by Jake Yaniak
'Nay,' Rahdmus answered, 'I return at precisely the hour the stars intend. How could I do otherwise?'
'The stars!' Volthamir laughed, still holding the Princess by the wrist. 'Now you speak of the stars as if they were gods. But in the old days you spoke of men in that way. You were the lord of the stars, then, old master.'
'I told you many things, Volthamir, only a little of which was true.'
'Then you should be relieved, old man,' Volthamir said with a shrug, 'for I believed only a little.'
'You believed enough to march to war,' Rahdmus said.
'If you refer to the Naming Stone, then you have truly misunderstood me, Lord Havoc, for I marched not for the sake of your magic stone.'
'Then could it be,' Rahdmus said, 'that you indeed marched at the behest of that devil Agonistes?'
Volthamir laughed, and answered sharply, 'What shall I tell you, old man? Shall I abandon the faith of my fathers? Shall I leave the altar in smolders like the ancients?' From his face, Lord Havoc could tell that he was lying for the sake of those who yet believed in Agonistes.
'Then you leave me no choice,' Rahdmus said as he lifted his hands above his head. The bonds that held him fell limply to the ground. In his hand he held a great stone of pure white. When the light of the fire hit this stone it seemed to turn the whole world into a darkened vault. 'Behold, the Naming Stone, by which the goblins of old became the dumb slaves of Daruvis, and marched at his bidding. What struggles you endured when you lived among the goblins of the Daunrys were not necessary had you this in your possession. This weapon alone threatens Bralahi's mighty throne, which no mortal has hitherto seen, and which lies hidden in the south. I trade it to you, son of Voltan, in exchange only for the woman whose life you now threaten to extinguish.'
At that instant a madness seemed to enter the room, and it was all that the guards could do to prevent the worshippers from seizing the stone that very moment.
The light vanished from Volthamir's eyes for an instant, in which the devil Agonistes strove against his will for the mastery of his body. But the King of Amlaman would not be moved. 'You shall bring yourself to ruin,' Agonistes told him, spitefully.
'Tell me, dark one,' Volthamir said within himself, 'when have I departed from ruin, that I could come to it? I am ruin - and I am not your servant.' A crazed joy seemed to rise up in his heart as he realized that within himself he held captive the dark god of Amlaman.
Volthamir laughed, waiting for the commotion to die away. 'I have indulged you thus far, old man, in deference to your long service to this kingdom. But no longer. You know as well as I that I already have both prizes within my power.' A rather genuine smile broke out across his face.
'There is no power,' Rahdmus answered, his voice sounding like a rolling thunder, 'that is not on loan. You have learned all, even as I have taught you, Volthamir, but your one failure is that you have not learned the limits of that knowledge. For all that your keen eye has observed, it has not occurred to you that there was ought that for all your efforts must remain unobservable.'
'Now I know that Lord Havoc has truly died,' Volthamir said with a hint of sadness in his voice. 'You now sound like one of the Heyan grandmothers, telling fables to their children to get them to BEHAVE themselves.' Volthamir paused for a moment, and then gave a sign to his guards, saying, 'Kill him. I am weary of this drivel.'
Unexpected Allies
Some time during the previous evening a small band of travelers arrived on Sten Agoni, saying that they had come from Ramlos to worship at the Temple. It was a festival day, and it was expected that many noblemen and religious families would be traveling to the mountain. By this time, however, the ceremonies had already begun, and all those who had been expected to arrive had been accounted for. So the coming of this band, some thirty travelers altogether, was wholly unforeseen.
The guards at the foot of the mountain knew not what to make of them, so they sent at once for their captain. By this time the night was fast approaching, and the guards were not willing to remain in that place while they awaited word from the Temple. They took it upon themselves to conduct this party of travelers up the road toward the top of the hill. 'You may lodge here for the night,' they said as they directed the people to their dwellings.
But this the leader of the group flatly refused, nor would he permit any form of argument to sway him from his resolution to, as he put it, 'See the face of god this very night, and celebrate his providence and lordship over the sun of heaven.'
