Tanios knew he was standing in the center of a cobweb deeper and more complex than he could fathom. All the facts he had gathered seemed related, but nothing thus far made sense. Habael called to him.
“I need to bring Master Garu to visit with my friend,” said Habael with a charming smile on his face. “We shall not be gone long. Could you please wait for us here?”
“Do not tarry, my friend. We have a mission to complete.”
“I will see you soon.” Habael held Garu’s arm and bid him forward with a warm smile. “Come, Master Garu, I want to show you something that will gladden your heart.”
“What is there to gladden my heart after what has befallen my Ramel?” asked Garu.
“Come now, come.” Master Habael’s face glowed with warmth.
The two men retraced the small company’s footsteps, and when Habael was convinced no one was following, he quickly entered Magdala with Garu in tow. They walked along a wide path that led to a small and odd-looking wooden bridge. They crossed it and stepped into a circular clearing. Habael stood there with Garu and bid him to wait silently. Garu looked at the trees around him. They seemed normal, no different from any other trees he had seen before. Suddenly, a sheet of pure light appeared, and moving slowly, it surrounded them in a wide circle. The light was pure, but did not blind them. Garu could see waves of color dance along the sheet’s surface, which grew taller than the trees and soon hid the forest. Two figures then appeared. They moved forward and stood before the two men. Garu opened a gaping mouth. He could not believe his eyes. Even though he had read about the Malikuun, he never imagined he would one day be standing in their presence.
“Master Garu. We have witnessed your devotion to Queen Ramel, and it has pleased us to see you have served her in her time of need with faithful love and great charity. Charity moves the heart of El. Would you like to be the tiller of this forest? You will find peace and true contentment until the day when you will serve once more. Do you accept?”
Garu could feel waves of supernatural joy fill his heart. The beauty of the Malikuun soothed his pain. He did not know what tilling the forest meant, but he accepted without hesitation. I could be home here. The peace he felt brought to his memory the days when he walked alone, content to reflect and think. He could do the same here. This may soothe my pain and help me cope with Ramel’s death.
Nodding like a child, he let go of Habael’s grip and crossed the sheet of light. He turned, waved good-bye, and disappeared.
“Kindness begets kindness, Habael,” said the Lord of Light. “A word of power awaits you at the foot of the bridge; the first fruit of Garu’s self-sacrifice. Use it as you see fit. Go in peace now.”
Habael bowed low. When he looked up again, he was alone. As he was about to cross the bridge, he noticed a small brass horn. He picked it up and left Magdala.
“Commander Tanios,” whispered Corialynn, “horsemen on the road.”
“Silent, vanish.” In an instant, Tanios stood alone on the path. He surveyed the road in front of him and saw no one, yet he trusted Corialynn’s senses more than his own. She is remarkable. She could hear a mouse treading slowly on tufts of cotton. Tanios stood motionless in the depth of the forest. Time was suspended. Nothing moved. Tanios glanced at the young woman perched on a nearby branch, as she pointed to the road ahead. She is always right. Let’s wait some more. Suddenly, something moved between the trees to his right.
“A platoon of riders, about thirty of them,” she called out.
He waited until he could see their standard and then relaxed. It was white with an empty, broken sheath and two jewels on its upper rim. Tanios stepped out.
The riders stopped, and their leader dismounted. He came forward and saluted the commander.
“Commander Tanios, it is an honor.”
“Enryl of Amsheet, the honor is mine. What brings you here?”
“I am on an official mission for Lord Orgond and we are now making great haste to rejoin the fortress.”
Tanios glanced at the platoon and recognized at least two dwarfs: Xurgon and Zirka. “Why have you followed this detour instead of riding swiftly on Middle Road?”
“We took it as far north as we could. A heap of boulders and dirt blocks it, the size of which we have never seen before. It reeks and is an eyesore. Whoever blocked the road is mighty and has no good intentions; that much we can say. Rather than attempt to open the road, we decided to go around it, guided by our good friend, Zirka, the dwarf.”
