood the situation. It did leave him free for others, though he didn’t really think the actress he was currently friendly with was nearly as serious as others with an ear for gossip liked to pretend.
Returning to the castle one day, Tiberius had a surprise waiting for him. Maci was sitting in the courtyard. Tiberius walked over towards her, at first thinking to make some cutting remark about her skipping school. But then as he approached he saw the look in her eyes. Something was terribly wrong. The usual smile on her face was shattered by some sorrow. His eyes asked the question as she came closer.
“It’s Dallen. He’s taken ill,” she said. “Dad went for Messura. They sent me for you,” she said. Her eyes could barely hold back the tears as she gurgled out the news.
Tiberius let out a sharp breath. “Our troubles come not signally but in battalions … How bad is he?”
“I don’t know. Dad went to visit him and … well he’s gotten awfully old awfully quickly. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
Tiberius nodded his understanding. “Very well, you up for a ride?”
“Of course,” she said, glaring back at him. It was as if he’d asked her if she was going to wear clothing that day.
“I’ll just tell Lord Brandon I’ll be gone for awhile and grab my saddle bags. Have you had anything to eat?”
She nodded in the affirmative. A few minutes later, they were on horseback and heading out the gate.
“Get a good grip,” he said suddenly once they were clear of the castle.
“Why?” Maci asked cautiously, taking a firm grip on her horse nonetheless.
“Kuru kiel la vento!” Tiberius said suddenly. The horses began to run. Maci at least was used to being around magicians so the magic didn’t unnerve her, though she asked if it was good for the horses. She seemed relieved when he assured her it didn’t hurt them at all.
In a couple of hours they came to Dallen’s familiar estate. The place was unusually crowded with horses. Tiberius jumped off his horse and ran into the rooms. He met Messura first, though, coming out of Dallen’s bedroom.
“What is it?” Tiberius asked the master healer.
“Age catching up with him at last,” Messura said.
“Age? But…”
“He’s had the will to push back the ravages of aging for many years. Yes, I know. But all stories have an end. His children have grown up; he know longer feels the need to be the protector of this world. There are other challenges awaiting him in the next. Go and see him, but not too long.”
Tiberius nodded.
Entering the bedroom, he looked on his old mentor. Tanyia was by his side. He looked terrible, far worse than Tiberius had envisioned. As long as he’d ever known him, Dallen had looked, well, in his mid-fifties. Now he looked like he was twice that age. All the more shocking was Ti’s certain knowledge of the incredible powers of healing that were assembled in this house at the moment. If Messura couldn’t help him, what could? There was only one real explanation for the old man’s ailments and Tiberius said as much.
“I never thought you would give up on life,” Tiberius chided, walking up to him.
The old man gave him a smile. “I am not giving up; I am relaxing at long last. You’d think as long as I’ve been working, I would finally be entitled to a rest.
He took a deep breath. "I'm tired. I've lived more lives than I should have, Tiberius."
"Always room for one more," the young pupil answered.
"Possibly. But it's time to let God decided that. I'm not using magic to prolong my life any more. I may recover but if not … well, I know into whom’s arms I will fall.” He looked at the expression of concern on Ti’s face. "It's nothing to be sad about,” Dallen continued. “Not like this. Just a natural progression of life. It's a journey we all make someday. I've put it off long enough."
He took a sip of water. "Haven't been myself for some time. A wizard can put these things off. Put them aside for a time. Just as you can go without sleep for a while. But sooner or later it catches up to you. The body can only be pushed so far."
Tiberius’s eyes wandered around the room and his eyes lit on a small stack of papers, including a letter he’d written detailing his encounter with the goblin queen. A horrible thought struck him. Had this news been the cause of the old man’s demise? His eyes met his old mentor.
“It’s good to know you are no longer needed,” the old man said.
“I … wouldn’t have,” Tiberius stammered.
“Oh, do you think I wouldn’t have found out without you telling me? You’ve come a long way in a short time, my young apprentice. I couldn’t have done a better job myself. In some ways you’re better already than I ever was. Some things you still have to learn.”
He took hold of his hand. “This is a time of great joy for me. It’s been a terrible strain fighting against time itself all these years. Now I know at last that I can rest.”
“Master, I still need your guidance,” Tiberius said. “Don’t think we don’t still need you.”
“Oh, I know you could still use my advice. You just don’t need it any more. You can learn from each other and experience.” He took another sip of water. “My time may be short, and I still have some advice for you, my young friend. You remember my riddle, I trust?”
“How does a dragon fly?” Tiberius replied.
“Yes, good. I don’t expect you have the answer yet. It will come to you in time
. Just know that fighting a dragon won’t be like that old witch. You can’t overpower a dragon; there’s no staff to shatter. Fight power to power and you’ll lose in the end. You must fight as a magi,” Dallen explained.
“But how do I do that?” Tiberius asked.
“Answer the riddle, and you’ll have your answer. I wish I could put it more plainly than that, but some answers you must learn for yourself, Master Fuller.”
Dallen laid back into his bed. He looked incredibly tired and weary. He closed his eyes and let his head sink back in to the pillow. “I’ve answered enough of your questions, Tiberius. I know you’ll never run out of them, but from now on you’ll find your own answers.” Dallen gave a feeble flick of his wrist. “Now go on, you’ve got other things to do. If I want to be pestered with questions, I’ll send for Russell.”
With that Dallen fell asleep. Tanyia nudged him out the door with a nod. It was time for Dallen to rest. He had the feeling he would never see Dallen alive again in this world.
∴
He took a stroll though the streets of his old hometown. Not much had changed here. It was as quiet and peaceful as ever. He wondered if anyone here sensed the danger that he did. How long would it be before the dragon came here? Hours? Probably a few days. The dragon would want to be cautious. At least he knew one thing about the dragon. He was good at hiding. Years of searching for him had produced hints, but no way of forcing a conflict with the dragon on the magi’s terms.
A pigeon came to him. A message from Salina, likely. They were still friends and still wrote to one another. She’d know what was happening, naturally.
He opened the note.
I like your plan. You should follow your heart, not your head, in this. Some dangers should be faced head on.
–Salina
She still knew his heart. He couldn’t force it, but he knew where to go.
Path of the Magi (Tales of Tiberius) Page 41