by S L Gassick
“Hmph,” Lirilius muttered, “as opposed to the fires of yesterday you mean?”
Hemero scowled. “Hey! What’s your problem? She’s just trying to be nice. You’re the one going around in a grump.”
“I’m in a grump? You do realise I have been shunned from the Knights of Norheath? That I’m returning to the Dark Clans who will single me out as a traitor and consider a quick death a luxury? That we’ve just walked away from a village burnt to the ground? You think they are going to go back and keep partying? No. They have to rebuild now, rebuild and mourn their dead. They have to …”
“You think I don’t know what they have to do?” Hemero now stood next to him face to face, staring through him. “You think I’m just some stupid child? You don’t know anything about me. My village was burned to the ground by your people, just like that one. My entire race of people were destroyed. All of them. My mother, my father – all killed in another stupid war. At least some of them survived, at least they can rebuild. At least some of them can grow up with their families.”
“’My people?’ There it is. None of you trust me, do you? At least I helped some of those people down there survive. That’s more than you can say, isn’t it Hemero?” Lirilius smirked.[DG31]
Hemero had a flash of that poor boy dying in front of him and for a second, it almost made him sick. He roared and rushed at Lirilius, they fell backwards and started tumbling down a hill, rolling over each other. As they tumbled, Lirilius noticed Hemero’s eyes - there was a fire behind them, his face had changed. What magic was this? He began to panic, his underestimation and teasing of the young boy had backfired and he’d been left with this monster.
Just then he felt a thump against his back and the wind knocked out from inside his body. He struggled to breathe and saw a shape lying in the ground. It wasn’t moving. Slowly he realised it was Hemero and that he had been knocked out. His face back to normal, his eyes closed and harmless, once again a scared little boy.
Lirilius looked at a nearby rock. Could he kill the young boy? It would look like an accident. He would have died from the fall. His head against a rock. He would have to prepare it a little, but he would have time. Yet, what if the boy awoke and saw what he was doing? Would he unleash this monster again? Then again, could he keep travelling knowing what lay beneath this boy’s fragile exterior?
Lirilius picked up the rock.
Just then there were shouts from above as Rose, Nayakax and Phin ran down after them, trying not to trip.
Lirilius dropped the rock and stepped back from the young boy.
“The last of his race, he said…” Lirilius thought. “What is he?”
As the others ran towards them he sat down, yet did not take his eyes off the unconscious boy. He couldn’t hear what was being said. He didn’t even know if he was injured. He just sat and stared. Until the boy woke up.
Hemero groggily rubbed his head and looked up to meet the eyes of Lirilius. Something passed between them. It was an understanding, an agreement of sorts. Rose stood between them to look into Hemero’s eyes and make sure he was ok, but Lirilius knew, that for the moment, the beast had been quelled.[DG32]
After a while, Rose would chirp up with the odd effort of conversation, but nothing that lasted more than a few minutes and her efforts to keep the atmosphere light only brought more attention to the fact that everyone was keeping silent. The day was long and already Hemero began to miss the comforting warmth of the villagers, the mission ahead making him more nervous than ever. He wondered if he would lose his nerve again; next time someone close to him like Rose could die. He tried to shake the thoughts but they just kept reappearing. Nayakax, who had remained nigh on silent the whole time suddenly froze in his tracks as the night began to fall heavily upon them.
“Lirilius – where are you leading us?”
Lirilius, who had been at the front the whole time, stopped and paused for a moment. Hemero suddenly considered the idea that this had been a trap all along. They had not even questioned where this former Dark Clans member might be leading them.
Lirilius turned round and looked them all in the eye one by one. Hemero saw what was once warm, loving eyes back at the village suddenly turn cold and icy in the fresh night air.
“Are we really going to go through this again? Do none of you trust me?” Lirilius asked. “Do none of you hold dear my secret past as something that was shared and therefore should be trusted upon?”
His stare made Hemero feel ashamed. Was this not once a Knight of Gaea? How could Hemero have been so foolish as to doubt him?
