by Jake Yaniak
He walked over and lifted the Conjurer's sword above his head and cried out, 'Be gone devils! For your master is fallen!'
The goblins fled in terror when they saw what had become of the Conjurer. They dropped their weapons and abandoned their wounded, every goblin fleeing in a different direction. Most rushed down along the strange stone path and vanished from the mountain. The Noras warriors were of a mind to pursue them, but Dynamis raised his hand to stop them.
'Let them fly!' Dynamis shouted. 'For these sorry devils will never return to Coronan. They will live out their days in fear, hidden under cold stones and dark shadows. For the Galvahirne are now a greater terror to them than even magic.'
Chapter VIII:
The Exile of the Galvahirne
The Brothers Reunited
The wind howled and raged until nightfall. Dynamis took command over the Galva army and set about ordering a camp. Strong men with swift feet were sent to Cheft Faros' old base at Megd-u-Coran to gather up whatever supplies they had left and to help along those who were wounded in the previous battles. There was a deep silence among all the warriors, partly because their voices could not be heard over the wailing of the wind, but mostly because they were all so shaken by the strange turn of events. The passion of the last battle was replaced by somber and silent contemplation.
By midnight a camp had been set up and there were many watchfires burning high into the air. The Noras are masters at making fires, and soon, despite the cold and the rain, the camp was illuminated with leaping mounds of red fire.
'Brother!' Daryas cried as he embraced his older sibling. 'You have saved us all from the grave, and the goblins are driven back. There will be songs about you when we return to Galva Hall!'
Dynamis was taller than his brother, and his appearance, though still distinctly Galvahirne, was somewhat less severe. His hair was the exact same shade and he was a bit thinner, though more muscular than Daryas.
'There will be no songs, brother,' Dynamis said softly with a grim look on his face. 'I have come bearing hope for the army of Galva, but I can offer no such hope for the our beloved Noras.'
'What is it, Dyne?' Daryas asked. He knew his brother's face well and read from it that a great evil had taken hold in Noras.
'Our father is betrayed,' Dyne said, almost in a whisper. He looked around him as though there were spies in every corner. 'The envy of the Cheftans has driven them to madness. A force of armed men has marched against Peiraso, and what power the sons of Galvahir once held in the council has been stripped away.'
Daryas said nothing for several minutes while he considered these tidings.
'But what about our father and our mother?' Daryas said sadly, 'Are they safe?'
'That I cannot say,' Dyne answered. 'The great hawk Maru brought me this letter from Peiraso on the twentieth day of Leonius. I sent him back to Peiraso with a message of my own, but he found us two days later at Bridge-town, bearing still the same message that I had sent. He also bore an arrow in his talons; from this I gather that Peiraso has fallen into the hands of some jealous Cheftan. But here is the letter; the last word I have seen from our father, Cheft Biron Galvahirne.'
Dynamis pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his cloak and held up a lantern. Daryas read:
"By Pelas' might I pray that Maru's wings fly swiftly. For great peril has befallen Noras. The shadow that has been in my heart has brought forth evil fruit. I was not mistaken; the Cheftans have plotted our destruction.
"Even now, men of Titalo march on our eastern borders. The hedge and fence will not hold back such a band, and I fear the secrets and defenses of my estate have already been spied out. I must hurry. I am sending Olver with the refugees to Dadron, where, if the gods will, they will be welcomed by my friends there.
"But you, my son, if ever you have desired to honor me, you must not return to Peiraso. Fly to the mountain and save your brother and the army of Galva. There are powers at work there that are far more sinister and threatening than any mere hob-goblin or high-orc.
"Now I must see to some preparations and find your beloved mother, ere the enemy comes to the gates."
-From the hand of Cheftan Biron Galvahirne, lord of the sons of Galvahir
Daryas' eyes swelled with tears as he read. Dyne put his hand on his brother's shoulder. 'Do not fear, brother,' he said, 'More than likely our parents still live. For I cannot imagine they would lay a finger on them while the blood of Galvahir still runs through living veins.'
