“Then I am a slave, like my father was when he was born?” Gulteth managed to question.
“No, son. You will be a pupil of humanity. You will be taught to read and write. You will read the histories of mankind and then study the path of a healer.”
“But I already have a blessing,” the boy began to protest.
“Yes, you did,” Seth said, making sure the boy understood. “I do not mean a blessed healer. I mean a man who understands that through serving others can we reach our greatest potential.”
“What if I leave and go to my father?” the boy asked, obviously quite brave for his age.
“Then I will have to remove your father, and not just his gift. Do not understand me wrong, child. You will be free to return to your home, unharmed and educated when the time comes. You will not have failed your father, for as an educated man, you will be able to bring good standing to your family’s name. Do you understand?”
“Why not just kill us both?” Gulteth Shin asked.
“Because there is nothing to learn in death. There is no way to better oneself in death. There is no redemption in death. There are no second chances in death.”
“There are for you,” the boy stated cleverly.
“That is because King Seth is no mere mortal,” Sara stated, a knowing grin on her lips. “Now go back and get some sleep. I’ll arrange for your education tomorrow.”
“Yes, Miss Sara,” the boy said, eyes brimming with unfallen tears before turning slowly and sulking away.
Seth knew that it seemed like a terrible thing now, but the boy would understand when he was older and wiser. Perhaps, someday, he’d make a positive change in the way the people of Thurr thought. Perhaps one day he’d rule a nation of peace and prosperity simply because Seth spared his life. Seth didn’t know what would happen to the boy in the years to come, but something told him he was making a wise decision.
“What now?” Sara turned to him and asked, as the boy was lost from her view.
“Now we do what we must. You won’t like it, but it is necessary.”
* * * * *
“I don’t like the sound of that. What do you have in mind?” Sara asked her husband as they turned towards the castle.
“I’ve discovered what I can only describe to you as another world. It parallels our own, and is made entirely of the power of life that is inside all of us. There is much to learn there. I can feel it in my gut that this is my next step. This is the journey I must take.”
“So what’s not for me to like?”
“You cannot go. Also, you can’t stay here. I need you to locate us an army,” Seth replied, his tone harsh to even his own ears.
“So you want me to leave you in some other world to find an army? What does that even mean?”
“My body will remain here when I travel to the other plane, and I think it best to leave my body somewhere safe. At the same time, my brother breeds an army of wolf troops. He intends to seek me out. I don’t know how long I will be gone, or how long it will be until he marches on us, but I know that I cannot learn what is needed of me if I go to find us allies.”
Sara nodded slowly. She could see the wisdom in his words, though it didn’t make them any easier. He didn’t just want her to leave, he wanted her to leave him unprotected. She only knew that because she also knew he would never send her alone. Not to meet kings with armies and blessings that could once again try to trap her only to steal the gift Seth had given her. No. He would send her with his most trusted troops. She would leave with the werewolves, and leave him with no one to guard his mortal flesh. She hated even the idea of it. “And where do you expect me to go, love? Those kings who want to meet you have already come. Those who wanted to destroy you have come as well. We have an army of thousands and with those who have pledged themselves to you and their allies, we could easily muster tens of thousands.”
“You are right, my dearest Sara, but even tens of thousands will not deter my brother. When he marches it will be with a force unlike Thurr has ever seen before. I can feel it. I know it to be true. We don’t need tens of thousands, we need hundreds of thousands.”
“I don’t even know if there are that many people left, Seth. Where will I go to find them, across the sea?”
“No, a trip across the sea is too dangerous and too unpredictable. There are plenty of men, millions even. Just not humans,” Seth replied.
“Not humans? Surely you do not mean the dwarves, no way will they march on Valdadore.”
“No, not the dwarves, I had more sinister races in mind.”
“You can’t be thinking about the elves? They can’t be trusted. Even I know that,” Sara exclaimed.
* * * * *
Seth noted as Borrik spiraled down from above, both glad he was appearing now and at the same time sure he would meet more resistance. “No. I was thinking of the orcs, trolls, and goblins that live beneath the southern arm of the Rancoor mountains.”
“You want the very races you decimated just a year ago to come to your aid?” Sara shook her head.
“What is this?” Borrik asked, his head tilting to one side and then the other.
“Seth intends for us to leave him here while he studies some new… thing. He wants for us to go and raise an army of goblins, orcs, and trolls,” Sara said, exasperated.
“I still think I’m missing something here,” Borrik admitted.
“My brother is breeding an army of troops that are akin to you and your men. He already has tens of thousands. Soon he will have hundreds of thousands. I don’t know when he will come, but it will not be long.”
“And you think orcs and trolls and the lot will join our cause because?”
“I don’t want the two of you to negotiate with them. I just want you to locate their kings and tribal leaders for me. When you’ve done that, I’ll come and handle the negotiations,” Seth explained.
“If you’ll be here, how will you know to come?” Sara asked.
“I learned a new trick today that will allow you to summon me,” Seth admitted.
“I don’t like it,” Borrik stated simply, shaking his beastly head.
“Me either,” Sara agreed.