Tanios looked in the direction Enryl pointed to, and saluted the dwarf. “A dwarf who knows his way around forests, now that is unusual, would you not say, Master Dwarf?”
“We refrain from any inadvertent advertence and keep from any advertence whenever inadvertent.” The dwarf bowed.
“Yet, I am surprised, Master Zirka. Do you not know that you are treading near forbidden ground?”
“We take precautionary precautions and precautions of the most precautionary nature.”
Tanios bowed back and hid a smile. The dwarf’s manner of speech brought back warm memories of his good friend Kwadil.
“Do tell Lord Orgond that High Priestess Bahiya of Baalbek and the Silent will be in Amsheet in a few days. We seek safe passage for the priestess on her return to Byblos.”
“Would you like to ride with us?” offered Enryl. “I would be honored.”
“My warmest thanks, Enryl. I have a platoon of my own to care for.”
“Captain Enryl, a word.”
Surprised, Tanios eyed Allelia. What is she doing? He was, of course, well aware of the authority his Silent carried throughout the Kingdom. The nature of their missions and the dangers they faced required them to give direct orders to ranking officers, which if not followed could lead to disaster. Still, the fact that Allelia chose to speak to Enryl now, when she had no assigned mission puzzled Tanios.
Enryl dismounted from his horse, followed the young woman below the shadow of the tree, and returned a short moment later.
“The Silent asked me to give her uncle, who lives in Amsheet, this token of her affection.” He said this while showing Tanios a vanishing dart. “It is my pleasure to help your corps in any way I can.”
Tanios gave him a warm smile. “You have my gratitude, Enryl. Until we meet again.”
Enryl bowed his head and the platoon past by him. As Xurgon drew close, he leaned sideways toward the commander who wondered if the dwarf was not about to fall off his horse.
“The priestess’ daughter yet lives and so does your slave. There is a mighty tale to be told later.”
Tanios’ face remained impassible even though relief washed over him. Ahiram is alive! He survived. How will Bahiya react when she hears the slave she tried to kill is alive? He chose to keep this news to himself.
“Allelia, what did you tell Enryl?” Tanios wanted to know.
“I asked her to relay a message for me,” Bahiya said as she walked briskly toward him. “He must beware of Zirka. Dark magic hides his intent. Given Magdala’s closeness, I dared not pierce through his cover.”
“Ally or enemies of Magdala?”
“I can assure you, my dear friend,” said Habael, who stepped forward, “that Magdala is by no means evil.”
“I agree with Habael,” said Bahiya. “Magdala harbors a power unlike any I have seen before. But I am puzzled why they refrain from using their power.” she said in a dreamy voice.
Tanios looked at Habael, and then at Bahiya. She looked back at him. Those eyes. Those bewitching eyes, thought the master of the Silent. They remind me of someone … In a flash it came to him. Tanios knew who that someone was, and it distressed him greatly. Troubled, he mounted his horse and sighed. Looking up, he stared at the trees and shook his head as though their mute weight had begun to oppress him. These trees. This forest, it is making you impatient, he chided himself. We must reach the open air, but we must do so safely. Gruffly, he gave orders to the company to move. I have a mission to complete, forces or no f
orces.
They reached Middle Road at dusk. It stretched northward as far as the eye could see. The men were relieved to be back in the open, and Tanios was eager to arrive at the fortress as soon as possible.
“Commander Tanios, do you smell the stench?” asked Habael.
The westerly wind blew, carrying with it the smell of rotten food, decaying trees, and decomposing carcasses. “Yes, my friend, I do. This stench does not bode well, does it?”
“Is all well in Hardeen, I wonder?”
“The eastern fortress is miles away,” replied the commander, “but let us not delay. The sooner we reach Amsheet, the better.”
They trotted at a comfortable pace for a few hours and came upon a group of villagers traveling on foot.
“Where are you from, and where are you going?” inquired Tanios.
