by Jake Yaniak
His last efforts spent, Daryas diminished and the mastery of the sword passed to Lutrosis.
Never had a blade struck the monster's shield with such might. Natham's foot slid back almost a foot at the impact of Daryas' sword upon Admunth. Following this was a torrent of attacks, such as even the golems of Zoor had not unleashed against him. He groaned and swatted Daryas with his spear. Daryas tumbled aside, but rolled back onto his feet, seemingly undaunted by the blow. He charged against Natham even before the monster could draw back his spear.
Daryas thrust his blade between Natham's spear and shield, aiming for his heart. But the sword was turned aside by Skatos Ereg, which had remained hidden beneath his cloak until that instant. Sparks flew as the dark blade struck the brilliant blade of Pelas. It seemed like time froze for an instant, and the swords stood locked in a battle of their own, the light being unable to overthrow the dark. But another arm appeared at that moment and grabbed Daryas by the throat. The strength of that arm was such that Daryas could not escape. He lifted his feet from the ground and pushed against Natham's chest with all his might, flipping himself out of the monster's grip. He landed on the ground and rolled onto his back a few feet in front of the monster. Natham stepped forward and tried to pin him to the ground with his spear. But Daryas rolled aside, and, slipping his foot between Natham's legs, tripped his enemy, sending him, Admunth and all, onto the ground with a thunderous crash.
At that instant, however, a shadow fell upon Daryas' face, as a great eagle blocked the sun from his view. He looked up and saw a great bird circling above him. 'Maru?' he asked, wondering what meaning this had. Before he could think, Arakai and several other mercenaries were upon him, swinging their blades at him in defense of their master. But Daryas was quick to his feet and he turned aside their attacks one after another. They came against him in such strength and with such great numbers that he was forced to move away from the fallen monster.
'I will find you again, Natham,' he said with great frustration at being pushed away. He fled from that place, fighting every step of the way, until at last he once more met up with the men of Noras.
The fighting died away as the night fell upon the city. By now the invading army had secured for itself, a quarter of the lower city, and it was not going to be driven from thence by any effort on the part of the men of Dadron. In the center of them was Natham and his army and those warriors and soldiers of Marin who remained in the city when Nerria fled from the field in pain. There were also many men of Amlaman among them, for Daryas had driven them from the eastern side of the city until they were forced to join their forces with those of Natham.
When Daryas returned at last to the upper gate, he was met by a weakened Akellnarva. 'Happy am I to see the son of Biron yet living!' he exclaimed. 'Alone among those who challenge the monster you have become. For I have not yet heard of one who faced the beast and yet lived. And look at you! Not a scratch upon you!'
'I am not alone, my lord,' Daryas said, 'You have faced the monster as well, and lived.'
'But I was rescued from his fatal hands by the lives of other men; for you it was the beast that thereby eluded you. Honor you have by birth, son of Galvahir, and still more honor you have earned this day by your own hand.'
When the night had fully come upon Dadron, Lord Akellnarva summoned his captains to a council. Lord Kardian sat at his right side and Rahdmus was at his left. Daryas was there as well, sitting beside Faradern, the captain of the palace guards, and personal guardian of Lord Akellnarva.
'When is the last hour,' Akellnarva asked his captains, 'that we can shut the upper gate? For as much as I would love to drive these devils from our city, their numbers are such that we could never hope to do so, not without some miracle.'
'Dadron, my lord,' Kardian said, 'is the city of miracles. Let us fight yet one more day, and when we see that the lower city cannot be saved we will fly to the upper and begin again our imprisonment. But I would not have us forsake the city yet. There are many sickly and many elderly people within Dusktown who are trying with all their might to reach the gate, and every hour hundreds of the poor and destitute pass through the gate into the city, only stopping when the army marches in or out.'
'What is the state of the city, and where do our armies stand?' he asked.
Kardian replied. The western city is ours, though it is very far from these gates. For now those people are safe, for I drove Nerria of Marin out of the city bleeding and weeping. Daryas did much the same to Amlaman in the east.'
