The Shadow Realm

by James Galloway

  The rain was as heavy as ever when they reached their destination on a very unpleasant late afternoon nine days after leaving Wikuna. Vendaka was the seat of the Vendari political power base, a large town made of very large, strange dome-like buildings that were covered with what looked to be moss. Tarrin understood the value of the dome buildings immediately, for the water simply cascaded off of them. The Royal ship passed through a very large concentration of other military vessels, defending the harbor town, it seemed, and then dropped anchor in a shallow bay that formed the harbor of the city, though it wasn't much of a harbor. The water was so shallow that Keritanima's ship had to drop anchor almost a longspan from the shore.

  It dropped anchor beside the strangest ship Tarrin had ever seen. It was a very large ship, the size of a clipper, but it was much wider across the beam than a clipper. It had two large metal pipes protruding from either side of the sterncastle, both of which had smoke wafting from them. It had masts and sails, two masts to be exact, but the dominating feature was the huge circular construction that jutted out from the ship's port side. It was covered with metal halfway down, and within that cover the paddlewheel of the prototype ship was visible descending into the water. The ship was painted in a dark blue, with black trim, and it didn't look to have any gunports, or any cannons at all. The thing didn't look very sleek or fast, but then again, they weren't using it because of its speed or grace. They were using it because it could move against the wind.

  Tarrin looked over the ship, absently moving the shield of Air he was using to protect himself from the rain with him as he moved down the ship's rail, studying the vessel. Its decks were filled with Wikuni, and to his surprise, a swarthy-skinned man with white hair, a human, was standing on the deck with a cloak thrown over his shoulders despite the heat, shouting in Wikuni and pointing with his hand at something. He shouted even louder, and Tarrin could make out his words. "No, no, no, you slack-jawed fluffbrain!" he bellowed at a rodent Wikuni of some sort. "Put that over there, and for the gods' sake, get that gunpowder off this ship! Which of you mental giants had the brainstorm to think this ship was armed? Do you want to blow us sky high?"

  A human? What was a human doing in Wikuna? And what was he doing giving orders to the Wikuni? Tarrin puzzled over that for a moment, then he remembered that Keritanima said that she had Tellurians working for her in the Ministry of Science. This had to be one of those Tellurians. If Phandebrass was Tellurian and he had white hair, then maybe white hair wasn't uncommon there. But Phandebrass was rather pale, where this fellow was dark, almost as dark as Azakar. He looked Arakite, except for the hair, at least from that distance. So. Phandebrass' unusual appearance suddenly didn't seem quite that unusual, and it must not have had anything to do with magic.

  Tarrin crossed his arms and watched the human bully the Wikuni for a few moments longer, then Keritanima joined him at the rail. She too was protecting herself from the rain with Sorcery, and their two shields of Air touched and almost disrupted one another. Both of them quickly and effortlessly adjusted the spells so they wouldn't interact. "It looks bigger than the plans said," Keritanima said without greeting or fanfare. "I see Donovan is already at it."

  "Who?"

  "Donovan Thale," she said, pointing. "The Tellurian. He's a Priest of Dragor, you know."

  Dragor was the Younger God of creativity and innovation. If this Donovan was an inventor, it only made sense. "Worshipping Dragor is the state religion in Telluria," she told him. "Either Dragor makes them so creative, or they're so creative that no other god would do."

  "I see he has white hair," Tarrin noted. "But he's dark, where Phandebrass is lighter."

  "They come in all shades in Telluria. It's a melting pot of sorts, because it's on the southern edge of the Nyrian landmass, right where Nyr and Arathorn meet, and right across a channel sits the northernmost tip of Valkar. So they have all kinds there. But the white hair, that's something of a status symbol among them. Tellurians say if you're born with white hair, you're favored in the eyes of Dragor, because Dragor had white hair when he was mortal. It's so important that people not born with white hair bleach it. So in a way, it's a custom. You can always tell a visitor in Telluria because he doesn't have white hair."

  "Phandebrass must be favored then. His hair is natural."

  "He better be, as much trouble as he gets himself into," Keritanima snorted. "If he wasn't, he'd be dead fifty times over." She sighed. "Well, we'd better get ready to move over there."