'Blessed are those who serve the god faithfully,' the guards responded, as was customary in such a circumstance. 'But nonetheless, we must await word from Sten Agoni.'
'Then you must pardon us, if we make an attempt to walk up the hill without your permission. You see, we have been sent on an errand of great importance, and cannot be waylaid.'
'If you,' the guards warned, 'or any other among you make such an attempt, we shall not hesitate to draw the sword against you.'
'Very well,' he said, 'But we fear the brokenness of our word more than we fear the swords and scourges of men. Therefore, in accordance with our commission, we will come to the Temple, or perish by your hand this very night.'
The guards, seeing how no words could sway them, and how they were willing, it seemed, to suffer death on account of their request, decided it would be best if they sent word directly to Lord Fanastos, who was now Captain over all the warriors on Sten Agoni.
Night was fully upon them when at last the great warrior of Amlaman appeared. He was very short with them at first, refusing to allow them passage, saying, 'Neither the High Priest nor the King has said anything concerning such worshippers traveling from Heyan. You cannot enter into the Temple this night.'
The leader of the group made great protest, saying they would sue for justice in the King's court in Japhrian, where, he doubted not but that the Captain of Volthamir's armies would be judged and reprimanded with all the severity the Fell Wolf of Heyan could manage.
But for all his pleading, Fanastos would not relent. Finally, when the conversation had ended, another of the travelers approached, saying to the leader with great humility, 'Nay, dear Master Fholstan, we must not press this man any further. You know how it is, my lord, how the mighty say nothing to their servants, yet expect them to obey nonetheless. We cannot expect this man to know his master's will, or to know that which his masters have withheld from his ears.'
At those words Fanastos grew irritable. 'I know my master's will; and I know that he wished for none to approach the mountain save for those noblemen who were already expected at the Festival.'
'Indeed,' the second traveler affirmed, 'And why should our word go against such an expectation. If the King has said that our band shall not come to the mountain, we are in no position to dispute it. I pray he will not be wrathful, then, to learn that the men of Heyan have been turned aside. Will you be good enough, my lord,' he said to Fanastos, 'to tarry in this place while we compose an apology to our lord and King?'
'Indeed,' Fanastos bewildered. But as the men set about compiling their apology, he began to feel sheepish, thinking to himself, 'Why should Fanastos, who has for all these years been captain over the armies of that fiend, now fear to have his own mind.'
'Stay your hand,' he said to the travelers. 'I grant you leave; for I see that you are sincere in your desire to adore the god of Amlaman and Ramlos.'
'Indeed,' the first traveler affirmed, adding, 'and the god of all Weldera!'
Fanastos bowed his head, and ordered them to be conducted to the Temple without delay.
Almost as soon as they entered the Temple, however, this strange party of travelers seemed to vanish into the very walls of the Temple and the very stones of the floor. Here and there Fanastos could see one or perhaps two that he thought had been among them, but all certainty departed from his mind concerning both their sincerity and their purpose. For the remainder of that night and all throughout the day that followed he wandered the Temple and
its yards searching for some sign of these strangers. By the end of this time his whole body was soaked with perspiration.
Not Carried Out
For this reason, though all seemed hopeless in that instant, the commands of the King of Amlaman were not carried out. For the moment the guardians of the Temple drew their blades, Forge Collesirne and a dozen of the Noras warriors arose, shouting 'Thaetla!', which is the infamous war cry of the Lapulians, meaning 'Arise Chaos'. Having shouted this, they surrounded the old elf and pointed their blades outward.
'The Black Adder assails us!' the people shouted, thinking the devil worshippers of the east had suddenly come against them. Many of the nobles and worshippers rushed from the Temple in horror. Lamps were kicked down, torches dropped on the stone floor, and shouts and screams echoed through the hilltop. The Temple guards surrounded the men of Noras and began to press toward them, pushing them back toward the Altar, from whence they would not be able to escape.
