by Chris Ward
They rode hard two more days and the further south they travelled Sylvion felt the burden of the Shadow Blade increase upon her. There was a growing coldness in her heart which she knew was due to the closeness she came to the evil in Ramos. She knew that to wield the Blade again and take more life would be to bring about another loss of who she was, and this would imperil all things. She knew the last step was now upon her.
She knew that the time of the White Queen of Revelyn was at an end.
That night she dreamt of her Rema, and what a joy it was for it seemed so real and the touch of him upon her was as if they had lived all their lives together, but she woke in the early morning weeping, and she saw that Rema was awake and kneeling over her.
‘You were crying out, Sylvion,’ he said gently, can I do anything for you?’ And Sylvion reached up and pulled him down to her and whispered in his ear.
‘Thank you for all you have been to me. And I thank you for the kiss you gave when I was lost, for it saved me. I owe you much Rema Bowman.’ She kissed him then upon his lips, lingering for longer than one might in simple friendship, and then just as quickly she turned away with the words... ‘Do not forget your promise Rema. Take Rayven home to Ramos.’ And Rema stood back bewildered and looked about and was grateful that everyone else was asleep, for he did not know how what he might do, such were the thoughts which overtook him in that moment.
‘I will,’ he whispered to Sylvion but she had turned from him and did not respond. And so in confusion Rema went to the fire and kicked it into life and piled it high with fresh wood and sat there in a turmoil until the morning came and the day of Sylvion’s last step dawned upon them.
And as they woke the land moved again, sending a shiver through them all.
They rode on once more through gentle hills and open forest but suddenly they found paths and roads upon which to travel which took them more easily to the south where they now encountered small farms and places of habitation. For the first time other people were about, who stood and stared at the five riders on the huge horses, and wondered what strange folk they were.
Just after the noon they came upon the great road which ran from what had once been Farview in the Highlands to Wildwood and then on in a mighty curve south to Sheldon, where it joined the great road to Ramos. And there Sylvion called a halt and spoke to them all. Immediately she began they knew she was changed, but such were her words that they listened enthralled... She sat upon her horse most regally and the tears she wept were terrible to behold.
‘My friends,’ she said, ‘hear me out, for I have something important that needs to be told.’ And so they listened most intently. ‘I have been Queen in Revelyn for three lifetimes by a normal count. I have lost myself in bringing justice to Revelyn and I have loved doing it... and I have had some success. But...’ and she paused again. They waited now without interruption.
‘But I have held long onto that which was not to be held to.’ Her hand went instinctively to the Shadow Blade at her side. ‘It has allowed me to live long. It has given me opportunities which I would never have had,’ and now she smiled at Rayven and her intent was clear. Rayven smiled back but her face was wet and she did not know quite why her heart was pounding in her breast.
‘I cannot wield the Shadow Blade any longer,’ Sylvion went on. ‘In the slaying of Zydor I find my ability has come to an end. And yet Revelyn needs the Shadow Blade. So you see I cannot continue with you...’ And at this they all felt a cold hand upon their hearts. To continue without the White Queen of Revelyn was unthinkable.
‘What do you mean?’ Rema said. ‘Sylvion we need you...’
‘No Rema, you need the Shadow Blade, not me, and with me it will no longer be what it can be.’ These words stunned them all for the Shadow Blade without the White Queen seemed impossible to comprehend. And so Sylvion went on. ‘Today I give it up,’ she said quietly and with that she unclasped the belt which held it from around her waist and wrapped it about the sheath. ‘I give it now to the heir of Revelyn, to my daughter Rayven.’ She smiled at Rayven and then with a simple toss she cast the Shadow Blade through the air where it seemed to slow time once more and they watched it float by until it was caught by Rayven Greyfeld, rightful heir to the throne of Revelyn, who was crying soundlessly with grief for she did not know what this would mean.
‘Kindma,’ she cried, ‘surely not. We have just been reunited. Not now...’ But Sylvion held up her hand. ‘No, I alone have the right to decide when I give up the throne. And it is now.’ And her voice suddenly seemed like thunder to them. Then she softened.