'Then we must make haste to return to Peiraso,' Daryas said urgently, rising from his seats as though he would leave at that very moment.
'We cannot go back,' Dyne said sullenly, 'not now. For the forest of Noras has fallen out of the hands of the Galvahirne. This is no accident; it has been carefully planned by men who would go so far as to betray their own countrymen in the mountains, as they have betrayed the madman Faros. Such devils will not let go of the reins of power so easily.'
'What are you telling me?'
'If we attempt to return to Noras, we will never set foot off of this mountain. There will be an army of men, hirelings and wicked Noras of Lavri-la and Oastir-la marching to meet us. They will ensure that no heir of Galvahir returns to the forest.'
'But why? For what could they possibly be doing this?'
'I do not know,' Dyne answered. 'But whoever conspires against us, does not conspire within Noras alone. The Conjurer is proof enough of that. These goblins did not come from any place on this side of the mountain. They were mustered in the west, in Amlaman or Ramlos perhaps. But do not ask me further, for my knowledge fails here. All I can say is that some of the more wicked and envious of the Noras Cheftans have made league with strange powers in the western world. The goal of both these powers was the destruction of the Galva army.'
'But we have averted this at least,' Daryas said, sitting down once more.
'Yes, though the cost was high. But I think that we ought to give our foes the illusion of victory, at least for now.'
'What do you mean, brother?'
'We will burn our dead and the dead of the goblins after the manner of the wildmen. We will make the fire so hot that even the finest scout will be unable to discern who lays among the dead. We must suffer there to be no tale-bearers among the Galva army. No one may return to Noras.'
Daryas's face looked troubled. 'Where will we go?' he asked. 'For to the east lies our betrayers and to the west lies an unknown, and therefore more deadly foe.'
'We will find refuge among the Coronan valleys,' a voice said from the tent's entrance. The flap was opened and a tall man with a fur cap entered.
'Who are you?' Daryas asked.
'I am Revere, and I owe your father much,' he looked at the ground when he spoke. 'I will lead us to hidden places where men do not trod; secret valleys of the mountains that lay long forgotten.'
Revere's face looked sickly and pale. His mind seemed to be in two places at once, and every word he spoke seemed to come only with the greatest exertion. Daryas thought he recognized the look: Shame. This puzzled him, but he said nothing to the scout.
Dynamis rose to his feet. 'There is much for us to do; and we cannot delay this ruse for long. There are bound to be spies climbing the mountains after us to learn our fate. By my reckoning, we must be gone from this mountain by the weeks end, or we will be discovered.'
'But how can we abandon our kinsmen in Noras?' Daryas asked, his face showing grave concern. 'And if our betrayers find nothing but charred corpses, how will they know that the sons of Biron are living?'
'They cannot know that for now,' Dynamis said. 'We must trust that Olver will arrive safely at Dadron the Great. The Cheftans know that they have no strength to challenge that mighty city. But after a while, when the army of Galva is secure and hidden, we will make ourselves known to our foes. I swear it, Daryas, by the Master of Causes, that I will not rest until I have done all to make our names more feared among the wicked than the name of the devil king Agon himself.'
The next day, the Noras fulfilled the grim task that Dynamis had set before them. The Galva Army then marched into the west, not knowing where their journey would lead them.
Wolves roamed the hills of Coronan in the wake of the last battle. They had gorged themselves on the flesh of the goblins at Corhen and now they searched the upper lands for the corpses of the Noras. But they were disappointed at what they found there.
'Fire and smoke,' Ghastin complained when they came to the charred bodies of the goblins and the men. 'It is all burnt to nothing and there is not a scrap of flesh remaining for us. Pelas has broken his word.'
The Outcasts of Peiraso
Olver Galvahirne knew the gravity of his mission when he spoke with his uncle. This was his task: To lead a group of peasants, over a thousand strong, through the dense woods of Noras, still bound by the cold grip of Winter, while eluding the armed brigands of Cheft Ponteris and every other conspirator of Lavri-la. Moreover he must come to the safe city of Dadron which lay some four-hundred leagues away by foot.