  "We're not going to the city?"

  "That's Vendaka, Tarrin," she said bluntly. "Only a fool sets foot there if he doesn't know the customs. That's one place where the smallest misstep or misspoken word can kill you. I'd rather not lose anyone, so we're not going to land."

  "That's hard to believe."

  "Believe it," she told him. "Binter and Sisska only seem cultured because they operate under certain very strict rules I set down. An average Vendari would kill someone not Vendari over the slightest insult, whether real or imagined. Just imagine an entire city full of people like you," she said, slapping him lightly on the chest with the back of her paw. "The Wikuni have the sense not to go there unless absolutely necessary. We don't even have any trade enclaves. If we need something from the Vendari, they bring it to the dock there, and sailors load it after the Vendari leave."

  "They're part of your kingdom, yet you don't interact with them?"

  "They interact with us," she told him. "And part of the agreements between the crown and Vendaka is that we honor their borders. The only thing we really ask of them is that they help us in battle from time to time, and for the Vendari, that's all the compensation they need. Vendari love to fight."

  "That's a strange situation. One-sided, and all the benefits fall on your side."

  "Not really. The Vendari are protected by our navy, and believe me, the Zakkites would be all over this place if it weren't for us. The Zakkites have been trying to wipe out the Vendari for centuries. It's almost like a holy war for them." Tarrin didn't think that odd, considering that he knew the origins of the Vendari. The Zakkites created the Vendari to be warriors, and they had done too good a job. Tarrin guessed that ever since the Vendari turned on their former creators, the Zakkites had been trying to eradicate their past mistakes, and avenge the damage the Vendari caused after they rebelled. "It just burns them up that the Vendari thrive here, and they can't get at them. Why did you think all these ships are here, Tarrin?" she asked.

  "I thought you ordered them down here."

  "These are the ships that are always here," she explained. "The Zakkites do try to slip in from time to time, so we keep a pretty formidable fleet down here to run them off."

  "Ah, now I understand," Tarrin nodded. "That ship isn't armed, is it?"

  "Not with cannons," she grinned. "But I think you and me and Dolanna and Camara Tal could be considered weapons, don't you?"

  Tarrin gave her a stern look. "Are we going to be escorted? You know we're going to run into trouble."

  "I'm not that dumb, my brother," she grinned. "We'll have four clippers with us, for as long as they can sail. But when we get to where the wind is against us, we'll be on our own."

  "By that time, it's not going to matter," Tarrin shrugged. "Nobody will be able to follow us."

  "Exactly."

  "I think four ships is pretty intimdating," Tarrin said in contentment.

  "Quite," Keritanima agreed. "Well, it's time to spread the word. Go pack, brother. We'll be transferring to the other ship as soon as I get word to Donovan."

  Tarrin didn't leave with Keritanima, looking over the ship some more. That was the ship that would carry them for forty days, then be the one that would allow them to sail behind the wind. The thought of that still excited him a little bit, but also made him a little nervous. That poem had said that it would take all three of them to pull this off. They needed Keritanima to get there, Allia to find it, and they needed Tarrin to get them there once Allia did. He wasn't sure
exactly what it meant, but that was the closest explanations any of them had managed to comprehend. The poem had been quite vague, and there were lines of it that nobody understood even now. But the Goddess had confirmed what they'd managed to decipher, and quite honestly, that was enough. They were now where they were supposed to be to start, and they knew which direction to go and for how long. Forty days on a southwest heading, which would slowly shift as they followed the constellation, as it turned on the heavenly wheel. It would cause them to go more and more south as the days passed, keeping the constellation firmly in front of the bow. That was why they didn't just sail as soon as they got onto the ship, because of that alteration of course. Tarrin knew that a good astronomer with complete charts could probably navigate the course without having to leave at the summer solstice, but there would be a good margin of error there, and this was no time for error. From the way it sounded to him from the poem, what they were looking for would be very hard to find, so they had to be exactly right the first time. With all that competition out there, sailing around in circles would be a very bad idea. Besides, there was another time constraint hanging over their heads, that being the day that the Firestaff would be activated. Tarrin didn't know what day that was, but it had to be soon. The Firestaff had awakened and revealed itself to the world, and to Tarrin, that meant that the day of its complete activation had to be very close.

