by Jake Yaniak
This thought would only bring to his remembrance, the words of that demon, when he said, 'you have always served me, though you have denied me and hidden me in dark places.'
He woke from his dream with a fright, and found that he was covered with sweat.
Without a word, indeed without even a thought it seemed to him, he rose from his bed and dressed himself. He took all of his equipment, his dagger, a bow and arrows, his chain shirt and wrapped them in a great bundle in such a way that they would make little or no noise. These he lowered from his window with a rope, so that he would not be encumbered with them as he stole through the house. He might very easily have climbed out of the window himself. But there was something within the main hall of the house that he had great need of, or so he seemed to believe. In silence he crept through the house, making use of all the stealth he had practiced during his exile. He came to the meeting hall, and took from its stand, Aevangelu, the sword of Hiron, which had belonged to his grandfather.
Without a sound he slipped from that room and found his way to the kitchen. There he took a few scraps of food, enough to last him to South Lake or to Belnan, where he deemed he could better prepare himself for his journey (to whence he was not fully certain). Taking what he could carry, and what he thought would not be greatly missed, he passed out through a side entrance and came at last to the place where he had left his belongings. All of this he carried to the stable, where he found a man named Alsan standing watch. 'Your horse is prepared, son of Biron,' he said at once, rising from his seat.
'My horse,' Daryas said with great amazement.
'Indeed,' he said, 'I was given instructions that the horse Novai was to be kept ready at all hours for your use.'
'But Novai is my brother's horse.'
'Not by your brother's account,' the man said. 'Dynamis came to me before he left and said, "This horse I give to my brother, he will have greater need of her than I shall henceforth."'
'Dynamis is gone?' Daryas said with great surprise.
'He had some political affairs to attend to in Dadron, I don't doubt,' Alsan said, smiling. 'He will be going to and from that great city a great deal I fear, now that the Galvahirne had saved it from peril.'
'It was not the Galvahirne, but the Monster that saved Dadron,' Daryas corrected him.
'Nonetheless, to Dadron the heir of Biron must go, to maintain the alliance that has for so long proved itself to be the foundation of the peace of Falsis.'
Daryas turned his eyes to Novai and patted her neck. 'A kingly gift my brother has given me once more. Would only that I were worthy of it.'
'All of us are debters, my lord,' the servant said as he led the horse from her stall. 'Who does not die a debtor to parents, a debtor to the earth, a debtor to fellow man? Much has been given to us, and to pay for it all is beyond our ability. But gratitude alone is within our grasp, therefore, be content with that.'
'Thank you,' Daryas said as he received from this kindly servant both horse and counsel. 'Farewell, Alsan, you are a faithful servant.'
'May heaven watch over you,' the man said, repeating the blessing that had been introduced in place of 'Pelas guide thee' since the release of Cheftan Biron.
Day And Night
From the ending of the war until this moment, Daryas had been tormented both day and night by some fell spirit or another. By day he heard the voice of Evna, who taunted him for his weakness, and threatened him with cruel promises of torment and death. By night, the dark servants of Pelas crept into his mind and sent dreams and visions, much as they had done before. As always, he heard at the last that same fell voice question him. He always awoke that very instant, never remembering what, if anything, came to pass after those words. For this reason he was always in a state of confusion when awake, and helplessness when asleep. 'Useless knowledge in dream, hapless ignorance in life,' he cursed his state of mind.
It was Lord Pelas' intention to bring the whole of Weldera under his dominion, and (who can know?) perhaps eventually the whole world. But there is much in the mind that even those called gods cannot fathom. There is also much concerning the future that cannot be known, even to such a being as Pelas. A long life gives a man prudence through the wealth of his experiences; but even an immortal cannot attain anything resembling certainty concerning things yet to come. So the visions he gave to Daryas were troubling on two accounts: Firstly, there was undoubtedly much that was added to them by Daryas' own imagination, and so they could not reveal, or at least not clearly, what it was precisely that he was intended to know or to do. Secondly, there was much in Pelas' predictions that could not properly be called prophecies, but rather, prudent guesses at best.