Their first strike ended in failure, for the Noras were too skilled to be felled so easily. From the rear of the temple another large group of Noras appeared, also shouting 'Thaetla!' These struck down the guards from behind. Short work was made, in this way, of the guards of the Temple. Revere and Jerson, the third son of the fallen Cheftan Aargo Medglirne, shut the doors of the Temple, locking the worshippers in, and, for the time at least, keeping the soldiers of Amlaman out. Fanastos rushed into the skirmish with great hatred in his eyes, knowing now the folly of his pridefulness. He slew three of the Noras warriors before he was confronted at last by Dynamis, who made a quick end of the most famous warrior of Amlaman.
Seeing his men fallen, and perceiving that there now lay nothing between this band of intruders and his own person, Volthamir took his demon sword in hand and turned his fury against the Princess. Rahdmus leaped upon the Altar and threw himself between the King and his prey.
Volthamir did not swing, however, and a look of shock passed over his eyes. 'What is this?' he said with disdain. 'You would trade your life for this?'
Rahdmus bowed his head and set his knee upon the ground. Everyone else in the temple stood fast and watched this marvel with great anxiousness.
'What? Without a fight? Without a battle? Without courage? Is this truly Lord Havoc, of whom so many tales have been told? It surely cannot be!'
'In a sense, my son, it is not,' Rahdmus said, rising from the ground.
'Give this man a sword!' Volthamir demanded. 'Lest I gain no satisfaction from staining this Altar with your blood.'
'I can grant you no such satisfaction, for I am forbidden to take sword in hand.'
The King took a sword from one of his guards and brought it before Rahdmus, holding out the hilt for him. Rahdmus sighed, but lifted not a finger to take it. The King let it fall to the ground, the metal clanging as it struck the stone. He circled around his old teacher, as if to discern whether it truly was the once bold man of mystery. Finally, he knelt down before his master and set his own head against his, saying, 'Now, let us see it! That old Lord Havoc, who was lord of so many men and devils, even keeping the black god of Amlaman as a pet, as it were. You, who knew the secrets of Legion, and who attained all that he desired. Strike off my head, and save this land, if it be your will.'
'I have not come to do my will,' Rahdmus said. 'and I swear to you, my prince, that my will is not to harm you nor to wrest Amlaman from your hands. I have offered you the very power we sought from the beginning, in exchange for this girl, toward whom you no longer bear any affection, and who is dispossessed of all regality. But now, Volthamir,' Rahdmus wept as he spoke, 'you shall have neither.'
'Indeed,' the King answered, 'your insurrection has seen to that, and I perceive that I cannot escape the snare you have set for me.' With those words he grabbed the mighty elf and threw him off the Atlar with a great cry of anger and hatred. 'I curse you, Lord Havoc, and you cowards of Noras, in Lapulian guise! What is it that you think you can see that I cannot?'
With those words he took up his sword again and grabbed the Princess by the hand. She resisted him, but his iron grip was so strong that she could do naught to prevent him from doing as he wished. He pulled her in front of himself, and set his blade to her throat.
The Devils and the Serpent
All this while Daryas lay as a dead man in the Nunnery of Agonistes, still a great distance from the Temple. The smoke from the burning woods was streaming into the room from below and from the open window. Yet he could not rise to leave, for that devil serpent was yet wrapped about his neck, choking him to death slowly but surely. 'What manner of fate is this?' he wept within himself. The devils of Agonistes came against him with a great fury and tore at him with invisible fingers and claws. His mind went black and he fell into dreadful nightmares, the sorts of which his former horrors had only foreshadowed. Devils roamed openly throughout his imagination and he cried out and tore at his face in anguish of soul.
Mityai rushed upon these devils with a cry and skewered many thousands of them with her spear, but their numbers were so great that even she, empowered with the weapons of heaven though she was, could not manage them all.
But as she fought, a light appeared in the room, and Paley once more appeared before her, born as it were from the light of Theodysus above. 'Leave them,' he said to her, 'I will see to their end.'
At that moment, a small devil fled from the room and vanished into the woods. 'go after him, Mityai, and cast him down to the deepest of hells, but return to me without delay when you have done this.'
