A Prince of Aelon

by Michael E. Villanueva

  “I’m sorry, what do you mean by that?”

  “For example, hens are meant to lay eggs are they not?”

  “Yes…”

  “For those hens whose destiny and fate it is to lay eggs, does the one that lays the most rejoice and revel at her accomplishment? And does the one that lays the least bow her head in shame?”

  “Of course not! But we are talking about chickens!”

  “I am talking about beings that are living up to their fate and destiny sans intellect and free will. And because they are not aware of themselves, they make no conscious decisions. They cannot perceive any deeper purpose to their activity. Even though these creatures are carrying out what they were destined to do, they cannot possibly find any meaning in their activity. No fulfillment, no pride nor shame.”

  “I see. I guess the fact that we have opinions, feelings and choices in responding to issues and matters not only indicates intellect, but a responsibility to act prudently on its basis. I am just having such an awful time reconciling a pre-determined destiny with free will! And what if the choice I make turns out to be wrong? Is there any chance for one to be absolutely certain?”

  “For me it is simply thus: You will realize soon enough if you have made the wrong choice, or that it is time to move on to a new venture when you no longer find meaning and fulfillment in what it is you are doing.

  “As for certainty…what I learned in Syton’s forest from the fish and the kingfisher is that nothing in life is truly certainty,” smiled Emilia.

  Though questions and doubts still remained, Marcus felt content enough that his apprehensions were silenced for now.

  Soon afterwards this moment of quiet contemplation was disrupted by raindrops signalling the start of a downpour. Emilia then calmly turned to Marcus and quipped, “Oh, do you mind?”

  “No, not at all.” And with a stroke of his right hand the impending downpour was aborted.

  “Thank you.”

  “Think nothing of it.” Marcus then calmly turned away from Emilia’s glance so that she would not see the wide grin of self-satisfaction on his face.

  By the following midday our travellers found themselves at a fork on the road.

  “Which is the faster route?” asked Marcus.

  “The path on the right would be the faster way, but I am not sure it is the correct one to take.”

  “How could the faster way be also the wrong way?”

  “When the fates beckon,” answered Emilia, and at that she directed Titan towards the road on the left.

  Chapter 9 Emptiness

  The turn they took leads to the small village of Dunsen, known to be a settlement of some farming families that have managed through the years to etch out a meagre livelihood in this rough region of the country.

  Next day, as they drew closer to the town an eerie feeling came upon them. Marcus, not wanting to appear troubled commented, “Is it not strange that we have been travelling down this road all this time and have not encountered anyone on it?

  He then asked: “Are you sure about heading this way?”

  “Not quite yet,” replied Emilia listlessly.

  At that moment they rounded a bend and first saw the outlying fields of Dunsen and what lay ahead of them. There was no evidence of a farming community. Instead, for all intents and purposes, they encountered a desert.

  Rows of what was supposed to be crops stood dying and dead in their dry hard plots. As they rode further in, a stench wafted through the air as carcasses of rotting farm animals and livestock cluttered the fields.

  “I believe I know why the fates have brought us here,” said Marcus confidently.

  “You do?” replied Emilia in a detached tone.

  “Yes. I am meant to summon the rains and revive this land.”

  “Quite possibly so,” said Emilia in the same tone, as they rode to what remained of the town of Dunsen.

  Soon they were on the town’s main street and Marcus was looking forward to seeing the people and assuring them that life as they knew it would soon return. But there were no people around.

  The shops and dwellings looked as if they had been abandoned for some time, and as they rode further they saw a wooden board hanging from the nearest well with a notice painted in red letters.

  Upon approaching they read what it said and Marcus uttered,

  “Pestilence.”

  It was a warning for all who came to immediately leave Dunsen. It told of a severe drought that had befallen the town so close to harvest time. And because of this, the people could not bear to leave their crops just days before they were ready to be picked. They thought that even if the rains did not come they would still be able to harvest first before leaving, if they had to.

  However, not only were the rains not forthcoming but the weather had turned extremely hot and the crops wilted where they stood. Their produce ruined no more than a week from gathering.

  Soon after the animals fell ill, and being of great value to their way of life, their owners tried to nurse them back to health. But they started dying of an unknown illness, and before long the disease also afflicted the people that took care of them.

  The remaining animals were set free in the hopes that they may have a chance at survival or at least die away from the village. Within days however, the sickness spread from one person to another and no one recovered once they were infected.

  Emilia read on. “Eventually the disease enveloped the town and in all likelihood still lingers. Almost half the citizens have died; each family had lost at least one member. After hastily burying the dead the villagers took what little they could and abandoned the town, heading off to the coast more than a moon ago.”

  Emilia turned to Marcus and said. “Our task is not to save the town, but to bury it.”

  Muted and lifeless, Emilia set about burning down the hollow structures of Dunsen.

  There was a chill in Marcus’ being that mere heat could not thaw. Not the heat of the day or that of Emilia’s flames.