‘My beloved daughter, you are my blood, you are of the Wisden; you are wiser than I and Revelyn needs you now. Perhaps I have even held on too long. No, the time is now.’
‘But you can ride with us,’ Rayven pleaded.
‘No I cannot,’ Sylvion replied. Then she turned to Rema. ‘You gave me your word Rema Bowman. I expect you to honour it unto death.’ And Rema read in her eyes a furious determination which seemed to leap across and fill him with fire, so despite his grief he replied with equal firmness and a nod.
‘My Lady.’
‘And I give you this Rema, to take back to Ramos,’ And Sylvion took the King’s Eye and gave it to him. ‘This also must be returned to Ramos,’ she said severely, and Rema nodded and once more repeated his words.
‘My Lady.’ And Rayven looked at Rema and shook her head bewildered but now Sylvion turned to Gravyn.
‘Farewell my friend, I am glad you found yourself in some manner. You have been faithful always and I am sure Rayven will see that you are well rewarded.’ And once more the words...
‘My Lady,’ were spoken, and the great archer smiled and wept all at once.
Sylvion turned to Reigin. ‘Dear friend, we said our goodbyes last night... One last thing I ask. See this through. I know your people will be wondering what has happened to their Elder, but you have always given to Revelyn and there is Revelyn in your blood for you were a wolver once, and the very best.’
‘My Lady,’ Reigin said softly and nodded.
‘And so I leave you,’ Sylvion said. ‘You must travel directly to Sheldon, not on this road but across the land, by the shortest path. Ride hard and when you get to Ramos give my love to Germayne for she is one I have loved dearly all her life.’ She turned again to Rayven, and her voice suddenly hardened. ‘Slay Gryfnor and do not give quarter to evil. I grieve that you must bear the Shadow Blade my child for it will make your heart cold and you should not know this; but some things we cannot choose. And remember I have loved you always.’ And Rayven had no words which she could utter; such was the depth of her despair in that moment. And so Sylvion turned her horse and without another word she rode off toward her childhood home; to Wildwood and the forest where her beloved Equin lingered still.
And then Reigin took command for Rayven was yet unable. ‘We ride now and we can talk later. Let us do as Sylvion commands. We have evil to defeat and the time is short. We ride for Sheldon now. Come my friends, Sylvion is gone. He looked at Rayven. ‘I salute you Rayven, Queen of Revelyn. Now let us depart for there is still much to be done.’
And so the mighty Edenwhood warrior led them on a furious gallop south to Sheldon. They passed through farms and woods and stopped for no one. They saw a land in great travail for everywhere there seemed to be sunken places where the water had risen from the ground. The people they encountered were surly in the main and cursed their thunderous passing, whilst many touched the purplish mark upon their forehead and tried to conjure happier things, and all the while Rayven and Rema were consumed by a single thought, what will become of Sylvion.
Chapter 22
They slept in a barn that night on a farm which had been recently abandoned. There was plenty of straw for feeding the horses and to sleep on, but despite this relative comfort they were all unable to settle well. The loss of Sylvion from their company was a mighty shock and it travelled with them like a millstone around their hearts, and now the closer the
y came to the heart of Revelyn the evil in the land was becoming more apparent. That day they had passed a village half submerged and three young men hanging from a gibbet, a sacrifice it seemed but they did not venture close enough to see further and none in the company desired to look upon the severed throats of the poor men. Rayven knew a deep anger was growing inside her but she had the wisdom to allow it room and so she was not overcome, able to stand apart and see matters from a distance, a skill she knew her beloved kindma lacked at times. Where was she now? What was going to become of her? These thoughts oppressed Rayven, and not her alone, for Rema too was in agony over it, and Reigin looked at times as Gravyn had once been.