'To make matters worse,' he told his men as they rode through the dark and empty trails of Noras, 'we cannot take the main road, for it is watched on all sides by the spies of Ponteris.'
They had left Peiraso and fled south into the forest ere the hirelings of Ponteris descended on the mansion. But they could not go much further in that direction. The southern road would only lead them into the lands of Ponteris and his comrades in Lavri-la. 'We cannot trust the men of Oastir-la and Vivlir-la, for the former is kin to our enemy and the latter is too far to reach by watched roads.'
'Then we must fly east like a bird or swim down the Gavl River like a fish,' Redwin Coranlirne said despondently. 'For there is danger on every side. And I cannot think how to escape it. It is a sad time to be faithful to the house of Biron. But I do not regret our loyalty. For whether evil will befall us or not because of our faithfulness, it would certainly have befallen us already had we come to the home of Cheft Ponteris for aid in our desperation.'
'We will not come to Dadron by the main road.' Olver said after he had considered the matter for a while. 'We will go south east to the border of Lavri-la and Dae-la. There the spies of Ponteris may lose us in the wilds that separate the one land from the other. And they will not expect us to take that route, not in a hundred years would they expect this.'
Olver sounded confident as he spoke, but his heart sunk within him. He knew the danger of his circumstance, and he knew that it was his own life alone that served to vouchsafe the survival of Cheft Ponteris' rival. For Ponteris was fully persuaded that the sons of Biron would perish in the fray on the top of Mount Coronis. And should his nephew fall, there would remain no man to avenge him.
He led the people on through the woods on strange and unkept roads and came eventually to a dark and wild portion of the northeast forest. This place was called 'The Great Thicket' by the locals, for in a certain place there was almost ten leagues of brush, bramble and thorns.
Their progress through this place very slow, but they were well hidden from their enemies. The Great Thicket proved almost too much for them, however, and they soon found themselves pausing for long hours while a path was sought out. With such a large group this became a dreadful and tiring task. It was not enough to find some way for a group of warriors to pass through; they must find a way for the animals and the carts and the weary peasants of the western clans. Several times the scouts came to the end of a path to find nothing but a sea of impassable thorns in front of them. They would be forced return to the others and seek out a new path.
But with few other hardships they came out of the Thicket and entered the gentler eastern part of southern Dae-la. Here they were able to pass several nights in safety, though Olver made certain to keep a watch at all times. 'In a month's time things will not be so easy in Noras,' he said to Redwin. 'Right now the daring crimes of Ponteris are still secret from the people of the forest. But in a month's time every wind will howl the news and every ear will hear of his treachery against Galva-la. They will mourn in their homes, but in the streets they will bow down to their new master. For there are few so faithful as to risk what little they have for someone so distant. For a season, the mad Ponteris will be lord over all of Noras.'
After several days they burst from the forest in steady march over the eastern plains that lay between the forest and the River Libron. They passed many little villages and farms as they went, little places who's names never enter into any tale. Thus they came to Libraeva, one of the chief cities of the Daevaron. The Noras peasants were startled and amazed by the golden haired sons of the ancient Titalo conquerors. For under the darkness of the western Noras forest they had never so much as set eyes upon so many yellow-haired men and women.
Here Olver made preparations to bring the people to Dadron. The men of Libraeva were eager to help the sorry outcasts of Noras once they had heard their tale and when they had been shown the staff of Hiron. 'Dadron owes much to the sons of Galvahir,' the master of Libraeva said. 'And we will see to it that your people come to Dadron safely. Let Ponteris rouse all of Lavri-la to arms against us, his brigands will not set foot across the mighty Libron.'