The dream, in full, when all its parts were arranged according to the pattern in which they typically appeared, was as follows:
'On a seashore of pure white sand, surrounded by nothing but a silent wilderness, I find myself at rest. An island I can see at a great distance. It is of such beauty that I cannot resist casting myself into the waves and swimming for it. But long ere I reach it, a voice calls to me and summons me back to the shore. 'Leave me alone,' I protest, 'For I would rather die trying to reach that blessed place than sit here wishing and languishing forever.'
'I will show you how to reach that which you have long desired,' the voice says. I turn to look upon him, but his face is hidden. In his hand he bears the sword that was broken in Dadron, and I perceive that it is Lord Pelas himself, god of Falsis, that thus speaks to me. 'But ere I tell thee, there is that which must first be accomplished. Even as your great forefather first rescued Dadron and then afterwards was blessed with the help of the gods, even so must you perform first your pledge.'
'My pledge?' I ask him, puzzled.
'In your youth your father swore the lives of his children and his children's children to me. Do you think that the gods forget such oaths easily? Do you think, that though your father perish, he shall be released from an oath sworn to the god of his fathers?'
'What must I do?' I ask.
Suddenly, I find myself in that forest, which by now I know better than even my beloved Noras. That wooded valley in which lies the Nunnery of the Devil, from which many of our foremothers were anciently stolen. I am told that I must bring the Siren to Noras, and from there wage war against Amlaman.
But when I enter the woods I hear the voice of Pelas lamenting, 'Flames!? Not in flames! Curse the erring stars! Curse the distant meddlers all!'
I am transported, as it were, to the Nunnery, and what passes there I can never tell, for it is as changing and shifting as a rapid, and as dark as midnight. Leaping flames and laughing shadows encompass me, and a new will enters my heart. A dark will and an evil thought comes to me, and I recognize it immediately. All my hopes he holds within his fists, ready to crush, and to replace them with dark desires and secret wishes. My heart rises and sinks and as he speaks, I realize who he is at last. But then, waking, I forget, and my ignorance replaces the clarity in a flash, leaving only cold fear and perilous uncertainty in its wake. Then I am left with a riddle, the answer to which I know not.'
Such is the dream, as it was described in his own words. Noctunan, if my reader will recall the name of that fell spirit on whom was placed the duty of inspiring these dreams, had been, along with many other such spirits, cast into the pits of hell for his failure to instill in the young Galvahirne a full understanding of his divine task. Though I am not altogether convinced that Pelas himself was ever possessed of certainty regarding the means to his desired end.
'What is the meaning of this dark voice, which ever wakes him ere the truth of my will can be revealed?' he demanded of Noctunan and his fellows.
'I do not know,' he said, shaking his head. 'For many ages I have haunted the dreams of mortal men, and for most of that time I have been among the dreamers of the Noras. I am better acquainted with their temperaments than any other, yet I cannot make sense of what has come to pass. Be assured, blessed master,' he said, 'There are none who can do better than I i
n this regard.'
Such excuses serviced these nightmarish spirits for a while. But as time wore on, Pelas wearied, and he sent them one by one into the fires that burn beneath the earth. New spirits he summoned to his side to take the place of the former. With these he was much better contented. But these, knowing the fate of Noctunan and the others, simply told him what he desired to hear, that, 'Much progress has already been made,' and, 'It will doubtless be within the month that some new secret shall be revealed to us,' and many other such empty words. But in his folly, empty words seemed to be all that Pelas could comprehend. He ignored all the warnings of Maru, who indifferently and aloofly told him that he should not expect his plan to succeed, nor should he ever expect the people of Noras to rise up and conquer Amlaman.
'We shall see, fell demon of birds, who is god in Weldera after all. When they march to war, they shall not be alone. I myself shall go at their head, with my servants at my side. And when peace is brought to the North, the South shall rise up to join with me, and the old order of things will be restored.'