Recognizing him, the villagers cheered.
“From Santiir,” replied an old man. “We’re on our way to Amsheet.”
“I know your village, old man,” replied Tanios. “It is near Hardeen.”
“Commander. Santiir is no more. The terror from Hardeen swept it.”
“What terror?” asked Tanios.
“Don’t know. All’s I’ll say is that a bit o’ time past, somethin’ terrible went inside the fortress. Doors slammed shut for two nights. They opened and let lose the stench and the terror. Santiir fell. We ran for our lives. Ain’t seen my brother, my cousin, and all ’em Limen, good family of twenty. Gone. All of ’em.”
“To Amsheet we go,” said another. “Lord Orgond, he is our last hope.”
Tanios looked at Habael and Bahiya.
“I feel the same power flowing from across the forest,” said Bahiya shivering. “I dread what is coming.”
Dark clouds loomed above their heads as they advanced down the road. They passed shadowy figures: men, women, and children as they walked by the side, heavily burdened with their belongings and their hunger. Tanios felt like a man riding the crest of a giant wave of destruction about to crash. He wondered if any of them would survive what was coming next.
“Jaguar-Night is one of the principal deities of the Togofalkians. He is a god of the night, a god of stealth and power, and he is revered for his magical powers. Of particular interest to the Temple of Baal are the protuberant eyelids encrusted in one of its most famous statues. The Temple believes these eyelids were not there originally, that Jaguar-Night had acquired them after some somber dealings with Tanniin. Baal had tried to be rid of the eyelids for some time now, however, fearing the unrest and upheaval that would result from their vanishing, has thus far not tried to remove them.”
–Teaching of Oreg, High Priest of Baal.
“The Great Council was providential. It made the right decision for the wrong reasons. Most of all, it revealed what was hidden and allowed the bearer of Layaleen to acquire an indispensable weapon.”
–Chronicles of Yardam, Third Stewart of the House of Hiram.
Ahiram ran along a narrow ledge while being chased by a dark shadow. He seemed frightened and lost and searched frantically for an escape route. Below, the gushing fires of the deep roared with a deafening sound. The shadow behind him grew larger and more ominous until it swallowed everything. Ahiram stood with his back to the void, paralyzed and unable to resist the approaching terror. He opened his mouth to yell, but fell back. The dark terror advanced. Noraldeen struck at it with her sword. Pain wrung through her arm, and she woke up. She sat with her back against the bed, her arm still throbbing with pain. Pondering the meaning of these dreams, she gazed at the brightening sky, for the sun was about to rise. I am convinced you are alive, my love, somewhere out there you stand with your will to be free. I sometimes wonder what the price of your freedom is, my love. Oh, how I wish you were here now. Is distance keeping us apart, or your desire to be free? In your slavery, you are worth a thousand princes, O source of my joy and sorrow.
She slid back into bed and closed her eyes. Her dream was a nightmare, but it no longer held sway over her. If I cannot see you by day, my love, then I long to see you in my dreams. In a way, this recurring nightmare had strengthened her love for Ahiram. Noraldeen loved him deeply. She knew she wanted to be with him, grow old with him, and love him for the rest of her life. Since their separation, she had the time to reflect and ponder the events that had taken place in her life during the past six years. She noticed Ahiram the first day Commander Tanios had brought him in. Ahiram had a worried, serious look on his face; a sense that he did not belong in their group. Tanios ordered him to sit and observe. Then he told the students that among the Silent, valor, aptitude, and strength were the measuring rods. “True nobility,” he said, “expressed inner strength and magnanimity.” Back then, she did not know what magnanimous meant, but she knew it was an important quality they ought to strive for.
Ahiram sat by the training course that day, and soon no one else but her paid attention to him. For weeks on end, he sat and watched their movements. He never spoke, never said a word until the day when Tanios ordered him to enter the game of tagging. He stood and faced Noraldeen and smiled his disarming smile, as though apologizing for being her opponent. Even before the game began, Noraldeen knew she had lost.