Though she was greatly vexed, for the sake of Daryas she obeyed without hesitation.
When she had gone, Paley looked down at the swarming devils. He lifted his finger in the air and a burst of light came forth, like lightning leaping from one cloud to another. In the next instant, the room was empty and the devils utterly destroyed.
'Now to see to this serpent of yours,' he said, turning his attention to the young Galvahirne. 'Such a clinging devil is not uncommon for men such as you,' he said. 'Men are born with so much passion and so much angst; against which their knowledge alone has little power. But this is not the way it was meant to be from the beginning. Think not, however, my son, that life is meant to be cruel. For that Power which lies beneath all the sundry manifestations of this world will not leave off his work until the very last of his wishes be made manifest. When a man is at last confronted by what he ought to be, the result is always that choking, sinking sorrow of remorse. You know, as many others have found, that the love of life drives one to many sorrows. Nonetheless, all men love their own lives, and cherish them. Our duties then, insofar as they oppose our desires, become to us a burden and a bloodletting devil, even as they have become to you. When a man is at last in such a state he will often fail to perceive that the very source of his disappointment and remorse is at the same moment the source and fountain from which is begotten the very life he loves. Duty! What is man for if he is not man for a reason? And if he has such a reason, then it will ever bind him, as chains bind a prisoner. Misery this will be to the willful man, who cannot relinquish his own desires.
'I perceive, my son, that you are ready to be free of this suffering. I cannot free you from this serpent entirely, for a part of him is a part of your own soul, and he must ever be with you. But let the light of Theodysus shine upon you, and remove from your neck the sting and wound of this biting demon.'
Paley took the serpent into his hand and began to uncoil it from Daryas' throat. Daryas gasped and drew in the air, putting his hands upon Paley's strong arm. Inch by inch he unwrapped the snake until at last all that remained was its fierce head and jaws, locked into the flesh of the young Noras warrior. 'Release him,' Paley said to the devil with a calm voice, 'for mankind will not always be filled with rebellion.'
The serpent seemed to understand his words, and it released him, and came into Paley's hand. He set the creature on the floor and watched it slither into the darkness, vanishing from sight.
Dar
yas arose at that moment and put his hand to his neck, asking, 'The serpent and the wound alike are gone. Is this your work, master?'
'Some of it is mine,' he answered, 'But all of my works belong to another, and for what good I do I cannot accept any praise. I removed only the serpent,' he said. 'It was the tears of Leonara, which streamed across your flesh that have completed your recovery.
'I knew not that tears could have have such a power.'
'In all things is hidden more than can be seen,' Paley said kindly, 'Even in your own soul.'
Daryas looked to the floor and said, 'What could be hidden within me?'
'Perhaps a tear,' Paley said with a smile, 'or perhaps a great deal more.'
At that moment Daryas realized that the Princess was gone, and the memory of her abduction returned to his mind.
'Leonara!' he shouted, suddenly remembering what had happened. 'What have I done! What has my shadow wrought!'
'Nothing that cannot be mended by he who lends power to all. What is good will come to pass, fail as you wish. But strive as you wish for that which is good and you will find yourself caught up in a mighty flood that cannot be bound or halted.'
The Swiftest god
The small devil that escaped the light of Paley, was Zefru, who had, above all other qualifications, a great propensity for preserving his own soul. 'That was altogether too near the mark,' he said as he flew from the Temple on swift feet. 'Never more shall I be seen in this land; never more shall I serve the gods of Weldera.'
But ere he had passed from sight, Mityai appeared in all her glory, carrying her spear in her hand.
Perceiving that she meant to pursue him, Zefru turned and challenged her, saying, 'What can you do to me, sprite? For I, among all the immortals, have the swiftest foot and the surest step.'
'Yet you know not my name,' Mityai answered. 'How then can you make such a judgment? Such is the folly of all men and gods who leap from knowing some one or two or three thousand things to thinking themselves to have knowledge of all. I shall teach your dark feet better!'