They drew near to Sheldon the following day, approaching from the north but with great difficulty as it seemed new rivers flowed to obstruct their path and they had to swim their horses over such waterways three times, and travel east and west in order to make progress on dry land. And five times they felt the land shaking and were forced to dismount and brace themselves and calm their snorting steeds. Toward nightfall they chanced upon another awful sight. Two children tied and drowned, and drained of blood, their white faces a grotesque reminder of the evil which Gryfnor demanded. They had ridden into a village where a few sad people lingered and where a great body of water in the form of a new lake was at its very door. And there by the water’s edge lay the two poor dead children as if to hold back the tide. The five reined in their steeds and dismounted, this time unwilling to turn away. The villagers stood some distance off and did not flee but watched in sullen silence as the intruders took their sacrifice from by the waters and buried them carefully in full view, pulling great stones from a nearby wall to make a cairn over their lifeless bodies. As this was done the few villagers grew steadily until a small crowd stood close by and somewhat emboldened by their number began to mutter angrily. Reigin watched to see what Rayven would do, knowing full well that now she bore the Shadow Blade and had no skill in the wielding of it.
‘No need to do any harm here Rayven,’ he whispered to her as they finished their grim task. And Rayven smiled and nodded.
‘I hear you Reigin,’ she replied, ‘but neither can these people escape the consequences of what they have done. Gryfnor cannot do evil unless evil is agreed to.’ And her words were given with a quiet wisdom with great control as though she had measured herself and knew just what she might do. And so the three men in the company, soldiers all watched as Rayven walked alone to the crowd and spoke in such a manner as to enthrall them.
‘My poor friends,’ she said without any condescension, ‘How sad you look for you have erred greatly in this. To slay your own, your own children... just to hold back a flood is to murder yourselves, but slowly. I see the agony in your eyes, the guilt and pain of knowing what you have done is writ in blood...your own blood by your own hand.’ She turned and walked along the line which had formed to hear her better.
‘These things you covet,’ and Rayven pointed to the middle of her forehead and all knew she spoke of the Diabules. ‘They are evil, given to you by an evil man, and you think by such foolish sorcery you can find happiness. Look around you.’ And then Rayven raised her voice to a command. ‘Look at each other’ she cried with such force that many did. ‘What do you see in each other? Do you see happiness? Is any one of you here feeling proud or at peace with themselves over this murder of your own?’ And suddenly a woman began to wail, but Rayven ignored her and went on, each word spoken, like a knife which she drove home with as much skill as any swordsman. ‘Revelyn is your home and you have made this small part of it black with evil. Do not blame any else. It is not your neighbour, it is you. If you stand by and allow this you bear the guilt and shall face the consequences.’ And now a few of the women were crying and the men looked shaken and ashamed.
‘What consequences woman?’ one of the bolder men cried out suddenly. ‘We are only doing what we have been taught to save the land.’
‘No you are not!’ Rayven responded. ‘You are doing what Gryfnor the sorcerer wants so that he can rule in Revelyn, and keep you all in thrall to himself. If this is what you do now, this day, then imagine what worse is to come when one such as he rules you absolutely.’ And she turned and began to walk back to the others who had listened with amazement at her words for they were wise indeed. Rayven halted after a few paces and turned back again and faced them down.
‘You ask what consequences?’ she said in a voice which seemed that it might split the ground they stood on. ‘You ask what consequences, then look again at each other. You already bear the scars upon you... and this is but the beginning. Bitterness and eternal regret follow closely.’ And then without looking back she walked away and mounted her horse and commanded the others follow. And to a man they did so, even Reigin the Elder of the Edenwhood was proud to do her bidding in that moment. And so they rode south once more and did not look back although the sound of grief from the village carried to them for a great distance. And Reigin marvelled, for Rayven had not put one hand upon the Shadow Blade.
They rode in silence and made camp three leagues north of Sheldon, high up on a hillside which gave them a fine view of the second biggest town in the kingdom. ‘Well done Rayven,’ Reigin said when they sat at last and rested around a warm fire. ‘You did well today and showed a better way than one which might have first come to mind.’
Rayven smiled. ‘You thought perhaps that I might slay them?’
‘No, not all...just a few,’ Reigin said with a wry smile. Rayven thought awhile before responding, which she did most seriously.