'The men of Noras and the warriors of Dadron together did this, my lord,' Daryas said humbly.
'That leaves them in the middle of the city,' Akellnarva said, 'and they have control of the gates.'
'I do not doubt that they have already destroyed them utterly,' Rahdmus said, 'Dadron will never again shut those gates.'
When he had spoken those fateful sounding words every ear was given over to him. But he laughed, saying, 'I'm sorry. It is true that those gates will never shut again, but I did not say that Dadron was lost. Quite the contrary, this is precisely the situation I had hoped would come about.'
'You wished for this war?' Kardian said, rising from his seat with great anger.
'You are very weary, captain,' Rahdmus said calmly, regaining his composure. 'It is true that this war and all its bloodletting and death has been decreed from the beginning; it has been fated one might say, and none of us can change it.'
'Then what do we fight for, if all is lost and there is no hope?' Daryas said with despair in his voice.
'We fight, or I should say, you fight, that less blood may be spilled than would be otherwise. To that end I say this, and I say it with eyes that have looked beyond death, tomorrow will be a day of great advantage for us. We must use it to contain the armies of Marin, but we must not use it to exterminate them, nor should we seek to drive them from the city, though that will seem to be within our grasp.'
'What shall we do, then?' Faradern scoffed, 'invite yet more men into the city?'
'No, you shall invite more women into the city,' Rahdmus said with a hint of a grin. 'If a man of Amlaman sets foot within these walls, drive him out or cut him down by all means. But the hirelings of Olgrost and the soldiers of Marin you shall not kill if it is not necessary.'
'What madness is this?' Akellnarva thundered, 'Has the Queen of that warrior-band lined your pockets with gold and your tongue with silver? What chance have we, if we take your council?'
'Who would have imagined,' Rahdmus said, 'that Dadron would survive the assault of Xanthur? What happens is often the most improbable thing, and such, I say, will be the case in the next few days, IF the men of Dadron remember mercy when they march out to war. Fight not harder than you must.'
'How then can we hope to live?' Kardian asked.
'How? By realizing that it is a miracle every time you draw breath, and that your own power cannot guarantee the next. What, but folly, could possibly have convinced you that you have more power over your enemies than you do your own next breath?'
Lord Akellnarva sighed, 'What are we to make of your words, Lord Daruvis? You have betrayed this city before, by your own confession. For that alone we ought rather to put you in chains than set your words before our ears in council. What sign can you give us, that we might believe your words?'
Are my scars not a sufficient sign?'
'I do not know,' Akellnarva said with a sigh, 'but that your scars themselves might be a ruse, or that perhaps you were saved by some cunning physician.'
'A cunning physician? So cunning that the severed heart and broken neck can be restored as new?'
'It is hard to believe, I confess, but it is at least easier to believe than your claim that this hidden God, long forgotten by mortal and immortal alike, should suddenly take thought of man.'
'As I said, sometimes the most improbable thing is the truth. For were it not so, we would call the improbable impossible. Be that as it may, there are many things men deem impossible th
at are mere trifles to greater powers.'
'What is the cost, Master of Confusion? What will become of us if we obey not your words?' Lord Faradern demanded.
'Many lives hang upon a thread, and what you choose here this day will determine the fates of many.'
'Now you contradict yourself, master elf,' Faradern laughed with hatred in his eyes, 'For a moment ago it seemed as though we had no power whatsoever to win or to lose. But now the fates of so many souls rest upon us.'
'To one who is accustomed to looking at appearances only, so it shall always seem,' Rahdmus said. 'When you shoot an arrow, master Faradern, are you at liberty to recall it at any moment?'
'Certainly not,' he replied.
'But are you not at liberty to shoot or to abstain?'
'Indeed,' was his answer.