“And I knew neither of you would, but I will be safe here.”
“Says the man that died… Yesterday.” Sara sighed, her shoulders slumping.
“Did I? Here I am. I assure you that I will be safe. Xander and his men will run the city and I will seal myself away beneath the castle.”
“How long?” Borrik asked.
“Either until I am finished, or until you need me.”
“Sara and I can move fast, we’ll fly. It should only take a few weeks.”
“No, Borrik. The rest of your men need to be with you. Remember, Garret is out to hurt me, and the two of you are my most beloved. Other blessed warriors who fear me or despise me for whatever reason will be a threat. The orcs, trolls, and goblins have blessed warriors. You will need a small but strong force.”
“They will hinder us,” Borrik scoffed.
“A necessary precaution,” Seth stated firmly.
“So leave you with naught but humans to protect you?” Sara questioned.
“I no longer need protection,” Seth said. As if to accentuate his point, Seth focused and shifted to the plane of power, dismantling his body as he transcended the barrier of time and space. Moving just a few feet, he shifted back, reconstructing his body in an instant. Both Borrik and Sara gasped.
“A good trick indeed,” Borrik grinned wolfishly.
“If you can simply vanish, why not take your body with you as you’ve just done?”
“Because I do not think you will be able to summon me if no piece of me remains on this plane.”
“So you do not even know if this will work?” Sara asked, her mouth falling wide open, exposing her elongated fangs.
“No. But it feels right.”
“It is a lot to put on a hunch,” Borrik said, scratching his chin. “But I have sworn
to follow your orders regardless of what happens. I will do as you command. I have faith in you.”
“Thank you,” Seth nodded to his second-in-command.
“So that’s it? I’m just supposed to abandon you to seek out races that humans have had no communication with in hundreds, if not thousands of years, and locate their leadership, then hope we can summon you to our aid when we’ve succeeded?” Sara hated it. She couldn’t fathom leaving him behind on a hunch, unprotected, and alone.
* * * * *
“I know this is hard, Sara. But if I am to save them all, it needs to be done.”
“So raise an army, have a war of the likes Thurr has never, in its entire history, seen. Then what? Millions dead?”
“Not if I can help it,” Seth said, wondering if he himself believed in this plan. It was a risk, every damned step of the way. It was the only plan they had. It had to work. “If we don’t raise such an army, Garret will invade sooner and kill everyone who has served me. He’ll destroy all we have built. He’ll undo all the good I am trying to do.”
“And you’ll be forced to kill him,” Sara said with tears in her eyes. “I know… fine. For you, I’ll do it. Not for the people, not to fight the gods, but because I get why it has to happen this way.”
“My men are gathering and the rat soldiers are preparing to leave,” Borrik stated, having already given orders to his men telepathically.”
“I knew I could count on both of you,” Seth said, feeling both sad and grateful. He was more worried about them than he was about himself. Who knew what risks they would face upon the road? At least they would have a small army at their backs.
“If you think I’m leaving tonight without saying goodbye, you’re sorely mistaken, Wolf-boy,” Sara said, reaching up to cup Seth’s face in her hand.
“We’ll be outside the wall in the morning awaiting your arrival, my queen.”
“Fare well, Borrik. Take good care of yourself, my wife, and our men,” Seth said, reaching up to pat his large friend on the shoulder.
“You know I will.”
“Yes. Yes I do.”
Seth watched his friend turn and stalk away, his wide shoulders sagging just enough to be perceptible. This had to work. If not, all was lost.
“I don’t want to leave you,” Sara stated as they walked hand in hand into the castle.
“I know, my love.”
“Do you?”
“I do.”
“Bring me to bed, mighty king, and let me make you miss me all the more.”
When morning came and all was prepared, Seth walked with Sara through the city to the wall where the gates stood open. Farmers and flocks could already be seen upon the field that just a day before witnessed battle. To the south, upon a slight rise, was Borrik and his contingent of troops. They were not many. Not many at all. Seth wished he could spare more, but he could not leave Drakenhurst undefended. Not if Garret had spies in the city.
Climbing the rise, Seth pulled Sara into his arms and held her tightly before pressing a small wooden figurine into her hand. “It’s been repurposed. Do not hesitate to use it if you need me. Simply hold it in your bare hand and tell it ‘bring Seth to me’ and I will be summoned.”
Sara nodded her understanding, trying to contain the tears that filled her eyes.
“All will be fine,” Seth tried to reassure her.
Sara nodded to him, turning before wiping away her tears, trying to hide her pain from him, but he felt it too. As she strode away, Borrik approached, grasping him by the wrist and pulling him into an embrace of his own.
“Be well, master. Rest easy. I’ll make certain no harm comes to her.”
Seth nodded against the great hairy chest. “You either.”
“I’ll be cautious.”
“As will I,” Seth promised, stepping back from his immense friend.
Spreading his wings, Seth leapt into the air, circling upwards on a warm current of air. Gliding back towards the castle, he lit upon the top of one of its many parapets and watched as his loved ones and all his altered troops vanished over the rise. He watched them still for mile after mile with his vision of the gods, until he could stand letting them go no longer. Stepping through the barrier between worlds, he shifted to the plane of power and in a fraction of a second returned to the plane of the living.