  He saw that Emilia had the same detached expression on her face as she commanded fire over the fields and the wooden structures of the town. While she went about doing this he callously hurled lit branches into stone and mud huts to ignite their contents. The day was spent methodically burning down everything that its former residents may have come in contact with.

  That evening, darkness did not completely own the night as the blaze of what used to be the town illuminated the area. From their vantage point at a mountain range a league or so away Marcus and Emilia looked down on the burning town.

  It was strange to witness so much destruction but not a single voice: not a single cry or plea was heard. Half the night had passed before the flames were exhausted and the dark once again totally ruled the evening.

  “You best do your part now,” Emilia said to Marcus as she moved beneath an overhang in the cliff wall.

  Marcus, without uttering a word, lifted his right arm and pointed his palm at the direction of where the flames were. A torrent of such tremendous strength besieged the land that Marcus looked down.

  The three of them were at a place of relative shelter in case the rains came near them. But the clouds seemed to be keeping their distance from the one who summoned them. Marcus lowered his arm for somehow he knew that tonight the rains would not cease until he ordered them to.

  He sat near Emilia. The two remained silent for the duration of the evening. After an hour or so the water must have accumulated so much that it sounded like there was a huge pond forming. As the night progressed it seemed like there was a river raging.

  Early the next morning Emilia woke up and saw Marcus sitting near the edge of the cliff some distance from her. There was no more rain and the sun had just begun to rise. She stood up, and after taking three steps towards Marcus, she paused.

  The sight had taken Emilia aback. Below them she saw a landscape of mire. Not just where Dunsen once stood but nearly as far as she could see. The rains had accumulated
to such an extent that from where it initially fell it spread throughout the valley. All that was visible of where Dunsen used to be was an enormous pool of water that stretched across the boundaries of the destroyed town.

  After composing herself, Emilia calmly approached Marcus.

  “Have you been awake long?”

  “I did not sleep; I wanted to see the result of my actions as soon as I could. So this is what I am capable of doing. I’m not sure I want this power anymore.”

  “Marcus, I understand how this can upset you but consider. You had the cover of night so you did not see what was happening until now. I had to set fire to the whole village; I could see what I destroyed. Farmlands that people worked on I carpeted in flames. Homes where families lived, laughed and played, I engulfed in fire. Deceased livestock and household animals, I could smell their carcasses as I set them ablaze.

  “Believe me Marcus I wanted to stop. But that meant allowing the plague to continue to exist and I could not allow that to happen. We did what we had to do, not what we wanted.”

  “That plague, Dunsen…it does not make any sense.”

  “I know. Such is the way of destiny, the way of the fates. But in this situation, more than any other I have seen previous, I yearn to know the greater reason behind it.”

  “At the fork, when you chose to head to Dunsen,” said Marcus as he sought for answers. “During the journey you were distant and somewhat lost in your thoughts. Did you know or have a sense of what awaited us?”

  “I did not know and the sense I felt was that of urgency.”

  “So this is possibly as much a revelation for you as it is for me.”

  “What revelation is that Marcus?”

  “Like what happened to you in the past, I have begun to accept that heeding the fates does not mean that the reason behind their promptings shall not eventually be known. But now I realize that their provocations shall not always lead to an agreeable conclusion.”

  “There is wisdom in that.”

  “Then what is the point?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “If obeying the fates will not necessarily lead to worthwhile results, then what is the point of pursuing the dictates of destiny?”

  Thoughtfully Emilia replied, “I do not think the fates promised to make their followers delighted, or powerful, nor wealthy. Not glorious, nor famous. Neither did they commit to beauty not even health.

  “I believe in following the fates and pursuing one’s destiny, gives one a chance to find meaning and fulfillment in ones’ life and should that meaning, that fulfillment lead to happiness, joy, power, wealth, or fame. Then that is the consequence of the journey, a windfall but not the end purpose.”

  After that statement an uncomfortable silence ensued.

  As Emilia turned and started to walk away she heard Marcus whisper,

  “Vanity.”

  “What was that?” Emilia turned back to face Marcus, who now stood facing her.

  “The pursuit of power, wealth, beauty, and fame is the calling of vanity which leads to pleasure, the illusion of fulfillment and a false sense of meaning. However, when one pursues one’s true calling, this pursuit, if for nothing else, provides a loftier objective than simply gratifying oneself.

  “Pleasure leads one to covet, to be selfish. While the path towards happiness moves one to let go of oneself, becoming selfless as meaning and fulfillment arise, the cornerstone upon which happiness might stand. There is no other way to go about it is there?”

  Emilia sighed before saying matter of factly, “To arrive at happiness, I know of no other.”

  “Being sad and miserable down the right path is better than being cheerful and jolly on the wrong one,” Marcus added.

  “Besides, the right path is not always sad and miserable,” said Emilia with a small smile, no longer appearing so downtrodden. “Yet all paths come to an end. At which point, regardless of how the journey had been, one will either regret or celebrate one’s arrival.”