'Then would it not be so, that the flight of the arrow, though unchangeable, is determined entirely by your own will? And why should it not be so with your whole life? Perhaps it is true that each moment is determined, but why cannot the whole life be free? What I have said is a paradox only to those who do not understand their true nature. But if you give the matter some deeper reflection-'
Faradern pounded the table. Lord Akkelnarva rose from his seat and lifted his hands to calm his captains. 'We have not come here to listen to the philosophies of the south. This is a war council. Faradern, control yourself! Lord Rahdmus, we have not the time nor the patience for speculation!
Lord Rahdmus sighed. 'If you will not hear my reasoning, then I cannot make you. But at the very least hear my conclusion - which is also the testimony of heaven. Know this as you march to war: That the blood you spill in battle is your own blood, and the men you trample beneath hoofed feet are your own brothers, connected to you in time in the same manner in which your own limbs are connected to you in space. Mankind is one; and if you take it upon yourself to judge them, and execute them as well, know that you execute your own soul, and condemn your own soul.'
Faradern broke into laughter and Lord Kardian shook his head. Lord Akkelnarva sighed, looking at the table with great distress. 'Is this the doctrine of the south?'
'It is the doctrine of all those who have looked within themselves honestly,' Rahdmus replied.
'I suppose you will have us all lay down our swords, even as you have,' Faradern scoffed.
'Nay,' Rahdmus said, 'There is a time for the sword; and this creature - mankind, of which we are all but a small portion, at times may have need of the surgeon's keen blade. But do not doubt it, Faradern, that the men you slay on the morrow are as much a part of yourself as the hand that wields your blade.'
The whole room grew silent, and there were none who knew what to say.
Finally, Rahdmus sighed and lowered his head, 'This is my council,' he said at last, 'save what life you may, be it of Marin, of Dadron or even of Amlaman. I do not pretend that this is wise council for a warrior, who must, at all costs, carry the day. And I cannot blame you if you turn from my council. It is my doom, I perceive, to lie and be believed; and to speak the truth to incredulous ears.'
Faradern sat silent with a look of great frustration and confusion on his face. Lord Akellnarva sat up straight in his seat and sighed. 'Lord Daruvis, I have already ordered that no further sacrifice be made to Dadron's ancient protector, even that Lord Pelas who we have so long trusted. What more would you have of me regarding the religion of those southern mountain men, those Nihlion? Would we sacrifice all our young men and all our women for it?
'Were that the will of God, that your enemies triumph over Dadron, then it would be folly to fight at all, for we could not hope to win. What I am telling you is this: The war in which you are embroiled was not begun by Marin to destroy Dadron, though the Queen of the East certainly believes it to be so, nor was it to gain the hidden power of the elves that led the King of Amlaman to fix his greed upon this city, though that was ever on my mind. This war has been in the making since the old world perished, and it is not against the people of Dadron that it is being waged. It is to bring about the judgment of the gods of Weldera that these battles are raging. The people of Dadron are caught in the web of that grand story, and the result of their long service to Pelas is not yet passed, but it was never to destroy them that these things have come to be. Therefore, heed my words and save what life you may, whether of Marin or of Dadron. The end of this strife has been fixed from the beginning, but the means are many and while the fight lasts there are ways in which the end may be made less sorrowful.'
'What of Amlaman?' Kardian asked, 'shall we save the servants of Agon too? Since we are, after all, discarding all the old religions and laying down our swords at our enemies' feet.'
'The only one of us that will lay down the sword is myself, for I am not permitted to touch them. You will have nothing to fear from the men of Amlaman, however. It has come into your hands, men of Dadron, to save the lives of many or to let them fall, heedless, into the great wheel of destruction that was set in motion in the ancient world, but which is only coming around at last in our age.
'If it is the will of that southern god,' Faradern replied, 'that Pelas be removed and overthrown, why does this god not do it in a puff of wind, as the stories say the gods made the world? Does he not have the power?'
'Who can say what the reasons are for the choices of God? It is only he who sees all ends that can judge. Man sees only a few, if he is diligent in searching, and if he is granted the grace. We cannot sit in judgment against that which we can scarcely imagine.'