Into Unknown Lands
By the fifth day of Paschest the Remnant of the Galva army was ready to make its flight from Mount Coronis. They left at the first light of dawn and made their way north, leaving behind mounds of charred bodies, both of men and of goblins. It seemed now that Winter was finally willing to relent and allow the warmer air of Spring to blow upon their weary faces. They made good time through these lands, for Revere was familiar with every pass of Great Coronis and he led them by kind and broad paths to the northern passes and into a deep valley beyond. His parents had both died before he was fifteen, leaving him just enough money finish his education. When he turned seventeen he was granted a position in the guard of Dadron, but he refused it, seeking his fortune outside of the city. He resented the fortress of Dadron, as it seemed to him to have been the reason he was born in Weldera rather than in the Magic City of Lapulia. He took to the forest of Noras for a time, traveling with merchants and learning the paths of the woods. When he mastered these he explored the rest of Weldera, especially the mountains of Coronan, which gave him a great deal of that which he prized more than anything else - solitude. By paths he once tread in solitary quiet the Galva army now passed into the west in an unceasing march.
It was only when they set about making camp on the eighth day of Paschest that they noticed that Sion was not among them. There was some confusion and debate among those who claimed to have seen him perish by the Conjurer's hand and those who had seen him nursing his wounds in the aftermath of the battle. But no one, not even Daryas had spoken with him since he had recovered from the Conjurer's blow.
'I would not search too long among our ranks for the son of Ponteris,' Dynamis warned his brother, 'For I fear that he has returned to his father's house.'
'You don't think he would betray us, do you brother?' Daryas asked.
'I do not think he will tell his father anything about our flight or our trail; his great hatred of the Cheftan is well-known throughout Noras. But his loyalties will be sorely tested ere the end. Noras is now in the hands of his father, and he will not find it easy to serve the land without acknowledging her new master. I fear his hatred for his father will turn his heart away from Noras. And if his heart turns from Noras, we will find in him no ally.' Dynamis could see the sorrow in his brother's eyes. 'Do not fear brother,' he said in a comforting tone, 'This may prove to the advantage of our father and all of Noras. The Master of Causes does not neglect the fall of the thinnest leaf, and he has not forgotten about the plight of our homeland. Sion is proud, and he will perhaps vaunt over his father's great failure. For the two brave sons of Biron live on and live free. As long as that knowledge lies within the mad Cheftan's heart he will not risk bringing harm to our father, lest our vengeance turn his ambitions into vanity.'
'Can the s
orrow of Sion really be a cause for good?' Daryas asked sadly.
'It may be the cause of good for many, though Sion himself may never see it in that way. There are many who live their whole lives in quiet struggle, feeling powerless and weak. Yet they never know how mighty the Master of Causes can make them when, in his time, he chooses to raise a man above his peers.
'The father of Galvahir was a fisherman in some remote village, far to the north of Galva-la. He did nothing grand or remarkable in his entire life. He worked and lived a simple and quiet life, which was cut short when he drowned in one of the small mountain creeks near his home.
'The loss of his father at so young an age made Galvahir grow strong, and he soon became stronger and wiser than his peers. You know the rest of the tale, how he came to serve Pelas the blessed and with his sword drove the devil king Agon out of Noras forever. It was a little man, a nameless fisherman, who became the cause of something so incredible that the world will not again see its likeness.
'So do not be surprised, brother, if sad tales can lead to happier endings. We cannot see all causes, and we cannot see all that will come to be ere the end. That is the folly of those who grumble at the heavens; for how do they know that there will not be days of plenty to restore what the days of want take away?'
They did not stay in that valley for long. Revere was uneasy as it was still too close to the Great Mountain. He told Dynamis that, 'It would not be impossible for a force to overtake us.'
'Then we must press on. The Remnant must come to safe ground where the brigands of Ponteris will not dare to tread.'
For another week they journeyed into the west, until they had come to a rounded hill about ten leagues west of the peak of Coronis. Around the southern base of the hill there ran a gentle stream, where the men were able to catch fish and trap other creatures. The people were delighted to see such a kind looking land and were of a mind to settle there. But Dynamis stopped them.