‘That time may come,’ she said nodding to herself, ‘indeed, it might be very close for we are now but two day’s ride from Ramos and there the evil must surely be great. I fear what we must stand against, but I am ready. Do you know that?’ And her words were suddenly harsh and she looked at each one and they nodded. Reigin, Rema and Gravyn all nodded and knew that she was now more than just the daughter of Sylvion, she was suddenly become the Queen of Revelyn and held a new way before them. She stood then and looked down upon the town.
‘I have business in Sheldon,’ Rayven said. ‘We will ride through the town and will no longer seek to hide ourselves. I want Gryfnor to know what is coming for him, and I am sure he will have some means in this place to inform him. Let us sleep, for tomorrow we make a stand.’ And the look upon her face and the manner of her speech once more impressed them mightily. And Rema measured his heart and smiled at what he discovered. But that night he heard her weeping and longed to go to her but knew it was not the time, and instead he smiled ruefully and thought...it never is.
In the early morning Rayven stirred and looked about. She sat up, and thinking the others slept she rose quickly, and taking the Shadow Blade from its sheath walked soundlessly off into the night. But Rema saw her go and followed, and he as quietly as she. Rayven walked three hundred paces to the west and climbed higher until upon a rocky outcrop she stood and looked down upon the sleeping town and out over the hills and valleys for as far as she could see. Inside her breast she felt the anger of the day before which had not abated, and the loathing of the evil in the land and she recognised for the first time this as the feelings her kindma Sylvion had spoken of so often, and she had not understood. And now she knew that she was on the threshold of a journey, and the burden of the Shadow Blade was upon her, and she had no choice for Revelyn was in great need once more.
‘I am sorry kindma wherever you are,’ she whispered into the night. ‘I pray that you are safe but I fear that you are fading from this land.’ And Rema heard her whispers and saw that she shook with emotion. And then with a slow and most deliberate movement Rayven held the Shadow Blade high above her, and Rema felt his skin tingle in expectation.
‘I claim this blade, this Shadow Blade,’ Rayven said in words full of great conviction. ‘I claim it as its rightful bearer. I stand now and accept what judgment must follow.’ She stood silhouetted against the night sky, her slim and fragile body beneath the
greatest weapon in the realm and immediately her words had ceased to ripple the air about her, the Shadow Blade glowed and crackled and gave forth a bright blue-white light which raced all over the steel and then encompassed Rayven as if to search her out and examine every fibre of her being. The land around lit up and Rema held his breath for he had never before seen anything quite as beautiful and dangerously awesome.
And then a sudden pulse of white light shot heavenwards and a mighty thunderclap followed; and it was over, and Rayven stood alive and judged by some force beyond understanding to be the bearer of the Shadow Blade of Revelyn.
And Rayven turned and saw Rema standing close by. Her eyes widened.
‘You followed me?’ And Rema smiled.
‘I see that little escapes the Queen of Revelyn.’ And they smiled and looked at each other without speaking until Rayven laughed. ‘Then come and sit with me Rema Bowman.’ And she indicated where they might be most comfortable and together they sat and watched the sky lighten in the east. After some time Rayven spoke most gently.
‘Sylvion told me that you are identical to the one she loved.’
‘This is true,’ he replied, ‘and I think it caused her some disquiet.
‘And you, how did you find my kindma, for it must have been unusual to be with her for she is both beautiful and of another time.’ And Rema found his heart racing. One moment Rayven was standing with all the power of the Shadow Blade and now she talked of love.
‘I fell in love with her,’ he said with absolute honesty, ‘but I had no understanding, and I soon saw that she was beyond me in every way.’ And Rayven looked at him with eyes which seemed to search his very being.
‘You are truthful Rema and that is good. Very good.’
‘It is not easy being truthful at times, especially to oneself,’ he replied, ‘And I have been confused on this matter for a long time.’ And Rayven nodded.
‘And now you see me, and I am like my kindma’s sister. What do you think of me?’ And her boldness caught Rema by surprise, and he found his heart pounding, and so he did not trust himself to answer and to his further amazement she reached over and placed a hand upon his breast and felt his heart and laughed.