“What I trust upon, brother, is that we are approaching the Gates of Kanadu… wild Titan territory,” Nayakax answered back.
Rose launched a look of fear upon Hemero, who in turn was awaiting Lirilius’s reaction.
“True,” Lirilius answered, “and what of it?”
“Some Titans don’t take kindly to us. A lot of them having lived since the War still regard us to be their enemy.”
“And a lot who regard us as their true friends. Spare me the history lesson boy, we have to cut through here in order to catch up with the other Knights. They wouldn’t have dared risk this path, but it is a risk we must take. This is now a race against time, lad - and one we cannot afford to lose.”
This ended the conversation and Lirilius continued walking. The others hesitantly followed, save but Phin who was still in shock at the thought they were entering Titan territory. Phin didn’t like Titans. Though their race were once humans a long, long time ago, some had deformed to such a state that they were no longer recognisable as neither animal nor human, nor anything of this Earth. They had become a completely separate race and one that still had a certain stigma attached since the War. The only true difference being their physical appearance, but their intelligence, morality and sense of humanity remained overall intact.
Still, Phin found them scary to look at, even ones with a slight disfigurement, and tried his best not to surround himself with Titans when he could help it. He could only just about bare the ones who lived in Norheath, who were friendly and helpful yet some looked so frightful that it would give him nightmares.
Phin remembered what he had been taught about the Titans. About how there was nothing to fear, that they had fought long and hard for equality, that they still have a human brain and should not be treated any differently. He remembered how before Gaea they had been put under extreme prejudice as they were the results of various technological mishaps and they had to put up with nothing but suffering and fear their entire lifetime. Some communities were even walled off in an attempt to keep them confined, but all this did was cultivate more fear and anger. Nowadays, in certain areas where Titans dwell, it is told there are ones who are still angry at past grievances against their race, and it is these that stay here, cast out from human lands or those that have chosen to live their lives without human presence. Phin took a deep breath and continued following the others. There might be lots of friendly ones about, but he’d rather not meet any at all if that was okay.
It was late and the team were tired once they approached the Gates of Kanadu. The gate itself was a huge iron contraption that, though no-one would believe it unless they saw both, was even larger than the Valhalla’s (which in itself was constructed to allow access for large Titans). Either side of the gate were two large statues – both looking like they are standing guard of whatever laid ahead. Both similar in appearance, looking like what were once called ‘gargoyles’. They had sharp teeth too big for their mouths, eyes like cats and ears like dogs. Their hair looked rough like a horse and behind them were wings with thorns. Their dress was slightly different from each other, as well as the strange emblems carved upon both their chests. One looked like it was of an eagle, the other of a lion.
“They look scary,” Phin heard himself say out loud.
“These two Titans are Florius the Protector and Canelius the Brave,” Lirilius answered, “Titans believe they look over these lands
at all times; they were once of two different clans and at war with each other but were brought together over a common enemy.”
“The dragons?” Rose asked
“Yes, the dragons. Together they tried to bring down many a monster, though it did not take long before they fell in a blaze of glory and one that resulted in peace among the lands. Until that is, Gaea walked the earth…”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hemero asked furiously.
“The Valhalla’s and their wars against the Dark Clans and with each other took its toll on the Titans, who soon became once again slaves of war, until the wars ceased and the Titans could finally be left alone. For them, some might say, times would have been better had the dragons stayed.”
“Getting rid of the dragons was good for the Earth, there is no doubt,” Hemero answered back.
“Then you are a true believer, son. Whether that is good or bad, I do not yet know,” Lirilius answered just before they came to the Gate. It felt like there was a sudden change in the weather and soon it began to rain. Lirilius approached an old, weather-beaten wooden door beside the Gate and as he did so, a small, dark hole appeared in the door where Hemero thought he could hear heavy breathing.
“Yesssss?” A wet, slimy voice echoed from within the hole.
“We are friends of the Titans merely wishing safe entry and stay for the night where we will leave promptly in the morning.”
There was a long pause.
“Are those children with you?” The voice hissed in the darkness.