A few days earlier, Noraldeen had broken her staff during an outdoor exercise. She ran back to grab a spare rod and was surprised to see the door leading to the Silent’s quarters left ajar—a rule violation. She heard Master Habael encouraging someone. She tiptoed to the open door, peeked inside, and was seized with amazement. In the middle of the training hall, Ahiram was a whirlwind of color and movement.
The Silent Corps main mission was to guard the king and protect innocent life. In a world that favored the double-edged sword, the Silent opted for the lowly dart. When a Silent throws one dart, one enemy falls. When several darts are combined in a lethal sequence, the Silent becomes a formidable foe. Combining martial art moves with the throw of darts was essential. The faster the better.
Before they could use a dart efficiently, the Junior Silent needed to gain strength, endurance, and stamina. They needed to develop greater self-control and precision. Wood staff training served this purpose well. The study of bones and muscles, history, culture, geology, and botany occupied the rest of the day. The intermediate two years intensified their physical training. Dart and dagger throwing, hand-to-hand combat, swordsmanship, and fighting on horseback were all introduced. The last two years of training were intense as the students were focused on the dart crossbow, vanishing techniques, advanced martial arts, poisons and antidotes, as well as the manufacture of darts. They memorized essential facts about every royal family across the sixty-two kingdoms, and learned the fine art of diplomacy and proper court etiquette. And finally, they studied the structure and design of the Temple of Baal.
Most students in Noraldeen’s first-year class could combine twenty consecutive martial art forms in a sequence that Commander Tanios considered acceptable. “Flowing like a river,” the commander repeated, “faster than a horse, more powerful than a bear, these are the moves of the Silent.” They trained for four hours each day with the staff; persevering through injuries and painful bruises. She prided herself in perfectly executing her fighting form; a sequence of sixty moves. Jedarc and Sondra could string together seventy moves each. Alviad and Banimelek, eighty, and Allelia and Corialynn could perform sequences of ninety moves, which was exceptional. An accomplished Silent would do one hundred to one hundred and fifty coordinated moves and the Solitaries, those outstanding Silent, topped it all with a sequence of three hundred moves of the highest difficulty. Tanios did not tire of repeating, “Performing a form of one hundred moves means nothing if they are poorly executed. Your moves must flow, one into the next. Your attack must be purposeful, efficient, and when needed, crippling. Dance on water and I will see a Silent. Give me a dance, dangerous and beautiful.”
Before her eyes, in the empty room, Ahiram danced like a Lord of Light. There were moves she had never seen befor
e, and the staff in his hand became liquid water flowing in space. As the staff flew in the air, his movements remained graceful, focused, and purposeful. Instinctively, she knew that what she was seeing was extraordinary, and she felt privileged to be the first to witness it.
Noraldeen rejoined her class without a staff and incurred the commander’s ire. She kept Ahiram’s secret and felt that eventually he would have to join their ranks. The next day, she saw him sit quietly by the wall watching them and wondered why he did not feel bored seeing how clumsy they were compared to him. She remembered looking into his eyes and could see nothing more than studious attention to their moves. She then understood the meaning of magnanimity.
When Tanios gave the signal of the game of tags, Ahiram’s dart hit her before she could reach for her weapon. She had not even seen Ahiram’s hand move, but she could still remember how everyone else froze and looked at her with amazement. As the game advanced, she stood by the side and watched Ahiram expel each of his opponents with the same speed and deadly precision, until he faced Banimelek and won the game.
The students teamed around him and started asking questions. She saw how embarrassed he was. She stood by him and smiled. He smiled back and relaxed.
Over the years, Noraldeen had ample occasions to witness his talent and ability. While in their third year, a visiting Solitary, had dropped by to observe the students and had given them the privilege of facing him in one-on-one combat.
Wrath of the Urkuun (Epic of Ahiram Book 2) Page 34