'The hour has grown late,' Akellnarva said with a sigh, 'and I have grown weary of this talk of religion. My thoughts are turned against your counsel, Lord Daruvis, for my heart sinks at the thought of neglecting the defenses of this city. If the fates will have it, we will drive our enemies from Dusktown on the morrow. If not, then we will close the gates and set ourselves behind the walls yet again.'
'I say to you,' Rahdmus said with great disappointment, 'that whatever your choice, the siege will not last more than another week. Have hope, and prepare your hearts for an age of peace.'
The Second Battle
The fields of Agalan and the outer city of Dadron were now teeming with the hosts of Amlaman and Marin. The men were set in lines, preparing to enter the city. But as the morning dawned, the army of Natham found that it was surrounded on every side. At that hour Lord Akellnarva gave the command, 'Go, and retake the city if the gods smile upon us. Drive the devil from our land, and show no mercy upon them, for they are all our foes.' From that hour, he refused to meet any more with Rahdmus, and spoke no more with him until the war had ended.
The battle began when the armies of Captain Kardian and of Daryas struck the army of Natham from the northwest and northeast respectively. Their onset was sudden, and their fury was full. Natham's men faltered and they began to remove themselves from the center of the city. Faradern, in the Lord of the city's stead, led a great host of cavalry from the north, so that the army of Natham was surrounded and forced to draw back. From dawn until the late afternoon the battle raged, the people of Amlaman and Marin pouring in through the gate, and the people of Dadron trying to force them back out. When the sun was high in the sky, Daryas once again came upon the monster Natham. At the sight of him, Arakai charged and slew the men that stood around him. Daryas, in anger, turned to him and raised his sword. 'Who are you, that you dare come against the son of Biron?' he demanded, with a glimmer of green fire burning within him.
'I am Arakai, and even as I have made an end of your men I will make an end of you.'
'So much confidence! And so much hatred do I hear in your voice,' Daryas replied. 'For what? Is it not you who have assaulted this peaceful city? Is it not Marin that has slain so many innocents?'
'Dadron is never innocent,' Arakai replied. 'Her history is naught but a bloody rage against mankind.'
'Rage?' Daryas laughed, 'Do the stones rage against mankind? Do the dead?'
'It is not for her past sins alone that this city
must be undone, but for her present injuries.'
'What has Dadron done to Marin?' Daryas asked with a laugh.
With that they came against one another and fought. Arakai swung his axe down at Daryas, but the sword of Pelas severed the handle and sent the axe-head flying past his head. He swung at Arakai, but he stepped back just in time to escape the slash. Arakai, still stepping away, drew his blade from his side. They fell to fighting again, and for some time it seemed as though neither of them would have the victory. But as they fought Daryas noticed a place in the man's armor that was in disrepair. There was a place near his shoulder where his chain armor was rent and his flesh exposed. When Arakai swung again, Daryas stepped aside and stabbed his blade into his opponent's shoulder, drawing red blood from the wound. Arakai fell to his knees, but still he meant to fight on. At that instant, Daryas hesitated, remembering the words of Rahdmus. But Lutrosis overcame him, and in a fit of laughter he severed his enemy's arm from his body. Arakai fell down to the earth in agony. The deep, cruel laughter of Lutrosis rose up within Daryas and he left the man in his agony.
When word of this reached the ears of Natham, he fell into a great rage. He tore through the men of Noras and came against Daryas, saying, 'It was not enough for you to dishonor the daughters of Marin, you must add to this the torment of her noblest sons?'
'Torment?' Daryas laughed. 'All war is torment, and you are a master of it!'
The spear of Natham was thrust at him with great speed, but he managed to step aside. Then they fell once again to single combat, those around them not daring to interfere. Daryas took a swing at Natham, but Admunth was ever a wall against his blows. Wherever Natham swung and however he attempted to take his enemy into his grasp, Daryas eluded him. 'It is not but by luck that you evade me,' Natham roared with frustration.