At those words even the great eagle Maru could no scoff, for he still remembered the days when Pelas ruled over all Bel Albor as a king of flesh and blood.
When Pelas at last ceased from tormenting him, however, Daryas was not free to shake off the terrors of the night. In his mind he heard always the fell voice of the goddess Evna, who accused him with cutting words and with evil sayings. 'Shadow-born I name thee; a dark son of a black-hearted people. Thy mother's shame and thy father's bane thou art. Happy to love a lie art all thy kin. But thou, and I alone, the truth of thee doth understand.'
More than anything else - more than the dreams and the waking terrors - what drove him to leave behind the comforts of Peiraso and set out alone for that hidden place was the voice of that most beautiful creature Leonara, Princess of Amlaman. Her beauty alone seemed to be a comfort to him, and when he reflected upon her voice it seemed to come to him with new words; words he heard not from her lips, but which seemed to pass over the mountains from her heart to his. 'Rescue me, forever thou shalt be mine alone. Flee from me, I shall destroy thee. Come unto me again and I shall again drive thee away. But come nonetheless, and we shall never be parted.'
'A heart of peril ought to love a heart of peril,' he thought to himself as he rode away on his brother's horse once again. 'It is a lovely night,' he thought, 'a lovely night for the lovely. But for such as I it is a good night to vanish away.'
Thus he set out alone, seeking the fate that had for so long overshadowed his every thought and deed.
Chapter III:
The State of Weldera
To Belnan
After leaving Peiraso, Daryas found himself following the same road that had brought the Galva army into the Mountains three years ago. He came to the place where he and Sion had supped and where he first heard his companion speak of the daughter of Grendas. His heart sunk as he thought of his friend. Since the expedition of Bronning, not a soul had so much as heard a whisper concerning the fate of the Cheftan of Lavri-la. At Daryas' urging, his office was filled, temporarily, by his wife - a thing never before heard of in Noras. But the returning Galva lords were neither questioned nor opposed in anything they set their minds to do. Thus the word 'Cheftana' was uttered for the first time in the history of the Noras people. It was understood that upon his return, full lordship should pass immediately to him. But despite the wide publication of this decision, no news of him had found its way to Noras.
'Who knows where life has taken you, my friend?' Daryas said sorrowfully, 'Do you not know that at any moment you could return, and have all again. Friendship, lordship, your family and your good name would be all restored to you in an instant. Can you make yourself low, but just this once, that you may be made high once again? My friend, return, return.'
Daryas continued on into the south, coming at last to South Lake. There he saw all the bustle of the merchants and the woodsmen, carrying on with their trades with renewed vigor since the fall of Ponteris. 'Into the light of day the people of Noras have come at last, but I cannot let the sun shine upon me,' Daryas said, suddenly feeling cold and tired. 'I must flee into the shadows; into the dark shadow of a black doom.'
'But you needn't press on into that darkness entirely alone,' came a voice unexpectedly from behind. Daryas turned to look, and saw to his surprise Rahdmus, mounted upon a horse burdened with a great many packages.
'Lord Rahdmus?' Daryas said with surprise, 'What is your purpose here?'
'I have come to bring you provisions,' he answered in his thunderous voice, 'I mean to say, I have come to bring us provisions.'
'You intend to follow me, then, and not hinder me, though I go to my doom?'
'Indeed,' he laughed, 'For we must all, at some time or another, go to our dooms. But tell me, young Galvahirne, why you call it a 'doom' and not a 'Fate' or a 'Destiny'? I suppose you do not see them as all of one and the same meaning?'
'No, my lord,' Daryas answered, 'A Fate is indifferent, and can almost be noble, a Destiny carries with it even a glimmer of hopefulness. But a Doom is a dark thing, and most fitting to describe my own expectations.'
'Why should you expect such black things to come upon you?'
'Because they will come upon me. Whatever I imagine my destiny to be, it is always MY destiny, and black therefore. Were it conceivable that my fate might lead me, not only far from my present state, but also far from my present self, then and then only would I have cause for hope, and cause for a better choice of terms.'