He stood in a small stone room deep in the bowels of the castle. He’d once met a god here. Something about that comforted him. Placing his hand upon the stone wall, he surged power into the stones, watching them contort and extend, sealing off the doorway.
Alone, in the darkness, he thought to reach out one more time to check on Sara and Borrik, but thought better of it. He needed to let them play their part. Taking a deep breath he seated himself on the cold, damp floor and left his body. The time was upon him.
Chapter Eleven
Ashton looked down, over the heads of all who stood in the Lycan training grounds. They had come so far, yet had so far to go. Lycans already patrolled the streets and manned the city walls. Lycans were working with building crews to create more housing and training grounds for more Lycans. Soon, not a moment would pass in Valdadore where a Lycan wasn’t seen carrying out the orders of its master.
Down below, in what was once the sparring field of the knights of Valdador, hundreds of new teenaged handlers were being handed out their instructions for the day. They were simple tasks mostly. Cleaning up waste and carting it outside the city for the farmers to use as fertilizer was the most common. Other jobs consisted of butchering livestock and feeding the Lycans. Perfect tasks for uneducated and unblessed teenagers. Were Ashton back home, those the ages of these children would be fighting, hunting, and preparing for the day they became adults. Not these humans, though. They were soft of skin, soft of heart, and soft of mind. But they were smart. They built impressive castles, towers, buildings, and could share ideas with reading and writing. It was an advantage Ashton’s own people, back when he still owned his own body, had.
He could not dwell on the past, however. That was behind him, and if rumor had it right, perhaps ahead of him as well. He’d recently heard from a Lycan patrol that a unit of Lycans had been dispatched under the command of a human to travel south past the Rancoor mountains to locate and befriend the races that lived there. He was told they carried a great amount of gold and silver coins with them to buy the allegiance of such races. Ashton knew this was how Garret planned to supplement his army. If the Lycans could not be created fast enough, he’d hire mercenaries. Should the efforts prove fruitful, there was the chance that he’d see Gnak again, and maybe, with his newfound knowledge of writing, reading, healing, and more, he’d be allowed to return home, to a body that was not so weak and useless.
Pacing atop the wall that separated the training grounds from the courtyards beyond, Ashton rubbed his chin. If he played his cards right, when Garret defeated his brother, he could find himself upon the throne of Drakenhurst and be the first orc to rule a human city. That was, of course, if he could get Gnak to give him his body back.
One thing at a time, he reminded himself. First the Lycans and his bond with Garret. Then marching to war and seeing what paths presented themselves to further his agenda. Time. Time would give him what he wanted if he were patient and aggressive.
* * * * *
Sara walked at what seemed a snail’s pace across the plains south of Drakenhurst. She knew the mountain range was not terribly far, and soon they’d be in the foothills, but even so, the path ahead felt as though it would go on forever. Orcs, goblins, and trolls… That’s what her husband had said. He wanted them to seek out the leaders of these races and summon him so that he could bend their wills to his own. But what if they didn’t have leaders like humans did? What if there were no kings, no castles, and no structure to their societies? Sara had no idea what to expect ahead. She’d fought alongside her husband, against these races, but knew almost nothing about them. Although she knew her task, the how of it all was a myste
ry.
“Borrik, what do you know of orcs, trolls, and goblins?” She watched as his head cocked slightly to the side as he walked, pondering.
“You mean how they live?”
“Precisely. Are we to find castles and kings beyond the mountain?”
“I’d be lying if I said I knew, but in my estimation, no.”
“What do you mean?” This time it was Sara’s turn to cock her head, though only so she could look up at his as he walked beside her.
“Their tools are primitive, their weapons and armor are crude. Their clothing is also crude. I think that if they have an organized society, it is more tribal, and it is likely that they do not stay in one place for long.”
“If you’re right, how will we find them?”
“I suspect it will not be difficult from the air. I do not imagine they lie in the dirt like dogs, but rather have some sort of shelter that they can carry with them.”
“Like tents?” Sara asked.
“That is my thoughts, judging by what I’ve seen of them.”
“So we seek the leaders of races who might not have leaders, to discuss with them an alliance, though we do not share the same language, and we seek them out in a land where they have no true home, but range about like wild beasts?”
“Sounds about right,” Borrik growled.
“The things we do for Seth,” Sara said with a mischievous grin.
“No, my queen. The things we do for Thurr, in the name of Seth.”
Sara pondered it a minute. Of course the great beast of a man was right. It was much like his previous religion she supposed, back when he was a priest of Ishanya. Though you worshipped the god, loved the god, and acted for the god, it was the god’s will you were performing upon Thurr, or in this case, for Thurr. Seth was the driving force, it was true, but the big picture was so much more. Sara couldn’t even begin to comprehend the things her husband saw or thought. He had told her once that he could feel time. Feel it.
Age of the Gods: The Complete, twelve novel, fantasy series (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) Page 201