  Actually, Tarrin would be overjoyed if that day came and went while they were still out to sea, still trying to get it. It meant that the day passed without anyone finding it, and then they could all just go home and not worry about it anymore. But that was a pipe dream, and he knew it. The Goddess wouldn't have sent him if things were going to be that easy. No, there had to be enough time for someone to have a reasonable chance to figure out where it was and how to get to it, even without the advantages that Tarrin had. If only Tarrin and his friends could get to it, then there was no real need to go after it in the first place.

  But they were that much closer. The ship represented that, another major landmark on the long, twisting, crooked road down which the Goddess had sent him. There had been quite a few twists and turns on that road, and more than a fair share of shocks and surprises. But all in all, looking back on it, given the bad and the good, he was glad he did it. He'd seen so much, learned so much, and had had the chance to make such great and lasting friends. He'd stood at the top of the world and flown with the angels, he'd moved the world with his footsteps, he'd faced the spawns of the Abyss and seen that miracles did in fact happen. It had only been some couple of months over two years since the fateful day that Dolanna and Faalken had led him out of Aldreth, but it seemed a lifetime. Alot of it was spent in fear or pain or misery, but now things looked much better than they did then. All in all, he was content with the way things had turned out so far.

  If anything, he'd have some wild tales to tell his children and grandchildren.

  More smoke began issuing up from the twin metal pipes on the ship, like the chimney of a fireplace, and there was a strange rhythmic metalling banging coming from it. The ship shuddered visibly, and then there was a loud pop, which even vibrated the water lapping at the steamship's hull. And then the smoke began to thin and the metallic sounds ceased. The human, Donovan Thane, swore sulfurously and rushed out of sight, probably going down to see what had just happened.

  Whatever it was, Tarrin hoped it was a good thing. That contraption suddenly looked quite ominous to him, an unknown thing with dangers he couldn't imagine. Keritanima said that the steam engines had a bad habit of exploding. Tarrin certainly didn't want that to happen while they were on the ship in which the steam engine was contained. That would not be a very pleasant experience, to say the least.

  It didn't take Tarrin and Kimmie long to pack their things, since they'd only really unpacked the clothes. Keritanima sent a sailor to tell them to be ready to transfer over to the steamship at the top of the hour, so they spent the time waiting up on deck, Tarrin shielding them both from the rain, as he and Kimmie looked at the ship and Tarrin listened politely as Kimmie described the progress Phandebrass had been making on his memory spell, stroking Sapphire's scales as she was held in the female Were-cat's arms. "I think he's almost got it," Kimmie announced after telling him about the session they'd had the day before. "He cast it on himself and read a Wikuni book until the spell expired. Though he doesn't speak the language, he was able to perfectly copy the writing on the first ten pages, what he was able to read before the spell ended, and he retained the memory of it. He says he can't get it out of his head, since he doesn't understand what the words mean. He said it's like a piece of art that's so engaging that it haunts you for days," she chuckled.

  "It does sound like he did it. Too bad he can't use it on you."

  "Why not?" she protested. "The spell is safe now!"

  "Triana said no spells cast on you unless I cast them. As soon as Phandebrass teaches me how to use Wizard magic and then teaches me the spell, I'll be happy to do it for you."

  Kimmie glared at him. "Then how am I going to learn Sha'Kar?" she demanded.

  "Hold on." He raised his head. "Mother, can I cast the memory spell on someone else?"

  Yes, you can, came her mental response. A Sorcerer can only cast it on himself, but a Priest can cast it on another.

  "There, that settles that," he told her. "I can cast the same spell I used to learn Wikuni on you, so you can learn Sha'Kar."

  "Who were you asking? Triana?"

  "The Goddess," he replied calmly.

  "You have her at your beck and call now?" Kimmie asked.

  "No, it's more like she seems to know when I'm about to ask her a question, so she comes to me and answers it. Sometimes I wonder how she knows," he mused to himself.

  "She is a god, Tarrin," Kimmie chuckled. "If she didn't know, she wouldn't be a very good god, would she?"