'The past always follows close behind us, my son,' Rahdmus said somberly, 'But take heart; it shall never overtake us! Whether for good or ill, we must take care, not for the past, nor even for that which is to come, but only for that part, that little part of life that we can control. I mean, we must take care for the present moment only, but not without reference both to the errors and glories of the past, and the hopes and perils of the future. I have my own darkness to contend with, and my own demons to face.'
At those words Daryas felt a strange calm pass over him. 'Then I am not alone in my tormented fate,' Daryas said.
'Now you call it fate? First doom, then destiny - Daryas Galvahirne, will you not choose one term to describe what is to come?' Rahdmus laughed loudly, and then stepped from his horse to bind a portion of his burden on Novai. 'You are not alone, Daryas, not in anything. You must know, and you must always bear it in mind: In life, there will always be found your better, but also your lesser. But do not let this be either a discouragement or a comfort; for we will not be excused in that day because we were better than devils, nor condemned because we were less than gods. It is always for our own portion that we must be judged. For to ask of one what is impossible for him is an absurdity.'
'That I have a portion at all is a fact in which I find little comfort. For only I know my own heart, and what lies hidden therein. I would rather, sometimes, that I were but a creature of stone and not a living soul.'
'You are not in a bad state, then, Daryas Galvahirne. And I say, do not forget your inadequacy; for there are many who shun the forgiveness of the Eternal One because they are not willing to let the blame for their failures rest upon their own heads.'
The two men found lodging in the city for that night, and spoke of many more things. From Rahdmus Daryas learned about all that had transpired in the time since he had left Dadron.
Of the End of the War
When Natham the monster departed from his warriors and followed his fate into the dark of Noras, the residue of his army marched swiftly northward along the Libros River, releasing all those towns from the dominion of Marin. In some places the soldiers of Marin resisted them, remaining loyal to the faithless Quendom. But in all cases the hirelings threw off their old loyalties without hesitation, leaving those brave, but foolish soldiers to battle Natham's rebels alone. At this news the whole country of Daevaron was soon awakened, and their brave men ousted the invaders from their cities. Little by little, ov
er the course of the next several months, Marin withdrew; in some places honorably, only after great bloodshed in others, but always with great haste. By the time the Noras sat down to feast, it was all but certain that by the end of the month there would remain not a man or woman of Olgrost in all the land of Falsis.
This is not including, of course, those of Marin that turned and followed Natham. Of these there was a great number, some reckoning it to be as high as ten-thousand souls. Great evil had been done by them in coming to Falsis, and in the sieging of Dadron. Natham, ere he left them, told them that, 'You must fight till either life departs from you, or until your enemies forgive your former errors. Seek neither life nor honor, but rather to right that which you have wronged. Only in this way will you become worthy, if heaven permits, of your enemy's grace.'
Even as the Noras dined and sung, this band of warriors battled in the distant east, ever pushing Marin toward the sea. The Senators in Kollun, one might well imagine, were all applauding their restraint, for coming not to the aid of Marin in their ambitions.
Lord Akellnarva, when he had been informed of all that had transpired, declared Natham to be a hero of the city, and named the day the monster turned against the army of Marin a holy day. In Dadron and in all of Daevaron as well there was a perpetual festival it seemed. Fresh vows of loyalty were exchanged between the Daevaron and the lords of Dadron and between each of these and the nine clans of Noras.
Yet in all of this there was as yet no account given for the aggression of their western neighbors in Amlaman, nor was any treaty made or any truce called for. To those in the east it seemed, for the time, almost sufficient that the hosts of Volthamir had been driven off. There were many, however, that were not content to let matters be; nor would it have been just to do so.
Almost as soon as the sounds of battle died away in Dadron, councils of war began afresh, this time planning how the men of Daevaron, Noras and of Dadron might avenge themselves upon Amlaman. But it was generally acknowledged that the power of the east may be sufficient to defend against Amlaman, but not nearly enough to challenge Volthamir in Japhrian.