  “That being the case, we should best press on then, shouldn’t we?” replied Marcus, no longer looking bewildered as a fresh dose of determination poured forth.

  Chapter 10 Realizations

  As they rode to Gelgan Marcus was in deep thought with regards to the changes that have taken place since leaving Aelon.

  He initially sought to become a magician and felt that that was his life’s purpose, an end in itself which he believed would fill the void he felt and silence his inner yearnings.

  Then arose the need to discover one’s principal power, but of course, every magician should have an enchantment they are to be known by, a mastery by which they draw acclaim. This was then followed by a need to be able to control that power properly: After all, power without control is just potential chaos.

  His trail of thought was interrupted as Emilia spoke,

  “You’re awfully quiet this morning.”

  “Oh, just contemplating on experiences past and the realizations they brought about. It dawned on me that all this time my pursuit of magic and the control of my power was something that in the back of my mind I was doing to gratify myself and nothing more. Not until Dunsen did it dawn on me that the power was meant to serve an actual use and purpose. How foolish of me, I looked upon it as a sort of bauble for my own pleasure.”

  “Something like a personal accomplishment to be proud of?”

  “Something like that, but a bit of kindness please. I feel silly enough for my shortsightedness as it is.”

  “No no, I was thinking similarly myself, the pride of being able to train you to be a magician on my own and be able to join the ranks of Watoo and Syton at an early age, for personal glory and renown.”

  “Pride?”

  “Yes pride, on both our parts. A majestic kingfisher being outwit by a fish.”

  “Of refusing to accept that butterflies only live so long…” Marcus smiled. “How laughable I must have appeared to the fates, wanting control over rain just for the sake of being able to do so.”

  Emilia nodded. “Every so often I need to remind myself that magic and these powers are just extraordinary tools that only have meaning and purpose when used properly, as inspired by the fates. Otherwise it is all just for show.”

  Marcus chuckled, causing Emilia to ask, “What is so funny about what I said?”

  “It just dawned on me, that these powers are simply tools which only have purpose when used. In that light, can you imagine a carpenter proudly showing off a hammer?”

  “Yes, I see,” Emilia smiled. “And then haughtily driving a nail through a piece of wood expecting applause from an admiring populace.”

  “Or of a farmer flaunting his sickle before pompously harvesting wheat,” said Marcus.

  “Oh my! Could that be how I looked to the fates?!” Emilia added heartily.

  “You and I, both. I assume they knew what was going through my mind and were probably saying, ‘look at that little man wanting power over rain just to be able to boast about it.’”

  As the two continued their journey another realization dawned on them. The value of humor, the ability to laugh at their folly allowed for forgiveness and acceptance along with the will to press on.

  A few days later they arrived at the mountain range of Gelgan, the two stopped to ponder the task that Syton had given them.

  “Did he give any other details?” asked Marcus.

  “Not really, except that if we’re meant to find it the fates will lead us and that the four principal powers shall be present within the cave,” replied Emilia.

  “I see. So the oracle is within a cave that has the presence of water, wind, fire and earth. Further, should we not find it within a week after our arrival here that means we were not destined to do so?!” said Marcus exasperatedly.

  “Small wonder no one believes in this oracle,” added Marcus as they surveyed the mountain range of Gelgan which stretched from the snow-capped peaks of the neighboring kingdom towards the coast on the far sid
e.

  That evening they pitched camp at the foot of the nearest slope.

  “Marcus, stop staring at the range, it will do no good. Just get some sleep.”

  “I cannot help but question if our journey was all for naught. ‘Tis difficult enough to arrive at a particular mountain in a range but we have to find a particular cave in a range of mountains! We could spend the rest of our lives going through the whole terrain and still not live long enough to find it and that is assuming this mythical cave of Syton even exists.”

  “Marcus,” Emilia said, containing her annoyance, “what we cannot do anything about, we should stop worrying about.”

  At that, she turned her back to pretend to sleep for she too was anxious about this endeavor of theirs. Though she had seen the fates move in her life and it was not impossible for them to direct their steps to the mythical Oracle of Ouy, Marcus had a valid point.

  The following day began with the thought that they were being led by the fates as they went about trekking through the nearest mountain and exploring every opening that held the possibility of being Syton’s legendary cave. As the sun set they ended with the notion that perhaps they were not attentive to the leadings of the fates.

  “Did you even get the sense that you were close to something?” asked Emilia

  “Yes, evrytime I neared and entered a cave. The feeling of certainty though only lasts until I proved to myself that there was nothing in the cavern I entered.”

  “Perhaps we are doing something wrong.”

  At the end of their fifth unsuccessful day of meandering about the range of Gelgan, Marcus made a motion.

  “Perhaps we have to be more realistic. Face it Emilia, there are probably crevices in these mountains that have not been entered into by man.”

  “I agree. But we only need to find the one Syton meant,” replied Emilia with a hint of irritation.

  “That is assuming it even exists,” retorted Marcus.