“Yes, kind Sir. They be well behaved or it is my scorn they will face,” Lirilius answered.
“There is a girl …”
Everyone turned to Rose who gave off a sheepish smile. It was in that instant that she wished nothing more but to be in her safe, warm home. She pulled up her hood and held it tightly so it slightly covered her face. She wondered whether her parents would miss her by now and whether it was worth coming all this way.
“Yes, her name is Rose. She is of an ancient tribe.”
“Yesss,” the voice hissed, “I know what tribe she comes from, it is as plain to me as the sun.”
Hemero wondered if that was really so plain to a creature that lived in the dark.
“What say you then, kind Sir?” Lirilius asked and bowed low, “have sympathy for a group of tired travellers?”
“It is late,” came the voice from inside – his voice sounding faint and his breathing heavier, almost gasping, “there are worse creatures than unruly Titans in this night. You must stay with my brother; he will set you up with comfortable beds and hot food to eat. Though I must warn you, he is not a kind sight to the eye.”
“This is no matter to us. Thank you, friend.” Lirilius turned back to the others as the gates began to creak open. “When we meet this man, do not fear his ugliness ... he is but a man and we must treat him as such for putting us up.”
“Lirilius,” Nayakax looked up, “I do not have a good feeling about this.”
“And why not?”
“I sense there has been some kind of disturbance at this gate not too long ago. The hole was also too high for whatever creature was behind it to talk through – which makes me wonder why they did not design it for the gatekeeper, if he truly is the keep of this gate.”
“I get no such feeling here… I am sure there are perfect explanations for everything.” Lirilius turned to go inside and Nayakax turned to Hemero with a look which he understood all too well.
“Keep your wits about you” he could almost hear Naya saying – and this, Hemero thought, was good advice.
As they entered the gates, there was a row of about ten houses. Even though it was late, Hemero could sense how desolate it was.
“Isn’t it strange there’s no-one around at all?” He pondered.
“Would you be walking around with all these Undead people running about?” Phin answered. Hemero thought he had a good point, but something was amiss. Just then a beam of light from a doorway not too far away burst upon the darkness and a figure that no-one save Hemero could quite make out stood in the bright, escaping light.
Hemero could see that the figure was a grotesque size and realised it had the scary large eyes of a fish on what looked like a deformed pig’s face. His skin looked like it was in the process of melting and his clothes were ripped and torn.
“Oh my…!” Hemero reacted.
“What is it, Hemy?” Rose asked.
“Just… just prepare yourself.”
As they approached the figure, Hemero could see the man was even uglier than he first appeared. It was as if his skin was coming off, he was persistently dribbling green goo from every orifice and had trouble moving properly.
“Welcome!” he exclaimed, “to my house! My name is Frederick, but please call me Fred… or Freddy… whichever you prefer.” The creature tried to smile but instead it turned into a tortured grimace.
“Thank you, Fred,” Lirilius was first to speak and stepped forward, his face giving off a warm, pleasant smile. He shook the creature’s hand. The others were staring intently until Lirilius shot them a fierce look back, “we are most grateful for your hospitality. You have a lovely home here.”
“Thank you, thank you. What a horrid night! And with such rumours as hordes of monsters running the hills! Be not worried little ones, you are safe here!” He bent down slightly and spoke in a warm tone.
Phin felt at home in such an environment, but Nayakax remained cold and motionless, merely listening as to what was being said. Rose ran up to a warm fire that was blazing at the side of the room.
“What a lovely house you have!” she exclaimed with a beaming smile.
“Why thank you little one! It was handed down to me by my mother, she would have loved you! And what is your name?”
“I’m Rose,” she began excitedly and began pointing everyone out, “that’s Phin, that’s Nayakax, the old man is Lirilius…”
“Old man?” Lirilius suddenly perked up from dropping his bags.
“… and he’s Hemero.”
Hemero gave an awkward smile to the disgusting creature before him.
“My word,” Frederick stated, “are you part-Titan? You have eyes like nothing I’ve ever seen!”
“I… I…” Hemero stuttered.