  "You have a point," he acceded.

  Not long after that, sailors packed their belongings in a longboat and ferried it over to the steamship, and then longboats were brought up for the passengers. Keritanima and Miranda were the first ones to board the longboats, with Binter and Sisska attending them. Tarrin, Kimmie, Azakar, and Allia boarded the next one, and Camara Tal, Dar, Phandebrass, and Azakar boarded the last. Boarding the longboats was almost fun for Tarrin and Kimmie, since they had to climb down a ladder to the boat. The boat rocked alarmingly as Tarrin put a foot down in it, but in a few moments it became almost enjoyable to feel the boat sway as Kimmie, Dolanna, and Allia joined them. Four burly Wikuni manned the ship's oars, and then they pushed off from the Royal vessel and rowed for the steamship anchored not far away. Sapphire flew over them, turning circles in the air so as not to get too far ahead, but then Chopstick and Turnkey interrupted her waiting circle and distracted the blue drake into a game of airborne chase. The three drakes zipped off into the rain happily, quickly travelling out of sight. Tarrin wasn't worried, however. Sapphire could find her way back once she caught the two red drakes.

  As Tarrin climbed up onto the deck of the steamship, he saw Keritanima was standing on the deck with Miranda beside her, talking to the Tellurian, Donovan Thale. That close to him, Tarrin saw that he was a world different from Phandebrass. For one, he filled out his cloak. Donovan Thale was a burly, muscular man with a barrel chest and remarkably thick legs, not very tall, built like a treestump. He looked a little older than Phandebrass but still had a youthful way about him. He had swarthy brown skin and white hair, looking a little like Allia in that regard, but now that he was closer he could see that Donovan Thale dyed his hair white. It wasn't natural. The roots of his shortly cropped hair were black, and that made him look more like an Arakite. His features had the same sharp quality about them that Arakites did; Tarrin felt that this man had an Arakite for a parent, or at the very least a grandparent. Around his neck, under his cloak, he saw that the man wore a steel amulet. The amulet was under his shirt, so he couldn't see the design on it, but it reminded him of th
e amulet that Camara Tal wore. All Priests wore such amulets, which had the holy symbol of their gods upon them; in fact, the vast majority of their Priest magic wouldn't function unless they were wearing the amulet. Tarrin's amulet was radically different from theirs, but the premise was exactly the same. Without his amulet, he wouldn't be able to use any Priest magic except for a few of the simplest spells.

  Tarrin bent down and helped Kimmie the rest of the way up, who smiled at him in thanks. He patted her fondly on the bottom as she passed, and she responded by slithering her tail across his torso in a sensual manner. He reached down and helped Dolanna up the ladder, but his small friend only gave him a smile and warned him not to be quite so friendly with her posterior. That made Tarrin laugh, and he moved as if to do the same to her as she went by, which made her hurry up a few steps to get out of range. He helped Allia up, not that she needed any help, and then rejoined his mate as she walked around the deck of the ship.

  It looked alot different from a regular ship. There were only two masts and much less rigging, so the air above them looked strangely empty. The thing smelled of smoke and wood and coal, which was understandable, but the simple fact that he could smell it with all the decks being saturated with water and rain still falling heavily told him how pervasive the smell was. When they got out of the rain, it would be an overwhelming scent, drowning out everything else. The deck space wasn't empty, it was filled with rows of barrels and boxes, many of them with waterproof canvas tarps thrown over them and tied down. Keritanima said that there wasn't much free space on the ship, and she was obviously right if they had to store equipment and supplies up on the deck. Another thing he noticed was how few Wikuni sailors there were. On the Royal ship, there had to be fifty of them. But over here, he only saw nine Wikuni on the deck. But that really didn't mean anything, since the whole crew may not be on board, and that didn't count the Wikuni below decks working on that mechanical contraption that was supposed to propel the ship. He looked up between the two pipes and saw that the top of the sterncastle was covered over, with many windows along its walls, and that the wheelhouse was inside it. That, he saw, was a good idea. The steersman wouldn't have to stand out in the pouring rain, which often made the job a miserable one when the weather was bad.