“Where shall we be sleeping, kind Sir?” Lirilius interrupted. Frederick slowly turned to Lirilius and they both stared at each other for a moment; Hemero noticed the change in the air but kept quiet.
“Sleep already?” he answered, “well if you must! Let me show you into your rooms.” Frederick gave a deep laugh that sounded strange in that there was no hint of a joke in his sentence. Down a small corridor they were led into a large room where there were three beds tucked neatly against each other.
“Looks like we have to share,” Phin said.
“Oh, but we have a special room for pretty Rose!” Frederick announced and led Rose into a bright pink room with pictures of dolls and fairies on the walls. Rose gasped and looked at all the toys lying around before picking up a huge bear and placing it on the bed. Frederick closed the door and left her to her own devices to speak to Lirilius.
“She’ll be safe in there, don’t worry,” Frederick stated, “now tell me what’s going on out there? And what is it with the boy?”
“It’s a long story, let’s share a brew…” Lirilius patted Frederick on the back and walked back to the lounge. Nayakax, Phin and Hemero sat on the three beds in silence for a while. A moment of shared tiredness dissipated in the air and left them bemused as to what to do next.
“Hemero…” Naya suddenly spoke. Hemero looked up to see Nayakax with his eyes hidden under his long black hair and his head tilted down looking at his feet sitting at the end of the bed. “There’s a presence here.”
“What do you mean?” Phin asked.
“Do you feel it, Hemy?” Naya looked up at Hemero, completely ignoring Phin.
Hemero looked out a small window into the darkness ou
tside and wondered why Naya couldn’t just relax and stop second guessing everyone. However, Hemero felt it too and was trying to shake it off as just a reaction to strange surroundings and strange Titans whom he wasn’t used to. But there was something…
“I do, Naya. I don’t know if anyone else has noticed. But there are no pictures here.”
“I have noticed this. Though I don’t think it is to do with his appearance. There is also the fact that this is a house for a family, and as far as we can tell Frederick lives here by himself with no mention of others save his strange brother. Did you notice the room that Rose was given?”
“I did. Someone was staying there. Recently.”
“I know, Hemy. And then there’s the person watching us.”
Phin leapt up, his bottom lip quivering and started looking around. He began to hope that there were lots of Titans around, that they were just asleep or something. It was too quiet for him, something was wrong.
“Sit down Phin,” Nayakax said calmly. “Just sit down. Or for all we know we’ll be butchered by morning.”[DG33]
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Theus was wandering the stone halls deep in the Valhalla wondering where his caretaker had gone for the day. It was most unlike him to just disappear. The old man took long, gliding steps down the ancient corridors and suddenly realised some of these hallways he had not visited for a long time. The Valhalla itself was surprisingly large and the only person who knew more than anyone about it was Aslo.
Theus took a puff of his pipe and closed his eyes; he could almost smell the years that had passed between these walls. He wondered what Diega Manstru, the founder of this Valhalla who was once a disciple of Gaea himself, would think of this place now. There had to be many changes of course, but all in the name of progress. Inside, outside and whatever lay between these walls. “Progress is never looking back” Manstru had announced when opening the Valhalla according to scripture. ‘Then how do we know how far we’ve come?’ Theus thought.
As he walked further along, his feet making slight, lonely punctuating sounds in the air, he looked at either side of the wall and pondered the occasional paintings that hung on either side. There was Dramascus the Fourth, a man known for slaying half of the Dark Clans during his lifetime. Dramascus sat facing the left side of the painting as if he was also looking down the corridor which led into a dark abyss. His clothing looked dignified and of a deep crimson, his dark features and bright eyes were staring towards the middle distance, as if not sure where to rest. His right hand clasped a long sword, ready to strike at any moment. Theus moved onwards and from the shadows appeared a long figure, clearly in a rush. For a moment, he wondered whether it was Diega himself coming to advise him what to do, or perhaps the enemy had finally entered these inner halls. Theus stopped until he saw that it was Milius and laughed ever so slightly to himself. “What’s the matter?” he called out.